The fires which raged around Somerset West over the last three days have caused damage worth over R50 million. Seven houses and other dwellings were gutted. Mayoral Committee Member for Safety in the City of Cape Town, JP Smith, says fire fighting vehicles were also caught up in the fire. “Three large structures and a number of outbuildings were gutted. About seven structures in total, the three structures include one […]
African National Congress ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe says the primary function of the January 8 Statement is to remind party members about their responsibilities to the nation at large. Mantashe has urged members not to allow factions to supersede their commitment to the party. He says the January 8 Statement would among other things is to correct and work on the image of the party. The ANC secretary-general adds that […]
The United Nations has warned that sabotaging water supplies is a war crime after the main source for Syria's capital was cut leaving millions of people facing shortages. Water supplies from the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley near Damascus have been severed since December 22 with the government and rebels trading blame. Jan Egeland, head of a UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, said on Thursday the shutdown already had "dramatic" consequences. […]
2016 has definitely been a year of many up’s and even more downs. Rafieka Williams has a look at the 10 most significant developments in the Cape Muslim community. New MJC President In April, the Muslim Judicial Council announced Shaykh Irfaan Abrahams as the new president following a vote taken at the Annual General Meeting. Although the community was welcoming of the decision, there was criticism in some quarters that the well-known […]
The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) is boasting a matric pass rate of 98.67% this year, up from the 98.30% in 2015. The results enable 87.61% of those who passed to go on to study for a degree if they want to, up from the 85.26% in 2015. And 9.83% qualified for entry to diploma study, compared with 11.66% in 2015, leaving 1.23% to study at Higher Certificate level, compared to […]
After almost two months of uncertainty, Cape Town businessman Naushaad Khan returned home to his family on Wednesday night. The owner of Khan’s Punjabis was kidnapped from his business premises in Hadjie Ebrahim Crescent in Athlone Industria under mysterious circumstances. Western Cape police confirmed that he had been found in Thornton and he is currently receiving medical attention. “The circumstances surrounding his disappearance is under police investigation and the finer aspects […]
Following a legal wrangle between the City of Cape Town and minstrel groups, the city has announced that it has approved event permits for the annual road march event to be held on 30 December 2016 and the Tweede Nuwe Jaar event on 2 January 2017. The court on Friday dismissed an urgent application by the former organisers, the Cape Town Minstrel Association, to be awarded the tender to host […]
The cluster chairperson for the Mitchell’s Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF), Hanif Loonat , has called for the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) to be used more effectively, in a bid to fight the increase in drug activity consuming the communities of the Western Cape. This comes after a clamp down on well-known gang leader Fadwaan “Fats” Murphy’s assets last Friday by the police attached to the Mitchell’s Plain […]
After the Nigerian army claimed victory over Boko Haram in the armed group's forest stronghold, a commander at the forefront of the battle says the search is still on for the missing Chibok girls. The army captured the Sambisa Forest in the country's east over the weekend. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu, the army commander, said that while his soldiers had made significant gains, they […]
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.
