SCMP World·Tuesday, January 6, 2026

SCMP World - Tuesday, January 6, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Europe and US agree to ‘robust’ security guarantees for Ukraine

European and US allies of Ukraine on Tuesday agreed on “robust” security guarantees for Kyiv to come into force after an eventual ceasefire in Russia’s war against the pro-Western country that would see the United States lead a truce monitoring mechanism, French President Emmanuel Macron said. Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration of intent that foresees Britain, France and other European allies deploying troops on Ukrainian...

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European powers rally behind Greenland in face of renewed Trump threat

Leaders from major European powers rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people, following a renewed threat by US President Donald Trump ‍to take over the Danish territory. Trump has in recent days repeated that he wants to gain control of Greenland, an idea first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency, arguing it is vital for the US military, and that Denmark has not done enough to protect it. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Monday.

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Venezuela’s Maduro copied my dance – but Melania hates it, Trump says

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Nicolas Maduro of imitating his dancing, among other crimes, as he celebrated the capture of the Venezuelan leader in a freewheeling speech to Republican lawmakers. Trump’s comments come after a New York Times report that Maduro’s regular public dancing in defiance of US threats convinced White House officials that it was time to act. “He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit,” Trump told lawmakers at the Kennedy Centre in...

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Trump warns he’ll be impeached if Republicans don’t win US midterms

US President Donald Trump implored Republicans to turn around their political fortunes ahead of November’s midterm elections, warning that if Democrats retake control of Congress he would be impeached for a third time. “You got to win the midterms,” Trump said Tuesday at a retreat for the party’s House caucus in Washington. “They’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.” Trump offered a familiar blueprint for majority parties, which historically have lost seats in off-year elections:.

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro has brain injury after falling and hitting head in prison

Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro fell and hit his head during a “crisis” while sleeping inside his prison cell early on Tuesday, his wife said in a social media post. “My husband is not well,” Michelle Bolsonaro said, adding that the imprisoned former leader received medical attention only when he was called for her visit. Bolsonaro’s doctor said he suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and will undergo further tests, O Globo newspaper reported. Bolsonaro has been behind bars at Federal..

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Judge allows lawsuit against RFK Jnr’s Covid-19 vaccine policies to proceed

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that several major medical organisations can move forward with their lawsuit challenging policies adopted under US Health Secretary Robert ‌F. Kennedy Jnr that they say will lower vaccination rates. US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston rejected ‍arguments by lawyers for US President Donald Trump’s administration that the groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, lack legal standing to pursue the case because they could not show they were harmed by

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Chinese firm owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Eight years after leaving Venezuela, David Hou, a native of southern China’s Guangdong province, returned last year, pleased to find what he described as an improved economic environment. That optimism is now shrouded in uncertainty after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of narcoterrorism and possessing “destructive devices” – charges he has firmly rejected. While the full impact has yet to be felt, the situation is “making people anxious and very...

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The US now owns more than just Venezuela’s oil

On a quiet Saturday morning, American special forces seized Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and flew him to the United States. Within hours, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would “run” Venezuela – at least temporarily. What sounds like a 1990s action film plot marked the final burial of the notion that Trump is a president of peace, an illusion sustained largely by his own rhetoric. More importantly, it marked the day the world’s former arbiter of international law and norms showed

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Swiss bar in deadly blaze missed five years of safety checks

Swiss local authorities admitted on Tuesday that fire safety inspections had not been carried out for the past five years at a bar where 40 people died and dozens were injured in a New Year’s blaze. “We are profoundly sorry. We did not have an indication that the checks had not been done,” Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud told reporters. “Although more than 1,400 fire inspections were carried out in the municipality in 2025 alone, the municipal council deeply regrets discovering that this...

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Iran protests death toll hits 35 and 1,200 detained, activists say

Protesters angry over Iran’s ailing economy conducted a sit-in on Tuesday at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down. The protest at the Grand Bazaar, the beating heart for centuries of both Iran’s economic and political life, represents the latest signal that the demonstrations likely are to continue as the country’s rial currency fell to a record low on Tuesday. The death toll in...

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