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News - South China Morning Post

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Relief, joy as first flight back from Dubai brings...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Hong Kong travellers rejoiced on Wednesday evening after arriving home safely on the first flight from Dubai to the city since US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted global air links. Emirates flight EK380 was the first to arrive after Dubai’s two airports resumed “limited” operations two days ago, landing at around 9.50pm. Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport were both closed on Saturday after the conflict broke out, with Iran retaliating by targeting US military

Beyond the conference — how APAIE 2026 turned...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong stands at the crossroads of global learning and vibrant local culture, offering overseas delegates a compact, layered introduction to what makes the city an enduring magnet for international students. As the lead host of APAIE 2026, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) curated an immersive programme that moved beyond panel sessions and meetings to reveal the city’s living character. The itinerary

‘Two sessions’, two paths: China prioritises AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Artificial intelligence will be a focal point of the scientific agenda at Beijing’s annual legislative meeting and coming five-year plan, as China and the US pursue divergent AI paths putting their tech ecosystems at odds. Just over a year ago, Chinese start-up DeepSeek released an open-source AI model that changed how the world viewed the country’s AI capabilities and ambitions. Chinese companies have embraced an open-source approach to AI development, which has rapidly scaled usage of their...

Hong Kong woman, 30, arrested over illegal sale of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Hong Kong authorities have arrested a 30-year-old woman on suspicion of illegally selling poisons and unregistered pharmaceutical products, after an undercover operation found her offering weight-loss injections online. The Department of Health said on Wednesday that it acted on a tip-off and obtained the anti-obesity medicine through a transaction on an instant messaging app. The product bore a Japanese label and indicated that it contained tirzepatide. According to a photo released by the...

Iran delays funeral of supreme leader over crowd...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Iran postponed the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike last weekend, citing expectations of large crowds. The three-day ceremony had been scheduled to start at 10pm local time at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, a mosque in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Wednesday. State television later said the proceedings were being delayed “due to the expected unprecedented presence of mourners”, and a new time would be...

Is the US in decline? After Iran strikes, maybe not,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

The US’ decapitation of Iran’s leaders highlights America’s superior military strength and runs counter to the popular view in China that the United States is in decline, according to international relations specialists. The weekend operation, conducted with Israel, killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior commanders within the country’s armed forces, just weeks after a US Special Forces team abducted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Those two incidents –...

Man arrested after 14 endangered reptiles found in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Hong Kong authorities arrested a man after the discovery of 14 endangered reptiles, including a crocodile and two pythons, at an industrial site in Kwai Chung. A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said on Wednesday evening that officers arrested the man in a blitz operation the previous night. “The AFCD will remain vigilant and continue to monitor and collect intelligence through various channels and proactively take enforcement action to combat offences...

Turkey says missile launched from Iran destroyed by Nato

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by Nato air defence systems, Turkish officials said on Wednesday. The defence ministry said it had been “engaged and neutralised by Nato air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean”. It did not specify the missile’s intended target. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but

Alibaba recruits Google DeepMind contributor to join...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Alibaba Group Holding has recruited a research scientist from Google DeepMind to bolster development efforts for its Qwen artificial intelligence models, in an internal restructuring that has seen the departure of previous technical lead Lin Junyang. While no successor to Lin was announced, former Google senior staff research scientist Zhou Hao was joining Alibaba as head of post-training research, replacing Yu Bowen, who also departed this week, two sources said. Zhou, who holds a PhD from

Hong Kong tycoons say Middle East outlook remains...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Hong Kong tycoons have expressed confidence in the Middle East’s economic outlook amid continued strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks, stressing that the city’s economy is unlikely to be affected. Speaking to the media in Beijing on the sidelines of the “two sessions” – the nation’s annual parliamentary meetings – on Wednesday, Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, former heir apparent to Hong Kong property giant New World Development, said the Middle East’s

Khamenei’s fall exposes China’s military AI lag...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

China must speed up military applications of AI and deepen civil-military fusion to narrow its strategic gap with the United States, a leading Chinese political scientist and adviser to Beijing has said. Citing US-Israeli precision strikes that eliminated Iran’s supreme leader, Zheng Yongnian warned that China risked repeating historical mistakes if it limited artificial intelligence (AI) mostly to civilian or entertainment uses and failed to convert frontier technologies into decisive hard...

China team’s space laser breakthrough takes...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Chinese scientists have reported a milestone in space laser communications, sustaining a high-speed, hours-long laser link with a satellite more than 40,000km (25,000 miles) above the Earth. The capability is seen as critical to future deep-space networks. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Optics and Electronics, which led the project, researchers used a 1.8-metre (6-foot) aperture telescope in Yunnan province to lock onto a geostationary satellite within four...

China in the crosshairs as EU launches sweeping plans...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

The European Union unveiled a sweeping raft of policies on Wednesday aimed at kick-starting its sluggish industry and protecting its critical infrastructure. A common thread through each is that the screws will be turned ever tighter on Chinese firms in Europe. Combined, the proposals reveal anxiety over the bloc’s ability to compete with cut-price and increasingly high-quality Chinese products, the heightened security fears connected to Chinese investments, and a new-found urgency to do...

China, Trump’s visit and the priority for this year’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

China will focus on economic resilience as lawmakers gather in Beijing for the country’s annual legislative session – just days before US President Donald Trump touches down in the Chinese capital. Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the National People’s Congress, outlined the NPC’s agenda on Wednesday, taking the opportunity to also stress that China will not compromise on core principles in dealing with the United States. The NPC will run for eight days from Thursday, and during the gathering,

3 arrested in UK on suspicion of spying for China,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Three men suspected of spying for China were arrested on Wednesday, London police said. One of the three men is the husband of a lawmaker from the governing Labour Party. The three allegedly assisted a foreign intelligence service in violation of the National Security Act of 2023, Metropolitan Police said. Police did not name the suspects because they have not been charged. But they said one was a 39-year-old arrested in London, another was a 68-year-old arrested in Powys, Wales, and the

Air freight costs for China shippers tipped to rise...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Air freight costs for China-reliant shippers may rise by up to 30 per cent due to the suspension of Middle East air routes triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, a Hong Kong-based logistics association said. The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding & Logistics made the estimate based on “market feedback” since the strikes began on Saturday, the trade group told the South China Morning Post in an emailed statement. Most of the group’s 303 corporate members operate in mainland...

Germany’s Merz lacked ‘solidarity’ amid silence...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Wednesday accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of failing to show “solidarity” with Madrid in the face of criticism from US President Donald Trump. Albares told broadcaster RTVE that he had communicated his “surprise” over the chancellor’s response to Trump’s tirade against Spain in a White House meeting on Tuesday. “When you share a currency, a common trade policy and a common market with another country, you expect the same solidarity that...

More Hongkongers leave money in MPF pension plan to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

Fewer Hongkongers withdrew funds from the city’s mandatory pension plan in the fourth quarter of last year, as a stock market rally prompted more members to leave their investments in place even when they stopped working or left the city, according to analysts. The number of people taking their money out of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) because they were leaving Hong Kong permanently fell 39 per cent in the final three months of 2025 from the previous quarter, to 4,200 cases, according

Why China is staying on the sidelines of the US-Iran...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

China and Iran may be strategic partners but, as was the case with America’s special operation in Venezuela in January, China has offered no security support to Iran over the US and Israeli attacks. The decision was based on a consideration of Beijing’s own interests, its ties with the US and other countries, and to minimise military and financial risks to China, according to analysts. Since the large-scale attacks against Iran began over the weekend, Beijing has limited its response to...

Iran’s Unesco-listed Golestan Palace damaged as US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/04

The US military has said that it has hit nearly 2,000 targets inside Iran since Saturday. More than 1,000 people have been killed, including some whom US President Donald Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country. While numerous government and military sites have been targeted - including the facility where Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the operation - the intensity of the bombardment has damaged at least one...

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