Green Great Wall: China’s desert greening push is under renewed scrutiny as scientists warn that “straw checkerboards” and decades of planting still face limits for long-term resilience, even as reforestation claims 66 billion trees and plans for 34 billion more. Regional Climate Preparedness: Action Against Hunger and IGAD’s ICPAC launched IMPAACT, a two-year, ECHO-funded effort to build interoperable multi-hazard anticipatory action systems for 243,801 people across Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. Marine Pollution Monitoring: In Accra, scientists from 21 African countries are harmonising microplastics monitoring protocols using nuclear and isotopic techniques to produce comparable data for coastal policy. Forensic Capacity Building: Ethiopia announced a regional forensic science scholarship for IGAD member states, with Kenya included, aimed at strengthening crime investigation skills. Indo-Pacific Naval Tech: Reports say India is moving to land the Rafale M on INS Vikrant while deepening nuclear and minerals cooperation with Australia—framing a new France-India-Australia maritime corridor. Diplomacy & Soft Power: Qatar mourns Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, credited with modernising Qatar’s economy and institutions, including Qatar Foundation and Al Jazeera.