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News - South China Morning Post

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US approves sale of Iranian oil at sea in move to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

The US Treasury on Friday temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded onto vessels, in Washington’s latest step to stem a supply crisis over the Middle East war. The authorisation allows for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products loaded onto ships before March 20, and will last through April 19, the Treasury said in a statement. The move by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday was under...

‘Ghost oil’ stations earn ‘HK$10,000 a day’ in Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Operators of illicit fuel stations can earn as much as HK$10,000 (US$1,280) a day by smuggling untaxed petrol into Hong Kong using vehicles equipped with enlarged tanks and selling it to car club members via coded messages, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said there had been more cases involving illicit fuel or “ghost oil” in the city since late February, when petrol prices began to soar following US-Israel strikes on Iran. The source said law enforcement raids usually...

Ageing Southeast Asia fights fears of death to brave...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Death is the family business for Viroj Suriyasenee, a second-generation Thai funeral director. His bespoke coffins range from plain wooden boxes to ornate creations trimmed in gold with plush red velvet interiors, priced anywhere from US$30 to US$30,000 – each one representing a story of loss, grief and a life concluded. They also speak to the sheer scale of Asia’s ever-growing, multibillion-dollar death economy. All the coffins Viroj makes are destined for the cremation furnace, yet the...

Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders, US jury finds

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

A federal jury in California found on Friday that tech titan Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders in an effort to drive down the company’s share price as he was poised to buy it in a US$44 billion deal. The verdict in a class action securities lawsuit means the world’s richest person could be ordered to pay out as much as US$2.6 billion, according to damages calculated by jurors. Giuseppe Pampena filed the suit against Musk on behalf of people who sold Twitter shares between mid-May of 2022

US claims China manipulating its position at UN to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The House Select Committee on China released a report on Friday asserting that China is manipulating its position at the United Nations to “undermine America’s interests and advance its international ambitions”. The 34-page report makes the case that China uses budget contributions, appointments to key UN executive positions and strategically deployed troops to expand its reach. The committee did not detail how these activities differed from how most countries operate at the UN, or the

US judge rules restrictive Pentagon press access...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

A US federal judge on Friday ruled as unconstitutional a Pentagon press access policy that withdrew accreditations from a host of prominent media organisations.Elements of the policy are “unlawful because they violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution”, a judge in Washington said in response to a lawsuit brought by The New York Times. US media and a host of international news outlets including Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Fox News declined to sign...

Iran war: Trump says he’s considering ‘winding down’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran three weeks into the war, but warned the Strait of Hormuz would need to be policed by other countries. Trump’s comments were his strongest signal yet of an end to the conflict, but came despite the fact that the key oil passage effectively remains closed, and as thousands more Marines are headed to the Middle East. “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding...

What are the real reasons behind the change of date...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The official line is straightforward: US President Donald Trump asked for a delay to his long-anticipated summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and it has been pushed back by “a month or so”. According to the White House, moving the meeting allows Trump to remain in the US and manage the escalating war with Iran, including urgent efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But beneath the surface, a more complex story emerges: months of growing frustrations, mismatched expectations,...

As China struggles to boost demand, no...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

During a press conference of the annual “two sessions”, National People’s Congress spokesperson Lou Qinjian referenced the grass-roots football league Suchao or Su Super League, which drew millions of spectators in Chinese stadiums last year. At a time when boosting domestic demand tops Beijing’s economic agenda, discussing an amateur sports tournament at the national podium goes beyond mere cultural commentary. It hints at something broader about how policymakers are approaching the

Trump administration moves to unify AI rules, bolster...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The administration of US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) policy framework aimed at curbing state-level restrictions on innovation, as it urged Congress to address AI risks and reinforce the US edge in an intensifying technology race with China. Congress should pre-empt state AI laws that “impose undue burdens”, to ensure a national standard instead of “fifty discordant ones”, Trump said in a new legislative recommendation named the National AI...

Netanyahu compares Jesus and Genghis Khan in Iran war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations on Friday that he had intended to offend Christians when he said the previous day that Jesus had “no advantage” over Genghis Khan. “More fake news about my attitude towards Christians, who are protected and flourish in Israel. Let me be clear: I did not denigrate Jesus Christ at my news conference,” Netanyahu wrote in English on social media. “To the contrary, I cited the great American historian Will Durant. A fervent admirer of...

UK allows US to use its bases to strike Iran missile...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The UK ⁠government gave authorisation on Friday ⁠for the US to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. British ministers met on Friday ‌to discuss the war with Iran and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement. “They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the

From Fulbright scholar to Xiangsheng comic: how Jesse...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

In 2012, American Jesse Appell stepped off a plane in China on a Fulbright scholarship to study an unusual subject: the art of Chinese comedy. Over the next few years, Appell, then in his 20s, found himself telling jokes in clubs across China, studying traditional comedy under a master, and even appearing on television. The country’s comedy scene and cultural footprint expanded in ways he could not have predicted – and Appell was along for the ride. “There were so many opportunities to be a

IRA bomb victims drop civil court claim against Gerry...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Three victims of IRA bombings in England on Friday dropped their civil claim for damages against former Irish republican leader Gerry Adams, whom they had sought to hold personally responsible for orchestrating the blasts. The trio – who were injured in IRA bomb blasts in the 1970s and 1990s – had also sought to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Adams was a senior member of the Irish Republican Army. But on the very last day of the two-week trial, their lawyer Anne Studd told the High Court

Hong Kong police hunt 3 suspects over US$12 million...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Hong Kong police have launched a manhunt for three people involved in a suspected deception case in which a shop reportedly lost 73kg of gold bars worth an estimated US$12 million, the South China Morning Post has learned.The force said on Friday that a woman in Hung Hom had made a report around 2.57pm that a nearby shop was suspected to have been “burgled”. The woman said the shop owner had told her someone had stolen the gold bars before fleeing in a private vehicle. A source said the case...

Pregnant woman and 5 kids die in container fire in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

A pregnant Syrian woman and her five young children died when a fire ripped through containers housing agricultural workers near the southwestern Antalya resort, the governor and media reports said on Friday. DHA news agency said the 27-year-old mother was seven months pregnant, with her husband fighting for his life after the blaze. The tragedy occurred as Turkey began celebrating the three-day Bayram holiday to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Antalya Governor Hulusi

Action movie star Chuck Norris dies at 86

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Chuck Norris, the US martial artist and Hollywood action star most famous for his role in Walker, Texas Ranger, has died, his family said on Friday. He was 86. The martial arts expert turned actor starred in a slew of action films since his acting debut with a cameo in a 1968 Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew. Four years later, his epic fight with the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in The Way of The Dragon helped turn Norris into an icon on big and small screens alike. “It is with heavy hearts...

China adds 12 banks to digital yuan system, expanding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

China is set to include 12 more commercial banks under the umbrella of its central bank-backed digital currency, the latest move by Beijing to scale up adoption of the digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, as it transitions from a cash alternative to an interest-bearing deposit instrument. The expansion comes after Beijing pledged to “steadily develop the digital yuan” in its latest five-year plan, the country’s blueprint document for socio-economic development. A draft Finance Law published

From years to a week: China unveils superfast...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Chinese scientists have developed revolutionary software capable of fully simulating the extreme physics of supersonic fuel combustion in just one week. Previously, the same task could take a supercomputer years to complete, they said. Developed by a research team led by Yao Wei at the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the software was used to run an ultra-high-fidelity simulation of a scramjet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. It modelled its...

Residents of Tai Po blaze building misled over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Residents of a housing complex destroyed in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires were misled into picking a convicted contractor for the estate’s renovation project amid “widespread” bid-rigging and other corruption in the construction industry, a public hearing has been told. The judge-led independent committee also heard on Friday that an engineering consultant allegedly accepted a monthly stipend to “rubber stamp” tender evaluation reports, including one recommending Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po...

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