5 d. ago China’s daring engineering feat, Malaysia border chaos: 5 weekend reads you missed

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. China turns mega-project failure into defining moment in modern engineering China has pulled off a daring underground feat, using a multimillion-dollar tunnel boring machine (TBM) to recover its stranded twin beneath the country’s largest river. 2. System failure at Malaysia-Singapore border...

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5 d. ago China’s daring engineering feat, Malaysia border chaos: 5 weekend reads

China’s daring engineering feat, Malaysia border chaos: 5 weekend reads  South China Morning Post

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1 week ago Singapore’s elite schools spark debate; concern for domestic helpers: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week 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. Malaysia’s tourism minister urges warmer welcomes after ‘less than friendly’ complaints 2. Japan’s shoplifters hate a simple ‘hello’ more than cameras 3. Debate on Singapore’s elite schools flares as ex-student recalls ‘privileged’ years 4. Netflix-Warner deal sparks...

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1 week ago AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads you missed

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. ‘Stop subverting Venezuelan regime’: China urges US to release Maduro China has expressed “serious concern” over the US capture and forcible removal of the Venezuelan leader, calling on Washington to ensure the personal safety of Nicolas Maduro and his wife and “release them immediately”. 2. Why...

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1 week ago AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads

AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads  South China Morning Post

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2 w. ago AI scientist Ling Haibin, father of world’s first plant ID app, leaves US for China

AI scientist Ling Haibin, the acclaimed computer scientist behind the world’s first mobile plant identification app, has left his position in the United States to take up a full-time role at Westlake University in Hangzhou, eastern China. One of Ling’s PhD research projects, which involved using computers to recognise leaves of different shapes, led to the creation of the identification app LeafSnap. The app teaches users about plant diversity, how to care for houseplants, diagnose disease and...

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2 w. ago Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

In March last year, Erica Cheong and her husband, Harris Zainol, welcomed their firstborn son, Isaac. Like many new Malaysian parents living and working in Kuala Lumpur, the couple found the transition to parenthood overwhelming. “We needed someone to help care for the baby, given that my parents are elderly and my in-laws work full time,” Cheong told This Week in Asia. After speaking to friends who have employed domestic helpers, the couple, both 35, decided that doing the same was their best...

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2 w. ago Japan as a nuclear power, China’s first female C919 captain: 5 weekend reads you missed

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. Chinese nuclear experts believe Japan could build nukes in less than 3 years The late US statesman Henry Kissinger’s dire warning about Tokyo aiming to become a nuclear power by 2028 is being re-examined by Beijing. 2. A year after near total blackout, China builds world’s largest smart...

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2 w. ago Japan as a nuclear power, China’s first female C919 captain: 5 weekend reads

Japan as a nuclear power, China’s first female C919 captain: 5 weekend reads  South China Morning Post

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3 w. ago Scientist Hu Haitao leaves US for China, Mexico tariff shock: 5 weekend reads you missed

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. Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass 2. China warns India: ‘don’t even think about stealing our 6th Dalai Lama’ 3. Hong Kong district officer apologises over outfit choice at firefighter’s funeral 4. Thailand’s tourism crown slips as troubles in paradise mount 5....

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3 w. ago Mexico’s 50% tariff shock, China warns India over Dalai Lama: 5 weekend reads

Mexico’s 50% tariff shock, China warns India over Dalai Lama: 5 weekend reads  South China Morning Post

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3 w. ago ‘No need to explain’: leading mRNA vaccine scientist Hu Haitao leaves US for China

Vaccine expert Hu Haitao, who studied under Drew Weissman, the Nobel laureate and pioneer of mRNA biology, has given up his tenured position at a US research institute and returned to China – a decision that required little explanation in 2025, he said. Even just one year ago, people close to him would have thought it “unbelievable” that he might give up an academic career established over nearly two decades in the United States, Hu told the South China Morning Post. But academic prospects in...

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