LOCAL The high court in Pretoria has struck off the roll an application by four people who were removed from the 2022 intake in the army’s military skill development system (MSDS) programme. The four sought an order declaring the department of defence’s decision to terminate their service with the SA Air Force unlawful. The four, who were asked to report to the Swartkop Air Force base for duty in March, […]
LOCAL The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein will on Wednesday hear arguments by Afriforum in an attempt to legalise the display of the 1928 apartheid flag. AfrifForum is appealing against the Equality Court order that ruled that gratuitous display of the old national flag constitutes hate speech, unfair discrimination, and harassment. The order favoured the application by the Nelson Mandela Foundation that the display of the flag constitutes among […]
INTERNATIONAL In a report published on Monday, the World Bank painted a contrasting view of the Palestinian economy, which is seeing a post-lockdown recovery even as food insecurity worsens in places. It said the economy of the besieged Gaza Strip witnessed 3.4 percent growth in 2021 despite Israel's brutal 11-day offensive last May. Israel's military operation last year killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, according to the UN. In Israel, 13 people were killed by rockets launched […]
INTERNATIONAL Saudi authorities must end the use of travel bans against human rights activists, journalists, and critics of the government, says Amnesty International. As part of a campaign launched on Monday, the London-based rights group cited the plight of 30 human rights defenders who were subject to lengthy travel bans once they had completed their prison sentences. "Saudi Arabian authorities' arbitrary use of travel bans against activists and human rights defenders […]
INTERNATIONAL More than a dozen prominent Syrian civil society groups have urged the United States envoy to the United Nations to launch an investigation into the 2013 killing of 41 civilians in the neighbourhood of Tadamon in Syria's capital Damascus. "We are writing to demand immediate action to address this massacre, which amounts to a war crime, and hold perpetrators accountable at the UN Security Council," read a letter addressed to Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The […]
LOCAL The sentencing proceedings of Ntuthuko Shoba, the man who was last month found guilty of murdering Tshegofatso Pule, are expected to begin in the high court in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Pule was eight months pregnant when she was found dead in June 2020, with a single gunshot wound, hanging from a tree in Durban Deep, Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg. Shoba was caught after the hitman he hired, Muzikayise Malephane, […]
LOCAL Transport minister, Fikile Mbalula, says they have extended the period for the disbursement of the Covid-19 Taxi Relief Fund to the 31st of March next year. He was speaking at the South African National Taxi Council’s elective conference in North West on Monday. The minister urged the taxi council to ensure that every operator who meets the requirements receives their fair share of the fund. Mbalula estimates that the […]
LOCAL The Western Cape High Court has found the cousin of UWC student, Jesse Hess, guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, sexual assault, fraud, and theft. David van Boven murdered Hess and her grandfather, Chris Lategan, in her Parow home in 2019. Van Boven’s co-accused, Tasliem Ambrose, was acquitted on two counts of murder, sexual assault, fraud, and theft. Sentencing procedures will begin […]
LOCAL Health concerns have been raised after an extensive arson attack at a sewer pump station in Kraaifontein damaged critical structures at the weekend. According to the City of Cape Town, both the electrical and mechanical equipment required for the pump station to transport sewage from homes and businesses were destroyed. The resultant overflows and flooding are expected to affect not only the sewer network throughout Wallacedene, but also the […]
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.
