SCMP World·Wednesday, January 7, 2026

SCMP World - Wednesday, January 7, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

ICE agent shoots US woman dead during Minneapolis immigration crackdown

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city – a shooting that federal officials claimed was an act of self-defence but that the city’s mayor described as “reckless” and unnecessary. The shooting happened in a residential neighbourhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from some of the oldest immigrant markets in the area and 1.6km (a mile).

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US won’t rule out pressuring Venezuela to curb China, Russia ties

The White House on Wednesday stopped short of denying reports that the United States has urged Venezuela to cut ties with adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran, but emphasised Washington’s determination to maintain “American dominance” in the western hemisphere and all decisions made by Caracas will be “dictated” by the US. During a media briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited frequent leaks coming out of classified briefings and stated she would “not confirm or deny or get into”.

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Canada’s Carney to meet Xi in China, as Trump tariffs hurt US ties

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US. Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security, his office said Wednesday. It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, after a diplomatic row was...

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AI deepfakes flood social media after dramatic US raid on Maduro

From AI deepfakes to recycled, outdated images, a surge of visual misinformation has inundated social media platforms after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid on his Caracas home. Collectively racking up millions of views, the fake or misleading posts underscore a new digital reality in which hyperrealistic misinformation competes for attention with – and often drowns out – authentic images and videos following major news events. Soon after Maduro’s capture,...

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Trump says Greenland is ‘surrounded’ by Chinese ships. What’s the real story?

Just 24 hours after abducting the former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife from Caracas, US President Donald Trump had already named his next potential target for military action: Greenland. Trump has been discussing “a range of options” – including the use of armed force – to acquire the self-governed Danish territory, the White House said on Tuesday. What would a US takeover of Greenland mean for China, if it were to really happen? The Post breaks down trade relations between the..

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US seizes oil tankers as it moves to take control of Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely

The US captured two oil tankers on the high seas as a senior US official said on Wednesday that Washington expects to take control of future Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely and use the proceeds to help America and rebuild the nation’s beleaguered economy. The seizure of the vessels, including one after a two-week chase, comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration takes an increasingly aggressive approach to foreign energy and security policy. Since Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia...

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Warner Bros rejects Paramount’s new US$108 billion bid, prefers Netflix deal

Warner Bros Discovery’s board has unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY) latest attempt to acquire the studio, saying its revised US$108.4 billion ‌hostile bid amounted to a risky leveraged buyout that investors should reject. In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Warner Bros’ board said Paramount’s offer hinges on “an extraordinary amount ‍of debt financing” that heightens the risk of closing. It reaffirmed its commitment to streaming giant Netflix’s US$82.7 billion deal for...

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Why Shein doesn’t have to be the model for the fashion industry

In 2025, familiar fashion brands around the world shut stores, restructured operations or disappeared. Meanwhile, Shein, the fast-fashion platform long criticised for its environmental and labour footprint, remained highly profitable. Last year, Shein told investors it was expecting a US$2 billion profit in 2025. At first glance, the conclusion appears straightforward: speed and scale are winning, while slower traditional fashion models are losing. However, this reading is dangerously...

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Snow, ice paralyse Europe as brutal cold snap disrupts flights, rail services

Snow, ice and high winds brought transport chaos to swathes of Europe for a third day on Wednesday, with hundreds of flights cancelled and passengers stranded. Airports in Paris and Amsterdam were the worst affected, with the Dutch authorities saying more than 1,000 travellers had been forced to spend the night at Schiphol, one of Europe’s busiest hubs. Six people have died in weather-related accidents as the continent reels from the most bitter cold snap of the winter so far. Five of those...

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UN accuses Israel of West Bank ‘apartheid’, citing discrimination against Palestinians

The United Nations on Wednesday said decades of discrimination and segregation of Palestinians by Israel in the West Bank were intensifying, and called on the country to end its “apartheid system”. In a new report, the UN rights office said the “systematic discrimination” against Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territories had “drastically deteriorated” in recent years. “There is a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank,” UN rights chief Volker Turk..

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