Advertisement
Advertisement

World

United States & Canada
Europe
Middle East
Americas
Africa
Russia & Central Asia
US Attorney General Pam Bondi and US President Donald Trump on Monday. Bondi was fired on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Trump fires Pam Bondi as US president’s frustration with bad news grows

Attorney general’s removal follows the ouster of homeland security and border patrol chiefs amid a wave of negative headlines.

15

Hegseth ousts army’s top uniformed officer, even as US wages war on Iran

videocam
17

Update | Nasa’s Artemis astronauts zoom towards moon after fixing toilet malfunction

videocam
7

Middle East

Trump hails destruction of Iran’s tallest bridge, warns of ‘much more to follow’

US president renews threats that Iran accept an immediate deal ‘before there is nothing left’ following a double strike on the B1 bridge.

15
Smoke rises from Iran’s B1 bridge after a US-Israeli strike. Photo: Donald Trump via Truth Social
Smoke rises from Iran’s B1 bridge after a US-Israeli strike. Photo: Donald Trump via Truth Social

Americas

Cuba pardons 2,010 prisoners in ‘humanitarian’ gesture amid US pressure

Mass release follows Trump’s decision to allow Russian oil into the fuel-starved island.

Economy

Strait of Hormuz crisis

China remains relatively sheltered by its strategic oil reserves and investment in clean energy, even as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz sparks a global energy crisis.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Middle East

Immediate reopening of Strait of Hormuz demanded at 40-nation talks

Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage via its blockade of the waterway, said the UK’s foreign minister, who hosted the meeting.

videocam
9
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosts a virtual meeting with foreign ministers. Photo: EPA
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosts a virtual meeting with foreign ministers. Photo: EPA

United States & Canada

After car crash, Tiger Woods told officer he was ‘talking to the president’

It wasn’t clear if the golfer, who is dating Vanessa Trump, was talking about US President Donald Trump.

4

Middle East

Iran war: music and barbecues in Tehran despite Trump’s ‘Stone Age’ threats

Families celebrate the last day of the Persian new year holidays, even as the US president vows to hit the country hard.

6

United States & Canada

US crude tops US$110, Wall Street falls after Trump vows more Iran attacks

Crude prices had been inching back towards US$100 per barrel before Trump’s Wednesday address in which he promised more strikes on Iran.

videocam
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell in New York on Thursday. Wall Street stocks tumbled early Thursday on the latest jump in oil prices as tough rhetoric between the United States and Iran reduced hopes of a Middle East war resolution. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

China’s Iran war strategy, Trump’s Hormuz ask: 7 global relations reads

From a China-Israel call on Iran to an unlikely nuclear deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in March 2026.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Middle East

Macron says military operation to ‘liberate’ Strait of Hormuz ‘unrealistic’

Such an operation would take excessive time and expose those crossing the strait to ‘coastal threats’.

Africa

Man stabs 4 children to death at Uganda kindergarten

The male suspect, in his thirties, gained access by posing as a parent before attacking children aged around two and three with a knife.

Europe

Italy arrests German-Indian ‘guru’ on child abuse allegations

The two children did not attend school and had to stand guard around the house where they lived at night.

videocam
The man is said to have led a community of 15 people, including two children, who lived in a forest near Cefalu on Sicily’s northern coast. Photo: TNS

US

Trump sends crude surging as Iran speech fails to allay war concerns

Oil prices shot up and stocks fell as US President Donald Trump failed to set a clear end date for the war on Iran during his address to the nation.

Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP

US

Controlled escalation? Trump hails ‘victories’ in Iran but vows more strikes

US president tells anxious Americans that the conflict’s core objectives are ‘nearing completion’ but fails to lay out a clear timeline to end the war.

videocam
61

Middle East

Surging ‘Jewish terrorism’ in West Bank condemned but goes unpunished

Tel Aviv-based INSS reports an increase in settler attacks since the start of the Iran war, along with a rise in ‘the severity of the acts’.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

The China-US face-off: a visual guide to Xi and Trump’s key people

Discover the power players in Xi and Trump’s teams; the key people setting the agenda on diplomacy, the military, the economy, security and science.

The China-US face-off: a visual guide to Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s inner circles

United States & Canada

Power players: a visual guide to Trump’s team and their views on China

Discover who is in Donald Trump’s inner circle, their backgrounds, stances on China and the roles they will play in shaping the future of the US.

US

Controlled escalation? Trump hails ‘victories’ in Iran but vows more strikes

US president tells anxious Americans that the conflict’s core objectives are ‘nearing completion’ but fails to lay out a clear timeline to end the war.

videocam
61

Diplomacy

Trump says Iran gave the US gift ‘worth a tremendous amount of money’

US president claims Tehran offered an ‘oil and gas related’ gift and that it was a sign talks are happening with ‘the right people’.

videocam
55
US President Donald Trump has said he wants joint control of the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: AFP
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
Hao Nan

Opinion | Iran war is changing East Asia’s energy and strategic plays

Hao Nan
Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa

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

Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa
Alex Lo

As I see it | Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

Alex Lo
11
Jawad Khalid

Opinion | How selective outrage over Iran war exposes the limits of realpolitik

Jawad Khalid
Marco Vicenzino

Opinion | In age of US-China rivalry, supply chain statecraft counts

Marco Vicenzino
Neeta Lal

Opinion | Why India is quietly deepening its engagement with the Taliban

Neeta Lal
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MULTIMEDIA
Video

Macron and Takaichi do the ‘Kamehameha’

sgwerqf
00:48
Video

Historic Artemis II moon mission lifts off

rwrqefwr
Video

Seoul residents hoard bin bags as oil shock deepens

Government-regulated waste bags are seen at a home in Goyang on March 30, 2026. South Korea’s energy minister sought on March 30 to ease fears over shortages of plastic rubbish bags after sales in Seoul jumped nearly fivefold due to energy supply concerns sparked by the Middle East war. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
01:24
Video

Trump says US could end war in Iran in 2 to 3 weeks

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the day he signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
01:30
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
TRENDING TOPICS
US-China trade war
Donald Trump
US-China relations
Sexual harassment and assault
Crime
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MOST POPULAR
1

3 Chinese ships exit Strait of Hormuz as PetroChina stresses operations stable

2

Iran says will target Apple, Google and Meta if more of its leaders are killed

videocam
3

Trump says US may exit Iran war in 2 to 3 weeks, threatens to quit Nato

videocam
4

Iran’s president sends message to Americans in open letter

5

Siblings who fled to China charged over bomb planted outside US Air Force base