Israeli and US officials are preparing to build Gaza’s first experimental community. Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ under monitoring, where residents are handpicked by Israel. Al Jazeera’s Soraya Lennie explains why it’s causing concern.
African football’s governing body has issued fines worth more than $1m and banned Senegal’s coach and Senegalese and Moroccan players over a shambolic African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final that involved a walk-off protest by one of the teams, fans trying to storm the field and fights among journalists.
The bans, announced on Thursday, apply only to African games and not the World Cup, which kicks off in June and which Senegal and Morocco have both qualified for.
list of 4 itemsend of list
The sanctions announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) include fines totalling $615,000 for the Senegalese Football Federation and $315,000 for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for unsporting and improper conduct by their players, coaching staff and supporters, among other offences.
At the January 18 AFCON finale, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, led by coach Pape Thiaw, in protest against a penalty awarded late in regulation time to the hosts, Morocco. Thiaw, who last week defended his side’s actions, was banned for five African games and given a fine of $100,000 for bringing the game into disrepute, the African confederation said.
The game restarted after a delay of about 15 minutes. Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal won the African title 1-0 after extra time.
The heated final in Rabat also saw supporters trying to storm the field, Morocco’s and Senegal’s players scuffling on the sidelines, reporters from the two countries fighting in media areas and a bizarre sequence in which Moroccan ball boys tried to seize a towel being used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy – in an apparent bid to distract him and help their team win the continental title.
That behaviour by the home team’s ball boys led to a $200,000 fine for Morocco’s federation, which will be a cohost of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and has come under scrutiny for the chaotic African final.
That behaviour by the home team’s ball boys led to a $200,000 fine for Morocco’s federation, which will be a co-host of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and has come under scrutiny for the chaotic African final.
Morocco was hoping to host the 2030 World Cup final in Casablanca at the Hassan II Stadium, set to be the largest football arena in the world with a capacity of 115,000 people after its planned completion in 2028. But this month’s African final reflected badly on it.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui said the game had given African football a “shameful” image.
Senegalese players Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr were banned for two African games, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi was also banned for two games with one suspended and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari was banned for three games and fined $100,000 for unsporting behaviour.
CAF dismissed an appeal by Morocco to have the result cancelled and Morocco declared the winner because of the Senegalese walk-off.
The game even strained diplomatic ties between Senegal and Morocco, prompting government officials in both nations to pledge to stay friends and call for calm. In Morocco, rights groups denounced what they called hate speech targeting sub-Saharan African residents in the country.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on an investment-related trip to Morocco days after the game that the reaction to it should be seen as “emotional outbursts produced by fervour and not as political or cultural rifts”.
In a further blow to Morocco’s 2030 FIFA World Cup ambitions, the president of Spain’s football federation declared on Tuesday that his country would be hosting the final.
Serena Williams has refused to rule out returning to professional tennis after recently filing the necessary paperwork.
Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, retired after the 2022 US Open.
In December, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed to BBC Sport that the 44-year-old was back on the list of players registered for the drug testing pool.
At the time, the American said she was “not coming back” but during an interview on the Today Show on Wednesday, Williams did not rule out stepping back on to the court.
“I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens,” Williams said.
Williams – a mother of two – said she recently put stay-at-home mum and housewife as her occupation on a form.
Asked whether she had re-entered the drug testing pool, Williams said: “I don’t know if I was out. Listen, I can’t discuss this.
“If I want to put it [rumours] to bed… listen, I want to go to bed.”
Players are only eligible to return to competition once they have spent six months in the testing pool.
Williams’ name appeared on a document published by the ITIA on 6 October.
Speaking after she booked her spot in a fourth successive Australian Open final, world number one Aryna Sabalenka welcomed Williams’ comments.
“I heard that she’s enjoying her life, and whatever makes her happy, I’m happy for her,” said the Belarusian.
“If she wants to come back, that’s her decision. It’s going to be fun to see her back on tour.
“She’s got the personality, and she’s a fun one. It will be cool.”
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who Sabalenka beat in the last four in Melbourne, said Williams’ return would be “amazing” for the sport.
Williams was playfully evasive in her appearance on the Today show, but you can take the lack of a denial to mean the idea of a comeback has crystallised in her mind.
The suggestion that she may never have left the drug testing pool was classic Williams – it was cheekily disingenuous.
The ITIA’s list has been updated once since October, and December’s list still included her name.
Williams would not even be the oldest member of her family on the tour if she does return. Venus is 45 and the possibility of playing doubles with her sister one last time may be the motivating factor for Serena.
I don’t know what to make of it. I mean it is just extraordinary. When you think what a wonderful career she’s had and she now has two children and a wonderful, fulfilled life off the court.
She’s got so many engagements and projects on the go, but I think we all think that it’s something to do with Venus Williams perhaps playing her last match at the US Open.
Maybe she’s asked sister Serena whether she’d like to join her on court. We know that she’s put herself into that testing, so you have to do that for six months if you are going to compete – of course that’s got all the tongues wagging.
Everybody is lifting their eyebrows as if to say “is Serena Williams really going to come back to the tour?”.
Crystal Palace are set to table a formal offer for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Palace’s interest in the 25-year-old forward has intensified in the past 24 hours with a bid now expected from the Selhurst Park club.
Wolves are open to selling the Norway international this month provided they get a fee close to the £55m they rejected from Newcastle for the striker during the summer transfer window.
Leeds have already seen an offer of £40m rejected by Wolves, and as things stand the Elland Road club are reluctant to go much higher.
Palace’s pursuit of Strand Larsen creates further uncertainty over Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future at Selhurst Park heading into the final days of the window.
Juventus and AC Milan are among the clubs to have shown a concrete interest in the France international, while Nottingham Forest submitted an offer of about £35m for Mateta at the weekend.
Mateta is understood to want to play Champions League football, but a move to Forest is understood to be a financially lucrative option for the 28-year-old.
Olympic bronze medallist Laviai Nielsen and World Indoor champion Alexander Doom are among the stars set to compete at the EAP Glasgow Indoor International, which will be shown live across BBC Sport this weekend.
About 100 Scottish athletes will line up against competitors from the rest of Britain and Europe on Saturday evening – live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Olympic finalist Eilidh Doyle will provide analysis, with commentary by Stuart McFarlane and Dale Clancy.
Laviai Nielsen The double Olympic medallist from 2024 – with bronze in the 4×400 relay and mixed relay – finished fourth in the 2024 World Indoors on Glasgow’s Emirates Arena track and will be fancied in the women’s 400m.
Alexander Doom The three-time World Indoor champion returns to Glasgow, where he captured his first global 400m title in 2024. He also won the World Indoor 4x400m title with Belgium and two European outdoor titles that year.
Imani Lansiquot The two-time World and Olympic medallist in the 4x100m will hope to open her season in Glasgow with victory in a hotly contested 60m that has seven women who have run under 7.30 seconds.
Andrew Robertson The Manchester runner is looking to build on his fine 2025 indoor season, when he won his first major international medal with 60m bronze at the European Indoor Championships.
Guy Learmonth The Scot is chasing selection for his fourth Commonwealth Games – on home soil – and is racing in Glasgow after a lengthy gap.
Shaikira King A European Junior finalist over 800m in 2025, exciting prospect King steps up to the senior ranks in a high-class women’s 800m.
Alyson Bell The two-time European Under-23 champion in the 4x100m will be looking to repeat the double she managed last year over 60m and 200m at the inaugural EAP Glasgow event.
Adam Thomas The World Indoor finalist in 2022 has been Scotland’s top 100m runner for close to a decade and is seeking to make his second Commonwealth Games team this summer.
Charlotte Henrich Another promising junior stepping up to the senior ranks, the 2025 European Junior champion will race in her favoured 400m this weekend.
Alessandro Schenini The Scot will look to defend the event he won in 2025, but will compete against several men who have recorded 7.90m and above in the long jump.
As preparations accelerate for the partial Israeli reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, a simmering dispute has erupted between Egypt and Israel regarding which and how many Palestinians may leave and return.
Many are seeking urgent medical attention that cannot be found in a healthcare system decimated by Israel in its more than two-year genocidal war. Others want to reunite with family or pursue an education, all put on hold because of the war.
According to a report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan on Wednesday, Israeli negotiators have presented a condition regarding the flow of travellers: that the number of Palestinians leaving Gaza and entering Egypt through the crossing must exceed the number of those permitted to enter.
The broadcaster reported that Egyptian officials rejected this asymmetric formula, insisting on an “equal ratio” of entries and exits. Cairo reportedly fears that Tel Aviv’s position is a calculated attempt to engineer emigration and permanently reduce Gaza’s population.
While North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer affirmed to local media Egypt’s operational readiness “for all scenarios”, the technological mechanisms being imposed on the ground suggest a system designed to filter the population.
While Kan reported on the dispute over numbers, the Israeli news site Ynet revealed the technical details of the proposed operation, which suggest a crossing that operates on a double standard.
According to the website and security sources, all travellers must be vetted by Israel’s Shin Bet security service 24 hours in advance. But the actual crossing process differs sharply by direction. A European Union monitoring mission is also expected to be on hand, but its role is unclear. Here is the reported plan:
This structural disparity has raised alarm among observers. Major General Samir Farag, former head of the Egyptian army’s Morale Affairs Department, told Al Jazeera that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to bypass the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access concerning the Rafah crossing.
Farag said the Israeli proposal involves opening Rafah “in one direction” for exit only as part of a “displacement” agenda – a move he said Egypt has “categorically rejected”.
Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, director of the Palestinian Institution for Media, argued that this setup, often referred to as “Rafah 2”, is not a border crossing in the traditional sense but a “sorting platform managed with a mentality of forced displacement”.
“Israel is making exit relatively easier via remote monitoring while making entry a humiliating, physical ordeal at a military post,” Al-Madhoun told Al Jazeera. “They are engineering a system where people are encouraged to leave but are too terrified – or simply denied permission – to return.”
The proposed system marks a departure from the 2005 agreement, which designated Rafah as a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing under EU supervision, specifically to guarantee Palestinian sovereignty.
Security expert Osama Khaled warned that the implications of the new mechanism go beyond logistics. By inserting itself into the minutiae of the crossing, Israel would secure a permanent chokehold on this Gaza lifeline.
“This is comprehensive electronic surveillance designed to ensure a mandatory Israeli presence,” Khaled said. “It transforms the crossing from a sovereign gateway into a tool for political blackmail.”
The sharp focus on the Rafah crossing also has a darker side. According to comments by retired Israeli General Amir Avivi, who still advises the military, Israel has cleared land in Rafah to construct an enormous facility to entrench its military control and presence in Gaza for the long term.