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Mystery surrounds health and whereabouts of Iran’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president on Wednesday. “I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel. He did not elaborate. State television had called...

Iran war highlights US defence gaps; mathematician...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Could Iran war confirm China’s prediction on US military’s hypersonic nightmare? On the same day the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, a research team led by Liao Longwen with the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology published a paper in the Chinese journal Tactical Missile Technology on...

Webinar | ‘Two sessions’ 2026: how will China pivot...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

China’s most critical annual political gathering, the “two sessions”, is particularly significant this year as Beijing unveils its 15th five-year plan, signaling how it will position itself ahead of the highly anticipated summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump. To decode the outcomes of these meetings, the South China Morning Post and the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (CCA) will co-host a special webinar on March 13. The panel

Mother in Hong Kong held after unattended son throws...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

A woman in Hong Kong has been arrested on suspicion of neglect after allegedly leaving her four-year-old son home alone, during which time he threw objects from a window, damaging a parked car below. Police said on Wednesday that they received a report in the early hours concerning a boy suspected of throwing plastic bottles and other items from a residential flat on Tai Nan Street in Sham Shui Po. A video widely shared online shows an object being thrown from the building’s fifth floor,

China woman, 63, gives birth to baby girl after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

A 63-year-old woman from northeastern China, who lost her only child last year and sought another offspring for spiritual support, recently gave birth to a baby girl. The woman delivered the baby on March 4 via caesarean section at a hospital in Songyuan, Jilin province, about two weeks ahead of her due date, as reported by the Sanxiang Metropolis News. Both the mother and her baby, who weighs 2.8kg, are in good health, the report stated. The grey-haired mother, whose name was not disclosed

Might makes right? Rules‑based order on trial in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

As the war in Iran tips the global order further into chaos, a potentially existential rupture on whether international rules still matter is threatening to tear Europe apart. Over the course of Monday and Tuesday, leaders of the European Union’s institutions – considered among the most legalistic political structures on the planet – clashed publicly over whether the bloc should still be bound by global norms. This followed more than a week of messy sparring among national political leaders

Is Iran’s vital oil hub Kharg Island in America’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the northern Gulf, handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports and any attempt to seize it would mark a major escalation in the conflict, analysts have said. The US and Israel have so far treaded carefully around the island, but an Axios report over the weekend cited Trump administration officials saying capturing Kharg was on the table as the war in the Middle East persists. The island, located around 30km (19 miles) off the Iranian mainland, handles...

Cathay posts 9.5% rise in profit to HK$10.82 billion...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Cathay Pacific Airways’ net profit climbed by 9.5 per cent to HK$10.82 billion (US$1.39 billion) in 2025, driven by increased capacity and robust cargo demand, as the chief of the Hong Kong flag carrier warned of disruptions due to conflict in the Middle East. Cathay Group chairman Patrick Healy said on Wednesday the results marked the airline’s third consecutive year of growth. But he cautioned that global geopolitical tensions were unsettling businesses and pushing up fuel prices. Hong Kong

Election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene leads to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

The Republican candidate backed by US President Donald Trump will advance to a run-off against a Democrat in the Georgia race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the US House of Representatives, after a special election on Tuesday seen as a test of Trump’s sway over his party. Trump’s preferred candidate, former district attorney for four northwest Georgia counties Clay Fuller, will face Shawn Harris, a moderate Democrat who has sought to court disillusioned Trump voters, in ‌the April 7...

China’s size, strength insulates its energy security...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Despite its heavy reliance on oil and gas imports, China’s “national strength” insulates its energy security from short-term geopolitical shocks, a prominent petroleum geologist said. Jin Zhijun, dean of the Institute of Energy at Peking University, said that China – as a large country – could ensure its energy security amid a volatile international energy trading landscape, with multiple contingency plans in place. They included tapping more domestic resources by increasing oil and gas...

What if Iran really did buy export variant of China’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Just days ahead of the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, a news report suggested that Beijing was close to selling supersonic cruise missiles to Tehran – a move that could significantly boost the Islamic Republic’s capacity to counter US aircraft carriers. Before the world could work out whether game-changing Chinese missiles really would feature in an Iranian conflict against US forces, Beijing firmly denied the report, published by Reuters on February 24. Citing six sources, Reuters reported...

Hong Kong customs seizes more fuel-smuggling trucks...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Hong Kong customs officers have intercepted more cross-border trucks suspected of smuggling petrol into the city as fuel prices surge amid the war in the Middle East. Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat said on Wednesday that some of the vehicles had even enlarged their fuel tanks to carry more petrol for supplying illegal filling stations. “In the past few weeks, we have uncovered many such cases involving cars that had enlarged their fuel tank capacity and made other...

Halo trade reshapes Wall Street portfolios. Is China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Halo, short for heavy assets, low obsolescence, has emerged as a major Wall Street theme in recent weeks. Investors are rotating from tech stocks to companies with real physical assets amid fears over artificial intelligence, geopolitical tensions and rising prices of resources and infrastructure. Here’s what you need to know about how the strategy gained popularity and why it matters to China. What is Halo? The term was coined last month by Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, to...

Elon Musk on course to become world’s first...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Elon Musk’s estimated US$839 billion net worth has made him the wealthiest individual ever recorded, Forbes said on Tuesday, as billionaires worldwide saw their combined fortunes surge in the past year to an all-time high of US$20.1 trillion. Musk topped the Forbes World’s Billionaires list for the second consecutive year after his fortune swelled by roughly US$500 billion over the past 12 months, driven by rising valuations at Tesla and SpaceX, which is targeting a public offering in

Hong Kong stocks slip, led by tech firms, after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Hong Kong stocks fell on Wednesday as tech firms slid after Chinese authorities moved to curb the OpenClaw frenzy. The Hang Seng Index edged down 0.2 per cent to close at 25,898.76 after gaining as much as 0.7 per cent in the morning session. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.1 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index added 0.6 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent. On Tuesday, China’s cybersecurity emergency response system warned of security and data risks tied to...

Woman charged with attempted murder in shooting at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

A Florida woman accused of firing gunshots at Rihanna’s home in Los Angeles was charged on Tuesday with one count of attempted murder and other felony offences including 10 counts of assault on a person with a semi-automatic firearm. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the singing superstar, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three small children and her mother were all on the property at the time. The district attorney’s office said Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, was charged in the shooting

Harvey Weinstein calls prison ‘hell’ in interview...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Disgraced movie mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein says life in prison is “hell” in an interview where he repeatedly claimed he was not guilty of any crimes. The man who once effectively ruled Hollywood before a spectacular fall from grace at the start of the #MeToo movement said he was trapped in his cell at New York’s Rikers Island, with only guards for company. “It’s too dangerous for me to be around anyone else. Other inmates get to go to the yard. But every time I’m out there, I...

Hong Kong tycoon urges prudent approach to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

A Hong Kong property tycoon has called for a more prudent approach to the city’s development rather than accelerating projects amid global uncertainties, saying the industry’s willingness to invest in the Northern Metropolis hinges on the health of the market. Far East Consortium chairman David Chiu Tat-cheong also described the megaproject’s new land disposal approach – which requires winning bidders to handle multiple developments on a large plot – as good intentions with unintended

How America’s Iran miscalculation hands China a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

The US launched its war against Iran on February 28, convinced that decapitating Tehran’s leadership would produce swift political capitulation. A week later, Iran was still firing missiles across the Gulf, some 150 oil tankers were stalled at the Strait of Hormuz and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has threatened to set ablaze any vessel attempting passage. A recent analysis in The Diplomat argues the strikes signal the end of China’s westward strategic march. The diagnosis captures...

Taiwan scrambles to sign US arms deals before...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/11

Taiwan’s defence ministry has received a US letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for 82 Himars rocket launchers, according to officials, who said the deal must be signed by March 26 as other pending arms contracts near expiry. Speaking before a legislative session on Tuesday, Wellington Koo Li-hsiung, the island’s defence minister, said the Himars, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, agreement was one of five US arms procurement deals awaiting legislative authorisation. Koo noted that

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