Egyptian-British human rights activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has “unequivocally” apologized after decades-old tweets from right-wing extremists demanded that he be denied British citizenship.
The writer and blogger, who returned to Britain this week after 12 years of imprisonment in Egypt, wrote a lengthy apology online, adding that some of the tweets were “completely twisted”.
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Right-wing commentators and members of the Conservative Party demanded that Abd El-Fattah be deported for his posts dating back to 2010, including alleged references to killing Zionists and police officers, along with far-right Reform UK leaders.
Abd El-Fattah wrote that the tweets “reflected a young man’s anger and frustrations in a time of regional crises,” including the wars on Iraq and Gaza, and a pervasive culture of “online insult battles.”
He continued, “I should have known better.”
I’m shocked that several of my older tweets have been republished and used to question and denigrate my integrity and values, leading to calls for the revocation of my citizenship, he said.
In a Daily Mail op-ed, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood should consider how Abd El-Fattah “can be removed from Britain” and that she does not want “people who hate Britain coming to our country.”
The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, criticized Badenoch for being a member of the 2021 administration, which granted Abd El-Fattah citizenship, in a letter he wrote to Mahmood on X.
Abd El-Fattah’s supporters and human rights activists blasted the actions as smear campaigns and directed his followers to his apology.
Naomi Klein, a Jewish academic and author, claimed that right-wingers were “playing politics with his hard-won freedom,” while Mai El-Sadany, executive director of the Washington, DC-based Tahrir Institute for Middle Eastern Policy, claimed the citizenship revocation campaign was “coordinated” to “impugn his reputation and harm him.
The home secretary can revoke citizenship under British law if it is deemed to be “conductive to the public good,” a practice that critics claim is unfairly targeted at British Muslims.
The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion predicted that at least 175 people had lost their British citizenship since 2006, including more than 100 in 2017, making the country “a global leader in the race to the bottom” for revocations in a report released in 2022.
British conservatives’ concern over Abd El-Fattah’s release appeared to be caused by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response. He stated earlier this week that the investigation had been “top priority” and that he was “delighted” by Abd El-Fattah’s return, a statement that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper shared.
During the 2011 mass protests that ousted then-leader Hosni Mubarak, Abd El-Fattah was imprisoned. He then became a prominent critic of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the military ruler of Egypt, two years after his ouster.
In 2014, the author was accused of spreading fake news and received a 15-year prison sentence. Before receiving another five-year sentence, he was briefly released in 2019.
Who: Aston Villa vs. Arsenal What: English Premier League Where: Emirates Stadium, London, UK When: Tuesday at 8:15pm (20:15 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Aston Villa’s stunning recent form has made them legitimate title contenders when they travel to league leaders Arsenal, despite not capturing any of their first six games of the season.
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Unai Emery’s men are now within three points of the Gunners at the top of the table with eight Premier League victories in a row, including 11 in all competitions, which is their longest winning streak since 1914.
Emery will be eager to win at his previous employer, Arsenal, where he took over as manager in February, less than a year after taking over from Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal set up a six-point lead over them in the first half of the league this year, but they have since looked less convincing and lost 2-1 to Villa in Birmingham earlier in December after conceding a last-gasp goal.
Manchester City briefly took the lead over the weekend, but the Gunners resurrected control with a spirited 2-1 win over Brighton, while Villa rallied from behind to record an impressive 2-1 win away at Chelsea.
“We are very competitive,” he said.
Emery makes a rare managerial failure on Tuesday, returning to the scene of his most recent outings, with the goal of a major blow to former Premier League champion Arsenal’s long-awaited bid for a title.
The Spaniard’s transformation from battling relegation to contending for their first league title since 1981 has led to the awakening of a sleeping giant in Villa.
“We are doing a very good job.” We are currently third in the league, trailing only Manchester City and Arsenal. Emery commanded admiration after he orchestrated a second-half turnaround at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues were putting an end to Villa’s 1-0 lead before an hour-long triple substitution made the game change.
Ollie Watkins praised his manager’s switch of system as “tactical genius” after he came off the bench to score twice.
On December 27, 2025, Watkins ascends to the lead in Villa’s win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Emery has a strong record against Arsenal.
Few people think Villa will be able to survive 20 more games against Arsenal and City’s much greater wealth and squad depth. However, Emery’s three-year tenure as president is just the start of a trend on the upward trajectory.
The Villains have qualified for continental competition for the past three seasons following a 13-year absence from Europe, which included a three-year stint in the second-tier championship.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were on the verge of a shock victory at Villa Park in April, but they escaped and won the Champions League quarterfinal 5-4 overall, going on to win the competition for the first time.
In addition, Emery has lost just twice in 10 meetings against Arsenal in competitions at PSG, Villarreal, and Villa, including a 2-0 victory at the Emirates in April 2024, which ultimately cost Mikel Arteta’s men the title.
Even Emery’s disastrous 18 months in north London were not without their own misery. The 54-year-old inherited a club that was in decline during Wenger’s final years, but he only managed to make it a Champions League team in his final full season in charge and reach the Europa League final.
[File: Paul Childs/Action Images via Reuters] Emery becomes animated on the touchline
Everyone is “everybody ready to do whatever it takes.”
Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, thinks that Declan Rice’s “unbelievable” performance as an emergency right-back against Brighton shows that they are “ready to do whatever it takes” to win the Premier League.
Rice, one of the standout midfielders in the league this season, could be required to play there again on Tuesday due to Jurrien Timber and Ben White’s absence.
It was unbelievable to play right-back [probably]for the first time in his life, and then execute it the way he did it today, according to Odegaard.
“And that’s just our team,” he continued. Rice’s performance was another excellent illustration of how everyone is willing to do whatever it takes.
[File: AFP] Rice celebrates after Arsenal score their second goal in Brighton.
Gunners handling injuries in an “unbelievable way”
It should have been a straightforward three points for the hosts when Odegaard scored the opener for Arsenal against Brighton in the 14th minute and Georginio Rutter’s own goal from a Rice corner made it 2-0 shortly after the break.
However, Diego Gomez’s response to Brighton altered the tone of the match, and Arsenal came away with a victory at the end of the match.
Arteta compared a victory that should have been easier to say, “The knock-on effect of winning is incredibly powerful.”
“The Premier League should never be 2-1,” he said.
We have a lot of issues, and we’re dealing with them in an incredible way, like when we lost Jurrien [Timber] and today we lost [Riccardo] Calafiori in the warm-up. When Declan Rice is required to play at fullback, you can see how well he performed, and that’s how our players want it.
Head-to-head
The two clubs first fought 120 years ago, and 206 of those matches saw Aston Villa win 72 and 46 of those games ended in draws.
Arsenal last recorded a win over Villa in August 2024 with a 2-0 away win over Villa, having lost three of their previous five games against Villa and picking up just four points along the way.
Villa travel to London after winning nine of their last ten Premier League games with a 2-0 win in April 2024 and 2-2 draw in January, despite the Gunners having won nine of those games.
news from the Arsenal team
Arteta hopes Timber’s late fitness test will be passed. Rice would resump playing midfield if he were to return.
After being replaced at left-back by Myles Lewis-Skelly and resuming his warm-up against Brighton, Calafiori remains a significant doubt.
Important centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes has recovered from an adductor injury and will start for the first time since November in what would be a significant boost for the Gunners.
lineup anticipated:
Raya (goalkeeper), Timber (goalkeeper), Saliba (goalkeeper), Gabriel (goalkeeper), Zubimendi (goalkeeper), Rice (goalkeeper), Odegaard (goalkeeper), Saka (gookeres), and Ezekiel (goalkeeper).
news from the Aston Villa team
Amadou Onana and Lamare Bogarde will replace them with suspended right-back Matty Cash and defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara after receiving numerous bookings.
While Ivory Coast forward Evann Guessand is participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, defensive players Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, and midfielder Ross Barkley are still ruled out with injuries.
Watkins will start up front in place of Donyell Malen after coming off the bench to score a brace against Chelsea.
According to local police, British boxing champion Anthony Joshua was involved in a car accident in Ogun State, Nigeria, that left two people dead.
According to local police, Joshua, 36, suffered minor injuries on Monday when his car and the other vehicle on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway collided with him.
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According to police spokesperson for Ogun State, Oluseyi Babaseyi, “the vehicle conveying Anthony Joshua was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently being investigated.”
He was sitting in the backseat of the car, suffered minor wounds, and is receiving medical attention.
Joshua was unavailable for comment right away.
The boxer was allegedly seen being lifted out of a wrecked car while he was writhing in pain in photos posted on social media.
The accident happened on a major thoroughfare that connects Lagos, the nation’s economic hub, with nearby Ogun State.
Initial investigations reveal that the vehicle was “traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre,” collided with a stationary truck parked by the side of the road, and lost control of the vehicle.
Adeniyi Orojo, a witness, also reported to The Punch that Joshua was driving a Lexus when it collided with a stationary object.
Joseph claimed in the newspaper that Joseph was seated behind the driver and with another passenger next to him.
The Lexus that crashed also had a passenger sitting next to the driver, causing four people to be inside. Before the collision, his security detail was driving the car behind them.
He continued, “Jesus and Joshua both passed away on the spot, along with the driver and Joshua.”
Joshua, the son of British-Nigerian parents, emigrated from Ikenne, where he was killed, to attend a boarding school there, which was located 85 kilometers (53 miles) away, before coming back to Britain at the age of 12.
After his sixth-round knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul on December 19, the British boxer has been spending time in Nigeria.
A DR Congo fan known as “Lumumba” reportedly stood motionless in the stands throughout the entire AFCON game against Senegal, resembling a statue of the nation’s leader of independence.
After weeks of fighting along their disputed border, Thailand and Cambodia have put an end to fighting. Assed Baig of Al Jazeera reports that both militaries are still in place and that civilians have been displaced by the conflict are waiting to see if the truce will endure beyond the first 72 hours.
Beijing claims that the two days of military exercises that simulate a blockade of key ports have been conducted in Taiwan. Taiwan retaliated by launching fighter jets and mobilizing troops.
