Missing Trekker's Body Found After Avalanche Near Annapurna
The body of a Chinese trekker who was caught in an avalanche on March 24 while descending from the Annapurna Base Camp was finally found on Saturday, according to tourisminfonepal. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old Yuan (complete name unknown) had perished in the slide.
After the avalanche, local searchers and Nepal Police looked for the missing man without success. On March 29, a special rescue team intensified efforts to locate the man.
Finally, on April 5, searchers discovered his body near the Modi River, located within the Annapurna Rural Municipality-11 near Chumrung.
Yuan was still carrying his backpack. His family had already arrived in Nepal to claim the body after the post mortems.
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2 hours ago
What to know about Fusarium graminearum, the biological pathogen allegedly smuggled into the US
The biological pathogen federal authorities accuse two Chinese nationals of smuggling into the U.S. can be concerning for farming communities but was not likely an act of "agroterrorism," according to plant pathology experts. Two citizens of the People's Republic of China -- Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34 -- were arrested for allegedly bringing a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, a plant pathogen, into the U.S. through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China and apparently intended to bring it to a laboratory at the University of Michigan, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Michigan. Jian's electronics also contained information describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, the indictment alleges. Liu, Jian's boyfriend, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen, according to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors claim that "scientific literature classifies [the pathogen] as a potential agroterrorism weapon," emphasizing that it is the "of the gravest national security concern." But the pathogen, while a concern for the agricultural industry, is not necessarily among the most significant threats the industry faces, plant pathology experts told ABC News. Breakouts of Fusarium graminearum infections already naturally occur in dozens of U.S. states -- basically any state that produces wheat and barley -- and has been established in the U.S. for at least 125 years, Caitlyn Allen, a professor emeritus of plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told ABC News. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture keeps a list of potential agroterrorism agents, and Fusarium graminearum is not on that list, Allen said. "We're not talking about something that just got imported from China," Allen said. "People should not be freaking out." Fusarium graminearum is not at the top of the list of concerning pathogens, Gary Bergstrom, a professor emeritus of plant pathology, told ABC News. "Compared to some other things, I don't think the risk is as high," he said. "It's not zero, but it certainly wouldn't be as much concern as the accidental or otherwise introduction of some serious diseases that we don't have now." In order to be considered an agroterrorism threat, prosecutors would have to determine that the Fusarium graminearum samples are more aggressive than local strains, perhaps have different mycotoxin production abilities or more resistance to some of the tools used in the U.S., Bergstrom said. From a research perspective, scientists are "well-versed" in Fusarium graminearum, Paul Esker, a professor of plant pathology and epidemiology at Penn State University, told ABC News. "It's one of the ones that would be at the lower end of the spectrum for risk," Esker said. "We have the tools to manage it." Mitigating the threat of the toxic fungus The biggest group of plant pathogens are fungi, and Fusarium graminearum is in the same general group as yeast, used to make beer or bread, Allen said. The spores of the fungus can infect wheat and barley heads and get into the seeds, where it can multiply. Agricultural industries have already been meeting to prepare for the threat of Fusarium graminearum, as it usually occurs for wheat and barley at this time of year and for corn later in the year, said Esker, who just attended one such meeting on Tuesday. This time of year is when the winter small-grain crops, such as wheat and barley, would be impacted, Esker said. Later in the year, the concern of Fusarium graminearum moves to corn, Esker said. The sample confiscated by authorities was likely headed to the lab at the University of Michigan that studies how plants resist disease, Allen said, adding that the USDA spends "quite a bit of money every year" on wheat and barley research. "One of the most useful ways of solving disease problems on our crops is to breed crops that are resistant to the disease," she said, adding that it eliminates the need for fungicides. "Humans have been doing this for as long as we've been growing plants." What is head blight? Although the plant pathogen experts hypothesize that the motive for bringing the sample into the U.S. was not likely nefarious, they caution that the impacts from the fungus can still present a major threat to U.S. crops. "Fusarium head blight is already a major threat or a major problem for farmers who are growing wheat and barley in the United States now," Allen said. "It's one of the most important diseases of these crops in terms of current, existing losses." The noxious fungus causes "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, prosecutors said. The toxins can cause vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects in humans and livestock, prosectors said. The economic loss is felt by farmers who can't sell their commodity, Bergstrom said. In the 1990s, a series of epidemics in the upper Midwest caused a billion-dollar loss over a number of years, he said. The disease is of worldwide importance as well, with documented cases occurring in North and South America, Europe and China, Bergstrom said. Since then, monitoring programs have been put in place to mitigate the impacts of Fusarium graminearum on crops, Esker said. The fungus can produce a poison called a mycotoxin or a fungus toxin -- sometimes referred to as the "vomit toxin" because of the negative impacts it can have on the digestive symptoms of humans and animals, Bergstrom said. "Plants get sick just like people, and this particular disease that we're talking about, Fusarium, head blight, is a big problem on wheat and barley and some other grains all around the world," Allen said. The USDA maintains a wide set of rules to regulate pathogens, the experts said. In order to be granted an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service permit from the USDA to bring a foreign strain into the country, researchers must provide background information on the strain, explain the thought process on whether they might represent a threat to local agriculture and human health, and lay out the plan for containing the pathogen, Bergstrom said. Even strains from other states within the U.S. must undergo the same process, Bergstrom said. Strains from outside the U.S. undergo more scrutiny, including inspection of the researchers' laboratories, Esker said. "That is a very sound policy, good science," Bergstrom said. It is unclear whether Jian and Liu had such permits. A case of 'bad judgment?' Plants pathogens most commonly have been moved around by accident by humans, Allen said. The occurrence of Fusarium graminearum is strongly impacted by weather conditions -- especially excess moisture, the experts said. "If the weather is really dry, I don't expect to see the disease," Esker said. Allen believes the incident is not so much smuggling but a case of "bad judgment" by passionate researchers. "I'm a biologist, right? But I'm also a biologist who has trained dozens of young scientists over my career," she said. The Justice Department press release does not detail when the alleged smuggling took place. Jian and Liu were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud, U.S. attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced on Tuesday.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
How China Silences Critics From Afar
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. United Kingdom-based human rights group Article 19 has released a report on the Chinese government's relentless campaigns to silence dissenting voices beyond China's borders. The report, based on existing research and on recent interviews with 29 members of diaspora communities, details "the myriad tactics and actors involved in China's ongoing transnational repression of protesters around the world." Why It Matters Hong Kongers, Tibetans and others who have fled China out of fear of political persecution have reported being targeted by a sophisticated network said to include Beijing's United Front Work Department, embassy personnel and online influencers. Outspoken opponents of China's human rights record, in particular, have been in the crosshairs, amid Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to stamp out or delegitimize international protest movements, observers say. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with emailed requests for comment. An attendee holds an electric candle on Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 4, 2025, during a vigil marking the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. An attendee holds an electric candle on Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 4, 2025, during a vigil marking the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. Annabelle Chih/Associated Press What To Know Transnational repression can take the form of digital threats, abduction, forced repatriation and even assassination Article 19 said in its report, released on June 4, the anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. While such tactics are also employed by governments like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Beijing is "by far the most prolific perpetrator," the group said, citing Freedom House estimates that millions of Chinese nationals have been targeted in at least 36 countries. "From public acts of physical violence to online intimidation, the targeting of family members—especially against high-profile protest leaders—has a knock-on effect on human rights movements," the report said. In some cases, authorities have gone after the families of prominent dissidents deemed problematic. A recent example of this cited by rights groups centers on Anna Kwok, a U.S.-based activist wanted by the Hong Kong government. In late April, her father and brother were arrested on suspicion of violating the city's National Security Law—a sweeping measure imposed by Beijing following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. "The Chinese government has increased its appalling use of collective punishment against family members of peaceful activists from Hong Kong," Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in May. What People Are Saying Michael Caster, head of Article 19's Global China Programme, said in the press release for the report: "The CCP employs its tactics to intimidate people from participating in protests, weakening global support and solidarity for human rights in China and around the world. Transnational repression silences dissent and chills freedom of expression." Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the U.S., told the Washington Post in April: "China firmly opposes the politicization, instrumentalization, or weaponization of human rights issues, as well as foreign interference under the pretext of human rights." Article 19's Recommendations With China expected to continue seeking to silence overseas dissidents, Article 19 urged governments to build up their response capacity for suspected cases of transnational repression and improve public awareness. The group also urged tech companies—some accused of complying with Chinese censorship demands—to be more transparent about these communications and to improve digital security and technical support for those targeted.
4 hours ago
China issues warrants for alleged Taiwanese hackers and bans a business for pro-independence links
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- China issued warrants Thursday for 20 Taiwanese people it said carried out hacking missions in the Chinese mainland on behalf of the island's ruling party, while separately banning dealings with a Taiwanese company whose owners mainland authorities called 'hardcore Taiwan independence supporters.' Police in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou said they were led by a man named Ning Enwei on behalf of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party but did not identify their alleged crimes. Meanwhile, China's government said all commercial contact had been banned with the Sicuens International Company Ltd., which it says are led by businessman Puma Shen and his father, calling the two men independence supports. Websites mentioning Sicuens say it specializes in sourcing bicycle parts from China. Shen is also the head of the Kuma Academy, an organization that encourages Taiwanese people to prepare for possible invasion. China considers Taiwan its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the China's Cabinet, said Sicuens 'engages in trade and business cooperation with certain mainland enterprises in pursuit of economic benefits.' 'The mainland side will never allow enterprises related to die-hard 'Taiwan independence' supporters to seek profits in the mainland,' Zhu was quoted as saying. China last year announced punishments on Shen and the Kuma Academy, saying Shen had been 'actively and systematically organizing activities promoting Taiwan independence.' The Academy's website says it 'aims to prepare a prewar mentality for civilians, our mission is to cultivate self-defense capability and will to defend Taiwan. We provide knowledge and skills to help people sustain themselves and recognize enemy disinformation operations in both peace and wartime situations.'
