SCMP World·Wednesday, December 31, 2025

SCMP World - Wednesday, December 31, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Trump issues first vetoes, as ally who backed Epstein vote fears ‘retaliation’

US President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term, killing two bills sponsored by Republicans in Congress, including one from a prominent lawmaker who bucked the administration over the release of files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump vetoed legislation late on Tuesday to help complete a water pipeline project, a measure backed by congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is close to the White House. Trump, in his veto message, said he rejected the bill to..

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World begins to bid goodbye to 2025 with fireworks and icy plunges

As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the ‍new year to come. In Croatia, revels got off to an early start. Since 2000, the town of Fuzine has held its countdown at noon, a tradition that has since spread across the country. Crowds cheered, toasted each other with champagne and danced ⁠to music – all in the middle of the day. Some brave souls in Santa hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake...

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China buys two-thirds of pledged US soybeans as 2025 closes

China has bought at least 8 million tons (7.25 million tonnes) of US soybeans this year, according to people familiar with the matter, putting the world’s top importer on track to meet a pledge it made two months ago as part of an apparent trade truce with Washington. State-owned buyers have continued to book US cargoes into late December, the people said, asking not to be named as they are not authorised to discuss the purchases. That extends a buying spree that began in October and maintains a

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France plans social media ban for children under 15

France will make a fresh attempt to protect children from excessive screen time, proposing a ban on social media access for children under 15 by next September, according to a draft law seen by Agence France-Presse. The initiative is backed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said earlier this month that parliament should start debating such a proposal in January. Australia this month imposed a social media ban on under-16s, in a world first. “Many studies and reports now confirm the...

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Russia will win in Ukraine, says Putin in New Year address

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his country believed it would win in Ukraine, where Moscow has led an almost four-year offensive. Putin’s traditional New Year’s Eve speech was first aired in the far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the first Russian region to enter 2026. He called on Russians to “support our heroes” fighting in Ukraine, saying: “We believe in you and our victory.” He wished a happy New Year to “fighters and commanders” in Ukraine and said: “Millions of people

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Finland police say ship seized after cable damage between Helsinki and Estonia’s Tallinn

Finnish police said on Wednesday they had seized a vessel suspected of damaging a telecommunications cable that runs between Helsinki and Tallinn in the Gulf of Finland several hours earlier. No details about the identity of the vessel were disclosed. The ship is suspected of being “responsible for the damage to the cable”, which is owned by Finnish telecoms group Elisa and located in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone, police said in a statement. Part of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland is...

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Why Donald Trump will focus on the Fed in 2026

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will undoubtedly play a significant role in how we will remember 2025. While economists predicted a growing possibility of a recession back in April, the US economy displayed unexpected resilience, with third-quarter growth reaching a stunning 4.3 per cent, bolstered by robust consumer spending and strong capital expenditure related to artificial intelligence. The impact of tariffs on inflation persists, although it appears less severe than economists feared..

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UK’s Queen Camilla describes assault by man on train

Queen Camilla has described for the first time fighting off an attack by a man on a train when she was a teenager, speaking in an interview with the BBC in which she recounted how furious the assault had left her. “When I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train … I remember at ⁠the time being so angry,” she said during a discussion broadcast on Wednesday about violence against women. “I was reading my book and you know this boy – man – attacked me, and I did fight back.” She said she did not..

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Mali, Burkina Faso restrict entry for US citizens in tit-for-tat move

Mali and Burkina Faso have announced travel restrictions on American nationals in a tit-for-tat move after the United States included both African countries on a no entry list. US President Donald Trump, who has long campaigned to restrict immigration, expanded a travel ban earlier this month by barring people from seven more countries. The list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa’s poorest countries, including Niger,...

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CIA behind drone strike on ‘big facility’ in Venezuela: sources

The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. The first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September marked a significant escalation in the administration’s months-long pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The strike has not been...

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