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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. Durian Express? China brings in cheaper fruit with new Southeast Asia train

2. ‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz

3. ‘Nowhere to go’: helpers pushed out of parks spend day off in tents at bus terminus

4. Why Beijing now wants its spies executed in Taiwan back in the spotlight

5. How to sleep better, from bedtimes to regularity – what the research says



Cheaper durians for China, Hong Kong helpers camp in tents: 5 weekend reads you missed

King Charles’ gift amuses Chinese, anti-spy agency makes allegation: SCMP’s 7 highlights

A 60-year-old Singaporean pole dancer, Guizhou’s spicy food: 7 Lifestyle highlights

China’s EV makers to cut charging times; Tesla rival Li Auto’s expansion: 7 EV reads

SCMP Highlights

A shopper browses a mound of durians at a market in Hong Kong. Photo: Eugene Lee

Fresh Musang King durians from Malaysia are displayed for sale in the supermarket in Beijing, China, on April 13, 2025. Photo: Simon Song

The port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on April 17. Photo: EPA/The UAE Presidential Court

Helpers gather at the Lohas Park Station Public Transport Interchange. Some said they were usually forced to leave other public spaces when they gathered in groups on their day off. Photo: Elson Li

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

According to British neuroscientist Matthew Walker, mastering sleep requires managing three main factors: regularity, timing and continuity. Photo: Shutterstock

King Charles gives a state dinner speech at the White House on Tuesday, with a ship’s bell bearing the inscription “Trump 1944” to his right. Photo: AP

Office workers in Singapore’s Central Business District. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s representative Fu Cong at the UN headquarters in New York on April 7. China’s diplomatic statements are seen to indicate the delicate balance it is striking between rhetorical solidarity with Iran and its regional economic interests. Photo: Xinhua

Security officials react as a shooter opens fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, in Washington D.C. on Saturday. Online commenters showed interest in the female agent’s drawn Glock pistol and what appeared to be a Holosun sight. Photo: Reuters

No 74 was among the first batch of properties inspected after landslides exposed unauthorised building works at homes along the estate’s seafront. Photo: Elson Li

The “flamingo” test - balancing on one leg - is one of the ways you can assess how well you are ageing. Photo: Shutterstock

Hand grip strength, an “indispensable biomarker for older adults”, is measured with a dynamometer. Photo: Shutterstock

The 1956 Hong Kong riots resulted in 59 deaths while more than 500 people were injured. Photo: SCMP

On this Instagram post of her pole dancing, Poh quotes: “A journey without laughter is the quickest path to misery.” Photo: Instagram/skeletalwombat

A fermented chilli fish dish at Zui Qian Xian. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Asean’s natural leader, Bali on edge over Japanese earthquake: 7 Asia highlights

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) smiles during the vote on the government’s bill to establish a National Intelligence Council during a plenary session of the House of Representatives in Tokyo on April 23, 2026. Photo: AFP

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta in November 2024. Photo: AFP

A view inside the Asean Secretariat building during a foreign ministers’ meeting in 2022. Indonesia has hosted the secretariat since it was established in 1976. Photo: Asean/AFP 

The sun rises behind boats moored at a pier on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on April 12. Bali recorded 547 earthquakes last year. Photo: AFP

A Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force Type 10 tank (centre) is seen during a live‑fire drill at the Hijudai manoeuvre area on April 21, 2026. Photo: Kyodo

“Malware-as-a-service” seizes control of a user’s phone after gaining entry through a fraudulent app, monitoring use in real-time and harvesting data such as fingerprints. Photo: Shutterstock

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (centre) during a panel at CNBC Converge Live with host Steve Sedgwick at Jewel Changi Airport on Wednesday. Photo: CNBC

The South Korean army started removing this recruitment poster on Tuesday, just three days after it went up at major hubs such as Seoul’s Yongsan Station. Photo: Handout

News

World

From freight routes bypassing Hormuz to Hong Kong helpers in tents on days off, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend


From freight routes bypassing Hormuz to Hong Kong helpers in tents on days off, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.


Cheaper durians for China, Hong Kong helpers camp in tents: 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 freight routes bypassing Hormuz to Hong Kong helpers in tents on days off, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend

1. Durian Express? China brings in cheaper fruit with new Southeast Asia train

From freight routes bypassing Hormuz to Hong Kong helpers in tents on days off, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend