THE Democratic Republic of Congo government has offered a reward of $5m (£4m) for help arresting three leaders of a rebel group which has seized much of the east of the country this year. Corneille Nangaa, a former head of DR Congo’s electoral commission, now leads the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23 rebel group. He has addressed large rallies in the cities under the group’s control. The bounty is also on offer for M23 leaders Sultani Makenga and Bertrand Bisimwa. Last year the three men were prosecuted in absentia by a military court and given death sentences for…
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POLICE in Kenya have fired tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to occupy a church that was recently given a substantial donation by President William Ruto. The gift to the Jesus Winner Ministry in the Roysambu suburb of Nairobi of 20m shillings ($155,000; £120,000) drew criticism from some young Kenyans struggling with the high cost of living. Ruto has defended his donation and has offered a similar gift to another church in Eldoret. Last year, both Kenya’s Catholic and Anglican leaders rejected donations, arguing that there was a need to protect the church from being used for political purposes.…
Q – Salaamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh. With regard to fasting, I started fasting in London and broke my fast in Riyadh. What is the ruling on the time difference? Aaliyah Kabir, Bauchi A – Your fast is valid, because with regard to breaking the fast, what matters is the place where the fasting person is when the sun sets; the time difference does not matter, whether the day is long or short. In Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (10/296) it says: The scholars are unanimously agreed that the fast lasts from dawn until sunset, and each person who fasts is subject to…
A 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest condemned the Premier League champions to their ninth league defeat of the campaign – equalling their record for most league defeats in a season during the Spaniard’s reign. And for the first time under Guardiola, qualification for the Champions League is under serious threat. It is a scenario that was unthinkable as City lifted their fourth consecutive league title last May. Though a fifth-placed finish could yet provide a Champions League lifeline, there are just five points between fourth-placed City and Fulham in 10th as we enter the final stage of the season. Manchester…
ISRAELI attacks on Gaza have killed three Palestinians and wounded several others in the southern governorate of Rafah, as Hamas officials visited Cairo to discuss the future of ceasefire agreement and Israel confirmed it would send a delegation to Qatar. On Saturday morning, an Israeli drone targeted a group of people east of Rafah city, killing two Palestinians. Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground reported that one person was also killed by Israeli fire in at-Tannour, also east of Rafah. Since Friday night, Rafah has been the target of intense Israeli attacks from tanks and drones with shelling impacting residential…
A PAKISTANI man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting the administrator of a community WhatsApp group who removed him from the chat, police said Saturday. Mushtaq Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday evening in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province that borders Afghanistan, which has a history of bloody sectarian violence. A man named only as Ashfaq has been charged with his murder, according to police documents seen by AFP and a local police official. Mushtaq allegedly kicked Ashfaq out of the WhatsApp group following an argument, according to a statement by Mushtaq’s brother seen by…
THE South African government has said it will not take part in “counterproductive megaphone diplomacy” following a fresh social media post by US President Donald Trump repeating his claim that Pretoria was confiscating land. Trump extended his invitation to relocate those seeking “to flee [South Africa] for reasons of safety” to all farmers and offered them citizenship. South Africa has previously said that Trump has misunderstood the country’s new land expropriation act. But it has already led to the US president freezing financial aid to the country. Responding to the latest statement, the government said that South Africa was still…
THE Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, expresses deep concern over the escalating tensions and clashes in Nasir County in Upper Nile State that included a lethal attack on a UN helicopter, and violence in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el-Ghazal, all threatening the peace process. The Chairperson strongly condemns this violent escalation and calls for utmost restraint by all parties. He calls on the authorities to hold the perpetrators of the violence fully accountable and to take prompt measures to protect citizens. The Chairperson calls for an immediate end to the hostilities, adherence to the…
Q – Salaamu Alaikum, Ya sheikh, I was wondering what a woman can do on laylat al-qadr if she is menstruating at that time. Can she earn extra rewards for engaging herself in worship? if so, what is permissible for her to do so that night? Hannatu Sabo Ibrahim, Abuja A – A woman who is menstruating may do all acts of worship apart from praying, fasting, circumambulating the Ka’bah and doing i’tikaaf in the mosque. It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to stay up at night during the last ten…
MANCHESTER United head coach Ruben Amorim says the club will not give him the time that Mikel Arteta was afforded to change fortunes at Arsenal. Spaniard Arteta replaced Unai Emery as Arsenal manager in December 2019 and has helped transform the Gunners into regular title challengers. Arteta won the 2020 FA Cup in his first season but it remains the only piece of silverware he has won since his appointment – and it took him three seasons to return the club to the Champions League. “I will not have the time the Arteta had,” said Amorim. However Amorim said he…
IRAN says it has yet to receive a letter from President Donald Trump after the US leader said he had sent one seeking talks with the country’s leadership about its nuclear programme. “We have not received such a letter so far,” a spokesman for Iran’s embassy said on Friday. The comments come after Trump said he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, seeking negotiations over a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the prospect of nuclear negotiations with the US if Tehran remains under heavy sanctions…
THE FBI on Thursday arrested a US soldier suspected of selling classified information to individuals based in China, the Department of Justice has said. Jian Zhao, an active-duty army supply sergeant stationed at a military base in Washington state, was accused of gathering classified hard drives and a computer taken from the US government to sell to unspecified individuals in China. The thefts began in July 2024 and resulted in Zhao receiving at least $15,000 in payment for the contraband. He was charged by a grand jury on suspicion of conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to unauthorized…
SEVERAL people have died in South Sudan after an attempt by the UN to evacuate members of the national army came under fire, the UN has said. One crew member died when a UN helicopter was shot at, a statement from its mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, said. It added that an injured South Sudanese general and several other troops were also killed during the evacuation attempt in Upper Nile state. The UN said the attack on its helicopter “may constitute a war crime”. South Sudan President Salva Kiir later said a second helicopter managed to take off after the…
POLICE in Kenya have named three men wanted in connection with the murder of a Scottish businessman whose body was found in a sack of pineapples. Campbell Scott was found dead in a forest 60 miles (96.5km) from Nairobi after he went missing from his hotel on 16 February. The country’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has released images of the men, who they believe are linked to the “brutal murder” of the 58-year-old. They have been named as Benard Mbunga Mbusu, Samuel Musembi Kamitu and Alphonse Munyao Kilewa, also known as “Edu”. The DCI posted a statement on X…
Q – I was going to travel on a particular day, so I broke the fast in my house then I had intercourse with my two-week old new bride. What do I have to do? Please note that I thought that the expiation was to make up that day only, I did not know that it is fasting for two consecutive months or feeding ten poor persons. Ali Abba Inuwa, Kaduna A – The evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and scholarly consensus, indicates that the traveller may break the fast of Ramadan, then make up the number of days…
NEYMAR was on Thursday recalled by coach Dorival Junior to the Brazil team after almost a year and a half out injured for upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina. Neymar started Brazil’s first four qualifying games but went off injured in a defeat to Uruguay in October 2023, his last appearance for the five-time world champions. Brazil have struggled in South American World Cup qualifying. After 12 of the 18 rounds, they are fifth in the 10-nation group. But the top six are guaranteed places in the World Cup and Brazil are five points ahead of Bolivia…
UNITED States President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against Hamas constitute support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to evade the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and intensify the siege of the strip, the Palestinian armed group says. “Trump’s repeated threats against our people represent support to Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tightens the siege and starvation against our people,” Hamas spokesperson Abdul-Latif al-Qanou said on Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported. “The best track to release the remaining Israeli prisoners is by … going into the second phase and compelling it [Israel] to adhere to the agreement signed under…
ROMANIA has detained six people on charges of trying to overthrow the state with Russia’s help, prosecutors said, and a 101-year-old former army major general said his home had been raided as part of the investigation. The suspects were detained on Wednesday, the same day Romania – a European Union and NATO member state – declared the Russian embassy’s military attache and his deputy personae non grata for what it said were acts contravening diplomatic rules. Moscow has said it will respond to the move. Police said on Thursday that the group was formed to allegedly undermine the “sovereignty and…
SUDAN is taking the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of supporting Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the civil war. Khartoum argues the UAE is “complicit in the genocide” of the Masalit community, in West Darfur, through its military, financial and political backing for the RSF. In response, the UAE has strongly rejected Sudan’s allegations, calling the case a “cynical publicity stunt”, and saying it will seek an immediate dismissal. Since the war began in April 2023, both the RSF and the Sudanese army have been accused of committing atrocities. The…
AT least a dozen people were injured after Mozambican police violently dispersed a protest led by opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane, the runner-up in last year’s disputed presidential election, Mondlane’s team and a civil society group say. Eyewitnesses and Mondlane’s aides said the police fired live rounds at the opposition leader’s convoy and the anti-government protesters who had joined him on the streets of the capital, Maputo, on Wednesday. Neither the police nor the authorities have commented. The protests came as President Daniel Chapo, who took office in January, was due to sign a deal after talks with other political parties…