Why Trump says getting Greenland is about defence
[unable to retrieve full-text content] President Donald Trump insists the US needs to take over Greenland as a matter of national security. Here’s why.
Cameroon vs Morocco: AFCON 2025 – team news, start time and lineups
Who: Cameroon vs MoroccoWhat: CAF Africa Cup of NationsWhere: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, MoroccoWhen: Friday, January 9 at 8pm (19:00 GMT)How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live score and text commentary stream. Few gave Cameroon much of a chance in the Africa Cup of Nations after off-the-field issues marred their build-up to the tournament but the Indomitable Lions stood firm in the face of adversity to reach the quarterfinals in Morocco. The five-time champions are up against the hosts in Friday’s last-eight tie, knowing the pressure is firmly on the North Africans as they look to win a first AFCON title in 50 years in front of their home supporters. With high-profile players such as Brahim Diaz, Achraf Hakimi, Bryan Mbeumo and Carlos Baleba involved, there will be no shortage of talent on display in Rabat. Here’s everything you need to know about Cameroon vs Morocco: What happened in Cameroon’s camp before the AFCON 2025? Cameroon have spent the last 18 months embroiled in a bizarre battle of wills between their federation, headed by four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o, and the sports ministry, which employs the coach. Head coach Marc Brys was employed against Eto’o’s wishes, and the pair sparred publicly throughout the 21 months that the Belgian managed the team. Brys had the backing of the government, which pays the team’s costs, leaving a frustrated Eto’o undermining his coach whenever he could but being unable to get rid of him. Advertisement Ultimately, Cameroon, who have been to more FIFA World Cups than any other African nation, had a dismal qualifying campaign and failed to make the cut for the 2026 edition. World Cup qualification failure, combined with a landslide re-election win for Eto’o at about the same time, saw support for Brys suddenly fade, and he was fired three weeks before the AFCON. In his place, the unheralded David Pagou was appointed new coach, and a squad for AFCON was selected without captain Vincent Aboubakar or goalkeeper Andre Onana, who had previously expressed support for the sports minister. How did Cameroon reach the AFCON quarterfinals? Cameroon finished runners-up in Group F with two wins and a draw. They were tied on seven points with the Ivory Coast, but settled for the second spot on account of fewer goals scored than the table toppers. In the round of 16, Cameroon beat South Africa 2-1, thanks to goals from Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane. For Cameroon, reaching the last eight means their AFCON is already a success after a chaotic build-up [File: AFP] What happened in Morocco’s camp? Despite being tipped as overwhelming favourites, the World Cup 2022 semifinalists faced early criticism after a nervy opening-day win over minnows Comoros and a draw with Mali, before restoring confidence with a convincing 3-0 victory over Zambia in their final group match. Coach Walid Regragui had apologised to frustrated fans for the team’s underwhelming performance, saying, “Moroccans are naturally emotional, they need confidence.” Captain Hakimi urged fans to back them all the way through. “If the fans are behind us we can be champions of Africa together,” he said. How did Morocco reach the quarterfinals? Morocco topped Group A with a similar record, bagging two wins and a draw for seven points. They started their knockout campaign with a 1-0 win over Tanzania in the round of 16. Who will the winner face in the next round? The winner of the Cameroon vs Morocco match will face the winner of the Algeria vs Nigeria match in the semifinals. That game will be held on January 14 in Rabat. Who are Cameroon’s best players? Cameroon have not been among the most free-scoring sides, but a handful of individuals have stepped up to the task. Teenage forward Christian Kofane has been the standout player, scoring twice at the tournament, including a decisive strike in the round-of-16 victory, to underline his growing importance to the Indomitable Lions. Cameroon were also fortunate during the group stage, benefitting from two own goals that helped keep their campaign on track. Advertisement Beyond Kofane, goals have come from Tchamadeu and Etta Eyong, while established star Bryan Mbeumo and emerging talent Carlos Baleba have both impressed, earning Player of the Match awards for their influential displays. Who are Morocco’s best players? Right winger Brahim Diaz has been Morocco’s standout performer at the AFCON 2025. The Real Madrid player is the tournament’s top scorer with four goals, finding the net in each of Morocco’s four matches and underlining his status as their most decisive attacking threat. Striker Ayoub El Kaabi has also caught the eye, with his acrobatic finishes drawing admiration from fans and pundits alike, chipping in with two goals to bolster Morocco’s front line. Achraf Hakimi, widely regarded as the world’s best right-back, missed the first two matches due to an ankle injury, but is back to full match fitness, having made his first start of the tournament in the first knockout fixture. Although all eyes were on their popular right-back Achraf Hakimi before the tournament, it’s Brahim Diaz who has emerged as Morocco’s star performer at AFCON 2025 [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters] Cameroon and Morocco form guides Cameroon: W-W-D-W-L Morocco: W-W-D-W-W Head-to-head Cameroon and Morocco have met in 13 previous encounters across competitive and friendly games. Cameroon dominate the head-to-head record with seven wins, while four games ended in a draw. Morocco have won only twice. When did Cameroon and Morocco last meet? The teams last met in February 2021 at the Africa Nations Championship, commonly known as CHAN, in a semifinal tie. Morocco won that game 4-0. Have Cameroon ever won an AFCON title? Yes. Cameroon are one of Africa’s major forces in the tournament. They have won the title five times: 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and 2017. They are the second-most successful team in AFCON behind Egypt, who have seven titles. Have Morocco ever won an AFCON title? Yes. Morocco won their
US Senate passes measure to restrict Trump’s military actions in Venezuela
Published On 8 Jan 20268 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A resolution that would block US President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorisation has passed in the Senate by a vote of 52-47. With the measure receiving a simple majority in Thursday’s vote, it will move ahead to the House. Days after US forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic military raid in Caracas, senators voted on the latest in a series of war powers measures introduced since the administration ramped up military pressure on the country with attacks on boats off its coast in September. Republicans have blocked all of the measures, but the last vote was just 49-51, as two senators from Trump’s party joined Democrats in backing a resolution in November. Administration officials had told lawmakers at that time that they did not plan to change the government or conduct strikes on Venezuelan territory. More to come… Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says he wants to free up Venezuelan oil flow. What was blocking it?
United States President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they want to free up the flow of Venezuelan oil to benefit Venezuelans after US forces abducted President Nicolas Maduro from Caracas. “We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which requires billions of dollars that will be paid for by the oil companies directly,” Trump said at a media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida hours after Maduro was seized on Saturday. “They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing, but it’s going to be paid, and we’re going to get the oil flowing.” Then, on Tuesday, the US president said he wanted to use proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States”. Rubio has echoed Trump in his comments in recent days. But what has been holding back the flow of Venezuelan oil, preventing the country from attracting investments and driving the country into poverty? A key reason is one that Trump and Rubio have been silent about: Washington’s own efforts to strangle Venezuela’s oil industry and economy through sanctions, which also have set off a refugee crisis. What has Trump said about Venezuelan oil? In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday night, Trump said Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US. Trump wrote: “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Advertisement Trump added that he had directed his energy secretary, Chris Wright, to execute the plan “immediately”. “It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” Trump wrote. During the news conference on Saturday, Trump said US oil companies would fix Venezuela’s “broken infrastructure” and “start making money for the country”. Earlier Trump had accused Venezuela in a Truth Social post of “stealing” US oil, land and other assets and using that oil to fund crime, “terrorism” and human trafficking. Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller has made similar claims in recent days. What does it mean for the US to take Venezuelan oil? Oil is trading at roughly $56 per barrel. Based on this price, 30 million barrels of oil would be worth $1.68bn and 50 million barrels of oil would be worth $2.8bn. “Trump’s statement about oil in Venezuela is beyond an act of war; it is an act of colonisation. That is also illegal based on the UN Charter,” Vijay Prashad, the director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research based in Argentina, Brazil, India, and South Africa, told Al Jazeera. Ilias Bantekas, a professor of transnational law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that the US involvement in Venezuela was “less about Maduro as it is about access to Venezuela’s oil deposits”. “This [oil] is the number one target. Trump is not content with just allowing US oil firms to get concessions but to ‘run’ the country, which entails absolute and indefinite control over Venezuela’s resources.” According to the website of the US Energy Information Administration, the US consumed an average of 20.25 million barrels of petroleum per day in 2023. What has Rubio said about Venezuelan oil? In an interview on the NBC TV network’s Meet the Press programme that aired on Sunday, Rubio said: “We are at war against drug trafficking organisations. That’s not a war against Venezuela.” “No more drug trafficking … and no more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries around the world and not benefitting the people of Venezuela or, frankly, benefitting the United States and the region,” Rubio said. Rubio said in the interview that since 2014, about eight million Venezuelans have fled the country, which he attributed to theft and corruption by Maduro and his allies. According to a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from May, nearly 7.9 million people have indeed left Venezuela. But he was silent on the US’s own role in creating that crisis. Advertisement What are the US sanctions against Venezuela’s oil? Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1976 under then-President Carlos Andres Perez during an oil boom. He established the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) to control all oil resources. Venezuela continued to be a major oil exporter to the US for some years, supplying 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After President Hugo Chavez took office in 1998, he nationalised all oil assets, seized foreign-owned assets, restructured the PDVSA and prioritised using oil revenue for social programmes in Venezuela. From 2003 to 2007, Venezuela under Chavez managed to cut its poverty rate in half – from 57 percent to 27.5 percent. Extreme poverty fell even more sharply, by 70 percent. But exports declined, and government authorities were accused of mismanagement. The US first imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil in retaliation for nationalising US oil assets in 2005. Under US sanctions, many senior Venezuelan government officials and companies have been barred from accessing any property or financial assets held in the US. They cannot access US bank accounts, sell property or access their money if it passes through the US financial system. Critically, any US companies or citizens doing business with any sanctioned individual or company will be penalised and risk becoming subject to enforcement actions. Maduro took over as president in 2013 after Chavez’s death. In 2017, Trump, during his first term in office, imposed more sanctions and tightened them again in 2019. This further restricted sales to the US and access for Venezuelan companies to the global financial system. As a result, oil exports to the US nearly stopped, and Venezuela shifted its trade mainly to China with some sales to India and Cuba. Last month, the Trump administration imposed yet more
Do Russia and China pose a national security threat to the US in Greenland?
US President Donald Trump sees Greenland as a United States national security priority to deter Washington’s “adversaries in the Arctic region”, according to a White House statement released on Tuesday. The statement came days after Trump told reporters that the US needs Greenland from a national security perspective because it is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Here’s what you need to know about what Trump said, whether Russia and China are present in Greenland, and whether they do pose a threat to American security. What has Trump recently said about Greenland? “Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4. The White House statement on Tuesday fleshed out further details on how the US would go about its acquisition of Greenland. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House statement says. Over the course of his second term, Trump has talked about wanting Greenland for national security reasons multiple times. “We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,” he said in March. Since 1979, Greenland has been a self-governing territory of Denmark, and since 2009, it has had the right to declare independence through a referendum. Advertisement Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to take control of the island, which hosts a US military base. He first voiced this desire in 2019, during his first term as US president. As a response, leaders from Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly said that Greenland is not for sale. They have made it clear that they are especially not interested in becoming part of the US. On January 4, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland.” “The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom,” she said, alluding to the Faroe Islands, which, like Greenland, are also a Danish territory. “I would therefore strongly urge the US to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said. US special forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during an operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on January 3. Hours later, Katie Miller, the wife of close Trump aide and US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, posted a photo on X showing the US flag imposed on the map of Greenland. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen hit back in an X post, writing, “Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law – not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights.” Why does Trump want Greenland so badly? The location and natural resources of the Arctic island make it strategically important for Washington. Greenland is geographically part of North America, located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is home to some 56,000 residents, mostly Indigenous Inuit people. It is the world’s largest island. Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York City – some 2,900km (1,800 miles) away – than the Danish capital Copenhagen, which is located 3,500km (2,174 miles) to the east. Greenland, a NATO territory through Denmark, is an EU-associated overseas country and territory whose residents remain European Union citizens, having joined the European Community with Denmark in 1973 but having withdrawn in 1985. “It’s really tricky if the United States decides to use military power to take over Greenland. Denmark is a member of NATO; the United States is a member as well. It really calls into question what the purpose of the military alliance is, if that happens,” Melinda Haring, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center, told Al Jazeera. Advertisement Greenland offers the shortest route from North America to Europe. This gives the US a strategic upper hand for its military and its ballistic missile early-warning system. The US has expressed interest in expanding its military presence in Greenland by placing radars in the waters connecting Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. These waters are a gateway for Russian and Chinese vessels, which Washington aims to track. The island is also incredibly rich in minerals, including rare earth minerals used in the high-tech industry and in the manufacture of batteries. According to a 2023 survey, 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” by the European Commission were found in Greenland. Greenland does not carry out the extraction of oil and gas, and its mining sector is opposed by its Indigenous population. The island’s economy is largely reliant on its fishing industry. Are Chinese and Russian ships swarming Greenland? However, while Trump has spoken of Russian and Chinese ships around Greenland, currently, facts don’t bear that out. Vessel tracking data from maritime data and intelligence websites such as MarineTraffic do not show the presence of Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland. Are Russia and China a threat to Greenland? The ships’ location aside, Trump’s rhetoric comes amid a heightened scramble for the Arctic. Amid global warming, the vast untapped resources of the Arctic are becoming more accessible. Countries like the US, Canada, China and Russia are now eyeing these resources. “Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said during an address in March 2025 at the International Arctic Forum in the Russian city of Murmansk, the largest city within the Arctic Circle. During this address, Putin said that he believed Trump was serious about taking Greenland and that the US will continue with
Extreme flooding submerges Kosovo cities, villages
NewsFeed Emergency crews in Kosovo carried out a second day of evacuations after the region was devastated by floods. Footage shows people being evacuated from submerged homes as floodwaters slammed several municipalities. Published On 7 Jan 20267 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen, says STC leader al-Zubaidi has fled
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Coalition says it targeted secessionist forces after Aidarous al-Zubaidi failed to board a plane scheduled to take him to Riyadh for talks. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen has launched strikes on the country’s southern Dhale governorate, saying it was targeting secessionist forces after their leader fled without boarding a plane scheduled to take him to Riyadh. In a statement issued early on Wednesday, the coalition said the leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, had been due to fly out from the Yemeni city of Aden on Tuesday night for talks on ending the conflict between his group and the internationally recognised government of Yemen. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list But al-Zubaidi did not board the plane, and “fled to an unknown location,” it said. His whereabouts remain unknown. “During this time, the legitimate government and the coalition received information that al-Zubaidi had mobilised a large force, including armoured and combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, as well as munitions,” it said. The force left Aden at around midnight and were later located in the Dhale governorate, it said. The coalition launched “preemptive strikes” at 4am local time (01:00 GMT) to disable those forces and thwart al-Zubaidi’s “attempt to escalate the conflict”, the statement added. There was no immediate comment from the STC. The council, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen, launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops in December, seeking an independent state in the south. The group is backed by the United Arab Emirates. Advertisement Their advance broke years of deadlock, with the STC seizing control of broad swaths of southern Yemen, including the Hadramout and Mahra provinces, in defiance of warnings from Riyadh. Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia, while Mahra is close to the border. Together, the provinces make up nearly half of Yemeni territory. Riyadh responded with air strikes on the Yemeni port of Mukalla on December 30, targeting what it called a UAE-linked weapons shipment, and backed a call by the internationally recognised government for UAE forces to withdraw from the country. Abu Dhabi denied that the shipment contained weapons and expressed a commitment to ensure Riyadh’s security. Shortly afterwards, it announced an end to what it called its “counterterrorism mission” in Yemen. Yemeni government troops, backed by Saudi Arabian air attacks, went on to reclaim Hadramout and Mahra, and the STC said on Saturday that it would attend peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday said the STC delegation, excluding al-Zubaidi, departed Yemen for Riyadh in the early hours of the morning. The head of the internationally recognised government’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, also announced that al-Zubaidi has been removed from the council for “committing high treason”. Al-Alimi said he has asked the country’s Attorney General to launch an investigation against al-Zubaidi and take legal action. Adblock test (Why?)
How strong are Latin America’s military forces, as they face US threats?
Over the weekend, the United States carried out a large-scale military strike against Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro in a major escalation that sent shockwaves across Latin America. On Monday morning, US President Donald Trump doubled down, threatening action against the governments of Colombia, Cuba and Mexico unless they “get their act together”, claiming he is countering drug trafficking and securing US interests in the Western Hemisphere. The remarks revive deep tensions over US interference in Latin America. Many of the governments targeted by Trump have little appetite for Washington’s involvement, but their armed forces lack the capacity to keep the US at arm’s length. US President Donald Trump issues warnings to Colombia, Cuba and Mexico while speaking to reporters on Air Force One while returning from his Florida estate to Washington, DC, on January 4, 2026 [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] Latin America’s military capabilities The US has the strongest military in the world and spends more on its military than the total budgets of the next 10 largest military spenders combined. In 2025, the US defence budget was $895bn, roughly 3.1 percent of its gross domestic product. According to the 2025 Global Firepower rankings, Brazil has the most powerful military in Latin America and is ranked 11th globally. Mexico ranks 32nd globally, Colombia 46th, Venezuela 50th and Cuba 67th. All of these countries are significantly below the US military in all metrics, including the number of active personnel, military aircraft, combat tanks, naval assets and their military budgets. Advertisement In a standard war involving tanks, planes and naval power, the US maintains overwhelming superiority. The only notable metric that these countries have over the US is their paramilitary forces, which operate alongside the regular armed forces, often using asymmetrical warfare and unconventional tactics against conventional military strategies. (Al Jazeera) Paramilitaries across Latin America Several Latin American countries have long histories of paramilitary and irregular armed groups that have often played a role in the internal security of these countries. These groups are typically armed, organised and politically influential but operate outside the regular military chain of command. Cuba has the world’s third largest paramilitary force, made up of more than 1.14 million members, as reported by Global Firepower. These groups include state-controlled militias and neighbourhood defence committees. The largest of these, the Territorial Troops Militia, serves as a civilian reserve aimed at assisting the regular army against external threats or during internal crises. In Venezuela, members of pro-government armed civilian groups known as “colectivos” have been accused of enforcing political control and intimidating opponents. Although not formally part of the armed forces, they are widely seen as operating with state tolerance or support, particularly during periods of unrest under Maduro. In Colombia, right-wing paramilitary groups emerged in the 1980s to fight left-wing rebels. Although officially demobilised in the mid-2000s, many later re-emerged as criminal or neo-paramilitary organisations, remaining active in rural areas. The earliest groups were organised with the involvement of the Colombian military following guidance from US counterinsurgency advisers during the Cold War. In Mexico, heavily armed drug cartels function as de facto paramilitary forces. Groups such as the Zetas, originally formed by former soldiers, possess military-grade weapons and exercise territorial control, often outgunning local police and challenging the state’s authority. The Mexican military has increasingly been deployed in law enforcement roles in response. History of US interference in Latin America Over the past two centuries, the US has repeatedly interfered in Latin America. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the so-called Banana Wars saw US forces deployed across Central America to protect corporate interests. In 1934, President Franklin D Roosevelt introduced the “Good Neighbor Policy”, pledging nonintervention. Advertisement Yet during the Cold War, the US financed operations to overthrow elected governments, often coordinated by the CIA, founded in 1947. Panama is the only Latin American country the US has formally invaded, which occurred in 1989 under President George HW Bush. “Operation Just Cause” ostensibly was aimed at removing President Manuel Noriega, who was later convicted of drug trafficking and other offences. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli forces kill two in Lebanon, ahead of truce monitors meeting
Representatives from France, Israel, Lebanon, the US and UN tracking the ceasefire are due to meet amid Israeli attacks. Israeli forces have killed two people in southern Lebanon a day before a committee monitoring a yearlong ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was due to hold its next meeting. Lebanon’s NNA news agency said two people were killed in the Israeli attack on a house in south Lebanon’s Kfar Dunin in Bint Jbeil on Tuesday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck two Hezbollah operatives in the area, accusing one of being “an engineering terrorist in a structure that facilitated the organisation’s reestablishment efforts”. The attacks come as the committee monitoring the ceasefire, which includes representatives from France, Israel, Lebanon, the United States, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) prepared to meet on Wednesday. Israeli attacks have killed more than 300 people in Lebanon since the November 2024 ceasefire, including at least 127 civilians. Israeli forces bombarded several parts of Lebanon, killing at least two other people earlier this week, and ordered the forced evacuation of at least four villages in the south and east of the country. Another overnight attack reduced a multistorey building to rubble in an industrial area of Ghaziyeh town, near the coastal city of Sidon, according to a video verified by Al Jazeera and a photographer from the AFP news agency. In a statement earlier on Tuesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, “Israel’s continued attacks aim to thwart all efforts made locally, regionally and internationally to stop the ongoing Israeli escalation, despite the response shown by Lebanon to these efforts at various levels”. Advertisement Beirut-based security affairs analyst Ali Rizk told Al Jazeera the recent attacks come as no surprise following last week’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “There had been reports that Israel got a green light to escalate against Hezbollah,” Rizk told Al Jazeera. ‘Difficult and dangerous conditions’ The spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told a media briefing in New York on Tuesday that Israeli attacks are continuing in close proximity to UNIFIL peacekeepers stationed along the Blue Line, which demarcates the de facto border between Israel, Lebanon, and the occupied Golan Heights. “We are aware that Israeli strikes carried out late Monday night following evacuation orders on targets, reportedly linked to Hezbollah and Hamas,” Dujarric said. “The strikes occurred in areas north of the Litani River, including in western Bekaa, in Lebanese territory in southern Lebanon.” Dujarric added that the UNIFIL peacekeepers detected “three air strikes in their areas of operations” on Monday as well as “several fighter aircraft activities above UNIFIL.” “In addition, our peacekeepers reported multiple instances of direct fire originating from [Israeli army] positions south of the Blue Line, including small arms fire impacting the Kfar Shouba area, a Merkava tank fire near Shab’a, and a small arms fire impacting near a UN position near Kfar Shouba,” Dujarric said. UN Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who is visiting Lebanon currently, said on X that he met with UNIFIL peacekeepers who are “carrying out their mandated tasks under increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions”. Lacroix is set to meet Lebanese officials on Wednesday. Later this week, Lebanon’s cabinet will convene to discuss the army’s progress in disarming Hezbollah, a plan launched under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes. The army was expected to complete the disarmament south of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) from the border with Israel, by the end of 2025, before tackling the rest of the country. In his statement, Aoun said the government’s plan to “extend its authority over the south of the Litani” has been “implemented by the Lebanese army with professionalism, commitment and precision”. Adblock test (Why?)
I won the Oxford Union presidency. Then my identity was put on trial
In December 2025, I was elected president of the Oxford Union, the world-famous debating society. I made history as the first Palestinian to hold the role in the institution’s 203-year history. I won the presidency by a significant margin, in an election that saw turnout far exceed recent contests. Throughout my campaign, I was open about my background as a Palestinian from Gaza, and about how my identity and family history have shaped my understanding of the importance of representation and debate. That openness, however, quickly became the basis for sustained attempts to discredit me. Rather than engaging with my stated platform or my record, early press reporting questioned my suitability for office purely on the basis of who I am. The aim was clear: to portray me as a radical, an extremist, someone inherently suspect. These reports did not emerge in isolation. They formed part of a wider smear campaign that accompanied my presidential run, in which I was cast as an extremist and a security concern. Within that framing, false rumours began circulating that students who supported my campaign could face consequences themselves, including the loss of visas, placement on security watchlists or formal investigations. No evidence was ever produced to substantiate any of this. I always expected student politics to involve a certain level of hostility. What shocked me was the extent to which supposedly reputable outlets adopted these narratives without basic due diligence, and in some cases went further, presenting insinuations as fact in order to depict me as unfit for office. Advertisement That pattern became unmistakable when I received an email from the Jewish Chronicle seeking my response to a forthcoming article, a month after I had already been reported on by the Jerusalem Post. The email was framed as an opportunity for a “right of reply”, but in practice it set out a series of claims and insinuations, presented as evidence of extremism. The most glaring of these was a supposed family link to a Hamas member. The claim referred to Mohammed Al-Rayis, a man killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut in January 2024. He is not related to me. The suggestion relied on pairing one of the most common first names in the Arab world with a widely shared family name from Gaza. My father, Mohammed Elrayess, who bears the same name, is a scientist at Qatar University and is very much alive. Other points raised in the same email were not allegations of wrongdoing at all, but descriptions of my speech and activities, reframed to appear suspicious. One concerned a social media post in which I mourned the killing of Saleh Aljafarawi, a Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza in October 2025, shortly after the announcement of the latest “ceasefire”. In the email, the Jewish Chronicle journalist described Aljafarawi as a “Hamas propagandist”. Israel’s assault on Gaza has been the deadliest conflict for journalists in recorded history. My post was a defence of press freedom and a tribute to a media worker killed in the line of duty. Another concerned my involvement in a documentary I helped produce, Heart of a Protest, which followed pro-Palestine demonstrations across the UK. It was a zero-budget film that allowed protesters to explain why they continued to mobilise and the obstacles they faced in doing so. All proceeds went to families in Gaza. Another line of attack focused on a speech I made at the Oxford Union in November 2024, in favour of the motion, “This house believes that Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide”. There was no interest in the substance of what I said. The objection was to my participation itself. I am proud that I spoke at that debate to rebut arguments that justified or supported the genocide in Gaza. I am proud that I was able to speak about my relative, Maisara Al-Rayis, who was killed alongside his family in an Israeli air strike on his home. If that is an allegation, I accept it without hesitation. For me, these patterns of attack do not reflect strength. They reflect weakness. If the concerns raised about me were genuine, if I truly posed a danger to the institution I now lead, there would be no need to recast lawful and legitimate political expression as evidence of extremism, or to imply guilt through invented family associations. Advertisement These attempts to discredit me sit within a broader effort to silence Palestinians in public life, and to discourage Palestinian participation altogether. They are meant to warn us off. They will not. Let a hundred articles be written to mischaracterise or defame us. We have long passed the point where this can intimidate us into silence. If anything, it makes the need to speak all the more urgent. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)