https://www.scmp.com/rss/522052/feed Ted Cruz: A prominent figure in US politics, he has served as the junior United States Senator for Texas since 2013, and currently chairs the Senate Commerce Committee. Previously, he was the Solicitor General of Texas, arguing numerous cases before the US Supreme Court. Educated at Princeton and Harvard Law, Cruz is known for his consistently conservative stance on economic, social, and foreign policy. His career highlights include leading efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act and authoring... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin The US visa system rolls out the “red carpet” for spies and aids China’s alleged efforts to steal American innovation, senators charged at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, as Washington and Beijing intensify competition for dominance in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. Through its permissive legal channels, the US is “inviting, welcoming, come on in with the red carpet rolled out” people who steal military and commercial secrets, Republican Senator Ashley Moody of Florida... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351062/us-visa-system-rolls-out-red-carpet-chinese-spies-congressional-hearing-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351062/us-visa-system-rolls-out-red-carpet-chinese-spies-congressional-hearing-told?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:37:28 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan A key US congressional panel on Thursday advanced four Taiwan-related bills aimed at strengthening the island’s energy security, communications resilience and diplomatic influence as lawmakers ramp up efforts to counter Beijing ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected visit to China in April. The move by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee reflects a broader trend in Congress, where support for Taiwan often exceeds the administration’s position. Thursday’s coordinated action on the bills... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341749/senate-bills-remind-trump-taiwan-remains-priority-key-xi-meeting-april?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341749/senate-bills-remind-trump-taiwan-remains-priority-key-xi-meeting-april?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 23:29:52 +0000 Frank Tang Frank Tang The United States will redouble efforts to ensure its return to the moon ahead of China and also establish an enduring presence on Earth's natural satellite to entrench the country’s presence, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Wednesday during a Senate confirmation hearing. Such a sense of urgency for the US to accelerate its pace in this “second space race” has haunted Capitol Hill, as Beijing, a strategic rival framed by Washington,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3335120/trumps-nasa-pick-vows-us-will-beat-china-back-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3335120/trumps-nasa-pick-vows-us-will-beat-china-back-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:38:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters Hundreds of thousands of travellers had their flights delayed or cancelled on Sunday in the worst day for disruptions since the start of a US government shutdown, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of worse to come in the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday. Airlines cancelled more than 2,800 US flights and delayed more than 10,200 on Sunday in the third day of government-mandated flight cuts due to rising air traffic control staffing shortages, after thousands of delays and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332122/us-air-travel-will-fall-trickle-due-government-shutdown-transport-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332122/us-air-travel-will-fall-trickle-due-government-shutdown-transport-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 17:32:55 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nigeria reeled on Monday from US President Donald Trump’s claim over the weekend that Christians were being systematically killed in the West African country, with blanket coverage across local media. “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers,” Trump said in comments while travelling on Air Force One on Saturday. “We’re not going to allow that to happen.” The false idea of a genocide against Christians in Nigeria has been floating around right-wing circles in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331458/trumps-threat-us-military-action-clashes-nigerias-reality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331458/trumps-threat-us-military-action-clashes-nigerias-reality?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 07:22:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nigeria on Sunday suggested a meeting between its president and US counterpart Donald Trump, after the US leader threatened military action over what he described as a threat to Nigerian Christians by jihadists. In an explosive post, Trump said on social media on Saturday that he asked the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria, one day after warning that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria, which is almost evenly divided... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331248/trump-warns-nigeria-fast-vicious-response-attacks-christians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331248/trump-warns-nigeria-fast-vicious-response-attacks-christians?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Nov 2025 14:43:58 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government is failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the West African country. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331201/trump-threatens-military-action-nigeria-over-killing-christians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331201/trump-threatens-military-action-nigeria-over-killing-christians?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2025 21:37:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters Millions of people tuned in to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, watching the host’s return to late-night television after nearly a week off the air due to a suspension over remarks that drew fire from US President Donald Trump and officials in his administration. ABC said 6.26 million viewers watched Kimmel as he mixed humour with humility to address remarks he made on September 15 about the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk. It was Kimmel’s highest-rated regularly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326746/jimmy-kimmel-returns-record-ratings-says-you-almost-have-feel-sorry-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326746/jimmy-kimmel-returns-record-ratings-says-you-almost-have-feel-sorry-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 23:08:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night television on Tuesday after a nearly week-long suspension and nearly broke down in tears, saying he was not trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as US President Donald Trump slammed the host. “I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326597/jimmy-kimmels-show-returning-broadcast-giants-nexstar-and-sinclair-wont-air-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326597/jimmy-kimmels-show-returning-broadcast-giants-nexstar-and-sinclair-wont-air-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 17:04:05 +0000 Frank Chen Frank Chen The White House on Wednesday reiterated its call to defend its artificial intelligence lead against a quickly advancing China by exporting “cohesive AI tech stacks” that integrate not just chips but also algorithms and applications to foreign countries. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told a Senate subcommittee hearing that the US once commanded a “comfortable” lead in AI over closest competitors, such as China, in 2020, but by 2024 the gap... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3325106/white-house-adviser-calls-us-defend-its-ai-lead-against-chinese-advances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3325106/white-house-adviser-calls-us-defend-its-ai-lead-against-chinese-advances?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 23:12:23 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han Nasa has barred Chinese nationals on US visas from its facilities and networks, in the latest reflection of Washington’s mounting concern over Beijing’s progress in space and other advanced technologies. Although the space agency has typically restricted the employment of Chinese citizens, those on US visas without affiliations with Chinese government institutions or state-owned companies have been able to contribute as contractors, graduate students, or university scientists. On Wednesday, Nasa... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/science-technology/article/3325104/nasa-blocks-chinese-citizens-us-visas-its-facilities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/science-technology/article/3325104/nasa-blocks-chinese-citizens-us-visas-its-facilities?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:11:44 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China appears to have pulled off not only the first satellite-to-satellite refuelling in geosynchronous orbit, but also the “largest single manoeuvre” ever seen in that orbit, according to a former US Space Command official. The two spacecraft – the Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 – have been docked some 36,000km (22,370 miles) above Earth since early July. Their mysterious mission was widely believed to involve the Shijian-25 supplying the Shijian-21 with propellant. Last month, they executed what... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3324468/china-pulled-high-orbit-refuelling-and-may-beat-us-moon-ex-space-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3324468/china-pulled-high-orbit-refuelling-and-may-beat-us-moon-ex-space-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 14:00:07 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma US President Donald Trump is seeking about US$150 billion of additional defence spending in the One Big Beautiful Bill amid rising competition with China in the Pacific Ocean. The plans include US$25 billion for the Golden Dome, Trump’s planned space-based defence system, and US$32 billion for naval vessels and to challenge China’s dominance of shipbuilding (See SCMP Plus Factsheet). The bill is heading for a final vote in the House of Representatives after hours of wrangling on the floor. It... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3316798/china-military-growth-looms-over-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3316798/china-military-growth-looms-over-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 09:00:11 +0000