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US President Donald Trump has presided over a “peace deal” between Thailand and Cambodia, who have a long-standing border dispute, which he calls “historic”

After the ceremony, Thailand’s foreign minister refused to call it a peace agreement, telling the BBC “I would call it a pathway to peace” instead

Trade pressure from Trump led to a ceasefire in late July, ending five days of clashes that killed over two dozen people

The US president has made clear he will use US trade deals as a key way to pressure countries to make peace, our reporter writes from the summit

Trump is on a one-week trip to Asia that will include meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Apec in South Korea and a stop in Japan to meet the country’s newly elected first female leader.
It was, as everyone knew it would be, all about President Trump.

He literally towered over everyone else at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur where Cambodia and Thailand signed their agreement. He gave the longest speech, and made the biggest claims.

It was all superlatives. “This is a momentous day for South East Asia,” said the US president. “A monumental step”.

But what does the ‘Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord’, as President Trump has renamed it, actually amount to?

Remember, both countries signed a ceasefire back in July. That too was helped, or at least accelerated, by pressure from Trump. Looking at the details of the latest deal, though, it isn’t much of leap forward.

The two countries have agreed to withdraw their heavy weapons from the disputed border, and to establish an interim observer team to monitor it.

They have a new procedure for clearing landmines, and will set up what they call a joint task force to address the proliferation of scam centres. They will replace missing border markers with temporary ones.

This is progress, and Thai diplomats have told me they do feel President Trump’s involvement may help these agreements stick. But the historic differences over the border remain unresolved, and at risk of flaring up again-BBC

Messages of congratulations have poured in from across the political spectrum for Ms Connolly, who was this evening declared Ireland’s next president.

She took over 63% of the vote, well ahead of her opponent in the race, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.

Ms Connolly thanked the party leaders, TDs and Senators who backed her, as well as all those who voted for her and those who did not.

She said: “I will be a president who listens and reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary.

“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change, and a voice that recognises the tremendous work being done the length and breadth of the country.”

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it conducted an airstrike targeting an alleged Islamic Jihad militant in central Gaza, despite a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

For the past two weeks there has been a fragile truce between Hamas, an ally of Islamic Jihad, and Israel — although the latter reserves the right to defend itself and its forces from militant attacks.

“A short while ago, the IDF (army) conducted a precise strike in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip targeting a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization who planned to carry out an imminent terrorist attack against IDF troops,” the military said.

Inside the territory, the Al-Awda hospital confirmed it had received wounded for treatment after a strike in Nuseirat.

“The hospital has received four injured people following the Israeli occupation’s targeting of a civilian car in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza,” the hospital said.

The military said it would continue operations in Gaza “to remove any immediate threat” to its troops.

Takaichi spoke by telephone with Trump on Saturday, after she arrived in Malaysia for a key regional summit.

At the beginning of the 10-minute call, Trump congratulated Takaichi for becoming the new prime minister.

Takaichi told Trump that strengthening the Japan-US alliance is her administration’s top priority, when it comes to foreign and security policy.

She expressed respect for the leadership that Trump showed in the effort to bring about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The prime minister told Trump that “Japan is an indispensable partner for the United States, both in its strategy toward China and in its Indo-Pacific strategy.” Takaichi also conveyed to Trump her desire to “continue to advance the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific together.”

In addition, Takaichi expressed appreciation for Trump’s support for the efforts to resolve the issue of North Korea’s abductions of Japanese nationals. She asked the president to continue to cooperate on the issue.

After the phone call, Takaichi told reporters that Trump is a very cheerful and engaging person. She said Trump told her that he knew she was one of the politicians that late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo cared deeply about.

As for their planned summit meeting in Japan on Tuesday, Takaichi told Trump that she is looking forward to welcoming him to Tokyo.

Trump was on his way to Malaysia to join leaders at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He reportedly made the call from Air Force One.

Takaichi mentioned the phone call in a social media post on X. She wrote that she and Trump had a good and candid conversation. She also expressed her determination to take the Japan-US alliance to even greater heights.

During her visit to Malaysia, Takaichi will meet with leaders of the ASEAN member nations.

She wrote that she is looking forward to working closely with the United States and regional partners to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Melissa has reached hurricane strength as it nears Jamaica. The storm has already left at least three dead in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.


Hurricane Melissa lashes Caribbean, raises flood threat

Melissa has reached hurricane strength as it nears Jamaica. The storm has already left at least three dead in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

A woman and a man with a child carried pickaback walking through ankle-deep water
The Dominican Republic has already seen widespread Flooding

Deadly tropical storm Melissa has strengthened into a hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Saturday as it barrels towards Jamaica.

“Melissa has become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h),” the NHC said. “Rapid intensification is expected, and Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane tomorrow.”

Forecasters have warned that the storm is expected to dump massive amounts of rain, which could lead to catastrophic flooding and landslides in the northern Caribbean region.

Melissa has already caused three deaths in Haiti. Two people were killed in a landslide on Thursday and a third died after a tree fell on them amid heavy rain earlier in the week.

A fourth person has been killed in the neighboring Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

Nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic have been destroyed, while water supply to more than half a million people has been disrupted.

Warning of ‘catastrophic’ flooding
In an update on Saturday afternoon, the NHC said Melissa was around 235 miles (380 kilometers) southwest of Haiti as it moved slowly towards Jamaica.

It is expected to bring torrential rainfall to Jamaica, as well as Haiti and the Dominican Republic, through to Monday.

Forecasters have warned of the possibility of dangerous floods and landslides.
Southeast Cuba is also expected to be hit and receive between 10 and 20 centimeters of rain.

Spaniards have taken to the streets of Valencia to demand the resignation of the regional leader. Last year, flash floods in the region claimed 229 lives.Tens of thousands of people on Saturday protested in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia, one year after the floods that killed 229 people.

Demonstrators were demanding the resignation of regional leader Carlos Mazon over his handling of the disaster.

They displayed banners with messages such as “Mazon to prison” and chanted, “They didn’t die, they were murdered.”

With a total of 229 deaths, it was Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967. CatastropheSpain
Spain: Tens of thousands protest a year after deadly floods

Spaniards have taken to the streets of Valencia to demand the resignation of the regional leader. Last year, flash floods in the region claimed 229 lives.

Thousands gather for the demonstration on the first anniversary of the DANA disaster in Valencia, Spain on October 25, 2025
Protesters called on regional leader Carlos Mazon to resign

Tens of thousands of people on Saturday protested in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia, one year after the floods that killed 229 people.

Demonstrators were demanding the resignation of regional leader Carlos Mazon over his handling of the disaster.

They displayed banners with messages such as “Mazon to prison” and chanted, “They didn’t die, they were murdered.”

With a total of 229 deaths, it was Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967.

Thousands gather for the demonstration on the first anniversary of the Dana disaster in Valencia, Spain on October 25, 2025Thousands gather for the demonstration on the first anniversary of the Dana disaster in Valencia, Spain on October 25, 2025
Regional leader Carlos Mazon has been under immense pressure, with regular protests against him on or near the monthly anniversaries of the disasterImage: Jorge Gil/Europa Press/dpa/picture alliance
Spain’s deadliest floods in modern history
Mazon’s administration has been heavily criticized for issuing an alert too late.

The warning arrived more than 12 hours after the national weather agency had issued its highest alert level for torrential rains.

Residents told Spanish media that muddy water was already surrounding their cars, flooding streets and pouring into their homes by the time they received the messages.

Under Spain’s decentralized system, managing disasters falls under the authority of regional governments.

However, Mazon claimed that his administration lacked the necessary information to issue a warning sooner and said that the magnitude was unforeseeable.