Latest news for 6 October 2025

ISRAEL

Gaza peace?

President Trump has urged mediators to move fast to iron out details after Hamas semi-accepted his peace plan on Friday. Negotiators are due in Egypt today, and Trump is hinting the ceasefire and hostage release could begin within days. (BBC)

Comment: We say ‘semi-accepted’ because Hamas was notably silent on the plan’s demands that it disarm and disband. To the contrary, the Hamas statement flagged its intention to fully participate in talks about Gaza’s future.

VENEZUELA

Land strikes next?

President Trump has used his appearance at a Virginia naval base to hint at US strikes on land-based cartel targets in Venezuela, noting “they’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking at the land”. (France24)

Comment: This has been rumoured for weeks, as nearby US assets (and drills) increasingly reflect amphibious capabilities. It’d be a big escalation, and arguably confirm assessments that Trump wants to destabilise Maduro’s grip on power.

SYRIA

To the ballot box.

Authorities are hailing Syria’s first parliamentary ✌️elections✌️ since the Assad dictatorship got ousted, though there’s unease around the details: interim leader al-Sharaa will appoint a third of the legislators himself, while the remainder are chosen by electoral colleges rather than direct popular vote. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: The argument is this hybrid model was necessary given the reality of trying to organise full elections in the post-war context. And al-Sharaa is saying he’ll use his 70 seats to fill any gaps in representation from across Syria.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The billionaire is back.

Populist billionaire and former prime minister Andrej Babiš has won this weekend’s parliamentary elections, though he failed to win a majority. His promises include less aid to Ukraine, instead boosting welfare spending back home. (Guardian)

Comment: Babiš has now got to do deals with fringe parties, some of whom give more Kremlin-friendly vibes. He’s reiterated his support for both the EU and NATO, though he pitches himself as wanting improvements. So there’s a possibility he’ll reshape Czechia to resemble Eurosceptic neighbours like Hungary and Slovakia.

CUBA

Helping Russia?

The folks at Reuters say US diplomats are now lobbying against the UN’s annual non-binding resolution criticising DC’s embargo on Cuba. One of the key talking points includes a claim that, after North Korea, Cuba is now the largest contributor of foreign troops (between 1k and 5k) to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)

Comment: It’s likely a reference to reports of Russia recruiting more mercenaries from Cuba. We’re curious why the White House now cares so much about this non-binding resolution, which yet again passed last year with 187 countries supporting, and just two against (the US and Israel). It has no practical impact, but is a stark illustration of how US efforts to isolate Cuba can backfire.

INDONESIA

TikTok is back.

Authorities have restored TikTok’s (briefly suspended) license after the China-owned social media platform complied with Jakarta’s demands to share data relevant to Indonesia’s recent mass anti-government protests. (Bloomberg $)Comment: Nobody likes a told-you-so, but it was only last week we mused about how governments will respond to recent Gen-Z protests with more social media crackdowns. Interestingly, TikTok initially declined to comply with all of Jakarta’s demands, but the brief ban must’ve jolted the senses, in a vivid reminder of where the leverage sits when dealing with one of the platform’s biggest markets.

SOMALIA

Jailbreak.

Local Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab has pulled off a deadly prison break, dressing as soldiers to release fellow members and other prisoners right in the middle of one of Mogadishu’s most tightly guarded zones. (BBC)

GEORGIA

Fury.

Authorities have detained at least five organisers of the anti-government protests that rocked the capital over the weekend, amid local elections largely boycotted by the opposition as the Kremlin-friendly government cracks down on dissent. (EuroNews)

Comment: One of the detained figures is a revered opera star (Burchuladze), who was urging law enforcement to arrest leaders of the ruling party. The party will have thought (hoped?) this unrest was all behind it.