👋 Agoo!*
Welcome to Thursday, where Hamas says it will release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, NATO and Kyiv’s allies react to Trump’s discussion with Putin to launch negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and a petition from Denmark is our daily quiz. Meanwhile, German daily Die Zeit’s Sarah Emminghaus unpacks recent studies that have revealed links between air pollution and cognitive impairment — even dementia.
[*Twi, Ghana]
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“Trump announces Ukraine talks” headlines German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, featuring a collage of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin side by side and elements of a “world in turmoil.” The two presidents had a lengthy phone call on Wednesday, which ended with Trump announcing that peace negotiations would be starting immediately. The announcement came apparently before Ukraine was notified, with Trump posting that the first step of negotiations was to tell President Volodymyr Zelensky. This came after the U.S. president said he was striking a deal with Ukraine to exchange military support for rare earth minerals mined in the country.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hamas says it will release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned. This resolves a major dispute that threatened the ceasefire in Gaza. The militant group said on Thursday that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have affirmed that they will work to “remove all hurdles,” and that it would implement the ceasefire deal. The statement indicated three more Israeli hostages would be freed Saturday. Keep up with Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• NATO says that Ukraine must be involved in peace talks. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that any final deal to end Moscow's war on Kyiv needs to be “enduring.” This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to launch negotiations. Meanwhile, China has floated a proposal to hold a summit between Putin and Trump to help end the Ukraine war, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chinese officials in recent weeks have raised a proposal with the Trump team through intermediaries to hold a summit between the two leaders and to facilitate peacekeeping efforts after an eventual truce.
• Syria's top diplomat to attend Paris conference on his country's political transition. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is set to attend an international conference, which kicks off in the French capital today, to discuss political transition, humanitarian aid and rebuilding in the country ravaged by 13 years of war. This marks al-Shaibani’s first trip to the European Union since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad.
• Hundreds of foreigners freed from Myanmar's scam centers. More than 250 people from 20 nationalities who had been working in telecom fraud centers in Myanmar's Karen State have been released by an ethnic armed group and brought to Thailand. The workers, more than half of whom were from African or Asian nations, were received by the Thai army, and are being assessed to find out if they were victims of human trafficking.
• Gas explosion at Taiwan department store kills four and leaves 26 others injured. The blast hit the food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taichung, about 160km (99 miles) southwest of the capital Taipei. Parts of the building’s exterior were damaged and scattered fragments were strewn on the streets.
• Honda, Nissan end merger talks. Japan’s second and third-largest automakers, Honda and Nissan, have announced that their boards had voted to end talks to merge, even as they pledged to continue their cooperation on electric vehicles amid intensifying global competition. Thursday’s announcement brings to an end a potential tie-up that would have created the world’s third-largest automaker, worth some $60 billion.
• News Quiz! A satirical petition titled “Denmarkification” has garnered more than 200,000 signatures. It aims to crowdfund $1 trillion to allow Denmark to do what?
A. Rename Greenland “NoTrumpia”
B. Go to the Moon
C. Acquire the world’s supply of herring
D. Buy California
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
124
More journalists than ever before were killed in 2024, with Israel responsible for more than two-thirds of those deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In its annual report, the CPJ said that the war in Gaza had deteriorated protections for journalists in conflict zones, accusing Israel of slowrolling investigations into the deaths and blaming journalists instead of the military for their killing.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇵🇸 Displaced Palestinians have been returning to northern Gaza following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. But the poor conditions are pushing many to return to the South in a “reverse displacement.”
— DARAJ
🚨 While Colombian President Gustavo Petro is upset that the U.S. is handcuffing the Colombians it deports, he and many other South American presidents are not as upset by the mistreatment that makes people leave their home countries in the first place.
— EL ESPECTADOR
🧠 Recent studies reveal strong links between air pollution and deposits in the brain, even in areas with low pollution levels. Inflammation plays a key role in this process.
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal.”
— Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that his biggest concern surrounding AI was its use by nations who might be interested in using it to do harm. Schmidt said AI could be used to launch a biological attack or otherwise help, “some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people.” He argued for increased oversight but said that overregulation was also a risk.
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Quiz Answer: D. A satirical petition ostensibly aiming to crowdfund $1 trillion to allow Denmark to buy California has received more than 200,000 signatures. “Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates.’ Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality,” the petition reads. “Let’s buy California from Donald Trump! Yes, you heard that right. California could be ours, and we need your help to make it happen.” The petition comes after the U.S. president expressed a renewed interest in controlling Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.