Reuters World News - Gaza talks, French politics and Trump voters on vaccines

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Hamas and Israeli officials are set to gather in Egypt for talks on President Trump's Gaza plan. A federal judge temporarily blocks the Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to��Portland. France’s new prime minister resigns, sparking fresh political chaos. Rescuers guide hundreds of trekkers to safety from blizzard-struck Everest. And we hear from a group of Trump voters on what they think of the administration’s shifting stance on vaccines.  Recommended Read: Rome calls on US to reconsider extra tariff on pasta imports Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠here⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠here⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Monday, October 6th. Today, Hamas and Israel head to Egypt to discuss Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, as pressure builds to get a deal done. A federal judge blocks the administration from sending National Guard troops to Portland for now. Trump supporters grow concerned about the changes to vaccine advice and a role of the role of roller coaster Octoberfest comes to a close. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Hamas officials have arrived in Egypt for talks with Israel to end the war in Gaza. Alongside Qatari and US representatives, they're said to discuss President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

Trump says the first phase of that plan, the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners should be settled by the end of the week. We don't need flexibility because everybody's pretty much agreed to it, but there'll always be some changes. Under the plan, Gaza would be transformed into a demilitarized zone governed by a temporary technocratic Palestinian committee with oversight from an international body chaired by Donald Trump.

While both Hamas and Israel have agreed to some parts of the proposal, pitfalls remain. Hamas hasn't committed to disarmament, and the timeline for Israel's full exit from Gaza is unclear. Jerusalem correspondent Mayan Lubal says, while everyone is focused on the first phase, the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, that these talks are trying to avoid a phased approach. The last ceasefire in January this year was leaving some of the more difficult, complicated questions to later. So what they're trying to do now, according to some of the officials involved, is have answers to those difficult questions already locked down. Whether they'll manage to do that is a big, big question.

Hamas has avoided, basically sidestepped a question of its own disarmament. It's so far rejected any calls to lay down its weapons. Israel is not clear about the pace and extent of its withdrawal from Gaza. And then there's the question, of course, of who will govern the strip. With tomorrow marking two years since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and with a possible end to the war in sight, pressure is ramping up from both pro-Palestinian demonstrators and from Israelis wanting the return of hostages.

In Tel Aviv, demonstrators gathered in what's become known as hostages square. While in Jerusalem, families of those still being held set up what they call a tent for hope outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house. Demonstrations in support of Palestinians, meanwhile, took place in Istanbul, New Delhi, and Amsterdam, where those gathered called for an end to the war and a safe future for Palestinians. And Israel's ruling coalition is at risk of collapse over the Gaza peace plan. Far-right ministers are furious the proposal leaves room for Hamas to survive, even if disarmed. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir is threatening to quit,

and finance minister, Bezalal Smotrich, calls the pause in bombings a grave mistake. If both walk, Netanyahu could face early elections. A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from sending California National Guard troops or those from any other state to Portland, Oregon. The plan to send troops from California was a workaround after the same judge earlier blocked the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops, ruling there's no evidence recent protests justify military intervention. No president is allowed to make up facts or rely on social.

media trolling or posts when deploying the United States military in our cities. Oregon's Attorney General Dan Rayfield there. Over the weekend, protests outside Portland's ice facility escalated, with federal agents using tear gas to disperse crowds. Tensions flared in Chicago, too, with protests after U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a late-night raid on an apartment building last week. In another example of Trump's expanding use of the military, US forces have hit an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela before such attack in recent weeks.

President Trump announced the news during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk, commemorating the Navy's 250th birthday. They're not coming in by sea anymore, so now we'll have to start looking about the land because they'll be forced to go by land. And let me tell you right now, that's not going to work out well for them either. Venezuela, which denies drugs are being smuggled from its territory,

says it's spoken to Russia about their tax and has Moscow's full support. In an unexpected move, French Prime Minister Sebastian Leconiou has resigned, just hours before his newly appointed cabinet was due to meet. The lineup, unveiled Sunday night, sparked immediate outrage, with some finding it to right-wing, others not enough. Leconiou was a new-lawful. President Emmanuel McCorm's fifth Prime Minister in just two years. Bitcoin reached all-time highs over the weekend, with analysts expecting it to continue as the US government shutdown rolls on. The Senate will vote

for a fifth time later today on a stopgap funding bill that would end the shutdown. But it appears there's little sign of progress between Democrats and Republicans to get a bill over the line, even as the Trump administration is renewing its threat to lay off federal workers en masse. As lawmakers remain gridlocked in Washington, another political fight is unfolding over vaccines. The Trump administration's shifting stance, shaped by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is stirring debate even among Trump's own supporters. For months, our reporter Julia Hart has been checking in with a group of 20 Trump voters to get their take on everything from tariffs to immigration.

And when she asked them about vaccines, the response was nuanced. Nearly all of the 20 voters I spoke to were pretty skeptical about the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. Many of them also expressed concerns about vaccinations more broadly, but the COVID vaccine really is the subject of a lot of doubt, a lot of concern among these voters. When it comes to traditional childhood vaccines, the skepticism is a little less among the group, particularly the hesitancy to accept dramatic changes, such as limiting access to standard childhood vaccines like the measles, mumps, rebella, or hepatitis B. This group is quite wary of that.

Every voter I spoke to in this group of 20 had sort of a red line about the amount of change they would accept before they grew alarmed. Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a sudden blizzard near Mount Everest's eastern face have been guided to safety by rescuers. Chinese state media says 350 have made it to the township of Chetang and the remaining 200 plus are expected to reach safety in stages. The unusually heavy snowfall trapped nearly a thousand people

in the remote calmer valley where temperatures dropped below freezing and some trekkers suffered a hypothermia. And finally today, with the last bears downed and the final chicken bones picked clean, Munich's 190th Octoberfest wraps up with six and a half million guests raising a glass, or several, over two wild weeks. This year's event was a roller coaster with record heat and a day lost due to a bomb scare. Festival goers managed to place more than 4,000 wallets, phones and umbrellas, but not their party spirit. And for today's recommended read, Italy calls on Washington to reconsider a double helping of tariffs on pasta. The US Department of Commerce imposed the extra duty after finding

that two major Italian producers allegedly sold pasta at unfairly low prices between July 2020 and June 2024. You can read more by following the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. And don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast

player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.