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AP file photo US President Donald Trump on Friday stole the spotlight at the FIFA 2026 World Cup draw when he rose from his seat at the Kennedy Center and performed his signature “YMCA” dance. The moment came as organizers brought the Village People on stage to perform the hit number, a staple at Trump campaign rallies alongside “Nessun dorma.”Trump attended the event alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The ceremony was co-hosted by actor-comedian Kevin Hart and supermodel Heidi Klum, and featured appearances by sports icons including Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Wayne Gretzky, Eli Manning and Aaron Judge.FIFA Raises Trump Speculations After Announcing ‘YMCA’ Performance For 2026 World Cup DrawThe US president also received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize from the sport’s global governing body.”Mr President, this is your prize. This is your peace prize,” said Gianni Infantino, the president of the international football association as p..

AdvertisementTaiwanChinaPoliticsUpdated Taiwan safety guide sparks fierce debate amid Beijing’s mounting military pressure‘Little orange book’ sent to nearly 10 million households advises on survival response, but many question its cost and value
Reading Time:5 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPLawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 10:00am, 6 Dec 2025Taiwan’s updated crisis and war survival guide has ignited fierce political debate, hailed by officials as a lifeline amid Beijing’s mounting military pressure but blasted by critics as costly propaganda prompting fear rather than readiness.Mass distribution of In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide – quickly dubbed the “little orange book” – began late last month, targeting 9.83 million households.
The 29-page comic-style publication explains how to stockpile food and water, locate shelters and identify signs of escalating threats to the public, ranging from cyberattacks to a full-scale military assault.
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AdvertisementChina’s Communist PartyChinaPoliticsChina’s official media calls for end to name-and-shame campaign against grass-roots cadresSeries of commentaries says insulting officials will backfire and more effort must be made to tackle reasons for perceived poor performance
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPWilliam ZhengPublished: 10:00am, 6 Dec 2025China’s official media has called on disciplinary watchdogs to stop giving low-level officials insulting nicknames that imply they are not doing their jobs properly.The provincial publicity department of the eastern province of Zhejiang became the latest to weigh in on this issue. In a commentary posted on its official social media on Tuesday, it warned that this approach was likely to backfire.
It criticised the use of labels such as “refrigerator” officials to describe those who “don’t speak up, stay cold and don’t change”; “treadmill” types who “look busy and sweaty but who make no progress in their work”; or “lipstick” cad..

The US military said four people were killed on Thursday in a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, the latest action in a counter-narcotics campaign that has drawn intensifying scrutiny. According to a post by US Southern Command on X, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted the strike on the orders of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after intelligence indicated the boat, operated by a “designated terrorist organization,” was carrying illicit narcotics along a known trafficking route. The post said “four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” releasing a short video that showed the craft speeding across the water before being hit by an explosion.US defense secretary Pete Hegseth in a post on X reacted to the strike. He posted, “Your wish is our command, Andrew. Just sunk another narco boat,” while responding to an request for downing another alleged narco-boat.The development came hours after lawmakers viewed classified footage of a sepa..

A public spat between Candace Owens and Turning Point USA has escalated, with TPUSA announcing a livestream addressing allegations surrounding Charlie Kirk's death without Owens. Owens' insistence on a virtual appearance, citing a scheduling conflict with her own show, was rejected by TPUSA, leading to her exclusion from the December 15 event. The dispute intensifies scrutiny on the controversial matter. The tense back-and-forth between Candace Owens and Turning Point USA has taken a sharp turn, as TPUSA’s Blake Neff announced the organization will move forward with a livestream addressing allegations tied to Charlie Kirk’s death, without Owens participating. The conservative commentator had previously suggested that TPUSA “betrayed” Kirk, who was assassinated on September 10, and was offered a chance to discuss her claims on The Charlie Kirk Show. At first, Owens appeared ready to join in, but a clash over whether she would appear in person or remotely triggered an online de..

AdvertisementSingaporeThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureAre Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image ignites beauty debateSocial media users said Singapore had no Vivian Chow or Edison Chen, but experts warned against warped beauty standards shaped by media
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPKolette LimPublished: 10:15am, 5 Dec 2025A widely shared image on social media depicting colour sketches of men from different regions in China has ignited debate on the physical appearance of Singaporean Chinese based on their ancestry, with online users concluding they are the least attractive of the gene pool.
But psychotherapists say perceptions of beauty might be warped by media and celebrity culture, warning against the normalisation of conversations centred on physical appearance.
The discussion was prompted by drawings of male faces from China’s northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast and Xinjiang regions, which went viral on social media this week and racked up..

AdvertisementChina's military weaponsChinaMilitaryChina’s unmanned Moyujian strike helicopter is ready for plateau combat testsAt Aero Asia in Zhuhai, developer says it put high-altitude drone with missiles through live-fire target tests above 4,000 metres
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP3Alcott Weiin BeijingPublished: 10:00am, 5 Dec 2025China’s unmanned reconnaissance and strike helicopter tailored for deployment in plateau areas is ready for critical combat testing.
The new multipurpose medium-sized helicopter was displayed on November 27 at an air show in Zhuhai, in southern China, where the next stage of testing was announced by its developer.
The Moyujian was exhibited at the second Asia General Aviation Exhibition (Aero Asia), held from November 27 to 30.
AdvertisementAero Asia, jointly organised by the German General Aviation Exhibition and Airshow China, was held for the first time in 2023. The event, which takes place every two years, is China’s only general a..

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would support the release of any footage of the multiple strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat from September 2, while backing the “decision to knock out the boats.” The Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in particular have been under scrutiny in recent days after The Washington Post reported that the US military carried out a subsequent strike on a boat in the Caribbean despite there apparently being survivors. CBS News has not independently confirmed the existence of survivors, but the White House has confirmed the boat was struck more than once on September 2. “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’ll certainly release, no problem,” the president said of any strike footage. A reporter asked the president in the Oval Office if Hegseth, Adm. Frank Bradley or others should be punished if survivors were indeed clinging to the boat. The administration has suggested that Bradley, the commander of the..

An F-16 fighter jet assigned to the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the service’s elite aerial demonstration team, went down Wednesday morning in a Southern California desert. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Officials said the jet went down around 10:45 a.m. during a training flight in controlled airspace. Video posted to X by DisasterAlert shows the pilot making what appears to be a lucky escape, drifting slowly toward the ground beneath a parachute.Later military officials said the pilot ejected just before impact and survived.The pilot was listed in stable condition and is receiving medical treatment, Staff Sgt. Jovante Johnson, an Air Force spokesperson, confirmed in an email Wednesday, New York Times reported. A rocket-like blast in a barren desert backdrop. A wide plume of dark smoke was visible after the plane went down near Trona Airport in San Bernardino County. The jet was part of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the military’s official aerial demonstration team, a..

AdvertisementIndonesiaThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureJoy of rare Indonesian flower find wilts over Oxford’s failure to name local researchersAfter an uproar over the perceived snub, the university named the Indonesian researchers involved in Rafflesia’s rediscovery on social media
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPResty Woro YuniarPublished: 10:00am, 4 Dec 2025A recent rediscovery of the extremely rare Rafflesia hasseltii, a giant parasitic red flower, in a forest in Indonesia’s West Sumatra has sparked backlash following an initial social media post by Oxford University that left out local researchers involved in the search and credited only its scientist.The uproar has exposed the perceived lack of equal recognition for Western researchers and their Global South counterparts when they collaborate, and the lingering legacy of colonialism in academia, observers say.
The encounter on November 17 with the white-speckled blossom with its giant petals was made possible throu..