One officer killed in Charlie Hebdo shooting was Muslim

French police have identified one of the two officers killed in the shooting attack at the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The victim was a follower of Islam, media reported. The 42-year-old Ahmed Merabet was shot at point-blank range despite apparently pleading for mercy, and his death was tragically caught on camera.

Read more: One officer killed in Charlie Hebdo shooting was Muslim

Bribes get illegal immigrants into SA

A Zimbabwean who says he bribed police officers at the Beit bridge border post to let him into the country, says corruption is hampering the South African government’s efforts to prevent foreigners from entering the country illegally. The Minister of Home Affairs has recently announced the December 31 cut-off date for Zimbabweans to apply for

Read more: Bribes get illegal immigrants into SA

South African beaches more segregated than ever: claim

The South African Sunday Times has done a “snap survey” and found that “a quarter of a century after beach apartheid was scrapped, South Africa’s bathing spots are still mainly segregated”. The newspaper says that “most lovers still flock to beaches “assigned” to them during apartheid, when the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act decreed separate

Read more: South African beaches more segregated than ever: claim

Dutch tourist found dead in Langebaan

A kite surfing instructor visiting the country from the Netherlands was found floating face down in the mouth of the Langebaan Lagoon on Tuesday. The 39-year-old man from Rijssen in the Netherlands was visiting the country for the second time in two years. His body was taken into the care of the Police and the

Read more: Dutch tourist found dead in Langebaan

Twelve killed in attack on French satirical magazine

Masked gunmen stormed the offices of a French satirical newspaper Wednesday, killing 11 people before escaping, police and a witness said. The weekly has previously drawn condemnation from Muslims. French President Francois Hollande called the slayings a terrorist attack and said that several other terror attacks have been thwarted “in recent weeks.” Xavier Castaing, head

Read more: Twelve killed in attack on French satirical magazine

Russians celebrate Christmas today

Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas today. This year, the Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrated the holiday in Russia’s Otradnoye village near the southern city of Voronezh, where he attended a Christmas service at a local church. The Russian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar and celebrates Christmas on January 7. The Church of the Intercession of

Read more: Russians celebrate Christmas today

Tony Blair could face war crimes charges

Tony Blair could face war crimes charges as a result of the Iraq war inquiry report, the House of Lords has been told. Lord Dykes of Harrow Weald, a Liberal Democrat peer, claimed that the publication of the inquiry by Sir John Chilcot was being delayed “to prolong the agony” of the former Labour Prime

Read more: Tony Blair could face war crimes charges

The real racial bias: Cops more willing to shoot whites than blacks

It’s widely assumed that white police officers are more likely to shoot black suspects as a result of racial bias, but recent research suggests the opposite is true. An innovative US study published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology found that participants in realistic simulations felt more threatened by black suspects yet took longer to

Read more: The real racial bias: Cops more willing to shoot whites than blacks

Gun-toting black kids hold up Swedish tourists

Four gun-toting black children held up 17 Swedish tourists in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The robbery occurred on Monday when the tourists were visiting the Iliso Care Society, which runs programmes including a project to address unemployment, a day-care centre and a food garden. The children held up the tourists at about 11.30am , said Vivian

Read more: Gun-toting black kids hold up Swedish tourists

Germans rally against Islam

Protesters marched in several German cities again on Monday against higher levels of immigration and what they see as the growing influence of Islam, in defiance of an appeal from Chancellor Angela Merkel to spurn rallies she views as racist. The rallies, organized by a new grassroots movement known as PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against

Read more: Germans rally against Islam

Hotel tries to deny black visitors

Despite a personal apology from the manager and an invitation to return to one of South Africa’s leading luxury hotels, Tumi Mpofu isn’t interested in a free meal. Mpofu and her family claim staff at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Camps Bay, Cape Town, were racist towards them. “I’m not concerned about going

Read more: Hotel tries to deny black visitors

White boy saves drowing man while black lifeguards look on

The girlfriend of a man who suffered a near drowning at Bloemfontein’s Maselspoort Resort yesterday says if it wasn’t for a heroic matric at the scene, her boyfriend would be dead. The woman, who has requested to remain anonymous, says her boyfriend hit his head while riding the supertube at the resort. She says the

Read more: White boy saves drowing man while black lifeguards look on

Zuma: DRC rebels miss disarmament deadline

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have missed the deadline set by the Southern African Development Community to voluntarily disarm themselves, it said on Saturday. In spite of the presence of 20,000 UN peacekeepers, around 50 Congolese and foreign armed groups are still active in the region. SADC chairman President Jacob Zuma

Read more: Zuma: DRC rebels miss disarmament deadline

Traffickers make $3 on ship with illegal immigrants

Traffickers made some $3m from 359 illegal migrants found abandoned on a cargo ship in the Mediterranean, the Italian police said. The Ezadeen was towed into the Italian port of Corigliano Calabro after being found by coast guards on Friday. It is the second such case involving a freighter in a week. Both ships reportedly started in

Read more: Traffickers make $3 on ship with illegal immigrants