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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. China’s high-speed rail nears 50,000km milestone – but is it sustainable?

After a construction boom spanning nearly two decades, China’s high-speed rail (HSR) network has made record-breaking strides. But to ensure long-term sustainability, analysts said the government needs to address challenges around commercial profitability and mounting debt.
2. Chinese scientists draw on Ukraine war lessons and propose drone upgrades
In Ukraine, about nine in 10 Russian drones have been shot down by advanced air defences, according to various estimates. A group of Chinese aerospace engineers and defence researchers have now proposed a radical technological enhancement for combat drones that may dramatically increase their ability to survive to nearly 90 per cent.
3. Hong Kong employers’ group urges domestic helper wage freeze, cites poor economy

A Hong Kong employers’ group has called for freezing the minimum salaries of foreign domestic helpers given the economic slowdown, after some unions representing the workers asked for up to a 30 per cent pay rise to HK$6,500 (US$833) a month.
4. As China defuses its time bomb of debt, US hears the ticking intensify
Concerns over China’s local-level debt have long loomed large in international discourse, with a mountain of “hidden” debt viewed as a “ticking time bomb” that threatens to trigger a cascade of defaults while posing a risk to financial stability.
5. Taiwan family die in landslide; son stays home to care for grandpa, survives

A tragic accident in southern Taiwan has evoked widespread sympathy after a car carrying five family members plunged into a valley, claiming all their lives – including a baby and the father, who initially escaped from the vehicle but lost his life in a desperate attempt to save his family.
6. Cover-up or tragic fall? Malaysia wants answers after student’s death
When Zara Qairina Mahathir’s body was found in a drain outside her school dormitory in Malaysia last month, the official explanation only prompted more questions, both from her grieving family and many others.
7. Li Ka-shing’s mansion in Deep Water Bay ‘not for sale’, CK Asset says in rebuke

Hong Kong’s wealthiest family denied that their residence of more than half a century is up for sale, as CK Asset Holdings issued an unusual rebuttal of rumours that have circulated for days on social media.


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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

China’s proposed drone upgrades, landslide in Taiwan kills family: SCMP’s 7 highlights

An undated photograph of the Li family’s mansion at 79 Deep Water Bay Road from a neighbouring hill on Hong Kong Island. Photo: Handout

Despite their importance in modern warfare, drones are currently vulnerable to advanced air defences. Photo: Shutterstock

A volunteer holds leaflets as he stands near a 600km/h High Speed Maglev model showcasing at the National Railway Test Center during a tour by delegates to the World Congress on High-Speed Rail held in Beijing, on July 9. Photo: AP

Foreign domestic helpers gather at Central on their day off. Photo: Sun Yeung

A tragic family accident in Taiwan saw a family of five fall into a valley due to a landslide; the 14-year-old son survived by staying home with his grandfather. Photo: SCMP composite/news.ltn.com.tw/tvbs

Singaporean F1 tycoon admits guilt, Indonesians misbehaving in Japan: 7 Asia highlights

A woman uses a portable fan to cool herself during a heatwave in Tokyo, Japan, on July 17. Photo: Reuters

Ong Beng Seng at the Marina Bay Street Circuit last year during a practice for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters



South Korean protesters tear a banner showing a caricature of US President Donald Trump as a robber during a rally in Seoul against Washington’s tariff policy on July 27. Photo: AFP

Labubu’s soft power, Trump eyes autumn China trip: 7 US-China relations reads

Labubu toys have become a global sensation, making the Chinese monster a vital piece of China’s soft power. Photo: Shutterstock

Photo: AFP

Photo: AP

Photo: Shutterstock

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s stealth design software breakthrough, mega dam project boost: 7 science highlights

Team based in China also finds that the use of specific drugs in combination with chemotherapy could be used to inhibit this process in mice, with a clinical trial already under way in breast cancer patients. Photo: AP

The US X-47B programme was cancelled 10 years ago. Photo: AP

The mega dam across the Yarlung Tsangpo River could produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges dam further south. Photo: AFP

US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites with GBU-57 bunker busters in June met with reportedly little resistance. Photo: AP

China’s CR450AF EMU (left) and CR400AF-S EMU trains are displayed at the 12th UIC High-Speed Railway Congress at the National Railway Test Centre in Beijing on July 9. Photo: EPA

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From Li Ka-shing’s mansion ‘not for sale’ to Malaysia’s probe into a student’s death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From Li Ka-shing’s mansion ‘not for sale’ to Malaysia’s probe into a student’s death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


Malaysia

Taiwan

CK Asset Holdings

China’s proposed drone upgrades, landslide in Taiwan kills family: 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 Li Ka-shing’s mansion ‘not for sale’ to Malaysia’s probe into a student’s death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. China’s high-speed rail nears 50,000km milestone – but is it sustainable?

From Li Ka-shing’s mansion ‘not for sale’ to Malaysia’s probe into a student’s death, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting