sends

A chartered flight from the UK government evacuating British nationals from Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa is due to land at London’s Gatwick Airport on Sunday.

The flight, which left Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, comes after the UK flew aid in earlier in the day as part of a £7.5m regional emergency package.

Some of the funding will be used to match public donations up to £1m to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent – with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those who have donated.

Despite aid arriving in Jamaica in recent days, blocked roads have complicated distribution after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island, killing at least 19 people.

The hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five storm and was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the Caribbean.

Melissa swept across the region over a number of days and left behind a trail of destruction and dozens of people dead. In Haiti, at least 30 people were killed, while Cuba also saw flooding and landslides.

Jamaica’s Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday “there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened”.

Around 8,000 British nationals were thought to have been on the island when the hurricane hit.

The UK foreign office has asked citizens there to register their presence and also advises travellers to contact their airline to check whether commercial options are available.

The UK initially set aside a £2.5m immediate financial support package for the region, with an additional £5m announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Friday.

Cooper said the announcement came as “more information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, with homes damaged, roads blocks and lives lost”.

The British Red Cross said the King and Queen’s donation would help the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) “continue its lifesaving work” – which includes search and rescue efforts in Jamaica as well as ensuring access to healthcare, safe shelter and clean water.

The Red Cross said that 72% of people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters.

Until the Jamaican government can get the broken electricity grid back up and running, any generators aid agencies can distribute will be vital.

So too will tarpaulins, given the extent of the housing crisis.

Meanwhile, with so many in need of clean drinking water and basic food, patience is wearing thin and there are more reports of desperate people entering supermarkets to gather and give out whatever food they can find.

The BBC has seen queues for petrol pumps, with people waiting for hours to then be told there is no fuel left when they reach the front of the queue.

Some people are seeking fuel for generators, others for a car to reach an area in which they can contact people, with the power down across most of the island.

The country’s health minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, on Saturday described “significant damage” across a number of hospitals – with the Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth being the most severely affected.

“That facility will have to be for now totally relocated in terms of services,” he said.

“The immediate challenge of the impacted hospitals is to preserve accident and emergency services,” Dr Tufton added. “What we’re seeing is that a lot of people are coming in now to these facilities with trauma-related [injuries] from falls from the roof, to ladders, to nails penetrating their feet”.

The minister said arrangements had been made for the ongoing supply of fuel to the facilities as well as a “daily supply of water”.

Although aid is entering the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made certain roads impassable.

However, some of the worst affected areas of Jamaica should finally receive some relief in the coming hours.

At least one aid organisation, Global Empowerment Mission, rolled out this morning from Kingston with a seven-truck convoy to Black River, the badly damaged town of western Jamaica, carrying packs of humanitarian assistance put together by volunteers from the Jamaican diaspora community in Florida.

Help is also coming in from other aid groups and foreign governments via helicopter.

It remains only a small part of what the affected communities need but authorities insist more is coming soon.

Ukrainian army chief says effort continues ‘to destroy and dislodge’ Russian forces from strategic Donetsk region city.

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk, the country’s top military commander said, as Kyiv seeks to maintain control of the area amid an intense Russian offensive.

Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk”, since mid-2024 in its campaign to control the entirety of the eastern Donetsk region.

“We are holding Pokrovsk,” Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskii said on Facebook on Saturday. “A comprehensive operation to destroy and dislodge enemy forces from Pokrovsk is ongoing.”

Home to more than 60,000 people before the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, Pokrovsk lies on a major supply route for the Ukrainian army.

Taking control of the city would be the most important Russian territorial gain inside Ukraine since Moscow took over Avdiivka in early 2024 after one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.

Russia and Ukraine have presented conflicting accounts of what has been happening in Pokrovsk in recent days.

The Russian Ministry of Defence on Saturday claimed its forces had defeated the team of Ukrainian special forces that were sent to the city. It later posted videos showing two men it said were Ukrainians who had surrendered.

The footage shows the men, one dressed in fatigues and the other in a dark green jacket, sitting against a peeling wall in a dark room, as they speak of fierce fighting and encirclement by Russian forces.

The video’s authenticity could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate public comment from Kyiv on the Russian ministry’s claims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed last week that his forces had encircled the city’s Ukrainian defenders.

But Syrskii, the Ukrainian army chief, said on Saturday that while the situation in Pokrovsk remains “hardest” for Ukrainian forces, there is no encirclement or blockade as Russia has claimed.

“The main burden lies on the shoulders of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, particularly UAV operators and assault units,” Syrskii said.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Friday that some Russian units had infiltrated Pokrovsk, but he insisted that Kyiv is weeding them out.

Russian officials say control of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka to its northeast would allow Moscow to drive north towards the two biggest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

BBC

‘Time to get more aware’

OLIVIA Attwood appears to have sent a stark warning to fellow Loose Women panelist GK Barry after she hit out at “fake friends.”

The Love Island alum, 34, didn’t hold back as she went on a comment ‘liking’ spree on Instagram.

It came just hours after Olivia took a swipe at an “attention seeking” pal and admitted it had been “awful.”

While the TV star didn’t specify who she was talking about in a new clip uploaded to TikTok, but referred to them as a “tick.“

Yet fans suspected she was talking about former buddy Ryan Kay, after she told of their fallout earlier this year.

And she dropped another huge hint when she began to like fan comments warning podcast host and Loose Women panelist Grace about him, after he styled her for the ITV daytime series.

FINAL STRAW

Olivia Attwood takes BIG swipe at ‘attention-seeking’ friend amid best pal feud

att odds

Olivia Attwood’s marriage ‘hits crossroads’ as pals fear for their marriage

Olivia liked comments about him moving on to Grace and how he needs to be warned, as well as how Grace should be worried.

One said: “Ryan … Grace should be worried.”

Another wrote: “He’s moved onto Grace now she needs to be warned.”

The Bad Boyfriends anchor also liked a message which read: “Never liked the guy, he did the same with Ester from Cheshire housewives. Used her for personal gain then moved on to the next.”

She then commented: “So small. Literally they lived in my house, I paid for holidays, dinners, nights out, more gifts than I can even count.”

We previously told how reality TV star Olivia had fallen out with her former assistant and stylist Ryan – who both share matching tattoos and were once inseparable.

LIV’S RANT

Over the weekend, Liv’s fans told how she looked “proper hurt” in her video rant.

She captioned her clip: “I feel like so many people will have gone through this experience.” 

Olivia then said: “We all know this person who can’t keep a job, they can’t keep a friend, they have no long-term friends that they can keep for more than a year. 

“But it’s never their fault. They’re always the victim. This is a professional victim. You watch the cycle play out and you can now see the people who were before you and see your part in the cycle. 

“And then you can see who they’ve now moved onto next.” 

The star went on: “I always think that with these kinds of people, they don’t move on to new friends, but instead they move on to new hosts.

“They’re like a tick – a tick has to be attached to you and drink your blood – and it has to have a host body. So, once it leaves your body it’s going to go and host on another body.” 

PAL FALLOUT

Meanwhile, last month, she broke her silence on her unexpected fallout with Ryan.

Former Love Island star Olivia revealed the reason on social media during a Q&A with fans.

One asked: “What happened with your mate?”

She responded: “I am just very hurt if I’m honest. Prior to what you might have read.

“I had to respect myself and enjoy a line. It was something that played out over a few months.

“And I guess I hadn’t seen things that I should of… I think? “

She continued: “I give everything (in every sense of the word) to friendships and don’t let very many people in so it suckkkkks.

BABY KILLER

My ex-pal burned her 6 kids alive in house fire – mistake let her walk FREE

HORROR ORDEAL

I haven’t peed for 18 months & NEVER will after UTI left me feeling suicidal

“It’s not something I can really explain on a story but I will at some point?”

She then hit out at Ryan in a cryptic message and confirmed their friendship’s turned toxic.

Authorities warn locals and tourists to stay at least 6km away from the site of the volcano and to be ready for evacuation.

Authorities in Indonesia have raised the volcano emergency alert to its highest level after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted, spewing volcanic ash an estimated 10km (6.2 miles) into the sky.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage on Wednesday, but authorities have warned residents and tourists on the eastern Indonesian island of Flores to keep away from the mountain and prepare for possible evacuation.

“The public should remain calm and follow the local government’s directions and not believe issues from unclear sources,” the country’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said in an alert notice.

The volcano erupted at 1:35am on Wednesday (Tuesday 18:35 GMT) for about nine minutes, Indonesia’s Geological Agency said in a statement, after also erupting two hours earlier.

Muhammad Wafid, head of the Geological Agency, said people should stay at least 6 to 7km (3.7 to 4.3 miles) from the site of the eruption, which saw volcanic materials shoot 10km (6.2 miles) into the sky above the mountain’s 1,584-metre-high (5,080ft) peak.

“People living near the volcano should be aware of the potential volcanic mudflow if heavy rain occurs,” Wafid said, adding that the column of ash from the eruption could “disrupt airport operations and flight paths if it spreads” further.

Authorities have suspended operations at the local Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport in the town of Maumere some 60km (37 miles) west of Lewotobi, the airport said on Instagram. The airport will remain closed until Thursday.

In July, the same volcano erupted, sending an 18km-high (11-mile) cloud of ash into the sky and forcing the cancellation of flights at the international airport on the resort island of Bali.

Ten people living in local villages were killed and thousands of houses damaged when the volcano erupted in November 2024, according to reports.

Indonesia, which has more than 120 active volcanoes, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an area of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Renewed fighting between rival leaders forces mass exodus across South Sudan’s borders as fears of wider war rise.

About 300,000 people have fled South Sudan so far in 2025 as armed conflict between rival leaders threatens civil war, the United Nations warns.

The mass displacement was reported on Monday by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. The report cautioned that the conflict between President Salva Kiir and suspended First Vice President Riek Machar risks a return to full-scale war.

The commission’s report called for an urgent regional intervention to prevent the country from sliding towards such a tragic event.

South Sudan has been beset by political instability and ethnic violence since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

The country plunged into civil war in 2013 when Kiir dismissed Machar as vice president. The pair agreed a ceasefire in 2017, but their fragile power-sharing agreement has been unravelling for months and was suspended last month amid outbreaks of violence among forces loyal to each.

Machar was placed under house arrest in March after fighting between the military and an ethnic Nuer militia in the northeastern town of Nasir killed dozens of people and displaced more than 80,000.

He was charged with treason, murder and crimes against humanity in September although his lawyer argued the court lacked jurisdiction. Kiir suspended Machar from his position in early October.

Machar rejects the charges with his spokesman calling them a “political witch-hunt”.

Renewed clashes in South Sudan have driven almost 150,000 people to Sudan, where a civil war has raged for two years, and a similar number into neighbouring Uganda, Ethiopia and as far as Kenya.

More than 2.5 million South Sudanese refugees now live in neighbouring countries while two million remain internally displaced.

The commission linked the current crisis to corruption and lack of accountability among South Sudan’s leaders.

“The ongoing political crisis, increasing fighting and unchecked, systemic corruption are all symptoms of the failure of leadership,” Commissioner Barney Afako said.

“The crisis is the result of deliberate choices made by its leaders to put their interests above those of their people,” Commission Chairwoman Yasmin Sooka said.

A UN report in September detailed significant corruption, alleging that $1.7bn from an oil-for-roads programme remains unaccounted for while three-quarters of the country faces severe food shortages.

Commissioner Barney Afako warned that without immediate regional engagement, South Sudan risks catastrophic consequences.

“South Sudanese are looking to the African Union and the region to rescue them from a preventable fate,” he said.

HIGH tax fears ahead of next month’s Budget have sent business confidence to its lowest level in three years, a survey shows. 

Company bosses fear a Groundhog Day experience as concerns grow they will bear the brunt of another slew of punishing taxes. 

1

Optimism levels appear to be in freefall as tax concerns hit profits growth, recruitment and investment plans. 

Businesses have now lowered their expectations for the year ahead as muted domestic sales growth also drags down confidence — now at its lowest level since the end of 2022. 

Six in ten bosses say the tax burden is a growing challenge — a historic high for the survey and a big rise from just one in 16 making the claim towards the end of 2020. 

They also say that they were hurt by the £25billion National Insurance tax raid — and are now concerned about rises in next month’s Budget. 

Nearly half say regulatory requirements are the second biggest worry in a push for better performance. 

It comes ahead of the two-year roll out of a new workers’ rights package which will heap more red tape on employers grappling with costs. 

Concerns have been raised over giving day-one rights to workers and bolstered trade union rights.

Business sentiment is found to be weakest in the property sector, followed by retail companies, the research by the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales reveals. 

CEO Alan Vallance said: “It’s Groundhog Day for Britain’s businesses as we enter another run up to a Budget with poor growth, strained public finances and a fear that business will once again bear the brunt of higher taxes.” 

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to try to find about £30billion to help plug the gap in the nation’s finances.

But she has been given an extra £2billion of wriggle room after borrowing stats showed inaccurate data on VAT receipts. 

SACRAMENTO — California is challenging President Trump’s grip on the state’s National Guard, telling a federal court the White House used claims of unrest in Los Angeles as a pretext for a deployment that has since expanded nationwide — including now sending troops to Illinois.

The Trump administration deployed 14 soldiers from California’s National Guard to Illinois to train troops from other states, according to a motion California filed Tuesday asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to end the federal government’s control of its National Guard.

Trump’s decision to move California troops who had been sent to Portland on Sunday and redeploy them to Illinois escalates tensions in the growing fight over who controls state military forces — and how far presidential power can reach in domestic operations.

Federal officials have told California they intend to issue a new order extending Trump’s federalization of 300 members of the state’s Guard through Jan. 31, according to the filing.

“Trump is going on a cross-country crusade to sow chaos and division,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. “His actions — and those of his Cabinet — are against our deeply held American values. He needs to stop this illegal charade now.”

Officials from California and Oregon sought a restraining order after Trump sent California Guard troops to Oregon on Sunday. Trump deployed the California Guard soldiers just a day after a federal judge temporarily blocked the president’s efforts to federalize Oregon’s National Guard.

That prompted Judge Karin Immergut to issue a more sweeping temporary order Sunday evening blocking the deployment of National Guard troops from any other state to Oregon.

California’s own lawsuit against Trump challenging the deployment in Los Angeles since June resulted in Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer blocking the administration from “deploying, ordering, instructing, training, or using” the state’s troops to engage in civilian law enforcement.

The new motion filed Tuesday in that case by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta asks the 9th Circuit to vacate its earlier stay that allowed federalization to continue under strict limits on what they can do. California argues that the Guard’s federalized troops are now being used for missions outside the limited purposes the court allowed — drug raids in Riverside County, a show-of-force operation in MacArthur Park and deployments into other states.

“The ever-expanding mission of California’s federalized Guard bears no resemblance to what this Court provisionally upheld in June,” the state wrote in the filing. “And it is causing irreparable harm to California, our Nation’s democratic traditions, and the rule of law.”

Illinois leaders have also gone to court to attempt to block Trump from sending troops to Chicago. Trump has responded by saying that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker should be jailed.

Trump administration continues to send individuals to countries where they have no ties amid mass deportation push.

The United States has sent a second so-called “third-country” deportation flight to the tiny southern African nation of Eswatini, shrugging off human rights concerns.

Eswatini’s government confirmed on Monday it had received ten deportees from the US who were not nationals of the kingdom. That came after five other deportees from the US were sent to Eswatini in July.

The White House confirmed the deportations on Monday, saying the individuals had committed serious crimes.

Neither the US nor Eswatini confirmed the nationalities of the individuals who arrived on Monday. However, US-based immigration lawyer Tin Thanh Nguyen said they included three people from Vietnam, one from the Philippines, and one from Cambodia.

Rights groups have condemned the treatment of the first group of deportees sent to Eswatini — which included individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba , and Yemen — saying they were kept in solitary confinement and not given access to lawyers.

Nguyen said he was representing two of those who arrived on Monday and two others previously sent to Eswatini, but he remained unable to speak with any of them.

“I cannot call them. I cannot email them. I cannot communicate through local counsel because the Eswatini government blocks all attorney access,” he said in a statement provided to Reuters news agency.

Amid its mass deportation push, the Trump administration has increasingly relied on sending deportees to third countries when they cannot legally send them to their homeland.

Rights advocates have challenged the practice, fearing it can leave those expelled stranded in countries where they do not speak the language and may not be afforded due process.

The Trump administration has also sent “third country” deportees to South Sudan, Ghana, and Rwanda.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the latest group of deportees sent to Eswatini had been convicted of “heinous crimes”, including murder and rape.

“They do not belong in the United States,” Jackson said.

Activists in Eswatini, a small mountain kingdom bordering South Africa, have also condemned the government’s secretive deal with the US. They have launched a legal challenge in hopes of scuttling the agreement.

For its part, the Eswatini department of correctional services has maintained that it is “committed to the humane treatment of all persons in its custody”.

The department said the individuals would be kept in correctional facilities until they could be repatriated to their home countries.

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean charter plane left for the U.S. on Wednesday to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia last week, though officials said the return of the plane with the workers onboard will not happen as quickly as they had hoped.

A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were rounded up in the Sept. 4 raid at the battery factory under construction at Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant. U.S. authorities released video showing some being shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists, causing shock and a sense of betrayal among many in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.

South Korea’s government later said it reached an agreement with the U.S. for the release of the workers.

Korean workers expected to be brought back home after days of detention

South Korean TV footage showed the charter plane, a Boeing 747-8i from Korean Air, taking off at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was talking with U.S. officials about letting the plane return home with the released workers as soon as possible. But it said the plane cannot depart from the U.S. on Wednesday as South Korea earlier wished due to an unspecified reason involving the U.S. side.

The Korean workers are currently being held at an immigration detention center in Folkston in southeast Georgia. South Korean media reported they will be freed and driven 285 miles by bus to Atlanta to take the charter plane.

South Korean officials said they’ve been negotiating with the U.S. to win “voluntary” departures of the workers, rather than deportations that could result in making them ineligible to return to the U.S. for up to 10 years.

The workplace raid by the U.S. Homeland Security agency was its largest yet as it pursues its mass deportation agenda. The Georgia battery plant, a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, is one of more than 20 major industrial sites that South Korean companies are currently building in the United States.

Many South Koreans view the Georgia raid as a source of national disgrace and remain stunned over it. Only 10 days earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and President Trump held their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25. In late July, South Korea also promised hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments to reach a tariff deal.

Experts say South Korea won’t likely take any major retaliatory steps against the U.S., but the Georgia raid could become a source of tensions between the allies as the Trump administration intensifies immigration raids.

South Korea calls for improvement in U.S. visa systems

U.S. authorities said some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U.S. border, while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working. But South Korean experts and officials said Washington has yet to act on Seoul’s yearslong demand to ensure a visa system to accommodate skilled Korean workers needed to build facilities, though it has been pressing South Korea to expand industrial investments in the U.S.

South Korean companies have been relying on short-term visitor visas or Electronic System for Travel Authorization to send workers needed to launch manufacturing sites and handle other setup tasks, a practice that had been largely tolerated for years.

LG Energy Solution, which employed most of the detained workers, instructed its South Korean employees in the U.S. on B-1 or B-2 short-term visit visas not to report to work until further notice, and told those with ESTAs to return home immediately.

During his visit to Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met representatives of major Korean companies operating in the U.S. including Hyundai, LG and Samsung on Tuesday. Cho told them that South Korean officials are in active discussions with U.S. officials and lawmakers about possible legislation to create a separate visa quota for South Korean professionals operating in the U.S., according to Cho’s ministry.

Trump said this week the workers “were here illegally,” and that the U.S. needs to work with other countries to have their experts train U.S. citizens to do specialized work such as battery and computer manufacturing.

Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck, who represents several of the detained South Korean nationals, told the Associated Press on Monday that no company in the U.S. makes the machines used in the Georgia battery plant. So they had to come from abroad to install or repair equipment on-site — work that would take about three to five years to train someone in the U.S. to do, he said.

The South Korea-U.S. military alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, has experienced ups and downs over the decades. But surveys have shown a majority of South Koreans support the two countries’ alliance, as the U.S. deployment of 28,500 troops in South Korea and 50,000 others in Japan has served as the backbone of the American military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

During a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday, Lee said he felt “big responsibility” over the raid and expressed hopes that the operations of South Korean businesses won’t be infringed upon unfairly again. He said his government will push to improve systems to prevent recurrences of similar incidents in close consultations with the U.S.

Kim and Tong-Hyung write for the Associated Press.

Two more US ships said to join amphibious squadron due to arrive off coast of Venezuela in anti-drug cartel operation.

Venezuela has announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking, as the United States was reported to have sent two additional navy ships to the southern Caribbean as part of an operation against Latin American drug cartels.

Venezuelan Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday that Caracas would deploy 15,000 troops to bolster security in Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia.

“Here, we do fight drug trafficking; here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” the minister said, while also announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year.

Cabello said the increased security on the border with Colombia, to “combat criminal groups”, would also involve aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to local media outlet Noticias Venevision, as he called on Colombian authorities to do the same to “ensure peace along the entire axis”.

The reinforcement of Venezuelan troops on the Colombian border comes after the Trump administration accused Venezuela’s left-wing president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels.

Officials in Washington, DC, have accused both Maduro and Cabello of working with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”) drug trafficking organisation, which Washington has designated a terrorist group.

The accusations were made as the US announced last week that it had doubled a reward to $50m for the capture of Maduro on drug charges. The US earlier this year increased a reward for Cabello’s arrest or prosecution from $10m to $25m.

Maduro has accused the US of attempting to foment regime change in Venezuela, and launched a nationwide drive to sign up thousands of militia members to strengthen national security in the country amid the threats from Washington.

“I am confident that we will overcome this test that life has imposed on us, this imperialist threat to the peace of the continent and to our country,” Maduro was quoted as saying in local media on Monday.

The Reuters news agency also reported on Monday that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, will arrive in the southern Caribbean by early next week.

Citing two sources briefed on the deployment, Reuters said the missile cruiser and attack submarine would join the US amphibious squadron that was due to arrive off the coast of Venezuela on Sunday.

The squadron includes the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale, and is said to be carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, according to reports.

Trump has made the targeting of Latin American drug cartels a central focus of his administration, and has designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, including Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organisations.

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard members will deploy across the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s assumption of control over policing in the District of Columbia in what it says is part of a nationwide crackdown on crime on homelessness.

The move comes as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after Trump’s executive order on Monday federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 D.C. National Guard troops.

By adding outside troops to join the existing National Guard deployment and federal law enforcement officers temporarily assigned to Washington, President Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It’s a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though district officials have noted that violent crime is lower than it was during Trump’s first term in office.

A protest against Trump’s intervention drew scores to Washington’s Dupont Circle on Saturday afternoon before a march to the White House, about a mile and a half away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, “No fascist takeover of D.C.,” and some in the crowd held signs that said, “No military occupation.” Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, announced Saturday that he was sending a contingent of 300 to 400 National Guard members.

“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey said.

Morgan Taylor, one of the organizers of Saturday’s protest, said demonstrators who turned out on a hot summer day were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump’s actions that the administration would be forced to pull back.

“It’s hot, but I’m glad to be here. It’s good to see all these people out here,” she said. “I can’t believe that this is happening in this country at this time.”

Protesters said they are concerned about what they view as Trump’s overreach, arguing that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington.

John Finnigan, 55, was taking an afternoon bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. A real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years, he said that Trump’s moves were “ridiculous” because “crime is at a 30-year low here.”

“Hopefully some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,” Finnigan said.

Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was “very uncomfortable and worried” for the safety of her students given the “unmarked officers of all types” now roaming Washington and detaining people.

Dickstein said she turned out to protest with friends and relatives to “prevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.”

The West Virginia National Guard activation suggests the administration sees the need for additional manpower, after Trump played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers.

Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia’s adjutant general — a chief aide to the governor and commanding general of the National Guard — said in a statement that members of the Guard “stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region” and that the Guard’s “unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.”

Federal agents have appeared in some of the city’s most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, resistance and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country.

City leaders, who are obligated to cooperate with the president’s order under the federal laws that direct the district’s local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president’s takeover.

On Friday, the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an “emergency police commissioner” after the district’s top lawyer sued to contest. After a court hearing, Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo that directed D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law.

District officials say they are evaluating how to best comply.

In his order Monday, Trump declared an emergency, citing the “city government’s failure to maintain public order.” He said that impeded the “federal government’s ability to operate efficiently to address the nation’s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.”

In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that “our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.”

She added that if Washingtonians stick together, “we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy — even when we don’t have full access to it.”

Brown and Pesoli write for the Associated Press. AP writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb.

Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday, the White House said.

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. The victims included 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said. The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.

Israel’s military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire.

A security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.

Scramble for airdropped food

Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.

The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels.

Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home empty-handed.

“I went and my children prayed that I’d return with food. They haven’t eaten or drank anything for two days,” she said as she wept.

Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle.

Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat. “We don’t want them to help us that way,” she said.

‘Worst-case scenario’

Despite the airdrops, the amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.

The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the territory.

Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

International organizations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two and a half months, mean that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Israel criticized by allies

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel’s actions in Gaza. It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.

Berlin hasn’t joined major allies France, Britain, and Canada in saying it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. But in a statement ahead of his departure Thursday, Wadephul underlined Germany’s position that a two-state solution is “the only way” to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.

“For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim,” Wadephul said.

A diplomatic push

Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U.S. called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce.

“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning.

Trump sent Witkoff to the region “in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, calling the president “a humanitarian with a big heart.”

The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Shurafa and Lidman write for the Associated Press. AP writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sam Metz in Jerusalem and Imad Isseid in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Lioness fans tuning in to the procession following the historic win were quick to praise manager Sarina Wiegman’s ‘wholesome’ reaction to parade’s surprise musical guest when she appeared alongside him on stage

Lioness fans were quick to praise Sarina Wiegman’s ‘wholesome’ reaction to parade’s surprise musical guest during the procession following the historic win.

England fans erupted with joy across the country as the team defended their title in a penalty shootout win in the final in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday and as celebrations really got underway on Tuesday across the capital, the lauded manager made it up on stage with her team. In the special broadcast, which was hosted by Alex Scott, singer Burna Boy made a surprise appearance and was welcomed onto stage by the TV host after being revealed to be Sarina’s favourite artist.

Alex had been chatting to Sarina when she reminded her that last time they spoke following the Euros win in 2022, she had refused to dance because it was the wrong music. This time, however, organisers had managed to Burna Boy to come to the event and give a rendition of his song For My Hand, which originally featured Ed Sheeran.

This time, however, he was joined by none other than Sarina herself and sports fans flooded social media with their reaction to the moment, even though the whole collaboration was not something they saw on the cards. One wrote: “@burnaboyand Sarina Wiegman dancing at the #Lionesses homecoming was not something I had expected to see today So wholesome!! Oluwa Burna,” and another said: “Sarina Wiegman dancing up there on that stage is just brilliant.”

One praised Sarina for knowing all the words to the 2022 hit single, and another proclaimed: “This is what you call a manager who can have fun, let her hair down and party like her team! Sarina is the one!” whilst a fifth fanatic joked that the Dutch native is ‘never leaving’ the UK.

The crowds cheered as Sarina partied along on stage, and she also explained how she had managed to ‘stay calm’ on the journey to the victory as she joked: “It was chaos. I had hoped for a little less chaos. But they didn’t keep their to promise to finish things quicker! But yeah, as we always have a plan, and we try to execute that, and the players on the pitch, we just kept having hope all the time and belief. And they just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent.”

“I think you start with talent, there’s a huge talent pool within this team, also, what we want to do is play to our strengths but I think that the bonding in this team this time…in 2022, we had great bonding but it’s made the absolute difference now, that everyone was ready to step up and support each other and it was just amazing to be a part of.”

Just two days ago, Chloe Kelly scored the winning spot-kick following two huge saves from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, sending supporters into raptures. The King said the team had the royal family ’s “warmest appreciation and admiration” following their victory, adding: “The next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can.”

An open-top bus procession took place along The Mall, culminating with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace starting at approximately 12:30pm. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed the team’s triumph, saying: “The Lionesses have once again captured the hearts of the nation. Their victory is not only a remarkable sporting achievement, but an inspiration for young people across the country.

“It stands as a testament to the determination, resilience and unity that define this outstanding team.” Despite the historic achievement, it is understood Downing Street has no plans for a bank holiday to mark the Lionesses’ triumph.

Supporters stood on tables, waved flags, threw drinks in the air and excitedly hugged each other as England claimed victory, while the Prince of Wales and Sir Keir watched on from the stands in Basel. Alessia Russo gave the Lionesses hope of retaining their Euros title with her second-half equaliser after Mariona Caldentey netted the opener for Spain in the 25th minute.

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At least 49 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, medical sources say, as the Israeli military has sent tanks into areas of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for the first time since Israel began its assault on the besieged territory in October 2023.

Israel on Monday launched the ground offensive on southern and eastern areas of the city that is packed with displaced Palestinians, a day after its military issued a forced displacement order for residents in the areas, forcing thousands of people to flee west towards the Mediterranean coast and south to Khan Younis.

Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting local medics.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said gunfire was audible as Israeli tanks rolled into the area on Monday morning.

“We can see that the entire city is under Israeli attack,” he said. “We did not manage to sleep last night.”

“There has been an ongoing Israeli bombardment. Israeli jets, tanks and naval gunboats continue to strike multiple residential areas. Three more squares were destroyed in the city, and then residential houses were flattened.”

He said many Deir el-Balah residents fled using donkey carts and other modes of transport.

Israel intensifies attacks

In Khan Younis in southern Gaza, an Israeli air strike killed at least five people, including a husband and wife and their two children, in a tent, medics said.

Among those reported killed since dawn on Monday were four aid seekers waiting for food near a distribution centre operated by the United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Five other Palestinians were killed in a separate Israeli bombardment in Jabalia al-Balad in the north.

Earlier, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that its teams had recovered the body of one person and evacuated three wounded after an Israeli artillery strike on the nearby Jabalia al-Nazla area.

Drone strikes were reported in Gaza City, resulting in casualties, a source at al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic.

The previous day, at least 134 people were killed and 1,155 injured by Israeli forces, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. At least 59,029 people in Gaza have been killed since the war began.

On Sunday, Gaza health authorities reported at least 19 people had starved to death in one day, highlighting the desperate situation under the Israeli aid blockade.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, the World Food Programme’s Palestine representative, Antoine Renard, said the United Nations agency has warned for “weeks” that Palestinians in Gaza are facing starvation.

“You have a level of despair that people are ready to risk their lives just to reach any of the assistance actually coming into Gaza,” Renard said from occupied East Jerusalem.

“[There’s a] soaring number of people facing malnutrition, and we can really see that the situation is really getting to levels that we’ve never seen ever before.”

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said it is receiving “desperate messages of starvation” from inside Gaza, including from its staff, as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate.

“The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale,” UNRWA said in a statement posted on X.

Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network, told Al Jazeera on Monday that 900,000 children are experiencing varying degrees of malnutrition in Gaza.

Twenty-five countries, including the United Kingdom, France and other European nations, issued a joint statement saying the war in Gaza “must end now” and Israel must comply with international law.

The foreign ministers of the 25 countries, including Australia, Canada and Japan, said “the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths”, and they condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food”.

“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” the statement said.

“The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” it said.

Gethin Jones has further fuelled speculation he’s in a new romance with his Morning Live co-star Helen Skelton after sending her a flirty birthday message

Gethin Jones has continued to fuel romance rumours with his Morning Live co-star Helen Skelton after he sent her a sweet birthday message on social media.

The TV presenters have been close pals for a while, but their friendship is said to have developed into something more after they were spotted leaving the BAFTAs together back in May. Though they have yet to confirm they are in a relationship, they have been spotted hanging out off set and enjoying a spa day at a country club recently.

In a further clue things are hotting up between the pair, Gethin, 47, took to his Instagram stories to publicly wish Helen happy birthday as she turned 42 on Saturday. Posting a photo of animal-loving Helen surrounded by a flock of sheep, Gethin wrote ‘Pen-blwydd Hapus’, which is Happy Birthday in his native Welsh.

He then joked: “Having the best time hanging out with your mates,” and added a kiss at the end of the message, suggesting their relationship is more than platonic.

The single stars have both had their hearts broken in recent years. Gethin’s engagement to Katherine Jenkins was called off in 2011 and he’s had a string of short relationships since. While Helen split from ex-husband Richie Myler – who she shares three kids with – back in 2022.

Helen and Leeds Rhinos rugby player Richie, 35, had been married eight years and had just welcomed their third child, Elsie, when he they split. He now has two more children with Stephanie, also 35, whose millionaire father Andrew Thirkill is president of Richie’s rugby club.

Shocking her followers at the time, Helen broke the upsetting news on Instagram and said: “Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co-parent our small children.”

Writing in her 2023 autobiography, In My Stride, Helen recalled her heartbreaking split and described how she hadn’t seen it coming. She wrote: “I was in shock. I know that following break-ups, people often say they didn’t see it coming and it sounds like a cliché, but that was me.”

Despite Richie leaving her, Helen refuses to cut him out of her life entirely for the sake of their kids. She says she always wants her children to have a father figure and know their parents were once in love and happy. It’s for this reason she’s decided to keep photos of her and Richie on her Instagram, instead of deleting them. She explained: “I want them to know that we loved each other, but things change and that’s OK too.”

Welshman Gethin has not been romantically linked to anyone since he dated First Dates star Cici Coleman. In the past, he is also thought to have briefly dated former The Only Way Is Essex star Lucy Mecklenburgh.

Gethin and Helen first sparked rumours of a possible romance in March when they both took part in a 24-hour roller skate challenge for Comic Relief which raised £34 million for charity. Gethin has publicly praised Helen’s resilience as he gushed about how he loved spending time with her.

While Helen publicly said of Gethin: “My dear @gethinjonesc… You are some man. I don’t publicly say often enough how much love and respect I have for you my friend because I assume it is well known, but for the record you’re a legend and I am beyond grateful to have you by my side on the rink, the sofa and beyond.’

So if Helen has found love again with Gethin it would be some happy news. And it certainly looks like it’s heading that way. A source told MailOnline: “Helen and Gethin have an extremely close working relationship and there’s a feeling in recent months their friendship has blossomed into a deeper connection. They’re both keen to keep a lid on it to avoid public scrutiny, but there’s no denying their closeness both on and off screen.”

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