Eurotopics.net

The Gaza ceasefire deal is to be signed on Monday afternoon in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with US President Donald Trump in attendance. The remaining living Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the massacre on 7 October 2023 were all released this morning. Commentators examine the chances of a lasting peace.

The decision to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, a long-time opposition activist in Venezuela who has been in hiding for over a year for safety reasons, has put the conflict between the Maduro regime and the opposition back into the spotlight. The media discuss whether she deserves the prestigious award.

Transnistria, the unrecognised breakaway region of Moldova, has once again been left with barely any gas or electricity. Russia is having major difficulties paying for natural gas deliveries from Moldova to Transnistria now that payments previously processed via Dubai and Hungary have come to a standstill as a result of sanctions. Will the energy crisis force the pro-Russian separatist region to reach an agreement with Chişinău after 34 years of de facto independence?

Israel's government has agreed to implement the first phase of the US plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist organisation Hamas had previously agreed to US President Trump's proposal, which provides for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the release of all Israeli hostages and around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Commentators voice scepticism and hope.

Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai (71) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. Krasznahorkai, who has achieved worldwide fame with novels such as "Satantango" and "Melancholy of Resistance", had already won the International Booker Prize in 2015. He is a controversial figure in Hungary because of his harsh criticism of Viktor Orbán's government.