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It was a sombre Thursday afternoon in Alesi, a community in Ikom Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State, in South South Nigeria. Inside the village head’s palace, men and women gathered in silence, their faces drawn with grief. Some stared blankly ahead; others fought back tears.

“We have lost another son. Our hearts are heavy, our eyes are bleeding. Our people are continuously being killed as a result of boundary disputes, and we are increasingly being forced to take up arms,” Nzan Osim, a community leader, addressed the mourners. 

A day earlier, Fidelis Akan, a cocoa farmer from Alesi, was beheaded on his farm, close to the boundary with Ochon, a neighbouring community in Obubra LGA. His elder brother, Lawrence Akan, said Fidelis had gone to the farm with his daughter that morning to harvest cocoa when they heard gunshots. 

“As they came out to see what was happening, a group of boys, allegedly from Ochon, caught them. When they found out that he was from Alesi, they beheaded him,” he narrated. Fidelis’ daughter escaped and raised the alarm. His body was later recovered and buried the same day, leaving behind a wife and six children. 

In the aftermath, angry residents allegedly set fire to a truck loaded with cocoa, believing it belonged to an Ochon farmer. 

A long battle over land

Since 2022, Alesi and Ochon have become flashpoints for deadly clashes, rooted in a long-running boundary dispute and the struggle for farmland to cultivate cocoa, one of Cross River’s most valuable crops. 

Yet, for decades, both communities coexisted peacefully, trading and even intermarrying across the boundary without violence. Many locals believe the recent tensions are being driven by increased competition for farmland and the growing economic value of cocoa.

The disputed land falls within the Ukpon River Forest Reserve, a protected area established by the state government in 1930 to preserve forest resources and biodiversity. Both communities continue to claim ownership of the area, with residents of Alesi accusing their Ochon counterparts of trespassing and attempting to seize land around Adibongha, the nearest clan to the boundary. 

The tension has often turned violent. In July, several houses were burnt and many families were displaced after an attack on Adibongha, according to Kelvin Eyam, a resident. 

“We have documents to prove our claim, but the Obubra people don’t want us at the boundary. They want to seize the entire land. The boundary is clearly marked at the centre of the river. There’s even a document that shows this, but attempts have been made to wipe it out,” said Nzan, a community leader from Alesi.

The traditional ruler of Obubra, Robert Mbinna, disagrees and insists it is Alesi that has been trespassing and illegally occupying their land. “There is a court order to that effect,” he said, adding that his own people have also lost lives in the crisis.

While both sides referred to documents supporting their claims, they did not present any to HumAngle for verification.

Beyond the legal arguments, residents say the human toll continues to rise. “A lot of people have been maimed, kidnapped and not seen till today. We dread to see one another and no longer enter the same vehicle with those from Obubra,” Nsan added. 

Aside from the lives lost, the protracted crisis between these communities is also impacting the livelihoods of residents. Farmers say vast farmlands have been abandoned for fear of attacks, while others have watched their cocoa trees destroyed in the clashes.

Daniel Eguma, a cocoa farmer from Ukanga in Ikom, is one of them. Just a day before Akan’s brutal murder, he escaped from Okokori, a community near the boundary where he would always pass the night after working on his farmland. 

“I slept at a primary school field and made arrangements with a driver who took me away at 3 a.m. after I heard of an impending attack. I left behind my six hectares of cocoa farmland and a motorcycle,” he told HumAngle. 

Daniel was already planning to harvest his cocoa in a week, but he cannot go back to his farm again. Usually, when criminals notice that farmers have abandoned their farms, they go in and steal. He said he could not even begin to estimate the value of what he has lost — but after years of labour and investment, it is substantial.

‘The Prevent Council’

As violence persisted despite repeated police deployments, civil society actors began searching for ways to prevent further bloodshed.

Nine months after at least eight people were killed and about 2000 displaced following a clash between the communities in March 2022,  the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a non-profit organisation, launched the Prevent Council initiative. The project aimed to strengthen community peacebuilding structures by engaging traditional rulers as positive influencers and conflict mediators in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Delta states.

PIND says it currently has 10,113 peace actors in its network, who have intervened in over 2000 conflicts since 2013.

In Cross River, at least 25 traditional rulers and community leaders in five LGAs, including Ikom and Obubra, were trained and made peace ambassadors. PIND’s Executive Director, Tunji Idowu, said that the initiative recognised the critical role that traditional rulers play in maintaining peace and security within their communities. 

“The central goal of the Prevent Council is to promote and sustain social cohesion and peaceful coexistence in society with no one left behind. It emphasises that sustainable peace must involve multilateral engagements with traditional institutions as critical positive influencers and conflict mediators in their respective states and communities,” Tunji explained.

Participants received training on early warning and response, conflict mapping, mediation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). 

Between 2023 and 2024, PIND peace ambassadors intervened when clashes erupted between Alesi and Ochon. Using their training manuals, they engaged both sides to de-escalate tensions.

“We went into the communities where we spoke with elders and youths about the need to embrace peace,” said Agbor Clement, a participant from Ikom LGA. 

However, since the return of the violence this year, both Agbor and Mbinna, a participant from Obubra LGA, admit that their effort have not tackled the root causes. Agbor noted that Ikom also shares boundaries with Boki and Etung local government areas; however, there have been no reported boundary disputes, as the borders are properly demarcated. 

Local government officials agree. According to Daniel Eyam, a Special Adviser on Political and Executive Matters to the Ikom LGA chairperson, although PIND’s activities are well-intentioned, the system itself prevents peace from taking root. 

“In communities, when there is a land dispute, you go to the elders because they are the custodians of facts that pertain to the disputed area, and when they speak the truth, matters are resolved. Sadly, many of them have refused to do that,” he said. 

Daniel stressed that beyond offering training, PIND should push relevant agencies to speak the truth and take action. 

Another challenge facing PIND’s Prevent Council is a lack of resources to enable peace ambassadors to respond immediately during conflict situations.

“We were supposed to meet with stakeholders after the latest crisis, but we are handicapped because our work usually ends after training,” said Victor Okim, a PIND ambassador in Obubra. “We cannot go into the communities to drill down on what we have learned because we don’t have the resources. There is no continuous monitoring and evaluation of Prevent Council activities.”

“If we have the support that we need, we can do more because we are part of them, and they trust us so much to listen when we speak,” he added. 

Nkongha Daniel, the PIND Coordinator for Ikom, said women are often the biggest losers in crises because they lose their husbands and children. She suggested the foundation invest more in training women on how to respond in times of crisis.

PIND did not respond to interview requests, so it remains unclear whether the organisation is aware of the renewed violence or has taken steps to address these challenges. However, in its Niger Delta Weekly Conflict Update for March 2022, it recommended stronger collaboration between stakeholders and the state government to tackle the root causes of land conflicts and redress historical grievances.

Government efforts fall short

On July 30, the Cross River State Government ordered the immediate suspension of all farming activities on the disputed land, saying it was part of its efforts to bring peace to the area until proper boundary demarcation was carried out.

Community leaders and stakeholders of the two warring communities met in Calabar, the state capital, with the Deputy Governor, Peter Odey, and other government officials, including Anthony Owan-Enoh, who is overseeing an eight-person Peace Committee that was inaugurated to identify the root causes of the conflict and recommend a sustainable resolution framework. 

During the meeting, community leaders were instructed to submit all relevant documents relating to the crisis on or before Aug. 1. HumAngle confirmed that the papers were submitted, and a follow-up review meeting was slated for Aug. 13 to assess compliance, monitor the committee’s progress, and tackle emerging issues.

However, several community leaders noted that no meaningful progress has been made. 

“They gave us two weeks to stay off our lands, saying they were coming to carry out boundary demarcation. But after the visit, nothing happened. We have not been told whether we can return to our farms,” said Kelvin Eyam, a community leader from Alesi, lamenting that the government appears indifferent as violence continues. 

Nzan claimed that on Sept. 4, the Secretary to the State Government asked both parties to provide surveyors for an urgent meeting with the state’s Surveyor General. However, when he called to find out the outcome of the meeting the next day, he was informed that it didn’t hold because the surveyor from Obubra could not come. 

“This is what has been happening, and the government continues to keep calm, give us excuses and watch lives get lost,” he lamented. 

Neji Abang, a member of the Peace Resolution Committee for the Ikom-Obubra communal conflict, said that the committee visited both communities shortly after its inauguration to conduct fact-finding. According to him, the state’s Surveyor-General was invited and subsequently deployed a technical team to the disputed boundary. 

“We had a meeting where they presented their findings, and the chairman of the committee had invited 10 representatives from each of the communities to the meeting,” he said. 

But the presentation was rejected by the Alesi delegation, who argued that the demarcation was different from the original boundary record in their possession. They claimed the survey relied on a previous court judgment that had awarded the disputed area to Ochon and therefore demanded a fresh exercise.

Neji also confirmed Nzan’s earlier account that Obubra failed to bring its own surveyor, despite a directive from the committee chairperson instructing both communities to provide independent surveyors to work alongside the state’s team at the disputed site on  Sept. 3.

When asked why the state government had not formally demarcated the boundary despite having records of all boundaries in the state, Abang said, “That is what we will eventually do if it addresses the crisis.” 

What’s the way out?

As government interventions stall, community members and peace ambassadors are proposing alternative paths toward a lasting solution.

Members of the PIND Prevent Council noted that it is also important to look into training community members on livelihoods and alternative means of survival because the conflicts are often rooted in economic struggle.

“Young people can be empowered through skills acquisition programs and grants so they can look away from cocoa, which is a major reason why there is a struggle for land,” Nkongha explained. “Many of the youth are jobless and turn to hard drugs, hence they become willing tools for conflict.”

She explained that Ikom and Obubra, for instance, are big producers of garri, plantain, palm oil, yams, and groundnuts. 

“We can establish industries that process these crops where young people can be employed to work and earn for themselves,” she noted.

For Agbor, another way out of the conflict will be for the government to take over the disputed area and set aside days when farmers on each side can go and harvest their crops, accompanied by security operatives. 

Emmanuel Ossai, a peace and conflict expert who has researched violence in the region, said that interventions, like that of PIND, need to consider widening existing partnerships by involving more strategically placed youth, traditional, religious, and women leaders across the communities in conflict management training regularly.  

“There might be several possible reasons for the violence that are not under PIND’s direct control, but expanding partnerships and training more local leaders in conflict management would be helpful,” he suggested. 

Emmanuel added that regular follow-ups are necessary after training to assess whether community leaders are applying the conflict management skills they acquired to achieve greater impact.

This story was produced under the HumAngle Foundation’s Advancing Peace and Security through Journalism project, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Oct. 14 (UPI) — China on Tuesday blacklisted five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipmaker Hanwha Ocean, escalating the trade row between Beijing and Washington.

The countermeasures prohibit Chinese entities and individuals from engaging in business with Hanwha Ocean America in Houston, Texas; Hanwha Ocean USA in San Diego, Calif.; Hanwha Ocean Defense Systems in Norfolk, Va.; Hanwha Ocean Marine Engineering in New York City, N.Y.; and Hanwha Ocean Procurement Services in Bridgeport, Conn.

Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said the companies were blacklisted to counter actions the United States has taken against China targeting its maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

“These subsidiaries have assisted and supported relevant U.S. government investigations and actions, thereby endangering China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Transport is also charging U.S.-linked vessels special port fees.

The countermeasures were announced as the first phase of fees the United States is leveling against China’s ship industry is to go into effect following findings of an April 2024 investigation launched by the U.S. Trade Representative under the previous Biden administration into China’s alleged unfair practices in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

The investigation was launched at the behest of five national labor unions accusing China of employing non-market policies far more aggressive and interventionist than employed by any other country in an effort to dominate the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.

As remedy, the U.S. Trade Representative in March proposed services fees and port-entry fees against Chinese-origin ships, effective Tuesday.

A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce alleged to reporters Tuesday that the United States’ action “severely violates” World Trade Organization rules and “breaches the principle of equality and mutual benefit” of a 1980 agreement between Beijing and Washington concerning maritime transport cooperation.

“China has repeatedly express its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition,” the spokesperson said, while accusing the United States of being unwilling to cooperate with Beijing on the matter.

“China’s countermeasures are necessary acts of passive defense and are aimed at maintaining the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries and enterprises, as well as the level playing-field of the international shipping and shipbuilding markets,” the spokesperson said.

“It is hoped the U.S. will face up to its mistake, move with China in the same direction and return to the right track of dialogue and consultation.”

U.S.-China trade relations, which deteriorated sharply during Trump’s first term, have further strained under his current administration, which has repeatedly imposed tariffs on Chinese goods that are being challenged in U.S. courts and at the World Trade Organization.

The two countries have been in a trade squabble since last week when Beijing’s Commerce Ministry announced tightened export restrictions on rare earth items and materials. In response, Trump announced a 100% tariff threat on his Truth Social media platform. China, whose imports are currently subject to a 30% tariff, responded by threatening to retaliate.

The back and forth comes after representatives from Washington and Beijing held trade talks in Beijing last month with prospects of further negotiations continuing this month in South Korea.

However, whether those discussions will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju remains unclear.

Leading opposition candidate unilaterally declares himself the victor, and calls on incumbent Paul Biya to concede.

Cameroon opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary has unilaterally declared victory in the country’s presidential election.

Tchiroma made the statement in a nearly five-minute speech posted to social media early on Tuesday. Although official channels have not declared results, he urged long-term incumbent, 92-year-old President Paul Biya, to call him to concede.

“The people have chosen, and this choice must be respected,” Tchiroma demanded in the video.

However, the government warned earlier this week that only results announced by the Constitutional Council can be considered official. The body has almost two weeks to make the announcement.

A former government spokesman and ally of Biya for 20 years, Tchiroma was considered the top contender to unseat Biya in Sunday’s elections.

After he resigned from the government in June, his campaign drew large crowds and key endorsements from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.

But Biya – in power for 43 years and the world’s oldest serving head of state – has been widely expected to secure another seven-year term in office, given his tight grip on state machinery and the fragmented nature of the opposition.

Cameroon’s government has not responded officially to Tchiroma’s declaration.

However, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji warned recently that only the Constitutional Council has the authority to announce the winner, and that any unilateral publication of results would be considered “high treason”.

Cameroon’s electoral law allows results to be published and posted at individual polling stations, but final tallies must be validated by the Constitutional Council, which has until October 26 to announce the outcome, the Reuters news agency reported.

‘Honour’ the ballot box

In the video, filmed in his northern hometown of Garoua in front of the national flag, Tchiroma urged Biya to “honour the truth of the ballot box”, and to concede and offer congratulations.

Doing so, he said, would be a mark of Cameroon’s political maturity and the strength of its democracy.

The election results, he said, represent “a clear sanction” of Biya’s administration and marked “the beginning of a new era”.

Tchiroma also thanked rival candidates “who have already congratulated me and recognised the will of the people”.

He called on government institutions and the military to recognise his victory and “stay on the side of the republic”.

“Do not let anyone divert you from your mission to protect the people,” he said.

New Delhi, India – For the last month, Indian police have raided multiple markets and homes, arresting Muslim men in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party. Some of their homes have been bulldozed.

The genesis of their alleged crime is common: writing, “I Love Muhammad”, a reference to Prophet Muhammad, on posters, t-shirts, or in social media posts. The authorities say the expression is threatening “public order”.

So far, at least 22 cases have been registered against more than 2,500 Muslims. At least 40 people have been arrested across multiple states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to the nonprofit Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).

So, what is happening? How and where did this start? And is it illegal to say ‘I Love Muhammad’ in India?

What’s happening?

On September 4, Muslims living in Kanpur city of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh were observing Eid al-Milad al-Nabi, the celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, when a neighbourhood put up an illuminated board saying, “I love Muhammad”.

But the board, mimicking the popular “I Love New York” signage that has been copied all over the world, drew criticism from some local Hindus. Initially, their complaint alleged that the illuminated board was a new introduction to traditional festivities on the occasion, when Uttar Pradesh’s laws bar new additions to public religious celebrations. About 20 percent of Kanpur’s population is Muslim.

However, based on complaints, the police filed a case against two dozen people on much more serious charges: promoting enmity on the grounds of religion. The charge carries a punishment of up to five years in jail if the accused individual is convicted.

The Kanpur episode drew widespread criticism from Muslim political leaders, and protests against the police action spread to other states, including Telangana in southern India, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, and in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in the north. The  “I love Muhammad” hoardings and writings came up across the country – from people’s social media handles to t-shirts.

Nearly 270km (168 miles) away from Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, a group of people participating in a demonstration called by a local imam against the Kanpur arrests, violently clashed with the police on September 26.

The police hit back with a crackdown, arresting 75 people, including the imam, Tauqeer Raza, his relatives and his aides. At least four buildings belonging to the accused individuals have been bulldozed by the local authorities.

In recent years, hundreds of Indian Muslims have lost their homes to such demolitions, which are often carried out without any notice issued by authorities, or any court order. India’s Supreme Court has observed that demolitions cannot be used as a form of extra-legal punishment, warning that state authorities must give prior notice before razing any property. Yet, on the ground, that order is often not followed, say activists.

Meanwhile, dozens of other Muslims have been arrested in different states – including some in Modi’s home state of Gujarat – for social media posts and videos carrying the “I love Muhammad” slogan.

Is it illegal?

India’s constitution guarantees the freedom of religion and the right to express it. Article 25 protects every individual’s freedom to practise their religion. Citizens are also protected under Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, unless it directly incites violence or hatred.

In the cases of people arrested as part of the “I Love Muhammad” crackdown, the police have mostly charged them under legal provisions that bar large gatherings aimed at committing “mischief”, or for acts that allegedly provoke religious tensions. However, these provisions have been applied against those arrested for social media posts, or wearing t-shirts with “I Love Muhammad” emblazoned on them.

Nadeem Khan, the national coordinator of APCR, the nonprofit that has been tracking these cases, has fought previous lawsuits against government officials for similarly targeting Muslims for social media expressions, or when their homes have been bulldozed.

Khan told Al Jazeera that authorities were carefully using legal provisions that focus not on the “I Love Muhammad” expression itself, but on alleged offences carried out by those who used the expression or protested against related police crackdowns.

“They know that there is no law that criminalises just the mere expression of ‘I Love Muhammad’,” Khan said.

Khan noted that across India, images of Hindu gods wielding their traditional weapons have long been commonplace. “These images are at every corner of the country; should it also offend or threaten all Muslims then?” he asked. “Everyone should understand that the government cannot criminalise a religion like this,” he added, referring to Islam.

Since 2014, when Modi took over the power in New Delhi, India has consistently slid in a range of international democratic indices.

Criminalising people’s right to freedom of expression and religious belief sets a deeply troubling precedent, said Aakar Patel, the chair of Amnesty International India’s board.

“Targeting people for slogans such as ‘I Love Muhammad’, which is peaceful and devoid of any incitement or threat, does not meet the threshold for criminal restriction under either Indian constitutional law or international human rights law,” Patel told Al Jazeera.

“Public order concerns must be addressed proportionately and cannot justify the blanket suppression of religious identity or expression,” he added.

“The role of the state is to safeguard rights equally, not to police expressions of belief,” said Amnesty’s Patel. “Upholding constitutional and international commitments is not optional; it is a legal obligation.”

Is there a pattern?

Critics say that the crackdown is only the latest instance of Indian Muslims facing marginalisation, violence or the targeted brunt of the law since Modi came to power in 2014.

In the past 11 years, the incidents of hate speech targeting religious minorities have skyrocketed. Documented instances of hate speech jumped from 668 in 2023 to 1,165 last year, a rise of about 74 percent. A significant majority of these incidents happened in BJP-governed states, or places where elections were upcoming.

Increasingly, local Hindu-Muslim disputes now rapidly transform into national issues, said Asim Ali, a political analyst based in Delhi.

“There is an entire ecosystem in place, from pliant media to social media organisation, to spread this hate rapidly,” said Ali. “And the law is read in such a way that any expression of religious identity, especially of Muslims, can be seen as inciting religious hatred,” he added.

After the “I Love Muhammad” episode in Kanpur, BJP leaders in Modi’s own constituency, Varanasi, put up posters saying, “I Love Bulldozer” at major intersections of the city, in a reference to the bulldozing of houses of the accused.

How does it affect young Muslims?

Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst, said that the row over “I Love Muhammad” is “overtly very political, and not religious”.

And in India, there is growing frustration among Muslims, especially youth, where they see that one set of rules is not applied for all, when it comes to matters of cultural identity and eating habits, said Kidwai.

Several of the accused, or arrested, as part of the “I Love Muhammad” crackdown, include young adult Muslims, according to data from APCR, including those who were arrested for social media posts.

The crackdown on “I Love Muhammad” expression risks alienating young Muslim adults even more, said Ali. “In theory, everyone is already guilty and can face action for just being,” he told Al Jazeera.

“It is getting difficult to imagine what the future may hold now,” he said. “The tempo of hate is increasing day by day.”

The news comes just days after Maria Corina Machado was announced the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

Venezuela says it will close its embassy in Norway, just days after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was announced the winner of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

A Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that the Venezuelan embassy did not give a reason for shutting its doors for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable. Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction,” the spokesperson said.

The ministry also stressed that the Nobel Committee overseeing the prize is an independent body from the Norwegian government.

Corina Machado, who has been in hiding since 2024, was declared the Nobel Peace Prize winner on Friday for her “extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times”.

She was barred from standing in last year’s election in Venezuela, which was won by President Nicolas Maduro in a widely disputed result.

Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Prize win to United States President Donald Trump and the “suffering people of Venezuela”.

Venezuela has also decided to shutter its embassy in Australia, in addition to Norway.

Instead, it plans to open two new embassies in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, countries it described as “strategic allies in the anti-colonial fight and in resistance to hegemonic pressures”.

Neither Norway nor Australia has an embassy in Venezuela, and consular services are handled by their embassies in Colombia.

Both countries are longtime allies of the US, which, under Trump, has launched an official war against Latin American drug cartels like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.

The US military has since September carried out at least four strikes on boats operated by alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean under orders from the White House.

Maduro has accused Washington of trying to instigate regime change in Venezuela and called for the United Nations Security Council to take action.

Oct. 13 (UPI) — Members of the U.S. Coast Guard will continue to get paid despite the government shutdown, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said they had found “an innovative solution” to ensure no paychecks are owed to those protecting America’s seas.

Noem did not explain the solution to pay the Coast Guard amid the political stalemate that has seen hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed.

“The brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard will not miss a paycheck this week as they continue to carry out their critical homeland security and military missions,” Noem said in a Monday statement.

The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 as Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill to keep it funded into the new year.

Democrats said they will only support a bill that extends and restores Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, arguing that failing to do so would raise healthcare costs for some 20 million Americans.

Republicans, who control the House, Senate and the presidency, are seeking a so-called clean funding bill that includes no changes. They argue that the Democrats are fighting to provide undocumented migrants with taxpayer-funded healthcare, even though federal law does not permit them from receiving Medicaid or ACA premium tax credits.

Coast Guard paychecks are paid by the Department of Homeland Security, while military troops are paid by the Department of Defense.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he was directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “use all available funds to get our Troops PAID” on time.

“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” he said in a statement on his Truth Social platform, while blaming the Democrats for the government shutdown.

“The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy,” he said.

The Department of Defense will reportedly use about $8 billion of research and development funding from last year to pay service members on Wednesday if the government does not reopen by then.

The legality of shifting the Congress-approved funds was unclear.

Asked about the appropriation of the funds on Sunday during CBS News’ Face the Nation, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., replied, “probably not.”

“I think to pay the military during a shutdown would require legislation,” he said.

Reporters must promise not to publish unauthorised material to obtain press credentials.

Major media organisations, including conservative outlets, say the Pentagon is placing unlawful restrictions on journalists and their ability to cover the US military under a new set of reporting guidelines.

The guidelines were first announced in a September memo from the Department of Defense, and said that reporters must sign an affidavit pledging they would not publish unauthorised material – including unclassified documents – to keep their Pentagon press credentials.

Following pushback from the media, the wording was modified last week to say that reporters must simply “acknowledge” the new rules, but many organisations remain critical of the latest version of the rules.

Media companies, including public broadcaster NPR, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, and the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies, have all said they will not sign the rules in recent statements.

They also say the rules violate the US Constitution, which offers broad protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press under the First Amendment. These rights were reaffirmed in a landmark 1971 Supreme Court case, New York Times Co v United States, that allowed US media to publish classified military documents during the Vietnam War.

“The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information. We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government,” said Matt Murray, executive editor of The Washington Post, in a statement on X.

Conservative news outlets The Washington Times and Newsmax, a cable news channel and competitor to Fox News, also said they would not sign the rules.

Newsmax cited “unnecessary and onerous” rules in a statement to Axios.

The Pentagon Press Association, an industry group representing defence reporters, said in a statement on Monday that the Pentagon has the right to make its own reporting rules, but they cannot set “unconstitutional policies as a precondition” to report there.

The association previously said the rules were “designed to stifle a free press”, and could open reporters up to legal prosecution.

The Pentagon reporting rules have been championed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter who was sworn into his post in January under President Donald Trump.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department had “good faith negotiations” with the Pentagon Press Association, but that “soliciting [military] service members and civilians to commit crimes is strictly prohibited” in a statement on X.

During a trip to the Middle East marking the end of Israel’s war on Gaza, United States President Donald Trump turned to another source of strife in the region: the tensions between Tehran and Washington.

In remarks to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Trump, who took the unprecedented step of bombing Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year amid a 12-day war between Israel and Iran, offered a “hand of friendship”.

“We are ready when you are, and it will be the best decision that Iran has ever made, and it’s going to happen,” Trump said of a possible agreement with Tehran.

“The hand of friendship and cooperation is open. I’m telling you, they [Iran] want to make a deal. It would be great if we could make a deal.”

But despite the dovish rhetoric, the Trump administration has continued to take a hard line against Iran, and analysts say that a path towards better relations between the two countries remains filled with obstacles.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US-based think tank, said that the Israeli and US attacks in June, which came as nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran were ongoing, undermined advocacy for diplomacy in Iran.

“There’s a perception that the US is using diplomacy to lull Iran into a false sense of security,” Parsi said.

‘Iran is open to a deal’

Iran itself has not closed the door to diplomacy, but its leaders have not rushed to renew talks with the US, either.

“If we receive a reasonable, balanced, and fair proposal from the Americans for negotiations, we will certainly consider it,” Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said during a television interview on Saturday.

Iran had rejected an Egyptian invitation to attend a summit on the war in Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, citing US attacks and sanctions.

Talks over Iran’s nuclear programme have not resumed since the Trump administration’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel started the war in June, days before the US and Iranian officials were set for another round of talks.

The US, which during Trump’s first term in 2018 withdrew from a previous deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme, has also insisted that any new agreement include a total ban on Iranian uranium enrichment.

That demand goes beyond the original deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which only curbed Iran’s uranium enrichment programme under a strict international inspection system.

Iran has depicted that new demand as a denial of its rights as a sovereign country, noting that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) does not prohibit uranium enrichment.

The impasse over enrichment has become a sticking point in negotiations.

“Iran is open to a deal,” Parsi told Al Jazeera. “But regardless of Trump’s positive tone and kind words, what he is looking for is for Iran to capitulate. As long as he insists on zero enrichment, I don’t think he will get a deal.”

Israel’s war with Iran, which included Israel’s assassination of high-level military figures and civilian nuclear scientists, as well as air strikes that killed hundreds of people, has also increased scepticism about the prospects of a lasting deal with the US.

In a speech to the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the US decision to bomb Iran during the war as a “biblical miracle”.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israel has struck a series of blows against Iran and allied groups, such as Hezbollah, across the Middle East, leaving it significantly weakened and giving the US little incentive to make concessions on uranium enrichment and other issues.

Trump often reiterates that Iran’s nuclear programme has been “obliterated” by the US strikes on key facilities, but the extent of the damage remains unclear.

The Pentagon said earlier this year that the Iranian nuclear programme had been set back by one to two years. But Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has said that Iran could be enriching uranium again within months.

Trump can ‘let Iran sweat’

Iran insists that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon, while Israel is widely believed to possess an undeclared nuclear arsenal.

Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst at the US-based Eurasia Group, argued that time is on Trump’s side in the confrontation with Iran.

“Trump can sound optimistic about diplomacy, but he can also afford to wait and let Iran sweat,” Brew told Al Jazeera via email.

“With its nuclear programme in ruins, and with new Israeli strikes likely if Iran takes steps to rebuild the programme, [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and the rest of the leadership don’t have many good options.”

Iran is also facing renewed sanctions from the UN after France, Germany and the United Kingdom triggered a so-called snapback of sanctions in August, arguing that Iran had violated the terms of the JCPOA.

Tehran countered that the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and called another deal allowing inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA “no longer relevant” after the US and Israeli strikes.

Iran was incensed at the IAEA for failing to condemn strikes against its nuclear facilities, which Tehran argues are protected under international law.

“There’s no upside for Trump in resuming talks without Iranian concessions, and there’s currently little downside in letting pressure build, as Iran has been weakened to the point that its ability to threaten Israel or US interests in the region is fairly limited,” said Brew.

“Trump may be willing to let the matter rest for a few months to see if increased economic pain forces Iran back to the negotiating table on favourable terms.”

Oct. 13 (UPI) — Four people were arrested Monday in connection to a mass shooting over the weekend in Mississippi that killed six people and left 10 others wounded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the arrests following Friday night’s deadly gunfire at a football homecoming celebration in the downtown area of Leland, a small town about 200 miles from the Arkansas-Mississippi border.

According to the FBI, Morgan Lattimore, 25, Teviyon Powell, 29, and William Bryant, 29, were charged with capital murder. A fourth suspect, Latoya Powell, 44, has been charged with attempted murder.

The FBI in Jackson said the investigation will continue with other arrests pending. A motive was not revealed.

“The FBI currently has brought agents in to assist in the canvassing, the interviewing, the evidence review, both video and physical evidence review,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff told reporters over the weekend. “We’ve had resources available, so as we identify video evidence that we will bring to bear the resources to evaluate that video evidence.”

On Sunday, the FBI established a digital media tips website to gather information, cellphone video or photos from the public to help them investigate Friday’s shooting. That website will remain active, despite the arrests, as agents continue to request more tips.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is using DNA analysis to run shell casings through national databases. FBI Jackson is also requesting witnesses submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.

The Washington County Coroner’s Office has identified the victims as Kaslyn Johnson, 18, Calvin Plant, 19, Oreshama Johnson, 41, Shelbyona Powell, 25, Amos Brantley Jr, 18, and JaMichael Jones, 34.

“We also have victim specialists that are available and they’re working with those from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to ensure that the victims and their families are cared for and understand what resources are available to them,” Eikhoff added, “and help them in their pursuit and their journey as they try to recover from this horrific incident.”

The Palestinian Resistance Movement (Hamas) has expressed its deep condolences to the State of Qatar, its Emir, government, and people, following the deaths of three Qatari diplomats in a traffic accident near Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The diplomats were part of Qatar’s delegation engaged in ongoing ceasefire negotiations related to the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Hamas conveyed its “sincere condolences and solidarity with the sisterly State of Qatar,” praying for “God’s mercy” upon the deceased and a swift recovery for the injured.

“We ask God Almighty to bestow His mercy and forgiveness upon them, grant the injured a speedy recovery, and inspire their families and the brotherly Qatari people with patience and solace. To God we belong and to Him we shall return,” the movement said.

Hamas also affirmed its “absolute solidarity” with Qatar and its people, praying that the Gulf state be “protected from all harm and evil.”

According to Egyptian security sources, the accident occurred approximately 50 kilometres from Sharm El-Sheikh, when the diplomats’ vehicle was traveling to attend the anticipated announcement and signing of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The victims were identified as Abdullah bin Ghanem al-Khayarin, Hassan al-Jaber, and Saud bin Thamer Al Thani. Two others — Abdullah bin Issa al-Kuwari and Mohammed al-Buainain — were injured and remain in critical condition at a nearby hospital.

Andry Rajoelina’s announcement on Monday followed reports that he had been evacuated by a French aircraft on Sunday.

President Andry Rajoelina has fled Madagascar to protect his life amid nationwide protests, which began late last month.

Rajoelina confirmed in a live Facebook address on Monday that he had travelled to a safe location following reports and rumours that he had been flown out of the country on Sunday.

The 51-year-old did not disclose his whereabouts.

Rajoelina had been due to give a television address on Monday afternoon, but the speech was delayed after “a group of armed forces threatened to take control of the state-owned media”, Rajoelina’s office said on Facebook.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern over the situation in his country’s former colony, where the United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces.

Speaking from a summit in Egypt, Macron refused to comment on whether Rajoelina had been evacuated by France.

“I will not confirm anything today,” he said. “I just wish to express our great concern.”

A military source told the Reuters news agency that Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday on board a French Army Casa aircraft, after being brought to the Sainte Marie Airport by helicopter.

The president’s reported departure came after army units defected on Saturday, with Rajoelina condemning the move as “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force”.

Hours after his comments, the army’s elite CAPSAT unit, which played an important role in first bringing Rajoelina to power in a 2009 coup, said it had taken control of the country’s military. Earlier, it had announced that it would “refuse orders to shoot” demonstrators.

Protests in Madagascar began on September 25 over water and power outages, but they soon gave rise to wider grievances over the cost of living, poverty and alleged government corruption, with many demanding Rajoelina’s resignation.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters – joined by soldiers and security forces – gathered outside the city hall in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, waving flags and chanting slogans.

One of the protesters, 24-year-old Finaritra Manitra Andrianamelasoa, told the AFP news agency that he hopes the president “will apologise and genuinely announce his resignation”.

“Afterwards, we can consider organising elections and determine who will be suitable to take the leadership role,” Andrianamelasoa added.

The demonstrations in Madagascar follow a global trend of Gen Z protest movements, including in Nepal, which led to the removal of Nepalese President KP Sharma Oli in early September.

Sig Sauer says it has been able to trim the weight of the Army’s new 6.8x51mm M7 service rifle by nearly a pound, or just over 10 percent, in response to feedback from servicemembers. The M7’s weight compared to the gun it is set to replace, the 5.56x45mm M4A1, was among the criticisms that an Army captain very publicly leveled against the gun earlier this year. Sig had subsequently issued a vehement rebuttal, but acknowledged that the design was still evolving.

Jason St. John, senior director of strategic products for the Defense Strategies Group at Sig Sauer, gave an update on the M7 rifle, as well as the companion 6.8x51mm M250 machine gun, to TWZ‘s Howard Altman on the show floor at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual symposium today. Sig Sauer has also been working on a shorter and lighter carbine variation of the M7 for the Army. Sig Sauer did show the lightened “product-improved” M7, also known as the PIE M7, at the biennial Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London earlier this year, but does not appear to have had the carbine on display at that event.

The M7 and M250 (previously designated the XM7 and XM250), together with the associated family of 6.8x51mm rounds and the computerized XM157 optic, form the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) ‘system.’ The service selected Sig Sauer as the winner of its NGSW competition in 2022 and now plans to replace a substantial portion of its M4A1s and M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW) with M7s and M250s, respectively. Sig is also supplying the ammunition, but the XM157s are being procured separately from Vortex Optics.

“So, we’re talking about the Army’s and our continued teaming effort to improve the M7 and the M250, based on our recommendations, and their suggestions, and feedback from the field,” Sig Sauer’s St. John said.

“There’s basically two combined efforts going on within the M7,” he continued. “We have a carbine version, and then we have a lighten, improved version of the M7. And so when you look at the standard M7 that’s been issued to the troops, the overall weight of the firearm was 8.3 pounds. Now, the improved M7 is 7.6 pounds, and the carbine version weighs 7.3 pounds. So we’re getting closer and closer to [a] rifle weight system similar to the M4.”

The PIE M7 also has a 13.5-inch barrel, while the one on the carbine version is 10 inches long. A standard M4A1 with its 14.5-inch barrel, as well as just a sling and a loaded magazine, weighs in at 7.62 pounds, according to the Army. It is important to note that optics and other accessories add appreciable weight to both the M7 and M4A1. The XM157 optic is notably larger and heavier than the ones the Army typically issues for use on M4A1s.

In terms of how the PIE M7 was lightened, “there’s the upper receiver, we’ve redesigned and taken some weight out of it. We’ve lessened the barrel profile slightly to get some weight out of it,” according to Sig’s St. John. “We’ve done some lightening efforts within the operating system, as well as remove the folding stock hinge. By removing that hinge, we save some weight.”

The original M7 featured a stock that was both adjustable in length and could be folded to one side. The M4A1’s stock is only adjustable in length.

“What we just found is really that the Army and the soldiers have fed back … [that] they’d rather have the weight savings than the folding stock,” St. John added. “They aren’t using the folding stock enough to justify that additional weight.”

The video in the Tweet below shows a placard with additional details about the PIE M7 and the carbine version at around 0:41 in the runtime.

Sig Sauer has also made important changes to the M250’s design based on discussions with the Army and feedback from soldiers.

“You’re going to see, instead of having a removable front handguard, now you have a hinged captured handguard, so it stays on the weapon system – rotates forward and away,” St. John explained. “The feed tray cover is extended with the big rail, so that now I have more adjustability for the optics that I put on there, and eye relief to the individual soldiers, and now I can move my optic further back or forward depending on what’s wanted.”

“I’ve got improved bipods. I’ve got [an] improved gas valve,” he continued, also highlighting improvements to how the M250 can be fitted to a tripod and how ammunition is carried on the gun. “Basically the feedback from everyone is, what can we do to improve this weapon system, make it more easy [sic] to use, and more robust and reliable.”

Work has also been done to improve the common sound suppressor for the M7 and M250.

“We’ve also redesigned our suppressor to make it shorter,” per St. John. “We’ve added a titanium heat shield on it that does two-fold [things].”

The heat shield helps reduce the chance of contact burns as the suppressor heats up during use. It also reduces thermal bloom, which could make it easier for enemies to spot friendly forces from their heat signature. St. John cautioned that no one should be rushing to grab the suppressor, especially with bare hands, after sustained use, even with the new heat shield.

When it comes to the M7, St. John said that the Army is now in the process of deciding how to proceed in fielding the PIE and/or carbine versions.

“You could see there’s probably a couple of decision points. Do they stick with the standard length M7 that’s been lightened by 0.7 pounds? Or do they and or do they move to the carbine completely?” he said. “Do they keep the carbine for specialty troops and still issue the M7, or do they take the carbine and utilize that as the new rifle across the board? So they’re trying to make those decisions.”

St. John pointed out that the Army had gone through a similar evolution in thinking in the decades that followed the fielding of the A1 variant of the M16 in the 1960s. The service adopted a succession of full-size rifle versions before transitioning to the shorter and lighter M4A1 as its standard service weapon.

That the Army is looking at lighter variations of the M7 at all is significant. The weight of the rifle was among the criticisms that Army Capt. Braden Trent had highlighted in an unclassified report he wrote while he was a student at the Expeditionary Warfare School, which is part of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Trent also called attention to the comparative size and weight of the 5.56x45mm and 6.8x51mm rounds, as well as the shorter barrel on the M7 compared to the M4A1. Trent’s findings, which raised safety concerns about the rifle and cited other issues that called its operational utility into question, came to more widespread attention after he presented them at the annual Modern Day Marine conference earlier this year.

There is one particular “major fault in the XM7, and that’s the UBL … or universal basic load. It’s a metric that can be applied to almost any weapon system, and it essentially means the amount of magazines and associated ammunition that a system uses and is expected to be carried into battle,” Trent said at Modern Day Marine. “So the XM7 [and] the M4A1 actually have the same number of magazines in their UBL seven, but remember, we’re talking about that capacity difference. The total round count a soldier carries into battle with the XM7 is 140 rounds compared to the 210 rounds of the M4A1. Now again, a 70-round difference may not seem significant, but to the soldier in the fight, it absolutely is a difference. Not to mention that every magazine added to the XM7, each 20-round loaded magazine adds another 1.25 pounds to the soldier’s load, meaning that if troops equipped with the XM7 tried to match their old UBLs [in terms of round count], they’re going to have even more weight being carried.”

“The final thing I’d like to mention is the Chief of Army Infantry’s stated goal of a 55-pound total soldier load,” he added. “If we just take the XM7 and its seven UBL magazine load, we’re almost at half that weight, and that’s before the soldier is put on body armor, water, a rucksack, or anything else that they’ll need in the fight.”

The Army’s position has been that the M7 and its new cartridge offer improved accuracy, range, and terminal effectiveness that are worth the added bulk. Concerns about soldiers being outranged, as well as improvements in adversary body armor, were key drivers behind the NGSW program. Trent’s report also calls this into question based on data he collected regarding expected infantry combat engagement distances.

Sig Sauer had also provided a lengthy rebuttal to the technical issues that Trent raised. You can read more about all of this in TWZ‘s in-depth report on the ensuing controversy following his presentation.

“I think that soldiers and citizens should want Sig Sauer, the U.S. [Army] program office to continue that practice of continually evolving and developing and improving their soldiers’ weapons systems. And I think we anticipate that we’re going to undergo those improvement processes for the next 25 to 30 years,” the company’s St. John had told TWZ at the time. “There’s going to be improvements in manufacturing [and] materials processes. The soldiers on the ground and the U.S. Army are going to dictate different operational requirements and standards for the weapons systems, and we’re going to have to react to those modifications that are going to optimize that weapon system as that evolves through time and history.”

“It should be no surprise, in my opinion, that specifically in the infancy of a weapons program that there’s a very aggressive improvement effort to ensure that the Army and the soldiers get the weapon system that they deserve,” he added.

From what we know now, the Army’s plans for the M7 are already evolving significantly, with criticisms about the rifle’s weight, in particular, having been taken to heart.

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Oct. 13 (UPI) — Venezuela announced Monday it will close its embassies in Norway and Australia in a “strategic re-assignment of resources” amid growing tensions with the United States and a Nobel Peace Prize for the opposition.

President Nicolas Maduro announced Venezuela would open new embassies in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, “two sister nations, strategic allies in the anti-colonial fight and in the resistance against hegemonic pressures,” according to the Caracas government.

“The central objective of this reorganization is to optimize state resources and redefine our diplomatic presence to strengthen alliances with the Global South, promoting solidarity among peoples and cooperation in strategic areas for mutual development,” Venezuela’s foreign ministry wrote in the statement.

Monday’s announcement that Venezuela will close its Oslo embassy comes three days after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Price for her efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela and end the dictatorship of Maduro as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America.”

Machado was chosen to run against Maduro in Venezuela’s 2011 and 2024 elections, but the government banned her from participating over her activism against the Maduro regime.

Maduro on Sunday responded to Machado’s Nobel Prize, awarded by Norway’s foreign ministry, by calling her “a demonic witch.”

Growing tensions between Venezuela and the United States, which have escalated over U.S. drug strikes on vessels off the country’s Caribbean coast, also played into the decision to relocate embassies to Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, which are more aligned with Russia.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms that these actions reflect its unwavering will to defend national sovereignty and actively contribute to the construction of a new world order based on justice, solidarity and inclusion.”

The majority of the deaths have occurred in the states of Veracruz and Hidalgo.

At least 64 people have died in Mexico after heavy rains and flooding hit five states last week.

The National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) chief, Laura Velazquez Alzua, speaking during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily news briefing on Monday, said another 65 people were still missing.

The state of Veracruz on the country’s southeastern coastline has confirmed 29 deaths, followed by 21 in Hidalgo, 13 in Puebla and one in Queretaro, Alzua said.

Forty-three people are also reported missing in Hidalgo, along with 18 in Veracruz and four in Puebla.

Thousands of military troops have been deployed to offer assistance across the five affected states, and governors are also working together to coordinate support, Sheinbaum said.

Early estimates show that about 100,000 houses have been affected, she added, with some near rivers having “practically disappeared”.

Facing questions about Mexico’s alert system, Sheinbaum said there were no meteorological signs “that could have indicated to us that the rain was going to be of this magnitude”.

Meteorologists have said the rains occurred thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Rainstorm Raymond, which caused rivers to rapidly rise, leading to flooding and landslides.

The heaviest rainfall was reported on Wednesday in Veracruz’s city of Cerro Azul and Puebla’s Cuetzalan del Progreso, which saw 280mm and 286mm of rain, respectively, Alzua said.

The Mexican Army, Air Force and National Guard have jointly implemented response efforts, distributing food and clean water, sometimes by air, to locations otherwise made inaccessible by landslides and road closures.

Nearly 400 repair workers have restored more than 80 percent of the electricity supply across the five states, where about 263,000 users lost power, electricity officials said during the briefing.

The leaders of Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the United States have released a joint statement backing the Gaza ceasefire deal and committing to “enduring peace” in the region.

The statement, released on Monday after an international summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, is a rare acknowledgement by the administration of US President Donald Trump that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal rights.

The proclamation also does not point the finger at Palestinians as the cause of the conflict in the way that successive US administrations have.

Notably, it reframes the struggle in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian question. The Trump administration has previously avoided even describing the residents of Gaza as Palestinian.

However, the statement does not explicitly acknowledge Palestinians’ right to statehood and self-determination.

It was signed by Trump, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Palestine and Israel were not part of the proclamation despite being its subject matter.

Here’s the full text of the joint statement:

The Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity

We, the undersigned, welcome the truly historic commitment and implementation by all parties to the Trump Peace Agreement, ending more than two years of profound suffering and loss – opening a new chapter for the region defined by hope, security, and a shared vision for peace and prosperity.

We support and stand behind President Trump’s sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring lasting peace to the Middle East. Together, we will implement this agreement in a manner that ensures peace, security, stability, and opportunity for all peoples of the region, including both Palestinians and Israelis.

We understand that lasting peace will be one in which both Palestinians and Israelis can prosper with their fundamental human rights protected, their security guaranteed, and their dignity upheld.

We affirm that meaningful progress emerges through cooperation and sustained dialogue, and that strengthening bonds among nations and peoples serves the enduring interests of regional and global peace and stability.

We recognize the deep historical and spiritual significance of this region to the faith communities whose roots are intertwined with the land of the region – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism among them.  Respect for these sacred connections and the protection of their heritage sites shall remain paramount in our commitment to peaceful coexistence.

We are united in our determination to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms. No society can flourish when violence and racism is normalized, or when radical ideologies threaten the fabric of civil life. We commit to addressing the conditions that enable extremism and to promoting education, opportunity, and mutual respect as foundations for lasting peace.

We hereby commit to the resolution of future disputes through diplomatic engagement and negotiation rather than through force or protracted conflict. We acknowledge that the Middle East cannot endure a persistent cycle of prolonged warfare, stalled negotiations, or the fragmentary, incomplete, or selective application of successfully negotiated terms. The tragedies witnessed over the past two years must serve as an urgent reminder that future generations deserve better than the failures of the past.

We seek tolerance, dignity, and equal opportunity for every person, ensuring this region is a place where all can pursue their aspirations in peace, security, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, faith, or ethnicity.

We pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security, and shared prosperity in the region, grounded in the principles of mutual respect and shared destiny.

In this spirit, we welcome the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip, as well as the friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between Israel and its regional neighbors. We pledge to work collectively to implement and sustain this legacy, building institutional foundations upon which future generations may thrive together in peace.

We commit ourselves to a future of enduring peace.

Signing comes as families in Israel and Palestine reunite with their loved ones released from captivity in Gaza and Israeli jails.

Oct. 13 (UPI) — Madagascar’s president has fled the country, according to reports, after thousands of protesters converged on the capital Monday to demand his resignation.

President Andry Rajoelina had been scheduled to address the island nation, which is located off Africa’s southeastern coast, when his office reported a group of soldiers had joined protesters in a threat to seize state television.

While Rajoelina’s whereabouts are unknown, his office said he would be making a speech Monday night. The president has dual French-Malagasy citizenship and was reported to have left the country in a French military aircraft, according to his staff.

Rajoelina, 51, said in a statement Sunday that he wanted to “inform the nation and the international community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” had been “initiated.”

On Saturday, Rajoelina’s new prime minister Gen. Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo said the government was “fully ready to listen and engage in dialogue with all factions — youth, unions or the military.”

Monday’s coup attempt follows two weeks of protests, mostly led by young adults, called Gen Z Mada over alleged corruption, power and water shortages, as well as inflation and unemployment in Madagascar’s capital of Antananarivo.

At least 22 people have been killed and 100 injured since the start of the unrest in September, according to the United Nations. Since Madagascar declared its independence from France in 1960, it has seen several leaders toppled in coups.

“As long as Rajoelina remains in power, we will continue the struggle,” Gen Z Mada wrote in a statement earlier this month. Madagascar’s president responded to the unrest by appointing Zafisambo as prime minister in an effort to stop the anti-government protests.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says that he will not negotiate with Democrats until they drop healthcare demands.

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson has said that the current government shutdown could become the longest in history, as an impasse between the Democrats and Republicans drags on with no end in sight.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Johnson, a Republican, said that he would not negotiate with Democratic lawmakers until they suspended policy demands related to healthcare, a dispute at the core of the shutdown.

“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” said Johnson, who leads Republican lawmakers in the House.

The administration of President Donald Trump has used the shutdown, now in its 13th day, as a pretext for pushing forward a series of cuts and layoffs to government services and agencies, although its legal authority to do so remains in dispute.

Trump has plainly stated that such cuts will target his political rivals, saying last week that he would reduce “Democrat programmes” if the party refused to drop its demands on healthcare subsidies.

Recent polls have shown that US voters blame Democrats, Republicans, and Trump himself in roughly equal measure for the shutdown.

Democrats have called for an extension of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that millions of people in the US rely on to buy healthcare plans.

Republicans have said that the issue can be addressed after the government is reopened, but Democrats have expressed doubt that the Republicans will honour that pledge.

Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers passed a huge tax and spending bill that is set to result in the loss of healthcare access for more than 15 million people.

While government shutdowns have become a routine occurrence in US politics in recent years, they can disrupt or reduce access to key services and force employees to work without pay for uncertain periods of time.

The US military said over the weekend that it would use unspent funds originally set aside for research and development to ensure that military personnel continue to receive pay.

The mass layoffs pushed by the Trump administration are a relatively new addition to shutdowns. Vice President JD Vance has warned that more “painful” cuts are ahead, even as government employee unions launch legal challenges against the terminations.

There have been conflicting reports on whether Israel would free the prominent Gaza medic as part of the truce agreement.

As Israeli and Palestinian captives return to their families as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the status of many prominent Palestinian detainees remains uncertain.

Among them is Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia, a hospital director in Gaza who was abducted by Israeli forces in December 2024 and has stayed in detention despite growing calls for his release and reports by his lawyer that he has been tortured in Israeli prison.

Many Palestinian rights supporters see Abu Safia as the embodiment of the resilience of Palestinian medics, as Israel systemically targeted Gaza’s health sector for more than two years.

It is unclear whether Abu Safia will be released as part of the ceasefire deal, which includes both Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza and Palestinians swept up in Gaza and imprisoned en masse by Israel, most without charge or trial.

But as of the end of Monday, the doctor has not been freed.

CNN reported over the weekend that Israel would not release Abu Safia, citing a source from Hamas. However, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday that Abu Safia was among five extra names added to the list of Palestinians from Gaza to be released.

The human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that the hospital director has been held without charge or trial under an Israeli security law after being arrested by Israeli forces at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, where he continued to work as a paediatrician after his son was killed in an Israeli air strike.

“Not until 11 February 2025 did Israeli authorities allow Dr Abu Safiya to meet with a legal counsel,” the group said in a petition calling for his release. “In the latest visit by a lawyer to Ofer military prison in early July 2025, she reported that Dr Hussam and other detainees were subjected to assault and beatings.”

Amnesty International noted that Abu Safia had also lost significant weight during his detention.

Palestinian detainees and rights groups have reported torture, sexual violence and other abusive conditions in Israeli captivity during the two-year war on Gaza. Many of those released on Monday show signs of abuse and significant weight loss.

“As we speak, Husam Abu Safiya is subjected to severe torture,” a Palestinian detainee told Al Jazeera upon his release in Khan Younis in Gaza.

Calls have grown in recent days, after the ceasefire deal was finalised, for Abu Safia’s release.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged United States President Donald Trump to push Israel to abide by the ceasefire deal.

“We also call on the President to demand that Israel release Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and all other kidnapped medical professionals.”

UN expert Francesca Albanese suggested on Friday that the lack of pressure to release civilian captives reflects the shortcomings of the ceasefire plan, which was put forward by Trump.

“There cannot be peace without justice, human rights and dignity of ALL. Palestinian lives matter,” Albanese wrote on X.