2 h. ago Trump Administration weighs restricting US software exports to retaliate against China’s rare earth limits: Report

Trump Administration weighs restricting US software exports to retaliate against China’s rare earth limits: Report  Mint

Politics

7 h. ago Retreating globally, US finds a new arena to flex power – at home

The Donald Trump administration is executing not merely a restructuring but a fundamental redefinition of American military purpose. The clearest evidence emerged in June, when the US president deployed 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles alongside 4,000 federalised National Guard troops to confront immigration enforcement protests – without California Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent. A federal judge subsequently ruled that this deployment violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which...

Politics

20 h. ago Trump says US Justice Department may owe him ‘a lot of money’ over probes

US President Donald Trump said he believed the Justice Department probably owes him compensation, following a report that he was seeking some US$230 million after he faced multiple federal investigations. “As far as all the litigation, everything that’s going on, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House. The New York Times reported earlier that Trump had initiated administrative claim processes alleging violations of his rights. The...

Politics

53 h. ago Argentina formalises US$20 billion lifeline from Trump as Milei faces poll test

Argentina on Monday formalised a currency swap agreement with the United States for up to US$20 billion aimed “at contributing to Argentina’s economic stability,” the South American country’s central bank said. The deal is part of huge financial support from the administration of Donald Trump, a strong backer of Argentine President Javier Milei, who is under pressure ahead of midterm elections on October 26. The peso has been fluctuating wildly ahead of the vote, disrupting the savings and...

Politics

5 d. ago US, Hong Kong ‘both lose’ if Cathay added to planned Russian airspace ban

The United States and Hong Kong face a lose-lose scenario if global travellers are forced to pay higher airfares over the proposed barring of Cathay Pacific Airways from flying over Russian airspace to the east coast of North America, analysts have warned. Wednesday’s warning followed calls by United Airlines for the Trump administration to ban Hong Kong’s flag carrier from flying over Russia for routes between the US and the city in a bid to force Cathay Pacific to align with other...

Politics

5 d. ago US Chamber of Commerce sues Trump administration over US$100,000 H

The largest American business lobbying group filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging US President Donald Trump’s US$100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The lawsuit by the US Chamber of Commerce, which says it represents 300,000 businesses, is the group’s first against the Trump administration since the Republican president took office for a second term in January. The chamber says in the lawsuit that Trump’s September proclamation imposing the fee on new H-1B visa...

Politics

6 d. ago US phones allies over rare earths, China’s food security: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘This is China versus the world’: US calls allies over Beijing rare earth curbs US President Donald Trump’s administration vowed on Wednesday to work with its allies and other countries to get an upper hand in its trade talks with China, claiming Beijing’s recent rare earth control as a sign of being an “unreliable partner” that threatens global supply...

Events

6 d. ago After India, US tells Japan to stop importing Russian energy

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that the Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy. “Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues pertaining to the US-Japan economic relationship and the Administration’s expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy,” Bessent said on social media after the two met on Wednesday. Bessent and Kato met on the sidelines of the annual International...

Politics

6 d. ago Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Temporarily Blocks Layoffs During Federal Shutdown

Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Temporarily Blocks Layoffs During Federal Shutdown  The New York Times

Events

6 d. ago US judge blocks Trump’s plan to fire thousands of workers during shutdown

A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt mass lay-offs of federal workers during a partial government shutdown while she considers claims by unions that the job cuts are illegal. During a hearing in San Francisco, US District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block lay-offs at more than 30 federal agencies while the case proceeds. The decision is likely to be appealed quickly, but it offers a reprieve for federal...

Events

7 d. ago ‘This is China versus the world’: US calls allies over Beijing rare earth curbs

US President Donald Trump’s administration vowed on Wednesday to work with its allies and other countries to get an upper hand in its trade talks with China, claiming Beijing’s recent rare earth control as a sign of being an “unreliable partner” that threatens global supply chains. The remarks marked the latest in a series of threatened countermeasures, as Trump officials have previously announced 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1 and also struck back on such targets like...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump administration to set price floors to combat China’s market manipulation (SP500:)

Trump administration to set price floors to combat China’s market manipulation (SP500:)  Seeking Alpha

Politics

7 d. ago Trump administration warns China plans to control world's supply chains

Trump administration warns China plans to control world's supply chains  CBS News

Events

7 d. ago Trump administration will set price floors across range of industries to combat China, Bessent says

Trump administration will set price floors across range of industries to combat China, Bessent says  CNBC

Politics

7 d. ago New Zealand calls on US to counter China’s Pacific mineral push

New Zealand’s defence minister warned in an interview that small countries in the South Pacific face growing pressure from great power competition for their rare minerals and fisheries wealth, and that more action was needed from regional neighbours to help in preserving island nations’ sovereignty. Judith Collins, who also oversees New Zealand’s intelligence and space portfolios, spoke on Wednesday before departing for Washington, where she will meet Trump administration officials including...

Politics

7 d. ago The Nobel Peace Prize should now be called the Nobel war prize

Donald Trump is reportedly furious that he didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, it went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. But if the US president could see beyond his megalomania for a moment, he would realise that the Norwegian Nobel Committee has bent over backwards to placate his administration. The far-right Machado, after all, was nominated by Trump’s own Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was still a senator, and former national security adviser and now US...

Events

7 d. ago Trump says US strike on another alleged drug boat off Venezuela kills 6

The United States struck another small boat accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela, killing six people, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. Those who died in the strike were aboard the vessel, and no US forces were harmed, the president said in a social media post. It was the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as Trump’s administration has asserted it was treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force. US Defence Secretary...

Events

9 d. ago Singapore’s Nanyang Biologics to list on Nasdaq amid Trump’s pharma tariffs.

Nanyang Biologics, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence drug discovery start-up, plans to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the first quarter of 2026 via a merger with a US-listed special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), as US President Donald Trump vowed to impose hefty tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. “The US administration wants intellectual property owners to manufacture in the US, including drugs,” founder Roland Ong said on Monday. Nanyang Biologic’s latest initiative reflects...

Politics

9 d. ago Vance warns of ‘painful’ and ‘deeper’ cuts as US shutdown continues

US Vice-President J.D. Vance on Sunday said there will be deeper cuts to the federal workforce the longer the government shutdown goes on, adding to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands who are already furloughed without pay amid the stubborn stalemate in Congress. Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful”, even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for...

Events

1 week ago ‘Aggressive’: how China’s airlines may become latest front in Trump’s trade war

Chinese airlines could face ticket sale disruptions and higher costs if Washington follows through on a Trump administration proposal to bar them from using Russian airspace on US routes, analysts said – though they were divided over the plan’s feasibility. “If the proposal is really implemented, Chinese airlines might have to bear the losses from already-sold flights being cancelled – such as passenger compensation and wasted capacity,” said Yang Bo, a Chinese aviation analyst, noting that...

Politics