Sean's Daily Digest

Hormuz shipping traffic falls further as Iran-US mutual compensation demands deepen impasse

Ongoing · day 48

Trump added a new demand to Hormuz negotiations, saying Iran must pay compensation for 'all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded' over the decades, including U.S. soldiers killed in attacks attributed to Iran. Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. agrees to Tehran's demands, with a spokesman clarifying that talks with Oman on shipping routes are 'separate' from discussions to fully reopen the waterway. Oil prices rose 5% after Iran and the U.S. both demanded compensation from each other, dimming prospects for a Hormuz deal, while Wall Street ended down as expectations of an agreement faded.

Russia fires North Korean missiles at Zaporizhzhia, killing six; Ukraine strikes oil refinery in Russia's Orsk

Ongoing · day 40

Russian attacks killed six people and wounded 20 in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Tuesday, with a children's hospital also struck in Kyiv according to Ukraine's state emergency service. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces carried out overnight strikes on military-related transport and logistics centres in Kyiv and a steel works, framing the attacks as targeting military infrastructure. A drone attack killed one person and injured two others in Russia's Voronezh region overnight, while falling debris set a Wildberries warehouse ablaze.

Zelensky warns North Korea's battlefield role is growing as up to 50,000 more troops reportedly mobilise

Ukrainian President Zelensky said Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Zaporizhzhia showed Moscow 'cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea,' warning that as many as 50,000 North Korean soldiers may be sent to support Russia. North Korea condemned Japan's new defence white paper, calling it a 're-invasion paper.' The North Korea-China bridge — unused for over a decade — was reported to be stirring with activity.

Ebola deaths in DRC pass 2,000 as vaccine trial for current strain begins

Ongoing · day 5

The DR Congo Ebola death toll has surpassed 2,000, with confirmed cases now reaching 4,381 across five provinces, according to Congo's public health institute. WHO revealed that the current DR Congo Ebola outbreak actually began in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. A clinical trial of Ervebo, the licensed Zaire Ebolavirus vaccine, has been launched to investigate its efficacy against the current outbreak's Bundibugyo strain.

Netanyahu rejects Trump's Gaza plan, insisting Hamas must disarm first; Board of Peace official says deal still 'operative'

Ongoing · day 2

Trump insisted his relationship with Netanyahu is 'very good' despite the Israeli prime minister's public rejection of the US-led Gaza plan, while a Gaza Board of Peace official said the plan remains operative and discussions with Israel are continuing. Netanyahu's rejection of the US-backed Gaza deal drew scepticism from his own far-right coalition allies as well as from Trump, leaving the Israeli leader facing incompatible demands from both sides ahead of elections that could end his career. Trump's Gaza plan hinges on Hamas disarmament and Israeli troop withdrawals, with Germany's foreign ministry saying the plan could lead toward Hamas disarmament.

Russia's Supreme Court bars anti-war Yabloko party from September parliamentary elections

Russia's Supreme Court ruled Monday that Yabloko — the only officially registered party opposing the war in Ukraine — cannot contest the September Duma elections, reversing an earlier decision that had initially allowed it to participate. Yabloko's leader said the party would challenge the ruling. Recent polls had suggested the party could win seats.

Libya's largest refinery faces shutdown after third drone strike in two days

Libya's National Oil Corporation warned Tuesday it may declare force majeure and halt operations at the Zawiya refinery — the country's largest operating facility at 120,000 barrels per day — after drones struck a fuel tank, a naphtha reservoir, and a desalination plant over Sunday and Monday. A tank containing about 4.5 million litres of gasoline was directly hit, triggering a large fire. No group claimed responsibility. Separately, a car bomb killed eastern Libya's military intelligence chief.

Typhoon Dolphin floods central China and puts Beijing on alert for heavy rain

Ongoing · day 5

Typhoon Dolphin has moved deep inland into central China's Hubei province, flooding streets, forcing the closure of tourist areas, and halting construction projects. Beijing is forecast to receive more than one-third of its annual rainfall over a roughly two-day period as Typhoon Dolphin sweeps northward through China. More than one million people were evacuated across eastern China over the weekend as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall, according to reports.

US appeals court rules Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap must face thousands of addiction lawsuits

Ongoing · day 3

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that Meta, Google, TikTok, and other social media companies must face thousands of lawsuits — more than 3,000 filed in federal court — over claims they designed their platforms to be addictive and harmful to young people. In the first of the California social media addiction cases to reach trial, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent for designing platforms that harm young people. TikTok launched a digital guide in the Philippines aimed at building safer online habits for users, a move the company made amid the U.S. appeals court ruling allowing the addiction lawsuits to proceed.

Nvidia partners with six Wall Street firms to raise $500bn for AI infrastructure

Nvidia announced it has struck deals with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to raise $500 billion for artificial intelligence infrastructure — data centres, chip factories and related facilities — with the investors collectively treating AI compute as a new asset class for the first time. The financing will back both Nvidia's own projects and those of its partners.

Denmark leads European push to draft women into military service

Denmark recently expanded mandatory conscription to include women for the first time, with NATO allies examining the gender-equal programme as a model for building larger standing forces.