The case against the man accused of killing six people in the Nkanini informal settlement in Khayelitsha has been postponed. The murders sent shockwaves through the township after two women and four men were shot and killed two weeks ago. According to the NPA, 35-year-old Thando Shuba was identified by eyewitnesses. He appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court on six murder charges on Monday, where his case was postponed to […]
INTERNATIONAL Israel has approved the construction of five new settlements in the Negev desert, days after four people were killed in an attack in the nearby Beersheba settlement. According to the resolution, which was approved by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, the settlements will consist of one set aside for Bedouin, one as a kibbutz, and three as "communal" villages. The resolution gives the World Zionist Organisation's Settlement Division the […]
INTERNATIONAL Police in Egypt have subjected dozens of Sudanese refugees to arbitrary detention and abuse, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday The organisation said the police had arbitrarily detained at least 30 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers, subjecting some to "forced physical labour". According to three Sudanese refugees and a Cairo-based civil society group interviewed by HRW, police carried out raids on 27 December and 5 January, in nearly identical circumstances. Plainclothes police arbitrarily […]
INTERNATIONAL Six years after moving to Toulouse in southern France, Djamel Sekkak no longer feels safe there. His Islamic funeral services business recently made headlines when it was targeted by a particularly repugnant anti-Muslim act: a dead boar was hung on a pole outside his shopfront in the district of Zenith. Sekkak was stunned by this "provocation and insult" and now fears for the safety of his sons who help him run the family […]
INTERNATIONAL Tens of thousands of activists from Pakistan’s ruling party and opposition groups have descended on the capital, Islamabad, ahead of a parliamentary vote seeking to topple the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan, under mounting political pressure, had urged supporters from across the country to gather on Sunday for a show of strength ahead of the crucial vote expected next week. “It is a battle for the future of our nation,” […]
INTERANTIONAL Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are set to resume in-person talks this week in Turkey. Mariupol mayor says 160,000 civilians are trapped in the city without power. Ukrainian president discloses his government is “carefully” considering a Russian demand of neutrality ahead of the talks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes such a move would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum. US President Joe Biden says he was not calling […]
LOCAL A 35-year-old suspect is expected to appear in court on Monday after being arrested at the weekend in connection with the killing of six people at Enkanini informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Acting Western Minister of Community Safety, Anroux Marais, has welcomed the arrest of the suspect. Marais says the department will track the case in court through their Court Watching Briefs and follow-up with the police to monitor […]
LOCAL Hundreds of foreign nationals have been displaced after violent clashes with residents of Zwelitsha in Bredasdorp, Western Cape. Their houses were destroyed and they are now seeking refuge at a local community hall and a mosque. Last week, two foreign nationals were injured when residents broke down their shacks, following a march by residents to local authorities. Residents handed over a memorandum with a number of issues, including the influx […]
Western Cape police have vowed to bring sexual offenders to book to eradicate the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. This follows after twelve suspects are on Monday expected to appear in the George and Knysna Magistrate’s Courts respectively. Three suspects were arrested for various sexual offences in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, while nine suspects of whom three are juveniles were arrested after they were identified by their victims. VOC
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.
