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. Trump ‘personally called for China’s help’ to end Ukraine war in summit with Xi
US President Donald Trump personally urged President Xi Jinping to help end the Ukraine war, seeking to leverage Beijing’s influence over Moscow to resolve a conflict now in its fifth year, multiple sources have said.
2. China team drafts sanctions list targeting US, allies on 63 key tech sectors
Scientists have produced a list of 63 technologies viewed as strategically sensitive or globally competitive that may benefit from export restrictions to keep them out of foreign hands.
3. ‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-mouth disease and fired a barb at US President Donald Trump, saying “I will sell to someone else”, after Washington announced new tariffs on Brazilian goods.
4. Baby Danny DNA case sparks calls for Hong Kong to introduce home birth rules
Hong Kong should introduce new rules to ensure the health and safety of newborns delivered at home, lawmakers have said, after a couple were arrested for allegedly neglecting their baby’s welfare by not registering his birth.
5. Tears in North Korea as Kim meets footballers after historic title win
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally received the country’s AFC Women’s Champions League winners in Pyongyang earlier this week, embracing the players and posing for photographs with them as they wept with joy and leapt in celebration.
6. Food Republic joins wave of foreign brands retreating in China
Food Republic, the Singaporean food court chain owned by BreadTalk Group, is set to close its last remaining outlet in Beijing on June 15, ending more than two decades in the Chinese capital, according to a notice outside the location in late May.
7. China celebrity dog stolen, sold for US$25 and eaten; owner stymied by weak pet laws
A celebrity dog in central China was stolen and slaughtered, leaving its owner seeking justice but confronting gaps in the country’s legal protections for pets.