SCMP World·Wednesday, December 24, 2025

SCMP World - Wednesday, December 24, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Trump says comedian Colbert should be ‘put to sleep’

Just before Christmas, US President Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh blast of vitriol at late-night comedy talk shows, saying comedian Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic train wreck” who should be “put to sleep”. Colbert’s The Late Show is scheduled to end in May 2026, a decision his fans say smacks of censorship. In a late-night social media post, Trump said that Colbert “has actually gotten worse” since being “terminated by CBS, but left out to dry”. “Stephen is running on hatred and fumes – A..

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Bethlehem celebrates first festive Christmas since Gaza war

Thousands of people flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve as families heralded a much-needed boost of holiday spirit. The giant Christmas tree that was absent during the Israel-Gaza war returned on Wednesday. The city where Christians believe Jesus was born had cancelled Christmas celebrations for the past two years. Manger Square instead had featured a nativity scene of baby Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire in homage to the situation in Gaza. Cardinal Pierbattista...

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Brazil weighs visa-free travel for Chinese nationals to capture booming outbound market

Brazil is preparing to waive visa requirements for Chinese citizens travelling for tourism and business, local media reported on Wednesday citing government sources, in a move that would mark a significant shift in policy and deepen ties with its largest trading partner. The planned measure, expected to be announced in early 2026, would put Brazil on a reciprocal footing after China unilaterally granted visa-free entry to Brazilians for short stays. According to local newspaper Valor Economico,.

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Trump vs EU: the European laws curbing big tech and irking US president

The European Union is back in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over its tech rules, which Washington denounced as an attempt to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose. The US State Department said on Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, saying they “have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states – in each case targeting American speakers and American companies”. Trump has vowed to punish countries that..

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Algeria brands French colonisation a crime, demands reparations, apology in landmark move

Algeria’s parliament unanimously approved on Wednesday a law declaring France’s colonisation of the country a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations. Standing in the chamber, lawmakers wearing scarves in the colours of the national flag chanted “long live Algeria” as they applauded the passage of the bill, which said France held “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused”. The vote comes as the two countries are embroiled in a major diplomatic...

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Trump’s US$100,000 H-1B visa fee upheld by judge, as lottery system ends

A US federal judge on Tuesday upheld President Donald Trump’s US$100,000 fee to process H-1B visa applications, while also acknowledging it could “inflict significant harm on American businesses and institutions of higher education”. In a 56-page opinion, US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote that the president has “broad statutory authority” to address “a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security”. The US$100,000 application fee announced in September gave companies..

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US to grant South Korea exception on nuclear submarine fuel supply

South Korea and the US have agreed to pursue a separate agreement to formalise Seoul’s right to build nuclear-powered submarines, and working-level talks will begin early next year, the Asian country’s national security adviser said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after visiting Washington, Wi Sung-lac said he discussed the issue and other security arrangements with senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. His trip was aimed at...

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Zelensky reveals US-backed 20-point peace plan and Ukraine land compromise deal for Putin

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest version of a plan to end the Russian invasion would freeze the front line, but still pave the way for Ukrainian withdrawals and the creation of demilitarised zones. “We now have draft documents that largely reflect the joint Ukrainian-American position, in some respects the American position,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. “Some issues are still to be resolved.” Still, Zelensky offered an upbeat assessment, saying the...

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Burglary of JD.com warehouse in France prompts investigation, speculation

Following the burglary of a warehouse belonging to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com on Monday, a judicial source has confirmed an investigation has begun on charges of theft by an organised gang. The incident came in the middle of the Christmas shopping season and took place in the town of Dugny, a northern suburb of Paris that serves as a midpoint between the French capital and its main freight hub, Charles de Gaulle Airport. Suspects neutralised the warehouse’s video surveillance system, with..

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Moscow blast kills 2 police near site of Russian general’s car bombing

Three people were killed by a bomb on Wednesday in Moscow after two police officers approached a ⁠man acting suspiciously near the site where a senior general was killed two days ago by a car bomb that Russia said was planted by Ukrainian intelligence. A string of Russian military figures and high-profile supporters of the war in ‍Ukraine have been assassinated during the nearly four-year-old conflict. Ukrainian military intelligence has said ‍it was responsible for a number of the...

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