Latest news for 4 February 2026

IRAN

Drone down.

The US Navy has reportedly shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively approached” the USS Abraham Lincoln. Hours later, Iranian forces threatened to (but didn’t) board a US-flagged tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz. (CNBC)

Comment: The drone incident alone was enough to spike oil markets by 1% — the White House still says Iran talks will continue. We explored this one yesterday.

RUSSIA

Compromised communications.

EU officials believe Russia has intercepted some 10 key satellites over Europe, compromising their comms and potentially enabling Moscow to manoeuvre or destroy them. (FT $)

Comment: At this point, the only surprising thing about these stories is the way legacy outlets still act shocked — anything of value not beyond an airgap (plus military grade encryption) has quite likely been compromised for years.

LIBYA

Son down.

Someone has assassinated the son and once-heir apparent of Libya’s late dictator (Gaddafi) in his home southwest of Tripoli. (Al-Jazeera)

Comment: There’s a long list of suspects given Junior’s pivot from the more urbane face of his dad’s regime, to a core architect of his brutal 2011 crackdown.

SPAIN

Go touch grass.

Spain’s Pedro Sánchez has announced his government will seek to ban social media access for under-16s in a bid to shield kids from online harm and (via big penalties on platform executives) reassert democratic control. (NYT)

Comment: Sanchez is just the latest to join Australia’s historic U-16s ban, which we explored when it entered force weeks ago. Greece might be next. Meanwhile, a familiar spat has erupted between France and X (née Twitter), with Paris describing its latest raid on X offices as part of a criminal probe into child exploitation material, while Musk argues it’s just censorship masquerading as child-safety.

AUSTRALIA

Love us some aviation news.

Japan’s main development bank is stepping in to help re-shore control of Jetstar Japan, a budget carrier first launched by Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas. (Skift)

Comment: Why? The development bank’s involvement suggests some kind of policy goal for Japan — probably to a) capture more of the inbound tourism boom, b) redirect more visitors beyond Tokyo, and c) further expand Japan’s budget airline segment. As for Qantas, its new CEO is exiting capital-intensive investments abroad to refocus on Australia’s famously expensive profitable routes back home, while freeing up cash for some much-needed fleet renewal.

COLOMBIA

Change of pace.

In a turnaround for the ages, President Trump has gone from declaring his Colombian counterpart (Petro) an “illegal drug leader” and revoking his US visa, to praising him as “terrific” and even signalling renewed counternarcotics work. (AP)

Comment: Why the sudden change of heart? Trump needs Colombia’s help to stabilise Venezuela next door, while stable US ties might help Petro’s left-leaning successor (Senator Cepeda), who faces a tough May election against a resurgent right.

UNITED STATES

My precious.

President Trump has announced a new $12B critical mineral stockpile to counter China’s supply chain dominance. Dubbed ‘Project Vault’, it’ll reportedly involve another 11 countries to be announced later this week. (Guardian)

Comment: Pitched as today’s equivalent to a strategic petroleum reserve, it’s part of DC’s continued adaptation to the reality (made painfully clear last year) that China has massive critical mineral leverage over the US, particularly in processing.

KYRGYZSTAN

Bypass no more.

The EU is reportedly preparing to sanction Kyrgyzstan for helping Russia evade Western restrictions, potentially making it the first Central Asian country to face EU sanctions as Brussels targets Moscow’s economic loopholes. (EurasiaNet)