Gambian coffers plundered by departing Jammeh

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Monday, 23rd January 2017 “As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.” Virginia Woolf [Historian: An Autobiography.] By Hermann Giliomee. [Op-Ed: Independence of Western Sahara is an inalienable right] STORY OF THE DAY [What Trump’s ‘America First’ means for South Africa after Zuma’s brush-off] By RANJENI MUNUSAMY If there is anything we know about America’s spanking new president it is that he is petty and vindictive. Up to now, the worst he could do was post a bitchy, misspelt tweet with exclamation marks if he were not shown the reverence he felt entitled to. Now the repercussions could be more serious. The whole world is unsettled by the onset of the Trump presidency but South Africa has particular reason to be nervous. It turns out that shortly before the US election, President Jacob Zuma declined to meet Donald Trump. And now he is the President of the United States. #Awkward. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Gambian treasury plundered by Jammeh] About $11 million is missing from the Gambian state coffers, according to President Adama Barrow's aides. While Gambia's exiled strongman Yahya Jammeh was busy delaying his inevitable departure, it appeared that the leader was very busy stealing every last dollar out of the country. Authorities are furious, but with various guarantees now in place, it is unclear just how, if ever, the funds will be returned. [Trump to withhold tax information] Despite repeated promises to release his taxes after an audit, President Donald Trump has announced that he will not be doing so. Kellyanne "alternative facts" Conway, Trump's senior advisor/communications ghoul, made the announcement late on Sunday. WikiLeaks in turn has encouraged anyone to leak them the information. — [When Zuma][Goes]. By Ralph Mathekga. [Israel expands settlements in a post-Obama world] Officially stating "now we can build", Israel authorised the expansion of long-delayed settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. One of Trump's first orders of business was to invite President Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. No Palestinian leader had as yet been invited. The Two State Solution, it seems, is about to be reduced to dust. [Patriots to face Falcons in Super Bowl] The Patriots have defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a Super Bowl 51 spot. Tom Brady's team will face off against the Atlanta Falcons on the 6th of February at 1.30am (South African time). The Pats defeated the Steelers 36-17, while the Falcons demolished the Greenbay Packers 44-21. — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA/Tracie Van Auken People march along Independence Ave for the Women's March on Washington in Washington, DC, US, 21 January 2017. Protest rallies were held in over 30 countries around the world in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington in defence of press freedom, women's and human rights following the official inauguration on 20 January of Donald J Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America in Washington. IN NUMBERS 1900 The year in which, on this day, the Battle of Spioenkop was fought, resulting in a British defeat. FACTS OF THE DAY Today in 1957 saw the Wham-O toy company acquire the rights to the Frisbee. Iceland is the only country without mosquitoes FEATURED ARTICLES [What Trump’s ‘America First’ means for South Africa after Zuma’s brush-off] [What Trump’s ‘America First’ means for South Africa after Zuma’s brush-off] BY Ranjeni Munusamy [Reporter’s notebook: State Security agency’s campaign of fear and intimidation at SABC, and more] [Reporter’s notebook: State Security agency’s campaign of fear and intimidation at SABC, and more] BY Marianne Merten [Life Esidimeni: After tears, it’s time for accountability] [Life Esidimeni: After tears, it’s time for accountability] BY Greg Nicolson [Reporter’s Davos notebook, final entry: Conversation with Sipho Pityana] [Reporter’s Davos notebook, final entry: Conversation with Sipho Pityana] BY Stephen Grootes [President, Trump: Something Wicked This Way Comes] [President, Trump: Something Wicked This Way Comes] BY J Brooks Spector [Video: Evita's Free Speech, Ep.74 – Evita offers political asylum to the Obamas!] [Video: Evita's Free Speech, Ep.74 – Evita offers political asylum to the Obamas!] BY Pieter-Dirk Uys [West Africa leads the way in The Gambia – and on democratisation] [West Africa leads the way in The Gambia – and on democratisation] BY Simon Allison [Op-Ed: Choosing the Next Chair of the African Union Commission] [Op-Ed: Choosing the Next Chair of the African Union Commission] BY Cheryl Hendricks [GroundUp: Hundreds march in Cape Town against Donald Trump] [GroundUp: Hundreds march in Cape Town against Donald Trump] BY GroundUp [Theatre Review: When Swallows Cry shows that migrants’ lives matter] [Theatre Review: When Swallows Cry shows that migrants’ lives matter] BY Lesley Stones [GroundUp: Vigil for kidnapped photographer urges his safe return] [GroundUp: Vigil for kidnapped photographer urges his safe return] BY GroundUp [Health-E: Coca-Cola faces deception case] [Health-E: Coca-Cola faces deception case] BY HEALTH-E NEWS [Zimbabwe: Harare in deep water over typhoid outbreak] [Zimbabwe: Harare in deep water over typhoid outbreak] BY Mako Muzenda [The Afcon weekend that was: January 20-22 – Anti-dictatorship protest continues, Gabon crash out] [The Afcon weekend that was: January 20-22 – Anti-dictatorship protest continues, Gabon crash out] BY Antoinette Muller OPINIONISTAS [ANC on Freedom of the Press: How do we score?] [ANC on Freedom of the Press: How do we score?] A column by Yonela Diko [I shall sing no song for Obama] [I shall sing no song for Obama] A column by Busani Ngcaweni [President, Trump: Dark Days in DC] [President, Trump: Dark Days in DC] A column by Jeff Kelly Lowenstein [Deconstructing Decolonisation: Can racial assertiveness cure imagined inferiority?] [Deconstructing Decolonisation: Can racial assertiveness cure imagined inferiority?] A column by Jeff Rudin — [Confronting the Corrupt] by Paul Hoffman. 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