Author: Editor

DISPLACED by Israeli bombardment, the Tabatibi family gathered in central Gaza to eat together during the first Friday night of Ramadan, a scene that soon turned into a bloodbath. An air strike hit the building where they were staying as women prepared the pre-fasting meal, killing 36 members of the family, survivors told AFP on Saturday. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which provided the same death toll, blamed Israel for the strike in Nuseirat, while the Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. “This is my mother, this is my father, this is my aunt, and these…

WALES is set to appoint its first black leader after Vaughan Gething was announced as the winner of the Welsh Labour leadership election on Saturday. Gething will succeed Mark Drakeford, 69, who announced in December that he was stepping down. The 50-year-old said he would have “the honour of becoming the first black leader in any European country” when he becomes Welsh first minister next week. “Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A history we write together,” he told Labour party members in Cardiff. Labour heads the devolved administration in Cardiff and Gething is…

EGYPT’s’s Al-Ahram Studio, which is one of the oldest in the world, has been destroyed in a fire. It took hours for firefighters to get the blaze under control and several buildings near the studio in Cairo’s Giza district had to be evacuated. Emergency services treated people at the scene for smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is not yet known. The studio was founded in 1944. Several films and TV series were produced there and broadcast across the world. The studio contains three production stages, a screening room and an editing suite. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visited the…

KENYAN Lawmakers are investigating the recent recruitment of tax revenue workers after it emerged that some applicants were rejected after doing HIV and pregnancy tests. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said it had disqualified 133 job applicants after they did the tests last year. They were set to undergo paramilitary training to prepare them for their roles as tax collection enforcers. Kenyan law prohibits discrimination in hiring based on health status. The news that recruits had been subjected to medical tests visibly shocked and angered MPs when it was revealed in a parliamentary session on Thursday. “There is no doubt…

Q – Salaamu Alaikum Malam. A person owns a piece of land and one year has passed since he acquired it. Zakaah is due because it comes under the heading of trade goods (i.e., he bought it in order to sell it). How should he pay zakaah on it? Please note that he only has a little cash, very little? Shaheed Ahmad, Borno A – Zakkaah is due on trade goods according to the Qur’aan and Sunnah. In the Qur’aan this is indicated by the general meaning of the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you…

JURGEN Klopp believes Mohamed Salah is ready to wreak more damage on Manchester United in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final as the Egyptian gets back up to speed after a lengthy hamstring injury. Salah scored in his first start at club level since January 1 as the Reds thrashed Sparta Prague 6-1 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League. With that goal, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score 20 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons. The 31-year-old has scored more goals against United than any other club, netting 12 times in 13 meetings, and his…

FRENCH investigators have opened an inquiry over alleged racism against French-Malian pop superstar Aya Nakamura following reports she might perform at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, prosecutors said Friday. The probe follows the filing of a complaint by the France-based International League against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA) on Wednesday, they said. The 28-year-old superstar is known worldwide for hits like “Djadja”, which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone. The alleged racist abuse began after media reports said the singer had discussed the possibility of performing a song by 20th-century icon Edith Piaf at a meeting…

HAMAS has proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group told AFP on Friday. “The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange,” the official said after weeks of so far fruitless mediation efforts, adding that the group would want this to lead to “a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire”. During the proposed truce, Hamas would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the official said, requesting…

FORMER US vice president Mike Pence said Friday he would not be backing Donald Trump as his old boss runs for a second term in the White House. “It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview with Fox News. US media called the announcement a “bombshell” and “startling,” although in reality deep divisions have driven the two men apart since leaving office, and an endorsement would have been a surprise. The pair became estranged after Trump tried to pressure Pence to help him overturn his 2020 election…

THE Democratic Republic of Congo has restored capital punishment, particularly for treason and “banditry”, as it deals with increased rebel attacks in the volatile east. The decision, communicated in a signed statement by Justice Minister Rose Mutombo on Wednesday, lifts a 2003 ban on the death penalty. For the past two years, DR Congo has been facing an offensive by M23 (March 23 Movement) rebels who have seized swathes of the northeastern North Kivu province. The retreat of the Congolese army and its militias in the face of M23’s advance has aroused suspicions that some soldiers are collaborating with them.…

SENEGAL’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the presidential candidate he is backing in this month’s delayed election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, have been released from prison. The two met thousands of their jubilant supporters in the capital, Dakar, after their release late on Thursday. Their release followed an amnesty announced by President Macky Sall. The elections are due to be held on 24 March after a failed bid to push them to December. “It’s the most beautiful day of my life,” one supporter of the released pair told the BBC. Mr Faye, 44, is one of the 19 candidates contesting the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, approved the appointment of Dennis Otuaro as Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). In a statement, the President’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said, “The President anticipates that the new Administrator will bring his requisite experience and know-how to this role to revamp the Amnesty Programme and advance the realization of its founding purpose and vision.” “Otuaro holds a PhD in Comparative Politics & Development Studies; an MSc in Public Administration, and a BSc in Education. “He had previously served as a top-level executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a surfeit of experience…

Q – Salaamu Alaikum. Please can Mallam tell me more about the easy acceptance of du’a in Ramadan? Amir Nasir Wamakko, Sokoto A – Abu Saeed Khudri (Radhiyallahu anhu) relates that  Prophet Muhammad  (Sallallahu Alaihil Wasallam) said, “Everyday and night of Ramadan Allah sets free a great number of souls from Jahannam. And for every Muslim during everyday and night there is a time when his dua is certainly accepted.   Apart from this Hadith, there are many others stating that the dua’s is accepted at the time of if’taar. Unfortunately at that time we are so engrossed in eating…

QATAR will stage the next five editions of the boys’ Under-17 World Cup from 2025 to 2029, while the girls’ tournament is set to be played in Morocco, FIFA announced on Thursday. World football’s governing body said in December that both youth tournaments would be held annually starting next year, with the boys’ event expanding from 24 to 48 teams. The number of girls’ teams involved will also increase, from 16 to 24. FIFA said the decision to choose a single host nation for multiple editions centred on the ability to make “use of existing footballing infrastructure in the interest…

MOHAMMED Kudus scored two stunning goals as West Ham thrashed Freiburg 5-0 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday, where they will be joined by AC Milan and Benfica. The Hammers trailed 1-0 from the first leg but beat Freiburg twice in the group stages and quickly went about making amends for defeat in Germany a week ago. Lucas Paqueta turned home a corner at the far post before Jarrod Bowen blasted home to turn the tie around before half-time. Aaron Cresswell then arrowed a shot into the far corner and Kudus then took centre stage…

“MY medicine is finished. I’m so tired. I can hardly see in front of me. My chemotherapy ran out a long time ago,” said Siham. The 62-year-old has leukaemia. Before the war broke out she was being treated at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in north Gaza – the only cancer hospital in the Strip. She’s one of approximately 10,000 cancer patients in Gaza – according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry – who have been unable to get treatment or medicines since the hospital shut down in the first week of November due to fuel shortages. Like other displaced…

NORWAY’s higher education minister, who resigned in January over plagiarism allegations, has had her masters dissertation annulled by her alma mater due to “cheating”, her political party said on Thursday. Sandra Borch, who had been minister since 2023, announced her resignation in January after a student revealed similarities between her 2014 dissertation and other works, notably those of two other students. The University of Tromso decided, after investigating the matter, to annul the dissertation, which focused on safety regulations in the oil industry, the parliamentary group of Borch’s Centre Party said. “Borch cheated and the results of her dissertation have…

MILITANTS from the al-Shabab group have attacked a hotel near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, security sources and witnesses said. The group has attacked the Syl Hotel before, which is popular with government officials. Witnesses reported blasts and gunfire coming from the hotel, telling Reuters that fighters were still inside. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties. “The armed men control the hotel and are shooting workers and officers” of the government in the hotel, al-Shabab said in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. Resident Farah Ali, who lives near the president’s office, told Reuters:…

A SELF-PROCLAIMED Apostolic prophet who kept 251 children on his property has been charged with exploiting minors. Police said that Ishmael Chokurongerwa, 56, led a sect with more than 1,000 members in Harare. The children were allegedly used for cheap labour. Unregistered graves, believed to be of infants, were also found. Chokurongerwa was arrested on Tuesday “for criminal activities which include abuse of minors”. He appeared alongside seven congregants before a magistrate’s court on Thursday. All eight of them were charged with violating children’s rights and contravening burial and cremation laws. The Zimbabwe Republic Police released a statement on Wednesday…

Salaamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh. There are clothes which are of a design called “cloche”.  Some of them are for women and are very loose, and their sleeves are also long and wide, as in the case of dira‘s and jilbaabs. Is it permissible for women to wear them? Also, is it permissible to wear tight sleeves among other women and mahrams? Suwaiba Nasir, Kaduna Praise be to Allah. Firstly: It is permissible for a woman to wear whatever clothes she wants so long as that is not imitating men or kaafir women, or uncovering the ‘awrah in front of those…