Nuclear Agency Hacked

Hi Global Recap readers,

When I wrote yesterday’s deep dive, I worried it might be too long for some readers. But after seeing your poll comments, I realize that fear was probably way off.

I’ll drop the poll results and some highlight comments at the end!

🌐 WORLD
Fast Scroll News

🇺🇸 China-Linked Hack Hits Nuclear, Health. Here's an update on the recent Microsoft hack. Turns out that the recent SharePoint breach reached deep into the National Nuclear Security Administration and the National Institute of Health, and security firms now link some attacks to the Chinese government.

• NIH had to unplug 8 servers hosting major research sites after one was compromised; NNSA says a “very small number” of systems were hit, but no classified data leaked.

• The Energy Department’s nuclear arm and the nation’s biggest biomedical research funder are both now scrambling to contain the fallout and shore up defenses.

• Attackers exploited a zero-day flaw in customer-hosted SharePoint, and blueprints for the exploit are already circulating.

• Microsoft finally patched the bug Monday, but critics say their response was too slow.

🇷🇺 Russia, Ukraine Stall Talks. Russia and Ukraine just wrapped a third round of US-brokered peace talks in Istanbul. But as expected, there is no ceasefire or breakthrough.

• Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov said, “no progress yet” on a ceasefire, while Russia’s Vladimir Medinsky admitted both sides are “quite apart.”

• Russia wants peace terms before stopping its offensive, while Ukraine demands a full ceasefire first and keeps pushing for a one-on-one between Zelenskyy and Putin.

• Both sides agreed to swap another 1,200 prisoners each and return 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies. Russia also says it’s working to hand back 339 Ukrainian children it took from occupied territories.

🇹🇭 Thailand, Cambodia Clash Again. Thailand just pulled its ambassador and kicked out Cambodia’s after a Thai soldier lost his leg to a land mine near the border.

• Cambodia fired back, recalling its own diplomats and slashing ties to the bare minimum.

• Both sides are blaming each other for the blast: Thailand says the mine was in Ubon Ratchathani, Cambodia insists it happened in Preah Vihear.

• The Thai army claims the mines are Russian-made and not theirs, accusing Cambodia of breaking the Ottawa Treaty, while Cambodia calls that “baseless.”

• Tensions have been boiling since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a disputed patch of land, and now border crossings, trade, and even Thai movies are getting axed.

📌 Context: Thailand and Cambodia have a long, messy history of border disputes, especially around areas littered with old land mines from decades of conflict.

🇺🇳 UN Court Opens Climate Lawsuits. The International Court of Justice just said countries can now sue each other over climate change, even for past emissions.

• As with most things involving the UN, the ruling is non-binding. However, it could let climate-vulnerable nations like Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands demand compensation from big polluters.

• The case started with Pacific Island law students in 2019, frustrated by slow global action as their homes flood and economies collapse.

• The court says not having ambitious climate plans breaks the Paris Agreement, and even countries outside the deal still have to protect the climate.

🇪🇸 SPAIN
Teens Kicked Off Plane

A group of French Jewish teens got kick out of a Vueling flight in Valencia after singing in Hebrew, sparking accusations of antisemitism.

Here are the different versions of the story.

What Actually Happened?

It started with some 52 French Jewish teens, all 13 to 15, singing traditional Hebrew songs as they settled in for their flight home from Spain to Paris. They were flying home from a Kinneret summer camp.

• One mom said her son just started singing in Hebrew.

• The crew reacted with “growing hostility” and threatened to call the police if the singing continued.

• The kids quieted down, but “five minutes later, without further warning, the police arrived.”

The Crew vs. The Group

What exactly set off the crew? Depending who you ask, either the kids were being disruptive or the airline staff overreacted in a big way.

• Parents' version: the crew compared the teens to “terrorists” and called Israel a “killer state.”

• The official airline version: the group ignored repeated requests to stay quiet, creating a tense situation.

• An independent passenger: the teens “behaved well for adolescents,” and no one on board knew what was happening.

Police Intervention & Aftermath

Here’s where things got murky even more. Cops boarded, everyone was forced off, and the group’s 21-year-old director was arrested for allegedly resisting or making a “strange gesture” at police.

• Video shows the director face-down, handcuffed, with officers holding back the teens.

• Kids were reportedly told to place their phones on the floor so police could delete any videos.

• The director protested, saying, “Don’t touch my kids. You have no right to take their phones.”

Where Are They Now?

After the forced exit, the group was split up: some flew home with another airline, while about 20 teens and four instructors stayed in a hotel near the airport.

• It’s not clear if the director is still under arrest.

• The camp organizers told parents, “We’re doing everything possible” and called the incident “purely antisemitic.”

• Community members rallied to provide kosher food and support.

Previous Incident

Back in 2023, some passengers on a Vueling flight from Israel to Barcelona got threatening texts via AirDrop in both Arabic and English.

• It said, “Do Not Grieve: Indeed Allah Is With Us.”

• No suspects were named, but there were several AirDrop “bomb hoaxes” on flights around then.

Trend

The incident comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitism across Europe.

• Spain’s Interior Ministry reported a 60.9% jump in hate incidents targeting Jews.

• However, data from Spain’s Antisemitism Observatory found a 321% increase.

• The Kinneret group called the removal “purely antisemitic” and has launched legal action against Vueling.

📊 POLL
”Do you think the Japan Deal is a smokescreen deal?”

Before going through some of your comments, I want to address one particular person who screamed in text that Trump will prove me wrong. Maybe they misread things.

• Longtime readers know my stance: “let him cook,” especially when it comes to Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

• For one, Bessent is a “fair-trade” advocate who’s butted heads with protectionist tariff hawks like Peter Navarro. So much so that Navarro ended up sidelined at one point.

• But that doesn’t mean other countries can’t play the waiting game too, as many suspect they’re doing. What will force these nations to keep their word after Trump is out of office?

That said, thanks to everyone who chimed in—agree or disagree, your comments are gold. They show how much your own experiences shape your views, and many of them push me to reflect on my own views too.

Yes

No

Maybe