The US-backed Board of Peace is proposing a six-month, $2.45 billion plan to begin reconstruction and governance in Gaza as President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan struggles to stay afloat. At a meeting of the group's board in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the governors unveiled a 66-project blueprint to get things started while acknowledging enormous hurdles that must still be overcome. The projects include ambitious infrastructure, education and health initiatives that are designed to support Trump's 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.

"The need is immense," the board said, noting that full reconstruction from the physical damage across Gaza will cost roughly $35.2 billion over the medium term and another $71.4 billion in the next 10 years. The proposal is largely aimed at potential donors who will be asked to foot the bill for reconstruction of the war-devastated territory.

The UK is reviewing its deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, the country's defence secretary said. Wes Streeting confirmed the deal was being looked at again after US President Donald Trump called it "terrible" at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (Sep. 22). The original agreement would see the UK cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius and pay an average of £101m ($136m) per year to lease back a joint UK-US military base there, prized for its strategic location in the Indian Ocean.

In April the deal, agreed under Sir Keir Starmer, was paused indefinitely because Trump pulled his support. Streeting said "we have to" review the deal "because the United States doesn't support it". During Trump's first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the UN General Assembly in New York, the US president criticised the "terrible deal" and said the UK was "going to be looking" at it. Burnham replied: "Yep."

Yemen's Houthi rebels took less than 48 hours to seize Yemen's Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blow to US interests and Washington's regional allies. But the Houthis didn't do it alone. Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers were in the field helping direct the battle, people familiar with the offensive told The Associated Press, marking Iran's most direct intervention in favour of its longtime ally since Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014.

The intervention shows how Iran has built the Houthis into a major regional partner able to open a new front in the wider war with the US. The rebels' biggest land grab in years, along with the closure of a key Saudi pipeline, strengthened their ability to choke off Saudi Arabia's oil exports, pushing up global fuel prices and giving Iran greater leverage. The United States has seemed reluctant to help its ally Saudi Arabia, even as the Houthis have gained momentum in Yemen's revived civil war.

Regional forces in Tigray in northern Ethiopia took control of the airport on Wednesday morning, prompting the state-owned carrier to cancel flights to the troubled region. Ethiopian Airlines said it suspended flights to Tigray's capital Mekelle and the cities of Axum and Shire "due to the current situation," without providing further details. A taxi driver told The Associated Press that the airport, which is usually controlled by federal forces, was occupied by fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front carrying light arms.

The driver, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said a commander ordered him to leave the airport, saying no flights would be landing. The takeover appeared to be peaceful, with no gunfire heard in or around the airport. No other airlines fly to the region, although it is reachable by chartered flight. The news came three days after seven opposition groups, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front, formed an alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government.