Hong Kong to attract top stars like Taylor Swift, Chinese scientists create ‘dream bullet’: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week

After the US abandoned development of its ‘dream shell’, Chinese scientists now claim they have managed to create the smart shell for kinetic energy weapons that could reshape the military landscape.

Hong Kong’s tourism minister has pledged to take steps to attract more international stars to boost the local economy after lawmakers questioned why the city had missed out on performances by global artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

For China’s middle class, things have never looked harder. No signs have yet emerged to upend their frustration as the property market meltdown and free-falling stock market have continued to wipe out their wealth.

China and Singapore will introduce a 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement from February 9 – Lunar New Year’s Eve – allowing citizens of the two countries to travel, visit families and go on business trips.

A Thai owner of a pet lion cub could face jail after a viral video of her friend driving around Pattaya in a convertible Bentley, with the big cat wearing a chained collar sitting in the back seat, sparked accusations of animal cruelty and endangering public safety.

Investigators are looking into the wealth of high-profile politicians and businesspeople named in the Pandora and Panama Papers. But political rivals to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim call it selective persecution.

Are you nutty about nuts? Do you know the difference between a nut and a seed? Are all nuts equal? Increasingly we hear how good nuts and seeds are for us, and are urged to add them to salads, smoothies and breakfast cereals. But why?