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Futbol

Epic At Ibrox, Murray On Goal Hunt & Wimmer's Impact

Last week's Scottish Premiership card looked like being a succession of largely comfortable home wins until Rangers snatched a dramatic late win at Dundee and Dundee United secured a narrow victory at Ross County. But what will this weekend - the penultimate round of fixtures before the league split - throw up? Here are some names and games that could have a big say... The last time Rangers and Hibernian met, they drew 3-3. Since then, both have been involved in goal-laden games, which whets the appetite for this encounter. Hibs are front-runners to finish third - quite the turnaround since November when they were bottom. Only Celtic - in the league and Scottish Cup - have beaten them in the interim as David Gray's side have amassed 10 league wins and five draws. They are also scoring goals for fun - 48 in the Premiership. Rangers, on the other hand, are leaking goals. They've conceded 12 under interim head coach Barry Ferguson, who bemoaned "old habits" after the win at Dundee. The former Ibrox captain is yet to enjoy an Ibrox victory since replacing Philippe Clement, but did celebrate a penalty shootout triumph over Fenerbahce in the Europa League. The table is set, the ingredients are in place, it's over to Rangers and Hibs to serve up another football feast. Among those challenging Daizen Maeda for the Premiership's golden boot is Dundee's Simon Murray. The 33-year-old forward and Dundee United counterpart Sam Dalby both sit on 13 league goals, two behind Celtic's Maeda. Murray netted his fifth in six games in last weekend's loss to Rangers. It's St Mirren at home for Dundee on Saturday and Murray scored both when the sides last met in Paisley in December, sealing a 2-1 victory for Tony Docherty's side. A repeat performance would be welcomed by his manager, with the Dark Blues still second bottom, five points above St Johnstone. Murray is no stranger to a relegation scrap, having helped County survive the play-offs over the past two seasons, and seems just the sort of character that relishes such a battle. The race for top-six places is predictably tight. Only Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Aberdeen are assured a finish in the top half. Dundee United, Hearts, St Mirren and Motherwell are all vying for the final two places and County are not arithmetically out of the race just yet. For Motherwell and their new manager Michael Wimmer, securing a place among the elite would vindicate his recent appointment. The German has two wins and a draw from his opening five games, including a victory at Ibrox. However, Saturday's 4-1 loss at Aberdeen was a set-back as St Mirren and United made gains with wins. On Saturday, the Fir Park side take a trip to face a Kilmarnock team smarting from a 5-1 defeat by St Mirren and already consigned to the bottom six. Motherwell are unbeaten in the fixture going back almost 16 months and maintaining that record could be crucial to where Wimmer's side end this season.

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Instablog9ja

Hours After Her TikTok Account Got Banned, Influencer Saida Loses Her IG PagE With Over 300k Followers

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Worldnews

Ramadan In Colour For Muslims In Africa

Horseback parades, moon-sighting ceremonies and traffic jam coffee during the holy month and Eid-al-Fitr. Every year across the Islamic world, there is one month when the rhythms of time seem to change: Ramadan. Patience and generosity overtake the hustle and bustle. The usually frenetic daytime streets quieten down, and nights come alive with prayer, food and festivity that extend until dawn. Around the world, rituals of the holy fasting month have embedded themselves in other communities too - not least in Africa, where some 40 percent of the more than 1 billion people identify as Muslim. Islam first spread from the Middle East to the African continent in the seventh century during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. About 1,400 years later, it is a majority religion across North Africa as well as in Chad, The Gambia, Senegal, Somalia and Sudan. For Muslims across the continent, Ramadan and the end-of-the-month festival of Eid al-Fitr are a combination of religious practices and cultural rituals around food and community. In Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa, three photographers documenting their communities share snapshots of the month with Al Jazeera. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is also home to the continent’s largest number of Muslims. The mainly Muslim northern regions are home to a range of ethnic groups, chief among them the Hausas and Fulanis. In the past decade, the north has become synonymous with instability and violence amid conflict with bandits and armed groups like Boko Haram. But for those who live there, the region is a bastion of colourful cultural practices. During Ramadan, bustling cities in the north slow down as most people stay indoors to avoid the heat and focus on spiritual activities like attending lectures or reading the Quran. And every year, typically to mark Eid, there is a Durbar festival. Durbars are cultural, religious and equestrian events that have been popular among Hausas for centuries. One of the largest taking place today is the Kano City Durbar, which sees hundreds of thousands of people decked out in stylish Eid attire turning up to get a view of the emir – the equivalent of a king - often on horseback. Kano-based photographer Muhammad Sani Sabo has been documenting Durbars since 2014. He also photographs everyday scenes in his city. The 31-year-old says he hopes to paint a more accurate representation of the north, which is more than a poster child for poverty, illiteracy and conflict. “There’s more stories to tell about the north,” Sabo tells Al Jazeera. “I know all the stories, and I believe I can tell it better than anyone coming from Lagos or from abroad.” In the city of Kano, women and girls attend a Ramadan gathering in 2023. During the holy Muslim month, the city sees lectures and gatherings where people learn from an imam or spiritual guide. Study of the Quran is common across the city. Food or gifts are sometimes shared by companies or individuals to emphasise the spirit of generosity and sharing. The 15th emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, rides a horse during the 2024 Durbar festival. Hausas are renowned for being warriors with excellent horsemanship skills. Durbar culture stemmed from military parades in ancient days that signalled readiness for war. Today's Durbar festivals highlight that heritage while also celebrating the end of Ramadan. After the morning prayers, the colourful horseback procession begins, with the emir leading his convoy of warriors, artillerymen and praise singers. A family in Kano waits to see the Durbar procession outside the emir’s palace in April 2024. Eid - or the Sallah festival in the Hausa language - is not complete without stylish, new traditional attire and, of course, a peek at the emir’s glamorous entourage. In the West African Francophone country of Senegal, Islam is a way of life. Nearly all of the population – 97 percent – is Muslim. With long, breezy coastlines, Senegal is known for its culture of "Teraanga", a Wolof word that loosely translates to generosity, hospitality and sharing. Many locals say that just asking a passer-by for directions to the nearest restaurant could get you an invitation to a private family dinner instead. During Ramadan, Hawo Kane says cities slow down, and the culture of Teraanga and giving only intensifies. Kane, 34, a Senegalese photographer who grew up in France and Mauritania, documents communities in the capital, Dakar, and other cities. While her family moved around for work, settling back in her home country as an adult “was always the logical option” because of her goal to authentically document its rich traditions. Her photographs of Ramadan and Eid show a community in which no one is left behind. “No one is going to go hungry here because everyone has something to share,” Kane says. In many neighbourhoods in Senegal, young people gather to prepare meals for breaking the fast, known globally as iftar but called "ndogou" in Wolof. Meals are carefully prepared and packed for distribution to passers-by and the needy. Sharing ndogou in Senegal is both a religious and social duty that strengthens community bonds. Solidarity takes on its full meaning during Ramadan, and no one is allowed to break their fast alone. Just minutes before breaking the fast, the streets of Dakar come alive with generosity. Local young people hand out bread with sausages or chocolate in it and hot "Touba coffee". They offer these to passers-by and drivers stuck in traffic jams, which the city always experiences during Ramadan.  Excitement often fills salons before Eid as women wait for hours, many to get their hair braided. Young people hope to look their best for festivities, also known as Korite in Senegal. Elegant hairstyles and new outfits are essential preparations for the festival. At the southern tip of Africa, South Africa has a tiny population of Muslims - a mere 2 percent of the country. But they are a visible minority, especially in Cape Town, where the earliest Muslims arrived in the 1600s from countries that include Indonesia and Malaysia. Many South African Muslims can trace their ancestry back to enslaved people and indentured labourers who were brought to the continent by Western colonisers. When they arrived, they brought rituals with them, including the longstanding tradition of physically sighting the crescent moon before the start of Ramadan and Eid. In Cape Town, this is a community affair that takes place near Bo-Kaap, a historically Muslim neighbourhood known for its colourful houses. Esa Alexander, a Reuters photographer from Cape Town, says Ramadan is a special time in his city. Although some parts like the Cape Flats area, which Alexander hails from, are known for high levels of crime and poverty, things calm down during the fasting month, he says. “It’s like people just stop with criminality, and you can feel the calm in the air,” Alexander tells Al Jazeera. “It brings people together. For example, we have so many street iftars and so many NGOs and other organisations coming into our communities, giving out food parcels and food to the less fortunate.” South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world due in large part to its apartheid history. In Heideveld on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, poverty and crime are a challenge. During Ramadan, people often gather together at long, makeshift tables for iftar or find other ways to share what they have. Volunteers from Cape Townian NGO Nakhlistan help prepare more than 180 pots of food for less fortunate families to celebrate the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. In communities across the city and the country, the holy month is a time of increased giving. Bo-Kaap is a neighbourhood known for its colourful houses and welcoming community. The area in Cape Town was historically Muslim under apartheid, and the sense of community there is still strong. Hundreds of Muslims gather in the streets to attend Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the month of Ramadan, as they did here in 2024. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

Trump Targets Biden, Harris In US Security Clearance Purge

The executive order also targets Hillary Clinton and Antony Blinken, former state secretaries, and some Republicans. US President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of his predecessor, Joe Biden, in a sweeping move that also targeted former Vice President Kamala Harris and several senior former White House and national security officials. “I hereby direct every executive department and agency head … to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals,” Trump said in his memorandum on Friday. Trump’s latest executive action is seen as part of a pattern of reprisal that he has carried out targeting political opponents, including Biden and other former senior White House officials, who traditionally retain their security clearance as a courtesy. Aside from Biden and Harris, the list of names stripped of their authorisation to see state secrets included Biden’s family members along with former secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and defeated presidential candidate, was also on the list. In the memorandum sent to agency heads and distributed by the White House communications office, Trump said the named officials should no longer be allowed access to classified material. “I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.” Trump, who continues to falsely claim that Biden schemed to steal the 2020 election, which he lost, has remained furious with his predecessor and lashes out frequently. In 2021, Biden had revoked the security clearance for Trump, who was then a former president. Trump was himself investigated for breaching security rules during the period between his first and second term in office, by storing classified White House documents in his Mar-a-Lago resort. The investigation was wound up after Trump returned to office. Many of the individuals on Trump’s list were high-profile political appointees of his Democratic predecessor, but former Republican lawmaker and vocal Trump critic Liz Cheney is also named. Fiona Hill, a British-born intelligence analyst who served under both Democrat and Republican administrations, including as an adviser in Trump’s White House, has also been targeted. She is joined by former colleague Alexander Vindman, a Kyiv-born retired senior officer in the US Army who fell foul of Trump after expressing concerns about White House contacts with Russia. Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer in Washington who represents whistleblowers, and Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican lawmaker who is a sharp Trump critic, were also included in the list. Follow Al Jazeera English:...