Security Alert: Bandits Now Use Naked Women As Bait To Trap Motorists On SA Roads Read more: http://buzzsouthafrica.com/sa-roads/

Security Alert: Bandits Now Use Naked Women As Bait To Trap Motorists On SA Roads

Something about South Africa if you intend to travel there to stay or have a holiday

Police authorities have confirmed that bandits now use naked women as bait to trap and hijack motorists on SA roads. The ugly development was first circulated by Arrive Alive – a road safety advocacy and awareness group on its Twitter page. The organisation validated its claims by posting two photos on Twitter over the weekend, warning motorists, especially long distance truckers, to keep an eye off the naked bandit and her cohorts. The organisation validated its claims by posting two photos on Twitter over the weekend, warning motorists, especially long distance truckers, to keep an eye off the naked bandit and her cohorts.

In one of the photos, an undressed woman was spotted parading on the road and private parts discreetly covered by gold stars image. Local media outlet, OL reported that the editor of the Arrive Alive website, Johan Jonck, confirmed that the photos were posted by the organisation. Jonck reportedly said: “I can confirm that the post is true and that this is a new thing criminals are using to hijack motorists. We [Arrive Alive] are trying our utmost best to get more information on this. We urge motorists, especially long distance truckers who are most times the prey of these syndicates, to please be vigilant on the road and not to stop at all.”

The bandits operate by positioning the undressed woman on the road to distract drivers.When drivers slow down to look at the woman, her accomplices then emerge from hiding to rob and hijack them. The bandits are said to have carried out their operations on the N17 highway in Bloemfontein, Free State. The highway runs from Johannesburg along the border of Swaziland to Ermelo, Mpumalanga. Weighing in, Police authorities in Bloemfontein confirmed receiving reports of hijackings and robberies that have followed this pattern along the N17 highway.

Please do not hesitate to alert the nearest police station if you come across this naked woman while driving.

Just a few days ago, Vehicle tracking company Ctrack released its hijacking and crime statistics. The report detailed the hijacking hotspots across South Africa’s biggest cities, and the time of day most South Africans are most vulnerable. The company indicated in its report that car and truck hijacking is most common in South Africa’s most populated province, Gauteng, followed by other built up provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The report added that the majority of hijackings in the country mostly occur between 18:00 and 23:59 in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and between 00:00 and 05:59 in the Western Cape.

Something about the Oilfield and its players - Transocean Battens Down The Hatches

Transocean Battens Down The Hatches

Summary

RIG sold $1.4B in rig assets to Borr.

It protects liquidity and unloads newbuilds that it might not need.

With oil sub-$50, capex might not return to offshore for a while.

It's smart to batten down the hatches.

According to Reuters 

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) is selling its shallow-water drilling rigs for $1.35 billion to Borr Drilling:

Borr Drilling, founded by former executives of financially troubled Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL), has snapped up Transocean's fleet of shallow-water drilling rigs for $1.35 billion.

Since then Troeim has re-established himself as an independent player in the global shipping market with a high profile and a reputation for successful capital raising.

The rig market deal is Borr's biggest since it was set up last year by Tor Olav Troeim and other executives who had left Seadrill, once the jewel in the crown of Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen but now battling with $14 billion in debt and liabilities.

The deal includes 10 high-specification jack-ups and five newbuilds. Transocean will retain 50 rigs used for exploration in deeper waters.

Transocean Is Battening The Hatches

The decline in oil prices from their Q2 2014 peak have ravaged energy-related names. It has hit the offshore drilling market particularly hard given the segment has the highest break-even costs. Unbridled expansion by certain offshore contractors helped contribute to their own demise. That said, the offshore market remains oversupplied and day rates continue to fall. Transocean's average day rates fell 1% sequentially.

The biggest decline was in Mid-Water Floaters which saw day rates fall 47%; Ultra-deepwater Floaters were next with an 18% decline. Moreover, fleet utilization was only 46% during the quarter, down from 49% in Q3 and 60% in the year earlier period. Falling day rates and subpar utilization do not bode well.

The land-drilling sector of the oil industry staged a rebound in Q4 2016; however, the market for offshore drilling remains in the doldrums, and the offshore contracting market remains oversupplied. Transocean's rig utilization remains under 50%, and its Q4 revenue fell sequentially by 10%. High-specification jack-ups experienced flat revenue growth during the quarter and currently represents about 8% of total revenue.

Revenue growth will likely be subpar for a while. According to management, prices might have to stay above $60 for capex to return to the offshore sector:

While we and the rest of the off-shore drilling industry have done an admirable job of reducing cost through the downturn, the IOCs are unlikely to sanction new projects until we see a sustainable price per barrel in excess of $60.

That could be problematic as oil prices have now fallen below $50. The OPEC supply cut helped, but the pick up in shale drilling increased supply and hurt prices.

The Transaction Helps Protect Liquidity

If $60 per barrel is a key metric and that metric will not be reached any time soon, the goal for offshore contractors should be to survive. This transaction should help Transocean to do that. At year-end 2016 the company had cash of $2.5 billion and debt of $8.3 billion. Its debt/EBITDA of 3.9x is nothing to write home about, but it is better than Seadrill's 7.1x.

The company would forgo revenue from High-Specification jack-ups of $66 million per quarter. However, it would bring in nearly $1.4 billion, allowing it to monetize certain of its rig assets. Transocean could use this cash inflow to offset the nearly $1.1 billion it obligated to pay for five newbuilds. I believe this is a savvy move by management to protect its balance sheet and unload newbuilds to Borr that it does not need.

The move also signals that growth in offshore drilling could be dead for a long time. Investors should take heed.

Conclusion

This is a savvy move by Transocean. With oil sub-$50 I expect its revenue and EBITDA to remain challenged. With RIG trading at 5.3x trailing EBITDA I rate the stock a hold.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

War in Yemen for the Saudi back Alliance going bad to worse - Like shit for the Saudis

War in Yemen for the Saudi back alliance going bad to worse. The Yemen Houthis are kicking the Saudi Arabian arse in Yemen big time and also attacking Southern Saudi Arabia and destroying the Saudi troops / equipment at will. These Houthis battle hardened bastards are the real deal and seeing is believing. Watch the videos and soon this Saudi will sue for peace but not before the Saudis get rammed in the arse by the Houthis

Watch and enjoy the videos below if you are a war freak

One Of Hong Kong’s Longest Indoor Escalator Stops And Reverses Motion Injuring At Least 18 People!

See videos below

Yesterday (Sat, March 25) at around 4 pm, at least 18 people were injured in Langham Place, Hong Kong after an escalator that was going upwards suddenly STOPPED and REVERSED!

Two video footages captured the moment the escalator malfunctioned and there was an eyewitness who said they saw the escalator had stopped once earlier that day.

The Straits Times reported that 4 men and 14 women had lost their balance and rolled down the escalator. One of the men was reported to have injured his head and was immediately sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Luckily, no one suffered any severe injuries like broken bones and all was conscious, reported an officer of Tsim Sha Tsui fire station.

It also seems that the escalator had just passed its biannual safety inspection 2 days before the incident took place. The mall announced that they will be helping out the victims and will fully corporate with investigations. Otis Elevator Company (HK) Limited will be brought in for investigation too for their ‘faulty’ elevator.

Malaysia Netizen Make Complaint Of Overly-Charged Lunch On Social Media Went Viral! – Are You Going To Boycott This Restaurant?

Mixed rice or the Malaysian so-called Zhap-Fan in Cantonese is the most economic meal we can get in the normal restaurant. It normally cost around RM 4.50 to RM 7 depends on what dishes you have chosen. However, do you ever imagine a mixed rice with few dishes can actually cost you more than RM 25? This is just insane! All we need are just affordable meals, how come it turned out with prices that we can actually have a good lunch or dinner in Old Town or somewhere in fast food restaurant? 

Recently, a netizen who named Junn has posted an unfair story where Junn and his friend was charged RM 53 for two plates of Zhap-Fan. Yes! It’s RM 53 with just two plates of normal dishes mixed rice. 

“Since you dare to charge a ‘great’ price, so am I dare to post it up!”, Junn furiously uploaded a status with pictures of the mixed rice. Here it is!

Netizens who commented on the posts are encouraging Junn to make a report as the amount of money can afford him to order dishes in a normal Chinese restaurant. Some netizens have posted up some pictures to show their delicious Zhap-fan with a standard price of not more than RM 5.

 I think the location of this restaurant would be the next concerned question. Some are asking whether it is located in Genting Highland? But Junn answered “JB” and further found out it was a newly opened cafe in Setia Tropika which named Adam’s place. I guess after this story being shared virally, no one would go for it anymore. I’m sorry for the owner but consumers are smart, don’t play a fool with them!

So starting from now on, we have to prepare our own lunchbox as well as the dinner set to save money huh! Let’s get a cooking course!

US citizens warned against travel to French Guiana

US citizens warned against travel to French Guiana  

Washington – The State Department warned U.S. citizens on Friday to avoid travel to French Guiana due to widespread protests that it said have potential to become violent in the main cities of Kourou and Cayenne and have shut down the international airport.

In a statement, the State Department advised U.S. visitors to avoid crowds, noting that the protests have shut down roads, schools, businesses and municipal buildings. It said the travel alert expires on April 30.

Labor protests in the overseas French department bordering Brazil and Suriname have also caused the indefinite postponement of the planned launch of an Ariane 5 rocket carrying communications satellites for Brazil and South Korea. – AFP

US judge grants Amos Yee asylum request

US judge grants Amos Yee asylum request

Chicago – A US immigration judge in Chicago on Friday granted asylum to a Singaporean blogger, saying he was persecuted for his political opinions in the city-state.

Amos Yee, 18, who had been jailed twice in Singapore, qualifies as a political refugee, according to a 13-page opinion by the US immigration judge.

Yee is immediately eligible for release after having been held in US immigration detention since Dec 16, 2016, according to his attorney, Sandra Grossman, who is based in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Singapore Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment after business hours on Friday evening.

Judge Samuel Cole ruled Yee’s prosecution, detention and maltreatment at the hands of the Singapore authorities “constitute(s) persecution on account of Yee’s political opinions”, and called him a “young political dissident”.

“The evidence presented at the hearing demonstrates Singapore’s prosecution of Yee was a pretext to silence his political opinions critical of the Singapore government,” Cole wrote.

The US Department of Homeland Security had opposed Yee’s asylum application, claiming the Singapore government legitimately prosecuted Yee.

Grossman said the judge’s decision supported the right of individuals to criticise their government.

“The right to free speech is sacred, even when such speech is considered offensive,” she said in an email. “The decision timely underscores the vital need for an independent judiciary in a functioning democracy.”

Yee had been held by US authorities since arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, seeking political asylum. He was initially detained in Illinois, but is now being held at the Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin, Grossman said.

Yee has been jailed twice in Singapore for online comments. His trials, which have been closely watched by rights groups and the United Nations, have fuelled the debate in Singapore over censorship, the limits of free speech and political correctness.

In September of last year, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet – in videos, blog posts and a picture – that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail.

In 2015, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee’s death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail. – AFP