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Tanzania Disqualifies Opposition Candidate Mpina Again
Tanzania’s electoral commission said it had disqualified opposition presidential candidate Luhaga Mpina for the second time on Monday, reversing a decision made two days earlier approving his nomination.
The disqualification of Mpina, who leads the country’s second largest opposition party, leaves President Samia Suluhu Hassan a clear run at next month’s election, with only candidates from minor parties allowed to compete.
U-Turn In Matter Of Days
Mpina, who is the top candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) party, had successfully challenged the earlier decision to disqualify him by the Office of Registrar of Political Parties, citing complaints that his party had failed to comply with nomination procedures.
The vote will also be held without leading opposition party CHADEMA, which was disqualified in April after failing to sign the electoral code of conduct as part of its call for electoral reforms.
Free Pass
The CHADEMA presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was charged with treason earlier this year over what prosecutors said was a speech calling upon the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October.
Rights groups like Amnesty International say Lissu’s detention and the unexplained abductions of government critics in recent months point to a government crackdown ahead of the election, while highlighting the rights record of Hassan, who says the government is committed to respecting human rights.
Over the weekend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accepted the nomination papers of Mpina, a former ruling party lawmaker, following a high court ruling that overturned an earlier decision by INEC to disqualify him.
“It is our hope the commission will drop all objections against our candidate so that he can proceed with the election campaigns in a bid to lead Tanzanians,” said Shangwe Ayo, ACT-Wazalendo’s deputy spokesperson, in a statement.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Israel Vows To Target Hamas Leaders At Qatar Summit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that Hamas leaders could face further attacks “wherever they may be.” His remarks came as Arab and Islamic leaders convened in Qatar for a summit demonstrating solidarity with Doha following Israel’s strike on the Gulf state last week.
The September 9 strike targeting leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group in Doha marked a significant escalation of Israeli military action in a region shaken by conflict since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that ignited the Gaza war.
The emergency Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Doha is expected to warn that the Israeli attack and other “hostile acts” by Israel threaten coexistence and efforts to normalise ties in the region, according to a draft resolution.
Addressing the summit, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said the Israeli attack was “cowardly and treacherous”, saying Hamas leaders had been studying a U.S. ceasefire proposal presented to them by Qatar and Egypt when it took place.
Hamas says the Israeli attack killed five of its members but not its leadership. A member of Qatar’s internal security forces was also killed.
Strain In UAE-Israel Ties
Targeting close U.S. ally Qatar, the Israeli strike has prompted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, notably adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which were normalised in 2020.
Speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was still getting final reports on the results of the strike.
Rubio will travel to Qatar after his visit to Israel, a senior U.S. State Department official said.
Rubio called on Qatar to continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Gaza conflict, saying it could help reach the goals of releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, disarming Hamas and building a better future for Gazans.
“And so we’re going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated displeasure at the attack and said on Sunday Israel should be careful.
“My message is that they have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States,” he said.
Israeli Attack Threatens ‘Coexistence’
An excerpt of the draft resolution said “the brutal Israeli attack on Qatar and the continuation of Israel’s hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, starvation, siege, and colonizing activities and expansion policies threatens prospects of peace and coexistence in the region.”
These actions threaten “everything that has been achieved on the path of normalizing ties with Israel including current agreements and future ones”, according to the draft, which was drawn up by foreign ministers meeting ahead of the summit.
Israel has been widely accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars, during its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.
Israel rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defence following the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Qatar has acted as a key mediator in the Gaza conflict and has accused Israel of sabotaging chances for peace and Netanyahu of practicing “state terrorism”.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Sunday that Israel’s actions would not stop Doha’s mediation efforts with Egypt and the United States.
Israel Destroys 16-Floor Building In Gaza
While diplomacy was unfolding in Jerusalem and Doha, Israeli forces were continuing their assault on Gaza City, where they killed at least 16 Palestinians in strikes on two homes and on a tent housing a displaced family, local health authorities said.
The army also hit and destroyed a 16-floor building in the west of the city, believed to be the tallest in the Gaza Strip, about an hour after warning displaced families sheltering inside and nearby to leave. It said the building was being used to hide “terrorist infrastructure.”
Rubio gave strong backing to Israel, which has grown increasingly isolated on the world stage because of widespread indignation at the enormous death toll in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian and hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Russia Warns Europe It Will Target States Seizing Its Assets
Russia on Monday warned Europe it would retaliate against any European country attempting to seize its assets, following reports that the EU is exploring ways to use hundreds of billions in frozen Russian funds to support Ukraine.
The U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with the Russian central bank and finance ministry after President Vladimir Putin sent his army into Ukraine in 2022, and blocked $300-$350 billion of sovereign Russian assets, mostly European, U.S. and British government bonds held in a European securities depository.
Reuters reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants the European Union to find a new way to finance Ukraine’s defence against Russia, using the cash balances associated with Russian assets frozen in Europe.
Politico reported that the European Commission is mulling the idea of using Russian cash deposits at the European Central Bank from maturing bonds owned by Russia to fund a “Reparations Loan” for Ukraine.
“If this happens, Russia will pursue the EU states, as well as European degenerates from Brussels and individual EU countries who try to seize our property, until the end of the century,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
Medvedev Threatens Broad Retaliation
Russia will pursue European states in “all possible ways” and in “all possible international and national courts” as well as “out of court”, said Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.
Russia says any seizure of its assets amounts to theft by the West and will undermine confidence in the bonds and currencies of the United States and Europe.
European states say that Russia is responsible for the destruction of Ukraine in the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two – and that Moscow must be forced to pay.
Some bankers, though, have been wary of the precedent that seizing sovereign assets might have on the confidence that foreign sovereigns have in keeping their money invested in Western government bonds.
Medvedev said earlier this month that Russia would take more Ukrainian territory and go after British property around the world after London said it had spent around $1.3 billion of money raised from frozen Russian assets on weapons for Ukraine.
Russia’s RIA state news agency said the West had made a total of $285 billion in foreign direct investment in Russia’s economy, which could be at risk if Russia’s assets were taken.
(With inputs from Reuters)
TikTok Set For US Ownership As Trump, Xi Prepare To Seal Deal
The United States and China have reached a framework deal to bring TikTok under US-controlled ownership, which is expected to be finalised during a phone call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, according to US officials.
TikTok faced being switched off in the US as soon as September 17 if Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t agree to divest. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was possible the deadline could be extended to allow for the deal to be finalised.
“We’re not going to talk about the commercial terms of the deal. It’s between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon,” Bessent told reporters at the conclusion of two days of talks that took place in Madrid.
The US-China negotiations at the Spanish foreign ministry’s baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz were the fourth round of talks in four months to address strained trade ties as well as TikTok’s looming divestiture deadline.
Trump’s Thumbs Up
Trump praised the TikTok deal on Monday.
“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,” Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform.
“A deal was also reached on a “certain” company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!”
Resolving Differences
Delegations led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng have met in European cities since May to try to resolve differences that prompted US President Trump to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and sparked tit-for-tat measures, including similarly high import duties by China on US goods and a halt in the flow of rare earths to the United States.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was also part of the US delegation in Madrid, said the TikTok deal was an indication of good faith between the two sides as they continue to discuss other issues such as tariffs and economic policy.
“It’s no secret that there are serious issues on trade, economics, and national security between the United States and China. To be able to come, sit down, quickly identify the issues, narrow them down to a very granular spot, and be able to come to a conclusion, subject to the leaders’ approval, I mean, that is remarkable,” Greer said.
Trump, Xi To Discuss Meeting
Bessent said talks on other issues would continue, probably in the coming weeks. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Bessent said it was up to the leaders to discuss whether to meet during Friday’s call.
Earlier on Monday a US official with knowledge of the negotiations had said that the US would press ahead with a ban on TikTok if China didn’t drop its demands for reduced tariffs and technological restrictions as part of a divestiture deal.
Speaking to reporters, Bessent and Greer said China wanted concessions on trade and technology in exchange for agreeing to divest from the popular social media app.
“Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” Bessent said, adding: “We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app.”
The talks took place as Washington demands that its allies place tariffs on imports from China over Chinese purchases of Russian oil, which Beijing on Monday said was an attempt at coercion. Bessent said the issue of Russia was briefly discussed.
Beijing separately announced on Monday that a preliminary investigation of Nvidia had found the US chip giant had violated its anti-monopoly law. Bessent said the announcement on Nvidia was poor timing.
The probe is widely seen as a retaliatory shot against Washington’s curbs on the Chinese chip sector.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Myanmar Military Airstrike On School Kills 19 Students Amid Escalating Air War
A Myanmar military airstrike on a school last week killed at least 19 students, an ethnic militia reported, as the junta intensifies efforts to reclaim territory ahead of December’s planned election.
Children were killed and injured at the boarding school in Kyauktaw Township in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said in a statement.
It did not say how many were killed in the incident, but the Arakan Army, a militia battling the military in the western state, said at least 19, aged between 15 and 21, had died.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports, as internet and mobile services in parts of Rakhine have been cut off by the Myanmar junta, and attempts to reach Kyauktaw residents were unsuccessful.
A spokesperson for the military did not answer telephone calls to seek comment.
“The attack adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price,” UNICEF said.
Rakhine, bordering Bangladesh, has seen intense fighting for months between the military and the Arakan Army, which seeks greater autonomy for the coastal province.
It has long been one of Myanmar’s most troubled states, where the World Food Programme has warned of rising hunger and malnutrition, including among the minority Muslim Rohingya community persecuted by successive regional administrations.
Nearly 500 Airstrikes
Nearly 500 airstrikes launched nationwide by the military in the last month killed more than 40 children and hit 15 schools, the shadow National Unity Government said.
The military is escalating use of air power, with 1,134 airstrikes between January and May, far higher than corresponding figures of 197 and 640 in 2023 and 2024, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project says.
One of Southeast Asia’s most impoverished countries, Myanmar has been gripped by violence since a 2021 military coup that ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
After nationwide protests against the junta were brutally crushed, the opposition movement grew into an armed resistance against the military, which has been hammered by a combination of established ethnic armies and new outfits.
After four years of extending emergency rule, the military formed an interim government last month and pledged to hold a multi-phase election from December 28, while junta chief Min Aung Hlaing remains in charge as acting president.
The election, dismissed by some Western governments and human rights groups as a sham, is expected to be dominated by proxies of the military, as opposition groups are either barred from running or have refused to do so.
On Monday, the military-backed election commission said polling would not be held in 56 lower house constituencies and nine upper house constituencies, as conditions were not conducive, the state media Global New Light of Myanmar said.
The excluded constituencies are in rebel-controlled areas along the country’s periphery, including several townships in Kachin, Chin, Shan and Rakhine states.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Ruling On Turkiye Opposition Leader Delayed As Political Turmoil Deepens
A Turkish court on Monday postponed its decision on whether to oust the main opposition leader and nullify his party’s 2023 congress, a case tied to alleged irregularities that has already intensified the country’s political turmoil.
The judge in Ankara adjourned the case to October 24.
Hundreds of Republican People’s Party (CHP) members, including Erdogan’s main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, have been jailed pending trial in a separate, sprawling legal probe into alleged graft and terrorism links.
If the court rules next month to annul the CHP’s congress, that would effectively strip Ozgur Ozel, the party chairman, of the title that he won there.
The case, seen as a test of Turkey’s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy, threatens to deepen disarray and infighting in the opposition camp, boosting President Tayyip Erdogan’s chances of extending his 22-year rule.
The centrist CHP, which denies the charges against it, is level with Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted, conservative AK Party (AKP) in polls. Ozel, 50, its combative, hoarse-voiced leader, has risen to prominence since Imamoglu’s detention.
Anti-Erdogan street protests have flared in recent days ahead of the court ruling, and the case has badly rattled Turkish assets and the lira currency. The lira strengthened a little after Monday’s adjournment decision.
The opposition, human rights groups and some European leaders say the crackdown on the CHP is politically motivated and anti-democratic, charges rejected by the government, which says that Turkey’s judiciary is independent.
Intensified Opposition Crackdown
Turkiye is witnessing a deepening political crisis after authorities intensified their crackdown on opposition leaders, arresting several high-profile figures under corruption charges.
The most significant development came with the detention of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading opposition voice and one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most prominent challengers.
Imamoglu’s arrest not only heightened political tensions but also triggered massive protests across the country, underscoring the growing discontent with the government’s tightening grip on dissent.
Thousands of demonstrators poured onto the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, and other major cities, waving flags and chanting slogans against what they described as politically motivated charges.
Police responded with water cannons, tear gas, and mass detentions, further inflaming public anger.
The scale of the protests highlighted Imamoglu’s symbolic importance as a figure who had defeated Erdogan’s party in local elections, breaking the ruling party’s decades-long dominance over Istanbul.
The government has defended the arrests, insisting that they are part of an anti-corruption drive.
However, critics argue that the move is a calculated attempt to weaken the opposition ahead of future elections. Human rights groups have also condemned the crackdown, warning that Turkiye’s democratic institutions are being systematically eroded under the guise of legal proceedings.
(With inputs from Reuters)
‘First Time We’ve Seen Hindus March On The Streets Of Dhaka’
As Bangladesh prepares for elections expected in February, the atmosphere in Dhaka is marked by both anticipation and uncertainty, says Professor Sreeradha Datta of OP Jindal University, who has just returned from the country.
“There is hope and anticipation for the elections… but the election is not sure, actually, because there’s always that black swan moment,” she observed, adding that across party lines, people expressed a desire for polls. While impatience with governance persists, she noted that the current situation is “certainly better than what it was earlier,” even if sporadic violence and protests remain disruptive.
A striking feature of recent months has been the role of students. Datta highlighted that three student leaders were initially part of the interim administration, though one of them, Nahid, went on to form the National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh’s first-ever student-led political party. Despite poor results in Dhaka University elections, the group has organized district-level meetings and aspires to break into a system dominated by entrenched political players. “I’m actually supportive of fresh blood entering this political space,” she said, though perceptions linger that some students are aligned with conservative groups.
On the Jamaat-e-Islami, Datta noted a shift in strategy. Once seen as street agitators with rigid positions, the party now projects a “corruption-free” image and has moved away from earlier stances, including opposition to the Liberation War. “They are very tactically moving away from positions to endear themselves to a larger section of the voting population,” she said. Still, conservatism persists, particularly regarding women’s attire, with more burkhas now visible in public life.
Turning to India-Bangladesh ties, Datta underlined that while Sheikh Hasina had addressed New Delhi’s security concerns and facilitated transit rights, Dhaka felt its own concerns—particularly water sharing and border management—remained unresolved. “Everything that India and Bangladesh did benefited the people,” she noted, but the perception that India “was not taking that extra step” still lingers.
Re attacks on Hindus, there has always been some element of tension, but of late, the overt hardline Muslim movement on the streets has led to some nervousness, she argues. For more fascinating insights from an expert on India-Bangladesh relations, watch the full interview.
China To Launch Security Forum As Regional Tensions Rise
Amid mounting regional strains, China is set to leverage its annual security forum this week to advance strategic diplomacy and expand its power projection efforts.
Foreign diplomats and security analysts say they expect Chinese officials to use the Beijing Xiangshan Forum to push President Xi Jinping‘s vision of the international order he outlined earlier this month, calling for unity against “hegemonism and power politics” – a swipe at the United States.
Some 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including officials, military personnel and scholars, will attend the three-day event, which opens on Wednesday, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
For some foreign representatives, particularly from Western and neighbouring countries, the seminars and networking are a chance to glean more details on China’s evolving military modernisation, as well as the opaque leadership of the People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest armed force.
“We can be sure foreign participants at this year’s Xiangshan will try to extract more technical information about some of the weapon systems from their counterparts in the PLA,” said James Char, a China security scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
While China displayed for the first time a host of new arms at its September 3 military parade, including hypersonic weapons, large submersible drones and a re-tooled long-range nuclear missile, analysts say question marks remain about whether they are operational and how effective they would be in a conflict.
More than a dozen generals – many formerly close to Xi – have been purged from the PLA over the past two years, and diplomats say the event is also a chance to get a better idea of the precise command structure, particularly inside the commanding Central Military Commission.
Typhon Missile Drills
They say that it is particularly important amid simmering tensions and disputes across East Asia, marked this week by the PLA navy trials of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier in the disputed South China Sea, and Japanese and U.S. exercises in Okinawa with the Typhon missile system, a high-powered anti-ship weapon.
Most Western and allied militaries will be sending relatively low-level delegations, preferring to keep the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore as the region’s key informal security conference, diplomats said.
The U.S. will be sending the defence attache from its embassy in Beijing, a Pentagon spokesperson said. Washington sent a deputy assistant secretary of defence last year, but Pentagon leadership had determined that the attache “was the appropriate level of representation,” the spokesperson said.
Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing and his Malaysian counterpart, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, will both be attending, officials in both countries confirmed, while a South Korean defence ministry spokesperson said an official from the state-run Korea National Defence University is going.
The Chinese Defence Ministry has confirmed delegations from Russia, France, Brazil, Nigeria, Singapore and Vietnam, according to state media reports.
(With inputs from Reuters)
IDF Steps Up Deadly Gaza City Strikes As Rubio Arrives In Israel
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) destroyed at least 30 Gaza City homes and displaced thousands as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday to discuss the conflict, Palestinian officials said.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the militant group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called the last bastion of the militant Palestinian group.
Hamas’ political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Emergency Summit
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and rebuild the coastal strip. Only 20 are believed to be alive.
“What’s happened has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel, where he will stay until Tuesday.
Once there, Rubio visited the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem. He was expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Western Wall visit was “reaffirming America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital,” according to a statement from the State Department.
In late 2017, during his first term as president, Donald Trump formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and subsequently moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said in a post on X on Sunday that the agency had stopped services at the Beach camp clinic, which he said is the only health care available in the enclave north of Wadi Gaza.
Water and sanitation services are now at half capacity, Lazzarini said, adding that 10 UNRWA buildings have been struck in Gaza City in the past four days.
Abraham Accords At Risk
U.S. officials described Tuesday’s strike against Hamas members in Qatar, a close U.S. ally, as a unilateral escalation that did not serve U.S. or Israeli interests. Rubio and U.S. President Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state, a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalised the UAE’s relations with Israel.
Aid agencies say an Israeli takeover of Gaza City would be catastrophic for a population already facing widespread malnutrition.
Two more Palestinians have died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday, raising the death toll from such causes to at least 422 people, including 145 children.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the U.N. says far more is needed.
Evacuation Order
Israel says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left, but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has urged people to stay.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the centre and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many of those people are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave, while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere, and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah al-Kafarna, who is among the displaced in Gaza City.
Air Strikes Intensified
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 45 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave on Sunday, most of them in Gaza City.
Hamas said Israeli forces have destroyed at least 1,600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents since August 11.
Israel’s nearly two-year-long campaign against Hamas has killed more than 64,000 people in Gaza, according to local authorities. It was prompted by the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Madrid Pro-Palestinian Protests Force Early End To Vuelta A Espana Cycle Race
Pro-Palestinian protests forced the Vuelta a Espana finale to be abandoned on Sunday, with Jonas Vingegaard named winner as police moved to quell unrest over an Israeli team’s participation.
Protesters chanting “they will not pass” overturned metal barriers and occupied the Vuelta (Tour of Spain) route at several points in Madrid as police attempted to push them back.
Two people were arrested and 22 police officers were injured, the Spanish government said.
“The race is over,” said a spokesperson for the organisers, who also cancelled the podium ceremony, leaving Vingegaard celebrating in the back of his team car.
Earlier, Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed “admiration for the Spanish people mobilising for just causes like Palestine” by protesting during the race.
‘A Disgrace To Spain’
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, posted on X that Sanchez and his government were “a disgrace to Spain”.
“Today, he encouraged demonstrators to take to the streets. The pro-Palestinian mob heard the incitement messages – and wrecked the La Vuelta cycling race.”
The demonstrations have targeted the Israel-Premier Tech team over Israel’s actions in Gaza. Some riders had threatened to quit last week as routes were blocked, causing some falls.
Israel’s war against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has sparked protests globally and affected several sporting events.
Seven Israeli chess players withdrew from a Spanish tournament starting on Friday after organisers told them they would not be competing under their flag, citing the Gaza conflict and expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Sunday in Madrid, more than 1,000 police officers were on duty as cyclists reached the final stage of the 21-day race – the biggest deployment since the Spanish capital hosted the NATO summit three years ago.
Police held back a crowd of hundreds bearing placards and waving Palestinian flags for several hours as the cyclists snaked their way through towns and villages towards Madrid.
As the riders drew closer to the capital, the demonstrators hurled plastic bottles and traffic cones, upended blue barriers and surged onto the road. Baton-wielding riot police fired smoke bombs to try to disperse them.
Sanchez Faces Backlash
PM Sanchez has repeatedly clashed with Israel over its war in Gaza, describing it as genocide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused his Spanish counterpart of antisemitism and making genocidal threats.
Madrid’s Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida blamed Sanchez.
“(It’s) violence that the prime minister is directly responsible for due to his statements today in the morning, instigating the protests,” Martinez-Almeida said.
“Today is the saddest day since I became mayor of this great city.”
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, posted: “The psychopath has taken his militias to the streets.
“He doesn’t care about Gaza. He doesn’t care about Spain. He doesn’t care about anything. But he wants violence in the streets to maintain power.”
It is the first time one of cycling’s Grand Tours has been prevented from completing its final stage by political demonstrators since the Vuelta in 1978 was halted by Basque separatists in San Sebastian.
Health Minister Monica Garcia said the latest protests showed Spain was a “global beacon in the defence of human rights.”
“The people of Madrid join dozens of demonstrations across the country and peacefully bring to a halt the end of a cycling race that should never have been used to whitewash genocide,” Garcia said in a post on Bluesky.
Israel’s nearly two-year-long campaign against Hamas has killed more than 64,000 people in Gaza, according to local authorities. It was prompted by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
(With inputs from Reuters)