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Sahuc clarifies hajj quota rumours

The South African Hajj and Umrah Council (SAHUC) has stated that the return of 20% of SA’s annual hajj quota has not been confirmed by the Saudi Hajj Ministry, as previously suggested. VOC has been inundated with calls from the community after word of a possible increase of between five[…]

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The man who would be king of Kurdistan

By the time Sheikh Mahmud Barzinji declared himself king of Kurdistan in 1922, over an area that included the city of Sulaimania and its environs, he had already fought dozens of battles; some alongside the British against the Ottomans, others against the British alongside the Arabs, and then several more[…]

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Maybe Bheki Cele was right all along: SAIIR

There could be a significant drop in crimes like home robberies and carjacking if police leadership followed the example of former police commissioner Bheki Cele, the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday. SAIRR crime analyst Kerwin Lebone told News24 following the release of the 2014/15 crime statistics[…]

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Murder stats like those of a country at war: DA MP

Murders increased for the third year in a row in South Africa, according to crime statistics released by police on Tuesday. “These are figures I would expect from a country at war,” DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said. She was commenting after national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega had presented the[…]

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Riah’s most important figures on crime

Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega on Tuesday released crime statistics for 2014/2015. Here are some interesting figures provided by Phiyega: 1. Approximately 5.3 million firearms are accounted for by around 2.4 million owners. “These figures include 61 162 naturalised foreign nationals in possession of[…]

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Dept wants thorough probe into trawler tragedy

There needs to be a thorough investigation into the deaths of nine fishermen who, with the rest of their crew, abandoned a fishing trawler, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) said on Tuesday. “We are in contact with the Viking Fishing Company and will make contact with family[…]

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‘Severe violence’ paralyses CAR capital

The last 72 hours have seen some of the worst levels of violence in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), in over a year, according to Doctors without Borders (MSF), the medical charity. The violence has overwhelmed medical facilities and crippled humanitarian work, the charity says. Emmanuel[…]

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Russia establishes seaborne lifeline for Syrian allies

The Alexandr Tkachenko, an ageing ferry with a canary-yellow hull, usually carries people across the Kerch Strait, a bustling sea route and the only connection between Russia and Crimea, the peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year. But the crossings stopped abruptly in late August when the Russian government chartered[…]

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