Camp ka Champ winner still hitting the right notes

DUBAI // When Collin Ishaq auditioned for the Camp ka Champ contest six years ago, little did he know that he would go on to become one of the country’s most sought-after singers.

Collin, who was one of the winners of the 2008 contest and a finalist in 2012, says the annual Pop Idol-style show for labourers has transformed his life.

“After I started singing there, I got the confidence to sing in front of thousands of people,” says Collin, 25, a Pakistani expatriate who works airside at Dubai International Airport.

Collin’s singing attracted the attention of several bands and he occasionally performs private live shows.“I saw him during one of the shows and we took him on because he had a good voice,” said Imtiaz Khan, drummer with Dubai Rocks. “He has done two shows for us in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi.”

Russian sanctions begin to bite in the Netherlands

The Russian sanctions imposed on Thursday against western countries are already beginning to bite in the Netherlands, Dutch media report on Friday. The Financieele Dagblad reports that 300 trucks carrying vegetables and fruit have already been refused entry at the Russian border.

The effects are also being felt at the Zaltbommel trade auction where prices are already falling. On Thursday, Russian prime minister Dmitri Medvedev announced that Russia is boycotting vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and dairy products from all countries supporting sanctions against Russia by the EU and US.

Durban gets John Legend gig

Cape Town - Big Concerts announced on Thursday that John Legend will be performing in Durban for one night only with his highly anticipated All Of Me Tour on Friday 21 November 2014 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, 8 August 2014 at 09:00 from Computicket.
An Evening with John Legend: The All of Me Tour, has currently sold out in over 60 cities the US and features John in an intimate setting, highlighted by guitar/vocal accompaniment as well as a string quartet.

"I've enjoyed this tour immensely," said Legend. "The opportunity to get up close and personal with my fans and tell my story has been so much fun for me."

Possible outcomes of the Oscar Pistorius trail

Dubbed 'the trail of the century' with millions of people across the world following Oscar Pretorius' defence and prosecution, many of us are wondering what the possible outcomes could be. Here we lay them out.

Many of you may be wondering (or indeed be confused) about what the possible outcome of the Oscar Pistorius trail would be. While judgement is set for 11 September 2014, here are possible outcomes:

 If convicted of premeditated murder, Pistorius faces a mandatory life sentence, meaning he will be behind bars for 25 years before he can be considered for parole.In his closing arguments Gerrie Nel for the State stated that Oscar Pistorius is guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He said in the High Court in Pretoria on Friday 8 August: "My lady, he knew it was a human being in the toilet. His intention was to kill a human being," prosecutor Gerrie Nel said in answering the defence's final arguments.

Women play important role - Malema

Johannesburg - Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said women played an important role and should be allowed to take part in revolutions, the SABC reported on Saturday.

"Any revolution not including women in its struggle will suffer immensely," Malema was quoted as saying at the EFF Women's Day celebrations held in Brandfort, Free State.

"Protect women and give them positions, because women are also natural born leaders."

On this day in 1956 around 20 000 women participated in a national march to protest against pass law legislation, which required non-white South Africans to carry a document on them to prove that they were allowed to enter "white areas".