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The 20-ounce glass Bearista cup, priced at US$29.95, sold out within minutes, leaving fans camping outside Starbucks stores overnight without success/ Image: X Just as the world was recovering from the Labubu frenzy, another collectible craze has stirred the internet into a froth, this time, in the form of a teddy bear-shaped glass cup from Starbucks. The new “Bearista” cold cup, part of the coffee chain’s 2025 holiday collection, has proven so wildly popular that fans have camped out overnight, brawled in stores, and flooded social media with complaints, forcing Starbucks to issue an official apology.A cuddly cup that brewed chaosReleased on 6 November 2025 alongside Starbucks’ festive drinks menu, the Glass Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup is a 20-ounce glass vessel moulded in the shape of a teddy bear. It features a green knitted Starbucks beanie, a reusable straw, and a price tag of US$29.95. The design, both nostalgic and charming, immediately caught the attention of collectors and Sta..

AdvertisementDonald TrumpWorldUnited States & CanadaTrump says US to boycott G20 in South Africa, citing treatment of white farmersThe US president says no American officials will attend this year’s Group of 20 summit, repeating claims of abuse of Afrikaners
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPAssociated PressPublished: 6:48am, 8 Nov 2025US President Donald Trump said Friday that no American government officials would be attending the Group of 20 summit this year in South Africa, citing the country’s treatment of white farmers.
AdvertisementTrump had already announced he would not attend the annual summit for heads of state from the globe’s leading and emerging economies.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance had been scheduled to attend in Trump’s place, but a person familiar with Vance’s plans who was granted anonymity to talk about his schedule said Vance would no longer travel there for the summit.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump said on his ..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsWorldUnited States & CanadaTrump pardons ex-NYPD officer convicted of helping Beijing stalk Chinese expatMichael McMahon was one of three men convicted at the first trial stemming from US claims about China’s ‘Operation Fox Hunt’ initiative
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPAssociated PressPublished: 6:36am, 8 Nov 2025US President Donald Trump granted a pardon on Friday to a former New York police sergeant who was convicted of helping China try to scare an ex-official into going back to his homeland, a prominent case in US authorities’ efforts to combat what they claim are Beijing’s far-flung efforts to repress critics.
AdvertisementMichael McMahon was sentenced this spring to 18 months in prison for his involvement in what a federal judge called “a campaign of transnational repression”.
He insisted he was innocent, saying he was “unwittingly used” when he took what he thought was a straightforward private investigator gig. McMahon said he was to..

Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management recently placed $1.1 billion in bets against Nvidia and Palantir, managing roughly $1.38 billion total Michael Burry, the real-life investor immortalised by Christian Bale in The Big Short (2015), built his reputation on one of the most daring financial calls in modern history. Long before the 2008 financial crisis hit, Burry identified the fragility of the US mortgage-backed securities market and positioned his hedge fund, Scion Capital, to profit from its collapse. When the crash came, he and his investors made hundreds of millions of dollars. Originally trained as a medical doctor, Burry’s passion for markets began while studying at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His transition from medicine to money management was grounded in deep, data-driven value investing and rigorous fundamental analysis. By the time he launched Scion Capital in 2000, his contrarian instincts had already set him apart. Even during the dot-com crash, his fund po..

Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep announced $61M fund for their San Francisco startup but the comment section was filled with trolling. IIT Kharagpur graduates and Forbes 30 Under 30 alums Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep were subjected to vicious trolling as they released their video announcing that their San Francisco-based startup Giga has raised $61 million. They were trolled for their appearance, their accent and also their project as it has a call center connection. But there were enough voices to school the trolls that there are many “attractive” people on this planet but not everyone has a purpose. Giga, the Indian duo's voice AI startup, is already working with food delivery company DoorDash. With the fresh funding, the company is looking to scale up usage within Fortune 100 enterprises and grow its team. Giga creates AI systems capable of handling live interactions for large businesses. In the video that they released, the CEO described how their AI functions within two wee..

AdvertisementAfricaWorldAfricaSudan’s paramilitaries agree to US proposal for humanitarian ceasefireThe conflict has sparked international concern after witnesses say the RSF killed and abducted civilians in the recent capture of El-Fasher
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPReutersPublished: 7:41am, 7 Nov 2025Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed to a proposal from the United States and Arab powers for a humanitarian ceasefire and is open to talks on a cessation of hostilities, it said on Thursday in a statement.
AdvertisementBoth the RSF and the Sudanese army have agreed to various ceasefire proposals during their two-and-a-half-year-old war, though none have succeeded. US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it was working towards ending fighting in Sudan.
The announcement, which the Sudanese army did not immediately respond to, comes less than two weeks after the RSF took over the famine-stricken city of El-Fasher, consolidating its control over the v..

AdvertisementChina’s private sectorBusinessChina BusinessFosun brings UK particle therapy to mainland China in push for advanced cancer careThe US Food and Drug Administration-approved Marie system promises human-centred care, advanced technology and lower costs
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPDaniel Renin ShanghaiPublished: 7:30am, 7 Nov 2025Fosun Pharmaceutical, a leading healthcare group, has taken a substantial step towards introducing particle therapy systems to hospitals in mainland China, aligning with Beijing’s efforts to make advanced medical treatment accessible to cancer patients across the country.AdvertisementThe Shanghai-based company, a subsidiary of China’s non-state-owned conglomerate Fosun International, formed a partnership with Leo Cancer Care on Thursday, pledging to distribute the UK firm’s Marie medical facilities in the world’s largest consumer market. The deal came three months after the UK company secured regulatory clearance for the Marie system f..

As Zohran Mamdani delivered an emphatic speech on Tuesday night to mark his victory in the race to become mayor of New York City, he delivered a special shoutout. “And to my incredible wife, Rama, hayati,” he said, using the Arabic word for “my life.” “There is no one I would rather have by my side in this moment, and in every moment.”The crowd whooped and hollered loudly at Mamdani's mention of his wife, Rama Duwaji, a sign of her important role in her husband's campaign and the growing interest in her. As Mamdani finished speaking, she joined him onstage to another round of applause.In the lead-up to Election Day, Duwaji, an animator and illustrator, continued to avoid the traditional political spotlight. She has not engaged in election and politics talk, save for a selfie on her Instagram story on Tuesday in which she posed with an “I voted” sticker.Like her husband, Duwaji, 28, has had a busy past few months – except that hers have not involved anything officially resembl..

Influencer Emily Austin's 'Hot Girls for Cuomo' campaign backfired when a forgotten domain redirected to Cuomo’s sexual harassment report/ Image: FIle As Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory as New York City’s first Muslim mayor came to fruition, making him the 111th mayor after defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, an unexpected subplot played out in the final stretch of the campaign: The emergence of “Hot Girls for Zohran,” a movement driven by young women seeking change, was met by a rival “Hot Girls for Cuomo” campaign, launched by conservative influencer Emily Austin. What followed was an ironic spectacle, a classic case of a copycat campaign gone wrongThe birth of “Hot Girls for Zohran” Zohran Mamdani’s rise in the mayoral race wasn’t just a victory of ideas, but of a movement. Unlike other campaigns that rely heavily on top-down strategy, Mamdani’s appeal lay in his ability to tap into an undercurrent of frustration felt by many young Ne..

AdvertisementAviation accidentsWorldUnited States & CanadaEngine fell off US cargo plane before crash that killed 11 peopleThe UPS aircraft went up in flames as it ploughed into businesses near a Kentucky airport, hitting multiple people on the ground
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 7:38am, 6 Nov 2025The death toll from a cargo plane crash in the southern US state of Kentucky rose to 11 on Wednesday, with investigators saying the accident was caused by one of the engines catching fire and detaching during take-off.
AdvertisementThe McDonnell Douglas MD-11, operated by package delivery giant UPS and bound for Hawaii, crashed at 5.15pm on Tuesday, shortly after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
It exploded into flames as it ploughed into businesses near the airport, killing multiple people on the ground. A three-person crew was aboard.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called the tragedy “heartbreaking” and “unimaginable..