Sean's Daily Digest

US Senate rejects resolution to curb Trump's Iran war powers

The Senate voted 50 to 49 on Thursday to reject a Democratic-led resolution that would have required congressional authorization to continue the Iran war. The vote fell largely along party lines, with most Republicans against it and nearly all Democrats in favor. The resolution had already passed the House of Representatives in July.

NATO boosts intelligence-sharing on Russia threat as Czech PM resists faster defense spending

NATO's top military commander said the alliance is stepping up intelligence-sharing among member states in response to a string of Russian hybrid attacks across Europe, while saying the US will provide only "more limited" capabilities to NATO going forward. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance is well positioned to defend against such attacks. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis rejected US pressure to accelerate defense spending, saying Prague cannot move faster than its planned 2027 target of 2% of GDP, below NATO's new 3.5% goal.

Pope Leo XIV arrives in France for first papal visit in 18 years

Pope Leo XIV landed in Paris on Friday for a four-day trip, the first papal visit to France in 18 years, and was welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. His agenda includes a speech on artificial intelligence, apologies for clergy sexual abuse, and a Mass on the Champs-Élysées where some 600,000 people are expected. The trip also takes him to Lourdes and Metz, with planned meetings with migrants and survivors of clerical abuse.

Pakistan says it foiled Afghan border attack, killing several Taliban fighters

Pakistani security forces said they thwarted an "attempted Afghan aggression" in the Gulistan border area on Friday, killing several Afghan Taliban fighters, with fighting still ongoing. It follows a wave of Pakistani air strikes on Thursday hitting 10 targets in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces, which the Taliban government says killed four civilians; Pakistan called the strikes "strictly limited to identified military objectives." The Taliban has vowed an "appropriate response."

Researchers find new way to forge RSA signatures without factoring keys

Cryptographers have devised a method to forge RSA digital signatures without first factoring the private key, a technique thought impossible until now. The attack is already practical against deprecated 1024-bit keys, taking a handful of months on an academic CPU cluster, and reduces security of 2048- and 4096-bit keys to unacceptable levels, according to co-author Nadia Heninger of the University of California at San Diego.

Italy's cabinet approves school burqa ban, caps foreign pupils at 30% per class

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Italy's cabinet approved a decree capping the share of students who don't speak fluent Italian at 30% per classroom in public schools, as part of a broader set of new school integration rules. The same decree bans the wearing of burqas and niqabs (full-face coverings) in Italian schools, with violations punishable by fines of up to $1,500. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended the measures as 'common-sense tools that do not divide but really help to integrate,' while critics accused her of appeasing anti-immigrant sentiment.

Poland calls Starlink station fire sabotage as Denmark warns of Russian attack risk

Poland's deputy prime minister said a fire at a state-owned Starlink satellite station in Wola Krobowska was deliberate sabotage that disrupted internet access for the Ukrainian army, fitting what he called a "new Russian doctrine of attack." Hours later, Denmark's intelligence service said it sees a low but growing risk that Russia could launch a limited military attack against a NATO country in the coming months, and expects Russia to escalate hybrid warfare.

Canada deepens global pivot as Vietnam upgrades ties, Ottawa erases Trump Avenue

Vietnam's president upgraded Canada to a strategic partner during a state visit, part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's push to reduce Canada's reliance on the United States. Ottawa's city council voted to strip Trump's name from Trump Avenue, after Trump recently signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America." Carney said he would consider a second term depending on the state of US-Canada relations; a Canadian economist noted Canada's exports to the US fell about 4% over the past year while exports to the rest of the world rose 11%.

Belgium warns in leaked document that US is no longer a reliable ally

A Belgian foreign ministry document says dynamics in Washington are likely to compromise vital interests of Belgium and the European Union. The document reportedly describes Trump's United States as no longer a reliable ally.

Zelensky says Ukraine sent two North Korean POWs to South Korea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. He said one of the two tried to kill himself when he was captured, adding: "This is how they raise people in the North."

Ebola spreads to Congo's North Kivu as US pledges $267m more in aid

Cases are surging in Congo's North Kivu province, overwhelming treatment centres in the city of Butembo, even as the outbreak eases elsewhere. Congo had confirmed 7,820 cases and 3,779 deaths as of Tuesday, with North Kivu now accounting for around a third of new infections and deaths, according to Reuters. The U.S. has pledged an additional $267 million to contain the outbreak, adding to $887 million already provided, the State Department said.

US presses China on suspected nuclear tests in confidential talks

The Trump administration has pressed China over suspected Chinese nuclear tests in confidential talks. The discussions have occurred on the sidelines of multilateral meetings in Geneva, New York and Casablanca, Morocco.