Six In The Morning Monday 27 October 2025

International troops won't want to enforce Gaza peace, says King of Jordan

Fergal KeaneSpecial correspondent

Countries would reject being asked to "enforce" peace in Gaza if deployed under the Trump ceasefire plan, King Abdullah of Jordan has told the BBC.

"What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it's peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that," said King Abdullah in an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama.

"Peacekeeping is that you're sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we're running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that's not a situation that any country would like to get involved in."

South Korea grapples with surge in anti-China sentiment as Xi Jinping prepares to fly in

Raphael Rashid in Seoul

Mon 27 Oct 2025 06.15 GMT

Maga-inspired protests regularly take place on streets of Seoul amid chants of ‘Korea for Koreans’ as South prepares to host crucial Apec summit

Thousands of protesters flooded central Seoul on Saturday, waving Korean and American flags, Maga hats, and banners honouring slain rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.

They held placards reading “Korea for Koreans” as chants of “China out” and “send the communists away” blended with an anti-Chinese racial slur.

Mali closes schools, unis, as jihadis block fuel supply

Timothy Jones AP, AFP

Schools and universities in Mali have closed amid fuel shortages as jihadi militants block fuel imports to the capital.

Mali's military junta has closed schools and universities across the Sahel country amid a blockade on fuel imports from neighboring states by Islamist militants.

Mali, along with the other junta-ruled Central Sahel countries of Burkina Faso and Niger, has long struggled with an insurgency by several armed groups, some of which are allied with the terror networks al-Qaeda and the so-called "Islamic State" (IS).

Absence of toxic foam in Indian river cheers Hindu devotees

Thousands of devotees waded into the foul waters of the Yamuna river in the Indian capital Monday for a Hindu festival, amid political wrangling over the sacred but severely polluted waterway.

At dusk, worshippers stood waist-deep in the river's brown waters to offer prayers to the sun god Surya as the setting orb sank into the haze blanketing New Delhi's skyline, marking the annual Chhath festival.

Unlike previous years, the scene was free of the thick layers of white foam that have long symbolised the Yamuna's toxic condition.

"At least this time it feels like a river, even if dirty," said 35-year-old homemaker Kanchan Devi.

Tokyo braces for summit with Trump under heavy security

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

During her first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 28, newly minted Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to pledge Japan’s commitment to proactively bolstering its defense capabilities.

Japanese officials are on edge ahead of the talks, which are likely to be dominated by national security issues, such as an increase in Japan’s defense spending.

Corruption, mismanagement in spotlight as Iran dissolves major private bank

The bank built the largest mall in the world, but also racked up massive debt and gave loans to insiders.

By Maziar Motamedi

Authorities have merged one of Iran’s largest private lenders into the country’s biggest state-run bank in a move that highlights a deeply troubled economy and will further squeeze average citizens as pressure from the West grows.

The central bank on Thursday announced that Ayandeh Bank, privately owned by one of Iran’s wealthiest families, would be dissolved and merged with Bank Melli, the government-run national bank, and that Ayandeh branches across the country would be transformed into Bank Melli branches by Sunday.

British journalist and Israel critic Sami Hamdi ‘abducted’ by ICE agents at San Francisco airport over past views

Far-right activist Laura Loomer took credit for Hamdi’s arrest

Josh Marcu

Sami Hamdi, a British journalist and activist and outspoken critic of the Israeli war in Gaza, was arrested by U.S. immigration agents Sunday at San Francisco International Airport.

“Earlier this morning, ICE agents abducted British Muslim journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco Airport, apparently in response to his vocal criticism of the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations civil rights group wrote on X.