Daily News Summary – 2026-07-02 – en

A 7.2 and 7.5 doublet earthquake struck Venezuela, killing at least 2,295 people and injuring over 11,000, with widespread destruction in La Guaira and Caracas.

German prosecutors have indicted a Ukrainian national for the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, charging him with war crimes for destroying critical energy infrastructure.

Wildfires in southern France's Hérault and Aude departments have burned 800 hectares, forcing evacuations amid a heatwave and drought conditions.

Sixteen children were rescued from a squalid home in Ohio where they were confined to a single room for years, showing severe neglect and developmental delays.

An 11-year-old boy with intellectual disability drove a pickup truck into a group of monks in Thailand, killing eight and injuring 14 others.

A Wharton study finds that narcissistic leadership is the strongest predictor of return-to-office mandates, outweighing productivity or collaboration concerns.

The earthquake has damaged 38 hospitals, creating acute shortages of medical supplies and raising fears of infectious disease outbreaks in overcrowded shelters.

Major wildfires in Pyrénées-Orientales destroyed campsites and forced mass evacuations, with over 215 firefighters deployed and red alerts active.

The IEA warns that over 2,500 GW of renewable projects are stuck in grid queues, threatening the global energy transition without urgent investment in grid infrastructure.

China's expanded export controls on rare earths have caused sixfold price hikes abroad, threatening Western defense, EV, and AI industries with a 12-18 month window to act.

G7 leaders announced a Critical Minerals Alliance backed by €64 billion to reduce reliance on Chinese rare earths, with a target of under 60% dependence by 2030.

The DRC's Bundibugyo virus outbreak has reached 1,406 cases with 438 deaths, spreading to a fourth province amid conflict and no approved vaccine.

With NIST PQC standards finalized and the 'harvest now, decrypt later' threat growing, enterprises face urgent deadlines to migrate from RSA and ECC to lattice-based cryptography.