China’s 3-satellite surveillance network, Hong Kong’s inflation surge: SCMP’s 7 highlights

AdvertisementSCMP HighlightsWorldChina’s 3-satellite surveillance network, Hong Kong’s inflation surge: SCMP’s 7 highlightsFrom Chinese AI cracking decade-old maths problem to Japan eyeing Nato partnership, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting 2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenSCMPPublished: 12:12pm, 17 Apr 2026We 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. 3 satellites to track all? Chinese radar images confirm US military fearsLast month, China released a series of undated radar images of the Towa Maru. It marked the first time ever that a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite had successfully achieved long-term tracking of a moving maritime target. 2. Chinese AI solves decade-old maths problem in hours, with no human interventionA Chinese artificial intelligence framework has autonomously resolved an open problem proposed more than a decade ago by a US mathematician, according to the Peking University-led team that developed it. 3. From toilet paper to travel: why inflation could soon hit Hongkongers hardCustomers buy food at a shop in Sham Shui Po. Photo: May TseWith various Hong Kong industries battered by the world’s highest petrol and diesel prices, economists and business leaders predict the oil crisis caused by the Middle East war will trigger a wave of imported inflation, driving up the cost of items ranging from toilet paper and laundry services to asphalt. AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x