Drone attacks on Saudi oil put world on edge

[Like what you're reading? Get more here.]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart] Monday, 16 September 2019 "I love her and it is the beginning of everything.” F Scott Fitzgerald Story of the Day [Malema’s Mugabe closing gambit]( By Stephen Grootes Julius Malema’s praise of Robert Mugabe has been unstinting, and it’s not hard to see why: The ANC has stood for non-racialism, Zanu-PF has not. And Malema is much more aligned with the Zanu-PF of Mugabe than he is with the ANC. [Click to RSVP]( WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [US 'locked and loaded' to blame Iran for Saudi attacks]( Although Yemeni Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for two drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities on Saturday, Donald Trump believes they are "locked and loaded" in finding the true culprit. A White House source reported to media earlier that America was preparing to label Iran as the real perpetrator of the attacks. None of this looks likely to end well any time soon. [Hong Kong opens as usual for Monday business]( After a chaotic weekend where protesters were fired upon by police with tear gas and stun grenades, Hong Kong's businesses have opened up for a normal day's work. The protests have had an effect, however, with tourism plunging 40% since the outbreak of the anti-Chinese demonstrations. [New allegations against Kavanaugh squashed by Trump]( President Donald Trump has leapt to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's defence after Democrats called for his impeachment. Kavanaugh was the centre of a new investigation by the New York Times that linked him with new sexual misconduct charges. Trump, however, suggested that he should "sue for libel", or that the Justice Department should "come to his rescue. [New York bans flavoured vapes]( New York has banned the sale of e-cigarettes flavoured in anything but menthol and tobacco. The announcement comes after a nationwide clampdown was declared against vaping on the grounds that it encouraged underage tobacco use. In declaring the ban, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that "Vaping is dangerous, period”. Picture of the Day By EPA-EFE/AARON UFUMELI The coffin of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is brought to the National Sports Stadium during a state funeral service in Harare, Zimbabwe, 14 September 2019. In Numbers [$242 million]( The amount Nigerian scammers were able to sell an airport to an international bank for. The airport never existed. Facts of the Day Today in 1975 Mozambique joins the United Nations. Spiked dog collars were originally used to protect sheepherding dogs from wolves. [Click to RSVP]( Featured Articles [Don’t sweat about Earth, just save your children]( [Don’t sweat about Earth, just save your children]( By Tiara Walters [Mugabe’s foreign hospital treatment: Time for Africa to stop funding ‘medical tourism’]( [Mugabe’s foreign hospital treatment: Time for Africa to stop funding ‘medical tourism’]( By Chipo Dendere [SAX non-appeal: Take SA Express off life support and let it die]( [SAX non-appeal: Take SA Express off life support and let it die]( By Guy Leitch [Make the the world cruel, addicted to fossil fuel – the US according to Donald J Trump]( By J Brooks Spector [Boys to violent men: What we know, and what we can do]( By Guy Lamb, Cathy Ward, Shanaaz Mathews and Soraya Lester [#SandtonShutdown: ‘Stop killing us, stop raping us, stop murdering us’]( By Aisha Abdool Karim and Ayanda Mthethwa Opinionistas [The constitutional challenges facing the prescription of assets]( A column by Paul Hoffman [Joburg eyes tourism’s job-creation potential]( A column by Leah Knott [Cheaper mobile data will kick-start the start-up sector]( A column by Greg Chen Weather BFN: min: 10° max: 31°, cloudy CPT: min: 13° max: 19°, cloudy DBN: min: 14° max: 26°, cloudy EL: min: 16° max: 27°, cloudy JHB: min: 14° max: 28°, sunny MHK: min: 15° max: 32°, sunny NLP: min: 15° max: 30°, cloudy PE: min: 13° max: 23°, cloudy PMB: min: 14° max: 33°, sunny Financial Data R/$ = 14.59 0% R/£ = 18.25 0% R/€ = 16.16 0% R/BTC = 151,350.82 +0.32% At -+5am or latest: % open to close [Courtesy of Business Maverick.]( [Click to RSVP]( If you appreciate what Daily Maverick does, [join our community]( and help keep us going. [Sign up]( to Maverick Insider for whatever amount you choose. It takes a couple of minutes and it makes a huge difference to the country. If you are already an Insider, thank you and please help us by passing on this message to someone who might want to join the cause. [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](