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United States President Donald Trump has said he is making Stephen Miller his new White House chief of staff.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account on Friday, calling Miller “one of my most trusted advisors”. He said Miller would become chief of staff starting Monday, replacing Susie Wiles.

“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!”

Miller has been one of Trump’s closest confidants and advisers across both his presidential terms, after joining then-candidate Trump as a campaign adviser in 2016.

He has been the main architect behind the president’s hardline border and deportation policies, a rallying issue in the US midterm elections.

Democrats are widely expected to launch investigations into Miller upon taking control of the US House of Representatives and Senate in January.

Trump had been widely expected to shake up his staff following the midterm drubbing, which saw Democrats net seven US Senate seats, with two states, Alaska and Mississippi, still counting their results. Democrats have also won 253 seats in the 435-member US House, with 27 races still set to be counted.

Despite the vote largely seen as a referendum on Trump, Miller’s appointment largely represents a doubling down on his most controversial policies.

Miller has not yet commented on the election results, but in a post on X on election day, he urged Trump supporters to vote.

“Send a message to the corrupt media, corrupt Democrats and corrupt leftwing politicians who want to steal your future and destroy the inheritance of your children,” he wrote. “Get to the polls and protect the ones you love.”

For her part, Wiles, who has been credited with orchestrating Trump’s election comeback in the 2024 race, said serving as a chief of staff was “the honor of a lifetime”.

“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First,” she said.

Accra, Ghana – Ghana needs more than 1.8 million additional housing units, but attracting investment to build them is only half the challenge. For millions of people, the deeper problem is that the homes reaching the market remain beyond their means.

That tension ran through the Africa Real Estate Conference & Expo (ARCE), which brought developers, policymakers, investors and technology entrepreneurs to Accra this week. While participants presented plans to expand construction, improve housing finance and deploy new technologies, their discussions pointed to a stubborn question: how can Ghana make housing commercially viable for developers without pricing out the people who need it?

The stakes are considerable. Some 56.7 percent of Ghana’s population lives in urban areas, yet only about 5 percent of Ghanaians can afford housing without state support. The gap between housing need and effective purchasing power continues to shape the market, limiting the reach of both private developers and conventional mortgage lenders.

Government seeks to unlock housing finance

The government has introduced measures intended to reduce borrowing costs and stimulate construction. The National Homeownership Fund has lowered mortgage rates to 8.4 percent, from 13.5 percent, while a revolving fund of three billion Ghanaian cedis (about $256m) targets public sector workers with repayment periods of 15 to 20 years.

Authorities are also seeking to revive the stalled Saglemi Housing Project, targeting the first 700 units for March 2027, and have announced plans for a 200-acre Green City Project at Dedesua.

At the National Conference on Housing Finance earlier this month, President John Dramani Mahama announced an allocation of one billion Ghanaian cedis (about $85m) in the 2027 budget for the National Housing Fund. He also highlighted the difficulties informal-sector workers face in accessing mortgages, despite earning regular incomes, because they often lack payslips and conventional banking records.

“A system that cannot recognise these livelihoods excludes a substantial part of our nation from the opportunity to own a home,” Mahama said, urging banks to develop alternative ways of assessing borrowers.

Housing Minister Ahmed Ibrahim, who represented the president at ARCE, also called for greater private-sector participation in affordable housing and mortgage finance.

These interventions address important barriers, but their impact will depend on whether financing reaches the households most in need and whether developers can build at prices those households can sustain. Lower interest rates cannot compensate indefinitely for expensive land, infrastructure and construction.

The costs behind the shortage

About 90 percent of Ghana’s housing is built through personal savings and incremental construction, while mortgage penetration stands at just 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The figures point to a market in which most households must finance construction themselves, often over many years, rather than buy completed homes through conventional mortgages.

Bako Ambianda, CEO of Backbone Capital Ventures and an ARCE keynote speaker, said the central problem was not a lack of demand but the difficulty of turning that demand into viable housing projects.

“Africa’s housing challenge is not a lack of demand,” he told Al Jazeera. “It is a mismatch between the cost of delivering homes, the financing available to build them, and the purchasing power and payment patterns of households.”

Samuel Amegayibor, executive director of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), identified access to finance and secure land as two of the biggest obstacles facing developers.

Although borrowing costs have fallen from around 30 percent to between 9 and 15 percent, depending on the bank, finance remains expensive. Land can be equally difficult to secure, with ownership complications and inadequate infrastructure adding uncertainty and expense.

“Our land tenure system, you know the problems we have. It has always been a challenge for people to get secured land,” Amegayibor said.

Even after acquiring land, developers may have to extend electricity and water connections and construct access roads before building can begin. Those costs are eventually reflected in selling prices.

Materials create another pressure. Amegayibor estimated that about 70 percent of housing inputs are imported, leaving developers exposed to import costs and taxes.

“Apart from sand, gravel and water, most of the things are import-based,” he said.

He argued that expanding local production could reduce reliance on imports while creating investment opportunities across the construction supply chain.

“That deficit is a business opportunity for both the supply side and the demand side,” he said, encouraging investors to establish domestic manufacturing capacity.

The difficulty is ensuring that lower production costs translate into lower house prices rather than simply improving developers’ margins.

Rent exposes the same affordability gap

For tenants, the financial barrier often comes before monthly rent begins. Although Ghana’s Rent Act of 1963 limits advance rent to six months, landlords routinely demand one to two years up front, forcing tenants to find large sums before securing accommodation.

Government enforcement measures reportedly introduced in April 2026 carry penalties of up to 3,000 Ghanaian cedis (about $257) or six months’ imprisonment. The FirstKey app is intended to help identify non-compliant landlords and verify listings. Under the proposed Easy Rent programme, the National Housing Fund would pay rent advances directly to landlords, with workers repaying the amount monthly.

Such measures could ease the immediate burden, but they do not address the underlying shortage of homes within reach of ordinary earners. About 70 percent of Ghanaians fall within the low- and middle-income bracket, yet much housing development continues to target higher earners.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply to increase supply, but to align that supply with what households can afford to buy or rent.

Can technology help close the gap?

At ARCE, 30 PropTech startups presented tools intended to improve building performance, reduce operating costs and modernise property management. Their innovations offer potential savings, but their contribution to affordability depends on up-front costs, adoption and whether benefits reach households rather than only property owners and developers.

Isaac Ayitey Chris-Quaye, co-founder of NeuraHomes, said smart-home systems can help residents monitor energy use, improve security and make better-informed decisions. His company allows homeowners to introduce features gradually instead of paying for a complete system up front.

“Traditional homes seem affordable or cheap,” he said. “Cheap because you end up paying the price for it in the future.”

Chris-Quaye cited one case in which property managers reduced energy costs by 20 percent annually, with the system paying for itself within four years. The result illustrates the potential to reduce operating expenses, although actual savings depend on installation costs and energy consumption.

“A smart home is not a luxury,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s human dignity.”

William Atitso Amankwah, founder of AWA Roofing Sheets, is addressing energy use through a Cool Roof coating that reflects up to 60 percent of sunlight. He estimates that it can lower indoor temperatures by 2-5 degrees Celsius (3.6-9 degrees Fahrenheit) and reduce cooling-energy consumption by 11 to 27 percent.

For a typical Greater Accra household, he estimates annual savings of 330–810 cedis (about $28–69). The coating adds an estimated 120–500 cedis (about $10–43) to the price of a pack of 20 roofing sheets. Whether the investment pays off quickly depends on energy use, installation costs, and electricity tariffs.

Alternative construction methods may also help reduce costs. Acheampong Builderman, managing partner of Builderman Estates, has developed homes using sandbags and recycled materials but is seeking partners and funding to expand the approach.

“People were interested, but they wanted you to fund everything,” he told Al Jazeera.

The examples demonstrate how technology and alternative materials could improve efficiency or lower some costs. But neither digital tools nor energy-saving products can independently resolve insecure land titles, inadequate infrastructure or expensive development finance.

As Ambianda warned, “A beautifully designed app will not make an overpriced plot affordable, provide a road or drainage system, lower the cost of capital by itself, or resolve an unclear title.”

Financing homes around people’s incomes

For Ambianda, the solution also requires rethinking how households qualify for housing finance. Conventional mortgages often fail to accommodate informal-sector workers whose incomes arrive daily or weekly rather than through regular salaries.

“We should stop assuming that the conventional mortgage is the only route to homeownership,” he said.

With borrowers’ consent, lenders could assess repayment capacity using transaction histories, savings behaviour, mobile-money activity and rental-payment records. Such approaches could bring more households into the formal financing system, provided that affordability, data privacy and responsible lending remain priorities.

Land policy also needs attention. Ambianda called on governments to make secure, serviced land available through transparent and predictable processes. The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has proposed a National Housing Authority led by technocrats and insulated from political cycles, arguing that housing delivery requires consistent policy beyond individual governments’ terms.

For Ghana, the challenge is to connect investment with secure land, reliable infrastructure, lower construction costs and financing suited to household incomes. Government programmes, private capital and technological innovation can all contribute, but none is sufficient on its own. The measure of success will be whether they enable developers to deliver homes that ordinary Ghanaians can actually afford.

“Africa’s housing opportunity is immense, but the answer is not simply to attract more money,” Ambianda told Al Jazeera. “It is to make projects deliverable, financing accessible and homes genuinely attainable.”

Passengers were not happy after airline Ryanair poked fun at one type of passenger onboard their planes – encouraging them the ‘stop’ making a key mistake onboard

Ryanair has hit out at passengers who make one key mistake when traveling on one of their planes for a short haul flight. This follows the airline previously advising passengers to ‘please stop wearing’ jeans during flights.

When flying many people have three basic priorities, having a good seat, being as comfortable as possible while onboard, and spending as little money as possible. And while remaining seated in the same spot for extended periods can be decidedly uncomfortable, particularly when you’re short on legroom, people have started to take further steps to help pass time while onboard aeroplanes.

With cabin humidity on many commercial flights dropping below 20%, which is drier than a desert, many people opt to take facemasks, moisturiser and eye cream onboard in their hand luggage.

The thought behind the process it to prevent passenger’s skin from feeling tight, dull, or irritated upon arrival. Ryanair has established a reputation on social media, where they frequently poke fun at their own passengers, and jokingly threaten to introduce even more regulations and charges than they currently impose – such as extra legroom seats or late check-in fees.

What shouldn’t passengers do when on a short haul flight with Ryanair?

Nevertheless, Ryanair has now criticised travellers who insist on keeping their skin moisturised while onboard one of their aircrafts. Posting on their Facebook page, the airline issued a statement to their passengers.

They wrote: “Stop doing skincare onboard, it’s a 2-hour flight.” However, many passengers were furious with the airline and quickly flocked to the comment section to express their own views.

One person said: “Stop measuring my bag with a ruler like it’s national security, it’s a 2-hour flight.”

A second person added: “Please tell the cabin crew to put a smile on their face – It’s just a 2-hour flight.”

A third added: “Carry on like this and I’ll allow my husband to bring his foot file and use it on our trip over to UK on the November 5.”

A fourth said: “What are these bizarre Ryanair posts about?! You’d think their marketing team would manage social media in a more sophisticated way?!”

Others, however, commented on the post to express their own bugbears on short haul flights.

One person said: “Travel pillows for 1-2 hour flights still intrigue me more than skincare.”

A second added: “Skincare? I’ve actually seen a man clipping his nails! This should be strictly prohibited under financial sanctions!”

A third said: “Don’t start clapping before the plane has even landed!”

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Whenever a teammate needs a pep talk McKennah Iamaleava is quick to give it — a skill one learns growing up in a family full of accomplished athletes.

“Growing up my parents [Nic and Marlienna] would tell us family is No. 1 and whenever you’re in a hole or whatever the situation you can always come back to them,” Iamaleava said. “So, whether it be about sports or school we always have someone to go to.”

A 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter on the Long Beach Poly High girls’ volleyball team, McKennah is continuing the legacy of success of her four older siblings while simultaneously passing it on to her three younger ones.

“I’m one of eight so volleyball runs in the family,” the reigning Moore League player of the year said. “I started playing when I was 6 or 7.”

However, volleyball is not the only sport McKennah played as a child.

“I dabbled in basketball some too,” she confessed. “My aunt Janitah played at Carson High and the University of Oregon.”

Sisters McKennah, left, and Ellie Iamaleava are two of eight siblings who have played volleyball.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

McKennah is committed to UC Irvine and, not surprisingly, its proximity was a major factor in her choosing to join the Anteaters’ program.

“First of all, it’s close to home and secondly I love the coaching staff,” she said. “All of the girls are super nice, the campus is beautiful and competing in the Big West is going to be exciting.”

Her oldest brother Matt played volleyball at Long Beach State, her older sister Nicaylah played at Cypress College and her two closest brothers, Nico and Madden, also grew up playing the sport while excelling in football and both are now quarterbacks at nationally ranked UCLA.

“We see them [Nico and Madden] a few times a week,” McKennah said. “We have dinners together. Of course we go to all of their home games.

“We don’t talk for long right after, we’ll keep it short and then next day is usually the recap.”

Nico suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of UCLA’s 17-15 win at Oregon on Oct. 10 and is out indefinitely. McKennah was among the first people to offer him encouragement.

Long Beach Poly High senior McKennah Iamaleava celebrates after winning a point against Redondo Union.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“I wasn’t there but I was watching,” she said. “It was a hard shot to take but Nico’s tough and he’ll come back strong. I was texting him right after the game and also in our group texts. I hope Madden gets some playing time. It would be good for him as well.”

Having such a strong support system makes McKennah well-equipped to handle the ups and downs of volleyball and life.

“I probably talk to Matt the most,” McKennah said. “He’s already gone to college and graduated and I went to a few of his matches, which was so fun. Nicaylah is the libero of our family. … I watched her passing and she would teach me a lot. I’m glad I have her.”

McKennah’s two youngest sisters, Mallory (15) and Nori (12), also play volleyball but her tightest bond is with her closest sibling Ellie, a junior opposite hitter at Poly.

Long Beach Poly High junior Ellie Iamaleava celebrates winning a point during a recent match.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“Ellie and I are close,” McKennah added. “Our rooms are right next to each other so every time I want to annoy her I just go to her room. My sister is encouraging to me because she’s very hard on herself. She’ll get a great kill but won’t be satisfied, which motivates me even more to be better as a person and a player.”

“McKennah and I are always with each other,” Ellie agreed. “Her being an older sister kind of plays into that. She really pushes me. She helps me through all my hardships as a new player and I look up to her a lot.

“She’s always on top of everything and the game’s real natural to her. I want to play in college too — anywhere close to home.”

Poly (25-7) wrapped up its fourth straight league title last week under head coach Gerald Aquiningoc, who guided the Jackrabbits to theSouthern Section Division 3 championship in 2024 and the Division 2 semifinals last season.

Along with Madden (then a senior), McKennah (a sophomore) and Ellie (a freshman) transferred to Poly from Warren High in September 2024.

“Amazing family,” Aquiningoc said of the Iamaleavas. “McKennah and Ellie are super coachable and huge pieces of our program. When they transferred in even though they couldn’t play that whole first year they were still super involved. They helped us practice and to prepare for our matches. They were our best scout team.”

Aquiningoc cited McKennah’s leadership as a big reason the program has been on the rise.

“I think I lead more by example — I’m just always thinking,” McKennah said. “If I don’t say it I’m usually thinking it, no matter how it comes out and I have a close relationship with our setter [Mina Orbiso]. I’m super confident that I can put the ball away and I tell her.”

Iamaleava, who plays club for SC Rockstar, appreciates the trust that Aquiningoc has in her.

“Coach G gives me the space to grow as a person and a player,” she said. “I’m thankful because I know that on the court I can pick what I want and how I’m feeling and it means a lot to me. The confidence he has in his players is amazing.”

The Jackrabbits are seeded second in the Division 2 playoffs and host Gold Coast League champion Campbell Hall in the first round Tuesday night.

“I’d say this our best team, yes,” McKennah said. “We have so much talent at every position. It’s kind of fun because you can throw anyone out there and they’ll perform.”

What Iamaleava lacks in height she makes up for with her intelligence, placement and angles that keep opponents guessing whether she will hit it down the line or crosscourt. She is adept at receiving serve and what she does in the back row is as valuable as what she does in the front row.

“Being a short hitter you have to use the hand, hit off the block and find different kinds of shots,” she said. ”There’s a lot to think about.”

McKennah’s stats from Poly’s regular-season finale at Redondo Union on Wednesday reflect how complete a player she is. She had 22 kills, 14 digs, six blocks and did not miss a single serve in the Jackrabbits’ five-set victory.

Iamaleava is planning to major in business and is happy to the see the sport grow so much since she started playing.

“Women’s volleyball is getting so much attention and I love it because it encourages all of the younger players to keep doing it,” she said. “What do I want to do long-term? Something with a sport but I’m still deciding if I want to keep playing volleyball or just stay around it.”

In the short term, Iamaleava wants to conclude her high school career with a medal around her neck and make her family proud.

“That pressure turns into a motivation to keep pushing ourselves,” she said. “For Ellie and I there’s a really high ceiling with our older siblings and we try to live up to that.”

More than 664,000 customers in Florida and Alabama have been left without power as Isaias downs trees, power lines.

Hurricane Isaias has crashed into the United States Gulf Coast before losing speed and turning into a post-tropical storm as it moved over southern Alabama, threatening flash flooding and strong winds farther inland.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday that Isaias is about 89km (55 miles) south-southwest of Montgomery, with maximum ⁠sustained winds of 100 kilometres per hour (65 ⁠miles per hour).

When it made landfall near Destin, Florida, as the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 169km/h (105mph), the agency said.

Roads in Destin were flooded, while in nearby Pensacola, police warned residents to stay off the streets because of debris across roadways.

While the extent of the damage was not immediately known, many area residents posted pictures online of downed trees and power lines, and one social media video showed a roof being ripped off an inn in Pensacola.

Some Panhandle counties temporarily suspended their emergency response on Friday night because of dangerous conditions.

Parts of southern Alabama were also flooded, with officials in Mobile reporting downed trees and power lines.

Roads in Houston County, which is in the southeastern corner of the state, were closed because of similar conditions.

More than 664,000 customers in Florida and Alabama were without power early Saturday, according to poweroutage.com.

One of the biggest concerns is a storm surge that could reach 0.91-1.52 metres (3-5ft) from Dauphin Island, Alabama, to Florida’s Aucilla River, according to the hurricane centre.

The storm grounded most Friday flights at several airports, including all flights in and out of Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport.

‘Under control’

Asked about hurricane preparations, President Donald Trump ⁠told reporters outside the White House, “We’re watching it very ⁠closely, the hurricane,” adding that it was “under control”.

Florida’s National Guard deployed about 5,000 soldiers and airmen to help with the response, with search-and-rescue teams ready to respond, while some prisons evacuated inmates.

“Emergency declarations have ‌been approved in Florida and Alabama to ensure federal resources are available to respond to Isaias,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on X, as residents ‌were urged to take shelter and watch out for hurricane conditions.

Another tropical storm, Rachel, was also expected to bring strong winds and rain to northern Mexico and Southern California over the weekend.

And Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrelled towards Mexico’s coast early on Saturday.

The NHC said Simon’s maximum sustained winds increased to 225km/h (140mph). A storm of that strength or greater is considered a major hurricane.

Simon is expected to bring heavy rainfall over parts of southwestern Mexico, possibly concentrated along the coast of Jalisco and in parts of Michoacan, Colima, and Nayarit.

Forecasters warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides.