Top Five: Iran Blockade, Eisenkot, Road Deaths, Gangs & BVI

Good morning, and a blessed Sunday to you, wherever this finds you. Today’s briefing starts in the waters off Iran, where the United States has widened its months-long blockade from the sea to the land, and where one of the ships its forces disabled on Saturday was flying the flag of a Caribbean nation, St. Kitts and Nevis.

In Jerusalem, Israel’s president has handed the first chance to form a government not to Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving leader, but to his challenger, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. The formal mandate is due to be presented this evening.

At home, two stories about young lives. New figures from the Island Traffic Authority show 111 people died on Jamaica’s roads in the third quarter, with motorcyclists again the biggest single group, days after police charged two men over a crash that killed four teenagers in St. Ann. And starting today, the Ministry of Education and the police are running Anti-Gang Week in schools, under a theme that only Jamaica could write: “Step Outta Gang, Step Inna Greatness.”

Finally, a ranking with uncomfortable news for our region: the British Virgin Islands has been named the world’s top corporate tax haven, with the Cayman Islands and Bermuda close behind.

Our Israel section follows up on Thursday’s briefing on that country’s certified election results; we focus only on what is new. Here are today’s top five.

---

1. The Iran Blockade Moves Ashore, and a Caribbean-Flagged Ship Is Caught in It

What happened

The United States announced on Saturday that it is extending its pressure campaign against Iran from the sea to the land. Al Jazeera reported that US Central Command (CENTCOM) has created a new unit, Task Force Iron Gate, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, to stop Iran from moving weapons and other goods along its land borders and across the Caspian Sea.

According to CENTCOM, the task force will work with other US government agencies to block shipments of advanced weapons, technology that can serve both civilian and military purposes, sanctioned materials and what it called illegal revenue streams. CENTCOM’s commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, said the unit would build on “the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea.”

The announcement came on a day of heavy activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said a US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of a commercial cargo ship, the M/V Huda, in the Gulf of Oman after warning the crew to leave the targeted areas. The ship was registered in St. Kitts and Nevis. By CENTCOM’s count, 147 commercial vessels have obeyed US orders and turned back since July, while five merchant ships that refused have now been disabled.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported explosions on Qeshm Island, which sits in the strait, and in the coastal towns of Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said two oil tankers struck sea mines in the strait, and Al Jazeera’s live coverage noted that the United Arab Emirates rescued 22 people from a cargo ship that caught fire. Washington has said the waterway’s mines were cleared, so those competing claims remain unresolved.

How we got here

The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran responded by choking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which a large share of the world’s seaborne oil normally passes, and Washington answered with a blockade of Iranian ports. CBS News reported that CENTCOM says it has helped Gulf states export 1.5 billion barrels of oil through the strait since the summer.

The fighting has never fully stopped. In an analysis from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Maziar Motamedi wrote that the UK Maritime Trade Operations center counted at least 11 ships attacked in and around the strait in the week to November 6, three of which sank. Ship crossings were running about 65 percent below pre-war levels. President Donald Trump described the latest US strikes on Qeshm as minor and said Iran still wants a deal, while Qatar and Oman continue to mediate. One Iranian analyst quoted in the piece described a “constant pendulum swing between war and negotiations.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, says he spoke with 12 counterparts in 48 hours and repeated Tehran’s list of seven demands for reopening the strait. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

Why it matters for Jamaica

Jamaica imports nearly all of its energy, so the price of a barrel of oil travels quickly into gas station signs, bus fares, electricity bills and the cost of food. The Jamaica Gleaner reported that Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed at US$72.48 the day before the war began, slipped below US$71 by early July, peaked at US$109 in mid-September and had fallen for four straight sessions to about US$94 this week. CBS noted the plunge followed last Tuesday’s US midterm elections, which many traders read as lowering the odds of escalation.

Saturday’s events are a reminder that the relief can be fragile. A land blockade, more mine claims and more disabled ships all add risk, and risk is what pushes prices up. The same Gleaner report showed how war-time prices ripple through regional business: the French fuel distributor Rubis, a major supplier across the Caribbean, reported Caribbean revenue up 22 percent in the first nine months of the year.

There is also a less obvious Caribbean link. Several small island states, including St. Kitts and Nevis, run international shipping registries, which earn fees by letting foreign-owned ships fly their flags. When a vessel under a Caribbean flag is fired upon in a war zone, questions follow about who owns it, what it was carrying and whether the registry did enough checking. No details about the Huda’s owners or cargo had been published at the time of writing.

What this could mean (analysis)

Moving the blockade onto land is a significant escalation in method, even if no new strikes come with it. It suggests Washington wants to tighten the economic squeeze while talks continue, rather than choose between pressure and diplomacy. A former Pentagon official told Al Jazeera that if escalation is ordered, targets would likely shift toward economic and infrastructure sites. For Caribbean consumers, the practical question is whether the recent fall in oil prices holds. If it does, some relief at the pump could reach Jamaica before Christmas. If it does not, households and businesses should brace for another round of increases.

What to watch next

• Whether Qatari and Omani mediation produces a framework for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
• Any statement from St. Kitts and Nevis or its ship registry about the M/V Huda.
• Brent crude prices this week, and Petrojam’s weekly price adjustments at home.
• How the new Democratic majorities in Congress, which take their seats in January, approach the war.

---

2. Israel’s President Turns to Eisenkot, Not Netanyahu, to Form a Government

This section follows up on Thursday’s briefing on Israel’s certified election results.

What happened

For the first time in years, Benjamin Netanyahu will not be the first person asked to build Israel’s next government. The Times of Israel reported on Saturday night that President Isaac Herzog would formally task Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, with forming a coalition at a ceremony at the President’s Residence at 5 p.m. local time today. Herzog told both men of his decision on Saturday evening after a final round of weekend talks.

The decision follows two days of consultations in which delegations representing all 120 members of the incoming Knesset, Israel’s parliament, told the president whom they backed. Eisenkot received 67 recommendations and Netanyahu 46. The seven members of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party recommended no one.

The arithmetic

The October 27 election left no one with a majority. Al Jazeera reported that Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 seats, Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc won 53, and Arab-led parties took a record 19. Eisenkot’s 67 recommendations include Arab-led parties, and that is where the difficulty lies.

Eisenkot now has 28 days to assemble a government with at least 61 seats, and Herzog can extend that by up to 14 days. Eisenkot has ruled out bringing Arab-led parties into the cabinet itself. Al Jazeera notes that winning over the two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would give him exactly 61. Alternatively, he could try to govern as a minority government, surviving confidence votes with outside support. If he fails, the president can nominate someone else; if that fails, a Knesset majority can back a third candidate; and if no one succeeds, Israel faces another election within 90 days, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker.

Two sides, two warnings

Netanyahu made his case in a prerecorded video before the president’s announcement. He called for a national unity government and warned against relying on Arab-led parties, which he described as Islamists. As Al Jazeera quoted him: “Such a government, dependent on Islamists, will dismantle the state of Israel from within.” The Associated Press reported that Netanyahu’s camp presents the Arab-led parties as a national security threat.

Eisenkot’s side argues the opposite danger. According to AFP, in a report carried by the Jamaica Observer, Eisenkot has called replacing Netanyahu urgent and described him as a threat to the “very existence of Israeli democracy.” AP reported that Eisenkot has signaled he could work with Arab-led parties under conditions, including that they describe Hamas as a terrorist group that must be destroyed. His Yashar party has invited Likud members to join a unity government under Eisenkot’s leadership and to cut ties with what it calls extremist partners.

Background

Eisenkot led Israel’s military from 2015 to 2019 and sat as an observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet for the first eight months of the Gaza war. AFP describes him as a political newcomer who has reached out to secular and liberal voters, and who proposes national service for all citizens, with a civilian option. That idea touches one of Israel’s most sensitive issues: whether ultra-Orthodox men should continue to be exempt from military service. Opposition figure Avigdor Liberman has said he will not sit in a government that depends on Arab votes. Netanyahu, for his part, faces corruption charges at home and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the Gaza war, which he rejects. A separate AFP report in the Jamaica Observer noted that Netanyahu stopped short of explicitly claiming he should lead the unity government he proposed.

Why it matters for Jamaica and the Caribbean

Israel matters to Caribbean people for more than one reason. For many Christians in Jamaica and across the diaspora, it is a land bound up with faith and pilgrimage. For Caribbean governments, the Gaza war and the wider conflict with Iran have shaped debates at the United Nations and driven up the oil prices discussed above. Who governs Israel will influence whether the Gaza ceasefire holds, how Israel approaches Iran, and how quickly the region can cool down.

What this could mean (analysis)

Being tasked with forming a government is not the same as forming one. Eisenkot’s 67 recommendations look comfortable, but they combine parties that disagree sharply on religion, security and the role of Arab citizens in national life. Netanyahu has survived similar moments before, and the ultra-Orthodox parties now hold a pivotal position. A minority government, a surprise unity deal or a return to the polls all remain possible. Israel’s coalition talks have a long record of upending early expectations.

What to watch next

• The formal handover of the mandate at the President’s Residence this evening.
• Whether United Torah Judaism or Shas open talks with Eisenkot.
• How Arab-led parties respond to the conditions Eisenkot has set.
• The 28-day deadline, which falls in early December.

---

3. Jamaica’s Roads: 111 Deaths in Three Months, and Four Teenagers Mourned

What happened

Jamaica’s road safety picture got a mixed report card on Saturday. The Jamaica Observer reported that the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) recorded 111 deaths in 91 fatal crashes during the third quarter of 2026. That is 4 percent more deaths than in the same period last year, although the number of fatal crashes was unchanged. For the full year, the ITA projects deaths will come in about 4 percent lower than 2025.

Motorcyclists were again the hardest-hit group, with 30 killed, about ten a month. Private vehicle drivers accounted for 22 deaths, pedestrians 19 and private vehicle passengers 10. The ITA also counted 21 collisions involving more than one vehicle, 11 of which killed more than one person. Men made up 86 percent of those killed this year. (The report gives motorcyclists’ share as 33 percent; 30 of 111 works out to about 27 percent, so the figure may refer to a different base.)

The faces behind the figures

The numbers landed in the same week as one of the year’s most painful crashes. The Observer also reported that police have charged two men, Akeem Palmer and Omarko Green, with leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report it, after a three-vehicle collision in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, in the early hours of Saturday, October 31. Green is also charged with perverting the course of justice.

Police say one of two Mercedes-Benz cars tried to overtake the other and swerved into the path of an oncoming Toyota Vitz. Four teenagers in the Vitz died: the driver, 17-year-old Shantana Leonard of Cardiff Hall, Runaway Bay, and three young people from Mansfield Heights, Ocho Rios: Kenneil Lyle and Marcodine Maxwell, both 16, and Rajani Abdul, 15. The charges relate to what happened after the crash; the court process is just beginning, and the accused are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Background: a better year, but not a safe one

For much of 2026, Jamaica’s road deaths have run below last year’s pace. The Jamaica Gleaner reported in July that the ITA counted 146 deaths at the year’s halfway mark, 22 percent fewer than at the same point in 2025, and the authority urged Jamaicans “not to become complacent.” The summer then turned deadly. An Observer analysis in September found at least 40 people were killed in 28 days between mid-August and mid-September, narrowing the improvement to about 10 percent. By early October, the Gleaner reported, police statistics showed 258 deaths since January, with July the worst month.

The pattern of who dies has hardly changed. Motorcyclists and pedestrians, often called vulnerable road users, have made up roughly half of all deaths for most of the year.

Why it matters

Every road death is a family’s loss, but the cost spreads further: hospital beds, lost earnings, insurance premiums and, in the case of young victims, decades of life and potential. For the diaspora, these stories are personal too; many families abroad have lost relatives on Jamaica’s roads or worry about them when they visit.

What this could mean (analysis)

The ITA’s numbers suggest that the gains of the first half of 2026 were real but not secure. With the Christmas season approaching, traditionally a busy and dangerous time on the roads, the final quarter will decide whether Jamaica ends the year meaningfully safer. Enforcement around motorcycles, speed and drink-driving, along with safer road design for pedestrians, will likely shape that outcome more than any single campaign.

What to watch next

• The ITA’s next monthly and year-to-date figures as the holiday season begins.
• Court dates for the two men charged in the St. Ann crash.
• Any new road safety measures for motorcyclists announced before Christmas.

---

4. “Step Outta Gang, Step Inna Greatness”: Anti-Gang Week Begins in Jamaica’s Schools

What happened

Starting today, the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is running Anti-Gang Week 2026 in schools across the island. The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reported that the week runs from November 8 to 14, organized by the ministry’s School Safety and Security Branch with the Community Safety and Security Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The theme is “Step Outta Gang, Step Inna Greatness.”

Richard Troupe, the ministry’s national coordinator for safety and security in schools, told JIS that the aim is to make children more aware of the dangers and consequences of joining gangs, and to encourage them to reject violence and negative influences. “Ultimately, we want students to make safer choices and become ambassadors for peace,” he said.

The week’s program

The week opens this morning with church services at Emmanuel Apostolic Church on Slipe Road in Kingston and at Pembroke Hall Methodist Church. On Tuesday, deans of discipline and guidance counselors join a virtual anti-gang workshop, and the “Liv Gud” school tour visits August Town Primary. Wednesday’s town hall meeting at Spot Valley High School is billed as the week’s main event.

On Thursday, school resource officers, the police officers assigned to schools, are scheduled to give talks in 100 public schools, followed by a JCF discussion on Radio Jamaica that evening. Friday brings a special devotion in all public schools and the announcement of poster competition winners, and the week closes on Saturday with a service at Mandeville Seventh-day Adventist Church. Throughout the week, Health and Family Life Education teachers will deliver anti-gang lessons, and restorative practice sessions, which bring together those harmed and those who caused harm, will be held at selected schools with the Ministry of Justice.

The Jamaica Gleaner carried the same schedule. Troupe’s message, as reported, is that schools and police cannot do this alone; he called on parents, teachers, churches and businesses to play their part.

Background: the roots of the problem

Gang violence has long been one of Jamaica’s central security concerns, and the pull toward gangs can begin while boys are still in school. Schools see the warning signs first: bullying, fights, and pressure from older students. A separate Gleaner report from a parenting forum this week makes the link plainly. Lynton Weir, principal of Old Harbour High School, argued that bullying among boys is a learned behavior, rooted partly in a culture that mocks boys for being polite and fails to teach respect. The Gleaner noted that 27 percent of students in Jamaica’s 2026 Global School-based Student Health Survey reported having been bullied, and that the Child Protection and Family Services Agency received 165 bullying reports in 2025.

This week’s campaign arrives at an encouraging moment. As Saturday’s briefing reported, murders are running well below last year’s levels. Anti-gang work in schools is part of keeping it that way, by reaching children before the gangs do.

Why it matters

The church’s role in this week is striking. The program begins and ends in a sanctuary, and Friday’s devotion takes faith into every public school. That reflects something many Jamaicans know from experience: churches are often the institutions that remain in communities when others have left, offering young people mentors, music, sport and a sense of belonging, the very things gangs offer in distorted form.

What this could mean (analysis)

Awareness weeks are easy to dismiss, and one week cannot undo the pull of money, protection and status that gangs offer. Their value depends on what follows: whether the guidance counselors trained on Tuesday have the time and resources to follow up, whether the restorative sessions continue after Saturday, and whether parents and churches take up Troupe’s call. Measured that way, the week is a beginning, not a solution.

What to watch next

• The Spot Valley High town hall on Wednesday afternoon.
• The poster competition winners on Friday.
• Whether the ministry publishes any follow-up data on school-based violence and restorative sessions.

---

5. The British Virgin Islands Tops the World’s Corporate Tax Haven Index

What happened

Three British territories, two of them in the Caribbean, sit at the top of a closely watched global ranking. The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), in a report carried by the Jamaica Gleaner, said the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been ranked the world’s top corporate tax haven in the latest Corporate Tax Haven Index from the Tax Justice Network, an international research and advocacy group. The Cayman Islands placed second and Bermuda third.

The Tax Justice Network’s own index page, updated on November 6, lists its 2026 top ten as the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Jersey, Ireland and Luxembourg. Elsewhere in the region, according to CMC, The Bahamas ranked 11th, Curaçao 29th, Anguilla 34th, the Turks and Caicos Islands 37th and Aruba 52nd. Jamaica and Barbados were not mentioned.

How the index works

The index does not measure crime. CMC noted that the Tax Justice Network itself stresses that a high ranking does not mean illegal activity. Instead, it assesses how much room a jurisdiction’s laws give multinational companies to shift profits away from the countries where they do business. The BVI’s country profile explains that each jurisdiction is scored on more than 70 questions grouped into 18 indicators, covering tax rates, loopholes, transparency, anti-abuse rules and tax treaties. The BVI scored the maximum 100 on the network’s “haven score.” As the profile puts it, “A high score indicates a lot of room for corporate tax abuse.”

Scale matters too. According to the profile, foreign direct investment held in or flowing out of the BVI totaled about US$2.6 trillion, around 2.5 percent of global multinational financial activity — an enormous figure for a small island territory.

Background

This is not the first time British territories have led the table. Tax Justice UK reported in October 2024 that the BVI, Cayman and Bermuda also took the top three places in the previous edition. CMC reported that the network now says the United Kingdom and its offshore territories account for 31 percent of global corporate tax abuse risks, costing European Union countries an estimated €8 billion a year.

The BVI has made some changes. CMC noted that in April the territory introduced a system allowing qualified applicants to request information on who really owns companies registered there, though BVI authorities have defended limits on public access, citing privacy, security and constitutional concerns.

Two sides of the argument

For critics, these rankings show how small jurisdictions help large corporations reduce the taxes they pay in the countries where they earn their money, including developing nations that badly need revenue for schools and hospitals. For the territories themselves, financial services are often the economic backbone, supporting well-paid jobs and government budgets in places with few other industries. Their governments argue that they meet international standards, cooperate with tax authorities and are being unfairly singled out compared with larger economies such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States.

Why it matters for Jamaica and the Caribbean

Rankings like this shape how the rest of the world sees the whole region. The Caribbean has repeatedly faced blacklisting by the European Union and pressure from rich countries over tax and banking rules, and correspondent banks have pulled back from smaller financial institutions, raising costs for ordinary customers, including families sending remittances home. Jamaica is not on this index, but the reputational spillover affects all Caribbean financial centers.

What this could mean (analysis)

The pressure is unlikely to ease. With the UK and EU both pushing for greater corporate transparency and a global minimum tax gaining ground, Caribbean territories may face a choice between deeper reforms and continued reputational damage. The challenge for policymakers is to protect legitimate financial industries while making sure the region is not seen as a hiding place for profits earned elsewhere.

What to watch next

• Any formal response from the BVI or Cayman governments to the ranking.
• UK pressure on its overseas territories over public registers of company ownership.
• The next EU review of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

---

Closing Reflection: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

This is a personal reflection and opinion, not reporting.

On this Sunday morning, two church services in Kingston are opening a week devoted to keeping children out of gangs. It is a fitting picture to hold alongside the rest of today’s news: warships tightening a blockade, politicians in Jerusalem arguing over who can be trusted to govern, families in St. Ann burying their teenagers, and a debate about money that crosses borders more easily than people do.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9, KJV). He did not say peace-lovers or peace-wishers. Peacemaking is work, and most of it is unglamorous: a guidance counselor who stays late with a frightened boy, a driver who decides not to overtake on a blind corner, a mediator who keeps a phone line open between enemies, a lawmaker who sits down with people whose politics he dislikes.

That verse does not tell us how Israel’s coalition should be built, how Washington should handle Tehran, or how small islands should balance prosperity with fairness. Christians and people of good will disagree on all of those questions, and should be free to. But it does tell us what kind of people we are called to be, wherever we stand.

Richard Troupe hopes Jamaica’s students will carry peace back into their classrooms and communities. It is a calling worth taking up at every age. This week, let us pray for the children of Jamaica, for the families of St. Ann, for seafarers and civilians in the Gulf, for Israel’s leaders and all its people, and for the wisdom to be peacemakers in our own homes and communities.

Walk good, and God bless.

---

Sources

• 1. The Iran blockade
• Al Jazeera, “US launches task force to disrupt Iran’s land-based supply routes,” November 8, 2026.
• Al Jazeera, “Iran war live: US moves to block land supply routes; UAE rescues 22 sailors,” November 8, 2026.
• Al Jazeera, “Qeshm island and Hormuz hit, as mediators try to prevent US-Iran escalation,” November 7, 2026.
• CBS News, “More ships attacked in Persian Gulf, oil prices rebound slightly after post-midterm plunge,” November 6, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Caribbean closes gap on Africa at Rubis amid oil price spikes,” November 6, 2026.
• 2. Israel’s new government
• Times of Israel, “Herzog announces he will task Eisenkot tomorrow with forming new government,” November 7, 2026.
• Al Jazeera, “Israel’s president picks Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form next government,” November 7, 2026.
• Associated Press (via WSLS), “Israel’s president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu,” November 7, 2026.
• AFP (via Jamaica Observer), “Israel president taps Eisenkot to form new government,” November 7, 2026.
• AFP (via Jamaica Observer), “Netanyahu says coalition with Arab parties would ‘dismantle’ State of Israel,” November 7, 2026.
• 3. Jamaica’s road deaths
• Jamaica Observer, “ITA reports 111 killed in fatal crashes during third quarter,” November 7, 2026.
• Jamaica Observer, “Two charged in crash that killed four teens in St Ann,” November 6, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Road fatalities down 22 per cent at halfway mark, but 146 killed so far this year,” July 1, 2026.
• Jamaica Observer, “Surge in road deaths; at least 40 killed in crashes in last 28 days,” September 13, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Road deaths surpass 250,” October 4, 2026.
• 4. Anti-Gang Week
• Jamaica Information Service, “Education Ministry to Observe Anti-Gang Week From Nov. 8-14,” November 7, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Education Ministry to observe Anti-Gang Week from November 8–14,” November 6, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Weir: Failure to teach respect creates bullies,” November 7, 2026.
• 5. The Corporate Tax Haven Index
• CMC (via Jamaica Gleaner), “BVI ranked world’s top corporate tax haven,” November 7, 2026.
• Tax Justice Network, “Indexes & tools,” updated November 6, 2026.
• Tax Justice Network, “The British Virgin Islands – Country Profiles,” accessed November 8, 2026.
• Tax Justice UK, “The world’s top three tax havens are British territories – new research,” October 10, 2024.

This briefing was prepared with AI research and writing assistance under Colin Beharie’s editorial direction. Every fact links to its original source. Spot an error? See our Sources & Corrections policy.