US Republicans sent letter to Biden administration to reverse policy on Qatar

Italy has resumed sending migrants to Albania, despite facing legal challenges and criticism from human rights groups.

A massive wildfire has forced thousands of evacuations in Southern California as extreme fire conditions persist.

Africa CDC is urging the Trump administration to honor Biden’s pledge of $500 million and 1 million mpox vaccines amid the continent’s ongoing mpox outbreak.

Canada needs to act quickly to secure its borders against a “massive influx” of migrants because of Donald Trump’s US presidential triumph, Quebec Premier Francois Legault warned Wednesday. Quebec borders on four northeast US states, and Trump promised during his election campaign that he would order the mass deportation of millions of migrants living in the country illegally. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the US, and Trump said he could move one million out each year. “We’ll be calling on the federal government to fulfil its responsibility to protect our borders,” Legault said during a press conference in the wake of Trump’s victory. “The problem isn’t immigrants, it’s the number.” But Canada’s national police force said it has contingency plans including increased border surveillance in case of a flood of migrants. “A few months ago, we started working on this contingency plan should he (Donald Trump) win and go ahead with some of their immigration policies,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Charles Poirier told the Globe and Mail newspaper in an interview. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday used words designed to calm the fears of Canadians that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be unable to control the borders. “I do want to assure Canadians that we absolutely recognize the importance to border security and of controlling our own border, of controlling who comes into Canada and who doesn’t,” she said.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to halt forced deportations of Somalis, advocating for voluntary repatriation.

‘This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,’ says Republican presidential candidate

Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump won two key battleground states with vote counting underway and Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris hoping for a longshot victory early Wednesday morning. Trump is currently leading Harris in the race to reach 270 Electoral College votes 247-210 after he notched pivotal wins in Georgia and North Carolina, according to The Associated Press. Harris’ path to the White House has now become increasingly precarious with Trump expected to address supporters in the early morning hours. Either candidate needs to win 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Delegates are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their representatives to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote. The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes based on the outcome in congressional districts, as well as the state’s popular vote winner. Polls have officially closed across all US states with vote counting underway, including in the five remaining swing states — Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Both candidates spent the final week before the election campaigning hard in swing states, with Harris visiting Pennsylvania for a series of rallies in multiple cities Monday. Trump spent the day there before a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump are locked in a statistical dead heat

Currently, Rhodes lacks a migrant facility, prompting the government to consider a temporary detention center

 US officials have implemented extensive security measures at polling and counting centers nationwide in a bid to ensure secure voting in Tuesday’s elections. Authorities have deployed surveillance drones around key sites, positioned snipers on rooftops, and installed security cameras surrounding voting locations, according to a Washington Post article. To further tighten security, additional police units have been dispatched to streets across the country. In Washington and Nevada, National Guard units are on standby to respond to any potential unrest. Voting booths are now equipped with “panic buttons,” adding an extra layer of protection for voters and staff. This increased vigilance comes after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, where far-right groups and supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building to contest the certification of the 2020 election results. The incident led to the deaths of five people, including a police officer. Trump faced impeachment charges for incitement of insurrection but was acquitted in the Senate in February 2021. On Tuesday, Americans will head to the ballot box to vote not only for the next US president, but also for Congress, state governors, and local government officials.

Israel officially informed the UN on Sunday of its decision to withdraw from an agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), citing “security concerns.” In a letter addressed to UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang, Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that the withdrawal relates to the 1967 agreement concerning UNRWA’s operations in support of Palestinian refugees. The withdrawal will take effect after a three-month transition period. Israel emphasized that it would still collaborate with international partners, including other UN agencies, to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza. However, the ministry highlighted the importance of safeguarding Israel’s security, signaling that aid facilitation should not compromise its safety. The statement added that Israel expects the United Nations to contribute to these efforts, aligning humanitarian support with regional security needs. The letter was also copied to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, also wrote on X: “Despite the overwhelming evidence we submitted to the UN that substantiate Hamas’ infiltration of UNRWA, the UN did nothing to rectify the situation.” “The State of Israel will continue to cooperate with humanitarian organizations but not with organizations that promote terrorism against us,” he added.

Kemi Badenoch has become the first Black woman to lead a major British political party after winning the Conservative leadership contest, pledging to return to the party’s foundational principles.

 US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, the Pentagon said Friday. “In keeping with our commitments to the protection of U.S. citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy, the Secretary of Defense ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region,” spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement. The forces will begin to arrive in the coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to depart, he added. The statement came amid media reports that claim Iran is preparing to strike Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election on Nov. 5. “These deployments build on the recent decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel as well as DoD’s sustained Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) posture in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Ryder. The US will take “every measure necessary” to defend its people if “Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region,” he said. Israeli carried out a strike last week against Iranian assets, reportedly targeting missile production facilities and air defense systems, in response to Tehran’s missile attacks on Oct. 1. Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,200 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October. As the conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, more than 2,900 people have been killed and over 13,000 injured in Israeli attacks since last year, according to Lebanese authorities.

More than 101,800 Palestinians injured in Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry says

Residents of Valencia awoke Thursday to scenes of devastation after catastrophic flash floods claimed at least 155 lives and destroyed villages. The death toll may rise as search efforts continue for those still missing. This disaster is the worst Spain has faced this century, resembling the aftermath of a hurricane or tsunami. Wrecked vehicles littered highways, and many streets were buried under mud as Spanish military personnel assisted in the cleanup. Over a thousand soldiers joined local emergency workers to search for bodies and survivors. Thousands are without water and electricity, and many areas remain isolated due to blocked roads and disrupted train lines. Spain’s government has declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

Demolition comes after Israeli law banning UN agency for Palestinian refugees

A UN rapporteur urged the suspension of Israel’s UN membership on Wednesday, citing repeated violations of international law and the occupation of Palestinian territories. “I do believe that the impunity that has been granted to Israel has allowed it to become a serial violator of international law,” Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, said at a news conference. Albanese said she recommends that the General Assembly consider the suspension of Israel’s credential as a member of the UN until it ends violating international laws and withdraws the occupation, which she said is “clearly unlawful.” She said the creation of the Israeli state “came at a huge price for the Palestinians” and it has never been addressed, and that since 1967, Palestinians have been increasingly segregated and repressed. “Israel, in the pursuit of realizing Greater Israel, is attempting to reduce physically or spiritually … the presence of the Palestinian identity in the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said, adding that 75% of Gaza’s population are refugees. “They’re not from Gaza. They’re from modern-day Israel and therefore the presence is a continuous reminder for Israel of what I call its original sin, in fact, that its creation doesn’t matter the justification behind it,” she said. Albanese said Israel has no right to be in the occupied Palestinian territory. “The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to withdraw, unconditionally, totally, rapidly as possible its military presence, dismantling the colonies, stopping the seizing the exploitation of natural resources on the occupied Palestinian territory and making also reparations,” Albanese added. Albanese issued a report earlier this week that accused Israel of a systematic campaign of forced displacement, destruction and acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In the report submitted to the UN General Assembly, Albanese described the “long-term, intentional, state-organized forced displacement and replacement” of Palestinians, particularly following the escalation of violence after Oct. 7, 2023. The report focused on “genocidal intent, contextualizing the situation within a decades-long process of territorial expansion and ethnic cleansing aimed at liquidating the Palestinian presence in Palestine.” Regarding attacks against Albanese because of the report, she said special rapporteurs get attacked when they scrutinize the human rights records of member states. “What it seems in the case of Israel is (that) there is a cohort who echoes and reverberates what Israel says and does, and there is an army of minions at work to produce, literally — fabrications have one and only one objective, to distract the attention from where it should stay,” she said.

North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile early Thursday, said the Japanese government, marking the 12th such launch by Pyongyang this year. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile, launched eastward from North Korea’s interior at 7.11 a.m. local time (2211GMT Wednesday), flew for one hour and 26 minutes before landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), west of Okushiri Island, NHK News reported. The missile was reportedly launched on a lofted trajectory, meaning it was fired at a steep, near-vertical angle, a tactic often used by North Korea to test missiles without overflying neighboring countries. The missile reached an estimated altitude of over 7,000 kilometers (4,349 miles) and traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), identifying it as an “ICBM class,” the government said, according to Kyodo News. There was no damage to planes and ships reported from the missile, it added. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced plans to convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. Japan’s Coast Guard confirmed that no immediate reports of damage had been received related to the launch. The latest launch marks North Korea’s first missile test since it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Sept. 18. South Korean military authorities also detected the launch and said the missile was likely launched from an area near the capital Pyongyang. On Wednesday, they had suggested North Korea might conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test amid heightened tensions. The missile launch follows recent reports of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia, a move condemned by South Korea, the US and NATO, further intensifying regional security concerns. -US strongly condemns ICBM test The US strongly condemned the ICBM test, saying “this launch is a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.” The launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory or to its allies, but “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement.  “We urge all countries to condemn these violations and call on the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions and engage in serious dialogue,” said Savett, using the initials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

The African Union Commission has condemned Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA and called on the UN to take decisive action.

A newly discovered 4,000-year-old fortified town in Saudi Arabia provides evidence of a gradual shift from nomadic to urban lifestyles in the region.

Over 101,500 Palestinians injured in Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry says

Amid rising tensions with the West over the Ukraine war, Russia on Tuesday conducted a major exercise involving its nuclear forces, simulating a response to an enemy’s first strike. President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need for modern strategic forces, stating, “We will maintain nuclear forces at the necessary level of sufficiency” without entering a new arms race. The drills included test-firing a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk, and ICBMs launched from the Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg submarines in the Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. Nuclear-capable Tu-95 bombers also conducted practice launches of long-range cruise missiles, all reaching their intended targets. This exercise follows warnings from Moscow about potential responses to Western support for Ukraine’s missile capabilities. Putin announced a new nuclear doctrine indicating that a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power would be viewed as a joint attack, serving as a warning to the U.S. and its allies. The revised doctrine also includes provisions for the possible use of nuclear weapons in response to a significant air attack.

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