📰 Latest News

Fu Dalin, a military-law professor at China’s National Defense University, has driven a shift in the PLA to make legal expertise operationally relevant, building courses, labs and field partnerships that integrate law into wartime planning. His work reflects a broader Chinese emphasis on using law as an instrument of statecraft and military competition.

An explosion outside a Chinese restaurant in Kabul on 19 January killed one Chinese citizen and wounded five, prompting Beijing to demand urgent action from Afghan authorities. China condemned the attack, urged citizens to avoid travel to Afghanistan, and pressed for protection of its nationals and projects amid persistent ISIS‑K threats.

China’s state media has publicly criticised influencers for treating large online platforms as private domains, urging greater responsibility after a viral restaurant closure. In parallel, New Oriental hired charity leader Chen Xingjia as a senior adviser with a 1.5 million yuan salary as part of a reputational reset, while Chinese tech firms push AI into museums and drug discovery through high-profile partnerships.

A People’s Daily editorial has sounded a warning about the responsibilities of influential self‑media figures after a restaurant controversy, underscoring rising expectations for corporate and platform conduct. Concurrently, New Oriental’s hire of philanthropist Chen Xingjia and a string of AI partnerships in culture and biomedicine signal firms’ strategies to combine reputational capital with specialised, scenario‑driven AI deployments.

A Southern Theater Command air brigade staged multi‑batch, full‑element day‑and‑night flight drills to sharpen all‑weather combat capabilities, state media reported. The exercises underscore the PLA’s emphasis on sustained, integrated training and signal increased operational readiness in a strategically sensitive region.

EPFL researchers have developed a modular robotic hand that replicates 33 human grasp types and adds dual‑sided grasping plus autonomous crawling, enabling it to handle oversized objects and reposition itself to process multiple targets. Published in Nature Communications, the device bridges a gap between laboratory dexterity demonstrations and practical applications in industry, service robotics and field exploration, though challenges in sensing, energy and integration remain.

Chinese commercial space firms are moving fast from tests to scaled deployments of low‑Earth‑orbit internet constellations. Trials combining satellites with drones, cars and experimental phone‑direct links demonstrate practical applications for disaster response, logistics and ubiquitous connectivity, while mass manufacture and falling component costs point to broader commercialisation by 2030.

U.S. stocks tumbled, Treasury yields rose and the dollar weakened in a one-day market shock that left tech giants especially bruised. Nvidia lost roughly $195.6 billion in market value overnight, while gold surged as investors sought refuge from heightened volatility. The episode highlights how quickly gains in richly valued tech names can be reversed when yields rise and risk sentiment deteriorates, with potential spillovers to global markets and emerging economies.

A senior U.S. Navy official says talk of a ‘‘Trump‑class’’ battleship should not be read as a return to World War II‑style gun platforms, but as a push for a new kind of large surface combatant built around modern strike, sensors and survivability. The comments highlight strategic, industrial and political debates about the future shape of American naval power in the Indo‑Pacific.

Bitcoin dipped below $88,000 on Jan. 21, falling about 5% intraday and renewing concerns about acute volatility in crypto markets. The drop reflects a combination of profit-taking, leveraged positions, and fragile liquidity, with implications for exchanges, institutional products and investor sentiment.

U.S. President Trump declined to order strikes on Iran after senior officials, Israel and Saudi Arabia warned of inadequate regional defenses and uncertain operational effects. Shortfalls in U.S. force posture, allied caution and advisers’ doubts combined to persuade the White House to hold back, underscoring limits on Washington’s power projection in the Middle East.

President Trump renewed a controversial call for the United States to “own” Greenland, dismissing historical Danish claims and saying he had a pleasant call with a senior NATO-linked official. The proposal is legally and politically fraught given Greenland’s autonomous status and would risk straining U.S.-Danish relations while highlighting rising geostrategic competition in the Arctic.

Israel’s chief of staff has warned of a multi-thousand troop shortfall that could degrade IDF readiness within a year unless the government acts. The crisis stems from stalled legislation on Haredi draft exemptions, delays in lengthening compulsory service and sustained operational pressure since late 2023.

NORAD has announced that multiple aircraft will deploy to the Pituffik (Thule) Space Base in Greenland to support planned missions, coordinated with Denmark and notified to Greenland’s government. The move underlines routine operational cooperation among the United States, Canada and Denmark while signalling allied attention to the strategically important Arctic region.

ZhiTe New Materials (300986) has surged about 229% year‑to‑date after publicity around AI‑assisted materials research and a high‑temperature insulating product, but the company says those technologies remain at the lab stage and have generated no revenue. The rally reflects both genuine improvements in revenue and cash flow and speculative market interest in trendy tech narratives, raising questions about disclosure and the sustainability of the share price surge.

Shuijingfang reported a 71% drop in 2025 net profit amid plunging revenue and industrywide headwinds, missing market forecasts and recording its weakest profit since 2018. The company's majority owner, Diageo, is under pressure from weak Chinese demand and has been linked to possible asset sales, while the broader baijiu sector confronts shifting consumption patterns and new anti‑waste rules that curb traditional drinking occasions.

US markets opened substantially lower as major technology giants fell more than 2%, dragging the Nasdaq down 1.59%. At the same time, semiconductor and storage names such as UMC surged after a production milestone, highlighting a sector rotation that is reshaping market leadership.

A reconnaissance detachment of the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command conducted a continuous day‑and‑night exercise that rehearsed infiltration, river crossing, drone reconnaissance and coordinated strikes. The drill underscores a PLA emphasis on realistic, night‑capable reconnaissance and faster sensor‑to‑shooter cycles relevant to operations in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

A second Trump term has transformed U.S. diplomacy into a personalized, transactional enterprise that wields military force, economic coercion and inducements without the usual multilateral scaffolding. While the approach has produced some short-term gains, it risks eroding allied trust, provoking legal controversies, and inviting rivals to exploit institutional gaps.

A PLA Southern Theatre aviation brigade has conducted intensive day‑and‑night flight drills aimed at sharpening all‑weather combat capabilities. The exercises highlight integrated training across pilots, support crews and systems, improving sustained operational readiness in a region of heightened strategic sensitivity.