High noon approaches for Gambian crisis

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Thursday, 19th January 2017 “There’s no sense being in this business unless you’re an optimist.” Joe Biden Building purposeful brands through powerful storytelling. [Click here] for more info about what we do. [Op-Ed: Independence of Western Sahara is an inalienable right] STORY OF THE DAY [Absa Public Protector report and other ghosts of things past may come back to haunt ANC] By MARIANNE THAMM It is no coincidence that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s version of former PP Thuli Madonsela’s preliminary report into the Absa/Bankcorp bailout was leaked just as President Zuma, the Gupta family and those who have illegally benefited from State Capture are slowly being cornered and squeezed. And while the Twitter rent-a-crowd predictably howled “white minority capital”, the most obvious question is why the ANC, when it was informed of it all back in the mid ‘90s, did nothing about the grotesque apartheid-era plunder? Someone who was there at the start is veteran journalist and lawyer Martin Welz, editor of Noseweek. He spoke to Daily Maverick. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [High noon as Gambian president's deadline passes] President Yahya Jammeh's term as Gambia's leader has ended, and yet he remained in power over Wednesday night. With ECOWAS troops now poised to cross into Gambia, and the country's own army chief stating that the military would not oppose an intervention, one imagines that time might finally be up for Jammeh. [Islamic State lost a quarter of its territory in 2016] A new report released by research company IHS Markit has indicated that Isis has lost a quarter of its territory in 2016. The report highlighted how Isis territory shrank from 78,000 to 60,400 square kilometres. With Mosul soon to fall, this will decrease even further in 2017. However, with Isis firmly in control of Raqa, its current stronghold, the terrorist group is not disappearing anytime soon. — Building purposeful brands through powerful storytelling. [Click here] for more info about what we do. [Tiny moth named after Trump] A tiny moth which has been discovered has been named after Donald Trump, on account of the creature's distinctive hairdo. "Neopalpa donaldtrumpi" was named such to raise awareness for ecological issues, and also because the tiny moth has a distinctive appearance resembling the iconic Trump duck's bum coif. With Barack Obama having nine species named after him, Trump is off to a good start at beating that record. [Kyrgios throws another fit at Open] Tennis's "bad boy" Nick Kyrgios has had a tailspin tantrum out of the Australian Open. Despite winning the first two sets, Kyrgios was defeated by Italian Andreas Seppi, but not before throwing a racquet, playing lethargically, and being a general arse on court. John McEnroe called Kyrgios "mentally about 200 in the world" and a "black eye on the sport". McEnroe calling you out is a bit like having Mike Tyson give you an earful about boxing etiquette. — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER Matt Damon, Co-Founder of Water.org, left, and Gary White, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Water.org, are pictured during a penal session on the first day of the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. The meeting brings together entrepreneurs, scientists, chief executives and political leaders in Davos from January 17 to 20. IN NUMBERS 30 The number of seconds between each aircraft landing - at their peak - in West Berlin during the Berlin Airlift FACT OF THE DAY Today in 1806 the Battle of Blaauwberg saw British forces take the Dutch Colony and stick around for a while hence. If a bald eagle loses a feather, it will lose the identical feather on the other side to maintain balance. FEATURED ARTICLES [Absa Public Protector report and other ghosts of things past may come back to haunt ANC] [Absa Public Protector report and other ghosts of things past may come back to haunt ANC] BY Marianne Thamm [Cartoon: Pravin's Winter's Tale] [Cartoon: Pravin's Winter's Tale] BY Zapiro [Parliament: Leaked ‘Working document’ slams SABC] [Parliament: Leaked ‘Working document’ slams SABC] BY Marianne Merten [Reporter’s Davos notebook: Beware of Russia, Biden warns a chilled Europe] [Reporter’s Davos notebook: Beware of Russia, Biden warns a chilled Europe] BY Stephen Grootes [Understanding Eskom’s nuclear ambitions: An interview with David Nicholls] [Understanding Eskom’s nuclear ambitions: An interview with David Nicholls] BY Chris Yelland [UFS rugby attacks: Violent, racist, barbaric, says inquiry] [UFS rugby attacks: Violent, racist, barbaric, says inquiry] BY Greg Nicolson [Art and Outrage: National Gallery under attack] [Art and Outrage: National Gallery under attack] BY Rebecca Davis [GroundUp: Weeks from grant payment deadline, SASSA still has no plan] [GroundUp: Weeks from grant payment deadline, SASSA still has no plan] BY GroundUp [Collateral Damage: More civilians killed in Nigeria’s war on terror] [Collateral Damage: More civilians killed in Nigeria’s war on terror] BY Simon Allison [When lives are cheaper than financial losses: Ford Pinto’s chilling lesson] [When lives are cheaper than financial losses: Ford Pinto’s chilling lesson] BY Rebecca Davis [Op-Ed: Reflections on ‘Lumka’ – we need to talk about the way we talk] [Op-Ed: Reflections on ‘Lumka’ – we need to talk about the way we talk] BY Jacques van Zuydam [ISS Today: Liberia’s journey to national ownership] [ISS Today: Liberia’s journey to national ownership] BY ISS TODAY [The AFCON day that was: 18 January – Cameroon ruin Guinea-Bissau’s fairy tale] [The AFCON day that was: 18 January – Cameroon ruin Guinea-Bissau’s fairy tale] BY Antoinette Muller OPINIONISTAS [The scourge of inequality: There can be no peace or freedom while it persists] [The scourge of inequality: There can be no peace or freedom while it persists] A column by Jay Naidoo — Building purposeful brands through powerful storytelling. 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