China deploys WZ-7 drone; flat dispute in Abby Choi trial: SCMP’s 7 highlights

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. Chinese commercial reactor achieves nuclear fusion with clean hydrogen-boron fuel

In a first, a Chinese company has achieved high-parameter hydrogen-boron plasma control, marking a “significant and valuable” advance in research into neutron-free magnetic confinement fusion.

2. China deploys advanced WZ-7 drone for first time near Scarborough Shoal

Beijing deployed its advanced WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone in the South China Sea for the first time during drills near the disputed Scarborough Shoal at the weekend.

3. Xi-Trump summit drew Chinese CEOs. So why couldn’t they get a seat at the table?

As American billionaires gathered at the White House to honour Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan last Thursday, a group of Chinese business leaders spent the evening on the sidelines. They had travelled to the US capital to join the state dinner. But their invitations never arrived.

4. Former in-laws’ anger over flat sale drove Abby Choi murder, court hears

Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s former father-in-law enlisted his two sons to help him murder the 28-year-old and dispose of her dismembered body after he became “extremely resentful and angry” over her insistence on selling a HK$72 million (US$9.2 million) flat where he was living, a court has heard.

5. AMD buys Li Fei-Fei’s World Labs for US$8.2b, escalating rivalry with Nvidia

US chip giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has agreed to acquire World Labs, the artificial intelligence start-up founded by renowned Chinese-American computer scientist Li Fei-Fei, for US$8.2 billion in an all-stock deal, as the company steps up its rivalry with Nvidia.

6. ‘Extremely damaging’ anti-foreigner fake news pushes Japan to far-right

Japan risks being pulled into a spiral of online disinformation about foreign crime that is stoking xenophobia and playing into the hands of the far-right, researchers warn.

7. What’s the future of heart health? Cardiologists on advances, life-saving habits

Three prominent cardiologists share their hopes and fears for the future of heart health, the technologies that excite them, the simple daily choices that could save your life, and essential habits they practise to safeguard their own.