[Daily Maverick]
FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART
TGIF, 26 May 2017
âThe space between the idea of something and its reality is always wide and deep and dark. The longer they are kept apartâidea of thing, reality of thingâthe wider the width, the deeper the depth, the thicker and darker the darkness.â
Jamaica Kincaid
Due to accursed gremlins infesting our servers once more, some links have been removed from today's news. We apologise for the inconvenience. Flamethrowers are being deployed against said gremlins asap.
STORY OF THE DAY
[Betrayal of the Promise: The Anatomy of State Capture](
By RANJENI MUNUSAMY
South Africans have been bombarded with revelations of how the state has been hijacked to amass wealth for a connected power elite involving President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family. An academic research partnership has consolidated all available information into a frightening compendium on state capture, mapping the deals, the key players and the modus operandi for commandeering control of state institutions and parastatals. Their report shows why it is necessary for a judicial inquiry and criminal prosecution for corruption, fraud, money laundering, racketeering and, possibly, treason. It also shows the danger of key enablers such as Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and Eskom CEO Brian Molefe remaining in their posts.
[Maimane detained in Zambia, refused entry](
Zambian police boarded the SAA flight carrying DA leader Mmusi Maimane late on Thursday night, arresting him and confiscating his personal cellphone. Maimane was travelling to the country to attend the treason trial of Zambia's main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema. The move, quite deliberately aimed at preventing such a show of support, has only helped pour attention onto Hichilema's trial, which had been largely ignored by South Africa until now. Maimane has since been deported back to South Africa.
Trump's son-in-law focus of investigation
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior aide Jared Kushner has been revealed as the focus of an FBI investigation into Russian interference in last year's election. Kushner met with Russian officials at least once in December, something which he failed to include in his security clearance forms. Cue the inevitable angry tweet from President Trump in 3, 2, 1...
LeBron surpasses Jordan's all-time playoff score
Cleveland superstar LeBron James smashed Michael Jordan's all-time record playoffs score last night. Playing his 212th career game, James surpassed the 5,989 point mark by two points. Not that LeBron needed anything more to secure his legacy as one of the greatest in the NBA, but poking Michael Jordan's record certainly can't hurt.
Dotcom bows out of New Zealand race
Kim Dotcom's Internet Party has announced that their rotund leader will be leaving the election. With him facing extradition to the United States for piracy, Dotcom's party netted under 2% of New Zealand's 2014 election. Without the flamboyant leader, the Internet Party is in for some major political turmoil.
â
PICTURE OF THE DAY
BY EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER
US director Sofia Coppola, right, Australian actress Nicole Kidman and US actress Elle Fanning, left, pose during the photocall for The Beguiled during the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival in France, 24 May 2017. The movie is being presented in the Official Competition of the festival which runs from 17 to 28 May.
IN NUMBERS
7.57
The litres per hour of water that a single oyster can filter.
FACTS OF THE DAY
Today in 1897 Dracula is published. Blah blaaah!
There is more caffeine in Monster energy drinks than legally allowed in some countries, due to the beverage being [classified]( as a "supplement".
FEATURED ARTICLES
[Betrayal of the Promise: The Anatomy of State Capture](
[Betrayal of the Promise: The Anatomy of State Capture](
BY Ranjeni Munusamy
[Open Letter from the Stalwarts: For the sake of our future, take a stand and defend our revolution](
[Open Letter from the Stalwarts: For the sake of our future, take a stand and defend our revolution](
BY Daily Maverick
[Arms Deal: Now Quaker Peace Centre lodges claim for return of R35bn](
[Arms Deal: Now Quaker Peace Centre lodges claim for return of R35bn](
BY Marianne Thamm
[South Africa to give Zambia its démarche over barring Maimaneâs entry](
[South Africa to give Zambia its démarche over barring Maimaneâs entry](
BY PETER FABRICIUS
[Parliament: Two controversies. Two ministers, Dlamini and Brown. One approach: Deflection](
[Parliament: Two controversies. Two ministers, Dlamini and Brown. One approach: Deflection](
BY Marianne Merten
[Johannesburg: Mashabaâs administration starts to assert itself](
[Johannesburg: Mashabaâs administration starts to assert itself](
BY Greg Nicolson
[South Africaâs Super Cop: The top cases Piet Byleveld helped crack](
[South Africaâs Super Cop: The top cases Piet Byleveld helped crack](
BY Antoinette Muller
[Book Extract: Buying the US presidency â the apartheid connection](
[Book Extract: Buying the US presidency â the apartheid connection](
BY HENNIE VAN VUUREN
[WHO DG: New head âDr Tedrosâ has his work cut out for him](
[WHO DG: New head âDr Tedrosâ has his work cut out for him](
BY KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
[Letter to the Editor: Nuclear power plant construction is not a heavily veiled mega-project](
[Letter to the Editor: Nuclear power plant construction is not a heavily veiled mega-project](
BY Daily Maverick
â
Weather
BFN: min: 7° max: 22°, cloudy
CPT: min: 13° max: 17°, rainy
DBN: min: 20° max: 23°, sunny
EL: min: 17° max: 21°, cloudy
JHB: min: 7° max: 22°, sunny
KIM: min: 11° max: 25°, sunny
NLP: min: 10° max: 26°, cloudy
PMB: min: 7° max: 21°, cloudy
PE: min: 16° max: 19°, cloudy
PTA: min: 7° max: 23°, sunny
Financial Data
Oil=$53.94
Gold=$1,251.58
Platinum=$945.75
R/$=12.86
R/â¬=14.42
R/£=16.64
$/â¬=0.89
JSE All Share=54,058.88
DJIA=21,096.79
FTSE 100=7,523.57
[FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND](
Copyright © 2017 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](