International
Blinken praises a truce proposal and Netanyahu gets stuck in his rejection at the end of the war
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again praised today in Israel the latest proposal for a truce in Gaza that is still being studied by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on his rejection of a definitive ceasefire in the Strip.
Blinken, who is embarking on his seventh visit to the region since the outbreak of war, on October 7, met today with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and hours earlier with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to whom he reiterated his commitment to achieve a truce agreement “now” that will return the hostages and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“We are determined to achieve a ceasefire that will take the hostages home, and to achieve it now. And the only reason why that would not be achieved would be because of Hamas. There is a proposal on the table. And as we have said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now,” Blinken said, according to a statement from the Israeli president’s spokesman.
In addition, Herzog reiterated that Israel complies with international law and expressed its rejection of the International Criminal Court (ICC), due to the possibility of it issue arrest warrants for alleged war crimes against three senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, according to the newspaper Haaretz on Monday.
“I appeal to all our allies and friends to reject such attempts” from the ICC, asked Herzog, who also assured that the “immediate return of the hostages” should be “the highest priority” of the international community.
Blinken also had words today for the relatives of the hostages, and before a group of Israeli protesters who were asking in front of his hotel in Tel Aviv for a truce agreement to be reached, he insisted that the only thing missing is for Hamas to say yes.
“At the moment there is a very strong proposal on the table, Hamas needs to say yes, it is necessary for him to carry it out,” Blinken said according to a statement from his Office.
“We will not rest, we will not stop until you meet with your loved ones, so please stay strong, keep the faith, we will be with you every day until we achieve it,” Blinken told the demonstrators.
In the meeting with Netanyahu in his office in Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister told Blinken that he will not accept an agreement if it includes the end of the war in Gaza, which has already caused the death of more than 34,500 Palestinians, 72% women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
At the meeting, Netanyahu warned that if Hamas does not renounce its demand for a permanent ceasefire, there will be no agreement and Israel will invade the town of Rafah, where 1.4 million people are crowded, said the Israeli media Walla, who cited Israeli and American officials.
One of the demands of the Palestinian group would be that in a second phase of the agreement, Israel would commit to ending its offensive in the Strip, something that, according to the source, Netanyahu is opposed.
The Israeli proposal, which is currently studying Hamas, includes Israel’s intention to discuss during a second phase of the agreement “the return of a sustainable calm” in the Gaza Strip, a formula that, as the media itself points out, does not include an explicit commitment to the end of the war.
After 208 days of war, the Gaza Strip is in a state of devastation, with 80% of its population forcibly displaced, water scarcity and an extreme lack of food, which has pushed about 210,000 people on the verge of famine in the north, in addition to a growing proliferation of diseases.
International
Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.
The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.
Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.
In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.
Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.
The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.
Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.
Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.
The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.
International
Colombia Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 265 as Rescue Teams Race Against Time
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday, the strongest to hit the country this century, has so far left 265 people dead and around 3,500 injured.
In Cali, Pereira and other cities in western Colombia, rescue teams are working around the clock as they search for survivors. The first 72 hours following the earthquake will be reached at 7:34 a.m. local time (12:34 GMT), a critical window for rescue efforts as the chances of finding survivors generally decline significantly after that point.
Among those anxiously awaiting news is Valeria Cardona, a 26-year-old student searching for two of her cousins in Cali.
“We have some suspicions about their location, but there are no signs of life,” she said. “Hope is the last thing you lose, but we are anxious about receiving news we don’t want to hear.”
A team of members from the Topos Aztecas, the renowned Mexican volunteer rescue group, has also arrived in Cali to join the search. The rescuers had been working in neighboring Venezuela, where a double earthquake on June 24 left more than 6,000 people dead.
“We all came from Venezuela, from La Guaira. The 41 days we spent working there made us stronger because we overcame hunger, pain and sleepless nights,” said Héctor Méndez, 80, president of Topos Aztecas.
Méndez encouraged those affected by the disaster not to lose hope and emphasized the commitment required from rescue teams during an emergency.
“Do not feel like victims. This is not an office or workshop schedule. This is real life, where the best part of the human spirit emerges. These are things of nature that happen,” he said.
International
German Authorities Investigate More Than 100 New Cases Against Convicted Nurse
German authorities announced Monday that they are investigating more than 100 additional cases involving a nurse who was sentenced to life in prison in November for the murder of 10 patients.
The man, who was 44 at the time of his conviction, worked in palliative care at a hospital in Würselen, near Aachen. He was also found guilty of 27 attempted murders.
Aachen prosecutors are now examining 121 new cases, a spokesperson for the office said.
Prosecutors leading the investigation are preparing a new indictment that could be filed next year. Nearly 40 bodies have so far been exhumed as part of the investigation, which covers alleged incidents dating back to September 2022.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in the city of Cologne are investigating 18 additional cases. According to a spokesperson, the oldest case dates back to 2010.
Before working at the Würselen hospital, the nurse is believed to have worked at a clinic in eastern Cologne, according to local media reports.
At the time of his November conviction, the court ruled that the severity of his crimes was particularly serious, a finding that would make it difficult for him to obtain early release after 15 years in prison.
Between December 2023 and May 2024, the nurse administered overdoses of sedatives or painkillers to terminally ill patients, most of them elderly, according to the indictment in the original case.
His alleged motive was to sedate patients who required care so that he could minimize his workload during night shifts, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, the nurse worked «without enthusiasm» and «without motivation». When faced with patients requiring extensive care, he allegedly became «irritated» and showed a lack of empathy.
The case has revived painful memories in Germany of Niels Högel, a former nurse and serial killer who was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2019 for the murders of at least 85 patients.
Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty
Colombia Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 265 as Rescue Teams Race Against Time
German Authorities Investigate More Than 100 New Cases Against Convicted Nurse
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