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  • Deadly China plane crash was caused by fuel cut-off, says report

    Deadly China plane crash was caused by fuel cut-off, says report

    Three and a half years after the deadliest Chinese aviation disaster in decades, newly released U.S. investigation data has shed fresh light on the 2022 crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, which claimed all 132 lives on board when the Boeing 737 plummeted into a hillside in southern China.

    According to data obtained by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) via a Freedom of Information Act request, fuel flow to both of the jet’s engines was intentionally cut while the aircraft was cruising at 29,000 feet, a finding that lends credibility to unconfirmed theories that the crash was deliberate. The data, pulled from one of the plane’s recovered black boxes that was sent to the NTSB’s Washington D.C. lab for analysis, confirms that both engine fuel control switches were manually moved to the “cut-off” position, after which the engines’ rotational speeds dropped sharply.

    Fuel switches are purpose-built cockpit controls designed to regulate the flow of jet fuel into the engines, used almost exclusively by flight crew to start engines during pre-flight preparation or shut them down after landing. No mechanical malfunction is known to automatically shift both fully functional fuel switches into the cut-off position during cruise flight.

    The timeline of the disaster, recorded by independent flight tracking service FlightRadar24, aligns with the new data: on March 21, 2022, the flight departed Kunming, Yunnan’s provincial capital, on a routine scheduled domestic trip to Guangzhou, southern China’s major trade hub. After more than an hour of uneventful flight, the aircraft suddenly entered an uncontrolled, rapid descent. In just two minutes and 15 seconds, it dropped from a cruising altitude of 29,100 feet to under 10,000 feet, with its final recorded altitude logged at 3,225 feet at 14:22 local time. Air traffic controllers made repeated attempts to contact the flight crew during the descent but received no response.

    China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), which is leading the official investigation into the crash, has yet to publish a final public report, justifying the delay on grounds of national security concerns. Shortly after the crash, CAA officials confirmed that the flight crew held valid operating licenses, had passed required pre-flight health checks, and were properly rested, ruling out basic fatigue or certification issues. When media speculation emerged that the crash was an act of pilot suicide, the CAA issued an official denial, stating that such baseless rumors misled the public and disrupted the ongoing investigation.

    As the aircraft was manufactured by American aerospace firm Boeing, the NTSB was granted authority to assign a senior investigator to assist the Chinese-led probe, a standard arrangement for international aviation accident investigations. Prior to the release of the NTSB data, the disaster’s cause had remained a subject of global speculation, with possible causes ranging from structural failure and mid-air collision to pilot error and deliberate action. The new NTSB findings are the first official verified data to publicly support the deliberate action theory, though Chinese authorities have not yet commented on the newly released information.

    China has seen dramatic improvements in commercial aviation safety over the past three decades, with fatal air crashes remaining extremely rare. The 2022 MU5735 crash was the deadliest air disaster to occur in Chinese airspace since 1992.

  • China invokes rules to blunt US sanctions on ‘teapot’ refiners

    China invokes rules to blunt US sanctions on ‘teapot’ refiners

    In a landmark move marking the first practical deployment of a half-decade-old Chinese counter-sanctions legal framework, Beijing has moved to block the enforcement of United States sanctions targeting five independent Chinese “teapot” oil refiners, including Dalian-headquartered Hengli Petrochemical Refinery, which Washington blacklisted over accusations of violating US restrictions on Iranian crude imports.

    Issued on May 2, the order from China’s Ministry of Commerce relies on the *Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extraterritorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures*, widely known as China’s “Blocking Rules.” The ministry formally ruled that all US sanctions measures—including placing the five petrochemical firms on the US Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, freezing their assets under US jurisdiction and imposing transaction bans—“shall not be recognized, enforced or complied with” within Chinese territory. The order also bars Chinese domestic companies and financial institutions from participating in the US sanctions regime, though it did not explicitly clarify whether the prohibition extends to Hong Kong, which processes a large share of China-Iran crude oil transactions.

    The five refiners were added to the US SDN list in staggered actions between March 2025 and April 2026: Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co Ltd on March 20, 2025; Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co Ltd on April 16, 2025; Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co Ltd on May 8, 2025; Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co Ltd on October 9, 2025; and Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co Ltd on April 24, 2026.

    In an April 28 statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the US Treasury department’s sanctions enforcement arm, said that beginning in March 2025, it had designated multiple China-based independent refiners that had collectively processed billions of dollars in crude oil originating from Iran, which it claimed ultimately supports the Iranian government. OFAC also issued a formal warning to global financial institutions, noting that the US was prepared to leverage its full range of regulatory authorities and deploy secondary sanctions against any foreign financial institutions that continue to facilitate transactions tied to Iran’s oil sector.

    Chinese policy analysts and state media have framed the first-ever use of the Blocking Rules—originally adopted in January 2021 at the end of US President Donald Trump’s first term—as a measured, principled response to US unilateralism, representing a shift from holding counter-sanctions tools in reserve to active deployment against extraterritorial US pressure.

    Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor of international trade at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told Hong Kong media that the Blocking Rules were activated because the US has repeatedly abused unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, acting as a self-appointed global police force that uses sanctions to disrupt legitimate economic and trade activity by Chinese firms. He characterized the US actions as a form of economic and trade bullying designed to coerce other nations into aligning with its policy priorities.

    “The Blocking Rules are a targeted legal mechanism to counter unreasonable external sanctions, protect the legitimate rights of Chinese companies operating overseas, safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and uphold a fair international economic and trade order,” Liu explained, adding that the move sets a critical precedent for other countries, particularly developing economies, facing similar unilateral pressure from the US.

    Cui Fan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business of Economics and chief expert at the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, noted that since 2025, the US has steadily expanded sanctions targeting Chinese refining, shipping and port companies connected to Iranian oil trade, imposing asset freezes and broad transaction bans while rejecting legitimate claims from Chinese firms. He warned that allowing these unilateral measures to go unchallenged would disrupt China’s energy supply chain stability and undermine China’s energy security and core development interests.

    “Against this backdrop, activating the Blocking Rules is a necessary step to safeguard China’s national and corporate interests, while the framework establishes formal institutional mechanisms to protect the lawful rights of Chinese citizens, legal entities and other organizations,” Cui said. He also pointed to the rapid growth of the US SDN list, which now includes roughly 18,900 global entities and individuals, more than 1,100 of which are linked to mainland China and over 400 connected to Hong Kong. Washington’s so-called “50% rule,” which designates any entity directly or indirectly 50% or more owned by a sanctioned party as also blocked, even if not explicitly named, extends sanctions impact to a vast network of affiliated firms across the global economy.

    The escalating sanctions dispute has further strained already tense bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington just two weeks before a scheduled May 13-14 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China. The two leaders are expected to address a wide range of contentious issues during the summit, including ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, persistent trade frictions, and competing export control regimes.

    The escalation builds on a series of recent US actions targeting Sino-Iranian energy ties: In mid-April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US had sent formal warnings to two unnamed Chinese banks, alerting them to potential secondary sanctions if they continued facilitating transactions tied to Iranian oil. On April 24, OFAC added Hengli Petrochemical to the SDN list, calling the refiner one of Iran’s most important crude customers, alongside blacklisting roughly 40 shipping firms and vessels it accuses of being part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” for undocumented oil shipments. Four days later, OFAC issued its broader warning to financial institutions over secondary sanctions risks tied to Chinese independent teapot refiners.

    Adopted in January 2021, the Blocking Rules establish a formal interagency process led by the Ministry of Commerce, working alongside China’s national planning agency and other relevant departments, to assess whether foreign laws and measures constitute improper extraterritorial application. The assessment is based on four core criteria: whether the foreign measure violates international law or foundational norms of international relations; its potential impact on China’s sovereignty, security and development interests; its potential harm to the lawful rights and interests of Chinese individuals and entities; and other relevant contextual factors.

    The framework also includes a formal exemption process: Chinese entities seeking permission to comply with restricted foreign sanctions must submit a written request to the Ministry of Commerce outlining the rationale and scope of the requested compliance, and the ministry issues a decision within 30 days, with accelerated processing for urgent cases. Some independent analysts note that this exemption structure could allow large Chinese banks with global operations and US-based assets to seek approval to comply with US sanctions, while smaller regional Chinese banks can continue processing Iranian oil transaction settlements while absorbing the associated regulatory risk.

    Zhou Chengyang, a Chinese current affairs commentator, told Russian media outlet Sputnik that independent refiners including Hengli are expected to continue settling crude purchases in Chinese renminbi, diversifying settlement channels and combining strategic reserve drawdowns with market-based procurement to maintain stable oil supply operations. The framework for processing these transactions has already been tested in recent years: In 2012, OFAC added China’s Bank of Kunlun to the SDN list for its role in settling Iranian oil trades, which resulted in the bank being expelled from the global SWIFT dollar clearing system. In 2019, OFAC added Bank of Kunlun to its stricter CAPTA sanctions list, which restricts foreign banks from maintaining US correspondent accounts for the institution.

    Chinese state media reports confirm that despite sweeping US sanctions, Bank of Kunlun has continued facilitating Iranian and Russian oil transaction settlements through China’s own Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), relying on a barter-style clearing mechanism that offsets payments through matched reciprocal trade flows rather than direct US dollar transfers. Under this structure, Chinese importers and Iranian exporters settle accounts through reciprocal credit arrangements via partner banks, allowing trade to proceed without relying on the US dollar or Western clearing infrastructure.

  • Yoko says oh no to ‘John Lemon’ beer

    Yoko says oh no to ‘John Lemon’ beer

    What started as a costly legal threat has turned into a marketing windfall for a tiny French craft brewery, after Yoko Ono’s legal team forced the stop on the company’s popular “John Lemon” beer, a play on the name of late Beatles icon John Lennon.

    Aurélien Picard, founder of Brasserie de l’Imprimerie based in the small Brittany town of Bannalec, revealed he first received a formal legal notice from Ono’s lawyers in late March. The notice ordered the micro-brewery to immediately phase out the controversial brand name, recall all existing stock from shelves, and pay substantial royalty fees for using the likeness of Ono’s late husband, one of the most famous musicians of the 20th century.

    Picard shared details of the demand with Agence France-Presse, noting the financial terms were steep for the small operation: the initial royalty demand hit 100,000 euros (equivalent to roughly $117,000), with daily penalties ranging from 150 to 1,000 euros if the brewery refused to comply. “Basically, they demanded we recall all our product and immediately stop using the brand,” Picard said.

    After weeks of negotiation between the brewery’s side and Ono’s legal team, a compromise was reached: the 2-person brewery was permitted to sell through its existing stock of 5,000 bottles of the pale ale by July 1, after which all production of the John Lemon brand would cease permanently.

    What neither side anticipated, however, was the massive surge in consumer interest sparked by the public legal dispute. News of Ono’s challenge to the small craft brewery spread rapidly across local and international media, turning the little-known beer into a viral must-have product. In just a matter of days, nearly the entire remaining stock sold out.

    Describing the sudden rush of sales as “crazy,” Picard told reporters that less than 1,000 bottles remained on shelves as of the latest update. Calling the turn of events “kind of funny, amid our misfortune,” the brewer noted that the unexpected publicity has turned a potential business setback into a surprising boon for the small company.

    The John Lemon brand was first launched five years ago, as one of several of the brewery’s beers that lean into playful puns on celebrity names. Picard said the name struck the team as “cool” when it was first developed. For years, the beer was sold only within a 40-kilometer radius of the brewery, distributed primarily to local liquor stores and independent restaurants, with total annual production for the entire brewery hovering between 50,000 and 80,000 bottles.

    Now, the brewery is racing to find a new name for its popular blonde ale. Picard’s first proposed rebrand, “Jaune Lemon” – which translates to “Yellow Lemon” in French – was rejected by Ono’s legal team, leaving the small team back at the drawing board to pick a new title that will avoid further legal conflict.

  • AFL 2026: Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says Caleb Serong playing a ‘selfless’ role

    AFL 2026: Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says Caleb Serong playing a ‘selfless’ role

    As the Fremantle Dockers gear up for a Thursday night blockbuster against Hawthorn at Optus Stadium, head coach Justin Longmuir has pushed back against any concerns over star midfielder Caleb Serong’s dipping disposal numbers, framing the statistical dip as a sign of the vice-captain’s game-changing team-first mindset.

    Amid the Dockers’ current seven-match winning streak — a run that has lifted the club to second place on the AFL ladder — Serong has posted his lowest average disposals per game since his rookie debut season. Where many supporters and analysts might flag this drop as a cause for worry, Longmuir says the shift reflects a deliberate, selfless choice by Serong that benefits the entire starting lineup.

    Opposition teams have increasingly focused on tagging Serong to neutralize his influence on the field, a strategy that Serong has leaned into to create space and opportunity for his teammates. Longmuir highlighted this underrecognized contribution in press comments ahead of the clash, noting that while Serong’s personal stats are down, his on-field impact remains as critical as ever.

    “The selfless nature of Caleb when he gets tagged and what that opens up for other players is something that probably hasn’t been picked up enough,” Longmuir explained. “His numbers might be down, but I think his impact is still at a really high level. He’s all about the team. It’s great when two of your vice-captains — Serong and Andrew Brayshaw — are leading the way in that aspect.”

    Longmuir specifically name-checked Hayden Young, Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid as players who have reaped the benefits of opposition attention shifting to Serong, unlocking more space and possession for the Dockers’ other playmakers. A win against Hawthorn on Thursday would not only extend Fremantle’s current winning streak to eight matches, a feat the club has not achieved since a red-hot opening to the 2015 season, but also solidify the club’s hold on second place on the ladder, creating a crucial buffer over chasing sides.

    Despite the stakes of the clash, Longmuir rejected framing the match as a chance for the Dockers to prove they are legitimate premiership contenders. “We don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” he said. “We just need to see where our footy stacks up. It’s another opportunity for us to try and improve our footy. We understand the opposition, we understand their strengths, we understand what our footy is about. Last year we played our better footy against the better sides. I don’t feel like we need to go out there and prove anything to anyone.”

    Both clubs head into the Thursday night match at Optus Stadium with unusually healthy injury lists, with Hawthorn captain James Sicily confirmed to take the field for his side. The showdown is set to be one of the most high-profile matches of the AFL round, with a historic winning streak and ladder position on the line for the in-form Dockers.

  • A Taiwanese town embraces a slow pace of life through a snail race

    A Taiwanese town embraces a slow pace of life through a snail race

    Tucked in Taiwan’s earthquake-prone Hualien County, the small town of Fenglin has built a gentle, well-loved reputation: a place where the frantic pace of modern life fades, and visitors can step back to breathe and reconnect. With a population of just 10,000 — down threefold from decades ago and now marked by a super-aged demographic with over 20% of residents over 65 — Fenglin did not fight its slow rhythm. Instead, it leaned into it, turning that identity into a symbol of community resilience, anchored by an unlikely local icon: the garden snail.

    Fenglin’s bond with snails dates back to 2014, when it joined the Cittaslow international network, a global movement of small communities dedicated to centering quality of life, local food systems, and sustainable development over rapid growth. The movement’s official symbol, fittingly, is a snail carrying a small cluster of buildings on its back — a metaphor that aligned perfectly with Fenglin’s natural character.

    That quiet commitment to slow living became a lifeline for the region after a devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Hualien in April 2024, leaving 18 dead, over 1,100 injured, and cratering local tourism. Fears of aftershocks kept visitors away, and many residents relocated from the quake-prone county entirely. To reverse the downturn and draw travelers back to the region, local organizers launched an annual event that leaned into Fenglin’s slow identity: an open-to-all snail race.

    “Two years after the quake, tourism still feels its impact, because many people worry another large temblor could strike at any time,” explained 32-year-old local resident Hsu Lu. “Many people have already left Hualien because of repeated seismic activity.” For the community, snail racing was never meant to be a silver bullet — just a small, intentional step to rebuild foot traffic. “We thought that our event could attract people, and that would be a small help,” said Cheng Jen-shou, one of the event’s founding organizers.

    This May Day holiday marked the third iteration of the quirky race, drawing dozens of enthusiastic participants and spectators from across Taiwan. Over two days, six preliminary heats sent snails creeping toward the finish line, with heat winners advancing to a grand final that drew cheers from the gathered crowd. The event’s rules are delightfully simple: 10 snails are placed at the center of a round table covered in thin vinyl, and the first to reach the edge takes the top prize.

    Participants bring their snails from across the island, with many locals harvesting their competitors straight from their own backyards. Seventy-year-old Fenglin retiree Li Cheng-wen started raising snails after finding them feasting on leafy greens in his vegetable garden; instead of killing the pests, he turned them into pets, feeding them slices of banana, papaya, and fresh leaves, and giving them daily showers. When selecting racers, he prioritizes two traits: “I usually select those that are very active and pleasing to the eye,” he explained.

    For one family from southern Taiwan, the race became a long-awaited do-over. Kelvin Hong and Tiara Lin traveled five hours from Kaohsiung with their 2-year-old daughter Murphy and their giant African snail Aquaman, who had been signed up for the 2024 race before Lin went into early labor on the drive north. This year, the whole family returned to see Aquaman compete.

    Despite his larger size, Aquaman failed to outpace the local competition. The 2025 crown went to Guage, better known to fans as Brother Snail, a repeat champion owned by 39-year-old Tanya Lin from Hualien. Brother Snail has held the title since 2024, and this year he crossed the 33-centimeter course in just 3 minutes and 3 seconds, earning his champion’s reward: a hearty serving of organic sweet potato leaves and a place of honor on the tiny event’s winner’s podium.

    Beyond the snail race itself, Fenglin’s local government has built out a broader tourism strategy around the town’s slow-life identity, offering guided e-bike tours that stop at historic tobacco barns, well-preserved Japanese colonial-era buildings, and a museum dedicated to the local Hakka ethnic community. The concept has resonated with travelers tired of the nonstop pace of Taiwan’s major cities. University students Annette Lin and Tanya Liu took a 30-minute train from Hualien City to experience the race and Fenglin’s laid-back energy, describing the event as wonderfully unique. Liu summed up the appeal for many visitors: “I think for travel or a trip, it’s a great choice. But maybe living here would not really be my dream choice.”

    For Fenglin, though, the slow pace is not a temporary attraction — it is the core of the town’s identity, and a tool that has helped it rebuild after disaster one small, slow step at a time.

  • Pen pal programs have evolved, but old-fashioned letter writing could be coming back

    Pen pal programs have evolved, but old-fashioned letter writing could be coming back

    Four decades ago, a 13-year-old girl in New Zealand named Molly Nunns mentioned a pair of coveted purple lip-shaped sunglasses she saw in a magazine to her American pen pal, Holly, who lived 9,000 miles away in Concord, New Hampshire. This past March, Holly finally fulfilled the decades-old wish, traveling across the world to hand-deliver the sunglasses to Nunns — closing a 40-year chapter of a friendship built entirely on handwritten letters that has outlasted shifting communication trends and the rise of the digital age.

    The international youth pen pal matching service that first connected Holly and Molly in 1985 shut down long ago, but the tradition of pen pal correspondence is far from dead. Even as postal services across the globe cut back on home delivery — Denmark has stopped residential letter delivery entirely, with Canada following suit and New Zealand reducing delivery days — observers are tracking a steady resurgence of interest in intentional, handwritten letter writing, even among generations raised on constant digital connectivity.

    Rachel Syme, a New Yorker writer who launched a grassroots pen pal initiative called Penpalooza at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and later published *Syme’s Letter Writer – A Guide to Modern Correspondence*, says public appetite for analog correspondence is stronger than ever. More than 15,000 people joined Penpalooza in 2020, and hundreds new participants still sign up for every new round of matchmaking Syme organizes every few months. At book signings, she constantly receives requests for pen pal connections, and the New York City stationery shops she visits regularly draw large crowds of eager shoppers.

    Syme notes that for younger people who have grown up constantly glued to smartphones, handwritten letter writing offers a rare chance to step away from the digital noise. “People are very interested in physical, analog things right now,” she explained. “It has an appeal especially to a younger generation who grew up with a phone glued to their hand, to do something that’s more tactile, slower, more intentional, more mindful, but also just disconnected from the internet in every way.”

    Longtime pen pal advocates echo Syme’s observations. Julie Delbridge, a 65-year-old Australian who joined International Pen Friends (IPF) as a teenager in 1979, later became the organization’s president in 2001. Delbridge says letter writing gave her a critical positive outlet during her parents’ bitter divorce, offering non-judgmental connection across borders that shaped her life. “It was a pastime that I totally immersed myself into in a positive way and gained a lot of enjoyment from,” she said. “There was an abundance of non-judgmental friendship, fun and different perspectives.”

    Over its 59-year history, IPF has connected more than 2 million people aged 8 to over 80 from across the globe. While membership peaked in the late 1990s just before mainstream internet adoption, it surged again during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2024 has already seen a sharp rise in new members between the ages of 21 and 26.

    This growing interest extends to educational spaces, too. In 2021, the U.S. Postal Service launched a national pen pal initiative that distributed materials to 25,000 U.S. elementary school classrooms, but pen pal programs have also taken root at the college level. A group of medical students in Texas created an anonymous pen pal scheme to build peer support and encourage emotional reflection amid the high stress of medical training. At Villanova University, professor Kamran Javadizadeh requires students in his literature course “Letters, Texts, Twitter” to exchange handwritten letters with classmates, even when they could easily pass a note to each other in person.

    Javadizadeh argues that instantaneous digital communication erodes a specific type of meaningful connection that only asynchronous letter writing can create. “Something is lost when you have instantaneous communication,” he explained. “So I’m interested in the relationship between synchronous kinds of intimacy and asynchronous forms of intimacy.”

    Gordon Alley-Young, dean of communications at Kingsborough Community College in New York, compares the resurgence of letter writing to the renewed popularity of vinyl records: young audiences are increasingly drawn to tangible, physical media from an earlier era as a counterpoint to digital overload. He has used letter writing as a tool to teach empathy to his communication students, finding that when students respond to case studies of interpersonal conflict presented as personal letters, they offer far more vulnerable, thoughtful advice than when they analyze impersonal case studies.

    “We really want students to connect to what they’re looking at,” he said. “And letter writing encourages that.”

    Even digital platforms are leaning into the pen pal trend, though with a twist. The app Slowly combines modern mobile technology with the slow, anticipatory energy of traditional snail mail pen pal relationships: users send digital messages, but delivery is delayed between one hour and several days to replicate the waiting period that comes with traditional mail. Cofounder JoJo Chan explains that this delay encourages more thoughtful, substantial communication, rather than the quick, superficial greetings common to instant messaging.

    Since launching in 2017, Slowly has amassed 10 million users across more than 160 countries, most between their 20s and 30s. Many users, Chan says, first heard about pen pal relationships from their grandparents and are curious to try the experience for themselves. “Slowly offers a convenient way and a modern way for them to try that experience,” she noted.

    For advocates like Syme, however, the magic of pen pal correspondence lies in its tangible, physical nature. Her guide includes tips for choosing stationery and pens, and ideas for small mementos to tuck into envelopes, but she emphasizes that the content of the letter matters far more than the frills. “There is joy to be had once you fully embrace the medium’s outdated extravagance,” she writes. But, she added in an interview, the core of letter writing is honest connection: “That’s where I think it can get very real, very quickly.”

    For Holly and Molly, that real, lasting connection has shaped 40 years of their lives. The pair exchanged handwritten letters for 15 years before meeting in person for the first time during a 2000 trip to New York, and they have crossed paths multiple times since, including a 2018 visit to New Hampshire from Nunns and her family. When Holly delivered the long-awaited sunglasses on her recent trip, she also brought a printed bound volume of 200 pages of Nunns’ teenage letters, scanned and preserved decades after they were written. While modern technology makes it possible to search and summarize those decades-old scribblings in seconds, it is the depth of the human connection that continues to amaze Holly. After an emotional goodbye at the airport, the pair already plans to meet again — and their correspondence, started 40 years ago, continues.

  • Top five moments from the Met Gala

    Top five moments from the Met Gala

    One of the most anticipated annual events in global fashion and celebrity culture, the Met Gala, once again transformed New York’s iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art into the most high-profile red carpet on the planet this year. Bringing together A-list actors, chart-topping musicians, legendary athletes, groundbreaking artists and visionary designers, the invitation-only event doubles as a major charity gathering, where guests showcase their most daring, thoughtful sartorial choices for the annual theme. This year’s theme, “Fashion is Art,” invited attendees to blur the lines between high fashion and fine art, and the night delivered no shortage of viral, standout moments. Below, we break down the top five can’t-miss highlights from the 2026 Met Gala.

    ### 1. Beyoncé’s Late, Legendary Entrance With Her Whole Family
    For hours during the red carpet arrival process, attendees and viewers alike kept one question top of mind: when would Beyoncé make her appearance? Unlike this year’s other co-chairs, who followed the traditional practice of arriving early to the event—tennis icon Venus Williams and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman both made their entrance promptly at the start of the night—Beyoncé saved her reveal for the end of the red carpet, and the hype was worth every minute of the wait.

    The global superstar left the entire fashion world stunned in a custom diamond skeleton gown from designer Olivier Rousteing. Layered over a skin-toned mesh base, the bejeweled bone detailing stretched all the way to the tips of her fingers, and the look was completed with a luxe feathered coat and an intricate, one-of-a-kind headpiece. By her side stood rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z, her husband, looking sharp in a tailored black tuxedo with tails, and their 14-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who turned heads in a strapless creamy white gown complete with a voluminous puffy train and matching cropped jacket. Speaking to Vogue on the red carpet, Beyoncé called the moment surreal, noting that sharing the iconic Met Gala experience with her daughter made it extra special, and added that she thought Blue Ivy looked absolutely incredible.

    ### 2. Saint Laurent Dominated the Red Carpet From Head to Toe
    As a member of the Met Gala’s host committee—the leadership tier one level below official co-chairs—Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello made sure his brand’s aesthetic was front and center throughout the entire night, with dozens of A-list guests stepping out in his designs.

    The brand’s presence stretched from Zoe Kravitz, who served alongside Vaccarello on the host committee, to 90s supermodel legend Kate Moss, and breakout star Connor Storrie of the hit series *Heated Rivalry*. Rapper and singer Doja Cat, another host committee member, wowed onlookers in a draped latex gown with a modest high neckline cut through with a dramatic thigh-high slit that left plenty of room for edge. Multiple 2026 Grammy nominee Rose, of Blackpink and the chart-topping Bruno Mars collaboration “APT,” opted for a sleek, chic strapless black gown with a high slit and an oversized statement bird brooch cinching her waist, all from the Saint Laurent design house.

    ### 3. Iconic Music Legends Shared the Carpet With K-Pop’s Biggest Stars
    This year’s guest list brought together decades of music industry royalty, mixing legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees with the biggest names in contemporary global pop, including K-pop’s most beloved acts. On the legacy side of the lineup, Madonna, Cher, and Stevie Nicks all made appearances, alongside Met Gala veteran Rihanna—global pop superstar, founder of Fenty Beauty, and one of the event’s most iconic recurring guests. Representing K-pop were all four members of Blackpink—Jennie, Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo—alongside the trio of creators behind “Golden,” the breakout hit from the Netflix animated film *KPop Demon Hunters*.

    Each legend brought their own distinctive take on the “Fashion is Art” theme: Madonna chose a wispy Saint Laurent slip dress paired with a muted gray cape carried by seven attendants and a dramatic towering hat that featured a sculpted ship detail. Cher went in a contrasting leather-and-lace Burberry gown, while Stevie Nicks opted for a coordinated deep blue ensemble complete with a matching top hat. Rihanna, who made headlines at last year’s gala when she revealed her third pregnancy, returned this year in a sculptural silver Maison Margiela gown with an intricately beaded bodice and an Art Deco-inspired statement headpiece. For the K-pop contingent, EJAE—who has already won an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for writing “Golden”—stood out in a shimmering silver column gown from Swarovski, finished with traditional Korean ornamental hairpins called binyeo, per Vogue.

    ### 4. *Heated Rivalry* Breakout Stars Brought Their On-Screen Rivalry to the Red Carpet
    Over the past 12 months, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, the two lead stars of the smash-hit gay hockey romance series *Heated Rivalry*—based on Rachel Reid’s best-selling novels—have taken the entertainment and fashion worlds by storm, and they brought their magnetic chemistry to this year’s Met Gala. Fans have long been split into Team Rozanov and Team Hollander, after their respective characters Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, and the pair did not disappoint on the red carpet.

    Storrie, who plays the charismatic, outgoing Ilya Rozanov, arrived first in a sleek black Saint Laurent suit, pairing it with a sleeveless black shirt dotted with white that extended into a long train trailing down his back—revealed only after he removed his suit jacket. Williams, who portrays the more reserved Shane Hollander, opted for the bolder look of the two: a pale blue Balenciaga suit with a cropped jacket that left his chest bare, paired with a sheer black train that evoked the dramatic flair of a couture matador costume.

    ### 5. Guests Dived Into Whimsy To Fully Embrace The “Fashion is Art” Theme
    While many celebrities opted for more understated, traditional formal wear for the night, several attendees fully leaned into the 2026 theme “Fashion is Art,” creating wearable, living works of art that brought famous paintings and sculptures to life on the red carpet.
    *Game of Thrones* star Gwendoline Christie turned heads in a dramatic off-the-shoulder red gown from British designer Giles Deacon, paired with a colorful feathered hat and holding a custom face mask, designed to evoke the mood and composition of a classic John Singer Sargent portrait. Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka made her Met Gala debut in a head-turning Robert Wun look: she started the night in an oversized white coat accented with red feathers, which she removed to reveal a form-fitting red gown covered in thousands of shimmering red Swarovski crystals. Broadway star Ben Platt paid homage to theatrical art history, wearing a pale green and sky blue suit printed to replicate Georges Seurat’s iconic pointillist painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”—the direct inspiration for Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical *Sunday in the Park with George*. Model and celebrity Halloween costume icon Heidi Klum channeled fine art sculpture, wearing a draped white gown that was crafted and styled to look like a polished marble statue come to life.

  • ‘It’s an elite matter’: UAE confirms it’s in talks for swap line loan with US

    ‘It’s an elite matter’: UAE confirms it’s in talks for swap line loan with US

    On a Monday marked by renewed regional volatility following fresh Iranian air strikes against the United Arab Emirates, senior Emirati officials made the first public confirmation that the country is negotiating a currency swap agreement with the United States, framing the arrangement as a marker of membership in an exclusive cohort of US allies rather than a financial lifeline.

    Speaking at the “Make It In The Emirates” manufacturing conference hosted in Abu Dhabi, UAE Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed al-Zeyoudi clarified the context of the ongoing discussions. “We have this discussion and conversation with many, it’s part of an elite group that the US is having this swap policy with. They are only having it with five countries,” Zeyoudi told attendees. He emphasized that the agreement would not act as a bailout, noting instead that it reflects the deep integration of trade and investment ties between the two nations that have created a practical need for the swap arrangement.

    Zeyoudi’s remarks mark the first on-the-record confirmation of the talks from an Emirati government official, after months of conflicting public statements from both sides of the negotiation. The confirmation comes against a backdrop of heightened military tension across the Persian Gulf: a fragile ceasefire collapsed into uncertainty Monday after Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones targeting the UAE, an attack widely viewed as retaliation for a planned US naval transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing US-Israel military operations against Iran-linked forces.

    Weeks prior, UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba pushed back against early speculation that the country was seeking external financial support. In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Otaiba noted the UAE holds roughly $2 trillion in sovereign wealth investments and $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves, stating that “Any suggestion that the UAE requires external financial backing misreads the facts.” He did not, however, explicitly deny that negotiations were underway.

    Former US President Donald Trump first confirmed the existence of talks last month, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later noted that multiple Gulf states and Asian economies had requested access to US currency swap lines. Zeyoudi’s framing of the potential agreement aligns with Otaiba’s earlier pushback, designed to quell rumors that the UAE’s financial position has weakened amid regional conflict.

    Currency swap lines are traditionally a tool to provide central banks with access to US dollar liquidity during periods of economic distress. Historically, Washington has extended these short-term loan arrangements to two distinct groups: lower and middle-income economies facing financial instability, such as Mexico and Argentina, and large developed economies whose stability is seen as critical to global economic health, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. Even with regional disruptions that have cut the UAE’s oil exports by more than half compared to pre-conflict levels – the country continues to ship crude through the port of Fujairah, which bypasses the blockaded Strait of Hormuz – experts note the wealthy Gulf state does not fit neatly into either existing category.

    Brad Setser, a former US Treasury economist now based at the Council on Foreign Relations, described the UAE’s request as slightly unusual given the substantial reserves held by its central bank and the scale of its sovereign wealth funds.

    Beyond economic considerations, the ongoing negotiations are unfolding alongside major shifts in the UAE’s geopolitical alignment. The country has publicly and privately lobbied Washington to adopt a far more aggressive stance against Iran, a position that puts it at odds with neighboring Saudi Arabia, which has backed Pakistani-led mediation efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. The talks also follow the UAE’s high-profile decision to withdraw from the Saudi-led OPEC oil cartel, a move that some analysts have linked directly to the negotiations with the US.

    Ellen Wald, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of *Saudi Inc: The Rise and Fall of the World’s Richest Company*, laid out the broader geopolitical hypothesis in a recent LinkedIn post. “It is possible that this break could also be [the] result of some sort of ‘deal’ between [the] UAE and Israel [and the] US, wherein they helped defend the UAE from Iran in exchange for delivering a major blow to Opec, which Trump has long sought,” Wald wrote. She added that she would not be surprised to see a formal defense agreement between the UAE and US announced in the near future.

  • Sherlock Holmes fans recreate fateful duel at Swiss falls

    Sherlock Holmes fans recreate fateful duel at Swiss falls

    Perched beside the thundering 120-meter cascade of Switzerland’s Reichenbach Falls, dozens of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts gathered on Sunday to bring one of crime fiction’s most iconic scenes to life, marking 135 years since Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the detective’s fateful duel with his arch-nemesis Professor James Moriarty.

    Nearly 60 members of the 75-year-old Sherlock Holmes Society of London made the themed pilgrimage through Swiss sites tied to the beloved stories, ending their three-day journey in the Bernese Oberland town of Meiringen before boarding a funicular to the falls itself. Every attendee embraced the occasion, arriving in detailed Victorian-era costumes portraying a wide array of characters from Doyle’s canon—from Holmes’ sharp-tongued landlady Mrs Hudson and the King of Bohemia to the missing rugby player and figures from less frequently adapted tales.

    Taking on the role of the criminal mastermind Moriarty was British lawyer Peter Horrocks, clad in a black tailored suit and formal top hat. Standing amid the roar and mist of the rushing falls, he shared how the setting and costume deepened the experience for the assembled fans. “It does transform you, just wearing the clothes, and hunching a bit,” he said. “This is so atmospheric, it absolutely brings Sherlockians closer to the story.”

    Playing the intrepid detective himself was British motoring author Philip Porter, who held the character’s signature pipe in one hand and magnifying glass in the other. He traced the enduring global appeal of Conan Doyle’s work, which continues to draw new generations of fans more than a century after it was first published. “The stories have unique appeal—full of Victorian atmosphere, the triumph of good over evil, and some wonderful characters to draw in devotees,” Porter explained. “We have very little in common in real life, but we are brought together by the Sherlock Holmes canon.”

    The reenactment followed every beat of the iconic showdown: after a tense grapple on the narrow ledge above the falls, Holmes and Moriarty fell into the pose captured by Sidney Paget’s famous 1893 original illustration before seemingly tumbling into the churning pool below. Then, as written, Dr. Watson rushed to the spot, his desperate cries of “Holmes!” echoing off the rocky cliffs, where he found the farewell letter Holmes had left behind, confirming his friend’s apparent death.

    For many attendees, the immersive tribute stirred genuine emotion. Helene Vrot, who traveled from near Paris and dressed in a replica 1895 gown with the era’s famously voluminous huge sleeves, called the moment deeply moving. “When Watson found the note, frankly I had tears in my eyes. It’s an opportunity to make memories with people who have the same kind of mind,” she said.

    Jean-Marie Zubia, who portayed Laura Lyons from *The Hound of the Baskervilles* and traveled from Washington state in the U.S., described the event as a “total immersion” into the Victorian world Doyle brought to life. “It’s amazing to be surrounded by all the other Sherlockians here, because they get to talk non-stop about what I’m so passionate about… the minutiae that goes into every single story,” she said.

    Even unexpected visitors stumbled into the one-of-a-kind gathering. A passing trail runner did a shocked double-take when he emerged from the hiking trail to find a crowd of costumed 19th-century characters, while a young first-time visitor from China, Kitty, found herself accidentally at the center of the celebration. The 24-year-old robotics student at the University of Manchester, who made a solo pilgrimage to the falls to mark the anniversary and wore a classic Holmes deerstalker, could not hide her excitement. “Wow! It’s very lucky of me to meet Mr Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson and Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran!” she said. “This is my dream place. It’s beautiful — just like Watson wrote in his diary.”

    This year’s gathering also marked another milestone: the 75th anniversary of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, which counts more than 1,000 members across the globe. Trip coordinator Markus Geisser, who dressed as the German spy Von Bork for the event, told reporters that nearly half of attendees on the pilgrimage were first-timers, proving that the tradition of immersive Holmes fandom has not faded. “Travelling to Switzerland in a Victorian costume is still something that people actually like to do,” he said, adding that the community of fans offers far more than just reenactments: “it’s a chance to meet likeminded people… in my case, I met my wife.”

    Conan Doyle originally killed off Holmes at Reichenbach Falls in his 1893 short story *The Adventure of the Final Problem*, wanting to focus his writing on other works. But widespread public outcry from heartbroken fans forced the author to resurrect the detective a decade later, and the character’s popularity has remained undimmed to this day.

  • Trouble in paradise: Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence

    Trouble in paradise: Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence

    Nestled along Colombia’s Caribbean coast, where snow-capped Andean peaks drop abruptly into vivid turquoise waters, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and adjacent Tayrona National Park stand as the crown jewels of the country’s booming tourism sector. Drawing millions of travelers annually drawn to untouched jungle hiking trails, powdery white-sand shores, and the ancient Lost City— a pre-Columbian archaeological site older than Peru’s iconic Machu Picchu— the region has become a cornerstone of Colombia’s global rebranding as a top travel destination. But behind the postcard-perfect scenery lies a dangerous undercurrent: armed non-state groups control large swathes of the area, extorting local businesses, terrorizing Indigenous communities, and fueling environmental destruction that threatens both people and the region’s ecological heritage.

    The 2016 historic peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ended 52 years of civil conflict and opened the door to a tourism boom that has lifted local economies across the country. For the Sierra Nevada region, that deal left a power vacuum that was quickly filled by the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN), a faction of former paramilitaries founded by a commander later extradited to the U.S. Today, the group— whose members are commonly nicknamed “Conquistadores” by locals— controls key cocaine trafficking corridors running through the park, runs illegal gold mining operations, and generates massive revenue through systematic extortion.

    Local businesses from hotels to tour bus operators are forced to hand over a cut of their earnings to the ACSN, and Indigenous communities that have lived on the land for millennia are not spared. Indigenous artisans sell handwoven hammocks and textiles to thousands of passing tourists, but a share of every sale goes to the armed group. For the Kogui people, who consider the Sierra Nevada “the heart of the world,” the constant intimidation has created a climate of fear. “We are afraid and anxious about the future,” Atanasio Moscote, the Kogui governor, told AFP during an interview deep within the park.

    The conflict has already spilled over into the region’s most famous tourist attraction. In February, the Colombian government shut down Tayrona National Park— a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to Colombia’s best-preserved dry tropical forest and one of its most biodiverse coral reef systems— for more than two weeks after ACSN fighters issued threats against park rangers. Authorities say the group pressured the Indigenous Wayuu people, who reside within the park’s boundaries, to resist government crackdowns on illegal logging, another lucrative criminal activity damaging the region’s fragile ecosystems.

    Park rangers who patrol the protected area risk their lives daily to conserve the region’s unique natural heritage. “Our presence in every corner, in every area, is vital to conserve, maintain and monitor the resources we have,” explained 31-year-old ranger Yeiner Hernandez during a patrol accompanied by AFP reporters.

    Ten years after FARC completed its disarmament, the ACSN remains the dominant armed force in the Santa Marta region, but new violence has erupted in recent months. Colombia’s largest criminal drug cartel, the Gulf Clan, has moved in to seize control of trafficking routes and illegal operations, sparking deadly clashes between the two groups that have trapped Indigenous communities in the crossfire. Many of these communities maintain their traditional way of life, speaking their native languages and relying on subsistence farming rather than integration into Colombian mainstream society, leaving them particularly vulnerable to violence. “Indigenous people who don’t speak Spanish, and who live off their crops and their traditional knowledge, are being caught in the middle,” said Luis Salcedo, governor of the Arhuaco people, another Indigenous group based in the Sierra Nevada.

    The persistence of armed control and extortion in the region has become a major political flashpoint ahead of Colombia’s upcoming presidential election, with the first round of voting scheduled to begin May 31. Current left-wing President Gustavo Petro, the country’s first modern leftist head of state, made the “Total Peace” initiative his signature policy, aiming to negotiate disarmament for all of the country’s armed groups. Four years after the campaign launched, the ACSN still holds unchallenged power over the Sierra Nevada, and the initiative has failed to curb the group’s activities, according to researcher Norma Vera. Extortion has become a central campaign issue, with official Defense Ministry data showing more than 46,000 extortion complaints have been filed nationwide since 2022.

    For local tourism leaders, the ongoing violence and criminal activity pose a critical threat to Colombia’s still-nascent tourism sector, which has only recently recovered from decades of conflict-driven negative global attention. Omar Garcia, president of the hotel association for Santa Marta, the main gateway city to the Sierra Nevada parks, warned that persistent security risks will deter travelers from visiting. “Any news affecting the image (of a destination) and visitor safety makes tourists think twice,” he said.