China executed four individuals for their involvement in a Myanmar-based scam and gambling syndicate that caused the deaths of six people and generated over 4 billion in illicit proceeds, authorities announced Monday, February 2, 2026. The individuals were accused of establishing industrial parks in Myanmar's Kokang region, bordering China, that ran gambling and telecom scam operations involving kidnappings, extortion, forced prostitution, and drug manufacturing and trafficking, according to Sky News.
The executions followed the sentencing of five people, including members of the Bai family, to death in November for running the network of scam centers and casinos. Bai Suocheng, the group's leader, died from an illness, Sky News reported.
In other international news, a study by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights concluded that international law intended to limit the effects of war is at a breaking point. The report, covering 23 armed conflicts over the last 18 months, found that more than 100,000 civilians have been killed, while torture and rape are committed with near impunity, according to The Guardian. The study highlights the dire situation facing civilians in conflict zones, such as Sudanese families displaced from El Fasher who are reaching out for food aid, as shown in a photograph published by The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Grammy winners, including Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny, used their acceptance speeches to condemn ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations in the US, Al Jazeera reported. Other artists made symbolic protests by wearing "ICE out" pins on the red carpet.
In Syria, Al Jazeera reported on the hopes and fears of people in areas retaken from SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) forces. Syrian government troops have been waiting to enter Hasakah, one of the main areas still under the control of Kurdish-led SDF forces in the northeast, as an agreement between the two sides takes hold. Teresa Bo of Al Jazeera explored the sentiments of the local population in the region.
Lalo de Almeida, a documentary photographer based in São Paulo, Brazil, is preparing for a major exhibition in London documenting the South American wetland Pantanal as it faces unprecedented threat. In 2021, his photo essay "Pantanal Ablaze" was awarded first place in the environment stories category at the World Press Photo contest. In 2022, he won the Eugene Smith grant in humanistic photography and World Press Photos long-term project award for his work "Amazonian Dystopia," which documents the exploitation of the world's largest tropical forest, according to The Guardian. His work captures the devastation, such as a tree reduced to ashes on scorched pasture at Sao Francisco farm, reflecting the environmental challenges facing the region.
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