IRAN’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in Israeli-US attacks, according to Israeli media reports and a senior Israeli official. There was no immediate comment from Iran on Khamenei’s fate. The Reuters news agency, citing a senior Israeli official, reported on Saturday that Khamenei’s body has been located. The United States and Israel launched a wave military strikes on Iran early on Saturday, targeting senior leaders as US President Donald Trump called for the government to be toppled. Iran responded with a wave of counter attacks, targeting Israel and US military assets across the Middle East. Netanyahu said…
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THE United States and Israel have launched an attack on Iran, with explosions heard and seen across Tehran and in other parts of the country, as apparent retaliatory explosions are hitting northern Israel and multiple Gulf Arab states. Several missiles struck University Street and the Jomhouri area in Tehran, the Fars news agency reported. Smoke was seen rising in the city, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency reported that explosions also occurred in Tehran’s northern Seyyed Khandan area. Other Iranian media reported attacks nationwide, including in the western Ilam province, while Israel’s…
QUESTION: Salaamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh, what are virtues of Umrah performed in Ramadan? Abu Qunaisa Saleh, Minna – ANSWER: Ibn ‘Abbaas may Allaah be pleased with him narrated, “When the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention )returned after performing Hajj (major pilgrimage), he asked Umm Sinaan Al-Ansaariyyah,‘Why did you not perform Hajj?’ She replied, ‘The father of so-and-so [i.e., her husband] had two camels and he went on pilgrimage on one of them, and the second is used for the irrigation of our land.’ The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his…
ARGENTINA captain Lionel Messi was hauled to the ground by a pitch invader during Inter Miami’s friendly win against Independiente del Valle in Puerto Rico. Messi, who was brought on as a half-time substitute, was wrestled to the turf by a spectator with two minutes remaining of normal time. Several fans had already invaded the pitch in order to get close to Messi, who was taking a selfie with one when another grabbed the former Barcelona playmaker around his waist. Security were quickly on the scene, with Messi, the fan and one security guard hitting the ground in a clinch.…
ABOUT 100,000 Palestinian worshippers have prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem for the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, despite Israel imposing severe restrictions on access to the holy site. Worshippers were subjected to thorough security screening on Friday as they made their way through the Qalandiya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank north of Jerusalem to pray, an Al Jazeera team reported, amid a heavy deployment of Israeli forces around the city. Israeli authorities imposed rules at the start of Ramadan to limit entry for Friday prayers to just 10,000 Palestinian worshippers…
THE United States must drop its “excessive demands” in nuclear talks with Iran to achieve a successful outcome, the Iranian foreign minister has said, as the US embassy in Jerusalem granted permission to nonemergency staff members to leave Israel amid fears of a regional war. Abbas Aragchi made the remarks during a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Ati, according to a report on Friday by the ISNA news agency. Iran’s top diplomat said that “success on this path requires seriousness and realism on the part of the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands”.…
A UNITED Nations investigative body has warned that South Sudan risks “a return to full-scale war” unless it can urgently put an end to entrenched impunity and widespread abuses amid escalating violence in the world’s youngest country. The report by the UN’s Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS), released on Friday at the Human Rights Council session in Geneva, found that civilians were enduring severe abuses including killings and “systematic” sexual violence, arbitrary detention, forced displacement and deprivation amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s most impoverished countries. It said “escalating atrocity risks” and the…
AT least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war in Ukraine, with two others currently held as prisoners of war, Ghana’s foreign affairs minister says. On a trip to Kyiv, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that about 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into the conflict since 2022, citing Ukrainian authorities. Ablakwa described the figures as “depressing and frightening,” saying Ghana “cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics”. He did not say whose side the Ghanaians had been fighting on but Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries…
CHELSEA will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 in the knockout stages for a fifth straight season. Similarly, Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the next phase of the competition. Although six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16 there will be no all-English ties, with leaders Arsenal to face Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United would take on Barcelona, Liverpool would meet Galatasaray and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid. The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, with the second legs to take place on 17 and 18…
QUESTION: Salaamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh. What is the food that is most permissible to give for Zakatul-Fitr? Ahmad Ogene, Benin – ANSWER: Amin Alaikum Salaam Wa Rahamatullah. It is reported in the hadith that it is to be given from five things. They are wheat, barley, dried dates , raisins and cottage cheese. However, some of the research scholars have mentioned that specifying these five things was done because they were used at that time. Therefore, they permit giving it from whatever is the common food of the land like rice for example, and corn in the land where it…
MANCHESTER United have confirmed sacking Ruben Amorim could end up costing the club almost £16m. The Portuguese was dismissed on 5 January following his public attack on the club’s hierarchy after a 1-1 draw at Leeds the previous day. The figure was released in a filing to the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, a day after the club confirmed they had made a profit of £32.6m in their second-quarter results to 31 December 2025. Listed as an “event that occurred after the reporting period”, United confirmed an amortised fee of £6.3m – which related to the cost of getting…
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, saying it stands by the country “with full conviction” – despite accusations of genocide against the Palestinian people. Modi gave a speech to the Knesset, or parliament, on Wednesday, the first day of his two-day visit, and received a standing ovation as he stressed India’s enduring support for Israel. It was the first time an Indian leader addressed the Knesset. “India stands with Israel firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond,” said Modi, condemning the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led fighters as “barbaric”, adding “no cause…
AFGHANISTAN’s Taliban authorities say they have launched attacks against Pakistan’s military positions along their border in response to Pakistani air strikes last week, as Pakistan said its forces had retaliated. The media office of Afghanistan’s military corps in the east said in a statement that “heavy clashes” began late on Thursday “in response to the recent air strikes carried out by Pakistani forces in Nangarhar and Paktia” provinces. “In response to repeated provocations and violations by Pakistani military circles, large-scale offensive operations have been launched against Pakistani military positions and installations along the Durand Line,” Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid…
POLICE in Kenya have charged a man accused of luring young men to Russia with job opportunities, only for them to end up fighting in Ukraine. Festus Arasa Omwamba, head of recruitment agency Global Faces Human Resources, recruited 22 Kenyans “for the purpose of exploitation by means of deception”, state prosecutors said on Thursday. The victims were rescued last September from an apartment complex in Athi River, a town near the capital, Nairobi, before they could travel to Russia. However, three others had already left Kenya, finding themselves on the front line of the war and returning home with injuries,…
POLICE in South Africa are investigating a fatal shooting at a secondary school in the coastal city of Cape Town that killed a 14-year-old pupil and a taxi operator. An unidentified man opened fire on a taxi as the driver waited to pick up pupils on Wednesday, shooting the driver, another man and two children, police said. Two pupils, aged 14 and 16, were also injured in the attack, which has been linked to long-running deadly turf wars between rival taxi associations. “It is unacceptable that our children continue to be exposed to danger as a result of ongoing conflict…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released a revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, shifting dates for the presidential and governorship polls in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026. News Point Nigeria reports that the electoral body announced that the Presidential and National Assembly elections will now hold on Saturday, January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections have been rescheduled to Saturday, February 6, 2027. The adjustment follows the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the introduction of new statutory timelines under the 2026 Act, which necessitated a…
QUESTION: 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 – ANSWER: 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 the…
VINICIUS Jr scored as Real Madrid secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with victory over Benfica at the Bernabeu. The forward had been the centre of focus in the build-up to the game, having alleged he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni shortly after scoring the only goal in the first leg. Prestianni was subsequently handed a one-match ban, meaning he missed Wednesday’s return leg, while support was shown for Vinicius Jr by the home fans as a banner with the words “no to racism” in Spanish was displayed in the stands before kick-off. Vinicius…
ISRAEL killed at least 84 media workers and journalists in 2025 far more than any other country in what was the deadliest year on record for the news media. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released the findings on Wednesday in its annual report and pointed to “a persistent culture of impunity for attacks on the press” by Israel’s military. A total of 129 media workers were killed in 2025, the highest figure since the watchdog group began keeping records in 1992. Israel was responsible for more than two-thirds of the death toll. Most of the media workers Israel killed…
THE United States has issued a new wave of sanctions against Iran, targeting ships that it said are selling Iranian oil to help fund the country’s ballistic missile programme. The penalties on Wednesday come a day before US and Iranian negotiators are set to meet for a third round of nuclear talks this year amid a massive military build-up by Washington in the region. As President Donald Trump continues to issue threats against Iran, Washington said it is also ramping up economic pressure against the country. “Iran exploits financial systems to sell illicit oil, launder the proceeds, procure components for…