The amazing
The story of Luvo Manyonga. Five years ago, according to Manyonga, he was about “5 per cent away from death” because of his addiction to tik, and his once-promising athletic career was in an inexorable downward spiral. He had been the world’s junior long-jump champion in 2010 and had finished a brilliant fifth at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. He was still only 20 years old but once back in Mbekweni, he promptly blew all his winnings on drugs – for himself and all those around him. In 2012, instead of contesting the London Olympics, he was serving an 18-month ban after testing positive for crystal meth. But in 2017, Manyonga won the men’s long-jump final in the IAAF World Championships with a jump of 8,48 metres. And then, in the Commonwealth Games this year, the 27-year-old recorded a new Games record of 8,41 metres to clinch Gold. This just goes to show that things can indeed change for the better.
The unbelievable
At the beginning of this year, it seemed possible that North Korea could send a ballistic missile into North America and a nuclear war could ensue. Now, the most unbelievable turnaround has happened. Suddenly Kim Jong Un and the president of South Korea are holding hands and Kim is talking about getting rid of his nuclear weapons and meeting with Donald Trump. This is just too good to be true, but let’s hope it is.
The reality
It seems the honeymoon is over for Cyril Ramaphosa. The rand has weakened around 7% over the last few weeks and there are strikes and general chaos in some parts of our country. This is not all because of voters changing their minds about our new president but rather an annual phenomenon worldwide, when workers voice their grievances and unions demand better wages for their members.
