JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1266

BBC Verify says Israel is exerting control deeper into Gaza than the ceasefire’s mapped “Yellow Line” indicated, after videos and satellite images showed concrete markers placed hundreds of metres inside the Strip near al-Atatra and Khan Younis. Defense Minister Israel Katz warned crossings would be met with fire; at least two deadly incidents have occurred, including a 17 October strike that Gaza’s Civil Defence says killed 11 civilians after a vehicle crossed the line. The IDF says the blocks, set every 200 metres, provide tactical clarity, but confusion and legal questions persist amid shifting maps and warnings.

Tropical Storm Melissa is creeping through the Caribbean at as little as 2 miles an hour and could strengthen into a hurricane as steering influences stay weak and waters run unusually hot. Meteorologist Kerry Emanuel says potential intensity is elevated, and conditions favor the storm’s slow crawl. Research points to more lingering storms near land, boosting flood risk, though climate links remain debated. With days of heavy rain likely, Melissa threatens major flooding in Jamaica and Hispaniola—echoing the dangers seen in slow, water-laden storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Spanish authorities have identified the body of a 56-year-old man swept away in last year’s eastern Valencia floods, the deadliest such disaster in decades. DNA tests confirmed the remains found in the Turia river as one of three people still missing after the Oct. 29 tragedy that killed more than 230; the victim had been declared legally dead, so the toll stands. The water carried him 19 miles from Pedralba to Manises. A state funeral is set for Oct. 29, as protests over the response persist and officials say they lacked information to warn sooner.

After a drunken girls’ weekend at Butlin’s in Minehead, Charlotte Morjaria, 31, went to hospital fearing a rib injury from a game of tag. Instead, doctors found a 2.5-inch tumor on her left kidney, later diagnosed as stage-one TFE3 renal cell carcinoma. The Newport mother of one, who endured a 22-hour wait and nearly left, had her kidney removed in August, a day before turning 31. Declared cancer-free in September but still high risk, she faces regular scans and is urging others to seek checks and ask questions.

At a Guayaquil naval base, Ecuador's coast guard commander surveyed a seized smuggling submarine, weary after years of interdictions that barely dent the cocaine flow. Ecuador has captured about a dozen fully and semi-submersibles in 15 years, even as U.S. authorities say only a tiny fraction are caught worldwide. Cartels now field long-range, modified craft that dodge thermal imaging and can reach Europe, Africa and Australia. With 70 percent of the world's cocaine moving through Ecuador, Los Lobos controls the base's bordering neighborhood; last month, the U.S. designated the group a terrorist organization.

China’s Communist Party named Zhang Shengmin second-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission at the end of a four-day Central Committee meeting, days after nine generals were expelled for suspected serious financial crimes. Analysts said the removals could be seen as a political purge amid one of the largest military crackdowns in decades. Zhang, 67, a Rocket Force general and deputy secretary of the CMC’s anti-corruption arm, becomes its third-highest official after the first-ranked vice chair and President Xi Jinping, and will serve alongside vice chair Zhang Youxia. July guidelines urged eliminating "toxic influence" and set "iron rules."

As ballots land in Seattle mailboxes, the mayor’s race has narrowed to a generational and economic clash. Incumbent Bruce Harrell, 67, touts experience and endorsements but trailed in August, while 43-year-old organizer Katie Wilson led with 50 percent on a housing-first, social-media-savvy campaign. Their split over a new 5 percent "excess compensation" tax—backed by voters and opposed by business—opened a lane for Wilson. The contest has turned personal, with disputes over privilege, resume, and wealth, even as a city that needs more housing weighs who should manage a $9 billion government and its 13,000 employees.

Stranger Things 5’s finale will play on the big screen, with screenings in 350+ U.S. and Canadian theaters starting Dec. 31, 2025 at 5 p.m. PT—the exact moment the episode lands on Netflix—through Jan. 1, 2026. The unprecedented day-and-date TV episode release follows earlier short-window screenings for Season 4. After discussions, the Duffers thanked Netflix leaders Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria for making their long-held wish happen; the creators called the plan “bitchin’.” The streamer will roll out Season 5 in three batches, culminating with the finale; participating theaters are TBA.

Roberto Mosquera del Peral, a Cuban man deported by the United States to Eswatini, is on hunger strike in a maximum-security prison after more than three months held without charge or access to a lawyer, his U.S.-based attorney said. Eswatini officials call it religious fasting; his lawyer calls it desperation and protest. Lawyers and civic groups are challenging the detentions under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program. Of five men flown in July, one was repatriated; others, plus new arrivals this month, remain jailed amid disputed details of Mosquera’s conviction and monitored calls.

At an EU summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed fresh US and EU sanctions as essential pressure on Moscow and pressed leaders for long‑range weapons, stronger air defenses, and funding. The US targeted Russia’s two biggest oil firms, and the EU approved a 19th package that bans Russian LNG imports. Ukraine reported five civilians shot by Russian soldiers in Donetsk and said two journalists from a state‑funded TV channel were killed by a Lancet drone in Kramatorsk. Off‑site power was restored to the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a month‑long outage.