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…
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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…
SENEGAL’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has introduced legislation that could double the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The proposal was sent to parliament on Tuesday after cabinet approval last week, after a wave of arrests over alleged same-sex relationships, already banned under Senegal law. Addressing lawmakers, Sonko said the bill would punish what it describes as “acts against nature” with prison sentences ranging from five to 10 years, compared with the current one- to five-year terms. “If an act is committed with a minor, it will attract the maximum penalty,”…
ZIMBABWE has rejected a US health deal that would have provided $367m (£272m) in funding over five years because of Washington’s demand for sensitive data. The decision has come to light after a government memo from December was leaked, revealing that President Emmerson Mnangagwa felt the deal was “lopsided”. A government spokesman has since explained the US was demanding access to biological samples for research and commercial gain but said it was not willing to share the benefits for future vaccines and treatments. “We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in…
QUESTION: 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? Halima Sabo Ibrahim, Abuja – ANSWER: Amin Alaikum Salaam Wa Rahamatullah. 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…
PARIS Saint-Germain footballer Achraf Hakimi, a key player in their Champions League-winning side last season, is to stand trial charged with raping a young woman, his lawyer and a French prosecutor told AFP Tuesday. In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in Val-De-Marne southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her. The 27-year-old Moroccan international, who played a pivotal role in Morocco becoming the first African and Arab side to reach the World Cup semi-finals when they made the last four in 2022, denies any wrongdoing. “Today, a rape accusation is enough to justify a trial, even…
ISRAELI soldiers fired more than 900 bullets at a convoy of clearly marked Palestinian emergency vehicles in Gaza before advancing to kill the surviving aid workers, some of whom were shot “execution-style” at close range, last March, a new joint investigation has revealed. The report released on Monday by independent research agency Forensic Architecture and audio investigation group Earshot offers the most detailed reconstruction to date of the massacre in Tal as-Sultan, a neighbourhood west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2025. Fifteen aid workers were killed in the attack, including paramedics from the Palestine Red…
UNITED States President Donald Trump has lashed out at media reports stating that General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned him of potential risks of attacking Iran, including becoming entangled in a prolonged conflict and the possibility of US casualties. Trump responded to the reports in a social media post on Monday, stating that Caine believes a war with Iran, which the president has threatened with a military attack if it does not accept a series of demands, could be “easily won”. The Washington Post newspaper reported earlier in the day that Caine had told Trump…
SOUTH Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for helping to secure the return of 17 South Africans allegedly tricked into joining the Russia-Ukraine war. Last November, the South African government said it had received distress calls from the group of men who had joined mercenary forces in the conflict. The men believed they were going to Russia for bodyguard training but instead ended up on the front line of the war in Ukraine. Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that four of them had returned last Friday, 11 others would be “on their way home soon” and another…
GHANA’s government has removed the name of a coup leader, who helped overthrow founding father Kwame Nkrumah exactly 60 years ago, from the country’s main airport. Kotoka International Airport will now be known as Accra International Airport, its original name. But the move has not been without controversy. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka was among a group of officers who deposed Nkrumah in 1966. He himself was killed at the airport the following year during a failed counter-coup attempt. The military government then renamed it in 1969 in his honour, portraying him as a “liberator” from what they saw as Nkrumah’s authoritarian…