[image source: Esa Alexander]

No Smokes To Light Up Cape Town Man’s 116th Birthday – All Fredie Blom wants for his 116th birthday on Friday is something he cannot get under lockdown: tobacco to roll his own cigarettes. [tlive]

SA Now Has 7,808 Known Infections, And 153 Deaths – Total deaths recorded due to Covid-19 are now at 153, up by five over the previous 24 hours. [busins]

Australia’s Biggest States Retain Lockdown Measures On Mother’s Day – Australia’s two most populous states on Thursday refused to allow a one-day reprieve from strict limits on personal movement for Mother’s Day this weekend, even as the country’s rate of new coronavirus cases remains low. [reuters]

New Zealand ‘Halfway Down Everest’ As Ardern Plans Big Easing Of Covid Lockdown – PM says bars, hairdressers and domestic travel could be opened up next week along with gatherings of up to 100 people. [guardian]

UK Picnics, Park Trips And Days Out Considered As Johnson Mulls Easing Lockdown – The prime minister will announce any changes to the coronavirus restrictions in a TV address on Sunday. [sky]

Maranhao In Brazil Becomes First Region To Mandate A Complete Coronavirus Lockdown – Sao Luis became Brazil’s first major city to mandate a complete lockdown on Tuesday amid growing fears health services across the nation could soon collapse under the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic. [abc]

Facebook’s Oversight Board Will Include A Former Prime Minister And Nobel Prize Winner – On Wednesday, Facebook’s oversight board announced the names of its first 20 members, who will independently oversee moderation disputes on the platform. [verge]

Should You Pay Your Private School Fees During Lockdown? – Parents educating their children at home have some pressing questions about whether or not they should continue paying school fees. [here]

A Shocking Picture Of What It’s Like To Be A Small Business Owner In South Africa Right Now – Findings from a new poll by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) highlights the continued pain experienced by small businesses coming out of level-5 of the lockdown in South Africa. [btech]

A Chinese Citizen Journalist Disappeared 3 Months Ago. His Parents Still Don’t Know If He’s Alive—And Are Afraid To Speak Out. – Chen Qiushi showed the world what was really happening in Wuhan. He hasn’t been seen in three months. [vice]

Caxton Withdraws From Magazine Publishing – Country Life, Essentials, Food & Home, Garden & Home, Bona among titles affected. [mweb]

‘We Pray For This Bad Time To End’: The Steep Cost Of Lockdown In South Africa – In country where half of population lives in poverty, coronavirus lockdown is causing mounting problems. [guardian]

Slow-Food: Cooked, Homemade Meals To Your Door – Cafe du Cap’s new dinner service let’s you order a variety of gourmet, home-cooked meals for the week. Order once a week. Easy Whatsapp system and Snapscan payment. Delivering to Cape Town CBD, Atlantic Seaboard, Southern Suburbs and Deep South. Click (mobile) to get the menu delivered to your phone [here]

‘Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare’ Breaks Franchise Records As Activision Posts Big Q1 Earnings – Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare launched on October 25th, 2019 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. That’s 193 days ago. The game has outperformed every single previous Call Of Duty in the same time period according to Activision during the company’s quarterly earnings report today. [forbes]

A Look At Los Angeles’ Anti-Authority, Pro-Trump Protests – Manufacturers of American flags do not seem to be in danger of going out of business. [vice]

New Banksy Work Appears At Hospital – As Note Is Left By Artist – The artwork shows a boy playing with a nurse superhero toy, while figures of Batman and Spider-Man lie in a waste paper basket. [sky]

Wine Lovers Are In For A Treat With 2020 Vintage – All signs point to an “exceptional 2020 vintage” in South Africa, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. [here]

Venezuela: Captured US Mercenary Claims He Planned To Abduct Maduro – Luke Denman was one of two US citizens seized this week after what appears to have been a bungled bid to overthrow Maduro. [guardian]

‘The Simpsons’ Came Eerily Close To Predicting The Coronavirus And Murder Hornets – Just add coronavirus and murder hornets to the long list of things The Simpsons predicted. [mash]

Katy Perry Pulls Down Skirt To Show Bare Baby Bump – While revealing what it is like to isolate with Orlando: ‘You can’t hide your foot fungus or anything!’ [dm]

The Ghost Stations Hidden Beneath London – Thanks to its complex history, London has long been associated with ghosts. [cnn]

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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]

It’s Time You Treat Your Pet To The Finer Things In Life – It’s all good and well posting pictures of your furry friends on social media, but you don’t want people talking about how you’re skimping on the treats. Do better. [petculture]

First Month Storage Space 50% Off At Stor-Age – Whether you need a locker for a bicycle or a garage for your house contents, Stor-Age has the space you need. And they’re offering a special ‘50% off the first month’ deal – no strings attached! You can take your stuff out after one month – no problem! [check it out]

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]

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