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Photo credit: AP The United States carried out pre-dawn airstrikes across Venezuela on Saturday, with at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft reported over the capital, Caracas. The attacks, which killed at least 40 people, prompted the Venezuelan government to declare a national emergency and deploy its armed forces, calling for mass mobilisation. Hours later, US President Donald Trump announced that American forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, flown them out of the country, and placed them in US custody.Trump later posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing a blindfolded Maduro aboard a US warship, captioned: “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.” 'Will Sell To China, Russia': Trump Lays Out Plans For Venezuelan Oil After Maduro Capture The US justice department said Maduro and Flores will face trial in New York after a fresh indictment issued on Saturday accused them of involvement in narco-terrorism,..

AdvertisementAmericas and the CaribbeanWorldAmericasCaribbean holidaymakers stranded after US operation to seize Maduro halts flightsEven though the airspace restrictions will end at midnight on Sunday, airlines have warned that disruptions could continue for days
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAssociated PressPublished: 1:16pm, 4 Jan 2026The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country early on Saturday also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region.No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela that day, according to FlightRadar24.com. Major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions.
Flights were cancelled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and more than a dozen other destinations in the Lesser Antilles island group no..

AdvertisementMyanmarThis Week in AsiaOpinionXu PengAsian Angle | How uneven borders fuel Myanmar’s vast and resilient scam economyFieldwork along the borders of China and Thailand reveals how uneven controls allow fraud networks to thrive despite crackdowns
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPXu PengPublished: 1:00pm, 4 Jan 2026Southeast Asia has become “ground zero” for the global online scamming industry, according to the UN, costing victims billions of US dollars each year. Scam operations are run by Chinese crime syndicates from fortified compounds in countries like Myanmar, which has been embroiled in a nationwide armed conflict since 2021.The size of the scam industry has led to sustained security crackdowns in recent years. This has included a number of joint operations involving police forces from multiple countries. However, despite releasing tens of thousands of trafficked workers from these compounds, the raids have done little to wipe out scam operations.
In October..

NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani interacted with commuters during his subway ride (AP image) Less than 24 hours after taking the oath, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani began his first full day in office with a routine familiar to millions of New Yorkers, a morning subway commute from his Queens apartment.Battling against the cold, the 34-year-old Democrat left the one-bedroom apartment in Queens on Friday. Unlike most commuters, Mamdani’s journey was documented by a photo and video crew with neighbors stopping to wish him luck as he headed to work.The subway ride came ahead of a busy first day that included signing orders, announcing appointments and facing questions from the press. Still, the mayor chose to begin with what aides described as a deliberately symbolic commute.Flanked by security guards and a small group of aides, Mamdani boarded a Manhattan-bound train, pausing to take selfies with surprised riders before settling into a corner seat to review briefing materials. The video of h..

Donald Trump (AP image) Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, has formally written to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemning the “reckless and inflammatory threats” made by US President Donald Trump. Tehran also warned that the United States would bear full responsibility for any consequences or escalation that might arise from such statements.In the letter dated January 2, Iran accused the US president of openly threatening the use of force against a sovereign UN member state, asserting that such remarks amounted to a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter.Drawing attention to Trump’s recent comments, the Iranian envoy said the US president had gone beyond rhetoric by publicly declaring: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Iravani said the statement amounted to “the incitement of violence, unrest, and terrorist acts within Iran” and constituted “a clear, explicit, and unl..

AdvertisementSingaporeAsiaSoutheast AsiaWorkers’ Party in Singapore rules on Pritam Singh, disciplinary panel to be formedThe move follows the opposition leader’s recent court conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPCNAPublished: 1:09pm, 3 Jan 2026Updated: 1:10pm, 3 Jan 2026The top decision-making body of the Workers’ Party (WP) in Singapore has directed that a disciplinary panel be formed to determine if party chief Pritam Singh has contravened the WP’s constitution, following his recent court conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.In a media statement on Saturday, the WP said its central executive committee (CEC) met on Friday to discuss matters arising from Singh’s conviction after the High Court dismissed his appeal against it on December 4.
Party cadres had also requested that a special conference be held on the matter.
Advertisement“The CEC has concluded that it is appropriate to call the Special CMC [Cadre Members’..

AdvertisementUnited StatesUSPoliticsUS court rules California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutionalThe ruling affects California’s counties with more than 200,000 people, where about 95 per cent of the state’s population lives
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPReutersPublished: 12:44pm, 3 Jan 2026A US appeals court ruled on Friday that California’s ‍ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional.A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ruling that the state’s prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people ⁠violated the US Constitution’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
About 95 per cent of the population in California, which has had some of the nation’s strictest gun-control laws, lives in counties of that size.
AdvertisementUS Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, said the Democratic-led st..

Putin, Trump (File photos) Days after Russia claimed that Ukraine tried to target President Vladimir Putin’s official residence in a drone attack, Russian authorities on Thursday said they had shared what they described as evidence linked to the incident with the United States.The Russian defence ministry released a video on Telegram showing a meeting between Igor Kostyukov, chief of Russia’s main intelligence directorate, and a representative from the US military attache’s office in Moscow. Russian officials said the meeting was held to present materials connected to the alleged drone strike. ‘Kyiv Forced Injured To…’: Russia Levels Shocking Charge After Deadly Kherson Attack “I am Igor Kostyukov, chief of the main intelligence directorate of the general staff of the armed forces of Russia. I have invited you for an important matter. I would like to inform you that we have found the debris of unmanned aerial vehicles involved in this attack,” Kostyukov said at the start of the meeting..

In a poignant recount of her father's immigrant story from the 1960s, broadcaster Narinder Kaur illuminated the struggles he faced while working tirelessly in a steel foundry. She passionately spoke of his unwavering dedication amidst adversity, battling both racism and physical hardships to forge a better future for his family. British broadcaster and television personality Narinder Kaur has called for immigrants to be given fair chances as the UK enters 2026, sharing a personal story about her father’s life and hard work.In a post on X, Kaur wrote that she normally would not share a photo and the early life of her father as a poor immigrant, but this time made an exception only to speak out against growing anti-immigrant rhetoric. “My dad came from India in the early 60s and went straight into hard labour. No help. Not a penny given. Double shifts at the steel foundry for YEARS. The kind of work that ruins your body and shortens your life. Heat, noise, pain, exhaustion—day after..

AdvertisementHong KongChina Future TechSemiconductorsBaidu chip unit Kunlunxin files for Hong Kong IPO amid China’s push for tech self-relianceLast year, 20 Chinese semiconductor IPOs raised over 45 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion), with six of them listing in December
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPThemis QiPublished: 12:50pm, 2 Jan 2026Baidu’s artificial intelligence chip subsidiary Kunlunxin (Beijing) Technology has confidentially applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, as the search and AI giant becomes the latest to join an investment frenzy amid China’s drive for tech self-reliance.
The Kunlunxin prospectus was submitted on Thursday but details such as the size and structure of the IPO had not yet been finalised, Baidu said in a statement on Friday.
Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 7.5 per cent to HK$141.30 as of the noon trading break.Advertisement“The US tech blockade has made it even more urgent for China to move quickly up the value chain, bui..