A man from Southwest China's Sichuan Province carved a stone statue — initially resembling the character Ultraman, drawing netizens to warn of potential copyright infringement. The man later claimed his work was inspired by Han Dynasty pottery figurines. Local authorities stated that while the carving is not within protected heritage areas, it requires formal approval procedures.
A blogger surnamed Zhou from Anyue county in Sichuan Province recently posted a video introducing his project to hand-carve a 2.8-meter seated statue inside a 3.5-meter-deep grotto he excavated himself in a local cliff face, according to the Paper.
He documented the process with 31 photos shared on a video platform. Zhou identified himself as a beginner, described the statue as simple in structure, and noted that it took two months to complete at a cost of around 3,000 yuan ($420).
Explaining his motivation, Zhou said he chose to create the stone carving because he believed that the traces left by ordinary people often disappear within decades, while stone carvings can endure for hundreds or even thousands of years. "I wanted to leave a lasting mark," he said.
His initial design — a figure bearing a startling resemblance to Ultraman — prompted copyright concerns from netizens, according to the report.
Zhou later made significant modifications to the statue, referencing Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) pottery figurines from Nanchong Museum in Sichuan Province, and clarified that the creation was "inspired by Han Dynasty ceramic sculptures," the Paper reported.
"It can't be sculpted as Ultraman, and this isn't Ultraman," Zhou said.
An official from the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Anyue County confirmed authorities had inspected the site, noting the carving is not within a protected heritage area, according to the report. However, whether such carvings are permitted depends on land use regulations, a matter requiring consultation with relevant departments, the official noted.
Local government official stated "According to regulations, no stone carvings can be made arbitrarily," adding that formal approval procedures must be followed.
Japan has scrapped the planned July 1 meeting in Washington of foreign and defense ministers (known as "2+2") with the US, media reported Sunday, citing an unofficial overture from Washington requesting Tokyo to increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP. According to the Financial Times (FT), the demand sparked anger in Tokyo.
Asahi Shimbun disclosed early on Sunday that the US government has unofficially approached Japan with a specific request to increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, according to sources familiar with the matter. In response to the American overture, Japanese officials adopted a cautious stance regarding the planned July 1 US-Japan 2+2 in Washington, ultimately leading to its cancellation, the news report claimed.
The FT on Saturday claimed that Tokyo scrapped the meeting after the US asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 percent, higher than its earlier request of 3 percent, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The new, higher demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior official at the Pentagon, the FT reported.
The report noted Japan's defense ministry did not comment on whether the talks had been canceled, and said no decision had been made on the timing of the next meeting. The US state department and the Pentagon did not comment.
"If verified, Japan's postponement or cancelation of the US-Japan "2+2" ministerial talks would represent a highly unusual step," Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday. The US' demand that Japan increase defense expenditures constitutes an aggressive intervention into Japan's defense and domestic affairs, which Tokyo finds it unacceptable, Li said.
"While Japan requires American protection to some degree, it equally insists on safeguarding its dignity, interests and sovereign autonomy. Washington's blatant coercion under the guise of 'protection' has seemingly provoked visible dissatisfaction from Tokyo, which marks a new evolution in alliance dynamics," Li said.
The FT cited one senior Japanese official as saying that the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also related to the July 20 Upper House elections where the ruling Liberal Democratic party is expected to lose seats.
Christopher Johnstone, a former senior US government Japan expert was quoted by the FT as saying that "Tokyo appears to have concluded that the political risk of a meeting before the election was higher than the potential gain - a pretty extraordinary assessment, if true."
Historically, Japanese administrations have actively participated in bilateral diplomatic and security dialogues with the US, viewing these institutional mechanisms as platforms to amplify Tokyo's geopolitical influence through Washington's support, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. "But the unprecedented decision to postpone this established '2+2' meeting likely reflects multiple factors," Da said.
With Upper House elections imminent, convening the 2+2 meeting risks exposing Japan to coercive US pressure to accept a 3.5 percent GDP defense spending target. This is demand that would simultaneously constitute a humiliating concession of sovereignty, and prove fiscally untenable given Japan's public opposition to tax hikes for military expansion. This could provide ammunition for opposition parties that are campaigning on reducing consumption taxes, according to Da.
The tension over security issues also comes as the allies are holding tough trade talks after the US imposed "reciprocal" tariffs on Japan in April, the FT reported.
"Despite repeated negotiations, Washington tariff threats continue, a pattern that undermines Japan's dignity as a core ally," Da said.
The friction between Washington and Tokyo comes as the US puts pressure on European and Asian allies to boost defense spending.
Speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore last month, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asia-Pacific allies to follow the "newfound example" of Europeans pledging to spend more and cited the so-called "threats in the region," reported FT.
In his US Senate confirmation hearing in March, Colby's calls for Tokyo to increase defense spending drew a rebuke from Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who said Tokyo would decide its own budget, FT reported.
But Washington's "inconsistent and unrealistic message on its expectations" for allied defense spending levels in Asia risks backfiring, the FT said, quoting Zack Cooper, an Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute.
Amid the current heightened geopolitical tensions and persistent disputes across multiple flashpoints, the US has been exploiting both its allies' security dependence on Washington and their psychological need for greater security assurances in this volatile landscape, Da remarked, adding that all this serves the US's 'America First' agenda.
Five people remain missing after mountain floods triggered by heavy rainfall hit a village in Jingyuan County, Northwest China's Gansu Province, as of 2 am on Monday, CCTV news reported, citing local authorities.
The disaster occurred around 6 pm on Sunday in Xinquan village, following torrential rains that brought over 40 millimeters of precipitation within an hour, according to the CCTV report.
Rescue efforts involving nearly 400 personnel from emergency, firefighting, police, and local government departments are underway, according to the report.
China is experiencing a warm and dry climate pattern in April, characterized by higher-than-average temperatures and below-average precipitation, the China Meteorological Administration said on Monday, noting that national average temperature for this month reached 12.7 C, which is 1.7 degrees higher than the historical average for the same period, marking a second-highest national average temperature recorded for April since 1961.
A total of 93 national meteorological stations across China reported daily maximum temperatures that either reached or surpassed historical records. Linshui county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province recorded a maximum temperature of 36.8 C, setting a new record for the entire spring season, Xiao Chan, a deputy director of the National Climate Center, told a press conference.
As a result, meteorological drought conditions spread rapidly in South China, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and parts of North China since late March. By April 18, the affected areas had reached its largest extent for the period, Xiao said.
Severe to extreme droughts have been reported in parts of southern Guangxi, southern Jiangsu, southern Shaanxi and western Henan provinces, according to the official.
Facing the lowest precipitation level since 1961 and with nearly 98 percent of its region affected by prolonged drought, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has seen 405,000 people impacted, with direct economic losses reaching 210 million yuan ($28.8 million). Local authorities have allocated 17.5 million yuan ($2.4 million) in drought relief to affected communities.
The administration also released the 2024 polar climate change annual report, which, for the first time, includes assessments of sea surface temperatures in the polar oceans. This has provided a more comprehensive, scientific and objective reflection of the current state of polar climate change, Zhou Guobing, an official from the administration said.
Polar temperatures have continued a trend of being slightly above the long-term average. In 2024, the average annual temperature on the Antarctic continent was -31.79 C, which is 0.05 C higher than the 1991-2020 climate average, according to the report.
A rare persistent warm event occurred in Antarctica from July to August, with the monthly average temperature in most regions of the continent in August exceeding the 1991-2020 climate average by 5 C. In the Arctic, temperatures continued to rise, with the average annual temperature in 2024 reaching -6.89 C, 0.65 C higher than that in 1991-2020, the report said.
Data shows that from 1979 to 2024, the warming rate in the Arctic was 0.52 C per decade, nearly 2.9 times above the global average warming rate during the same period, the report noted.
"Since April this year, we have observed that temperatures have remained consistently higher than usual in certain regions, including Shaanxi, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei and Hunan. In these areas, the average temperatures have set new historical records for the same period," Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Monday.
This trend aligns with the broader pattern of global climate change, as the Earth's average temperatures continue to rise, setting new records, Ma said.
"Furthermore, there was an extreme wind event this month, with strong gusts carrying a large amount of sand and dust across multiple mountain ranges, including the Nanling, Wuyishan and Qinling mountains. This dust storm significantly impacted vast areas, including Hainan, Fujian, and even Taiwan, where such sandstorms are rare," Ma said.
A national video conference on public security was held in Beijing on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to combat illegal activities involving firearms and explosives, pornography and gambling, as well as illegal fishing, sand mining, and waterway logistics. The meeting called for strengthened efforts to trace the source, dismantle dens, sever supply chains and disrupt criminal networks, according to China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
The meeting stressed the need to strengthen specialized police forces, improve modern policing mechanisms, and deepen the construction and application of big data systems. It aims to further enhance the rule of law, professionalism, intelligence and social governance in public security, according to a release on the website of the MPS.
The meeting emphasized the need to focus on risk prevention and resolution, and to maintain social stability. It is essential to implement source prevention by advancing grassroots investigations, strengthening professional mediation, and improving coordination mechanisms, while continuously deepening the investigation and resolution of conflicts and disputes, according to the release.
Attention should be made on key elements, and efforts should be made to promote the construction of a comprehensive social security prevention and control system, including coordinating and strengthening patrols and prevention in public areas, enhancing security measures in key locations, and stricter regulation of hazardous materials, in order to continuously narrow the space for criminal activity, said the release.
Proactive crackdowns must be strengthened, with emphasis on early and small-scale interventions, promptly handling leads and potential risks to eliminate hidden dangers. There should also be a deep and thorough approach is required for tackling crimes related to firearms, explosives, and other illegal activities, according to the ministry.
Emergency response mechanisms must be improved by adopting a bottom-line mindset by strengthening emergency forces, enhancing response protocols, and improving emergency capabilities. Targeted and categorized measures should be implemented to safeguard the emergency response front line.
The meeting emphasized the need to keep pace with the times while upholding core principles and fostering innovation. It called for the establishment of a new policing model characterized by “professionalism, refined mechanisms, and big data,” striving to write a new chapter in the modernization of public security work and crime prevention.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Rio de Janeiro on Monday local time, calling on strengthening coordination within the BRICS framework in face of intense competition between unilateralism and multilateralism.
There have been many new changes in the international situation recently. Change is the norm of this era, but what remains unchanged is the mutual trust and support between China and Russia, Wang said, according to a readout on the website of Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin has always been the fundamental guarantee for maintaining high-level operation of China-Russia relations. Both sides should work together to continuously translate the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state into cooperation achievements in various fields, Wang noted.
The current rivalry between unilateralism and multilateralism is intensifying, and the contest between maintaining hegemony and opposing hegemony is unfolding around the world. The unity and cooperation of BRICS countries are demonstrating increasingly significant strategic value, Wang said.
As founding members of BRICS, China and Russia should strengthen coordination and cooperation within the BRICS framework, deepen solidarity and cooperation among the vast number of developing countries and emerging economies, continuously enhance the influence and appeal of the Greater BRICS, inject strong impetus into the development and prosperity of the world, and contribute more BRICS strength to building a more just and equitable global governance system.
"The growth and strengthening of the BRICS organization have been largely driven by the active efforts of China and Russia. Therefore, communication at the level of foreign ministers plays an important role in improving the BRICS mechanism and enhancing cooperation among its members," Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The discussions also touched on issues related to the construction of the BRICS framework and the integration of cooperation, which will help lay a more solid foundation for the organization's future development, Zhang said.
Against the backdrop of US tariff hikes, which pose severe challenges to global order, the bilateral high-level dialogue between China and Russia aims to strengthen coordination in international affairs and enhance communication and mutual support in global and regional governance, Zhang noted.
Sergei Lavrov said that in the face of a rapidly changing world, it is essential for Russia and China to maintain close interactions. Russia is willing to work with China to prepare for the next phase of important exchanges between the two heads of state, support each other in hosting commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of the victories of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields.
Lavrov noted that as major countries with special international responsibilities, Russia and China have joined hands to uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, defend justice and equality, and resist unilateralism and bullying, making positive contributions to upholding multilateralism.
Both sides should jointly support Brazil in fulfilling its responsibilities as the chair of the BRICS mechanism and work for more positive outcomes in BRICS cooperation, Lavrov said.
Lavrov also briefed on the latest situation of the Ukraine crisis, reiterating that Russia is willing to engage in peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions and is committed to addressing the root cause of the crisis. Russia also announced a temporary ceasefire covering the entire front line around the May 9 Victory Day.
Wang Yi elaborated on China's principled position of promoting talks for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a three-day truce starting from midnight May 8, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
The Kremlin said that Putin had ordered a full cessation of hostilities to mark the 80th anniversary of Russia's Victory Day, which falls on May 9, Xinhua said.
During the meeting, the two sides conducted strategic communication on strengthening cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the G20, and exchanged views on issues such as the Iranian nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
If [the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities] allow the US to take whatever it wants, once Taiwan's value is exhausted, the inevitable outcome will be a shift from "pawn" to "discarded piece," Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.
Zhu's remarks were made in response to media inquiries over a recent Brookings Institution poll, which showed a sharp decline in Taiwan public trust and confidence in the US.
The Brookings Institution poll, conducted from February to April, found that the share of respondents in Taiwan who viewed the US positively or very positively decreased by 20.8 percent compared with last year.
When asked whether the US was a "trustworthy" or "very trustworthy" ally, just 23.1 percent of respondents in Taiwan answered that it is. This is down from 33.6 percent last year. Only 37.5 percent of respondents in Taiwan believed in March 2025 that it is "likely" or "very likely" that the US would intervene in a military conflict, down from 44.5 percent in July 2024.
"We need to ask ourselves: why are more and more Taiwan people losing trust in the US?" Zhu said, "The primary reason is that the Taiwan people have seen clearly that the US always prioritizes 'America First,' with Americans solely concerned about 'American interests.'"
In the eyes of the US, Taiwan's true value lies in being a "cash cow," an "ATM," and a tool for containing the Chinese mainland, Zhu added.
According to the spokesperson, the US has been pressuring the Taiwan region to do four things.
"First, forcing Taiwan's core competitive industries, represented by TSMC, to transfer to the US through investments or joint ventures; second, demanding that the DPP authorities increase defense budgets, using more of the Taiwan people's hard-earned money to buy US weapons; third, attempting to militarize Taiwan island, clamoring to turn it into a 'war porcupine,' promoting 'urban warfare' for all, pushing Taiwan's youth to the battlefield, and turning local temples into ammunition depots; fourth, imposing high tariffs on Taiwan, severely impacting related industries."
Is the US truly "protecting Taiwan" or "harming Taiwan"? Are the DPP authorities "safeguarding Taiwan" or "destroying Taiwan"? The facts are clear, and the people of Taiwan are seeing them more clearly than ever, Zhu said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that China-Cambodia relations have withstood the test of global transformations, and always remained rock-solid.
In a written statement upon his arrival, Xi also noted that bilateral ties were forged and nurtured by the elder generation of leaders of the two countries.
Xi arrived for a state visit to Cambodia, the third leg of his three-nation Southeast Asia tour which have already taken him to Vietnam and Malaysia.
On April 21, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun will chair the First Ministerial Meeting of China-Indonesia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue in Beijing. Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defen
China has unveiled a type of innovative barrage weapon system, the first of its kind in the world, with its chief designer introducing in a recent magazine interview that the weapon can effectively counter drone swarms.
The air defense system, named the anti-drone swarm and anti-missile barrage weapon system in full, is unveiled in the April edition of the Modern Weaponry magazine.
Yu Bin, the chief designer of the system, said in an interview with the magazine that the "barrage" the weapon shoots is a wall of projectiles that can cover incoming positions of all targets, achieving effective interception with the concept of "plane to point."
Conventional air defense guns use the concept of "point to point" interception, but when multiple air defense guns fire together, they can raise fire density and probability of interception, Yu said, noting that his new system is developed with a similar concept.
The Modern Weaponry magazine showed a prototype of the barrage weapon. It features 16 tightly designed gun barrels and unique munitions.
Yu said that this close-in air defense barrage system is a world's first, aimed to deal with aerial threats such as drone swarms. It is characterized by its fast reload speed, high fire density, controllable barrage size, outstanding destructive power and capability to accompany troops in maneuvers.
Currently available air defense weapons have shortcomings in countering drone swarms, as they lack sufficient capability to deal with saturation attacks and suffer from low cost-efficiency. However, the new equipment does not have these shortcomings, Yu said.
The barrage weapon system has conducted multiple demonstrations against drone swarms, and the results showed that it can shoot down all small-sized drones with a single barrage, Yu said.
In addition to drone swarms, the barrage weapon can also intercept high speed air-launched munitions such as missiles. It can also counter rockets, mortar shells and howitzer shells, according to Yu. While the primary targets of the barrage weapon are incoming aerial targets such as drone swarms, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles, among others, it is also possible to attack ground or water surface targets when necessary, he said.
The chief designer added that the system is also modularized, making it possible to be installed on trucks, tracked or wheeled armored vehicles, as well as warships.
Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he sees good prospects in the new weapon given its high cost-efficiency and good effectiveness against drone swarms and missiles
The barrage weapon system is not only appealing to domestic users, but it can also be put on the international market, as the battlefields face the increasing threats posed by drones, Fu said.
