SCMP World·Monday, December 29, 2025

SCMP World - Monday, December 29, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Trump says Netanyahu pardon ‘on its way’; Israeli President Herzog’s office disputes claim

US President Donald Trump ‌said on Monday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had told him a ‍pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “on its way”, an assertion Herzog’s office was quick to challenge. “He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?” Trump told ⁠reporters while standing beside Netanyahu before a meeting in Florida. “I spoke to the president … he tells me it’s on its way.” Asked about the US president’s remarks, Herzog’s office said the Israeli.

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Trump hints at land strike against drug cartels as Venezuela pressure mounts

A throwaway remark last week by US President Donald Trump has raised questions about whether US forces may have carried out their first land strike against drug cartels in Venezuela. Trump said the US knocked out a “big facility” for producing trafficking boats, as he was discussing his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an interview broadcast on Friday. “They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from,” Trump said in an.

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UN chief Antonio Guterres calls on world leaders to ‘get serious’ in grim New Year message

The United Nations urged global leaders on Monday to focus on people and the planet in a New Year’s message depicting the world in chaos. “As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads. Chaos and uncertainty surround us. Division. Violence. Climate breakdown. And systemic violations of international law,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a video message. In 2026, as war rages in Ukraine and elsewhere, world leaders must work to ease human suffering and fight climate...

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Iran Central Bank governor resigns as protests erupt over currency drop

The head of Iran’s Central Bank resigned on Monday as the biggest protests since 2022 erupted in Tehran and other cities after the country’s currency plummeted to a new record low against the US dollar. The resignation of Mohammad Reza Farzin was reported by state television, as traders and shopkeepers rallied in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran as well as in the Shush neighbourhood near Tehran’s main Grand Bazaar. Merchants at the market played a crucial role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that.

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Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Putin’s residence; Kyiv says Moscow is lying

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that ⁠Ukraine had tried to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region and so Moscow’s negotiating position would be reviewed. Ukraine said Russia’s claim was a lie and that Russia was preparing to strike government building in Kyiv. Russia said Ukraine attacked the presidential residence in the Novgorod region overnight with 91 long-range ‍drones, which were all destroyed by Russian air defences. No one was injured and

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Putin signs law allowing Russia to ignore foreign court rulings on Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed into law changes that give Russia the right ‌to ignore judgments in criminal cases issued by foreign and international ‍courts amid Ukrainian and European attempts to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. The move, which comes as US President Donald Trump is trying to broker a peace ⁠deal in Ukraine, appears to be a response to several initiatives to go after Russian officials and military officers for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, something Moscow.

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Ukraine’s Zelensky asked Trump for ‘historic’ 50-year guarantee against Russia at Mar-a-Lago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he asked Donald Trump for US security guarantees lasting as long as half a century to help deter against any future Russian invasion. Current proposals under discussion as part of a peace plan set out a 15-year term with the possibility for an extension, though “I would like the guarantee to be much longer,” Zelensky said on Monday in an audio message to reporters. “We would like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years and then it will be a...

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Europe risks a self-fulfilling prophecy of war with Russia

War drums not heard in half a century are beating across Europe. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that Europe “must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great grandparents endured”. British and French defence chiefs have urged their respective nations to be ready to lose children in the fight against Russia. Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6 warns of a “grey zone” between war and peace, citing threats from Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses...

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US pledges US$2 billion for UN humanitarian aid as Trump slashes funding

The United States on Monday announced a US$2 billion pledge for UN humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration continued to slash US foreign assistance and warn United Nations agencies to “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities. The money is a small fraction of what the US has contributed in the past but reflected what the administration believes is a generous amount that would maintain the United States’ status as the world’s largest humanitarian donor. The..

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How AI helped Asia’s real estate sector pass the tariff stress test

When US President Donald Trump stood outside the White House on April 2 and unveiled his punitive “Liberation Day” tariffs on most US trading partners, Asia was singled out for particularly harsh punishment. With the region accounting for seven of the 10 economies with the largest trade surpluses with the US, Asia was bound to be hit hard. However, as 2025 draws to a close, Asia’s economies have shown remarkable resilience. While several factors are at play, the most important one is the boom in

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