ISTANBUL 

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday, including indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt for a hostage swap deal, the US Senate blocking a Republican spending bill to end a government shutdown, Israel deporting Gaza flotilla activists to Greece and Slovakia, and the resignation of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

TOP STORIES

• Indirect talks begin between Hamas, Israel in Egypt for hostage swap deal

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh to prepare the groundwork for a prisoner exchange, Egyptian media said.

The state-run Al-Qahera News channel, citing Egyptian sources, said the talks are part of Egypt’s efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.

“Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are making major efforts to establish a mechanism for the release of prisoners,” the sources added.

An Israeli negotiating team arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh early Monday for the ceasefire talks. The Hamas delegation, headed by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, arrived on Sunday.

• US Senate blocks Republican spending bill to end government shutdown

The US Senate rejected a House-passed Republican stopgap funding bill to end an ongoing government shutdown.

By a vote of 52-42, the Senate did not invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the continuing resolution as the shutdown continued for a sixth day.

Senators voting in favor included Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, as well as Independent Angus King. Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote against.

Earlier, the Senate rejected a Democrat bill to extend government funding by a vote of 45-50.

• Israel deports 171 Gaza flotilla activists to Greece, Slovakia

Israel deported 171 more international activists detained aboard an aid flotilla seeking to challenge an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said that 171 activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were deported to Greece and Slovakia.

The ministry said the deportees were nationals of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia and the United States.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Thunberg told Swedish officials that she had been held in a cell infested with bedbugs and provided with insufficient food and water.

• Macron tasks his outgoing premier with final political talks to ensure ‘stability’ in France

French President Emmanuel Macron instructed outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who resigned earlier on Monday, to hold “final negotiations” with political parties, the Elysee Palace announced.

The presidency said in a statement that Macron asked Lecornu to continue talks and present concrete proposals by Wednesday evening in a bid to establish “a platform for action and stability for the country," French news broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Lecornu confirmed on the US social media company X’s platform that he had “agreed to the request of the President of the Republic” to engage in talks with various political forces “for the stability of the country.”

“I will tell the head of state on Wednesday evening whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions,” he said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) found Sudanese former militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan between 2003 and 2004.
• US President Donald Trump said that Hamas has been “agreeing to things that are very important” as negotiations continue on his recently unveiled 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan.
• Syria’s electoral commission announced the official results of the country’s first parliamentary elections since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye is leading in green energy investments, with the share of renewable energy in total energy capacity rising to over 60% as of this year.
• The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell from the US and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan for their discoveries in the field of peripheral immune tolerance, which hold promise for more effective treatments of autoimmune diseases and cancer.
• Swedish activist Greta Thunberg spoke publicly for the first time after being released from an Israeli prison, where she was reportedly beaten and forced to kiss the Israeli flag.
• The UN human rights office said it had received "worrying information" about the treatment of participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla detained in Israel.
• Italian European Parliamentarian Benedetta Scuderi said that she and hundreds of others were detained and mistreated by Israeli forces after taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
• Egyptian candidate Khaled al-Anany was elected as the new director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), succeeding French civil servant and politician Audrey Azoulay.
• UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
• US President Donald Trump called off efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, the New York Times reported.
• Germany could withdraw from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is excluded, according to its chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

SPORTS

• UEFA reluctantly approves La Liga, Serie A requests to play outside their home countries

UEFA said that it reluctantly approved requests for a Spanish LaLiga match between Villarreal and Barcelona and an Italian Serie A clash between Milan and Como to be played abroad.

The football governing body said in a statement that the Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve, on an exceptional basis, the two requests referred to it.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stressed that all league clashes should be played on home soil, noting that "anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions."

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Trump announces US tariffs on foreign medium, heavy-duty trucks

US President Donald Trump announced that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks imported into the United States will be subject to a 25% tariff starting Nov. 1.

“Beginning November 1st, 2025, all Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks coming into the United States from other Countries will be Tariffed at the Rate of 25%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

• Turkish, Saudi state railways ink deal

Türkiye's State Railways (TCDD) and Saudi State Railways (SAR) signed a memorandum of understanding for railway maintenance and repair, infrastructure development, traffic management and capacity allocation, and training and consultancy.

The deal was signed in Saudi Arabia during meetings held with delegations led by TCDD Director General Veysi Kurt and SAR General Manager Bashar bin Khalid Al Malik, Türkiye's Transport Ministry wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.