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Two fatal ICE shootings in Minneapolis in January triggered nationwide protests and an unprecedented federal deployment, intensifying a conflict between Washington and local authorities over immigration enforcement. The incidents have highlighted tensions between national security framing and civil‑liberties concerns, with political, legal and electoral consequences likely to unfold in the months ahead.

Voices from the Global South, highlighted in a People’s Daily feature, argue that a historic legacy of colonialism has been channeled into coordinated action to reshape global governance. Through diplomacy, economic partnerships and institutional initiatives, Southern states seek greater representation and alternative rules on climate, development finance and technology governance.

With the AUKUS submarine programme facing mounting delays and political hurdles, some Western analysts have proposed Australia acquire US B‑2 stealth bombers as an alternative means of long‑range deterrence. The proposal highlights the gap between strategic ambitions and procurement realities, but faces steep legal, logistical and political barriers that make it unlikely as a straightforward solution.

Iran has unveiled the induction of 1,000 new military drones and showcased six distinct models, positioning the capability as a deterrent against potential US strikes. The move complicates US force protection in the region, heightens risks from Tehran’s proxy networks, and forces Gulf states into a difficult balancing act between alliance ties and economic self‑preservation.

Israel’s Chief of Staff Zamir has declared the IDF in a period of heightened war readiness, citing lingering tensions with Iran and lessons from the October 2023 Hamas attacks. He called for both stronger defences and preparations for offensive operations across multiple theatres, signalling planning for a possible multi‑front conflict.

African political figures have criticised Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent rhetoric and Japan’s military expansion as threatening the post‑World War II international order. They warn that such moves risk inflaming regional tensions, undermining treaties and norms, and alienating countries that uphold principles of sovereignty and non‑interference.

The U.S. ambassador in Athens said President Trump plans an official visit to Greece, a declaration that signals growing American interest in the eastern Mediterranean. The trip — timing and itinerary still unknown — would have implications for regional energy projects, NATO dynamics and U.S. relations with Greece, Turkey, Israel and Cyprus.

Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Company says Wenchang Aerospace Launch Support Co. will back nearly 30 launches in 2026, including maiden flights and new ground-workstations. The announcement highlights a significant ramp-up in China’s commercial launch activity, with implications for industry capacity, regional economics in Hainan, and global competition in satellite deployment.

China’s 2026 No.1 document elevates artificial intelligence as a central tool for agricultural modernization, pairing technical directives with institutional reforms to accelerate real‑world deployment of drones, IoT and robotics. The move aims to convert pilot successes into whole‑chain improvements in productivity, while creating market opportunities and testing the resilience of Chinese rural governance and financing models.

French authorities have raided X’s Paris office and summoned Elon Musk, with a hearing reportedly scheduled for April. The episode highlights growing European enforcement of online-speech rules and raises fresh questions about platform accountability and the personal liability of tech executives.

Hainan's Wenchang launch-support company plans to back almost 30 launches in 2026, prioritising mature-vehicle missions, inaugural flights of new models and activation of new workstations. The push underscores Beijing's drive to scale commercial launch capabilities but will test logistics, range capacity and supply chains while reshaping competitive dynamics in the global launch market.

Moore Threads has introduced a domestically hosted intelligent programming service intended as an onshore alternative to foreign AI coding assistants. The launch reflects China's push for an indigenous AI stack, and its success will hinge on technical reliability, enterprise integrations, and handling of IP and data-compliance issues.

Zhu Laoliu’s controlling family and two executives sold about RMB 47.41 million of shares after the company reported multi‑year revenue and profit declines. Net profit fell from RMB 64.04m in 2022 to RMB 18.40m in 2024 and margins have eroded sharply, prompting investor concern and signalling challenges for the pickled‑vegetable maker on the Beijing Stock Exchange.

Mulinsen (木林森) warned of its first annual loss since going public in 2015, forecasting a 2025 net loss of 11–15 billion yuan. The company is simultaneously buying a controlling stake in Purui Optoelectronics to secure LED chip and packaging capabilities, a long-term strategic bet that won’t offset near-term financial pain.

Xintianxia, a Chinese fabless designer of NOR and SLC NAND Flash, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO despite falling revenues, low gross margins relative to peers and past regulatory warnings over disclosure. The company’s profitability lags larger rivals largely because of a product mix tilted to lower-capacity, lower-margin parts and a decision to report market share only among Fabless peers, which may give a distorted view of its competitive position.

China’s central No.1 document for the new Five‑Year period targets a boost to rural consumption by promoting NEVs, smart appliances and green building materials in the countryside and by improving recycling systems. Recent data show rural retail growth already outpaced urban areas in 2025, and policymakers hope to translate rising rural incomes into sustained demand, while facing infrastructure and implementation challenges.

Belgium’s Sciensano found that cereulide toxin levels can be up to 75 times higher after infant formula is reconstituted than when measured in powder, a discrepancy linked to microencapsulated arachidonic acid (ARA). The discovery has triggered method revisions, industry recalls, and an EFSA proposal for a strict infant exposure limit, exposing gaps in testing standards and supply‑chain controls.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed marginally higher while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell, as AI-related ‘large-model’ stocks and gold miners rallied and major internet platforms like Tencent slid. The session illustrated a market split: speculative AI plays attracted flows even as policy-sensitive mega-cap tech names remained susceptible to rumor-driven volatility.

A surge in Chinese defence and aerospace stocks reflects investor excitement about SpaceX’s merger with xAI and a renewed push on China’s large civilian aircraft programmes. The merger reframes commercial space as a potential trillion‑dollar market for space‑grade power, laser communications and thermal systems, while COMAC’s accelerated C929 testing signals upward movement in China’s civil aerospace supply chain.

Zhiyuan Robotics will forgo the 2026 Spring Festival Gala to host Robot Wonderful Night, a live-streamed spectacle featuring hundreds of performing robots, as it concentrates resources on embodied intelligence R&D. The event underscores a broader industry pivot from demonstration to productization amid booming forecasts for humanoid robots, rising memory costs driven by AI demand, and shifting infrastructure needs for compute and power.