THE Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has approved a subsidy of N500,000 for each of the intending pilgrims from the state. The subsidy followed a directive by the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), asking the intending pilgrims to pay additional N1.9 million for the 2024 Hajj fare. The Director General, Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Lamin Dan Baffa, disclosed this during a media briefing on Wednesday in Kano. According to him, the state government will pay the total sum of N1.4bn for the 2,096 registered pilgrims. He said Kano State Government took the decision in view of the recent…
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MONTHS after receiving the names of some ambassadorial nominees, President Bola Tinubu has yet to draw up a consolidated list of diplomats who will serve as Nigeria’s envoys to various countries and multilateral organisations. This is as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has since collated and forwarded the names of prospective diplomats to the President for consideration. “We have collated everything on our part and forwarded it to Mr. President,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed to our correspondent before Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting. However, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo…
Q: Salaamu Alaikum Sheikh. Is it true that giving charity purifies the soul? Ahmad Ali Maina, Borno A: One cannot attain piety unless he regularly spends his wealth in good causes according to his capacity. Qur’an reminds about charity and alms giving in so many places that it won’t be an exaggeration to say that it is one of the basic elements of belief. In surah Aal Imran, Allah says, “By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give (freely) of that which you love. And whatever you spend; indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.” (Qur’an, 3:92). Similarly in…
THE Euro 2024 lineup is now complete as Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia triumphed in intense play-off battles on Tuesday night. The stage is now set for an electrifying UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, which kicks off in Munich, Germany, on June 14th and concludes with the final in Berlin on July 14th, 2024. Poland emerged victorious over Wales in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in regulation time and extra time. The match reached its climax when Wales’ C. Mepham received a red card in the 120th minute, and Polish striker K. Piatek secured the winning penalty, sealing Poland’s place…
MEDIATOR Qatar said Tuesday that talks between Hamas and Israel on a Gaza truce and hostage release are continuing, despite the warring parties trading blame over the lack of headway. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the talks were “ongoing”, adding there had not been “any development that would lead to thinking that one of the teams has pulled out of the negotiations”. Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a truce in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held…
THE US Treasury Department sanctioned 11 people and companies on Tuesday it said were involved in illicit financial transfers and drug smuggling in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many of those sanctioned were involved in the trade of the highly addictive amphetamine captagon, which is illegally trafficked throughout the Middle East and Europe, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Syria has become the world’s leading producer of the powerful drug, and its trade has helped bolster the Assad’s government’s coffers during the country’s long-running civil war. “The revenue from the illicit Captagon trade has become…
THE Ugandan government has instructed all civil servants to spend two hours a week doing physical exercise to keep them fit and healthy. The directive was shared in a letter to government agencies from the head of public service, Lucy Nakyobe, who said the sessions would “help save the lives of staff and reduce the disease burden”. The Government of Uganda also tweeted that the initiative will “tame the rising burden of lifestyle disease” in the country. It comes two years after a national health survey showed obesity rates in the country had risen from 17% to 26% in the…
ONE of Africa’s largest airlines, Kenya Airways, made an operating profit in 2023 – the first time since 2017. Chairman Michael Joseph called the $80m (£63m) excess a “significant milestone”, the AFP news agency quotes him as saying. Part of the reason for the success was a more than 50% jump in revenue thanks to an increase in passenger numbers. Kenya Airways, which is partly owned by the government, has had troubled recent past with huge debts and it was hit hard by the fallout from the Covid pandemic. “These figures highlight the airline’s remarkable performance over the year and…
STRONG reactions have trailed bandits seen in viral videos displaying cash supposedly collected from victims. Videos of the ransoms were uploaded on Tik-Tok. The monies were seen in a series of post on X by a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst, Zagazola Makama Makama said the user of the social network account has over 3000 followers. He noted that some of them are bandits who openly show off their rifles and are dressed in military or police uniforms. “Audacity: Bandit on Tik-Tok flaunting and showing off ransom money he collected from his victims.” “The user of the account has 3000…
Q: Salaamu Alaikum Sheikh, what are virtues of Umrah performed in Ramadan? Abu Qunaisa Saleh, Minna A: 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 mention )said…
BRAZIL winger Vinicius Junior said his desire to play football was reducing as incidents of racial abuse aimed at him piled up in Spain, during a tearful media appearance Monday. The Real Madrid forward has suffered abuse from opposition fans on many occasions in recent years, with one incident in Valencia in May provoking worldwide outrage. Spain will face Vinicius’ Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday under the slogan “One Skin” to help combat racism. “I’ve been seeing this (racism) for a long time, and every time I feel sadder, and every time I have less desire to play,”…
AFTER more than five months of war, the UN Security Council for the first time Monday demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the United States, Israel’s ally which vetoed previous drafts, abstained. Drawing unusual applause in the normally staid Security Council, all 14 other members voted in favor of the resolution which “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a “lasting, sustainable ceasefire” and demands that Hamas and other militants free hostages seized in their October 7 attack that triggered the massive Israeli military campaign.…
PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday the UK would do what was necessary to protect itself from a cyberattack by China, as Beijing-linked hackers were expected to be accused of recent security breaches. Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden is due to make a statement about the hackings of the Electoral Commission and parliament at 1530 GMT, with sanctions imposed on those allegedly behind them. Sunak talked tough on China as he bid to become leader of the ruling Conservative party in 2022 but has since moderated his stance while in office. He said Monday that the government had “invested…
THE delegations from the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) have entered a closed door meeting with the outgoing President of Senegal, Macky Sall. The meeting which has in attendance former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, is coming after Mr Amadou Ba, widely regarded as Macky Sall’s successor has called to congratulate the main opposition candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on his projected victory in the presidential elections even though the country’s constitutional Committee is yet to give an official announcement on the winner of the elections. 19 candidates are vying for the top…
TROOPS from southern Africa’s regional bloc who were deployed to tackle an Islamist insurgency in Mozambique are to leave the country due to financial contraints. The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has been considering its budget limitations, Mozambique’s foreign minister said. Verónica Macamo added that the bloc believes the Mozambique is relatively stable compared to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been wracked by armed groups for decades. Sadc’s military forces have been attempting to quell violence in DR Congo since December last year. Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi said Sadc plans to withdraw its forces “by July”. However, Mr…
Q – My parents want me to get married to someone of their choice and I’m not interested in her at all. My father is very educated and my mother isn’t and so they fight all the time, but my father compromises and always made my mother smile in the end. However, I don’t want to live like them. I have met a girl on Facebook. She is residing in UK and is a striving Muslimah. She regularly posted Islamic articles which impressed me a lot since I also do Dawah work. I want to marry her because she is…
ANDRES Iniesta said he has paid additional tax owed in Japan over his failure to declare part of his income, but claimed that he had also declared the earnings in Spain. Spanish World Cup winner Iniesta, who spent five years with Japan’s Vissel Kobe until 2023, was found to have failed to declare approximately 860 million yen ($5.7 million) in income for 2018, according to public broadcaster NHK and other media. If a foreign player’s contract is for less than one year and they are not accompanied by family members, Japanese authorities classify them as non-residents and they pay less…
ISRAELI forces have surrounded al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in southern Gaza, while in the north, soldiers are continuing a deadly, week-long raid on al-Shifa medical complex. A large force of troops and vehicles suddenly besieged the hospitals on Sunday. “Dozens of Israeli armored vehicles are currently surrounding Al-Amal Hospital, engaging in extensive excavation work in its vicinity,” the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Sunday. PRCS added that its teams were in extreme danger and were unable to move. They also said they were unable to bury the body of one of their workers, Amir Abu Eisha, who was…
TURKS will vote next Sunday in local polls as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, buoyed by a strong showing in last year’s general elections, sets his sights on winning back Istanbul. The secular opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) seized back control of the city — Turkey’s economic powerhouse — in 2019 for the first time since before Erdogan ruled it as mayor in the 1990s. Those watershed 2019 elections also saw the opposition win back the capital Ankara and keep power in the crucial Aegean port city of Izmir, shattering Erdogan’s image of political invincibility. Erdogan has entrusted his former environment…
OPPOSITION leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has emerged as favourite to win Senegal’s presidential election, after several rivals conceded. Millions took part in a peaceful vote on Sunday, following three years of turbulence and opposition protests against the incumbent, Macky Sall. Voters had a choice of 19 candidates. However, the ruling coalition’s choice, Amadou Ba, rejected reports of defeat and said he expected to contest a run-off vote to decide a winner. Mr Faye, 44, a member of the Pastef party led by Ousmane Sonko, had been in jail only days before the vote. Mr Sonko was disqualified from the race…