Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, hit southwestern Jamaica on 28 October as a Category 5 system—the worst hurricane to hit the area since 1988—before crossing into eastern Cuba as a Category 3 the following day.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the lifesaving contribution of JPY 500 million (US$3.3 million) from Japan to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to Palestinians facing severe food insecurity due to the conflict in Gaza and also escalating violence in the West Bank.