Top Five: IMF, MoBay Roads, COP31, Abu Dhabi Talks, Mississippi

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday’s briefing. Today’s stories share a common thread: rebuilding. Some of it is literal, with concrete and asphalt along Jamaica’s western coast. Some of it is economic, as an island still recovering from the strongest hurricane in its recorded history works to restore growth and confidence. And some of it is diplomatic and political, as nations try to repair broken trust at the negotiating table and voters reshape the institutions that govern them.

We begin with a verdict on Jamaica’s recovery from the International Monetary Fund. After a week of meetings in Kingston, the Fund says the economy is coming back, slowly, and that the next priority is to rebuild faster and smarter. Motorists also get a small dose of relief today, as gasoline and diesel prices fall at the pump.

Next, we head west, where the government is racing to untangle traffic on the Montego Bay–Negril corridor before the winter tourist season opens in about a month.

Then to Antalya, Türkiye, where Caribbean leaders, among them Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, joined the COP31 Leaders’ Summit to press a familiar case: small islands are paying for a crisis they did not cause.

Globally, Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a major prisoner exchange after two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, even as mediators admit that trust is in short supply. Closer to home, Jamaica’s Foreign Ministry has warned citizens about online job offers linked to that war. And in the United States, Democrat Scott Colom has flipped a Senate seat in Mississippi, a result that rounds out a striking midterm election.

Here are today’s top five.

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1. IMF Says Jamaica Is Recovering From Melissa, but Should Rebuild Faster

What happened

The International Monetary Fund has given Jamaica’s economy a cautiously encouraging review one year after Hurricane Melissa. The Jamaica Gleaner reported on Wednesday that the Fund wants reconstruction to move faster and believes the country could bring down its public debt sooner than the government currently plans, once rebuilding is well under way.

The findings come from an IMF staff team led by W. Raphael Lam, which met with government officials, the private sector, civil society and development partners in Kingston from October 27 to November 4 as part of the Fund’s regular “Article IV” health check. Lam set out the central message plainly: “The priority now is to advance reconstruction while preserving macroeconomic stability and deepening reforms,” as quoted by the Gleaner.

According to the IMF staff concluding statement published by Caribbean News Global, the economy shrank by 1.2 percent in fiscal year 2025/26 and is projected to grow by 1.3 percent in the current fiscal year, 2026/27. Output is expected to climb back to its pre-hurricane level by mid-2027, helped by reconstruction spending and a revival in tourism.

Prices, debt and the policy mix

Inflation remains the sore spot. Higher energy and food prices have pushed headline inflation above the Bank of Jamaica’s target range of 4 to 6 percent, and the Fund does not expect it to return to that band until around mid-2027. The IMF backed the central bank’s interest-rate increase in September and urged it to stay the course: “Monetary policy should be appropriately tight, especially given persistent price shocks,” the statement says. It also encouraged greater exchange-rate flexibility and a gradual scaling back of foreign-exchange intervention over time.

On public finances, the Fund said the government was right to loosen its fiscal stance after the storm. Jamaica activated the escape clause in its fiscal rules to support vulnerable households and rebuilding, and drew on a layered set of financing tools, including the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument. Public debt reached about 66 percent of GDP in 2025/26, and the government expects to bring it down to roughly 60 percent by 2031/32. The IMF suggested that a quicker path could be considered to strengthen credibility and contain borrowing costs, provided revenue grows and growth in recurrent spending is kept in check.

The Jamaica Observer reported that Lam, whom it identified as a deputy division chief in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, credited Jamaica’s disaster risk financing arrangements, along with its fiscal, monetary and financial-sector frameworks, with cushioning the blow while preserving the country’s access to markets on favorable terms. The Observer also noted the Fund’s projection that the current account deficit will widen this year, while reserves remain adequate, partly thanks to disaster-related inflows and foreign direct investment.

A watchful eye on the new reconstruction agency

The Fund welcomed the new National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) but pointed to familiar weak spots in how big projects are delivered: procurement, contract management, public investment management and coordination among agencies. It listed the risks to the outlook as tilted toward weaker growth and higher inflation, citing a prolonged conflict in the Middle East, El Niño-related drought, tighter global financial conditions and, at home, any delay in reconstruction or in restoring tourism capacity.

Some relief at the pump

Motorists, meanwhile, will notice a small but welcome change today. The Jamaica Observer reported that, based on Petrojam’s latest ex-refinery prices, gasoline and diesel fall by J$4.50 per litre effective Thursday, November 12. That brings 87-octane gasoline to J$191.31 and 90-octane to J$200.07, with automotive diesel at J$241.91 and ultra-low sulphur diesel at J$266.59. Kerosene and propane slip by 25 cents, and butane falls by J$2.94. This follows up on yesterday’s briefing, which noted global oil prices sliding to a two-month low.

The IMF statement touched on fuel too, saying the price-smoothing mechanism should keep working in both directions so that costs are recovered over time. In plain terms, when world prices fall, the savings should reach consumers, and when they rise, the system should not bury the cost.

What this could mean (analysis)

For ordinary Jamaicans, the headline numbers will feel abstract until prices in the supermarket ease and rebuilt roofs, roads and hotels bring back jobs. The IMF’s message is that the macroeconomic foundations held, which is no small thing after a disaster of Melissa’s size. But the Fund is also signaling that the hardest part, turning reconstruction money into finished projects quickly and cleanly, is still ahead. Its suggestion to cut debt faster will be debated: some will see it as prudent insurance before the next storm, others as a squeeze on spending that communities still need.

What to watch next

• Progress reports from NaRRA, and whether procurement reforms speed up project delivery.
• The Bank of Jamaica’s next policy decisions and monthly inflation readings.
• Next week’s Petrojam price update, and whether pump savings filter into transport fares and food prices.
• Tourism capacity ahead of the winter season, which the IMF ties directly to the recovery.

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2. Racing the Calendar: Government Moves to Ease MoBay–Negril Road Chaos

What happened

With the winter tourist season set to open on December 15, the government is scrambling to unclog the Montego Bay–Negril corridor, where road and water projects have turned commutes into ordeals. The Jamaica Gleaner’s Janet Silvera reported that visitors have been spending hours on the drive and workers are struggling to reach their jobs on time, prompting complaints from residents, hoteliers and business operators across St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland. This follows up on an earlier briefing that looked at Negril’s roads; the new development is a coordinated push to make the route passable before the peak season.

Delano Seiveright, minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, said some of those complaints reached Prime Minister Andrew Holness. That led to a meeting at Pier One in Montego Bay on Tuesday with ministers, engineers, the National Works Agency, the National Water Commission and private-sector representatives. Seiveright acknowledged that roadworks, water upgrades and post-hurricane rebuilding happening all at once had produced a degree of disorder, and that agencies must coordinate better. “There are too many people calling that they’re late for work,” he told the Gleaner. He insisted the projects will continue, but that alternative routes must be made usable while contractors pick up the pace.

The plan for the next five weeks

According to the Gleaner, about J$4.1 billion is being spent on seven sections of the corridor, running from Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay to Negril under the government’s SPARK road rehabilitation program. Andrew Evans, the supervising engineer for two of the work packages, said contractors are pushing to make critical sections drivable by mid-December. The immediate focus is Westgreen Avenue, Great River and Lucea. The approach is to lay roller-compacted concrete first, creating a usable surface, with final asphalt to follow later. Targets include paving the disturbed section at Great River, carrying four lanes on Westgreen Avenue between Barnett Street and Howard Cooke Boulevard, and making parts of Lucea passable. Evans cautioned that several alternative routes need repair, others are too narrow for large vehicles, and police support will be critical.

Water works cannot wait

Water Minister Matthew Samuda explained why the pipe-laying will not simply be paused. The first phase of the western water infrastructure program, valued at US$170 million, involves replacing about 67 kilometers of major pipelines, with work expected to continue into 2028. Samuda said western Jamaica faces another intense drought next year, and some sections lose more than 70 percent of their water. Instead of stopping, crews will schedule work around hotel occupancy and school traffic, tackle bridge crossings when occupancy is low, and use night shifts, which cost about 50 percent more, only where disruption is especially severe. The government has consulted tourism stakeholders, including the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.

An opposition proposal

Andrea Purkiss, the opposition spokesperson on tourism and member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern, called for urgent patching and bushing of the Kingsvale–Glasgow road, which links to Green Island. She told the Gleaner that the route could cut travel through the affected area to around 35 to 40 minutes, compared with up to 90 minutes in traffic on current alternatives, and said it would mainly help residents reach their communities, schools and clinics.

Why it matters

The western corridor links Montego Bay with the hotels of Hanover and Negril, making it vital to Jamaica’s tourism economy. The IMF, in the story above, named tourism recovery as one of the two engines expected to return the economy to its pre-hurricane size. Every hour a visitor spends in traffic, and every worker who arrives late, chips away at that recovery. At the same time, the roads and pipes being laid now are meant to serve the region for decades, and to help it face both storms and drought.

What this could mean (analysis)

This is the classic dilemma of rebuilding: short-term pain for long-term gain. The government’s challenge is to prove that the pain is being managed, not merely endured. Clear public schedules, reliable detours and visible progress by mid-December would go a long way toward restoring patience among residents and confidence among tourism partners. If targets slip, expect the debate over coordination, and over whether more night work is worth the extra cost, to intensify.

What to watch next

• Whether Westgreen Avenue, Great River and Lucea are drivable by December 15.
• Repairs to alternative routes, including the Kingsvale–Glasgow road.
• Updates from the National Works Agency and the National Water Commission on night work and scheduling.

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3. At COP31, Caribbean Leaders Press for Finance That Actually Arrives

What happened

World leaders gathered in Antalya, Türkiye, on Wednesday for the Leaders’ Summit of COP31, the United Nations climate conference, and Caribbean heads of government were among them. This follows up on our November 9 briefing on COP31’s opening; the new development is the leaders’ summit itself, held on November 11 and 12.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley used her address to call for a global movement on climate and to tie the climate emergency to the debt burden of vulnerable nations. As CBC Barbados reported, she recalled her appeal at COP26 in Glasgow five years ago for stronger action on the 1.5-degree Celsius goal, and said the evidence since then shows the world has not tried hard enough. She warned that a climate fund without real money behind it “is a monument, not a mechanism,” and urged leaders to break the cycle of debt crises with an investor-led approach she described as a win for all sides.

The Antiguan Trumpet reported that Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne also arrived for the summit and met fellow Caribbean leaders, including Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, Mottley, Bahamas Prime Minister Philip E. Davis and St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Hanley. The paper framed the summit as an opportunity to press small-island priorities: accessible climate finance, investment in resilience and tangible action on climate impacts.

Guterres: the numbers do not add up

UN Secretary-General António Guterres gave the summit some stark arithmetic. In remarks published by the UN Climate Change secretariat (UNFCCC), he said global emissions hit a record in 2025, the last four years were the hottest on record, and an overshoot of the 1.5-degree limit is now inevitable, according to the science. He proposed a “Climate Justice Compact” built on four pillars: speeding a just transition away from fossil fuels, protecting people through early warnings and swift loss-and-damage support, delivering finance, and choosing cooperation over fragmentation.

On finance, Guterres called on developed countries to deliver at least US$300 billion a year by 2035 and to triple adaptation finance. Then he set two figures side by side: the nine largest oil companies made US$95 billion in profit last quarter, he said, while the fund created to help countries recover from climate loss and damage has received only around US$600 million. “Polluters must pay,” he said, calling for windfall taxes. He also singled out small island developing states as part of the conscience of the climate struggle.

The wider picture in Antalya

Host President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said developed nations must take on more responsibility for both emissions cuts and finance, and called for climate funding that is more accessible and predictable, Xinhua reported. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is co-hosting the conference with Türkiye, urged leaders to treat this decade as a critical window to keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

The summit was not without friction. Climate Home News reported confusion on Wednesday morning, as security arrangements for roughly 40 arriving leaders left many delegates unsure whether they could reach the venue. It also noted that the speakers’ list had shrunk, with several leaders dropping out and heads of some big-emitting countries absent.

Earlier in the week, the conference focused on energy. Climate Home News also reported on a COP31 Global Electrification Pledge that aims to raise electricity’s share of final energy use from about 23 percent to 35 percent by 2035. COP31 President Murat Kurum said in a statement: “This year’s energy crisis has shocked us out of our complacency.” The same report noted that the Climate Investment Funds announced close to US$100 million to reduce the risk of clean power projects, including renewables and battery storage in small island developing states.

The Caribbean angle

For Jamaica, the arguments in Antalya are not theoretical. As the IMF noted in our first story, Melissa was the strongest hurricane in the island’s recorded history, and the country is now financing reconstruction while trying to keep its debt on a downward path. Mottley’s linkage of climate and debt speaks directly to that squeeze: islands that borrow to rebuild after each disaster have less to invest in preventing the next one.

What this could mean (analysis)

The gap between pledges and delivery is the story of this COP for small states. Commitments to triple adaptation finance and to fund loss and damage sound substantial, but the Caribbean’s experience is that money arrives slowly, with heavy conditions, or not at all. Supporters of a tougher line on oil companies see windfall taxes as fair; critics argue they could deter energy investment during an energy crunch. Whatever leaders decide, the test for the region will be whether finance becomes easier to access, not just larger on paper.

What to watch next

• Whether the final COP31 decisions strengthen the climate finance and adaptation commitments.
• Any new contributions to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
• Jamaica’s own engagement as negotiators move from speeches to text.

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4. Prisoner Swap Deal in Abu Dhabi as Russia and Ukraine Return to the Table

What happened

Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a major exchange of prisoners of war after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi mediated by the United States, their first negotiations in nine months. Reuters reported (via Yahoo News) that the two sides were to settle the numbers on Thursday, but that US mediators said deep differences remained on the biggest issues, including territory.

US envoy Jared Kushner, who led the American side with special envoy Steve Witkoff, described the swap as the largest humanitarian release of prisoners of the war, which is now four and a half years old. He was also candid about the obstacles: “The reality is there is no trust right now between the sides,” he said, according to Reuters. Kushner said territory, likely the hardest issue, had been discussed, and called the meeting a good first step.

Inside the room

The first day, Tuesday, ran for about four hours, according to the Associated Press, via PBS NewsHour. Ukraine’s delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and Russia’s by Vladimir Medinsky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the discussions focused largely on humanitarian issues: prisoner exchanges, the return of captive civilians and of children taken from Ukraine, as well as security guarantees. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a G7 meeting in Paris, called the talks productive but counseled patience: “There’s a lot of work to be done in that regard.”

Al Jazeera reported that Umerov thanked the United States and summed up the mood at home: “Our people are waiting to end this war.” The network also cited an anonymous US official who said both sides had privately shown some flexibility on occupied territory, and that any land agreement would most likely come last, after a postwar security framework is settled. Russia occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea.

The second day was shorter, just under two hours behind closed doors, the Kyiv Post reported, with a possible ceasefire, energy and Black Sea security reportedly on the agenda. Before meeting the Russians, Ukraine consulted national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, as well as EU and NATO officials. Whether Europe will have a seat at future talks remains unresolved; Zelenskyy has said Europe should decide by the end of November and hopes for clarity at a coalition of the willing meeting in Germany on November 19.

The gaps that remain

The positions remain far apart. According to the AP, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from four regions Moscow claimed to annex in 2022 but has never fully captured, to drop its bid to join NATO, and to accept strict military limits. Zelenskyy rejects giving up territory voluntarily and any caps on Ukraine’s armed forces, and Kyiv says a ceasefire must come first. The fighting has not stopped: Reuters reported Russian strikes on six electricity substations in central Ukraine and an attack on a market in the Odesa region that killed three people, while a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Kushner and Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin, where they will raise bringing European partners into the talks, and then to Ireland to meet Zelenskyy, according to Reuters.

The Jamaican angle: a warning about war-linked job offers

The war reached Jamaican phones and inboxes this week in an unexpected way. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade warned citizens against overseas job offers linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine, following international reports of foreign nationals being recruited through social media advertisements. The Jamaica Observer reported that Jamaica is the latest Caribbean country to issue such a warning, after similar bulletins from the Dominican Republic. “Jamaicans are therefore strongly encouraged to avoid such recruitment offers,” the ministry said.

As the Jamaica Gleaner also reported, the ministry said it had received no formal communication about such recruitment in Jamaica and could not verify the reported offers. It flagged red signs such as unusually high salaries, travel assistance or fast-tracked immigration, and noted international media reports of recruits who were misled about their duties, struggled to get paid or could not return home, including allegations of ill-treatment of Africans and people of African descent. The ministry stressed that neither the government nor humanitarian organizations can guarantee help or safe repatriation from active war zones. Jamaicans can check licensed employment agencies at www.mlss.gov.jm and report suspicious offers to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; anyone overseas who feels misled or coerced should contact the nearest Jamaican mission where it is safe to do so.

What this could mean (analysis)

A prisoner exchange is the kind of humanitarian step that can build a little trust, and families on both sides will welcome it. But the core disputes over land and security are unchanged, and the US strategy of settling security guarantees before territory is untested. Optimists point to renewed direct contact and talk of progress by year-end; skeptics note that three earlier rounds this year produced no breakthrough. For the Caribbean, the warning on recruitment is a reminder that faraway wars can prey on economic hardship at home.

What to watch next

• The numbers and timing of the prisoner exchange.
• The US envoys’ meetings with Putin in Moscow and with Zelenskyy afterward.
• Europe’s decision on joining the talks, including at the November 19 meeting in Germany.

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5. Mississippi Flips: Democrat Scott Colom Wins a Senate Seat in Deep-Red Territory

What happened

Eight days after the US midterm elections, one of the last outstanding Senate races has produced the most surprising result of the cycle. CBS News projected on Wednesday that Democrat Scott Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney and seventh-generation Mississippian, defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has held the seat since 2018 and was the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress.

First reported by AFP, via the Jamaica Observer, the count with about 99 percent of the vote in had Colom at 49.2 percent and Hyde-Smith at 48.7 percent, a margin of 4,585 votes. Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted on X: “I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said, wishing Colom well. AFP noted that Mississippi has no law requiring a recount in close races, though legal teams for both campaigns were reportedly preparing for possible challenges.

Why it is historic

Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982, and President Donald Trump won the state by 20 points in 2024, according to CBS News. AFP reported that Colom would be the first African American elected to the Senate from Mississippi in more than 140 years, and the first Black senator from the state since Reconstruction. CBS said Colom campaigned on the cost of living and health care, arguing that the incumbent had not delivered for the state, and that former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with him. The race tightened late enough that national Democrats spent on advertising there for the first time only last month.

The new balance of power

With Mississippi, CBS counts eight Senate seats flipped by Democrats this cycle, joining North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Maine. When the new Congress convenes in January, Democrats will control at least 55 seats to the Republicans’ 44, with Alaska’s race still too close to call. Democrats also won control of the House of Representatives in the November 3 election, giving them both chambers.

Explanations for the wave differ. CBS pointed to an unpopular war with Iran and persistent affordability concerns as national headwinds for Republicans. AFP added anger over the administration’s tough immigration policies. Republicans, for their part, can point out that the president still has more than two years left in office, and that several of the flipped races, Mississippi among them, were decided by narrow margins.

The diaspora angle

Many Jamaicans in the United States have watched immigration enforcement, remittance flows and the cost of living with particular concern. A divided government, with Democrats able to block legislation, investigate the administration and slow appointments, as AFP noted, is likely to shape how those issues are handled in Washington over the next two years. Policy on deportations and visas, already a live issue for Jamaican families, could become a central point of contention between Congress and the White House.

What this could mean (analysis)

Mississippi’s result suggests that pocketbook concerns can override long-standing party loyalties, even in the most reliably Republican states. Whether that marks a lasting realignment or a one-time protest vote is an open question that both parties will spend the next two years trying to answer. For now, Washington is heading toward a period of divided government, which can produce either gridlock or, at times, hard-won compromise.

What to watch next

• The final result in Alaska, which will settle the exact Senate margin.
• Certification in Mississippi and any legal challenges.
• Leadership contests in both parties as the new Congress takes shape in January.

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Closing Reflection: Let Us Rise Up and Build

A reflection from cbeharie.com.

Twenty-five centuries ago, a man named Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins and its gates had been burned. He wept, he prayed, and then he went to work. When he laid out the plan before the people, they answered with six simple words: “Let us rise up and build” (Nehemiah 2:18, KJV).

Rebuilding runs through today’s news. Jamaica is rebuilding after Melissa, and the IMF is urging it to do so faster and better. Crews in the west are laying concrete and pipe while commuters wait in traffic. Leaders in Antalya are arguing over who should pay to repair a damaged climate. In Abu Dhabi, negotiators are trying to rebuild enough trust to bring prisoners home. And in Washington, voters have rearranged the house in which their laws are made.

Nehemiah’s story is worth remembering because it was not tidy. His builders worked with tools in one hand and defenses in the other. They faced mockery, fatigue and opposition. Some families were in debt and hungry, and Nehemiah stopped the work to address their hardship before going on. Rebuilding, in other words, was about people as much as stones.

That may be the lesson for us. Roads matter, budgets matter, treaties matter. But so do the worker who is late again because of traffic, the family stretching a paycheck as food prices stay high, and the young person tempted by a dangerous offer online. Good rebuilding keeps them in view.

Today, let us pray for wisdom for those who plan and those who build, patience for those who wait, and safe return for prisoners and their families. And wherever we stand, let us pick up a tool and do our part.

Walk good, and God bless.

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Sources

• 1. Jamaica’s economy and fuel prices
• Jamaica Gleaner, “IMF says Jamaica should speed up reconstruction, could cut debt faster,” November 11, 2026.
• Caribbean News Global, “IMF: Jamaica staff concluding statement of the 2026 Article IV Mission,” November 11, 2026.
• Jamaica Observer, “Jamaica’s economy showing signs of recovery after Hurricane Melissa — IMF,” November 11, 2026.
• Jamaica Observer, “Gas prices, diesel down $4.50,” November 11, 2026.
• 2. MoBay–Negril road works
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Gov’t scrambles to ease MoBay-Negril road chaos ahead of winter season,” November 11, 2026.
• 3. COP31 Leaders’ Summit
• CBC Barbados, “PM Mottley calls for global action on climate and debt crisis at COP31,” November 11, 2026.
• Antiguan Trumpet, “PRIME MINISTER BROWNE JOINS CARIBBEAN AND INTERNATIONAL LEADERS AT COP31 WORLD LEADERS SUMMIT,” November 11, 2026.
• UNFCCC, “Transcript of remarks made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the COP31 Leaders’ Summit,” November 11, 2026.
• Xinhua, “Global leaders gather for COP31 summit, calling for urgent climate action, finance reform,” November 12, 2026.
• Climate Home News, “COP31 Bulletin Day 3: With the people stuck outside, world leaders jet in,” November 11, 2026.
• Climate Home News, “COP31 Bulletin Day 2: Momentum builds on electrification and fossil fuel transition,” November 10, 2026.
• 4. Russia-Ukraine talks and Jamaica’s warning
• Reuters (via Yahoo News), “Russia, Ukraine reach deal on prisoner swap as US says lack of trust holds back talks,” November 11, 2026.
• Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour), “Russia and Ukraine hold nearly 4 hours of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi,” November 10, 2026.
• Al Jazeera, “First day of Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi ‘constructive’: Zelenskyy,” November 10, 2026.
• Kyiv Post, “Second Day of Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Comes to an End,” November 11, 2026.
• Jamaica Observer, “Gov’t cautions Jamaicans against employment offers linked to Russia-Ukraine war,” November 11, 2026.
• Jamaica Gleaner, “Jamaicans warned against overseas job offers linked to Russia-Ukraine war,” November 11, 2026.
• 5. Mississippi Senate race
• CBS News, “Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi 2026 Senate race, flipping seat in upset,” November 11, 2026.
• AFP (via Jamaica Observer), “Mississippi Democrat flips US Senate seat in stunning upset,” November 11, 2026.

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.