1st Cross-Strait Youth Roller Hockey Carnival kicks off in Guangdong

The first Cross-Strait Youth Roller Hockey Carnival kicked off in Guangdong City, south China's Guangdong Province on Monday, with the participation of 31 teams from Guangzhou city, the Hong Kong Special Administrative region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan region.

The carnival runs from Aug. 12 to Aug. 17, according to the official schedule. Activities such as competitions, visits and exchanges will be arranged during these six days.

The opening ceremony of the roller hockey carnival featured youth figure-skating performances, lion dance and martial arts with the theme "one family on both sides of the Taiwan Strait".

"I hope my team will win the first place and I become the top scorer," said Yang Geng-you, a teenage athlete from the Roller Hockey Committee of Tainan City Sports Federation.

"I come from Taiwan, the 'treasure island' of our country. I have brought teams to the mainland many times. Both players and their parents enjoy the travel and feel that our compatriots are very welcoming, as we are all from the same country," said Chen Po-han, Yang's coach.

As a fast-paced and exciting sport, roller hockey focuses on developing teamwork, psychological resilience and social skills. Competitions such as this tournament attract athletes and coaches from both sides of the Taiwan Strait for further exchanges and learning.

"We hope to lead the cross-Strait exchanges in more areas than just roller skating. We may also have the opportunity to bring our team to Taiwan to compete, and hope that people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will collaborate in more areas," said Guo Jianliang, coach of the Miracle Roller Hockey Team in Guangzhou.

As more cross-Strait youth exchanges and cooperation take place, Guangzhou has turned to a preferred destination for Taiwan compatriots to study, work and corporate, leading the communication and integration in the Greater Bay Area.

1st Cross-Strait Youth Roller Hockey Carnival kicks off in Guangdong

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points