Advertisement
Advertisement
Latest

Russia & Central Asia

Russia says it has taken full control of Ukraine’s Luhansk region

A small sliver of land in the area has remained beyond Moscow’s reach since 2022, and Kyiv denies that the situation has changed.

videocam
Russian soldiers fire a grenade launcher towards Ukrainian positions in an image released on Tuesday. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Diplomacy

How China’s state insurer is turning Brazil’s credit crisis into an export power

As Brazilian interest rates price out local lenders, Sinosure is quietly reshaping how Chinese goods reach the market.

videocam
Brazilian importers buying from China are turning to the state-owned Chinese credit insurer, Sinosure, to sustain trade flows that reached US$158 billion in 2024. Photo: Shutterstock

Law and Crime

Hong Kong woman loses HK$2.5 million in online collagen drinks scam

Victim tried to buy collagen drinks for HK$530 but was told the goods were out of stock and was offered refund.

The victim saw a Facebook post advertising collagen drinks and transferred HK$530. Photo: Getty Images

Golf

Tiger Woods to miss Masters after stepping away for treatment after crash arrest

Augusta National says five-time champion, who has pleaded not guilty to DUI charges after car crash last week, will miss year’s first major.

Tiger Woods being driven from the Martin County Jail after his arrest last Friday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Society

Tai Po probe: workers turned off fire safety system, disregarding regulations

Electrician tells hearing he followed an order to turn off main switches because he was ‘worried about a penalty at work’.

Witnesses from property management company ISS EastPoint leave the hearing after Wednesday morning’s session. Photo: Karma Lo
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Racing

Yuen lights up Sha Tin with a debut victory at her second ever ride in Hong Kong

Apprentice jockey salutes at her first ever race meeting in her hometown on Wednesday night.

Pi Legend provides Nichola Yuen with her first win in Hong Kong. Photos: Kenneth Chan.

Education

4 Hong Kong schools to close as 9 seek mergers over insufficient enrolment

15 Hong Kong public primary schools with insufficient enrolment at risk of closure after three years, if survival plans are not approved.

SKH Tseung Kwan O Kei Tak Primary School. Photo: Google Maps

Diplomacy

How Trump could reframe US goals in the Iran war to justify finishing it

But America’s differences with Israel over the conflict’s endgame could hinder a swift exit, Chinese analysts say.

videocam
26
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump launched joint military operations against Iran on February 28. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

China

US threats for Chile, China tariffs Mexico: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Panama Canal woes to an undersea cable scandal in Chile, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in March 2026.

Chile’s President Jose Antonio Kast greets supporters. Photo: AFP

Europe

France suspects link to pro-Iranian group HAYI in foiled Paris bomb plot

The group had posted a video on March 23 targeting Jewish interests and communities in Europe, naming Bank of America’s Paris headquarters.

People stand outside the Bank of America headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

China

Taiwan plans, Trump-Xi hopes, stand-up comedy: 7 US-China relations reads

From stand-up success to alleged UN scheming, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of March 2026.

PLA fighter jets conduct a joint combat training exercise around Taiwan in August 2022. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Economy

Canada’s finance minister visits China as both countries seek to bolster ties

Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January.

Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Photo: EPA

Science

Is China’s commercial rocket now cheaper than Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9?

Using the measure of cost per kilogram of payload capacity, CAS Space compares its Kinetica-2 to a US reusable rocket.

videocam
11
A Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, with three satellites onboard blasts off from a launch centre in northwestern China on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Tennis

Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong opens clay-court season with defeat at Houston Open

The 21-year-old, who won a Hong Kong Sports Stars Award on Tuesday, loses in straight sets to world No 35 American Alex Michelsen.

Coleman Wong fired five aces against Alex Michelson in their first-round Houston Open match but also made 33 unforced errors, almost double his opponent’s 18. Photo: AFP

Europe

BBC defends action in new sex abuse scandal involving DJ Scott Mills

The BBC has been rocked by multiple sexual scandals involving top personalities in recent years.

Anti-BBC protesters in 2024 as former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards (not pictured) arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for his sentencing hearing in London. Photo: EPA-EFE
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Middle East

Trump claims Iran wants ceasefire, Tehran calls remarks ‘false and baseless’

The US president has said he could walk away from the war in two to three weeks.

videocam
15
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One on Friday at Miami International Airport. Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war as oil prices have skyrocketed. Photo: AP

Education

US church launches search for new HKIS school head amid legal row with operator

HKIS co-founder Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod accuses management of creating ‘risk of leadership interruption’.

Hong Kong International School was co-founded by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Photo: Dickson Lee

Diplomacy

What does the China-Pakistan plan for the Iran crisis mean for a post-war order?

Diplomatic initiative comes as long-standing US-dominated security framework faces growing strain and uncertainty, analysts say.

videocam
4
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Economics

‘Matter of survival’: Philippines seeks safe Hormuz passage for vessels

Philippine and Iranian officials met on Wednesday to discuss ‘key avenues for cooperation’, amid Tehran’s blockade of the strait.

videocam
Oil tankers and ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, on March 11. Photo: AP

World Opinion

Opinion | What the Iran war reveals about Nato’s appetite for conflict over Taiwan

Resistance to a war started without European consent makes clear the alliance’s limits. The US can’t count on Nato support for a war in Asia.

videocam
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte meeting US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21. Photo: AFP
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

Taiwan’s KMT chair Cheng Li-wun to honour Sun Yat-sen on mainland China visit

Arriving in Shanghai on April 7 for six-day trip, Cheng will travel to Nanjing by train to pay respects at Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum, KMT says.

videocam
Aerial view of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, a site that holds deep symbolic significance for the Kuomintang and cross-strait ties. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong Economy

Hong Kong investment chief joins global board in first for Chinese sovereign funds

FCLTGlobal announces that Clara Chan Ka-chai, CEO of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, has become one of the 19 directors on its board.

HKIC CEO Clara Chan delivers a speech at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in February last year. Photo: Elson Li

Other Sport

Hong Kong’s Doo ousted from World Cup by China’s Wang in ‘wonderful match’

Exit of city’s No 1 women’s player follows that of only teammate Lam Siu-hang the previous night, while world No 8 moves into last 16.

With her latest win on Wednesday, China’s Wang Yidi maintains a perfect head-to-head record against Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi-kem over three meetings. Photo: Xinhua

Big Tech

China’s No 3 foundry Nexchip files for Hong Kong listing to scale output

Wave of Chinese tech listings builds in Hong Kong as semiconductor groups scale up output.

A wafer sample on display during the Semicon China semiconductor exhibition in Shanghai. March 25, 2026. Photo: AFP

Global Economy

Qiushi reaffirms China’s trade push, calls old export-led growth ‘unsustainable’

Global tensions, weak high-end exports, and record trade surpluses are spurring a strategic shift to boost imports, develop services trade and deepen market integration.

Vehicles await export at a port in China’s Jiangsu province on March 15. A commentary in the latest issue of the Qiushi Journal says the traits of China’s economy render an export-driven growth model “unsustainable”. Photo: AFP
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

East Asia

Japan, France to draw road map for supply of critical minerals

It aims to lower their high dependency on China, which mines about 70 per cent of the world’s supply and refines some 90 per cent.

videocam
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi exchange documents during a signing ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on April 1, 2026. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong Economy

Hong Kong reviews fire safety laws to crack down on illegal fuel as prices soar

Review includes possible penalty increases, expanding powers of Fire Services Department, and examination of legal liability of those who buy illegal fuel.

Law enforcement agencies have ramped up raids on illegal diesel and petrol stations in the city in recent months. Photo: Handout

Video | Baidu driverless taxis freeze in citywide breakdown

Baidu’s Apollo Go driverless robotaxis suffered a citywide ‘system malfunction’.

Many autonomous driving vehicles belonging to Chinese tech giant Baidu broke down in Wuhan on Tuesday evening, affecting the company’s services for hours and stranding some passengers for hours in a setback to the Chinese tech giant’s autonomous driving ambition at a time when it pushes to expand its robotaxi business globally. Photo: Weibo/ 闫跃龙
00:40

Entertainment

Review | We’re Nothing at All: Herman Yau’s grim social critique lacks all subtlety

A gripping drama, We’re Nothing at All explores societal apathy through a tragic bus blast – but its heavy-handed approach may deter viewers.

videocam
Anson Kong in a still from We’re Nothing at All (category III, Cantonese), directed by Herman Yau. Patrick Tam and Anson Chan co-star.

Hong Kong Economy

Shenzhen robot maker turns to Hong Kong for computing power and listing

EngineAI, whose robots have been bought by Mideast companies, needed cloud-based computing that could be seamlessly accessed from anywhere.

An EngineAI robot performs a demonstration for the media at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Photo: Elson Li