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News - South China Morning Post

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‘Cyber confession room’ where China youth share...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/12

At first glance, it is just a photograph of an empty room. But on mainland social media, it has become something else entirely: a virtual confessional. Beneath such posts, users anonymously unburden themselves to strangers, sharing the guilt, anxiety and struggles they cannot voice to family or friends. Traditionally, the confessional in Christianity is a space where believers admit their sins to a priest and seek absolution. Such so-called cyber confession rooms have recently surged in...

Is Beijing stepping up island building in South China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/12

China has significantly stepped up its land reclamation activities on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, according to satellite images. One image, reportedly taken on Monday, suggested that the surface area of Antelope Reef, once a mostly submerged feature in the Paracel Islands, had expanded substantially. The picture, published on social media by Damien Symon, a researcher with global intelligence research network The Intel Lab, also showed more than 30 vessels, believed to be

How will Hong Kong follow mainland China’s ethnic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/12

Hong Kong should step up education on Chinese history and culture while highlighting security threats to cultivate public awareness about the need to defend the country, experts have said, as the nation’s legislature is set to pass a law promoting ethnic unity. The expert’s comments came ahead of the closing session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday, which is due to pass the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress. The law aims to forge a strong “sense of community

US launches trade probe into China and EU in bid to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

The Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries – an effort that comes after the Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s previous use of tariffs by declaring an economic emergency. Trump and his team have made clear that they’re seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenues after the Supreme Court’s February ruling by using different laws to establish new tariffs. In this case, the...

Chinese firms with success in go-global efforts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Overseas expansion and a commodity boom have put Chinese companies trading on the mainland in a position to beat their offshore-listed peers in earnings, cementing the outperformance of yuan-denominated stocks since the outbreak of Middle East hostility. The 300 largest mainland-traded companies may post average 2025 profit growth of 6.3 per cent during the coming earnings season, while the growth rate for the firms in the Hong Kong exchange’s benchmark Hang Seng Index would be a mere 2 per...

UN Security Council demands Iran halt attacks on Gulf...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran’s ambassador to decry a “blatant misuse” of the international body. The resolution, passed by 13 votes with two abstentions, “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan”. It also “condemns any

The pivot: how China turbocharged its industrial...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Huang Yiping, a veteran Chinese economist, has attended countless policy forums and high-level summits over his long career. But one event at Peking University a decade ago stands out. Academic debates are often niche, sparsely attended affairs, but that afternoon in November 2016 was different. Seats in the auditorium were snatched up in minutes as people piled in to witness a showdown that had attracted nationwide attention. The public frenzy centred on a rare face-to-face clash between two...

Iran-linked hackers claim attack on US medical tech...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

An Iran-linked hacking group claimed responsibility Wednesday for a cyberattack on US medical technology giant Stryker, saying it had extracted 50 terabytes of data in retaliation for military strikes on Iran. “Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” Handala said in a statement. It described the hack as retribution for what it called “the brutal attack on the Minab school” in Iran, where authorities said more than 150 people were killed, and for “ongoing cyber...

AI chatbots help plot attacks, study shows: ‘happy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading AI chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm. Researchers from the non-profit watchdog Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the United States and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI. Testing showed that eight of those chatbots...

Chile’s Boric leaves office, calls for unity after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Chilean President Gabriel Boric left La Moneda presidential palace for the last time on Wednesday, ending a four-year term with a call for national unity that most observers took as a reference to the Chinese undersea cable dispute that defined his final weeks in office. “I wish success to the incoming government, success for Chile, and may our homeland always come first, above any interest, above any disagreement,” Boric said from the palace courtyard, where he arrived with his partner,

3 brothers with Iraq links arrested for ‘terrorist...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Norwegian police said on Wednesday that three brothers had been arrested on suspicion of a “terrorist bombing” over a weekend explosion at the US embassy in Oslo that caused minor damage but no injuries. Police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a press conference the brothers, who were Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin, had been arrested in Oslo around 3.30pm and that police were investigating the motive. “We are still working from several hypotheses. One of them is whether this is an order

US military warns civilians to avoid port facilities...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

US Central Command (CENTCOM) urged civilians to keep clear of all port facilities in Iran, saying that Iranian military operations justify potential attacks, as reports emerged that Tehran had attacked at least one vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said on Wednesday that the Iranian regime was using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations, which would make the ports legitimate military targets under international law. Civilians should immediately avoid

Jockey Club serves as Official Community Partner of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] The Hong Kong Jockey Club extends its warmest congratulations on the successful conclusion of this year’s LIV Golf Hong Kong on 8 March at the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) Fanling Golf Course. HKSAR Government Financial Secretary Paul Chan, HKSAR Government Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law, Club Executive Director of Corporate Affairs Raymond Tam and other guests attended the tournament, witnessing

Iran will not compete in United States-hosted 2026...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Iran cannot take part in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the United States launched air strikes against the country alongside Israel, killing its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday. The US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran almost two weeks ago, killing the Islamic Republic’s ‌supreme leader, leading to a region-wide conflict in the Gulf. “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we...

China issues new safety rules for OpenClaw. Here are...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

A unit of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued guidelines on best practices and prohibitions for adopting and using OpenClaw, the popular artificial intelligence agent that continues to dominate the market. The advisory, developed in collaboration with AI agent providers, vulnerability platform operators and cybersecurity firms, aims to address risks in typical use cases of “lobster”, OpenClaw’s mascot, according to a Wednesday statement from the MIIT-run...

As Iran war hits trade hubs, China’s logistics firms...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Logistics companies in China are feeling the strain from the US-Israeli war on Iran, as volatile crude prices and disrupted transport routes ripple through global supply chains. With e-commerce cargo stranded in the Middle East and freight rates skyrocketing, industry insiders said they expect the fallout to last months, even as US President Donald Trump signalled the war could end soon. While some saw opportunities in alternative Central Asian corridors, Chinese businesses reliant on the

Taiwan’s Mayday invites fans angered by axed Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Taiwanese rock band Mayday has sought to calm fans angered by the abrupt cancellation of one of its concerts planned for Hong Kong by inviting them to a free rehearsal, as complaints over the scrapped show soared to more than 100. The city’s customs chief also weighed in on Wednesday, warning that enforcement action would be taken if any laws were breached. The Consumer Council said that as of 5pm, it had received 111 complaints about the cancelled show – 42 from local consumers and 69 from

UK PM Starmer was warned of ‘reputational risk’ in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Documents released on Wednesday by the British government show officials believed there was a “reputational risk” to appointing Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador because of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The concerns were raised in a document sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in December 2024 before he appointed Mandelson to the role, seen as vital to establish a good relationship with the administration of US President Donald Trump. The document also

Hong Kong university president vows to boost...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

The head of Hong Kong’s oldest university has vowed to inject more resources into humanities programmes, praising them as a source of creativity and imagination, even as some institutions outside the city cut courses amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Xiang Zhang, president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), made the pledge on Wednesday as the head of the institution’s medical faculty revealed the school would ditch its target for 75 per cent of its intake to be...

Iran warns of oil at US$200 a barrel, IEA to release...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Iran warned on Wednesday that it was ready for a long war of attrition that would “destroy” the world economy, after firing on two commercial ships and threatening vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. “Get ready for oil to be US$200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilised,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for Iran’s military command, said in ‌comments addressed to Washington. As Tehran tightened its chokehold on the crucial sea

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