The tribunal’s message came as it released its genocide verdict following four days of public hearings in Istanbul, Turkiye.
The Gaza Tribunal has issued its final findings, saying that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and that “Israeli perpetrators and their Western enablers” should not be allowed to escape justice for their crimes.
The unofficial tribunal, which was established in London last November, gave its “moral judgement” on Sunday, following four days of public hearings in Istanbul, Turkiye.
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Presided over by Richard Falk, a former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, the initiative comes in the tradition of the Russell Tribunal, which heard evidence in 1967 of United States war crimes in Vietnam.
The year-long Gaza process involved collecting information, hearing witnesses and survivors, and archiving the evidence.
In its ruling, the tribunal’s jury condemned the genocide in Gaza and crimes including the mass destruction of residential properties, the deliberate denial of food to the civilian population, torture, and the targeting of journalists.
Criticism of post-war plans
After saying that Israel’s war on Gaza shows global governance is failing to uphold its duties, the tribunal recommended that all “perpetrators, supporters and enablers” be held accountable and that Israel be suspended from international organisations like the UN.
The jury also found Western governments, “particularly the United States”, complicit with Israel through the provision of “diplomatic cover, weapons, weapon parts, intelligence, military assistance and training, and continuing economic relations”.
As well as calling for justice, the tribunal criticised two post-war plans put forward by US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, suggesting they “ignore the rights of the Palestinian people under international law” while “doing nothing to rein in the perpetrators of genocide”.
“Palestinians must lead the restoration of Gaza, and Israel and its enablers must be held responsible for all reparations,” members of the tribunal said in a statement.
Given that it is not a court of law, the tribunal “does not purport to determine guilt or liability of any person, organisation or state”, but should rather be seen as a civil society response to the war on Gaza, the jury said.
“We believe that genocide must be named and documented and that impunity feeds continuing violence throughout the globe,” the jurors explained. “Genocide in Gaza is the concern of all humanity. When states are silent civil society can and must speak out.”
Israel is facing genocide accusations – brought by South Africa – at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Although it is likely to be years before the ICJ gives its judgement, it found in an interim ruling in January 2024 that it is “plausible” that Israel is violating the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Israel has repeatedly denied accusations that it has committed genocide in Gaza.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery are crippling Gaza City’s efforts to clear debris and rebuild critical infrastructure, the city’s mayor says, as tens of thousands of tonnes of unexploded Israeli bombs threaten lives across the Gaza Strip.
In a Sunday news conference, Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj said Gaza City requires at least 250 heavy vehicles and 1,000 tonnes of cement to maintain water networks and construct wells.
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Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from az-Zawayda in Gaza, said only six trucks had entered the territory.
At least 9,000 Palestinians remain buried under the rubble. But the new equipment is being prioritised for recovering the remains of Israeli captives, rather than assisting Palestinians in locating their loved ones still trapped beneath rubble.
“Palestinians say they know there won’t be any developments in the ceasefire until the bodies of all the Israeli captives are returned,” Khoudary said.
Footage circulating on social media showed Red Cross vehicles arriving after meetings with Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, to guide them to the location of an Israeli captive in southern Rafah.
An Israeli government spokesperson said that to search for captives’ remains, the Red Cross and Egyptian teams have been permitted beyond the ceasefire’s “yellow line”, which allows Israel to retain control over 58 percent of the besieged enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, said Israel spent two weeks insisting that Hamas knew the locations of all the captives’ bodies.
“Two weeks into that, Israel has now allowed Egyptian teams and heavy machinery to enter the Gaza Strip to assist in the mammoth task of removing debris, of trying to get to the tunnels or underneath the homes or structures that the captives were held in and killed in,” she said.
Odeh added that Hamas had been unable to access a tunnel for two weeks due to the damage caused by Israeli bombing. “That change of policy is coming without explanation from Israel,” she said, noting that the Red Cross and Hamas have also been allowed to help locate potential burial sites under the rubble.
Netanyahu: ‘We control Gaza’
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassert political authority at home, saying that Israel controls which foreign forces may operate in Gaza.
“We control our own security, and we have made clear to international forces that Israel will decide which forces are unacceptable to us – and that is how we act and will continue to act,” he said. “This is, of course, accepted by the United States, as its most senior representatives expressed in recent days.”
Odeh explained that Netanyahu’s statements are intended to reassure the far-right base in Israel, which thinks he’s no longer calling the shots.
Those currently overseeing the ceasefire do not appear to be Israeli soldiers or army leadership, she explained, with Washington “requesting that Israel notify it ahead of time of any attack that Israel might be planning to conduct inside Gaza”.
Odeh noted that Israel’s insistence on controlling which foreign actors operate in Gaza – combined with the limited access for reconstruction – underscores a broader strategy to maintain political support at home.
Unexploded bombs a threat
Reconstruction in Gaza faces further obstacles from unexploded ordnance. Nicholas Torbet, Middle East director at HALO Trust in the United Kingdom, said Gaza is “essentially one giant city” where every part has been struck by explosives.
“Some munitions are designed to linger, but what we’re concerned about in Gaza is ordnance that is expected to explode upon impact but hasn’t,” he told Al Jazeera.
Torbet said clearing explosives is slowing the reconstruction process. His teams plan to work directly within communities to safely remove bombs rather than marking off large areas indefinitely. “The best way to dispose of a bomb is to use a small amount of explosives to blow it up,” he explained.
Torbet added that the necessary equipment is relatively simple and can be transported in small vehicles or by hand, and progress is beginning to take place.
The scale of explosives dropped by Israel has left Gaza littered with deadly remnants.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, told Al Jazeera that Israel dropped at least 200,000 tonnes of explosives on the territory, with roughly 70,000 tonnes failing to detonate.
Yahya Shorbasi, who was injured by an unexploded ordnance along with his six-year-old twin sister Nabila, lies on a bed at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, October 25, 2025 [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
Children have been particularly affected, often mistaking bombs for toys. Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili reported the case of seven-year-old Yahya Shorbasi and his sister Nabila, who were playing outside when they found what appeared to be a toy.
“They found a regular children’s toy – just an ordinary one. The girl was holding it. Then the boy took it and started tapping it with a coin. Suddenly, we heard the sound of an explosion. It went off in their hands,” their mother Latifa Shorbasi told Al Jazeera.
Yahya’s right arm had to be amputated, while Nabila remains in intensive care.
Dr Harriet, an emergency doctor at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, described the situation as “a public health catastrophe waiting to unfold”. She said children are being injured by items that look harmless – toys, cans, or debris – but are actually live explosives.
United Nations Mine Action Service head Luke David Irving said 328 people have already been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance since October 2023.
Tens of thousands of tonnes of bombs, including landmines, mortar rounds, and large bombs capable of flattening concrete buildings, remain buried across Gaza. Basal said clearing the explosives could take years and require millions of dollars.
For Palestinians, the situation is a race against time. Al Jazeera’s Khoudary said civilians are pressing for faster progress: “They want reconstruction, they want freedom of movement, and they want to see and feel that the ceasefire is going to make it.”
Wives and children of suspected Islamic State group fighters are detained in tented camps
In the complex mosaic of the new Syria, the old battle against the group calling itself Islamic State (IS) continues in the Kurdish-controlled north-east. It’s a conflict that has slipped from the headlines – with bigger wars elsewhere.
But Kurdish counter-terrorism officials have told the BBC that IS cells in Syria are regrouping and increasing their attacks.
Walid Abdul-Basit Sheikh Mousa was obsessed with motorbikes and finally managed to buy one in January.
The 21-year-old only had a few weeks to enjoy it. He was killed in February fighting against IS in north-eastern Syria.
Walid was so keen to take on the extremists that he ran away from home, aged 15, to join the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They brought him back because he was a minor, but accepted him three years later.
Generations of his extended family gathered in the yard of their home in the city of Qamishli to tell us about his short life.
“I see him everywhere,” said his mother, Rojin Mohammed. “He left me with so many memories. He was very caring and affectionate.”
Walid was one of eight children, and the youngest of the boys. He could always get around his mum.
“When he wanted something, he would come and kiss me,” she recalls. “And say ‘can you give me money so I can buy cigarettes?'”
The young fighter was killed during days of battle near a strategic dam – his body found by his cousin who searched the front lines. Through tears, his mother calls for revenge against IS.
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
Walid was killed in February fighting against the Islamic State Group in north-eastern Syria
“They broke our hearts,” she says. “We buried so many of our young. May Daesh (IS) be wiped out completely,” she says. “I hope not one of them is left.”
Instead, the Islamic State Group is recruiting and reorganising – according to Kurdish officials, taking advantage of a security vacuum after the ousting of Syria’s long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad last December.
“There’s been a 10-fold increase in their attacks,” says Siyamend Ali, a spokesman for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – a Kurdish militia, which has been fighting IS for over a decade, and is the backbone of the SDF.
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
“I see him everywhere,” says Walid’s mother, Rojin Mohammed
“They benefited from the chaos and got a lot of weapons from warehouses and depots (of the old regime).”
He says the militants have expanded their areas of operation and methods of attack. They have graduated from hit-and-run operations to attacking checkpoints and planting landmines.
His office walls are lined with photos of YPG members killed by IS.
For the US, the YPG militia is a valued ally in the fight against the extremists. For Turkey, it is a terrorist group.
In the past year, 30 YPG fighters have been killed in operations against IS, according to Mr Ali, and 95 IS militants have been captured.
Kurdish authorities have their hands – and jails – full with suspected IS fighters. Around 8,000 – from 48 countries including the UK, the US, Russia and Australia – have been held for years in a network of prisons in the north east.
Whatever their guilt – or innocence – they have not been tried or convicted.
The largest jail for IS suspects is al-Sina in the city of Al Hasakah – ringed by high walls, and watch towers.
Through a small hatch in a cell door, we get a glimpse of men who once brought terror to around a third of Syria and Iraq.
Detainees in brown uniforms – with shaven heads – sit silent and motionless on thin mattresses, on opposite sides of a cell. They appear thin, weak and vanquished, like the “caliphate” they proclaimed in 2014. Prison officials say these men were with IS until its last stand in the Syrian town of Baghouz in March 2019.
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
Al-Sina, located in the city of Hasaka, is the largest jail for IS suspects
Some detainees wear disposable masks to prevent the spread of infection. Tuberculosis is their companion in al-Sina, where they are being held indefinitely.
There’s no TV or radio, no internet or phone, and no knowledge that Assad was toppled by the former Islamist militant, Ahmed al-Sharaa. At least that’s what the prison authorities hope.
But IS is rebuilding itself behind bars, according to a prison commander who cannot be identified for security reasons. He says each wing of the prison has an emir, or leader, who issues fatwas – rulings on points of Islamic law.
“The leaders still have influence,” he said. “And give orders and Sharia lessons.”
One of the detainees, Hamza Parvez from London, agreed to speak to us with prison guards listening in.
The former trainee accountant admits becoming an IS fighter in early 2014 at the age of 21. It cost him his citizenship. When challenged about IS atrocities including beheadings, he says a lot of “unfortunate” things happened.
“A lot of stuff happened that I don’t agree with,” he said. “And there was some stuff that I did agree with. I wasn’t in charge. I was a normal soldier.”
He says his life is now at risk. “I’m on my deathbed… in a room full of tuberculosis,” he said. “At any moment I could die.”
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
Hamza Parvez, from London, admits he became an IS fighter at 21
After years in jail, Parvez is pleading to be returned to the UK.
“Me and the rest of the British citizens who are here in the prison, we don’t wish any harm,” he said. “We did what we did, yes. We did come. We did join the Islamic State. It’s not something that we can hide.”
I ask how people can accept he is no longer a threat.
“They are going to have to take my word for it,” he says with a laugh.
“It’s something that I can’t convince people about. It’s a huge risk that they will have to take to bring us back. It’s true.”
Britain, like many countries, is in no hurry to do that.
So the Kurds are left holding the fighters and about 34,000 of their family members.
The wives and children are arbitrarily detained in sprawling desolate tented camps that amount to open-air prisons. Human rights groups say this is collective punishment – a war crime.
Roj camp sits on the edge of the Syrian desert – whipped by the wind, and scorched by the sun.
It’s a place Londoner Mehak Aslam is keen to escape. She comes to meet us in the manager’s office – a slight veiled figure, wearing a face mask and walking with a limp. She says she was beaten by Kurdish forces years ago and injured by a fragment of a bullet.
After agreeing to an interview, she speaks at length.
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
Kurdish troops patrol the area around the camps where IS detainees are held
Aslam says she came to Syria with her Bengali husband, Shahan Chaudhary, just “to bring aid”, and claims they made a living by “baking cakes”. He is now in al-Sina prison, and they have both been stripped of their citizenships.
The mother-of-four denies joining IS but admits bringing her children to its territory, where her eldest daughter was killed by an explosion.
“I lost her in Baghouz. It was an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] or a small bomb. She broke her leg, and she was pierced with shrapnel from her back. She died in my arms,” she says, in a low voice.
She told me her children had developed health problems in the camp, including her youngest, who is eight. But she admits turning down an offer for them to be returned to the UK. She says they didn’t want to go without her.
“Unfortunately, my children have pretty much grown up just in the camp,” she said. “They don’t know a world outside. Two of my children were born in Syria, they have never seen Britain, and going to family who again they don’t know, it would be very difficult. No mother should have to make the choice of being separated from her children.”
But I put it to her that she had made other choices like coming to the caliphate where IS was killing civilians, raping and enslaving Yazidi women, and throwing people from buildings.
“I wasn’t aware of the Yazidi thing at the time,” she said, “or that people were being thrown from buildings. We did not witness any of that. We knew they were very extreme.”
She said she was at risk inside the camp because it is known that she would like to go back to Britain.
“I have already been targeted as an apostate, and that’s in my community. My kids have had rocks thrown at them at school.”
I asked if she would like to see a return of an IS caliphate.
“Sometimes things are distorted,” she said. “I don’t’ believe what we saw was a true representation, Islamically speaking.”
After an hour-long interview, she returned to her tent, with no indication that she would ever leave the camp.
The camp manager, Hekmiya Ibrahim, says there are nine British families in Roj – among them 12 children. And, she adds, 75% of those in the camp still cling to the ideology of IS.
There are worse places than Roj.
The atmosphere is far more tense in al-Hol – a more radicalised camp where about 6,000 foreigners are being held.
We were given an armed escort to enter their section of the camp.
As we walked in – carefully – the sound of banging echoed through the area. Guards said it was a signal that outsiders had arrived and warned us we might be attacked.
Goktay Koraltan/BBC
About 6,000 foreigners are being held in al-Hol camp
Veiled women – clad head to toe in black – soon gathered. One responded to my questions by running a finger across her neck – as if slitting a throat.
Several small children raised an index finger – a gesture traditionally associated with Muslim prayer but hijacked by IS. We kept our visit short.
The SDF patrol outside the camp and in the surrounding areas.
We joined them – bumping along desert tracks.
“Sleeper cells are everywhere,” said one of the commanders.
In recent months, they have been focused on trying to break boys out of the camp, “trying to free the cubs of the caliphate”, he added. Most attempts are prevented, but not all.
A new generation is being raised – inside the razor wire – inheriting the brutal legacy of the IS.
“We are worried about the children,” said Hekmiya Ibrahim back in Roj camp.
“We feel bad when we see them growing up in this swamp and embracing this ideology.”
Due to their early indoctrination, she believes they will be even more hardline than their fathers.
“They are the seeds for a new version of IS,” she said. “Even more powerful than the previous one.”
Additional reporting by Wietske Burema, Goktay Koraltan and Fahad Fattah
Oct. 26 (UPI) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed Sunday that he is considering a bid for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Newsom, among President Donald Trump‘s most strident critics, said during an interview that aired on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” that he is likely to make his decision following the 2026 midterm elections.
Newsom’s current term expires in January 2027, and term limits prevent him from seeking another term as governor, which would clear the way for him to seek the presidential nomination.
“Fate will determine that,” Newsom continued, when asked about his plans to seek his party’s presidential nomination.
Newsom, 58, has made repeated trips to politically sensitive battleground states, including a visit in July to South Carolina, which is currently scheduled to hold the nation’s first 2028 presidential primary.
He met with party leaders and shook hands in local coffee shops, grass roots style, and even went behind the counter to serve espresso to customers, typical of would-be candidates measuring sentiment among likely voters even years before a key election.
“I happen to, and thank God, I’m in the right business,” he said during the interview when discussing his South Carolina trip. “I love people. I actually love people.”
Newsom said he is currently focused on promoting Proposition 50, a California ballot initiative that would allow Democrats in the state to temporarily redraw congressional district boundary lines, which would make them more favorable to his party.
The fate of the measure is scheduled to be decided in a special election this week.
Supporters have said the proposition is in response to efforts by states such as Texas, which has pushed to change district maps to be more favorable to GOP candidates, and increasing their odds of holding on to their slim majorities in the U.S. House.
Harris, a longtime politician whose ties run deep in progressive California politics, said in an interview with the BBC that she has more to offer.
“I am not done,” Harris said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.”
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was the Biden administration’s ambassador to Japan, reportedly is also considering a run for the Democratic nomination.
East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, has become the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, fulfilling a vision set out by its current president nearly a half-century ago.
The country, also known as Timor-Leste, is among Asia’s poorest and hopes to see gains from integrating its fledgling economy. The accession follows a 14-year wait and represents a symbolic victory for President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the heroes of its struggle for independence. ASEAN leaders formalized the joining at the opening of their annual summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Gusmao said it was a historic moment for his country, with a new beginning that would bring “immense opportunities” for trade and investment. East Timor was ruled for three centuries by Portugal, which abruptly pulled out of its colony in 1975, paving the way for annexation and an at-times bloody occupation by Indonesia before winning full independence in 2002.
Ismail Omar Guelleh could seek re-election in 2026 after parliament votes to remove age restriction for presidential candidates.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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Djibouti’s parliament has removed the constitutional age ceiling for presidential candidates, opening the door for Ismail Omar Guelleh to seek a sixth term despite being 77 years old.
All 65 lawmakers present voted on Sunday to eliminate the age restriction of 75 years, a move that would allow the veteran leader to contest elections scheduled for April 2026. The decision requires either presidential approval followed by a second parliamentary vote on November 2, or a national referendum.
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Guelleh, known widely as IOG, has governed the Horn of Africa nation since 1999, when he succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the country’s founding president.
The constitutional barrier was introduced by Guelleh himself in 2010 alongside reforms that scrapped presidential term limits, but reduced each term from six to five years.
National Assembly Speaker Dileita Mohamed Dileita defended the change as essential for maintaining stability in a turbulent region. He said public support exceeded 80 percent for the measure, though Al Jazeera is not able to verify this claim.
Earlier this year, in an interview with the Jeune Afrique magazine, Guelleh gave an important indication that he had no plans to relinquish power. “All I can tell you is that I love my country too much to embark on an irresponsible adventure and be the cause of divisions,” he said.
Rights advocates condemned the move as a step toward permanent rule. “This revision prepares a presidency for life,” said Omar Ali Ewado, who heads the Djiboutian League for Human Rights, calling instead for a peaceful democratic transition.
Daher Ahmed Farah, a leader in the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development, told Al Jazeera that international partners should reconsider their priorities. “The country is in a strategic position and hosts many bases, but these interests lie with the Djiboutian people, not with a single man,” he said.
Guelleh won his fifth term in 2021 with more than 98 percent of votes after opposition groups boycotted the election. At the time, the United States welcomed the result but encouraged the government “to further strengthen its democratic institutions and processes in line with recommendations from the observer missions”.
Guelleh is East Africa’s third-longest-serving leader behind Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, in power for nearly four decades, and Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki, with a tenure reaching 27 years.
Despite its small population of one million, Djibouti wields outsized geopolitical influence. The country hosts the only permanent US military base in Africa, alongside installations operated by France, China, Japan and Italy. Its position overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait makes it vital for global shipping between Asia and Europe.
That strategic value has kept Djibouti stable while neighbouring states face mounting crises, including Sudan’s civil war and Somalia’s fragmentation.
Hundreds of supporters of opposition presidential candidate Issa Tchiroma accuse President Paul Biya’s government of seeking to rig the vote.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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At least two people have been killed by gunfire in Cameroon, as protesters rallied a day before the announcement of presidential election results, the opposition campaign has said.
Hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma barricaded roads and burned tyres in Cameroon’s commercial capital Douala on Sunday. Police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up the crowds. A police car was also burned.
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The protesters say Tchiroma beat veteran leader Paul Biya, 92, in the October 12 polls and have accused authorities of preparing to rig the election.
Protests have flared in several cities, including the capital Yaounde, Tchiroma’s hometown Garoua, as well as Maroua, Meiganga, Bafang, Bertoua, Kousseri, Yagoua, Kaele, and Bafoussam.
The demonstrations came after partial results reported by local media showed that Biya was on course to win an eighth term in office.
During the counting process, according to the figures, Tchiroma was declared the winner. But during the national count, the electoral commission announced that Biya would be the winner, which Tchiroma disputes.
He claims that he has won the elections and that he has evidence to prove it, which led to a call for national demonstrations to demand the truth about the ballot boxes.
Burning barricades are seen in Garoua during a demonstration by supporters of the political opposition on October 21, 2025 ahead of the release of the results of the presidential vote [AFP]
‘We want Tchiroma’
“We want Tchiroma, we want Tchiroma!” the protesters chanted in Douala’s New Bell neighbourhood. They blocked roads with debris and threw rocks and other projectiles at security forces.
Reuters news agency reporters saw police detain at least four protesters on Sunday.
Cameroon’s government has rejected opposition accusations of irregularities and urged people to wait for the election result, due on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, Tchiroma’s campaign manager said authorities had detained about 30 politicians and activists who had supported his candidacy, heightening tensions.
Among those he said were detained were Anicet Ekane, leader of the MANIDEM party, and Djeukam Tchameni, a prominent figure in the Union for Change movement.
Cameroon’s Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji said on Saturday that arrests had been made in connection with what he described as an “insurrectional movement,” though he did not say who – or how many – had been detained.
Biya is the world’s oldest serving ruler and has been in power in Cameroon since 1982. Another seven-year term could keep him in power until he is nearly 100.
Tchiroma, a former minister and one-time Biya ally, has said that he won and that he will not accept any other result.
1 of 2 | Hurricane Melissa was upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it nears Caribbean islands, many of which have issues storm warnings and watches. Photo courtesy of NOAA
Oct. 24 (UPI) — Melissa was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane as it made its way toward Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
It is expected to strengthen to a Category 5 storm, causing catastrophic conditions for Caribbean nations.
The hurricane became a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph while moving west at 5 mph and positioned about 110 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 2 p.m. EDT update.
The storm had become a hurricane at 9 a.m. EDT on Saturday and was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane by Saturday night.
It continues to gain strength and could cause life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in parts of Southern Hispaniola and Jamaica into early next week.
Currently, a hurricane warning is in effect for all of Jamaica.
Hurricane watch advisories are also in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince and for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
“Melissa’s slow movement over the mountainous islands greatly increases the risk of catastrophic flash flooding and deadly mudslides,” Duffus said. “This can quickly escalate into a humanitarian crisis, where a large number of people are in need of basic supplies such as food, safe drinking water, housing and medical care.”
A hurricane warning is in effect in Jamaica, while a hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern tip of Haiti and the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.
A turn to the north and northeast is forecast on Monday and Tuesday.
“This remains a very serious situation, in terms of catastrophic rainfall, wind, and storm surge hazards for Jamaica, and preparations should be rushed to completion in the area currently under a Hurricane Warning,” NHC forecaster Jack Beven said in a discussion.
On the forecast track, Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica through into early next week, and it could be near or over eastern Cuba by the middle of next week and then head northwest in the Atlantic farther from the United States.
“It must be noted that there is very little practical difference in the overall impacts of a Category 4 or 5 landfall, and Melissa is expected to be at least that intensity when it moves over Jamaica,” Beven wrote in a discussion.
“Melissa should weaken as it interacts with Jamaica and Cuba, although it is still forecast to be a major hurricane when it nears Cuba. A faster weakening should occur after passing Cuba when the cyclone encounters strong shear over the southwestern Atlantic,” he wrote.
This would be the strongest direct landfall for the island since tropical cyclone record-keeping has been kept in the Atlantic Basin.
Tropical-force winds stretch outward to 115 mph from the center.
Rainfall of 15 to 30 inches through Wednesday is forecast for portions of southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, with a local maximum of 40 inches, the NHC said.
Eastern Cuba is expected to receive rainfall of 6 to 12 inches, with local amounts up to 18 inches into Wednesday.
“Life-threatening storm surge is becoming more likely along the south coast of Jamaica later in the weekend or early next week,” the NHC said.
Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall and be accompanied by large and destructive waves.
There also is a potential for significant storm surge along the Cuban coast next week.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, and it’s the first in the Caribbean.
This season has seen few storms, which have warmed the Caribbean Sea, and the warm water is potential fuel for stronger and more dangerous storms.
Fighting comes as Taliban submits proposal at Pakistan-Afghanistan talks in Turkiye, while Islamabad warns of ‘open war’ if deal fails.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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Fresh clashes near the border with Afghanistan have killed at least five Pakistani soldiers and 25 fighters, Pakistan’s army says, even as the two countries hold peace talks in Istanbul.
The Pakistani military said armed men attempted to cross from Afghanistan into Kurram and North Waziristan on Friday and Saturday, accusing the Taliban authorities of failing to act against armed groups operating from Afghan territory.
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It said on Sunday that the attempted infiltrations raised questions over Kabul’s commitment to tackling “terrorism emanating from its soil”.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has not commented on the latest clashes, but has repeatedly rejected accusations of harbouring armed fighters and instead accuses Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty with air strikes.
Delegations from both countries arrived in Istanbul, Turkiye on Saturday for talks aimed at preventing a return to full-scale conflict. The meeting comes days after Qatar and Turkiye brokered a ceasefire in Doha to halt the most serious border fighting since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021.
The violence earlier this month killed dozens and wounded hundreds.
‘Open war’
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the ceasefire remains intact and that Kabul appears interested in peace, but warned that failure in Istanbul would leave Islamabad with “open war” as an option.
Pakistan’s military described those involved in the weekend infiltrations as members of what it calls “Fitna al-Khwarij”, a term it uses for ideologically motivated armed groups allegedly backed by foreign sponsors.
United States President Donald Trump also weighed in on Sunday, saying he would “solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis very quickly”, telling reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia that he had been briefed on the ongoing talks.
Separately, Taliban-controlled broadcaster RTA said on Sunday that Kabul’s delegation in Turkiye had submitted a proposal after more than 15 hours of discussions, calling for Pakistan to end cross-border strikes and block any “anti-Afghan group” from using its territory.
The Afghan side also signalled openness to a four-party monitoring mechanism to supervise the ceasefire and investigate violations.
Afghanistan’s delegation is led by Deputy Interior Minister Haji Najib. Pakistan has not publicly disclosed its representatives.
Analysts expect the core of the talks to revolve around intelligence-sharing, allowing Islamabad to hand over coordinates of suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters for the Taliban to take direct action, instead of Pakistan launching its own strikes.
USS Gravely’s arrival comes as US military build-up in the region has increased tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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A United States warship has arrived in Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation close to Venezuela, as tensions between Washington and Caracas continue to mount.
The USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, reached the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain on Sunday with members of the US Marines on board, ahead of planned joint military exercises.
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The warship has advanced weapons systems and can operate helicopters. Its recent activities include a deployment for counter-narcotics operations.
Its arrival near Venezuela comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump continues to increase the US’s military presence in the Caribbean, where it has in recent weeks conducted controversial, deadly strikes against boats that Washington claims are involved in drug trafficking.
The standoff between the two countries escalated further on Friday, when the Pentagon confirmed that it was deploying the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, to the region.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who was re-elected last year in what the US has dismissed as a fraudulent election, accused Washington of “fabricating” a war against him.
Without providing any evidence, the US president has accused Maduro of being the leader of the organised crime gang Tren de Aragua.
Reporting from Port of Spain on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Julia Galiano said the Trinidadian government wanted to assure its people that they shouldn’t be worried by the warship’s arrival.
The country’s defence minister told Al Jazeera on Saturday that joint military operations were held regularly and that the US vessel’s presence was not a prelude to war.
However, Galiano said that locals had expressed “a lot more reservation” about the warship.
“People we spoke to today, for example, in the Sunday market, told us that they were frightened about what this could mean for their country,” she said.
Trinidadians who spoke to news agencies expressed similar concerns.
“If anything should happen with Venezuela and America, we as people who live on the outskirts of it … could end up getting a lash any time,” 64-year-old Daniel Holder told the AFP news agency.
“I am against my country being part of this,” he added.
Javed Ali, an associate professor at the University of Michigan who specialises in national security, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the US’s actions in the region involved “the projection of a significant amount of military force” to put pressure on the Maduro regime.
“It is so difficult to know what the White House is thinking,” he noted, adding that the US military presence is not big enough to launch an invasion of Venezuela.
“Looking at how the US has conducted wars in the past, it would not be with a small footprint like this,” Ali said.
As part of its anti-drug operations, Washington deployed eight navy ships, 10 F-35 warplanes and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region in August, its largest military build-up in the area since its 1989 invasion of Panama.
On Saturday, Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said his country had begun coastal defence exercises to protect itself against “large-scale military threats”.
Oct. 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump landed in Malaysia on Sunday and presided over the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia amid a flurry of news related to trade deals with Asian nations and ahead of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The text of the joint declaration, which seeks to end recent conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over a long-running border dispute, was released by the White House and said its signing was witnessed by Trump.
“We committed to de-escalating tensions and restoring confidence and mutually beneficial relations between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand,” the declaration reads.
Thailand and Cambodia said they agreed to remove heavy weapons systems and de-mine along the border, as well as release prisoners of war and refrain from disseminating “harmful rhetoric” to “foster an environment conducive to peaceful dialogue.”
Additionally, the White House announced that it had separately reached nonbinding understandings with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia to cooperate and expand U.S. access to rare earth minerals.
It also announced a framework for new reciprocal trade deals with each of the countries.
Thailand, for example, has agreed to eliminate tariffs on 99% of goods from the United States while the United States said it would maintain 19% tariffs imposed on the Asian country while granting tariff-free access for certain products.
The agreements included a pledge by Malaysia to invest $70 billion in the United States over the next decade while Thailand promised to buy 80 U.S. aircraft for $18.8 billion and Air Cambodia committed to working with Boeing to boost the development of its aviation industry.
The White House later announced that it had reached framework for a similar trade agreement with Vietnam, which would “provide preferential market access” for U.S. industrial and agricultural exports. The United States will maintain 20% tariffs on Vietnamese imports.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea.
“I think we reached a substantial framework for the two leaders who will meet in Korea next Thursday,” Bessent said on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
“The president had given me maximum leverage when he threatened 100 percent tariffs if the Chinese impose their rare earth global export controls. So, I think we have averted that. So, the tariffs will be averted,” he said.
Trump also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit Sunday, stating afterward that he believed they would eventually reach a trade deal.
The news came after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil in August after former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, was sentenced to prison for plotting a coup.
“I think we’ll make a deal with Brazil. We get along very well,” Trump said, as reported by CNN. “We have a lot of respect for your president, as you know, a lot of respect for Brazil. So we’ll see. We’ll probably work out some deals.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praises Eberechi Eze’s “unbelievable technique”after he scored the only goal of a tight game against Crystal Palace to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Both countries’ negotiating teams will start ‘immediately’ to address US tariffs and sanctions, says Brazil’s President Lula.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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United States President Donald Trump and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have held what Brazil described as a constructive meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, raising hope for improved relations after stinging US tariffs.
Lula said the Sunday meeting with Trump – who is an ally of his political rival, embattled former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – was “great” and added that their countries’ negotiating teams would get to work “immediately” to tackle tariffs and other issues.
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“We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to advance the search for solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities,” Lula said in a message on X following the meeting.
Trump had linked the July tariff move – which brought duties on most Brazilian goods entering the US to 50 percent from 10 percent – to what he called a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro, far-right leader who has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.
Bolsonaro’s supporters rioted in the political centre of the country’s capital, evoking a riot by Trump’s supporters in Washington, DC on January 6, two years earlier.
The US government has also sanctioned numerous Brazilian officials, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial that led to Bolsonaro’s conviction.
Ahead of the meeting on Sunday, though, Trump said he could reach some agreements with Lula and expected the two countries to enjoy strong ties despite his concerns about Bolsonaro’s fate.
“I think we should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries,” Trump said.
Lula previously described the US tariff hike as a “mistake”, citing a $410bn US trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years.
‘Conclude negotiations in weeks’
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that negotiations would start immediately and that Brazil had requested a pause in tariffs while talks proceed, though it was unclear whether the US had agreed.
“We hope to conclude bilateral negotiations that address each of the sectors of the current American [tariffs on] Brazil in the near future, in a few weeks,” Vieira said.
He added that Lula also offered to help mediate between the US and Venezuela, where Washington has deployed its largest warship and threatened ground strikes targeting alleged drug cartels, operations Caracas has denounced as “fabricated” pretexts for war.
Bolsonaro was not mentioned during the Trump-Lula meeting, said Marcio Rosa, the executive secretary for Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.
Higher US tariffs on Brazilian goods have begun reshaping the global beef trade, pushing up prices in the US and encouraging triangulation via third countries such as Mexico, while Brazilian exports to China continue to boom.
Argentina is set to vote in legislative elections on Sunday, which will test support for President Javier Milei’s free-market reforms and austerity measures.
The president’s party, La Libertad Avanza, aims to boost its minority in Congress to maintain investor confidence and maintain support from U.S. President Donald Trump. The election will take place in half of Argentina’s lower Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate.
The Peronist opposition movement currently holds the largest minority in both houses, while Milei’s party has only 37 deputies and six senators. The White House and foreign investors have been impressed by the government’s ability to reduce monthly inflation, achieve a fiscal surplus, and enact sweeping deregulation measures.
However, Milei’s popularity has fallen due to public frustration with his cuts to public spending and a corruption scandal linked to his sister. Political experts predict that more than 35% of the vote would be a positive outcome for Milei’s government and could allow him to block opposition lawmakers’ efforts to overturn his vetoes against laws that threaten Argentina’s fiscal balance.
Oct. 26 (UPI) — French prosecutors on Sunday announced that arrests had been made in connection with the brazen daylight heist of historic jewels worth more than $100 million from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris public prosecutor, said in a statement that the office’s anti-gang unit had made the arrests Saturday evening, but did not disclose precisely how many arrests had been made. It previously had been reported that at least four people were believed to have been involved in the heist last Sunday.
Beccuau revealed that one of the men was preparing to flee the country from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport when he was arrested.
The arrests had first been reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien, citing anonymous sources, before the news was confirmed by Beccuau. The prosecutor lamented that the leak that arrests had been made before authorities were ready to disclose the news.
“I deeply regret the hasty disclosure of this information by informed individuals, without consideration for the investigation,” she said in her statement.
“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators mobilized in the search for both the stolen jewelry and the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any further details.”
Beccuau said that she would provide further information to the public at the end of this phase of police custody.
A representative for the Louvre confirmed to UPI last week that several people broke in through a window in the Galerie d’Apollon, which houses many of France’s royal jewels, around 9:30 a.m. local time after the museum had already opened its doors to the public.
The thieves had posed as workers in yellow vests and used a hoist truck to break into a second-floor window of the Galerie d’Apollon and cut through the glass display cases to snatch the jewels before dashing away on motorcycles along the A6 motorway.
The theft set off alarms on the gallery’s exterior window and display cases, and museum workers present in the gallery during the theft quickly notified police, but the thieves escaped with the jewels in less than seven minutes.
Interpol later added the jewels to its Stolen Works of Art database, an international registry of cultural property stolen worldwide to aid in their recovery, the art news publication Urgent Matter reported.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised investigators for working tirelessly to find the men who stole the jewels.
“The investigations must continue while respecting the confidentiality of the inquiry under the authority of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Parquet de Paris,” he said.
The heist has heightened scrutiny of security flaws faced by French institutions.
And French authorities announced that a Chinese woman had been charged in connection with the September theft of gold nuggets from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.
For the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a NATO member has formally invoked Article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty after a major airspace breach. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna tells Talk to Al Jazeera why repeated Russian provocations are more than isolated incidents – they’re a test of NATO’s credibility. As United States President Donald Trump questions the value of collective defence, Tsahkna warns that Europe’s security consensus is fraying and hesitation could invite danger.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in the Malaysian capital against the visit of US President Donald Trump. They accuse him of complicity in genocide over the Gaza war.
