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With traditional fairs and shopping and travel booms over this year’s extended holiday, China is about to ring in the Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake, the first since its inclusion into the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. For Chinese across the world, the Spring Festival is a time for family reunions, festive traditions, holiday shopping and diverse cultural and tourism activities. This year, it falls on Jan. 29 with hundreds of millions of people traveling to reunite with families in the world’s largest annual human migration. Celebrations today highlight both traditional and modern elements, from temple fairs,…

The Confucius Institute at the University of Liberia, known by the acronym “CIUL”, on Saturday, January 25, 2025, celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is widely referred to as the “Spring Festival”. The year 2025 is the Year of the Snake.“Today we celebrate the coming of the Chinese New Year, and also to strengthen the values of friendship and cultural exchange that unite China with the rest of the world”, Co-director at the CIUL Zhou Hongzhuan said. The spring festival is a Chinese social practice that celebrates the traditional New Year, which this year falls on January 29th.According to…

South Sudan has directed telecom companies to block access to social media for a maximum of three months, citing concerns over the dissemination of graphic content relating to the ongoing violence against South Sudanese in neighboring Sudan. As the country’s communications industry regulator, the National Communication Authority (NCA) ordered all internet service providers and telecom operators to block access to all social media accounts, effective from Wednesday midnight. “This is culminating from the recent upheaval in Sudan that has exposed the South Sudanese population to unprecedented levels of extreme violence through social media posts,” NCA Director General Napoleon Adok Gai…

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted a celebration at its headquarters on Thursday to mark the upcoming Chinese Year of the Snake, which begins on Jan. 29, Lunar New Year’s Day. The event showcased traditional Chinese cultural elements, including martial arts performances, music played on guzheng — a traditional Chinese stringed instrument — and festival traditions such as red envelopes containing cash gifts and Spring Festival couplets inscribed with auspicious words. Addressing the gathering, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu emphasized the increasing global recognition of the Chinese Lunar New Year. He highlighted the UN General Assembly decision to…

Fear of deportation has led to a sharp drop in farm worker attendance across California’s agricultural heartland, leaving crops unharvested following U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, local news outlets have reported. In Bakersfield, located in Kern County, California, residents reported sightings of U.S. Border Patrol agents in unmarked Chevrolet Suburbans allegedly targeting field workers. Sara Fuentes, a manager at a local gas station, told the California non-profit news site CalMatters that plainclothes agents detained individuals outside her store and only stopped those who “looked like they worked in the fields.” Fuentes added that a typical morning rush of farm…

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said he is willing to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue guiding bilateral relations towards a new height in the new year. Speaking with Putin in a video meeting, Xi called for coping with uncertainties of the external environment with the stability and resilience of China-Russia relations, jointly promoting the development and revitalization of the two countries, and upholding international fairness and justice. The two heads of state exchanged festive greetings for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. Xi recalled the three meetings he had with Putin last year, which led to…

China and Africa have enjoyed remarkable achievements in their diplomatic and economic relations amid deepening collaboration in international and regional affairs, Chinese and African Union (AU) officials have said. They made the remarks Monday at the new compound of the Mission of China to the AU in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where a gala is held to celebrate the start of Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. The Spring Festival falls on Jan. 29 this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Hu Changchun, head of the Chinese Mission to the…

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, and her Moroccan counterpart, H.E. Nasser Bourita, signed a series of bilateral agreements on Friday, January 17, 2025, marking a new chapter in the growing partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Liberia.The signing ceremony, which also featured the issuance of a Joint Communiqué, underscored the shared commitment of both nations to fostering mutual development and cooperation. According to a Foreign Ministry Dispatched from Morocco, during the event, Foreign Minister Nyanti expressed heartfelt gratitude for the pivotal role played by His Majesty King…

On January 18, 2025, the Confucius Institute at the University of Liberia aired a special Spring Festival program on the “Chinese in the Air” section of Liberia Broadcasting System. This program is an important part of the series of activities organized by the Confucius Institute to celebrate the Year of the Snake.The program was co-hosted by Teacher Huang Yu, along with local teachers Samuel K. Deyekeh and Boakai Karllon Wilson. Using vivid, engaging, and humorous language, they provided a thorough yet accessible explanation of the cultural significance of the Spring Festival to the Liberian audience. The program began with the…

With almost a year at the helm of the Liberian maritime authority, Commissioner Cllr. Neto Zarzar Lighe and his team of deputies are gradually transforming the nation’s blue economy through astute and innovative leadership. From the Pacific Ocean over to the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, the sailing vessels that carry the Liberian flag are visible, thus placing Liberia to be the world’s largest maritime country in 2025.This couldn’t have happened in the absence of creating a viable maritime program that promotes and sustains economic growth and reduces unemployment.It would interest you to know that the…