INTERNATIONAL A group of Muslim and Jewish firefighters in Washington have asked a judge to hold the city in contempt for a policy that bans beards, saying it unfairly targets the two minority faiths of Islam and Judaism. The firefighters - Steven Chasin, Calvert Potter, Jasper Sterling and Hassan Umrani - filed a motion this month in a district court, in which they said they were removed from duty, reassigned, […]
INTERNATIONAL A US State Department official said on Tuesday that Washington will continue to impose sanctions on Iranian entities engaged in rights abuses following the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. "The United States strongly supports the human rights of all Iranian women, including the right to peacefully assemble and to express themselves without fear of violence," Jennifer Gavito, deputy assistant secretary for Iran and Iraq at the State Department, said during an event hosted […]
INTERNATIONAL Israel signalled it would not change policy around its assumed nuclear arsenal on Monday, as Washington affirmed a global treaty designed to roll back the spread of such weaponry, Reuters reports. The rare, if veiled, remarks by Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, came as countries party to the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) met in New York for a periodic review conference. Israel has not signed the voluntary NPT, which offers access […]
The European Union 's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell is due to visit Iran, his first trip since taking office in December, aimed at reducing tensions over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. During his two-day trip starting Monday, Borrell will meet President Hassan Rouhani , Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, his office said in a statement. Borrell's visit aims "to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for […]
The United States had fired nearly 60 Tomahawk missiles at a military airfield in Syria, the first direct military action Washington has taken against Syrian government forces in the six-year-old conflict. The US said the missiles on Friday severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at the airfield. US President Donald Trump said he ordered the strikes against Shayrat air base in Homs province, saying it […]
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.
