Venezuela has suspended a major gas deal with neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, citing the island nation’s reception of a United States warship.

President Nicolas Maduro ordered the “immediate suspension” of a deal to provide natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago, state broadcaster TeleSUR reported on Monday.

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The island is hosting one of several US warships deployed near Venezuelan waters by President Donald Trump’s administration. Venezuelan officials have accused the US president of seeking regime change.

Cancelling the gas deal, Maduro accused Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of transforming the Caribbean nation “into an aircraft carrier of the American empire against Venezuela”.

Trinidad and Tobago “ran out” of gas before Venezuela had agreed to help it with the deal, Maduro asserted.

Persad-Bissessar pushed back, telling Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday newspaper that the country’s future “does not depend on Venezuela and never has”.

She added that her government has been moving away from reliance on the long-delayed joint Dragon gasfield, which sits in Venezuelan waters near Trinidad.

“The last … government mistakenly placed all their hopes in the Dragon project. We have not done so,” Persad-Bissessar said.

This means that the government is “not susceptible to any blackmail from the Venezuelans for political support,” she asserted.

However, she denied that there are rising tensions between the two countries, which are separated by a small bay just 11km (7 miles) wide at its narrowest point.

‘Illegal and immoral military threat’

The USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived on Sunday in the Trinidadian capital, Port of Spain, with US Marines on board before planned joint military exercises.

Venezuelan authorities described Trinidad’s decision to host the ship as a provocation. The island nation’s government has stressed that joint exercises with the US happen regularly.

Since September, the Trump administration has launched 10 strikes against vessels in the region that it alleges were carrying drugs, killing at least 43 people.

The Pentagon has so far deployed seven warships, a submarine, drones and fighter jets to the Caribbean as well as another warship to the Gulf of Mexico.

The US has also announced the imminent arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which can host up to 90 airplanes and attack helicopters.

Many Latin America and Caribbean leaders have compared the strikes to extrajudicial killings. However, Persad-Bissessar has supported the US campaign, saying she’d rather see drug traffickers “blown to pieces” than have them kill citizens of her nation.

Venezuela argues that the attacks are aimed at allowing “external powers to rob Venezuela’s immeasurable oil and gas wealth”.

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto told the United Nations General Assembly on Monday that the US has an “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads”.

Several senior officials have accused the US of using false claims of a war against drugs to prepare a bid to oust Maduro’s government, which earned international opprobrium last year as it won elections branded neither free nor fair.

Dragon and Manatee gas projects

Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago first agreed to jointly drill for gas in 2018. However, the project has been long delayed and complicated by US sanctions on Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the US supports the Trinidad government’s Dragon gas proposal but it would take steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to Maduro’s government.

The licence on the field permits the British multinational oil and gas company Shell and Trinidad’s National Gas Company to develop the Dragon gasfield off Venezuela despite the sanctions targeting Maduro’s government.

Shell is separately developing the Manatee gas project, which crosses the maritime border into Venezuela but has received permission from the Maduro government to be developed on the Trinidad side independently. It was not immediately clear whether that project could also be at risk, the Reuters news agency reported.

The Dragon gasfield is reported to have 119 billion cubic metres (4.2 trillion cubic feet) of gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change.

The International Energy Agency warned in 2021 that launching new oil and gas projects was incompatible with reaching climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement.

Trinidad and Tobago is reliant on gas for 92.6 percent of its energy needs with the remaining 7.3 percent provided by oil products, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, provide 0.02 percent of the island nation’s energy, according to the IEA, well below other countries in the region.

FIFA began the process of selling another 1 million tickets for next year’s World Cup on Monday, with the opening of a new ticket draw marking the start of the tournament’s second phase of sales.

This draw, which runs through 11am Eastern Time on Friday, includes a domestic exclusivity time slot for residents of the three host countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico. Fans from those countries, whose entries are selected out of this draw, will have the opportunity to buy single-match tickets for games taking place in their home nation.

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The phase is open to all fans, regardless of which country they live in.

“We already have seen massive interest from around the world for this tournament, and especially from within the host countries as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare to host the biggest FIFA World Cup yet,” said Heimo Schirgi, the tournament’s chief operating officer. “This second phase, with its host country domestic exclusivity time slot, will allow us to say ‘thank you’ to these local fans, while ensuring global opportunity as well.”

The fans from the US, Canada and Mexico who enter the draw before it closes Friday have a chance to receive, through what FIFA says is a randomised process, a time slot during which they can buy tickets starting on November 12. Those slots will be issued through November 15. Fans who win those chances will receive word at least 48 hours before their time slot opens.

Residents of the three host countries – the US, Canada and Mexico, in that order – bought more tickets than those from any other nation in the initial phase of ticketing. England, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Argentina and France, in that order, rounded out the top 10.

Once the domestic exclusivity time slot ends, more fans will be eligible to obtain a buying slot starting on November 17. Additional tickets will be made available in subsequent phases, FIFA said.

Uncertainty over visas, dynamic pricing model

FIFA announced earlier this month that more than 1 million tickets have already been sold for next year’s World Cup, with people from 212 different countries and territories having already bought them. So far, 28 of the 48 spots for teams in the field have been filled.

The start of ticket sales does not take away the unique questions for consumers heading into the tournament, particularly about how they will get visas, if necessary, to visit the US, as the country cracks down on immigration. An international friendly match between defending World Cup champion Argentina – featuring Lionel Messi – and Puerto Rico was moved from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, because of lagging ticket sales that some believe were in response to the immigration crackdown.

Based on the listed stadium attendance figures, there are roughly 7.1 million seats to fill for the 104 matches for the tournament around 16 North American venues. It is unknown how many of those seats will be available for sale to the public.

Ticket data has shown that the lowest-priced seats – set at $60 – were available for at least 40 matches. Almost all seats for the majority of matches were set at a much higher price. The opening match for the US team, to be played at Inglewood, California, had prices ranging from $560 to $2,735 when sales opened. On the resale site, at least one ticket for that opening US match on June 12 was listed for more than $60,000 earlier this month.

Fans with the option to buy could choose seats in one of four categories; Category 1 is what FIFA officials call the best seats, Category 4 is somewhere around the tops of stadiums. Ticket costs are expected to fluctuate as football’s biggest event uses dynamic pricing for the first time.

Officials in Jamaica have urged people to stay inside their shelters as Hurricane Melissa churns towards the Caribbean island as the most destructive storm on record to hit the area.

The Category 5 hurricane is expected to make landfall early on Tuesday near St Elizabeth Parish in the south and leave the island around St Ann Parish in the north.

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Andrew Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, appealed to the public to stay indoors.

“I urge all Jamaicans to stay inside and remain within the safety of your homes. Avoid unnecessary travel. Strong winds, heavy rains and flash floods can occur at any moment,” he said late on Monday.

“Staying indoors is the safest option and reduces the burden on our security and emergency personnel,” he added.

Holness went on to warn of enormous destruction.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” he said, referring to the strongest storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”

‘Catastrophic’ winds, flooding

The storm already has been blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean – three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported late on Monday that Melissa was still 240km (150 miles) southwest of Kingston with maximum wind speeds of 282km/h (175mph).

It said the storm was expected to bring “catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge” to Jamaica on Tuesday.

Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported ahead of landfall as officials also warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 4 metres (13ft) across southern Jamaica.

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s local government and community development minister, told Al Jazeera the government had done all it could to prepare.

“We have put everything in place in regards to what are required in terms of evacuation, getting people to our shelters, providing the requisite resources, … and we have been cleaning our drains. We have been cleaning our gulleys,” he said from Kingston.

“We have done all the mitigation exercises. We have done public education, and now it is a matter of seeing what the outcome of Melissa will be,” he said.

McKenzie said 881 shelters have been set up across the country.

“I must admit that not all the shelters have persons in the shelters. We have seen an uptick in the number of persons turning up to the shelters. The demand in certain parishes are much greater than in some,” he said.

‘I am not moving’

Despite the pleas to evacuate, many residents said they were staying put.

“I am not moving. I don’t believe I can run from death,” Roy Brown told the AFP news agency in Kingston’s seaside area of Port Royal.

The plumber and tiler said he was reluctant to flee because of his past experiences with the poor conditions of government hurricane shelters.

In the Flagaman farming community of St Elizabeth, some residents were hunkering down in a store.

Owner Enrico Coke said he opened his place for fear that his neighbours had nowhere to go.

“I’m concerned about farmers. The fishermen will be suffering after this,” he told AFP. “We’ll need help as soon as possible, especially water for the people.”

Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps adviser based near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities.

“Many have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is frightening,” he told The Associated Press news agency. “There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods, of injury and of displacement.”

Meteorologists said part of Melissa’s punch stems from its slow pace: It is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just 5km/h (3mph) or less.

That means areas in its path could endure punishing conditions for far longer than during most hurricanes.

Climate change

After pummelling Jamaica, Melissa is forecast to cross over eastern Cuba on Tuesday night.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin provinces while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas.

Up to 510mm (20 inches) of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba along with a significant storm surge along the coast.

Cuban officials said on Monday that they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second largest city.

A hurricane warning was also in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Meteorologist Kerry Emanuel said global warming was causing more storms to rapidly intensify as Melissa did, raising the potential for enormous rains.

“Water kills a lot more people than wind,” he told AFP.

The last major hurricane to impact Jamaica was Beryl in July 2024 – an abnormally strong storm for that time of year.

“Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse,” climate scientist Daniel Gilford said.

History Illustrated is a series of perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context, using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Long overlooked in Bangladesh’s electoral system, millions of expatriates – including migrant workers who underpin the nation’s economy – will be able to vote in national elections for the first time, as the country’s Election Commission moves to finally ensure their participation in the democratic process.

The Election Commission estimates that about 15 million Bangladeshi expatriates, including migrant workers, live in the Gulf, Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia – accounting for more than 10 percent of the country’s total electorate.

To facilitate their participation, the Election Commission will launch postal ballots, supported by an app called Postal Vote BD. This is one of several moves to reform key state institutions, including the electoral, judicial, and legislative systems, by Bangladesh’s interim government, which was formed after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party were toppled in a mass uprising in 2024.

The interim government has scheduled highly anticipated parliamentary elections for February 2026, but experts warn that implementing an overseas voting system will be far from easy. A lot is riding on the first elections since the fall of Hasina’s government: Only four of Bangladesh’s 11 elections since the country’s independence in 1971 have been considered “free and fair”.

“The process is like a black box – if authenticity and transparency are not maintained, the credibility of the entire election could be called into question,” said Badiul Alam Majumdar, chief of the electoral reform commission, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “It’s a complex task that requires extensive logistical preparation. It won’t be easy, nor can it be implemented in all countries within one election cycle. But you have to start somewhere.”

Why couldn’t Bangladeshi expatriates vote before?

Bangladesh’s constitution has never explicitly barred expatriates from voting. Article 122 requires voters to be citizens of voting age who are registered to vote, but it does not specify a residency requirement. However, a 1982 ordinance added that voters must “ordinarily reside” in their constituency.

That ordinance was eventually repealed with the introduction of the Electoral Rolls Act 2009, which came into force in January 2009 and remains the current law. The Act recognises Bangladeshi citizens living abroad as residents of the constituency where they last lived or where their own or ancestral home is located.

However, while expats finally had the right to vote, they did not have the means to do so. No steps were taken to enable expatriates to actually vote.

“Past elections became a farce – there was no genuine intention to include them,” said Majumdar.

Following Hasina’s removal, the country’s reform commission has considered various methods to enable expatriate voting, ultimately settling on postal ballots supported by a mobile app.

How will expat voting work?

The Postal Vote BD app, scheduled to launch by the first week of November, will allow expats to register and track their ballots.

“Voters will register via the app using their National ID (NID) number, which is linked to the Election Commission’s server to determine their constituency,” Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission, told Al Jazeera.

Postal ballots will then be sent to the registered overseas address in an envelope containing a ballot paper and a pre-addressed envelope to return it by post. The envelopes sent out to voters will bear a QR code, which confirms delivery in the app when scanned by the recipient.

“After marking their choice, voters seal the ballot and send it from any post office. A barcode on the return envelope allows them to track its progress. Ballots are sent directly to the local returning officer under arrangements with the Universal Postal Union – embassies and diplomatic missions are not involved,” Ahmed added.

He dismissed concerns about envelopes being tampered with on their way back to Bangladesh. “Once the vote is cast and sealed in the envelope, only the returning officer will open it. Any envelope opened or intercepted in transit will be immediately apparent,” he said.

Did Bangladeshi workers overseas support the 2024 uprising?

Yes. When former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina intensified her crackdown on protesters during the July 2024 uprising, Bangladeshi migrant workers around the world launched a remittance boycott campaign in defiance. Remittances are the paycheques earned overseas which Bangladeshi workers send back to their families at home – these form a large part of Bangladesh’s economy. In the financial year following Hasina’s removal, expats and migrant workers sent a record $30bn back to Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi workers also risked arrest to join rallies throughout Gulf countries in 2024 to condemn Hasina’s actions. More than 100 workers were detained in the United Arab Emirates, many of whom were later released after the newly installed interim government intervened.

As a result of their actions, debates about the fair treatment and voting rights of migrant workers have become central to discussions among interim government policymakers over reforms.

“Our migrant workers are the nation’s remittance warriors – it is their right to vote. They played a vital role in ousting the autocrat, so securing their voting rights is essential,” Majumdar said.

Could the expat vote tip the balance in Bangladesh’s upcoming election?

“Expatriate voters make up more than 10 percent of the electorate, and in some constituencies they account for nearly a fifth of total voters. In a first-past-the-post system, that share can tip close races,” said Khaled Saifullah, joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), founded by the students who led the uprising against Hasina last year.

He emphasised that the significance goes beyond numbers. The diaspora tends to be politically aware, financially stable and closely connected to their home districts. Their participation can influence families and communities back home, shaping both turnout and public opinion.

“So, the impact of expatriate voting may be felt not only in the ballot count but also in the overall mood and momentum of the election,” he added.

Denied the right to vote for decades, Bangladeshi expatriates’ newfound suffrage ushers the country’s electoral landscape into uncharted territory. For political parties, it opens a new campaigning frontier with millions of potential voters across the Middle East, Malaysia and Europe.

The greatest challenge for political parties will be engaging with this vast overseas electorate.

Misinformation and disinformation on social media also pose challenges. However, politicians like Saifullah believe that when armed with facts, expatriates, who tend to be very active online and are well-informed, demonstrate a good ability to counter falsehoods themselves.

“In that sense, they are not merely potential victims of misinformation – they are also our strongest line of defence against it,” he said.

What do migrant workers want – and what are politicians offering them?

Tahsin Shakil, a Bangladeshi migrant worker living in the Gulf, said he hoped the mistreatment many migrant workers face at airports and the dismissive attitude of embassies to problems they encounter where they live would be addressed.

He described how workers are often subjected to long interrogations at the airports, arbitrary baggage checks, and rude behaviour by airport officials, while embassies frequently ignore their complaints or delay issuing essential documents such as passports and work attestations.

“The country’s economy depends on us, but we are treated like third-class citizens,” he said.

This is what the main contenders in the upcoming election are saying about their concerns:

National Citizenship Party (NCP)

Saifullah, of the student-led NCP, said expats should no longer be viewed solely in terms of the value of the remittances they send home. “Our manifesto recognises them as partners in rebuilding the state and ambassadors of Bangladesh abroad,” he said.

His party’s manifesto pledges to secure expatriate voting rights, end harassment at embassies and airports, and provide emergency support for citizens in distress overseas.

It also promises digital access to public services, support for returnees, and a framework for direct expatriate participation in policymaking – moving beyond seeing expatriates as only remittance senders to recognising them as key partners in national development.

“Our aim is simple: distance should not mean disenfranchisement,” Saifullah added.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

Saimum Parvez, a member of the BNP and special assistant on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the party would prioritise making conditions better for migrant workers overseas. “The BNP envisions that every Bangladeshi embassy around the world will take on greater responsibility for the welfare of expatriates, ensuring they are no longer subjected to harassment, while also working to create jobs and strengthen bilateral trade,” he said.

He added that the BNP is already closely involved with diaspora communities. “The BNP has diaspora committees across the world. I don’t think it will be difficult for the BNP to reach these voters though this established network worldwide.

“The BNP is now highly focused on policy-based politics, aiming to improve people’s lives. We have already presented policies on agriculture, employment, and education, and in the coming months, we will detail how these will transform the lives of ordinary citizens. For that reason, I believe the diaspora community will vote for the BNP.”

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

Shishir Manir, a Supreme Court lawyer and MP candidate for Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, also claimed the concerns of expats were central to the party’s policies. He told Al Jazeera: “Jamaat was the first party to raise the issue of facilitating expatriate voters. I filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a directive for the Election Commission to take effective measures to enable expatriate voting, and the court accepted it.

“During my recent visits to the UK and the Gulf, I found Bangladeshi expatriates highly motivated to vote for Jamaat. We are proposing a one-stop service centre for expatriates who face complex land and criminal cases. They want smoother services, and we intend to provide that.

“We also aim to create a conducive environment that encourages expatriates to invest back home. Many of them have expressed concern over the mismanagement and mistreatment surrounding baggage handling at Dhaka airport – we will address these issues as well.”

Patrick Mahomes threw three second-half touchdown passes and the Kansas City Chiefs pulled away for a 28-7 win against the visiting Washington Commanders in the National Football League (NFL) on Monday night.

Mahomes completed 25 of 34 passes for 299 yards and overcame two first-half interceptions as the Chiefs (5-3) won their third straight game.

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Tight end Travis Kelce had his best game of the season, with six catches for 99 yards and a score, and Rashee Rice had nine catches for 93 yards, as well as a touchdown. Kareem Hunt had a touchdown catch and a touchdown run.

Marcus Mariota, playing in place of the injured Jayden Daniels, completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Washington (3-5), which has lost three straight.

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin had three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown in his return after missing four games, but left in the third quarter after apparently re-injuring his quad.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Mahomes found Kelce in the flat, and the tight end rumbled 38 yards to the 9. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Mahomes hit Hunt for a touchdown and a 14-7 Chiefs lead.

After a Washington punt, the Chiefs drove 75 yards for a touchdown. Mahomes went 6-for-6 on the drive and hit Kelce for a 10-yard score to make it 21-7, with 3:20 left in the quarter.

Washington then crossed midfield, but on third down at the Kansas City 38, Mariota was sacked for a 10-yard loss on the final play of the quarter.

Kansas City increased the lead to 28-7, when Mahomes capped a 13-play, 94-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rice, with 7:52 left in the game.

Both quarterbacks threw interceptions on their team’s first possession.

After the Commanders turned it over on downs and Mahomes threw another interception, Mariota drove Washington to the Kansas City 28, but his fourth-and-1 pass was incomplete.

Mahomes soon hit Kelce for back-to-back gains of 11 and then 31 yards to the Washington 22. Five plays later, Hunt scored from the 1 and the Chiefs led 7-0, with 5:46 left in the half.

Mariota then drove the Commanders 66 yards in 10 plays, the final play an 11-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin, with 58 seconds left in the half. The catch was initially ruled out of bounds, but a review showed that McLaurin kept both feet down while controlling the ball.

Washington was without kicker Matt Gay (back). The team signed Matthew Wright to the practice squad on Monday and elevated him to the active roster.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have upgraded their free trade agreement as trade between the two regions continues to rise in the shadow of United States President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The trade pact was signed on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, in a ceremony witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

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The “3.0 version” of the deal will broaden collaboration on “infrastructure, digital and green transition, trade facilitation and people-to-people exchanges”, according to China’s State Council. It builds on the region’s first free trade pact with China, which came into force in 2010.

The 11-member ASEAN and China have become each other’s largest trade partners in recent years, thanks to the China Plus One supply chain that emerged after Trump’s trade war with China in 2018.

Trade between China and ASEAN has already hit $785bn in the nine months of 2025, up 9.6 percent year-on-year. Much of this trade reflects integrated manufacturing supply chains, but it also increasingly includes finished goods from China that are destined for Southeast Asian consumers.

In his remarks to the ASEAN summit on Tuesday, Li praised China and the bloc’s deepening trade relationship, and spoke of his expectation for “expanded and higher-quality economic cooperation” under the upgraded trade pact.

“Cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, trade volume continues to grow steadily, and ASEAN governments have promoted even closer people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

Zhiwu Chen, a professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera that the “3.0” trade pact comes at a time when China is trying to shore up its relationship with ASEAN.

“This is very important for China, as its trade tensions with the US and EU have been rising, and China needs ASEAN countries. At the same time, this is a time for ASEAN to take advantage of the window of opportunities precisely for the same reason,” he said, describing the deal as a “win-win outcome for both sides”.

In his remarks, Li also took aim at Trump’s tariffs, which have disrupted global trade, and marked the most protectionist policy pursued by the US government since the 1930s.

“Unilateralism and protectionism have seriously disrupted the global economic and trade order. External forces are increasingly interfering in our region, and many countries have been unfairly subjected to high tariffs,” Li said.

The US president also attended the ASEAN summit on Sunday, and is due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this week.

While at ASEAN, Trump signed trade deals with Cambodia and Malaysia, as well as framework agreements with Thailand and Vietnam, highlighting his preference for bilateral trade deals hammered out in one-on-one discussions.

The deals appeared to finalise Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” rate on the four countries, which were set earlier this year at 19 to 20 percent.

Tariffs and trade barriers are also expected to headline Trump’s meeting with Xi, after US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced that the two sides had reached a “framework agreement” on tariffs this week.

Earlier this month, Trump had threatened to impose a tariff of 100 percent on Chinese goods by November 1, after China strengthened export controls on rare earth minerals. Bessent said the framework agreement should help both sides “avoid” a tariff hike, according to Reuters.

Lionel Messi, still chasing international glory nearly two decades into his career, says he hopes to play at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America, acknowledging his age and fitness will dictate his role in defending Argentina’s 2022 title.

The Argentinian great recently extended his contract with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami through 2028, signalling he is not yet considering retirement despite turning 39 next June.

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Speaking to NBC News, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said he will take time next year to assess his physical condition before deciding whether to play in the tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“It’s something extraordinary to be able to be in a World Cup, and I would love to,” the Argentinian captain said in the interview released on Monday.

“I would like to be there, to be well, and be an important part of helping my team, if I am there. I’m going to assess that on a day-to-day basis when I start preseason next year with Inter, and see if I can really be 100 percent, if I can be useful, and then make a decision.

“I’m really eager because it’s a World Cup. We’re coming off winning the last one, and being able to defend it on the field again is spectacular, because it’s always a dream to play with the national team.”

Messi has enjoyed a professional career spanning more than 20 years, debuting for Barcelona at just 17 in 2004, before playing for Paris St Germain and joining Inter Miami in 2023. He sparked fresh interest in the American league in a critical moment for the sport in North America ahead of hosting next year’s World Cup.

While Messi has amassed countless club and individual accolades, international success had eluded him until claiming the Copa America 2021 before beating France 4-2 on penalties to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

“It was the dream of my life,” Messi said of the victory.

“It was also true that it was the only thing missing at a professional level because I had been lucky enough to have achieved everything at an individual level, at a team level with Barcelona, and I think that’s every player’s dream. When you ask a player what their dream is, it’s to be world champion.”

Messi has played in 195 matches and scored a record 114 goals for his country. A return for the 2026 World Cup would mark his sixth appearance in the tournament.

United States President Donald Trump has met Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing deals on trade and critical minerals.

Trump on Tuesday lavished praise on Takaichi, saying she would be a “great” leader, while the prime minister said she planned to nominate the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize, according to the White House.

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Takaichi – a close ally of Trump’s friend and golfing partner, late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – is also expected to offer a package of US investments under a $550bn deal agreed on this year, the Reuters news agency reported.

This included shipbuilding and increased purchases of US soya beans, natural gas and pick-up trucks, the agency reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.

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 percent of gross domestic product (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.

The US president was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.

Deal on critical minerals

Trump also praised Japan’s efforts to buy more US defence equipment, while Takaichi said that Trump’s role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian armed groups were “unprecedented” achievements.

“In such a short period of time, the world started to enjoy more peace,” Takaichi told reporters through an interpreter.

“I, myself, was so impressed and inspired by you, Mr President,” Takaichi added.

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, which are crucial for a wide range of products, from smartphones to fighter jets.

The White House, in a statement, said the objective of the deal was “to assist both countries in achieving resilience and security of critical minerals and rare earths supply chains”.

It added that the US and Japan “jointly identify projects of interest to address gaps in supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths, including derivative products such as permanent magnets, batteries, catalysts, and optical materials”.

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.

United States President Donald Trump has ruled out running for vice president in the 2028 election but said he “would love” to serve a third term in office.

The comments on Monday came despite the US Constitution barring anyone from being elected to the country’s presidency for a third time.

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Trump, who first served as president from 2017 to 2021, began his second term in January.

The 79-year-old has repeatedly flirted with the idea of serving beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms, joking about it at rallies and teasing supporters with “Trump 2028” hats.

Some allies have taken those signals seriously, suggesting that they are exploring legal or political pathways to make it happen.

Some have said that one way around the prohibition would be for Trump to run as vice president, while another candidate stood for election as president and resigned, letting Trump again assume the presidency.

Asked whether he would run for vice president in November 2028, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Monday that he “would be allowed to do that”.

But, he added, he would not go down that route.

“I wouldn’t do that. I think it’s too cute. Yeah, I would rule that out because it’s too cute. I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It’s not – it wouldn’t be right.”

Scholars, however, say Trump is barred from running for vice president, too, because he is not eligible to be president. The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution reads, “No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

Referring to the possibility of a third term as president on Monday, Trump said: “I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever.”

When pressed by a reporter whether he was not ruling out a third term, he said, “Am I not ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me.”

Asked about whether he would be willing to fight in court over the legality of another presidential bid, Trump responded, “I haven’t really thought about it.”

The US president also said that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “great people” who could seek the presidency in 2028.

“I think if they ever formed a group, it’d be unstoppable,” he said. “I really do. I believe that.”

Trump made the comments on board the Air Force One as he flew from Malaysia to Japan.

He attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend and, following a stopover in Tokyo, will fly to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

He will be meeting with several world leaders in South Korea, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Here is how things stand on Tuesday, October 28, 2025:

Fighting

• Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia killed a 44-year-old man and wounded several others, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Monday, as the death toll from other assaults on Sunday continued to rise.
• Ukrainian officials said the attacks on Sunday killed two people in the eastern Donetsk region and a 69-year-old man in the northern Sumy region. Fifteen others, including two children, were wounded in Sumy, police there said.
• Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) claimed the killing of Lieutenant Vasily Marzoev, the son of a Russian general, using a guided aerial bomb. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the report.
• A Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian minibus in the village of Pogar in the Bryansk region killed the driver and injured five passengers, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported, citing Governor Alexander Bogomaz.

• The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces seized the Ukrainian village of Yehorivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. However, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported that Ukrainian forces had cleared Russian troops out of the village. Neither claim could be independently verified by Al Jazeera.

• Russia’s Defence Ministry also said its forces captured the villages of Novomykolaivka and Privolnoye in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, according to TASS.

• TASS also reported the ministry as saying that Russian forces shot down 350 Ukrainian drones, two guided missiles and seven rocket launchers in the past 24 hours.
• A report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russian drone attacks were used as “part of a coordinated policy to drive out civilians from [Ukrainian] territories”, amounting “to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population”.
• The report described civilians who were chased over long distances by drones with mounted cameras, and sometimes attacked with fire bombs or explosives while seeking shelter.

Politics and diplomacy

• United States President Donald Trump said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, should end the war in Ukraine instead of testing nuclear-powered missiles, adding that Washington had a nuclear submarine positioned off Russia’s coast. The comments came a day after Putin said that Russia had successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile.

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing in the test of the missile that should strain relations with Washington, and that Russia was guided by its own national interests.
• Norway’s military intelligence service said that Russia’s test of the Burevestnik missile was launched from the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the US-based Axios news outlet that Kyiv and its allies have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan in the coming 10 days, following Trump’s recent proposal to stop the war at the current lines.
• Putin signed a law on Monday terminating an already defunct plutonium disposal agreement with the US that aimed to prevent both sides from building more nuclear weapons.

• North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui met Putin at the Kremlin on Monday to discuss strengthening cooperation with Russia, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.

• “Many future projects to constantly strengthen and develop” the bilateral relationship were discussed during the meeting, KCNA said, with Choe also conveying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “brotherly regard” to Putin. The Russian leader, in turn, asked Choe to tell Kim that “everything was going to plan” during the meeting.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will discuss US sanctions on Russian oil companies, among other issues, when he meets Trump in Washington next week, Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said on Monday.

Regional security

• Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Monday that her country will begin to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing the border from Belarus, a close Russian ally, after the balloons repeatedly interrupted the Baltic nation’s air traffic.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that helium balloons over Lithuania were a “provocation” and “a hybrid threat”, adding in a post on X that the balloons are another reason to accelerate the European Union’s Eastern Flank Watch and European drone defence initiatives.

Weapons

• Ukraine’s military intelligence published a list detailing the origins of 68 foreign components used in Russian missiles and other weapons, which it says came from China, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the US.