President Donald Trump said that Hamas “is going to disarm” but if they don’t the US would act to disarm them “quickly and perhaps violently.” Trump declined to elaborate or to explain how the group would disarm a day after the Gaza peace deal was signed.
Four more bodies of deceased captives from Gaza have been handed over to the International Red Cross and are on their way to Israeli forces. Israel earlier said it will only allow in 300 aid trucks per day into Gaza because of what it called an unacceptably slow rate of body transfers.
Qatar qualified for football’s 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates thanks to second-half headers from Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel.
It marks the first time that Qatar, which lost all three group-stage games when it hosted the 2022 tournament, has advanced through qualification.
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The victory put Qatar atop Group A in the fourth round of Asian qualification, ahead of the second-place United Arab Emirates (UAE), which now moves on to the fifth round and playoffs. Oman was eliminated after finishing third in the group.
Qatar’s best first-half chance came in the 30th minute, when Mohamed Al-Mannai’s header bounced just wide of the UAE goal.
Two minutes into the second half, Khoukhi opened the scoring by heading in a free kick from Akram Afif past goalkeeper Khalid Essa. With 17 minutes remaining, Afif provided another assist, crossing from the left for Pedro Miguel to head home at the far post.
Qatar was reduced to 10 men when Tarek Salman was shown a straight red card in the 87th minute. After eight of the 15 minutes added on, UAE pulled a goal back through Sultan Adil’s shot from inside the area to ensure a tense finish. UAE would have advanced with a draw.
Japan and South Korea, which have already secured a spot at next year’s World Cup, both won friendlies against South American teams on Tuesday.
Japan beat Brazil for the first time, fighting from two goals down to win 3-2 in Tokyo. Ayase Ueda grabbed the winning goal with a header in the 71st minute.
Under the new ceasefire, the Turkish ship, the Akdeniz, is sailing to Egypt’s El-Arish port with desperately needed food supplies for the people of Gaza.
Dozens of people have been hospitalised in Tunisia’s southern city of Gabes, whose residents have blamed pollution from a nearby chemical factory for causing respiratory distress and other health issues.
Tunisia’s state-run TAP news agency reported that children experiencing breathing difficulties from the fumes were admitted to Gabes University Hospital on Tuesday.
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A local official cited by AFP news agency said more than 120 people had been hospitalised in the city, while an education official cited by the Diwan FM radio channel said dozens of students were admitted to hospital.
On top of respiratory problems, some patients suffered from “leg pain, numbness, and loss of mobility”, said local defence deputy chief Ghofrane Touati.
Resident Tawfik Dhaifallah said his little sister was “suffocating because of the fumes” emanating from the city’s industrial zone. “That happens every two or three days.”
The latest hospitalisations are part of spike in reported cases of respiratory problems that residents blame on fumes from the Tunisian Chemical Group’s (CGT) phosphate headquarters – a site authorities pledged to gradually close in 2017 but have yet to follow through on.
Years of frustration over the site’s emissions erupted on October 11, when residents stormed the complex demanding its closure.
“Gabes has turned into a city of death, people are struggling to breathe, many residents suffer from cancer or bone fragility due to the severe pollution,” Khaireddine Dbaya, one of the protesters, told the Reuters news agency.
The protest turned violent as police fired tear gas and chased demonstrators through the city streets, Reuters reported. Some protesters tried to set fire to a branch office of the CGT’s administration, while others blocked roads in the city, according to local media.
The Gabes local council on Sunday said it supported the “legitimate” demands of the protesters and called for the “dismantling of polluting chemical plants”, while also criticising “acts of vandalism and violence”.
The Tunisian League of Human Rights also backed the protesters and called for “the dismantling of polluting units and the establishment of an alternative regional development model to slow death and pollution”.
The protests underscore mounting pressure on President Kais Saied’s government, already grappling with a deep economic and financial crisis, to balance public health demands with the production of phosphate, Tunisia’s most valuable natural resource.
In an effort to ease public anger, Saied met late on Saturday with the ministers of environment and energy, urging them to send delegations to Gabes to carry out necessary repairs at the phosphate acid unit of the complex. He said he wants “a green Tunisia free of all pollution”.
Phosphate is Tunisia’s principal natural resource, but for years, activists have warned about the pollution caused by the GCT, which dumps its gaseous and solid waste directly into the environment.
In 2017, authorities pledged to dismantle the Gabes complex and replace it with a facility that meets international standards, acknowledging that its emissions posed a danger to local residents. However, the plan has yet to be implemented.
South Africa became the latest African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Rwanda 3-0 to top its qualifying group, with Nigeria forced to settle for second spot – and the playoffs – despite a Victor Osimhen hat-trick against Benin.
South Africa were docked three points by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for fielding an ineligible player in earlier games in the qualifying stages, but recovered to claim top spot from Benin, who were beaten 4-0 in Nigeria to eventually finish third as the group was settled on Tuesday.
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The Super Eagles, who trailed Benin by three points going into the match and needed to overturn a deficit of two on goal difference, had a two-goal lead at the break at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria thanks to Osimhen.
The Galatasaray striker, who was one of the most sought-after talents by Europe’s club teams last summer, completed his hat-trick six minutes into the second half. But Nigerian nerves were not settled until Frank Onyeka’s injury-time strike.
Nigeria will now have to qualify through the CAF playoffs with the three other best second-placed sides in the nine first-round qualifying groups.
Those best runners-up will play in a semifinal-final format, with the winners competing in a FIFA interconfederation playoff for a potential 10th African World Cup spot. The second round of CAF qualifying to reach that stage will take place November 10-18.
South Africa’s victory means it will be the team’s first appearance at a World Cup since qualifying automatically as the host in 2010.
Thalente Mbatha and Oswin Appollis gave Bafana Bafana a two-goal cushion by the 12th minute of their match against already-eliminated Rwanda in Mbombela before Evidence Makgopa added the third in the second half.