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Ex-Prince Andrew was the tip of the iceberg. The latest trove of Epstein files reveals new details about former UK envoy Peter Mandelson’s ‘best pal’ relationship with the convicted sex offender that have pushed Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour into a new crisis. Is this the scandal that defines Labour?

In this episode: 

• Kieran Andrieu (@kieran_andrieu) Political Economist and Novara Media contributor

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Melanie Marich, with Sarí el-Khalili, Chloe Li, Spencer Cline, Maya Hamadeh, Tuleen Barakat, Sonia Bhagat and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Feb. 13 (UPI) — Three British men will serve a combined 69 years in prison for planning a terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Greater Manchester, a court ruled Friday.

The Preston Crown Court ordered Walid Saadaoui, 38, of Abram, to serve at least 37 years in prison, while Amar Hussain, 52, will serve at least 26 years. No hometown was listed for Hussain, according to the Greater Manchester Police.

Also sentenced was Bilel Saadaoui, 37, of Hindley, who will serve a six-year sentence, plus another year of community service. He is Walid Saadaoui’s younger brother.

“Today’s sentencing brings a conclusion to one of the most significant terrorist plot disruptions we have seen in the U.K. for several years,” said Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, who oversees counterterrorism policing in the northwest.

“Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein intended to target members of the Jewish community in an evil act born out of hate and intolerance,” he continued.

“If they had been successful, then what followed would have been devastating and potentially one of the deadliest terrorist attacks to ever take place on U.K. soil.”

“Walid was the ringleader,” Potts added. “He was the driving force behind the plot, and he recruited Hussein to join him.”

Walid Saadaoui and Hussein were convicted in December for plotting the terrorist attack in violation of the Terrorism Act of 2006, while Bilel Saadaoui was convicted of failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.

Prosecutors said Walid Saadaoui in late 2023 established contact online with someone he thought shared his views and frequently exchanged messages in which he discussed carrying out a “significant terrorist attack targeting Jewish people,” the police said.

The contact was an undercover operative going by the name “Farouk” in court documents.

Walid Saadaoui introduced Farouk to Hussein, and the pair thought Farouk could supply them with automatic firearms from an overseas source to enable them to carry out their planned attack.

The two would-be terrorists conducted reconnaissance in Upper Broughton in Salford and the Port of Dover, which is the port of entry through which they thought the automatic weapons would be delivered.

Evidence gathered showed Walid Saadaoui discussed the plan with his brother, Bilel Saadaoui, which the elder brother initially denied but later admitted to during cross-examination in court.

A United States court has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to facilitate the return of a Babson College student, Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, who was wrongfully deported last year.

In his ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Richard Stearns gave the government two weeks to take steps to bring Lopez Belloza back.

He framed the order as an opportunity to correct a “mistake” – but he did not rule out holding the government in contempt if it failed to take the necessary actions.

“Wisdom counsels that redemption may be found by acknowledging and fixing our own errors,” Stearns wrote.

“In this unfortunate case, the government commendably admits that it did wrong. Now it is time for the government to make amends.”

A surprise trip turned deportation

Lopez Belloza, 19, was arrested on November 20 by immigration agents at Boston’s Logan airport.

The college freshman had been preparing to board a flight home to her family in Texas to surprise them for the Thanksgiving holiday.

She has since told The Associated Press news agency that she was denied access to a lawyer after her initial detention at the airport. The immigration agent told her she would need to sign a deportation document first, according to Lopez Belloza, who said she denied the offer.

For the next two nights, she said she was kept by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a holding room with 17 other women, without enough room to lie down.

Then, she was loaded onto a deportation flight, which took her to Texas, then to her native Honduras, on November 22.

“I was numb the whole plane ride,” Lopez Belloza told the AP. “I just kept questioning myself. Why is it happening to me?”

Her lawyers, however, had obtained during that time a court order barring her removal from Massachusetts for 72 hours. Lopez Belloza’s deportation violated that court order.

She has remained in Honduras for the last two and a half months, while legal challenges over her case proceeded.

A legal battle

In court, the Trump administration has apologised for the error in Lopez Belloza’s case, acknowledging that a mistake was indeed made.

“On behalf of the government, we want to sincerely apologise,” prosecutor Mark Sauter told the court.

But Sauter rejected accusations that the government wilfully defied the 72-hour court order, saying that Lopez Belloza’s deportation was the mistake of one ICE agent and not an act of judicial defiance.

The government has also argued that Lopez Belloza was subject to a removal order before her November 20 arrest and therefore should not be returned to the US.

Lopez Belloza was brought to the US from Honduras when she was eight years old, and in 2016, she and her mother were ordered to be deported.

But the college freshman said she had no knowledge of any deportation order and has told the media that her previous legal representation had assured her there was no removal order against her.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration has rejected efforts to bring Lopez Belloza back to the country, even on a student visa.

In a February 6 court filing, US Attorney Leah B Foley wrote that a student visa “is unfeasible as the Secretary of State lacks authority to adjudicate visa applications and issue visas”.

“In any event,” Foley added, “Petitioner appears ineligible for a student visa.” She explained that Lopez Belloza “would remain subject to detention and removal if returned to the United States”.

The filing ended with a warning to the court to “refrain from ordering Respondents to return Petitioner to the status quo because this Court lacks authority”.

The Trump administration has questioned the authority of federal courts to intervene in immigration-related matters.

A series of mistakes

Critics, meanwhile, have accused the Trump administration of repeatedly failing to heed court orders it disagrees with.

Lopez Belloza’s case is not the first instance of an immigrant being wrongfully deported since the start of Trump’s second term.

Trump had campaigned on a pledge of mass deportation, and he has followed through with that promise, leading a series of controversial immigration crackdowns that have been accused of violating due process rights.

One of the most high-profile cases came in March 2025, when his administration wrongfully deported a Salvadoran father named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland with his wife, a US citizen.

Abrego Garcia had been subject to a 2019 court order barring his removal from the US on the basis that he could face gang violence in El Salvador.

But he was nevertheless sent back to the country and was briefly held in El Salvador’s Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), a maximum-security prison.

On April 10, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, largely upholding a lower court’s decision.

But the Trump administration initially argued Abrego Garcia was outside of its power. Then, on June 6, it abruptly announced Abrego Garcia had been returned, only to file criminal charges against him and seek his deportation a second time.

Another case involved a Guatemalan man, identified only by his initials OCG.

He had been under a court protection order that barred him from being returned to Guatemala, for fear that his identity as a gay man would subject him to persecution.

But the Trump administration detained and deported him instead to Mexico, which in turn sent him back to Guatemala. He subsequently went into hiding for his safety.

In June, OCG was returned to the US after a court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. It also noted that OCG’s deportation “lacked any semblance of due process”.

Lopez Belloza continues her studies at Babson College remotely from Honduras as she awaits the outcome of her legal proceedings.

Trump did not give a timeline for trip, which would make him the first US president to visit the country since 1997.

Donald Trump has said he plans to become the first sitting United States president to visit Venezuela in nearly three decades.

Trump made the statement to reporters on Friday as he departed White House for the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, where he met soldiers involved in the US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

“I’m going to make a visit to Venezuela,” Trump said. He offered few details on the planned visit, telling reporters “we haven’t decided” on a date.

Still, the trip would make Trump the first sitting US president since Bill Clinton in 1997 to visit the South American country, which Trump had targeted with crippling sanctions from his first term of 2017 to 2021.

Earlier this week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright became the first member of Trump’s cabinet to visit Venezuela and meet the government led by Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s former deputy, while downplaying the prospect of supporting an opposition figure in the wake of Maduro’s abduction.

“They’ve done a great job,” Trump again said on Friday. “The oil is coming out, and a lot of money is being paid.”

For her part, Rodriguez has overseen several concessions to the US, including freezing oil shipments to Cuba, supporting a law to open the state-controlled oil industry to foreign companies, and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.

On Thursday, lawmakers in Venezuela’s parliament debated a bill that would grant amnesty to political prisoners, although it had not passed by Friday.

Easing of sanctions

Also on Friday, the US Department of the Treasury announced it was easing some sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, the largest reprieve since Maduro’s abduction.

The department issued two general licences, including one that allows Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell, and Repsol to conduct further oil and gas operations in Venezuela. The companies identified already have offices in the country and are among the main partners of state-run oil company PDVSA.

The second licence allows foreign companies to enter new oil and gas investment contracts with PDVSA in Venezuela.

Any contracts would be contingent on separate approval from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and do not extend to Russia, Iran, China or entities owned by nationals of those countries.

Trump has said he is seeking $100bn in foreign investments in Venezuela, while Energy Secretary Wright said early this week that Venezuelan oil sales since Maduro’s capture had hit $1bn ⁠and would reach $5bn in months.

Wright said the US will control the proceeds ⁠from the sales until a “representative government” in Venezuela is established.

UN experts have criticised US influence over the country’s natural resources as a violation of citizens’ right to self-determination.

Speaking during his address on Fort Bragg, Trump also took time to praise the operation to abduct Maduro.

Legal experts have called it a flagrant violation of international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, regardless of whether Washington viewed Maduro as the country’s legitimate elected leader following disputed elections in 2024.

“Everybody was running for the hills,” Trump said of the January 3 attack, which killed more than 100 Cuban and Venezuelan security personnel, “and that’s what we have. We have the strongest military in the world by far.”

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a “deep rift” has opened between Europe and the United States and called to “repair and revive transatlantic trust”.

Heads of state are arriving in Addis Ababa for the 2026 African Union Summit, with a water-focused theme centred on climate change. Conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, DR Congo and the Sahel loom, while Israel’s recognition of Somaliland adds pressure over borders.

Feb. 13 (UPI) — Amazon-owned Ring announced it is ending its partnership with Flock Safety, a company whose artificial intelligence-powered technology came into question after a Ring Super Bowl ad touting new surveillance features.

In a blog post published Thursday, Ring said the two companies “made the joint decision to cancel the planned integration” they initially announced in October.

“Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated,” the Ring post read.

Ring’s surveillance camera capabilities came under fire Sunday after the company aired a 30-second commercial highlighting its new Search Party feature.

The feature allows users to upload images of their missing pets to the Ring Neighbors app, which would then use AI to trawl footage in the cloud to find the missing pet. If a missing pet is spotted in the footage, the information would be sent to the owner of the camera that picked up the footage and give them the option to notify the missing pet’s owners.

Ring said the Search Party feature is automatically enabled on all outdoor cameras enrolled in a Ring subscription. But critics questioned whether the AI technology could be combined with Ring’s new facial recognition technology, Familiar Faces, and provide law enforcement surveillance on humans.

Of additional concern, Flock Safety’s technology allows customers to grant local and federal government agencies access to the data picked up by the cameras. Among the organizations that could have access to this data are Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service and the Navy.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., in November called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Flock Security for allowing government access to the data without “meaningful privacy protections.”

“At the urging of concerned constituents, I conducted further oversight and have determined that Flock cannot live up to its commitment to protect the privacy and security of Oregonians,” Wyden wrote in a letter to the FTC. “Abuse of Flock cameras is inevitable, and Flock has made it clear it takes no responsibility to prevent or detect that.”

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Ma., who has previously criticized Ring’s connections to law enforcement, posted his thoughts on the Super Bowl ad on X.

“This definitely isn’t about dogs — it’s about mass surveillance,” he wrote.

Emma Daniels, a spokeswoman for Ring, told The Verge, that the Search Party feature works only with dogs and is “not capable of processing human biometrics.”

“These are not tools for mass surveillance,” she added. “We build the right guardrails, and we’re super transparent about them.”

In a January blog post, Flock Safety maintained that it doesn’t work directly with ICE or other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. The company said every piece of data collected by its technology is owned by the customers.

“Decisions about whether, when, and how data is shared are made by the customer that owns the data, not by Flock,” the post read. “There is no hidden back-door access in Flock technology.

“If a local agency chooses not to collaborate with any federal entity, including ICE, Flock has no ability to override that decision.”

Who: Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
What: Spanish La Liga
Where: Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
When: Saturday, February 14, at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid career has not got off the ground yet, but fit again after injury, the England right-back could be crucial for the Spanish giants in the second half of the season.

With Alvaro Arbeloa’s side still taking shape following the coach’s arrival in January, Alexander-Arnold has the chance to make himself a key part of the club’s battle for silverware.

Pellegrino Matarazzo’s in-form Real Sociedad visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday in La Liga, in what promises to be an enticing clash.

Arbeloa’s Madrid are looking to move two points clear of Barcelona and take the lead in La Liga before the Catalans visit Girona on Monday.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at Saturday’s headline fixture in La Liga.

Will Alexander Arnold start for Real Madrid against Sociedad?

Former Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold, who came off the bench last weekend as Madrid beat Valencia, could potentially start for the first time since December 3.

After a decent early showing for Madrid at the Club World Cup last year, hamstring and thigh injuries have stopped him from settling in, limiting him to 12 appearances across all competitions this season.

“After [he’s had] a long time out, we will proceed with caution,” said Arbeloa after Alexander-Arnold’s return, with Spanish newspaper AS reporting Madrid’s aim is for him to start against Benfica in the Champions League playoff round on February 17.

Even if Arbeloa uses veteran Dani Carvajal or youngster David Jimenez to start against Real Sociedad, the expectation is for Alexander-Arnold to get more crucial minutes under his belt.

How are Real Sociedad faring in La Liga this season?

Real Sociedad are unbeaten in nine matches but are eighth in the table – 14 points off fourth place and the crucial UEFA Champions League qualification spots.

Matarazzo’s side did, however, defeat champions Barcelona last month and have one foot in the Copa del Rey final after a semifinal first leg win at rivals Athletic Bilbao this week.

Sociedad are also coming off a 1-0 win at Basque Country rival Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.

Will Vinicius and Mbappe’s dinner give Madrid food for thought?

Real Madrid is counting on a team-bonding dinner reportedly paid for by its biggest stars to boost its late-season pursuit of the La Liga and Champions League trophies.

Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe paid the bill at the restaurant in Madrid on Tuesday, midfielder Dani Ceballos told reporters. The tab ran in excess of 1,000 euros ($1,100), according to accounts by Spanish media.

Vinicius posted a photo of the entire squad during the dinner near the city centre in a fancy location that features an “Art Dining Club.”

Fans waited outside the restaurant to try to talk to the players after the dinner, which went well past midnight.

Coach Alvaro Arbeloa and his assistants were not part of the dinner, Spanish media said.

The show of unity came a week before Madrid faces Benfica in the first leg of the knockout playoffs of the Champions League. The team dropped out of the top eight that automatically qualified for the round of 16 after a 4-2 loss at the same as Benfica in the final round of the league phase.

Defender Raul Asencio told media that after the dinner, the team was “very united.”

Why has Real Madrid struggled this season?

Madrid went through turmoil at the end of last year, with some players reportedly not on the same page with coach Xabi Alonso.

Under Arbeloa, Madrid was eliminated by second-tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey round of 16, and lost to Benfica in the match that relegated the team to the Champions League’s knockout playoffs.

With the bad-tempered Bernabeu crowd on their own team’s backs in recent weeks, the chance to move top of the table could settle the natives.

How is the La Liga race shaping up for Real Madrid and Barcelona?

Madrid has won seven in a row to be one point behind leader Barcelona.

Barcelona will look to win its fourth in a row in the league against a Girona that was in 12th place and was winless in its last three matches.

Barcelona is coming off a resounding 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, when it conceded all goals in a disastrous first half.

It had won 17 of its last 18 matches in all competitions before the defeat. The last setback had been losing 2-1 at Sociedad in the league last month.

Third-placed Atletico will face lowly Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, while fourth-placed Villarreal is at mid-table Getafe.

What happened the last time Real Madrid met Sociedad?

Los Blancos were 2-1 winners against Sociedad in September’s reverse fixture in La Liga.

Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler scored either side of Dean Huijsen’s sending off in the first half.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s 56th-minute penalty offered the home side hope, but they were unable to further make the most of their numerical advantage.

Head-to-head

This is the 184th meeting between the teams, with Madrid winning on 103 occasions and Sociedad claiming the spoils in 38 of the contests.

The first fixture was played in April 1905, with Madrid winning the Copa del Rey meeting 3-0.

Real Madrid team news

Mbappe trained separately from the squad on Thursday because of a knee issue and became doubtful for Saturday’s game.

He had already been held to gym work on Wednesday. The club did not immediately give any details about his condition.

Vinicius was set to be back with Madrid after missing the previous league game because of a yellow card suspension, but Jude Bellingham will remain sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Predicted Real Madrid starting lineup (4-3-3)

Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Brahim, Mbappe, Vinicius

Real Sociedad team news

Brais Mendez is suspended for the trip to Madrid, while Takefusa Kubo and Unai Marrero are both absent with hamstring and facial injuries, respectively.

Arsen Zakharyan, Ander Barrenetxea and Luka Sucic have slight niggles and face late fitness tests.

Predicted Real Sociedad starting lineup (4-2-3-1)

Remiro; Odriozola, Martin, Caleta-Car, Gomez; Gorrotxategi, Turrientes; Marin, Soler, Guedes; Oyarzabal

Feb. 13 (UPI) — The Japanese fisheries agency said Friday that authorities seized a Chinese fishing boat off the coast of Nagasaki after its captain refused to stop for an inspection.

The Chinese boat was sailing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea near Japan’s Goto Islands on Thursday when it was ordered to stop. The boat then attempted to flee, a statement by the fisheries agency said.

Eleven people were aboard the fishing boat, including the captain, Zheng Nianli, a 47-year-old Chinese national. The captain was detained by Japanese authorities.

The boat, the Qiong Dong Yu 11998, remains in Japan’s custody and is being held as evidence. It remains unclear what will happen to the 10 members of the crew.

“We will continue to take resolute action in our enforcement activities to prevent and deter illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels,” said Minoru Kihara, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary.

Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Friday that Japan should “enforce the law impartially and protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of crew members.”

Tensions have continued to rise between China and Japan in recent months. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament in November that Chinese aggression toward Taiwan could spark a military response from Japan.

China has continued its claim that Taiwan is its territory. In its ongoing push for “reunification,” Chinese officials have not ruled out the possibility of using force.

Takaichi’s comments to parliament drew criticism from Chinese officials. China’s foreign ministry called the comments “egregious.”

Diplomacy, tourism and commerce between the two nations have been strained since Takaichi addressed Japan’s parliament.

Latest attacks come amid a widely condemned Israeli push to cement control over the occupied Palestinian territory.

Dozens of Palestinians have been injured as Israeli settlers carried out a wave of attacks across the occupied West Bank, destroying olive trees and vandalising property.

At least 54 Palestinians were wounded on Friday morning as settlers attacked several towns and villages under the protection of the Israeli military.

Settlers assaulted Palestinian farmers on their lands near Talfit, a village south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, and Israeli troops fired tear gas and live ammunition at residents who tried to repel the settler attack.

Images from the village showed homes with broken windows and vehicles with smashed windshields as a result of the attack.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli settlers also destroyed about 300 Palestinian olive trees near the Ramallah-area town of Turmus Aya, the Wafa news agency reported, citing local sources.

Palestinians across the West Bank have faced an intensified surge in Israeli military and settler violence in the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.

At least 1,054 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers between October 7, 2023, and February 5 of this year, according to the latest United Nations figures.

Israel has also forcibly displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes across the West Bank, refusing to allow them to return in what Human Rights Watch says amounts to war crimes and a crime against humanity.

The Israeli government drew international condemnation this week after it approved plans to extend its authority over more of the West Bank – a move that observers denounced as de facto annexation, in violation of international law.

“If these decisions are implemented, they will undoubtedly accelerate the dispossession of Palestinians and their forcible transfer, and lead to the creation of more illegal Israeli settlements,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday.

“We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,” Turk said in a statement.

“This is supported by rhetoric and actions by senior Israeli officials, and violates Israel’s obligation as an occupying power to preserve the existing legal order and social fabric. These decisions must be overturned.”

Explosions are reported in eastern Gaza City, while at least 54 Palestinians are wounded in attacks by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank today.

Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych says 2006 Winter Olympics ‘acts as propoganda for Russia’ after IOC decision.

The Court ⁠of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) began hearing Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal on Friday, with a decision expected later in the day on whether he can return to competition at ⁠the Milano Cortina Olympics after his disqualification over his “helmet of remembrance”.

The 27-year-old was removed from the Olympic programme on Thursday when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that imagery on the helmet — depicting ⁠athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — breached rules on political neutrality at the Games.

Heraskevych is seeking reinstatement or at least a CAS-supervised run, pending a decision by sport’s highest court in advance of the final two runs set for Friday evening.

“I’m pretty positive about how it went,” he told reporters outside the office of CAS ‌in Milan following his appearance before the court. “I hope the truth will prevail, and I know that I was innocent.”

The racer said he was now getting threats from Russians and blamed the IOC’s decision for that.

“I believe that these Games now and this act of the IOC also serves as an instrument of propaganda for Russia,” Heraskevych said. “I still receive a lot of threats from the Russian side.”

The IOC, whose president, Kirsty Coventry, met Heraskevych on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to break the impasse, has ⁠allowed the athlete to keep his credentials despite his disqualification, so he can ⁠stay at the Milano Cortina Games.

“For me, sitting down with Vladyslav and his dad, the conversation was extremely respectful,” Coventry told a news conference on Friday. “After that, I asked the disciplinary commission to re-look at not pulling his accreditation, out of respect for him ⁠and his dad. I thought that was the right thing to do.”

The case has dominated headlines in the first week of the Olympics.

CAS Secretary-General Matthieu Reeb ⁠could not say exactly when they were likely to reach a ⁠decision, despite the tight schedule.

“We hope to have a final decision announced today, but it’s difficult for me to say when,” Reeb told reporters. “Obviously, we know the schedule of the competition, and it is an objective for CAS to be able to run the decision ‌before the start of the race, but we don’t know how long the hearing will take.

“We have only one arbitrator from Germany, and she will be in charge of this case. We have participants attending in ‌person, ‌like the IOC, the athlete is here, the father of the athlete is here.

“We have a representative of IBSF attending remotely. The athlete is also assisted by legal counsel speaking from Kyiv.”

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (UPI) — Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Friday that Seoul’s expression of regret over alleged drone incursions was “sensible,” but cautioned that any future flights would trigger a “terrible response.”

The statement, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, followed comments Tuesday by South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who expressed “deep regrets” over alleged drone flights into the North as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s broader push to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

North Korea’s military last month said it shot down a South Korean surveillance drone near the border city of Kaesong. Seoul has denied involvement, saying it does not operate the drone model cited by the North.

Kim described Chung’s remarks as “fortunate” and “quite sensible behavior,” but said South Korean authorities must take preventive measures to ensure such violations “would never happen again.”

“We don’t care who the very manipulator of the drone infiltration into the airspace of the DPRK is and whether it is an individual or a civilian organization,” she said.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

“I give advance warning that reoccurrence of such provocation as violating the inalienable sovereignty of the DPRK will surely provoke a terrible response,” Kim said. “Various counterattack plans are on the table and one of them will be chosen without doubt and it will go beyond proportionality.”

A South Korean investigation initially centered on three civilians who were placed under travel bans last month. But a joint military-police task force on Tuesday raided the country’s spy agency and a military intelligence command as the probe widened to include three military officers as suspects.

On Wednesday, the Unification Ministry said Seoul would take immediate action to prevent future incidents.

“The government is conducting a thorough investigation and will immediately implement measures to prevent similar incidents,” ministry spokesman Yoon Min-ho said at a regular press briefing.

Kim’s statement was “signaling the need for joint efforts between the two Koreas to ease tensions and prevent accidents on the Korean Peninsula,” Yoon added.

North Korea is preparing to convene its Ninth Party Congress later this month, where Kim Jong Un is expected to outline a new five-year economic plan and recalibrate military and foreign policy priorities. Analysts will be watching for signs the North will formalize a hardened posture toward Seoul. In 2024, Pyongyang designated the South a “hostile state” and publicly rejected the long-held goal of reunification.

The defense ministry said Friday it has relieved Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kang Dong-gil from duty over his alleged involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law bid in late 2024.

The move came a day after the ministry took a similar action against Ground Operations Commander Gen. Joo Sung-un over suspicions of martial law involvement, marking the second such suspension of a four-star general appointed under President Lee Jae Myung’s administration.

“The defense ministry excluded the chief of naval operations as of Friday as allegations in relation to the insurrection case have been identified,” ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said in a briefing.

Kang, who served as chief of the directorate of military support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the martial law imposition, was among the seven top-brass officers appointed as four-star generals in September last year.

The allegations involving Kang and Joo were not previously verified ahead of their appointment, a ministry official said, acknowledging limitations in the procedure amid efforts to fill the leadership vacuum caused by the martial law bid.

The official said the ministry continues to firmly carry out measures to determine the circumstances surrounding the martial law imposition, regardless of the ranks of personnel involved.

The deputy chief of the Navy will serve as acting Navy chief following Friday’s decision, the ministry said, adding disciplinary action will be considered for Kang.

On Thursday, the ministry said it has identified around 180 personnel as having been involved in the martial law imposition following a monthslong probe into about 860 general-level and field-grade officers.

It also concluded that some 1,600 personnel across the military affiliated with the Army, counterintelligence command, special operations command and Defense Intelligence Command were found to have been mobilized on the night of the martial law imposition.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Group’s co-founder declares ruling ‘monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people.’

The High Court in the United Kingdom has ruled that the government ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group called Palestine Action as a “terror group” was unlawful.

In a statement responding to the landmark ruling on Friday, the Claimant and co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, said, “This is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people, striking down a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history.”

The United Kingdom said last June that it would ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. This that put the organisation on par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the UK, making it a criminal offence to be part of Palestine Action.

The government’s announcement prompted legal battles, criticism from human rights organisations and triggered protests.

More to come…

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said he regrets maintaining a relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after the latter’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution, as the reverberations from millions of files released pile up.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday, Barak gave his first comments on his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, since the United States Department of Justice released a massive tranche of files relating to the late financier.

Barak, who led Israel from 1999 to 2001, expressed remorse over his lengthy relationship with Epstein, saying he regretted the moment he met the financier, to whom he was introduced by former Israeli President Shimon Peres at a large event in Washington in 2003, Peres referring to Epstein as a “good Jew”.

“I am responsible for all my actions and decisions. There is room to question whether I should have investigated more thoroughly. I regret not doing so,” said Barak.

But, despite Epstein having been convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008 and spending about a year in prison during the course of their relationship, Barak claimed he was unaware of the scope of Epstein’s crimes until a wider probe into him was opened in 2019.

“I did not know the manner of his crimes until 2019, and you probably didn’t know it either,” he said, according to Israeli media reports, claiming that in the 15 years he knew Epstein, he “never saw any unreasonable occurrence, or any unreasonable behaviour”.

Visits to home, island

Barak did not deny his contacts with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, which included staying, along with his wife, at the financier’s Manhattan home on multiple occasions between 2015 and 2019, as well as exchanging emails and meeting him in person.

He also acknowledged visiting Epstein’s notorious island in the US Virgin Islands, Little Saint James, where parties involving sex trafficking victims are said to have taken place.

He said it was a single visit, for three hours in broad daylight, accompanied by his wife and three guards, and that he saw nothing there except Epstein and some workers.

Barak sought to deflect his continued business and social contacts with Epstein after his 2008 conviction by saying that during that period, the financier was widely treated as someone who had “paid his debt to society” and been readmitted to public life.

It was not until the reopening of the investigation into him in 2019, which revealed the scale and severity of his actions, that his influential associates severed their ties with him, he said.

Epstein killed himself in prison that year while facing charges of sex trafficking underage girls.

The ties between the disgraced Epstein and Israel have come into sharp focus after the release of millions of documents.

The documents have revealed more details of Epstein’s interactions with members of the global elite, including Barak. But they also document his funding of Israeli groups, including Friends of the IDF (Israeli army), and the settler organisation the Jewish National Fund, as well as his ties to members of Israel’s overseas intelligence services, the Mossad.

During the interview, Barak was also asked about comments he had made in one recently unclassified recording with Epstein about Israel offsetting Palestinian population growth by absorbing one million Russian-speaking immigrants.

In the audio, the former Israeli leader also appeared to disparage Sephardi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.

He said that in the past, Israel did what it could by taking Jews “from North Africa, from the Arabs, from whatever”, but added that the country could now “control the quality” of the population “much more effectively than our ancestors”.

“We can easily absorb another million. I used to tell [Russian President Vladimir] Putin always, what we need is just one more million,” he says in the audio, released by the US Department of Justice last month.

Such an immigration wave would mean “many young, beautiful girls would come, tall and slim”, from Russia to Israel, he says in the recording.

Addressing his comments, Barak said he was “not proud of that choice of words, but I did not say that to Putin”.

He denied that his remarks were racist, saying they were a conversation about the demographic challenge Israel faced from its growing Arab population.

Questions swirl over Norwegian diplomat

Barak claimed that while further documents may emerge from the released files detailing his ties to Epstein, none would reveal inappropriate conduct.

The release of the files, compiled by investigators looking into Epstein’s activities, have further revealed his links to a sprawling, global network of powerful contacts.

Among those involved is Terje Rod-Larsen, the Norwegian diplomat who was a key architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords, who is facing a storm of corruption and blackmail allegations after files revealed he was deeply embedded in Epstein’s inner circle.

Norwegian media investigations have exposed a relationship involving illicit loans, visa fraud for sex-trafficked women, and a beneficiary clause for his children in Epstein’s will worth millions of dollars, raising questions about whether Oslo’s foundational agreements of the two-state solution were brokered by a mediator vulnerable to elite blackmail and foreign intelligence pressure.

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that Washington engineered a dollar shortage in Iran to send the rial into freefall and cause protests on the streets.

In December and January, Iran was faced with one of the biggest antigovernment protests the country has seen since the Islamic revolution of 1979, prompted by the severe economic crisis.

Protests over soaring prices in Iran began with shopkeepers in Tehran who shuttered their shops and began demonstrating on December 28, 2025, after the rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar in late December. The protests then spread to other provinces of Iran.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s government responded with force. More than 6,800 protesters, including at least 150 children, are thought to have been killed in a sweeping crackdown by the government on the protest movement.

So, how did Washington create a “dollar shortage” in Iran, ultimately causing the rial to tank? And what effect has that had on the Iranian people?

What is a ‘dollar shortage’?

A “dollar shortage” refers to when a country does not have enough US dollars to pay for things it needs from the rest of the world.

The US dollar is the main currency used in global trade, especially for oil, machinery and loan repayments, which means countries need a steady supply of it.

If exports fall and sanctions block access to the US financial system, dollars can become scarce. As a result, the local currency weakens, prices of imported goods rise, and inflation worsens.

In Iran, a “dollar shortage” was engineered by simultaneously blocking the two main channels of foreign exchange (FX) inflow: Oil exports and international banking access, said Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, an economist at Germany’s Marburg University. The US did this by imposing sanctions on Iranian oil, meaning anyone buying or selling it would be subject to punitive measures.

Given Iran’s dependence on oil for revenue, economic sanctions on its oil can create a severe FX constraint.

“By using secondary sanctions to threaten any global entity trading in dollars with Iran, the US traps Iran’s existing reserves abroad and prevents new dollars from entering the domestic market,” Farzanegan told Al Jazeera.

What has US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said?

Replying to a query about dealing with Iran at a Congressional hearing last week, Treasury Secretary Bessent described the US strategy to send the Iranian currency plunging.

“What we [have done] at Treasury is created a dollar shortage in the country,” Bessent said, adding that the strategy came to a “grand culmination in December, when one of the largest banks in Iran went under … the Iranian currency went into freefall, inflation exploded, and hence, we have seen the Iranian people out on the street.

“We have seen the Iranian leadership wiring money out of the country like crazy,” Bessent added. “So the rats are leaving the ship, and that is a good sign that they know the end may be near.”

Before this, speaking with Fox News at the World Economic Forum last month in Davos, Bessent explained the role US sanctions played in driving the recent nationwide protests.

“President Trump ordered Treasury … to put maximum pressure on Iran, and it’s worked,” he said. “Because in December, their economy collapsed. They are not able to get imports, and this is why the people took to the streets.”

In both instances, Bessent referred to his earlier remarks at the Economic Club of New York, in March last year, when he outlined how the White House would leverage President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign to collapse Iran’s economy.

In his address there, Bessent said the US “elevated a sanctions campaign against [Iran’s] export infrastructure, targeting all stages of Iran’s oil supply chain”, coupled with “vigorous government engagement and private sector outreach” to “close off Iran’s access to the international financial system”.

What effect did the dollar shortage have in Iran?

In January, the Iranian rial was trading at 1.5 million to the dollar – a sharp decline from about 700,000 a year earlier in January 2025 and about 900,000 in mid-2025. The plummeting currency triggered steep inflation, with food prices an average of 72 percent higher than last year.

In 2018, during his first presidency, Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a deal between Iran and global powers limiting Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Since re-election last January, President Trump has doubled down on his so-called “maximum pressure” to cripple Iran’s economy and corner Tehran to renegotiate its nuclear and regional policies. Last month, Trump threatened a 25 percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran.

Through the rigorous blocking of Iran from the global financial system by creating a dollar shortage, the US pushed Tehran towards a severe “import compression, [and as a result, Iran] cannot pay for the intermediate goods and machinery required for domestic production”, said Farzanegan, the economist.

The US strategy, he said, “is particularly devastating because it leverages commercial risk management against humanitarian needs”. In short, Washington’s strategy “makes the small Iranian market a commercial liability” for any company, even if they are only dealing with medicine, for instance, Farzanegan added.

A research paper published by Farzanegan and Iranian American economist Nader Habibi last year found that the size of Iran’s middle class would have expanded by an annual average of approximately 17 percentage points, between 2012 and 2019, if it were not for US action.

In 2019, the estimated size of loss in the middle-class share of the population in Iran was 28 percentage points, the research found.

“People lost their purchasing power, and savings were wiped out,” the economist told Al Jazeera. “This is a long-term destruction of the country’s human capital.”

Besides the US action is the existing vulnerability of Iran’s economic structure, with factors like long-term mismanagement, high rates of corruption and over-reliance on oil revenues making it fragile.

While the US sanctions created external shock, a lack of domestic structural reforms left the government with “no fiscal space to cushion the blow”.

What is the US’s endgame here – and will it succeed?

Bessent’s admission that Washington deliberately created a “dollar shortage” signals the US’s shift towards a total economic warfare narrative.

“This is economic statecraft; no shots fired,” Bessent said at the WEF in Davos last month.

“This admission may complicate the US’s diplomatic standing, as it confirms that the humanitarian channels for food and medicine are often rendered useless if the entire banking system is being targeted for collapse,” Farzanegan said.

Bruce Fein, a former US associate deputy attorney general who specialises in constitutional and international law, told Al Jazeera that this type of economic coercion is “as common as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west”, pointing to economic sanctions against Russia, Cuba, North Korea, China and Myanmar.

However, unlike in other cases where the US has applied economic pressure, Farzanegan said Iran’s case is “a unique experiment due to the duration and intensity of the pressure”.

Unlike Russia, which has a more diversified export base and larger reserves, Iran has been facing varied forms of sanctions for decades since the supreme leader took power in 1979.

“Iran has a sophisticated internal mechanism for sanctions circumvention that makes the ‘dollar shortage’ a game of cat-and-mouse rather than a one-time shock,” the economist said.

With a US armada currently stationed in the Arabian Sea, the US and Iran are in talks to defuse tensions. The US wants three key things from Iran: To stop enriching uranium as part of its nuclear programme, to get rid of its ballistic missiles and to stop arming non-state actors in the region.

Ultimately, observers say, the US wants regime change in Iran.

But Fein said his experience shows that economic sanctions alone “seldom, if ever, topple regimes … Regime change comes externally only with the use of military force.

“Iran’s dollar shortage will not oust the mullahs or Revolutionary Guard,” he said, referring to Iran’s current administrative structure.

The impoverishment of Iranians will diminish, Fein told Al Jazeera, “rather than promote the likelihood of a successful revolution because day-to-day survival will be the priority”.

Feb. 13 (UPI) — Two people are dead and a third is wounded following a shooting on the campus of South Carolina State University, officials said.

The shooting occurred Thursday night in an apartment at the Hugine Suites student residential complex on the university’s campus in Orangeburg, located about 75 miles northwest of Charleston.

The university issued a campus lockdown at about 9:15 p.m., according to officials, who said in a statement that they have asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate.

SLED investigators are on site and investigating the crime, the university said.

Little information about the shooting was immediately available.

“Stop what you’re doing and pray,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said in a statement posted to her personal X account following reports of the shooting.

“Join us in prayer for the students, staff and their families. God bless our brave law enforcement responding tonight.”

The identities of the victims have yet to be confirmed, the school said.

As of early Friday, the campus remained on lockdown.

School officials said Friday’s classes were canceled and counselors would be made available to students.

The shooting is the latest at the school since Oct. 4, when one person was killed and a second person was wounded in separate shootings on the historically Black university’s Orangeburg campus.

The deceased victim from one of the October shootings was identified as 19-year-old Jaliyah Butler.

Feb. 12 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s major game developers reported sharply mixed 2025 results, with companies backed by strong intellectual property and hit new titles posting record earnings while others struggled amid delays in releases.

Nexon said annual revenue rose 6% to 475.1 billion yen (about 4.51 trillion won, or roughly $3.13 billion), marking a record high. Operating profit reached 124 billion yen (about 1.18 trillion won, or $819 million).

The company attributed growth to the success of new title “Arc Raiders,” which has sold more than 14 million copies, and global expansion of the MapleStory franchise. Franchise revenue for MapleStory rose 43%, while Dungeon & Fighter posted double-digit growth in South Korea and China.

Krafton joined the so-called “3 trillion won club,” reporting annual revenue of 3.33 trillion won (about $2.31 billion) and operating profit of 1.05 trillion won (about $729 million), both record highs. Revenue from the PUBG: Battlegrounds IP increased 16% from a year earlier, supported by global collaborations and new game modes.

Netmarble posted revenue of 2.84 trillion won (about $1.97 billion) and operating profit of 352.5 billion won (about $244 million), helped by new titles based on in-house IP such as Seven Knights Reverse and RF Online Next.

NCSoft saw revenue fall 5% to 1.51 trillion won (about $1.05 billion) but returned to profitability with operating profit of 16.1 billion won (about $11 million), aided by cost-cutting and the November launch of Aion 2.

In contrast, Kakao Games reported a 26% drop in revenue to 465 billion won (about $322 million) and an operating loss of 39.6 billion won (about $27 million), citing a gap in new releases and restructuring costs.

Pearl Abyss posted revenue of 365.6 billion won (about $253 million) and an operating loss of 14.8 billion won (about $10 million), extending losses for a third consecutive year. The company said its upcoming title Red Desert, scheduled for release in March, will be key to a turnaround.

Industry analysts said the results underscore the importance of long-running hit franchises and well-timed new launches.

“Companies that steadily operated successful IP while expanding revenue through updates and collaborations were able to limit volatility,” one industry official said. “Those with prolonged gaps in new releases inevitably faced short-term revenue declines.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260213010004838

Ruemmler’s resignation comes after emails revealed her links to the late sex offender.

The top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, Kathy Ruemmler, has announced that she will resign following revelations of her links to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Ruemmler’s resignation comes after the United States Department of Justice’s latest release of investigative files about Epstein showed that she had received gifts from Epstein, offered him advice on managing his reputation, and likened him to an older brother.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon confirmed Ruemmler’s resignation in a statement on Thursday, saying that he respected her decision.

“Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm,” Solomon said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

“As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed,” he said.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Ruemmler, who previously served as White House counsel under US President Barack Obama, said that she would step down as chief legal officer and general counsel at the end of June.

Ruemmler told the newspaper that media attention on her relationship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, had become a “distraction”.

She had previously expressed regret for knowing Epstein, and denied providing the financier with legal representation or advocating on his behalf to any third party.

Ruemmler is just the latest in a slew of high-profile and powerful figures to exit prominent roles or face legal scrutiny in connection with the Epstein case.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced the resignation of his cabinet secretary, Chris Wormald, in his latest effort to quell controversy surrounding his appointment of Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, whose ties to Epstein have prompted a police investigation into suspected misconduct in public office.

Also on Thursday, police in Norway searched properties belonging to former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland as part of a corruption probe focused on the politician’s associations with Epstein.

Taipei agrees to buy some $85bn of US energy, aircraft and equipment in exchange for 15 percent tariff rate.

The United States and Taiwan have finalised a trade deal to reduce tariffs on Taiwanese exports and facilitate billions of dollars of spending on US goods.

The agreement announced on Thursday lowers the general tariff on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, the same level as Asian trade partners South Korea and Japan, in exchange for Taipei agreeing to buy about $85bn of US energy, aircraft and equipment.

Under the deal, Taiwan will eliminate or reduce 99 percent of tariff barriers and provide preferential market access to numerous US goods, including auto parts, chemicals, machinery, health products, dairy products and pork, the office of the US trade envoy said in a statement.

The US will, in turn, exempt a large range of Taiwanese goods from tariffs, including chalk, castor oil, pineapples and ginseng.

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said Taipei had secured tariff exemptions for some 2,000 Taiwanese products, hailing the agreement as a “pivotal” moment for the self-governing island’s economy.

Lai said the deal, when various carve-outs are included, would take the average tariff rate on Taiwanese goods to 12.3 percent.

“From familiar items such as Phalaenopsis orchids, tea, bubble tea ingredients (tapioca starch), and coffee, to pineapple cakes, taro, pineapples, and mangoes – these products that represent Taiwan will become more price-competitive in the US market,” Lai said in a statement on social media.

“We aim not only to sell Taiwan’s great flavors overseas, but also to ensure Taiwanese brands truly enter international markets,” he said.

Lai made no mention of Taiwan’s chip industry, a crucial driver of the island’s economy that is estimated to account for up to 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Taiwan’s exports rose by 35 percent in 2025 on the back of furious demand for its AI chips, hitting a record $640.75bn.

Thursday’s agreement notably does not include specific commitments from Taiwan to invest in the US chip industry, despite an announcement by US President Donald Trump’s administration last month that Taiwanese firms would pour $250bn into the sector.

A fact sheet released by the Office of the US Trade Representative said the two sides “take note” of the January deal, which included a prior commitment by chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to invest $100bn in the US.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Thursday’s agreement built on the longstanding trade relations between Taiwan and the US and would “significantly enhance the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in high-technology sectors”.

“President Trump’s leadership in the Asia Pacific region continues to generate prosperous trade ties for the United States with important partners across Asia, while further advancing the economic and national security interests of the American people,” Greer said.

Nearly one-third of Taiwan’s exports went to the US in 2025, making the country the island’s biggest market for the first time since 2000.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the military will work with the country’s police force to counter ‘gang wars’ that threaten ‘our democracy’.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”.

“Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development,” the president said in his annual state of the nation address.

“Children here in the Western Cape are caught in the crossfire of gang wars. People are chased out of their homes by illegal miners in Gauteng,” he told Parliament in his address.

“I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police,” he said.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, with approximately 60 deaths each day involving killings in wars between drug gangs in areas of Cape Town and mass shootings linked to illegal mining in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province.

The South African leader said other measures to fight crime include recruiting 5,500 police officers and boosting intelligence while identifying priority crime syndicates.

“The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short. It is felt also in the sense of fear that permeates our society and in the reluctance of businesses to invest,” Ramaphosa said.

Crime syndicates

Guns are the most commonly used weapon in South Africa, according to authorities, and illegal firearms are used in many crimes, despite the stringent rules governing gun ownership in the country.

Authorities in South Africa have also long struggled to prevent gangs of miners from entering some of the 6,000 closed or abandoned mines in the gold-rich nation to search for remaining reserves.

The government claims that the miners, referred to as “zama zamas”, or “hustlers” in Zulu, are typically armed, undocumented foreign nationals who are involved in crime syndicates.

In 2024 alone, South Africa lost more than $3bn in gold to the illegal mine trade, according to authorities.

Ramaphosa also said authorities would pursue criminal charges against municipal officials who fail to deliver water to communities where shortages are among the main issues that anger most voters.

“Water outages are a symptom of a local ⁠government system that is not working,” the president said of the worsening water crisis resulting from a drying climate and consistent failures to maintain ⁠water pipes.

“We will hold to account those who neglect their responsibility to ⁠supply water to our people,” he said.

Residents of the country’s biggest city, Johannesburg, held scattered protests this week after taps had been dry in some neighbourhoods for more than 20 days.

Ramaphosa also called out “powerful nations” who exert their “dominance and influence over less powerful states” and said South Africans could not consider themselves “free” as “long as the people of Palestine, Cuba, Sudan, Western Sahara and elsewhere suffer occupation, oppression and war”.

Ramaphosa, who became head of state in 2018, has led South Africa’s first-ever coalition government since ‌June 2024, when the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since ending apartheid 30 years earlier.

The coalition, which includes the pro-business Democratic Alliance, has helped restore confidence in Africa’s largest economy.

But widespread, persistent unemployment has not improved, and the government is under pressure to show it can improve service delivery.