Latest news for 15 July 2026

UNITED STATES

Tax on, tax off.

Hours after tweeting it, President Trump has now gone back on his 20% Hormuz shipping fee, instead again threatening Iran with strikes on its bridges and power plants unless the regime returns to the negotiating table. (BBC)

Comment: We initially had angry emails insisting this was all 4D chess, but surely by this point we can all come together and acknowledge it’s looking more like drunk Jenga? This war stopped going to plan long ago, and the president is now throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

UKRAINE

Azov today, there are no more ships.

In the last couple of weeks, Ukrainian armed forces have claimed 100+ hits on Russian shipping through the Sea of Azov (between Russia and Ukraine, exiting via Crimea). Expanding to hit oil and cargo ships, the idea is to further squeeze Putin’s oil exports and further isolate his forces on Crimea. Meanwhile, Brussels has greenlit plans for Ukraine to use EU funds to buy China-made drone components, highlighting a critical Western reliance on China’s supply chains. (Guardian)

LITHUANIA

Politician’s regret?

Lithuania’s new centre-left prime minister (Sinkevicius) has now officially taken office, and is reaffirming his intention to stand behind Ukraine but seeks a reset of ties with China. (Bloomberg $)

Comment: There’s nothing surprising about a tiny Baltic state (and NATO ally) that survived decades of Soviet occupation now standing firm against Russian aggression. But the China angle is interesting — you’ll recall Lithuania stepped into the spotlight in 2021 when it allowed Taiwan to name its de facto embassy the ‘Taiwanese Representative Office’ (instead of China’s preferred ‘Taipei Economic and Cultural Office’). The move triggered swift backlash from China, and we later chatted with the then-FM about his experiences. Fast forward a few years, and Vilnius seems to have concluded a stabilisation with China is now better on balance.

COLOMBIA

Inauguration drama deepens.

Colombia’s presidential transition seems to be descending into gridlock, with outgoing leftist Gustavo Petro banning the right’s incoming Abelardo de la Espriella from using military bases for his inauguration. The tough-on-crime Abelardo, hardly dubbed ‘The Tiger’ for his conciliatory vibes, is doubling down on his garrison inauguration plans as a tribute to Colombia’s armed forces. (MercoPress)

Comment: Is this a futile, toxic fight among two ideological warriors? Yes. Could it plunge Colombia into some sort of constitutional quandary? Also yes. You see, Petro insists he remains commander-in-chief until *the second* Espriella is sworn in, so any inauguration preparations technically violate the express orders of a sitting president. Our take? The Colombian people deserve better than this whole pageant.

SINGAPORE

Take it back immediately.

A court has ordered US media outlet Bloomberg to pay a cool $356k in damages to two Singaporean cabinet ministers after a reporter factually cited their ritzy property transactions. While accurate, the judge found when read as a whole, the article (about mansion deals increasingly shrouded in secrecy) implied wrongdoing. (BBC)

Comment: Leaving aside the specifics of this case, it’ll still play into fears of the region’s wider trend of SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Ie, elites weaponising vague laws to intimidate, bankrupt, or silence.

SUDAN

Rebel leader sentenced to death.

A Sudanese court has sentenced to death in absentia the leader of Sudan’s notorious RSF paramilitary, known as Hemedti, over war crimes and the murder of a regional governor. It’s the first such ruling since this civil war broke out in 2023. (AJ)

Comment: It’s symbolic while he runs the other half of a civil war, but the sentence is an attempt to shape the international narrative, and imposes costs on the RSF’s foreign backers.