Sean's Daily Digest

Ex-Chancellor Schröder joins Putin's 74th birthday celebration at his home, Kremlin says

Ongoing · day 44 ↗

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday that he would "do everything" to help end the Middle East war, during talks held ahead of a regional summit.

Flávio Bolsonaro leads Lula 52% to 48% in first runoff poll, gains third-place endorsement

Ongoing · day 6 ↗

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the arrest of Eduardo Bolsonaro weeks before the October 25 runoff, after he was sentenced in June to four years in prison for lobbying the Trump administration against Lula's government; he reacted from the United States. A Datafolha poll published October 8 shows Flavio Bolsonaro slightly ahead of Lula in a simulated October 25 runoff, with Flavio at 52% to Lula's 48% in the poll's first runoff scenario. Flavio Bolsonaro secured the endorsement of Augusto Cury, the author-psychiatrist who finished third in the first round, on Thursday, October 8.

Kremlin says it agrees with Rubio that Ukraine war is in a stalemate

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted on Thursday as saying Russia agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Ukraine conflict is in a stalemate. The report gives no further detail on what Rubio said.

Bulgaria holds back from blaming Russia after two ships sink off its coast and Romania's

Ongoing · day 2 ↗

Two ships have sunk off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania after drone attacks in recent days, and Bulgaria has not named Russia as responsible, according to Deutsche Welle. The outlet asks whether that makes Bulgaria the weak link in Europe's Black Sea security.

Ukrainian drones kill two in Belgorod as China studies the drone war and Europe weighs its exposure

Two people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in Russia's Belgorod region on Thursday, regional officials said. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Separately, a CSIS commentary says China runs the most systematic effort of any outside power to learn from Ukraine's drone war, writing up new techniques within about four months, though lessons usually take a year or more to show in PLA training or equipment. France 24 asks how exposed Europe is to spillover, noting that three Turkish-owned cargo ships out of Ukraine have been hit in EU waters by suspected Russian drones.

China rejects EU complaints that yuan is undervalued as trade talks reach crunch point

China's central bank rejected claims that the yuan is undervalued, rebutting a key European argument as talks continue ahead of a possible trade war. It said China has "no need or intent to gain compet[itive advantage]", according to a truncated report. The EU is pressing Beijing over its ballooning trade deficit with China.

Three fired OpenAI researchers say they were dismissed for safety work; company stands by decision

Mikita Balesni, Tomek Korbak and Jasmine Wang, former OpenAI safety or alignment staff, published an open letter saying they were fired for putting safety ahead of the company's near-term interests. OpenAI says its investigation found they mishandled sensitive information, and on Friday research leaders called it "a significant breach of trust" and said the firings were not about raising safety concerns.

US suspends Microsoft, Adobe and Indian IT firms from green card sponsorship over alleged abuse

The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several large IT firms, including Infosys, from a programme that lets skilled foreign workers gain permanent residency, according to US officials. The administration alleges widespread abuse, and Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft; the company has defended its hiring practices. Analysts told Reuters the suspension poses little risk to Indian IT groups.

South Africa scraps asylum intake directive after anti-migrant riots in Durban and Soweto

South Africa's Home Affairs department withdrew a directive on accepting asylum applications on Friday, a day after anti-migrant protests turned violent. Police say at least 24 vehicles were torched, 14 in Durban and 10 in Soweto, and foreign-owned shops were looted. The directive followed a July Constitutional Court ruling that struck down limits on who can apply for asylum; officials say the ruling does not grant automatic refugee status, and the government blames false claims about it. Home Affairs said its offices were overwhelmed within days and that threats to public safety had emerged. It said the new approach will still comply with the court ruling.

Okinawa assembly demands review of US forces pact after Marine is accused of killing local woman

Okinawa's prefectural assembly adopted a resolution on Friday calling for a review of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement, after Lance-Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was accused of robbing and killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha. Ballard denies the allegations. The US military paused operations for 48 hours and imposed a 30-day curfew from midnight to 5am, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemned the crime. The island hosts the majority of the 54,000 US soldiers in Japan, and the assembly passed a similar resolution in 2024.

Indian police detain opposition MPs and Gen Z activists as protests over voter-roll deletions grow

Ongoing · day 2 ↗

Lawmakers in the Indian capital were forcibly removed from protests for a second consecutive day as police cracked down on demonstrations against the deletion of voter names. According to The New York Times, the Indian government is suppressing protests over the culling of 130 million names from India's voter roll. India's youngest students are staging sit-ins and protesting run-down school conditions, drawing inspiration from the Gen Z protests that roiled the country this summer.