分类： society

Dubai’s prestigious Creek Golf & Yacht Club, an architectural landmark featured on the UAE’s 20-dirham currency note, hosted EC Markets’ Celebrity Charity Golf Day on December 10th. The exclusive gathering united business executives and renowned sports personalities for a philanthropic initiative supporting youth development programs, with the LFC Foundation serving as primary beneficiary.

The championship-caliber course, historically accustomed to international tournaments, provided the backdrop for an 18-hole Stableford competition featuring EC Markets CEO Matt Smith, UK Managing Director Adam Saward, world snooker champion Judd Trump, and former Liverpool FC midfielder Jason McAteer.

This sporting initiative represents EC Markets’ strategic corporate social responsibility framework, leveraging athletic platforms to generate tangible community benefits. The tournament allocated a £10,000 charitable prize pool among top performers, with McAteer claiming victory and directing his £5,000 award to the LFC Foundation. Saward secured second position, similarly contributing his £2,500 prize to the Foundation, while Trump designated his third-place winnings to the UK-based Teenage Cancer Trust.

The LFC Foundation, globally recognized for its outcome-oriented programs in education, health, and employment readiness, assisted over 145,000 individuals internationally last season. This alignment with EC Markets’ ethos of creating measurable social impact made the partnership particularly significant.

CEO Matt Smith emphasized the event’s deeper purpose: ‘Dubai Creek provided an ideal venue for meaningful collaboration. Uniting our team with sports icons enables support for organizations creating genuine youth opportunities. The Foundation’s work delivers transformative results, and we’re proud to contribute consistently through our platform.’

UK Managing Director Adam Saward reinforced this commitment: ‘Beyond financial markets, our responsibility extends to community development. Partnering with the LFC Foundation allows direct investment in life-changing youth programs, reflecting our dedication to sustainable positive outcomes.’

The event underscores EC Markets’ continued CSR focus and demonstrates sport’s unique capacity for community enrichment. The company has committed to ongoing support for initiatives creating accessible opportunities and long-term societal value. Event highlights are available through EC Markets’ official media channels.

A disturbing pattern of racially motivated assaults against Palestinian citizens within Israel is drawing intense scrutiny, as detailed by numerous victim accounts and official reports. The case of Mahmoud Agbaria, a Palestinian construction worker severely beaten in Tel Aviv by individuals claiming to be police officers, exemplifies this alarming trend. His father, Zidan Agbaria, recounted to Middle East Eye that the assailants attacked his son for speaking Arabic on his phone, continuing their assault until they believed him to be dead. Despite being hospitalized with severe injuries requiring multiple surgeries, Mahmoud’s attackers were subsequently released to house arrest by a Tel Aviv court, which cited the suspects’ claim of feeling ‘threatened’.

This incident is not isolated. Since late November, human rights organizations and media outlets have documented at least ten separate attacks on Palestinians by Israeli Jews across various cities, including Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Netanya. Victims have included bus drivers, sanitation workers, security guards, and even a heavily pregnant woman who was pepper-sprayed alongside her family. In a significant response, the Superbus drivers’ union announced a potential labor strike following 11 recorded attacks on its employees in November alone, many targeting Palestinian drivers.

Legal advocacy group Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, asserts that state institutions are effectively enabling this violence through inaction and impunity. They point to a history of unprosecuted cases, including the killing of Mousa Hassouna in 2021 and an attack on Knesset member Ayman Odeh. Furthermore, allegations extend to police themselves, with security guard Qais Haddad testifying to a brutal beating by 13 officers at a Jerusalem football match, during which they hurled racial slurs.

Analysts and politicians, such as Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, link this internal violence to the ideology and actions of far-right settler movements, arguing it represents a ‘widespread and systematic phenomenon’ fueled by incitement from certain politicians and media outlets. The collective testimony paints a picture of a deteriorating social fabric where Palestinian citizens increasingly fear for their safety in their own country.

In an inspiring demonstration of dedication, Zhang Peng has formally requested permanent extension of his service at Lhasa Railway Station in the Xizang Autonomous Region, transforming what began as a temporary assignment into a lifelong commitment to the high-altitude community.

When Zhang first arrived in December 2023, he confronted severe altitude sickness that cast doubt on his ability to remain on the plateau. Despite these initial challenges, he persevered and has since evolved into an indispensable member of the station’s management team over the past two years.

Currently serving as head of the Technical Information Section, Zhang has made significant contributions to enhancing operational safety along the high-altitude railway corridor. His technical revisions include updating 21 critical regulations and pioneering the development of specialized equipment standards specifically engineered for the region’s extreme environmental conditions.

Zhang attributed his decision to remain permanently to the profound sense of responsibility exhibited by local railway workers and the exceptional cross-cultural collaboration among Tibetan, Han, and other ethnic colleagues. ‘The cadres and staff here guard this railway with their lives, not simply by holding their posts,’ Zhang told Xizang Daily, emphasizing that ‘I am a member of Lhasa Station.’

Reflecting on his transformative experience, Zhang described how working on the plateau has fundamentally shaped his perspective: ‘Here, I have truly felt the weight of the Qinghai–Xizang Railway spirit, challenging limits and striving for excellence. Working alongside plateau railway workers has become the most precious experience of my life.’

In China’s northwestern Gansu province, Egyptian public health professor El-Sayed Salama has discovered what he describes as “Chinese-style happiness” through a revolutionary document—the newly implemented Five-Star Card. As a long-term faculty member at Lanzhou University’s School of Public Health, Salama recently became among the first foreign nationals to receive China’s upgraded permanent residence identification system.

The professor characterizes the card as far more than administrative documentation—it represents what he calls “a master key that has unlocked a whole new life” in China. This sophisticated identification platform has fundamentally transformed his daily experience, granting him parity with Chinese citizens across numerous service sectors. From streamlined medical appointments and exploration of traditional Chinese medicine to financial transactions and transportation, the Five-Star Card has eliminated previous bureaucratic barriers.

According to the Gansu Provincial Public Security Department, the province has significantly intensified its international talent attraction initiatives throughout 2024. The Five-Star Card system represents a cornerstone of these efforts, with coordinated upgrades across more than 60 service domains including healthcare, education, finance, and transportation infrastructure.

Salama emphasizes how these integrated improvements have effectively bridged the “last mile” in services for foreign professionals residing in Gansu. Previously time-consuming processes like high-speed rail travel arrangements, hotel registrations, and cross-border financial transactions now require mere minutes—a efficiency standard the professor admiringly labels “Chinese speed.

Beyond practical conveniences, the Five-Star Card has facilitated deeper cultural integration for Salama and his family. From mobile payment systems and vibrant night market explorations to museum visits and cultural exchanges with his son, the Egyptian academic now considers Gansu his genuine home. The card has not only provided administrative efficiency but has fostered what Salama describes as a profound “sense of belonging” within Chinese society.

A violent rampage unfolded across Taipei’s metro system on Friday evening, resulting in three fatalities and five injuries before the suspected perpetrator fell to his death from a building. The attack sent shockwaves through the Taiwanese capital, known for its low violent crime rates.

The 27-year-old assailant initiated the assault during evening rush hour, detonating smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at Taipei Main Station—a major transportation hub interconnected with bustling underground shopping corridors. According to Premier Cho Jung-tai, the attacker subsequently proceeded to another subway station approximately 800 meters away in a popular shopping district, stabbing bystanders during his movement between locations.

Eyewitness footage circulating on social media depicted chaotic scenes as commuters fled in panic. One courageous individual who attempted to intervene sustained fatal injuries from a blunt object and later died at a medical facility.

Authorities confirmed the suspect’s demise after falling from a building, though investigative efforts continue to establish motive and potential affiliations. Premier Cho immediately ordered enhanced security protocols at transportation nodes including metro stations, railway facilities, and airports nationwide.

President William Lai pledged a thorough and expedited investigation into the incident. This represents the most significant public attack since the 2014 Taipei Metro stabbing that claimed four lives, whose perpetrator was ultimately executed in 2016.

Hangzhou, capital of China’s Zhejiang Province, is establishing a groundbreaking precedent in public health governance by enacting the nation’s first municipal-level health promotion regulation, effective January 1, 2026. This legislative milestone transitions health advocacy from voluntary guidelines to legally binding requirements, with scientific weight management positioned as the cornerstone of its public health strategy.

The comprehensive legislation, structured across ten chapters and fifty-four articles, addresses seven critical domains: health services, health security, environmental health, lifestyle health, health impact assessments, health industry development, and digital healthcare integration. The regulation mandates systematic approaches to nutritional monitoring and physical activity infrastructure, representing a proactive shift toward preventive public health measures.

A distinctive feature requires educational institutions, elderly care facilities, hospitals, and meal delivery services to employ qualified nutrition professionals who must undergo regular specialized training. Simultaneously, municipal authorities must expand public sports facilities and implement national fitness programs aligned with urban development plans. The regulation further stipulates that primary and secondary schools must open their sports facilities to the public outside instructional hours, with government subsidies provided to participating institutions.

Health Commission Director Fang Jianguo revealed concerning metrics driving this initiative: 30% of Hangzhou’s adults face overweight conditions while 8.7% experience obesity, though these figures remain below provincial and national averages. Director Fang emphasized that the legislation addresses emerging health challenges through upstream prevention strategies, representing a transformative approach to population health management that could establish a template for other Chinese municipalities.