Pictures of two Egyptian children engaged to be married trigger outrage — once again

© Family photo via Masrawy. xOmar and Gharam are engaged to be married.

While celebrating his eldest son's lavish wedding, at which a number of famous singers and belly dancers performed, Nasser Hassan decided to "double the joy," he later recalled.
He announced that his son Omar would marry his cousin Gharam.
At the wedding, held in a province about 75 miles north of Cairo, the guests didn’t find it strange. Some would later tell Egypt’s Al Watan newspaper that there was “nothing inappropriate,” adding that it was only “an engagement, not a marriage".
Omar is 12 years old. His fiancee, Gharam, is 11.
Egyptian laws prohibit official registration for marriages for anyone under the age of 18. But the practice remains prevalent. According to UNICEF, 17 percent of Egyptian girls are married before the age of 18, the vast majority of the unions taking place in rural areas.

But in the case of Omar and Gharam, their engagement sparked outrage, particularly among child and women’s rights activists. The photos of the young couple – Omar in a blue suit, heavily made-up Gharam in a white dress, high heels, and wearing a tiara – splashed across newspapers in the country and heightened the anger.
That prompted Reda Eldanbouki, the head of the Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling, to report the incident to the National Center for Childhood and Motherhood, a government agency. He also filed a complaint with the attorney general to investigate the incident and hold the parents accountable for this "crime," he said in a statement.

The engagement of Omar and Gharam “will only lead to an early marriage in which the girl will be deprived of equal chances to education, growth, and will isolate her from social spheres,” he said.

But if history is any indication, it’s unlikely the complaints will stop Egypt’s child marriages, a practice that is also prevalent in many nations in the Middle East, Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dar al-Ifta, Egypt’s highest Islamic authority, has repeatedly urged state institutions to make concerted efforts to stop marriages among minors.
But that has either had little effect in many areas or has spawned efforts to manipulate the law. In Egypt’s rural areas, families marry off their children but usually delay the official registration of the marriage until the couples reach the lawful age of matrimony to avoid legal punishment. As a consequence, any children born of the marriage will not be issued birth certificates or be recognized until then, legal experts say.
Omar’s father, faced with the backlash of his decision, told local newspapers that he "is a free man and did nothing wrong."

© Family photo via Masrawy.
Omar and Gharam are engaged to be married. 

He defended the engagement, saying that "Omar has always loved Gharam so much that he used to say he will marry her when they grow up.” He added that both children acted “beyond their years” and developed “strong feelings for each other” through Facebook and other social media and “wanted to get engaged.”
That’s why, Omar’s father said, he decided to announce their engagement now "before any other man asks for her hand in marriage when she is older".
"They will get married when they reach the legal age," he insisted.
This wasn’t the first child marriage in the province this year. In June, a 10-year-old bride in a pink dress sat next to her 12-year-old groom, celebrating their wedding. The National Center for Motherhood and Childhood deemed the marriage "an assassination of childhood."
Omar’s father said his decision was meant to shield Omar and Gharam. “We have to protect them in their early years before they reach the age of deviation,” he told local newspapers.

Nigerian man with 97 wives says he is still 'very much alive'

Nigeria’s most famous polygamist has denied rumours of his death, saying he is still “very much alive” at 92 years old, and plans to continue taking more wives.

© Provided by Independent Print Limited

Mohammed Bello Abubakar is a controversial figure in the town of Bida, Niger state, where he has married more than 100 women in what he describes as a “divine” calling.
The cleric has no discernible income, and has clashed in the past with the local Islamic authorities, who describe his larger-than-average household as a cult.
He has outlived the majority of his 185 children, and told reporters the latest rumour of his death was the work of unspecified “detractors”. A media report suggested he had died after a brief illness.  

“My dear, I am very much alive, hale and hearty,” he told Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper.
“The rumour is baseless and can best be described as the work of my detractors because they envy what God has done and what He is still doing for me.
“What I am doing is divine. It is an assignment and I will keep doing it till the end,” he added.
Mr Bello has married a total of 107 women in his time, and divorced 10, meaning that he has 97 wives according to the Punch newspaper’s most recent count.
He shot to international fame in August 2008, back when he had 86 wives, when he gave interviews to journalists and film crews explaining his unusual living situation and that “God has asked me to do it”.

Most Muslim scholars agree a man can take up to four wives, as long as he is able to look after them all equally But Mr Bello said his own interpretation was that “the Koran does not place a limit and it is up to what your own power, your own endowment and ability allows”.

That non-standard pronouncement saw him arrested later in 2008 at the request of the local Shariah Court, with the emir in Bida accusing him of “creating tension” by speaking to journalists.
The court released him in November 2008 on the condition that he divorce 82 of his 86 wives. He did not comply.

It is not the first time the nonagenarian has been rumoured to have died. After reports of his death surfaced in June 2012, he gave a rare in-depth interview to the The Nation in which he proclaimed he was not finished marrying yet.

“My large number of wives? I only have 97 wives,” he said. “I am still going to marry more. I will keep marrying them for as long I am alive.

“Left for me, I would have married maybe two wives, but what I am doing is divine.
“I just want to advise those fighting against the number of my wives to stop because such people are waging war against God, their creator.”

Biggest man-made forest in GCC coming up in Qatar

The biggest man-made forest in the GCC countries is nearing completion in Qatar, some 50km from Doha, near Umm Salal Ali.

“The 8.3sq km forest, which includes two lakes and four islands, is expected be completed by March 20, 2017,” Rafi Ohanian, operations manager, Nakheel Landscapes, told Gulf Times yesterday.

Trees planted for the man-made forest

"It is a project for the Public Works Authority, Ashghal and we are a subcontractors under the main contractors, Keppel Seghers. We started the work in January 2015 and we are well on the course of completing the work on time,” he explained on the sidelines of the two-day Future Landscape & Public Realm conference which concludes today.

“About 950,00 trees are being planted in the entire area. The two lakes, spread across 280,000sqm, are located next to each other. We can already see thousands of birds perching on the trees and near the lakes," he further elaborated.

According to Ohanian, the whole area of the forest is situated near the Doha North Sewage Treatment Works (DNSTW) plant. "We have a fully automated irrigation system. We are using the treated water from the DNSTW plant for the irrigation of the entire project.”

The official revealed that more than 50% of the works have been completed. “The lakes have been completed. The trees are being planted and will be completed within the time frame. The trees planted last spring have grown to big size,” he recalled.

“All the trees are native or near native hardwood. Almost all of them are resistant to the climatic conditions of the country. There are some sections within the whole area where trees are planted in such a way that they become dense forest areas. The whole area is flat with small mounds in between. Already marshy areas have been formed on the banks of the lakes,” highlighted Ohanian.

The whole area is expected to be a public recreational park, according to the Nakheel Landscapes official. “It will be a fantastic experience rarely available anywhere in this part of the world. It will have picnic areas as well as hiking areas. There could be boating and other facilities,” he added.

@gulf-times.com

Mob nab one Chance Lady in Aba

https://www.facebook.com/onyedimmaanyiwelcmfrnd/videos/1444007985627833/


According to eyewitness, she is a member of one chance criminals operating between Aba & Owerri..Nigeria is too hard to live..everybody have to be careful.

What a shame this is happening in Igboland when they could not face the fulani herds men, shame on anyone in support of this act said Mrs. Ebuiwhe

Popular Nollywood Actor divorces wife two hours after wedding in Lagos Nigeria

IKeja: A groom in Lagos divorced his wife two hours after their wedding because the woman send pictures of the marriage ceremony to His girlfriend who reside abroad, despite an earlier pledge not to share wedding photos or video clips with anyone.

“There was a prenuptial agreement between my sister and her fiancé that she would not use social-media applications such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter to post or send her pictures,” the bride’s brother said. “This made know to her before the marriage hence she should cooperate. Regretfully, my sister did not honour the pledge and used Facebook to share pictures from the wedding ceremony with her female friend who happen to be the ex of groom, resulting in the shocking decision by the groom to cancel their marriage and call for divorce,” he said, quoted by  Ola Oguleye  on Monday.

Relatives from both families were bitterly divided over the decision. Some said that it was the logical conclusion since the bride failed to abide by the agreement.

However, other family members said that the mobile picture condition was not fair or at least should not have applied to the wedding ceremony.

In May, a Lagos legal expert warned against the alarmingly growing figures of divorce among newly-weds, saying that they reached around 32 per cent.

Misunderstandings, differences in views and the easy approach to marriage without a deep appreciation of the responsibilities that come with it are among the major causes for divorce among young people,” Mr. Okhumagbe said. “Marriages are bound to fail when there are no robust foundations or trust.”

The expert was commenting on news that a Yoruba bride was divorced shortly after the marriage ceremony when she ignored her groom and kept chatting with her friends on her mobile.

“Following the marriage ceremony, the groom took his bride to the hotel where they had booked a room,” a relative said. “However, as soon as the bride was in the room, she started using her mobile phone. Her groom tried to get closer with her and become more intimate, but he was shocked when she ignored him, not responding to his words or action. When he asked her about the reasons, she answered she was busy responding to her friends who were congratulating her on her marriage. The groom asked her to delay answering the messages, but she refused and became angry. When he asked her if her friends were more important than he was, the bride answered that they were.”

As the argument between them became more tense, the groom told his bride he was divorcing her and left the hotel.

The relative said that a divorce case was filed and the court referred it to the reconciliation committee to assess if the newly-weds could be reconciled, the relative added.

However, the groom, too hurt in his pride to forgive, refused to withdraw the case and insisted on the divorce.

A young Japanese model taking world by storm

Aged just 17 and still living with her family, Rina Fukushi has seen more of the world than most Japanese schoolgirls.
She is the newest model sensation making waves in Europe and New York, wowing on the runway for the likes of Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs when not chowing down on hamburgers or playing with her little brother.

A stylist working on the make-up for Rina Fukushi before
a show by Japanese designer Tae Ashida in Tokyo

 Discovered at 14, hailed by Vogue as “ultra-cool” and “eye-catching” with her enormous eyes, thick eyebrows and bee-sting lips, she is already the veteran of seasons in Paris, Milan and New York – giving American models Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner a run for their money.
 “I always believed I could be a star from the moment I was scouted. But at the same time, I still can’t believe it’s real,” says Fukushi, delightfully friendly and giggly, yet equally self-assured for her age.
 She arrives early for an interview with AFP, taking time out from her packed schedule at Tokyo Fashion Week to meet at a chic cafe.
Quick to laugh, she is a dab hand at sign language to ease gaps in lost in Japanese-English translation, yet both shy and vivacious, faultlessly polite and totally absorbed in the world of fashion.
Her schedule is punishing: she’s up at 7am, rushes from show to show, working until 10pm and finally falls into bed around 1am.
In between it all, she is studying, which she does online to fit around her schedule. When high school ends in March she hopes to spend more time in New York, which she loved visiting in September.
“I really like the people,” she explains, laughing when asked if she thinks New York is loud and dirty compared to Tokyo. She loves the energy, the diversity and the get-up-and-go attitude.
Marc Jacobs left a deep impression. She thought his spring/summer show of rainbow rastafarian locks “so cute,” although she dissolves into more laughter when asked what his towering, seven-inch platform boots were like to walk in. “I was really careful not to slip.”
Wearing no make-up, her face is radiant with natural beauty, and her dark brown hair falls just below the shoulder. It used to be longer, but was cut - without warning - backstage at Alexander Wang.
As a model it pays to be professional and amenable. Fukushi is both, and besides, the soft-spoken Taiwanese-American fashion genius of New York urban cool was “so kind” to her. 
“He didn’t know where I was from,” she giggled.
Described in the Japanese fashion press as “exotic” Fukushi is the daughter of a Spanish-Filipino mother and a Japanese-American father.
Born in Manila, the family returned to Japan when she was a baby, and she grew up in Tokyo, although she speaks Tagalog as well as Japanese.
 “I thought she had the perfect proportions,” says her agent Mayumi Kozakura, incredibly one of three scouts who spotted her the first day she went out shopping with a friend in Tokyo’s Harajuku district.
But at 176cm (five feet, nine inches) Fukushi is short for a runway model, by Western standards.
It’s one of the reasons she admires Kate Moss so much: the British model who defied beauty norms by pioneering so-called heroin chic is even shorter.
“When she wears clothes, they look fabulous,” Fukushi says of Moss. “She has inner beauty and I think that is so important.”
She is dreaming big. She would love to front a campaign and walk for Chanel, and perhaps become an actress or singer later in life.
She’s a fan of J-pop and likes to retreat into nature when she gets occasional time off. 
But mostly she’s working. Otherwise, she sleeps or eats, she jokes. Hamburgers in New York and steak are her favourites.

FC Barcelona to play friendly with Al-Ahli Saudi FC in Qatar

Football giant FC Barcelona is again scheduled to play in Qatar this year. This time, the Spanish team will face off against Al-Ahli Saudi FC in a friendly match on Dec. 13.

The game is scheduled to take place at Al Gharafa Stadium, and will be hosted by Qatar Airways and Qatar Sports Investment.

The national carrier first sponsored the Europe-based club in 2013, and the Al-Ahli club in 2014.

The five-year sponsorship deal between Qatar Airways and Barcelona ended earlier this year, but both signed on to extend the contract for one more season.

This the first time the Europe-based team will be playing in Qatar, after canceling previous matches in 2014, 2015 and in May of this year.

A week or so after this match, Italian football giants Juventus and AC Milan will face off in Qatar on Dec. 23 for the 2016 Supercoppa TIM.

No information about this year’s venue or ticket sales for that game are available yet.

Qatar: Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani passes away - What you should know

Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani in 1980. Photo: Randy Taylor/AP

Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the former ruler of the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar, who was deposed by his son in a bloodless palace coup, died on Sunday

The emiri diwan, or royal court, announced the death of the 84-year-old former emir. State TV quickly cut from its regular programming, airing Koranic recitations late into the night.

The current ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the deceased ruler’s grandson, declared three days of mourning in the energy-rich nation that juts into the Persian Gulf off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and which will host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Khalifa had not held power since 1995, when he was deposed by his son, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, while vacationing in Switzerland.

Khalifa oversaw a rapid modernisation of his country, which accelerated after it began to exploit vast reserves of natural gas that have turned the nation into one of the world’s richest per capita.

Khalifa’s son had long been seen as the real power in the OPEC member nation in the years before he was overthrown, making the surprise move in many ways little more than a formality.

Hamad, then defence minister, said at the time that seizing power was necessary because of “difficult circumstances” facing the country. The ousted ruler himself had come to power by dethroning his cousin 23 years earlier.

Although Khalifa vowed to return to power after his ouster “whatever the cost”, he would not return to his homeland until 2004. He kept a low profile until his death.

HH Sheikh Khalifa the Sixth Emir of Qatar dies: Three days of mourning declared

HH the Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani

HH the Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani died yesterday evening at the age of 84, the Emiri Diwan announced in a statement.
“May Allah have mercy on his soul and make his residence paradise, and grant him the best reward for what he achieved for his homeland and nation,” the statement added.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani declared three days of public mourning across the country, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. 
HH Sheikh Khalifa was the sixth Emir of Qatar and ruled from 1972 until 1995. He was born in Al Rayyan in 1932. Before assuming power, he worked as commander of the security forces and in-charge of civilian courts in the country. He became the deputy ruler of the country on October 24, 1960 and finance minister on November 5 that year. 
The first Cabinet was formed in Qatar under the temporary political system on May 29, 1970, and he assumed the position of the prime minister in addition to being the finance minister, deputy ruler of the country and minister for oil. 
He announced the declaration of independence from British occupation on September 3, 1971. HH Sheikh Khalifa became the Emir on February 22, 1972.
He appointed a foreign minister for Qatar for the first time to express Qatar’s foreign policy and enhance communication and understanding with different countries.
HH Sheikh Khalifa is credited in Qatar’s history with launching the foundations of a modern state and restructuring government bodies and departments, such as the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, municipality and information. He also exerted great efforts in developing services in the country and entered into agreements with major oil companies to benefit from the country’s resources. 
During his reign, the Advisory Council was restructured on December 14, 1990, when 19 new members were appointed and 11 former members kept their positions.
The State Audit Bureau was created to audit the performance of government bodies. Also during his reign, Qatar took part in the establishment of the Gulf Co-operation Council in 1981.
His reign saw considerable increase in oil exports due to the agreements signed by the government with a number of foreign companies.

Student Protests in South Africa as Government signal tuition hikes

JOHANNESBURG -   South Africa Students have reacted with anger to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande’s announcement that the university council will determine fee hikes but capped at eight percent. Students have continued to loud their voices expressing their readiness to ensure the new fees policy is not implemented.

Wits University SRC President Kefentse Mkhari says they are ever ready to fight the idea and anyone behind this development.  He stated government intention is to make education for the rich. Education is a right, hence we won’t accept fee increment when the poor continue to suffer. Mkhari says the university is trying to demobilise their calls for free education by spreading lies about the discovery of petrol bombs on campus. 

Last week, saw violent scenes erupt at the institution with running battles between private security and students on campus.

Three petrol bombs were discovered late last night and police are now investigating the matter but Mkhari says university management is using propaganda.

“No one has told us where exactly those petrol bombs were found, who found them and I think it’s quite convenient for the university to find the petrol bombs when it’s said it is suspending all academic activities and if needs be, they’re going to shut down residents. They are trying to demobilise us.”

At the same time, former SRC President Mcebo Dlamini says it is very convenient that the university was able to make this sudden discovery at a specific area at the Braamfontein campus.

“They want to justify why they want you to go home so they can call you one by one to come and write exams; probably they will say we must write them online, what must happen to those who don’t have Wi-Fi and internet?”