INTERNATIONAL The European Union’s top court has ruled that companies within its members states can ban hijabs as long as it is done in a “general” way which does not constitute “direct discrimination”. The ruling, published by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday, concerned an ongoing dispute since 2018 between a Muslim woman in Belgium and SCRL, a company that manages social housing. The woman […]
One month after huge storms battered northwestern Europe and forced an unprecedented wave of floodwater through densely populated valleys, Belgian residents are still in shock. The government of Wallonia has collected 155,000 tonnes of debris but red-brick industrial villages are still cluttered by smashed cars, uprooted trees and furniture ruined by mud and heating oil. Around the world, July was the hottest month since records began, according to US government […]
Belgian soldiers shot a terror suspect after an explosion rocked the central train station in Brussels on Tuesday in the latest attack to hit Europe. Witnesses said the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) before setting off the blast, with initial reports saying the explosion could have come from an explosive belt. Subsequent accounts pointed to the blast coming from a suitcase. Authorities reported no casualties, apart from the […]
Belgium's foreign minister and democracy activists in Democratic Republic of Congo called on Congolese authorities to investigate allegations that high-ranking officials stole millions of dollars in public funds. The accusations surfaced shortly after the postponement of an election for a successor to President Joseph Kabila, originally scheduled for next month, until at least April 2018. The delay triggered violent unrest in the capital Kinshasa last month in which at least […]
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.
