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Turkish journalists jailed for filming near Nato base...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

The Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS) on Sunday demanded the release of three journalists arrested in connection with footage filmed near a sensitive airbase that hosts US troops in southern Turkey. The footage was shot near the Incirlik airbase for Turkey’s independent Anka news agency as Israel and the US began striking Iran, which retaliated with missile barrages against Gulf states hosting US bases, and against Israel. The Turkish base, which has hosted US troops for decades, is a key Nato...

Legal framework for Northern Metropolis to be tabled...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

A “relatively flexible” legal framework for Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will be introduced to the Legislative Council later this month to fast-track the megaproject’s development, a minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho shared the update on the planned framework on Sunday, days after the city’s latest budget sought to allocate HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) for the megaproject set to span 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) in the New Territories. Authorities will...

China’s Honor debuts robot phone and humanoid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Chinese smartphone maker Honor has unveiled a “robot phone” and its first humanoid assistant ahead of MWC Barcelona, alongside its latest foldable handset, in an aggressive bet on artificial intelligence-powered hardware to stand out in the fierce Android competition. Honor’s AI Robot Phone, which featured a motorised, three-axis gimbal arm, could track motion and interact with users through camera movement, the company said in a preview of the handset on Sunday in Barcelona. The camera arm

Robots, jets and yachts: Hong Kong aims for new fairs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Hong Kong aims to host fairs on robotics, yachts and small jets – events never before held in the city – to cement its status as an international exhibition hub and attract big spenders, the commerce minister has said. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah on Sunday said the push was in response to the HK$100 million (US$12.78 million) budgeted to “attract large international exhibitions with new elements to Hong Kong”. Yau said the government was brainstorming...

Japan’s rightward shift puts it on a collision course...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

I underestimated Japan’s determination to ruffle China’s feathers. In a November 2023 column, I argued that the apparently cordial meeting between President Xi Jinping and then US president Joe Biden in the US unsettled Japan, which wanted to attain its goal of becoming a “normal country” again. In a column last December, I said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s hardened position against China – exemplified by her November 7 speech saying China’s forceful takeover of Taiwan could pose

‘H’ races to riches: car plate fetches HK$20 million...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

A personalised car number plate featuring the letter “H” has fetched HK$20 million (US$2.55 million) at a government auction, the fourth-most-expensive one sold in Hong Kong at 4,000 times its reserve price. Other high bids at Sunday’s Chinese New Year auction of vehicle registration marks included the plates “30” at HK$4.55 million, “101” at HK$1.01 million and “2288” at HK$470,000. The single-letter H plate drew the top bid among the 49 plates sold, going to a man who outbid three rivals in

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: defiant Iranian leader’s rule...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Iran has announced 40 days of state-mandated mourning for its Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose life and 36-year rule ended abruptly during the opening salvo of US-Israeli strikes against his country. Satellite imagery captured the aftermath of a devastating strike on Saturday that killed the 86-year-old cleric: black smoke and heavy damage at his central Tehran compound. Khamenei’s death was confirmed by Iran hours after US President Donald Trump announced the killing and called

China Resources subsidiary acquires Hong Kong hotel...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

A subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate China Resources (Holdings) has acquired a Hong Kong hotel and plans to convert it into student housing amid a wave of investments driven by rising demand after the city raised the cap on non-local students. CR Longdation signed an agreement to buy four-star hotel Hotel Cozi Oasis in Kwai Chung, a major industrial and residential area in the southwestern New Territories, for HK$953 million (US$122 million), said Colliers and Knight Frank, which advised

What will first Type 055 destroyers for PLA East...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Beijing is expected to intensify naval operations beyond Taiwan and the first island chain, military observers say, citing the possible commissioning of Type 055 “super destroyers” into the East Sea Fleet. Photographs circulating on social media in late January showed two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers moored at a naval base in Zhoushan, located on the East China Sea coast. They had also been assigned hull numbers, 109 and 110, signalling imminent commissioning into the PLA Navy. This...

194 Hongkongers stranded in Middle East safe as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Hong Kong authorities have received 194 inquiries from residents stranded in the Middle East amid a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, which forced flight cancellations and left some seeking refuge in local hotels. The Immigration Department confirmed to the South China Morning Post that all residents who inquired about the situation and flight arrangements were in safe locations as of 5pm on Sunday. It said authorities had been coordinating with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry

Cathay passengers bemoan refund policies as US,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Passengers flying with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways have criticised the flag carrier over its compensation and rebooking policies after flights to the Middle East were cancelled due to the joint United States-Israeli attack on Iran. Cathay Pacific said on Sunday that it was “waiving rebooking and re-routing charges for the affected customers” to give them “greater flexibility”, but did not clarify whether the measures included financial compensation for conflict-related cancellations or...

Will Iran collapse without Khamenei or can its regime...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the latest US-Israeli strikes on the country has triggered not only a leadership vacuum but also a high-stakes test of whether the Islamic Republic’s system can endure without the man who dominated it for nearly four decades. Analysts said the immediate signs point less to collapse than to hardening continuity, at least for now, as security institutions close ranks, the battlefield expands and signs of internal rupture remain...

Belgium special forces seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Belgium’s special forces boarded and seized an oil tanker from the ‘shadow fleet’ Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the government said on Sunday. Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea during an overnight operation. “Today, a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet was intercepted in the North Sea,” Prevot wrote on social media, thanking Belgian special forces for their “exceptional professionalism and courage.” Belgian...

More than 40,000 Hong Kong cabbies register to accept...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

More than 40,000 Hong Kong taxi drivers have registered to accept Octopus payments, ahead of an electronic payment mandate that will take effect next month, with a sector representative urging authorities to exercise discretion during the initial phase of the roll-out. On April 1, all cabbies will be required to offer at least two electronic payment options to passengers as part of a broader plan to enhance the quality and image of taxi services. Hong Kong has about 46,000 active taxi

As US names official for Tibet policy, is it eyeing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

The United States has appointed a new official to oversee its policy on Tibet, a move analysts say signals Washington’s interest in playing up the issue while dealing with Beijing. The appointment is set against US President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and global advocacy, as well as a strategic detente with Beijing. On February 17, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labour, would assume the role of US...

Inside Xi Jinping’s new guide to promoting Communist...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

For a book on performance appraisals, it contained some surprising language – especially given its author, President Xi Jinping. The volume, published by the Central Party Literature Press, coincided with the launch of an overhaul of the Communist Party’s promotion system that will continue in the run-up to next year’s leadership transition. Among the raft of speeches and instructions from Xi since November 2012 is a blunt warning to cadres about pursuing debt-laden white elephant...

Warm winter no match: China’s sportswear sector posts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

China’s major sportswear makers have shrugged off soft consumer spending and a warm winter, according to analysts. Retail sales in China’s sportswear sector picked up in the first two months of 2026 and beat expectations, helped by fresh policy support and Chinese New Year demand, analysts said. Separately, Chinese households also tuned into the Winter Olympics, where domestic sportswear giants Li Ning and Anta had high visibility. “We are turning more positive on the China sportswear

Why Chinese honour Toilet Goddess with straw...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

In China, during the Lantern Festival, a unique folk custom involves the worship of a Toilet Goddess. The unlikely ritual sees people create life-size straw portraits of the goddess and hold ceremonies near toilets, pigpens and kitchens to honour her and seek predictions for the coming year. The Lantern Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month, is the first major festival after the Chinese Spring Festival. On this day, people admire decorative lanterns, watch dragon and

Blasts in Kabul as Afghan government says responding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

Explosions were heard in the Afghan capital Kabul Sunday, Agence France-Presse journalists said, with the Taliban government saying they were responding to aerial Pakistan attacks. A spokesman for Afghanistan’s defence ministry said “air defence strikes were carried out against Pakistani aircraft in Kabul”. Months of cross-border clashes have flared since Thursday when Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier, with Pakistani forces hitting back on the border and from the

Hong Kong government ‘prepared’ for more volatility...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/01

The Hong Kong government is prepared for greater global market volatility and risks, higher trade costs, and fluctuating commodity prices stemming from the joint US-Israel attack on Iran, according to the city’s finance chief Shortly after Iranian state media confirmed the death of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the air strikes, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that the conflict created “significant global uncertainty” in the world economy. “I expect increased...

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