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The White House on Monday defended a follow-up US military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea last September, saying the Navy commander involved acted lawfully, even as the episode triggered bipartisan calls in Washington for investigations and a parallel inquiry in Caracas into the deaths of Venezuelans.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice Admiral Frank Bradley, then commander of Joint Special Operations Command, operated “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second strike on September 2 after an initial hit left survivors on the disabled boat. She added that defence secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised Bradley “to conduct these kinetic strikes.”President Donald Trump distanced himself from the follow-up strike, saying on Sunday he “wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike,” though he later defended Hegseth, telling reporters, “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men… And I believe him.”Congress seeks ..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongLaw and CrimeBreaking | John Lee orders judge-led independent inquiry to uncover truth behind Hong Kong fireThe committee will be chaired by a judge and will investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPMatthew ChengPublished: 10:09am, 2 Dec 2025Updated: 10:11am, 2 Dec 2025Hong Kong’s leader has ordered the establishment of an independent inquiry committee, chaired by a judge, to investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives.
Chief Executive John Lee Ke-chiu said on Tuesday ahead of his weekly meeting with the city’s key decision-making Executive Council that authorities will set up the committee to find out the truth and enable a “systematic change”.
He will be in touch with the judiciary to have a judge to chair the committee, which will conduct its work in “high efficiency”.
AdvertisementThe fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court last We..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongSociety‘Grieving and exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform‘Now all the information is here and there and we have to spend a lot of time searching and filling it in one by one,’ a survivor says
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJiang ChuqinPublished: 9:42am, 2 Dec 2025Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to different parties for support.
Several people who lost their homes in the Tai Po fire, which had claimed 151 lives as of Monday, told the Post that while retrieving new identity cards and other documents from the Immigration Department was a smooth process, they faced difficulties navigating funds and other forms of support dispersed across various locations.
The Immigration Department said on M..

A nuclear bomb test in Mururoa atoll, French Polynesia, in 1971 (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo) If World War III ever breaks out, where on Earth would actually be safe? It’s the kind of uncomfortable question that emerges quietly during news alerts, diplomatic escalations, and late-night doomscrolling. Most people don’t really believe civilisation will collapse, but many are aware it could. And that’s why researchers, analysts and risk observers continue to examine which regions might offer the greatest insulation from global conflict, especially in a nuclear era.The current geopolitical climate, and why people fear a major war International tensions are at their highest levels in decades. Conflict in Ukraine continues to destabilise European security and fuel fears of escalation involving NATO and Russia. In the Middle East, hostilities between Israel and surrounding states fluctuate between diplomatic friction and open threat. China’s ongoing rhetoric around a future “reunification..

AP photo US president Donald Trump on Sunday said he is ready to release the results of the MRI scan he took in October. Speaking to reporters while flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump said, “If you want to have it released, I’ll release it.” He described the results as “perfect.”Trump further told reporters he has “no idea” which part of his body the MRI covered. “It was just an MRI,” he said. “What part of the body? It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”The MRI was done during Trump’s visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October.The debate over releasing the report began after Minnesota governor Tim Walz replied to Trump’s post saying, “Release the MRI results.” Trump had earlier used an offensive term for Walz while claiming that Somali immigrants were “taking over” Minnesota and criticising the governor for not acting.The White House has not explained why the MRI was done or which part of Trump’s body was scanned. Press sec..