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SCMP

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. 491,000 Japan-bound air tickets cancelled as China warns people to avoid travel
Chinese airlines have recorded about 491,000 cancellations of tickets to Japan since Saturday – roughly 32 per cent of their total bookings to the typically popular destination – after Beijing advised citizens to avoid travelling there amid a diplomatic spat, according to a veteran aviation analyst.
2. Singapore minister sorry for derogatory remarks on Hong Kong football team

Singapore’s acting sports minister has conceded he “should have been more respectful” after calling Hong Kong football fans and players “idiots” in a locker room pep talk to his side, following the city state’s historic win on Tuesday night in Hong Kong.
3. Mathematician Qian Hong, son of top scientific clan, leaves US for China
A renowned mathematician who is also part of China’s Qian clan – a surname linked in the annals of Chinese scientific history to national pioneers in science and engineering – has become the latest US-based scientist to return to China.
4. Chinese history blamed this woman for 2,796 years. Science clears her name

A groundbreaking scientific study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment might compel historians to rewrite one of ancient China’s most enduring myths.
5. Hong Kong lawyer who admitted to sex with girl, 12, says relationship was genuine
A Hong Kong lawyer who admitted having sex with a 12-year-old girl has maintained that they were in a genuinely loving relationship. Kelvin Luk Kin-ting’s legal counsel on Monday sought to convince the District Court that the defendant, 40, had not groomed his victim to satisfy his sexual desires or taken naked photos of her for financial benefit.
6. China’s ‘coal plastic’ breakthrough can greatly reduce its demand for oil: study
Chinese scientists have developed a catalyst that can turn biomass and coal-derived syngas directly into building blocks for plastic and synthetic rubber with higher efficiency and sustainability than existing methods.
7. ‘Excellent’: Singapore lauded for jailing man who grabbed Ariana Grande

Singapore’s jailing of an Australian man who rushed at singer-actress Ariana Grande at a film premiere has earned near-unanimous applause from locals, reflecting deep frustration with behaviour seen as attention-seeking and disruptive to the city state’s hard-won image for safety.


Chinese brands eye Europe; Geely joins Chery and BYD in profit slide: 7 EV reads

Philippine pageant debate, Chinese stealth jets in Pakistan: 7 Asia highlights

Xi’s leverage ahead of Trump meet, Hong Kong schools: 5 weekend reads you missed

Shanghai’s changing expats, Hong Kong trail sign fallout: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

Singapore minister’s apology, China’s tourists cancel Japan trips: SCMP’s 7 highlights

An aviation analyst said Shanghai-Tokyo and Shanghai-Osaka flights have been most affected in recent days by cancellations stemming from a diplomatic dispute between China and Japan. Photo: Xinhua

Singapore’s Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo speaking to Singapore’s national football team in a locker room after their win over Hong Kong in an Asian Cup qualifier match on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook/David Neo

For nearly three millennia, she has been remembered not as a person, but as a symbol: the beautiful femme fatale whose cold heart and untouchable beauty brought down a dynasty. Photo: Handout

Johnson Wen was jailed for disrupting Ariana Grande’s Singapore premiere. Photo: TikTok/pyjamamann, UR Dinie

Shenzhou-20 astronauts return home, Qian Hong leaves US for China: 7 science highlights

Astronaut Wang Jie waves as he is carried out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down at the Dongfeng landing site on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Qian Hong, previously the Olga Jung Wan endowment professor in applied mathematics at the University of Washington in Seattle, has returned to China after 40 years in the US. Photo: Handout

Chinese geologists have discovered a rare gold deposit in the Kunlun Mountains near the western border of Xinjiang, the third large haul to be found this year. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Researchers at CHIPX pose for a photo with their high-performance 6-inch thin-film lithium niobate chip, an advance that is poised to accelerate progress in AI and quantum computing. Photo: Handout

Brawl at Malaysia-Singapore crossing, Southeast Asia’s climate crisis: 7 Asia highlights

Motorists coming from Malaysia’s state of Johor form a queue as they approach the immigration checkpoint to enter Singapore. Photo: AFP

Sheikh Hasina gestures while speaking to the media, a day after she won the 12th parliamentary elections, in Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2024. Photo: AFP

Illustration: Huy Truong

Sari Kartina Abdul Karim at her home in the Netherlands. Photo: Facebook/Sharina Abdul Karim

China’s rare earths breakthrough, Fujian carrier’s naval genius: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Chinese scientists have recovered a naturally formed mineral with rare earth elements from the Blemchnum orientale fern, offering a potential for phytomining, according to the team. Photo: Shutterstock

Rear Admiral Ma Weiming, as he appeared in 2017 on state television advocating for China to develop an electromagnetic catapult system for its next aircraft carrier. Photo: CCTV

McDonald’s sold this 6,826 sq ft shop in Kennedy Town for HK$100 million, or HK$14,723 per square foot. Photo: Handout

News

World

From an apology over remarks about Hong Kong’s football team to tourists avoiding Japan, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From an apology over remarks about Hong Kong’s football team to tourists avoiding Japan, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


Singapore minister’s apology, China’s tourists cancel Japan trips: SCMP’s 7 highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From an apology over remarks about Hong Kong’s football team to tourists avoiding Japan, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. 491,000 Japan-bound air tickets cancelled as China warns people to avoid travel

From an apology over remarks about Hong Kong’s football team to tourists avoiding Japan, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting