Trump abandons meeting, Egypt's activist problem, CES latest

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart]( Thursday, 10 January 2019 “If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything.” Richard Puz Story of the Day [ANC’s incoming election manifesto should argue for sanity in crazy times]( By Stephen Grootes These days, South African politics is more contested than it has been at any time since 1994. On Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa will walk up to the Moses Mabhida podium, iPad in hand, to present the ANC’s election manifesto for this year’s election. Crafting of an election manifesto in as broad a church as the ANC is a difficult thing to do any day of the week. This time, it is even more crucial for the party to make politics about governance, rather than identity. [Mi-Plan]( - The Best Global Fund Over 1,2,3,4...5 YEARS WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING ['Bye-bye' as Trump storms out of]([meeting]( President Donald Trump, leader of the free world, stormed out of a meeting with Democrats on how to end the government shutdown. Trump left shortly after arriving when Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that they would not fund his wall "at all". The master of the deal, it seems, is at an impasse. [Egyptian activist jailed for 15 years]( A major Egyptian activist involved in toppling the government in 2011 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ahmed Douma had been initially sentenced to 25 years in 2015 for clashing with security forces in Cairo. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, himself integral in ousting Mohamed Morsi, has conducted a notoriously brutal crackdown on pro-democracy and Islamist revolutionaries alike. [Seven killed in DRC attack]( As the DRC braces for an election results delay, seven civilians and three soldiers were killed by a rebel attack in the east. ADF is believed to have been behind the attack, having waged a series of violent attacks in Beni over recent months, targeting local FARDC troops, Monusco peacekeepers, and civilians alike. [Sci-fi real-time translation inches closer]( Waverly Labs has unveiled a device that could provide near real-time translation services. Exhibiting at the CES expo, the "Pilot" headphones enabled two users to speak directly to each other in their own language. Connecting to online servers, there is a delay in the translation, but a demo showing one person speaking in French and translating to English appeared to work well enough. [Mi-Plan]( - South Africa's No.1 Global Multi-Asset Flexible Fund Picture of the Day By EPA-EFE/ERNESTO ARIAS A helicopter view of South African driver Giniel de Villiers during the second stage of the Rally Dakar 2019, between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona, Peru, 8 January 2019. [Support DAILY MAVERICK & get FREE UBER vouchers]( Not all memberships count points. Some memberships actually count FOR something and have tangible benefits. Maverick Insiders who contribute R150 or more per month, get R100 worth of free UBER vouchers every month. Yes, every month until October 2019. [Click here to sign-up.]( (Added bonus: you’re also now an even better, more mobile, person.) In Numbers 200 The average number of people who die on cruise ships per year. Facts of the Day Today is Margaret Thatcher Day in the Falkland Islands. Snatch someone's milk today! (But please, don't.) Iceland has a working banana plantation, just 177 miles from the Arctic Circle. Featured Articles [Mzwanele Manyi: Valuable addition to Parliament’s back benches – or a Gupta stooge in the house?]( By Ferial Haffajee [Can Mzwanele Manyi get into the national Parliament?]( By Ferial Haffajee [Andre Hanekom is ‘an old sea dog’, not a jihadi terrorist, friends say]( By Peter Fabricius [A resurrected Zuma, speechifying under the coconut trees?]( By Glen Retief [Gutted History: Textbook curriculum jars with those who lived through apartheid]( By Premesh Lalu [2018 matric results: Some (more) necessary myth-busting of unsupported claims (Part Two)]( By Nicky Roberts [Tertiary institutions should adopt rigorous admission criteria for teacher education programmes]( By Nicola Vermooten [Timol family opposes apartheid-era cop’s application for stay of prosecution]( By Greg Nicolson Opinionistas [Why the ANC will break its promises this Saturday — again]( A column by Phumzile Van Damme [Making sense of national populism in South Africa]( A column by Saliem Fakir [Runaway Overberg fire started by a flare caused rejuvenation and scorched earth]( A column by Tony Weaver Weather BFN: min: 15° max: 33°, cloudy CPT: min: 16° max: 21°, cloudy DBN: min: 22° max: 29°, cloudy EL: min: 18° max: 27°, cloudy JHB: min: 17° max: 27°, cloudy MHK: min: 18° max: 34°, cloudy NLP: min: 21° max: 34°, rainy PE: min: 17° max: 24°, cloudy PMB:min: 18° max: 35°, rainy Financial Data Oil=$61.43 Gold=$1,291.25 R/$=13.85 R/€=15.99 R/£=17.71 JSE All Share=53,222.89 DJIA=23,959.16 BTC$=4 004 [Mi-Plan]( - South Africa's No.1 Global Fund Over 1,2,3,4...5 YEARS [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2018 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](