Global Pulse

分类： world

  • London police, some in protective clothing, probe discarded items near Israeli Embassy

    London police, some in protective clothing, probe discarded items near Israeli Embassy

    LONDON – London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed Friday it has launched an active investigation into a suspicious incident involving multiple discarded items discovered in the immediate vicinity of the Israeli Embassy, located in one of the city’s most exclusive districts. Law enforcement officials have stressed that the embassy itself did not suffer any direct attack, but a multi-officer response including specialized personnel in protective gear has been deployed to systematically search the area surrounding the embassy, which sits adjacent to the upscale Kensington Gardens neighborhood.

    To support the ongoing investigation, authorities have established a full police cordon around the site, limiting public access to both the gardens and nearby surrounding blocks. Visible law enforcement presence at the scene includes multiple police vans, and a large white forensic tent has been erected to secure the area as evidence is collected and examined.

    Detectives are currently working to determine whether the unidentifiable items found near the embassy are connected to an online video that circulated prior to the discovery, which claimed the diplomatic site would be targeted by drones loaded with hazardous materials. Counter Terrorism Policing London has confirmed it is aware of the threatening video and is coordinating with local investigators on the case.

    At this point in the inquiry, a police spokesperson noted that there is no current indication of elevated risk to general public safety. Even so, officials are urging London residents and visitors to steer clear of the restricted area to allow responding officers to complete their work without disruption or unnecessary safety risks.

  • Nigeria students abducted as gunmen attack pasenger bus in Benue state

    Nigeria students abducted as gunmen attack pasenger bus in Benue state

    ABUJA, Nigeria – A targeted attack on a civilian passenger bus traveling through Nigeria’s Benue State has left multiple university students, who were heading to sit for their final examinations, in captivity after gunmen intercepted the vehicle Thursday, state government officials confirmed. The abduction took place along the busy Otukpo-Makurdi highway, a major transportation route connecting communities across the central state, Governor Hyacinth Alia announced in an official statement released Thursday evening.

    While Alia did not release an exact count of abducted individuals, local Nigerian news outlets have reported the bus was carrying 14 passengers total, all of whom were taken by the attackers. In his statement, Governor Alia strongly condemned the act of violence against vulnerable civilians. “The targeting of innocent citizens, particularly students on their way to sit for examinations, is unacceptable and stands against every norm of humanity and civil order,” he said.

    Benue State, located in north-central Nigeria, has long been classified as a high-risk zone for armed violence in the country’s northern region. For years, criminal armed gangs operating in the area have routinely targeted isolated rural villagers and passing travelers, carrying out mass killings and large-scale kidnappings to extract ransom payments. No criminal or insurgent group has yet stepped forward to claim responsibility for Thursday’s abduction.

    State security forces have already launched active search and rescue missions across the region, with the explicit goal of securing the safe release of all captives, Alia confirmed. The governor called on local residents to remain calm and maintain close cooperation with security agencies throughout the rescue operation and broader counter-insurgency efforts. “We will continue to take decisive actions to protect lives and property,” he added.

    Widespread kidnapping of students has become one of the most visible markers of systemic insecurity across Africa’s most populous nation. Security analysts who study criminal violence in Nigeria note that gangs deliberately target students and educational institutions because they view these targets as strategically valuable: attacks on students draw rapid, widespread media and public attention, increasing pressure on authorities and families to pay large ransom payments quickly.

  • About 15 Latin American deportees from the US arrive in Congo, lawyer says

    About 15 Latin American deportees from the US arrive in Congo, lawyer says

    In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, a plane carrying 15 migrants deported from the United States touched down in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to legal counsel representing the group. This arrival marks the first operational delivery under a new controversial agreement between the Trump White House and the Central African nation that accelerates the U.S. government’s effort to remove non-African migrants through third-country partnerships.

    All 15 people on the flight were born in Latin American nations, and the Congolese government has confirmed their stay in the country will only be temporary, explained Alma David, a U.S.-based attorney representing the deportees. A senior official from Congo’s national migration administration verified the arrival of the group to the Associated Press but declined to share further operational or personal details about the migrants.

    David told reporters that every one of the 15 deportees had already been granted formal legal protection by U.S. immigration judges, who ruled they could not be forcibly returned to their home countries due to credible fears of persecution or harm. Since landing, the group has been housed in a local Kinshasa hotel while authorities work out next steps. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), the global body tapped to coordinate post-arrival support, will lead efforts to organize what the program terms “assisted voluntary return” to the migrants’ countries of origin.

    David, however, raised sharp alarm over the framing of this next step, noting that the migrants spent months in U.S. immigration detention fighting specifically to avoid being sent back to their home countries. “For them to now be pushed toward ‘voluntary’ return after all that struggle is deeply troubling,” she emphasized. The IOM had not issued a public response to requests for comment from AP as of Friday.

    Earlier this month, Congo’s Ministry of Communications confirmed in an official statement that it had agreed to accept migrants as part of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation initiative. The statement characterized the arrangement as a temporary measure that demonstrates the Congolese government’s commitment to upholding human dignity and practicing international solidarity. It also stressed that the deal would impose no financial burden on Congolese public funds, with the U.S. government covering all logistical and operational costs associated with the arrivals. Per the terms of the agreement, there will be no automatic mass transfer of deportees; each individual’s case will undergo a separate review aligned with Congolese national law and domestic security requirements.

    The Democratic Republic of Congo is not the only African nation to have signed on to this policy. U.S. officials have struck identical third-country deportation deals with at least seven other African countries. Many of these partner nations are among those that have faced the strictest new restrictions on trade, aid and migration from the Trump administration, according to Senate records.

    A recent analysis from Democratic committee staff on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee found that the Trump administration has spent at least $40 million in public funds to deport roughly 300 migrants to third countries outside their nations of origin since launching the program. The deals have drawn growing criticism from immigration lawyers and human rights activists, who point out that multiple participating African nations are ruled by notoriously repressive regimes with well-documented poor human rights records. Those problematic partners include Eswatini, South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, according to public human rights reporting.

  • Sri Lanka sent home 238 Iranian sailors, including survivors of a US torpedo attack

    Sri Lanka sent home 238 Iranian sailors, including survivors of a US torpedo attack

    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – In a move that highlights the South Asian island nation’s careful diplomatic navigation amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, Sri Lanka has completed the repatriation of 238 Iranian sailors, including 32 survivors of a U.S. torpedo attack that sank their naval vessel IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, senior defense officials confirmed Friday.

    The incident dates back to March 4, when a U.S. submarine struck and sank the IRIS Dena. At the time of the attack, the Iranian ship was en route back to Iran after completing a scheduled participation in a multinational naval exercise held on invitation from the Indian government. Following the sinking, Sri Lanka’s navy launched a large-scale search and recovery operation, pulling 87 bodies of deceased crew members from the ocean and evacuating 32 injured survivors for emergency hospital care in Sri Lanka.

    A second Iranian vessel, which diverted to Sri Lanka after its crew reported unspecified technical malfunctions shortly after the sinking, was escorted to a southern port of the country for inspections. Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier Franklin Joseph confirmed Friday that all but a small number of crew from the second disabled ship have already been flown back to Iran earlier this week. The empty Iranian vessel currently remains anchored at Sri Lanka’s eastern deep-water port of Trincomalee, and authorities have not yet announced a final decision on its future disposition.

    For a country still grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic multi-year economic crisis, balancing relations with both the United States and Iran is a high-stakes diplomatic challenge. The U.S. has been a key international backer of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, playing a critical role in unlocking a major International Monetary Fund bailout package and providing support to the country’s agricultural sector to prevent a widespread food emergency. Both the U.S. and Iran also rank as major trading partners for the island nation.

    Retired veteran diplomat H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, a former Sri Lankan foreign secretary and ex-permanent representative to the United Nations, praised the government’s handling of the sensitive incident. According to Palihakkara, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake faced an immediate critical test days after the sinking when he received two simultaneous, conflicting requests: one from the U.S. asking for permission to land military aircraft on Sri Lankan soil, and a second from Iran requesting permission to dock additional Iranian warships in Sri Lankan ports. Dissanayake declined both requests, a decision Palihakkara called a difficult but necessary balancing act.

    “Sri Lanka has proven its neutral policy posture not just through public statements, but through concrete action,” Palihakkara said. He added that the government structured its response around legal obligations, humanitarian principles, and established international law, deliberately avoiding any perception of taking sides in the ongoing U.S.-Iran confrontation. “All parties involved in the incident have acknowledged this even-handed approach. This has significantly boosted the credibility of the Sri Lankan government on the global diplomatic stage,” Palihakkara noted.

  • International shipping under threat from blockade

    International shipping under threat from blockade

    Following the collapse of US-Iran diplomatic negotiations and the implementation of a sweeping US military blockade on all vessels entering or exiting Iranian coastal areas and ports, global maritime shipping faces unprecedented new disruptions at the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, according to industry experts and global officials.

    The blockade officially entered into force on Monday, closing off the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the wider Arabian Sea. US Central Command confirmed that no commercial vessels have successfully passed through the US naval cordon in the first 48 hours of the operation. Despite the escalating tensions, the White House claimed in a televised interview Wednesday that the ongoing conflict in Iran is “very close to over.”

    Iran has issued a sharp retaliatory warning in response. The commander of Iran’s joint military command stated Wednesday that the country will shut down all commercial trade activity across the entire Gulf region if the US does not reverse the blockade immediately. Data from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a division of the UK Royal Navy, confirms the blockade is enforced by a fleet of at least 15 US warships deployed in the area.

    By Monday, the disruption had already stranded an estimated 20,000 seafarers and roughly 1,600 commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf, said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization. The crisis has sparked urgent alarm across global shipping firms, international businesses, and commodity traders, with immediate ripple effects already visible in global energy markets. On Thursday, Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, climbed to $96.32 per barrel, a sharp jump from its pre-conflict average of roughly $70 per barrel.

    Mohammad Elahee, a professor of international business at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University, noted the strait’s outsized role in global energy supplies: “Approximately 20 million barrels of oil, 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supply and one-third of all seaborne oil traded globally, pass through this narrow waterway that is effectively controlled by Iran.” Data from maritime analytics firm Kpler shows Iran exported an average of 1.84 million barrels of crude per day in March 2026, and has hit 1.71 million barrels per day so far in April, up from a 2025 average of 1.68 million barrels per day.

    The concept of US-escorted commercial shipping through the strait was previously floated by former US president Donald Trump, but experts warn the plan carries major practical and economic barriers. “The US Navy could, in theory, escort ships through there, but that would be expensive and slow,” explained Robert Kaufmann, an affiliate faculty member of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center.

    The United Nations has called on all parties to uphold the longstanding principle of freedom of navigation through the strait. “The secretary-general’s position has been consistent: No one should do anything that harms the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general. “That freedom of navigation is based on international law and years and years of custom.”

    Beyond energy markets, the crisis also threatens to upend global food systems, as the strait is a key transit route for global fertilizer trade. Delays and supply uncertainty have already pushed fertilizer prices higher, according to Luis Ribera, an extension economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. “Slower shipments through the Strait of Hormuz make fertilizer prices increase more, both because of the slower shipments and the uncertainty,” Ribera said.

    The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has issued a formal warning that the ongoing crisis could drive up global food prices worldwide. William Wilson, a professor of agribusiness and applied economics at North Dakota State University, summarized the widespread risk: “Everything going on in Hormuz is very negative to agriculture — negative for the world economy and for the world food economy in particular.”

  • Israel, Lebanon leaders to meet in US, Trump says

    Israel, Lebanon leaders to meet in US, Trump says

    WASHINGTON — In a surprise social media announcement Wednesday, former U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that long-awaited talks between the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will be held on Thursday, marking what would be the first high-level direct engagement between the two nations in more than three decades. However, the announcement has already sparked confusion, as top Lebanese officials have denied receiving any formal notification of the planned meeting, leaving the future of the planned dialogue uncertain.\n\nSpeaking on his social media platform, Trump framed the planned meeting as an effort to de-escalate months of rising tensions between the neighboring states. “It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow,” Trump wrote, offering no additional details about the format, location, or agenda beyond noting the goal of creating “a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon.”\n\nIsraeli officials have moved quickly to confirm the planned dialogue. Gila Gamliel, a senior member of Israel’s security cabinet, confirmed to Israel’s Army Radio that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold his first ever conversation with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun after generations of frozen diplomatic relations between the two countries. “This move will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing for Lebanon as a state,” Gamliel added. This confirmation marks the first official on-the-record acknowledgment from an Israeli source that the talks are scheduled.\n\nBut Lebanon’s leadership has pushed back sharply on the announcement. A senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Beirut has no information about a planned call or meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu. A second Lebanese official echoed that sentiment to Agence France-Presse, stating “we are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels.”\n\nThe announcement comes one day after lower-level diplomatic progress: during a Tuesday meeting between the two countries’ U.S.-based ambassadors in Washington, both sides agreed to launch a new round of direct negotiations. Speaking Wednesday, Netanyahu laid out two non-negotiable core goals for the talks: “First, the dismantling of Hezbollah; second, a sustainable peace … achieved through strength.”\n\nFor Lebanon’s side, Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad made clear Beirut’s top priority during the Tuesday ambassadorial meeting: a immediate ceasefire to end ongoing cross-border clashes. To date, Israel has rejected that demand. Lebanon also pushed for concrete international action to address the devastating humanitarian crisis gripping the country, a crisis exacerbated by the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, according to an official statement from the U.S. State Department.\n\nIf the meeting goes forward as announced, it will mark the first high-level official interaction between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. The planned dialogue has already drawn fierce pushback from Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned militant group that holds significant political and military power within Lebanon. Hezbollah has condemned the planned talks as “capitulation” to Israeli demands.\n\nWhile diplomats negotiate in Washington, violent clashes continue to escalate on the ground between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters along the Israel-Lebanon border. On Thursday, the Israeli military issued a mandatory evacuation order for all civilian residents of southern Lebanon, calling for populations to leave all territory south of the Zahrani River — a line that sits roughly 40 kilometers north of the official Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah, for its part, has claimed responsibility for multiple recent drone strikes targeting Israeli military positions in northern Israel and along the shared border. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported ongoing heavy clashes Thursday in Bint Jbeil, a border town just 5 kilometers from the frontier where Hezbollah fighters are engaged in direct combat with Israeli ground forces.

  • Lebanese civilians head home as truce with Israel takes effect

    Lebanese civilians head home as truce with Israel takes effect

    A fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has come into force along the Lebanon-Israel border, opening the door for thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians to rush toward their war-ravaged homes in southern Lebanon and southern Beirut. Despite official warnings from the Lebanese military against returning to areas heavily damaged by weeks of Israeli targeting of Hezbollah positions, crowds of families have already gathered at destroyed crossing points, waiting for infrastructure repairs to be completed so they can begin their journey home.

    At the bombed-out Qasmiyeh bridge near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, AFP journalists documented long lines of vehicles packed with belongings and anxious residents, many of whom had been displaced for weeks amid the escalating cross-border conflict. For many of these returnees the temporary truce, negotiated through U.S. diplomatic pressure led by President Donald Trump, has brought a long-awaited glimmer of hope after months of violence. “Our feelings are indescribable, pride and victory,” 37-year-old returnee Amani Atrash told AFP from her car while waiting in the queue, adding that she held out hope the 10-day truce would be extended into a longer lasting ceasefire.

    Across the international border in northern Israel, civilian movement restrictions remain in place for vulnerable border communities ordered by the Israeli military’s home front command. Even so, some Israeli civilians are already daring to hope for a return to everyday normalcy after weeks of sheltering from rocket attacks. “I’ve got a three-year-old girl and a two-month-old baby, and the whole time we’ve just not left the house because you never know when there’ll be a rocket attack,” 31-year-old Ofir Ben Aris Lev told AFP. “It’s been crazy, but I think things will be quiet now and I’ll be able to take my daughter to the park”, he added.

    Hezbollah, which has sustained heavy damage from Israeli airstrikes and deployed ground fighters in southern Lebanon, has confirmed it will respect the truce so long as Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory cease, but remains on high alert for any violations. “The fighters will keep their finger on the trigger because they are wary of the enemy’s treachery,” the movement said in an official statement. Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi told AFP the group would “cautiously adhere” to the truce if Israeli attacks stopped, and thanked Iran for applying diplomatic pressure in support of Lebanon.

    The ceasefire marks a critical milestone in U.S.-led efforts to broker a broader peace deal between Washington and Tehran, after Iran made an end to the Lebanon-based fighting a non-negotiable precondition for any final agreement. Pakistan has led behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to restart direct face-to-face negotiations between Tehran and Washington, and President Trump has said the two sides are “very close” to reaching a final agreement.

    The conflict in Lebanon erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into Israel just days after the start of the broader regional Middle East war, in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. As the ceasefire officially took effect, the Israeli military confirmed it had struck more than 380 targets linked to the “Hezbollah terror organisation” across southern Lebanon during the conflict, and said it remains on “high alert” to resume military operations if the truce is broken.

    President Trump confirmed he held separate calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the lead-up to the truce, saying both leaders had agreed to the pause in fighting “in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries”. He added that he expects both Netanyahu and Aoun to visit the White House for talks “over the next four or five days” to continue peace negotiations.

    A high-level in-person meeting between Israeli and Lebanese leadership would mark a watershed moment for the long-turbulent region, though it remains unclear whether the meeting will actually go ahead. An anonymous official source told AFP that Lebanese President Aoun has already rejected Trump’s request for a direct call with Netanyahu, a sign of lingering tensions between the two governments.

    Netanyahu said the truce opens an opportunity for a “historic peace agreement” with Beirut, but reiterated that the full disarmament of Hezbollah remains a non-negotiable precondition for any long-term deal. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ceasefire announcement, calling it a “key Lebanese demand that we have pursued since the very first day of the war”.

    President Trump called the developing diplomatic progress “very exciting” during a press interaction with AFP at the White House, noting “Today they’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that’ll include Hezbollah.” For Iranian officials, the truce was framed as a victory for Tehran’s diplomatic positioning and Hezbollah’s armed resistance. Iranian state television portrayed the ceasefire as the result of Tehran’s “insistence” alongside Hezbollah’s “resistance” against Israeli aggression.

    Netanyahu confirmed Israel agreed to the 10-day truce but will maintain a 10-kilometre (six-mile) “security zone” along the border inside southern Lebanon for the duration of the ceasefire. Violence continued right up to the minute the truce went into effect: Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that at least seven people were killed and more than 30 wounded in a late Israeli airstrike on the town of Ghazieh on Thursday, just hours before the ceasefire took hold.

  • Viral Hunan duck delicacy permeates the Strait

    Viral Hunan duck delicacy permeates the Strait

    A surprise plot twist from a viral AI-generated short film has unexpectedly turned a centuries-old Hunan traditional delicacy into a cross-Strait cultural sensation, bridging food lovers across the Taiwan Strait through shared culinary curiosity.

    The meme-worthy line “Have you ever saved a fox in the snow?” comes from *Saving the Fox in the Snow*, the AI-produced short film that took Chinese internet by storm earlier this year. In the film, a woodcutter rescues a trapped fox and leaves a serving of sauce-braised duck, or jiangbanya, for the animal to eat. When a mysterious woman arrives at his door years later, viewers expect the classic trope of a grateful fox repaying the woodcutter’s kindness—instead, the woman drops a jaw-dropping punchline: “I am not the fox. I am the duck. I am here for revenge.”

    The absurd, unpredictable twist quickly spread across short video platforms on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, sparking a wave of user-generated remakes and parodies that drew millions of views. Even well-known public figures in Taiwan joined the viral trend, sharing their own versions of the meme. As the trend gained momentum, Taiwanese netizens shifted their conversation from laughing at the plot twist to a single burning question: where can they get their hands on this famous sauce-braised duck?

    That question did not go unanswered. During a regular press briefing on April 8, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, issued a warm invitation to Taiwan residents to travel to Hunan, the iconic birthplace of the dish. “We welcome Taiwan compatriots to Hunan to taste sauce-braised duck from cities such as Changde, Chenzhou and Zhuzhou, each with its own distinctive flavor,” Zhu stated. The warm invitation marked a lighthearted, people-centered moment in cross-Strait exchanges, turning a viral food trend into an open invitation for cultural connection.

    Just days after the invitation, the 2026 Cross-Strait Youth Exchange and Development Conference kicked off in Changsha, Hunan’s capital, bringing nearly 400 young guests from Taiwan to the province. Organizers highlighted the newly viral delicacy by serving sauce-braised duck as a special welcome gift for attending guests, letting visitors experience the famous flavor firsthand.

    Beyond its new viral fame, sauce-braised duck boasts a centuries-long history in Hunan, with a deep cultural legacy and a fast-growing modern industry. The dish is produced through a rigorous multi-step process: ducks are first marinated in a blend of spices, air-dried, and slow-roasted, resulting in its signature rich, savory flavor. Different regions across Hunan have developed their own unique takes on the recipe, turning the delicacy into a symbol of local culinary diversity.

    Changde, the city with the longest recorded history of sauce-braised duck production, traces the dish’s origins back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). In 2013, Changde sauce-braised duck earned official recognition as a national geographical indication product, honoring its unique local heritage. The traditional preparation method passed down through generations requires 15 distinct steps and more than 30 different spices to achieve its iconic depth of flavor. To keep up with shifting modern consumer preferences, local producers have adapted the classic recipe, introducing new formats and customizable options to appeal to younger palates. One Changde-based food enterprise, which operates roughly 200 stores across China, now offers DIY sauce-braised duck kits that let consumers customize their flavor with separate seasoning packets for cumin, rattan pepper, and chili oil. Changde has even built a whole cultural ecosystem around the delicacy, with duck-themed dining routes and a dedicated museum open to visitors curious about the dish’s history.

    In Liling, a county under Zhuzhou city, sauce-braised duck features a bold, deep-red color and intense spicy flavor that has made it a beloved street food staple. Local producer Zhang Chongci, secretary-general of the Liling Sauce-Braised Duck Association, explains that each duck requires more than 20 hours of careful preparation to achieve its signature dry, firm texture and concentrated flavor. Since launching the first annual Sauce-braised Duck Festival in 2023, the local industry has grown rapidly: Liling produced roughly 10 million ducks in 2025, generating 390 million yuan ($57.2 million) in total revenue. The city is now moving forward with plans for a national-level sauce-braised duck industrial park, which will offer shared facilities including cold storage, roasting rooms, and cold-chain logistics to cut production costs and enable standardized, large-scale manufacturing. In response to the delicacy’s growing popularity across the Strait, the association has also launched a special initiative: Taiwan compatriots can claim a free full duck at all participating Liling stores when they present valid identification.

    For many Taiwanese businesspeople already based in Hunan, sauce-braised duck has long been a beloved staple. Lin Zhongxiang, a Taipei native who runs a business in Chenzhou, says he fell in love with the dish decades ago. “In Taiwan, duck is mostly used in hotpot or soup. Dry, spiced duck like this is rare,” he explained. Today, Lin regularly brings sauce-braised duck from Chenzhou’s Linwu district back to Taiwan as gifts for family and friends, and says every recipient loves the unique flavor.

    What began as a surreal plot twist in an AI short film has evolved into an unexpected moment of connection across the Taiwan Strait, proving that culinary culture can create shared joy and curiosity that transcends boundaries.

  • Intl community welcomes Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, urges continued efforts toward peace

    Intl community welcomes Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, urges continued efforts toward peace

    On April 17, 2026, a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon officially entered into force, bringing a long-awaited pause to more than a month of devastating cross-border escalation that has killed over 2,000 people. The truce was announced earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump, and its implementation has been met with widespread welcoming reactions from the international community, which has simultaneously called on all involved parties to uphold the terms of the deal and work toward a permanent end to hostilities.

    Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, issued a statement affirming the UN’s support for any action that brings an end to violence and human suffering on both sides of the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. Dujarric also stressed the urgent need for all relevant parties to strictly adhere to the newly implemented ceasefire terms.

    Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, characterized the truce as an important first step to ease the acute hardship faced by the Lebanese population. He called for immediate compliance from all sides and urged the launch of substantive, good-faith negotiations to lock in a permanent, sustainable ceasefire arrangement.

    According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also expressed support for the truce, noting that the agreement forms a component of a broader two-week Iran-U.S. ceasefire deal mediated by Pakistan that was designed to halt the wider regional conflict.

    Egypt’s Foreign Ministry framed the ceasefire as a critical intervention to lower soaring regional tensions and put a stop to what it described as Israeli aggression against Lebanese territory. The Egyptian government called on the global community to step up and fulfill its shared responsibility to ensure the truce holds long-term, clear the way for unimpeded delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid, and allow thousands of displaced civilians to safely return to their homes of origin.

    The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement through the Emirates News Agency, expressing hope that the temporary truce will lay the groundwork for a more stable regional environment and serve as a catalyst for lasting peace. The ministry also reiterated the critical need for sustained, coordinated international action to prevent the resumption of hostilities and mitigate the widespread humanitarian and security fallout that has impacted countries across the Middle East.

    Qatar’s Foreign Ministry echoed these sentiments, describing the ceasefire as a meaningful milestone in de-escalation efforts. The ministry, speaking to Qatar News Agency, expressed hope that the truce will reinforce both regional and global initiatives working toward a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace settlement for the entire Middle East region.

    This latest truce comes after a previous ceasefire that had been in place since November 2024, which was marked by almost daily Israeli airstrikes across Lebanese territory. That fragile agreement collapsed entirely on March 2, when Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets toward Israel in solidarity with Iran, triggering a massive intensification of Israeli air operations across Lebanon that pushed the two sides to the brink of full-scale war. As displaced Lebanese civilians began returning to their home communities over the weekend, crowds gathered in cities including Sidon to celebrate the halt in fighting, though global leaders remain cautious that long-term peace will require sustained diplomatic effort.

  • 10-day ceasefire between Israel, Lebanon goes into effect

    10-day ceasefire between Israel, Lebanon goes into effect

    After more than a month of brutal cross-border clashes that left thousands dead, a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon officially entered into force at 2100 GMT on Thursday, aligning with the midnight local time threshold between Thursday and Friday. The truce, which was first announced publicly by former U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the first major pause in hostilities between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since the deadly escalation began.

    According to official figures from the conflict, more than 2,000 people have lost their lives in the fighting that gripped the border region over the past four weeks. Even in the final hours before the ceasefire took effect, violence continued to unfold on both sides. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it carried out a wave of intensive strikes across southern Lebanon in the 24 hours leading up to the truce, hitting more than 380 Hezbollah-linked targets. The military’s strikes targeted Hezbollah militants, rocket launch infrastructure, and group command headquarters, according to the official statement.

    On the Israeli side, Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency rescue service, reported that Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into Israeli territory during the final pre-ceasefire window. The rocket fire left three people injured, the service confirmed. Even as the truce came into effect, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his government’s security posture for the 10-day period in a pre-recorded video address.

    Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces will maintain a 10-kilometer-wide security zone inside southern Lebanon throughout the ceasefire. Justifying the decision on the basis of pressing Israeli security needs, the prime minister rejected calls for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the area. He also framed the truce as an unprecedented historic opening for lasting peace between Israel and Lebanon, while reiterating the Israeli government’s longstanding demand that Hezbollah be fully disarmed.

    Pictures from the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon captured jubilant scenes as displaced Lebanese civilians began returning to their homes just hours after the ceasefire took effect, with families loading their belongings onto vehicle roofs to make the journey back to territory they had fled amid the fighting.