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South Korea risks US rift over Iran’s Hormuz Strait...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

South Korea finds itself boxed in as Tehran moves to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a bargaining chip amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, leaving Seoul caught between its dependence on Middle East oil and its unwillingness to antagonise Washington.Economists note that South Korea relies on Washington’s security umbrella to deter threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and that its oil trade is settled in US dollars – two realities that sit awkwardly alongside Iran’s push for yuan-based energy...

How long will US-Israel war on Iran last? Chinese...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Iran’s missile and drone stockpiles will last another two or three months as US-Israeli strikes continue, while the US military is also depleting its interceptors, Chinese analysts have noted. However, how long the war lasts would depend less on stockpiles alone than on the effectiveness of new US deployments and President Donald Trump’s political calculus, one of them cautioned. Iran has continued its attacks on Israel and on US assets across the Middle East since the conflict was triggered

China’s high household savings reflect old values and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

My grandmother kept her banknotes under the mattress. Even after savings accounts became common and the money my siblings and I gave her began to accumulate, she still preferred to hide cash away at home. She loved saving and hated spending. I thought of her when China’s leaders again emphasised the need to boost domestic consumption at this year’s “two sessions” meetings. With exports facing geopolitical headwinds and the property sector struggling, policymakers hope households will become a...

Trump-picked panel approves gold coin with his image:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

A federal arts ⁠panel comprised of members appointed by Donald Trump unanimously approved a commemorative gold coin featuring his image on Thursday, in the latest effort by the administration to celebrate the US president. Critics, including Democrats and members of another federal arts committee, said minting a coin with a sitting president’s image went against American values, especially as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday this year and the end of British monarchical rule. During a...

The peacock throne’s gambit: Iran’s Reza Pahlavi...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Allies of exiled Iranian royal Reza Pahlavi are signalling a potential reset in Tehran’s ties with China and Russia, even as the 65-year-old increasingly positions himself as a central figure in Iran’s political future – a claim that contrasts with Washington’s more cautious stance. Speaking at a media briefing in Washington on Thursday, Pahlavi’s chief of staff, Cameron Khansarinia, dismissed Beijing’s mediation efforts in the ongoing conflict, arguing that the current Iranian leadership is...

Israel PM says Iran can no longer enrich uranium,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Iran no longer has the capacity ⁠to enrich ⁠uranium or make ballistic ⁠missiles after 20 days of US-Israeli air attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference on Thursday. “We are winning, and Iran is being decimated,” Netanyahu said, noting that Iran’s ‌missile and drone arsenal is being massively degraded and will be destroyed. “What we’re destroying now are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that

TP-Link’s Chinese founder Jeffrey Chao seeks US$1...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

The Chinese founder of the massive router maker facing national security probes by the Trump administration has applied for an expedited visa under the Trump Gold Card programme, according to people familiar with the matter. California-based TP-Link Systems told the federal agencies scrutinising its operations that founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Chao had applied for permanent residency under the programme, the people said. Successful Gold Card applicants must give a US$1 million...

US-China split on digital money deepens as stablecoin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

US crypto advocates have increasingly pointed to competition with China’s new interest-bearing e-CNY to demand legislative clarity on stablecoin yields, but China is charting a completely different course for the future of digital money, experts said.“The world’s two largest economies are not so much competing in digital assets as they are pursuing very different strategies,” said Andrew Fei, a partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong. Winston Ma, adjunct professor and

Trump talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

A high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday appeared to get off to a good start as the two touted the bilateral relationship and pledged to work cooperatively on trade, stabilising the global energy market and regional security. Takaichi was the first US ally to meet face to face with the mercurial president, amid concern that he would take out his anger on her for the large number of security partners who have declined to help...

US F-35 hit by suspected Iranian fire, forced to make...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

A US F-35 fighter aircraft was hit by suspected Iranian fire and had to make an emergency landing on Thursday. This would be the first time Iran has hit one of the US$100 million planes since the US and Israel launched their attack on the country on February 28, according to CNN, which first reported the incident. The F-35 was “flying a combat mission over Iran”, a spokesman for US Central Command said. “The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Captain Tim Hawkins

US has no end date for Iran war, strikes ‘very much...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there was no “time frame” for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, which was launched three weeks ago. “We wouldn’t want to set a definitive time frame,” Hegseth told a news conference, adding that “we’re very much on track” and that President Donald Trump would be the one to decide when to stop. “It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to.’” American objectives in the war had not...

Deadly Tai Po fire revealed ‘unacceptable systemic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Contractors for a renovation project at the site of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades got away with covering up the use of substandard material because of systemic defects in government supervision, a public inquiry into the blaze that claimed 168 lives has heard. In the first of a series of evidential hearings, a judge-led independent committee was told on Thursday that six “human factors” led to the almost complete failure of fire safety measures at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court before seven

Survey shows China’s professionals have high...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

About two out of every five professionals in China expect no pay rise this year after more than half missed out on one last year, with both figures higher than the Asian average, according to survey data gathered by a recruiting firm – a trend suggesting further pessimism among an already dissatisfied workforce. London-based recruitment firm Hays found that 44 per cent of professionals in China – the highest share anywhere in Asia – anticipate no salary increase in 2026. Six per cent expect a...

Pro-Kremlin Russian blogger who turned on Putin sent...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

A pro-Kremlin figure who unexpectedly denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine in a social media post this week that went viral has been placed in a psychiatric facility, Russian media reported on Thursday. Ilya Remeslo made a career denouncing Putin’s critics until he became one himself, posting a manifesto late on Tuesday to his 90,000 followers on ⁠Telegram entitled: “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.” He said Putin had prosecuted a “failing

Hong Kong finance chief stresses flexibility in pitch...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Hong Kong is ready to discuss land, tax incentives and financial support for businesses setting up in the Northern Metropolis, the finance chief has told a trade seminar in Beijing, stressing a “flexible and innovative” approach will be taken with developing the megaproject. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Thursday also met Xia Baolong, Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs, who underscored the central government’s support for the city’s efforts to bolster its competitiveness

Firefighter killed in Tai Po blaze may have entered...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

A firefighter killed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades may have entered the wrong building amid the initial chaos at the scene and fallen from a height, the first day of a public hearing into the inferno has heard. More details surrounding the death of 37-year-old Ho Wai-ho, among the first batch of firefighters sent to tackle the blaze, emerged as the independent committee set up by the government to investigate the fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po held its

CK Hutchison vows to pursue ‘all legal remedies’ over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison has said it will pursue “all available legal remedies” through both national and international proceedings to resolve a dispute over its two Panama Canal ports seized by authorities in February. Amid the widening conflict in the Middle East which could further complicate its multibillion-dollar global ports sale, the company downplayed the possible impact of a Strait of Hormuz blockade on its business, saying its diversified network could even benefit from...

‘Severely damaged’: how the US-Israel war on Iran is...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

For decades, the US security umbrella was the bedrock underpinning the Gulf states’ prosperity and stability. Today, Iranian missiles and drones have paralysed the Strait of Hormuz and hit civilian airports, ports, hotels and refineries across every Gulf country, despite thousands of American troops and advanced interceptors on the ground. The armed conflict has forced the region to confront a stark new reality. A Chinese scholar argued that the US-Israel war on Iran and ensuing Hormuz crisis...

2 men charged with spying for Iran on UK Jewish targets

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Two men appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of being tasked by Iran to carry out hostile surveillance on the Israeli embassy, Britain’s oldest synagogue and other Jewish targets. Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian-British national, and Alireza Farasati, an Iranian national, 22, are accused of being involved in gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets given to them by Iranian spy services over five weeks last summer. As such, the alleged activities...

Hong Kong customs arrests 5 people, seizes HK$2.2...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/19

Hong Kong customs officers have arrested five people and seized 2,500 pairs of suspected counterfeit eyewear worth about HK$2.2 million (US$280,680) in a citywide operation. Officers from the Customs and Excise Department carried out the special enforcement action on Tuesday and Wednesday, targeting the sale of counterfeit goods. Officers raided five retail shops in Cheung Sha Wan, Kwai Shing, Tsuen Wan and Fanling, as well as a supplier in Kwun Tong, seizing the items with the assistance of...

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