Daily flyovers
Latest news for 13 July 2026
Quick hits of consequential news from all corners of the world.
- 01
UNITED STATES
Tributes for Senator Graham.
Foreign condolences are pouring in for long-time Republican senator and Trump critic-turned-ally Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly of a ruptured aortic aneurysm on Saturday night. An old-school hawk, he was a vocal backer of Ukraine (where he’d just been), while Netanyahu has hailed him as “a true friend of Israel”. (NBC)
Comment: South Carolina’s governor now names a temporary replacement, who’ll presumably enjoy a leg-up in the August 11th primary to fill Graham’s place on the November mid-term ballot. Names doing the rounds include Lt Governor Evette, or even Governor McMaster himself before his own governorship ends in January. Rep Joe Wilson also wants the seat, though vacating his House seat would carry risks given the GOP’s narrow majority there.
- 02
UKRAINE
Cabinet reshuffle (again).
President Zelensky has announced a reshuffle of his senior leadership, with PM Yuliia Svyrydenko stepping down just a year into her tenure. No word on her replacement just yet. (The Hill)
Comment: Even as Ukraine’s momentum improves, three reshuffles in 18 months points to the continued challenges of wartime governance and political stability.
- 03
SOUTH KOREA
Missing seaman.
South Korean authorities have asked North Korea to assist in the search and rescue of a South Korean navy sailor presumed to have drifted across the Northern Limit Line. Interestingly, Seoul delivered the message via a text to reporters, as the two neighbours don’t currently have any working lines of communication. (Reuters)
Comment: Pyongyang will be weighing up whether to a) play the magnanimous neighbour, b) milk concessions out of his eventual return, and/or c) indulge its own notorious paranoia and assume this is all a capitalist plot.
- 04
ISRAEL
Set date.
The Israeli parliament has set 27 October as the date for its next general election, the last possible day permitted by electoral law. (TOI)
Comment: It’s widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu himself, with polling suggesting he’s currently on track to fall well short of a majority. Even then, Bibi’s government would be the first to complete its full term in decades.
- 05
ANGOLA
Reserve this.
Angola’s central bank has approved local commercial banks using China’s yuan to meet their foreign reserve requirements. (BIA)
Comment: Beijing-friendly outlets highlight this as proof of the yuan’s strength (which does continue to grow from a low base), but there’ll always be limits on the yuan’s appeal so long as China enforces rules around its convertibility. Rather, this news looks more to us like proof of how deep Angola’s China-dependence runs — it can realistically only use those yuan to buy more stuff from China.
- 06
PERU
Friends like before?
Incoming right-populist leader Keiko Fujimori is seeking to reset ties with Mexico, months after Mexico’s left-populist government angered Peru by granting asylum to an ex-PM wanted over Peru’s attempted ‘self-coup’ back in 2022. (Al Jazeera)
Comment: It looks to us like a pragmatic pivot towards the centre after Peru’s polarising, razor-thin presidential elections. Keiko needs to broaden her appeal and stabilise the country, so mending ties with a regional power like Mexico makes sense.
- 07
MALAYSIA
Coalition under pressure?
PM Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition now looks a little wobbly after Malaysia’s long-time former ruling movement (BN) scored a resounding win over the PM’s own party in his home state of Johor. (The Diplomat)
Comment: Given the Malay-nationalist BN is nominally a federal ally, that outcome suggests Anwar’s ‘unity government’ might not be so unified after all — watch for whether BN now uses this result to demand more concessions (cabinet posts) and/or moves to stymie Anwar’s reforms (he’s been cutting popular but costly subsidies).