SCMP World·Saturday, December 20, 2025

SCMP World - Saturday, December 20, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

US seizes another vessel off Venezuelan coast

The United ‌States is interdicting and seizing a vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, three US officials said on ‍Saturday, a move that comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. This would mark the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large US military build-up in the region. The officials, who were speaking on the...

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German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space

A paraplegic engineer from Germany blasted off on a dream-come-true rocket ride with five other passengers on Saturday, leaving her wheelchair behind to float in space while beholding Earth from on high. Severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus became the first wheelchair user in space, launching from West Texas with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin. She was accompanied by a retired SpaceX executive also born in Germany, Hans Koenigsmann, who helped organise

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Starmer pressured to intercept Andrew Tate in Dubai to face trial for UK rape charges

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been urged to bring influencer Andrew Tate back to the United Kingdom to face rape charges, as he is due to appear at a celebrity boxing match in Dubai. The 39-year-old self-described misogynist is due to fight in the Misfits Mania bout against American Chase DeMoor in Dubai on Saturday night. He and his brother Tristan are facing a series of 21 charges in the UK, including rape, assault, human trafficking, and controlling prostitution. Bedfordshire Police has.

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Japan’s economic security push heralds rising protectionism in Asia

An obsession with “security” can create increasing insecurity. This paradox is being amply demonstrated as advanced nations, including the United States and Japan, take or contemplate joint action aimed at bolstering economic security but which could erode global economic growth and prosperity – or even result in physical conflict. How might such threats crystallise? Strengthening security, whether economic or military, suggests increased defence spending to, for example, secure sea lanes and...

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Gaza’s fragile ceasefire brings Christmas joy to Bethlehem

At midnight on Christmas Eve, the words of the traditional hymn “The Night of Christmas” will ring out in the tiny grotto in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. “On the night of Christmas, war is buried, On the night of Christmas, love is born,” a local choir sings each year during the midnight service. As they rehearsed ahead of this year’s service, many choir members said the words echoed with deeper meaning following the...

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Iran executes man as Israeli spy, rights group says confession ‘extracted under torture’

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for the Israeli intelligence and army on Saturday, state media reported. State TV identified the executed man as Aghil Keshavarz, saying he had “close intelligence cooperation” with Mossad and took photos of Iranian military and security areas. Keshavarz was arrested while taking pictures of a military headquarters in the northwestern city of Urmia, some 600km (370 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran in May. He was accused of carrying out more than 200.

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Trump tries to allay voter anxiety by touting economic wins, dodges Epstein files in rally

US President Donald Trump began a rally on Friday night in North Carolina talking about crime and then highlighted his efforts to combat economic uncertainty – while also steering clear of addressing new disclosures involving the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In front of hundreds of people at Rocky Mount Event Centre in eastern North Carolina, Trump cited a high-profile crime that galvanised his base and went through recent consumer price index data, recounting stories of threatening..

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African teen who raised Macron’s ire with AI-generated French ‘coup’ video has no regrets

A Burkinabe teenager who used artificial intelligence to post fake news of a French coup on social media got more than he bargained for. As well as millions of views and tens of thousands of “likes”, he also acquired a certain notoriety – and French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, was not amused. And what he had planned as a moneymaking scheme netted him only €7 (US$8), he said. But he has no regrets. “Coup d’etat in France,” declared the video posted by the 17-year-old, showing what...

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Epstein files release highlights Clinton, makes scant reference to Trump

The US Justice Department released thousands of heavily redacted documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday that made scant reference to President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former president Bill Clinton. The absence of references to Trump was notable given that pictures and documents related to him have trickled out of previous Epstein releases for years. Trump’s name appeared in flight manifests listing passengers on...

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US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed

Donald Trump’s administration launched the military strikes on Friday in Syria to “eliminate” Islamic State (Isis) group fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two US troops and an American civilian interpreter almost a week ago. At least five Isis members, including a cell leader, were killed in the overnight strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A US official described it as “a large-scale” strike that hit 70 targets in areas across.

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