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News - South China Morning Post

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US-China trade talks: what to expect as senior...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Trade talks between China and the United States in Paris this weekend are likely to focus on setting the scene for the Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump later this month, analysts said, downplaying the prospects of any significant breakthroughs. Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to discuss potential deals on tariffs, investment, and trade in soybeans and rare earths, which would be presented as deliverables for

US economic growth slumps to 0.7% in fourth quarter,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The US economy grew at a significantly slower pace than initially estimated for the final months of 2025, government data showed on Friday, a major downgrade that comes as fallout from war in the Middle East looms. US gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. This was sharply down from its earlier estimated 1.4 per cent over the October to December period. It also indicates that the world’s biggest economy was on a

Apple’s Mac Mini selling out across China as OpenClaw...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The OpenClaw craze is rapidly driving up prices and depleting stock of Apple’s Mac Mini compact computer across China, according to local sellers, as consumers scramble to secure machines capable of safely running the open-source artificial intelligence agent amid a nationwide rush to “raise a lobster”. Beijing electronics seller Frank Chai said he was asking for a mark-up of at least 500 yuan (US$73) for a basic Mac Mini model, which comes with 16 gigabytes (GB) of memory and 256GB storage

Deadly strike on Iranian primary school raises...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the US-Israel war on Iran has sparked a legal and ethical debate, as well as condemnation from countries including China after a deadly missile strike on a primary school. To prepare for its operations against Iran, the US military reportedly used Palantir’s Maven Smart System, an AI platform that incorporates models like Anthropic’s Claude to aggregate large amounts of data. A US-based source familiar with the matter said the only thing that Claude

Hong Kong students honour over 400 foreign domestic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

More than 400 foreign domestic helpers gathered at an international school campus in Hong Kong on Friday as 50 students paid tribute to their contributions as “second mothers” who help shape a multicultural environment at home. The organising student committee for the event at the English Schools Foundation’s Renaissance College in Ma On Shan said it hoped to inspire the wider community to cherish their domestic workers. The “Jie Jie Day” event, held annually by the school for 14 years, was

Hong Kong government workers warned not to install...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Hong Kong authorities have asked all government units not to install OpenClaw or its variants due to security concerns, days after some mainland Chinese entities were reported to have restricted the use of the AI agent. The government’s Digital Policy Office (DPO) told the South China Morning Post on Friday that while no related security incidents had been reported, it noted the potential risks of the use of the artificial intelligence agent, including unauthorised data access, leakage and...

Funding cuts trigger calls for help on jobs from Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Hong Kong’s physiotherapy sector has urged the government to expand employment opportunities for locally trained professionals, warning that severe funding cuts will lead to a glut of practitioners, with the surplus projected to exceed 2,000 by 2040. In a letter to the authorities, the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association pointed to hiring freezes and job losses at NGOs as a result of budget cuts, even as the government continued to subsidise the training of physiotherapists. “These

Will Paracels dispute overshadow China and Vietnam’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

China and Vietnam are to hold their first high-level ministerial talks under a new platform next week. This comes as the neighbours seek to cement their strategic alignment despite heightened tensions over Beijing’s purported new land reclamation work in the disputed South China Sea. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong and Defence Minister Dong Jun will be in Vietnam from Sunday to Tuesday to meet their respective...

21 hurt in 4-vehicle crash on Hong Kong’s Yuen Long...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Twenty-one people have been injured in a crash involving two double-decker buses, a truck and a car on Yuen Long Highway in Hong Kong. Police said on Friday that the force was alerted to the traffic accident at 6.35pm. As of 8pm, 12 women and nine men had suffered minor injuries, police said. Among them was the driver of the private car, the force added. Franchised bus firm KMB said two double-deckers on routes 276B and 269B were involved in the accident with the two other vehicles while...

Strait of Hormuz transiting ships flash ‘China owner’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Ships near the Strait of Hormuz are broadcasting Chinese affiliations in an apparent bid to avoid attack, at a time when Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep the strategic waterway closed. The crews of at least 11 vessels sitting in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf had their transponders set to announce Chinese links on Friday afternoon, according to Kpler’s MarineTraffic data platform. The broadcasts were a defensive measure, said Cui Shoujun, director of the Institute of

Cuba confirms talks with US as island gasps under...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that his government has held recent talks with the US, marking the first time the Caribbean country confirms such speculation. He said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges”. He did not elaborate on those factors. Diaz-Canel said no petroleum shipments have arrived on the island in the past three months, which he blamed

US-Israeli war on Iran makes a mockery of global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The US-Israeli attacks on Iran have profound implications for the global governance order. For America, the world’s mightiest power, to attack another nation without congressional or UN approval condemns the rules-based order to the dustbin of history. Governance is about checks and balance by rules, self-restraint or simply a humble appreciation that waging “forever wars” often ends up in self-destruction. War is such an extreme and costly measure it should only be undertaken after careful...

Indian man in 13-year vegetative state allowed to die...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

India’s Supreme Court has allowed the parents of a 31-year-old man to withdraw life-sustaining treatment after more than a decade in a vegetative state, a ruling experts say could shape how the country implements its legal framework for passive euthanasia. The decision in the case of Harish Rana is widely seen as one of the clearest real-world applications of the principle that patients have a right to die with dignity under India’s constitution. Rana, an engineering student, had been in a...

Could China’s gallium oxide leap leave US F-22 radar...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

In the high-stakes race for radar supremacy, China could leap two generations ahead of the United States following an advancement in semiconductor technology published last month that is poised to redefine the future of military electronics. While the US Air Force struggles to modernise its fighter fleet with gallium nitride-based radar systems, Chinese engineers are already pioneering the next frontier: gallium oxide semiconductors with built-in data storage capabilities. Today’s Chinese...

Beijing warns US over Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong and Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Beijing on Friday warned Washington against making moves involving Hong Kong or Taiwan ahead of the expected visit by US President Donald Trump later this month. It condemned US calls for the release of jailed former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and reiterated opposition to American arms sales to Taiwan. Speaking at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Lai “should be severely punished according to the law”, and accused external forces of...

UK says Russia, Iran trying to ‘hijack global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has accused Russia and Iran of attempting to “hijack the global economy” as Tehran continued to blockade a major oil shipping route. Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to continue attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for ongoing US-Israeli strikes on his country. The blockade has seen oil prices jump to around US$100 per barrel, threatening higher inflation across the globe. Speaking to the media during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the UK...

Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill to rise more than...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The cost of Malaysia’s subsidies for fuel at the pump is projected to rise by more than four times in the short term, the government has said, as it rushed to assure the public the country’s energy supply will not be disrupted even as the Iran war chokes global oil and gas shipments. Fear of an energy crisis has engulfed much of Southeast Asia since the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28, pushing Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway that handles about

JPMorgan signs up as anchor tenant for SHKP’s West...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

JPMorgan Chase has committed to leasing about 250,000 sq ft of space in the new Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) office towers in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon district for 10 years, making the US investment bank the anchor tenant of the 700,000 sq ft mixed-use development, the Hong Kong-listed developer said on Friday. Artist Square Towers (AST) will house the bank’s Kowloon office, which is currently located at The Quayside in Kowloon East, starting in the latter half of 2028, according to an...

Hong Kong MTR Corp pay rise below expectations: union

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

A union representing employees of Hong Kong’s rail operator, the MTR Corporation, has expressed disappointment with the firm’s refusal to consider their calls for improved benefits, saying the pay rise of up to 3.84 per cent for most staff is “slightly below demands”. The MTR Corp announced pay increases on Friday ranging from 1.6 to 3.84 per cent for most non-management staff for the 2026-27 financial year, depending on their performance. Last year, the adjustment was between 1.8 and 5.4 per...

Japan taps oil reserves as Iran war spreads. Could it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Japan’s unilateral decision to release oil from its emergency stockpiles highlights its vulnerability to prolonged supply disruptions and may leave it more exposed to economic pressure from China amid tense bilateral relations, according to analysts. Tokyo announced earlier this week that it planned to release a total of 80 million barrels starting March 16, marking the first time it would independently tap its national reserves. The decision came ahead of a coordinated response by the...

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