Sean's Daily Digest

DRC Ebola surpasses 4,000 cases; Africa CDC to deploy vaccine designed for a different strain

Ongoing · day 3

The DR Congo Ebola death toll has surpassed 1,800, according to Africa CDC, as the outbreak continues to spread rapidly. DR Congo's confirmed Ebola cases have surpassed 4,000 for the first time in the current outbreak, according to government data. Africa CDC's head announced plans to deploy a vaccine developed for a previous Ebola strain in the current DRC outbreak, citing test data indicating a potentially life-saving level of protection.

Houthis kill at least 58 Yemeni troops — deadliest day since 2022 — as strike wounds Saudi civilians

Yemen's Houthis killed at least 58 Saudi-backed government troops in ballistic missile and drone strikes on military camps in Marib and Hadramawt provinces on Thursday, in what a military official called the deadliest day of the Yemen civil war in four years. A separate Houthi attack wounded 11 civilians — including a four-year-old child — in Saudi Arabia's southern Najran region. A senior Saudi official warned that intelligence points to imminent coordinated attacks from Houthi and Iraqi militia forces on Saudi energy infrastructure, ports and airports.

Bomb on minibus kills two in Damascus suburb as Syria's security gap widens

A bomb placed inside a minibus killed two people and wounded at least 13 in the predominantly Druze suburb of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus on Thursday, Syrian officials said; no group claimed responsibility. The attack is the latest in a series in the Damascus area since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, including a café bombing that killed 10 in central Damascus and an attack on a Damascus church in June 2025 that killed 25.

New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567m in landmark child safety ruling, bringing case total to $942m

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million — finding the company's platforms created a public nuisance by harming children — in the second phase of a landmark trial; combined with a $375 million jury award from March, Meta faces $942 million in the case. The judge ordered platform changes including monthly time limits on teen use and restrictions on adult contact with minors, enforceable for five years. Meta said it will appeal.

Russia hits Ukrainian grain ports as Ukraine strikes oil refineries 1,300km inside Russia; minister warns of global hunger risk

Ongoing · day 37

Ukraine struck two oil refineries deep inside Russian territory, with President Zelensky saying the strikes aim to limit revenues Russia 'used to finance' its war. Wildberries reported another drone attack on a facility in the Urals region, extending Ukraine's campaign against the Russian e-commerce giant's warehouse network. Ukrainian attacks on Wildberries are causing significant economic harm to small Russian businesses dependent on the platform, with one Moscow pick-up point owner describing his operation going from profitable to loss-making in three weeks.

US intelligence assessment finds Putin may probe NATO with a limited military incursion

A new US intelligence assessment finds that Vladimir Putin could test NATO's resolve through a limited military incursion, updating previous forecasts that Russia would not provoke the alliance during the Ukraine war.

Typhoon Dolphin forces evacuation of 260,000 in Japan as Toyota halts nine factories

Japanese authorities ordered nearly 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures to evacuate as Typhoon Dolphin — a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph and gusts reaching 198 kph — approached the island chain between Kyushu and Okinawa on Friday. More than 500 flights were cancelled and Toyota suspended work at nine factories. The typhoon is also bringing strong winds to Kumamoto prefecture, where 6,700 residents remain in evacuation centres from last week's magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

UN warns of genocide-level risk in Sudan's el-Obeid as drone strikes hit homes, markets and funerals

Ongoing · day 2

UN human rights chief Volker Türk has issued a 'red alert' over Sudan's besieged city of el-Obeid, warning that the Rapid Support Forces are replicating the tactics used in el-Fasher, where UN investigators found the killing of an estimated 6,000 civilians bore 'the hallmarks of genocide'. Residents describe up to 40 drones in the sky at a time, striking indiscriminately; North Kordofan has recorded the highest number of drone attacks of any Sudanese region in 2026. A cholera outbreak is spreading through the city as drone strikes damage medical facilities.

Colombia's new far-right president inaugurated in Cali; ELN prepares to resume war

Abelardo De la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia's president in Cali on Friday — the first inauguration held outside Bogotá — succeeding Gustavo Petro, who refuses to recognise De la Espriella's election and has pledged to lead 'civil disobedience'. De la Espriella has vowed to end peace talks with the ELN guerrilla group and launch a military offensive; ELN commanders said they are prepared to attack 'in cities, in the countryside, wherever' if ordered. The US government is fast-tracking a military partnership with the new administration to target drug traffickers.

Stanford researchers use AI to create 16 functional viruses not found in nature

Researchers at Stanford University and the Broad Institute used large genome AI models — trained on DNA sequences — to generate thousands of synthetic viral genomes, of which 16 proved viable in laboratory tests, according to findings published in the journal Science. The AI-designed viruses were variants of a bacteriophage that infects E. coli, and in tests outperformed natural versions at killing the bacteria. Experts called the results promising for treatments targeting antibiotic-resistant infections but warned the same methods could be misused to design pathogens that target vertebrates.

Japan's defence white paper frames drones and AI as central to future warfare, signalling asymmetric shift against China

Japan's latest defence white paper, a 610-page document released Tuesday, frames autonomous systems, AI and unmanned platforms not just as emerging capabilities but as integral to how Japan expects future conflicts to be fought, analysts said. Experts said Tokyo is drawing lessons from Ukraine — that a smaller force can frustrate a much larger adversary through rapid technological innovation and cheaper platforms — rather than competing with China's military platform-for-platform.