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Intrigue

Daily flyovers

Latest news for 6 July 2026

Quick hits of consequential news from all corners of the world.

  1. 01

    BELGIUM

    Red card.

    Belgium’s football body (with rumoured European backing to come) has said it’s “astonished” by FIFA’s decision to suspend a red card issued against star US striker Folarin Balogun, meaning Balogun can now play in today’s critical knockout against Belgium. The New York Times is reporting FIFA suspended the red card after President Trump made a call to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. (RBFA)

    Comment: While a rarity, it’s also classic FIFA — rules are rules until a commercially key team is hit, then maybe they’re flexible. There are threats to appeal, though it’s unclear how at this point — whether FIFA’s disciplinary committee or the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, these things take time.

  2. 02

    CHINA

    Set free.

    After more than 250 days in custody amid a Party crackdown on his large underground church, prominent Beijing pastor Ezra Jin has now reunited with his family in the US. His release comes a few weeks after President Trump raised the case directly with Xi Jinping in Beijing. (NYT $)

    Comment: With China’s Christian community potentially surpassing the country’s ruling Communist Party in numbers (~100 million), Xi’s crackdown seems likely to continue. Btw, these last two stories point to two sides of the same transactional Trump: whether reversing a red card or freeing a pastor, it’s all about the deal.

  3. 03

    SUDAN

    Another atrocity?

    The UN has warned of another catastrophe unfolding in Sudan, where the country’s notorious RSF paramilitary is besieging yet another city (al-Obeid), home to half a million people. When RSF forces besieged a city last year, they massacred 6,000 locals within three days of its fall. (UN News)

    Comment: There’ll (again) be no protests over a war the world has long forgotten. But al-Obeid sits on vital supply routes, and its fall could tilt the balance in the RSF’s favour across central Sudan.

  4. 04

    MALAYSIA

    Not at those prices.

    Kuala Lumpur has introduced new import rules that effectively block many low-cost China-made EVs from the Malaysian market. (CarNewsChina)

    Comment: We’ve long flagged the way China’s overcapacity plus America’s tariffs leave markets elsewhere vulnerable to wipeout. And absent any sign of a China course-correct, you can now add Malaysia to the list of those responding with their own tariffs (Malaysia makes its own Proton cars). Meanwhile, as Germany grapples with the same historic challenge, the Journal just published a grim update on the country’s Mittelstand (midsize manufacturers now shedding jobs amid China pressure).

  5. 05

    AUSTRALIA

    Interesting timing.

    China has test-launched a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a submarine in the South Pacific, just hours after Australia signed a security pact with Fiji. (Independent)

    Comment: That Fiji deal is another win for Australia, still repairing its regional standing after China’s shock 2022 security pact with Solomon Islands. As for China’s response? It’s hard to see it as anything other than ham-fisted, realistically validating the region’s wariness towards China.

  6. 06

    INDONESIA

    Separatists kill US pilot.

    Papuan separatists have claimed responsibility for the shooting of a US pilot who made an emergency landing in a remote area of Indonesia’s Papua province. (BBC)

    Comment: A rare direct attack on a Westerner in one of Indonesia’s most sensitive regions, it’ll complicate Jakarta’s efforts to downplay this separatism internationally, though will also fuel its claims that toughness is warranted. The separatists themselves argue the US pilot was a mercenary helping ferry Indonesian troops.

  7. 07

    TURKEY

    Pre-summit jitters.

    Ahead of tomorrow’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish authorities have arrested 100+ protestors in an anti-NATO march led by local communists. (Reuters)

    Comment: Even if these leftist groups are pretty marginal in Erdogan’s Turkey, it’s still a timely reminder of his balancing act as a NATO member playing all sides, while atop a populace only registering ~30% support for the alliance. Summit attendees will include France’s Macron, Germany’s Merz, Britain’s outgoing Starmer, America’s Trump, Ukraine’s Zelensky, and even Syria’s al-Sharaa.