No noise picked up on SONA's media sonar

[Daily Maverick] AFTERNOON THING with JOHN STUPART Thursday, 9th February 2017 WHILE YOU WERE WORKING [Big expectations ahead of SONA]( Amidst the polishing of buttons and the squeezing of corpulent MP bodies into Gucci outfits, the normal citizens of South Africa are expecting big things from President Zuma's address. This is all assuming, of course, that widespread protests and in-house disruptions don't derail the entire affair. With 6,000 SAPS littered about Cape Town CBD, one can only hope the entire affair is surprisingly peaceful and dull. [Trump makes nice with China]( Weeks after his inauguration, President Trump has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping thanking the leader for their message of congratulations. The sending of a letter rather than a phone could be seen as a snub, but China's officials have thanked Trump for such warm regards. Considering the billionaire president accused China of 'raping' the United States, this is conservatively seen as an improvement in relations. [Dadaab to stay open]( Kenya's high court has ruled that the government's attempt to close down Dadaab refugee camp would amount to a violation of international law and the persecution of refugees. Over 250,000 refugees currently live in Dadaab. The initial government decision in 2016 to evict the refugees and forcefully deport them back to Somalia was heavily criticised worldwide. Justice, at least this time, has prevailed. [Twitter going downhill fast]( Twitter has reported a lagging revenue today, with ever-widening losses quarter on quarter. Shares fell over nine percent as the social media giant posted a fourth-quarter loss of $167 million. Having never actually reported a profit, Twitter will be hard pressed to reverse their fortunes anytime soon, much less in 140 characters. — FEATURED ARTICLES [TRAINSPOTTER—SONA2017: The EFF offers no quarter, and vows to hold ‘the executive accountable’]( [TRAINSPOTTER—SONA2017: The EFF offers no quarter, and vows to hold ‘the executive accountable’]( BY Richard Poplak [Bouncers, media measures and high security: Yes, it’s SONA 2017]( [Bouncers, media measures and high security: Yes, it’s SONA 2017]( BY Marianne Merten [While you were sleeping: 9th February 2017]( [While you were sleeping: 9th February 2017]( BY John Stupart OPINIONISTAS [Beware ALL Prophets of Doom]( [Beware ALL Prophets of Doom]( A column by Patrick Craven [Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and renewable energy]( [Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and renewable energy]( A column by Geoff Davies [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2016 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](