Five things you need to know about SA today

1. If you’re wondering what SA’s richest  bachelor Mark Shutlleworth is up to, IOL’s got an extensive interview with him from London. Ubuntu is now apparently used by about 10 million people, he’s contemplating running a marathon and, yes, he’s still single. Click here to read.

2. Meanwhile, Business Report’s Ann Crotty attended the beleagured Independent Empire’s AGM in Dublin. Gavin O’Reilly, the chief executive of Independent News & Media, which owns the Independent newspapers in SA, tried to be sketchy as possible about the group’s financial troubles and says there have been no offers to buy the London newspapers. The stakes are high. The company’s financial freeze expires on June 26 and if the parties fail to reach an agreement before then, the financiers could force a liquidation. Click here to read at IOL.

3. IOL definitely has the most interesting stories of the day. Read this one about two photographers filming the sardine run and having a narrow escape after getting separated from their boat.

4.David Bullard’s got a funny column about the Ponzi scheme at the Richmark Sentinel, which has one of the most unusual designs in the SA blogosphere. Also the grandest name! It isn’t the role of the courts to protect people against their own stupidity, says Bullard, so instead of pillorying Barry Tannenbaum for his nifty scheme, perhaps we should be demanding he receive a government rescue package. Click here to read,

5. And if, like me, you still don’t know what exactly the Confed Cup is, don’t despair.  You are niether stupid nor ignorant. Chris Moerdyk has a column saying the event is essentially unmarketable. Any big sporting event needs three ingredients, he says. It has to be relevant. It has to be desirable. And most of all it has to be affordable. Click here to read Moerdyk at News24.

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