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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. The young Chinese scientist behind ‘impossible’ breakthrough on sodium batteries
Scientist Lu Yaxiang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics, has spent a decade working to make sodium-ion batteries commercially viable.
2. China sends a message to Pacific islands amid unease over missile test
A week after a Chinese missile test sparked protests across the Pacific, Beijing has reaffirmed its unconditional support for Honiara and pledged to deepen ties.
3. 6 million sign petition to kick Argentina out of World Cup, citing favouritism

More than six million people have signed an online petition demanding Argentina’s expulsion from the World Cup, amid allegations of referee favouritism that the team’s manager has dismissed as impossible to pull off in the VAR era.
4. Hong Kong IB students beat the global average this year. Here’s how they did it

Hong Kong’s robust tutoring and exam drilling culture contributed to the exceptional performance of local students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams, principals have said, after the city surpassed the average global score by nearly 20 per cent.
5. China supercharges AI with 100-fold faster optical chip breakthrough
Chinese researchers have developed a new all-optical interconnect system linking standard electronic chips, boosting AI distributed inference speeds by over 100 times while using just one-ninth of the typical computational resources.
6. Fashion statement: Louis Vuitton takes China’s trademark regulator to court

Louis Vuitton is set to face off against China’s trademark regulator in a Chinese intellectual property court on Thursday, as the French luxury brand deals with public backlash in China over a separate legal battle against a local milk tea brand.
7. China investor reveals 9-year hunt to bring fugitive fraudster ex-wife to justice

A Shenzhen-based investment veteran has revealed on social media that he spent 13 million yuan (US$1.9 million) over nine years to send the woman who deceived him to prison.


Chinese scientist’s sodium battery leap; petition to boot Argentina: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Erling Haaland’s Chinese drink; surprising facts about sleep: 7 Lifestyle highlights

China’s rare earth weakness, new rocket to rival SpaceX: 7 science highlights

South Korea’s lost Canadian deal; BN’s election win in Malaysia’s Johor: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP Highlights

A flashpoint in the controversial Argentina v Egypt match, when referee Francois Letexier shows a red card to an Egyptian staff member. Photo: dpa

Lu Yaxiang received a China Youth May Fourth Medal for her work on energy storage. Photo: Sohu


Students at Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College scored 41.4 on average, outperforming many IB schools in Hong Kong. Photo: Sun Yeung

Molly Tea’s flower design was found to have infringed Louis Vuitton’s trademarked monogram. Photo: Handout

A Shenzhen investment specialist spent nine years and 13 million yuan tracking down his fugitive ex-wife in the US after she defrauded him. Photo: Weibo

Filipino helpers as surrogates, Chinese scientist’s death in US: 5 weekend reads you missed

Workers have been urged to warn relatives back home and in Hong Kong about the surrogacy issue. Photo: Getty Images

A woman walks past a vehicle knocked over by winds from Typhoon Bavi in Wenling, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on July 12, 2026. Photo: AFP

Wang Danhao had secured a faculty position at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, his alma mater, and was planning to fly back to China in May, according to a source. Photo: Handout

Seventeen years after being photographed on her father’s back outside Tsinghua University, a young woman recreated the exact moment in her graduation gown. Photo: SCMP composite/yzwb.net

A drone photo shows the capturing of the returned first stage of the Long March-10B carrier rocket on a seaborne platform via a net-capture system, near Wenchang in southern China’s Hainan province on July 10. Photo: Xinhua via AP

A communications satellite equipped with the 750 newton test engine takes off from the Wenchang launch site in southern China on board a modified version of the Long March-7 rocket on June 23. Photo: Xinhua

A mine in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, a part of China’s vast rare earth mining industry. But new study says the country’s “international patent layout remains insufficient”. Photo: AP

China has succeeded in recovering the reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of the Long March-10B. Photo: Weibo/萌虎鲸

Chih-Ying Su (right) pictured at her American lab at UC San Diego. Photo: Handout

China displays a high-power microwave weapon system during the Victory Day parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

China sets July 4 precedent with US; Cathay plane triggers Nato alert: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Victoria Shanghai Academy top scorers with school principal Shirla Sum (first from left) and supervisor Peggy Lam and executive director Victor Koong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Fireworks explode during Salute to America, an Independence Day event, at the National Mall in Washington on July 4. Photo: AP


Hungarian fighter jets intercepted a Cathay Pacific Airways passenger plane bound for London over the weekend. Photo: Handout

Cabo Verde’s football team arrive home in Praia on July 5 from the United States and celebrate with their supporters despite their exit from the Fifa World Cup 2026 following a 3-2 extra-time defeat to Argentina. Photo: Reuters

Han Yaping from a modest background in Henan scored an impressive 699 on the gaokao exam. Photo: Douyin

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World

From Hong Kong’s exceptional IB results to Louis Vuitton suing China’s trademark regulator, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From Hong Kong’s exceptional IB results to Louis Vuitton suing China’s trademark regulator, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


Chinese scientist’s sodium battery leap; petition to boot Argentina: 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 Hong Kong’s exceptional IB results to Louis Vuitton suing China’s trademark regulator, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. The young Chinese scientist behind ‘impossible’ breakthrough on sodium batteries

From Hong Kong’s exceptional IB results to Louis Vuitton suing China’s trademark regulator, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting