Around the Globe

South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday confirmed the nation’s 11th case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) this season at a broiler breeder farm in Namwon, about 265 kilometers south of Seoul. Authorities implemented quarantine, culling, movement controls, and disinfection measures at and around the affected site and ordered poultry farms nationwide to reinforce biosecurity. The government continues intensive surveillance and monitoring of poultry facilities and pledged to release further information as new test results and reports emerge.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned prison overcrowding and inadequate rehabilitation programs during a special Holy Year Mass at the Vatican for detainees, guards and their families. The liturgy marked the closing event of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Holy Year and drew an estimated 6,000 registered participants, according to the Vatican. Delegations from major detention facilities joined the weekend pilgrimage, which featured religious services, pastoral activities and meetings led by Vatican clergy and visiting chaplains. Church officials and security staff coordinated logistics and access for the prison groups throughout the event.

Philippine authorities reported that three Filipino fishermen were injured and several boats damaged when China Coast Guard vessels used water cannons and allegedly cut anchor lines near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident involved around 20 Philippine fishing boats operating about 150 kilometers off Palawan. China said it carried out “necessary control measures,” including loudspeaker warnings and maneuvering to drive the boats away. The confrontation followed earlier collisions and water cannon incidents between Chinese and Philippine vessels near the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Cambodia said on Saturday that Thai forces continued bombing its territory hours after US President Donald Trump announced that Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to stop fighting. Officials in Banteay Meanchey linked the latest clashes to a long-running dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the countries’ 800-kilometer (500-mile) border. Authorities reported that the renewed violence displaced around half a million people from villages near contested frontier areas and prompted emergency relief efforts and monitoring by local and national agencies.

Reddit has filed a High Court challenge in Australia against a new law that bans children under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms. The California-based company contests age-verification and access restrictions introduced by the federal government as part of online safety reforms. The case follows a similar lawsuit by rights group Digital Rights Watch. The High Court will examine the law’s validity, its impact on platforms’ data practices, and its interaction with Australian constitutional and privacy frameworks, while the under-16 ban remains in effect.

South Korea on Wednesday confirmed two new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza at poultry farms in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, raising the total number of farm infections this season to 10. Agricultural authorities implemented quarantine, culling, movement controls, and disinfection measures at and around the affected sites, and launched epidemiological investigations to trace infection routes. The government increased surveillance at high-risk farms, ordered stronger biosecurity measures, and pledged support for affected farm owners under livestock disease control rules.

South Korea’s Korea National Institute of Health announced that its researchers identified how the COVID-19 S1 spike protein may directly impair nerve cells linked to memory and proposed a potential treatment method. The study describes molecular pathways through which the S1 protein affects neuronal signaling and outlines a strategy to block or modulate this impact. The institute plans further preclinical and clinical trials, collaboration with hospitals and universities, and international data sharing to advance therapies for cognitive disorders reported after COVID-19 infection.

Japanese Nobel laureate Shimon Sakaguchi, based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, plans to use his discovery of regulatory T cells to develop effective cancer immunotherapy. In an interview with Jiji Press ahead of the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, he outlined research efforts to modulate regulatory T cells to boost antitumor immunity while limiting autoimmune side effects. Sakaguchi said he will expand international collaboration, pursue clinical applications, and continue studies on how regulatory T cells affect various cancers and immune-related diseases.