Global Pulse

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  • Huangshan: Where heritage, natural charm and wellness converge

    Huangshan: Where heritage, natural charm and wellness converge

    Tucked away in the southern tip of East China’s Anhui Province, the city of Huangshan stands as a breathtaking fusion of millennia-old cultural heritage, unparalleled natural beauty, and time-honored holistic wellness traditions. Far more than just the home of the iconic Yellow Mountain peaks that draw global visitors each year, this region weaves together human history, artisanal craft, fertile land, and wellness practices into a one-of-a-kind travel experience that highlights the deep harmony between people and the natural world.

    One of the most immersive windows into Huangshan’s living history is Tunxi Old Street, a centuries-old commercial hub that retains all the bustle and charm of its golden age. As visitors step onto the uneven cobblestones that have been worn smooth by generations of footsteps, they are surrounded by traditional wooden archways and century-old storefronts that once hosted silk and tea merchants traveling along ancient trade routes. The air here is thick with the inviting scents of local Anhui cuisine: savory braised chicken simmered for hours, the bold, distinctive aroma of stinky mandarin fish, a beloved local specialty, and the sweet, floral fragrance of freshly baked osmanthus pastries.

    Beyond its food offerings, Tunxi Old Street is a living repository of Huangshan’s world-famous traditional craftsmanship. Most notable among these are the ink stones carved from unique stone deposits in nearby Shexian County. For centuries, these ink stones have been prized not just as essential tools for Chinese calligraphy and ink painting, but also as intricate collectible works of art. Learning the painstaking, detail-oriented process of crafting these ink stones offers a deep look into the region’s centuries-long commitment to preserving traditional artistry.

    Neighboring storefronts along the old street also showcase exquisitely crafted Huangshan lacquerware, adorned with intricate hand-carved patterns and glossy, durable finishes that reflect hundreds of years of refined craftsmanship. These handcrafted pieces are far more than generic travel souvenirs; they carry the intangible cultural spirit that has been passed down through generations of local artisans.

    Huangshan’s natural bounty extends far beyond its dramatic mountain landscapes. Mist-shrouded terraced plantations spread across the region’s hillsides, producing some of the most revered teas in the world. Iconic varieties including Huangshan Maofeng green tea and Qimen black tea, also known as Keemun, draw tea connoisseurs from across the globe, drawn by their delicate flavors and the generations of cultivation knowledge that go into every harvest. For international visitors like British journalist Joe Burns, who tried traditional Chinese pulse diagnosis at Huangshan’s Xin’an Wellness Center during an April 22 visit, the region offers more than scenic views — it offers a chance to experience holistic wellness traditions rooted in thousands of years of Chinese medicine.

    For travelers seeking an experience that blends history, natural beauty, culture, and relaxation, Huangshan emerges as a standout destination that captures the very best of China’s diverse cultural and natural heritage.

  • Separate goals, common enemy for Mali’s jihadists and separatists

    Separate goals, common enemy for Mali’s jihadists and separatists

    In a shocking escalation of instability in West Africa, coordinated unprecedented attacks across Mali carried out by an unlikely partnership of Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists and Tuareg separatists have left the country’s military leadership reeling, marking the first full-scale implementation of an alliance struck between the two rival groups one year ago. The assault, which resulted in the death of Mali’s defense minister and the capture of the strategic northern town of Kidal, has thrown the Sahel region’s already fragile security landscape into new turmoil.

    The joint operation was officially claimed Saturday by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate in the African Sahel, which fought alongside the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a 2024-founded ethnic Tuareg separatist movement pushing for full independence of Mali’s northern Azawad territory. Alongside seizing Kidal — a town Malian government forces backed by Russian paramilitary fighters had captured from rebel groups in November 2023 — the militants targeted government outposts in multiple major population centers and even launched strikes on the outskirts of the capital, Bamako. In addition to Defense Minister Sadio Camara, the head of Mali’s intelligence service Modibo Kone was wounded in gunfire during the attacks, and junta leader Assimi Goita has not been seen or made any public statement since the offensive began. Security sources also confirmed joint JNIM-FLA operations in the northern town of Gao, where government forces repelled the assault but the militant alliance retains a significant presence in surrounding areas.

    While the two groups hold fundamentally divergent core objectives, regional security experts emphasize their cooperation is rooted in a shared, urgent enemy: the military junta that has ruled Mali since a 2020 coup, and its Russian paramilitary backers, the current Africa Corps force that has replaced the earlier Wagner Group mercenaries. This is not the first time Tuareg separatists and Sahel jihadists have aligned: a 2012 alliance saw the two capture major northern hubs before their partnership collapsed into open conflict, with jihadists ousting the separatists from seized territory. For years after that split, relations remained deeply hostile, culminating in direct armed clashes between FLA and JNIM along the Mauritanian border in April 2024. But by the end of 2024, the two groups negotiated a new power-sharing partnership, according to Wassim Nasr, a jihadist movement researcher at the Soufan Center think tank.

    The terms of the new deal outline clear compromises from both sides: FLA has agreed to accept the application of sharia law in jointly held territory, and requires judicial appointments to receive approval from both organizations. In exchange, the agreement divvies up administrative control: the FLA will govern captured urban centers, while jihadists will oversee rural areas. The partnership also includes critical military knowledge sharing: Nasr notes that JNIM has agreed to share its specialized expertise in building and deploying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mortar fire, capabilities the FLA had long struggled to develop independently. Saturday’s offensive marks the first time the full terms of this agreement have been put into operational practice, Nasr explained.

    Jean-Herve Jezequel, Sahel project director at the International Crisis Group, pointed out that the coherence of the alliance depends entirely on its unifying opposition to the current Malian regime. “JNIM pursues a political-religious agenda, centred on the establishment of sharia law and the rejection of foreign forces, whilst the FLA champions a territorial and autonomist agenda, centred on Azawad,” Jezequel explained. “This convergence is based above all on the existence of common adversaries, namely the Malian authorities and their Russian partners.”

    For the Tuareg people, a historically nomadic ethnic group spread across Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso, the push for autonomy stems from decades of documented political and economic marginalization, particularly in the Kidal region. Their alignment with JNIM reflects a growing desperation to reverse military gains made by the junta and its Russian allies over the past two years.

    Experts note that the alliance’s strategic objectives do not include an immediate push to capture Bamako and seize full national power. Instead, their near-term goal is to reassert control over northern Mali’s traditional rebel strongholds. The capture of Kidal, Nasr explained, was achieved by pinning Malian army forces in central Mali, delivering a paralyzing blow to junta leadership in the capital, and consolidating gains in the north. Going forward, the alliance may expand its offensive into central Mali to increase pressure on the junta, with the broader goal of accelerating the regime’s collapse and forcing regime change in Bamako.

    Jezequel added that the group’s strategy focuses on steadily eroding the junta’s legitimacy and capacity through sustained security pressure, rather than a direct assault on the capital, which would be logistically difficult in the short term. Unlike the 2012 alliance that fractured almost immediately, experts say the current partnership may prove more durable, though its long-term future remains uncertain. The true test of the alliance, Nasr argued, will come when the groups move into the post-offensive phase of governing captured cities like Kidal — a test that has yet to begin.

  • Germany: Trial of ‘Ulm Five’ protesters accused of Elbit break-in postponed

    Germany: Trial of ‘Ulm Five’ protesters accused of Elbit break-in postponed

    A closely watched trial of five anti-occupation activists charged with damaging a site owned by Israel’s largest arms producer Elbit Systems in southern Germany has been delayed at the eleventh hour, after a disagreement over the defendants being isolated behind solid glass barriers that blocked confidential access to their legal teams.

    Dubbed the “Ulm Five” by supporters, the group stands accused of breaking into Elbit’s Ulm facility on September 8, 2025. Prosecutors allege the activists smashed a glass entrance to the site and destroyed on-site office equipment including desktop computers, display screens and communication devices. All five were taken into custody immediately after the incident, and have been held in separate pre-trial detention facilities across the southern German region ever since.

    The opening hearing was scheduled to kick off on the morning of the as-yet-undisclosed court date, but the proceeding ground to a halt before it could even get underway after defense teams raised formal objections to the seating arrangement. Images and accounts shared to the activist group’s official social media channels show that when lawyers arrived in the courtroom at the Stuttgart Correctional Facility, more commonly known as Stammheim Prison, they found their clients locked behind sealed glass partitions that cut off direct physical and private contact.

    Initial reports indicate defense teams first formally protested the unusual arrangement, but attempts to reach a compromise between legal representatives and the presiding judge fell through. No agreement could be reached on allowing the defendants to leave the glass enclosures to sit near their legal teams, and the judge ultimately made the call to postpone the entire hearing. A new opening session is now scheduled to take place next Monday, according to an official statement from the activists’ camp.

    The choice of Stammheim Prison as the venue for the trial has already drawn attention, given the site’s notorious history: it hosted the high-profile 1970s trial of members of the far-left Red Army Faction, a militant group labeled a terrorist organization by German authorities that carried out more than 30 killings over the course of its campaign.

    Beyond basic charges of trespassing and property damage, the five activists also face a far more serious allegation under Section 129 of the German penal code: membership in a criminal organization, specifically the German wing of Palestine Action, a protest group that opposes Israeli arms trade and occupation of Palestinian territory. This particular legal provision is most frequently used to prosecute cases linked to terrorism and organized crime, and a conviction on this count can carry a maximum prison sentence of up to five years.

    Cage International, a London-based advocacy organization that documents security and human rights issues, has found that Elbit Systems supplies roughly 86 percent of all weapons and surveillance technology used by the Israeli military in its operations in the Gaza Strip. In a public statement published on their official website, the Ulm Five pushed back against the charges, defending their actions as a moral stand against complicity in occupation.

    “We will not become complicit or resign ourselves to a system in which every available means is used to legitimize colonialism and occupation — and the unimaginable suffering they cause,” the statement reads. “It is our duty to put a stop to this and disrupt it until the truth comes to light and justice prevails.”

    Legal representatives for the group have also raised alarm over the conditions of the activists’ pre-trial detention, noting that the five have already been held in custody for more than seven months — exceeding the six-month maximum limit for pre-trial detention permitted under German law. The detainees include Daniel Tatlow-Devally from Ireland, Zo Hailu and Crow Tricks from the United Kingdom, Vi Kovarbasic from Germany, and Leandra Rollo, a Spanish-Argentine national.

    “The clients have been kept in custody for over seven months now, which effectively amounts to punishment without a final conviction,” defense attorney Nina Oner explained in a recent interview. Multiple reports from independent outlet Middle East Eye have detailed that the five are being held in extreme isolation, with strict constant monitoring that severely limits contact with friends and family. All incoming mail is read by authorities before it reaches the detainees, and all non-legal conversations are supervised and recorded by police.

  • Former Israeli PMs Bennett and Lapid merge parties ahead of elections

    Former Israeli PMs Bennett and Lapid merge parties ahead of elections

    Two former Israeli prime ministers, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, have announced a historic merger of their political factions to mount a unified challenge against incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in national elections set to take place no later than October 2025.

    The new political bloc, named “Beyahad” — which translates to “Together” in Hebrew — will be helmed by Bennett, with the explicit goal of ousting the 76-year-old leader who has controlled Israeli politics for the vast majority of the past 17 years.

    Speaking at a joint press conference held Sunday, Lapid framed the alliance as a necessary step for national unity, while defending his decision to stand behind Bennett, a member of Israel’s political right. Lapid described Bennett as a “liberal, decent, law-abiding right-winger, who did not sell his values – neither to Haredi extortion nor to corruption.” He went on to call on all centrist voters across Israel to rally behind the new bloc, emphasizing that “Israel needs unity like air to breathe.”

    For his part, Bennett echoed the theme of cross-ideological cooperation, noting that the merged party’s unity itself sends a powerful message to voters. Despite past ideological differences between the two leaders’ former parties, Bennett stressed that they are now fully aligned to fight for national change. In a public post shared to the social platform X, Bennett called the merger the most Zionist and patriotic action he and Lapid have ever taken on behalf of the State of Israel.

    “The era of division is over. The era of repair has arrived. When we work together, we win,” Bennett stated. He added that the pair previously delivered more progress during their one-year coalition government than competing administrations achieved over full four-year terms.

    This is not the first time Bennett and Lapid have joined forces to oppose Netanyahu: the pair led separate parties in 2021 when they successfully united a diverse coalition to oust Netanyahu from office, governing under a rotational power-sharing agreement that ultimately collapsed just over a year after taking office.

    In his remarks, Bennett also outlined core principles of the new bloc, noting that the alliance will work to advance a close-knit, inclusive form of Judaism that rejects religious coercion. At the same time, he confirmed that the bloc will only partner with self-identified Zionist parties, ruling out any cooperation with Arab-led Israeli political factions.

    The announcement of the merger has already drawn positive responses from multiple opposition figures, coming as Netanyahu faces cascading criticism on multiple fronts, from his handling of the ongoing conflict with Iran to longstanding political controversies. Netanyahu continues to fight ongoing corruption charges, which he has repeatedly denied, and his push for a controversial package of judicial overhaul reforms has eroded support even among former political allies and sparked mass sustained protests across the country since 2023.

    For many Israeli voters, the most significant failure of Netanyahu’s tenure has been his government’s inability to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,100 people in Israel. The leader also faces an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, charging him with alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.

    Gadi Eisenkot, former chief of the Israeli military and leader of the opposition Yashar party, publicly welcomed the new alliance, saying he views Bennett and Lapid as qualified partners. Eisenkot added that he remains committed to acting responsibly to deliver the change and victory that Israel needs, framing reform of the country’s political system as his lifelong mission.

    Recent polling data underscores the scale of Netanyahu’s declining popularity. A August 2025 survey conducted by the Institute for National Security Studies found that 76 percent of Israeli voters have lost trust in Netanyahu’s government, which has held power since late 2022. That downward trend has continued into September, with early polling showing shrinking support for Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, even after a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month.

  • UK’s King Charles seeks to shore up Trump ties

    UK’s King Charles seeks to shore up Trump ties

    King Charles III touched down in Washington, D.C. on Monday for a four-day state visit that carries profound diplomatic significance, moving forward with the long-planned itinerary despite a recent security scare that targeted U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend. This trip marks the first visit by Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States since he ascended to the British throne in 2022, and its core mission is to patch the growing rift in the historically close U.K.-U.S. “special relationship” driven by sharp disagreements over the ongoing war with Iran.

    The visit was originally scheduled to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from British rule, but diplomatic frictions have reframed the agenda as a targeted charm offensive aimed at repairing bonds between the two nations. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks: Trump has repeatedly attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his public opposition to the Iran war, as well as his government’s immigration and energy policies, even going so far as to dismiss Starmer as “no Churchill” — a sharp rebuke to the leader most closely associated with forging the modern special relationship. Despite these frictions, Starmer spoke with Trump by phone Sunday to extend well wishes following the security incident, and has publicly backed proceeding with the state visit, though a recent YouGov poll found nearly half of British respondents support canceling the trip altogether.

    A shooter opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association annual gala Saturday, an event attended by Trump, leaving no injuries to the president or other attendees. Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement that Charles was “greatly relieved” to hear Trump and other guests emerged unharmed, and that the full itinerary would remain unchanged. After consultations between U.S. and British security teams, UK Ambassador to the U.S. Christian Turner told reporters Sunday that “we are all very confident that all appropriate security measures are in place” to protect the royal party throughout their stay.

    The scheduled itinerary kicks off with a formal welcome at the White House Monday, where Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will greet the king and queen before hosting them for tea and a tour of a new beehive installed on the White House grounds by the first lady. On Tuesday, the two leaders will hold formal talks in the Oval Office before a state dinner in the evening, and Charles will deliver a historic address to a joint session of Congress — making him the first British monarch to speak to the legislature since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did so in 1991.

    On Wednesday, the royal couple will travel to New York City to tour the 9/11 Memorial & Museum honoring victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, before departing Thursday for Bermuda, where Charles will make his first visit to a British Overseas Territory as reigning monarch.

    For 77-year-old Charles, the trip also represents a significant personal test, coming as he continues treatment for cancer diagnosed in recent years. Still, monarchy analysts note Charles has a proven track record of navigating high-stakes diplomatic events. Craig Prescott, a royal studies expert at Royal Holloway University of London, pointed to Charles’s deft handling of Trump’s state visit to the UK last September as evidence the king is “generally very good” at managing tense diplomatic occasions. Prescott added that Charles is expected to address the Iran war — widely described as the “elephant in the room” for this visit — in coded language during his congressional address, balancing the UK’s opposition to the conflict with a desire to avoid overt friction with the U.S. administration.

    Trump has framed the visit as an opportunity to repair transatlantic ties, telling Fox News Sunday: “He’s a friend of mine for a long time, so he’s coming, and we’re going to have a great time, and he represents his nation like nobody else can do it.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that framing Monday, saying the visit would “honor the long-standing and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”

    Beyond the diplomatic tensions over Iran, the trip also carries lingering baggage from the ongoing controversy surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Charles’s brother, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who had close personal ties to the billionaire before Epstein’s death in prison in 2019. The scandal, which led Andrew to step back from official royal duties, has remained a persistent stain on the reputation of the monarchy, and analysts note it could cast an unplanned shadow over the carefully choreographed tour.

  • UAE ‘aggressively’ lobbying US to designate Yemen’s Islah as a terror group, sources say

    UAE ‘aggressively’ lobbying US to designate Yemen’s Islah as a terror group, sources say

    A diplomatic rift is brewing in the Middle East after multiple anonymous regional, U.S. and Yemeni sources confirmed to Middle East Eye that the United Arab Emirates has waged an aggressive, four-month lobbying campaign to push the former Trump administration to designate Yemen’s Islah Party as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) – a move that would directly undercut Saudi Arabia, the group’s main international backer.

    The push from Abu Dhabi came after the Trump administration designated three national branches of the Muslim Brotherhood – Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese – as terrorist organizations earlier this year. While the UAE issued a muted public statement praising the decision as a positive step for global counter-terrorism efforts, senior Emirati officials privately expressed deep frustration that the action failed to meet their longstanding demand: a blanket terror designation for the entire Muslim Brotherhood movement, a goal Abu Dhabi has pursued for more than a decade across Washington and European capitals.

    A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic deliberations, noted that Emirati leaders genuinely believed the Trump administration would move forward with the proscription at some point. While it remains unclear whether Abu Dhabi secured a formal timeline from U.S. counterparts, a terror designation would carry severe consequences: a SDGT label would force U.S. financial institutions to freeze all assets linked to the party and bar all its members from entering the United States. If the more severe Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation was adopted, any individual anywhere in the world suspected of providing material support or resources to Islah could face prosecution under U.S. anti-terrorism law.

    The lobbying push sets the stage for a major escalation between Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who have seen their once-aligned alliance fracture sharply over divergent strategic interests across the Middle East in recent years. Founded more than 30 years ago as the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, Islah is an independent Yemeni political party that blends Islamist, tribal and conservative ideological currents. While often characterized as ideologically sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, the party has repeatedly denied any formal affiliation with the movement. Two members of the Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council – Marib Governor Sultan Ali al-Arada and Abdullah al-Alimi Bawazeer – currently hold seats as Islah representatives.

    A senior informed Saudi source confirmed the kingdom is well aware that the UAE’s broader campaign to ban all Muslim Brotherhood branches targets Islah specifically. “They see Islah as the most dangerous branch of the Brotherhood because of its political weight and its role in Yemen,” the source told Middle East Eye. The U.S. official added that while the administration had not formally assessed Riyadh’s reaction, pushing through the designation would almost certainly trigger fierce pushback from the kingdom.

    Longtime coalition partners in the 2015 Yemen intervention, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have grown increasingly at odds over their strategic priorities in the country. Tensions boiled over in late 2022 when Riyadh forced the dissolution of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist group that Abu Dhabi has supported to politically and militarily marginalize Islah. Since that showdown, Saudi Arabia has moved to push Emirati forces and their local proxies out of key Yemeni territory. The rift extends beyond Yemen: the two Gulf powers also back opposing sides in Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, with Riyadh supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces alongside Egypt and Turkey, while Abu Dhabi backs the Rapid Support Forces.

    Following a November executive order from the Trump administration that launched the process of designating specific Muslim Brotherhood chapters, the State Department began reaching out to regional stakeholders to gather input on a potential Islah blacklisting. Administration officials sent a series of questions about the party to both Saudi officials and Islah representatives as part of internal deliberations. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the outreach, telling Middle East Eye that the agency does not disclose details of internal designation discussions.

    Islah has not issued an official public response to the UAE’s lobbying offensive, but a senior party member told Middle East Eye the move did not come as a surprise. “We expected certain people to come after us after the Trump administration first unveiled the directive in November,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity amid a recent rise in targeted assassinations of Yemeni political figures. The party is currently pushing back against the terror allegations and is communicating with the State Department through a third-party intermediary. “Islah is a Yemeni party, and it isn’t a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It doesn’t have any links to them,” the source said. “We are happy with what the Muslim Brotherhood is doing in supporting Palestine, but that doesn’t mean Islah is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

    Abdullah al-Arian, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar, explained the divergent approaches of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the Muslim Brotherhood. While both nations have formally designated the movement as a terrorist organization, al-Arian noted that the UAE maintains an uncompromising zero-tolerance policy for any group linked to the Brotherhood, “irrespective of what short-term political advantages it might offer.” “There is a far deeper, ideologically driven agenda on the part of the UAE that we don’t see necessarily manifesting from the Saudis,” al-Arian said. “Not because the Saudis are more amenable to these groups or their actual political projects or programmes, but more because they see in them the possibilities for tactical political advantages.”

    Middle East Eye reached out to the UAE embassy in Washington and the Saudi foreign ministry for comment on the lobbying campaign, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

  • China clones 10 healthy yaks in livestock breeding breakthrough

    China clones 10 healthy yaks in livestock breeding breakthrough

    In a major milestone for agricultural science and high-altitude livestock improvement, Chinese researchers have successfully produced 10 fully healthy cloned yaks, a first-of-its-kind breakthrough that promises to reshape traditional yak breeding practices across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The successful births of all 10 cloned calves took place between March 25 and April 2026 at a specialized breeding base located in Damshung county, Lhasa, in the Xizang Autonomous Region. According to official announcements from the county, every cloned yak was carried to full term and delivered through natural birth, with no reported health complications for the new calves.

    The cloning project was led by a research team from Zhejiang University, headed by lead researcher Fang Shengguo. The work relies on an indigenous, self-developed somatic cell cloning technology that creates exact 1:1 genetic replications of high-performing parent yaks. Prior to this breakthrough, conventional selective breeding for desired yak traits took approximately 20 years to produce a stable, improved breed. This new cloning technology cuts that waiting period dramatically, reducing the breeding cycle to less than five years.

    Beyond accelerating the development of improved yak breeds, the breakthrough also addresses a longstanding challenge facing local yak herds: gradual genetic decline that has reduced productivity and hardiness in regional populations over generations. By replicating the genetics of the strongest, most productive native yaks, the technology provides an effective tool to reverse this decline and preserve valuable native yak genetic resources.

    Yaks are a foundational livestock species for communities across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, providing meat, milk, fuel, and transportation for local herder populations, and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people living in high-altitude regions. This scientific advance is expected to deliver widespread economic and livelihood benefits to Xizang and other high-altitude pastoral areas, boosting the sustainability of local livestock industries while supporting conservation of the unique plateau ecosystem.

  • Canada’s Carney launches a sovereign wealth fund. What is it?

    Canada’s Carney launches a sovereign wealth fund. What is it?

    OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced the launch of the nation’s first-ever government-owned sovereign investment vehicle, the Canada Strong Fund, an initiative designed to inject capital into large-scale domestic development projects and shore up the country’s economy amid looming U.S. tariff pressures.

    Backed by an initial seed investment of C$25 billion (equal to roughly $18.4 billion USD or £13.5 billion GBP), the new fund will target projects across five high-priority sectors: energy, transportation infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and technology. In a departure from the structure of most established sovereign wealth funds globally, the Canada Strong Fund will also open direct investment opportunities to ordinary Canadian citizens who have disposable capital to contribute.

    Carney framed the launch as a long-overdue step to align Canada with other resource-rich nations that have built national wealth through dedicated sovereign investment vehicles. Speaking at the official announcement in Ottawa on Monday, he noted: “Many countries that are blessed with natural resources like Norway have sovereign wealth funds. Canada hasn’t had one, until now.” The prime minister also credited other nations for the decades-long foresight that allowed them to build their own successful funds, pointing to Norway’s $2.1 trillion fund, the largest of its kind globally according to 2025 Bloomberg data, as a prominent example.

    Unlike Norway’s fund, which was established in 1990 to invest surplus oil and gas revenues exclusively in international markets, the Canada Strong Fund differs in two fundamental ways, according to independent economic experts. University of Toronto economics professor Joseph Steinberg explained that Canada currently operates with significant national debt, meaning the initial capital for the fund will not come from surplus natural resource revenue – the standard funding model for most sovereign wealth funds – but from borrowed money. Additionally, while most global sovereign wealth funds invest the majority of their capital overseas, the Canada Strong Fund will allocate nearly all of its resources to domestic “nation-building projects”, partnering with private sector stakeholders to deliver upgrades to port infrastructure, expand natural resource development, and advance other domestic priorities. The option for direct individual Canadian investment is also a unique feature not seen in other sovereign wealth funds around the world.

    The new initiative has already drawn criticism from independent economic think tanks. The Montreal Economic Institute issued a statement on the same day of the announcement warning that the fund “risks costing taxpayers dearly while generating limited returns.” Other industry analysts have echoed this concern, noting that the fund’s focus on domestic projects and reliance on borrowed capital creates unusual market risk not present in most traditional sovereign wealth structures.

    The Carney administration has indicated that it will conduct open public and stakeholder consultations over the coming months to finalize the fund’s operational rules, governance structure, and investment eligibility criteria. The initiative forms a core plank of the government’s broader economic strategy to strengthen Canada’s economic resilience ahead of potential trade barriers from the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner.

    Globally, sovereign wealth funds with assets exceeding $1 trillion are currently operated by Norway, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. The United States has also moved toward exploring the creation of its own sovereign wealth fund in recent months: shortly after taking office for his second term, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order last February directing the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments to draft a framework for a U.S. fund within 90 days, with a stated goal of “help maximise the stewardship of our national wealth.”

  • Taiyuan’s 400-year-old peonies draw crowds to annual culture month

    Taiyuan’s 400-year-old peonies draw crowds to annual culture month

    As spring unfolds across northern China, 400-year-old living treasures have turned a historic Taiyuan cultural site into a major tourist draw for the kickoff of the city’s beloved annual peony celebration. The 43rd Taiyuan Shuangta Peony Culture Month officially opened recently at Yongzuo Temple, located within the grounds of Taiyuan’s Shuangta Museum in Shanxi province, and seven ancient peony trees that have stood for more than four centuries have emerged as the event’s unrivaled centerpiece. These centuries-old botanical specimens, which have survived generations of political, environmental and social change, now draw thousands of flower enthusiasts, culture lovers and curious tourists from across the country each spring when they burst into full, vibrant bloom. For many returning visitors, the annual pilgrimage to see these ancient peonies has become a cherished intergenerational tradition. Eighty-two-year-old Hao Guixiang is one such visitor who has maintained a decades-long connection to the trees. She recalled visiting the site to admire the peonies starting from her childhood, and in her later years, she regularly returns to the temple grounds to sketch the plants, drawing natural inspiration from their lush blooms for her traditional Chinese fine brushwork paintings. First-time visitors are equally enchanted by the unique experience of seeing flowers planted centuries before the modern city took shape around them. Thirty-six-year-old Deng Li, who made her first trip to the celebration this year, chose to wear a traditional Tang Dynasty-style Hanfu garment to match the elegant, stately grandeur that peonies have long symbolized in Chinese culture, turning her visit into an immersive celebration of natural beauty and cultural heritage. The annual culture month, now in its fifth decade of operation, has grown from a small local gathering of horticulture fans into a major regional cultural event that highlights Taiyuan’s long history and blend of natural and cultural heritage, supporting local cultural tourism and creating a space for people to connect with both centuries-old natural treasures and living Chinese cultural traditions.

  • Trains collide near Indonesia’s capital, killing at least 3 people

    Trains collide near Indonesia’s capital, killing at least 3 people

    On Monday morning, a devastating high-speed collision between two passenger trains shook a suburban station just outside Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, leaving at least three people dead and dozens more injured, local law enforcement confirmed. The crash unfolded at Bekasi Timur Station in the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi, where the long-distance intercity service Argo Bromo Anggrek struck the back of a stationary commuter train, inflicting catastrophic damage on the rear carriage, said Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri during an on-site press briefing. “A total of 29 injured victims have been evacuated to three medical facilities located within close proximity of the station,” Suheri told assembled reporters, adding that a full official investigation into the root cause of the incident is already underway.

    Notably, the damaged rear carriage of the commuter train was a women-only carriage, a widely implemented policy across Indonesia’s public transit systems designed to reduce sexual harassment and improve safety for female passengers. Footage captured by local broadcast networks and shared widely across social media platforms captured the chaotic aftermath of the crash: passengers stranded on station platforms fled in panic, while first responders worked alongside local civilian residents to extract trapped passengers from the wrecked train cars. Outside the station, dozens of anxious family members gathered, waiting for updates on the status of their loved ones who had been aboard the trains at the time of the collision.

    PT Kereta Api Indonesia, the state-owned national railway operator that manages all intercity and commuter rail services across Indonesia, has issued a formal public apology to affected passengers and their families. “Right now, every available resource is being directed toward evacuating passengers and crew, and providing urgent support to victims at the scene. Safety remains our absolute top priority,” Anne Purba, the company’s vice president for corporate communications, said in an official statement. Purba also confirmed that regular commuter rail operations through the affected area have been temporarily suspended, with major service disruptions expected for daily commuters while investigators work to clear the crash site.

    This latest collision has drawn renewed attention to longstanding safety concerns over Indonesia’s aging national railroad network, where accidents are far too frequent. Just 10 months prior to this incident in January 2024, another collision between two trains in Indonesia’s West Java province claimed at least four lives. Looking further back, a 2013 collision between a passenger train and a minibus at an unmarked, unguarded level crossing in West Java killed 13 people, and a 2010 rear-end crash at a Central Java station, nearly identical to this week’s incident, left 36 people dead.