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News - South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong police hunt 3 suspects over US$12 million...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Hong Kong police have launched a manhunt for three people involved in a suspected deception case in which a shop reportedly lost 73kg of gold bars worth an estimated US$12 million, the South China Morning Post has learned.The force said on Friday that a woman in Hung Hom had made a report around 2.57pm that a nearby shop was suspected to have been “burgled”. The woman said the shop owner had told her someone had stolen the gold bars before fleeing in a private vehicle. A source said the case...

Pregnant woman and 5 kids die in container fire in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

A pregnant Syrian woman and her five young children died when a fire ripped through containers housing agricultural workers near the southwestern Antalya resort, the governor and media reports said on Friday. DHA news agency said the 27-year-old mother was seven months pregnant, with her husband fighting for his life after the blaze. The tragedy occurred as Turkey began celebrating the three-day Bayram holiday to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Antalya Governor Hulusi

Action movie star Chuck Norris dies at 86

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Chuck Norris, the US martial artist and Hollywood action star most famous for his role in Walker, Texas Ranger, has died, his family said on Friday. He was 86. The martial arts expert turned actor starred in a slew of action films since his acting debut with a cameo in a 1968 Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew. Four years later, his epic fight with the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in The Way of The Dragon helped turn Norris into an icon on big and small screens alike. “It is with heavy hearts...

China adds 12 banks to digital yuan system, expanding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

China is set to include 12 more commercial banks under the umbrella of its central bank-backed digital currency, the latest move by Beijing to scale up adoption of the digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, as it transitions from a cash alternative to an interest-bearing deposit instrument. The expansion comes after Beijing pledged to “steadily develop the digital yuan” in its latest five-year plan, the country’s blueprint document for socio-economic development. A draft Finance Law published

From years to a week: China unveils superfast...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Chinese scientists have developed revolutionary software capable of fully simulating the extreme physics of supersonic fuel combustion in just one week. Previously, the same task could take a supercomputer years to complete, they said. Developed by a research team led by Yao Wei at the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the software was used to run an ultra-high-fidelity simulation of a scramjet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. It modelled its...

Residents of Tai Po blaze building misled over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Residents of a housing complex destroyed in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires were misled into picking a convicted contractor for the estate’s renovation project amid “widespread” bid-rigging and other corruption in the construction industry, a public hearing has been told. The judge-led independent committee also heard on Friday that an engineering consultant allegedly accepted a monthly stipend to “rubber stamp” tender evaluation reports, including one recommending Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po...

Trump calls Nato ‘cowards’ over lack of support in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

President ⁠Donald Trump assailed ⁠Nato allies on Friday ⁠over their lack of support for the US-Israel war against Iran, calling the long-time US allies “cowards”. “Without the U.S.A., Nato IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump said in a social media post. Trump has ‌been calling for major US allies and others, none of which were consulted or advised on the war, to help secure the safety of shipping through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has roiled global markets, killed thousands and...

Iran detected and damaged a US F-35 stealth jet in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The first known combat damage to an F-35 fifth-generation fighter aircraft from a likely Iranian attack suggests that stealth jets can be detected by electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems, according to Chinese analysts. US Central Command reported that the stealth fighter was forced to make an emergency landing during a combat mission over Iran on Thursday. “We are aware of reports that a US F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency landing at a regional US airbase after flying a combat...

Norway crown princess says she was ‘manipulated’ by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit said in an interview broadcast Friday that she was “manipulated” by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom she accused of extorting others. A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit’s name appears multiple times in Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year. The files revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the pair and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become...

Swire Coca-Cola wins HK$32 million government deal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Swire Coca-Cola has won a HK$31.9 million (US$4 million) contract to supply Bonaqua water to some Hong Kong government offices, following a HK$52.9 million procurement scandal last year. According to a Government Logistics Department notice, Swire Coca-Cola was awarded the 27-month contract on Tuesday to supply more than 1.46 million bottles of drinking water to offices on Hong Kong Island and parts of the outlying islands. The selection followed an open tender launched in December. In its...

Hong Kong should use ‘safe haven’ status to draw...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Hong Kong should leverage its position as a “safe haven for investment” to attract foreign capital amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the head of InvestHK has said, noting that more companies using Dubai as a hub have shifted to the city to diversify risk. The call came as finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday continued his six-day visit to Beijing, where he met Li Yunze, minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration. They discussed how Hong Kong could support

China’s rare earth magnet exports to the US keep...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

China’s exports of rare earth permanent magnets to the United States continue to fall, at a time when Washington and its allies are stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on the country’s critical mineral supply chains. Shipments of permanent magnets to the US totalled 994 tonnes in January and February, down nearly 22.5 per cent year on year, according to data released on Friday by China’s General Administration of Customs. This marked the seventh consecutive month of decline. Over the two...

Trump releases AI policy to pre-empt state rules

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

The ⁠White House released an artificial intelligence policy on Friday that aims to pre-empt state rules, ensure protections for children and shield communities from prohibitive energy costs. The Trump administration has been pushing for a single legislative framework that can be applied uniformly across the country, rather than leaving states to form their own plans. US President Donald Trump ⁠in December said he would withhold federal broadband funding from states ‌whose laws to regulate...

Former Shaolin Temple abbot indicted for bribery and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Prosecutors have formally indicted Shi Yongxin, the former abbot of the famed Shaolin Temple, four months after his arrest and following a string of financial and sexual scandals. Prosecutors in Xinxiang, Henan province, have formally charged Shi with embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, non-state official bribery and offering bribes, according to a Friday report from state news agency Xinhua. The 60-year-old former abbot led the Shaolin Temple for over 25 years and was ousted in July

Can the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz? Many military...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

US air strikes may have weakened Iran’s ability to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, but in the short term it is probably too risky to provide a military escort for oil tankers because of the threat from drones and mines, according to Chinese analysts. Multiple media reports have said the United States was considering the use of ground troops to open the waterway, but many military observers have argued this would not be enough without further protracted fighting. The strait is a vital shipping...

China’s Unitree Robotics rides humanoid tide as it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s Star Market, seeking to raise 4.2 billion yuan (US$610 million) as revenue and profits surge on the back of rising interest in embodied artificial intelligence. The listing application has been formally accepted by Shanghai’s exchange following a “preliminary review” on Friday. The 10-year-old company recorded revenue of 1.71 billion yuan last year, up 335

China’s Russian oil imports spike in early 2026, but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

China’s imports of discounted Russian crude oil surged in January and February, though analysts suggest volumes could moderate in the coming months as the war in Iran increases global competition for Russian oil. In the first two months of the year, Russia’s shipments of crude to China rose 40.9 per cent year on year to 21.8 million tonnes, according to Chinese customs data released on Friday. But the total import value rose just 5.8 per cent in US dollar terms. “China has been an

India steps up regional energy diplomacy, supplies...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

India’s move to supply Bangladesh with diesel as fuel prices soar amid the Iran war reflects its “first responder” role in the region and clout through the use of its critical commodities to deepen ties with neighbouring states. If the fuel shortages were to persist, however, India would have to balance between its own energy demand and that of its neighbours, according to observers. Bangladesh will be importing 45,000 tonnes of diesel from India by April, with 5,000 tonnes having been

Why the world may now need an Iranian nuclear bomb

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

If you think the Israeli-American war of aggression against Iran is bad, it could get a lot worse. For the first time, a senior American official has openly acknowledged that Israel possesses nuclear warheads and could deploy them in the war. “Israel is getting hit harder than they’ve ever been hit before in their history,” said David Sacks, the White House’s artificial intelligence and crypto tsar, on the All-In Podcast. “If this war continues for weeks or months, then Israel could just be...

Why Philippines struggles to tap its US$1 trillion...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/20

As the Philippines forms partnerships with several countries to harness its potentially huge wealth of critical minerals, analysts have called for a coherent road map to develop the country’s mining industry to globally competitive standards. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration has signed multiple agreements over the past months, including a memorandum of understanding with the United States to cooperate on diversifying global critical mineral supply chains. The accord, signed

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