Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain opposes war against Iran and urged the United States, Israel and Iran to pursue a diplomatic resolution.
Spanish PM says ‘no to war’ in Middle East
Akpabio Hails Eno Over Peaceful Conduct Of Akwa Ibom APC Congress
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has commended the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, for the peaceful conduct of the state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held on Tuesday.
The Senate President, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media/Communication, Anietie Ekong, in Uyo on Wednesday, expressed satisfaction with the exercise, noting: “Somebody had alluded that it hasn’t been so peaceful, as past congresses were characterised by factions and mired in controversies,” Akpabio said.
“While some gathered here at the stadium, others would gather at a hotel to conduct their own parallel congress. And you would be shocked that before you get to Abuja, it is the rag-tag congress that would be recognised by the party.
“Just recently, when the team came from Abuja to conduct the congress here, they had to be led to the State Office of the Department of State Services for their safety. Let me tell you that even ward and local government congresses in some states, people lost their lives.
“But here we are in Akwa Ibom State conducting the congress as if we are in a church to take communion. Today, I give glory to God for the peace in Akwa Ibom State. And this is because we are led by a true man of God who practices godliness in his heart.”
READ ALSO: Three Senators Absent As APC Holds State Congress In Kebbi
The Senate President particularly commended the governor for broad consultation and inclusive governance, which led to the emergence of a new executive committee for the party in the state through consensus, as prescribed by the party’s constitution.
“This is uncommon, this is unprecedented, and it will go down in history as the most peaceful congress in Nigeria. We will continue to support Governor Umo Eno. I can predict that even the coming elections in Akwa Ibom State will be as peaceful as this congress.
“Akwa Ibom has continued to show leadership. Akwa Ibom has continued to show unity, totally unprecedented. There was no single untoward incident throughout the ward, local government, and state congresses. Even old political foes have been reconciled today with this congress,” he said.
In a voice vote, party faithful pledged their support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, Senator Akpabio, and Governor Eno.
In his remarks, the governor thanked the President of the Senate for his presence, which he noted had dignified the Congress.
He also thanked God for the peaceful conduct of the ward, local government, and state congresses, and pledged the State’s support for the administration of President Tinubu.
Yelwata Massacre: Trial Stalled Again As Court Adjourns To March 9
The trial of nine suspects accused of the 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State was again stalled at the Federal High Court in Abuja Wednesday, following another adjournment.
The adjournment followed a request by counsel to the 8th and 9th defendants, Y.A. Hassan, who informed the court that it was his first appearance in the matter.
Hassan appealed for a short adjournment, explaining that he was yet to familiarise himself with the facts of the case, as the previous counsel representing the defendants had not transferred the case file to him.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, did not oppose the application but urged the court to grant a brief date.
While granting the adjournment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik warned that the matter is of significant public interest and that the court will not tolerate unnecessary delays going forward.
Justice Abdulmalik stated that the court was “bending over backwards” to accommodate the defence and adjourned the matter to March 9 and 10 for day-to-day trial.
On February 2, the Federal Government had arraigned some suspects arrested and linked to the killings in Yelwata before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
[READ ALSO] Yelwata Killings: Court Orders Remand Of Nine Suspects In Kuje Correctional Centre
The suspects were arraigned on a 57-count charge.
They pleaded not guilty when the counts were read to them through an interpreter.
The AGF asked for an accelerated trial, and the defendants were remanded to a correctional center, pending the commencement of the trial.
Counsel for the first, eighth, and ninth defendants asked for an oral bail application.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, said eight witnesses were ready to testify at the trial.
However, Justice Abdulmalik ordered that they be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.
The case was adjourned to February 26 and 27 for trial.
Earlier, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice assured Nigerians that justice would be served in the matter, sending a strong signal to enemies of the country acting under any disguise.
“The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to the protection of the lives and properties of all as enshrined in the constitution,” the statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, the SA to the AGF and Minister of Justice, read.
He said this came after a “painstaking investigation and collaboration by government agencies.”
Yelwata Attack
In June 2025, gunmen attacked the Yelwata community in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing scores and leaving hundreds displaced.
The incident sparked a major protest and widespread condemnation.
Security agencies announced that they had arrested some people in connection with the attacks.
A survivor of the Yelwata attack, Msurshima Apeh, told the United States Congress how she watched the killing of her five children during the onslaught.
“In the course of this action, I saw a tree when I lifted my eyes. I raised my hands on the tree and climbed up where I was able to hide myself. My five children that I left below were crying, and in my presence, they were being slaughtered by the terrorists,” she told the House Subcommittee on Africa, which examined President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list in November 2026.
Tinubu had visited the state in the wake of the incident and asked security operatives to go after the masterminds.
“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” Tinubu had said at the Benue Government House in Makurdi, the capital, during a stakeholders meeting.
Runners to be given prize money after being led off course
Ben Collins
BBC Sport journalist
Three athletes who were led off course when leading the US half marathon championship will receive compensation after ultimately finishing well outside the top three.
Organisers of the event in Atlanta said that police assigned to mark out the route had to respond to an emergency call, which led to confusion from the lead vehicle.
Jess McClain, who was comfortably leading the women’s race, was taken off the main course, along with her closest challengers Ednah Kurgat and Emma Hurley.
The race was won by Molly Born, who had been more than a minute behind, while McClain finished ninth, with Hurley coming 12th and Kurgat in 13th.
The Atlanta Track Club said on Tuesday it will award first-place prize money to McClain while Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined winnings for second and third place as they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the route.
“We are responsible for the integrity of these championships,” the club said in a statement.
“We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognised as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course.”
Organisers said race-assigned police personnel responded to an “officer down” call and replacement officers were unfamiliar with the race’s “unusual route” over a footbridge not normally used by cars.
The lead vehicle’s driver then followed a police motorcycle, believing that the race was being rerouted.
USA Track & Field (USATF) had denied an appeal, despite acknowledging the course was inadequately marked.
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Texas Senate race: Democrat Talarico wins; GOP’s Cornyn, Paxton in run-off
James Talarico has topped States Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in an expensive and fiercely contested Senate Democratic primary in the United States state of Texas.
Who Talarico will face depends on a May run-off between longtime Republican Senator John Cornyn and MAGA favourite Ken Paxton – a race expected to get increasingly nasty over the coming months and that could hinge on whether or not President Donald Trump offers an endorsement.
Texas, along with North Carolina and Arkansas, on Tuesday kicked off midterm elections with control of Congress at stake and against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
A jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.
“This is proof that there is something happening in Texas,” he said, adding that the state “gave this country a little bit of hope”.
Crockett’s campaign said she planned to sue over voting issues in Dallas, and she spoke only briefly on Tuesday night to warn that “people have been disenfranchised.”
Republicans head to round 2
Cornyn, meanwhile, is seeking a fifth term but is facing a tough challenge from Paxton, the state attorney general. Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history to seek re-election and not be renominated.
The GOP contest also featured Representative Wesley Hunt, who finished a distant third and conceded. But his making it a three-way race made it tougher for any candidate to reach the 50 percent vote threshold needed to win the nomination outright and avoid the May 26 run-off.
All three campaigned on their ties to Trump, who did not make an endorsement in the race. Now both Cornyn and Paxton will again fiercely compete to curry the president’s favour.
Cornyn was facing a tough enough battle that he did not hold an election night party. Instead, in comments to reporters in Austin, he sought to make the case that a run-off win by Paxton would leave “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans”.
“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”
Addressing supporters in Dallas, Paxton made a point of saying he felt like he had during a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate.
He also proclaimed: “We proved something they’ll never understand in Washington.
After Iran’s warning, Europe fails to unite on war launched by US, Israel
Athens, Greece – Iran has warned European leaders against joining the United States and Israel’s war that has destabilised the Middle East and upended economies around the world.
While countries in Europe have found common ground in condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes on nonbelligerents in the Gulf, their positions have been confused and incoherent in reaction to the US-Israeli action that caused them.
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The fact that Iran is a close ally of Russia, against whose war in Ukraine almost all members of the European Union are united in condemning and containing, and that a Russian antenna was reportedly found on Sunday to have been used in a drone that struck Cyprus, an EU member, has not been enough to rally Europeans against Iran as effectively as they have rallied against Russia.
There are two extremes at play. Spain has evicted US military aircraft from its bases, leading to a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday threatened to “cut off all trade” with Madrid. Meanwhile, Germany has decided to welcome US goals.
In between the two, the United Kingdom has allowed its military base at Akrotiri on Cyprus to be used by US aircraft for purely defensive purposes.
“The mullah regime is a terrorist regime responsible for decades of oppression of the Iranian people,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday, two days before he met with Trump at the White House. “We share the interest of the United States and Israel in seeing an end to this regime’s terror and its dangerous nuclear and ballistic armament.”
Germany’s position now breaks its alignment with the other members of the EU triad, the UK and France. The three countries had backed negotiations with Tehran even after Trump unilaterally revoked the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, former US President Barack Obama’s signature diplomatic achievement, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for monitoring of its nuclear programme.
Spain’s position is one of principle, said Jose-Ignacio Torreblanca, a distinguished policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.
“The Spanish government has been consistently calling for the respect of international law both in Ukraine and Gaza, now in Iran,” Torreblanca told Al Jazeera, referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Israeli disregard for humanitarian law in Gaza and the strikes on Iran that are unsanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro “Sanchez has clearly said that this military operation is not covered by international law,” Torreblanca said, pointing out that while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not initially authorise the US to use a military base on Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean, but is now backing the strikes, “Spain is keeping consistency.”
Diego Garcia, home to a joint UK-US military base, is one of dozens of islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago. Starmer last month recognised that the Chagos islands should be sovereign Mauritian territory under international law.
Starmer said the use of Akrotiri was strictly defensive.
“The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the [Iranian] missiles at source, in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire missiles. The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” Starmer said. “We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran from firing missiles across the region. … That is in accordance with international law. … We are not joining these strikes, but we will continue with our defensive actions in the region.”
Can Europe invoke NATO’s Article 5 for collective defence?
Ukraine, invited in December 2024 to become a future EU member, has gone further, applauding the demise of Russia’s supplier of Shahed drones, about 44,700 of which it downed over its cities last year. It is also planning to assist efforts to shoot them down.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has again tried to build an EU consensus on the basis of negotiation. She called for containment, de-escalation, “a credible transition for Iran, the definite halt to both the nuclear and ballistic programmes, and an end to destabilising activities in the region”.
Europeans are beginning to rally around the idea of defensive action.
The Greek government on Monday dispatched four of its most sophisticated F-16 Viper fighter aircraft and two frigates to help defend Cyprus from possible further drone attacks.
The move is a bold one. One of the frigates, the Kimon, is the first of Greece’s new Belharra series of four, and was delivered from French shipyards only in December. It has not completed its personnel drills, a process estimated to take two years, and has not been officially commissioned by the Hellenic Navy.
Yet it is being sent into theatre with a green crew because it carries the state-of-the-art Sea Fire radar and targeting system, which is capable of scanning and identifying hostile targets over 25,000sq km (9,650sq miles), passing on strike coordinates to the Vipers.
On Tuesday, France announced it would join the fray, sending antimissile and antidrone systems to Cyprus. Britain followed, announcing it would send a warship to defend its base there.
The significance of these operations as the US withdraws from Europe and as the continent tries to live up to the task of defending itself could not be more potent. European preparations must include not only rearmament but also the legal options for mutual defence absent NATO, experts said.
“Cyprus is an EU member but not a NATO member, so they can’t invoke NATO’s Article 5 for collective defence,” said Elena Lazarou, director general of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, a think tank.
“What they can invoke is the European Union Treaty’s Article 42.7, which they haven’t done yet,” she told Al Jazeera. That article has come back into the spotlight after von der Leyen’s call to EU members to support progress towards an EU defence union.
“What we’re seeing in Europe at the moment is a lot of bilateral and multinodal defence alliances, but Article 42.7 needs to be made more specific in terms of the threats it addresses and the level of member states’ obligation to help if it is invoked,” she said.