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United States
United States
The latest breaking news and stories on the United States (US), a country in North America known as a federal republic, and the world’s largest economy. Also covering US-China relations, plus commentary and updates on US economy, politics, society, healthcare, military and crime.
Capital
Washington, D.C.
Head of State
President Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Head of Government
President Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Columns of smoke rise from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. Photo: AFP
Syria

Syria declares ceasefire in Aleppo after deadly clashes with Kurdish forces

Damascus gives armed groups a six-hour window to leave contested neighbourhoods in flashpoint Syria city as tens of thousands flee.

Mainland China

Chinese AI stocks to drive market gains in 2026, though pace set to cool: banks

SCMP Highlights

China’s ‘sweep and kill’ weapon, Malaysians opting for Singapore: 7 highlights

The Philippines

Philippine navy ‘up to the challenge’ of defending territory in South China Sea

Manila is banking on modern ships and global alliances to challenge China’s increasing presence in the contentious waters.

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Chinese coast guards use a water cannon against a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea on October 12, 2025. Photo: China Coast Guard/Xinhua
US-China relations

Chip sales to China part of US plan to build its own digital silk road: official

Jacob Helberg tells Consumer Electronics Show audience that Gulf partnerships will help to stall Chinese AI advances.

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Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Letters | As Hongkongers unite around Tai Po, the fire probe must deliver

Readers discuss how to sustain social cohesion in Hong Kong, the kindness of Hongkongers, and why the world must respond to the Venezuela raid.

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Gun violence in the US

US border agent shoots 2 in Portland traffic stop as national tensions rise

DHS says a suspected Venezuelan gang member tried to ram agents with a car, a day after a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis.

A damaged car and law enforcement officials at the scene of the shooting in Portland. Photo: AP
US-China relations

Taiwan is ‘up to’ Xi Jinping and ‘nothing like’ Venezuela: Donald Trump

In a New York Times interview, the US president says he does not believe the island would be attacked during his term.

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South Korea

Top Seoul official calls Venezuela raid ‘violent atrocity’, stirring unease

Park Seok-woon, head of a panel in the Prime Minister’s Office, faces scrutiny for denouncing US toppling of Maduro at a rally in Seoul.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese robot vacuum maker Dreame sees AI-driven appliances run household chores

The firm’s ambition is to become a ‘world-class technology company’, global president Chang Xinwei says.

People at the CES trade show watch Dreame’s prototype Cyber X robot vacuum cleaner, the first such product designed to climb up and down an entire flight of stairs and handle multilevel cleaning. Photo: AFP
China trade

With US focused on Venezuela, China has window to pressure Japan: analysts

Beijing’s trade actions raise stakes with Tokyo, as China’s rare earth power and Japan’s chip dominance are seen as potentially key levers in their bilateral dispute.

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A worker helps make semiconductor chips for export at a factory in China’s Shandong province. Japan has a commanding market share in semiconductor equipment and materials. Photo: AFP
US Politics

House votes to extend Obamacare subsidies, thanks to revolt among Republicans

17 conservative lawmakers defied party leadership to vote with the Democrats, putting pressure on the Senate to follow suit.

Diplomacy

Editorial | For South Korea to reset relations with China, it must withstand US pressure

The South Korean president’s visit to China was a sign of a more pragmatic approach that departs from that of his US-leaning predecessor.

US-Venezuela conflict

Venezuela frees opposition figures and activists, which Trump says US requested

The releases are the first by Venezuela’s new leaders in an apparent concession to the US after its ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

Bolivarian National Police unload riot control gear outside the Helicoide detention centre in Caracas before the release of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

China warns of ‘law of the jungle’ as US exits global bodies

Opportunity and challenge for Beijing on world stage amid Donald Trump’s order suspending support for 66 international organisations.

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US President Donald Trump’s executive order suspends American support for 31 United Nations agencies. Photo: AFP
North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

It confirms Pyongyang’s belief that leaders seen as thorns in the US side who lack nuclear weapons ultimately fall victim to US intervention.

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Animals

Rare genius dogs learn vocabulary by eavesdropping, study shows

Some gifted canines pick up words simply by overhearing people speak to each other without needing to be taught.

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US-China relations

US will end China’s dominance of rare earths, Trump adviser Navarro predicts

The president’s trade aide says American innovation will ‘quickly wipe away’ Beijing’s ‘weaponisation’ of critical minerals.

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White House trade adviser Peter Navarro speaks to reporters in Washington in August. Photo: TNS
US-Venezuela conflict

US Senate rejects Trump’s Venezuela threats with war powers vote

The US president slammed the 5 Republicans who joined Democratic lawmakers to advance the resolution.

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Gun violence in the US

Minnesota, US officials clash over investigation into ICE agent’s killing of woman

Federal authorities freeze out state investigators as Vice-President J.D. Vance calls the death of Renee Nicole Good a ‘tragedy of her own making’.

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France

France’s Macron slams US over Venezuela, Greenland actions

The French President condemned Washington’s isolationism after the capture of Venezuela’s leader and designs to take over the Danish territory.

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French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to French ambassadors on Thursday in Paris. Photo: AP
Mainland China

China and US coexistence in Venezuela possible, US energy chief says

Chris Wright sees a constructive role for Beijing but insists Washington must remain the dominant force controlling Venezuela’s oil flows.

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US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright attends an event in New York City in September 2025. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for military. Will China boost spending too?

Analysts say Donald Trump’s military budget proposal aims to blunt China’s influence, but some dismiss the spending plan as ‘fanciful’.

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China’s military drills

PLA drills target swarms of suicide drones – Taiwan’s front line of defence

CCTV footage shows naval unit conducting anti-drone and uncrewed target exercises as mainland China’s military launches 2026 training cycle.

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Ukraine war

Russia slams West’s ‘axis of war’ as Kyiv says US guarantees ‘essentially ready’

Moscow warns ‘axis of war’ peacekeepers potentially being deployed to Ukraine are targets, overshadowing Zelensky’s claim a US pact is almost ready.

Ukrainian recruits attend training at an undisclosed location in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on January 1. Photo: EPA/65th Separate Mechanised Brigade press service
US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | US invasion of Venezuela no guarantee of hemispheric dominance

By signalling how far it will go to defend its interests in Venezuela, the US might have intensified conflicts closer to home rather than resolving them.

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Ousted president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela (second from right) and his wife Cilia Flores (second from left) arrive at the Wall Street Heliport in the New York City borough of Manhattan on January 5. Photo: TNS
China-Canada relations

What will top the agenda when Canada’s Mark Carney heads to China?

The Canadian prime minister will have the economy and the US on his mind when he lands in Beijing next week.

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US-China relations

China says US seizure of Russian-flagged tanker breached international law

The vessel and another one taken in the Caribbean have been accused of trying to evade US sanctions on Venezuelan oil.

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