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.