Daily flyovers
Latest news for 8 May 2026
Quick hits of consequential news from all corners of the world.
- 01
IRAN
We still calling this a ceasefire?
The US and Iran are again trading blame after Iran targeted (but apparently didn’t hit) three US destroyers, while the US claimed hits on Hormuz targets across Qeshm Island, Abbas port, and elsewhere. President Trump is dismissing it all as “just a love tap”, urging Iran’s regime to sign a deal asap. (BBC)
Comment: It’s the most serious ceasefire test yet, but it also suggests neither side really wants full escalation right now. And yet, pending details of the US peace deal Iran is now reviewing, the exit ramp still looks vexed: Iran refusing to give up its nuclear status, and the US demanding something approaching dismantlement before any meaningful sanctions relief.
- 02
UNITED STATES
Tariffs torpedoed?
A federal court has ruled President Trump’s 10% across-the-board Liberation Day tariffs illegal. In a 2-1 decision, the US Court of International Trade found s122 of the Trade Act only allows temporary tariffs to address acute balance-of-payments crises, not Trump’s broader trade strategy. (Le Monde)
Comment: It’s a narrow ruling that only blocks tariff collection for the plaintiffs (the State of Washington, a spice importer, and a toy company!) while a broader case continues. The White House is appealing via a Federal Circuit process that typically takes months, and a Supreme Court appeal thereafter seems likely if that fails. So the status will probably keep quo-ing for a while yet.
- 03
CHINA
24 months to live?
A military court has sentenced two former defence ministers to death on corruption charges, with a two-year reprieve — a sharp escalation in Xi’s military purge. (SCMP)
Comment: In China, death sentences with reprieve are typically commuted to life imprisonment. Still, Xi’s message is clear: he’s dialling up the People’s Liberation Army fear-and-loyalty factor, highlighting that nobody is untouchable, and no punishment is unthinkable.
- 04
SPAIN
Above the parapet.
Prime Minister Sánchez has awarded controversial UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese one of Spain's highest honours for her Gaza work. (The Guardian)
Comment: Beyond any award criteria, it’s a show of defiance against allies like the US and Germany, who’ve voiced shock at Albanese’s statements on Israel over the years. It also fits Sánchez’s broader pattern — visits to Beijing, denying US overflight against Iran — of independent moves that play well to his progressive base.
- 05
SOLOMON ISLANDS
Gone with the vote.
Parliament has ousted PM Manele in a 26-22 no-confidence vote, after a court finally forced him to recall parliament following the collapse of his coalition. (RNZ)
Comment: It was Manele’s predecessor who stunned the West with *that* 2022 China security pact. Manele himself then tried a China-West balancing act, but that’s now over. So speculation now returns to whether perennial hopeful, son of the founding father, and friend of Intrigue, Peter Kenilorea Jr, can finally muster the numbers. He’s always flagged the possibility of pivoting his strategically-located nation back West.
- 06
HONDURAS
Crunch time.
Newly-elected and Trump-backed President Asfura says he’s reviewing all China-linked deals, as he weighs up delivering on his campaign pledge to reverse his predecessor’s 2023 China switch, and instead pivot back to Taiwan. (Bloomberg $)
Comment: Ouch for Beijing. The China honeymoon barely lasted three years before local disappointment around actual investment set in. With shallow economic ties, Beijing doesn’t have a lot of leverage to inflict pain if Honduras does flip back to Taiwan. Wouldn’t want to be China’s ambassador in Tegucigalpa right now…
- 07
SOUTH SUDAN
In and out.
President Kiir has now fired his army chief and finance minister, barely weeks after dismissing his foreign minister, security chief, and parliamentary leaders. (Reuters)
Comment: It’s all a paranoid, pre-election power-grab amid economic malaise and fears of renewed civil war, fuelling speculation Kiir will ditch elections altogether.
- 08
AUSTRALIA
ISIS women charged.
Three ISIS-linked Australian women now face criminal charges after returning to Melbourne from Syria — two face charges of crimes against humanity and owning slaves in Syria, while the third faces terror offences for allegedly joining ISIS. (CNN)
Comment: As Damascus-Kurdish ties fray, so does the fragile system that’s long kept thousands of ISIS members and families locked in prison camps. And that now shoots the dilemma back to their home governments, grappling with appalled electorates, vigilant courts, and vocal opposition parties.