International

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Qatari government is preaching and introducing Islam to World Cup fans through murals placed in public places.

TRT World reported on Saturday that as Qatar prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it has placed several murals in public places bearing Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) sayings and traditions written in Arabic and English.

According to the report, the murals feature various sayings on mercy, charity and good deeds. They are situated across the Pearl District, a popular tourist attraction in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The initiative of Qatar’s government has been applauded by many Arab journalists and Muslims worldwide.

Qatar’s government has been unpretentious about not compromising Islamic values because of the 2022 World Cup. However, their stance on homosexuality and the LGBTQ community has been critical; the government deems it unacceptable to their country’s values and norms.

The Head of Security for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari, in a statement, said the country does not want LGBTQ flags in the venues of the World Cup, and LGBTQ is not acceptable to the country.

He said: You want to demonstrate your view about the LGBTQ situation, do it in a society where it will be accepted. Don’t insult the whole society because of this. You cannot change the religion for 28 days”.

Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to host the World Cup, the biggest tournament in the football world.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The United Kingdom has warned its citizens in the United States (US) that terrorists are planning to perpetrate an attack on the US.

It also urged its residents there to remain cautious and stay away from public gatherings.

In a new travel warning to British people in the US on Friday, the UK stated that terrorists may target crowded areas, places where foreigners congregate, or transportation routes.

This may be related to the security warning issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Americans in New Jersey regarding terrorist attacks on synagogues.

Recall that a week ago the US and the UK issued security alerts warning that terrorists were preparing an attack on Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was wounded by gunfire on Thursday, according to a member of his staff.

About 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Islamabad, the country’s capital, the incident happened in Wazirabad.

Many of Khan’s colleagues were also hurt, according to a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party member.

One person has also been reported dead, according to reports.

“A man opened fire with an automatic weapon. Several people are wounded. Imran Khan is also injured,” Asad Umar told Reuters.

A gunshot struck Khan in the shin as he was leading a protest march in Islamabad calling for immediate elections.

By Musa Abdullahi Kaga

“I try to do my job. When I’m in the area, I always try to be in the right place at the right time,” – Giroud

When Olivier Giroud’s rumoured move to Milan – from Chelsea – surfaced on the Internet, many Milan faithful were unhappy. Already battling with 39-year-old Zlatan’s fitness, most fans thought a 35-year-old wasn’t an ideal transfer target.

A token was paid to Chelsea for the transfer of the world cup winner, which has been paying off since then. His elegance and goal-scoring finesse were never in doubt. Olivier seamlessly settled into the team, as you’d expect of any experienced player of such calibre.

Everyone expected a rivalry between the former Arsenal star and Zlatan for the starting spot. However, it eventually proved to be a complementary role. He stood ably while the Lion (Zlatan) was nursing his injuries. When asked about the possibility of playing as a deputy to Ibrahimovic, he responded, “I don’t want to think about who will play; my job is also to be a big brother for the young players”.

After a seven-year absence from the Champions League, Milan desperately looked towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a solution. He eventually helped them to a second-place finish in the Italian Serie A. However, with the acquisition of Giroud the following year, the target was to build upon the success. He did that by contributing 11 goals and winning his second career league title, the first with Montpellier in 2012.

Naturally, big game players tend to be fan favourites, and Giroud was able to cement that status immediately with his super performances against the big guns. Most notably against Inter earlier in February, his brace assured the 3 points despite the defending champions taking the lead first. He followed that up with a star performance against Napoli, scoring the game’s only goal. Then, in the recent Derby win against Inter, he scored one of the three goals to claim the maximum points.

On the final day of last year’s league campaign, Milan only needed a draw to be crowned champions of Italy. Giroud showed up with pride and contributed two goals in the 0-3 triumph in the Magpie stadium. Last night, in the last game of the UCL group stage, Milan needed a draw to grace the knockout stage after a nine-year break. Their hero, Olivier Giroud, is at it again, with four goals contribution (two assists and two goals) in a commanding 4-0 win in front of a packed San Siro. He never gets old. At 36, he graced the game with a spectacular performance.

Grande Olivier!

Musa Abdullahi Kaga wrote via musaakaga@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Ramon Abbas, better known by his online handle Hushpuppi, has had his verified Instagram account banned.

Recall that a joint team from the Dubai Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, detained Hushpuppi in June 2020 in Dubai for alleged online fraud. He now faces charges in the US.

Other charges he is facing include hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.

Hushpuppi was detained and put on trial, but Instagram still permitted him to post videos and pictures as long as he did not represent any harmful entities or people.

The social networking site, however, appears to have reconsidered its choice to keep Hushpuppi’s account active.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A Nigerian woman, Nana Khadija Mamudu Haliru, was declared the winner in a councillorship election in Canada on Tuesday.

The Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs Abike Dabiri -Erewa announced the milestone in a tweet on Wednesday. 

” One of our own has done it. Nigerian in Diaspora. Nana Khadijah Mamudu-Haliru has done us proud..

She contested for councillorship in Ingersoll of Ontario council in far away Canada and has won…Congrats #ProudlyNigerian” She tweeted ” 

Mrs Haliru had expressed gratitude to the people of Ingersoll Town for electing her. She said she would dedicate herself to their service. 

She said: 

“Hello and I just want to say congratulations to all the winners tonight. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to represent Ingersoll, and I look forward to doing this with heart and all the dedication and devotion into this duty that you deserve.

“So thank you, and yes, we have a voice. We did it. We won,”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A prominent Pakistani journalist and TV presenter, Arshad Sharif, has been shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi.

Arshad Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddique announced the demise of her husband on Twitter in the early hours of Monday, October 24, 2022.

“I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist @arsched today, as per police he was shot in Kenya. Respect our privacy and in the name of breaking pls don’t share our family pics, personal details and his last pictures from hospital. Remember us in ur prayers,” she tweeted.

She appealed to the public to respect her family’s privacy and desist from sharing pictures of her husband’s last moment on social media. She also said politicians and the media are not allowed with cameras in their home.

“Pls @Twitter remove last picture’s of my late husband @arsched from ur social media site. Politicians and media are not welcomed with cameras inside our house,” she pleaded.

As at the time of writing this report, authorities of Kenya and Paskitan are yet to officially confirm the development.

By Muhammad Aminu

Dubai authorities have opened a unique modern nine-in-one library that gulped over $272 million to establish.

The library named after Dubai’s ruler ‘Mohammed Bin Rashid AlMaktoum Library’ is at par with the pantheon of world-class book repositories such as London’s British Library and Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Al Maktoum announced the construction of the new library in 2016, which now houses more than 1.1 million print and digital books in its 54,000 square-meter facility.

CNN reports that the library has a beautiful oasis of calm contemplation, where visitors can curl up with a good book, plug in laptops for study or work, or marvel at the rare manuscripts and first-edition books displayed in the exhibition space.

The library reportedly houses nine separate libraries containing almost all areas of expertise, from sciences to arts and entertainment.

“The facility is home to nine separate libraries, dedicated to everything from media and the arts to business titles, international periodicals, maps and atlases, books for children and young adults, and a collection of precious archival treasures,” it said.

“The collection of works is still being built, but it already boasts some impressive numbers. Alongside its multilingual print and digital books, visitors can access more than six million dissertations, 73,000 musical scores, 75,000 videos, 35,000 printed and digital international journals, and over 5,000 historical periodicals spanning 325 years.

The library, which has a cafe for a break, also contains a database of thousands of digital titles that can be downloaded from machines in each of the nine libraries.

There are books in braille for visually impaired readers and a quiet space with reading pods for visitors with special needs.

It also has an Auto Book Store, a subterranean storeroom for the 400,000 titles that don’t appear on the library’s shelves, but members can request a book via the library’s app.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Nine Ghanaians were reportedly nabbed by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLE) for attempting to smuggle 10,843.95kgs of cannabis into Nigeria. 

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos, while delivering his ruling in the matter, convicted the Ghanaians of conspiracy and dealing in cannabis.

The Ghanaians attempted to smuggle the cannabis through the sea and were sentenced to 72 years imprisonment.

Several reports indicated that they were initially arrested by men of the Civil Defence Corps and transferred to NDLEA for further investigation and prosecution. 

The Daily Reality discovered that after the investigation, they were arraigned in charge number FHC/L/292C/2021.

The convicts include; Victor Wuddah, Freeman Gazul, Adotete Joseph, Sottie Moses, Sottie Stephen, Christian Tette, Kanu Okonipa, Daniel Koyepti, and Kanu Natte.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Police in Wales in the United Kingdom have acquired tricycles to be used in combatting crimes.

BBC reported on Sunday that the Gwent police has bought four tricycles to be used against crime in Abergany and Newport areas

The report disclosed that they will be used as “safe spaces” where crimes can be reported, help sought and crime prevention advice given.

The Police Chief Inspector, Damian Sowrey, said explanations were given to residents on how the tricycles will be used and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

He said: “They were on show at our Behind the Badge day, giving local residents the opportunity to see them up close and to hear more about how they will be used.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with parents telling officers that they would feel safer knowing that there was support for young people out at night, and from women who could think of an occasion when the tuk-tuk would have been a welcome sight.”