Iran has announced that it now considers all European Union militaries to be ‘terrorist groups’. This follows the EU’s terror designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over a deadly crackdown on protesters.
The writing was quite literally on the wall for Josh Kelly in the days before the biggest fight of his career.
In the aftermath of his victory over Bakhram Murtazaliev to win the IBF light-middleweight title on Saturday, Britain’s Kelly says he was getting signs all week that it would be his night.
Upon checking into his hotel in Newcastle the 2016 Olympian opted for a steam and shower to loosen up – it was there that he saw the five Olympic rings on the mirror in his bathroom.
But the “spooky” signs did not end there.
In the days that followed he got taxis to and from media events. One of the registration plates had the letters PYT – the same initials as the song by Michael Jackson that plays when he walks to the ring.
There was another taxi with the letters NEW. Kelly saw that as a reference to “and the new” – the phrase he heard announced when his arm was raised in the ring to confirm he was the champion.
“I was seeing all these signs and thinking this is just spooky,” said Kelly, who only had a small cut on his cheek despite a gruelling affair.
Saturday’s victory in front of 4,000 vociferous fans, who made the short trip to Newcastle from Sunderland, was the crowning moment of Kelly’s rollercoaster career.
The bout was a microcosm of his 20-fight journey in the ring. It was full of bravery and another tale of overcoming adversity.
Kelly entered the bout as an underdog and was written off by many before he’d even laced up his gloves.
It was not the first time he had been overlooked but unlike five years ago when he suffered a shock defeat and was battling with chronic hypochondria – the condition more formally called illness anxiety disorder – Kelly is now working with a reinforced mindset.
He came out confidently, knowing his coaching team, family and friends all believed he had the ability to prevail.
‘Pretty Boy’ danced around the ring and taunted the previously undefeated Murtazaliev before scoring a knockdown in the fourth round.
Murtazaliev rallied and responded with a knockdown of his own in the ninth but this was also something Kelly had experienced a premonition about.
“I was praying the other day and had a vision of me being knocked down in a round,” Kelly said.
“I got back up and had these different feelings. One of them was that I got sloppy and lost the fight but the other was me getting back to what I do best and seeing through the round.”
Kelly has come a long way from his mental struggles, which dovetailed with difficulties in making the weight when he fought at welterweight.
“I told everyone what I was dealing with at 147lbs (10st 7lb, 6.7kg), especially when it was Covid and I had health anxieties,” Kelly said.
“I was telling my dad I was getting sick when I was in the hotels and always wearing a mask.”
Kelly was tipped as a star of the future when he made his way through the amateur ranks and earned the chance to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics.
In his first 10 fights as a professional, Kelly – who signed with promoter Matchroom – fought on cards at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, London’s O2 Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York.
He was being pushed hard and delivering with winning performances.
But Kelly’s dreams came crashing down after his loss against Avanesyan and he took a 16-month break before returning as a light-middleweight.
“I put Avanesyan to bed a long time ago,” Kelly said. “I just had to believe in myself.”
PA MediaMatchroom CEO Frank Smith confirmed that Kelly, who only re-signed with the promoter in November, had agreed to fight WBA interim champion Jaron Ennis next if he dispatched with Murtazaliev.
“Josh is in a position where he can take whatever shot he wants,” Smith said.
“Within the next week or so – that’s not a deadline – we need to decide what to do next.”
Unification is also a possibility for Kelly. WBA champion Abass Baraou and WBO title-holder Xander Zayas are set to meet later tonight in Puerto Rico.
While the next opponent remains unclear, his next destination appears to already be decided.
Smith received a text from officials at Kelly’s beloved football team Sunderland in the minutes after his win saying “good win for Josh, let’s do Stadium of Light next”.
The Black Cats have invited Kelly to attend Monday’s Premier League game against Burnley.
“There are plenty of names to fill that stadium,” Kelly said.
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American Shakur Stevenson dominated Teofimo Lopez to secure the WBO light-welterweight belt by unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden.
The 28-year-old, who has won all 25 of his professional bouts, is now a four-weight world champion, with the judges scoring the fight 119-109 119-109 119-109.
Post-fight tensions were high as Stevenson called out Conor Benn, who aggressively entered the ring and exchanged words.
“You’re too small for me,” Benn told DAZN.
“We can do it next. Come up to welterweight with the big dogs. You’re a small, little man.”
Following a rematch victory over Chris Eubank in November, Benn reiterated his intention to drop down to welterweight and take on the division’s world champions.
The 29-year-old jumped up two weight classes to fight Eubank, with the pair agreeing to a rehydration clause that prohibited putting on more than 10lb between Friday’s weigh-in and Saturday morning.
Benn has fought at welterweight and middleweight during his career, while Stevenson has moved up from featherweight to light-welterweight.
“I like the beef and story behind it,” Stevenson said.
“I am a businessman at the end of the day and he did a rehydration clause with Chris Eubank, who was in the ring half-dead. Why can’t he do the same thing?”
Liverpool are in talks to sign Dutch defender Lutsharel Geertruida on loan.
Geertruida is currently on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig.
The 25-year-old played for Arne Slot at Feyenoord and is understood to be one of the defensive options that Liverpool are looking at.
The Dutch international is versatile and can play at right-back, centre-back and as a defensive midfielder.
Slot’s side are without Conor Bradley, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Jeremie Frimpong is also currently sidelined for a “few weeks” with a groin injury and Ibrahima Konate’s contract is set to expire this summer.
As it stands, the situation is complex given three teams are involved.
There is no recall clause in Geertruida’s loan with Sunderland and anything that happens will be in agreement with Regis le Bris’ side.
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a former prince, should cooperate with authorities in the United States investigating the Jeffrey Epstein files and activities.
Speaking on Saturday to reporters at the end of a visit to Japan, Starmer said, “Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that.”
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“You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that,” he added, according to remarks carried by Sky News. “Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority.”
Asked whether Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, should issue an apology, Starmer said the matter was “for Andrew” to decide.
His comments came as the US Justice Department said it would be releasing more than three million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under a law intended to reveal most of the material it had collected during two decades of investigations involving the wealthy financier, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The disclosures have revived questions about whether the former British prince, who was stripped of his title last year over his friendship with Epstein, should cooperate with the US authorities in their investigation.
Mountbatten-Windsor – who has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein – has so far ignored a request from members of the US House Oversight Committee for a “transcribed interview” about his “longstanding friendship” with the billionaire.
The files have also prompted the resignation of Slovak official Miroslav Lajcak, who once had a yearlong term as president of the United Nations General Assembly.
Lajcak was not accused of wrongdoing but left his position after emails showed that Epstein had invited him to dinner and other meetings in 2018.
The newly released files also show Epstein’s email correspondence with Steve Bannon, one-time adviser to US President Donald Trump; New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and other prominent contacts in political, business and philanthropic circles, such as billionaires Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
The files show a March 2018 email from Epstein’s office to former Obama White House general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, inviting her to a get-together with Epstein, Lajcak and Bannon. Lajcak said his contacts with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice is facing criticism over how it handled the latest disclosure.
One group of Epstein accusers said in a statement that the new documents made it too easy to identify those he abused, but not those who might have been involved in Epstein’s criminal activity.
The lights are on in Aden – at least for most of the day.
The apparently mundane detail is a huge difference for people in the southern Yemeni port city, which for years has suffered from extensive electricity blackouts, and a sign that something has changed.
It was noticeable enough for Saleh Taher, who lives in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, to comment on after making a recent visit to Aden.
Taher was unsure of what he would find on his trip to Aden, arriving on January 25, just weeks after Yemen’s government re-established its presence in the city.
The 32-year-old wondered if the streets would be tense so soon after the fall of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC).
The STC controlled the city and much of southern Yemen until a Saudi Arabian-backed government offensive forced them back in early January.
But as time passed, Taher’s anxiety faded. The streets of Aden appeared normal, and people were going about their jobs as usual.
And then there was the electricity. In a country that has now officially been at war for longer than a decade with multiple groups vying for territory, a utility that is taken for granted in much of the world is a sign of hope.
The sudden availability of electricity is partly the result of a multimillion-dollar fuel grant provided by Saudi Arabia to supply power stations. Observers consider it to be an effort to show that the presence of Yemen’s internationally recognised government can improve people’s lives.
Badea Sultan, an Aden-based independent journalist, told Al Jazeera that the “positive change” in services in Aden is palpable for residents and the city has entered a completely new stage.
Citing electricity as a key example, he said, “Power supply has largely stabilised. Today, we enjoy approximately 20 hours of continuous, uninterrupted service per day. This was a distant dream just two months ago.”
Sultan said the ongoing progress in Aden cannot be attributed solely to the United Nations-recognised government. He highlighted the role of Falah al-Shahrani, who arrived in Aden early this year as part of a high-level delegation from the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen to follow up on security and military arrangements in the wake of the STC’s military collapse.
An adviser to the commander of the forces, al-Shahrani has worked with local and military leaders to reposition military camps outside Aden and has played a critical role in managing what Sultan described as a sensitive phase in the city.
“Al-Shahrani is effectively the de facto ruler of Aden now,” Sultan added.
In late December, tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen surfaced publicly, prompting Riyadh to adopt a sharper narrative and launch military operations aimed at pushing back the UAE-backed STC, which had crossed a Saudi red line by trying to take control of eastern Yemeni regions that bordered Saudi Arabia.
On December 30, the UAE announced its withdrawal from Yemen “of its own volition” after the Yemeni government demanded it do so. The UAE has been arming and funding the STC since its establishment in 2017.
At a news conference in Warsaw on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said, “The UAE has now decided to leave Yemen, and I think if that indeed is the case and the UAE has completely left the issue of Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take responsibility.”
Some STC leaders travelled to Riyadh after the Saudi attacks on the STC and announced the dissolution of the group. But other STC leaders have rejected that statement and continue to try to rally support on the ground in southern Yemen.
Saleh Qasim, a 45-year-old resident of Aden’s Sheikh Othman district, told Al Jazeera that “the Saudi era” has begun in Aden.
“Aden is recovering today, and that could be the path to Yemen’s recovery,” he said.
But he added that while the early signs are promising, it is still a bleak time for pro-independence southerners like himself.
The STC and its supporters want the restoration of the former South Yemen, an independent state that existed from 1967 to 1990 before uniting with North Yemen to form the united Republic of Yemen.
Supporters of secession feel that the south was disenfranchised in the united Yemen. They took their opportunity after the Houthi takeover of Sanaa and northwestern Yemen in 2014 and 2015, taking de facto control over Aden and other parts of southern Yemen.
It had finally seemed like the dream of an independent state was on the horizon, particularly with the backing of the UAE. But then came the Saudi-backed counterattack by the Yemeni government, and now, in the space of weeks, the dream of secession has been shattered, in the short term at least.
“This is the most frustrating moment for the secessionists,” Qasim said. “They have lost land, weapons and fighters. I can see the mass demoralisation among the independence seekers in Aden.”
He added: “I also aspire to see the south independent but through dialogue, not force.”
The STC has been trying to showcase its support in Aden with rallies every Friday that are attended by thousands of people in al-Aroudh Square.
There, the protesters raise the southern flag and the image of the STC’s on-the-run leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi. They also chant for independence, pledge to continue their struggle and voice their anger at the Saudi role. However, Sultan, the journalist, views these mass rallies as an emotional outlet for STC supporters that ultimately will not be able to restore the group’s lost leverage.
Sultan believes that local authorities are turning a blind eye to the demonstrations as a way of allowing STC supporters to blow off some steam.
“In my opinion, there is a deliberate effort to allow separatist demonstrators to vent their frustrations regarding recent developments, which have been quite shocking to them,” Sultan said.
On January 15, President Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen’s UN-recognised authority, appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin al-Zindani as the country’s prime minister.
Consultations on the selection of cabinet members have been under way in Riyadh. Once finalised, the cabinet is expected to return to Aden to govern – a major move that would signal that the government is truly in control of the city for the first time in years.
However, challenges lie ahead as “the internal and external architects of chaos” have not abandoned their agenda in the south, Yemeni political analyst Sadam al-Huraibi told Al Jazeera, referring to the UAE and armed separatists.
Al-Huraibi identified three challenges that the new cabinet will potentially face in Aden. “One major threat is the terrorist or politically motivated bombings in Aden, which could quickly turn the city into a place of mourning.”
On January 21, an explosives-laden car detonated as a pro-government military commander’s convoy was moving in Aden. Five soldiers were killed, and three were wounded. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The other challenge is the risk of planned riots. Protesters may exploit the right to assembly and turn to violence in Aden. Such incidents can erupt sporadically and rob the city’s calm, affecting the government’s ability to function,” al-Huraibi said.
Al-Huraibi added that the third challenge is the UAE’s alleged covert coordination with separatists in southern cities to undermine Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government. “The UAE said it withdrew from Yemen, but there is no guarantee it will be completely disengaged,” he said.
Yemeni officials today believe that a stable Aden and Saudi support are decisive success factors for shifting the focus to the north, where the Houthis have dominated for a decade.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mustafa Noman said in a recent interview that Saudi Arabia “has committed to pay the salaries of all the national army and the brigades, … the salaries of the government staff, including the diplomats”.
“And this is the first step,” he said. “First, we have to secure the capital in Aden, and then when the capital is stable and the services are functioning to a certain extent, the government starts operating from Aden.”
With the unified political and military bloc in the south, he said, the focus must shift to the peace process and confronting the Iran-backed Houthis.
Noman believes the Houthis are not ready for a peace process but they will change their minds when they see the new government operating in Aden and playing a governing role in the south.
For their part, the Houthis have downplayed the importance of the recent Saudi moves in the south, arguing that Saudi Arabia puts its interests first, not Yemen’s.
In a speech broadcast on January 23, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the head of the Houthi movement, said: “The Saudi – even at this stage – is not concerned with either unity or separation [in Yemen]. What concerns him is complete control, occupation and domination over the Yemeni people.”
The Houthis took control of Sanaa in 2014 and then toppled the Yemeni government in Sanaa in 2015, sparking a conflict that remains unresolved to date. They have been able to continue in power despite years of Saudi-led coalition air strikes, followed by air attacks since 2023 by the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.
Mohammed, a Houthi field commander, told Al Jazeera that he does not see a difference between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in Aden.