About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 27 September to 10 October 2025: Peace at last in the Middle East; Terror in the UK; a killer stampede in India; and an expert on Chimpanzees climbs a higher tree.

PEACE

United States President Donald Trump, taking along Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hammered and forged what appears to be a comprehensive 20-Point Plan to end the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. It is the best attempt, so far, at stopping this over two-year old war, and perhaps progressing to everlasting peace in the region. Since the Plan was first in made in end September, it has now crossed many deadlines, but without any significant changes in the points. It included a ‘go to hell’ deadline of 5th October if Hamas did not accept.

All 48 hostages-alive and dead are to be released within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance. That was many 72 hours ago. The Hamas side delayed, trying to draw thin wire from thick bar stock metal, even while almost all Arab nations and other countries approved the Plan. Then Trump had to deploy his special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, and outside Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner to squeeze out a breakthrough. And finally the signatures were made, and the ceasefire effected, with Israel’s forces withdrawing to the first, of many lines of control – a Yellow Line – on Friday, 10th October. This marks the beginning of the 72 hour count-down to the release of all the hostages.

There was instant jubilation on both sides: while Israel began making preparations to receive the hostages, the Palestinians began crawling back to Gaza. At this stage, Israel still controls about 53% of Gaza.

All the living hostages are to be transferred to the Red Cross, then to Israeli custody for medical care and reunification with families. This is expected to take place on Monday, 13th October. The remains of slain hostages will be returned to Israel with full military honours and forensic identification. A special Israel Defence Forces (IDF) engineering unit will inspect every coffin to ensure they do not contain explosives.

Now, with the first point kicking-in, Israel on its part gets ready to release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans. Israel will not free members of the Nukhba Force—Hamas’s elite commando unit responsible for the 7th October massacre and mass kidnappings—nor Marwan Barghouti, the mastermind of the Second Intifada, who is currently serving five life sentences.

Other points of the Plan are as follows.

Those, of Hamas, who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Those who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage. For the other Gazans, no one will be forced to leave and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. People will be encouraged to stay and use the opportunity to build a New Gaza. Full aid will be immediately sent into Gaza through the United Nations and Agencies not associated with Israel or Hamas. Gaza will be made a ‘deradicalized’ terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours. And Gaza will be redeveloped. The IDF will withdraw to the agreed upon lines, starting from the release of the hostages. During this time, all military operations will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

Gaza will be governed by a temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering day-to-day running of public services. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the ‘Board of Peace,’ which will be headed and chaired by Donald Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals.

A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have created modern miracle cities in the Middle East. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.

Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed-not rebuilt. Gaza will be demilitarised under the supervision of independent monitors. The New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and its factions, comply with their obligations.

The US will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza in consultation with Jordan and Egypt. This force will be the internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces.

Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control, the IDF will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarisation that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the Guarantors, and the US. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it now controls to the ISF. This will be according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat. In the event Hamas delays or rejects the Plan, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.

An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasising the benefits that can be derived from peace. While this advances and the reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood – the aspiration of the Palestinian people.

UNITED KINGDOM: TERROR

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar. It is a solemn time of fasting and atonement, thought to be the day God seals the fate of each person for the coming years. Traditionally, Jews ask for forgiveness for wrongdoings over the past year, from both God and fellow humans. Work is forbidden on the day and is set aside for prayer and reflection.

This year on 2nd October Jews were gathering for a prayer service at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area in north Manchester. A man-later identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie- driving a car rammed it directly at people outside the Synagogue, got down and began stabbing people before being shot dead by Police who arrived within seven minutes of a call being made to emergency services. The Police gave the attacker, then holding a knife a couple of warnings before they opened fire, killing him.

Two members of the Jewish community died, while a fourth has been hospitalised with severe injuries.

The head of Counter Terrorism Policing says they believe Jihad Al-Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology. The attacker was on police bail for an alleged rape before this incident-he was yet to be charged with the crime.

INDIA: A KILLER STAMPEDE

On 27th September a tragic crowd crush occurred during a political, ‘Meet The People’ Meeting, organised by the newly formed Political Party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam(TVK) ahead of the State Assembly Elections due in 2026. TVK is founded by popular Tamil film actor Joseph Vijay. 41 people were killed and over a 100 were injured, which included 18 women and 10 children (aged 5 to 15).

The tragedy happened in Velusamypuram, on the Karur–Erode Highway, Karur District, Tamil Nadu. This was the third leg of Vijay’s bellowing campaign tour, following successful, staggering, crowd-pulling events in districts like Tiruchi, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Namakkal. The Karur rally was permitted by the Police between 3pm and 10pm, with an expected crowd of around 10,000–15,000, but turnout swelled to over 25,000.

TVK organisers initially proposed venues in densely populated areas of Karur town, which the Police rejected for safety reasons, suggesting Velusamypuram instead. Supporters began arriving from 9am from neighbouring areas-mostly to see the Actor rather than listen to him-creating early congestion on the arterial roads. TVK announced Vijay’s arrival at noon, but he reached the venue around only 7pm. This delay was seen as a cause for restlessness in the crowd.

When Vijay’s convoy finally reached the venue, a massive surge occurred. Supporters rushed toward his campaign-bus to catch a glimpse, causing people to squeeze sideways and trample each other. People climbed nearby trees and mounted the tin-roof of shops for a better view. The crowd pushed toward an electricity generator enclosure, triggering a power outage that plunged the area into darkness and heightened panic, exacerbating the chaos. Ambulances in the vicinity were pressed into service to carry away those fallen or fainted and providing a getaway path for them became a serious challenge for the Police. In this melee, the stampede unfolded rapidly around 7.20 pm while Vijay was beginning his speech. The Police were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the crowd. The incident lasted minutes but resulted in suffocation, crush injuries, and trampling.

Vijay was quickly escorted away to de-escalate the situation and he ‘fled the scene’, taking a chartered plane from Tiruchi Airport to Chennai. It appears that this was done to prevent ‘see crowds’ gathering again and enable relief efforts?

Should Vijay have stayed back and helped get the injured to Hospital instead of abandoning them? I think he should have stood his ground and ensured every possible relief to the affected, at that point of time. Never mind, he could be lynched, but then he has his safety bouncers around him. And what is a Hero for?
A one-member commission under retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan was formed to probe and submit its findings within two months. On 5th October a Madras High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by IPS officer Asra Garg, began investigations.

Will this yield results and a means of ‘Lessons Learning’? The illicit liquor tragedy which occurred in June 2024, when people in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district consumed illegal liquor contaminated with methanol, leading to the deaths of 68 people is still under investigation.

Actor Vijay alleged a vendetta by the ruling State Government ahead of elections, questioning why the incident happened only in Karur (a stronghold of the Govt). TVK blamed a power outage, police lathi charges, and stone-pelting, slipper throwing incidents. A probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is being sought to unravel the reasons behind the stampede.

It is said that the request for a Meeting at the same, for another Political party, was denied on the grounds of that Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for such kind of meetings was under development. Whatever, we should know once the reasons are found and are published.

This incident highlights risks in celebrity-driven politics: over-reliance on star power without robust second-tier leadership or safety protocols. It echoes past tragedies like the 2024 Hathras stampede but underscores Tamil Nadu’s history of actor-politicians managing crowds. The probe’s findings could impact Vijay’s 2026 prospects, with calls for stricter rally guidelines. TVK maintains the ‘truth will emerge’ vowing to continue with greater strength. Families continue to grieve, with ongoing treatment for survivors.

Responsibility for safety at Election Meetings is a shared one, the Party Meeting Organisers, the Police, and the people themselves. Ultimately the buck stops at the desk of the Chief Minister of the Govt, for maintaining law & order – they have the experience to tackle such crowds. It’s their job to gather intelligence and make swift changes or even cancel a Meeting seeing a seemingly uncontrollable surge in crowding. And law & Order has failed time and again in multiple dimensions in Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand, Vijay’s TVK cannot absolve themselves. If he cannot ‘govern’ a meeting, how can he govern the State? Serious questions! The TVK chooses Saturdays for its Meetings and Vijay is hardly a talker. He doesn’t seem to have built up a political team around him and appears to be a one-man show. The second-rung of leadership is glaringly missing. This could well be a wake-up call.

Finally, nothing beats self-control: the people are driven crazy and lose control of themselves ‘to see their Star Leader’.

Another reason for the stampede is abysmal civic facilities – an open sewer swallowed kids and people falling in them! Infrastructure should be able to absorb any ‘growth in people’. And the Government has a responsibility here as well.

People, especially in Tamil Nadu, should shun the frenzy to see movie stars – their outward glamour and shine does not help in anyway. Watch the movies, whistle and shout in the theatres, but when you return home you must learn to forget the stars and focus on living your life well. Become the star of your own life.

JANE GOODALL

Over six million years ago lived the last grandmother of humans and chimpanzees – Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind.
On 1st October, primatologist, ethologist, conservationist, animal advocate, and educator Dr Jane Goodall died at age 91. Goodwill founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and is a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She passed away in her sleep due to natural causes in Los Angeles, California, while on a speaking tour in the United States.

The JGI promotes understanding and protection of the Great Apes and its habitat and its goal is to inspire individual action by young people of all ages to help animals, other people, and to protect this shared world of ours.

JGI’s research continues the world’s longest-running field research on chimpanzees. This research provides ever-new insights into the daily lives of chimpa nzees, and has developed a deep knowledge of the lives and behaviour of over 200 chimps since Jane’s early work in it’s over 55 years of study. The research plays a unique role in understanding our closest living relatives, providing essential information for the conservation of chimpanzees and contributing to a myriad of other scientific discoveries that benefit humans and chimpanzees alike.

Jane Goodwill is considered the world’s preeminent chimpanzee expert. And was best known for more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees in the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Beginning in 1960, under the mentorship of the palaeontologist Louis Leakey, Goodall’s research demonstrated that chimpanzees share many key traits with humans, such as using tools, having complex emotions, forming lasting social bonds, engaging in organised warfare, and passing on knowledge across generations. This redefined the traditional view that humans are uniquely different from other animals.

While observing one chimpanzee feeding at a termite mound, she watched him repeatedly place stalks of grass into termite holes, then remove them from the hole covered with clinging termites, effectively ‘fishing’ for termites. The chimpanzees would also take twigs from trees and strip off the leaves to make the twig more effective, a form of object modification that is the rudimentary beginnings of toolmaking.

Goodall set herself apart from convention by naming the animals in her studies of primates instead of assigning each a number. Numbering was a nearly universal practice at the time and was thought to be important in avoiding emotional attachment to the subject being studied. Among those whom Goodall named during her years in Gombe were: David Greybeard, a grey-chinned male who first warmed up to Goodall; Goliath, a friend of David Greybeard, originally the alpha male named for his bold nature; Mike, who through his cunning and improvisation displaced Goliath as the alpha male; Humphrey, a big, strong, bullysome male; Gigi, a large, sterile female who delighted in being the ‘Aunt’ of any young chimps or humans… to mention a few. Wonder, if there was an Uncle around?

Said about her by the CEO of the National Geographic Society, “Dr. Jane Goodall brought so much light into this world, demonstrating beautifully what one person can achieve. To know Jane was to know an extraordinary scientist, conservationist, humanitarian, educator, mentor and, perhaps most profoundly, an enduring champion for hope”.

Goodall was married twice. In March 1964 she married Baron Hugo van Lawick, a Dutch nobleman and wildlife photographer in London. She was known during their marriage as Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall. The couple had a son. They divorced in 1974. The following year, she married Derek Bryceson, a member of Tanzania’s parliament and the director of that country’s national parks. Bryceson died of cancer in October 1980. Owing to his position in the Tanzanian government as head of the country’s national park system, Bryceson was able to protect Goodall’s research project and implement an embargo on tourism at Gombe.

Goodall said that dogs, and not the chimpanzees she studied, were her favourite animal.

LAST WORD

US President Donald Trump had probably set himself the goal of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. And he seems to have almost done it with the Israel-Hamas Peace Plan , which is slowly beginning to shape-up.

Meanwhile, the Noble Peace Committee thought it could not wait any longer and awarded the prize to Venezuela’s Opposition Leader, who promptly dedicated the Award to Donald Trump. Did the Nobel Committee miss something here?

On 10 October, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado, who it said is ‘a brave and committed champion of peace – to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness’. She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Venezuela’s authoritarian regime under Nicolas Maduro has been in power since the death of former President Hugo Chavez, in 2013. In the Election held in 2024, Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in the election. And though the Opposition won in a landslide Maduro refused to accept the results and only tightened his grip on power.

The next STOP for Trump must be the Russia-Ukraine War. If he indeed does it, he might have just booked himself the next Nobel?

In the good old days, in my part of the world, when you wanted to book a seat in a Bus, which just entered the Bus Stand, you ran alongside it and dropped a handkerchief through the window on a seat – to occupy it – while you body-massaged yourself through the crowds. I reckon Donald Trump did just that. Hope the hankie stays its course.

More war and peace stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay alive with Freewheeling.