A Moroccan court on Thursday sentenced 18 Senegalese football fans to prison terms ranging from three to 12 months over hooliganism charges.
The group had been in pre-trial detention since January 18, the day of the heated AFCON final in which Morocco lost to Senegal 1-0 on home turf, after some Senegalese supporters attempted a pitch invasion while others threw objects onto the field.
Donald Trump has told the first meeting of his Board of Peace that nine member nations have pledged $7bn to a reconstruction fund for the Gaza Strip, with five countries agreeing to deploy troops to an international stabilisation force for the Palestinian territory.
Addressing the board in a meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday, the United States president said the US will make a contribution of $10bn to the Board of Peace, although he didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
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Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait have raised an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction, Trump said.
“Every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of a new and harmonious [region],” said Trump. He added, “The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built right here in this room.”
The funds pledged, while significant, represent a fraction of the estimated $70bn needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory that has been decimated after more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war.
Meanwhile, Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged to send troops for the Gaza stabilisation force, part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza. Egypt and Jordan have committed to training police officers.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced his country would contribute up to 8,000 troops to the proposed force “to make this peace work”.
The force, led by a US general with an Indonesian deputy, will start in the Israeli-controlled city of Rafah and train a new police force, eventually aiming to prepare 12,000 police and have 20,000 troops.
While the disarmament of Hamas was a part of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, the group has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as Israel continues to carry out daily attacks on Gaza.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said any international force must “monitor the ceasefire and prevent the [Israeli] occupation from continuing its aggression.” Disarmament could be discussed, he said, without directly committing to it.
Trump first proposed the board last September as part of his plan to end the war. But since the October “ceasefire”, Trump’s vision for the board has morphed, and he wants it to have an even more ambitious remit to tackle other conflicts worldwide.
The board has faced criticism for including Israeli representatives but not Palestinians.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that Palestinians want to see concrete solutions rather than pledges.
“Past experiences with conferences, with regard to reconstruction, with regard to the peace process, all ended up with large needs for funding that were delayed or [plans] that were not implemented,” he said.
“Palestinians don’t want to see this again; they don’t want to see the Board of Peace as another international body that falls into the category of crisis management rather than finding a tangible solution to this longstanding problem, the Palestinian problem,” Mahmoud noted.
Ahead of the Saturday, February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared Friday a work-free day and announced a restriction of movement from 8pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday.
Wike made the announcement in a special broadcast on national television and radio stations on Thursday, urging residents of the FCT to come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka.
READ ALSO: Another PDP Candidate Withdraws From FCT Council Polls, Backs APC
In the broadcast, he said: “On Saturday, February 21, we will all have a crucial opportunity to shape the future of our great Federal Capital Territory.
“The election of either new or returning chairmen and councillors for the six area councils is a momentous occasion, and I urge you to come out in your numbers to exercise your right to vote.
“I urge you to go to the polls with a sense of purpose and responsibility.
“As we exercise our democratic right, let us do so in an orderly and lawful manner. Let us respect the rules, respect each other, and respect the outcome of the election. We must show the world that we are a mature and responsible electorate, capable of conducting ourselves with dignity and decorum.
“At this juncture, with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I hereby declare Friday, February 20, 2026, as a work-free day to enable the movement of residents to their various communities to participate in the elections.
“Similarly, the President has approved the restriction of movement within the FCT from 8pm on Friday, February 20 to 6pm on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Consequently, all security agencies are directed to ensure strict compliance with this directive.
“Let me again use this opportunity to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 into law. This demonstrates his commitment to strengthening our democratic institutions and ensuring that our electoral processes are free, fair and transparent.
“My dear residents, democracy has always been a work in progress due to the evolving democratic process. However, we will keep getting better by continually reviewing the Electoral Act with a view to strengthening our democratic process.
“To all FCT residents, I urge you to make your voice heard. Come out on Saturday, February 21, 2026, and vote for the candidates of your choice.
“Our prayer, as an administration, is that the elections will facilitate the emergence of quality leaders who will contribute meaningfully to development, peace and prosperity in the FCT.
Alina Muller repeats history from Sochi in 2014, scoring an overtime winner as Switzerland beat Sweden 2-1 to claim bronze in the women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Muller scored the winner 12 years ago as a 15-year-old against the same opponents in a 4-3 victory to win the bronze medal.
WATCH MORE: Winter Olympics Video
In a closed-door session at his Ohio home on Wednesday, billionaire Leslie Wexner faced mounting questions from United States lawmakers about Jeffrey Epstein’s rise to wealth and influence – and the role he may have played in that ascent.
Five members of the House Oversight Committee had travelled to depose the 88-year-old after Democrats subpoenaed him in the wake of the latest US Department of Justice release tied to Epstein.
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The latest tranche of documents, published by the Justice Department on January 30, 2026, is part of a vast wealth of materials amassed during federal investigations into Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution and was later charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors before his death by suicide in federal custody. Wexner’s name appears, both redacted and unredacted, on communications and financial documents within these files.
“I was naive, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein,” Wexner said in a statement. “He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
For decades, Epstein cultivated relationships with business leaders, politicians and academics.
Central among them was Wexner, the founder of L Brands, the retail empire behind Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and The Limited, whose fortune helped build the foundations for Epstein’s access to global elites, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
The newly released files shed fresh light on how deeply Epstein embedded himself within Wexner’s financial and philanthropic world, a relationship that proved pivotal in transforming him from an obscure money manager into a figure of extraordinary wealth and influence.
Epstein was introduced to Wexner in the mid-1980s. At the time, Epstein was a college dropout who had briefly taught at Manhattan’s elite Dalton School after reportedly exaggerating his academic credentials. He had passed through Bear Stearns under executive Alan “Ace” Greenberg before leaving to set up his own advisory firm.
By 1986, he had met Wexner. Five years later, the retail billionaire had granted him full power of attorney, an extraordinary delegation allowing Epstein to sign cheques, hire staff, borrow money, and buy or sell property on Wexner’s behalf.
Al Jazeera has reviewed newly released Justice Department records, including a 1998 purchase and sale agreement and related promissory note and guaranty, which detail the mechanics of asset transfers between the two men.
The documents show how control of Wexner’s Manhattan townhouse at 9 East 71st Street was formalised through a structured transaction involving a $10m promissory note and a personal guaranty signed by Epstein. The property became Epstein’s New York base and a symbol of his growing stature.
By the early 1990s, Epstein was embedded in Wexner’s philanthropic and corporate world, serving as a trustee of the Wexner Foundation and as the president of Wexner-affiliated property companies. In 1996, he relocated his firm to the US Virgin Islands, positioning himself as an offshore financier.
The authority Wexner granted him over assets, philanthropy and property did more than elevate his status socially. It conferred institutional legitimacy. With control over substantial wealth and formal roles inside a major foundation, Epstein could present himself as a financier with access to capital and global networks.
One of the clearest through-lines from that period runs to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was introduced to Epstein by former Israeli President Shimon Peres at a large event in Washington in 2003.
Between 2004 and 2006, the Wexner Foundation paid Barak approximately $2.3m for two commissioned research studies, one on leadership and another on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The foundation later said only one paper was completed, but determined that the work justified the payment.
Barak, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later as defence minister from 2007 to 2013, maintained contact with Epstein for several years.
A court filing included in the newly released Epstein records contains an allegation that prominent victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Wexner and Barak were two of the men Epstein trafficked her to.
The filing does not provide supporting evidence for the claim. Neither man has been charged with wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
In February this year, Barak told Israel’s Channel 12 he had been unaware of the full scope of Epstein’s crimes and regretted ever meeting the financier.
Wexner has said he severed ties with Epstein around 2007 after he discovered the financier had “misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family”.
But the financial and institutional credibility Epstein accumulated during his years managing Wexner’s wealth did not evaporate when that relationship ended.
Even after his relationship allegedly ended with Wexner, Epstein now had the social prestige, and money, to develop ties with powerful decision-makers, emails newly released by the Justice Department and reviewed by Al Jazeera show.
In October 2014, Nili Priel Barak – Barak’s wife – wrote to Epstein about travel plans to New York, suggesting dates when Ehud Barak would be in town and asking whether he would be available to meet.
Days later, she forwarded him a draft opinion piece, writing: “Herewith the Op Ed. Please let me know your opinion and your remarks. Thanks.”
Epstein replied with what he labelled “beginning edits”, returning a version of the unpublished article. The draft speaks in Barak’s political voice, including the line: “As the Minister of Defence of Israel I’ve met more than once with [US] President [Barack] Obama…” and lays out arguments about the “two states solution” versus a “one state solution”.
A year later, in 2015, Epstein invested in Reporty Homeland Security, later rebranded as Carbyne, a startup chaired by Ehud Barak that developed advanced emergency communications technology – further tying their political relationship to a shared commercial venture.
The company’s leadership included CEO Amir Elichai, a former special forces officer, and director Pinhas Buchris, a former Israeli Defence Ministry director-general and former commander of Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s cyber intelligence unit.
Between 2012 and 2014, documents reportedly indicate Epstein also assisted Barak in exploring security-related business with African world leaders. The documents illustrate how Epstein managed to convert financial credibility into political access, and then reinforced those relationships through shared commercial ventures.
Barak has said: “I am responsible for all my actions and decisions. There is room to question whether I should have investigated more thoroughly. I regret not doing so.”
Senator Barinada Mpigi, who represented the Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, has died.
The lawmaker, whose legislative career spanned more than a decade at the federal level, died at the age of 64.
His passing was confirmed on Thursday, February 19, 2026, after a brief illness.
Until his death, Mpigi served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, where he played a key role in legislative oversight of federal road infrastructure and other public works projects.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara expressed “deep shock and sadness” over the development in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.
The governor described the late lawmaker as “a brother, a consummate politician, and one of the leading lights in Rivers State,” noting that his death occurred at a time when his experience and leadership were still greatly needed by the state.
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He prayed for the peaceful repose of Mpigi’s soul and extended condolences to his immediate family, the people of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District, and the Senate, urging them to take solace in what he called the impactful life the senator lived.
Mpigi began his federal legislative career in the House of Representatives, where he served two terms between 2011 and 2019, representing the Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo Federal Constituency.
He was first elected to the Senate in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, consolidating his influence within national politics.
A long-time member of the Peoples Democratic Party, he was widely regarded as a strong voice in Rivers politics, particularly on infrastructure development and constituency empowerment initiatives.
In recent political realignments, there were indications he was moving closer to the All Progressives Congress, though he remained an influential figure across party lines.
