Global Pulse

分类： society

  • Leading Arab-American advocacy group roiled by calls for leaders to resign and donations to be returned

    Leading Arab-American advocacy group roiled by calls for leaders to resign and donations to be returned

    One of the United States’ most prominent Arab American civil rights and pro-Palestine advocacy organizations is facing cascading calls for its entire leadership to resign, following widespread allegations of long-unaddressed sexual harassment, assault, and a toxic work environment that disproportionately harmed women. Multiple former and current staff, volunteers, and even sitting U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib have joined the pressure campaign against the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which has already ousted its executive director and a board member in response to the growing scandal.

    The crisis erupted into public view on April 25, when all current ADC employees – a group of Arab women – launched an Instagram account to amplify their demands. In their public statement, the staffers emphasized that the organization’s mission is accountable first to the Arab American community that built it, not a small group of entrenched leaders. “No small group of individuals has the right to compromise that mission while expecting staff and community members to absorb the consequences,” the statement read. The group also made clear it stands with more than a dozen women who say they were harmed by leadership failures, including Tlaib, adding: “We believe survivors, and we are committed to ensuring their safety and dignity moving forward.”

    Tlaib, one of the highest-profile Arab American elected officials in the U.S., previously released a video detailing her own experiences with harassment at the organization, as well as accounts from other survivors who reached out to her after she took office. She publicly called on the ADC to remove her official photo from the organization’s website, and specifically named then-national executive director Abed Ayoub as complicit in downplaying reports of misconduct. Within hours of Tlaib’s video being posted, Ayoub was removed from his role and replaced by the group’s national legal director, Jenin Younes. The ADC framed the leadership shakeup as a deliberate shift to prioritize its expanding legal advocacy work, but critics dismiss the move as an insufficient half-measure that leaves the most accused leaders in place.

    To date, neither Tlaib nor Ayoub have issued public comment on the allegations, as requests for response from Middle East Eye went unanswered before publication. In an official statement shared to the ADC’s social media channels last Monday, attorneys for board chair Safa Rifka acknowledged past allegations, noting that some reported incidents date back more than a decade, when the group says it previously took corrective action. “Because we recognize that the passage of time does not erase harm, we reiterate our previous apology sincerely and without reservation today,” the statement read, adding that the organization has maintained a zero-tolerance policy for harassment for more than 10 years. The group invited anyone impacted by negative experiences to reach out directly via private message.

    But survivors and critics say the apology and limited leadership changes do not go far enough. Multiple women who have accused top ADC leaders of misconduct told Middle East Eye they delayed speaking out for years due to fear of retaliation, compounded by cultural stigma around reporting sexual harm within Arab communities. Documentation reviewed by MEE shows formal written complaints about the workplace culture date as far back as 2006.

    Ed Hasan, a long-time ADC donor and governance expert who was invited to join the ADC board last December to help address organizational issues, was fired from his volunteer board role within five months after raising formal concerns about misconduct and governance failures. In an interview with MEE, Hasan called the situation one of the worst cases of institutional dysfunction he has seen in nearly 20 years of work in the field. “Nobody was transparent with me,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years. This is one of the worst cases I’ve seen.”

    A demand letter sent to ADC leadership by Hasan’s attorneys alleges his firing was a direct act of retaliation for fulfilling his fiduciary duty as a board member by raising documented concerns about harassment, broken governance rules, conflicts of interest during internal investigations, and a legally flawed confidentiality agreement. The letter characterizes his removal as “procedurally void, substantively baseless, and retaliatory in nature,” and the move puts the organization at risk of a future lawsuit. Hasan also noted that nearly all of the 10-member board are men over the age of 60, most have overstayed their term limits laid out in the organization’s bylaws, and leadership has repeatedly changed bylaws to consolidate power. He added that the ADC has no dedicated human resources team to address workplace complaints, and that the board customarily investigates itself when allegations arise, creating widespread conflicts of interest.

    The growing scandal has already sparked backlash from long-time supporters of the organization, with many donors demanding refunds of their contributions in comments across the ADC’s social media platforms. “I can no longer in good faith support this organization. I am shocked at this level of infighting, corruption and lack of accountability… Can someone contact me to issue a refund?” wrote Ali Dabaja, a Lebanese-American physician. Another donor, Rania Masri, added: “I will stop my donation to ADC. Pushing Abed Ayoub out of the organization AND pushing Ed Hassan out of the board and maintains those who are accused of sexual harassment AND maintaining Safa as the board chair – none of these actions bodes well. How shameful.”

    Hasan summed up the frustration with the organization’s response, saying: “They don’t respect women. They really don’t. I get the culture stuff, but this is ADC. It’s a firm. It’s an organisation to help people.”

    Founded to combat anti-Arab discrimination in the U.S., the ADC has grown into one of the nation’s largest pro-Palestine advocacy groups, particularly since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 72,000 people. Since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, the group has also taken on high-profile legal work defending Arab Americans’ free speech rights, and launched a hotline for community members targeted for harassment or detention by federal immigration officials.

  • Australian mother who faked son’s cancer to fund ‘lavish’ lifestyle jailed

    Australian mother who faked son’s cancer to fund ‘lavish’ lifestyle jailed

    In a case that has shocked communities across South Australia, a 45-year-old local mother has been handed a four-year and three-month prison sentence for orchestrating an elaborate scam that saw her fake her six-year-old son’s terminal eye cancer to steal thousands of dollars in charitable donations for her own extravagant spending.

    The court outlined how the deceptive scheme began shortly after the young boy received a routine visit to an ophthalmologist for a minor accident-related eye checkup. Rather than sharing the benign outcome of the appointment, the mother wove a lie that her child had developed aggressive eye cancer, spreading the false narrative to her husband, extended family, friends, and members of the local school community.

    To sell the hoax, she took deliberate steps to physically fake the symptoms of a child undergoing cancer treatment: she shaved the boy’s head and eyebrows, wrapped his head and hands in unnecessary bandages, and administered regular medication to mislead observers. She even confined her son to a wheelchair and restricted his normal daily activities, convincing everyone around them that he was receiving ongoing radiation therapy. Prosecutors told the court these actions were not reckless mistakes, but a cold, calculated plan that selfishly turned a vulnerable child into a prop to exploit the kindness of others.

    Over the course of the scam, the mother collected tens of thousands of dollars in donations, which she used to fund a luxury lifestyle beyond her income, including purchases of high-end brand-name goods to match what she claimed her family “needed.” Her defense team told the court that the woman developed a severe gambling addiction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left her in crippling financial stress. They argued that the crime was a catastrophic lapse in judgment, not a premeditated plan to harm her child, and added that she had been formally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and had taken responsibility for her actions by entering a guilty plea.

    The woman pleaded guilty to 11 total charges: one count of intentional conduct likely to cause serious harm to her child, and 10 counts of fraud and deception. Her husband was initially charged as an accomplice in the case, but prosecutors later dropped all charges against him after clearing him of any involvement. In his emotional victim impact statement, the husband described how his wife’s betrayal had completely destroyed his family’s life. “I had complete trust in you as my wife and I never doubted you. I was devoted to our family. Now I feel like a pawn in a chess game,” he wrote. Speaking to reporters outside the District Court following the sentencing, he added that no amount of prison time could ever repair the harm done to his two children.

    Judge described the mother’s actions as exceptionally cruel, manipulative, and premeditated during the sentencing hearing on Wednesday. While the woman will serve a total of four years and three months behind bars, she is set to become eligible for parole in April 2025. The case has sparked widespread debate across Australia about the need for tighter regulation of community fundraising, and the long-term harm that fraudulent charity scams can inflict on both donors and the children exploited in these schemes.

  • Germany holds breath as stranded whale ‘Timmy’ sets off in barge

    Germany holds breath as stranded whale ‘Timmy’ sets off in barge

    For weeks, a lost humpback whale’s fight for survival has held the entire nation of Germany in suspense. On Tuesday evening, that saga took a pivotal turn: the 20-ton marine mammal, dubbed Timmy by local media, was successfully guided into a converted cargo barge fitted with a water-filled hold, and the vessel departed for the North Sea to carry out what many call a last-ditch effort to return the animal to its natural habitat.

    Timmy’s ordeal began in late March, when the young humpback – which normally makes its home in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Atlantic Ocean – strayed hundreds of kilometers off course and became stuck on a sandbank off the Baltic coast near the northern German city of Luebeck. After the whale freed itself only to become re-trapped multiple times, rescue teams attempted a series of interventions, from digging artificial escape channels to using inflatable flotation devices, but every attempt ended in failure. By early April, state officials formally abandoned rescue efforts, concluding that Timmy could not be saved.

    That decision sparked immediate public outcry, pushing authorities to reverse course and approve a new privately funded rescue plan put forward by two German entrepreneurs. The proposal, which involves transporting Timmy via barge to the North Sea for release if the animal remains strong enough, was dismissed by many marine experts as a long shot, with critics arguing that the stress of capture and transport would only worsen the whale’s condition and reduce any chance of survival.

    Despite the skepticism, rescuers pulled off a breakthrough earlier on Tuesday. Teams fitted stabilizing straps around the 13-meter whale, then guided it down a specially dug sand channel toward the waiting barge. With rescue divers swimming alongside, Timmy picked up speed and voluntarily swam into the water-filled hold, drawing cheers from on-site teams and spectators watching live streams and shore-side broadcasts.

    “I can’t even put my happiness into words,” Karin Walter-Mommert, one of the entrepreneurs backing the mission, told German tabloid Bild. “You could see that the whale was fighting, that he wanted to live. Knowing he’s now safely in the barge is simply wonderful – it proves the fight for Timmy was worth every effort.”

    The operation received official approval after government vets confirmed the whale was healthy enough to withstand the journey north to the North Sea, his intended release site. A temporary green net barrier has been fitted across the barge’s entrance to keep Timmy contained during the voyage. Till Backhaus, environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where the stranding occurred, praised the round-the-clock work of rescue teams, saying “In the end, we have saved this animal.”

    Backhaus has defended the controversial mission against criticism from the scientific community. “I’ve always said: those who do nothing make no mistakes,” he told reporters Tuesday. “If the scientists who claimed this was all pointless had seen the young whale just now, how he swam into the barge all on his own, they would understand.” In a written statement responding to critics who accused officials of sidelining scientific input, Backhaus countered that authorities had always based their decisions on available evidence: “No one could tell us with certainty that the whale would die, or when. On the basis of these uncertain conclusions, we decided to allow the rescue attempt to go forward.”

    The weeks-long saga of Timmy the stranded whale has dominated German media, with rolling coverage on national television, constant updates from online news outlets, and widespread discussion across social media platforms. But the high-profile rescue has also sparked fierce public debate, angry exchanges between supporters and critics of the operation, and even the spread of unfounded conspiracy theories about the whale’s stranding and the rescue’s motives. As the barge carrying Timmy makes its way toward the North Sea, the entire country continues to hold its breath, waiting to see if the high-risk effort will end with the young whale swimming free.

  • African migrants warned to close shops during South Africa anti-migrant march

    African migrants warned to close shops during South Africa anti-migrant march

    Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the streets of South Africa’s administrative capital Pretoria on Tuesday for an organized march against illegal immigration, triggering urgent safety advisories for African migrant communities across the country and reigniting fierce debate over long-simmering xenophobic tensions. The protest, organized by anti-immigration group March and March, saw participants march toward the Union Buildings, South Africa’s official seat of national government, carrying hand-painted signs, chanting slogans, and wearing branded T-shirts emblazoned with their messaging.

    One protester spoke to BBC correspondent Thuthuka Zondi, explaining that he joined the demonstration over frustrations that national politicians have failed to address what he frames as a crisis of unregulated migrant entry. “We are grateful that we now have groups like this that have come up to aid the voice of what we have always been preaching about — illegal immigration is a big problem to our society,” he said. The demonstration follows a years-long rise in anti-migrant political sentiment, fueled by widespread beliefs among some South Africans that foreign-born workers take available jobs from citizens and disproportionately draw on taxpayer-funded public services. South Africa currently faces one of the world’s highest unemployment rates, hovering near 33% — a statistic that anti-immigration groups have leveraged to grow their support base.

    In response to the planned demonstration and credible fears that the protest could escalate into targeted xenophobic violence, diplomatic missions and migrant community organizations have issued urgent warnings urging African migrants to practice maximum vigilance. Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria issued an official advisory Tuesday urging all Ghanaian nationals in the country to prioritize personal safety, close their businesses, avoid protest hotspots, and maintain a low public profile to reduce the risk of confrontation. Similarly, Olaniyi Abodedele, chairman of the Nigerian Union of South Africa, instructed all community members to stay indoors and shutter their businesses amid the unrest.

    Abodedele told the BBC’s Pidgin service that the entire community is on edge, noting that xenophobic targeting often does not distinguish between legal and undocumented migrants. “As long as you are a Nigerian, you are profiled and you are stereotyped immediately,” he said, adding that many community members feel uncertain about what protection their home government will provide if violence breaks out. A second demonstration focused on restricting immigration is scheduled to take place Wednesday in South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, which hosts one of the country’s largest migrant populations alongside Pretoria.

    Speaking to the BBC on the sidelines of the Pretoria protest, affected Nigerian migrants expressed fear and frustration over the restrictions they have been forced to adopt. One small business owner, who closed his shop in line with the safety advisory, said he resented being targeted when most migrants only come to South Africa to earn a living. “It is not okay because we are blacks, we are brothers… everybody comes here just to survive,” he said. A security guard who was unable to report for work due to the unrest added: “It’s just making us scared — imagine if we’re scared in our own African continent — what if we go to Europe?”

    Senior political and international leaders have moved quickly to condemn rising xenophobic violence and anti-migrant rhetoric in South Africa. In his annual Freedom Day address Monday, which marks the anniversary of the country’s first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994, President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected growing anti-migrant sentiment. Ramaphosa reminded South Africans that the wider African continent provided critical support to the anti-apartheid struggle, urging citizens not to let legitimate economic frustrations “breed prejudices and hatred towards our fellow Africans.” He also explicitly condemned recent targeted attacks on foreign-born residents.

    United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres echoed that condemnation in remarks released by his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Monday. Guterres criticized “criminal acts perpetrated by individuals inciting violence and exploiting socio-economic conditions,” and also recalled the international and African solidarity that sustained South Africa’s fight against apartheid. The UN chief stressed that he is deeply concerned by ongoing reports of “xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation,” adding: “Violence, vigilantism and all forms of incitement to hatred have no place in an inclusive, democratic society.”

    Xenophobic violence and anti-migrant sentiment have been persistent challenges in South Africa for decades, with occasional deadly outbreaks of targeted attacks on migrant communities. Official government data shows that approximately 2.4 million migrants live in South Africa, making up just under 4% of the national population. The vast majority of these migrants come from neighboring Southern African countries including Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, which have a long history of supplying labor to South Africa’s economy. In recent years, organized anti-migrant groups such as Operation Dudula and March and March have gained increasing public traction for their demands that all foreign-born nationals be expelled from the country. Earlier this year, Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini drew widespread condemnation for using a derogatory slur to refer to foreigners and calling for all migrants to leave South Africa, 11 years after his father made a similar call.

    Past anti-immigration demonstrations in South Africa have escalated into violent attacks on migrant communities and their businesses, prompting civil society groups to repeat calls for calm and enhanced protection for vulnerable migrant populations. A second planned protest in Johannesburg on Wednesday has communities bracing for further tension across the country’s most populous urban center.

  • Ex-actor Nathan Chasing Horse jailed for at least 37 years for sexual assault

    Ex-actor Nathan Chasing Horse jailed for at least 37 years for sexual assault

    A once-recognizable face from Oscar-winning cinema who positioned himself as a respected spiritual leader across Indigenous communities in North America has been handed a mandatory minimum 37-year prison term following his conviction on a litany of sexual assault charges. Nathan Chasing Horse, 49, who earned public recognition for his 1990 role as a young Sioux tribe member in *Dances With Wolves*, was found guilty of 13 out of 21 total charges brought against him, with the majority of convictions tied to repeated assaults of three victims—one of whom was just 14 years old when the abuse began.

    Beyond his small but notable Hollywood career, Chasing Horse built a widespread reputation as a medicine man among Indigenous tribes spanning both the United States and Canada. Prosecutors and survivors revealed during the trial that he deliberately exploited the trust and vulnerability of community members who turned to him for spiritual guidance and healing, weaving a pattern of abuse that stretched across nearly two decades.

    In a harrowing public statement following the verdict, victim Corena Leone-LaCroix—who was 14 when Chasing Horse first targeted her—spoke of the irreversible damage inflicted by the abuse. “There is no way to get back the youth, the childhood loss, my first time, my first kiss, the graduation I never got to have,” she told the court. “The life that little girl could have lived has been taken from me forever,” she added, per reporting from the Associated Press, which confirmed she chose to go public with her allegations to encourage other survivors to come forward.

    Prior to issuing the sentence, District Court Judge Jessica Peterson directly addressed Chasing Horse, condemning his calculated exploitation of vulnerable people seeking spiritual support. “You preyed on women’s spirituality,” Peterson said, adding that he “manipulated them for your own personal gratification.”

    Prosecutors laid out disturbing details of Chasing Horse’s manipulative tactics during the trial. Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that the former actor had built an elaborate “web of abuse” over 20 years. In one particularly chilling example, Pucci explained that Chasing Horse told the underage Leone-LaCroix that spirits demanded she surrender her virginity to him in order to save her mother, who was suffering from cancer at the time.

    Chasing Horse has consistently denied all allegations against him. Under the terms of his sentence, he will not be eligible for parole consideration until he has completed the full 37-year prison term. For anyone affected by the sexual abuse issues raised in this case, support and resources are available through the BBC ActionLine service.

  • Swarm of 10,000 bees settles on bike outside Louvre in Paris

    Swarm of 10,000 bees settles on bike outside Louvre in Paris

    In a surprising urban wildlife encounter that unfolded steps from one of Paris’s most iconic cultural landmarks, a massive swarm of roughly 10,000 wild bees made an unexpected home beneath the saddle of a parked bicycle, prompting a coordinated safe removal by local authorities and a veteran urban beekeeper.

    The unusual incident took place on a Saturday afternoon, just minutes after the bicycle’s owner locked their retro “grandfather’s old bike” to metal railings outside the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre metro station, a busy transit hub that sits directly across from the world-famous Louvre art museum. Within half an hour of the bike being parked, the entire swarm had settled into the tight space under the saddle, a spot that drew the attention of passing commuters and tourists almost immediately.

    After receiving reports of the large insect cluster, Paris transport authorities made the call to temporarily close the affected metro entrance as a safety precaution, while reaching out to a local beekeeper to handle the relocation. Volkan Tanaci, an experienced urban beekeeper who actually cycled to the scene himself, arrived quickly to assess and resolve the unusual situation.

    Speaking to local French outlet France Info, Tanaci noted that the swarm’s choice of location was highly out of the ordinary. “It was certainly in an unusual place, right next to the entrance to a metro,” he said. On closer inspection, Tanaci confirmed the dense cluster of bees matched the structure of a migrating swarm, noting that “it was a real cluster of bees, and probably there was a queen bee right in the middle” — the key reason the entire group had settled in that specific spot, as bee swarms travel and cluster around their queen during relocation to new nesting grounds.

    The bicycle’s owner documented every step of the unexpected incident, sharing photos and updates on their Instagram account @ma_pauvre_lucette, where they noted the bees’ rapid arrival just half an hour after the bike was parked, and confirmed that the beekeeper successfully removed the entire swarm without incident. No injuries to commuters or damage to the bicycle were reported following the removal, and the metro entrance was reopened to passengers shortly after the operation concluded.

    The encounter comes as urban beekeeping has grown in popularity across major European cities in recent years, as communities work to support declining bee populations critical to global pollination and ecosystem health. Encounters like this, while rare, highlight how wild bee populations are increasingly adapting to urban environments as they search for new nesting locations.

  • Manhunt for suspected gunman aged 89 as five wounded in Athens

    Manhunt for suspected gunman aged 89 as five wounded in Athens

    A wide-scale manhunt is ongoing across Athens for an 89-year-old gunman after a two-site shooting spree on Tuesday left five people wounded, Greek law enforcement and local media have confirmed. The violent incident began at a social security agency located in the Athens neighborhood of Petralona, where the suspect first opened fire, striking an employee in the leg.

    After the initial attack, the shooter traveled a short distance to a nearby courthouse in the Ampelokipi district, where he injured four additional people before fleeing the premises. Law enforcement officials confirmed that the suspect abandoned his shotgun at the courthouse after the attack, leaving the weapon behind as he escaped.

    All five casualties – one man and four women – have been confirmed to have non-life-threatening injuries, according to public broadcaster ERT. Stratis Dounias, head of Athens’ judiciary employees’ union, clarified that the four people hurt at the courthouse were all female court staff working at the small claims division, and all suffered only minor wounds.

    At present, heavily armed police units have deployed to both attack sites to secure the areas and support the ongoing investigation, though authorities have not yet identified a clear motive for the coordinated attacks. ERT’s reporting notes that the gunman concealed his shotgun under his coat when he entered both buildings to carry out the attacks. As of the latest updates, the suspect remains at large, and investigative teams are working to trace his whereabouts and unpack the context of the incident.

    Notably, gun violence remains a rare occurrence in Greece, where the country’s strict regulatory framework allows limited firearm ownership only under heavy oversight and rigorous checks.

  • May Day travel surge expected, says NIA

    May Day travel surge expected, says NIA

    As China prepares to welcome its five-day May Day holiday starting this Friday, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) has released projections of a significant surge in cross-border passenger travel, laying out comprehensive operational plans to keep border clearance efficient and safe for travelers.

    In an announcement made Tuesday, the NIA forecasts an average of 2.25 million inbound and outbound passenger trips will pass through China’s border checkpoints each day throughout the holiday period, with daily volumes peaking above 2.4 million trips on the busiest days. The expected boom is concentrated across two key categories of ports: major international aviation hubs and land border crossings connecting the Chinese mainland with Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

    Leading the country’s international airports in projected cross-border volume is Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which is set to handle an average of 102,000 inbound and outbound trips daily. It is followed by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport with 55,000 daily trips, Beijing Capital International Airport with 49,000, and both Chengdu Tianfu International Airport and Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport projected to average 20,000 daily cross-border trips each.

    Land ports serving cross-border travel between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao are projected to remain at high capacity throughout the break. In the southern Guangdong province city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, the Luohu Port is expected to average 230,000 daily trips, with the Futian Port close behind at 210,000. The Shenzhen Bay Port will see an average 180,000 daily trips, the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is projected to hit 120,000 daily trips, and the Liantang Port will average 100,000 trips per day.

    Across the Pearl River Delta in Zhuhai, which borders Macao, the Gongbei Port — one of the busiest land crossings for Macao-bound travel — is forecast to handle an average of 396,000 passenger trips per day, the highest volume of any individual port on the Chinese mainland during the holiday. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge crossing is projected to see 129,000 daily trips, the Qingmao Port will average 121,000, and the Hengqin Port, which serves travel to Macao’s Cotai district, will see 116,000 average daily trips.

    To accommodate the unexpected travel boom, the NIA has rolled out targeted holiday arrangements for border inspection agencies across the country. All local authorities have been instructed to maintain real-time monitoring of passenger flow dynamics and port operational conditions, and release up-to-date travel information to the public to help trip planning.

    A key requirement mandates that agencies open enough inspection lanes to ensure waiting times for Chinese citizens clearing customs do not exceed 30 minutes, cutting down on holiday travel delays. The NIA also called for strengthened inter-agency coordination between border inspection units, other port regulatory authorities and transport departments, to manage peak-hour crowds, upgrade transport support, and guarantee that border clearance remains safe, efficient and smooth throughout the five-day holiday period.

  • China’s job market stable in Q1, 2.99 million urban jobs added

    China’s job market stable in Q1, 2.99 million urban jobs added

    China’s national labor market maintained broad stability through the first three months of 2026, official data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security shows. The country created 2.99 million new urban employment opportunities over the quarter, with the average surveyed urban unemployment rate landing at 5.2 percent, according to ministry spokesperson Cui Pengcheng.

    Speaking at a Tuesday press briefing, Cui outlined that policymakers prioritized targeted employment support for high-need groups, particularly recent college graduates and younger job seekers. The first quarter marks a critical window for new graduates entering the workforce, so officials moved quickly to roll out accelerated support measures designed to help this cohort secure employment as early as possible.

    For the full 2026 calendar year, China has set clear national employment targets: an average surveyed urban unemployment rate capped at approximately 5.5 percent, and the creation of more than 12 million new urban jobs nationwide. To help meet these goals, officials have rolled out a suite of targeted policy interventions focused on expanding access to large-scale vocational skills training. A core focus of this training push is strengthening the supply of high-quality development resources for fast-growing, high-demand sectors including artificial intelligence, the low-altitude economy, new energy vehicles, and elderly care services – fields that are projected to generate sustained job growth in coming years.

    In collaboration with other national and local government departments, the ministry has already organized roughly 59,000 targeted job fairs across the country, connecting job seekers with more than 36 million open employment positions. For migrant workers returning to or seeking new urban employment, authorities have also arranged nearly 1 million “point-to-point” direct transportation trips to remove barriers to labor mobility, Cui added.

  • Intl influencers embark on a cultural journey in Nishan

    Intl influencers embark on a cultural journey in Nishan

    Nestled in Qufu, Jining, Shandong Province—the birthplace of Confucius and the cradle of Confucian civilization—Nishan has opened its doors to global visitors eager to dive into thousands of years of Chinese traditional culture, seek unique travel experiences, and discover fresh cultural insights. From April 24 to 26, a curated cohort of international content creators and digital influencers gathered in this historic site, launching a immersive three-day journey to unpack the depth of local cultural landscapes and connect with centuries-old Confucian heritage on a personal level. Unlike traditional academic study tours, the trip invited participants to engage with cultural heritage through hands-on interactive activities, blending age-old traditions with contemporary perspectives to bring thousands of years of history to vivid life. During their stay, influencers got the chance to wander through the sacred landscapes closely tied to Confucius, interact with local cultural inheritors, and experience core Confucian values through immersive, modern-designed experiences that bridge ancient wisdom and 21st-century expression. For many participants, the trip offered a rare, unfiltered look at how traditional Chinese culture continues to evolve in the modern era, turning abstract cultural heritage into a tangible, personal experience. This initiative is part of broader efforts to showcase Chinese cultural heritage to a global audience, leveraging the reach and authentic voices of international influencers to share the nuanced, living tradition of Confucian culture with communities around the world. In Nishan, ancient tradition meets modern creativity, turning static historical legacy into a dynamic, accessible experience that resonates with visitors from across the globe.