Global Briefs: Kazakhstan reintroducing wild tigers

Kazakhstan

The government is moving forward with an ambitious project to introduce Siberian tigers to replace Caspian tigers, original to the region but now extinct. Two captive tigers were brought from the Netherlands last year. Their offspring will join a group of tigers from Russia in the wild. But tigers need prey, and their prey needs forest. Last year, the government planted 37,000 trees on a 2.4 mile stretch of Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia. “Already, wild ungulates have been seen foraging on the restored sites, indicating that the ecosystem is beginning to function,” said a spokesperson from WWF, a project supporter. Kazakhstan is developing a program to minimize human-wildlife conflict before the arrival of three to four tigers from Russia in the next two months. —Evangeline Schmitt

France

The Senate will take up debate on a proposed assisted dying and euthanasia law passed by the National Assembly after days of fierce debate and consideration of over 2,000 amendments. Critics call the law the most extreme since the euthanasia laws of 1930s Nazi Germany, citing lack of conscience protections and guardrails to safeguard vulnerable persons, and the rapidity with which a person requesting euthanasia can obtain the lethal drugs. Persons suffering from severe mental illness or with developmental disabilities, as well as the terminally ill, would be eligible to either receive a fatal prescription to use to kill themselves or request a doctor deliver a fatal dose. President Emmanuel Macron has made passing a “death with dignity” law a primary goal of his second term. —Jenny Lind Schmitt

Democratic Republic of Congo

Authorities said 200 people were killed March 3 when a shaft collapsed in Rubaya, the largest coltan mine in rebel-controlled eastern DRC. Coltan is the source of tantalum, a rare metal used in the manufacture of smartphones and aircraft engines. Two hundred people also died in a massive landslide at the same site in January after heavy rains. Thousands of miners work in precarious conditions in Rubaya’s pits, using shovels to dig. Rubaya has experienced decades of violence from government forces and different armed groups. The huge site accounts for about 15% of global coltan production and has been controlled by the M23 rebel group since April 2024. —Olalekan Raji

Qatar

The country halted its natural gas production, as the effects of war in Iran spread throughout the region. QatarEnergy, the gas-rich country’s national energy company, announced March 4 it will fully shut down gas cooling, or liquefaction, at its Ras Laffan industrial facility. The company also declared the contract exemption of force majeure on its exports, disrupting global market supply. Qatar is the world’s third-largest gas exporter, after the United States and Australia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. QatarEnergy first halted production at Ras Laffan on March 2, following Iran’s strikes against Gulf countries in retaliation for attacks from Israel and the United States. The company said the disruption will continue for two weeks at least, with another two weeks needed to return to full capacity. —William Fleeson

Chile

For the first time in the nation’s history, transition meetings for the presidential handover came to a halt after President-elect José Antonio Kast cited lack of information given by outgoing President Gabriel Boric over the still-developing trans-Pacific cable project between China and Chile. The dispute became international after the U.S. sanctioned three senior Chilean officials involved in the project. The Chile-China Express cable would link Chile’s Valparaíso region with Hong Kong through nearly 13,000 miles of submarine fiber-optic cables. Undersea cables transmit over 95% of international internet traffic. Kast launched an investigation into the outgoing administration due to misinformation surrounding the project. His inauguration is set for March 11. —Elisa Palumbo

China

The country’s newest combo hydroelectric/pumped hydro dam opened on the Yalong River on March 3. The government relocated nearly 5,000 Tibetan people to build the Lianghekou Dam, which is as tall as the Eiffel Tower and reported to be the world’s largest pumped hydro energy storage site. During the rainy season, excess energy will pump water uphill for long-term storage, while a nearby photovoltaic solar field the size of 2,000 football fields will provide consistent distribution and energy ­security during the dry season. Renewable energy has increased the country’s electrical capacity, but hasn’t reduced its dependence on coal-powered electricity: Installations of coal-powered plants reached an 18-year high in 2025. —Amy Lewis