Egypt's Dar al-Ifta Authorizes Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Containing Pork Components

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Dar al-Ifta Authorizes Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Containing Pork Components

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta said the coronavirus vaccine, which is said to contain a porcine substance, is not forbidden according to the Islamic Sharia as long as this substance has been transformed into another one.

In a fatwa issued on Saturday, Dar al-Ifta said the porcine substance has been transformed into another during the manufacturing process of the vaccine, and thus there is no judgment based on the impurity that it once was.

In this regard, Dar el Iftaa has allowed people to be treated by the vaccine when its manufacturing substance is transformed.

Also, Al-Azhar issued a fatwa prohibiting the violation of the precautions issued by authorities to curb the spread of the virus.

Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center renewed its warning against violating the preventive measures after the country reported a spike in infections.

The Center reiterated Saturday that citizens must abide by the measures and the instructions of the Health Ministry, issued to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

It warned that the virus can harm those who don’t follow the precautions, as well as their families and people they meet or work with.

The Health Ministry also reiterated that it was necessary to clean and sterilize mosques throughout the country and ensure that worshipers maintain social distance while toilets and shrines remain closed.

Egypt recorded on Saturday 1,133 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 130,126.

The Ministry reported in a statement that 49 patients have also died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 7,309.



Sudan Army Says Intercepts Drone Attack on Key Southern City

Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
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Sudan Army Says Intercepts Drone Attack on Key Southern City

Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)
Armed elements affiliated with the Sudanese army (AFP)

The Sudanese army intercepted Saturday a drone attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces on the key southern city of El-Obeid, a military source told AFP, two days after the RSF group said it agreed to a US-backed truce proposal.

The RSF, at war with the army since April 2023, appears to be preparing for an offensive to seize the army-controlled city, less than two weeks after it captured the city of El-Fasher -- the last army stronghold in the western Darfur region.

"The air defense system today shot down a drone launched by the RSF militia towards the city," said the military source, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to brief the media.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, sits on a key supply route linking the Sudanese capital Khartoum to Darfur.

The fall of El-Fasher gave the RSF control of all five state capitals in the vast western region, in addition to parts of the south.

The army controls most of Sudan's north, east and center.

El-Fasher's takeover was accompanied by reports of mass killings, sexual violence and looting, drawing international condemnation.

On Thursday, the RSF said it had agreed to a truce proposal, but the United Nations warned the following day of "clear preparations for intensified hostilities" in Sudan, "with everything that implies for its long-suffering people".

The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12 million and triggered a hunger crisis.

Both sides have been accused of committing atrocities over the course of the war.


One Palestinian Killed by Israeli Firing in Gaza

Palestinians move between destroyed buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2025, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (EPA)
Palestinians move between destroyed buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2025, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (EPA)
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One Palestinian Killed by Israeli Firing in Gaza

Palestinians move between destroyed buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2025, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (EPA)
Palestinians move between destroyed buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, 04 November 2025, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (EPA)

One Palestinian was killed in Gaza by Israeli firing and another wounded on Saturday, local medics said, as a fragile ceasefire holds between Hamas and Israel.

Gazan medical officials said the person who died was killed by Israeli firing east of Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Civil defense rescuers said one Palestinian was shot and wounded by Israeli gunfire in the western Khan Younis area in the southern part of the Strip.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to Reuters, the US-brokered Gaza truce, which left thorny issues like the disarmament of Palestinian militant group Hamas and a timeline for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza unresolved, has been tested by periodic violence since coming into force on October 10.


Two Siblings Killed in Israeli Strike in South Lebanon

Members of the Lebanese Red Cross inspect the wreckage of a car targeted by an Israeli drone in the town of Shebaa on Saturday (EPA)
Members of the Lebanese Red Cross inspect the wreckage of a car targeted by an Israeli drone in the town of Shebaa on Saturday (EPA)
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Two Siblings Killed in Israeli Strike in South Lebanon

Members of the Lebanese Red Cross inspect the wreckage of a car targeted by an Israeli drone in the town of Shebaa on Saturday (EPA)
Members of the Lebanese Red Cross inspect the wreckage of a car targeted by an Israeli drone in the town of Shebaa on Saturday (EPA)

An Israeli drone strike killed two Lebanese brothers in their car Saturday, according to Lebanon's news agency, as Israel claimed it had hit arms smugglers from a group affiliated to Hezbollah.

The National News Agency report said the pair were from the town of Shebaa and hit while driving on a road on the slopes of Mount Hermon in southeastern Lebanon, "causing their SUV to catch fire and resulting in their deaths".

The Israeli military confirmed that they had conducted a strike near Shebaa and killed two from the "Lebanese Resistance Brigades", a group allied to Hezbollah.

"The terrorists were involved in smuggling weapons used by Hezbollah and their activities constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," the Israeli military said.

"The (military) will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel," it warned.

Lebanon's health ministry confirmed the death toll.

A similar Israeli strike on Saturday morning on a car near a hospital in the southern city of Bint Jbeil wounded seven people, according to the ministry.

The latest strikes came as the European Union added its voice to international concern over Israel's continued strikes despite its year-old ceasefire with Lebanon.