Canada school shooting live: 10 dead in British Columbia’s Tumbler Ridge
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, At least 27 people have been injured in the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in remote town near the Rocky Mountains. Published On 11 Feb 202611 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinians sense West Bank annexation after Israel approves new rules
Israeli government moves to change rules around land registration in the West Bank, making it easier for Israeli Jews to buy property in the illegally occupied territory, are raising alarm among Palestinians, fearful that the new rules will establish defacto Israeli annexation. The Israeli cabinet announced the decisions on Sunday. In addition to allowing Jews to buy property in the West Bank – a Palestinian territory that Israel has occupied since 1967 in defiance of international law – the Israeli government has also ordered that land registries in the West Bank be opened up to the public. That means that it will be easier for Israelis looking to take territory in the West Bank to find out who the owner of the land is, opening them up to harassment and pressure. The cabinet also decreed that authority over building permits for illegal Jewish settlements in Hebron, and the Ibrahimi Mosque compound, would pass to Israel from the Palestinian Hebron municipality. Moataz Abu Sneina has seen Israel’s efforts to seize Palestinian land first hand. He is the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, a Palestinian national symbol and an important Islamic holy site due to its connection to the Prophet Ibrahim, also known as Abraham. Abu Sneina said that the latest Israeli decisions reflect a clear intention to increase Israeli control over Hebron’s Old City, and the Ibrahimi Mosque compound. “What is happening today is the most serious development since 1967,” Abu Sneina said. “We view it with grave concern for the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is the symbol and beating heart of Hebron, and the shrine of the patriarchs and prophets.” Advertisement The Ibrahimi Mosque site is also revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Tomb of the Patriarchs. An Israeli Jewish settler killed 29 Palestinians after opening fire on Muslims praying at the mosque in 1994. Shortly afterwards, Israeli authorities divided the site into Jewish and Muslim prayer areas, and far-right Israeli settlers continue to strengthen their control over areas of Hebron. Despite only numbering a few hundred, the settlers have taken over large areas of the city centre, protected by the Israeli military. Abu Sneina explained that Israel has repeatedly attempted to strengthen its foothold inside Hebron and the mosque, and that the latest government moves are a continuation of Israeli policy that has only increased since the October 2023 start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. “This has taken the form of increased settler incursions, restrictions on worshippers, control over entry and exit, and bans on the call to prayer – all part of a systematic policy aimed at complete control over the holy site,” Abu Sneina said. “[Israel] continues to violate all agreements, foremost the Hebron Protocol, closing most entrances to the mosque and leaving only one fully controlled access point,” he added. “This paves the way for a new division or an even harsher reality than the temporal and spatial division imposed since the 1994 massacre.” Taking over Hebron Mohannad al-Jaabari, the director of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, a Palestinian organisation focused on the restoration of Hebron’s Old City, said that the Israeli government was already increasing its presence on the ground, in an effort to take control of the city. He pointed to the confiscation of shops belonging to the Hebron Municipality in the Old City, the construction of dozens of illegal settlement units, and the reconfiguration of water pipes by connecting them to an Israeli water company’s network, creating what he described as “a massive apartheid system”. Al-Jaabari warned that the ultimate goal is to establish a Jewish quarter linking settlements to the Ibrahimi Mosque by emptying Palestinian neighbourhoods of their residents. “All Hebron institutions are preparing for a difficult phase,” he said. “We are bracing for a fierce attack on Palestinian institutions, foremost the Rehabilitation Committee.” The Israeli government’s latest decisions open the door for what has happened in Hebron to happen elsewhere, with Israeli settlers establishing a presence in other Palestinian cities, forcing locals out, experts say. Advertisement Nabil Faraj, a Palestinian journalist and political analyst, called the Israeli government’s moves “dangerous” and added that they “have driven the final nail into the coffin of the peace process”. He explained that Israel is reengineering the geographic landscape of the West Bank, expanding infrastructure to serve settlements, and seeking to strip the Palestinian Authority of administrative and security control. The Hebron model Palestinians in Bethlehem are now worried that they will get a taste of what Hebron has already experienced. One of the Israeli cabinet’s decisions on Sunday stipulated that the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the city, known to Jews as Rachel’s Tomb, would be placed under Israeli administration for cleaning and maintenance, after previously being under the jurisdiction of the Bethlehem municipality. The mosque’s cemetery has also been affected. “It will affect the living and the dead,” said Bassam Abu Srour, who lives in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp. “Annexing the area would prevent burials and visits to the Islamic cemetery. This is extremely serious and completely unacceptable to us.” In Bethlehem, Hebron, and the rest of the West Bank, Palestinians feel powerless to stop what they view as a creeping annexation. Mamdouh al-Natsheh, a shop owner in Hebron, said he now has a growing sense that what is unfolding is an attempt to impose a permanent reality. “The city is being taken from its people step by step,” he said. “Daily restrictions are turning it into a fixed policy that suffocates every detail of life.” He added that the deepest impact is on children and young people, growing up in a city that is “divided and constantly monitored”, stripping them of a natural sense of the future. “I fear the day will come when we are told this area has been officially annexed, and that our presence depends on permits,” al-Natsheh said. “In Hebron, a house is not just walls – it is history and identity. Any annexation means the loss of security
Young and old struggle to get their studies back on track in Gaza
Nuseirat, Gaza Strip – Nibal Abu Armana sits in her tent, where she has been teaching her seven-year-old son, Mohammed, basic literacy and numbers. Nibal, a 38-year-old mother of six, is forced to rely on the dim light from a battery-powered LED lamp. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list After two hours, Nibal and Mohammed’s eyes are exhausted. This is what education is like for many in Gaza. The majority of Palestinians in the enclave live like Nibal and her family: displaced and forced to survive in temporary shelters barely fit for habitation. But Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, has gone on for more than two years, and the necessary reconstruction is unlikely to happen any time soon. The majority of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel, along with the majority of other structures in Gaza. Many of the school structures that remain are now used as shelters for displaced families. And students – both children at schools and young adults at universities – have largely missed any form of regular education since the war began in October 2023. “My children used to have a routine before the war: wake up early, go to school, get back home, have lunch, play, write homework, and sleep early,” Nibal told Al Jazeera. “There was a sense of discipline.” Now, she said, her children’s days are structured around their basic needs: sourcing water, getting meals from a charity kitchen, and finding something to burn on the fire for cooking and warmth. After all of that, there is little time left in the day to study. Advertisement Nibal, originally from the Bureij camp but now living in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, said her children struggled, especially at the start of the war, when all forms of education stopped for months. And now, even though circumstances are getting better, it is hard to catch up. Many older children, who have missed out on education at a vital period of their lives, are unwilling to resume their studies. “My eldest son, Hamza, is 16 years old, and he entirely rejects the idea of going back to school,” Nibal said. “He has been cut off from learning for so long and lived in displacement that he lost interest in education. He has new responsibilities. He works with his dad as a porter, helping people carry their aid boxes. He focuses on working to get money to buy food for us and buy himself clothes.” “He grew up before his time; he bears the responsibilities and thinks like a parent would for his youngest siblings,” she said. Nibal’s second son, 15-year-old Huzaifa, is eager to keep learning, but uncertain of his future, as he thinks it will take him years to make up for the time he has lost being unable to study properly. For now, he is studying, but he is forced to attend classes in a makeshift tent classroom. “I feel tired sitting on the ground, and my back and neck ache while writing and looking at the teachers,” Huzaifa said. Attacks on education Since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, 745,000 students have been out of formal schooling, including 88,000 higher education students who have been forced to put their studies on hold. Even with a “ceasefire” being in place since October, which Israel continues to violate, more than 95 percent of the significantly damaged school buildings require rehabilitation or reconstruction, according to UNESCO satellite damage assessments. At least 79 percent of higher education campuses and 60 percent of vocational training centres are also damaged or destroyed. Ahmad al-Turk, the dean of public relations and assistant to the president of the Islamic University of Gaza, said that Israel has been deliberately attacking education. “Targeting professors affects future generations, especially given the experience and skills these professors possess in their fields of specialisation,” al-Turk said. “There is no doubt that the absence of competent professors negatively affects students’ achievement, as well as the research process in the future.” This is particularly worrying for Raed Salha, a professor at the Islamic University and an expert on regional and urban planning. Advertisement “University expertise is not something that can be replaced quickly,” he said. “It is cumulative knowledge built through years of teaching and research. Losing it – whether through death, forced displacement, or prolonged disruption – is a devastating loss for students, academic institutions, and society as a whole.” Most families and university students also struggle with the online education system, as it is difficult to afford to buy electronic devices and mobile phones, even before taking into account the weak internet connection in Gaza. “Teachers are trying to teach; students are trying to follow, but the tools are almost nonexistent,” Salha said. “We cannot recreate the experience of students leaving home in the morning, meeting friends, sitting in university courtyards, libraries, laboratories, or participating in activities and events,” he said. “This experience shaped generations of students’ identities and sense of belonging. Today, it is being taken away from them.” Students sit in a classroom at the Islamic University in Gaza City after partially resuming face-to-face learning [Mustafa Salah/Al Jazeera] University challenges University student Osama Zimmo explained that getting used to online learning has been a challenge. “We became names on screens, not students living a full experience,” the 20-year-old civil engineering student from Gaza City said. Osama had enrolled to study computer systems engineering at Gaza’s al-Azhar University before the war, and completed the first year of his studies. But despite his initial passion for that field, it became difficult to continue his studies online once the university shifted to e-learning. “I found that I didn’t have a laptop, stable electricity, or good internet, and even my phone was old and unreliable,” he said, adding that uncertainty over when the war would end and the impact of artificial intelligence gave him pause about his chosen field. Eventually, he decided to switch his major, starting a
Five employees of Canadian mine found dead in Mexico, authorities say
Mexican authorities say they are working to identify five other bodies after 10 workers were kidnapped last month. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 2 mins info Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Five of 10 employees who were abducted from a Canadian-run mine in Mexico last month have been confirmed as dead, authorities said. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said on Monday that authorities have identified five bodies found at a property in El Verde, a rural locality in the state of Sinaloa, and are working to identify the remains of five other people. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “It is important to note that prosecutorial authorities have remained in contact with the victims’ relatives,” the office said in a statement. “In the cases where the bodies have already been identified, they will be transferred to the states of Zacatecas in two cases, as well as to Chihuahua, Sonora, and Guerrero,” it added. Authorities, who last week arrested four people in connection with the case, will continue gathering evidence to ensure the killings “do not go unpunished”, the office said without providing information on a possible motive. Vizsla Silver, the operator of the Panuco gold and silver mine located near Mazatlan, Sinaloa, said earlier on Monday that it had been informed by a number of families that their loved ones had been found dead. “We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life. Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues’ families, friends and co-workers, and the entire community of Concordia,” Michael Konnert, president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, said in a statement. “Our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people during this incredibly difficult time,” Konnert said. Advertisement Vizsla Silver, based in Vancouver, reported on January 28 that 10 of its workers had been taken from its project site and that it had informed authorities. Sinaloa has been rocked by escalating gang violence linked to a rivalry between factions affiliated with two cofounders of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, both of whom are in custody in the United States. The western state in Mexico saw more than 1,680 homicides in 2025, making it the most violent year in more than a decade, according to a tally by the Mexican newspaper Milenio. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,447
These are the key developments from day 1,447 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 6 mins info Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is where things stand on Tuesday, February 10: Fighting Russian overnight drone attacks on Ukraine, including in the eastern Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, killed at least four people. A mother and her 10-year-old son were killed in the attacks, which also knocked out power to tens of thousands of people, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones against Ukraine overnight. Of the drones launched, 116 were shot down or neutralised, and some missiles were intercepted and did not reach their targets, the Air Force said. Russian attacks have damaged production sites of Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz in the Poltava and Sumy regions of the country, the company’s CEO, Sergii Koretskyi, said in a Facebook post. Koretskyi said it was the 20th attack on the company’s infrastructure since the start of this year. Russian forces are trying to press forward around the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said, hoping to conclude a months-long campaign to seize the strategic hub as Moscow seeks to capture the whole of the Donetsk region. The fall of Pokrovsk would mark Russia’s biggest battlefield victory since it seized the eastern city of Avdiivka in early 2024. Kyiv’s General Staff said its forces still hold the northern part of Pokrovsk, a city with a pre-war population of 60,000, and are also defending the smaller city of Myrnohrad nearby. Pokrovsk has been the site of fierce fighting since last year. Advertisement Weapons Ukraine is opening up exports of its domestically produced weapons, including combat drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as a way for Kyiv to earn money from wartime technology and generate badly needed funds for the country. Zelenskyy said that 10 “export centres” for Ukrainian weapons would be opened in 2026 across Europe. Ukraine and France have agreed to start “large-scale” joint weapons production, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on the Telegram messaging app, after hosting his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, in Kyiv. Fedorov did not specify what arms would be produced with France or when manufacturing would be launched. Politics and diplomacy An agreement on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine must also take into consideration security guarantees for Russia, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko told the Izvestia media outlet. These guarantees include the rejection of any deployment in Ukraine of troops from NATO states, he said. Russia remains open to cooperation with the United States, but is not hopeful about economic ties despite Washington’s ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has claimed that suspects held for the shooting of one of the country’s most senior military intelligence officers in Moscow last week, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, have confessed that they were carrying out orders from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The FSB also claimed that Polish intelligence was involved in their recruitment. Neither Ukraine nor Poland has commented on the allegations. India plans to maintain multiple sources of energy supply and diversify them when needed, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. The minister’s comments come after US President Donald Trump said last week that New Delhi had “committed to stop directly or indirectly” importing fuel from Russia. Germany has indicted a Ukrainian national in connection with allegations of a plot linked to Russian intelligence to detonate parcel packages in Europe, German prosecutors said in a statement. The suspect was arrested in Switzerland in May of last year and extradited to Germany in December. Moscow has previously denied involvement in the alleged plot. Sanctions The European Union has proposed extending its sanctions against Russia to include ports in Georgia and Indonesia that handle Russian oil, the first time the bloc would target ports in third countries that deal with Russia, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a proposal document. The proposal bars EU companies and individuals from conducting transactions with the ports. The EU also proposed adding two Kyrgyz banks – Keremet and OJSC Capital Bank of Central Asia – to its sanctions list for providing crypto asset services to Russia, as well as banks in Laos and Tajikistan, while removing two Chinese lenders. If approved, the listed banks would be barred from transactions with EU individuals and companies. The EU document proposes the inclusion in the sanctions list of 30 individuals and 64 companies, seeking a freeze on their assets and travel bans. These include Bashneft, a listed subsidiary of Russia’s oil behemoth Rosneft, as well as eight Russian refineries, among them two major Rosneft-controlled plants – Tuapse and Syzran. The proposal stops short of listing Rosneft or Lukoil, already hit by US sanctions. Advertisement Sport Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych said a helmet he has used in training at the Milano Cortina Games with images of compatriots killed during the war in Ukraine cannot be used in Olympic competition, after having been told by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it violates a rule on political statements. Ukrainian Minister of Sports Matvii Bidnyi has decried actions by the IOC that Kyiv says indicate that the organisation may soon ease restrictions against Russian athletes, allowing them to once again represent their country in future Olympic Games. Bidnyi told The Associated Press news agency that any change would be “irresponsible” and appear to condone Russia’s invasion, as the war’s fourth anniversary approaches. Smoke billows following Russian double-tap Shahed drone attacks against a petrol station in Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, on Monday [Maria Senovilla/EPA] Adblock test (Why?)
US kills two people in attack on boat in eastern Pacific, one survivor
The US military says one person survived the strike on the vessel and that the coastguard has been notified. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 2 mins info Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The United States military has attacked a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people, and notifying the US coastguard that one person survived the strike. The US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said the “lethal kinetic strike” was carried out on Monday against a vessel, which it alleged was involved in drug trafficking without providing any evidence. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived the strike. Following the engagement, US SOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor,” the military said. Last week, the US claimed responsibility for killing two people in an earlier attack in the eastern Pacific, bringing to three the number of attacks Washington has ordered on vessels since its forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a bloody nighttime raid on the capital, Caracas, in early January. According to monitors and tallies kept by media organisations, the US has now carried out some 37 attacks against 39 vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Ocean, killing at least 130 people, including the latest killings on Monday. SOUTHCOM did not provide details on the medical condition of the survivor from Monday’s attack, nor the chances of the person’s rescue by the US coastguard and the likelihood of their survival. The US appears undeterred in carrying out its deadly operations in international waters off Latin America, despite legal scholars, rights workers and regional leaders accusing the US of extrajudicial killing by acting as the judge, jury and executioner in cases of people suspected of drug trafficking. Advertisement Officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump have already come under scrutiny for reports that the first such attack, which took place in September 2025, included a follow-up strike that killed survivors who were clinging to the wreckage of a boat. Legal experts said the US military committed a crime if it killed the survivors of a shipwreck . SOUTHCOM released a 10-second video of the air strike on Monday. In the video, a small, motorised boat can be seen in the military’s crosshairs before it is hit, triggering an explosion seconds later. Some of the boat’s structure appears to remain intact after the explosion, although the vessel slows down. Adblock test (Why?)
Japanese PM after landslide victory: ‘I do not fear any challenges’
NewsFeed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition won 352 of the 465 seats in the lower house of Parliament, its best result ever at the polls. Experts say the decisive victory will pave the way for a defence expansion that China has condemned as a return to militarism. Published On 9 Feb 20269 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Protesters in Australia rally against Israeli president’s visit
NewsFeed Protesters took to the streets across Australia to rally against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whom they describe as “war criminal supporting one of the most heinous genocides”. Clashes broke out in Sydney as police used pepper spray and arrested demonstrators. Published On 9 Feb 20269 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Strong support in Pakistan for Gaza peacekeeping force but questions linger
Islamabad, Pakistan – A new survey indicates nearly three-quarters of Pakistanis support deploying troops to the Gaza Strip as part of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF). The findings of the poll by Gallup Pakistan come as media reports suggested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the first formal meeting of United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) on February 19, a body Pakistan joined alongside several other Muslim-majority countries last month. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Gallup poll, conducted from January 15 to February 3, surveyed 1,600 respondents through random telephone interviews. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 to 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. According to Bilal Gilani, executive director of Gallup Pakistan, the results paint a picture of a nation deeply engaged with the Palestinian cause yet divided on how best to pursue it and uncertain about the political structures being built around Gaza’s future. The ISF was proposed along with Trump’s BoP in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. They were part of a 20-point plan Trump proposed to try to end the war in Gaza. The plan began with a “ceasefire” that started in October. In later stages, the international peacekeeping force is to be created and deployed to provide security and oversight of the “truce” between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. The Board of Peace was initially framed as a mechanism to support the administration, reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. Advertisement The White House formally announced its creation in January. However, the organisation’s 11-page charter does not mention Gaza once. Permanent membership on the board requires a $1bn contribution for a three-year term although the UN Security Council resolution establishing it limits its mandate in Gaza until the end of 2027. The board includes countries with sharply different relationships with Israel, from Muslim-majority states that have normalised ties to others, such as Pakistan, that do not recognise Israel but have participated in diplomatic efforts to end its genocidal war on Gaza. Divided views The Gallup Pakistan survey’s central finding is unambiguous: 73 percent of Pakistanis support sending a contingent of the country’s military to Gaza with 55 percent expressing “strong” support and 18 percent “slight” support. Opposition was limited. Only 6 percent opposed the deployment while 16 percent were undecided. Gilani said the most striking takeaway is the divergence between Pakistan’s elites and the broader public. “The public opinion, at least in my reading, with respect to sending troops to Gaza is more unanimous whereas joining BoP is a little divided but still more in support of joining, so I think this is an interesting juncture where elite and public opinion varies,” he told Al Jazeera. Salman Shahid, a 29-year-old lawyer in Lahore, said Pakistan’s diplomatic standing improves when it acts as a “voice of reason, law and unity, not when it rushes into confrontational positions”. “A mature, lawful and humanitarian approach strengthens our credibility far more than military posturing. However, any military involvement outside Pakistan’s borders must strictly follow Pakistan’s Constitution and must align with UN mandates,” Shahid told Al Jazeera. Masroor Hussain, 33, a software developer from Karachi, said Pakistan should avoid joining the stabilisation force but believes participation in Trump’s board could be beneficial. Despite criticism, the body is currently the only platform offering countries a role in shaping a resolution to the Gaza war while potentially providing a long-term solution, he said. “Pakistan being in BoP will mean it is more involved in the Middle East as far as talks go, but how it turns into something concrete for Pakistan is hard to say as the region has multiple sides with their own agendas,” Hussain told Al Jazeera. Pakistani peacekeepers are deployed with the UN’s stabilisation force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [File: Glody Murhabazi/AFP] ‘Vague objectives’ Support cuts across demographic lines although with variations. About 78 percent of men backed a troop deployment to Gaza compared with 68 percent of women. Urban residents showed stronger support at 84 percent compared with 67 percent in rural areas. Advertisement Education appeared less decisive. About 67 percent of respondents with less than a high school diploma supported a deployment compared with 84 percent of those with post-secondary educations. Anam Nadeem, 38, a communications professional from Sialkot, is firmly opposed. “The ISF’s role, leadership and objectives are vague, and it appears to be aligned with a US-led framework that lacks broad regional legitimacy. Joining such a force risks placing Pakistan in direct conflict with Palestinian factions, including Hamas, potentially against the will of the Palestinian people,” she said. Pakistan is neither politically nor strategically prepared for a military entanglement in Gaza under unclear terms, Nadeem said. “Without a transparent mandate, UN authorisation and explicit Palestinian consent, supporting this decision would be irresponsible,” she added. These concerns echo conditions highlighted in the survey. A joint alliance of Muslim countries emerged as the most crucial prerequisite for deployment with 64 percent rating it “important” and 35 percent calling it “very important”. A formal request from the Palestinian leadership was deemed necessary by 86 percent of respondents while 81 percent said UN approval was essential. Approval from major powers, including the US and China, ranked lowest. Only 47 percent considered it important while 30 percent viewed it as unimportant. Pro-Palestinian protesters in Dublin, Ireland, in January 2026 [File: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters] Uncertain framework Although Pakistan accepted an invitation to join the Board of Peace during a signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month, the Gallup poll suggested significant uncertainty. About 39 percent of respondents said they’re unsure about the move. About 34 percent expressed happiness at Pakistan becoming part of the board while 23 percent were unhappy. Gilani said this ambivalence likely reflects limited public information about the body’s mandate and the contours of any potential troop deployment. “I think there is obviously this aspect that if the military force
Who is Leqaa Kordia, the Columbia protester still in ICE detention?
Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman detained in the United States by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency since March, has been rushed to a hospital after a medical episode, according to media reports. Kordia is being held in Texas after being detained as part of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on college campuses across the country. Her legal team said she was targeted for her protest against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza near Columbia University in New York in 2024, but the federal government said she was arrested for allegedly overstaying her student visa. Since her hospitalisation on Friday, Kordia’s legal team and family said they have not been able to speak with her and do not know her whereabouts. Here is everything we know about Kordia and why she continues to remain in detention: Who is Kordia? Kordia grew up in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah before coming to the US in 2016. She arrived on a visitor’s visa, staying with her mother, a US citizen, in Paterson, New Jersey, home to one of the largest Arab communities in the country. She later transitioned from a tourist visa to a student visa, according to her habeas corpus petition. After her mother applied for Kordia to remain in the US as the relative of a citizen, her green card application was approved in 2021. However, she received incorrect advice from a teacher that led to her student visa expiring in 2022, according to her lawyers. Before her arrest, Kordia worked as a server at a Middle Eastern restaurant on Palestine Way in New Jersey and helped to care for her autistic half-brother. Advertisement Kordia was moved to protest against Israel’s war due to personal loss. Since the start of the war in October 2023, Kordia said, more than 200 of her relatives have been killed. Israel has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 170,000 in a war that human rights groups, a United Nations commission and a growing number of scholars said amounts to genocide. Since a “ceasefire” began in October, Israel has killed more than 500 Palestinians and continues to impose curbs on the entry of aid into Gaza. If deported, Kordia would be handed over to the Israeli government. Pro-Palestinian protesters take over Butler Library on the campus of Columbia University on May 7, 2025 [Ryan Murphy/Reuters] Why was Kordia arrested? She was first arrested in April 2024 during a protest outside the gates of Columbia University, but the case was soon dropped. On March 13, 2025, Kordia showed up at the ICE headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, for what she believed to be routine immigration questions. She was detained there, “thrown into an unmarked van and sent 1,500 miles [more than 2,400km] away”, Kordia wrote in the USA Today newspaper last month. Kordia was neither a student at Columbia University nor a part of political circles. “Though I was not a student, I felt compelled to participate. After all, Israel, with the backing of the United States, has laid waste to Gaza, forcibly displacing my family, killing nearly 200 of my relatives,” she wrote in USA Today. Today, Kordia is the only person who remains in detention from the Columbia campus demonstrations. She has been held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. A leader of the protests, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student with Algerian citizenship and a US green card, and others have been released. Khalil, however, is still in a legal battle to remain in the US with his American wife and child. Last month, an appeals court panel dismissed a lawsuit Khalil filed challenging his detention and deportation order. The judges concluded that the federal court that ordered Khalil’s release last year lacked jurisdiction over the matter. Lawyers for Leqaa Kordia, second from right, say she’s been targeted by US immigration enforcement because she participated in pro-Palestinian protests [File: Craig Ruttle/AP Photo] What are the charges against Kordia? The US government has called Kordia’s money transfers to relatives in the Middle East evidence of possible ties to “terrorists”. Kordia’s lawyers have continuously argued for her release, saying she was targeted by federal officials for her participation in pro-Palestinian protests. Advertisement The federal government has maintained that the case against Kordia is of overstaying a student visa. “Her arrest had nothing to do with her radical activities,” the Department of Homeland Security said in April. “Kordia was arrested for immigration violations due to having overstayed her F-1 student visa, which had been terminated on January 26, 2022, for lack of attendance.” Writing in USA Today last month, Kordia said she does not consider herself either a leader or an activist. “I am a devout Muslim who is deeply committed to my faith and community. I’m a Palestinian woman who enjoys playing the oud, making pottery and hiking,” Kordia wrote. “Speaking out against what rights groups and experts have called a genocide is my moral duty and – I thought – a constitutionally protected right for all in this country. Except, it seems, when that speech defends Palestinian life.” An immigration judge has called for Kordia’s release twice. However, it has been repeatedly blocked through a series of procedural and administrative moves. “[The] Trump administration has exploited rarely used procedural loopholes to keep me confined, a practice now being challenged in federal district courts across the country, with many finding the practice unconstitutional,” Kordia wrote. Demonstrators march after the arrest of Palestinian student protester Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University on March 10, 2025 [Jeenah Moon/Reuters] How has Kordia lived in ICE detention? Since Kordia was moved to the ICE detention facility in Alvarado in March, she has been facing a range of issues, from sleeping on a bare mattress on the floor to being denied religious accommodations, including halal meals. “Inside the ICE facility where I’m being held, conditions are filthy, overcrowded and inhumane,” Kordia wrote in her piece for USA Today. “For months,