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Saif al‑Islam Gaddafi was killed in an attack in Zintan on 3 February, a development reported by Xinhua. His death removes a contentious political figure whose presence had both complicated accountability and offered a potential—if problematic—avenue for reintegrating elements of the old regime into Libya’s fractured politics, and it raises the risk of renewed militia violence and wider destabilization.

Turkey’s Competition Authority has opened a new probe into Google, alleging that financial incentives and contractual clauses tied to Android effectively preserve Google’s pre‑installation and default positions for search and browsers. The inquiry examines anti‑forking provisions and developer verification rules to assess whether Google’s revised contracts perpetuate anti‑competitive effects despite earlier enforcement actions.

China has issued 88 mandatory national standards targeting vehicle safety, tightening requirements for EV batteries and introducing compulsory rules for automatic emergency braking and in-vehicle emergency calls. The reforms aim to raise safety baselines as the country’s auto production and NEV market expand, but will raise compliance costs and influence who can compete in China’s rapidly evolving EV and autonomous-driving sectors.

China has launched an AI and virtual-production laboratory in Zhejiang to domesticise key film technologies, incubate pilot projects and set industry standards. The effort reflects a broader push for technological self-reliance and could lower costs, reshape labour in the film sector and create export opportunities, while raising governance and ethical challenges.

Meng Zhongjie, president of Shanghai International Studies University and a Shanghai people's congress deputy, urged humanities scholars to prepare high-quality corpora and actively collaborate with AI as part of a broader disciplinary transformation. His call highlights both an opportunity to shape Chinese-language AI and a tension between instrumental collaboration and preservation of critical scholarship.

Gold and silver swung wildly in late January, with record highs followed by sharp one‑day falls and a partial rebound that left volatility at multi‑year highs. Analysts point to profit‑taking, margin hikes and Fed political signalling as immediate triggers, but many see longer‑term supports — central‑bank buying and dollar fragility — still intact, making the market structurally different and unpredictably volatile.

Nvidia and OpenAI have publicly reaffirmed their partnership after reports that a previously announced $100 billion‑scale LOI had stalled. Sources now say Nvidia is likely to commit about $20 billion in the current financing round, signalling a shift from aspirational headlines to staged, pragmatic investments amid a tight AI hardware supply environment.

Tencent limited the ability to open Yuanbao red‑packet campaign links directly in WeChat after user complaints that the promotion used task‑based incentives to induce high‑frequency sharing in group chats. Citing its external link rules against share inducements, Tencent moved to restrict the links while Yuanbao says it is urgently revising its sharing mechanism.

Turkey’s competition authority has launched an investigation into Google’s mobile contracts, alleging the company uses financial incentives and contractual clauses to maintain the default status of its search and browser apps. The probe will assess whether new contract structures and anti‑fork provisions let Google evade prior remedies and harm competition in the mobile ecosystem.

Iran’s public economy has unravelled since December 2025: runaway inflation, a collapsing rial, and mass protests followed a fuel subsidy cut. But a large, opaque shadow economy—dominated by the IRGC, Bonyads and resilient shadow‑banking networks—continues to circulate funds and shield the regime’s core, making rapid collapse unlikely and prolonging chronic national decline.

A surge of retail selling and buying at Beijing’s Caibai gold counters on February 3 highlighted the sharp volatility in gold prices: domestic spot rates hovered around ¥1,070–¥1,082 per gram while international quotes fell from near $5,500/oz to about $4,700/oz before a partial rebound. Banks and wealth managers warned of continued turbulence and advised risk-management strategies, even as many ordinary investors both locked in quick profits and cut losses.

GaoXin Retail, parent of Sun Art (大润发), announced it cannot contact CEO Li Weiping, who assumed the role two months ago. Media accounts say he was taken by police to assist an investigation; the company says operations are normal and the chairman will temporarily run daily management.

Mainland Chinese equities were mixed on Feb. 4 as the Shanghai Composite reclaimed 4,100 points while technology sectors retreated. Coal and photovoltaic-related stocks led gains, reflecting a rotation into cyclical and energy themes amid subdued overall turnover and elevated stock‑level volatility.

January saw a dramatic surge in Chinese retail participation with nearly 4.92 million new A‑share accounts, while the PBOC provided targeted three month liquidity to smooth seasonal pressures. Globally, the US moved to build a critical minerals reserve to reduce reliance on China, and Walmart briefly eclipsed a $1 trillion market cap, underscoring divergent strengths in consumer and tech segments.

Panama's top court voided the renewal of concession agreements for two Panama Canal‑adjacent ports operated by a Hong Kong company, prompting forceful protests from Beijing and the Hong Kong government. China characterized the ruling as legally unfounded, politically driven and damaging to Panama’s investment climate, and warned it would take necessary steps to defend its company’s rights.

China’s humanoid-robot rental market has shifted from an initial post-Gala gold rush to a deep price correction driven by brand proliferation and platform competition. Operators are refocusing on logistics, after-sales and service models while the 2026 Spring Festival Gala looms as a decisive test of which makers can combine reliability and customisability.

A senior surgeon at Zhengzhou University’s First Affiliated Hospital was convicted in 2025 for charging patients for implanted microvascular devices that were not used or were hidden in tissue, pocketing over ¥1m in kickbacks. The case exposes weaknesses in hospital procurement, clinician incentives and device oversight, with implications for patient trust and regulator enforcement in China’s healthcare system.

In 2025 Jiangsu, Guangdong and Shandong were China’s largest retail markets, each topping four trillion yuan in social retail sales, while inland provinces Shaanxi, Hebei and Henan posted the fastest growth. The patterns reflect structural differences in population, urbanisation and targeted subsidy policies, with implications for China’s domestic demand strategy and foreign firms seeking Chinese market opportunities.

CK Hutchison said it will pursue ICC arbitration after Panama’s Supreme Court and government actions that the company says breach the legal framework for two port concessions run by its 90%-owned subsidiary, Panama Ports Company. The move highlights legal, operational and geopolitical risks for foreign investors and could have wider implications for shipping through the Panama Canal.

January 2026 saw 4.92 million new A‑share accounts opened — the most in any month of 2025 and the fifth‑highest monthly total on record — coinciding with record turnover and positive index performance. While the surge and strong liquidity support a medium‑term ‘‘slow bull’’ case, seasonal funding pressures and margin rule changes created a late‑month pullback that highlights ongoing volatility risks.