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News - South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong mum charged with abuse after son, 12, calls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

A 41-year-old mother in Hong Kong has been charged with child abuse after her 12-year-old son reported her to police for beating him with a rattan cane, the South China Morning Post has learned. The woman was arrested on Saturday in a flat at Kam Fung House in Wong Tai Sin after her son called police at 2.48pm and complained he had been beaten. A source said on Sunday that the woman, surnamed Guo and holding a Hong Kong identity card, allegedly beat the child on his left shoulder and thigh

OpenClaw, government support fuel rise of 1-person...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Steven Li sells cosmetics to overseas customers from the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. This month, amid the popularity of the OpenClaw AI agent framework, he expanded the business by “hiring” four “AI employees”. On the front lines, the AI customer service manages real-time inquiries 24/7 on WhatsApp, while a “digital sales” agent provides price quotes. Behind the scenes, a third role ensures operational transparency by providing tracking status for every order, while an “operations...

Ex-China university lecturer sets up luxury lingerie...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

From a former lecturer to the mastermind behind a lingerie empire, Zhang Rongming’s journey reshaped China’s intimate apparel industry with innovation and a keen eye for market trends. Zhang, 64, from Suzhou in Jiangsu province, eastern China, is the founder and chairman of Aimer, a leading lingerie brand. He excelled in metallurgy and chemistry during his university years, later pursuing graduate studies. In the late 1980s, while teaching at Shougang Institute of Technology in Beijing, he...

Hong Kong firms face profit squeeze as US importers...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

US importers have cut orders and shifted to short-term contracts amid a global oil crisis triggered by war in the Middle East, according to Hong Kong business leaders, who warn that profit margins are eroding and liquidity is becoming strained. Executive Council member and businessman Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung said on Sunday that the US-Israel war on Iran had driven up fuel costs, raising operating expenses for local firms. He urged the Hong Kong government to bolster ties with Central Asian and...

Rodent trip: hamster hitches ride on bus to Sha Tin

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

A hamster was caught hitching a ride on a bus from Central to Sha Tin on Sunday morning, ending up in the custody of a Hong Kong animal welfare group. The golden brown Syrian hamster was spotted by a passenger and is now being looked after by the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Photos and videos circulating online show the tiny passenger tucked into a corner on the KMB bus, seemingly overwhelmed by its surroundings. It was later placed in a translucent

Slovenians vote in race between pro-Trump nationalist...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Polls opened on Sunday in Slovenia’s election pitting incumbent liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob against right-wing populist Janez Janša, with victory and a parliamentary majority out of reach for both in a vote that could be decided by smaller coalition partners. Nearly 1.7 million Slovenians will be ‌able to cast votes at polling stations that opened at 7am across the Alpine country and will close at 7pm. The election commission is expected to announce the preliminary results after...

Gold slides as hawkish Fed and strong US dollar...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Gold prices have continued to weaken despite escalating tensions in the US-Israel conflict with Iran, breaking from the metal’s traditional role as a geopolitical hedge, as fading expectations of interest rate cuts and a stronger US dollar weigh on sentiment, analysts said. The metal has declined about 15 per cent since a brief surge on March 2, when prices climbed to around US$5,300 per ounce following US and Israeli strikes on Iran. A modest rebound driven by technical buying on Friday did...

Trump’s biggest cheerleader? Why Japan’s Takaichi is...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

A White House photo of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appearing to break into a dance at an official function ignited a wave of mockery across Chinese social media on the weekend, with commenters framing her as Washington’s biggest cheerleader. The photograph, the first in an official White House gallery from her summit with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, captures Takaichi in a moment of unbridled exuberance during a welcome reception. Making her first trip to Washington since...

International capital flowing to China as investors...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Amid growing geopolitical turbulence, international capital is increasingly seeking certainty – which China offers – a leading Chinese government adviser highlighted on Sunday, as the country’s central bank governor reiterated commitment to rolling out the welcome mat for foreign investors. Speaking on the sidelines of the China Development Forum, Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, noted that capital had been flowing to Hong...

Why India faces dilemma over Iran war while seeking...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

As the world reels from the fallout of the Iran war, India is seeking to manage its risks and interests in the Middle East and beyond while maintaining its neutrality in the widening conflict. This can be seen in New Delhi engaging with combatants US and Iran, as well as other nations caught in the crossfire of the war, according to political analysts. In the past two weeks, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken four times with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, while Prime...

What the 4,000km Diego Garcia missile launch reveals...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

By firing ballistic missiles at the UK-US Diego Garcia base nearly 4,000km (2,485 miles) from its shores, Iran is sending a message that it still has cards to play after three weeks of war, according to experts. A UK official source said Iran was “unsuccessful” in targeting the Indian Ocean military facility, one of two bases that London has allowed the US to use for certain missions in its war against Iran. Until now, most had believed Iran – under US-Israeli bombardment since February 28 –

‘Upstairs’ moves downstairs: Hong Kong outlets head...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Retailers and restaurant operators in Hong Kong are rethinking how they use space as rents fall and demand weakens by moving back to street-level shops and experimenting with short-term “pop-up” leases. Hong Kong Hing Kee Java Edible Bird’s Nest (HK JEBN), known locally as “Lau Soeng” – Cantonese for “upstairs” – built its business by avoiding expensive street-front rents and operating from higher floors. It is now doing the opposite. “After the pandemic, the retail market has been weak,”

Vietnam protests as China’s Paracels build-up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Hanoi has protested to Beijing over Chinese land-reclamation activities in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, following reports of accelerated dredging and landfill operations at Antelope Reef. “Vietnam resolutely opposes such activities, makes representations and affirms its position on this matter,” Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said on Saturday. She said Hanoi had “ample historical evidence and legal grounds” to assert sovereignty over the Paracel...

Finance chief urges Hong Kong to enhance global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Hong Kong will step up efforts to bolster its global standing and strengthen links between mainland China and the West, enabling the city to better serve as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” for the nation amid growing geopolitical complexities, the financial chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his weekly blog on Sunday that the international community was seeking to foster bilateral and regional cooperation to ensure flexibility in trade and resilience in...

Hospital Authority investigates privacy concerns over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has launched an investigation into the controversy over a social media image posted by a doctor showing him performing a resuscitation procedure inside a public hospital, sparking outcry over patient privacy and professional ethics. Jensen So, a doctor from the Kowloon West Cluster and a former contestant on ViuTV’s reality talent show King Maker III, posted the image on his Instagram account last Thursday. It has since been widely circulated on another social...

Can China massively reduce food imports with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

China’s drive to grow 90 per cent of its own grain by 2032 just gained a critical weapon: an unmanned ratoon rice farm that produces 50 per cent higher yields. By harnessing smart seedling care, sowing, growing and harvesting, a Chinese biotechnology company and scientists from several institutes have built the world’s first smart farm for regenerated rice. Located in the Datong Lake District in China’s central Hunan province, the smart rice farm has enabled an ancient but technically...

China bosses use smart seats, Wi-fi to track staff...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

In some Chinese workplaces, employers use office Wi-fi, surveillance cameras and even smart seats to monitor what staff do, say and search online. Workers’ Daily reported that a woman working at a technology company in Guangzhou, southern China, discovered that a camera had been installed above her desk after she declined to go on a business trip because she was ill. In January, she said a manager warned her not to use private group chats during office hours. After checking the camera’s

Israeli towns reel from ‘terrifying’ Iranian missile...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Sheltering from an Iranian missile attack on his town in southern Israel on Saturday, 17-year-old Ido Franky heard “terrifying” blasts like nothing he had experienced before. An Iranian missile hit Franky’s town of Arad, hours after another struck Dimona – home to a nuclear facility – wounding dozens and leaving entire residential blocks with heavy damage. Franky rushed to shelter with his family as air raid sirens sounded, warning of an incoming attack. “There was a ‘boom, boom!’, my mother

Philippine military uncovers alleged new Beijing spy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

At least three Filipinos with ties to the country’s military have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing, allegedly leaking information that sparked maritime confrontations in the disputed South China Sea. The case, which came to light last year during an ongoing multi-agency counter-intelligence effort, marks a new strategy of recruiting Filipinos for espionage instead of planting individuals with fake local identities in the country, according to Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy...

Japan may send minesweepers to Hormuz after Iran war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/22

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Sunday hinted at the possibility of sending the country’s Self-Defence Forces for minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz, provided that a ceasefire is realised in the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. “Japan’s minesweeping technology is at the top level in the world,” Motegi said during a television programme. “Let’s say [the parties have entered into a] ceasefire, and in the event that mines pose an obstacle, we

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