Giant panda star plays with new toy

China

Giant panda star plays with new toy

2025-04-19 21:28 Last Updated At：21:37

A newly released video records giant panda star Fu Bao playing with new toys at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

The video, taken on April 11 at the Shenshuping giant panda base of Wolong National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, captures Fu Bao exploring different ways of playing a plastic ball, which was provided by the center to increase her physical activities during spring and enrich her life.

Fu Bao is the first giant panda born in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Born in July 2020, Fu Bao, meaning "lucky treasure" in English, is the first cub of giant pandas Ai Bao and Le Bao, who were sent to South Korea from China in 2016 on a 15-year lease.

She quickly became an online sensation among netizens after her birth, becoming a source of joy for people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fu Bao won the hearts of people in South Korea thanks to her lovely appearance and unique charm. Around 5.5 million people visited the Panda World in Yongin park to see the panda family after Fu Bao made her public debut in January 2021.

She returned to China in early April 2024, and met the public on June 12 the same year.

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is a world-leading institution for the breeding and conservation of one of China's national treasures. The center has established a global platform for promoting international cooperation and exchanges involving 18 zoos from 16 countries and regions, as well as 39 domestic animal breeding institutions and more than 10 scientific research institutes.

IMF warns EU economy could "near recession" if Mideast conflict persists

The European Union economy could edge close to a recession if the energy supply shock triggered by the Middle East conflict continues, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official warned on Friday.

Alfred Kammer, director of the IMF's European department, said that under the current tense situation involving Iran, euro area growth is projected to be dragged down by 0.5 percentage point over the next two years. In a more severe scenario, the drag could reach 1.7 percentage points, he added.

Kammer also cautioned that industrial energy prices in the EU are now about twice the level seen before 2022 and significantly higher than in the United States, a direct consequence of the bloc's heavy dependence on imported oil and gas.

Data released by Eurostat on Thursday showed that euro area inflation rose to 2.6 percent year on year in March, up sharply from 1.9 percent in February. Energy prices increased 4.9 percent annually, marking their first annual gain since February 2025.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF projected that due to the energy supply shock from the Middle East conflict, euro area inflation will reach 2.6 percent this year, up from 2.1 percent in 2025, while growth will slow to just 1.3 percent. In a more severe scenario, inflation could spike to nearly 5 percent, prompting the European Central Bank to raise interest rates and pushing the EU economy toward recession-like conditions, the report said.