Last year sermon was translated into five languages, this year will be doubled.

This year, the sermon on Arafat Day will be translated into 10 languages.

The Arafat Day sermon will be translated into ten languages for broadcast on two platforms, said the chairman of the General Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque Sheikh Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Sudais. The sermon last year was translated into five languages. Dr. Al Sudais said the sermon of the Arafat Day for this year will be in English, Malay, Urdu, Persian, French, Mandarin, Turkish, Russian, Hawsawi and Bengali.

Arafat Day marks the second day of Hajj

The occasion also marks the day when a verse of the Quran revealed that Islam was perfected, and when Allah’s blessings were completed.

Mount Arafat is the site where Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) gave his farewell sermon. Arafat day occurs the day before the start of Eid Al Adha.

Arafat day falls on the ninth day of Dhu Al Hijja according to the ‘hijri’ calendar. It occurs around over two months after Ramadan, which was observed in June earlier this year.

Source: SULF NEWS

Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has denied saying lawmakers got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

He said this in a letter to the National Assembly after Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the House would sue Akpabio for his claims.

Gbajabiamily said Akpabio, in his letter, said he had referred to old contracts awarded by the NDDC which had not been paid for, some of which are constituency projects of the lawmakers.

The Speaker had given the minister a 48-hour ultimatum to reveal the names of members who got the contracts. He has now said he has instructed his clerk to commence processes for a legal action against Akpabio after the ultimatum elapsed.

Gbajabiamila said Akpabio’s response would be referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to look at the merits of the minister’s arguments.

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Bamako, the capital of Mali, wearing a face mask as he and other West African leaders attempt to mediate over the political crisis bedevilling the francophone country.

Presidential Buhari disembarked from the presidential jet at the Modibo Keita International Airport, Bamako, on Thursday and met with his counterparts: Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Chairman of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, Macky Sall of Senegal and Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana.

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, had disclosed in a statement on Wednesday that his principal would join other West African leaders to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in Mali.

Upon alighting from the presidential jet, President Buhari was spotted in a photograph wearing a face mask, the first he has been seen publicly dressed in the protective covering since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The photograph was shared by his personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, on Thursday, with the caption: “@MBuhari arrives Bamako, Mali for the peace mission by the ECOWAS Head of states. 23rd July, 2020.”

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PMB arrives Bamako Mali for the Peace Mission by the ECOWAS Head of States!

A post shared by Bayo Omoboriowo (@bayoomoboriowo) on Jul 23, 2020 at 4:42am PDT

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 constituted by the President has recommended the compulsory use of face mask while in public as one of the measures to curb the spread of the virus.

But President Buhari has not been seen wearing any face mask while receiving visitors at the Presidential Villa until today in Mali.

A Premier League club came close to losing £1 million during a transfer deal due to cyber hackers.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it was only the intervention of the unnamed club’s bank that stopped the theft.

It was one of several incidents highlighted as evidence that sport needed to improve its cybersecurity.

“The impact of cybercriminals cashing in on this industry is very real,” said the NCSC’s Paul Chichester.

A new report from the NCSC says the email address of a Premier League club’s managing director had been hacked during a transfer negotiation, leading to the attempt to steal the £1 million.

The report also says that a Football League club was targeted by hackers who cut off its security systems, blocking turnstiles and almost resulting in a fixture postponement.

And it added that in one incident a member of staff at a racecourse lost £15,000 after attempting to buy groundskeeping equipment from a fake version of eBay.

Sir Hugh Robertson, chair of the British Olympic Association, said in the report:

“This report is a crucial first step, helping sports organisations to better understand the threat and highlighting practical steps that organisation should take to improve cybersecurity practices.”

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifted the Premier League trophy on the Kop at a near-empty Anfield to mark the club’s first top-flight triumph for 30 years.

Henderson received the trophy from Reds legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, who was manager when Liverpool last won it in 1990,

during a spectacular ceremony after the champions beat Chelsea 5-3.

Liverpool were confirmed as champions on 25 June with seven games to spare,

when nearest rivals Manchester City lost at Chelsea,

but they had to wait until their final home game of the season to be presented with the trophy.

They did so in front of their families, who were given special permission to attend the trophy presentation.

“We’ve been waiting a long time,” said Henderson, who is recovering from a knee injury.

“Walking up there was amazing, the lads deserved the moment and thankfully the families were watching.

“To crown it off like that was really special.”

There were no supporters in their 53,000-capacity Anfield home after the Premier League season resumed on 17 June behind closed doors following a three-month suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has labeled Donald Trump as the first racist to become U.S. president.

Biden made this known as he fielded a question at a Service Employees International Union roundtable from a healthcare worker concerned about the Republican president calling the coronavirus pandemic the “China virus.”

Responding to the question, Joe Biden, who was vice president under Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president,
said it was sickening how Trump deals with people based on the colour of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from.

He added: “No sitting president’s ever done this. Never, never, never.

“No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president.

“We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed, and they’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”

The Trump camp has quickly rejected the label, as campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson fired back, calling Biden’s comments “an insult to the intelligence of Black voters” given the onetime senator’s past work with segregationist lawmakers.

Also, She said Trump “loves all people” and “works hard to empower all Americans.”

Hence, A number of U.S. presidents owned slaves or supported policies including the repression of Native Americans and segregation of Black Americans.

Princeton University said last month it was dropping former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from the school, citing his racist thinking and policies.

The United Arab Emirates has given a three-week warning to Nigerians with expired visas to leave the country.

The ultimatum expires on August 17, 2020.

The Nigerian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, however, said the UAE granted waivers on fines and penalties on visas that expired before March 1.

A statement by the embassy said,

“The Embassy wishes to inform that the Government of the United Arab Emirates has granted waivers on fines/penalties on visas that expired before 1st March 2020 to leave the country by 17th of August 2020.

“Consequently, the embassy is urging fellow Nigerians living in the UAE to avail themselves of this opportunity to return home with the impending Air Peace evacuation flight scheduled for 1st August 2020, and or subsequent Emirates evacuation flights before the expiration of the grace period.

“Accordingly, affected Nigerian nationals willing to return home requested to submit their names and passport numbers to the embassy and or the consulate for onward transmission to the UAE authorities to get the clearance.”

The United Arab Emirates has given a three-week warning to Nigerians with expired visas to leave the country.

The ultimatum expires on August 17, 2020.

The Nigerian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, however, said the UAE granted waivers on fines and penalties on visas that expired before March 1.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2016 governorship election in Ondo State and a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the state, Eyitayo Jegede, on Wednesday emerged as the candidate of the PDP in the party’s primary election.

Eyitayo Jegede emerged the winner of the heavily contested election, defeating seven others to clinch the party’s ticket and become the flagbearer of the PDP for the October 10 governorship election in the state.

Eyitayo Jegede polled 888 votes to defeat his close rival and the deputy governor of the state, Hon. Agboola Ajayi who garnered 657 votes.

Others in the race include Eddy Olafeso who scored 175, Bode Ayorinde 95, Banji Okunomo, 90,

Boluwaji Kunlere, 33 votes, Sola Ebiseni 29, and Godday Erewa scored 14 votes.

The voting and accreditation of the 2111 delegates started at the International Event Center Dome in Akure, the state capital, at exactly 2:25pm with all the delegates from the 18 local government areas casting their votes one after the other.

Eyitayo Jegede will contest against governor Rotimi Akeredolu in the October 10, governorship election and other candidates from other political parties.

Akeredolu defeated Eyitayo Jegede in the 2016 governorship election to become the governor of the state.

Speaking after the results, Jegede saluted the courage of the other aspirants.