Politics
Hurricane Melissa begins lashing Jamaica as ‘catastrophic’ Category 5 storm
- Jamaicans, Cubans, brace for direct impact.
- Across Caribbean, hundreds of thousands evacuate.
- Four deaths reported in Haiti and Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Melissa was packing sustained winds of up to 175 mph (282 kph) on Monday afternoon, as the slow-moving Category 5 storm was on course to barrel into Jamaica, in what could be the largest on record for the Caribbean island.
As of 2pm (1800 GMT), Melissa was a “catastrophic” storm, the strongest possible on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. The NHC expects Melissa to move over Jamaica late Monday or in the early hours of Tuesday, cross eastern Cuba the following night and move over the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos by Wednesday.
The storm’s slow movement over unusually tepid Caribbean water had contributed to its ballooning size and strength, NHC forecasters said, threatening Jamaica with days of never-before-seen catastrophic winds and as much as 3 feet of rain.
Melissa’s wind span is currently larger than the length of Jamaica, an island roughly the size of Connecticut and whose main airports sit very close to sea level.
Hours after ordering mandatory evacuations for parts of southern Jamaica, including the historic town of Port Royal, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called on foreign support and warned of damage to farmlands, homes and infrastructure such as bridges, roads, ports and airports.
Despite warnings, some residents told Reuters they were reluctant to leave their homes for fear of looting, and authorities said buses were waiting to be filled up and transport some 28,000 affected by mandatory evacuation orders.
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” he said.
Holness said his government was as prepared as can be, with an emergency response budget of $33 million and insurance and credit provisions for damage a little larger than those sustained from last year’s devastating Hurricane Beryl.
Beryl was the earliest and fastest Atlantic hurricane on record to reach Category 5, but scientists warn that storms are becoming stronger and faster as a result of climate change, warming ocean waters, and piling up fuel for seasonal storms.
“Tens of thousands of families are facing hours of extreme wind gusts above 100 mph and days of relentless, torrential rainfall,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter, adding that infrastructure damage could hamper the arrival of aid.
“Slow-moving major hurricanes often go down in history as some of the deadliest and most destructive storms on record,” he added. “This is a dire situation unfolding in slow motion.”
Jamaica has seen many large hurricanes in the past, including Category 4 Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, but a direct hit from a Category 5 would be unprecedented, said Evan Thompson, of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.
Melissa is moving much slower than Gilbert, Jamaica’s last major direct hit, Porter added, warning people should prepare to hunker down for days, and some communities could be cut off for weeks.
‘We can’t move’
Damian Anderson, a teacher from Hagley Gap, a town nestled in Jamaica’s soaring Blue Mountains, said impassable roads had already cut off his community.
“We can’t move,” Anderson, 47, said. “We’re scared. We’ve never seen a multi-day event like this before.”
Nearby Haiti and the Dominican Republic have already faced days of torrential downpours leading to at least four deaths, authorities in those island nations said.
In Haiti, impoverished by years of gang violence, more than 3,650 residents in the southern parts of the country moved into temporary shelters, authorities said, as they suspended flights to and from the southern peninsula and banned sailing.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis also ordered evacuations for people in the southern and eastern parts of the archipelago, while much of eastern Cuba battened down ahead of Melissa’s expected landfall.
Cuban authorities said they had evacuated upwards of 500,000 people living in coastal and mountainous areas vulnerable to heavy winds and flooding, and cancelled schools and transport across eastern Cuba.
More than 250,000 people were brought to shelters around Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city, which lies squarely in the crosshairs of the hurricane’s predicted path.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lauded Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, during talks in Tokyo, welcoming her commitment to accelerate Japan’s military buildup and overseeing the signing of new agreements on trade and critical minerals.
Takaichi a close ally of Trump’s late friend and golfing partner, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly told Trump she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the new Japanese leader is also expected to announce a $550 billion investment package, including shipbuilding projects and increased imports of U.S. soybeans, natural gas, and pickup trucks.
Analysts believe these commitments could ease potential U.S. pressure on Tokyo to spend even more on defense amid rising tensions with China.
Takaichi has already pledged to boost defense spending to 2% of GDP as part of her government’s long-term strategy.
“It’s a very strong handshake,” Trump remarked as the two leaders posed for photographs at the Akasaka Palace in central Tokyo.
“Everything I’ve heard from Shinzo and others tells me you’ll be one of Japan’s great prime ministers,” Trump said, congratulating Takaichi on becoming the country’s first woman to hold the office.
Takaichi gifted Trump Abe’s putter, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold leaf golf ball, according to photos posted on X by Trump’s assistant Margo Martin.
DEAL ON CRITICAL MINERALS SIGNED
Trump also praised Japan’s efforts to purchase more U.S. defence equipment, while Takaichi said Trump’s role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, were “unprecedented” achievements.
Takaichi followed other world leaders to recommended Trump for the Peace Prize he has long said he is worthy of.
The leaders then signed an agreement to support the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, as the countries seek to wean reliance off China’s chokehold on the materials crucial for a wide range of products from smartphones to fighter jets.
The deal aims to jointly identify projects of interest in areas such as magnets and batteries over the next six months and work together to develop stockpiles of key minerals among other measures.
Trump was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
After lunch with Takaichi there, Trump met with relatives of people abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 1970s to train its spies and their relatives.
While some were later repatriated, Japan continues to press Pyongyang for a full accounting of all the abductees and the return of any who remain alive, a cause championed by Abe.
“The United States is with them all the way,” Trump said after greeting the families.
The U.S. leader began his visit on Monday with a meeting at the Imperial Palace with Japanese Emperor Naruhito .
VISIT U.S. NAVAL BASE
Takaichi’s gifts to Trump and repeated references to Abe are aimed at evoking memories of a close bond forged over hours the pair spent golfing together during Trump’s first term.
Abe was assassinated in 2022, with the trial of his assailant coincidentally beginning in the western city of Nara on Tuesday.
A similar close relationship with the leader of Japan’s key security and trade partner could help Takaichi bolster her weak political position at home.
Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament’s lower house.
Trump and Takaichi will later visit the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, which is home to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, part of the U.S. military’s powerful presence in the region.
Trump will then meet business leaders in Tokyo, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea.
In talks there with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he hopes to seal a trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.
- Leaders meet in Tokyo, set to visit US naval base.
- Shipbuilding, soybeans, gas are on the agenda, sources say.
- Trump eyes trade deal with China after Japan visit.
TOKYO: US President Donald Trump lavished praise on Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing deals on trade and critical minerals.
Takaichi, a close ally of Trump’s friend and golfing partner late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
She is also expected to offer a package of US investments under a $550-billion deal agreed this year, including shipbuilding, and increased purchases of US soybeans, natural gas and pickup trucks, sources familiar with the talks said.
Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more on defending islands from an increasingly assertive China, which Takaichi sought to head off by pledging last week to fast-track plans to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP.
“It’s a very strong handshake,” Trump said, as the pair posed for photos at the Akasaka Palace in downtown Tokyo.
“Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers. I’d also like to congratulate you on being the first woman prime minister. It’s a big deal,” Trump told Takaichi as the pair sat down for discussions with their delegations.
Takaichi gifted Trump Abe’s putter, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold leaf golf ball, according to photos posted on X by Trump’s assistant Margo Martin.
Deal on critical minerals signed
Trump also praised Japan’s efforts to purchase more US defence equipment, while Takaichi said Trump’s role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, were “unprecedented” achievements.
Takaichi followed other world leaders to recommended Trump for the Peace Prize he has long said he is worthy of.
The leaders then signed an agreement to support the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, as the countries seek to wean reliance off China’s chokehold on the materials crucial for a wide range of products from smartphones to fighter jets.
The deal aims to jointly identify projects of interest in areas such as magnets and batteries over the next six months and work together to develop stockpiles of key minerals among other measures.
Trump was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
The US leader received a royal welcome shortly after his arrival on Monday, meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace.
Visit US naval base
Takaichi’s gifts to Trump and repeated references to Abe are aimed at evoking memories of a close bond forged over hours the pair spent golfing together during Trump’s first term. Abe was assassinated in 2022, with the trial of his assailant coincidentally beginning in the western city of Nara on Tuesday.
A similar close relationship with the leader of Japan’s key security and trade partner could help Takaichi bolster her weak political position at home.
Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament’s lower house.
Trump and Takaichi will later visit the US naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, which is home to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, part of the US military’s powerful presence in the region.
Trump will then meet business leaders in Tokyo, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea. In talks there with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he hopes to seal a trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.
WASHINGTON: Air travel turmoil deepened with more than 4,300 flights delayed nationwide on Monday following more than 8,800 delays on Sunday, with air traffic controller absences surging as the federal government shutdown reached its 27th day.
The Federal Aviation Administration cited staffing shortages affecting flights across the Southeast and at Newark Airport in New Jersey, while the agency imposed a ground stop at Austin Airport in Texas and a ground delay program at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport that delayed flights by an average of 18 minutes.
Southwest Airlines LUV.N had 47%, or 2,089, of its flights delayed on Sunday, while American Airlines AAL.O had 1,277, or 36%, of its flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. United Airlines UAL.O had 27%, or 807, of its flights delayed and Delta Air Lines DAL.N had 21%, or 725, of its flights delayed.
Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay. The Trump administration has warned that flight disruptions will increase as controllers miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday.
On Monday, Southwest had 24% of flights delayed, American 18% and Delta 13% as of 5:00 p.m. ET (2100 GMT), according to FlightAware.
A US Department of Transportation official said 44% of Sunday’s delays stemmed from controller absences — up sharply from the usual 5%.
The mounting delays and cancellations are fueling public frustration and intensifying scrutiny of the shutdown’s impact, raising pressure on lawmakers to resolve the budget impasse.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was in Cleveland meeting with controllers on Monday, while the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union plans events at numerous airports on Tuesday to highlight the first missed paycheck.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending wait times at some airport checkpoints. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington.
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