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Intrigue

Daily flyovers

Latest news for 29 October 2026

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

  1. 01

    SPAIN

    High-speed tragedy.

    Spain is entering three days of national mourning over yesterday’s horror train collision that left 68 dead in Toledo. (BBC)

    Comment: Spain’s impending snap elections, plus the fact this is now the country’s (and specific rail-line’s!) second fatal high-speed rail disaster this year, will transform what might ordinarily be a technical investigation into another sharp political test for Pedro Sánchez’s government. It’s also turning Spain’s high-speed rail network — long a source of national pride — into yet another source of uneasy introspection.

  2. 02

    CAMBODIA

    Cruising for a bruising.

    A luxury cruise ship attempting a years-long global voyage (MV Odyssey) has suspended operations and left 203 mostly American passengers stranded in Sihanoukville, after soaring fuel costs crippled its financial model. (Guardian)

    Comment: Monthly fuel bills per cabin apparently skyrocketed from $1,800 to $8,000 after Hormuz got squeezed. More low-margin, fuel-dependent business models will fail with each month that prices float high.

  3. 03

    TURKEY

    Another UN contender.

    Ankara is reportedly adding its own name (former foreign minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu) to the list of candidates still hustling to replace UN chief António Guterres when his term wraps the end of this year. (Turkiye Today)

    Comment: Again, we ask… why? The Turks presumably concluded that the original candidates are all now deadlocked amid Security Council opposition, while the UAE’s own new plan to sprint through the middle (via Emirati envoy Lana Nusseibeh) has wobbled over something we flagged weeks ago: she’ll have to explain why her Gulf monarchy (✌️allegedly✌️) backs the RSF war criminals in Sudan’s civil war. Plus Turkey would hate to see a regional rival get the top job. But whereas the Emirati candidate at least cleared one hurdle (gender), Turkey clears neither (it’s traditionally now the turn for someone from Latin America or the Caribbean). Regardless, Turkey has probably calculated the cost of seeing a regional rival on top would be worse than the wrath of a distant region scorned. A lot probably also depends on where China lands, having long insisted it’s now Latin America’s turn. It’ll be wary of burning bridges in a region it still wants to contest.

  4. 04

    ISRAEL

    Cliff-hanger.

    The defence minister (Katz) has criticised the opposition leader (Eisenkot) for his post-election speech calling on security chiefs to “stand firm against any attempt to pressure” them. It comes amid continued speculation that Netanyahu (still caretaker prime minister for now) might soon join the US in resuming hits on Iran. (Times of Israel)

    Comment: With Netanyahu’s ruling coalition headed towards an estimated 53 seats, ahead of Eisenkot’s opposition on ~48, it means neither side has the magic 61-seat majority, but the coalition-talk advantage now really sits with Netanyahu. This could take weeks or months.

  5. 05

    BRAZIL

    Miami viceroy.

    As we flagged yesterday, conservative erstwhile presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro ended up landing in Miami, where he immediately declared himself the “legitimate leader of Brazil”, now operating in exile amid what he insists are politically motivated charges back home. (Miami Herald)

    Comment: Emotions are high and the left’s President Lula remains reviled by half the country, but Brazil’s broader conservative establishment really seems exhausted by the legal chaos, family drama, and endless clashes with the judiciary. So the longer Flávio stays stateside, the more likely his party baton gets passed to the popular and market-darling governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas.

  6. 06

    RWANDA

    Sanctioned.

    The US has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s defence ministry plus a state-aligned bank over their support for the M23 militia now occupying vast swathes of eastern DR Congo. The sanctions also hit the bank for helping finance arms shipments from China. As ever, Kigali denies it all. (Reuters)

    Comment: This is a big US escalation, going beyond the individual warlords to sever the official arteries sustaining them. The US is probably hoping to force Rwanda to honour its peace commitments from last year, though M23 might now be sitting on enough critical minerals to not care.

  7. 07

    RUSSIA

    The Starlink proxy trail.

    Turkish authorities have detained 85 suspected members of the “Daltons”, which sounds like the friendly new family who just moved in ‘round the block but is actually an international criminal network. Investigators are tying the arrests to last month’s Russian intelligence arson at a critical Starlink ground station in Poland. (The Insider)

    Comment: Russia has a long history of outsourcing sabotage to criminals. What’s more novel is the immediate victim (in this case Elon Musk) still pretending the problem is Ukraine.