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SCMP

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Foreign degree? Think again, say Chinese parents as change of heart shifts focus

2. ‘It’s crazy’: inside Europe’s growing obsession with Chinese blind-box toys

3. ‘Definitely an issue’: in Japan, 6 in 10 admit being addicted to their phones

4. The Chinese chemists turning science into fortunes

5. Have ticket, will travel? China’s concertgoers spur tourism spending spree



Korean’s racist World Cup experience, India’s military revamp: 7 Asia highlights

Miss Hong Kong stirs Cantonese debate, China cuts degrees in AI push: 5 weekend reads you missed

Xi on North Korean military ties; US blacklists Chinese tech firms: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Tokyo Sézanne’s missing stars; Hongkonger shed 32kg in 8 months: 7 Lifestyle highlights

SCMP Highlights

Foreign degrees lose lustre in China, Japan’s phone addiction: 5 weekend reads you missed

People linger around a Pop Mart store, a Chinese pop culture brand, near Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese graduates of Columbia University attend the commencement ceremony in New York City, United States. Photo: Xinhua

Illustration: Davies C. Surya

Shoppers walk past the window of a Pop Mart store near the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Chinese toy giant has attracted a devoted fan base in Europe with its Labubu and Crybaby collectible dolls. Photo: Xiaofei Xu

A woman looks at her phone with Tokyo Tower in the background. Photo: AFP

Chemistry professor Fan Daidi, 59, has created a Hong Kong-listed giant. Photo: Handout

Coldplay performs at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on April 9. Photo: Harvey Kong

Cambodia starts selling durians to China, vying to rival Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia

Consumers inspect Vietnamese durians at a trade expo in southern China. China is by far the world’s largest durian market, with most of its imports currently coming from Thailand and Vietnam. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing eats durians in Malaysia. China is by far the world’s largest durian market, where the fruit is highly prized. Photo: Instagram

China’s J-10C vs French Rafale, fans defend Blackpink’s Lisa: SCMP 7 highlights

The Indian Air Force’s French-made Rafale fighter jets must coordinate with Russian air defence stations and Israeli airborne early warning and control aircraft. Photo: Reuters

The F-47 fighter jet and the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A combat drones are being developed under Washington’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative. Photo: US Air Force

The plan is part of the measures listed in a white paper that the British government published on Monday to set out how it would tighten its immigration policies. Photo: Reuters

Shenzhen has gained popularity with international tourists, logging a high number of visa-free entries in 2025. Photo: Dickson Lee

Thai singer and actress Lalisa Manobal, better known as Lisa of Blackpink, arrives for the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5 in New York. Photo: Reuters

US-China trade talks, ceasefire in Kashmir, ‘flourishing’ Indonesia: 5 weekend reads

A press briefing is held by the Chinese side following the US-China high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 11, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Members of the Chinese delegation leave a residence where trade talks between the US and China are taking place, in Geneva on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

The Pakistan Air Force has 20 Chinese-made J-10C fighter jets in service. Photo: AFP

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

A soldier feeds pigeons at a market in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Indonesia has been ranked as the world’s “most-flourishing” country. Photo: Getty Images

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East Asia

From declining enthusiasm for studying abroad to Pop Mart’s popularity in Europe, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend


From declining enthusiasm for studying abroad to Pop Mart’s popularity in Europe, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.


Japan

Foreign degrees lose lustre in China, Japan’s phone addiction: 5 weekend reads you missed

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From declining enthusiasm for studying abroad to Pop Mart’s popularity in Europe, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend

1. Foreign degree? Think again, say Chinese parents as change of heart shifts focus

From declining enthusiasm for studying abroad to Pop Mart’s popularity in Europe, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend