Latest news for 29 June 2026

CHINA

2-track economy.

Several respected Beijing advisers have used the weekend’s annual China Macroeconomy Forum to sound the alarm over China’s fractured growth, with a tech boom failing to lift consumer demand from its deflationary spiral. (Bloomberg $)

Comment: They’re describing a classic K-shaped recovery (where sectors diverge drastically) — the Party might see it all as a risk to financial, social, and even political stability. But airing it at a senior level via a major state-backed forum is pretty unusual, and potentially timed ahead of next month’s key Politburo meeting in hopes of pushing for more household-focused stimulus.

AUSTRALIA

Deal, at last.

After some false-starts, Vanuatu has finally signed a strategic pact with Australia, reaffirming Canberra (rather than Beijing) as the island nation’s top partner. (ABC)

Comment: What changed for Vanuatu to accept this deal, but not last year’s draft? The Aussies seem to have dropped their demand for a veto over China-funded infrastructure, though Vanuatu is still committing to consult on any third-party role in strategic projects, while explicitly barring any foreign military bases. It leaves enough wiggle room for Vanuatu to keep negotiating a separate pact with China, insisting it’s economic-only.

UNITED STATES

Mythos back?

After a two-week standoff between Anthropic and DC, the Trump administration has now allowed the US AI pioneer to release its Mythos 5 cybersecurity model to a select group of 100 US corporations and federal agencies. Fable 5 is still restricted. (CNBC)

Comment: This new ‘trusted user’ tiered approach looks like an attempt to balance the Valley’s innovation against DC’s national security concerns, but China’s Zhipu AI is claiming it’s already closed the Mythos cybersecurity gap anyway (it lags on other fronts). So while the US debates how best to manage its advantage, that advantage itself might be shrinking, while the resulting policy confusion just angers NatSec and Valley types alike. Meanwhile, the Basel-based BIS (reserve bank for reserve banks) just dropped its annual report, which includes spicy references to the risks any AI bubble (and associated circular financing) could pose to the financial system.

SERBIA

President resigns.

President Vucic has announced he’ll resign within weeks in a bid to “resolve political instability”, after a deadly railway station collapse in 2024 triggered rolling anti-government protests. (Politico)

Comment: With his nationalist SNS party still Serbia’s strongest political force, it looks to us like a calculated political manoeuvre to defuse the protests and split the opposition, while a loyalist emerges as president — at 56, Vucic is still young enough to do another stint as PM then run for the presidency again once the dust settles.

CHINA

Plane hits skyscraper.

Days after Friday’s strange incident of a light aircraft crashing into Beijing’s tallest building (the 108-story CITIC tower), there’s still no confirmation around the pilot’s identity or possible motives. The only official statement has been a brief city-level note that the pilot is dead and another 13 are injured. (AP)

Comment: After initial state media reports of a vague “aviation incident”, China’s censors are now scrubbing any mention at all. There’ve been all manner of rumours it could be linked to (say) a workplace grievance, but we know it happened on a clear day, far from any airport, and just five miles from Beijing’s ruling compound, so one way or another, it’s a heck of a security breach.

BOLIVIA

Peg your pardon.

With Bolivia’s historic protests and blockades now easing after President Paz agreed to withdraw proposed land reforms, his government has announced it’ll remove its USD peg, switching instead to a flexible exchange. It’s part of negotiations for $2.5B in IMF financing to help course-correct amid a deep economic crisis. (Reuters)

UGANDA

Press the press.

The president’s son and head of Uganda’s military, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has ordered the shuttering of the country’s two biggest media companies. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: Autocrats ordinarily hide behind the thinnest of veils to excuse these crackdowns, so shout-out to all-round loose unit Kainerugaba, who’s straight out confessed: “I do not believe in a free press!”