WHALEXTRA

Saudi Arabia announced that the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Friday. “The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Thursday, is the completion of the 30th day of the month of Ramadan. Friday is the day of the Blessed Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar. Observing the Ramadan fast is one of the five pillars of Islam, requiring believers to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours. Ads by  Observant Muslims are also encouraged to donate to the poor.

  Vice President  Kashim Shettima  has declared that those behind the recent attacks in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, will be decisively confronted. Shettima said this on Wednesday in Maiduguri when he visited victims of the bomb blast who are receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. The vice-president, who restated the Federal Government’s resolve to defeat terrorism, said his visit was to sympathise with the injured and families affected by the tragedy. He noted that beyond the presidential directive to security chiefs, the Federal Government had been investing more in equipment and other logistics to boost the fight against terrorism across the country. Shettima condemned the gory multiple explosions in Maiduguri on Monday in which more than 100 people were affected, with over 20 confirmed dead.

State governments have called for a forensic audit of Nigeria’s crude oil-backed borrowing arrangements , warning that opaque crude-for-loan and swap deals may be undermining inflows into the Federation Account. The PUNCH earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited pledged 272,500 barrels per day of crude oil through a series of crude-for-loan deals totalling $8.86bn, according to an analysis of a report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the NNPC’s financial statements. According to The PUNCH’s findings, NNPC has already fully repaid $2.61bn in loans, representing 29.4 per cent of the total credit facility, while $6.25bn or 70.6 per cent, remains outstanding. Also, out of the $8.86bn credit facility, only about $6.97bn has been received from seven crude-for-loan deals, as of December 2023. The demand was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 2026 retreat of the Federation Account Allocation Committee Post-Mortem Sub-...

  President Bola Tinubu  has approved the procurement of new equipment for the armed forces and other security agencies to enhance the fight against terrorism and banditry across the country, the Minister of Defence, Gen Christopher Musa (retd.), has disclosed. Musa, who briefed State House correspondents after a nearly two-hour security meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, said the President remained committed to supporting security agencies in their operations against insurgents. “The President has promised more equipment for us to be able to protect the nation, and we assure victory,” Musa stated. However, he did not specify the type or quantity of equipment approved by the President. Rather, he explained that the meeting, which was the first attended by the new Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, since his appointment, was convened to brief the President on the current security situation following recent attacks on military formations.

Luke Littler claimed his first nightly win of the 2026 Premier League Darts season with a 6-4 victory over Jonny Clayton in the final in Cardiff on Thursday night. The world number one produced his strongest night of the league phase so far, recovering from an uneven quarter-final to deliver high-quality displays in the semi-final and final. The final itself  against  Clayton  quickly developed into the match of the night, with both players sustaining a relentless scoring pace and trading legs throughout. The standard peaked in a remarkable mid-match passage in which both players threatened nine-dart finishes in the same leg, before  Littler  came closest, landing eight perfect darts and missing double 15 for a nine-darter. The leg ultimately went with the throw, keeping the contest on a knife-edge.

  The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the postponement of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 to July-August, ending weeks of speculation as to whether it would go ahead as scheduled this month. The tournament serves as a preliminary for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, where four African sides will gain automatic qualification, and two more go into the inter-continental qualifiers. The WAFCON was originally scheduled to be played from March 17-April 3, but hosts Morocco pushed for a change in dates due to what CAF describes as "unforeseen circumstances". "After discussions between CAF and its partners, FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026, to 25 July – 16 August 2026 to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances,"  CAF said in a statement on Thursday. "Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON...

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the alleged assassination attempt on Peter Obi and other party leaders in Benin City, describing the incident as a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy. In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the attackers allegedly followed Obi and members of the ADC from the party’s secretariat to the residence of a party leader, John Odigie-Oyegun, before opening fire. Reacting to the incident, the ADC said the attack represented “a grave and disturbing development” for the country’s democratic process. “Today’s attack on Mr. Peter Obi and other leaders of the African Democratic Congress is a grave and disturbing development, especially in light of the threats issued last year by the Governor of Edo State, warning Mr. Obi not to come to Edo State,” the statement said. The party added: “We didn’t know at the time that the Governor’s threat would include an assassination plot.”

  The number of births in  Japan  fell for the 10th straight year in 2025, official data showed on Thursday, highlighting the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A total of 705,809 babies were born in Japan, the preliminary health ministry data showed, down 2.1 percent from 2024. The data includes births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas. Meanwhile, 505,656 couples got married in 2025, up 1.1 percent, while the number of divorces fell 3.7 percent to 182,969 cases. There were 1,605,654 deaths, down 13,030 or 0.8 percent from 2024.