SCMP World·Thursday, January 1, 2026

SCMP World - Thursday, January 1, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Saudi Arabia sets executions record in 2025, putting 356 people to death

Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, according to an Agence France-Presse tally, setting a record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year. Analysts have largely attributed the surge in executions to Riyadh’s ongoing “war on drugs” launched in recent years – with many of those first arrested only now being executed, following legal proceedings and convictions. Official data released by the government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in..

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41 young men die in South Africa from circumcision procedures over two months

At least 41 young men died as a result of circumcision procedures as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa in November and December, authorities said on Tuesday. Traditional initiation is a rite of passage into manhood for young men that is practised annually by various ethnic groups in Africa, including parts of South Africa. Among them are the Xhosa, Ndebele, Sotho and Venda communities. Traditionally, young men are isolated at initiation schools where they are taught...

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Ukraine says it faked death of anti-Kremlin Russian fighter Kapustin

Ukraine staged the death of an anti-Kremlin Russian fighter to prevent his killing ordered by Moscow’s special forces, Ukrainian military intelligence announced on Thursday. Denis Kapustin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps that had carried out cross-border raids into Russia during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, was killed on the front line, his group declared on Saturday. But on Thursday Kapustin – also known as Denis Nikitin – appeared via video link at a briefing with the head of Ukrainian

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Trump blames bruised hand on aspirin, denies falling asleep in meetings

US President Donald Trump blamed aspirin for large bruises on his hand and denied falling asleep while attending public meetings in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Thursday. In the interview defending his health, Trump also changed his previous statement about receiving an MRI scan in October, saying it was instead a quicker CAT scan. Trump, who at 79 is the oldest person to assume the US presidency, told the Journal “my health is perfect” and expressed frustration with...

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6 killed in Iran as cost-of-living protests turn violent

Protesters and security forces clashed in three Iranian cities on Thursday, with six people reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out. The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country. On Thursday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported two people killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province.

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Beijing’s Venezuela plans, Mexico-China tariffs: 7 Latin America relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Mexico stands by its decision for 50% tariffs on Chinese goods Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in December 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...

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China’s Ukraine war role, EU vs Shein and Temu, Trump-Modi call: 7 global relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening European officials were parsing evidence of an increase in battlefield weapons being shipped from China to Russia as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prepared to drag into its fifth year, adding to the well-documented flow of goods with

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Bolsonaro denied house arrest by Brazil’s Supreme Court despite health plea

Brazil’s Supreme Court has rejected former president Jair Bolsonaro’s request to convert his prison sentence for plotting a coup to house arrest, according to a ruling published on Thursday. Bolsonaro’s lawyers submitted the request on Wednesday, citing a “real risk of a sudden worsening” in health for the far-right ex-leader as the reason to serve his 27-year sentence at home. Bolsonaro, 70, has been hospitalised for more than a week after undergoing surgery for a groin hernia and then a...

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Iran executions hit 35-year high with 1,500 killed in 2025, rights group says

Iran executed at least 1,500 people last year, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said on Thursday, in what it called an “unprecedented” hike in the use of capital punishment. “It is very alarming,” the group’s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said of the provisional toll. “It is unprecedented in the last 35 years. As long as Iran Human Rights has existed, we have never had such numbers.” In 2024, Iran executed at least 975 people, according to IHR and the French group Together Against..

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Russia claims 24 killed in Ukrainian drone strike on occupied Kherson despite peace progress

Russian officials on Thursday said a Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks. Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region’s Moscow-installed leader, Vladimir Saldo, said in a statement on Telegram. He said that one of...

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