Ramadan in colour: How Muslims in Africa celebrate the holy month and Eid
Nigeria: Spirituality and horseback parades 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.” [Muhammad Sani Sabo/Al Jazeera] 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. [Muhammad Sani Sabo/Al Jazeera] 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. [Muhammad Sani Sabo/Al Jazeera] 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. Adblock test (Why?)
Modi and Trump are on the same page on immigration
In February, the airwaves in India were inundated with images of undocumented Indians shackled in chains on a military deportation flight from the United States. The shocking images made clear the devastating impact President Donald Trump’s draconian crackdown on “illegal immigration” would have on the lives of thousands of vulnerable Indian citizens who had risked everything to make their way to America. Opposition lawmakers, including Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, wore handcuffs and protested the humiliating treatment of deportees outside the parliament in New Delhi. With all of this happening on the eve of Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House, they demanded that the Indian prime minister take up this matter with the US president. But during his US news conference, Modi responded to questions about the deportations by stating that his Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP-led) government was “fully prepared to bring back illegal migrants”. He added: “The young, vulnerable and poor people of India are fooled into immigration. These are children of very ordinary families who are lured by big dreams and big promises. Many are brought in without knowing why they are being brought in – many brought in through a human-trafficking system.” Advertisement This response was unusually meek and agreeable for the leader of a Hindu nationalist regime known for its muscular jingoism. It would seem Modi was simply trying to avoid a Volodymyr Zelenskyy-style bust-up with Trump, especially with negotiations ongoing regarding reciprocal tariffs. While this could be true, it is also important to remember that when it comes to immigration, Modi and Trump are on the same page. Like his American counterpart, Modi relies on grand visions and claims about the nation. This includes the BJP government’s bombastic declarations about the economic health of India. At the moment, the Indian economy is facing a troubling slowdown, but there also is a longer term, much more entrenched problem: inequality. In the world’s most populous country, the top 1 percent holds 40.1 percent of the national wealth. By the end of 2024, India had 191 billionaires, putting it in third place in the world after the US and China. Meanwhile, it accounted for 70 percent of the global increase in extreme poverty. India is also the country with the largest population (234 million people) living in extreme poverty. Undocumented Indian migrants in the US are manifestations of this dark reality. The estimates regarding their exact number vary. The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 700,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US at the end of 2022, making Indians the third largest national group of undocumented people after Mexicans and Salvadorians. The Department of Homeland Security estimated there are 220,000 undocumented Indian migrants in the country. Advertisement Irrespective of the exact size of the population, this cohort of undocumented people contradicts the rosy image of an economic powerhouse under Hindu nationalist leadership. This is why Modi is so eager to shut down this saga of “illegal immigration” as quickly and calmly as possible. He does not want any skirmish with Trump over the treatment of undocumented migrants to grab headlines and expose the cracks in the aura of a rising India. But in a Hindu nationalist India, a Trump-like anti-immigration discourse is also not an oddity. For a few years, the Indian right has been ritually raising the issue of a supposed scourge of undocumented migration, especially from Bangladesh. In 2016, then-Minister of State of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju claimed there were about “20 million illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in India”. In 2018, Home Minister Amit Shah said there were more than 40 million undocumented immigrants in the country. In 2023, right-wing politicians have also claimed there are now close to 50 million undocumented migrants in India. There is no real evidence to back up these numbers. Yet for the Hindu nationalists in India, these claims about the presence of an insidious, Muslim undocumented population evoke a powerful image and fit well into an Islamophobic discourse of a Hindu nation facing an existential threat from its neighbours. Unsubstantiated claims about the threat of “illegal immigration” from Bangladesh allow right-wing politicians in India to blame the undocumented “outsider” for the plight of the country’s economically disadvantaged. As Shah once said: “They [Bangladeshi immigrants] are eating the grain that should go to the poor.” Elsewhere, Shah has called undocumented migrants “termites” and “infiltrators” who needed to be uprooted. While on the campaign trail in 2019, Shah also promised that the BJP government would “pick up infiltrators one by one and throw them into the Bay of Bengal”. Advertisement These unsubstantiated claims also allow Hindu nationalists to stoke fears about a demographic challenge to a Hindu nation. For instance, during a TV interview, the leader of the Delhi unit of the BJP, Ashwini Upadhyay, insinuated that the majority status of the Hindu population was under threat. He said that India was established as a “Hindu nation” and this identity was being diluted by “illegals”, “[Muslim] Rohingyas” and “[Muslim] coverts”. Similarly, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar claimed that “illegal migration” was causing a “demographic upheaval”. He noted that this cohort was putting undue stress on the country’s health and education sectors, depriving citizens of employment opportunities, and was undermining democracy by gaining “electoral relevance”. He also warned that if left unchecked, the Hindu ethnic identity would be undermined by such “demographic invasions”. Finally, it is equally commonplace to hear from the right in India that “illegal migration” is synonymous with criminality. In a statement to the lower house of the Indian parliament, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said: “Illegal mobility and migration has many other associated activities, also of an illegal nature.” While Jaishankar here was referring to undocumented Indian migrants in the US, in India, authorities have similarly claimed that there is a “well-oiled” criminal network that helps undocumented migrants gain residency, employment, fake birth certificates and eventually voting rights. This has led to Trump-like police raids and deportation drives targeting Bangladeshis and Rohingya. Advertisement Often
Al Jazeera team captures Myanmar quake moment
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Al Jazeera reporter Tony Cheng and his crew were filming in Myanmar when one of two powerful earthquakes hit.
Trump asks US Supreme Court to lift ban on deportations under wartime law
US president appeals to Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ban on his use of an obscure wartime law. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law, while a court fight continues. The Department of Justice asked the court in a filing to lift Washington, DC-based US District Judge James Boasberg’s March 15 order calling for a temporary halt to the summary removals of the Venezuelans while a legal challenge to Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations plays out. The 18th-century law has historically been used only in wartime. The Justice Department said in its filing on Friday that the case presents the question of who decides how to conduct sensitive national security-related operations, the president or the judiciary. “The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President,” the department wrote. “The republic cannot afford a different choice.” President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportation of hundreds of people under a presidential proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force. Advertisement “Here, the district court’s orders have rebuffed the President’s judgements as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the court filing. Flashpoint case Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of five Venezuelan noncitizens who were being held in Texas, hours after the proclamation was made public. The court set a Tuesday deadline for a response from the ACLU. The case has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension between the White House and the federal courts. Trump’s administration has argued that Boasberg’s temporary ban encroached on presidential authority to make national security decisions. On March 18, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment by Congress – a process that could remove him from the bench – drawing a rebuke from the US Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump on social media called Boasberg, who was confirmed by the US Senate in 2011 in a bipartisan 96-0 vote, a “Radical Left Lunatic” and a “troublemaker and agitator.” The DC Circuit upheld Boasberg’s order after holding a contentious hearing that involved heated language. Judge Patricia Millett told Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign that “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here.” Ensign responded, “We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy.” Family members of many of the deported Venezuelan migrants deny the alleged gang ties. Lawyers for one of the deportees, a Venezuelan professional football player and youth coach, said US officials had wrongly labeled him a gang member based on a tattoo of a crown meant to honor his favorite team, Real Madrid. Advertisement The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity for a hearing before an immigration or federal court judge. Boasberg ruled that immigrants facing deportation must get an opportunity to challenge their designations as alleged gang members. His ruling said there is “a strong public interest in preventing the mistaken deportation of people based on categories they have no right to challenge.” Adblock test (Why?)
Earthquakes in Myanmar spread destruction as far as Bangkok
NewsFeed Twin earthquakes shook Myanmar causing extensive damage and killing at least a dozen people. The quakes, one a 7.7 magnitude, were also felt in Bangkok, Thailand where a tower block collapsed trapping dozens of construction workers. Published On 28 Mar 202528 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel launches first air strike on Lebanon’s Beirut since November truce
Israeli attack destroys a residential building in a Beirut suburb as France’s Macron decries ‘unacceptable’ strike. Israel has carried out an air strike on Lebanon’s capital for the first time since a fragile truce between the Israeli army and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in November halted a war between the two. Residents fled as a building was flattened in the Hadath neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday when Israel carried out four strikes – an attack reminiscent of the months-long bombing campaign of last year when Israeli jets pounded the area. “We are by the building attacked by Israel, and it is total destruction here,” Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reported. “It is a residential block in which many families lived, and many of them watched the building as Israeli warplanes destroyed it.” Hashem said surrounding apartments and shops were damaged in the attack. The Israeli military said the target was a Hezbollah military storage facility for drones. Israel launched the attack after rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israeli territory, the second such incident in the past week. Hezbollah denied involvement both times, and no other group has claimed responsibility. Advertisement Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the Lebanese army to quickly identify and arrest those responsible for the rocket fire, saying it “threatens Lebanon’s stability and security”, according to a statement from his office. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for the rocket fire and, as long as there was no peace in northern Israel, “there will be no peace in Beirut either.” Israel and Hezbollah traded fire for more than a year after the Lebanese armed group started firing rockets towards northern Israel in October 2023 in what it said was solidarity with Hamas in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. The exchanges of fire continued for months until Israel dramatically escalated the conflict in September and killed much of Hezbollah’s leadership before the two parties signed a ceasefire on November 27. According to the United States- and French-brokered deal, Israel should have pulled out its troops from southern Lebanon, but it has failed to withdraw soldiers from five locations in Lebanon. For its part, Hezbollah agreed to move its fighters and weapons north of the Litani River to leave southern Lebanon under the sole military control of the Lebanese army. Macron criticises Israeli strike Speaking in Paris, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strike on the Beirut suburbs was a continuation “of Israel’s violations of the agreement” sponsored by France and the US. During a joint news conference with Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron called the attack “unacceptable” and promised to address it with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. Advertisement United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the escalation had created “a critical period for Lebanon and the wider region”. Israel has promised a strong response to any threats to its security, prompting fears that last year’s war – which displaced more than 1.3 million people in Lebanon and destroyed much of the country’s south – could resume. Political analyst Yossi Beilin told Al Jazeera that “the fact that Israel reacted in Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire is very relevant and consequential.” “This is the time and place for the Americans and the French to put an end to the current situation,” Beilin said. “Hezbollah is not Lebanon,” but it is a “militia that is independent and that is the difficulty we are facing here”, he said. Israel also carried out attacks in the town of Kafr Tibnit in southern Lebanon on Friday, killing three people and wounding 18, including children and women, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. Adblock test (Why?)
Magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar; tremors felt in Thailand: All we know
Two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 6.4 have hit central Myanmar, causing death and large-scale destruction in both Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand. Friday’s tremors were also felt elsewhere in the region. Authorities in Myanmar imposed a state of emergency in six states after structures collapsed and multiple deaths and injuries were reported. Later on Friday, state-run MRTV wrote on the Telegram messaging app that at least 144 people had been killed and 732 injured in the country. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN was “mobilising” in Southeast Asia to help those in need. Here is everything we know about the disaster so far: What happened in Myanmar? About 12:50pm (06:20 GMT), an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 hit 16km (10 miles) northwest of Sagaing city at a depth of 10km (6 miles). This was followed by an aftershock of magnitude 6.4. The earthquake’s epicentre was about 17km (11 miles) west of the country’s second largest city, Mandalay, which has a population of nearly 1.5 million people. Advertisement Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng was outside Myanmar’s Defence Services Museum in the capital, Naypyidaw, when the earthquake hit. “Suddenly, the building started moving very heavily from side to side,” Cheng said. “Plaster was raining down.” Cheng added that concrete from the roof and support columns of the portico also fell during the quake. “The swaying went on for about 30 seconds to a minute,” he said. “It gained in intensity as it went on. I’ve been in earthquakes in this region before, and I’ve never felt anything as strong as that.” Where else were the earthquakes felt? The tremors were felt across Southeast and South Asia. Thailand: At least nine people have died in Bangkok as a result of the earthquake, Bangkok’s Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej told Reuters on Friday evening. Eight of the victims were killed when a 30-storey building that was under construction collapsed, also trapping 43 workers, according to the police and medics. Rescue workers said a further 117 people were missing. The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended activity on Friday afternoon. Bangkok’s entire public transport system also was shut down for safety reasons, reported Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, who was in the city when the quake struck. “Traffic is absolutely gridlocked. The buildings have been shuttered in the centre of the city,” Khan said. China: China’s Xinhua news agency reported that shocks were felt in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which lies at the border with Myanmar. No casualties were reported. Advertisement Chinese media also reported that, in the northeast of the country, tremors were felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China, causing injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili, which is on the border with Myanmar. In Mangshi, a city about 100km (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, the shaking was so strong that people were unable to stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Tremors were also reported in Cambodia, India and Bangladesh. What do we know about the victims? Myanmar’s state-run MRTV station wrote on Telegram that at least 144 people had been killed in Myanmar and 732 injured. Two people were killed in the town of Taungoo in Myanmar when a mosque partially collapsed, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting witnesses. Local media also reported that a hotel collapsed in Myanmar’s southern city of Aungban, killing at least two people and injuring 20. A doctor at a 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw told the AFP news agency that 20 people had died there. “About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,” the doctor said on the condition of anonymity. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said three people have been killed by the quake in Thailand. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai also said 90 people are missing. A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group told Reuters that 60 bodies had been retrieved from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped. Advertisement “This 60 is only from my charity group and only at Pyinmanar town,” he said. How bad is the damage? Infrastructure has taken a heavy hit in Myanmar and Thailand. Buildings, bridges and roads have been destroyed, according to local media. State media in Myanmar said buildings and structures had collapsed in at least five cities and towns. Pieces of the ceiling at the National Museum of Naypyidaw fell as the tremors shook the structure, AFP reported. State media reported that a railway bridge and a road bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway collapsed. Local media also reported that the Ma Soe Yane monastery had collapsed and the former royal palace had been damaged. The 90-year-old Ava Bridge, also called Old Sagaing Bridge, partially fell into the Irrawaddy River, which flows between Mandalay and Sagaing. How has the government responded? Among the places where Myanmar’s military government has imposed a state of emergency are Mandalay and Naypyidaw. A major hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, has been declared a “mass casualty area”, an official at the facility told the AFP news agency. Rows of wounded were treated outside the emergency department of the 1,000-bed general hospital, some writhing in pain, others lying still as relatives sought to comfort them. Zin Mar Aung, the country’s shadow foreign minister with the parallel National Unity Government, said troops from the anti-junta groups, known as the People’s Defence Forces, would provide humanitarian assistance. Advertisement “It’s very serious, we need humanitarian and technical assistance from the international community,” Zin Mar Aung told Reuters. “The state will make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid,” the government said in a message on the Telegram messaging application. What’s the latest on the ground? Rescue efforts are under way. However, the Red Cross said damaged power lines in Myanmar are impeding rescue teams from reaching Mandalay and Sagaing. The Red Cross said initial reports suggested the quake has caused “significant damage” and “information on humanitarian
Bangladesh cricketer Tamim back home after heart attack
Tamim Iqbal was admitted to hospital on Monday after suffering chest pains while competing in a match in Bangladesh. Former Bangladeshi cricket captain Tamim Iqbal has returned home from hospital, days after suffering a massive heart attack during a local match. The 36-year-old was released on Friday. He was leading Mohammedan Sporting Club in a match of the 50-over Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League on Monday when he was rushed to a nearby hospital, complaining of severe chest pain. Doctors inserted stents to repair an arterial blockage the same day, and Tamim was later moved to a bigger health facility in the capital, Dhaka. “After observing his health condition, we have decided to discharge him today,” Shahabuddin Talukder, a doctor at Evercare Hospital, told reporters on Friday. He added that Tamim would have to maintain a rehabilitation programme and modify his lifestyle. “We hope he will be able to return to cricket soon,” the doctor added. Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal enjoyed a 15-year international career, which included appearances at a number of World Cups [File: Matt Dunham/AP] Abu Zafar of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told reporters on Wednesday that it was uncertain whether Tamim would be able to return to cricket. Advertisement “Tamim won’t be able to play sports for the next three months. If everything goes well, then he will be able to return,” he said. “Unfortunately, he is a smoker, which is a risk factor for heart attacks. He must stay away from it. He will have to follow doctors’ advice.” Tamim scored more than 15,000 runs for Bangladesh in a career spanning 15 years and remains the only Bangladeshi to score hundreds in all formats of international cricket. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump administration has no respect for “defence secrets”
Jamie Gaskarth critiques Trump officials’ disregard for intelligence and defence secrecy risks. Jamie Gaskarth, a professor of foreign policy & international Relations at Open University, analyses the Trump administration’s apparent lack of respect for the sensitivities surrounding intelligence and defence secrets. Adblock test (Why?)
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti to go on trial for alleged tax fraud
Prosecutors seek jail term for Italian, who has won football’s Champions League title on a record five occasions. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office. Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of costing Spain’s treasury more than $1.1m in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015. The trial will begin on Wednesday and is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said on Friday. Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real Madrid, must be present for the hearings, the spokesman added. Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid. They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate. Advertisement Ancelotti earned $1.33m in 2014 from the sale of his image rights and $3.19m in 2015, according to prosecutors. Ancelotti, right, added French superstar Kylian Mbappe to his Real Madrid squad that lifted the LaLiga and Champions League double last season [Susana Vera/Reuters] A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair but did not set a date. Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case. He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed by Bayern Munich the following year. The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021. Aside from his success in the Champions League, he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain. Spain has cracked down in recent years on top football players who have not paid their dues. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both found guilty of tax evasion and received prison sentences that were waived for being first-time offenders. Former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho received a one-year suspended sentence after reaching a guilty plea for tax fraud in 2019. Colombian superstar artist Shakira in 2023 agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and pay $7.86m in fines to settle a tax fraud case and avoid trial. Advertisement Prosecutors had accused the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer of defrauding the Spanish state of 14.5 million euros ($15.6m) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira denied, saying she only moved to Spain full-time in 2015. Adblock test (Why?)