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News - South China Morning Post

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What is the war on Iran teaching China about the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Whether the US-Israeli war on Iran wraps up quickly or drags on, the repercussions will be felt for years, reshaping warfare, geopolitics and energy security as well as how the world sees the United States and its tactical and strategic capabilities. In the second of a three-part series, we examine some of the implications likely to unfold over months and years, affecting the future of conflict in an increasingly unstable world. As the United States and Israel wage war on Iran, they are also...

To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

On April 1, amid China’s cybercrime offensive in Southeast Asia, Cambodia extradited to China Li Xiong, former chairman of Huione Group, which had been severed from the US financial system last year for laundering at least US$336 million from cyber scams between 2021 and 2025. The US had also sanctioned Huione’s parent company, Prince Group, and indicted founder Chen Zhi. In January, Cambodia extradited Chen to China, securing the arrest of a man accused of being Cambodia’s biggest scam...

Only virtual talks, no new investment push before...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Just weeks before a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Washington’s top trade negotiator signalled a cautious, tightly managed approach to China ties, ruling out a pre-summit visit to Beijing, favouring continued virtual engagement, and indicating no new push to expand bilateral investment. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated on Tuesday that preparatory talks with Chinese counterparts would take place virtually, ruling out an in-person...

Brazil blacklists BYD for slave labour conditions at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Brazil’s labour ministry on Tuesday added Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD to a registry of employers found to have subjected workers to conditions analogous to slavery, limiting access to state financing and increasing reputational risks in its most important market outside China. The Ministry of Labour and Employment published the updated Cadastro de Empregadores, commonly known as the “dirty list”, adding 169 employers in the latest semi-annual revision. BYD Auto do Brasil Ltda. was...

Abducted American journalist Kittleson released by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

The Iran-aligned Iraqi armed ⁠group Kataib Hezbollah ⁠has released abducted US journalist ⁠Shelly Kittleson, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. Officials from the Pentagon, the FBI and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council were among the people who assisted in ‌securing Kittleson’s release, Rubio said in a statement. She was abducted in late March in Baghdad. “We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq,” he added. Kataib...

Iran war: Russia and China veto UN resolution aimed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain. The vote – 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia – took place shortly after US President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal. But late Tuesday, less than two hours before the...

Artemis crew snap historic Earthset photo and call...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

The Artemis II astronauts were jetting towards Earth and sharing their lunar fly-by souvenirs on Tuesday, delighting colleagues both at home and in space with captivating tales of their historic journey. Of note was their stunning shot of an Earthset, the moment when Earth drops below the rugged lunar horizon. The image was a deliberate nod to the iconic Earthrise image taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, a shot that helped capture the public’s imagination as humans travelled around

Hong Kong doctor axed for posting resuscitation photo...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has found a doctor breached its code of conduct after he posted a photo of a resuscitation procedure in a public hospital, with the case being passed to the Medical Council. The authority’s Kowloon West group of hospitals announced on Tuesday that it had terminated the doctor’s contract, one day after stating the man was “no longer an employee”. “The Kowloon West Cluster has completed its investigation into the incident. We confirm that the staff member breached...

Ostrich escapes animal cafe, sprints down Thai highway

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

A pet ostrich went for a speedy jaunt down a busy Thai highway on Tuesday, before being returned safe and sound to its enclosure at an animal-themed cafe. The six-month-old male ostrich raced along a three-lane highway in Thailand’s coastal Chonburi province as cars and trucks sped by the flightless bird, according to a video posted by a man who was driving directly behind it. “Who lost an ostrich on the road? Come get him. He runs so fast,” the motorist, Chairat Sompong, is heard saying in

Iran allows 2 French former detainees to leave country

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Iran has allowed two French former detainees, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, to leave the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison. “Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and en route towards French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron posted on social media. The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signalled how Iran is...

Trump says China helped get Iran to the negotiating...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a ceasefire agreement with the United States brokered by Pakistan, as the two sides also agreed to start negotiations in Islamabad on Friday for a peace deal. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US would pause its bombing campaign in Iran for two weeks, calling it a “double-sided ceasefire” requested by Pakistani mediators in a last-minute bid to create space for diplomacy. In a social media post, Trump said the suspension of military action

‘Paper tiger’: what’s behind Donald Trump’s renewed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

US President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to take Greenland when America is bogged down in a war with Iran will only deepen the fracture with Washington’s European allies, according to analysts. Trump has repeatedly criticised Europe since returning to the White House. He has derided Nato as a “paper tiger” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not afraid of” and last week threatened to withdraw the US from the transatlantic security alliance. Europe, meanwhile, has pushed back and kept

Festival cancelled after UK government bans Kanye...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West was barred Tuesday from entering the UK, where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in July, after a backlash over Ye’s history of antisemitic remarks. Festival organisers canceled the three-day outdoor event as a result of the travel ban and said those who had bought tickets would get refunds. Ye had been granted an electronic travel authorization which has now been withdrawn on the grounds that his presence in the U.K. would not be...

Chinese memory giants to gain market share via lower...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

As the global memory industry rides an unprecedented “super cycle” fuelled by AI demand, China’s leading memory chipmakers are leveraging lower pricing and expanding production to capture a bigger market share, according to analysts. “Chinese manufacturers often enjoy a price advantage of more than 15 per cent for products of the same specifications, which is highly attractive to the price-sensitive general-purpose server and consumer markets,” said Arisa Liu, chief director and research

France’s ex-president Sarkozy challenges conviction...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

French former president Nicolas Sarkozy maintained his innocence on Tuesday, telling an appeal hearing in Paris that not a single cent from Libya helped fund his 2007 presidential campaign. “I owe the truth to the French people,” Sarkozy told a three-judge panel during a hearing in the case that led him to spend 20 days in prison before being granted release pending appeal. “I’m innocent,” he said. Sarkozy, 71, is challenging his conviction after being found guilty in September of criminal...

Backlash brews for Hong Kong coffee festival over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Mud and rainy weather caused chaos and frustration at a high-profile open-air coffee festival in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District over the Easter weekend, with the arts hub’s managing authority urging the organiser to take timely and appropriate measures to respond to vendors. The weather put a dampener on the four-day 2026 Coffee Hong Kong @WestK, which was held at the Great Lawn of the district’s Art Park. Some festival visitors were seen wearing shoe covers as they walked over

Hong Kong’s East Dam welcomes 1,400 visitors daily...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Hong Kong’s East Dam welcomed about 1,400 visitors daily over the first four days of the Easter break, despite the adverse weather, conservation authorities have said, while revealing littering and illegal camping figures for the site and the surrounding area. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said on Tuesday that it recorded 18 cases of law enforcement action being taken at Sai Kung East Country Park for such offences between Good Friday and Easter Monday. “The

Why Donald Trump now needs a ‘forever war’

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

It might have made a good April Fool’s joke. Unfortunately, it was not. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.” Really, who writes like that? Even a tinpot dictator from some godforsaken hellhole would have written a less expletive-laden post to retain some personal dignity as a leader

‘The president loves you’: Vance visits Hungary to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

US Vice-President J.D. Vance lavished praise on Hungary and Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday as he arrived in Budapest to boost the veteran nationalist leader’s campaign ahead of an election that many opinion polls suggest Orban will lose. Orban, a Eurosceptic nationalist in power since 2010, is facing the toughest re-election bid of his career, with independent polls indicating his Fidesz party will lose Sunday’s vote to centre-right challenger Peter Magyar’s Tisza party. Vance’s

Chinese embassy in US confirms death of semiconductor...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/07

Chinese semiconductor researcher Wang Danhao died at the University of Michigan last month, shortly after being questioned by US federal law enforcement. Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, confirmed to the South China Morning Post in an email on Monday that Wang had taken his own life. “We are deeply distressed by this tragedy,” Liu wrote, adding that the US had “overstretched” the concept of national security and subjected Chinese students and scholars to unwarranted...

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