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Futbol

Senegal Held By Sudan In World Cup Qualifying

Sudan's impressive run in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup continued as a nation affected by civil war held Senegal to a 0-0 draw on neutral turf. Sadio Mane came closest to a winner for the visitors late on in Benina, Libya, but saw an attempted chip saved by Sudan keeper Mohamed Mostafa before his follow-up effort was blocked by a defender on the line. Mostafa then pulled off a stunning low stop to keep out a header from Cherif Ndiaye. Sudan could have taken all three points themselves as Walieldin Khedr sent a shot flashing past the post earlier in the second half. The Falcons of Jediane sit a point clear of DR Congo at the top of Group B halfway through the African campaign, with Senegal a point further behind. Only the group winners are assured of a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup finals next year. The four best-placed sides from across the nine groups will enter play-offs for a spot at an intercontinental tournament which will provide the final qualifiers. Elsewhere in Group B, Togo and Mauritania drew 2-2 in an entertaining contest in Lome. Those four sides are all back in action on Tuesday when Sudan host South Sudan, Senegal welcome Togo and DR Congo travel to Mauritania. The final four group fixtures will be split across September and October. Almost two years on from the start of the civil war, and with the country's top two domestic clubs now playing in Mauritania, Sudan coach James Kwesi Appiah has got supporters dreaming of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time. In the nine-month hiatus since the last qualifying fixtures the Sudanese had remarkably booked a place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations - eliminating four-time continental champions Ghana along the way. But, returning to their bid to reach the United States, Mexico and Canada, Sudan almost made a disastrous start as goalkeeper Mustafa missed a clearing kick within the first 30 seconds. However, he managed to recover and scramble the loose ball behind with Boulaye Dia set to pounce and slot into an empty net. The hosts were not overawed by a side ranked as the second best in Africa, and 96 places above them, and Aboubaker Eisa missed a chance to slot Sudan in front in the 20th minute before Dia sent a header off target. After the break Sudan midfielder Adbel Raouf tested Edouard Mendy with a low strike before having appeals for a penalty waved away as he challenged the keeper for the rebound. Mane had sent an overhead kick narrowly wide before the former Liverpool forward was denied twice with 10 minutes remaining. The West Africans remain unbeaten after five games in Group B but, with only two wins, have work to do to reach a third successive World Cup finals. Earlier on Saturday, Mauritania scored their first goals of the campaign as they secured a draw in Togo. Thibault Klidje headed the hosts ahead in Lome in the fourth minute, and Mauritania came close to an equaliser when Aboubakary Koita hit the right-hand upright 10 minutes before the break. The game sparked into life in the second half as the visitors scored twice in the space of four minutes to turn the game on its head. First Koita levelled with a fine curing shot across goal and then Abdallahi Mahmoud was presented with a simple tap-in at the back post from Sidi Bouna Amar's low cross. Kevin Denkey dragged Togo level in the 69th minute when he dispossessed Lamine Ba in the box and rifled in a low shot. After that both sides had chances to win it as Mauritania striker Pape Yade struck a post after capitalising on an error from Sparrowhawks goalkeeper Malcolm Barcoa and then Togo substitute Kwame Mawuena narrowly missed the target with a header.

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Instablog9ja

Delta Nursing Students Viral Song About Remi Tinubu Sparks Controversy; Government Intervenes

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Worldnews

Dead Or Alive? Surviving Pakistans 28-hour Train Hijack In An Engine

Assistant train driver Saad Qamar’s family didn’t know if he had been killed by attackers who targeted the Jaffar Express on March 11. On Thursday, he’s back at work. Quetta, Pakistan — On the cold morning of March 11, Saad Qamar wore his white and blue uniform, said goodbye to his parents and left his home at 7:30am (06:30 GMT) for the Pakistan Railways loco-shed half a kilometre away. The 31-year-old assistant train driver signed a duty form before examining the engine he was going to attach to the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express for its journey of 1,600km (994 miles) from Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta to Peshawar in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was an ordinary day. The train left with Qamar, the main driver Amjad Yasin, and more than 400 passengers on board — just as it always did. They had crossed four stations through the rugged mountains of the Bolan range when he heard a powerful explosion hitting the locomotive from below and rattling him and the driver. It was 12:55pm (07:55 GMT), and the drivers knew, instinctively, that they were under attack. The Jaffar Express had been targeted by armed groups earlier too, including in January 2023 when it was hit by a bomb, injuring several passengers and overturning three carriages of the train. “The driver [Yasin] applied the emergency brake,” Qamar recalls. The train was running at 40km/h (25mph) at the time. Over the following two days, the Jaffar Express would make headlines not just in Pakistan but across the world, as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), an armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack, and held the passengers hostage. A deadly siege by Pakistan’s armed forces followed as they tried to free passengers amid gun battles with the BLA fighters. Eventually, more than 300 passengers were rescued, and the army said it had killed 33 fighters, including suicide bombers. According to the Pakistan Armed Forces’ media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 21 soldiers and 10 civilians were killed in the country’s deadliest train hijack. But more than three weeks later, the memories and horrors of those hours still haunt Qamar. As the train halted after the attack, Qamar said he knew his first job was to place wooden pieces beneath the wheels to stop it from rolling ahead. “When I stepped out and managed to place one wooden shoe, intense firing started,” he recalled, sitting inside his three-room official railways-sponsored residence in Quetta. “Some bullets hit the wheels near me. My driver asked me to climb inside the engine to save my life, and we locked the doors of the locomotive.” According to other witnesses, the attackers targeted the train with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). They started offboarding passengers and separating them based on their ethnicities after checking their identity cards. Qamar managed to inform a nearby railway station about the attack using a wireless communication system available on the train. However, the connection was lost after the driver switched off the engine to avoid the risk of fire; diesel was leaking from cans full of fuel after bullets had pierced them. “We were not able to communicate with our family and friends because it was a no-signal area,” he said, referring to mobile phones. Qamar, the eldest among his four siblings, was eventually rescued on March 12 at 4:30pm by the commandoes of the Special Services Group (SSG), who moved him and 135 other rescued passengers to Quetta. By that point, he had spent 28 hours at the site of the attack, almost all of it inside the engine. The month of Ramadan was ongoing, and Qamar was fasting. “I had food which my mother gave me, but I broke my fast at dusk with a sip of water and I again kept my fast the next morning with another sip of water because at that time I thought of nothing except praying to God,” he said. But he was not the only one scared for his life. With the military imposing a communications blackout in the region, rumours spread fast and wild across Pakistan — including that the attackers had killed the driver and the assistant driver, Qamar. Until the evening of March 11, Qamar’s father, Ghulam Sabir, was unaware of the attack. He was unwell, and the family did not want to worry the 67-year-old. “I sensed that something bad had happened because my younger brother and younger son were constantly gossiping with tense faces, and the entire environment of the Railway Colony was not normal,” Sabir, who had also worked as a train driver for Pakistan Railways for 40 years, told Al Jazeera. “When I returned from the evening prayer, I received a call from a friend who lives in Sibi [a small city south of Quetta], who first asked, ‘How is your son Saad?’ because the Jaffar Express had been attacked and hijacked near Paneer railway station.” Sabir, who retired from the railways in 2019, rushed to the railway control room in Quetta for more information about his son. But no one had firm details. Some officials said Qamar was likely dead, others that he had possibly been taken hostage. The father stayed in the control room, waiting for any update. It was during the iftar meal the following day that confirmed news came through. Qamar was alive. “Other drivers and staff members hugged me with tears in their eyes,” he recalled. Pakistan has one of the world’s oldest railway systems, which was introduced during British colonial rule in the 18th century to transport weapons and other military equipment close to its northwestern and southwestern borders with Afghanistan. Trains are an affordable means of transport for the majority of Pakistan’s 244 million people and are often packed with passengers. That also makes them easy targets for armed groups looking to stir up attention. Before this, ethnic Baloch separatist groups carried out multiple attacks on passenger trains, stations, railway tracks and bridges in the volatile Balochistan province. The BLA, which is seeking independence for Pakistan’s largest but least developed province and claimed responsibility for the March 11 ambush, had earlier attacked a crowded railway station in November, killing more than 30 people. Yet the latest attack was the deadliest — and most audacious — in Pakistan’s history. It was also the first time that Qamar, in his five years with the railways, had found himself in the middle of an attack. When he returned home, his mother tried to convince him to quit the job, but his father pressed him to stay on. “Being an assistant driver or driver, we always try to provide timely and safe travel to the passengers because we are the leaders of the passenger trains and responsible for hundreds of lives who are sitting behind us and trusting without even knowing us,” Qamar said. Sabir, his father, who witnessed three train attacks during his career, said: “I told my son to perform his duty with bravery even after this train hijack.” On March 28, Pakistan restarted the train service connecting Balochistan to the rest of the country, after it had been suspended following the attack. Pakistan’s Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi announced additional security arrangements for train routes across Balochistan. Then, on the third day of Eid-al-Fitr, Qamar received a phone call from his office, enquiring if he felt ready to get back to work. He replied with a resounding “yes”. On Thursday, April 3, Qamar was back at work for the first time since the Jaffar Express hijack, on the same train. “Everything is normal but there is a slight fear in my heart,” he said, speaking at Quetta railway station. He smiled, as he sat on his seat in the train’s engine, wearing his trusted white and blue uniform. The Jaffar Express was ready to go. So was Qamar. 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News_Naija

How To Prepare For Easter During Challenging Times

Celebrations play a crucial role in relationship building, fostering deeper connections, and promoting family values within the larger society. They are also a great way to boost happiness, especially in challenging times. The recent celebration of Eid-el-Fitr, which marked the end of Ramadan, and the upcoming Easter celebration both follow periods of fasting or reflection, with both placing emphasis on families and community through sharing meals and acts of giving in different ways. Easter brings the message of hope and strength in trying times, offering a fresh start and an opportunity to let go of past mistakes. However you plan to spend this coming Easter, practise simple acts of kindness, which can go a long way to brighten someone’s celebration. Embrace a new beginning Everyone is on a journey, whether it’s a new beginning or a desire to make certain changes to improve your quality of life and the lives of those around you. Easter is a good season to start making these changes. As a couple, you can prepare for Easter by focusing on spiritual growth and deepening your connection with each other. New beginnings can be exciting, but they can also feel overwhelming and difficult to comprehend, especially if they involve weaknesses you’ve been struggling to overcome. Easter presents the opportunity to strengthen your spiritual connection, which can bring you closer and support each other during this difficult time. Start by learning more about the story of Easter, reading the Bible together, reflecting on passages about Easter, and further taking a step of faith to pray together. This can help build a spiritual and emotional bond to navigate this season with ease. A fresh start can also lead to new growth and opportunities in unexpected ways. Understand your purpose Easter is also a time of reflection. Use it as a period of understanding, especially if your marital or family life has been strained and characterised by negative patterns of behaviour. Ask yourselves what you would like to achieve as a couple and visualise the life and relationship you want to enjoy in your marriage. This can keep you motivated to make plans to achieve your purpose this Easter. Start by learning to take responsibility for your own mistakes that may be threatening the peace and happiness of your marriage, and work on improving your communication with your spouse if that is your biggest barrier. Understanding your purpose means knowing that challenges are part of growth, which can open unexpected blessings when you both pray and seek guidance together. Strengthen your faith and mindset as Easter approaches. Learn to stay positive and enjoy a healthy marriage while building a positive relationship with your children. Build stronger connections Easter is a time to promote stronger connections with family, friends, and the community. Even though times are hard, there are different ways you can support others around you despite your own situation. Start by strengthening your connection through your faith and engage in the spirit of togetherness by participating in activities in your churches and local communities. Spare some time for voluntary engagements, helping those in need around you, or simply taking time out to visit vulnerable family members who may be lonely this Easter.