/ 18 July 2018

Obama’s Mandela salute

(Gemma Ritchie/M&G)
(Gemma Ritchie/M&G)

In the local headlines today:

The Star

  • Obama’s Mandela salute

A rallying call to Africans, and the world, not to forsake their common humanity was made by former US president Barack Obama to South Africans.

READ MORE: Three lessons Madiba taught us, according to Obama

Business Day

  • Obama: Resist politics of fear and resentment

Former US president Barack Obama on Tuesday warned of the rise of “strongman politics”, authoritarianism and a brand of nationalism that threatens democracy.

  • Holomisa court bid frivolous, says Matjila

Public Investment Corporation CEO Dan Matjila has slammed the UDM’s court bid to force Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene to suspend and discipline him as an ill-conceived “abuse of court process” — which, he says, is based on “frivolous” and false allegations of which he has been cleared.

READ MORE: Nene opposes UDM bid to force him to sack PIC CEO

  • JSE upbeat over result of cost-cutting

The JSE’s turnaround plan seems to be working. The bourse’s holding company — JSE ltd, which cut 60 jobs in a scramble to reduce costs — said in a trading update on Tuesday that its 2018 half-year earnings were expected to be a vast improvement on the same period in 2017.

  • Ipsos poll severely understates DA support — analyst

 A top election pundit has shot holes in the latest Ipsos poll on political party support published on Tuesday, saying that the high number of “undecided” voters in the survey has distorted the results, particularly the finding that the DA’s support has plummeted.

The Citizen

  • Obama boost for Cyril

Nelson Mandela was able to inspire and President Cyril Ramaphosa exhibits the same trait, says Barack Obama and Madiba’s widow Graça Machel — praise that analysts say is timely ahead of next year’s elections.

  • Zille wins tweets court reprieve

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has obtained an urgent interdict suspending Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s directive that the speaker of the Western Cape legislature must “take appropriate action” to hold her accountable for her controversial tweets about colonialism.

Sowetan

  • Yes We Can … Fulfil Mandela’s dream of a better world

Obama says humanity has no choice but to pursue justice, equality and universal freedom, to look past race and embrace common good and that the rich have to share with the poor.

Daily Sun

  • Obama honours Tata!

Since his term as US president ended, Barack Obama has not made many public appearance. But yesterday he gave a speech to the people of Mzansi in honour of Nelson Mandela’s centenary.

In the global headlines today:

Aurangzeb Farooqi is a leader of a political party that is banned in Pakistan for espousing sectarian violence. He faces charges of spreading religious hatred that was linked to the murders of several Shiite activists.

He is also a candidate for national political office, running with the blessing of Pakistani courts.

Mr. Farooqi is among several candidates with ties to Islamist extremist groups who were the subject of last-ditch petitions by activists seeking to bar them from contesting elections this month. (The New York Times

Boko Haram has inspired fear throughout northeast Nigeria, including at Maiduguri’s beloved zoo. But its leafy paths are also wells of calm, a treasured reminder that “normal” life goes on. (CS Monitor)

Google is set to face a record-busting EU antitrust fine this week over its Android mobile operating system but rivals hoping that an order to halt unfair business practices will help them may be disappointed.

The European Commission’s decision, delayed by a week by US President Donald Trump’s visit to a NATO summit in Brussels last week, is expected on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Internet TV streaming services have hit a milestone in Britain.

For the first time, the number of UK subscribers to video streaming sites like Amazon and Netflix has surpassed the number of subscribers to traditional television, according to Britain’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), its main media regulator. The turning point, while expected, will likely make broadcasters in the UK and elsewhere shudder, as revenues drop in sync with the falling viewership. (Quartz)