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Jamaica is bracing for the strongest storm of the year, with US meteorologists warning of "catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge".

With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm - the maximum strength. It is expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island in the early hours of Tuesday, BBC reported.

The storm has already been blamed for the deaths of four people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Meteorologists warn that Melissa's slow pace means it is set to dump torrential rain on affected areas for longer, increasing the risk of deadly flooding and landslides, according to BBC.

An Indian minister's comment that two female Australian cricketers, who were "touched inappropriately" last week, should've informed authorities before leaving their hotel has sparked a row with many accusing him of victim blaming, BBC reported.

The incident occurred in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state on Thursday as the players were walking to a cafe. Police said the man who harassed them has been arrested.

India's cricket board condemned the incident, which has sparked an outpouring of anger globally.

But Kailash Vijayvargiya, a state minister, raked up a controversy by saying this was "a lesson for authorities as well as the players" who should have informed the security or administration before going out, according to BBC.

The UN has called for safe passage for trapped civilians out of the Sudanese city of el-Fasher after paramilitary fighters announced they had seized control of the army's main base there, BBC reported.

Sudan's military has not acknowledged the loss of the site, which would be a significant victory for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war. 

El-Fasher is the last army foothold in the vast western region of Darfur, and has been besieged by the RSF and its allies for 18 months.

Heavy fighting has been reported since Saturday after RSF fighters captured the home of the North Darfur governor, according to BBC.

Countries would reject being asked to "enforce" peace in Gaza if deployed under the Trump ceasefire plan, King Abdullah of Jordan has told the BBC.

Under US President Trump's 20-point peace plan, Arab states and international partners are to commit stabilisation forces that "will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field." Hamas is to disarm and give up political control of the territory.

"What is the mandate of security forces inside of Gaza? And we hope that it is peacekeeping, because if it's peace enforcing, nobody will want to touch that," said King Abdullah, BBC reported.

In an exclusive interview for BBC Panorama, he said that Jordan and Egypt were willing to train Palestinian security forces.