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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. Images of hull sections suggest progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier
China appears to be making progress on its fourth aircraft carrier at a shipyard in the country’s northeast, according to satellite images, another key part of the navy’s modernisation drive.
2. Sending a message: Beijing issues documents without Word format amid US tensions

China’s expansion of its rare earth export controls appeared to mark another escalation in the US-China trade war last week. But the announcements were also significant in another way: unusually, the documents could not be opened using American word processing software.
3. 2 missing Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong found after 12 days
Aleli Perez Tibay and Imee Mahilum Pabuaya were found in Sha Tin after they had been spotted in Lei Muk Shue Estate in Tsuen Wan on October 8.
4. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s latest China visit boosts promotion for the iPhone Air

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s latest visit to China this year turned out to herald the launch of the iPhone Air on the mainland, as the country’s three major telecommunications network operators start commercial trials of the eSIM function on smartphones.
5. A ‘ghost fleet’ of Japan’s rusting WWII wrecks is poisoning this Pacific paradise

Beneath the turquoise waters of a remote Pacific atoll, a Japanese warship sunk more than 80 years ago has begun leaking fuel oil, threatening ecological disaster.
6. Chinese woman wakes from coma to uncover ‘most devoted’ boyfriend’s abuse

A woman in northeastern China woke from a coma to reveal that her boyfriend, who had spent 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) on her care, was the one who had beaten her into unconsciousness.
7. China gears up to build giant South China Sea lab in hunt for ghost particles

Chinese researchers have tested a submersible device that will play a vital role in the effort to study the ghostly subatomic particles that stream through the cosmos with barely a trace.


Shanghai’s changing expats, Hong Kong trail sign fallout: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Exhibition on gardens of China, Europe; art director’s top spots: 7 Lifestyle highlights

China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’, war on Alzheimer’s: 7 science highlights

UAE’s Opec exit, why Japan shared Mogami warship design with India: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP Highlights

China’s fourth carrier takes shape, missing Filipino helpers found: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a selfie with Chinese singer-actress Wang Feifei at her music video set in Shanghai on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

China’s fourth aircraft carrier, known as the Type 004, is believed to be under construction at a shipyard, in Dalian, Liaoning province. New hull sections have been seen in the latest satellite images from the site. Photo: Handout

China has launched a drive to reduce its reliance on foreign technology, including software systems like Microsoft Office, amid rising geopolitical tensions. Photo: AP

Chuuk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia, around 5,800km west of Hawaii. Photo: Julian Ryall

A woman in China woke from a coma, only to reveal that her boyfriend, who spent 200,000 yuan on her care, had abused her. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu

The Subsea Precision Instrument Deployer with Elastic Releasing (Spider) on its recent sea trial at an undisclosed location in the South China Sea. Photo: Handout

Malaysian CEO sorry for F1 champagne shower, Singaporean wages stagnate: 7 Asia highlights

Screenshot from a viral video by travel influencer Ben Frier describing the Malaysian town of Semporna. Photo: Instagram/backpacker.ben

People walk out for a lunch break in the Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore. The manpower ministry has said labour market adjustments will come mainly through slower hiring and moderated wage growth. Photo: AFP

A party in Malaysia is asking for beef not to be served during government functions. Photo: Shutterstock

Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz (left) celebrates on the podium with champagne during the Singapore Grand Prix on October 5. Photo: Formula 1/Getty Images

The central business district skyline in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Petronas CEO’s F1 champagne shower, Kyoto hotel tax: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Race winner George Russell (centre) of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz (left) and third-placed Lando Norris of McLaren celebrate on the podium with champagne during the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Photo: Formula 1 via Getty Images

Soybeans are harvested on a farm in the US state of Indiana last month. Soybeans have become the latest flashpoint in the trade dispute between China and the US. Photo: AP

Tourists visit Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, Japan, last year. Photo: AFP

An aerial drone photo taken on May 20, 2025, shows a high-speed train leaving Tegalluar Station on the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) in Bandung, Indonesia. Photo: Xinhua

Chow Yun-fat’s journey to stardom, Qin dynasty’s legacy: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Khao chae at Pribpri restaurant at the Devasom Hua Hin Resort in Thailand. A Thai palace cuisine dish, it includes cool, perfumed rice with iced, jasmine-scented water and side dishes such as shrimp paste balls, sweet fried fish, stuffed green peppers wrapped in egg, pork floss and stir-fried preserved radish in coconut milk. Photo: Devasom Hua Hin

Chow Yun-fat at an interview with the Post in 2003. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star can still be found taking the bus in Hong Kong or buying food at his local market, despite his global success. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

An illustration shows the burning of Confucian letters opposing the Legalism of the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor also ordered the execution of hundreds of Confucian scholars by burying them alive. Photo: Bridgeman via Getty Images

“Belle” hands a lunchbox to an elderly woman in Sham Shui Po. The Hong Kong student gives out free meals to underprivileged elderly people and in the city and documents it on Instagram. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Cecilia Choi and Terrance Lau pose for a wedding photo in Japan. The Hong Kong actor couple have been together for five years. Photo: MOM Production

News

World

From progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier to Japan’s ‘ghost fleet’ poisoning the Pacific, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier to Japan’s ‘ghost fleet’ poisoning the Pacific, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


China’s fourth carrier takes shape, missing Filipino helpers found: 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 progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier to Japan’s ‘ghost fleet’ poisoning the Pacific, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. Images of hull sections suggest progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier

2. Sending a message: Beijing issues documents without Word format amid US tensions

From progress on China’s fourth aircraft carrier to Japan’s ‘ghost fleet’ poisoning the Pacific, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting