Istanbul night club attacker arrested

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Tuesday, 17th January 2017 “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” Martin Luther King Jr. [Op-Ed: Independence of Western Sahara is an inalienable right] STORY OF THE DAY [SASSA’s deafening silence on April 1 readiness for monthly R10-billion grant handover] By MARIANNE THAMM With only two months to go before the contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which distributes a monthly R10-billion worth of vital social grants to 17-million South Africans, expires on March 31, the Department of Social Development has not made any public announcement on the South African Social Security Agency’s proposed April 1 takeover. Instead, Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, has been hogging headlines for an expletive-ridden Facebook post in defence of her minister. Meanwhile, on Friday January 13, SASSA quietly hosted a “request for information” briefing in Pretoria where interested parties were rushed through a presentation. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Istanbul shooter arrested] Turkish authorities have arrested the jihadist who they believe killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's eve. State media identified the 34-year-old as Abdulgadir Masharipov, and he was labelled a member of an Asian branch of Isis. Masharipov was arrested in Istanbul while with his four-year-old son. [Uganda deny M23 incursion] Ugandan officials have denied that any M23 rebels being hosted in their camps travelled across into the DRC and mounted attacks. The DRC government maintains that 200 rebels have taken over a village in Kivu. There is currently a contingent of South African soldiers in the region acting as part of MONUSCO. Perhaps it's time for a patrol. [Last man on the moon dies] US astronaut Eugene Cernan has died aged 82. Cernan was the final astronaut to set foot on the moon, commanding the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Nasa and other agencies have issued messages of sympathy, with Cernan's death marking a month since the death of fellow astronaut John Glenn. [Mugabe's death-predicting priest arrested] A Zimbabwean pastor has been arrested for predicting Robert Mugabe's death. Pastor Patrick Mugadza stated his belief that Mugabe would die in October. This being Zimbabwe and thus no place for such clairvoyance, Mugadza was arrested and charged with "insulting people of a certain race or religion". — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER Police secure the roof of the Congress Centre where preparations were under way for the 47th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2017. The annual meeting brings together business leaders, international political leaders and select intellectuals, to discuss the pressing issues facing the world. The overarching theme of the 2017 meeting, which takes place from January 17 to 20, is "Responsive and Responsible Leadership". IN NUMBERS 16,000 The amount, in dollars, spent on an auctioned sword in a Chinese video game. FACT OF THE DAY Today in 1929 Popeye the Sailor Man made his debut. Uh hyuk hyuk hyuk! "Facetiously" and "Abstemiously" are the only two English words containing all vowels in order. FEATURED ARTICLES [SASSA’s deafening silence on April 1 readiness for monthly R10-billion grant handover] [SASSA’s deafening silence on April 1 readiness for monthly R10-billion grant handover] BY Marianne Thamm [Cartoon: Zuma Trumped] [Cartoon: Zuma Trumped] BY Zapiro [‘Lifeboat’ scandal: An unlikely whistle-blower?] [‘Lifeboat’ scandal: An unlikely whistle-blower?] BY HENNIE VAN VUUREN & MICHAEL MARCHANT [Maimane in Israel: DA defends visit while attacks mount] [Maimane in Israel: DA defends visit while attacks mount] BY Greg Nicolson [Life after Office: Madonsela still following her Northern Star] [Life after Office: Madonsela still following her Northern Star] BY Marianne Merten [President Trump, SA’s white right’s white knight?] [President Trump, SA’s white right’s white knight?] BY Rebecca Davis [Op-Ed: What is at stake in the ANC “succession” race?] [Op-Ed: What is at stake in the ANC “succession” race?] BY Raymond Suttner [Analysis: Ecowas is ready to deliver on its Gambian threats] [Analysis: Ecowas is ready to deliver on its Gambian threats] BY Simon Allison [ISS Today: Elections in 2017 – can the AU up its game?] [ISS Today: Elections in 2017 – can the AU up its game?] BY ISS TODAY [Op-Ed: 573 dead jackals in search of a reason] [Op-Ed: 573 dead jackals in search of a reason] BY Don Pinnock [Op-Ed: Is southern Africa running out of fish?] [Op-Ed: Is southern Africa running out of fish?] BY GEOFF HILL [The AFCON day that was: January 16 – DRC top group C, cash bonuses flown in for Uganda] [The AFCON day that was: January 16 – DRC top group C, cash bonuses flown in for Uganda] BY Antoinette Muller [Video: Evita's Free Speech, Ep.73 – Breaking news or faking news: that is the question] [Video: Evita's Free Speech, Ep.73 – Breaking news or faking news: that is the question] BY Pieter-Dirk Uys OPINIONISTAS [The climate pendulum is swinging] [The climate pendulum is swinging] A column by Ivo Vegter [2017, the crunch year: No option but to fight for what is right] [2017, the crunch year: No option but to fight for what is right] A column by Judith February — Weather BFN: min: 16° max: 29°, sunny CPT: min: 15° max: 30°, cloudy DBN: min: 19° max: 23°, rainy EL: min: 17° max: 23°, cloudy JHB: min: 13° max: 27°, cloudy KIM: min: 21° max: 31°, cloudy NLP: min: 15° max: 26°, cloudy PMB: min: 10° max: 20°, cloudy PKN: min: 15° max: 26°, cloudy PE: min: 18° max: 23°, sunny PTA: min: 14° max: 27°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$55.63 Gold=$1,202.74 Platinum=$982.85 R/$=13.67 R/€=14.50 R/£=16.47 $/€=1.06 JSE All Share=53,158.54 DJIA=19,885.73 FTSE 100=7,327.13 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND] Copyright © 2016 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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