Nicaragua’s left-wing government has announced the release of dozens of prisoners following pressure from United States President Donald Trump’s administration.
The government of President Daniel Ortega said in a statement on Saturday that “tens of people who were in the national penitentiary system have gone home to their families”.
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The statement did not specify the exact number of people freed, or whether they had been detained for political reasons.
While the government described the move as a gesture to commemorate 19 years of Ortega’s government, Nicaragua is under considerable pressure from the US over its human rights record and a years-long crackdown on opposition leaders and activists.
Saturday’s prisoner release also reflects the growing pressure that left-wing governments in Latin America face to appease demands from the Trump administration, which has moved to exert greater dominance across the Americas region.
Tensions have soared since the US military attacked Venezuela on January 3 and abducted the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, who is facing US charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking, which he denies.
On Friday, the US Embassy in Nicaragua praised the release of opposition figures in Venezuela following Maduro’s removal from power, calling on Ortega’s government to follow suit.
“In Nicaragua, more than 60 people remain unjustly detained or missing, including pastors, religious workers, the sick, and the elderly. Peace is only possible with freedom!” the Embassy posted on social media.
A human rights NGO that tracks political prisoners in Nicaragua identified 19 people released on Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported.
Opposition leader and former prisoner Ana Margarita Vijil told Reuters that she did not know the exact number of people released, but said the group included a former mayor, Oscar Gadea, and an evangelical pastor, Rudy Palacios.
Palacios was detained in July after criticising the Nicaraguan government for human rights violations. He had also supported demonstrators who took to the streets to demand Ortega’s removal in 2018.
Ortega responded to those protests with a crackdown that left at least 350 people dead and hundreds detained.
Liberales Nicaragua, a coalition of opposition groups, praised the prisoners’ release on Saturday.
Who: Barcelona vs Real Madrid What: Spanish Super Cup final Where: King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When: Sunday, January 11, at 8pm (19:00 GMT) How to follow: We will have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 15:00 GMT, in advance of our text commentary stream.
One of sport’s greatest matchups will grace the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Sunday as Barcelona face fierce rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.
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Barca, the defending champions who beat Real in last year’s final, are the team to stop once more in Spain’s top flight, La Liga.
Real, on the other hand, are under increasing pressure, especially their new manager, Xabi Alonso.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a final that carries so much more weight when it holds the tag: El Clasico.
Why are Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso under pressure?
Alonso has steadied Real Madrid’s ship in recent weeks after a tumultuous period, but the Spanish Super Cup final seems a make-or-break moment for the beleaguered coach.
On the brink of the sack after a dire run of form, Alonso responded by leading Madrid to five consecutive victories, the fifth coming on Thursday against Atletico Madrid in the semifinals.
Beating Super Cup holders Barcelona would bring Alonso the first trophy at the helm.
A second victory in two matches against Barcelona would buy Alonso time and breathing room.
But succumbing to Hansi Flick’s side would give Real president Florentino Perez a further excuse to remove a coach he hired in June but has never appeared convinced by.
Spanish media reported that Perez was set to sack Alonso if the team lost against Manchester City in the Champions League on December 10, which they did, but the team’s improved performance bought the coach another chance.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe during training in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Super Cup final [Vincent West/Reuters]
What happened in last year’s Super Cup final between Real and Barca?
Barcelona trounced Real Madrid 5-2 in last year’s final, which was also in Jeddah.
It was a damaging blow for then-manager Carlo Ancelotti, while proving a springboard for Hansi Flick – fresh in his role as Barca boss.
How important is Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid and Barcelona?
Lifting the Super Cup worked for Flick’s fledgling tenure at Barcelona last season, galvanising his team to claim La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
In the three seasons prior to that, the Super Cup winners also went on to win the Spanish top flight.
“Two things are clear – as it’s the tournament we’re playing for [now], it’s the most important,” said Alonso.
“If you ask me about it in terms of order of priority in the season, it’s the fourth.”
What’s the latest on Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe?
Real are boosted by the return of Mbappe to the squad after he missed the 2-1 win over Atletico and Sunday’s 5-1 thrashing of Real Betis in La Liga while recovering from a knee sprain.
The coach said Mbappe has as much chance of starting against Barcelona as anyone else and is confident the forward has recovered, even though he was expected to miss another week.
With 29 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions, Mbappe is Real Madrid’s top goal scorer this season and their clear, stand-out performer.
The striker has netted six goals against Barcelona in five games since joining Real Madrid.
His return could make life trickier for Alonso because the team does not seem to function at its best when Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham line up together.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal during training ahead of the Spanish Super Cup final [Vincent West/Reuters]
How are Real Madrid’s Brazil forwards, Vinicius and Rodrygo, faring?
One player who has become essential for Alonso in recent weeks is Brazilian winger Rodrygo.
After a miserable run of 32 games without scoring, the right-winger has burst into life with three goals and three assists in his last five matches.
On the opposite flank, Vinicius is struggling for form.
Since finishing second in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings, he has dipped far from his top level.
Vinicius has not scored in his last 16 outings for Real Madrid, and Alonso must decide whether to line up with him against Barca.
What happened the last time Barcelona played Real Madrid?
The Catalans beat Madrid four times in four encounters last season, but Alonso’s side beat their rivals 2-1 in October in La Liga.
“We have to win; we lost two finals against them last year,” urged Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“They have to win, too. After losing the Clasico in La Liga, they’ll want revenge.”
Barcelona ready for Mbappe return for Real Madrid
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Mbappe is the man of the moment, but backed his team to succeed despite his arrival in Saudi Arabia.
“At the moment, Mbappe is the best striker… he’s scored many, many goals, and he’s a world-class player, that’s what I can say,” admitted Flick, whose side hammered Real Betis 5-0 in their semifinal on Wednesday.
However, the German coach was eager to point out that last season, his side beat Mbappe’s Madrid on all four occasions they met.
Barca thrashed them 5-2 in last season’s Spanish Super Cup final, as well as winning both La Liga Clasicos and the Copa del Rey final.
In their one meeting with Alonso’s side this season, Madrid secured a 2-1 league win.
“How many Clasicos have we played in the last year and a half? And how many did we win? We lost one,” said Flick.
“I know he’s a fantastic player, and for him, with space behind the [defence], he’s really great…
“We will adapt something, like we always do, but it’s not especially about Mbappe, it’s about Real Madrid, it’s about how we want to play and how we expect they want to.”
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal celebrates with the trophy and his teammates after winning the Spanish Super Cup last season [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]
What’s the Spanish Super Cup?
The Super Cup pits together the winners and runners-up of both the Spanish domestic league, La Liga, and Spain’s domestic cup competition, Copa del Rey.
Although first played in 1982, between the league and cup winners alone, it was expanded to four teams in 2020.
Barcelona are the current league champions, with Real Madrid finishing second. They were also the finalists of the Copa del Rey, resulting in Athletic Madrid and Athletic Bilbao lining up in the semifinals, following their third and fourth-place finishes in the league last season.
Where will the Spanish Super Cup final be played?
The Super Cup is being staged in Saudi Arabia for the second year running, with all three matches staged at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
The venue plays host to the Saudi Arabian national team, and will be part of the 2034 World Cup.
Riyadh played host to the final the year before, with Real Madrid emerging victorious with a 4-1 defeat of Barcelona.
Head-to-head
This will be the 262nd meeting between the teams, with Real Madrid winning 106, and Barcelona winning 104, of the encounters.
Barcelona team news
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi and Andreas Christensen are all absent, with the latter two troubled by knee problems and the former out with an unspecified complaint.
Yamal is expected to return to the starting eleven, having not been fit enough to start the semifinal against Atletico. The winger did, however, come off the bench to find the net.
Ronald Araujo has returned to full training, but is only expected to be named among the subs.
Real Madrid team news
Whether Mbappe makes the team sheet, even as a starter or as a sub, is the headline news, following a week of speculation about the forward’s knee injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao and Brahim Diaz remain absent, but there is a chance that Rodrygo, Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio could pass fitness tests after knocks sustained in the semifinal against Atletico.
Dean Huijsen returned to the bench for the Atletico match and could return to the starting eleven in place of Rudiger, should his fellow defender fail to make the grade.
Barcelona’s predicted starting lineup
J Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde, Pedri, De Jong, Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin, F Torres
Mohamed Salah scored, and Egypt eliminated the defending champions, Ivory Coast, to move into the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinals with a 3-2 victory.
Liverpool forward Salah nabbed his fourth goal of the tournament – Egypt’s third of the game – in the 52nd minute of Saturday’s encounter, and the Pharaohs needed it, as Ivory Coast threatened to twice come back from two goals down.
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Egypt, however, held on in Agadir despite relentless Ivorian pressure, and booked a semifinal date with 2021 champions Senegal in Tangier on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast had a woeful start, as Franck Kessie lost the ball in the midfield after a poor touch and Odilon Kossounou fell over instead of cutting out Emam Ashour’s ball for Omar Marmoush, who scored in the fourth minute.
Ramy Rabia produced a brilliant block to preserve the lead, and then scored himself with a header from a corner in the 32nd.
Ivory Coast finally pulled one back five minutes before the break, when Ahmed Abou El Fotouh bundled in a dangerous Yan Diomande free kick, which Kossounou headed on.
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah scores their third goal against Ivory Coast [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal cushion early in the second half, when Rabia caught the Ivorian defence out with a long ball for Ashour, who set up Salah with the outside of his boot.
Guela Doue pulled another one back with his heel in a goalmouth scramble, after goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy clawed the ball away in the 73rd, but the equaliser never came.
Egypt are bidding for a record-extending eighth AFCON title.
Earlier, three-time champions Nigeria, who lost the final to Ivory Coast in the last edition, beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a semifinal meeting with Morocco.
The Super Eagles are bidding to win the title for the first time since 2013.
Saudi Arabia says it will soon host a dialogue between Yemen’s main players.
For almost a decade, the Southern Transitional Council has been the main player in southern Yemen while the country reeled from division and civil strife.
But in a matter of hours, the separatists lost control of all the territory they had previously held.
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The developments followed a military intervention by Saudi Arabia to stop what it called a threat to its national security.
Earlier this week, in a statement issued in Riyadh, the STC announced the movement’s dissolution.
Saudi Arabia is now planning a conference of the main political factions to shape the future of the south.
Will the outcome serve its long-term goals in Yemen?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Khaled Batarfi – Political analyst
Farea Al Muslimi – Research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programme
Protests against US President Donald Trump’s militarised anti-immigration push are sweeping the United States, after the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent sparked outrage this week.
Indivisible, a social movement group, said hundreds of demonstrations were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other US states on Saturday.
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“ICE’s violence is not a statistic, it has names, families, and futures attached to it, and we refuse to look away or stay silent,” Leah Greenberg, Indivisible’s co-executive director, said in a statement.
Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of what he called the “horrifying” killing of Renee Nicole Good by the ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks told The Associated Press news agency. “We have to stand up.”
Senior Trump administration officials have justified Good’s killing, saying she “weaponised” her vehicle and threatened the life of the ICE officer who shot and killed her.
But video footage from the scene showed Good attempting to drive away before being shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
The incident has renewed scrutiny of Trump’s push to deploy heavily armed law enforcement officers to carry out an anti-immigrant crackdown across the US, with local authorities demanding that ICE agents leave their cities.
The killing of Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, came as the US Department of Homeland Security pushes ahead with what it has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
‘ICE Out For Good’
Many of Saturday’s protests were dubbed “ICE Out for Good”, with organiser Indivisible saying the rallies aimed to “mourn the lives taken and shattered by ICE and to demand justice and accountability”.
In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups called for a demonstration at Powderhorn Park, a large green space near the residential neighbourhood where the deadly shooting occurred on Wednesday.
They said the rally would call for an “end to deadly terror on our streets”.
Reporting from a rally in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo said the protesters have been expressing outrage “but overwhelmingly, we hear people say they’re here to demonstrate peacefully.”
“We’re also hearing a lot of calls for justice. What I’m not hearing is too much optimism that there will be justice in this case,” Rapalo said, referring to Good’s killing.
Federal agents tackle a protester to the ground before detaining him outside of the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, January 8, 2026 [Tim Evans/Reuters]
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who demanded that ICE leave the city after the deadly incident, said on Saturday that 29 people had been arrested overnight as police responded to continued protests.
Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who damage property or endanger others will be arrested.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said one police officer was injured during the protest response.
Meanwhile, three US lawmakers representing Minnesota attempted to tour an ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning but were told to leave after initially being allowed to enter.
US Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.
