Gaza Ceasefire Marks First Phase of Trump Peace Plan
Study Finds Severe Child Malnutrition Across Gaza
UN To Cut Peacekeepers Amid US Funding Shortfall
Manchester Synagogue Attacker Pledged Allegiance to IS
US Blacklists Chinese Firms Over Drone Components
US Senate GOP Blocks Check On Trump Cartel Strikes
Ethiopia Accuses Eritrea Of War Preparations
Arrest In Palisades Fire Arson Case
IRS Furloughs Nearly Half Its Workforce
Trio Wins Nobel For Molecular Frameworks
On this day …..
On this day in 2009, the Nobel Committee awarded U.S. President Barack Obama the Peace Prize for his early appeals to diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. The gesture captured a world’s hope for renewed global leadership after years of unilateral conflict.
Yet the wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and a return to geopolitical rivalry, revealed how swiftly ideals meet constraint.
In retrospect, the award marks a hinge between optimism and realism; a reminder that international goodwill is fleeting, and that moral authority, once assumed, now has to be rebuilt in an era of open strategic competition.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage deal, marking the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the two-year war in Gaza.
The agreement followed indirect talks in Egypt and promises the release of all hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, alongside a withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed line. The accord, if implemented, would mark the closest step yet to halting a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 people and drawn in regional actors including Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
Celebrations broke out in both Israel and Gaza as news spread. Trump hailed the deal as a “strong, durable and everlasting peace,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “national and moral victory.”
Yet major questions remain over who will govern Gaza, the future role of Hamas, and how the ceasefire will hold once the hostages are released.
Sources: Reuters, CNN
A major study published in The Lancet has found that nearly 55,000 children in Gaza are acutely malnourished after two years of war, with 12,800 suffering from severe cases requiring urgent medical care. The research, led by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), links the rise in child malnutrition to Israeli restrictions on aid entering Gaza.
Data show that rates of wasting among children doubled after the blockade imposed in March 2024 and surged again to almost 16% following renewed restrictions early this year.
UNRWA researchers said the crisis had reached levels “unlike anything seen in this century,” with the UN declaring famine in August. Health experts warned that restrictions on food and humanitarian aid have caused “grievous, preventable harm to children.” Israel denies responsibility, saying it allows sufficient supplies into Gaza and accuses Hamas of obstructing aid delivery.
Sources: The Guardian, The National
The United Nations will reduce its peacekeeping footprint by a quarter in the coming months, repatriating about 13,000 to 14,000 troops and police from nine missions as funding strains intensify. Senior UN officials linked the cuts to uncertainty over US contributions, with Washington the largest peacekeeping donor. Civilian staff in missions will also be affected, and the UN plans to lower the peacekeeping budget by roughly 15% this year.
Source - UN Photo
Officials said the United States is more than $2.8 billion in arrears after cancelling about $800 million in appropriated peacekeeping funds for 2024 and 2025. The US has indicated a payment of $680 million “soon”, while China — the second-largest contributor — has signalled it will pay its full share. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has argued that peacekeeping, which now deploys around 52,000 personnel, costs about one-half of one per cent of global military spending and remains a cost-effective tool to build international peace and security.
Sources: Straits Times, South China Morning Post
Police have confirmed that Jihad al-Shamie, the man who killed two people in a car and knife attack at a Manchester synagogue last week, called emergency services during the assault to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group. The 35-year-old was shot dead by armed officers outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation after driving his car into worshippers and attacking others with a knife while wearing a fake explosive belt.
One man, Adrian Daulby, was accidentally killed by police gunfire during the response, and another worshipper was wounded but survived. Counter Terrorism Police North West said six people were arrested in the investigation, with four since released without charge.
Officers said al-Shamie had previously been under investigation for rape and was on bail at the time of the attack. The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an inquiry into the shooting and prior police contact with the attacker.
Sources: BBC, New York Times
The United States has added 15 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list for allegedly facilitating the purchase of American-made components found in weaponised drones operated by Iranian proxies, including Hamas and Yemen’s Houthi militants. The Commerce Department said the action also covers companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Licences will now be required to export to the listed firms, with approvals expected to be denied.
Ten of the Chinese companies were cited for supplying parts found in Houthi drones, while five others were linked to components recovered from unmanned aircraft used by Hamas in Israel’s October 2023 attacks. A further firm was designated for its role in an illicit network tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The United States said the listings target activities contrary to national security interests, as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue over technology and trade restrictions.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Reuters
Senate Republicans voted down a measure to require authorisation from Congress before further US military strikes on drug cartels, rejecting a War Powers resolution by 48–51. Two Republicans, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski, backed the move while Democrat John Fetterman opposed it.
The vote, the first congressional test of the campaign, followed White House assertions that the US is in “armed conflict” with cartels and an indication the legislation would be vetoed.
According to officials, the administration says four vessels have been destroyed and at least 21 people killed, with narcotics prevented from reaching the US. Supporters of the resolution argued for oversight and clearer legal justifications, while Republican leaders defended the strikes. Senators also cited gaps in classified briefings and warned that the build-up of maritime forces in the Caribbean could carry wider risks.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of preparing to wage war in collusion with a hardline faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, according to a letter from Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos to the UN secretary-general. The letter alleges Eritrea and TPLF hardliners are funding, mobilising and directing armed groups in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Eritrea has not commented.
Tensions between the neighbours have grown as Ethiopia rallies support to regain access to the Red Sea, which Eritrea has controlled since independence in 1993.
The two countries fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, later forged an alliance after Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, and have since fallen out, with access to the Red Sea a major flashpoint. In Ethiopia’s parliament this week, President Taye Atske Selassie called the Red Sea and River Nile essential to the country’s existence; Eritrea’s information minister dismissed the rhetoric as “too crass and pathetic to sell.”
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera
A former Pacific Palisades resident now living in Florida has been arrested and charged with maliciously starting the New Year’s Day Lachman fire that later reignited as January’s Palisades fire, one of Los Angeles’ most destructive blazes.
Prosecutors allege Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, set the initial fire with an open flame, then called 911 and later returned to watch firefighters. Investigators say digital evidence included his ChatGPT query about blame for cigarette-caused fires and an image he generated depicting a burning city.
According to federal authorities, the Palisades fire was a “holdover” that smouldered underground before surfacing amid heavy winds on 7 January, ultimately charring about 23,400 acres, destroying more than 6,800 structures and causing 12 deaths. ATF led the probe.
Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida on a federal complaint for destruction of property by means of fire, an offence carrying a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment if convicted.
Sources: LA Times, US Justice Dept
The IRS will furlough about 34,000 employees — nearly half its workforce — as the federal shutdown enters its eighth day. Another 39,870 workers, or 53.6%, will remain on the job under a shutdown plan. The agency said most operations are closed, with many administrative functions paused.
Taxpayer services such as answering calls will be temporarily halted, and the independent Taxpayer Advocate Service will cease operations. Filing deadlines still apply, with 15 October the due date for those who obtained extensions on 2024 returns.
Furloughed workers were told they will receive back pay when the shutdown ends, a day after an internal draft memo suggested the administration might question its obligation to provide it. The furloughs come after earlier layoffs reduced the IRS workforce by about 25% since January.
Sources: CNBC, NBC News
Three scientists have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal–organic frameworks — molecular structures with vast internal spaces that can trap and store gases. Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne and Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley will share the 11-million-kronor prize for work the Nobel Committee said created “new rooms for chemistry”.
The frameworks, known as MOFs, link metal ions and carbon-based molecules to form porous crystals that can capture carbon dioxide, harvest water from desert air or remove toxic chemicals. Robson first experimented with the concept in the late 1980s, while Kitagawa and Yaghi later built stable, flexible versions that became the foundation for modern MOF research.
The committee praised their discoveries for opening “previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions.”