Jan. 28, 2026 - Daily News Digest
QotD: "They say that eight days is a long time in politics. Try eight years, because it's eight years since a British prime minister stepped on Chinese soil. So on this delegation you're making history,” Mr. Starmer told more than 50 business leaders visiting China with him.
UK/CHINA – UK’s Starmer arrives in China, encourages firms to seize opportunities.
Keir Starmer began the first visit to China by a British prime minister since 2018 on Wednesday, encouraging businesses to seize opportunities on a trip aimed at strengthening ties with Beijing as relations with the U.S. become more volatile.
Starmer, whose approach to China has been criticised by some British and U.S. politicians, said that while courting the world's second-largest economy, Britain must also remain vigilant about potential security threats.
"They say that eight days is a long time in politics. Try eight years, because it's eight years since a British prime minister stepped on Chinese soil. So on this delegation you're making history," Starmer told more than 50 business leaders visting with him.
"You're part of the change that we're bringing about ... Because everything you're doing here, everything I'm doing here is focused on how do we benefit people at home," he said before meeting President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday.
The visit could mark a shift in ties between Britain and China after years of deep acrimony over Beijing's crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong, China's support for Russia in the Ukraine war and allegations by British security services that China regularly spies on politicians and officials.
TAIWAN/CHINA/DEFENSE – Taiwan shows off F-16 jets rapid response amid tensions with China.
Taiwan's air force showcased its ability to rapidly replenish and get back in the air its most advanced F-16 fighter jets in a readiness drill on Wednesday, designed to demonstrate combat-oriented training.
Taiwan's air force scrambles on an almost daily basis to monitor and warn off Chinese aircraft which routinely fly around the island. Taipei views the incursions as part of an ongoing harassment campaign to test and tire out the much smaller Taiwanese forces and exert political pressure.
President Lai Ching-te's administration, as part of a defence modernisation programme, has pushed for more combat-realistic training that relies less on set-piece performances and more on simulating actual combat.
ROK/POL – South Korea court sentences ex-first lady to 20 months in prison for corruption.
The wife of South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption Wednesday, as her husband awaits a verdict on high-stakes rebellion charges that could result in the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The presidential couple suffered a spectacular fall from grace after Yoon’s martial law debacle in December 2024 led to his impeachment and eventually his removal from office.
They have been jailed separately for months prior to facing criminal trials, Yoon over his martial law imposition in December 2024 and other allegations and Kim over corruption charges. Investigators say Kim wasn’t involved in Yoon's martial law enforcement.
IRAQ/US/SEC – Al-Maliki is defiant after Trump threatens to withdraw US support for Iraq.
https://apnews.com/article/iraq-prime-minister-maliki-trump-1c558500a121b2ecb3e8ca5ac7a1cece
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed defiance Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw Washington’s support for Iraq if he returns to power.
Al-Maliki, who was nominated last week by the country’s dominant political bloc to return to the premiership, said in a statement: “We reject the blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and consider it a violation of its sovereignty.”
Trump in a social media post Tuesday wrote, “Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos,” adding, “Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq and, if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom.”
Washington has been pushing Iraq to distance itself from Iran and sees al-Maliki as too close to Tehran. His last term, which ended in 2014, also saw the rise of the Islamic State group, which seized large swaths of the country.
SYRIA/RUSSIA/MIL – Putin hosts Syria’s interim leader for talks, with Russian military bases on the agenda.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-syria-putin-alsharaa-assad-24cb3546e93d5ab573792de66e841438
Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited Moscow on Wednesday for the second time in less than four months, and Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized his readiness to help the country rebuild its war-battered economy.
“I know that there is a lot that’s necessary to restore in Syria, and our economic operators, including the construction sector, are ready for this joint work,” Putin said.
The talks also were expected to focus on the future of Russian military bases in Syria, a key foothold for Moscow in the Mediterranean.
Putin said Russia has supported Syria’s government’s effort to restore control over its entire territory, including areas controlled by the Kurds.
“We have closely followed your efforts to restore Syria’s territorial integrity, and I would like to congratulate you on this process gaining speed,” Putin said. “You know that we always stood for the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity, the country’s integrity, and we support all your efforts in this direction.”
Al-Sharaa, who first visited Russia in October, thanked Putin for helping to stabilize Syria.
ISRAEL/PALESTINE/JERUSALEM/SEC – Israel steps up evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem.
In Silwan in East Jerusalem, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Kayed Rajabi and his neighbors have been handed eviction orders in favor of an Israeli settler organization which has already taken over parts of the Palestinian district.
Rajabi's home is surrounded by buildings that have raised large Israeli flags - a sign they are owned by settlers, who he said began buying homes in 2004, and have obtained about 40 buildings in Silwan now, many via forced evictions.
Settler group Ateret Cohanim had offered to buy him and other Palestinians out, he said, but most had refused.
He said he was among 32 families in the neighborhood who have now been ordered to leave, with him and his brothers given until the end of Ramadan - mid-March - to depart under an order from Israel's Supreme Court that he showed Reuters.
"They want to force me out of the house I was born in, where my eyes first opened to life," said Rajabi, explaining that his family had lived there since 1967 and bought the land from a Jordanian officer.
Daniel Luria, the executive director of Ateret Cohanim, called Palestinians in Silwan "illegal squatters", saying the land was owned by Yemeni Jews before 1929 and that moving back was rectifying a historical injustice. Rajabi said that account was untrue.
TURKEY/IRAN/ESPIONAGE – Turkish authorities arrest 6 on suspicion of spying for Iran.
https://apnews.com/article/turkey-iran-spying-suspects-arrested-50bc849de2e62147db739c6d97c77324
Turkish authorities have arrested six people, including an Iranian national, on suspicion of spying for Iran, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Wednesday.
The arrests followed coordinated operations carried out by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization and counterterrorism police across five provinces.
The suspects are believed to have been in contact with members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and are accused of gathering information on military bases and other sensitive sites in Turkey, Anadolu reported. They allegedly conducted surveillance of NATO’s Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.
All six were brought before a judge in Istanbul, who ordered them held in pretrial detention on charges of political and military espionage.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Embassy in Ankara.
US/IRAN/GULF/MIL – Key Gulf allies say they won’t aid US in an Iran strike, limiting Trump’s options.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ruled out the use of its airspace and territory for a potential U.S. attack on Iran, complicating the Trump administration’s options in response to Tehran’s violent crackdown against Iranian protesters.
The Saudi move follows a similar statement Monday by the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry.
The declarations from the two Gulf states represent a foreign policy setback for the Trump administration as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on Tehran, which has defied Washington’s demand that it halt uranium enrichment and end the suppression of protesters.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, outlined his country’s position while talking by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
A Saudi readout of the Tuesday call said the crown prince had stressed that the kingdom “will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for any military actions against Iran.”
Saudi Arabia is worried about being drawn into a conflict with Iran, which attacked the kingdom’s oil facilities in 2019 during President Trump’s first term in office.
EU/FRANCE/GERMANY/LET’S SPEED THINGS UP AROUND HERE – Six EU countries hold call in push for ‘two-speed’ Europe.
Ministers from six leading European economies, including Germany and France, will discuss on Wednesday plans to push ahead with joint projects without the rest of the EU, to facilitate agile decision-making at a time of geopolitical upheaval.
The video conference, which is scheduled for 1400 GMT and will also include finance and economy ministers from Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, follows ridicule from officials in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration over the time it takes the 27-country bloc to make decisions.
The idea of forging ad-hoc coalitions allowing some EU countries to pursue projects without the need for agreement from all of them has long tempted some members and has already been applied to key projects including the euro currency.
But it is gaining new momentum as Europe confronts widening insecurity, sluggish growth and deep political divergences.
"Now is the time for a Europe of two speeds," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Tuesday in Berlin.
UKR/RUS/MIL – Zelensky condemns ‘terrorism’ after Russia hits train.
https://www.dw.com/en/zelenskyy-condemns-terrorism-after-russia-hits-train-in-ukraine/a-75686904
Russia targeted a passenger train in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine killing five people, authorities said.
A Russian drone hit a carriage carrying nearly 200 passengers, Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on social media.
The train strike occurred just hours after drones pounded the southern city of Odesa, killing three people and wounding 25
Russia has intensified attacks on energy infrastructure, leaving Ukrainians without power in freezing temperatures.
In Kyiv, more than 700,000 residents are facing power outages after Moscow's attack on the capital last week, according to Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Comments (2)
Peter, you did not speak of the terrible harm that is being done to Ukraine by both the E.U. and india. When India buys cheap oil from Russia, refines it and then sells the refined petro-chemicals to the E.U., the 2 trading blocks fund the Russian-Ukrainian war. And did I mentions India's environmental practices when refining oil?
Just have a moment after a quick scan. What awful luck for the Brits. China finds itself in the midst of the largest political crisis in at least 15 years, potentially 36. And they are part of a prescheduled major negotiating caravan meeting with officials with absolutely indeterminant authority in position for an unknown length of time. Political crisis involving actual firefights, several gunbartles and assassinations, etc. etc.