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United States & Canada

Weinstein accuser Kaja Sokola is being sued for defamation by her sister

Ewa Sokola said Kaja’s false claims of collusion with Weinstein’s defence team are damaging her reputation as a cardiologist in Poland.

Harvey Weinstein accuser Kaja Sokola arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York in May. Photo: AP

Americas

Venezuela ‘frees 99 prisoners’ detained after 2024 election protests

Rights groups said the number released ‘does not correspond to reality’ despite growing pressure from Washington on President Maduro.

Demonstrators hold a banner demanding the release of all political prisoners during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela on January 9. On Friday, the prisons authority said it had released 99 prisoners. Photo: AFP

China

Deal breaker? Record Taiwan arms deal complicates Trump’s 2026 Beijing visit

Analysts say the US$11.1 billion package could narrow the scope of a meeting between US leader and Xi, even if the talk goes ahead.

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An Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile, a long-range guided weapon fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), shown during a military display. Photo: Handout

Africa

Israel is first country to formally recognise Somaliland as independent state

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the declaration ‘is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump’.

A man holds a flag of Somaliland in front of the Hargeisa War Memorial monument in Hargeisa. Somaliland’s president on Friday welcomed Israel’s announcement that it was recognising its statehood. Photo: AFP

Racing

SCMP Best Bets: Kid a Super Strong chance down the Sha Tin straight

SCMP Best Bets: Kid a Super Strong chance down the Sha Tin straight
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Europe

Zelensky brings ‘90% ready’ peace plan to Trump in Florida

Leaders will discuss security guarantees and a 20-point plan on Sunday, even as conflicting demands over territory persist.

US President Donald Trump (left) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in October. Photo: dpa

Diplomacy

Trump’s Venezuela gambit: power play with eye on China or weakness?

Hesitation does not equal lack of courage, observers caution, citing legal and domestic constraints and a likely pivot to ‘risk avoidance’.

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US forces have reportedly been ordered to enforce a “quarantine” on Venezuelan oil, targeting all sanctioned tankers entering or leaving the country. Photo: Xinhua

Big Tech

Zhipu AI ramps up push towards human-level AI, reiterates open source pledge

The firm’s campaign to engage with the global tech community comes after it unveiled the latest iteration of its flagship GLM model series.

The Zhipu AI logo is displayed on a smartphone with the home page in background, June 26, 2025. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

China Economy

China launches venture capital fund to lead the charge on tech investment

The fund, which will put state-backed money behind early tech bets, could guide trillions of yuan in private capital to chosen sectors.

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China’s new national venture capital fund has made investments in emerging technology like quantum computing an explicit priority. Photo: Xinhua

Society

Old Hong Kong police station gets new role hosting film-related show

“Yau Ma Tei Police Station: A Cinematic Journey” exhibition opens on January 2 at the popular selfie spot.

The old Yau Ma Tei police station is hugely popular with mainland tourists. Photo: Elson Li
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Middle East

Blast in Syria kills 8 at mosque targeting Alawite minority in Homs

Authorities investigate explosive devices planted during Friday prayers, heightening sectarian tensions and fears among minorities.

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The aftermath of the explosion inside Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood of Homs. Photo: SANA/AFP

Tech Trends

Chinese EV battery giant CATL and Guoxin Micro set up new automotive chip firm

The two companies expect to launch Tongxin Micro Technology as a developer of automotive domain controller chips.

Contemporary Amperex Technology makes another semiconductor-related investment. Photo: Shutterstock

Military

Is China quietly preparing cargo ships to transform into military vessels?

Containers bear the words ‘plan for the maritime revival of the Chinese nation and the community of shared future for mankind in the ocean’.

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Images of a cargo ship in Shanghai carrying containerised vertical launchers, sensors and self defence systems have gone viral online. Photo: Wexin

Other Sport

Master Lock Comanche leads LawConnect in Sydney-Hobart, with Hong Kong yacht 3rd

In overcast start, 128-strong fleet pay tribute to victims of December 14 Bondi Beach terror attack before facing strong southerly wind.

Master Lock Comanche at the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbour. Photo: AFP

Opinion

My Take | State capacity will decide who is the winner in Chinese-American rivalry

A degraded government in Washington today is a far cry from its once-feared global leadership.

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US and Chinese flags. Photo: AP
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Science

Deceiving US experts; proving Einstein wrong: 2025 China science breakthroughs

From the detonation of a hydrogen-based explosive to ending a century-old debate, here are some of the major science developments of the year.

Chinese scientists used a 2kg bomb to generate a fireball that lasted 15 times longer than an equivalent TNT blast, according to a new study. Photo: 705 Research Institute

Politics

Taiwan’s lawmakers vote to start impeachment process against William Lai

Opposition-controlled legislature will hold a series of hearings before a formal vote in May.

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Taiwan’s legislature will need a two-thirds majority to impeach William Lai. Photo: EPA-EFE

World Opinion

Opinion | To harness crypto ingenuity, financial threat must first be neutralised

Future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and speculative bubbles.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

Economics

Indian rice could become costlier for US amid Trump’s tariff threat

Experts warn of wider repercussions, including efforts by importers to divert shipments and renewed strain in US-India trade talks.

A worker gathers rice grain with a broom in a grain market at Mansa in the northern state of Punjab, India, in November. Photo: Reuters

Big Tech

China’s stance on TikTok deal seen as acceptance, not approval: analysts

In 2020, a similar arrangement between ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart fell apart after China revised its export control list.

ByteDance will license its AI recommendation technology to a newly created US TikTok entity. Photo: Reuters
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Law and Crime

Hong Kong tour bus driver arrested over allegedly stealing HK$110 in fares

Citybus driver, 27, reportedly fired after internal inspection finds he improperly handled fare revenue.

The suspect reportedly operated a Citybus H2 open-top sightseeing route. Photo: May Tse

Politics

China’s mega expressway tunnel opens in Xinjiang, halves north-south travel time

The project is the biggest of its kind in the world and is expected to help forge stronger regional and international links.

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The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel on the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is open to traffic. Photo: Xinhua

Big Tech

Tech giants go prime time in the fight for China’s biggest audience

ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba are in talks over Spring Festival Gala sponsorship packages, as AI rivalry becomes a fight for ad real estate.

The annual Spring Festival Gala has become a key marketing battleground for China’s Big Tech companies. Photo: CCTV

Other Sport

Chinese diving star Chen Yuxi says she has been threatened, denies ‘connections’

Olympic champion says in a tearful 10-minute video interview she has also faced online abuse, ‘doxxing’ and people trying to cause rifts.

China diving star Chen Yuxi, who was named World Aquatics’ 2025 Female Diver of the Year earlier this month, released an interview on her social media accounts on Wednesday. Photo: Screenshot

Asia

Video | Disgraced ex-Malaysian PM Najib guilty in final 1MDB case

The disgraced former prime minister was found guilty in the final criminal trial stemming from the corrupt 1MDB fund.

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East Asia

Japan stabbing rampage leaves 15 injured at Yokohama rubber factory

Authorities confirm injuries after a weapon and ‘spray-like liquid’ attack. Local media report one man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The area near the entrance to Yokohama Rubber factory, where multiple people were stabbed. Photo: Kyodo

Entertainment

The Hong Kong films released in 2025 ranked from worst to best

It was a rough year for Hong Kong cinema – only Another World made more than HK$14 million locally – but there were still some gems released.

A still from Another World, ranked by the Post’s film editor Edmund Lee as the second-best Hong Kong film of 2025.

Southeast Asia

Thailand rediscovers ‘extinct’ flat-headed cat after three decades

Elusive feline spotted with cub, offering hope for endangered species’ survival.

A picture taken with a camera trap shows a recently rediscovered flat-headed cat in southern Thailand. Photo: Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation/AFP

Tech War

Shanghai to double down on open-source AI amid push for tech self-sufficiency

Shanghai is headquarters for AI model developers MiniMax and SenseTime, as well as AI chip developers such as Biren Technology and Enflame.

Crowds at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 28, 2025. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

China opens shopping centre on Woody Island in disputed Paracels

6,000 square metre complex is latest Chinese civilian facility on South China Sea island after first hardware store and hotpot restaurant.

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A packed fast-food restaurant at the Sansha City Commercial Centre as it opens for business on Thursday. Photo: QQ.com