Ivory Coast has reinforced its border security after the arrival of “several unusual flows of refugees” from neighbouring Mali, officials in the West African country have said.
Ivory Coast’s National Security Council (NSC) said in a statement on Thursday that the “influx appears to be due to attacks against civilians by armed terrorist groups in several areas of southern Mali”.
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“The National Security Council has instructed its Executive Secretary to take all necessary steps to register these asylum seekers,” the statement said.
“Furthermore, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces has been instructed to take appropriate measures to strengthen security at our country’s northern borders,” it added.
The al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has waged an almost decade-long rebellion in Mali.
The armed group, the most active in West Africa according to conflict monitor ACLED, was formed in 2017 as a result of a merger with al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front and al-Mourabitoun.
JNIM’s operations started in Mali, but they have since expanded to nearby countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo.
Most recently, in late October, the militant group launched its first attack in Nigeria, killing a soldier and seizing ammunition and cash.
The group has killed thousands of people since 2017, though the overall death toll is unclear.
The group also seeks regime change in Mali, and JNIM has warned foreigners against doing business with the ruling military government – in power since it overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a 2020 coup d’etat – without its “authorisation”.
Seeking to pressure the military government to negotiate, in September, JNIM sealed off major highways used by tankers and targeted fuel trucks attempting to reach the landlocked Sahel country from Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The move has effectively created an economic and fuel blockade on the capital, Bamako, bringing the city to breaking point and causing desperation among residents, many of whom have fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast.
On Wednesday, JNIM militants attacked the town of Loulouni, about 50km (30 miles) from the Ivory Coast border, causing hundreds more people to flee.
While Shohei Ohtani had his greatness reconfirmed, Cal Raleigh learned not even the greatest season by a catcher in Major League Baseball history could stop Aaron Judge from adding another Most Valuable Player (MVP) award to his trophy case.
Minutes after Ohtani secured his third consecutive MVP award and fourth in the last five years – leaving him just three shy of Barry Bonds for the most in MLB history – Judge was announced as the American League’s MVP in a close vote with Raleigh on Thursday night.
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Ohtani and Judge became the first duo to win the Most Valuable Player Award in the same back-to-back seasons.
The New York Yankees outfielder secured 17 of a possible 30 first-place votes and 355 points. The Seattle Mariners catcher claimed the other 13 first-place votes and finished with 335 points.
In the end, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters determined that Judge’s MLB-leading batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457) and slugging percentage (.688) outweighed Raleigh’s AL-best 60 homers and 125 RBIs.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge belted 53 home runs and led the major leagues with a .331 batting average [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]
“It’s pretty wild,” Judge said. “You try not to think about it during the season. I try to keep my head down through all 162 and do whatever I can in today’s game to help our team win.”
For the 33-year-old Judge, it marks his third MVP award. That puts him in an exclusive neighbourhood with the likes of Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Mike Trout and a handful of others – but Ohtani no longer resides there.
The 31-year-old Japan native received all 30 first-place votes for the National League MVP.
Ohtani earned his latest honour after piling up a career-high 55 homers, a majors-best 146 runs and an NL-high .622 slugging percentage and 1.014 OPS in 158 games.
He also returned to the mound after taking 18 months off and forged a 1-1 record with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts. He registered 62 strikeouts versus just nine walks over 47 innings.
“It was a great year,” Ohtani said on MLB Network via translator. “Like I said, I’m grateful to my teammates, the coaching staff … but not only them. The fans were the ones who really rooted us on and supported us.”
Ohtani added eight home runs in 17 postseason games while leading the Dodgers to their second consecutive World Series title, though his playoff exploits did not factor into the BBWAA voting.
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who produced a league-high 56 homers and 132 RBIs while playing in all 162 games, finished second in the balloting. He was followed by New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (43 homers, 38 stolen bases), Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (.290 average, 20 homers, 100 RBIs, 27 steals) and Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (league-leading .304 average with 36 steals).
In the American League, Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (30 homers, 44 steals) finished a distant third.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has codified the most ambitious restructure of its military and judiciary in decades after President Asif Ali Zardari signed his assent to ratify the country’s 27th Constitutional Amendment on Thursday.
The amendment, which passed in both houses of parliament earlier in the week amid opposition protests and criticism from a range of civil society activists and sitting judges, makes major changes to Pakistan’s higher judiciary.
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But many analysts believe that its most consequential feature is a sweeping overhaul of Article 243, the constitutional clause defining the relationship between Pakistan’s civilian government and the military.
The changes grant lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution to the country’s top military leaders, significantly reshape the military’s command structure, and further tilt the balance of the tri-services – the army, navy and air force – heavily in the army’s favour.
Analysts warn that this contentious reform risks colliding with entrenched institutional cultures and could rock the country’s fragile civilian–military equilibrium.
Al Jazeera has sought comment from the military’s media wing on the changes and the debate over them, but has received no response.
A new command structure
The revised Article 243 establishes a new post, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), to be held concurrently by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This effectively gives the army chief command authority over the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan Navy (PN).
The incumbent COAS is Field Marshal Asim Munir, who assumed command in November 2022 and was elevated to a five-star rank on May 20 this year, just 10 days after Pakistan ended its four-day conflict with India.
Munir became only the second Pakistani military officer – after Field Marshal Ayub Khan in the 1960s – to receive the five-star designation. The air force and navy have never had a five-star official so far.
The amendment also abolishes the office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) at the end of this month. The role is currently held by four-star General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who retires on November 27. Another major change is the creation of the Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC), a post overseeing Pakistan’s nuclear command. The position will be limited to only an army officer, appointed in consultation with the CDF, with a three-year term extendable by another three years.
The amendment effectively transforms five-star titles from what were honorary recognitions into constitutionally recognised offices with expansive privileges.
Under the new arrangement, five-star officers will enjoy lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution and will “retain rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life.”
Removing a five-star officer will require a two-thirds parliamentary majority, whereas an elected government can be dismissed by a simple majority.
“While government spokespersons refer to these titles as ‘honorary’, given to ‘national heroes’ to celebrate their services,” Reema Omer, a constitutional law expert, said, the amendment “implies actual power, not just honorary significance”.
Omer told Al Jazeera that lifelong immunity from criminal proceedings was “concerning from a rule of law perspective”.
A former three-star general, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the changes appeared to be “meant to consolidate” the army chief’s power.
Hours after the president’s ratification on Thursday evening, Pakistan’s government brought amendments to the laws governing the three services.
Under the revised Army Act, the clock on the tenure of the army chief will now restart from the date of his notification as CDF.
Last year, parliament had increased the tenure of the service chiefs from three to five years, which meant Munir’s term would run until 2027. Following the new changes, it will now extend even further. Once the revised rules take effect at the end of this month, Munir will hold both posts – COAS and CDF – at least until November 2030.
President Asif Ali Zardari, centre, and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, right, jointly conferred the baton of Field Marshal upon Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, left, during a special investiture ceremony at the Presidency in Islamabad in May this year [Handout/Government of Pakistan]
Military dominance – and the role of the India conflict
Since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s military, especially the army, has been the most powerful institution in national life.
Four coups and decades of direct rule have been accompanied by significant influence, even when civilian governments have been in power. The army chief has long been widely viewed as the country’s most powerful figure.
No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term, while three of four military rulers have governed for more than nine years each.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Munir’s predecessor, acknowledged this history in his farewell address in November 2022, conceding that the military had interfered in politics for decades, and promising to break with that legacy.
But three years later, rights groups and opposition parties allege that little has changed, and some claim that the military has further strengthened its grip over state institutions.
The military restructure under the 27th Amendment also comes six months after Pakistan’s brief conflict with India in May, raising questions over whether the reforms were linked to that fight.
Aqil Shah, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, argued that the confrontation with India created the opening for this “unprecedented role expansion” for the army chief.
The changes “formalise the army’s de facto hegemony over the other two wings of armed forces in the guise of the ‘unity of command’ as a necessity for war fighting,” Shah told Al Jazeera.
But supporters of the amendment disagree. Aqeel Malik, state minister for law and justice, said that the amendment aims to “plug holes” in Pakistan’s national security architecture.
“The amendment granted constitutional cover to defence integration and improved coordination. We have also provided a constitutional cover to the honour bestowed upon our national heroes and have addressed a long overdue cohesive and better coordination within the forces for a swift response,” Malik said.
Ahmed Saeed, a former vice admiral, similarly described the reform as a “forward-looking institutional change”.
He said the conflict with India exposed that Pakistan’s command model was rooted in a 1970s framework, unsuitable for “multi-domain, hybrid warfare of the 21st century”.
“The amendment is not about ‘fixing what is broken’ but about modernising what is functioning to ensure sustained effectiveness in future contingencies,” Saeed told Al Jazeera.
Fears of imbalance
Other critics, including former senior officials and security analysts, believe the amendment is less about modernisation and more about institutional consolidation.
They argue that creating the CDF post cements the army’s dominance over the other branches.
Many question why the command structure should be overhauled when, by the government’s own narrative, the existing system delivered what Pakistan claims was an “outright victory” against India.
A retired three-star general who served in senior roles before retiring in 2019 said the abolished CJCSC role, despite being largely symbolic, provided a mechanism for balancing perspectives across the army, navy and air force.
“The PAF and PN may lose autonomy in strategic planning and most probably senior promotions, which has the potential to breed resentment,” he said.
“These risks institutional imbalance, undermining the very cohesion the amendment claims to enhance,” the former general added.
The CJCSC – a four-star post and the principal military adviser to the prime minister – can theoretically be filled by any service, but the last non-army officer to hold the position was Air Chief Marshal Feroz Khan in 1997.
Security analyst Majid Nizami said that while the amendment aims to codify five-star ranks, it may create challenges for “cohesion and synergy” among the services.
If the goal was to modernise warfare strategy, he argued, there should have been a dedicated officer focused solely on integration, not the army chief assuming dual authority.
“There is a lack of clarity on rules and terms of reference for the CDF,” Nizami said.
Shah, the Georgetown academic and author of The Army and Democracy, said the amendment “formalises the de facto power” of the COAS over the other branches.
Saeed, the former navy official who retired in 2022, however, disagreed with critics, arguing that the amendment simply clarifies the CDF’s strategic coordination role.
“The amendment retains the PAF and PN’s distinct command structures within their domains of responsibility, and the CDF’s function is limited to integration at the strategic level, not administrative control or operational interference,” he said.
He added that claims of “army dominance” stem from “legacy perceptions, not from constitutional reality.”
Control of nuclear command
The amendment also codifies the army’s control of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, including research, development and deployment, responsibilities that fall under the strategic command structure.
The former three-star general who spoke to Al Jazeera said the new system’s operational details remain unclear. Under the current model, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) manages Pakistan’s ballistic and cruise missile programmes and nuclear assets.
Nizami said that although the CJCSC nominally oversaw the SPD, operational authority has long rested with the army. The amendment now formalises this reality.
Saeed, however, countered by arguing that in effect, even with the changes, “the entire nuclear enterprise operates under civilian-led oversight with constitutional clarity”.
Political fallout
Critics have described the amendment as a “constitutional surrender” by political parties to the military, and an attempt to institutionalise the “supremacy of the uniform over the ballot”.
US President Donald Trump, left, met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, second from left, and Field Marshal Asim Munir, second right, in Washington, DC, in September [Handout/The White House]
It also comes at a time when Field Marshal Munir’s public profile has risen significantly. He has undertaken multiple foreign trips, including several to the United States, and has been described by President Donald Trump as his “favourite field marshal”.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, jailed for the past two years, accuses Munir of orchestrating the crackdown on him and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), since their ouster in 2022 through a no-confidence vote – a charge that the military has rejected outright.
In Pakistan’s February 2024 election, the PTI was barred from contesting as a party. But its candidates, contesting independently, secured the most seats even though they failed to secure a majority. Instead, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed the government with allies. The government and military rejected widespread accusations of election rigging.
Shah argued that the political class supported the amendment out of necessity.
“Lacking democratic legitimacy and faced with the political challenge posed by the PTI and Khan, the ruling PML-N government sees Munir as the key guarantor of their power and political interests,” he said.
Carlos Alcaraz clinched the year-end world number one ranking and secured top spot in the Jimmy Connors Group with a 6-4 6-1 win over Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals on Thursday, a result that also sent Alex De Minaur into the semifinals following his victory over Taylor Fritz.
The Spaniard downed two Italians with one strike, eliminating Musetti from the season-ending championships and railroading Jannik Sinner’s hopes of regaining top spot in the world rankings despite a far from stellar performance in his third round-robin win from three.
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“The match was really important for me, playing for year-end number one,” Alcaraz said.
“It wasn’t easy at the beginning with the nerves. I tried to handle that pressure the best I could, so I’m just really happy with the level I played and to be able to end the year as the number one.”
Alcaraz, who previously ended the year at the top spot in 2022, has had the best season of his career, reaching the final of three Grand Slams, winning the French and US Open and losing the Wimbledon decider, facing Sinner on all three occasions.
The 22-year-old, who won eight titles in total this season, remains on course to win his first ATP Finals after overcoming a brave Musetti performance, where Alcaraz broke at 5-4 up in the first set before comfortably winning the second.
Earlier in the day, when Alcaraz and Musetti were shown on the giant screen as they arrived at the Inalpi Arena, there were huge cheers for the Italian and boos for the Spaniard. However, when they walked onto the court for their showdown, Alcaraz was greeted by warm applause.
Alcaraz took time to settle and hit a total of 21 unforced errors, while Musetti more than held his own in the opening set. He won two service games to love before being broken in a nerve-jangling final game of the set that stretched to more than 11 minutes.
After that, it was business as usual for Alcaraz as he broke Musetti in successive service games to race into a 5-1 lead.
Even though the crowd loudly cheered every point won by Musetti, he had no answer once the Spaniard upped his game.
Alcaraz and Sinner could well do battle one final time this year, with the Italian already into the other semifinal as winner of the Bjorn Borg Group before his final round-robin match against Ben Shelton on Friday.
“This tournament is really important for me,” added Alcaraz, who will face either Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last four.
“I’m excited about qualifying for the semifinals and hopefully getting to the final. We will see, part of the job is done, but I’m excited to keep going.”
Alcaraz strikes the ball during his match against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday [Marco Bertorello/AFP]
De Minaur downs Fritz
Australia’s De Minaur put in a superb performance to bounce back from losing his opening two matches, and beat last year’s losing finalist Fritz 7-6(3) 6-3 in a match where the American’s usually reliable service game let him down.
De Minaur lived up to his ‘Demon’ nickname, showing energy and character as he hustled the lethargic-looking Fritz all over the court. After taking the first-set tiebreak, he stormed to victory following an early break in the second set.
Defeat sent Fritz home, but De Minaur was relying on an Alcaraz win to make the last four, a fact even the Australian seemed confused about after his win.
“Is that actually true or not? I don’t know, I don’t trust you right now, I’m gonna have to see what happens,” De Minaur said when told of the permutations.
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally announced the launch of a US military operation to target so-called “narco-terrorists” as Washington’s large-scale build-up of troops, warships and fighter jets continues in Latin America.
“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR. Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
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“The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” he said.
SOUTHCOM is the acronym for US Southern Command, whose area of responsibility covers 31 countries through South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
In a post on social media, SOUTHCOM said US Marines were conducting artillery training onboard the USS Iwo Jima – an amphibious assault ship – in the Caribbean in support of US President Donald Trump’s “priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland”.
#Readiness: A U.S. Marine with @22nd_MEU conducts battery training aboard USS Iwo Jima. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the #SOUTHCOM mission, @DeptofWar-directed operations, and @POTUS’ priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect… pic.twitter.com/kLaxdHcNKq
Hegseth’s announcement late on Thursday followed a report that the US military had carried out its 20th attack on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing four people earlier this week.
US broadcaster CNN quoted an unnamed US Defense Department official who said there were “no survivors” from a strike on a suspect drug smuggling vessel, which took place on Monday.
The attack is the latest reported targeting of people travelling in boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The US claims it is targeting drug smuggling, but has provided neither evidence nor legal justification for launching lethal attacks that have killed some 80 people so far.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted on Wednesday to criticism of the US attacks by its G-7 allies, saying that Europeans will not dictate how Washington chooses to defend US national security.
Largest US military build-up in Latin America region in generations
The naming of Operation Southern Spear comes as the USS Gerald R Ford, the most advanced US aircraft carrier, is expected to arrive off the coast of Venezuela within days, which has been described as an extraordinary show of US military power not seen in South America in generations.
The arrival of the aircraft carrier adds to the already significant build-up of US troops, naval forces and air power, purportedly as part of Trump’s targeting of Latin American drug trafficking gangs but widely seen as directed at the removal of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking on Venezuelan state television on Wednesday, President Maduro accused the US of creating false narratives to justify its attacks on vessels in regional waters and threatening his country.
“Since they cannot say that we have hidden biological or chemical weapons, they invent a bizarre narrative,” said Maduro, who Washington has accused of drug trafficking.
The country’s Ministry of Defence said earlier this week that almost 200,000 troops have been mobilised for a two-day exercise to improve Venezuela’s readiness to respond to the “imperialist threat” posed by the growing US military presence in the region.
Venezuela Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said late Tuesday that US military deployment in the Caribbean was a “vulgar attack against the sovereignty and peace” not only of Venezuela, but of the entire region.
Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region, told The Associated Press news agency that “there’s nothing that an aircraft carrier brings that is useful for combating the drug trade” in the region.
Star forward Victor Osimhen scored twice in extra time to clinch a 4-1 semifinal victory for Nigeria over Gabon on Thursday and set up a Confederation of African Football (CAF) 2026 World Cup qualifying final against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Captain Chancel Mbemba was the Congolese hero in the second semifinal, scoring in the first minute of added time to beat eight-time World Cup qualifiers Cameroon 1-0 in torrential rain in Rabat.
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Nigeria will face DRC on Sunday in the Moroccan capital, and the winners qualify for a six-nation FIFA inter-continental tournament in March. The African playoffs involved the best four group runners-up.
Bolivia and New Caledonia have already secured slots in the playoffs; Iraq or the United Arab Emirates will represent Asia; and there will be two qualifiers from the Central America/Caribbean region. Europe are excluded.
After semifinals among the four lowest-ranked teams, the winners of the two finals will secure places at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Nigeria are seeking a seventh appearance at the global showpiece and DRC a second, having played in the 1974 tournament when the central African country was called Zaire.
Osimhen squandered a great chance to give Nigeria victory at the end of added time, firing wide with only goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba to beat.
But the 2023 African Player of the Year atoned on 102 minutes, firing across Mbaba into the far corner after being set up by Benjamin Fredrick.
He struck again on 110 minutes, controlling a long pass before once again beating the goalkeeper with a shot into the far corner.
After conceding an 89th-minute equaliser in regular time, Nigeria regained the lead when substitute Chidera Ejuke scored his first goal for the Super Eagles after 97 minutes.
Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi, left, in action with Gabon’s Andre Poko (#17) [Stringer/Reuters]
Osimhen’s impact
Akor Adams had put Nigeria ahead on 78 minutes, and Mario Lemina levelled after 89 minutes.
Nigeria had a purple patch midway through the opening half with Osimhen coming close three times to breaking the deadlock.
The 26-year-old Galatasaray striker headed wide twice, then had an appeal for handball turned down after a VAR review.
There was another VAR check on the hour after Nigeria full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel pulled the shirt of Aaron Appindangoye in the box, denying the defender a chance to connect with a free-kick.
After a lengthy review, Gabonese appeals for a penalty were turned down by the South African referee.
The deadlock in a tense showdown was finally broken when Adams intercepted a misplaced Gabon pass, rounded Mbaba and scored.
There was an element of luck about the Gabon equaliser as goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali appeared to have the shot from Lemina covered until it took a deflection and sneaked into the corner of the net.
Congo’s Joris Kayembe, left, and Cameroon’s Etta Eyong battle for the ball during a World Cup qualifying football match against Cameroon, on November 13, 2025, in Rabat, Morocco [AP Photo]
DRC deny Cameroon
With just six world ranking places separating Cameroon and DRC, a close encounter was expected, and so it proved with few clear-cut scoring chances in a cagey clash before Mbemba struck.
Manchester United striker Bryan Mbeumo had the best opportunity for Cameroon midway through the second half, but his low shot was just off target.
A little earlier, Congolese veteran Cedric Bakambu was foiled by goalkeeper Andre Onana, who pushed away his shot at the expense of a corner.
