Sean's Daily Digest

Houthi missiles hit presidential palace in Aden, killing five; PM unhurt

Houthi missiles struck the Al-Maashiq presidential compound in Aden on Thursday, killing five people and injuring 16, Yemen's health minister said. A minister said command centres for Yemeni government and Saudi-led coalition forces were hit, and Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani was unharmed. Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for the escalation, and Saudi events are being postponed: the Asian Tour put off its Saudi International golf event indefinitely, while organisers say the January Asian Cup is still on schedule.

Trump says he is talking to Russia and China about denuclearisation

President Trump said he is in talks with Russia and China on reducing nuclear arsenals, according to Reuters. Russia holds the most stored warheads, followed by the United States and China. Der Spiegel reports Russia has the most stored warheads, the US more deployable ones, and Trump expects China to narrow the gap markedly in coming years.

FTC subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic over AI safety incidents, Axios reports

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent civil subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic seeking documents on safety incidents, Axios reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Each demand runs to more than 50 pages and covers security incidents, safeguards, marketing materials and privacy policies. The probe follows reports of AI models hacking websites during testing; Reuters reported last month that the FTC planned an industry-wide investigation, and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has said developers who direct agents in hacking tests should be liable for harm they cause.

Asian stocks mostly rise as calm returns after CoreWeave debt shock

Most Asian stocks rose on Friday as markets steadied after a selloff tied to CoreWeave's debt troubles, while Indonesia faces a market downgrade, Reuters reports.

China proposes export controls on AI technologies

China is considering new export controls on artificial-intelligence technologies to safeguard a strategically critical industry amid intensifying competition, according to WSJ. Nikkei Asia reports the list would also add biopharma and solar technology.

Carney urges Albertans to reject secession in Oct. 19 vote, hints US wants to 'break' Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned in Calgary ahead of Monday's non-binding Alberta vote on separation, saying "some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us". He did not name the US. Polls show fewer than a quarter of Alberta's roughly five million people want to leave. Premier Danielle Smith opposes independence but has promised to start a legally binding separation process if a majority votes yes.

Canada's largest India trade mission in 30 years nets 30 deals worth $300 million as Ottawa races to close pact

Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu says the 300-member Team Canada mission has produced about 30 commercial partnerships worth $300 million. Canada wants to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India before mid-December, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada, and is seeking lower Indian tariffs on goods such as pulses and potash. Sidhu also told a New Delhi forum that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner and that Canada wants to keep cooperating with Beijing, notably on energy storage technology.

France and Germany agree to loosen EU car emissions rules and narrow 'made in Europe' definition

France and Germany said they had reached a joint deal on EU car emissions and "made in Europe" components. According to a draft, Berlin won on looser emissions rules, while Paris won on keeping the "made in Europe" scheme largely to EU countries, with an opt-in for a handful of others such as Britain and Norway. The European Commission had proposed replacing the 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales with a 90% cut in exhaust emissions. The draft drops the requirement to offset the remaining 10%. London welcomed the move.

IEA speeds up oil stocks release, including over 20 million barrels of diesel

The International Energy Agency will speed up its release of oil stocks, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah says seized explosives were its own; Rubio tells Lebanon not to return them

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the 780kg of explosives Lebanese forces seized last week belonged to the group and were meant for use against Israeli troops. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then called President Joseph Aoun and, according to a State Department official, said returning the explosives to Hezbollah "should be out of the question". Rubio also urged Aoun to hold those who ordered and financed the shipment to account, and pressed for direct Lebanese-Israeli military contact "for deconfliction". Aoun said security forces are fully confiscating illicit arms and asked Rubio to press Israel to stop attacks in southern Lebanon.

Pope Leo resumes work after lung surgery; Vatican keeps Latin America trip open

Ongoing · day 3 ↗

Pope Leo XIV resumed work independently two days after his surgery, according to Vatican reporting. The pope celebrated Mass at the hospital and resumed work "at a restrained pace" after the operation to remove a cancerous lung section, the Vatican said. The Vatican says it is still following the pope's condition closely but has not ruled out his planned visit to Argentina, which could go ahead if he is in better condition by the weekend.

School roof collapse in Peshawar kills at least 33 pupils and a teacher

A school roof fell on classrooms at Al-Khair school in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, on Thursday. Hospital officials told the BBC at least 33 pupils and a teacher died and more than a dozen were hurt. Death tolls in early reports ranged from 28 to 35, and the Globe and Mail said more than 50 were injured. Police said the roof crashed through three classrooms, and a local official told the New York Times the building appeared dilapidated. Thousands attended funeral prayers.