Song Ping, a veteran Chinese revolutionary who lived through five generations of Communist Party leaders, has died at the age of 108. He died at 3.36pm in Beijing on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua reported. Song’s career began in the 1930s before the founding of the People’s Republic including a spell as political secretary to the future premier Zhou Enlai. Song held many important positions during the following decades and his career peaked when he became a member of the Politburo Stand...

Various desserts provided during Ramadan in Tunis, Tunisia  Xinhua

Xinhua has published a book detailing China's governance under the leadership of Xi Jinping.

22-year-old Gen Zer Eileen Gu is being applauded online for her confident and no-nonsense response to a journalist's question. Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images Olympic skier Eileen Gu shut down a question on whether winning two silver medals was "two golds lost." Gu, representing China, responded confidently, emphasizing her historic achievements. Gu's response aligns with Gen Z's candid narratives at this Winter Olympics. Five-time Olympic medalist Eileen Gu just shut down a reporter's question asking if she'd "lost" two gold medals by finishing second in her events. The 22-year-old Olympic freeskier, who was born in the US and is representing China in the 2026 Winter Olympics, was responding to a reporter who asked whether Gu felt disappointed not to win gold in Milan. "Do you see these as two silvers gained or two golds lost?" the journalist asked a press conference following her second silver at these games. During her Winter Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022, Gu won two golds. Gu immediately laughed off his question and, without hesitation, said: "I am the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that is an answer in and of itself." "How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete." "Doing it five times is exponentially harder, because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else's expectations rise, right? And so the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think it's kind of a ridiculous perspective to take," she added. Zing! The clip quickly garnered significant attention online. You got to give lots of credit to Eileen Gu for responding brilliantly back to the reporter with great confidence. She looked him in the eye said that was a "ridiculous perspective" without any hesitation or fear. 😁 pic.twitter.com/fPz5uQIosT — Alvin Foo (@alvinfoo) February 18, 2026 Alvin Foo, venture partner at Chain Valley Capital, reposted the clip on his X feed, writing, "You got to give lots of credit to Eileen Gu for responding brilliantly back to the reporter with great confidence." "She looked him in the eye said that was a "ridiculous perspective" without any hesitation or fear," he added. Foo's post has received over 700,000 views. Other posts praising Gu for being confident and poised gained thousands of views. Gu's messaging and self-advocacy follow the trend of what Business Insider's Amanda Yen recently dubbed "The most Gen Z Olympics yet." It's been an Olympics full of public statements and oversharing, Yen wrote. This has included a Norwegian biathlete who confessed to cheating on his ex in a slopeside interview, and American figure skater Amber Glenn addressing discrimination against the queer community under President Donald Trump. Read the original article on Business Insider

China urges citizens in Iran to evacuate, Xinhua reports  Reuters

Various desserts provided during Ramadan in Tunis, Tunisia Xinhua

China logged an overall increase in travel during the just-concluded Chinese New Year break compared with last year’s holiday period, but analysts said spending per capita stayed flat. The country saw 596 million domestic trips over the extended public holiday that ended on Monday, a year-on-year increase of 95 million, Xinhua reported. About 17.8 million cross-border trips were logged over the same period, it added. Chinese New Year is a crucial period for the travel sector as hundreds of...

A packed bus on its way to Nepal’s capital drove off a mountain highway in Nepal early Monday, killing 17 people and leaving another 24 wounded. One Chinese national remains missing and another is being treated at a local hospital, the Chinese embassy in Nepal confirmed according to Xinhua. There were dozens of people on board the bus, which was heading from the resort city of Pokhara to Kathmandu when it drove off the Prithvi highway after midnight, police said. The bus rolled down a mountai...

Twelve people were killed in an explosion at a firework shop in Hubei in central China on Wednesday, just days after eight people died in a similar incident in a nearby province. The accident happened just before 2.30pm on the second day of Lunar New Year in Zhengji in Xiangyang city, state news agency Xinhua reported. The report added that the subsequent fire spread across the premises and was put out within an hour. An investigation into the cause is now under way. The explosion followed...

Efforts to stabilise employment, enterprises and markets, as well as building a robust domestic market, were also discussed, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China’s top legislature has removed nine military officials from its list of representatives ahead of Beijing’s biggest annual political meeting next week, according to state news agency Xinhua. The National People’s Congress (NPC) updated its list of representatives from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Armed Police delegation on Thursday, reducing the total to 243. Among the representatives removed were five full generals, one lieutenant general and three major generals. The...

Communist Party cadres have been put on notice over governance and performance appraisals as the ruling body counts down to leadership changes across the country and the start of the next five-year plan. In a campaign that will continue until July, officials from the county level up have been told to correct any deviations from the “correct” line in their own duties and in assessments of those under their watch. In an article on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua suggested that breaches of t...

China has joined Russia in congratulating North Korea on the conclave of its ruling party, hailing economic achievements under the leadership of Kim Jong-un and pledging to work with Pyongyang to promote regional peace. According to Xinhua, the Central Committee of China’s Communist Party sent a congratulatory letter on Thursday, asserting that the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea had in recent years helped develop the North Korean economy and improve the lives of its people. China’s state news...