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Strikes on Iraqi capital kill 2 Iran-linked Kataeb...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Explosions rocked Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Saturday after two strikes targeted the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members including a “key figure”, security sources said. The strikes are the first in the heart of Baghdad to kill Iran-backed fighters since the start of the Middle East war on February 28, which has not spared Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the US and Iran. “At 2.15am, a missile struck a house that was being used by Kataeb Hezbollah,” said a...

Graft and gridlock: in Anwar’s Malaysia, reformist...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Two votes. That was the margin by which Malaysia’s prime minister, a man with a supermajority in the 222-seat lower house, failed to pass a bill his own coalition had spent weeks publicly championing. After the numbers were read out, the cameras cut to Anwar Ibrahim. He was mid-laugh, chatting with his deputy. The bill, defeated on March 2, was supposed to be a quick win – a term-limit proposal capping any prime minister at two terms or 10 years in office, chosen precisely because it was...

Acid attack on Indonesian activist raises fears for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Two men on a motorbike threw acid in the face of an Indonesian rights activist, leaving him badly hurt and prompting calls on Friday for a thorough investigation amid concerns of democratic backsliding in the country. Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, sustained serious injuries to his face, an eye, hands and chest in the attack in Jakarta late on Thursday. Andrie was riding a motorbike when he was approached by two men on a scooter, one of whom threw acid at him,...

Which Chinese stocks can help investors withstand...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Chinese companies in several sectors – including energy, petrochemicals and agriculture – stand to benefit from surging oil prices and the nation’s easing deflation, which analysts said could help investors find gains amid the negative effects of the Middle East war. Petrochemical companies on mainland China’s exchanges, including Satellite Chemical and Guangdong Redwall New Materials, raised product prices to reflect the surge in oil costs, a move that sent their stock prices soaring....

Up to 16,000 Meta jobs at stake as Zuckerberg focuses...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Meta is planning sweeping lay-offs that could affect 20 per cent or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalised, the people said. Top executives have recently signalled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare...

Boosting China-India ties should be pillar of Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

By the second half of the 21st century, the Sino-Indian relationship will become the world’s most significant geopolitical relationship, dislodging even the complex China-US cooperative rivalry. By 2050, the world’s three largest economies are likely to comprise some combination of China, India and the United States. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts this exact order – with the US having the highest per capita income but the smallest population. Both Asian powerhouses enjoy significant

Trump tells South Korea he is only leader who can...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and US President Donald Trump discussed the possible reopening of talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a meeting in Washington, Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday. Kim told Trump he was the only Western leader to have had dialogue with North Korea’s Kim and was currently the only person who could resolve issues on the Korean peninsula, Yonhap quoted Kim as telling reporters in Washington. “President Trump said he was curious

China game shop slammed for using live hamsters in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

A game centre in China has come under fire after it used real hamsters as prizes in its claw machines to attract customers. The venue, in a shopping centre in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province, was reported to have filled a machine with hamsters, instead of the normal plush toys. Its actions triggered an online backlash, with many people accusing the outlet of animal abuse. According to online footage, the hamsters cowered in the corner of the machine. Clips also reportedly

Hong Kong’s bid to win in AI: where are the road map...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Keith Li King-wah’s business once thrived during the 2010s. In a crowded field of more than 100 rivals, his programming consultancy, Innopage, easily secured contracts worth hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars to develop basic digital tools, such as a mortgage calculator, for corporations and government agencies. But those easy-money days are gone. The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed high-value coding into widely accessible and automated services,...

Iran war knocks out Thai Mideast rice exports,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

Thai rice exports to the Middle East were halted as the escalating war disrupts shipments to the nation’s largest market for the grain, further straining farmers grappling with rising costs and reduced overseas demand. Two ships carrying a combined 80,000 tonnes of rice bound for Iraq were suspended at a Bangkok port this week, with buyers instructing containers be unloaded and the grain returned to warehouses, Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association,

Beyond Pax Silica: Japan, France and Canada seek rare...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/14

For years, the West’s answer to Chinese dominance of critical minerals was to rally around Washington. Now, some of its most important allies are reaching a different conclusion: that depending too heavily on the United States carries its own risks. Japan, France and Canada have all been exploring how to build supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals that answer to neither Beijing nor Washington. Senior officials from the three Group of Seven economies are working on...

Trump says US bombed Iran’s Kharg Island, threatens...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

⁠US ⁠President ⁠Donald Trump said on Friday that the United ‌States had carried out strikes against “every military target” on Iran’s Kharg Island export hub.“For reasons ⁠of decency, I have ‌chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil ‌Infrastructure on the ⁠Island,” ⁠Trump said in a social media post. “However, should Iran, or anyone ‌else, ‌do anything to interfere ‌with the Free ⁠and Safe Passage of ⁠Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I ‌will immediately ‌reconsider this decision.” The small coral...

Inside OpenClaw mania in China, as security fears...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

By the time software programmer Guo Cancan realised something had gone horribly wrong with OpenClaw – the task-executing AI agent that has ignited a fervour across China – the damage was already done. While on holiday over the Chinese New Year, Guo was tinkering with the autonomous open-source program. When he attempted to resolve an error that it had made, OpenClaw responded by deleting nearly everything on his computer’s D: drive – a major storage partition – wiping out years of personal

Trump and Netanyahu’s Iran quagmire is wrecking the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

A declining superpower and an aspiring regional hegemon make a deadly combination. The warmongering duo of the United States and Israel have now given the world an illegal and potentially catastrophic war in Iran. It’s a tragic irony that both countries have a culture of extreme self-righteousness, with a constant army of apologists telling others they must stand up to evil wherever it exists because if they don’t, it will come for them one day. Well, that day is here, but guess who’s

Judge quashes subpoenas of Fed chair, says...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

A federal judge on Friday quashed US Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve in January, a severe blow to an investigation that has already attracted strong criticism on Capitol Hill. Judge James Boasberg said that a “mountain of evidence suggests” that the purpose of the subpoenas was simply to pressure the Fed to cut its key interest rate, as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded. Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed the investigation on January 11, prompting

Cartel boss on US ‘most wanted’ list captured in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

An alleged cocaine boss with a US$2 million bounty on his head was captured by Bolivian forces as the Andean nation renews cooperation with the US after decades of hostility. Dozens of antinarcotics police raided two houses in Santa Cruz in the early hours of Friday, with snipers positioned on nearby rooftops. Their target, Uruguayan citizen Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, was immediately put on a plane to be transferred to the US by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Bolivia’s President...

UK’s Peter Mandelson and ex-prince Andrew pictured in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

A photograph of Britain’s former prince Andrew and veteran politician Peter Mandelson sitting in bathrobes alongside late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unearthed on Friday in previously published documents. The image is believed to be the first known photograph of the two men with Epstein. They are both currently engulfed in scandal in the UK over their ties to their mutual friend. The undated photograph, first reported by ITV News, shows King Charles’ disgraced brother and Britain’s

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro in ICU with pneumonia

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has pneumonia and is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Friday. Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flavio, said on social media that his father was being transferred from prison to the hospital after waking up with chills and vomiting. “I ask for prayers that it not be anything serious,” Flavio wrote. He has said he would run for president this year, and recent polls show him and

US says Iran’s new supreme leader likely ‘wounded’,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been injured and pledged to continue ramping up attacks, while playing down the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Khamenei is “wounded and likely disfigured”, Hegseth said during a press conference on Friday morning. The new Iranian leader’s first public address, issued on Thursday through a written statement, showed that “he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run,

How Iran turned Strait of Hormuz into potent weapon...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Long before the US and Israel ⁠attacked Iran, the Islamic Republic had devised its own weapon: holding the world’s main ⁠oil lifeline hostage to offset its foes’ military superiority, three regional sources familiar with Iranian planning said. For decades, Iran has signalled that if pushed into a confrontation, it would restrict tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint where its adversaries are most exposed because disruptions there reverberate instantly through global energy...

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