From Peacemaker to Power Broker: Trump’s Diplomatic Blitz Turning Into a Global Shakedown
A fragile Gaza truce, a looming Zelensky meeting, illegal strikes in the Caribbean — and whispers of deals with Iran. Trump’s new world tour of diplomacy blurs the line between negotiation & shakedown
US President Donald Trump is seeking further diplomatic wins on the back of his success brokering a truce between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire is a diplomatic coup for Trump, who promised long-term peace in the Middle East. Insiders told The New York Times that Trump pushed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu towards a deal, while also pressuring Hamas. The victory has buoyed Trump, who is looking for new foreign policy wins: On Friday he meets with Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy, who said the breakthrough offers “hope” to end the Ukraine war. Trump also offered an olive branch to Iran, suggested intervening in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the US may facilitate a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. - Semafor
President Donald Trump announced that the United States has carried out another air strike on a vessel off the Venezuelan coast, once again accusing the boat of transporting drugs. In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said six people were killed in the latest bombing. Trump did not offer any evidence to confirm his allegation that the boat was “conducting narcotrafficking”. But as with past strikes, he shared an unclassified video of the bombing, which appeared to show a small boat seemingly drifting in the water, not moving, before the US missile makes impact. This latest attack is believed to be the fifth such US bombing in the Caribbean Sea. Experts and rights groups have described the US strikes as a clear violation of international law since drug traffickers do not qualify as armed combatants. Despite their dubious legality, the strikes have become commonplace over the last month and a half - AJE
One of the bodies handed over by Hamas on Tuesday was not of a hostage held in Gaza since 7 October 2023 attacks, the Israeli military said on Wednesday. The botched exchange, which happened as part of phase one of a US-brokered peace deal, threatens to increase tensions over the fragile truce, which came into effect earlier this week, bringing an end to two years of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Monday, just hours after the last of the 20 living hostages was released. Four further bodies were also returned on Monday, as per the terms of the agreement, which demands that the remains of all 28 deceased hostages be handed over to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded on Wednesday that Hamas fulfil the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal — introduced by US President Donald Trump — about the return of the remains of deceased hostages. The deal – Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan – stipulated that all 20 living and 28 deceased hostages be returned to Israel by Monday. Hamas has said previously that more time was needed to retrieve the bodies, claiming that some of the hostages’ remains were buried under rubble. The deal, however, also included a term that if Hamas was unable to return the deceased hostages by the deadline, the group was to share information about them and try to hand all of them over as soon as possible. This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel. During a previous ceasefire in January, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons - AJE
“Across the political spectrum, we have worried that Hamas would use the excuse of “losing” hostages, in order to hold onto powerful leverage; they know that Judaism accords the greatest honor to the vessel that held the living soul, and that we would do almost anything to give these 24 remaining bodies a proper burial, to give their families some sense of closure. Hamas on the other hand, finds themselves unable to give away every advantage they hold over Israel, for their future attacks against the Zionist Entity and Jews everywhere…..In their boredom and frustration, video has been released in which members of Hamas execute rival Gazan clans in the street. Because open mass murder goes so far to show what excellent partners they will be in the new Middle East….I was speaking to an Israeli patient today, and she admitted that while she thinks the US President is “crazy…he’s our crazy… until he decides that he doesn’t like Israel or Netanyahu anymore, and then we’re screwed” - Dr. Leora Lider, Jerusalem
As peace talks reshape the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging Donald Trump to replicate his diplomatic breakthrough — this time in Eastern Europe. With the two leaders set to meet in Washington, the focus turns to Ukraine’s desperate need for stronger air defences and military muscle amid intensifying Russian strikes. In this interview with ABC The World’s Yvonne Yong, I explain why many believe Trump’s unconventional diplomacy could be the key to bringing Moscow to the table — and what’s at stake if it fails.
Longtime Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov has vowed to sue to get back his Ukrainian citizenship after it was stripped over intelligence agency claims that documents had emerged proving he has a Russian passport. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a press release on October 14 that Trukhanov’s citizenship had been revoked after multiple documents emerged proving he was a Russian citizen. Dual nationality is prohibited under Ukrainian law. President Zelensky confirmed that he had signed a decree revoking Trukhanov’s citizenship, saying he intends to place the strategic port city of Odesa under military administration. “I have not changed my mind about going to court. I did not have and do not have Russian citizenship. I have all the relevant documents, so we will fight,” Trukhanov said on October 15. “Today I remain the mayor of the city...Until this information is adopted by the deputies at a session, I will remain mayor of the city and fulfill my duties,” he added - RFE/RL
An elite military unit says it has seized power in Madagascar from President Andry Rajoelina following weeks of youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island. Standing outside the presidential palace on Tuesday, CAPSAT chief Col Michael Randrianirina said the military would form a government and hold elections within two years. He also suspended key democratic institutions, like the electoral commission. Gen Z protesters will be part of the changes because “the movement was created in the streets so we have to respect their demands”, he added. Troops and protesters have been celebrating the apparent ousting of President Rajoelina, with thousands waving flags in the capital, Antananarivo. CAPSAT, or the Personnel Administration and Technical and Administrative Services Corps, is the most powerful military unit in Madagascar. The unit supported Rajoelina when he came into power in 2009, but joined the protesters on Saturday. Madagascar’s constitutional court has named Col Randrianirina as the country’s new leader, even though a statement from the president’s office said he was still in charge and denounced what it described as an “attempted coup d’etat”. Rajoelina’s whereabouts are unknown, but he has said he is sheltering in a “safe place” following an alleged attempt on his life by “military personnel and politicians”. CAPSAT has denied any involvement in any such move. There have been unconfirmed reports that the president was flown out of the country on a French military aircraft - BBC
Factory workers, cashiers and hotel staff in Greece could soon be working longer shifts, with the country set to become the first EU member to officially introduce a 13-hour workday for the private sector. Parliament is set to vote on the controversial legislation on Wednesday, amid planned nationwide protest rallies. Despite growing pushback from unions and opposition parties, the bill is expected to pass comfortably with the votes of the ruling New Democracy party. Since taking power in 2019, the center-right government has transformed the country’s labor market into what it hails as one of the most “flexible” in Europe. Starting in July 2024, employees in industry, retail, agriculture and some service sectors can be asked to work a new six-day schedule, with an extra 40 percent paid on top of their regular wage for the sixth working day. The move, a shift against a trend toward shorter working weeks in some European countries, was deemed necessary due to Greece’s aging and shrinking population and a major shortage of skilled workers - Politico
As of Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline, only the MAGA-friendly One America News had said it would sign the Pentagon’s new draconian press policy. It essentially demands that the media be more responsible with classified information (the irony being that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has shown himself to be scandalously careless with sensitive information). As one journalist told Monocle Radio: “The policy is an inch away from telling journalists they need to show drafts of their articles.”
Donald Trump’s biographer says TIME’s cover photo carried extra sting for the president, not just because of his unflattering hair and neck, but due to his long-held obsession with the magazine. TIME unveiled the cover for its latest issue Monday. It features Trump alongside a glowing article about his role in brokering the Gaza ceasefire deal. “His Triumph,” the magazine declares in its all-caps cover line, beside a low-angle photo of Trump gazing into the distance. Despite the magazine’s fawning language, however, the looks-obsessed president couldn’t help complaining about the photo choice. He fired off a furious Truth Social post at 1:30 a.m. Washington time Tuesday, fuming that the picture TIME published on its cover “may be the Worst of All Time.” “They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one,” Trump wrote. “Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?” Inside Trump’s Head podcast hosts Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles both agreed that Trump’s dissatisfaction with his latest cover photo, which emphasizes his neck and thinning hair, isn’t unfounded. “He is right about that. That angle,” Wolff said. “You never want someone to take a picture from below, which is a technique that the media or the print media uses when they want to diss somebody.” “This is not a flattering shot,” Coles added, noting that the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning media company MeidasTouch, Ron Filipkowski, had dubbed the skin around president’s neck a “neck vagina.” Filipkowski responded to Trump’s whining post on X Tuesday morning, writing, “They showed his neck vagina. That’s what he’s really upset about.” - The Daily Beast
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