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  • UN Chinese Language Day 2026: showcasing the charm of the Chinese language from multiple dimensions

    UN Chinese Language Day 2026: showcasing the charm of the Chinese language from multiple dimensions

    The 2026 iteration of UN Chinese Language Day was officially celebrated with a grand gala held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York this Monday, gathering attendees to highlight the profound cultural and historical value of one of the world’s most widely spoken languages.

    During the event, Sun Lei, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, delivered remarks that centered on the unique role the Chinese language has played across human history. He emphasized that the language carries the accumulated wisdom of more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, and has stood as a silent witness to the sweeping changes and evolution of global human society over millennia.

    First established by the United Nations Department of Public Information in 2010, UN Language Days were created to celebrate linguistic diversity, promote multilingualism, and raise awareness of the six official UN languages—Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic—across the global community. UN Chinese Language Day is annually held around April 20, to tie in with the traditional Chinese festival of Guyu, the Grain Rain, which honors Cang Jie, the legendary figure credited with the creation of Chinese characters.

    This year’s event continues the UN’s long-running commitment to honoring cultural exchange through language, creating a platform for delegates and attendees from around the world to engage with the depth and richness of Chinese language and culture.

  • China unveils measures to build youth-friendly cities with career opportunities, better life

    China unveils measures to build youth-friendly cities with career opportunities, better life

    BEIJING – In a landmark push to center young people’s needs in national urban development strategy, 15 Chinese government agencies including the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Education have jointly released a comprehensive policy package designed to cultivate youth-friendly cities across the country. The initiative forms a core part of China’s broader goal to build people-centered modern cities and inject new vitality into social and economic development, with clear long-term targets set for 2030 and 2035.

    Outlined in the newly published guidance are 18 targeted measures that aim to reshape Chinese cities into dynamic hubs where young people can access high-quality career opportunities, enjoy improved living standards, and actively participate in urban governance. Framed as a practical implementation of China’s “people’s city” development philosophy, the policy requires that youth-centric development priorities be integrated into every stage of urban planning, infrastructure construction, and public governance. Local authorities are mandated to systematically improve conditions to help young people relocate to urban areas, settle smoothly, live comfortably, and build fulfilling careers.

    To address young people’s top priority of employment and entrepreneurship, the policy lays out multiple supporting initiatives. At the industrial level, China will strengthen coordination between technological progress and industrial innovation, advance the transformation and upgrading of traditional sectors, nurture fast-growing emerging industries, and lay the groundwork for future-focused industries, all with the goal of creating more high-quality jobs that support youth innovation. Young entrepreneurs will receive expanded support through specialized platforms such as youth entrepreneur associations and targeted training programs for private sector professionals, to boost the participation of young talent in the private economy. The guidance also calls for optimized mechanisms to identify, train and deploy young innovative talent, encourages young researchers to take leading roles in national major scientific and technological projects, and provides enhanced support for youth-led startups in funding, technological resources, and workspaces.

    Beyond economic opportunities, the policy addresses key quality of life challenges facing young urban residents. In urban planning, local governments are required to add youth development indicators to official city evaluation systems, allocate more public space tailored to young people’s needs during urban renewal projects, and explore flexible planning standards to support youth-focused public services. To ease rising housing and commuting pressures, cities are encouraged to construct more dormitory-style housing and small, affordable apartments in areas with high youth employment concentrations, near education and medical facilities, and along major public transit routes. The package also includes provisions to expand public services that support young families: it calls for rolling out childcare subsidies, implementing coordinated support policies covering housing, transportation and consumption to encourage childbirth, increasing the number of mother-and-child facilities in public spaces, and expanding the availability of maternity and child-friendly hospitals to improve maternal and child healthcare.

    The policy sets out clear phased goals for the initiative: by 2030, the development concept of building youth-centered cities will be broadly accepted and implemented across the country; by 2035, China aims to establish a relatively complete and mature institutional system for youth-oriented urban development. Officials note that the initiative will not only improve well-being for young people, but also drive long-term sustainable social and economic growth by leveraging young people’s creativity and dynamism.

  • Canada ‘limits’ US defense ties

    Canada ‘limits’ US defense ties

    Canada’s decision to curtail its decades-long dependence on the United States for defense procurement represents a quiet but meaningful shift in the bilateral alliance, with experts noting the move stems from eroding trust in Washington — even as structural ties between the two neighboring nations remain deeply entrenched.

    Earlier in April 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney used the stage of the Liberal Party national convention to announce the policy reorientation. Carney framed the change as a long-overdue step toward sovereign defense strategy, declaring that the era when 70 cents of every Canadian defense dollar flowed to U.S. suppliers has come to an end. His administration has laid out two core priorities to advance this goal: expanding Canada’s domestic defense manufacturing base, and forging deeper security partnerships with a broader range of global actors.

    Alistair Edgar, an associate professor of political science at Ontario’s Wilfrid Laurier University, called Carney’s announcement a pivotal shift that carries weight both for the North American alliance and practical military operations. For Edgar, the policy change is not merely a reaction to the current U.S. administration, but part of a broader, cross-national reassessment of Washington’s reliability as an ally. He argues that this shift amounts to a fundamental rupture in the longstanding dynamic between the two nations, one that will reshape political, economic and security ties far beyond the defense sector.

    “The United States can no longer be counted on as a reliable, trusted partner,” Edgar stated. He acknowledged that geographic realities will continue to anchor Canada’s security cooperation with the U.S., particularly through long-standing integrated defense frameworks such as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Even so, the nature of that cooperation is already changing, he explained: Deep bilateral integration is being replaced by looser coordination, as Canada invests in independent, sovereign defense capabilities, and in some cases, may even take steps to protect its own interests that diverge from Washington’s.

    While Carney has pledged to expand defense collaboration with European allies and other global partners, Edgar noted that these new ties will never fully replace the U.S. as a security partner. Instead, Canada is pursuing a deliberately diversified procurement strategy that includes mixed fighter jet fleets sourced from multiple suppliers and ramping up domestic defense production. Already, the country has directed new investments into domestic small arms manufacturing, munitions production, drone development and cyber defense capabilities to strengthen its homegrown defense industrial base.

    The pivot away from heavy reliance on the U.S. does not come without risks, Edgar cautioned. Ottawa could face significant political and economic backlash from Washington, including the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on Canadian goods. Even so, he argued that these very risks reinforce the case for diversification: “In the end, that is more of a reason to take these necessary measures.”

    Edgar also connected Canada’s policy shift to growing unease among U.S. allies worldwide about Washington’s approach to global diplomacy. A growing number of allies, from Canada to European capitals, now view the U.S.-led international order as defined by bullying, transactional deal-making and unpredictable, untrustworthy behavior, he said.

    Not all experts frame the shift as a fundamental rupture, however. Erika Simpson, an associate professor of international relations at Western University in Ontario, argues that Canada’s plan is best understood as a cautious strategic recalibration rather than a clean break from its long-standing alliance with the U.S.

    Simpson explained that the shift serves both strategic and symbolic purposes: it addresses long-standing domestic and policy concerns about overreliance on a single major power, while also sending a clear signal that Ottawa wants to claim greater sovereignty over its defense purchasing decisions. At the same time, she warned against overstating the scale of the change, emphasizing that “this should be understood as recalibration rather than rupture.”

    Canada remains deeply embedded in U.S.-led defense architecture, Simpson noted, and any meaningful reduction in reliance on Washington will necessarily be a gradual, multi-year process constrained by long-standing structural ties. A rapid shift could also introduce unforeseen operational risks if not managed carefully, she added.

    In Simpson’s framing, Canada’s new defense strategy is a pragmatic hedging approach. “Canada is maintaining its core alliance with the United States while cautiously expanding its range of partners,” she said, noting that the strategy improves Canada’s strategic flexibility and long-term security resilience.

  • Price guidelines set for novel therapies

    Price guidelines set for novel therapies

    China’s National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) has launched a comprehensive framework of national pricing guidelines that aims to streamline access to innovative medical treatments and standardize essential care services for elderly and pediatric populations, marking a major step forward in balancing technological innovation, industry development and public affordability.

    As of the latest update, the administration has rolled out 39 batches of these guidelines, covering approximately 180 categories of emerging medical technologies, products and care services. The new framework establishes unified national standards for service nomenclature, clinical definitions, and overarching pricing structures across all public healthcare institutions, while leaving authority for local governments to set final, context-specific fee levels aligned with regional economic conditions.

    Speaking at a press conference held on Monday, Dong Zhaohui, deputy director of the NHSA’s price bidding and purchasing department, outlined that the guidelines encompass a wide range of groundbreaking novel therapies. These include high-tech interventions such as surgical robotics, remote surgical procedures, brain-computer interface (BCI) implants, artificial heart devices, cochlear implants, artificial larynx devices, and high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment. When China granted the world’s first commercial approval for a BCI implant in March this year, the corresponding pricing guideline was released immediately to support rapid clinical rollout.

    Beyond neurological and device-based innovations, the framework also covers cutting-edge cancer treatments, including proton radiotherapy, heavy ion radiotherapy, and boron neutron capture therapy — interventions that have long been out of reach for many patients due to unclear pricing and limited infrastructure. Dong explained that when drafting the guidelines, regulators factored in multiple key priorities: fair returns for medical innovators, cost burdens for healthcare institutions, equitable patient access to new treatments, and practical implementation data from pilot regions such as Shanghai. The guidelines explicitly set reasonable payment caps per full treatment course, with a core goal of expanding affordable access for patients across the country.

    To further accelerate the adoption of life-saving new technologies, Dong added that the NHSA is exploring a proactive pre-approval pricing model, which would release guidance during the clinical trial stage of novel therapies, rather than waiting for full commercial approval. This early clarity is expected to cut development timelines and help bring new treatments to patients faster.

    Industry analysts and healthcare experts say the standardized pricing framework is already unlocking growth across China’s medical innovation ecosystem. Jiang Changsong, a professor at the National Institute of Healthcare Security at Capital Medical University, noted that under the new guidelines, government-referenced prices for invasive BCI implantation sit at around 7,000 yuan ($873) per procedure in Beijing, Hubei and Zhejiang, while non-invasive BCI implantation is priced at roughly 1,000 yuan.

    “With a clear pricing benchmark in place, medical enterprises can accurately calculate the return cycle for their R&D investments, which makes investors far more willing to commit capital to innovation. Hospitals also gain a transparent, official basis for service charging, and as a result, the entire industry chain is put into smooth motion,” Jiang explained. He added that the guidelines have already had a tangible impact on advanced cancer radiotherapy infrastructure: with a clear price anchor in place, more regional governments are confident in planning and constructing new proton therapy centers, which will eventually eliminate the need for patients to travel long distances across the country and wait in lengthy queues for life-saving treatment.

    For domestic medical device manufacturers, the standardized pricing framework is leveling the playing field in previously unregulated segments. Xing Yuzhu, executive deputy general manager of Beijing Surgerii Robotics Co, noted that before the new guidelines were introduced, surgical robot services lacked uniform national pricing standards, with fragmented pricing structures largely controlled by a small number of leading international companies. Under the new rules, fee structures for both primary surgical and auxiliary robotic procedures are clearly defined, with tiered pricing set based on the level of robotic involvement in each procedure. This structure enables domestic manufacturers to compete on a more equal footing with global brands while still ensuring they can earn reasonable returns on their innovation investments.

    In addition to supporting cutting-edge medical innovation, the new pricing guidelines also address pressing public welfare priorities aligned with China’s policy goals. To support the development of a birth-friendly society, the NHSA has added standardized pricing for a range of childbirth-related services, including fetal color ultrasound examinations, labor pain relief, family companionship during delivery, neonatal inpatient beds, general newborn nursing, and specialized care for premature infants.

    To improve access to high-quality, affordable care for China’s aging population, the administration has also introduced standardized pricing items for a full spectrum of elderly care services. These include 24/7 “companion-free” non-medical inpatient care, home care visits, end-of-life hospice care, home-based hospital beds, online follow-up consultations, and remote health monitoring, all designed to bring essential care services closer to elderly populations.

    Dong noted that under the guidelines, one-to-several “companion-free” care services are priced between 100 and 180 yuan per day across different regions, far lower than the 300 to 500 yuan typically charged by independent private caregivers. “This framework not only eases the financial burden on families caring for elderly relatives, but also helps attract more skilled talent to the professional nursing industry,” Dong said.

  • Nations’ commitment to one-China principle lauded

    Nations’ commitment to one-China principle lauded

    In a series of official statements released on Wednesday, Chinese authorities issued high praise for the international community’s unwavering commitment to the one-China principle, reaffirming that this global consensus aligns fully with international law and the foundational norms that govern cross-border relations.

    The comments followed the abrupt cancellation of a planned trip to southern Africa by Lai Ching-te, the self-styled leader of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini, the only African country that maintains unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan, from April 23 to 27. The trip fell apart after three Indian Ocean island nations — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — withdrew prior approval for Lai’s aircraft to fly through their airspace.

    Both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office used their regular weekly press briefings to underscore the breadth of global support for the one-China principle, pushing back against separatist claims for “Taiwan independence” and false accusations from DPP authorities.

    Speaking at the briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun noted that of the 54 recognized nations on the African continent, 53 have established formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in adherence to the one-China principle. These nations, alongside the African Union, formally adopted the Beijing Declaration during the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, a document that codifies their shared commitment to the principle, he added.

    Guo restated the core tenets of the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community: there exists only one sovereign China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the entire Chinese nation. He emphasized that African nations have repeatedly reaffirmed this stance and expressed firm backing for all efforts by the Chinese government to advance peaceful national reunification.

    “It is an undeniable fact that there is no so-called ‘president of the Republic of China’ recognized by the international community today,” Guo said. “Any individual who claims this false title is acting in opposition to the course of history, and will only end in humiliation.”

    Guo stressed that China’s full national reunification is an irreversible historical trend, and the global endorsement of the one-China principle reflects the overwhelming arc of history and the will of the global public. “No force can block the eventual reunification of China,” he said. “Separatist schemes for ‘Taiwan independence’ are completely futile and doomed to failure.”

    Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, echoed these remarks, noting that the cancellation of Lai’s trip once again proves that the one-China principle is the overwhelming prevailing trend in global affairs, represents the greater good of the international order, and aligns with the shared will of the world’s people.

    Zhang addressed false claims circulated by DPP authorities that the Chinese mainland had exerted “intense pressure” on the African nations that revoked Lai’s overflight permits. She dismissed these allegations as slander, self-deception and malicious defamation, noting the claims are little more than a desperate attempt to distract from the growing isolation of “Taiwan independence” separatists in the international arena.

  • Ex-Philippine president Duterte to face trial on crimes against humanity charges

    Ex-Philippine president Duterte to face trial on crimes against humanity charges

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands – In a landmark ruling that marks a major turning point in global accountability for grave human rights violations, a three-judge panel at the International Criminal Court announced Thursday it has unanimously confirmed charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, stemming from the thousands of deaths linked to his infamous anti-drug crackdowns that spanned more than a decade.

    The panel concluded there are substantial, credible grounds to hold the 81-year-old former leader responsible for dozens of extrajudicial murders, a killing campaign that first took shape during his decades-long tenure as mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines and expanded nationwide after he won the Philippine presidency in 2016, holding office until 2022.

    Duterte, who was arrested in the Philippines last year, has repeatedly and vehemently denied all allegations against him. He has opted to forgo personal appearance in all ICC hearings to date, and a preliminary ruling last month confirmed he is medically fit to proceed to trial, after an earlier hearing was delayed over concerns about his health. A firm start date for the full trial has not yet been finalized by the court.

    In their 50-page written ruling, judges laid out that accumulated evidence demonstrates Duterte personally developed, publicly promoted and systematically implemented a deliberate policy to “neutralize” people suspected of involvement in the drug trade. Prosecutors argue that beginning in 2011, national police operatives and unofficial hit squads carried out dozens of targeted killings at Duterte’s direction, with participants incentivized by cash payouts and coerced by the threat of being marked as targets themselves if they refused to comply. During pretrial hearings held this past February, deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court that participation in the killings eventually devolved into a twisted, perverse competition among those involved.

    Estimates of the total death toll from the crackdown during Duterte’s presidential term vary widely: official Philippine police figures count just over 6,000 unintended killings, while independent human rights organizations place the actual death toll as high as 30,000.

    Prosecutors framed Thursday’s confirmation of charges as a critical milestone in their years-long push to deliver accountability for the widespread killings. “This decision represents a significant milestone” in our work to deliver justice for victims, the prosecution office said in a statement released Wednesday ahead of the public announcement.

    But Duterte’s defense team has rejected the ruling as fundamentally flawed. Lead defense counsel Nick Kaufman told the Associated Press the panel’s decision relies entirely on uncorroborated testimony from self-admitted killers who agreed to testify in exchange for leniency, arguing the evidence used to confirm charges lacks any credible corroboration.

    The ruling has already sparked sharply contrasting reactions, with families of people killed during the crackdown celebrating the decision in the Philippines. For survivors, the confirmation of charges brings long-awaited hope of justice and closure after years of official obstruction. Randy delos Santos, whose 17-year-old nephew Kian delos Santos was gunned down by police in a Manila alley in 2017 in a killing that sparked nationwide outrage, said the decision gives a voice to victims who were long reduced to nameless statistics. “This is for all the victims, who were not even given the chance to be recognized as victims because their stories were twisted in police reports, investigations and findings,” delos Santos told reporters. “Unlike Kian, most other victims were nameless, voiceless and were just numbers and statistics whose horrific stories were never heard. Now the ICC will give their stories a chance to be told.”

    Global and local human rights groups have also praised the ruling as a watershed moment for international justice. Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, noted that the progression to trial sends an unambiguous message to current and former leaders around the world: no individual, even a former head of state, is above the law for the most serious international crimes. “Duterte’s trial will send a powerful message that no one responsible for grave crimes is above the law, whether in the Philippines or elsewhere, and that justice will eventually catch up with them,” Vignoli said.

    The path to Thursday’s ruling has been marked by repeated legal and procedural hurdles stretching back more than six years. ICC prosecutors first launched a preliminary investigation into the drug crackdown in 2018. Just one month after the investigation was announced, then-President Duterte announced the Philippines would withdraw from the ICC, a move widely criticized by human rights activists as an attempt to evade accountability for the killings. Earlier this week, appeals judges rejected a bid by Duterte’s legal team to dismiss the entire case on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction following the Philippine withdrawal.

    In another procedural development earlier this year, ICC judges disqualified the court’s former chief prosecutor Karim Khan from leading the case, citing a reasonable appearance of bias stemming from Khan’s prior legal work representing victims of Duterte’s alleged crimes before he took up his role at the ICC. Khan had already stepped back from his official duties at the court pending the outcome of an independent investigation into unrelated allegations of sexual misconduct.

    Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez contributed reporting from Manila, Philippines.

  • War in the Middle East: latest developments

    War in the Middle East: latest developments

    Fresh escalations and breaking developments continue to roil the Middle East this week, with a bitter standoff over the strategic Strait of Hormuz emerging as a flashpoint that threatens global energy supplies and economic stability. Multiple interconnected crises, from maritime blockades to diplomatic negotiations and violent attacks, have amplified instability across the region, sending shockwaves through global financial and commodity markets.

    On the Hormuz front, Iranian officials announced Thursday that Tehran has collected its first batch of revenue from new tolls imposed on vessels passing through the waterway, a move implemented amid its ongoing standoff with the United States and Israel. Hamidreza Hajibabaei, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, confirmed the first toll payments have been deposited in an account held by Iran’s Central Bank, according to local Iranian news outlet Tasnim. This move marks a formal step forward in Iran’s effort to assert control over the chokepoint, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil shipments pass.

    Iran’s top leaders have doubled down on their refusal to reopen the Strait to full traffic, linking any reopening to an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation to preliminary talks in Islamabad, made clear that the ceasefire can only be considered legitimate if it ends the blockade. “Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” Ghalibaf stated, hardening Tehran’s position ahead of any further diplomatic negotiations.

    U.S. military officials have responded with their own coercive measures, with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announcing Wednesday evening it has ordered 31 vessels to divert from their routes or return to port as part of Washington’s blockade targeting Iran. In a post on X, CENTCOM confirmed the majority of the redirected vessels are oil tankers, and that most have complied with U.S. instructions. A separate U.S. Pentagon assessment, first reported by The Washington Post Wednesday, warns that clearing all mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz could take up to six months – a timeline that would keep global oil prices elevated for an extended period and continue dragging on the global economy. Iran has severely restricted access to the waterway since the outbreak of open hostilities with the U.S. and Israel, driving sharp increases in global oil and gas prices already strained by post-pandemic recovery and geopolitical uncertainty.

    Beyond the Hormuz standoff, other developments have deepened regional unrest. Iran’s judiciary confirmed Thursday it executed a man identified as Sultan-Ali Shirzadi-Fakhr, who was convicted of membership in the banned opposition group People’s Mujahedin Organisation (MEK) and alleged collaboration with Israeli intelligence services. The execution, announced on the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, marks the latest in a series of high-profile convictions linked to alleged espionage against Tehran.

    Along the Israel-Lebanon border, a new round of diplomatic negotiations got underway in Washington Thursday, aimed at extending a fragile ceasefire that is set to expire in days. Lebanese officials plan to request a one-month extension of the truce, while Israeli officials struck a conciliatory tone ahead of talks, saying they hold no major outstanding disagreements with the Lebanese government. Israel has called on Beirut to cooperate to disarm the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah, which has refused to participate in the negotiations and opposes any deal with Israel.

    Tragedy struck southern Lebanon Wednesday, when an Israeli airstrike in an area officially covered by the ceasefire killed veteran journalist Amal Khalil, a correspondent for Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. A second journalist, freelance reporter Zeinab Faraj, was wounded in the strike. Lebanese Red Cross officials confirmed to AFP that Khalil’s body was recovered from rubble after the attack, while Faraj was rescued and evacuated for medical care. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos condemned the targeted attack on journalists as “a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”

    The rising tensions immediately rippled through global markets Thursday. Oil prices initially jumped more than 3.5 percent following Iran’s vow to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, with benchmark U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbing 4.1 percent to hit $96.73 per barrel, and international benchmark Brent crude rising 3.6 percent to $105.63 a barrel before prices pared gains later in the session. Most major Asian stock markets fell in response to the geopolitical uncertainty, with indexes in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington all closing lower.

  • Zambia says it has custody of ex-president’s body in dispute with family over burial

    Zambia says it has custody of ex-president’s body in dispute with family over burial

    JOHANNESBURG – A 11-month political and legal standoff over the final resting place of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu took a new turn this week, as the Zambian government announced it has taken physical custody of Lungu’s body from his family, following a ruling from a South African court. Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, passed away at the age of 68 on June 5 last year at a South African hospital from an undisclosed illness, and his remains have been trapped in legal limbo ever since.

    In an official statement released Wednesday, Zambia’s attorney general confirmed that the South African court ordered the release of Lungu’s remains to Zambian authorities. Following the ruling, the body was transferred from a Pretoria funeral home — where it had been held since Lungu’s death — to an alternate undisclosed facility in South Africa. However, the Lungu family maintains that a separate urgent court ruling ordered the body to be returned to the original Pretoria funeral home, leaving the situation muddled by two apparently conflicting judicial orders. As of Wednesday evening, full details of both rulings had not been made public.

    The bitter dispute over Lungu’s burial is rooted in years of deep political enmity between Lungu and current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who defeated Lungu in the 2021 national presidential election. The Hichilema administration has pushed for Lungu to receive an official state funeral on Zambian soil, with interment at a national cemetery reserved exclusively for former heads of state. But Lungu’s family has pushed back against this plan, saying one of the former president’s final wishes was that Hichilema should be barred from attending his funeral or having any involvement in his burial arrangements.

    This is not the first time the conflict has disrupted proceedings for Lungu. Just weeks after his death, the Zambian government obtained a court order to halt Lungu’s funeral service mid-ceremony in South Africa, forcing grieving family members to leave the church and rush to a courthouse to address the legal dispute.

    The political rift between the two leaders stretches back years before the 2021 election. In 2017, when Lungu was still president, Hichilema was arrested on treason charges and held in detention for four months. The charges were ultimately dropped only after widespread international condemnation of the arrest. Following his 2021 election defeat, Lungu claimed that Zambian authorities had placed him under de facto house arrest, restricting his movement to block any attempt at a political comeback. The Hichilema administration has repeatedly denied these allegations.

  • Estonian foreign minister visits Vietnam to boost tech, trade ties

    Estonian foreign minister visits Vietnam to boost tech, trade ties

    During a high-level diplomatic visit to Hanoi this week, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna held substantive talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, outlining a bold agenda to expand bilateral collaboration across trade, digital technology and governance transformation. Diplomatic ties between the small Baltic EU member and the Southeast Asian economic heavyweight have warmed considerably in recent years, with a landmark bilateral digital cooperation agreement already set to take effect in 2025. Though Estonia contributes only 0.2% of the entire European Union’s total gross domestic product, the nation has carved out a global reputation as a pioneering leader in digital governance and e-government innovation, expertise it is eager to share with Vietnam as Hanoi pursues sweeping domestic reforms to reach high-income economy status by 2045. Tsahkna emphasized that partnering to digitize Vietnam’s public services would deliver tangible benefits: cutting through bureaucratic red tape, boosting government transparency, and reducing operational costs for both citizens and businesses. “It becomes far faster for people to access public sector services when systems are fully digitized,” Tsahkna told reporters from the Associated Press on the sidelines of the Hanoi meetings. He added that Vietnamese officials had already tabled a proposal for a new bilateral education cooperation agreement, opening another avenue for people-to-people ties. According to Vietnamese state media, Prime Minister Hung made two key requests of Estonia during the talks: that the Baltic nation push the European Union to formally ratify the stalled EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, and that it back Hanoi’s efforts to have the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning lifted. The trade restriction currently blocks many Vietnamese seafood imports over unsubstantiated claims of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Beyond economic and digital cooperation, Tsahkna framed the bilateral partnership as mutually beneficial in broader strategic terms: Estonia can act as a convenient, low-barrier gateway for Vietnamese companies seeking access to the 27-nation EU single market, while Vietnam gives Estonia a strategic foothold and access to one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the Southeast Asian region. “For us, Vietnam is one of the priority countries in the entire Indo-Pacific region,” Tsahkna said. The visit also gave Estonian officials a platform to share Europe’s perspective on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where Estonia views Russian aggression as an “existential threat” to European security. This outreach comes as Vietnam has maintained a long-standing diplomatic relationship with Moscow stretching back to 1950, and has stuck to a carefully calibrated neutral stance on the war, calling for peaceful negotiations while declining to issue direct public criticism of Russia. Tsahkna acknowledged that Estonia’s renewed diplomatic focus on Vietnam and broader Southeast Asia is shaped by both shifting geopolitical pressures and new economic opportunities. In particular, he noted that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of European defense spending and persistent transatlantic tariff tensions have pushed the EU to diversify its diplomatic and economic partnerships beyond traditional allies, turning greater attention to fast-growing emerging markets across the Indo-Pacific.

  • Turkish parliament passes bill to restrict social media access for under-15s

    Turkish parliament passes bill to restrict social media access for under-15s

    Late Wednesday, Turkish lawmakers passed a controversial new bill that would enforce sweeping restrictions on social media access for children younger than 15, marking the latest entry in a growing global policy push to shield minors from documented harms of unregulated online engagement. The vote came just seven days after a horrific gun attack at a southern Turkish middle school in Kahramanmaras, where a 14-year-old male perpetrator killed nine students and one teacher before dying himself. Turkish law enforcement is currently examining the shooter’s past online activity to identify potential motives for the violence, adding urgent political momentum to the regulatory proposal.

    According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency, the new legislation mandates that all major social media platforms operating within the country implement mandatory age-verification systems to stop underage users from creating new accounts, build integrated parental control tools for guardians to monitor and manage minor access, and respond quickly to takedown requests for content classified as harmful to young people. The rules also extend to online game companies, which are required to appoint a local in-country representative to ensure compliance with Turkish regulatory standards. Platforms that fail to meet these requirements face stiff penalties, including cuts to internet bandwidth and substantial fines issued by Turkey’s national communications watchdog.

    The bill now moves to the desk of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has 15 days to sign the legislation into effect. Erdogan has already publicly voiced strong support for tighter online protections in the aftermath of the Kahramanmaras attack, arguing in a televised address just days before the vote that unmoderated digital platforms are eroding youth well-being. “We are living in a period where some digital sharing applications are corrupting our children’s minds and social media platforms have, to put it bluntly, become cesspools,” he told the public.

    Not all political factions in Turkey back the new restrictions, however. The country’s main opposition bloc, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has issued sharp criticism of the policy, arguing that effective youth protection requires rights-centered policy frameworks rather than blanket access bans. The proposal also fits into a wider pattern of Turkish government regulation of online platforms that has drawn scrutiny in recent years. As social media has emerged as a key space for organizing anti-government dissent, the administration has implemented repeated access restrictions, including broad blackouts during 2023 mass protests supporting jailed Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

    Turkey’s new rule is far from an isolated policy. Around the world, governments are rolling out or considering similar age limits for social media use amid growing public concern over the impacts of unregulated content on adolescent development. Australia first implemented a ban on social media access for users under 16 in December 2023, where platforms moved to revoke access for roughly 4.7 million accounts confirmed to belong to underage users. Just last month, Indonesia enacted its own regulation barring minors under 16 from accessing digital platforms that could expose young people to cyberbullying, pornography, online scams, and problematic screen addiction. Several other European nations, including Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, are currently drafting or evaluating their own regulatory measures to limit underage exposure to harmful social media content.