‘Like Eid’: Bangladeshis hail landmark election, many vote after 17 years
Dhaka, Bangladesh – Standing in a long queue at a government school in the capital Dhaka, Hasan Hoque, a former teacher, laughs and chats with a group of men who just arrived to cast their ballots. “It’s been a while standing in this line, but nothing matches the feeling of casting my own vote. It feels like a festival,” Hoque told Al Jazeera, smiling. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The last time he voted was in 2008 – the year former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned to power and allegedly rigged subsequent elections until her autocratic 15-year regime was challenged by a student-led uprising in 2024, toppling her government and forcing her into exile in India. “The elections we had after 2008 were farcical and one-sided under Awami League,” Hoque said, referring to Hasina’s political party, which was barred from elections after the uprising. “They would cast our votes themselves, so we were not even needed at the polling centres in those years.” That changed on Thursday as Bangladesh held its first parliamentary election since the 2024 uprising, with the country of 173 million people seeking a return to democracy after years of turmoil. Alongside choosing a new parliament, people also voted in a referendum to endorse the so-called “July Charter”, a document born out of the 2024 uprising that proposes sweeping constitutional reforms in order to save the country from future authoritarian rule. ‘Eid-like atmosphere’ Like Hoque, Jainab Lutfun Naher had also returned to the polling booth after 17 years. Advertisement “I was pregnant with my daughter in 2008. Today I voted again, and my daughter is now 17,” the voter from Dhaka’s Gulshan area told Al Jazeera. “It feels absolutely great to vote.” Naher said the day felt emotional and empowering – and allowed her hope. “I want this country to prosper,” she said. “I want it to be democratic, where everyone has rights and freedoms.” The people’s hopes are pinned on two alliances that were in the fray in Thursday’s vote – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, and the Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition of 11 parties, which includes the National Citizen Party (NCP), founded by the youth activists who ousted Hasina. Voting took place in 299 of 300 constituencies, with polling in one seat cancelled following the death of a candidate. The Election Commission declared a turnout of around 48 percent up until 2pm local time (08:00 GMT). A finally tally of the turnout is awaited. Polls closed at 4.30pm (10:30 GMT) on Thursday and official results are expected early Friday morning. Across polling stations in Dhaka, home to 20 parliamentary constituencies, a similar picture emerged: long queues snaking outside school gates and community centres that were turned into polling centres. At one such school, first-time voter Nazmun Nahar said she “was so excited I could hardly sleep last night”. “It felt like Eid,” she told Al Jazeera, referring to the Muslim religious festival and expressing a sentiment also shared by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who told reporters that people were voting in an exuberant “Eid-like atmosphere”. Reports from elsewhere in the country suggested a similarly festive mood, as the government declared a three-day holiday for the election and millions of voters travelled to their hometowns – many on train rooftops – to cast their vote. Abdur Rahman, a voter in northern Bangladesh who travelled on one such crowded train, said almost everyone he knew — from neighbours to extended family — had returned home to cast their ballots. “We were robbed of the joy of voting for so long,” Rahman said. “None of us wanted to miss this opportunity.” ‘Birthday of a new Bangladesh’ After casting his vote at Gulshan Model High School and College in Dhaka, BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, who is a frontrunner for the post of prime minister, said that if he comes to power, he will “prioritise improving law and order in the country so that people feel secure”. “I am confident of winning the election,” Tarique Rahman told reporters. Advertisement Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government formed after the 2024 uprising, cast his ballot at the same centre. “Today is the birthday of a new Bangladesh,” he said. “Through today’s process, people have rejected the past. From today, at every step, we have gained the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh.” Shafiqur Rahman, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, cast his vote at another polling centre in Dhaka. “Through this vote, we hope a government will be formed that does not belong to any individual, family or party, but to the [millions] of people of this country,” he told reporters, calling the election a “turning point” for Bangladesh. Analysts said that while there were scattered allegations of poll malpractices, the election process had largely been peaceful. Asif Mohammad Shahan, professor of development studies at Dhaka University, told Al Jazeera the election did not see “reports of major irregularities”. “Some isolated incidents have occurred, which are of course unwanted, but every election in Bangladesh has had some irregularities. Unless those are serious enough to change the overall result, they do not cross a critical threshold,” he said. Political analyst Dilara Choudhury said a relatively peaceful election is a first step in Bangladesh’s long transition towards democratic normalcy. “Minimal violence in the election is good,” she told Al Jazeera. “If both parties accept the results, it would be a first step for Bangladesh towards a new kind of politics or democratic transition,” she added. But Choudhury cautioned that an election “does not mean a full transition to democracy”, arguing that the next phases would depend on whether governing and opposition forces jointly pursue reforms outlined in the July Charter and institutionalise them – including commitments to accountability, rule of law, and good governance. Meanwhile, Mazeda Begum, a voter at Dhaka’s Civil Aviation School and College polling centre, said she hopes the new government — whoever forms it — will work for the country’s progress,
US border chief says Trump agrees to end deportation surge in Minnesota
US border chief announces the conclusion of a federal operation with 700 immigration agents set to leave Minnesota. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Tom Homan, the US border security chief, says that the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end. “As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said at a news conference on Thursday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “I have proposed, and President [Donald] Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota on December 1 as Trump frequently rebuked the state and its seizable Somali community. Homan said ICE operations would continue as they did before the operation began. “Through targeted enforcement operations based on reasonable suspicion, and prioritising safety and security, ICE will continue to identify, arrest, and remove illegal aliens who pose a risk to public safety, as we’ve done for years,” he said. Federal authorities say the sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. While the Trump administration has called those arrested “dangerous criminal illegal aliens”, many people with no criminal records, including children and US citizens, have also been detained. Minnesota Tim Walz said on Thursday he was “cautiously optimistic” after the Trump administration’s announcement of drawing down the immigration crackdown in his state. “They left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz told reporters. “They left us with economic ruin in some cases.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also welcomed the announcement, likening the immigration operation to military occupation. Advertisement “They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey wrote on X “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.” Reporting from the White House House Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said the operation of Minnesota proved to be a public relations “disaster” for Trump, citing opnion polls that showed public opposition to ICE’s tactics. “It was bad publicity for Donald Trump, and he was getting a great deal of criticism, not just from Democrats, not just from people in the state, but from Republicans around the country as well – that this was not the image that they wanted to portray,” Fisher said. Holman’s announcement came as US legislators were holding hearings questioning government officials over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which saw mass protests and the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents. Adblock test (Why?)
How Israel used discriminatory laws to strip Palestinians of citizenship
Israel’s announcement to revoke the citizenship of two Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks has drawn condemnation from Palestinians, who said that the move “constitutes a grave and alarming precedent” that paves the way for targeting thousands of detainees and former prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an order on Tuesday revoking the citizenship of two Palestinians, who will be deported from Israel. This is the first time that a 2023 discriminatory law is being used to physically deport Palestinians from Israel. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Why is Israel stripping Palestinians of their citizenship? Netanyahu wrote in an X post on Tuesday: “This morning I signed the revocation of citizenship and deportation of two Israeli terrorists who carried out stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and were rewarded for their heinous acts by the Palestinian Authority.” Referring to Ofir Katz, a Knesset member from the Likud party, Netanyahu added: “I thank the Coalition Chairman @OfirKatzMK for leading the law that will deport them from the State of Israel, and many more like them on the way.” One of these men was released from prison for security-related offences in 2024 after serving 23 years, while the other is currently serving an 18-year sentence following a 2016 conviction, according to Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) released a joint statement on Wednesday saying that the decision is based on a discriminatory law, legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in February 2023. Advertisement The 2023 law made it easier for authorities to strip citizenship or residency from Palestinians jailed for what Israel defines as “acts of terror”. The law targets Palestinian citizens of Israel, and Palestinians in the occupied and illegally annexed East Jerusalem who hold Israeli residency. It states that the Palestinians can lose their citizenship or residency after being convicted or charged for an “act of terrorism” and receiving money from the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank. Hassan Jabareen, general director of Adalah, dubbed it “a very, very dangerous law”. “This will be a very hard precedent against Palestinian citizens. It will open the way to transfer them based on political reasons,” Jabareen told Al Jazeera. “This is the first law that we know in any Western democracy that allows the state to revoke the citizenship of their citizens only for political reasons. “As Netanyahu said, this is just the beginning. This means that they are going to revoke more and more citizenships. This is a way of transferring Palestinian citizens,” who make up about 20 percent of Israel’s overall population of about 10 million people. Jabareen added that the Israeli government has done this to stoke tension between Palestinian citizens and the state ahead of the October legislative elections. The Israeli “right wing” wants to be seen as attacking Palestinians for “populist reasons and for electoral reasons”, Jabareen said. Prior to the 2023 legislation, the Citizenship Law of 1952 already allowed for the revocation of citizenship or residency of Palestinians in Israel and Jerusalem on the grounds of “breach of loyalty to the State of Israel”. “Breach of loyalty” is defined to include carrying out an “act of terror,” aiding or soliciting such an act, or “taking an active part” in a “terrorist organisation,” among other activities. ‘Apartheid’: Which other Israeli laws discriminate against Palestinians? The 2023 citizen revocation law is aimed primarily at Palestinians and adds to a longstanding body of legislation that is applied differently to Palestinians in Israel than to Jewish Israelis. There are currently about 100 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens in Israel and Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestinian territory, according to Adalah. In 2018, Israel’s parliament adopted a controversial “Jewish nation-state” law defining the country as a Jewish homeland, further marginalising Palestinian citizens of Israel. The law stipulates that Jewish people have “an exclusive right to national self-determination”. Advertisement Last November, Israel passed a first draft of a death penalty bill, introducing capital punishment for those convicted of killing Israelis if they had “racist” motives or were doing it “with the aim of harming Israel”. The bill is under discussion in the Knesset. Legal experts say the law is discriminatory in how it defines “terrorism”. Palestinians’ attacks will most likely be dubbed “racist”, attracting the death penalty. In a statement on February 3, Amnesty International called on Israel to abandon the bill, warning that the measures would violate international law and “further entrench Israel’s apartheid system” against Palestinians. Amnesty’s statement said: “If adopted, these bills would distance Israel from the vast majority of states which have rejected the death penalty in law or in practice, while further entrenching its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights Israel controls.” Last week, the Israeli cabinet passed measures aimed at expanding its power across the occupied West Bank, making it easier to seize Palestinian land illegally. This has come despite the 2024 UN resolution calling for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank. How many Palestinians live in Israel? There are about 1.9 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship as of 2019, according to Israel’s census. Most are descendants of Palestinians who remained inside Israel when it was founded in 1948. About 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled, and thousands more were killed by the Zionist militias, in the lead-up to Israel’s creation. Israel continues to block their right of return while granting Jews from across the world the right to immigrate to Israel, as well as to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. More than 750,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements built on Palestinian-owned land in the occupied West Bank. In very limited cases, Palestinians who hold residency in East Jerusalem can apply to obtain Israeli citizenship. They have to undergo a difficult naturalisation process, and a small number can apply via family links – but for most Palestinians in
Trump orders Pentagon to buy electricity generated by coal
Trump’s order is the latest move by US administration to boost fossil fuel industry despite climate change concerns. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity generated by coal, his latest effort to boost demand for the fossil fuel amid its declining cost competitiveness and climate change concerns. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump directed the US Department of Defence to enter into long-term purchase agreements with coal-fired plants and prioritise the “preservation and strategic utilisation” of “coal-based energy assets”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Trump’s order did not specify how much energy the Pentagon would purchase or under what financial terms. “You do so much,” Trump said at a White House event attended by coal industry executives and miners. “You heat our homes, fuel our factories, and turn natural resources into American riches and dreams,” he said. Trump also announced that the US Department of Energy would invest $175m to upgrade six coal plants in North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. “The most important people here today are those who get their hands a little bit dirty to keep America running at full speed – our front line coal workers,” Trump said. Coal production in the US has been in decline for decades amid growing competition from natural gas and renewables, including wind, hydropower and solar. Production fell by more than half between 2008 and 2023, when output hit 578 million tonnes, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The fossil fuel accounted for about 16 percent of US energy production in 2023, behind natural gas and renewables at 43 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Advertisement Trump: ‘Beautiful, clean coal’ A 2023 analysis by Energy Innovation, a California-based nonprofit, found that 99 percent of coal-powered facilities in the US were more expensive to run than the cost of their replacement with renewable alternatives. Trump has championed the revival of “beautiful, clean coal” as crucial to boosting domestic manufacturing and achieving US dominance in artificial intelligence, despite the fossil fuel’s flagging competitiveness and contribution to greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Trump, who initiated Washington’s exit from the Paris climate accord and has described the scientific consensus on warming temperatures as a “con job”, declared an “energy emergency” on his first day in office to prevent the closure of ageing coal plants. The US Energy Department has forced at least five plants to extend their operations beyond their scheduled retirement date since Trump’s order. Also on Wednesday, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public utility provider in the US, voted to extend the lifespan of two coal plants that had been scheduled for closure by 2035. The TVA vote came after the utility added four Trump appointees to its board of directors last month, after the US president had earlier fired three board members chosen by his predecessor, President Joe Biden. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia evacuates tourists from Cuba as US-engineered fuel crisis deepens
Russia will operate only return flights from Cuba as ‘evacuation’ of Russian citizens visiting the Caribbean island gets under way. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Russia is preparing to evacuate its citizens who are visiting Cuba, Moscow’s aviation authorities said, after a United States-imposed oil blockade on the island nation has choked off supplies of jet fuel. “Due to the difficulties with refuelling aircraft in Cuba, Rossiya Airlines and Nordwind Airlines have been forced to adjust their flight schedules to airports in the country,” Russia’s federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia said in a statement on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Rossiya Airlines will operate a number of return flights only – from Havana and Varadero to Moscow – to ensure the evacuation of Russian tourists currently in Cuba,” the regulator said. About 5,000 Russian tourists may be on the island, Russia’s Association of Tour Operators said earlier this week. Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development separately called on citizens not to travel to Cuba amid its worst fuel crisis in years, caused by the US choking off supplies of oil from Venezuela following the US military’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January. Russia’s TASS news agency said the Russian embassy in Havana is in contact with national carrier Aeroflot and Cuban aviation authorities to “ensure our citizens return home safely”. Aeroflot has announced repatriation flights for Russians, TASS said, reporting also that the embassy in Havana told Russian media outlet Izvestia that Moscow plans to send humanitarian aid shipments of oil and petroleum products to Cuba. Humanitarian ‘collapse’ in Cuba A traditional ally of Havana, Moscow has accused Washington of attempting to “suffocate” the Caribbean island nation. Advertisement Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow was discussing “possible solutions” to provide Havana with “whatever assistance” it needs. More than 130,000 Russians visited Cuba in 2025, according to reports, the third-largest group of visitors to the island after Canadians and Cubans living abroad. Air Canada and the Canadian airlines Air Transat and WestJet have also cut flights to Cuba due to the fuel shortages. While Cuba has been in a severe economic crisis for years, largely caused by longstanding US sanctions due to Washington’s antipathy towards Havana’s socialist leadership, the situation has become dire since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. Trump has directly threatened Cuba’s government and passed a recent executive order allowing for the imposition of trade tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba. Cuba, which can produce just a third of its total fuel requirements, has seen widespread power outages due to the lack of fuel. Bus and train services have been cut, some hotels have closed, schools and universities have been restricted, and public sector workers are on a four-day work week. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week of a humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba if its energy needs go unmet. Adblock test (Why?)
Three children killed in drone strike on mosque in central Sudan: Doctors
The Sudan Doctors Network said the deadly strike was carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A drone attack on a mosque in central Sudan has killed two children and injured 13 more, according to a Sudanese doctor’s association, amid a rise in similar attacks across the region. The Sudan Doctors Network said the attack was carried out at dawn on Wednesday by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in a three-year civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The children were reportedly studying the Quran at the Sheikh Ahmed al-Badawi Mosque in North Kordofan State when the building was hit by a drone in a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a grave assault on places of worship”, the doctors’ group said in a Facebook post. “Targeting children inside mosques is a fully constituted crime that cannot be justified under any pretext and represents a dangerous escalation in the pattern of repeated violations against civilians,” the doctors said. The Sudan Doctors Network said the RSF has previously targeted other religious buildings for attack, including a church in Khartoum and another mosque in el-Fasher, reflecting a “systematic pattern that shows clear disregard for the sanctity of life and religious sites”. “The network calls on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to pressure for the end to the targeting of civilians, ensure their protection, open safe corridors for the delivery of medical and humanitarian aid, and work to document these violations and hold those responsible accountable,” it said. Advertisement The UN separately said on Wednesday that a recent series of drone attacks have been reported on civilian infrastructure in Sudan’s South Kordofan, North Kordofan and West Kordofan states. A World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Kadugli was also hit by a suspected rocket attack on Tuesday night, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. He did not say which group was responsible for the attack. “The fact that we have to reiterate almost every day that civilians and civilian infrastructure, places of worship, schools and hospitals cannot and should not be targeted is a tragedy in itself,” Dujarric told reporters. The UN has warned that Sudan’s civil war is expanding from western Darfur into the Kordofan region. It has documented more than 90 civilian deaths and 142 injuries caused by drone strikes between the end of January and February 6, which were carried out by the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces. Targets included a WFP convoy, markets, health facilities and residential neighbourhoods in southern and northern Kordofan, the UN said. Adblock test (Why?)
Cyclone slams into Madagascar, killing at least 20 people
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Officials in Madagascar say building collapses are responsible for many of the confirmed 20 deaths from Cyclone Gezani.
Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Copa del Rey – team news, start time, lineups
All to know as La Liga leaders Barcelona clash with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 5 mins info Who: Atletico Madrid vs BarcelonaWhat: Copa del Rey semifinalWhere: Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, SpainWhen: Thursday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live text and photo coverage of the Copa del Rey semifinal. Spanish football titans Atletico and Barcelona will lock horns on Thursday in Madrid with nothing less than a place in the Copa del Rey final on the line. The match is the opening semifinal leg of the competition. The return leg will be played at Barcelona’s Nou Camp Stadium on March 4. Who are the defending Copa champions? Barcelona are the reigning champions after they won the 2025 final 3-2 against Real Madrid for a record-extending 32nd Copa del Rey title. The match was played on April 26 at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville. There has been no repeat Copa champion since Barcelona won it four years straight from 2015 to 2018. When did Barcelona and Atletico last meet? The teams last played in a La Liga fixture on December 2 with Atletico – arriving at Camp Nou on a seven-game winning run in all competitions – striking first when Spanish international Alex Baena put the visitors up inside 20 minutes. But Barcelona rallied strongly with goals by Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, handing Madrid their first La Liga defeat in more than three months with a resounding 3-1 result. Ferran Torres, centre, scores Barcelona’s third goal in their 3-1 victory against Atletico Madrid on December 2, 2025 [Nacho Doce/Reuters] How did Atletico and Barcelona reach the semifinals? Atletico Madrid advanced to the last four of the Copa del Rey with an emphatic 5-0 win at Real Betis as new signing Ademola Lookman scored on his Rojiblanco debut. Advertisement Goals by Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo helped Barcelona reach the semifinal with a nervy 2-1 win at Albacete. The defending champions were pushed to the end in a tight quarterfinal clash by their second division opponents, who stunned Real Madrid in the previous round. Head-to-head Barcelona and Atletico have faced off 249 times in official competition with the first match dating back to April 19, 1925, in the Copa del Rey. Blaugrana holds the head-to-head advantage with 113 victories compared with Madrid’s 79 wins with 57 draws. Atletico’s team news Manager Diego Simeone may be without duo Marc Pubill (illness) and Nicolas Gonzalez (physical discomfort). Both are listed as questionable, and either could still play a part against Barca. Johnny Cardoso is out after the American sustained a low-grade muscle injury training before Thursday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Betis. Midfielder Pablo Barrios remains on the sidelines with a thigh injury. Predicted lineup (4-4-2): Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Mendoza, Koke, Baena; Griezmann, Lookman Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford, right, will not be joining his teammate Robert Lewandowski on the forward line against Atletico Madrid [File: Albert Gea/Reuters] Barcelona’s team news In a last-minute blow, Marcus Rashford is out of the Atletico clash after receiving a knee knock during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Real Mallorca on Saturday, according to the official FC Barcelona website. Head coach Hansi Flick could also be without Frenkie de Jong (groin), who is listed as doubtful. Teenager Marc Bernal would be the most likely replacement for the Dutchman in the central midfield role. Brazilian superstar Raphinha (thigh injury) is close to a return but will miss this fixture. Pedri (hamstring) and Gavi (knee) continue to be sidelined with longer-term injuries. Predicted lineup (4-3-3): J Garcia (goalkeeper); Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Olmo, Bernal, Lopez; Yamal, Lewandowski, Torres Form Guide: Atletico Madrid: W-L-D-W-L (all competitions, most recent result last) Barcelona: W-W-W-W-W Which team has won the most Copa del Rey titles? Barcelona: 32 Athletic Bilbao: 24 Real Madrid: 20 Atletico Madrid: 10 Valencia: eight Is the Copa del Rey the oldest Spanish competition? Yes. Founded in 1903 and organised by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the Copa del Rey is the oldest Spanish football competition played at a national level. The Copa del Rey winners qualify for the next season’s UEFA Europa League. If the winner has already qualified for Europe through their La Liga ladder position, the Europa League spot is awarded to the next highest placed team that has not yet qualified. The Copa del Rey trophy [File: Fran Santiago/Getty Images] Adblock test (Why?)
Why is the issue of Syrian prisoner repatriation from Lebanon complicated?
Beirut, Lebanon – The Lebanese and Syrian governments have reached a deal to repatriate about 300 Syrian inmates in Lebanese prisons back to their home country in a move that could pave the way for better relations between the two neighbours. The issue of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon has been a priority for Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Relations between the two countries have long been marked by what many Lebanese describe as nearly 30 years of occupation and a tutelage rule by Syria over Lebanon, which ended when Syria withdrew its troops in 2005. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list About 2,400 Syrian prisoners are currently in Lebanese prisons. Some are held on “terrorism” charges while others are held for links to attacks against the Lebanese army. But most have never been tried despite having spent years in jail, largely due to a myriad of issues, including political gridlock, judicial strikes and general political indifference. And while the deal reached on Friday may signal the beginning of a new relationship between Syria and Lebanon – one built on mutual respect rather than Syria’s direct or indirect control of the smaller state on its western border – it did not come about without any public controversy. In Syrian eyes, many of the prisoners are being held for political rather than judicial reasons. The government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa believes they are in prison mostly due to the influence of the former al-Assad regime and its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. Advertisement But for many Lebanese, anyone accused of attacks against the Lebanese armed forces should not be released. “Lebanon has long insisted that anyone Syrian or otherwise accused of committing serious crimes against the Lebanese army should not be extradited,” David Wood, the senior Lebanon analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. “That has been one key obstacle to resolving this prisoner agreement up until now.” Political prisoners? Lebanese-Syrian relations have long been complex. Under Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and later his son Bashar, Syrian forces controlled Lebanon from 1976 to 2005. Even after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon, Syria maintained influence over Lebanon via its allies there, including the political and military group Hezbollah. When the 2011 Syrian uprising began and was subsequently repressed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syria’s border with Lebanon soon became a hotspot for the transportation of people – both fighters and refugees – weapons and drugs. Under the agreement signed by Lebanese and Syrian officials, about 300 Syrian prisoners in Lebanese jails will be transferred to Syria in the next three months [Wael Hamzeh/EPA] In Lebanon, the Syrian war had a strong impact. It spilled over into clashes in the northern city of Tripoli; the Battle of Abra, which involved firebrand anti-Assad sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and Lebanese-Palestinian pop star Fadel Shaker; battles with Hezbollah and the Lebanese army on one side and ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda-aligned groups on the other; and attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs. In the intervening years, hundreds of Syrians were arrested by Lebanese authorities and held in Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons. When the al-Assad regime fell, the new Syrian government quickly looked to reframe the relationship with Lebanon, expressing an interest in building ties based on mutual respect and interests. Among Damascus’s priorities were delineating their shared border and economic and security cooperation. But it also prioritised the repatriation of Syrians in Lebanese prisons. “The allegation from Damascus is that in many cases the reason for [imprisonment] is political and specifically due to perceived ties between the inmates and groups that were opposed to the former regime of Bashar al-Assad,” Wood said. In its view, “it was actually Assad’s Lebanese allies who conspired to make sure that these people were imprisoned in Lebanon.” By that logic, the fall of al-Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah after Israel’s 2024 war on Lebanon meant that these prisoners should be released. Advertisement Some Lebanese disagree and see the issue as more of a grey area. Even if the Syrian prisoners in question had fought Hezbollah, it had been at a time when the Shia group had been coordinating with the Lebanese army – and, for many Lebanese, fighting the army is a red line. An important step On Friday, the agreement was signed with a number of Lebanese ministers present, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and the two countries’ justice ministers. “This is a very important first step on the road of a comprehensive treatment regarding Syrian prisoners in Lebanese prisons,” Mitri said to reporters on Friday. Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said: “This step will boost existing confidence, and we hope that relations will progress more.” The agreement reportedly stipulates that over the next three months, about 300 prisoners will be repatriated to Syria and those serving time for serious crimes, such as rape or murder for example, must have served 10 or more years of their sentences in Lebanese prisons to be eligible for repatriation. Lebanese prisoners, such as al-Assir, are not included in the deal. But other issues remain. Among them are Lebanon’s backlogged judicial system and issues related to Lebanese inmates in Syrian prisons. Only about 750 Syrian prisoners out of the 2,400 have been convicted. That means roughly 65 percent of prisoners are not eligible for repatriation yet. Fadel Abdulghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights described this as a “two-track” problem. On his personal website, Abdulghany noted that the transfer of prisoners convicted with final sentences can be carried out with a “swift step”. However, for those who have yet to be convicted, the issue is not as straightforward. A mechanism for pretrial detention has not yet been agreed by the respective authorities. “This is not merely a Syrian issue but one that touches the very structure of the Lebanese criminal justice system,” Abdulghany wrote. “Therefore, transferring convicts will not resolve the problem, because the root cause is the slow pace of procedures in
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?)