
11 Kids Buried Alive in Nigeria Sand Pit Collapse
KANO: Eleven children were buried alive while excavating sand in northern Nigeria when a pit collapsed on Tuesday, police said.
The children, aged between four and nine, were excavating sand for making mud bricks when the pit outside Yardoka village in Kaduna state collapsed on them.
'Eleven of the children died and seven others were injured and now in hospital receiving treatment,' Mansir Hassan, Kaduna state police spokesperson said.
'Our men and volunteers from the village dug out the victims from the collapsed pit.'
Police are investiging whether the children were recruited to work, which would be considered child labour, Hassan said.
The children were from an informal madrassa, or Islamic religious school, which are common in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria.
Children from poor backgrounds are often sent to madrassas to learn the Koran, and many beg in the streets or take on menial jobs to pay the school fees.
Attempts by authorities and local groups to reform the age-old madrassa system have faced opposition from traditional clerics.
In February, 17 pupils were killed and 17 others were severely injured when a fire tore through the lodging of a madrassa in northwestern Zamfara state, according to police.

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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Blow one's cover
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Until now, individual national sports federations could decide whether to allow the hijab in domestic competitions. But the new legislation aims to forbid the head covering in all professional and amateur competitions countrywide. Backers say that would unify confusing regulation, boost secularism and fight extremism. Critics argue it would be just the latest rule discriminating against visibly Muslim women. The bill passed in the Senate in February and is soon to go to a vote in the lower house of the French parliament. Some proponents want to stop what they call 'Islamist encroachment' in a country that has been rocked by deadly jihadist attacks in recent years. But critics point to a 2022 interior ministry report finding that data 'failed to show a structural or even significant phenomenon of radicalisation' in sport. The French football federation are among those that have already banned the headscarf. — AFP French Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner, a star of the 2024 Paris Games, said France was 'wasting its time' with such debates and should think about 'equality instead of attacking a single and same religion'. Right-wing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau responded that he 'radically disagreed', describing the headscarf as 'a symbol of submission'. Eberena, who converted aged 19, said her head attire – allowed by the weightlifting federation – had never been an issue among fellow weightlifters. She said the sport has even allowed her to make friends from completely different backgrounds. 'Sport brings us together: it forces us to get to know each other, to move beyond our prejudices,' she said. France's football and basketball federations are among those that have banned religious symbols, including the headscarf. The country's highest administrative court in 2023 upheld the rule in football, arguing the federation was allowed to impose a 'neutrality requirement'. United Nations experts last year called the rules in both sports 'disproportionate and discriminatory'. It is difficult to estimate how many women might be prevented from competing if such legislation passes. But AFP spoke to several women whose lives had already been affected by similar rules. Samia Bouljedri, a French 21-year-old of Algerian origin, said she had been playing football for her club in the village of Moutiers for four years when she decided to cover her hair at the end of high school. She continued playing with her team, but after her club was fined several weekends in a row for allowing her on the field, they asked her to take off her hijab or quit. 'That they ended my happiness, just like that, over a scarf made me really sad,' she said. France's brand of secularism stems from a 1905 law protecting 'freedom of conscience', separating church and state, and ensuring the state's neutrality. The country's constitution states that France is a secular republic. French Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner said France was 'wasting its time' with headscarf issues and should think about 'equality instead of attacking a single and same religion'. Rim-Sarah Alouane, a researcher at University Toulouse Capitole, said the 1905 law, intended 'to protect the state against potential abuses from religion', had been 'weaponised' against Muslims in recent years. French secularism 'has been transformed into a tool in its modern interpretation to control the visibility of religion within public space, especially, and mostly, targeting Muslims,' she said. Sports Minister Marie Barsacq last month warned against 'conflating' the wearing of a headscarf with radicalisation in sport. But Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said that if the government did not 'defend secularism', it would empower the far right. In the Oise region north of Paris, Audrey Devaux, 24, said she stopped competing in basketball games after she converted to Islam a few years ago. Instead, she continued training with her former teammates and began coaching one of the club's adult teams, she said. But when she goes to weekend games, she is not allowed onto the courtside bench with a headscarf – so she is forced to yell out instructions from the bleachers. 'At school I learnt that secularism was living together, accepting everyone and letting everybody practice their religion,' Devaux said. 'It seems to me they're slightly changing the definition.' — AFP


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
India intensifies expulsion of suspected foreigners to Bangladesh
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The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
I can't bear watching videos of crash - UPSI bus crash victim's father
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