📰 Latest News

NASA has moved its SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Pad 39B in Florida, marking a key step ahead of Artemis 2—the first crewed Orion flight. The mission, a roughly ten-day free-return circumlunar test carrying three NASA astronauts and one Canadian, will validate life-support and integrated operations ahead of later, landing-focused missions.

China’s foreign ministry said it has achieved notable results working with Cambodia to combat cross‑border telecom and internet fraud, and that its embassy in Phnom Penh is coordinating with Cambodian authorities after reports of Chinese nationals escaping fraud compounds. The comments underline Beijing’s emphasis on protecting overseas citizens and the diplomatic pressure on Cambodia to act against criminal networks operating on its soil.

China’s Post‑05 generation is transforming second‑hand consumption from a cost‑saving exercise into an appetite‑driven hunt for scarce goods, driving rapid user growth and higher spending on resale platforms. Certain categories — notably gold, memory modules and classic luxury pieces — have behaved like “hard currency,” retaining or gaining value even as broader product categories depreciate.

The Trump administration’s newly announced “Peace Commission,” initially framed as overseeing Gaza’s transition, has a leaked draft that suggests a global remit and concentrated authority under Trump. The proposal has prompted international unease, legal questions about its mandate beyond Gaza, and criticism for sidelining Palestinian representation while potentially undercutting the U.N.

Israeli military operations in West Bank refugee camps since January last year have displaced over 40,000 Palestinians, with at least 850 buildings destroyed in Nur Shams, Jenin and Tulkarm by the end of 2025. For many refugees the once-grand political demand of a return to ancestral lands has been hollowed out into a basic plea: permission to return to the makeshift homes inside the camps. The demolitions carry acute humanitarian costs and broader political consequences, potentially entrenching dispossession and complicating any prospects for a negotiated settlement.

A retired Chinese soldier, Yu Shuirong, has visited the mother of his fallen comrade every month for more than 40 years after making a battlefield pledge in 1984 to care for her. His sustained attention turned a wartime oath into a multigenerational bond that resonates with broader Chinese values of loyalty and filial piety.

EU ambassadors held an emergency meeting after U.S. tariff threats tied to the Greenland dispute, but failed to agree on activating the bloc’s strongest countermeasures. A €93 billion tariff list exists as a deterrent, yet internal divisions — notably between France and Italy — left Brussels favoring delay and diplomacy ahead of a possible leaders’ encounter with President Trump at Davos.

Two Danish F‑35 fighters and a French aerial tanker completed a joint refuelling exercise over Greenland on 19 January 2026. The drill highlights NATO interoperability and the logistical importance of air refuelling for sustained operations in the strategically sensitive Arctic region.

China’s Foreign Ministry highlighted a Chamber of Commerce survey and robust GDP figures to argue that US firms’ success in China proves mutual benefits from engagement. Beijing framed 2026 as the start of a new five‑year cycle of growth and invited foreign companies to seize opportunities, positioning economic ties as a stabilizing force amid geopolitical tensions.

A US push for Greenland and associated tariff threats have prompted the EU to consider a sweeping €93 billion retaliation and to revive a proposed “anti‑coercion” mechanism. Europe seeks to deter Washington’s pressure while avoiding a damaging trade war and managing internal divisions and NATO dependencies.

A US lawmaker warned that any forcible attempt to seize Greenland would put Washington at odds with NATO allies and damage transatlantic cohesion. Greenland’s strategic position in the Arctic, combined with rising great-power competition, makes respect for sovereignty and alliance consultation essential to regional stability.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported 2025 GDP growth of 5.0% and a flat headline CPI, while core inflation edged up to 0.7%. Officials said the low CPI reflects both international price movements and structural features of China’s economy, and they expect targeted fiscal and consumption measures to support a gradual rebound in domestic prices.

Chinese stocks closed mixed as Shanghai gauges eked out gains while the ChiNext small‑cap index slipped after intraday strength. Power‑grid equipment and precious‑metals miners led the advance, but falling turnover and sectoral divergence point to a cautious, rotation‑driven market.

Pinduoduo has amplified its Lunar New Year campaign by upgrading a large subsidy programme and launching three major promotional tracks under its 百亿补贴 channel, combining deep price cuts, coupon and membership incentives, and targeted supply‑chain support. The move aims to spur festival spending, broaden market access for domestic and global fresh produce, and consolidate the platform’s reach into China’s counties and western regions.

A woman in Lixian was conned of 380,000 yuan after meeting a man on the dating app TanTan and being lured into a fake petroleum‑trading investment. Police arrested ten suspects in coordinated raids and say the gang may have stolen more than 10 million yuan from multiple victims.

The EU is debating reactivating a €93bn list of punitive tariffs and possibly using an anti‑coercion mechanism in response to US threats tied to Greenland. Officials hope the threat of retaliation will strengthen Europe's bargaining position at Davos and generate domestic US pressure to reverse Washington's move.

China recorded 7.92 million births in 2025 and a population decline of 3.39 million as the government pivoted from loosening birth limits to actively seeking to stabilise new births. A mix of cash subsidies, preschool support and administrative reforms has helped marriages rebound, offering a possible short-term boost to births, but structural demographic forces make a large, rapid reversal unlikely.

China's per‑capita disposable income rose 5.0% in 2025 to 43,377 yuan, with rural incomes growing faster than urban ones though remaining far lower in level. Consumption expanded more slowly at 4.4%, while spending shifted toward education, transport and services, and median incomes remained noticeably below means, indicating income concentration.

The People’s Bank of China cut re‑lending and rediscount rates by 25 basis points on 19 January 2026, lowering the cost of earmarked funding for banks to encourage lending to small enterprises, technology, manufacturing upgrade and green projects. The step is a structural, targeted easing rather than a broad policy-rate cut, and signals Beijing’s preference for directed credit support while keeping overall interest-rate policy stable.

A public, high‑profile family rupture at Double Star — sparked by contested share transfers, a fight over corporate seals and a founder’s rejection of heirs with U.S. residency — has exposed governance weaknesses at a once‑iconic Chinese shoemaker. The dispute distracts from long‑standing strategic problems: brand ageing, market share erosion and failure to modernise product and marketing.