SCMP World·Monday, December 15, 2025

SCMP World - Monday, December 15, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Russia has thrust world into new ‘age of uncertainty’, says UK’s new spy chief

Russia has propelled the world into an “age of uncertainty” and the UK is now operating in “a space between peace and war”, Britain’s new MI6 spy chief said on Monday. “Let’s be in no doubt. Our world is more dangerous and contested now than it has been for decades,” Blaise Metreweli, the first woman to lead the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service, warned. “Conflict is evolving and trust eroding, just as new technologies spur both competition and dependence,” she said. In her maiden speech, the new.

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Mexico stands by 50 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, says move will protect 350,000 jobs

Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard on Monday defended Mexico’s decision to impose new tariffs on imports from China and other Asian countries, describing the move as a necessary step to protect hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs rather than a provocation to any trading partner. The tariff package, approved by Congress last week, will take effect on January 1 and introduce duties ranging from five to 50 per cent on 1,463 products from countries without trade agreements with Mexico. These...

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Trump condemned for saying filmmaker Rob Reiner brought on his own murder

US President Donald Trump faced a storm of condemnation on Monday after posting what critics described as “perverse” and “sick” remarks suggesting Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered because of the celebrated filmmaker’s criticism of the president. As tributes for Reiner poured in from celebrities and film world figures, Trump used his Truth Social platform to launch a crude attack on the director of When Harry met Sally and other huge hits. Trump claimed the Reiners had died “reportedly due..

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FBI arrests 4 suspects in New Year’s Eve terror plot targeting California

Federal authorities on Monday announced the arrests of four alleged members of an extremist group who are suspected of planning coordinated bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve across Southern California. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the FBI has foiled a bomb plot targeting multiple targets, including immigration agents and vehicles, in Los Angeles and Orange County. “The Turtle Island Liberation Front – a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government and anti-capitalist group – was preparing to

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UN says aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’

A wave of “drastic, irresponsible” aid cuts this year has inflicted unnecessary pain on refugees, who are being vilified while their suffering is exploited by traffickers and politicians, the United Nations said on Monday. Outgoing UN refugees chief Filippo Grandi said this year had been a perfect storm of successive crises for the world’s forcibly displaced people, who were estimated to number 117.3 million people in mid-2025. He condemned the “unending atrocities” committed in Sudan, Ukraine,.

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Russian court declares punk protest group Pussy Riot ‘extremist’ organisation

Punk group Pussy Riot was declared an “extremist organisation” by a Russian court on Monday. The ruling, by Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court, effectively outlaws the group from operating in Russia and puts anyone linked with the group at risk of criminal prosecution. The feminist protest group first catapulted to notoriety in 2012, when its members performed a provocative “punk prayer” against President Vladimir Putin from the pulpit of Russia’s largest cathedral. Today, members of the group...

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37 die in Morocco in torrential rain and flash floods

Floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 37 people in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. Authorities said heavy rain and flash floods overnight inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away 10 vehicles. The Interior Ministry reported 14 people hospitalised. Climate change has made weather patterns more unpredictable in Morocco. North Africa has been plagued by several years of drought, hardening soils and making mountains, deserts..

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China-led Asia-Pacific region lifts global aviation outlook as profits set to soar

The global air travel market has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, with the industry upbeat about 2026 and the Asia-Pacific region expected to lead worldwide traffic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday. Load factors in Asia-Pacific were projected to hit an all-time regional high of 84.4 per cent next year, according to IATA, which represents some 370 airlines, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the world’s air traffic. Passenger demand was strong,...

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India’s property market enters the big league but challenges remain

Numbers do not always tell the whole story. But they are revealing nonetheless. In 2013, direct investment transaction volumes in India’s commercial property sector stood at around US$1.3 billion. By contrast, in China (excluding Hong Kong), investment activity reached US$27 billion. In South Korea, transactions stood at US$12.2 billion, data from MSCI shows. The woefully low level of investment in India – a leading emerging market that at the time was already the world’s third-largest economy..

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US hunt for Brown University shooter continues as police release person of interest

The man held as a “person of interest” in the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured will be released from custody, authorities said on Sunday night. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said earlier at a midday news conference that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody in connection with Saturday’s gun violence but gave no further details. But at a late-night news conference hours later, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other state and local officials told

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