Sean's Daily Digest

Iran calls US reply on Hormuz 'insufficient', then says it is still reviewing it

Ongoing · day 46 ↗

Iran has called the US response to its seven-condition proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz 'insufficient.' Iran is still reviewing the US response to its Hormuz reopening proposal and will reply to Washington through intermediaries once the review is over. Iranian official Rezaei said the US accepted some of Iran's seven conditions but left others unclear.

Kremlin rejects Zelensky's 60-day ceasefire idea for Ukrainian election, wants full peace deal

The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections. It said it wanted an overall peace deal.

Poland detains man over alleged plot to attack Tusk and defence minister; 20,000 police sent to schools

Polish police detained a man suspected of planning an attack on Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the interior ministry said on Sunday. Le Monde reports the suspect is linked to Poland's far right, though Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said it was "too early" to say what the case amounts to. Separately, Poland deployed over 20,000 police to schools after a week of stabbings that left one dead, and Tusk said online glorification of violence was driving them.

UK PM Burnham says Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit vote, then tells MPs to weigh closer EU ties

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in a podcast interview that it is "clear" Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and warned French and German voters of similar efforts. He gave no evidence or details. He is due to address the Commons on Monday, and the Financial Times reports he will call refusal of closer EU ties a "dereliction of duty"; a Tory shadow minister called him "dangerous and divisive" and said the referendum was a "legitimate vote". A 2020 parliamentary committee report said the government had not assessed Russian interference in the referendum; Russia denies meddling.

Raphaël Glucksmann wins French centre-left primary with 66% to face 2027 presidential race

Raphaël Glucksmann, a 46-year-old member of the European Parliament and co-president of the small Place publique party, won the Socialist-led centre-left primary on Sunday with 66% of the vote, taking it in the first round. He called for a "break with Macronism" and an end to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's "hegemony" over the left, and urged the centre left to wage an "existential battle" to stop the far right winning the presidency. The presidential election is about six months away.

North Korea fires ballistic missiles, one flying over 900 km, days after South Korea's hypersonic test

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from near Pyongyang into the sea off its east coast at about 9:20 a.m. local time Monday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said one flew more than 900 km and called the launch a show of force after Seoul's first hypersonic missile test on Thursday. Japan's deputy defence minister said at least two missiles landed outside its exclusive economic zone, and one followed an "irregular" path that may indicate a hypersonic weapon. It was Pyongyang's fourth launch in a month; the last was a hypersonic missile on Oct. 3, and tensions are also high over a border landmine blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers.

EU and China finalise hybrid car deal: 350,000-vehicle annual quota, set under WTO rules

Ongoing · day 4 ↗

Brussels plans to use WTO rules to quickly impose a quota of 350,000 Chinese vehicles a year, which would halve China's market share to about 3%. China has agreed to cut millions of hybrid car exports to the EU over the next four years, ahead of a key meeting of European leaders later this week. China has published details of the outcome of its trade talks with the EU on hybrid and electric vehicles, according to Reuters.

China sanctions Paraguay and Belize ministers, calling them Taiwan's 'pawns'

China on Monday sanctioned Paraguay's communications minister, Gustavo Villate, and Belize's foreign minister, Francis Fonseca, freezing their assets in China, barring entry to Hong Kong and Macau, and banning dealings with Chinese organisations and individuals. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said they were "willing to serve as pawns" for Taiwan. The sanctions are largely symbolic, Reuters noted, since ministers from Taiwan's allies rarely travel to China; Paraguay and Belize are two of 12 countries with formal ties to Taipei.

Airstrike kills at least 72 gold miners on Sudan-Egypt border; rights group blames Egypt

At least 72 artisanal miners were killed in an airstrike on a gold mining camp in northern Sudan on Saturday, the group Emergency Lawyers said on Sunday. It blamed Egypt's air force, a claim Reuters could not verify. Egypt has not commented, and the toll is provisional. Survivors told AFP thousands worked at the site. In June, a similar strike in the same border region, also attributed to Egypt, killed 23 workers.

At least 139 migrants die and 84 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died and 84 are missing after a boat bound for Yemen capsized near the Djibouti port town of Obock on Thursday night, the UN migration agency said. The vessel carried 305 people. The International Organization for Migration called it among the deadliest shipwrecks recorded on the route to Yemen.

US reverses course on British testing of AI models, Telegraph reports

The Trump administration has reversed its position on Britain's testing of AI models, the Telegraph reported, according to Reuters. The change signals a softer US stance on international AI safety efforts and gives US developers more latitude to cooperate with Britain.

German labour minister Bas resigns as SPD co-leader after stepdaughter's death and political attacks

Bärbel Bas resigned as Germany's labour minister and as co-head of the centre-left SPD on Monday. She cited her stepdaughter's death and "public attacks", including from the CDU/CSU, the SPD's coalition partners. Alexander Schweitzer, a former Rhineland-Palatinate state premier and SPD deputy leader, will take over the ministry. The departure adds pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition, which is working on pension changes, and the Financial Times says it risks delaying labour market and pension reforms.