Month: May 2026

Australia’s First-ever Islamic Bank Launch on Course

Story: Mohammed A. Abu Islamic Money Australia Pty Ltd’s Chief Executive Officer, Dean Gillespie,promoters of the country’s first-ever fully fledged Islamic bank has assured potential customers in the country and potential investors worldwide that everything is still on course. In a February  official progress update,Mr.Gellespie assured, his company was  continuing to work on launching Australia’s first-ever Islamic bank and we are hoping to launch home finance soon in 2026.  We’re aiming to launch the full bank in 2027. Meeting the Minimum Capital Requirement  “We always knew when starting this business…

Russia To Expand Islamic Banking Services

First Published,May 19, 2026 Russia is to expand a pilot Islamic banking program as demand for Sharia-compliant financial products continues to grow, according to the country’s largest lender, Sber. Islamic banking follows Sharia principles that prohibit interest-based lending and speculative transactions. Instead, it relies on mechanisms such as leasing, installment sales, profit-sharing arrangements, and asset-backed financing. It also restricts financing for sectors such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons production. Russia launched the pilot initiative in 2023 in four predominantly Muslim regions, including the Republic of Tatarstan, and later extended…

Goodbye Plastic? Scientists Create New Supermaterial That Could Transform Modern Manufacturing

By Rice University,First Published,May 19, 2026 A newly developed bacterial cellulose manufacturing technique could lead to strong, multifunctional materials capable of replacing plastics. What if the next generation of high-performance materials did not come from a factory filled with petroleum-based plastics, but from living bacteria? Scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston have developed a new way to turn bacterial cellulose into an ultra-strong, multifunctional material that could eventually replace plastics in products ranging from packaging to electronics. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, describe a scalable manufacturing process that guides bacteria to…

Seychelles-Greece Reaffirm Bilateral Relations…As Prez receives Ambassador Designate

The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Dr. Patrick Herminie, received the Letters of Credence of His Excellency Mr. George Psiachas, Ambassador-Designate of the Hellenic Republic of Greece to Seychelles an official statement issued in Victoria,Teusday,has disclosed. The accreditation ceremony the statement said,was held in the morning at State House. During their discussions,it added, President Herminie congratulated the new Ambassador of Greece and highlighted that Seychelles and Greece have enjoyed warm and longstanding f relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in July 1980. The President further expressed Seychelles’ appreciation…

LSEG Islamic Investment Review 2025 Launched in London

Story: Mohammed A. Abu The London Stock Exchange Group(LSEG) Data & Analytics, has announced in London,Teusday, the launch of its latest report “LSEG Islamic Investment Review 2025: 50 Years of Exponential Growth”. The report provides a comprehensive, data‑driven assessment of global Islamic investment markets, examining developments across sukuk, Shariah‑compliant equities and Islamic funds at a time of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility. Offering a detailed snapshot of market size, growth and structural evolution in 2025, the report highlights the continued expansion and resilience of Islamic investment markets despite tighter…

AI Skills and Compute Africa Foundation Launches in Rwanda

The AI Skills and Compute Africa Foundation (AISCA Foundation) (https://AISCAfrica.org) officially launches in Kigali to dismantle the barriers to AI innovation, strengthening Africa’s artificial intelligence ecosystem says an official statement issued in Kigali,Monday. Through this initiative,it noted, AISCA Foundation aims to provide equitable access to compute, skills development, research support, and community building. Backed by seed funding from founding technology partner Cassava Technologies, AISCA Foundation is bridging the “compute gap” to ensure African AI researchers and innovators can develop world-class AI solutions locally, while building a scalable pipeline for continental talent development.…

Rethinking BECE in the Era of Free SHS: From Gatekeeping to Placement Reform

By Kofi Asare,Executive Director,Africa Education Watch,Ghana Background Before the introduction of Free SHS, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) primarily functioned as a gatekeeping mechanism that determined whether a child could progress to secondary education. Admission into second cycle institutions depended heavily on aggregate performance, and for many candidates, BECE effectively separated progression from exclusion. In that context, its broad, high stakes structure was aligned with a system in which access to secondary education was limited and competitive. Emergence  of the Free SHS Policy The Free SHS policy fundamentally changed…

Physicists Observe Strange Quantum Rotation Effect That Defies Intuition

By Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendor, First Published,17th May,2026 Researchers discovered that atomic rotations inside a crystal can unexpectedly flip direction while still obeying the laws of angular momentum conservation. An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, has directly observed for the first time how angular momentum moves and remains conserved inside a crystal lattice. By using powerful terahertz laser pulses, the team was able to precisely manipulate these motions and discovered an unexpected effect: during the transfer process, the direction of…

Italian Engineering Giant Webuild Clinches Samoter Innovation Award for Africa’s Largest Dam

By: Addis Insight,First Published,May 14, 2026 Italian construction titan Webuild has officially secured the prestigious Samoter Innovation Award 2026. The accolade recognizes the company’s groundbreaking work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a project that is redefining the landscape of renewable energy in Africa. Why the GERD Won Big Presented at the Samoter International Construction Machinery Exhibition in Italy, the award celebrates more than just “building a wall.” The judges highlighted the GERD as a masterpiece of technological and engineering excellence. “The recognition highlights the GERD not only for its complexity but for its…

New Stroke Study Challenges Decades-Old Medical Beliefs

Lacunar stroke may arise from damage in the brain’s small blood vessels rather than fatty plaque in larger arteries, pointing researchers toward new treatment strategies. Scientists have found new evidence that calls into question a long-standing explanation for a common form of stroke, and it may help clarify why standard prevention treatments often fall short. The study suggests that fatty deposits in arteries are unlikely to be the cause of lacunar ischemic stroke, a type that makes up about one quarter of all ischemic strokes, which are strokes caused by…