Category World News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that former United Nations Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov will direct a proposed United States-led “board of peace” in Gaza.

Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem on Thursday, referring to the Bulgarian diplomat as the “designated” director-general for the proposed board, a key part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people of Gaza.

Trump’s Gaza plan led to a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, but Israeli forces have continued to carry out attacks in the territory on a near-daily basis. Since the first full day of the truce on October 11, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed at least 425 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In a statement on Thursday, Netanyahu’s office said Mladenov “is slated to serve as Director General of the ‘Peace Council’ in the Gaza Strip”. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also met Mladenov on Thursday, a spokesperson from his office said, without elaborating.

Under Trump’s plan to end the war, the proposed Board of Peace would supervise a new technocratic Palestinians government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, the further pushback of Israeli troops, and the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Trump is expected to announce appointments to the board next week, according to the Axios news outlet, citing US officials and sources familiar with the matter.

“Among the countries expected to join the board are the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye,” Axios reported.

Mladenov, a former Bulgarian defence and foreign minister, previously served as the UN envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the UN Middle East peace envoy from 2015 to 2020.

During his time as Middle East envoy, Mladenov had good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Arsenal wasted the chance to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League as Liverpool came to life in a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

The Reds are one of only two sides to beat Mikel Arteta’s men this season and came closest to breaking the deadlock on Thursday when Conor Bradley hit the crossbar.

Arsenal failed to score for the first time at home all season, but did enough to extend their advantage over second-placed Manchester City to six points.

Three consecutive draws for City over the past week had opened the door for Arsenal to close in on their first league title in 22 years.

The Emirates was bouncing before a ball was kicked in anticipation, but the spectacle between the defending champions and apparent champions elect fell flat.

Both sides struggled to deal with the treacherous conditions as Storm Goretti unleashed torrential rain and swirling winds.

Liverpool have long since fallen out of the title race since beating the Gunners at Anfield in August, but are now 10 games unbeaten to consolidate their place in the top four.

The visitors were penned in for much of the first 45 minutes but still came closest to opening the scoring before the break.

William Saliba’s backpass nearly caught out David Raya and, with the Spanish goalkeeper stranded, Conor Bradley’s lob came back off the underside of the crossbar.

The roles were reversed in the second period as Liverpool dominated possession and territory.

However, the Reds were shorn of three of their biggest attacking threats with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike out injured and Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

That lack of firepower in the final third showed as Arsenal were only ever troubled by the pace of Jeremie Frimpong, who lacked the final ball to make his dangerous bursts count.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick separated the sides when the last met and nearly repeated the trick with a powerful effort that dipped just too late.

At the other end, Viktor Gyokeres was hauled off by Arteta after another poor performance as his goal drought from open play extended to 10 games.

Arteta had to turn to his wealth of options off the bench to try and turn the tide as Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli were all introduced in the hunt for a winner.

But they took until stoppage time to register a shot on goal in the second half as Jesus and Martinelli fired too close to Alisson Becker.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – Brazil plans to send national guard troops to northern Roraima state, which borders Venezuela and has a strong presence of illegal armed groups who traffic drugs and mine illegally on both sides of the international boundary, according to a government decree.

In an official decree published on Thursday, the government authorised an unspecified number of National Public Security Force (FNSP) troops to be sent to Pacaraima, as well as Roraima’s capital, Boa Vista, about 213km (132 miles) from the border.

The move comes after the US on Saturday bombed Venezuela and abducted its president, Nicolas Maduro. On Sunday, Brazil temporarily closed its border with Venezuela near Pacaraima.

The decree said the FNSP will support the state’s public security agencies and operate in ways “essential to the preservation of public order and the safety of people and property”.

Brazilian media reported on Wednesday that Venezuela was reinforcing its military presence on the border, and multiple armed groups, including Venezuelan colectivos and Brazilian gangs like the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV), operate in the area.

Gimena Sanchez, Andes director for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), told Al Jazeera that Brazil’s deployment of guard troops to the border is an “appropriate move”. She said that violence caused by Colombian rebel groups active in Venezuela is pushing the population further south towards Brazil.

She added it “makes sense [for Brazil] to reinforce the border”, but noted there still has notbeen a mass displacement of Venezuelans.

Brazil has been a fierce critic of the US attacks. On the social media platform X, its president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said the US had crossed an “unacceptable line”.

Asked whether President Lula’s comments could provoke Washington, Sanchez said that the US is more concerned with Cuba, Mexico and Colombia at the moment. “Given that context and also that some European countries as well condemned it, I don’t think Brazil is at risk of being the focus of ire of the Trump administration,” she concluded.

The Syrian army and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, have taken part in clashes in Aleppo city this week.

The violence reflects a deep rift between the two sides, and many rounds of talks have so far failed to reach common ground.

The SDF seeks a decentralised system of government – with areas under its control having a certain level of autonomy.

But the government in Damascus wants to centralise power.

So, what does it all mean for Syria’s unity?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Labib Nahhas – Syria analyst

Omer Ozkizilcik – Nonresident fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programme.

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a tight Spanish Super Cup semifinal in Saudi Arabia to set up a Clasico final clash against rivals Barcelona.

Fede Valverde’s free-kick and a Rodrygo strike on Thursday helped Madrid claim a fifth consecutive victory across all competitions, with Alexander Sorloth pulling one back for Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who came up short in Jeddah.

Alonso was close to the sack after a run of inconsistent form towards the end of 2025, but his team have slowly found their footing.

The Spanish coach led Madrid to a win over Barcelona in his first Clasico at the helm in October, before his team began to slump.

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe out as he recovers from a knee sprain, Alonso kept young striker Gonzalo Garcia in the centre of the attack after his hat-trick against Real Betis on Sunday.

Atletico beat their city rivals 5-2 when the teams met in September in a La Liga derby, but this was a far closer affair.

Los Blancos took the lead after just two minutes when Valverde’s ferocious free-kick flew past Sorloth in a poorly positioned wall and rocketed past Jan Oblak.

The Norwegian Atletico forward might have done more to block it, and Oblak got his hand to the shot but could not keep it out because of the sheer power.

Valverde celebrated vehemently, slapping his own head, clearly delighted at netting his first goal of a difficult season to date.

By taking the lead, Real Madrid earned the right to sit deeper and force Atletico to try and attack them to pull back level.

Madrid hit the Rojiblancos when they could on the counter, with Oblak saving well from Rodrygo after he floated inside from the right.

Atletico began to create some chances and could have pulled level before the interval.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tipped away Sorloth’s header, and then the target man clumsily nodded Conor Gallagher’s cross off-target from close range.

Julian Alvarez, who has just two goals in his last 11 matches, fired towards goal but was also thwarted by Courtois.

Rodrygo extended Madrid’s lead in the 55th minute with his third goal in five games, continuing a rich vein of form across the past few weeks.

The Brazilian found a gap to burst through in the middle of Atletico’s defence and kept his cool to sweep the ball past Oblak.

Sorloth strikes at last

Three minutes later, Atletico hit back, with Sorloth finally finding the net with a header from Giuliano Simeone’s cross.

The striker gave defender Raul Asencio just enough of a shove to put him off without being penalised for it before nodding in.

Atletico came close in the final stages as they tried in vain to force extra-time, with Courtois saving an acrobatic Antoine Griezmann effort, and Marcos Llorente whipping a shot agonisingly wide.

Alvarez flashed a shot across the face of goal deep in stoppage time as Atletico’s hopes of silverware in Saudi Arabia came to a quick end.