The giant panda twins "Yuke" and "Yu'ai" at southwest China’s Chongqing Zoo celebrated their fourth birthday on Wednesday, with the zoo hosting a special birthday party that drew large crowds.
The twins, brother Yuke and sister Yu'ai, both have their enclosures decorated with floral arches and ice slides. They each got their own fruit-and-vegetable birthday cake, and had a blast rolling and frolicking in snow and ice. Yu'ai also got a tiger plush toy as a birthday present.
While the pandas enjoyed their party, visitors were thrilled to witness the twins' adorable antics on the joyful occasion.
"It's Yuke and Yu'ai's fourth birthday today. I hope they live happy, healthy lives forever," said visitor Ren Jing.
"I saw some classic Yu'ai moments — eating cake and playing in the snow. She's so incredibly cute. Happy fourth birthday to both of them," said Wang Yan, another visitor.
Panda twins' birthday party draws huge crowds in Chongqing zoo
A record-breaking heatwave has driven Tunisia's electricity demand to new highs, resulting in a series of power cuts that are starting to cause widespread disruption and leaving business owners sweating about the economic impact.
It comes as extreme temperatures grip much of the country, with local media reporting highs of nearly 50 degrees Celsius which are breaking historical records in multiple regions.
The intense summer heat has pushed Tunisia's power grid to its absolute limit. To prevent a total system collapse, authorities have enforced rolling blackouts during the hottest hours of the day.
These targeted outages are causing havoc for households and crippling businesses across multiple regions.
"The state is not doing its job well for the citizens. As you can see, the heat is unbearable, yet they cut the electricity at midday," said Mohamed Mkaouer, a local resident.
The economic fallout is hitting small businesses hard. In local markets, erratic supply surges are damaging commercial appliances and spoiling temperature-sensitive inventory, with many store owners lamenting the loss of produce.
"When the electricity is cut, what are we supposed to do with the food in the fridge -- throw everything away? Shop owners don't have the means to replace what they lose. Food, chocolate and other products spoil. People cannot live like this: electricity comes and goes suddenly, damaging the motors I depend on for my business," said Lazhar Hitana, a shop owner.
Energy analysts warn that the electricity deficit is a structural problem which shows that the grid is not prepared to handle such climate-induced demand surges.
"Nearly 50 percent of the electricity consumed in Tunisia during the summer is used for air conditioning. The country's electricity infrastructure was simply not designed to cope with such high demand," said Hamdi Hached, an environmental engineer.
Tunisia hit by power cuts as energy demand surges during record-breaking heatwave
Tunisia hit by power cuts as energy demand surges during record-breaking heatwave
