BAMAKO // Islamists in northern Mali have stoned an unmarried couple to death, the first reported Sharia killing since they occupied the area, ratcheting up pressure on an embattled interim government.
The execution came as the interim president, Dioncounda Traore, finalised a unity government. Foreign partners had demanded its formation to take decisive action against the jihadists who have cut the nation in two.
As politicians grappled for solutions in Bamako and west African capitals, the Islamists grew bolder, dragging a rural couple to the centre of the town of Aguelhok on Sunday for a public stoning.
"I was there. The Islamists took the unmarried couple to the centre of Aguelhok. The couple were placed in two holes and the Islamists stoned them to death," said a government official. "The woman fainted after the first few blows."
He said the man had shouted out once then fallen silent.
A second official said the couple had two children, the youngest only six months old.
"They were living in the bush. They were brought to town by the Islamists who stoned them to death," he said. "People came out to watch. There were witnesses."
The small town in the region of Kidal, near the Algerian border, was one of the first to be captured by Tuareg separatist rebels on January 24.
At least 82 civilians and soldiers were summarily executed during the attack, France said earlier this year, accusing the rebels of using Al Qaeda-style tactics.
The Tuareg rebellion sparked a March coup by angry and overwhelmed soldiers, but the chaos only allowed the desert nomads and Islamists fighting on their flanks to seize the country's north, an area larger than France.
The Islamist groups, which experts say are acting under the aegis of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, have since chased out the Tuareg separatists and are in control.
In Timbuktu, they have also implemented strict Islamic law and destroyed ancient World Heritage sites that they consider idolatrous.
Once one of the region's stable democracies, Mali has crumbled into despair in half a year and the interim government that took over from the junta has been powerless in the face of the jihadist occupation.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) wants to send a 3,000-strong military force to Mali, but is waiting for approval from the United Nations and a formal request from a more inclusive government.
On Sunday, Mr Traore announced the creation of new bodies tasked with ending the crisis.
In a televised address to the nation, he said he would be in charge of a High Council of State, lead talks for a unity government himself and create a committee to negotiate with the Islamists.
"Mali will not collapse," Mr Traore said several times during his speech.
Ecowas had ordered the authorities to form a unity government by July 31 or face sanctions, but it reacted positively to Mr Traore's latest measures on Monday and said the deadline would be extended.
The 70-year-old was appointed in April as a junta led by Captain Amadou Sanogo, which deposed the regime of Amadou Toumani Toure on March 22 and handed power to a civilian transition government. However, on May 21 a mob of protesters stormed his office and beat him savagely.
The High Council of State is designed to "complete the country's institutional architecture" and "adapt it to sociopolitical realities".
It will be made up of the interim president and two vice-presidents, one of whom will be in charge of defence and security and handling the crisis in the north. The other will represent the various non-political forces in Mali.
Mr Traore also said that "neither the president, nor the prime minister, nor the ministers, can run in the next presidential election".
Some observers saw the announcements as a sign that the prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, was being pushed aside, after key political parties called for his resignation, accusing him of "incompetence and amateurishness".
"It is clear that with the new team, the prime minister's powers are really reduced," said a Malian sociologist, Mamadou Diarra.
But the communications minister, Hamadoun Toure, said this was a "false reading" of the president's speech.
Mr Diarra, who has worked for Nasa and was the Microsoft chairman for Africa, is also seen as too close to the former putschists led by Mr Sanogo.
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Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:
Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')
Roma 2
Dzeko (81'), Perotti (85' pen)
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company%20Profile
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
FIGHT%20CARD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions