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Residents mourn 12 children killed in rocket strike in Golan Heights

China

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      China

      China

      Residents mourn 12 children killed in rocket strike in Golan Heights

      2024-07-29 22:08 Last Updated At:22:37

      Residents in Majdal Shams, a Druze town located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, are deeply devastated after a rocket strike killed 12 youngsters on a football pitch, with Israeli officials calling for retaliation against Hezbollah, the Lebanese group blamed for the attack.

      The rocket strike on Saturday hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams during a football training session, tragically claiming the lives of 12 children and teenagers, all under the age of 16.

      The death toll could potentially increase as more young people are admitted to hospitals with life-threatening injuries. The loss of life is always deeply devastating, especially within a tight-knit community where everyone is closely connected, intensifying the tragedy.

      "It's hard, it's painful for all of us, because like me, I used to come here a lot, almost every day. And here in our community, if you lose one, we all lose one. We are so close together, and yesterday we lost 12. That's a heavy hit for us," said Adham Abu Salah, a resident in Majdal Shams.

      Despite international appeals to prevent further regional escalation, Israel's security cabinet gathered Sunday night to deliberate on retaliation measures against Hezbollah following the rocket strike.

      According to a statement issued following the meeting, the cabinet ministers had granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the authority "to decide on the manner of the response against Hezbollah, and on its timing."

      "This infamy happened yesterday against this village. The state of Israel, and the Israeli army, will find a way, according to our decision-making process to respond," said Olivier Rafowicz, a spokesman of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

      Hezbollah, which Israel holds responsible for the rocket attack, has been engaged in conflicts with Israeli forces along the Israel-Lebanon border since October last year. The group has denied involvement in the rocket strike.

      Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

      Residents mourn 12 children killed in rocket strike in Golan Heights

      Residents mourn 12 children killed in rocket strike in Golan Heights

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      Festive consumption heats up in China as Spring Festival approaches

      2025-01-21 20:59 Last Updated At:21:47

      As the Spring Festival holiday approaches, rural fairs and popular markets in China are seeing a surge in activity as vendors prepare to meet the increased demand for goods and services during the eight-day celebration.

      The Spring Festival, which marks the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the biggest annual holiday in China, when people across the country return to their hometowns for Lunar New Year celebrations and family reunions. This year, it falls on Jan 29, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

      In Zaozhuang City of east China's Shandong Province, the rural market is already filled with a strong festive atmosphere. People are busy buying couplets and other goods for the Spring Festival, with stalls displaying a dazzling array of products and vendors' shouts filling the air.

      The market, which has a history of over 100 years and is held on the forth and ninth days in China's lunar months, has attracted residents from nearby to join in the lively celebrations.

      In Luoyuan County of Fuzhou City in east China's Fujian Province, the locally produced yellow croakers are in high demand. Fisherman said 20 million yellow croakers have been freshly harvested and are now available for purchase.

      "The fish were put into the lake in spring of 2023 and have now grown to an average weight of about 8 liang (about 0.4 kilograms) each," said Huang Jianfeng, a local fish farmer.

      Meanwhile, gold sales continued to boom despite the soaring price, about 634 yuan (over 86 U.S. dollars) per gram as of Monday, as many Chinese consumers buy gold products before the Spring Festival for good luck, or for investment.

      Staff at a gold store in Shenzhen of south China's Guangdong Province said that this year is a lot busier than before.

      "There has been a great increase in the number of customers and sales this year. At the beginning of last year, we could still cope with the guests. But we feel that we are obviously too busy this year," said Cai Yihan, staff member of a gold store in Shuibei, Shenzhen's renowned gold and jewelry district.

      The demand for fresh flowers has also reached its annual high in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

      In its provincial capital Kunming's Dounan Flower Market, which accounts for 70 percent of China's national fresh-cut flower trade, its sales peak is expected to last for about three weeks.

      This year, new varieties like tulips are gaining popularity and are likely to become the most sold in China, according to the Van den Berg Roses Planting Base in Kunming, a rose grower brand from the Netherlands.

      In addition, due to reduced exports from the Netherlands, the main source of tulip imports, China's domestic tulip prices have risen by one fourth compared to last year.

      The increased market demand has led to a significant boost in income for local flower farmers.

      "The strong market demand has led to a 5 percent increase in income for local farmers compared to previous years," said Guo Xinggang, production manager of the Van den Berg Roses Planting Base.

      Festive consumption heats up in China as Spring Festival approaches

      Festive consumption heats up in China as Spring Festival approaches

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