China Executes 11 Linked to Myanmar Scam Operations
China executed 11 individuals on Thursday who were connected to criminal gangs operating in Myanmar, according to state media. The executed individuals were key members involved in scam operations that have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands. These scam compounds are part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry. Beijing has increased its cooperation with Southeast Asian nations to crack down on these operations.
In other international news, gunfire and explosions were reported at the main airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, according to Reuters and an independent source. A witness told Reuters that they heard explosions just after midnight. The airport is located next to Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by American and then Russian troops. According to reports, two aircraft on the ground were destroyed, though authorities have yet to comment on the situation. A satellite image taken two weeks prior showed the military zone of Niamey airport.
Meanwhile, Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed on Tuesday that the country had cancelled an oil shipment to Cuba. She insisted that the decision was a sovereign one and not a response to pressure from the United States. Fuel shortages have been causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments.
In the United States, Congressman Joaquin Castro met with five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father at the Dilley detention center in Texas on January 28, 2026. Castro shared a photograph of Liam resting in his father's arms on social media, stating that he told Liam how much his family, his school, and the country loved him and was praying for him. Liam became a symbol of the wide reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis after being detained on his way home from preschool.
In a separate immigration case, five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos, a US citizen, was deported to Honduras on January 11 alongside her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, despite her mother's visa application being pending. Génesis had never known Honduras. According to Génesis's mother, "The day I separate from my daughter will be the most painful of my life." She plans to send Génesis back to the US soon, accompanied by another relative.
Discussion
Join the conversation
Be the first to comment