The U.S. has frozen nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to the nation as it tries to keep a Taliban-led government from accessing the money, an administration official confirmed Tuesday. The official said that any central bank assets that the Afghan government has in the U.S. will not be available to the Taliban, which remains on the Treasury Department’s sanctions […]
LOCAL Rhodes University has collaborated with local and foreign universities in an effort to revive and preserve indigenous African languages. The project is called “Baqonde” and is funded by the European Union. Its aim is to facilitate and promote the use of indigenous African languages as mediums of instruction at higher education institutions in SA, and advance the objectives of the Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions. The […]
At least 1,419 people are known to have died in the 7.2-magnitude quake. More than 6,900 were injured, and an unknown number are still missing. Tropical Depression Grace is expected to dump up to 25cm (10 inches) of rainfall over the worst affected area. It is feared the deluge could trigger landslides. Social media footage showed heavy rain pouring over the island's east, with the quake-hit west next in its […]
Some tenants are more than six months behind on their rent, with the residential rental market’s recovery after the hard lockdown in the second quarter of 2020 taking a knock. Many tenants were struggling to catch up on rent arrears despite being employed when the restriction on movement was lifted in May 2020, TPN Credit Bureau CEO Michelle Dickens said. “The rental relief provided by residential landlords in 2020 is […]
LOCAL President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he has extended the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to assist police fight crime and maintain law and order in the country from August 13 to September 13. In a letter to the National Council of Provinces, Ramaphosa says the extension will affect 10 000 soldiers. Last month, he authorised the deployment of 25 000 members of the SANDF from July […]
INTERNATIONAL Afghanistan’s central bank acting governor departed the country as Taliban fighters took control of the capital, with the rising political turmoil pushing the nation’s currency to a record low. The Afghani fell 1.7% Tuesday to 83.5013 per dollar, a fourth day of decline, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank was told there would be no more dollar shipments on Friday, which curtailed its ability to supply […]
INTERNATIONAL In early July, as Taliban fighters were seizing territory from government forces across Afghanistan, some of them walked into the offices of Azizi Bank in Kandahar and ordered nine women working there to leave. The gunmen escorted them to their homes and told them not to return to their jobs. Instead, they explained that male relatives could take their place, according to three of the women involved and the […]
International Business tycoon and opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was declared winner of Zambia’s hotly contested presidential election, defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu. With 155 of 156 constituencies reporting, official results on Monday showed Hichilema had secured 2,810,757 votes against Lungu’s 1,814,201. “I therefore declare the said Hakainde Hichilema to be president-elect of the Republic of Zambia,” electoral commission chairman Justice Esau Chulu said in a televised address. The significant win sparked […]
LOCAL Some doctors have warned their regulator, the Health Profession’s Council of SA (HPCSA), against creating an administrative nightmare that could potentially delay doctor registrations and cost medics even more in future. This after the HPCSA made it mandatory for doctors to submit records of their continuous professional development (CPD) activities. To ensure that health professionals maintain and update their professional competence in the interest of the public and for […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
