Poland mass shooting assailant dies in hospital, police say | Gun Violence News
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
The assailant was shot by police officers and arrested minutes after he opened fire at people in central Krakow.
Published On 9 Nov 2026
The gunman who killed six people in central Krakow last week has died in hospital, police have said.
Police announced early Monday morning that the 24-year-old attacker had died.
The assailant was shot by police officers and arrested minutes after he opened fire at people at Krakow’s historic main square from his car on Saturday.
The government said the attacker may have been inspired by far-right ideology, without providing further details.
This is a developing story.
Which countries and industries emit the most greenhouse gases? | Climate Crisis News
World leaders and delegates are gathering in Antalya, Turkiye, for COP31, the annual climate summit of the United Nations, which runs from November 9 to 20.
They meet as global emissions continue to climb. The world emitted 54.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2025, 0.7 percent more than the year before and 68.5 percent more than in 1990, according to the latest figures from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the atmosphere, raising global temperatures and fuelling heatwaves, droughts, floods and other extreme weather conditions.
In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera breaks down which gases are warming the planet, which industries and countries emit the most, and how their emissions have changed over time.
Which gases are warming the planet?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) made up 73.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. It is released mainly when fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are burned, while deforestation removes trees that would otherwise absorb it.
Methane (CH4) accounted for 17.6 percent of emissions that year, followed by nitrous oxide (N2O) at 5.3 percent and fluorinated gases (F-gases) at 3.3 percent.
Global CO2 emissions have risen by 76.3 percent since 1990, according to the JRC.
How is a warming planet affecting the world?
As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they trap more heat. In 2025, the heat stored in the world’s oceans reached its highest level on record, and the rate of ocean warming has increased sharply over the past two decades, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Extreme weather has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes in 2026, according to the WMO.
In Europe, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires between May and August caused more than 30,000 excess deaths, and 220,000 people were evacuated in France alone.
On August 26, a glacier collapse and the resulting flash flood in the Himalayas killed more than 1,500 people in Nepal along its border with China, while about 5,600 remain missing, according to the UN.
In June and July, Typhoon Bavi forced three million people to evacuate in China and killed 26 in the Philippines. Weeks later, severe Tropical Storm Maysak killed 171 people and caused more than $3bn in losses in China.
Earlier in the year, floods and windstorms across the western Mediterranean displaced more than 180,000 people in Morocco, while extreme cold and snow in North America killed 174 people.
The map below shows some of the most extreme weather events of 2026.
Where do the world’s emissions come from?
The world’s greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled since 1970, rising from about 23 billion tonnes to 54.1 billion tonnes in 2025, according to the JRC.
The power industry, which generates electricity, is the largest source, producing nearly 30 percent of global emissions in 2025. Its emissions have roughly quadrupled since 1970, driven by soaring demand for electricity in fast-growing economies such as China and India.
Industry, including manufacturing and mining, is the second-largest source at 21 percent. This covers fuel burned in factories as well as gases released when producing cement, metals and chemicals. Industrial emissions climbed steeply in the 2000s as China’s manufacturing boomed.
Transport, including cars, shipping and aviation, is third at 16 percent.
Together, these three sectors produce about two-thirds of the world’s emissions. The rest comes from agriculture (12 percent), the extraction of coal, oil and gas (11 percent), buildings (6.6 percent) and waste (3.6 percent).
Global emissions have fallen only a handful of times since 1970, including in the early 1980s, after the 2008 financial crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Each time, they rebounded.
Who are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases?
In 2025, the three largest emitters produced almost half of the world’s greenhouse gases. China emitted almost 16 billion tonnes (29.5 percent), the United States 6.02 billion tonnes (11.1 percent) and India 4.51 billion tonnes (8.3 percent).
The 27 countries of the European Union together accounted for 5.8 percent, followed by Russia (4.8 percent), Indonesia (2.5 percent), Brazil (2.4 percent) and Iran (2.1 percent).
International shipping and aviation, which fall outside any single country’s total, together produced 2.6 percent of global emissions, more than most countries.
It was not always this way. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries drove up emissions first in the West, particularly in the United Kingdom and the US, as they built factories and moved to mass manufacturing. Global emissions then rose sharply after World War II and have more than doubled since 1970.
China’s emissions surged in the early 2000s as its economy boomed, and it overtook the US as the world’s largest emitter in the mid-2000s.
But measured over time, the picture changes. Since the mid-18th century, the US has produced 23.5 percent of all CO2 emissions, compared with 15.4 percent from China, according to the Global Carbon Budget.
Which industries drive each country’s emissions?
In China, the power sector is the largest source, producing 42 percent of the country’s almost 16 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases. Industry accounts for 31 percent and fuel production for 9.5 percent.
In September 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping, for the first time, pledged to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from their peak by 2035.
In the US, transport is the largest source at 29 percent, mostly from cars and trucks. The power sector accounts for 26 percent and industry for 14 percent.
In India, which still relies heavily on coal for electricity, the power sector produces 35 percent of emissions, followed by industry at 24 percent and agriculture at 19 percent.
Explore the table below to see which sectors produce the most greenhouse gas emissions in each country.
Macklemore says L.A. area venues rejected ‘Free Palestine’ concerts
Grammy Award-winning artist Macklemore said he is getting pushback from concert venues as he brings his Free Palestine benefit concerts to the U.S.
The rapper behind hits including “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” said on Instagram that nine U.S. venues told him in mid-September that they had available dates for concerts, but “once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed.”
Macklemore performs in 2024 in Australia.
(Morgan Hancock / Getty Images)
The nine venues include Inglewood’s Kia Forum, L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York.
Earlier this year, Macklemore said he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour after venue owners told Sheeran they would not host him at their stadiums if Macklemore was still part of the concert. Sheeran has said his promoters made the decision, according to the BBC.
Macklemore launched his Free Palestine tour in October, playing in Dublin, Paris and London. The concert proceeds benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian movement, according to the tour’s website.
Fans pose as they make their way into the “Macklemore & Friends “Free Palestine” Tour last month at Wembley Arena in London.
(Alberto Pezzali / Getty Images)
Representatives for the Kia Forum and AEG, which owns Crypto.com Arena, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MSG Entertainment, which owns Madison Square Garden, said that Macklemore is “not an arena level act.”
“We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability,” MSG Entertainment, said in a statement.
Spokespeople for the talent agency that reps Macklemore did not immediately return a request for comment.
Weighing in on the Palestinian issue can be a sensitive subject in Hollywood, as some people in the entertainment industry have received backlash on their social media posts on the topic.
Aerial view of Crypto.com Arena and the L.A. Live sports and entertainment district.
(AEG)
In 2023, a prominent agent at Creative Artists Agency stepped aside from her leadership roles at the company after she reposted inflammatory comments on Instagram calling Israel’s response to Hamas “genocide.” That same year, actor Melissa Barrera was dropped from her role in “Scream VII” after she shared pro-Palestinian statements on Instagram.
Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas lead USC to win over Wichita State
STATELINE, Nev. — Rodney Rice had 32 points and nine assists, Alijah Arenas added 30 points and No. 21 USC beat hot-shooting Wichita State 93-86 on Sunday night in the inaugural Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic.
The Trojans (2-0) prevailed despite making just two three-pointers, relying on their stars, free-throw shooting and a decisive advantage in turnovers.
Michael Gray Jr. led Wichita State (1-1) with 18 points, while Jordan Frison and William Berg each added 17.
Wichita State led 45-43 at halftime after hitting seven of its first 12 attempts from beyond the arc. The Shockers built an 11-point lead late in the first half before USC rallied to tie it at 43.
The teams traded baskets throughout much of the second half before Arenas helped USC gain separation. He scored three baskets during a key stretch, including a jumper following a Wichita State turnover, to help the Trojans build a 75-69 advantage with 6:22 remaining.
Wichita State continued to battle, pulling to 86-83 on Frison’s layup with 58 seconds left. But Rice sank two free throws, and the Shockers missed several late three-point attempts.
Adonis Ratliff had 10 points and 13 rebounds for USC.
Up next for USC: at California on Wednesday night.
Trekking in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforests: ‘the day unfolds in a blaze of biodiversity’ | Brazil holidays
When we come out of the bamboo forest and enter the high-altitude grassland, Marcelo begins to walk faster. All around us, dark peaks loom through the early morning clouds. The grasses and flowering mimosa bushes drip from the mist. It is hard to imagine, but this area suffered a devastating fire two years ago. Marcelo has not been back since, and he is anxious. “We have some extremely rare endemic species up here,” he says. “I hope they’ve survived.” A hummingbird zips past, heading for a banana-shaped yellow-and-red flower. “Planalto hermit,” identifies Marcelo. “The bill fits the flower.”
We are in Brazil’s Santuário do Caraça, a 40 square-mile haven of rugged wilderness in the state of Minas Gerais. That name may be unfamiliar to many outside Brazil, but landlocked Minas Gerais, which borders the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the south, covers an area larger than mainland France and Switzerland combined. Not only that, but with abundant mineral resources, a rising population, and fabulously rich flora and fauna, it makes for an intriguing place to explore.
Back in the late 17th century, the first modern gold rush started here (gold from Minas Gerais helped finance Britain’s Industrial Revolution), but those early mines have been superseded by controversial iron ore quarries, the scene of two recent dam failures that drowned hundreds of people and flooded vulnerable river valleys.
Rising above all this are long mountain ranges home to thousands of rare plants and animals, some found nowhere else on Earth, many as yet undescribed to science. Tourism represents one of the few economic alternatives to mining and gives value, and a future, to these unique ecosystems. It is on one of these mountains, Pico da Canjerana, that I am hiking with guide and biologist Marcelo Vasconcelos.
As we approach the peak, Marcelo gives a shout of triumph and drops to his knees. “It’s here! Drosera graminifolia, a very rare plant.” I crouch down and see a tiny forest of green spikes covered in sticky red tentacles. Among these, two gnats have become entangled and are slowly being digested. Drosera, I discover, is carnivorous.
The day unfolds in a blaze of biodiversity. Marcelo has spent his life here, discovering several new species along the way. “I have a cockroach named after me,” he says with a chuckle.
Later, we drop down into the forest that cloaks the lower slopes, remnants of the vast Atlantic rainforest that once covered 580,000 sq miles of Brazil, a pre-colonial forest second in size only to the Amazon. It sent early visitors, including Charles Darwin, into ecstasies. An estimated 85% of that ecosystem has been felled, but a walk through what remains can still be an overwhelming experience: morpho butterflies flit through shady glades like animated slivers of blue sky, while marmosets whistle above and brilliantly colourful birds explode from trees laden with epiphytic plants. The rarest birds, however, are the elusive tapaculos that live on the ground in dark bamboo groves. While still a postgraduate student, Marcelo found a new species, the rock tapaculo. To his delight, and mine, we spot that bird and many others.
The park started life as a mission station around 1770 but is now a private nature reserve. Santuário do Caraça is also the name of the stone-built former seminary I stay at, which serves magnificent breakfasts (cook-your-own on the huge wood-fired hotplate). The real draw, however, are the maned wolves, mysterious animals that come to be fed at the chapel door. The moment when a huge maned head appears, almost within touching distance, around the lichen-encrusted stone balustrade is as fine a wildlife encounter as you will ever experience.
South from Caraça we negotiate roads packed with mining lorries covered in red dust and pass the valley where a dam collapsed in 2015, killing 19 people and releasing 44 million cubic metres of toxic waste into the river system. Despite this catastrophe, a second dam operated by the same company, Vale, collapsed at nearby Brumadinho four years later, this time killing 272. No one has yet been prosecuted. Through stands of eucalyptus trees, I catch sight of a valley floor submerged under lifeless red mud.
And then, as is typical in Brazil, a bitter experience is immediately followed by something sweet. We cross a mountain pass and take a steep cobbled road down into the gem that is Ouro Preto, an 18th-century town that is itself a product of mining, during Brazil’s first gold rush. I visit several baroque churches, every sculpture caked in gold, every ceiling alive with cherubim and angels.
The main sculptor was a local man, Aleijadinho, born to an enslaved African housemaid and a Portuguese builder. His painter colleague, Mestre Ataíde, depicted many African and mixed-race faces on the magnificent nave ceiling, reflecting the complex nature of a society where brutal slavery was endemic and yet mixed relationships tolerated.
Farther west, I visit the renowned arts centre and botanic garden Inhotim, then a bee sanctuary (another great breakfast), and an idyllic agro-forestry farm, all fascinating attempts to break the hold of mining on the state economy. There is also a late-night dinner in the town of Brumadinho, with chef Marcela, a wizard of the culinary arts who conjures up one of the most curious, and fun, dining experiences of my life, a tour-de-force of the state’s renowned cuisine. (Book well in advance for the intimate Alquimista Bistrô Secreto with tasting menus for up to eight people.)
after newsletter promotion
Farther south, the issue of slavery returns. I visit a quilombo, a village where escaped slaves settled, synthesising a unique Afro‑Brazilian culture. After lunch (a delicious bean and pork stew called feijoada, the national dish) at Fabi’s restaurant, she asks if I’d like to visit the “farm”. This, it turns out, is the historical fazenda from which her ancestors escaped. We go with her elderly aunt, Maureena, who has Alzheimer’s but is always singing and smiling.
The farm is a beautiful two-storey stone mansion with whitewashed walls and blue window frames, set in a clearing of wild jungle. A sweeping stone staircase leads down into a broad yard “where the slaves were punished”, says Fabi. Her 99-year-old uncle, she tells me, can no longer bear to visit. “As a child he heard terrible stories from grandparents who had been enslaved. Now, if he comes, he hears screaming.”
Abolition came late to Brazil, in 1888. The country took more than 4 million captives, almost half the total transatlantic trade. In the 1830s, Charles Darwin, enraptured by Brazil’s natural wonders, had been appalled. “It makes one’s blood boil … to think of the English and Americans with their boastful cry of liberty … who are so guilty of all this,” he wrote. He may have been alluding to then US president Andrew Jackson, who rewarded anyone who gave an extra flogging to his runaway “property”.
Emancipation in Brazil did not end the suffering. Penniless, jobless and landless, the freed enslaved people descended on the cities, filling the slums known as favelas.
At the fazenda, the captives were kept in a dark cellar under the house. We all go in. Bats flit about. There is an old piece of timber on the floor that Fabi thinks was once the flogging post. Aunt Maureena laughs gaily.
Since Alzheimer’s struck, the childhood horror stories have been forgotten, the secret, perhaps, of her beatific cheerfulness. I follow her upstairs to the elegant colonial drawing room. On the windowsill is the nest of a kiskadee, a type of flycatcher, and the parent bird is perched outside on a fence next to the former slave pen. From its beak hangs a lizard, obviously dead. The bird, however, continues to hammer its prey relentlessly on the timber. Aunt Maureena, still smiling, wanders away, quietly singing Ave Maria to herself.
The trip was provided by Latin America expert Sumak Travel and Brazil specialist Viare Travel, which offers five-night tailor-made tours of Minas Gerais from £1,050, including airport transfers, birdwatching at Santuário do Caraça, city tour of Ouro Preto, quilombo tour, Inhotim gardens and some meals. TAP Air Portugal flies from Manchester and London to Belo Horizonte via Lisbon, from £1,082 return. A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil by Ber van Perlo is published by OUP; A Field Guide to Larger Mammals of South America by Richard Webb and Jeff Blincow is published by Wild Guides
How Israel’s separation wall compares with the Berlin Wall | Israel-Palestine conflict News
In the occupied West Bank, a barrier of concrete and fencing cuts Palestinians off from their land, their families and nearby towns.
Israel began building its separation wall in 2002. Planned to stretch 712km (442 miles), it runs deep inside Palestinian territory rather than along the boundary with Israel. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled it illegal.
Today’s date carries extra weight. Thirty-seven years ago on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.
Built by East Germany in 1961 to stop its citizens fleeing to the West, it encircled West Berlin for 155km (96 miles), dividing the city and its people for 28 years.
Since 2003, Palestinians have marked the same date as an international day of action against Israel’s wall, which is more than four times as long and still being built. In urban areas, its concrete rises to about 9 metres (30ft), more than twice the height of Berlin’s.
But the wall is more than a physical structure. It operates alongside a wider network of checkpoints, roadblocks, gates and permits that restricts Palestinian movement across the occupied territory.
Where does the wall run?
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 456km (283 miles), or 64 percent, of the planned route had been built by April.
About 85 percent of it runs inside the West Bank rather than along the Green Line, the 1949 armistice line separating Israel from the West Bank. That route determines which communities, roads and farmland are cut off from their surroundings.
In some urban areas, the barrier is a concrete wall. Elsewhere, it is made up of fences, patrol roads, ditches and other security infrastructure.
For Palestinians, the comparison with Berlin carries a message. “It doesn’t matter how high the barriers will be, they will fall,” a Palestinian activist in Bir Nabala told Al Jazeera. “Like the Berlin Wall fell, the Palestinian wall will fall.”
How many people are cut off from their land?
The wall’s impact reaches far beyond the structure itself. Its route cuts Palestinian communities off from neighbouring towns, workplaces and farmland, disrupting livelihoods and everyday life.
More than 14,000 Palestinians live between the wall and the Green Line in an area known as the Seam Zone. To reach basic services, markets and relatives on the other side, they must pass through checkpoints.
Farmers are among the hardest hit. According to OCHA, about 150 Palestinian communities have land in this area. Reaching it depends on permits, prior coordination with Israeli authorities and access through designated agricultural gates.
There are about 62 such gates along the wall, and most stay closed for much of the year. During the 2025 olive harvest, 74 percent opened only on a limited number of days.
In Qalqiliya, the wall wraps around much of the city, cutting it off from nearby Palestinian communities and the land around it. Journeys to neighbouring towns that were once short can now mean passing through checkpoints or taking long detours.
The wall restricts more than movement. It reshapes how communities relate to their land and places that are part of their everyday lives.
Israel’s wider system of control
The wall is only one part of a much wider network restricting Palestinian movement across the West Bank.
As of December, OCHA documented 925 checkpoints, road gates, earth mounds and other obstacles across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. They restrict the movement of about 3.4 million Palestinians, often forcing long detours to reach work, school, hospitals and other services.
The network includes 89 permanently staffed checkpoints, 218 partial checkpoints, 232 road gates, 167 earth mounds, 114 linear closures and 105 roadblocks.
Checkpoints and road gates now make up nearly 60 percent of these obstacles, up from 15 percent two decades ago when temporary blockages, such as earth mounds and roadblocks, were far more common.
Crossing the wall itself requires permits. Of its 13 checkpoints, only three can be used by Palestinians with West Bank IDs and Israeli-issued permits to enter East Jerusalem and Israel. OCHA said these permits are hard to get and many have been revoked or suspended since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
The wall stretches for hundreds of kilometres, but its impact cannot be measured by distance alone. It is measured in the farmland farmers struggle to reach, the communities cut off from nearby towns and the checkpoints between people and the places they need to go.
What is next for Israel? | Israel Election 2026
There are two ways to read the results of the Israeli elections. One way would be to see them as a defeat for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From holding a solid majority in the 120-member Knesset, the Netanyahu bloc has been reduced to a minority of 53 members. Anti-Netanyahu lawmakers, by contrast, hold 67 seats.
Had Israel been a democracy, we would have seen scenes of celebration similar to the ones we saw this year in Hungary, Brazil and Serbia, where political forces with undemocratic tendencies were defeated. But Israel is not a democracy, and Netanyahu was not necessarily defeated.
The second, more relevant way of reading the results of the Israeli election would necessitate accepting the apartheid nature of Israel and seeing the electoral arithmetic through that prism. In this case, Netanyahu won because he secured 53 seats in the Knesset – five more than the anti-Netanyahu Jewish bloc.
To form a government, a bloc needs to have the support of at least 61 members of the Knesset. The only way Netanyahu can do it is by enticing parties or lawmakers from the anti-Netanyahu bloc to join his bloc, as he has succeeded in doing many times in the past. Working with Palestinian parties, which secured 19 seats, is out of the question for him.
The obvious path for government formation for the anti-Netanyahu bloc would be to form a coalition – one that would include the two Palestinian parties. But to do so would mean to challenge Israeli apartheid. The main leaders of the Jewish anti-Netanyahu bloc, including Gadi Eisenkot, have promised not to do so under any circumstances.
There is another option: seeking the support of the religious Orthodox parties, which have so far been part of the Netanyahu bloc. To secure their backing, the anti-Netanyahu bloc would have to promise to exempt religious Orthodox youth from military service and guarantee funding for their learning centres.
However, Eisenkot’s main election promise was forcing young Haredi Jews into the army. So this is not a very likely scenario, but in politics, never say never.
There is also the option of a “unity government” led by some sort of rotation between the leading figures of the anti-Netanyahu bloc and Netanyahu. The problem here is that, according to a law passed a few years ago, as long as Netanyahu is still a defendant in an ongoing trial, he cannot serve as a minister; his coalition made sure that the legislation ridiculously would not apply to a prime minister.
Given that Netanyahu’s corruption trial is destined to go on for a very long time, the rotation would make it impossible for Netanyahu to be part of a government under Eisenkot as prime minister. That means he would demand to hold the rotating premiership first and leave open the option to collapse the government once his rotation is over.
Netanyahu has already done that before. In 2020, without any hesitation, he broke a rotation agreement with Benny Gantz, who had naively believed that after two years he would be the prime minister. This resulted in new elections, which Netanyahu won.
Finally, a very possible scenario is that neither of the two blocs would be able to form a government, which would mean new elections in six months. Netanyahu and his government would remain in office until the new polls, albeit with more limited authority.
This would give them the opportunity to reignite a war with Iran and Hezbollah and continue with their violent policies in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in an attempt to attract more public support and win the elections.
This is the preferred option for Netanyahu because his relative defeat in the October 27 elections had a lot to do with the unprecedented galvanisation among the Palestinian voters in Israel and the more liberal Jewish Israelis living abroad who came back home in huge numbers to vote.
These possible scenarios tell only part of the story and are not enough to fully understand what the election results mean for Israel, the Palestinians and the region. Here are the more important conclusions one should draw from the results:
The first pertains to the future of the Palestinian citizens of Israel. They still could turn out to vote in large numbers if new elections are held soon. But if they are once more ignored and sidelined by the other political parties, they will never try it again.
In this case, it would be difficult for the leadership of this community to continue to delay a strategic decision: choosing which political space Palestinian citizens of Israel belong to – the Israeli or the Palestinian one?
Until today, they have given a chance to the Israeli political system despite its racism, apartheid tendencies and criminal policies towards Palestinians. Palestinian parties recommended Eisenkot for the premiership to President Isaac Herzog, who has now tasked him with forming a government.
If I can venture a prediction – and it is only a prediction – the anti-Netanyahu bloc would not engage meaningfully with the Palestinian parties. Its message, therefore, will be that the Palestinians of Israel are not legitimate players in the Israeli political field.
If I am wrong, this would be an incredible and transformative moment in the history of both Israel and Palestine, but there seems to be very little hope for such a development.
There are other lessons we can learn from where we are now with the knowledge that this is a very volatile moment in the history of Israel.
The first and most important one is that whoever forms the next government of Israel will continue the incremental genocide in Gaza, the intensified ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and the aggressive policies towards the region. These policies as before can only be stopped or tamed by the region and the international community sending a clear message to Israel that there will be a price tag attached to such policies.
The second lesson is that the Israeli Jewish society is as deeply divided as ever, to the point that it is impossible for it to maintain a stable political system, a thriving economy and a positive strategy towards the region and the world.
The third lesson is that Israel’s international isolation will increase as a result of this trajectory, including the continued dissociation from Zionism among young Jews around the world, including in the United States.
Finally and most importantly, this can have an impact on the global discussion about Zionism. The move by the Green Party in Britain to define Zionism as racism – despite being currently an exception and widely condemned – will gain validity with time.
These elections and future developments are making clear that Zionism in the current Israeli politics means the exclusion of Palestinian citizens of Israel from politics – first by ignoring them and quite possibly in the future by denying them the right to vote
Moreover, many in the international community will associate the term Zionism with a consensual Israeli policy of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.
The outlook in the short term is worrying. The overall message from the Israeli elections is that the future policies of the state will continue to threaten the lives of the Palestinians in occupied territory, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the people of southern Lebanon and Syria. There will be more instability in the region.
In the long run, however, as bad as it is, the fundamental cracks in the Zionist project will widen, which might lead to its demise. One can only hope this will also lead to the beginning of a political reality that would benefit everyone who lives in historical Palestine and the region.
A version of this oped was first published by Al Jazeera Arabic.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Olivia Attwood tipped to replace Maya Jama as Love Island host 10 years after show debut
Maya Jama has announced she’s quit Love Island after three years and a former contestant is a hot favourite to replace her
Olivia Attwood is heavily tipped to replace Maya Jama as Love Island host
A former Love Island contestant is heavily tipped to become the next host of the ITV2 dating show as Maya Jama steps down as host after three years.
Olivia Attwood, who shot to fame in the third series back in 2017 and reached the final with ex Chris Hughes, is the 2-1 favourite with bookmaker Coral to replace Maya. Series five finalist Maura Higgins is 5-2 to replace, while Radio 1 DJ Vick Hope is priced at 3-1.
“As a former contestant, Olivia Attwood is very familiar with Love Island, and we make her the 2-1 favourite to replace Maya Jama,” said Coral’s John Hill.
“Maura Higgins and Vick Hope are likely to be in contention too, while if the show turns to a male presenter, Sam Thompson is the most likely to land the job, according to our odds.”
Maya, who recently appeared on Celebrity Traitors, shared her shock news on her Instagram page on Sunday (November 8) evening in a statement to her fans.
The Bristol-born beauty wrote: “What an incredible era and what an unforgettable time I’ve had, it’s been far too much fun to put into words or a video… but as all good things must come to an end, it’s my time to step down as the host of my beloved Love Island.
“Firstly, I want to thank all of the people who rooted so hard for me to host the show in the first place. I wouldn’t change a thing. To the fans of the show, thank you for every supportive message and every single time you’ve tuned in during my time as host, I’m forever grateful to you all. The show really does belong to the people who watch it and embrace it year after year.
“Biggest thanks to the incredible production team, I’ve seen firsthand how you work your asses off for months every year to bring this iconic show to life.”
**Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. _Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings**
She continued: “I started hosting the show aged 28 and during the nine incredible series met the most wonderful humans along the way. I’ve loved every slow-mo walk, fire pit and live show.
“I’ll forever be grateful for the experience. But I’ve always believed that to truly grow, you have to take a leap every now and then, and now is my time to throw myself into something new.
“While my own Love Island journey has come to an end, I wish the show and the team all the success in the world, I’ll be cheering you lot on from the sidelines forever.”
An ITV spokesperson said: “Maya has been a fantastic and much loved host on Love Island – we thank her for everything she has brought to the show over the last three years and wish her every continued success.”
Love Island is available to watch on ITVX
Climate Finance Gets a Reality Check at COP31
Explore the $1.3 trillion funding gap facing emerging markets as COP31 puts climate finance under the lens.
This article appears in the November issue of Global Finance Magazine.
The New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance, agreed upon at COP29 two years ago, envisioned raising at least $300 billion annually by 2035, framed by a broader objective to mobilize $1.3 trillion per year for emerging markets and developing economies, or EMDEs.
Yet, as COP31 convenes in Antalya, Turkey, this month, portfolio managers across institutional trading desks and sovereign debt offices see a stark mismatch between political rhetoric and capital-markets reality.
Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance estimates that EMDEs (excluding China) will need $3.2 trillion annually by 2035 to meet their climate and development goals. Domestic revenues, tax reforms, local capital markets, and fossil-fuel subsidy phase-outs can cover only $1.9 trillion. That leaves an external requirement of $1.3 trillion annually: a sevenfold increase over current cross-border flows.
Multilateral roadmaps project that private capital will meet half of this external need — approximately $650 billion — with multilateral development banks providing $300 billion to $400 billion, bilateral public sources $80 billion to $100 billion, and international levies supplying the rest. But official tracking often conflates non-concessional commercial loans and guarantee values with true grant-equivalent support, obscuring severe risk-return constraints.
An industry insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that private capital is expected to focus overwhelmingly on mitigation assets in high-emitting, middle-income sovereigns: jurisdictions with commercial activity but limited scale. Conversely, the $300 billion public core of the NCQG is intended to prioritize adaptation infrastructure and grants for low-income countries.
Autopsy of the 1:5 Ratio
Blended finance strategically combines public or philanthropic capital with private commercial investment to fund sustainable development projects. It uses public funds to reduce risk, making emerging markets more attractive to private investors. While development finance orthodoxy has long touted a 1:5 public-to-private capital leverage ratio, joint MDB and OECD reporting shows that actual private co-mobilization in lower-income nations averages only $0.20 to $0.50 per public dollar.
However, “any headline number on blended finance obscures a large number of variables, so any generalization is going to be weak,” said Joan Larrea, CEO at Convergence, a global network supporting blended finance. Private involvement is gaining momentum, however: “Within the blended finance deals tracked, the ratio of private investment dollars mobilized relative to catalytic and concessional funding continues to grow.”
Private-sector dollars in blended finance transactions increased by 27% in 2025, reaching $11.2 billion, up from $8.8 billion in 2024, according to Convergence’s State of Blended Finance 2026 report. Commercial banks drove much of the growth, with their contribution rising from $4.3 billion to $7 billion. However, Larrea concedes that blended finance still lacks scale.
Regulations Deepen Gap
Under Basel III/IV rules, commercial banks face heavy capital charges for unrated emerging-market infrastructure debt. Similarly, Solvency II rules penalize institutional investors that allocate funds to unrated project debt without investment-grade wrapping. While MDB credit enhancements can suppress key risk parameters and reduce debt yields, underlying currency-hedging costs remain a serious obstacle.
Larrea pointed to structural shifts underway within multilateral channels.
“There remain regulatory and risk barriers to a lot of investors’ exploration of emerging markets,” she said, “but those who are doing so are using blended finance increasingly effectively. We do see room in transactions supported by MDBs and development finance institutions for the development banks to move down from senior positions to mezzanine or junior positions. That observation applies whether the transactions are blended—meaning whether donor money is also present—or fall into more traditional MDB/DFI business lines.”
The Silent Deal Killer
While global clean energy investment exceeds $2 trillion annually, according to International Energy Agency data, capital remains concentrated in advanced economies, China, and established project pipelines in India. Redirecting capital flows to high-capacity developing nations—such as South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and Nigeria—requires mitigating severe foreign exchange and credit risks.
FX volatility frequently undermines project bankability. Clean energy projects generate revenue in non-convertible or volatile local currencies, whereas debt service and capital equipment are denominated in hard currencies like U.S. dollars or euros.
Local currency hedging in emerging markets can add 800 to 1,200 basis points per year to financing costs and restrict commercial tenors to three to five years. A standard 15-year solar asset cannot absorb hedging expenses on that level without driving costs beyond the means of local consumers or depressing returns below viable investment thresholds.
While broader emerging markets maintain functioning swap markets, said Joe Delvaux, senior-fixed income emerging markets portfolio manager at Amundi, liquidity in frontier markets is exceptionally thin and heavily dependent on central banks or primary export industries. In these economies, non-deliverable forward tenors typically stretch only six to 12 months, exposing investors to severe rollover risk.
When fully hedged returns fail to clear minimum investment hurdles, institutional capital simply walks away, Delvaux said: “If the investment does not pass certain key hurdle rates or possess such a decent net positive return post-hedging, why would an investor want to carry the risk if there is no major return being generated?”
Superimposed on currency risk is a compounding climate-sovereign feedback loop. Credit rating agencies are accelerating climate vulnerability downgrades and negative-outlook revisions across Global South sovereigns. As extreme weather events impair fiscal revenues and raise reconstruction costs, sovereign balance sheets weaken further. Lower sovereign ratings widen bond spreads, raising borrowing costs for local utilities and corporate borrowers to prohibitive levels of 12% to 18% or more.
Whether a project accelerates debt risks or enhances creditworthiness hinges on execution and viability, because delayed or failed projects can cause power deficits and blackouts that paralyze industry and strain national balance sheets. Conversely, well-managed projects can deliver vital energy, boost economic output, and strengthen sovereign credit profiles.
“It comes down to country by country, project by project,” Delvaux said.
Bridging the gap between core public finance and the NCQG’s $1.3 trillion goal requires structural reform, rather than reliance on financial leverage assumptions. Public-donor funding must target grant-based adaptation in low-income countries and absorb first-loss tranches that commercial capital cannot accept.
Concurrently, country-led platforms such as just energy transition partnerships—deals between developed economies and coal-dependent countries that aim to promote both development and the clean-energy transition—can aggregate projects into investable pipelines. Unlocking institutional capital at scale ultimately depends on expanding MDB balance sheets, establishing global FX guarantee facilities, and reforming international capital regulations to treat climate resilience as a productive capital investment.
Gilly Wright is a conributing writer based in the U.K.
Louis Rees-Zammit: Wales wing in confident mood ahead of All Blacks
Tandy’s side now host a New Zealand side that impressively stretched away from Scotland in the second half in a comprehensive 43-21 success.
Wales have lost 34 straight games to the All Blacks since their 1953 triumph, a streak that few expect to end in Cardiff.
But Rees-Zammit takes encouragement from last November’s meeting when New Zealand won 52-26 – but led just 24-21 early in the second half.
“Last year we were in it until 60-odd minutes. It’s about hard work and putting your body on the line against those boys,” said the wing, who scored an acrobatic try against New Zealand last year.
“Then when you get the ball and get chances, be brave with it, be fearless because we have a strong back line and players who can finish.
“Next week will be brave and go for it. They are obviously a great team, but the second that you shy away from it, you miss and they take advantage.”
After left wing Tom Rogers became the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick against New Zealand last year, Rees-Zammit will hope for plenty of chances to show his finishing prowess on the right flank next weekend.
‘Tents don’t protect us’: Rains flood displaced Palestinians in Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Az-Zawayda, Gaza Strip – On Saturday night, water began rushing into Jaber al-Kaseeh’s tent in central Gaza’s az-Zawayda area, waking him and his family as heavy rain swept across Gaza. Soon the tent’s floor was flooded, soaking mattresses, carpets, blankets and spoiling what little food the family had managed to keep.
“Everyone woke up and stayed awake, asking their neighbours about the extent of damage and inquiring about children,” Jaber, who is in his 70s, told Al Jazeera.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
He described the area outside the displacement camp, where thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge, as a swimming pool.
More than 70,000 tents have been flooded since heavy rains began late on Friday, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in locations considered “highly vulnerable” to more flooding.
More than a year after the so-called “ceasefire” deal was signed between Israel and Hamas, Israel has continued to flout the terms of the agreement, blocking the entry of goods into Gaza, including 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents.
Only 20,000 tents have been allowed in, and mobile homes have remained parked on the Egyptian side of the border, many of them for more than two years.
Fourth winter in tents
This is the fourth winter for Jaber and his family living in a tent house in the az-Zawayda area. Originally from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, Jaber has been displaced several times, like most Palestinians since Israel launched its genocidal war on October 7, 2023.
More than 90 percent of Palestinians have been displaced, many of them multiple times, by the war that has attracted global condemnation.
Jaber says his camp was flooded three or four times last winter, forcing many families to leave. Around 40 tents still remain there, but the latest flooding has left them in even worse condition.
“All the tents are now damaged, torn and covered in mud,” Jaber told Al Jazeera.
“We urgently need tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheets, mattresses, blankets and carpets to protect us from the difficult days ahead.
“We keep hearing about tents and tarpaulins being distributed, but we have received nothing.
“We had hoped the mobile homes and temporary housing units promised under the ceasefire deal would allow us to rest and return to a life of safety and peace. But it was all just words in the air. We have seen nothing.”
Promised shelter, unmet needs
Jaber’s experience reflects the wider shelter crisis facing displaced Palestinians across Gaza. Despite the “ceasefire” agreement, which included provisions for temporary housing units, tents and heavy machinery to clear rubble, large numbers of families remain in makeshift shelters exposed to winter weather.
Under the first phase of the agreement, along with temporary housing units and tents, heavy equipment was also supposed to be allowed in to remove rubble and help restore damaged infrastructure.
But the arrival of mobile homes and heavy machinery has been delayed as Israel has found excuses to restrict their entry into the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Trucks carrying mobile homes and equipment have reportedly been waiting on the Egyptian side of the border while Palestinians live in misery in dilapidated tent camps.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza requires approximately 121,000 tents and 561,000 tarpaulins, while available stocks remain far below what is needed.
For Om Hani Hamouda, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya now sheltering in al-Zawayda, replacing her worn-out tent with a caravan has become a dream.
“We did not expect that the first rainfall would leave us in this condition,” she told Al Jazeera. “These tents do not protect us from the cold, storms or rain. Whenever winter comes, everyone holds their breath.”
Hamouda had hoped the ceasefire agreement would allow her family to return to northern Gaza or at least receive a caravan or building materials to secure better shelter. But she said there had been no sign of progress.
“We are asking for a dignified life. We want these tents to be replaced with caravans. Even a simple caravan would be better,” she told Al Jazeera.
Hamouda’s family has been displaced around 15 times during the war. She spent more than 15 years living and working in the United Arab Emirates before returning to Gaza nearly two years before the war began.
“My children cry because they miss the life we had there,” she said. “Life here is so difficult. There is no life in any sense.”
Families left exposed to the rain
Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, told Al Jazeera that large quantities of tents, caravans, prefabricated housing units and shelter equipment remain stranded at Gaza’s borders because of Israeli restrictions.
He said that while more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians were facing another winter in worn-out tents, even people living in houses and apartments remained exposed to the elements because of the extensive damage to homes and infrastructure.
“Today, we cannot even say that those living in houses and apartments are safe from extreme weather because, with around 85 percent of homes destroyed or damaged, every family is exposed to some degree of harsh weather conditions,” Abdu said, adding that Israel continues to reject shipments containing timber and emergency shelter kits, depriving families of the ability to repair homes that could otherwise accommodate them.
Abdu said Israel, as the occupying power, was legally obligated under the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure essential supplies reached civilians and to facilitate humanitarian relief.
Jihad Dawwas, 51, says he felt helpless as he could not do anything as his children had nowhere dry to sleep amid the rains.
Water poured into the tents at the displacement camp where he is sheltering, while strong winds blew away many of the surrounding tents. His children ended up sleeping while standing, he said, after rainwater soaked their mattresses and the plastic sheets covering their shelter.
“They slept standing up. By morning, some of my children had become ill because of the cold and the storm,” he told Al Jazeera.
Dawwas, who was displaced from northern Gaza, is sheltering with seven of his own children and three orphaned children of his brother. He said he had bought the family’s tent with his own money and had received no tent from any charity or aid initiative.
“A tent cannot replace a home, not even by one percent,” he said. “We are living in what is left of our lives.”
He said he had seen no caravans or temporary housing units arrive to help displaced families, despite the expectations raised by the ceasefire agreement.
“Our lives are a daily hell. We are completely forgotten. There is no fair distribution of aid, and no one is really asking about us,” Dawwas said.
He questioned why even basic shelter supplies had become so difficult to obtain.
“Do tents and tarpaulins really need all this pressure and effort just to become something we can ask for?” he asked. “They should provide us with tents and tarpaulins, and give us at least a dignified life.”
Smog blankets New Delhi as Diwali firecrackers worsen air quality | Climate Crisis News
Air quality in Indian capital reaches severe levels, posing heightened health risks for more than 30 million residents.
Published On 9 Nov 2026
Heavy smog has blanketed New Delhi after firecrackers lit up the Indian capital during Diwali celebrations, worsening the seasonal pollution crisis.
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, was celebrated across India on Sunday. Despite restrictions on fireworks, New Delhi residents celebrated the festival of lights with firecrackers throughout Sunday evening, releasing smoke and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
On Monday morning, the Air Quality Index exceeded 350 in several parts of the capital, categorised as “severe” and posing significant health risks, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended exposure thresholds.
Last month, India’s Supreme Court put in place restrictions to limit Diwali pollution, allowing only approved “green firecrackers” under specified conditions for three-hour windows on Saturday and Sunday. The approved crackers produce fewer emissions but are not pollution-free.
Seasonal pollution
On Wednesday, days before Diwali, toxic air pollution in New Delhi surged to more than 30 times the WHO’s recommended daily limit, data from air monitors showed.
New Delhi, home to 30 million people, persistently ranks among the world’s most polluted capital cities.
The issue is exacerbated during the winter, when cooler temperatures, low wind speeds and stagnant atmospheric conditions prevent pollutants from dispersing.
Vehicles account for 23 percent of New Delhi’s winter pollution, while biomass burning, including farm stubble fires, contributes 20 percent, according to India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The result is a thick haze that can linger over the capital and surrounding areas for days.
Katherine Ryan shares rare snaps with her four kids and husband at her daughter’s gold-themed Christening
KATHERINE Ryan has shared rare snaps with her four kids and husband at her daughter’s gold-themed Christening.
The Canadian- born comedian, 43, gave birth to her fourth child Holland Juliette last year as her husband Bobby Kootstra shared adorable pics of their newborn.
Taking to Instagram, Katherine shared the stunning photographs from her daughter’s beautiful golden christening.
She captioned the image “Swipe for theme,” ending with a pack of Kerrygold butter — a cheeky nod to her gold aesthetic and the family’s Irish roots.
The comedian and her family looked like royalty as they lined up outside the stone church, all dressed in matching shades and textures of gold.
Another stunning image showed Katherine alongside her sister in front of an ornate white altar dripping in gold accents.
Fans flocked to comment and one wrote: “Obsessed with these gold looks!”
Another said: “Glam Queens!”
A third added: “Lovely photo you have a beautiful family.”
Katherine previously revealed she is considering the ‘deadliest surgery you can get’ – which poses a risk that she ‘might die’.
She said on The Romesh Ranganathan Show: “So you know the popular procedure where they try to find fat in your body through like a cannula and lipo suction and they harvest that and they put it somewhere else.
“I think people went a little wild with that and they all looked like they had, I don’t know unnatural proportions.
“So I might do that, but only mildly, because it is the deadliest surgery you can get.”
The comedian also told how she spent £25,000 on a facelift last year.
Cutter Gauthier scores another hat trick in Ducks’ fifth straight win
Cutter Gauthier continued his scoring rampage with his third hat trick in eight days, and captain Mikael Granlund had a goal and three assists in the Ducks’ fifth consecutive victory, 5-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night.
Gauthier’s empty-net goal in the final minute gave him three goals and an assist for the Ducks, who became the first team since the 1988-89 Kings to score at least five goals in eight consecutive games.
Gauthier extended his goals streak to six games and his points streak to a career best-tying eight games with his fourth multi-goal performance during this electric sequence, including three of his four career hat tricks. He has scored eight of his 13 goals in this six-game stretch on power plays.
Jackson LaCombe had three assists and tied a Ducks record with an assist in his 10th consecutive game. Laurent Brossoit made 32 saves for his fourth victory in four starts in Anaheim’s net.
Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell scored six-on-four power-play goals in the third period after Pittsburgh had fallen behind 4-0. Evgeni Malkin had two assists and Arturs Silovs stopped 20 shots for the Penguins, who broke a four-game skid Saturday night against the Kings in the opener of their California trip.
Granlund scored from the slot in the first period right as a power play ended, extending his scoring streak to six games.
After Pittsburgh failed to score during nearly 4½ straight minutes of power-play time early in the second, Gauthier beat Silovs with a beautiful no-look shot for his first goal. Gauthier scored again less than three minutes later with a quick wrist shot.
Luneau ripped a power-play goal early in the third and extended his point streak to eight games, justifying the faith shown when the Ducks signed the defenseman to a $43.2-million extension last month before his first full NHL season.
Pittsburgh avoided the shutout on Letang’s six-on-four score with 11:55 to play, the first goal of his 21st NHL season.
Asian stock markets climb after earlier tech rout | Financial Markets News
Markets rebound after tech rout triggered by Democrats’ sweeping victory in US midterm elections.
Published On 9 Nov 2026
Asian stock markets have rebounded after last week’s tech rout triggered by the Democratic Party’s sweeping victory in the US midterm elections.
Key indexes in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong made substantial gains on Monday, following a rebound on Wall Street on Friday.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 3.45 percent as of 04:00 GMT.
In Taipei, the Taiex was 5.72 percent higher, while the Kospi in Seoul was up 1.68 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.19 percent.
Futures for Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were up 0.60 percent and 0.59 percent, respectively.
They had dipped earlier following US-based chip giant Nvidia’s announcement that it would investigate its CEO over a romantic relationship he conducted with a woman accused of being a Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board of directors said that while it had confidence in CEO Jensen Huang and had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets were compromised, an independent inquiry would examine “all available information”.
The board said Huang supported the inquiry and pledged his full cooperation.
“The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders,” the company said.
The stock market rebound comes after the US midterm results prompted a $2.5 trillion sell-off on Wall Street on Thursday amid concerns that Democratic-controlled legislatures could slow the rollout of data centres used to power AI.
The tech rout spilled into Asia on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 and Kospi plunging about 6 percent and 9 percent, respectively, and the Hang Seng Index dropping more than 1 percent.
Government’s EV targets expected to be reduced this week
The UK government’s electric vehicle (EV) targets are expected to be reduced this week in a move likely to be welcomed by carmakers but opposed by environmental groups.
Under the current rules, 80% of new cars sold in the UK must be electric by 2030 but industry groups have long called for “urgent relief”.
New petrol or diesel cars are due to be phased out by 2030 and by 2035 all new cars must be zero emission.
But the speed of the transition to electric has been hotly debated, including within the cabinet.
The government has been consulting on reducing its 80% rule and a significant reduction is now expected.
Downing Street has insisted no decision has been made.
A government source told the BBC it would approach the issue in a “pragmatic and balanced” way.
If ministers do decide on a steeper watering-down of the rules, it will arguably be interpreted by some – alongside the approval of the Jackdaw gas field – as Prime MInister Andy Burnham prioritising economic considerations over environmental ones.
Sustainability groups say any weakening of the 2030 target will threaten the UK’s long-term electrification and climate goals.
Call the Midwife star Cliff Parisi unrecognisbale in ‘cosy’ ITV period drama
Cliff Parisi starred in different medical drama before landing the role of Fred Buckle on Call the Midwife
Cliff Parisi has played Fred Buckle in Call the Midwife since 2012 (Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)
Cliff Parisi looks a world away from Call the Midwife‘s Fred Buckle in a popular ITV period drama.
During the first season of Call the Midwife, which aired in 2012, actor Cliff Parisi was introduced as Fred Buckle, the kind and attentive handyman at Nonnatus House before he became a local shopkeeper, and he’s remained a fan favourite ever since.
Fred is married to councillor Violet Buckle (played by Annabelle Apsion), has two daughters from a previous marriage, and an adopted son, Reggie, portrayed by Daniel Laurie.
In the forthcoming Call the Midwife prequel, Sisters in Arms, which is set to air this Christmas, Fred’s backstory will be explored as the BBC show rewinds to World War Two, with actor Ciaran Bowling taking on the role of a younger incarnation of Fred.
For the first time, viewers will see the character alongside his first wife Betty Buckle, played by Ami Metcalf, as the Blitz takes hold of Polar, East London.
Away from Call the Midwife, EastEnders fans will recognise Cliff as the kind-hearted Minty Paterson on the BBC soap between 2002 and 2010.
The 66 -year-old actor also won over audiences during his stint on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here in 2019, and showcased his culinary talents on Celebrity MasterChef in 2022.
Beyond EastEnders and Call the Midwife, Cliff has played a variety of roles in some of Britain’s most popular TV shows over the years, including Casualty, Hollyoaks, Outnumbered, The Darling Buds of May, and London’s Burning.
His acting career began with the 1989 comedy film Queen of Hearts, where he played the Manager. Following this, he appeared in A Bit of Fry and Laurie in 1990 and KYTV in 1990 and 1993.
Between 1995 and 1996, Cliff took up the role of Daniel Bentley in ITV’s series Bramwell, and he’s now utterly transformed from the ill-fated hospital porter we see today. Sporting darker locks, facial hair, and a pensive expression, the actor is hardly recognisable.
Set in Victorian times, the medical drama centers around Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, portrayed by Jemma Redgrave, as she operates a free infirmary for the destitute in the East End.
Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
The second season sees a cholera outbreak take its toll, with Daniel Bentley succumbing to illness and subsequently dying from an overdose caused by a dosage miscalculation. Bramwell aired on ITV across four seasons from May 1995 until June 1998.
Since Bramwell debuted on television, the show has gained legions of fans, with one person writing on IMDb: “Great period piece–well worth watching. I came upon this miniseries by accident, and I am glad I did.
“I’d never heard of it, but it sounded interesting. It really does a good job of portraying what London and medicine probably were like back in the 1800s.”
A second explained: “An amazing series. I have followed “Bramwell” since I started watching the mini-series on PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre” a few years ago. The depiction of a female doctor in Victorian England is very entertaining and groundbreaking. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in period drama or the history of medical practice.”
“Loved Seasons 1-3. I started watching this show (Netflix instant play) as background noise while I worked on some projects, but soon fell in love.
“I am particularly drawn to medical dramas, and this show was no exception. I love the relationship between the doctors Bramwell (Elanor and her father) and the hopefully somewhat-accurate depiction of the struggles a woman doctor might face in those times”, added another.
Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Deportation flight of Iranians from U.S. scuttled at last minute
LOS ANGELES — A U.S. deportation flight of Iranian nationals bound for Iran by way of Pakistan was abruptly canceled Sunday morning, according to an attorney who spoke to some of the detainees scheduled for repatriation.
At least eight Iranians were loaded onto a plane Sunday morning in Mesa, Ariz., for a deportation flight headed to the Caucasus nation of Georgia, then on to Pakistan, according to Ali Rahnama, an attorney with the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund who filed emergency motions on behalf of some of the Iranian detainees. The flight was canceled without explanation, he said.
Court documents unsealed days ago in a civil lawsuit filed by the fund showed the Trump administration as recently as mid-October said it had plans to deport the Iranians to Iran, even as the war there drags on, via an unnamed third country. The lawsuit was filed in July and alleges that the U.S. government illegally shared confidential information with Iranian officials about Iranians seeking asylum in the U.S.
There were three deportation flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026, with more than 100 Iranian nationals deported. But the administration’s confirmation of the new plans amid the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February highlights its resolve in carrying out its hard-line immigration crackdown, which has involved ramping up removals, including to places that critics say could endanger the lives of the returnees.
Homeland Security response
In response to questions Sunday from the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not comment on “prospective removal operations, including flight schedules, passenger manifests, destinations, or individual case details,” nor would the agency confirm future removal operations.
“As promised, the Trump Administration is employing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history,” the statement said.
The administration did not specify in the October court records when the deportations would be carried out. But in the last week, roughly a dozen Iranian nationals in immigration detention said they were notified that they were scheduled for an upcoming deportation flight to Pakistan and then to Iran, according to numerous attorneys who have since confirmed those plans with Homeland Security.
Iranian government contacts reported
According to Rahnama, the eight detainees who boarded the flight on Sunday were visited by a senior official with the Iranian Interests Section — an Iranian representative office in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington that handles consular affairs — and were told that the Iranian government would transport them from Pakistan to Iran.
In the litigation brought by the Iranian immigrant advocacy group, at least a dozen Iranian detainees have said they’ve been contacted by Iranian officials who had knowledge of sensitive information on their asylum claims.
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, a nominee of President Biden, has not ruled on the claims but ordered the U.S. government to give the court 24-hour notice of any finalized plans to deport Iranians to Iran or to any other country, and five days’ written notice before any such deportation is carried out.
In a court filing Sunday, the defense fund laid out what it had learned about plans for a removal flight Sunday and argued that the administration may have violated the judge’s directive to give advance notice of deportation plans.
Later Sunday, the government filed court documents in the case, but they were sealed and inaccessible to the public.
Group says individuals could face persecution
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund has called for a halt to the removal flights, saying in a news release that they would “reportedly mark the first deportation of Iranians to Iran since the U.S.-Iran war began.”
The group’s executive director, Yasmine Chubin, said in a statement Sunday that it was difficult to comprehend why the U.S. would forcibly deport Iranians, including asylum seekers, to Iran, amid ongoing military hostilities.
The consequences of removal, Chubin said, “could be irreversible and individuals may face persecution, torture, or death.”
At least one person who had been part of the scuttled flight volunteered to go back to Iran after nearly two years of detention, Rahnama said, out of desperation to leave what he described as inhumane imprisonment. It’s not clear how many other of the deportees may have volunteered to leave.
Riddle writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
Barcelona fight back to beat Atleti as Fermin scores twice
Fermin Lopez scores twice as Barcelona come from behind to claim a gritty win over Atletico Madrid and maintain their advantage at the top of La Liga.
Source link
Iran war live: Trump to talk to Xi, Putin about Tehran, ‘denuclearisation’ | News
Live updatesLive updates,
Trump says Washington’s land blockade on Iran is now in effect, as Tehran threatens to ‘rain down hell’ if US resumes attacks.
Published On 9 Nov 2026
South Africa’s ANC suffers worst-ever local elections result | Elections
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), the party once led by Nelson Mandela, has suffered its worst-ever local elections result, securing just 30% of the vote. Al Jazeera’s Clement Manyathela reports on the historic setback.
Published On 9 Nov 2026