China welcomed in the Year of the Rat yesterday with a bonanza of fireworks and festivals, but the celebrations for many were subdued as ferocious cold weather kept them from their families.
Explosions of color could be seen in the skies of Beijing and across China in a centuries-old fireworks tradition that is meant to scare off evil spirits but this year also sought to raise national morale after the horror cold snap.
The start of the new lunar year -- the most important national holiday for China's more than 1.3 billion people -- followed three weeks of ice and snow storms that crippled transport and power supplies in many cities.
PHOTO: EPA
With millions of migrant workers in China's southern and eastern economic hubs stranded by the weather crisis and unable to reunite with their families for the holiday, their plight was in the thoughts of those more fortunate.
"We are all a big family. Come on, let's fight this," a group of celebrities said in a weather rallying cry as part of the annual New Year's Eve extravaganza televised on national broadcaster, CCTV.
State media highlighted the continued travels this week of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) to areas that had suffered the most from the cold weather.
The official Xinhua news agency also ran a long article focusing on the more than 14 million migrant workers in the southern Guangdong Province and Shanghai on the east coast who could not get home to spend the New Year with their families.
"I miss my little daughter very much. She is only one-and-a-half years old," said Wang Xiaoli, a toy factory worker in Guangdong who had been desperate to return to her family over 2,000km to the north.
"When I arrived at the railway station a few days ago, I was astounded to see so many people waiting for trains and I couldn't get through the crowd," she said.
With the worst of the weather over, Xinhua reported on Wednesday that power had been restored to 162 of the 170 worst-hit counties, but that many people were still suffering.
"The world's most populous nation began its weeklong Lunar New Year holiday on Wednesday, but hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of people will probably spend the biggest festival of the year in the cold and dark," Xinhua said.
In Chenzhou, a city of about 4 million in central China's Hunan Province that had suffered blackouts for 12 days, many residents remained without power.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS