U.S.-Russia Meet In Abu Dhabi, RSF Truce, Drone Troll

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Amsterdam-based daily NRC marks on its front page the 50-year anniversary of Suriname’s independence from the Netherlands. The small South American nation was a Dutch colony for 300 years before gaining its freedom on Nov. 25, 1975. The two countries still maintain close diplomatic, economic and cultural ties, with Suriname being the only independent state outside of Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language. To commemorate the anniversary, Dutch King Willem-Alexander will inaugurate the new Suriname Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Deadly Kyiv strikes as major Ukraine talks underway. Overnight Moscow-led strikes killed at least seven in Kyiv and caused widespread damage, while Ukraine also struck Russian the border of Krasnodar and Rostov, killing at least three. This comes as U.S. and Russian officials are set to meet in Abu Dhabi, while the UK’s Keir Starmer has arranged for a virtual meeting of the 30-nation pro-Ukraine coalition. According to Ukraine’s security chief, President Volodymyr Zelensky could meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in the next few days. For more, read this analysis by France Inter’s Pierre Haski: Can Europe And Kyiv Resist Washington’s Kremlin-Friendly Peace Plan For Ukraine?

• Controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to shut down. The U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has announced it is winding down operations, after months of turmoil at its aid sites, that saw chaotic crowds and alleged Israeli gunfire contributed to more than 2,100 Palestinian deaths, according to UN estimates. The group says it fulfilled its mission, while critics, including Hamas, accuse it of worsening starvation and enabling Israeli control over aid delivery.

• Sudan’s RSF declares unilateral three-month ceasefire. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced a three-month humanitarian truce, citing international pressure and U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent pledge to help end the war. The move comes a day after the Sudanese paramilitary force rejected a U.S.- and Gulf-backed ceasefire plan. The RSF, which stands accused of mass atrocities after seizing the town of El Fasher in the Darfur province, says it hopes foreign mediators will push the army to join talks.

• Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of deadly airstrike. Afghan authorities say Pakistani forces bombed a home in Khost’s Gurbuz district, killing nine children and a woman and wounding others in strikes across the eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika. The attacks threaten a fragile ceasefire as both countries trade blame over cross-border violence and the presence of Pakistan Taliban fighters operating from Afghan soil.

• Venezuela suspends flights amid U.S. security warnings. Thousands of travelers were left stranded after a series of airlines suspended routes to Caracas in response to a U.S. FAA statement warning of “worsening security” and increased military activity around Venezuela. The cancellations, which affected links from Madrid and Bogotá, come amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas.

• China conducts first emergency mission to Tiangong space station. China launched an unmanned spacecraft to its Tiangong space station, in its first such rapid-response mission after debris cracked the return capsule of Shenzhou-20, leaving astronauts without a safe ride home. The successful operation restored a working return vehicle to the crew, while delivering supplies and repair parts. For more, read this recent article by Stefano Corgnati for Italian daily La Stampa, translated and adapted by Worldcrunch: Making Space: Why The Next Industrial Leap Will Not Start On Earth.

• News Quiz! According to a study from New Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College, what has been found to ease surgery and help patients recover more swiftly?

A. Aromatherapy
B. Dimmed lights
C. Soft music
D. Foot massage
[Answer below]

📣 VERBATIM

“We want peace, but we don’t want peace that is effectively a capitulation.”

— French President Emmanuel Macron told French RTL radio station that though the 28-point U.S. peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war is “an initiative that goes in the right direction: towards peace,” there are aspects of the plan that still “deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved.” The proposal made last week, which includes territorial concessions from Ukraine, caught many in Kyiv and Europe off guard and prompted fresh concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration might be willing to push Ukraine to sign a deal favorable to the Kremlin. “What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable to the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” Macron added.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

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