JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s murder rate increased by 4.9 percent in the last year, official statistics showed Friday, with the police minister admitting the country was struggling with “a prevalent culture of violence.”
A total of 18,673 people were killed in the 12 months to March — 51 people every day — up from 17,805 in the previous year. Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said the sharp increase was largely down to domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
“What it says about us South Africans is that we are violent, we have a prevalent culture of violence,” he told journalists.
“It’s not about what the government can do, it’s about what we can (all) do. It’s a huge societal issue that we have to deal with.”
Officials said most murders occurred indoors, in urban areas and involved people known to each other. The latest figures reveal that South Africa’s murder rate has risen by nearly 20 percent in four years.
The high crime rate is seen as hampering the country’s social cohesion, economic growth and international reputation, especially as a tourist destination.
Carjacking, which is one of the most prevalent crimes in South Africa, increased by 14.3 percent last year, while house robberies were up 2.7 percent. Sexual offenses were down 3.2 percent, though many experts say that incidents are underreported.
The governing African National Congress (ANC) expressed its alarm at the number of murders and carjackings, saying they “make our people... live in fear.”
“While police are central to the alleviation of acts of criminality in society, such crimes point to social ills and thus require interventions beyond the police,” the party said in a statement.
Sparsely populated Northern Cape was the only province that recorded a decrease in murders, while Eastern Cape province, recorded the sharpest increase, posting a jump of 9.9 percent.
S. Africa murder rate jumps to 51 a day
S. Africa murder rate jumps to 51 a day
US bars five Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online
WASHINGTON: The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure US tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
The Europeans, characterized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States.
“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio posted on X. “The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
The five Europeans were identified by Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, in a series of posts on social media. They include the leaders of organizations that address digital hate and a former European Union commissioner who clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump.
Rubio’s statement said they advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and US companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US
The action to bar them from the US is part of a Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or sanctions.
The five Europeans named by Rogers are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for digital affairs.
Rogers in her post on X called Breton, a French business executive and former finance minister, the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep Internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.
She referred to Breton warning Musk of a possible “amplification of harmful content” by broadcasting his livestream interview with Trump in August 2024 when he was running for president.
Breton responded Tuesday on X by noting that all 27 EU members voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’” he wrote.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France condemns the visa restrictions on Breton and the four others. Also posting on X, he said the DSA was adopted to ensure that “what is illegal offline is also illegal online.” He said it “has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way concerns the United States.”
Most Europeans are covered by the Visa Waiver Program, which means they don’t necessarily need visas to come into the country. They do, however, need to complete an online application prior to arrival under a system run by the Department of Homeland Security, so it is possible that at least some of these five people have been flagged to DHS, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not publicly released.
Other visa restriction policies were announced this year, along with bans targeting foreign visitors from certain African and Middle Eastern countries and the Palestinian Authority. Visitors from some countries could be required to post a financial bond when applying for a visa.
