International Glance
President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. struck another small boat that he accused of carrying drugs in the waters off the coast of Venezuela.
The president said in a post on Truth Social that six people aboard the vessel were killed in the strike and no U.S. forces were harmed. It's the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean, where the Trump administration has asserted it is treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force. At least 27 people have been killed in the five strikes, according to figures released by the administration.
Frustration with the use of force has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both major political parties. Some Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes. Democrats contend the strikes violate U.S. and international law.
Trump says U.S. struck 5th boat accused of carrying drugs off coast of Venezuela, killing 6
‘After the reading, the poets hold each other’: what happens when Ukraine’s largest literary festival comes under Russian attack
László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel prize in literature 2025
The Nobel prize in literature for 2025 has been awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, the Swedish Academy has announced.
The academy cited the 71-year-old’s “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.
Krasznahorkai is known for his dystopian, melancholic novels, which have won numerous prizes, including the 2019 National Book award for translated literature and the 2015 International Booker prize. Several of his works, including his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into feature films.
“I am deeply glad that I have received the Nobel prize – above all because this award proves that literature exists in itself, beyond various non-literary expectations, and that it is still being read,” said Krasznahorkai. “And for those who read it, it offers a certain hope that beauty, nobility, and the sublime still exist for their own sake. It may offer hope even to those in whom life itself only barely flickers.”
The novelist Colm Tóibín described Krasznahorkai as “a unique literary visionary who has opened up a huge amount of rich space in the contemporary novel showing what can be done”.
Palestinians celebrate as prisoners are released by Israel under Gaza ceasefire deal
Cheers erupted among Palestinians on Monday as Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners under a Gaza ceasefire agreement that saw them exchanged for Israeli hostages freed by Hamas.
Large crowds greeted the freed prisoners in Beitunia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Khan Younis in Gaza, flashing V-for-victory signs as they descended from International Committee of the Red Cross buses. In Beitunia, they were given traditional keffiyeh scarves as a show of nationalist pride. Some were lifted onto people’s shoulders. Others sank into chairs, exhausted.
“It was an indescribable journey of suffering — hunger, unfair treatment, oppression, torture and curses — more than anything you could imagine,” said Kamal Abu Shanab, a 51-year-old Fatah member from the West Bank town of Tulkarem.
His face was gaunt. He said he lost 139 pounds (59 kilograms) in prison.
We don’t recognize him. He’s not the person we knew. Our uncle doesn’t look like our uncle,” said his niece, Farah Abu Shanab.
Those freed include around 1,700 of the several thousand Palestinians that Israeli troops seized from Gaza during the 2-year war and have held without charge.
Also among those released were 250 Palestinians sentenced to prison terms, most of them convicted for deadly attacks on Israelis dating back decades as well as others convicted on lesser charges, according to Israel’s Justice Ministry. Of those, Israel exiled 154, sending them to neighboring Egypt, where officials said they will be sent to third countries.
The rest were returning to homes in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
US offers $15M reward for team accused of smuggling drone tech to Iran
The State Department is offering a $15 million reward for information linked to four Chinese nationals it says have helped the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) procure U.S. military equipment and drone technology.
Liu Baoxia, Li Yongxin, Yung Yiu Wa and Zhong Yanlai are accused of facilitating the sale of U.S. goods to front companies based in China that would send the technology to Iran, according to a State Department release.
Iran would then transport products to the IRGC and its linked companies including Shiraz Electronics Industries and Rayan Roshd Afzar, which use U.S.-controlled technology to develop and manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles, arms and weapons systems, according to the State Department.
Manufactured products are then sold to governments and groups in allied countries such as Russia, Sudan and Yemen in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Israel and Hamas agree on the 'first phase' of Gaza ceasefire deal
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that's intended to end to the devastating Gaza war which unleashed the deadliest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians.
President Trump said on Truth Social that Israel and Hamas "have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan."
"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
The announcement came just hours after Trump told reporters at the White House he was prepared to travel to the Middle East as early as this weekend.
TVNL Comment: This has happened many times before, and Israel has always broken any deal to continue the cease fire agreement. Phase one is a beginning, but Netanyahu has stated he will never leave Gaza or the West Bank. Never. Watch this space. Once the hostages have been released, the bombing and the slaughter will continue. We would love to be wrong, but the message has been very clear.
Moscow says momentum for peace deal after Trump-Putin summit has been exhausted
The momentum to find a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has been exhausted since the Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin summit in Alaska, Moscow’s deputy foreign minister has said.
Growing relations between Washington and Moscow culminated in the August meeting, the second between the two presidents, which some hoped would see progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, we have to admit that Anchorage's powerful momentum in favour of agreements has been largely exhausted by the efforts of opponents and supporters of the war," Sergei Ryabkov said according to Interfax.
"This is the result of destructive activities, primarily by the Europeans," he said.
The deputy foreign minister also warned Washington against sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, echoing repeated warnings from the past week.
More Articles...
- These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza
- Ukraine says it struck Russian ammunition plant, oil terminal and weapons depot
- The Guardian view on Trump’s Gaza plan: the bloodshed must end, but this proposal betrays Palestinians
- President Donald J. Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict
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