👋 Aloha!*
Welcome to Thursday, where the United States downplays any threats to the Gaza ceasefire, Madagascar’s new ruler will be sworn in on Friday and today’s quiz question is about “organic” literature. Meanwhile, Lea Knies writes for German daily Die Zeit how your 20’s may not be your happiest years.
[*Hawaiian]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
German daily Die Tageszeitung dedicates its front page to Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius. Germany’s coalition partners have failed to agree on a proposed new form of military. Negotiators from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) had previously backed a proposal to introduce a lottery system, which would be used if enough volunteers did not sign up in a given year. The suggested changes, which echo the system used in Denmark, come as Germany looks to strengthen its armed forces in wake of the security threat posed to Europe by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• U.S. downplays threat to Gaza ceasefire, Hamas says more time needed to find hostage bodies. As part of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan, Hamas had to return 20 living hostages and the bodies of another 28 hostages. The living hostages have been returned, as well as nine bodies, but Hamas says it needs specialist equipment to find the others. Meanwhile, the Israeli military agency COGAT on Thursday said preparations to open the Rafah crossing “for the movement of people only” are ongoing between Israel and Egypt, with the date to be announced at a later stage.
• Madagascar’s new military ruler says he will be sworn in as president on Friday. Colonel Michael Randrianirina added he was open to talks with the African Union, after it suspended the country’s membership following a coup to oust President Andry Rajoelina. Rajoelina, whom lawmakers impeached after he fled abroad over the weekend, has condemned the takeover and refused to step down despite youth-led Gen Z protests asking him to quit.
• Trump authorizes CIA operations in Venezuela. U.S. President Donald Trump added that his administration was also mulling land-based military operations inside Venezuela, as tensions between Washington and Caracas soar over multiple deadly U.S. strikes on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. Read more in this piece by French political analyst Pierre Haski for FranceInter on Trump’s reigniting the Monroe Doctrine.
• Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to temporary truce. Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire after airstrikes and ground fighting ramped up tensions between the South Asian neighbours, leaving more than a dozen civilians dead and 100 wounded. Wednesday’s fighting shattered a fragile peace after dozens were killed in weekend clashes, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
• Uruguay passes a law allowing euthanasia. This makes Uruguay the first country in predominantly Catholic Latin America to allow euthanasia via legislation. Colombia and Ecuador have decriminalized the practice through Supreme Court decisions.
• South Korea tycoon escapes paying $1bn in “divorce of the century”. South Korea’s Supreme Court has struck down a lower court’s order for billionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife a 1.38tn won ($1bn) settlement. Citing a miscalculation that increased the value of the couple’s assets, it has ordered the case to be reviewed. The case has gripped South Korea as Chey heads the powerful SK Group conglomerate while his ex-wife Roh So-young is the daughter of a former president.
• News Quiz! A group of independent publishing houses in the UK is spearheading a new “Organic Literature” certification for the books it publishes. What’s its purpose?
A. To promote environmentally sustainable printing practices
B. To ensure books were written by humans, with only limited AI help
C. To rate books based on their literary quality
D. To promote the use of locally produced paper
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
7
More and more wild bears have been spotted in Japan in recent years, even in residential areas, due to factors including a declining human population and climate change. Bears have killed a record seven people in Japan this year, the highest since 2006 when the survey started, an environment ministry official said Thursday. Beyond the fatal cases, at least 108 people have been injured since April. Read more in this reportage translated from French by Worldcrunch: Bears Are Back In Japan — Is It Time To Unleash The Wolf Robots?
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 On five separate occasions, the U.S. Navy has sunk ships in the Caribbean accused of drug trafficking — yet no evidence has been presented. This return to power politics is causing alarm across Latin America.
— FRANCE INTER
🙂 From TikTok’s glorified youth culture to academic pressure, debt, and social comparison, new research and personal stories suggest real happiness may come much later than expected.
— DIE ZEIT
🍽️ Fixing food loss is key to ending hunger, protecting resources, and ensuring sustainability in India.
— THE WIRE
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright
Quiz Answer: B. Launched by the UK start-up Books By People, the “Organic Literature” stamp certifies that books are genuinely written by humans, with only limited AI involvement in minor tasks like formatting. The initiative aims to promote authentic human creativity while protecting readers and authors from the growing influx of AI-generated books flooding online marketplaces.
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!