South Africa Aiming To Vaccinate One Million People By April: Mkhize – Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says that government is aiming to vaccinate a million people against Covid-19 between now until the end of March. [btech]

Biden Launches Airstrike Against Iran-Backed Militia In Syria – The Pentagon conducted airstrikes against Iran-linked militias in Syria on Thursday in one of the first known military actions ordered by President Biden, days after militias launched rockets at U.S. forces in Iraq as tensions between Iran and the United States continue to simmer. [forbes]

Angela Merkel Refuses AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine As 1.4m Doses Left Unused – Angela Merkel, the German chancellor has said she will not take the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because at 66 she is older than the upper age limit for it. [ind]

China Gave US Diplomats Anal COVID Tests ‘In Error,’ American Officials Say – The U.S. State Department says it is committed to preserving the “dignity” of American diplomats. [vice]

Hyundai’s Recall Of 82,000 Electric Cars Is One Of The Most Expensive In History – Hyundai will recall 82,000 electric cars globally to replace their batteries after 15 reports of fires involving the vehicles. [cnn]

John Geddert: Ex-USA Gymnastics Coach Charged With 24 Crimes Takes Own Life – Former US Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert, who had ties to disgraced team doctor Larry Nassar and was charged earlier on Thursday with human trafficking and sexual assault, has since taken his own life, authorities said. [guardian]

Final Week To Score 100% Tax Deduction Through Property Investment – No Cash Required – A helping hand from the taxman doesn’t come around all that often, so here’s something you may want to consider before the tax year ends on Sunday. [here]

Malaysian Man Wins Landmark Case Against Islamic Gay Sex Ban – In 2018, the man – whose identity has been withheld for his own protection – was arrested in the central Selangor state for attempting gay sex, although he still denies the claims. [gt]

Trump Plots Future — And Revenge — From Sunny Florida Links – In a South Florida war room, occupied most days by a party of one, a former President of the United States is plotting his return — and his revenge. [cnn]

Bachelor Who Scored R7m Lotto Win Wants To Buy A Big House – South Africa has a new millionaire – a bachelor who waged R80 on a lotto ticket via his banking app. [iol]

Netflix And Anna Delvey – The race to secure the story of New York’s ‘fake heiress’. [bbc]

Prison Inmates Outperformed The Overall National Pass Rate – The matric pass rate of pupils who wrote their final examinations behind bars in 2020 was 86.3%, the department of correctional services (DCS) said on Thursday. [tlive]

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Long COVID ‘Healing’ Methods Criticised By NHS Medical Director – Professor Stephen Powis has warned long COVID needs to be taken “seriously” and influencers have a “responsibility”. [sky]

Amazon Rainforest Plots Sold Via Facebook Marketplace Ads – Parts of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest are being illegally being sold on Facebook, the BBC has discovered. [bbc]

Facebook Now Wants To Make ‘Hey Facebook’ A Thing – Available on Portal smart displays and rolling out on Oculus Quest headsets. [verge] I couldn’t think of anything worse. 

People With Extremist Views Tend To Struggle With Complex Mental Tasks, New Study Finds – Ideologies play a crucial role in our everyday lives as they shape the way we behave as well as how we view the world. [n24]

Almond, Fox, Or Cat Eyes As Reshaping Treatments Grow In Popularity – The simple procedures used to treat some signs of ageing around the eyes can also be used to change the shape of the eye entirely. [here]

Ronald Pickup Death: The Crown And Darkest Hour Star Dies Aged 80 – British actor also appeared in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films. [ind]

‘They Gave Me Breasts I Don’t Have’ – Rosamund Pike hits out at body airbrushing after her figure was altered to make her chest appear bigger on poster of Johnny English movie. [dm]

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DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T TELL YOU…

There are a number of ongoing deals set up at our various exclusive partners. Here they are – just for you;-)

Buy Any Product From Websites That ‘Don’t Ship To SA’ – One of our most exciting partners offers you a PO Box in US, UK or Hong Kong, for you to deliver overseas online purchases to. Postbox Courier handles it from there – getting the package to you in under a week. [more]

There Is Only One Company When It Comes To Import Export Logistics – Your freight forwarding / shipping partner is probably more important than the actual products you want to move from country to country. Choose the wrong guys and you can get stung in so many ways. Be smart, use 2ov’s partners, Berry & Donaldson. [here]

Affordable Cane Furniture – If you’re buying cane or wicker furniture anywhere else, you’re wasting a lot of time and money. These guys import directly from Malawi. Hand-Made cane furniture – buy online and have it delivered! [check it out]