Interest and Gambling

Q: My older brother is the head of the household and he makes most of the financial decisions for me. A while ago he made me apply for a loan that I would have to pay interest on. Now that I know that paying interest is haram, I've tried hard to convince him to cancel the loan and even told him about valid Islamic sources to show that it is a grave sin. He simply said that we're in a tough situation and I need the loan to go to college so exceptions have to be made. And he went on to add, "These online muftis don't know the difficulties our family goes through to put bread on the table." I'm in a situation where I have no control in returning the loan before interest starts accruing on it since he has control over the bank account. I fear that my family will lash out at me and maybe even cut family ties from me for putting them through difficulties for my own beliefs since they don't follow Islam as closely as I do. I'm very scared of the consequences I will have to face for letting him force me into taking a loan in which I will pay riba on. Please let me know of any way to deal with this sin that I see no way of avoiding. I would even pay 10 times the amount in sadaqa as I took in the loan (later on in my life) if I have to.

Q: If a person loads airtime on his phone and receives some free airtime, can this free airtime be used to enter competitions (e.g. competitions found on food packets, etc.) via SMS or phone calls?

Q: Is it haraam to earn a pension fund and to draw unemployment fund which was partly contributed from your own salary and partly from the company you work at?

Q:

1. What is the status of permissibility with regard to student loans? Here in Australia, we have the option of paying back all or some of the loan, but it has some form of interest (indexing) applied to it. These loans are usually taken out by university students.

2. What about those who have already taken out a loan and do not wish to pay back? The Australian law requires a re-payment of the loan incrementally in the form of income tax, which only becomes mandatory if and when the debtor is earning above a minimum yearly salary.

Q: May I use interest money to pay airport taxes?

Q: If a person is in need of a car and he does not have the money to pay for it, can he buy it through bank finance?

Q: Can interest money be used to pay off traffic fines?

Q: We would like to know what's Mufti saabs commentary on FnB Islamic banking?

Q: I checked my bank statement and I realized that I consumed interest money unconsciously. What should I do to expiate it?

Q: Our company has a pension fund that has various portfolios options of which one is a shariah compliant option. The problem is that the fund is loosing so much on my money monthly. Do you continue loosing money or place it in a safe interest bearing portfolio?