Not Trump but Venezuela’s Machado wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize | Daily Wrap

Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s “Iron Lady” and main opposition leader has been conferred with the 2025’s Nobel Peace Prize beating out US President Donald Trump who very publicly courted the Nobel committee for the same.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee declared Machado the winner because of her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.

Remember, the Venezuelan politician has been in hiding following last year’s election, one that was widely seen as having been rigged by the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro.

Israeli begins troop pullback from Gaza

In the Middle East, after two years of bloody conflict - the Israeli military has started to pull its troops back behind the line agreed under Phase 1 of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas’s negotiating team, said the group has received guarantees from the US and mediators that the agreement means the war in Gaza “has ended completely”. This after the Israeli government ratified the peace plan in the early hours of Friday morning.

The move paves the way for fighting in Gaza to stop within 24 hours, while Hamas has been given a 72-hour timeline to free Israeli captives.

Philippines: 2 dead after 7.5-magnitude earthquake

Shifting focus - in the Philippines - 2 people reportedly died following the 7.5-magnitude earthquake in the nation’s Mindanao region.

The powerful tremors also triggered tsunami warnings prompting evacuations of coastal areas. The alert was later lifted.

India to reopen embassy in Kabul after 4 years

And finally - after over 4 years - India will reopen its embassy in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made the announcement during a bilateral meeting with Afghanistan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Remember, India had closed its embassy as well as consulates in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Following this, India re-established its diplomatic presence in the country in 2022 by sending a technical team to Afghanistan.

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