👋 Dia dhuit!*
Welcome to Monday, where Israel and Hamas are due to begin indirect talks in Egypt as hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza grows, France loses yet another prime minister and today’s quiz question is about an app’s anniversary. Meanwhile, German weekly Die Zeit talks to metabolism researcher Herman Pontzer, who explains why weight loss has little to do with workouts.
[*Gaelic]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Dutch daily Trouw devotes its front page to the mass protests organized in Amsterdam, where some 250,000 people gathered in the Museum Square on Sunday to demand an end to Israel’s two-year war on Gaza. Protestors urged the Netherlands’ government to take a harder line against Israel and stop arms exports to the occupying power. Similar rallies were held across Europe and the Middle East.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israel and Hamas prepare to start indirect talks on Gaza plan. Israel and Hamas begin indirect talks in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week. The militant group has agreed to parts of U.S. President Trump’s 20-point plan but hasn’t accepted all the conditions. Trump urged negotiators to “move fast” and warned Hamas faces “obliteration” if it refuses to cede power in the enclave. Read more in French analyst Pierre Haski’s latest piece: Why Trump Is A True Positive Force On Gaza Talks — And Why It Won’t Last.
• Russia downs 251 Ukraine drones overnight. Russia’s defense ministry reported on Monday that its air defense units destroyed 251 Ukrainian drones overnight, marking one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory attacks in more than three years of war with Moscow. While most of the drones were intercepted over the southwest, one was destroyed as it headed for the Russian capital. Meanwhile, French prosecutors announced on Sunday the launch of a “war crimes” investigation after French photojournalist Antoni Lallican was killed in a drone strike last week in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
• Rescuers race to reach hundreds of hikers stranded on Mount Everest. More than 200 hikers are stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas. As of Sunday, another 350 were led to safety by rescuers while contact with the remaining trekkers had been made, Chinese state media reports. October is typically one of Everest’s peak hiking seasons but mountain guides were caught off guard by the sudden bad weather, which also hit Nepal and killed at least 47 people there since Friday.
• U.S. judge temporarily blocks Trump from sending National Guard to Portland. A U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, marking a setback for the president as he seeks to dispatch the military to cities over the objections of their Democratic leaders. Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown has entered its sixth day Monday as Democratic and Republican leaders remain locked in a standoff.
• Japan stocks hit record after ruling party picks Takaichi. Japan’s stocks hit a record high on Monday after its ruling party chose ultra-conservative Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the pro-business politician to become the country’s first woman prime minister. Takaichi, an ally of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is known for her support of higher government spending and lower borrowing costs.
• Nobel Prize in medicine goes to breakthrough on immune system. The 2025 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to American scientists Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Japan’s Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries “concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.”
• News Quiz! Which of the following was released to the public in Apple’s App Store exactly 15 years ago?
A. TikTok
B. Angry Birds
C. Instagram
D. Pinterest
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
27
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced his resignation on Monday after just 27 days, making him the shortest serving prime minister in recent French history. The announcement came hours after Lecornu unveiled a new government full of familiar faces, which sparked the ire of allies and opponents alike. Some found the new cabinet too conservative or not conservative enough, while others raised questions on how long it could last, at a time when France is already mired deep in political crisis, with no group holding a majority in a fragmented parliament. The 39-year-old was President Emmanuel Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇪🇺 The return of war in Europe is not just a political or strategic challenge — it is changing how people live, relate to one another and imagine the future.
— ETHIC
🏋️ Metabolism researcher Herman Pontzer explains why weight loss has little to do with workouts, how evolution has shaped our bodies, and why growth charts can get health all wrong.
— DIE ZEIT
🇧🇷 Efforts to evict a São Paulo community for a new headquarters gained the president’s attention.
— GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet
Quiz Answer: C. The online social media platform and social network service for photograph and video sharing Instagram was launched exactly 15 years ago, on Oct. 6, 2010, by cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Boasting more than 2 billion active users, it is now owned by Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook.
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