UNITED STATES
Pandas returned to China
All three giant pandas in the Washington zoo began a one-way trip back to China on Wednesday, leaving only a few of the cuddly creatures in the US amid tense diplomatic relations with Beijing. Now in their mid-20s, pandas Mei Xiang (美香) and Tian Tian (添添) arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo in 2000 and quickly became a main attraction. The duo and their three-year-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji (小奇蹟) — “Little Miracle” in English — boarded a special cargo plane to begin the 19-hour journey to Chengdu, China, on Wednesday, the zoo said. Early in the morning, the pandas were carried out of the zoo in ventilated crates, along with boxes of apples and piles of tasty bamboo shoots. While the pandas’ departure had been expected due to a longstanding contract agreement, the iconic animals’ return was widely seen as a symbol of US-Chinese tensions. A first pair of black-and-white fur balls arrived from China in 1972 as a gift, following then-US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the communist nation. Recognizing the species’ uncanny ability to attract fans — and a source of income for its conservation program — China continued to loan pandas to Washington and zoos worldwide in a program since dubbed “panda diplomacy.”
SOUTH KOREA
Metro workers launch strike
More than 10,000 unionized metro workers yesterday launched a two-day strike in protest against the subway operator’s push for job cuts to stem snowballing debt, causing disruptions for some commuters in Seoul. The strike came hours after negotiations between Seoul Metro and its two major unions fell apart due to differences over the operator’s plan to scale back its workforce by about 13 percent — or more than 2,200 positions — by 2026. Seoul’s metro operators have grappled for years with debt, partly from free rides for senior citizens, as Asia’s fourth-largest economy faces a rapidly aging population and surging welfare costs. There was no major impact during the morning rush hour as the strike began at 9am and a smaller union dropped out at the last minute. Yet city authorities warned of some delays in the evening and pledged to mobilize emergency trains, buses and substitute workers. Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik expressed regret over the strike and said he would strive for a compromise while responding to any illegal acts. Lee called for efforts to curb the metro operator’s debt, which topped 1.7 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) last year.
SOUTH KOREA
Robot kills worker
An industrial robot crushed a worker to death at a vegetable packaging plant, police said yesterday, as they investigate whether the machine was unsafe or had potential defects. The man died of head and chest injuries on Tuesday after he was grabbed and pressed against a conveyor belt by the machine’s robotic arms, police officials in the southern county of Goseong said. Police did not release his name, but said the man was an employee of a company that installs industrial robots and was sent to the plant to examine whether the machine was working properly. The machine was one of two pick-and-place robots used at the facility that packages bell peppers and other vegetables exported to other Asian countries, police said. Such machines are common in the nation’s agricultural communities. “It wasn’t an advanced, artificial intelligence-powered robot, but a machine that simply picks up boxes and puts them on pallets,” Gosong Police Station officer Kang Jin-gi said.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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