长和称持续与有关方商讨港口出售事宜

2026年3月20日 11:14 / 联合早报

香港长江和记实业有限公司联合董事总经理陆法兰星期四（3月19日）在记者会上说，公司持续与有关方商讨港口出售事宜。 （路透社）

香港长江和记实业有限公司（简称长和）称，公司持续与有关方商讨港口出售事宜。

综合路透社和香港《南华早报》报道，长和联合董事总经理陆法兰（Frank Sixt）星期四（3月19日）在公司2025年度全年业绩报告记者会上，透露上述消息。

美国总统特朗普去年初重返执政以来，反对中国掌控巴拿马运河，令负责当地港口运营的香港长和集团陷入中美博弈漩涡。

去年，长和集团同意以230亿美元（294亿新元）向由美国资产管理巨头贝莱德牵头的财团脱售旗下全球23个国家和地区的43个港口，包括位于巴拿马运河两端的克里斯托瓦尔港和巴尔博亚港。

此举引发北京不满，长和过后称，港口出售磋商也将包括一个“重大战略投资者”，据报是中国航运巨企中远海运。

不过，巴拿马最高法院今年1月底裁定，长和旗下的巴拿马港口公司（PPC）运营巴拿马运河两个港口的合约违宪，之后长和公告，PPC已根据适用特许经营合约及国际商会的仲裁规则，积极果断地对巴拿马启动仲裁。

陆法兰星期四在记者会上说：“我们还是按计划与原本的买方财团，以及来自中国的重大金融战略投资者就出售港口事宜进行磋商。”

陆法兰也说，长和与PPC将持续与法律顾问不懈努力，通过全国和国际程序寻求所有适用的法律救济措施，以化解巴拿马两个港口合约被当局接管的困境。

巴拿马最高法院裁决后，巴拿马当局对PPC进行突击搜查，并接管PPC所运营的两个港口，将运营权暂交航运巨头马士基和地中海航运负责。上周，巴拿马政府呼吁此前宣布暂停运营巴尔博亚港的中远海运考虑重启当地货物航运业务。

截至去年12月底的2025年度财报，长和录得净利润118亿港元（19.28亿新元），低于分析师预估的217亿港元。业绩受非现金损失影响较大，全年营收为5073亿港元，上年同期为4767亿港元。

Kremlin confirms pause in Ukraine peace talks amid Middle East conflict | Fox News

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the pause is ‘situational’ and hopes American partners will refocus on Ukraine soon

By Michael Sinkewicz
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 10:08pm EDT

Ukraine peace talks are on a “situational pause” as the Middle East conflict intensifies, the Kremlin said Thursday, even as Kyiv signaled negotiations could resume as soon as this weekend.

Following reports in Russian media that the Kremlin had paused talks on Ukraine and that the Middle East conflict could push Kyiv toward compromise, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the pause.

“This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons,” Peskov told reporters when asked about the report, according to Reuters.

Peskov added that as soon as “our American partners” could refocus on the Ukraine conflict, Moscow hopes the pause will end and new talks can begin, the outlet reported.

UKRAINE TO MEET TRUMP ENVOYS AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES GENEVA TALKS WITH RUSSIA AS WAR ENTERS FIFTH YEAR

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.(Danylo Antoniuk/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on X that Kyiv has received signals from the U.S. that it is ready to resume talks aimed at ending the war.

“There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them,” he said. “We are doing everything to ensure that the negotiations are genuinely substantive.”

Zelenskyy added that a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the U.S. and is expected to hold meetings Saturday.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO DISCUSS TERRITORY AS TRUMP SAYS BOTH SIDES ‘WANT TO MAKE A DEAL’

Firefighters put out the fire in the ruins of an apartment building following Russia’s missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the “hatred” between Russia and Ukraine was getting in the way of reaching a peace deal.

Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, Trump said the “hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great.”

“It’s so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia,you’d think there would be a little bit of camaraderie,[but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great.It’s very hard for them to get there.It’s very, very hard to get there.So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But we’ve been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out.”

UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY: RUSSIA TRYING ‘TO PLAY’ GAME WITH TRUMP, STALL PEACE TALKS

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at a news conference following a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine.

The pause in talks comes as Ukraine is increasingly being drawn into the wider Middle East conflict.

With the conflict in Iran now in its third week, Ukraine is providing technology and battlefield-tested tactics to counter Iranian drone attacks.

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U.S. and Gulf partners have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kyiv signaling it is prepared to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian aerial threats.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report, along with Reuters.

Michael Sinkewicz is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.sinkewicz@fox.com/

Federal commission made up of Trump appointees approves design of his commemorative gold coin

March 19, 2026 / 10:11 PM EDT / AP

A federal arts commission on Thursday approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing President Trump’s image to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday on July 4.

The vote by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members are supporters of the Republican president and were appointed by him earlier this year, was without objection. It clears the way for the U.S. Mint to begin production on the coin, whose size and denomination are still under discussion.

“As we approach our 250th birthday, we are thrilled to prepare coins that represent the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, and there is no profile more emblematic for the front of such coins than that of our serving President, Donald J. Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement.

The unprecedented move marks yet another example of Mr. Trump and his allies circumventing conventional past presidential practices. It’s the latest instance of Mr. Trump putting his name and likeness in the historical archive, following his renaming of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships, among other tributes.

A commemorative gold coin design featuring President Trump, in this undated handout image. U.S. Mint/Handout via REUTERS

Federal law says no living president can appear on U.S. currency. But Megan Sullivan, the acting chief of the Office of Design Management at the Mint, said the Treasury secretary has authority to authorize the minting and issuance of new 24-karat gold coins, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has used to get around that prohibition and put Mr. Trump on a coin.

She presented the coin’s final design at the commission’s March meeting on Thursday and said Mr. Trump had approved it.

“It is my understanding that the secretary of the Treasury presented this design, as well as others, to the president and these were his selection,” Sullivan said.

The White House and the Mint did not immediately respond to electronic and telephone requests for comment.

The front of the coin features an image of Mr. Trump in a suit and tie and with a stern look on his face. His fists rest on top of what is supposed to be a desk as he leans forward. Lettering on the top half of the coin spells “LIBERTY” in a slight arc. Directly underneath that are the dates 1776-2026. The words “IN GOD WE TRUST” are at the bottom, with seven stars on one side of the coin and six stars on the other side.

The reverse side depicts a bald eagle midflight with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” on the right side and “E PLURIBUS UNUM” on the left side.

“I know it’s a very strong and a very tough image of him, and I think it’s fitting to have a current sitting president who’s presiding over the country over the 250th year on a commemorative coin for said year,” said Commissioner Chamberlain Harris, a top White House aide to Mr. Trump.

The coin will be part of a “very limited production run,” Sullivan said, but the number has not been determined. The size and denomination of the coin also have not yet been decided, she said. Some commissioners noted Mr. Trump’s fondness for big things as they advocated for the largest size coin.

The Mint, which is part of the Treasury Department, has looked at a size for the Trump coin that is larger than its 1-ounce gold coin, which is about 1.3 inches in diameter, Sullivan said.

Its largest coin is 3 inches, “so we’re looking somewhere in there,” she said.

“I think the president likes big things,” said Commissioner James McCrery II, who was the architect on Trump’s design proposal for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom addition to the White House. The fine arts commission approved that proposal at its February meeting.

Harris told McCrery she agreed with him. She works in the White House as a special assistant to the president and deputy director of the Oval Office.

“I think the larger the better. The largest of that circulation, I think, would be his preference,” Harris said, speaking of Mr. Trump.

金正恩：将用新型坦克装备朝鲜陆军

2026年3月20日 10:43 / 联合早报

朝中社的照片显示，金正恩和女儿金珠爱3月19日观摩步兵和坦克兵协同攻击战术演习时，同乘一辆坦克。 （法新社）

朝鲜领导人金正恩对步兵和坦克兵部队协同作战演习进行指导，并要求完成备战。

朝中社星期五（3月20日）报道，金正恩星期四（19日）访问朝鲜人民军首都防御军直属平壤第60训练基地，观摩步兵和坦克兵部队协同攻击战术演习。

报道称，当天进行了检验新型主战坦克主动防护系统的各种试验。金正恩说，今后将用这种优越的新型坦克大量装备朝鲜陆军，朝鲜的装甲武力将发展到更高阶段。

韩联社报道，从朝鲜媒体发布的照片可见，金正恩的女儿金珠爱陪同他一同观摩演习，还同乘坦克。近期金正恩出席的每一场军事活动都有金珠爱的身影，引发关注。

金正恩：将用新型坦克装备朝鲜陆军

2026年3月20日 10:43 / 联合早报

朝中社的照片显示，金正恩和女儿金珠爱3月19日观摩步兵和坦克兵协同攻击战术演习时，同乘一辆坦克。 （法新社）

朝鲜领导人金正恩对步兵和坦克兵部队协同作战演习进行指导，并要求完成备战。

朝中社星期五（3月20日）报道，金正恩星期四（19日）访问朝鲜人民军首都防御军直属平壤第60训练基地，观摩步兵和坦克兵部队协同攻击战术演习。

报道称，当天进行了检验新型主战坦克主动防护系统的各种试验。金正恩说，今后将用这种优越的新型坦克大量装备朝鲜陆军，朝鲜的装甲武力将发展到更高阶段。

韩联社报道，从朝鲜媒体发布的照片可见，金正恩的女儿金珠爱陪同他一同观摩演习，还同乘坦克。近期金正恩出席的每一场军事活动都有金珠爱的身影，引发关注。

涉向中国走私AI技术 超微电脑高层被美司法部起诉 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月20日 11:36 / 联合早报

美国司法部星期四（3月19日）解封的起诉书表明，包括美国超微电脑（Super Micro Computer）联合创始人在内的三名相关人士，涉嫌非法向中国出口人工智能技术。图为超微电脑logo。 （路透社）

美国超微电脑（Super Micro Computer）高层被控将受出口管制的英伟达晶片等尖端人工智能技术非法转移至中国，并从中获利数十亿美元。

综合路透社 、法新社等媒体报道，美国司法部星期四（3月19日）指控，超微电脑联合创始人廖义贤（Yih-Shyan Liaw，音译） ，以及员工张瑞增（Ruei-Tsang Chang，音译）、孙廷伟（Ting-Wei Sun，音译） 串谋，将内置高性能英伟达（Nvidia）GPU的计算机服务器走私至中国。

美国纽约南区联邦检察官克莱顿（Jay Clayton）在一份声明中表示，被告参与了一项系统性计划，将大量美国人工智能技术转移给中国客户，并以谎言掩饰和隐瞒此行为。

根据起诉书，这三人自约两年前起与他人共谋，通过一家位于东南亚的“中转”公司，向中国销售至少价值25亿美元（32亿新元）的服务器。而美国法律禁止未经许可向中国销售此类设备。

总部位于加利福尼亚州圣何塞的超威电脑表示，已于星期四收到起诉的通知。公司本身未被列为被告。公司已将廖义贤和张瑞增停职，并终止与合同工孙廷伟的合作。

美国司法部表示，美国籍的廖义贤和台湾人孙廷伟已被逮捕，台湾人张瑞增仍在逃。

DOJ says it shut down websites that spread Iranian propaganda, threatened dissidents and took credit for hacks

March 19, 2026 / 11:26 PM EDT / CBS News

The Justice Department says it has shuttered four websites that were allegedly used by Iranian government-linked groups to post hacked information and threaten regime critics.

The move comes amid fears that the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran could expand into cyberattacks. A news agency linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards has threatened American tech companies that they could be targets, and one of the Iran-linked groups targeted by the Justice Department appeared to take credit for a hack on a Michigan medical technology company last week.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials have said cyber operations helped to degrade Iran’s communications in the early hours of the war.

The websites that were shut down by the Justice Department had names that corresponded to three different alleged hacking groups: Handala, Homeland Justice and Karma Below. In court papers, the FBI said all three groups are run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and they use similar tactics, including “custom-built malware.”

The Justice Department says the four sites were used for Iranian government-sponsored “hacking and transnational repression schemes,” and for “attempted psychological operations targeting adversaries of the regime.”

For example, the Handala sites were allegedly used to take credit for “a destructive malware attack against a U.S.-based multinational medical technologies firm.”

The Justice Department didn’t identify that firm, but last week, medical technology company Stryker reported a cyberattack that caused “global disruption.” Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs wrote in a blog post last week that Handala appeared to claim responsibility for the incident, which was ostensibly in retaliation for a deadly bombing of a girls’ school in Iran that early assessments say the U.S. may have been responsible for.

Stryker said the hack was limited to its internal Microsoft systems and did not affect any of its products, including its medical implants. CBS News has reached out to the company for comment.

Handala has also allegedly used the seized websites in recent weeks to take credit for a hack against members of a Hasidic Jewish community, and to share names and personal information for Israel Defense Forces and Israeli government employees, the Justice Department said. At one point, the group allegedly encouraged supporters of Iran to “respond” to the IDF personnel, the Justice Department said.

And Handala was accused of emailing death threats earlier this month to Iranian dissidents and journalists, at least one of whom lived in the United States, the Justice Department said. One alleged message that was disclosed by the Justice Department claimed Handala was “partners” with the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel and offered a $250,000 reward for the target’s death.

One of the other shuttered websites was associated with Homeland Justice and was allegedly used to take credit for a highly publicized 2022 hack against the Albanian government, the DOJ said.

The FBI said in court papers that as part of its investigation, an undercover agent bought a trove of stolen data from a representative of Homeland Justice, including Albanian ID cards that appeared related to the 2022 incident.

“Iran thought they could hide behind fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorize Americans and silence dissidents,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement Thursday. “We took down four of their operation’s pillars and we’re not done.”

U.S. authorities have long warned about the risk of Iranian state-sponsored hacking. And Iran has been linked to attempts to suppress dissidents in the U.S. for years, including multiple thwarted plots to kidnap or murder Iranian-American journalist and regime critic Masih Alinejad, a CBS News contributor.

But when Stryker was targeted in a cyberattack last week, following the start of the U.S.-Iran war, former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs told CBS News it appeared that “the cyber front of this conflict has officially opened.”

Krebs, a CBS News contributor, said on “CBS Mornings” last week that the line between Handala and the Iranian government is “really blurry.”

“It’s almost an all-hands-on-deck approach by Iran,” he said. “So all of their groups, whether they’re directly related to the military, the intelligence services or their proxies, contractors, hacktivists, sympathizers, whatever you want to call them — they’re all going for targets.”

国际能源署3月19日说，此次投放的石油储备总体将以原油为主，在欧洲地区则主要是成品油。 （路透社）

国际能源署说，在成员国一致决定动用4亿桶战略石油储备后，相关储备已开始向市场投放。

新华社报道，国际能源署（IEA）星期四（3月19日）发布新闻公报说，此次投放的石油储备总体将以原油为主，在欧洲地区则主要是成品油。与此同时，美洲国家将通过提高产量补充市场供应。

公报还说，随着各国进一步细化各自承担的份额，原油与成品油的具体分配比例以及来自公共储备的供应规模等仍可能调整。

受中东局势升级影响，伦敦布伦特原油期货价格星期四开盘后一度升至每桶116美元（约148新元）以上，欧洲天然气和石油价格当天早盘也明显上涨。

国际能源署11日宣布，32个成员国一致同意释放4亿桶战略石油储备，以应对因美国和以色列军事打击伊朗导致全球石油供应紧张的局面。这是国际能源署迄今协调规模最大的一次石油储备释放。

国际能源署：战略石油储备已开始投放市场

2026年3月20日 10:52 / 联合早报

国际能源署3月19日说，此次投放的石油储备总体将以原油为主，在欧洲地区则主要是成品油。 （路透社）

国际能源署说，在成员国一致决定动用4亿桶战略石油储备后，相关储备已开始向市场投放。

新华社报道，国际能源署（IEA）星期四（3月19日）发布新闻公报说，此次投放的石油储备总体将以原油为主，在欧洲地区则主要是成品油。与此同时，美洲国家将通过提高产量补充市场供应。

公报还说，随着各国进一步细化各自承担的份额，原油与成品油的具体分配比例以及来自公共储备的供应规模等仍可能调整。

受中东局势升级影响，伦敦布伦特原油期货价格星期四开盘后一度升至每桶116美元（约148新元）以上，欧洲天然气和石油价格当天早盘也明显上涨。

国际能源署11日宣布，32个成员国一致同意释放4亿桶战略石油储备，以应对因美国和以色列军事打击伊朗导致全球石油供应紧张的局面。这是国际能源署迄今协调规模最大的一次石油储备释放。

Trump administration moving federal student loan management to Treasury Department

March 19, 2026 9:52 PM UTC / Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – The Trump administration said on Thursday the Department of Education was handing off a portion of its student loan ​portfolio to the Treasury Department, as the government advances its attempts ‌to dismantle the Education Department.

President Donald Trump promised during his 2024 election campaign to dismantle the Education Department as part of a conservative bid to shrink the federal ​government’s role in education in favor of more control by the ​states.

节点运行失败

A general view of the entrance to the U.S. Department Of The Treasury in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Late last year, the Education Department announced new partnerships with ⁠four other federal departments – Labor, State, Interior and Health and Human ​Services – to share or transfer some of the functions it performed.

On Thursday, ​the Education and Treasury Departments announced an interagency agreement under which Treasury will assume responsibility for collecting on defaulted federal student loan debt.

“In subsequent phases, Treasury will ​work to provide operational support over non-defaulted federal student loan debt, to ​the extent practicable and permitted by law, while also seeking opportunities to provide operational ‌support ⁠to FSA’s other functions,” the joint statement said, referring to Federal Student Aid.

Currently, the Education Department says the student loan portfolio stands at nearly $1.7 trillion, with less than 40% of borrowers in repayment and almost ​25% of borrowers in ​default.

Created by ⁠Congress in 1979, the Department of Education’s main roles were administering college loans, tracking student achievement and enforcing ​civil rights in schools. It also gave federal funding ​to help ⁠districts with a high percentage of needy children and to assist students with disabilities.

Even though the Trump administration needs an act of Congress to ⁠formally eliminate ​the department, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced ​plans last year to terminate hundreds of employees as part of what it said was ​the department’s “final mission.”

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot

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