World
Trump unveils ceasefire plan to end the war in Gaza. Timor-Leste backlash over government perks. Madagascar’s parliament dissolved amid deadly protests. Taliban blocks internet. By Jonathan Pearlman.
Trump unveils ceasefire plan to end the war in Gaza
Great power rivalry
Gaza: Donald Trump this week unveiled a 20-point plan for ending the war in Gaza that calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release by Hamas of hostages within 72 hours, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and a postwar transitional board headed by Trump.
Presenting the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who endorsed it, Trump told reporters on Monday the deal could lead to “eternal peace in the Middle East”. But he said he would give Netanyahu “full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas” if the group rejects the deal.
The plan calls for Hamas to release the 48 remaining Israeli hostages – about 20 of whom are believed to be alive – and for Israel to release 250 life-sentence Palestinian prisoners and 1700 Gazans detained during the war. Israel would end its military operations and gradually withdraw to agreed lines, though the plan does not mention a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Hamas would be excluded from governing Gaza and members of the group who agree to disarm would be granted amnesty. The board headed by Trump, which would include former British prime minister Tony Blair, would transfer control to the Palestinian Authority after it has undergone reforms, which could lead to eventual Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu said he backed the proposal, adding: “This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way.”
Hamas was considering the proposal but initially indicated it was likely to reject it.
A Hamas official told BBC News the group would not disarm and that the deal “serves Israel’s interests” and “ignores those of the Palestinian people”.
The proposal was widely backed by the international community, including by Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who last week announced recognition of Palestinian statehood, welcomed the plan, expressing support for its focus on Palestinian self-determination and statehood and for the Palestinian Authority taking back control of Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops moved further into Gaza City this week and continued to call on residents to evacuate ahead of a complete Israeli takeover of the city. On Tuesday, Israeli attacks across Gaza killed 59 people, according to local officials.
Salah Abu Amr, a 60-year-old from Gaza City, told Reuters he supported Trump’s plan: “We hope the plan will end the war, but we are not sure it will; neither Trump nor Netanyahu can be trusted.”
The neighbourhood
Timor-Leste: Lawmakers have voted to remove lifetime pensions for MPs following a series of student-led protests against government perks and income inequality.
Demonstrations initially erupted in the capital, Dili, in mid September to protest a plan to provide new SUVs to the country’s 65 MPs. About 2000 people demonstrated, leading to clashes as police fired tear gas and protesters threw rocks. The government later cancelled the purchases, but the protesters widened their demands to include an end to lifetime pensions for MPs.
Following parliament’s unanimous decision to remove the lifetime pensions last week, President José Ramos-Horta told reporters he supported the move and thanked the protesters for their “intervention”.
“It would be better to allocate the funds to productive sectors, education and rural development to reduce the poverty problem in this country,” he said.
Fortunata Alves, a 23-year-old university student, told AFP: “This is what we want. Now that the parliament has made a good decision, the funds can be allocated for productive sectors such as agriculture, health and education.”
MPs in Timor-Leste have an annual salary of about US$36,000, compared with a national average income of about $3000. The country, which has about 1.5 million residents, is one of the poorest in South-East Asia.
This month, Timor-Leste, which gained independence in 2002, is set to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – a move the government believes could boost investment and lead to closer regional trade ties.
Democracy in retreat
Madagascar: President Andry Rajoelina dissolved parliament this week after at least 22 people died during protests sparked by water and power cuts.
The protests, which called for the resignations of Rajoelina and MPs, were partly inspired by recent so-called “Gen Z” demonstrations against corruption and inequality in other countries such as Nepal, Indonesia and Kenya.
Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said the casualties – which included more than 100 injured – occurred after security officials used “unnecessary force” against the protesters, including beatings and live ammunition.
“I urge the security forces to desist from the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force and to immediately release all arbitrarily detained protesters,” he said in a statement.
The UN said some casualties also occurred during looting and violence not associated with the protesters.
Madagascar’s government rejected the UN’s casualty figures, saying they were based on “rumours or misinformation”.
Rajoelina, who was re-elected in 2023, said in a televised speech that he apologised for any misconduct by members of the government.
“I understand the anger, the sadness, and the difficulties caused by power cuts and water supply problems,” he said. “I heard the call, I felt the suffering, I understood the impact on daily life.”
Despite his dismissal of the government on Monday, violent demonstrations again erupted on Tuesday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of protesters. The protests occurred in the capital, Antananarivo, and eight other cities.
Spotlight: Taliban blocks internet
Afghanistan: The Taliban shut down the internet and phone services in Afghanistan this week as part of its campaign to prevent residents engaging in “immoral activities”, particularly online pornography.
The shutdown, which was imposed on Monday and partially lifted on Wednesday, resulted in an effective block on all communications, because phone services in Afghanistan often rely on the same optic fibre lines as the internet.
The blackout affected flights, banking, government services and the media. It also raised concerns about the consequences for girls and women, who are banned from attending schools and universities and rely on online education.
Fahima Noori, who graduated from university before the Taliban seized power in 2021, told BBC News she recently enrolled in further online studies and hoped to find an online job.
“Our last hope was online learning,” she said. “Now [even] that dream has been destroyed.”
The Taliban did not give an official reason for the shutdown. But authorities in Balkh, a northern province, said an initial shutdown in several provinces on September 16 was to “prevent vice”.
The United Nations’ Afghanistan mission urged the Taliban to restore connectivity, saying in a statement the shutdown left the nation “almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people”.
The Taliban said on Wednesday it had restored all communications, though independent observers said services had been only partially restored.
Since regaining power, the Taliban has banned education for girls aged over 12, limited job options for women and removed books written by women from universities.
Besmillah Taban, a security expert, told Deutsche Welle that disrupting the internet could enable “widespread repression across Afghanistan”.
“The Taliban could expand their crackdown and evade international oversight,” he said.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on October 3, 2025 as "Trump unveils ceasefire plan to end the war in Gaza".
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