At least 16 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in accidents in Senegal in recent days as pilgrims headed to a major Sufi Muslim religious gathering, firefighters said Sunday. Millions of people were making their journey home from the town of Touba in central Senegal on Sunday, a day after the so-called Magal ceremony - the high point of the annual pilgrimage - was held. Multiple road […]
The Syrian government refused the UN envoy’s latest proposal for a truce in Aleppo on Sunday, calling on insurgents to withdraw and saying it would not grant autonomy to the rebel-held east in exchange for calm. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has proposed that the Syrian government grant eastern Aleppo autonomy in exchange for peace, and called on the estimated 900 al-Qaeda-linked militants in the east to depart to other […]
The Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s government against Iran-backed Houthi militias said a 48-hour ceasefire ended at midday (0900 GMT) Monday due to repeated violations by Houthi militias and their allies. “There is no respect (for the truce), only violations,” the coalition spokesman Major General Ahmed Assiri said, adding that there were “no orders to extend the ceasefire.” Assiri stated that the number of breaches committed by the militia since the […]
President Jacob Zuma will on Monday meet the 101 Veterans of the African National Congress (ANC), who have called on him to resign. The meeting between the party's National Working Committee and the veterans was postponed from Friday as Zuma was unable to attend. Earlier in November, the veterans spoke out about their concerns about the declining state of the country calling for the ANC to hold an early conference […]
The EFF has slammed the proposed National Minimum wage of R3500 per month, announced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday, saying that the move favours business at the expense of workers. Ramaphosa announced the findings of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) report. Among them, is a proposal of an NMW of R3500 per month or R20 per hour. “The proposal will not lead to the desired resolution of the […]
Thousands of child maintenance defaulters are still off the hook despite an amendment of the Maintenance Act last year which would have got them blacklisted. Regulations governing the blacklisting of maintenance defaulters will now not be finalised until next year, the Justice Department said. So far 17,000 cases have been registered under the amended act, with 6,500 criminal cases opened. Another 6000 cases were finalised under section 26 of that […]
More than 90 foreign students have cancelled their study plans in South Africa due to the #FeesMustFall protests that have rocked campuses around the country. The 92 were due to study at the University of Cape Town as part of the institution's Study Abroad programme. They include 10 University of Miami students, who pulled out due to fear of classes being delayed next year due to violent protests. UCT spokesman […]
Illegal power connections continue to endanger lives, electricity parastatal Eskom said on Saturday. “Many people continue to connect electricity illegally, ignoring warnings that electricity is extremely powerful and can be deadly if not treated with care and respect,” Eskom said in a statement. A case in point was a community member who died while trying to connect electricity illegally to an Eskom structure in East London by throwing a piece […]
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has announced that early payment for all social grant beneficiaries. The agency says grants payments for December will commence on 28 of November and will end on the 15th of December 2016. SASSA also announced that funds will become available for collection at ATMs and other payment channels from 28 November 2016. Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini wishes to caution all social grant beneficiaries […]
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.
