Category World News

The hurricane that has been strewn directly at Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa, is anticipated to be the strongest to ever strike the island.

Wind speeds exceeding 252 km/h (157 mph) increased on Monday to a Category 5 storm, the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale. According to the American National Hurricane Center (NHC), it was expected to make landfall on Tuesday morning. The storm, according to the report, will bring “catastrophic flooding” and “destructive winds” that it expects to worsen day and night.

The south coast of Jamaica is likely to experience life-threatening storm surge, accompanied by large, destructive waves, from late on Monday through Tuesday morning, according to Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.

What caused Hurricane Melissa to form?

Off the coast of West Africa, a group of thunderstorms called Melissa first appeared. It developed into a depression as it traveled west. Its status as a tropical storm was announced on October 21.

Melissa made its way through the Caribbean Sea through the weekend into a Category 4 storm.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1 and ends on November 30, includes Melissa, which is the 13th hurricane of the season. Every year, the Atlantic basin experiences about seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes on average. This year’s Atlantic hurricane season was predicted by the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which included 13 to 18 named storms.

After Hurricanes Erin and Humberto, this is the third Category 5 hurricane to hit the area.

Storms are categorised using the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Hurricanes are classified into five different categories based on the wind’s sustainedness.

A storm with a sustained wind speed of 252 km/h (157 mph) or higher is categorized as Category 5. The NHC claims that Category 5 storms typically cause “catastrophic damage.”

What has Melissa grown up to? What country will Jamaica be hit by?

Residents of Jamaica have been instructed to use sandbags and boards to protect their homes and stock up on necessities in anticipation of the hurricane.

The NHC predicted that tropical storm-force winds will blow out to as far away as 45 kilometers (30 miles) from Melissa’s center, and that they will blow out to as far as 315 kilometers (195 miles) from it.

How far along is the storm’s path:

Monday, 7am in Jamaica (12: 00 GMT)

Melissa moved northwest in the Caribbean on Monday morning, earning it a Category 5 hurricane status.

Tuesday, 1am (06: 00 GMT)

Melissa will probably landfall very soon after this. The storm will cause more damage, according to the NHC because it moves slowly, moving at 8 km/h (5 mph).

Slow motion is expected to cause a catastrophic event in Jamaica due to this extreme rainfall potential, according to NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome.

Southern Hispaniola is expected to experience rainfall totals of 1, 016mm (40 inches) through Wednesday, with additional rainfall of 203mm to 406mm (8 to 16 inches) and a rainfall total of 381mm to 762mm (15 to 30 inches) due to Melissa. There are a lot of landslides and catastrophic flash flooding.

Wednesday, 1pm (18: 00 GMT)

By Wednesday, Melissa is expected to pass over Cuba before moving through the Greater Antilles and the Atlantic.

By the time it reaches Cuba, it is expected to fall into Category 3.

What has recently happened on the ground?

“I am aware that there are many Jamaicans who are anxious, who are very concerned,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness. You ought to be worried.

However, being prepared is the best way to deal with anxiety and any enthrallement and concern.

The Jamaican Meteorological Service has advised fishermen and small craft owners on the banks and cays to stay in safe harbor until wind and sea conditions are normal.

It stated that it is impossible to leave the island before the hurricane arrives. Both Montego Bay and Kingston, the main airports, are closed. The airport in Kingston is advising travelers to “contact your airline for rebooking.” NEVER travel to the airport.

Melissa is anticipated to cause similar damage in parts of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and eastern Cuba.

Jamaica’s hurricane history

Only one Category 4 storm, Hurricane Gilbert, was recorded in Jamaica in 1988, according to the NHC. At least 45 people were killed in the storm, which was the most destructive in Jamaica’s history.

The island was hit by Hurricane Sandy for the first time since Gilbert in October 2012. It was a Category 1 storm when it struck.

With the most recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Israel continues to be aggressive in the Middle East.

Even if Israeli strikes in Gaza continue, the pact, which was signed on October 10, has lowered the burden on Palestinians there. Israel is still waging attacks on numerous fronts in other regions of the region.

Israel’s recent strikes in Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank give cred to the notion that Israel is attempting to isolate and weaken its neighbors.

Although Israeli officials had a visit from the US this week, Gaza’s biggest supporter didn’t seem to show any signs that Tel Aviv was ready to hold Israel accountable for its regional hostility.

What information about Israel’s most recent attacks in the area is absolutely necessary.

West Bank that is under Israeli occupation

In the occupied West Bank, Israel is severely punishing Palestinians.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has increased its efforts to annex the occupied territory, killing more than 1, 000 Palestinians in the West Bank alone.

Palestinians trying to harvest their olives are being harassed and detained by Israeli soldiers and settlers for the second week in a row.

One of the Palestinians who Israel recently detained was released during the brief but unsuccessful ceasefire, and he later was taken prisoner-free, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who urged his supporters to appoint US President Donald Trump to support the West Bank’s annexation, are also engaged in violence there.

He has also suggested that Israel should “proclaim sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank, arguing that this would stymie the “dangerous idea of a Palestinian state.”

Syria

In recent days, Israeli forces have been particularly active in Syria, with local media reporting nearly daily incursions into the southern border.

Israel invaded Syria’s territory and attacked its military infrastructure as the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad fell in December.

Israel has continued to invade Israel, even though the new government in Syria has not reciprocated Israel’s aggressions.

According to Syrian media, the incursions include reconnaissance overflights, ground infiltration by Israeli soldiers, Syrian arrests and disappearances, and the establishment of checkpoints on Syrian territory.

According to Syrian state media outlet SANA, Israel’s most recent aggression occurred on Sunday morning in the towns of al-Razaniyah and Sayda al-Hanout in Quneitra.

A checkpoint was established between the two villages by an Israeli forces unit that consisted of four military vehicles. A local bread distributor was being held captive by the forces while serving the nearby Sayda villages, before being released and withdrawn from the area, according to a SANA reporter.

According to Syrian outlet Enab Baladi, Israeli incursions have recently occurred in numerous villages in Quneitra, southern Syria.

Ibrahim Olabi, a UN representative for Syria, stated at the UN Security Council session on October 24 that Israel should stop ingraining into Syria’s internal affairs and refrain from ingraining into its territory.

He also criticized Israel’s continued occupation of Syrian territory, including the Golan Heights.

Olabi claimed that Israel’s “aggressive” behavior was in violation of the Israeli-Syrian Disengagement Agreement of 1974. Since al-Assad’s assassination, Israel has asserted that the 1974 agreement is invalid.

Lebanon

Israel continues to regularly violate the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has recently carried out particularly heavy bombings in the south.

UNIFIL fired an Israeli drone from the sky on Monday after it claimed it had dropped a grenade close to a patrol. UNFIL claimed an Israeli tank shot at peacekeepers afterward, causing no injuries. Israel’s attacks on UNIFIL are not unprecedented.

Israel killed two people earlier on Sunday in Naqoura, south Lebanon, and Nabi Chit, Baalbek, respectively.

On November 27, 2024, Israel and the Lebanese government signed a ceasefire.

However, the Israeli military did not completely evacuate Lebanon and continued to bombard the area almost daily.

Israeli media claim that these strikes are preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding in the south, citing recent attacks that have destroyed reconstruction equipment and killed civilians.

Beyond what was stated in the ceasefire, which demanded Hezbollah’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Israel and the US are demanding that the Lebanese government completely disarm the organization.

The Lebanese government has pressed the US to hold Israel accountable for its ceasefire violations, including the country’s continued occupation of at least five locations in Lebanese territory.

However, according to Lebanese media, US Special Envoy Tom Barrack has been unable to persuade Israel to leave Lebanese territory or stop its aggression, leaving many Lebanese skeptical of a repeat of the violence from the year before, when Israel in Lebanon killed more than 4, 000 people and displaced over one million.

Israeli media also reported that Israeli soldiers recently conducted military exercises to simulate Hezbollah invasion, despite diplomats and experts telling Al Jazeera that the organization is currently incapacent to attack.

Gaza

US Vice President JD Vance claimed last week while visiting Israel that the Hamas-Israeli ceasefire is proceeding “better than expected.”

The definition of what the US administration was expecting is still unclear because Israel has continued to launch strikes across Gaza and kill people.

Israel is also undermining the ceasefire agreement by entering Gaza more deeply and overstepping the invisible “yellow line” it was supposed to break, according to a report from the BBC.

Israeli attacks continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire’s occurrence, which is less frequent. Israel has continued to raise its death toll, in addition to the aid supplies that have been flowing into Gaza.

In a drone attack on Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday night, one Palestinian was killed and four others were hurt, according to a statement from al-Awda Hospital. Since the ceasefire became effective, nearly 100 Palestinians have died.

Israel is also preventing sick people from leaving via the Rafah border crossing.

After Israel destroyed the Gaza Strip’s medical infrastructure, Rasha Abu Sbeaka told Al Jazeera on Sunday that she needs to leave Gaza for treatment. She has stage three cancer.

After an unexploded Israeli bomb went off, two Palestinian children suffered serious injuries. Many families are at risk of losing their homes to the remnants of their homes as a result of unexploded ordnance being buried in rubble.

He was devastated when he learned that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group had seized the western city of El-Fasher after most of its two and a half years of fighting with Sudan’s army.

Speaking to Al Jazeera over the phone on Sunday, the activist’s voice broke as he spoke of his fear for the civilians still trapped there and of not knowing if he would ever be able to return to his city.

“It feels like we’ve lost everything”, the 31-year-old said from the nearby town of Tawila. “I just keep thinking about the people who are still there, the families, the children,” he said.

After declaring its ownership of El-Fasher’s final garrison in the city, belonging to the Sixth Armoured Division, on Sunday, the RSF announced its takeover of the city.

It had besieged the capital of North Darfur state for 18 months, attacking people and blocking all aid from entering, engineering a famine that has taken hold for months.

Escape

Mouawia left El-Fasher in early October, cart and walking the roughly 60 kilometers (37 miles) to Tawila, fearing RSF retaliation.

As the RSF’s attacks became more vicious, he had made the decision to leave after realizing that he would no longer be able to assist civilians in the city.

Mouawia, a media graduate, had been injured a few weeks earlier on his way to a clinic he and a group of other volunteers were operating in the western sector of the city.

As they were walking, a shell exploded nearby, causing him to fall to the ground and suffer internal injuries.

He and a companion made the agonizing descent to a doctor’s assistant who could give first aid at a neighbor’s home after a terrifying trek to escape the firefight.

A trip to a hospital confirmed that Mouawia’s wounds had shrapnel in them, but they could not be removed, given the overcrowding and severe lack of resources in the hospital. Mouawia’s stomach is still covered in the shrapnel, which has now recovered.

Everything was altered by the injury. Unable to continue volunteering and with the daily bombardment closing in, he decided to leave el-Fasher through a “safe corridor” for fleeing civilians that the RSF had announced.

He and a second volunteer set out with a small cart, some cash, and their identity documents after they officially presented their clinic to the Ministry of Health.

He said, “We left quietly and prayed to be safe. But as they moved through the “safe corridor”, they realised it was anything but.

Ransom, humiliation

The corridor looped northwest despite Tawila being to the southwest because the RSF had erected enormous sand berms around the city during its siege, leaving just one direction open.

The two men intended to sleep somewhere before continuing their journey, but instead they made the first stop at Garni, which is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) away.

RSF fighters stopped them at a checkpoint and accused them of being soldiers dressed as civilians as they traveled to the outskirts of Garni, which can take up to five hours on foot.

The fighters shouted racial slurs and demanded to know the positions of Sudanese army forces, refusing to listen when Mouawia and his companion showed their passports and explained they were volunteers.

They were detained after being interrogated for hours before being stopped again moments later at a different checkpoint where a fighter discovered Mouawia’s bag with newly printed Sudanese government currency. Any fighter who had an army or its allies in Sudanese slang was snarled as “This is flangi money.”

“Eat it”, the soldier ordered, slapping Mouawia and forcing him to swallow a wad of bills.

Mouawia recalls that he instructed him to turn over everything. The soldiers let them pass after stealing the rest of their phones and cash.

Farther along, two RSF fighters on motorbikes stopped them, accusing them again of being fleeing soldiers.

They allowed them to continue their search for a mosque close to Garni, where they slept until dawn before setting off on their two-day journey to Tawila, finding nothing when they searched them.

The road between Garni and Jughmer, which is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) west, was further obstructed by an RSF four-by-four.

A soldier noticed the scar on Mouawia’s stomach and shouted: “He’s a soldier! I said, “”!

They were dragged from a cart, interrogated, and threatened at gunpoint before being finally released, shaken but still alive.

Hours later, the vehicle returned, the fighters demanding 10 billion Sudanese pounds ($3, 500) – an impossible ransom.

Mouawia recalled saying, “I don’t have 10 billion if you kill me.”

After heated exchanges, the fighters ordered them to call relatives for money and threatened to kill them, and later reduced the amount demanded to 2.5 billion Sudanese pounds ($860).

Desperate, Mouawia contacted a friend in Khartoum, who managed to transfer 1 billion Sudanese pounds, and another volunteer sent 1.5 billion, completing the ransom through a Starlink RSF station located near the checkpoint.

According to Mouawia, one of the fighters allegedly chose to keep some of the money for himself, yelling that he shouldn’t tell his friend in Khartoum about the first billion.

The fighters fled as they feigned kindness, saying, “We’ll return your money if you want,” giving him a WhatsApp number “for protection,” and driving away.

Survival

By that point, exhaustion was already present. The two men slept next to their cart for the night in the small Arida Djangay village.

The next morning, they resumed their journey, only to encounter a new RSF ploy to take money from people on the road: convoys of RSF vehicles demanding “transport fees”.

He claimed that they initially promised to take us for free, but later demanded $1,000,000 [per person]$0.50] from them.

On the way down to Tawila, about 45 minutes away, soldiers stopped their cart at the Silik camp in Korma, west of Garni, and extorted “ticket money” from people to transfer them to RSF vehicles.

When an elderly man protested that he was already at his destination, the soldiers demanded payment anyway.

Mouawia claimed that “people were furious.” He and his companion pleaded for calm, bringing back their earlier assurances of a safe passage, but to no avail.

Eventually, they secured more money to pay off the fighters from friends who sent mobile transfers.

He claimed that “we paid only to survive.”

Finally, a kind-hearted driver agreed to pay 130, 000 pounds ($0.04) via bank transfer to take them to Tawila.

“After everything, I just thanked God we made it alive”, Mouawia said softly.

He finally got some rest after spending time with Tawila, but he now wonders how he will continue.

He said, “We kept going knowing that someone had to keep hope alive even in a place like El-Fasher.”

‘ Everything stopped ‘

El-Fasher, a once bustling city, collapsed on April 15, 2023 as a result of a war. Within days, hospitals and streets were deserted, and people were trapped between bombardment and siege.

“Everything stopped”, Mouawia recalled, going on to detail how he and a group of young residents – doctors, engineers and students – decided to help by reopening a clinic in their neighbourhood.

They had finished cleaning it up and reopening it within a week, relying solely on local donations and shared meals to continue their work.

Regardless of our political beliefs or ideologies, we co-operated, according to Mouawia.

The unity carried them through air raids and shortages. They treated frightened women who had been shot, pregnant women, and displaced families who had just arrived at their door. Their initiative continued to exist despite the bombings even after the end of 2024 when it reached community kitchens and other forms of support.

In May, as the RSF intensified its siege on el-Fasher and launched drone strikes on community kitchens, the volunteers switched to delivering food house to house instead.

He claimed that the meals we prepared for displaced families were their only meals of the day.

Their bravery kept the neighbourhoods together for almost two years, but by the middle of this year, the siege had grown even more severe. The RSF occupied key areas, blocked supply routes and turned hospitals into military zones.

People like Mouawia saw no other choice but to leave as the volunteers themselves turned into targets.

At least four opposition supporters have been killed in a crackdown by the armed forces in Cameroon as a result of protests over President Paul Biya’s declared re-election victory.

As Biya, 92, prepares for an eighth term that could keep him in power until 2032 as he nears 100, protesters are taking to the streets in several cities demanding fair results from the African nation’s contested presidential election on October 12.

Biya is one of the oldest and longest-serving leaders in Africa and whose election victory was finally confirmed by Cameroon’s Constitutional Council on Monday. He has been in office for almost half his life for 43 years. Through elections that political opponents claimed were “stolen,” he has ruled Cameroon, a nation of 30 million people, since 1982.

What led to the heinous protests?

Before the announcement of the election results, supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon have defied a ban on protests, setting police cars on fire, blocking roads, and burning tires in Douala, the financial capital. There have been about 30 arrests of activists.

To dispel the protesters who had endorsed Tchiroma, who had declared himself the real winner and demanded that Biya concede, police used tear gas and water cannons.

The protesters attacked police stations in the city’s second and sixth districts, according to Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, the governor of the region that includes Douala.

Four people, he said, “unfortunately lost their lives,” and several security forces members were hurt. The campaign team for Tchiroma confirmed that protesters died on Sunday.

Opposition supporters claim that Biya and his supporters’ election results were rigged. The current government refuted these accusations and advised people to wait for the outcome before the result was announced.

Who is Cameroon’s principal adversary?

A coalition of opposition parties called The Union for Change was established in September to challenge Biya’s dominance of the political landscape.

With the goal of fielding a consensus candidate, the forum brought together more than 20 political parties and civil society organizations in opposition to Biya.

Tchiroma was chosen as the group’s preferred candidate to face Biya in September.

Tchiroma, 76, previously served in the Biya government and held various ministerial positions for 16 years. He defended the army when it was accused of killing civilians while also serving as the government’s spokesperson for the Boko Haram armed group. He once fought for “change,” but he has since made the promise to “change” in his campaign.

What transpired following the election?

Tchiroma won the election after the voting ended on October 12.

“Our victory is obvious,” he said. In a video statement posted on Facebook, he said, “It must be respected.” He demanded that Biya “accept the reality of the ballot box” or “trouble the nation.”

Tchiroma claimed to have received 55% of the vote in favor of him. More than 8 million people registered to cast ballots in the election.

However, Biya received 53.56% of the vote, according to the Constitutional Council on Monday.

Tchiroma came in second place with 35.19 percent, according to the report.

Clement Atangana, the council’s leader, criticized the opposition for “anticipating the result” and said the election process was “peaceful” after the results were announced on Monday.

What are Biya’s main flaws?

Despite having abundant resources like oil and cocoa, under Biya’s rule, Cameroon has struggled with a myriad issues, including persistent corruption that critics claim has slowed economic growth.

The president is renowned for his absence because he reportedly spends long periods of time away from the country. He has won eight contests that are held every seven years.

In the run-up to this month’s election, the 92-year-old promised voters that “the best is still to come” at just one campaign rally.

He frequently takes his entourage on private or medical trips to Switzerland. Since becoming in power in 2018, an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project discovered that Biya had spent at least 1, 645 days (nearly four and a half years) in the European nation, excluding official visits.

Opposition politicians have frequently accused the electoral authorities of conspiring with the president to rig elections under Biya. Parliament approved a resolution to remove the maximum number of terms a president can serve in 2008.

Prior to the election, the Constitutional Council forbade the popular opposition candidate Maurice Kamto of the Cameroonian Renaissance Movement from running.

On a number of charges, including plotting violence, have some opposition leaders and their supporters been detained by the police.

Two well-known figures from the Union for Change, Anicet Ekane and Djeukam Tchameni, were detained on Friday.

The party’s leader, the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy, claimed that the local security forces had abducted its treasurer and other members in an effort to “intimidate” Cameroonians.

Additionally, according to experts, Biya’s ascendancy could cause instability if he eventually leaves.

What security measures exist in Cameroon?

In the Far North Region of the nation, attacks by the militant group Boko Haram have increased steadily since 2015.

Additionally, Cameroon has struggled with conflict since escaping French rule in 1960 due to its deep linguistic and political divisions, which resulted from the merger of French and English-speaking regions into one state.

The Francophone-dominated government in Yaounde has felt increasingly marginalized Anglophone Cameroonians in the northwest and southwest of the country because French is its official language.

When teachers and attorneys demanded equal recognition of English-language institutions in 2016, their grievances turned into widespread protests – over language, education, courts, and resource distribution.

The government made arrests and blackouts on the internet, which eventually led to an armed separatist fight for an independent state known as Ambazonia.

The most recent presidential election since the conflict has grown more heated. The Anglophone population is prohibited from taking part in government-sponsored events like national day celebrations and elections by armed separatists.

In consequence, there were a lot of abstentions on October 12 and a 53% turnout in the Southwest and Northwest regions. In the two regions, Biya received 68.7% and 86.31 percent of the vote, respectively.

What will occur at this point?

According to observers, protests are likely to spread.

Before the results were released, Tchiroma paid tribute to the four protesters who had died before being killed by a “regime that has become criminal during a peaceful march.”

He demanded that the Biya government “stop these arbitrary arrests, killings, and acts of barbarism.”