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China’s infamous ‘Aunt Mei’ arrested after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

A shadowy go-between known as “Aunt Mei” allegedly involved in a notorious child trafficking case has been arrested, according to police in southern China. Police in the city of Guangzhou said the woman, surnamed Xie, had been identified last year, and the case was still under investigation, state media reported on Saturday. The reports did not specify when the arrest was made. For years, police were aware an intermediary had been involved in the trafficking case, but Aunt Mei remained at

US man offered ‘national gift’ to settle in China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

An American man who donated photographs of the Japanese invasion of China in World War II and received a national gift of porcelain from China has announced that he has settled in the country. On March 15, Evan Kail announced the news on social media, saying that he has chosen to live in Tianjin in the north of the country, according to a report by the Beijing News. Minnesota pawn shop owner Kail, 37, has enjoyed enormous popularity in China after he donated an album containing more than 30...

China and the Netherlands seek ‘pragmatic’ reset as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

The phone call between the Dutch and Chinese foreign ministers was a first on a series of fronts. For the new Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, the call on March 13 was his first with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi since taking on the job a few weeks earlier. It was also the first between the two holders of the offices since China and the Netherlands became embroiled in a row over the control of Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia. Nexperia is a major component in the...

As Iran hangs 3 young men, rights groups raise alarm...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

A 19-year-old star wrestler and two other young men were hanged in Iran this week, raising alarm among rights groups that a wave of executions may be under way as authorities facing relentless attacks from the US and Israel seek to squelch public dissent. The three men are the first to be executed from among the tens of thousands who were arrested during a January crackdown on nationwide protests. Rights groups say more than 100 others could face death sentences. The wrestler, Saleh

Flying start for low-altitude economy goals as 100...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Hong Kong authorities have received more than 100 applications for innovative drone usage to pioneer the city’s “low-altitude economy”, with some pilot projects set to launch as early as in three months, the transport minister has said. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also pledged to push more advanced transport technologies to transition from trials to everyday use in 2026. In a blog post on the Transport and Logistics Bureau’s website on Saturday, Chan said “the industry...

Veteran activist warns of ‘shrinking space’ for green...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

After decades at the front lines campaigning for environmental protection, The Green Earth founder Edwin Lau Che-feng is slowing down to focus on his health and hobbies. The 68-year-old has been one of the most vocal environmentalists championing a waste-charging scheme for more than two decades. Lau still remembers May 27, 2024, when the government abruptly paused the waste-charging bill, as if it were yesterday. The suspension was the biggest blow in his 36-year career. “It feels

Labubu, Blackpink’s Jennie draw thousands to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Popular doll Labubu and Blackpink’s Jennie were among the headline names and brands from the city and abroad that drew thousands of fans to Hong Kong’s third edition of pop culture festival ComplexCon on Saturday. Organisers said this year’s edition had broken attendance records and would draw tens of thousands across the two-day event at AsiaWorld-Expo. On Saturday morning, attendees took selfies with sculptures of Labubu and queued for exclusive merchandise, while others explored local

Trump’s war is uniting the world, just not how he...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Before his first term as US president began in 2017, Donald Trump was probably best known for his book, The Art of the Deal. But by launching, together with Israel, a widely unpopular war on Iran, Trump has arguably dealt himself a very weak hand. There is little “art” in it. The headline splashed across the front page of the Financial Times on March 17 – “Allies reject Trump’s call for warships” (to force open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has partially closed after US and Israeli attacks)

Himalayas’ glacier loss threatens 2 billion people in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Accelerating glacial retreat in the Himalayas over the past decades is threatening over 2 billion people in the region who depend on meltwater from the “water tower of Asia” for their daily needs, according to climate scientists. Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region have been losing ice at twice the rate since 2000, with smaller glaciers under 0.5 sq km shrinking more rapidly than larger ones, according to two landmark reports published on Saturday to coincide with the World Day

Iran ready to help Japan ships pass through Strait of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran is ready to facilitate the passage of Japanese vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy shipments, and that negotiations with Japan on the issue are ongoing. “We have not closed the strait. It is open,” Araghchi said in a telephone interview with Kyodo News on Friday. He also stressed that Iran, which was attacked by the United States and Israel in late February, was seeking “not a ceasefire, but a complete,...

Hong Kong to issue weekly updates on fuel charges to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Hong Kong authorities will issue weekly announcements about the changes in international and local fuel costs from April, following mounting suspicion that businesses are prematurely raising prices because of the United States-Israeli war on Iran. The move announced on Saturday was welcomed by experts, although some said prices were ultimately out of the government’s hands and it should consider temporarily cutting the fuel tax if levels soared. “We are currently collecting and organising

How China’s tech transformation is putting the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

As China undergoes a sweeping economic transition, its regions are also in the process of embracing change. The powerhouses of yesteryear must adapt or risk falling behind, as traditional industries become less reliable growth drivers and new sectors take prominence. In this series, we explore three representative areas of the country as they attempt to navigate this rapidly changing environment. One morning in December, Zhang Li showed up for work as normal at Everwin Toys in Dongguan to find

Made-in-China clock loses a second in twice the age...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

China has joined the global top-tier timekeeping club with a new optical clock that could help it play a leading role in redefining the second. A team, led by Pan Jianwei at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, has built a strontium optical clock that would lose or gain less than one second over about 30 billion years – more than twice the age of the universe. The clock’s key parameters, known as stability and uncertainty, both surpassed the level of 10 to the power of...

Chinese pancakes trace back 5,000 years, with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Pancakes are a common breakfast in many parts of China today, but few people are aware that the popular meal has been around for 5,000 years. An ancient griddle unearthed from the Yangshao site in central China’s Henan province reveals that the history of Chinese pancakes could date back to at least 50 centuries ago. As for their invention, legend has it that pancakes came into being when Nuwa mended the heavens. In primordial times, when the world fell apart, mother goddess Nuwa gathered...

Philippine fuel prices hit record highs as food...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Mario Orain used to earn his living on the road. Now, the 51-year-old driver spends most of his time parked up, waiting for bookings that rarely come. “It’s really bad,” he told This Week in Asia. “There are very few bookings. And fuel prices have gone up a lot. It’s very expensive now.” With diesel prices in the Philippines shattering record highs amid the war on Iran, transport workers like Orain are being forced off the road as they face a stark choice between filling their tanks or

US government sues Harvard over anti-Israel protests,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Friday against Harvard University, accusing the institution of allowing a “hostile environment” towards Jewish and Israeli students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus from 2023 to 2025. President Donald Trump has launched an offensive against major American universities, accusing them of giving free rein on their campuses to pro-Palestinian movements in the face of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, action which he equates with...

Iran war nears 3-front tipping point as Gulf energy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Three weeks into the Iran war, tit-for-tat escalations on multiple fronts have dragged the Middle East to the brink of the region-wide conflict that its governments have repeatedly warned about – and tried to avert – since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days, after Hezbollah entered the conflict in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iraq has been turned into a shooting range, as...

Refugee in Hong Kong could win global award. So why...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

When Hong Kong’s Uzma Naveed discovered she was a finalist for a women’s empowerment global award in Paris, it should have been the proudest moment of her life. Instead, she was left with mixed feelings. The 37-year-old refugee from Pakistan was chosen from a pool of 1,500 nominees from 97 jurisdictions for the “national impact” category of the Women Changing the World Awards, an annual event meant to celebrate women’s achievements. Uzma, who came to Hong Kong seeking asylum with her family

Malaysia’s LGBTQ crackdowns aren’t hypocrisy, they’re...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

Malaysia’s recent enforcements and cancellations linked to LGBTQ-related activities have ignited debate about whether the government is backsliding on reform. Rather than reading these moves purely as contradicting past administrations’ policies, these government actions may be better understood as an attempt to balance two political imperatives. For the political establishment, appearing conservative – and being conservative – remains central to political survival in a context where...

South Korea’s BTS play first gig together in nearly 4...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/21

After a four-year break, K-pop supergroup BTS returned on Saturday with a massive and free comeback concert in Seoul, where thousands of police locked down a central boulevard for the Netflix-exclusive spectacle that drew tens of thousands of fans. All seven members of the band – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – recently completed South Korea’s mandatory military service and hope to reclaim their status as one of the world’s biggest pop acts. Organisers of the concert, which...

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