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British Artist Sets Guinness Record for Largest Canvas

Artist Sacha Jafri standing on his gigantic painting
Artist Sacha Jafri standing on his gigantic painting
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British Artist Sets Guinness Record for Largest Canvas

Artist Sacha Jafri standing on his gigantic painting
Artist Sacha Jafri standing on his gigantic painting

British painter Sacha Jafri has officially set a Guinness World Record for "The Largest Art Canvas" in the world. Measuring over 17,000 square feet, the record-breaking painting is titled "The Journey of Humanity."

According to information shared on February 15, the painting is one of the world's largest social, artistic, and philanthropic initiatives. It is part of the charitable initiative "Humanity Inspired" launched by Sacha Jafri in partnership with Dubai Cares, part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and supported by the UAE Ministries of Tolerance and Coexistence, and Education.

"Humanity Inspired" aimed at raising $30 million to support underprivileged children and youth worst-hit by the virus outbreak in the poorest regions around the globe. The British artist created his massive canvas inside the ballroom of Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, within seven months from March to September 2020, while the world was in total lockdown to curb the Covid-19 outbreak. Spending almost 20 hours a day, Sacha used 1,065 paintbrushes and 6,300 liters of paint to complete the extraordinary painting.

Jafri reached over 2.5 billion people around the world through his canvas described as the modern-day Sistine Chapel ceiling, the historic work signed by Michelangelo.

"It was an honor to receive the Guinness World Record title for my project. This is just the beginning for the "Humanity Inspired". The painting and the initiative are much more than just creative work; it is my initiative for true societal change through the hearts, minds, and souls of the children around the world — a springboard for a better future for all Humanity," Jafri said.

"If one person can spend 20 hours a day with only four hours of sleep for seven months to create a painting of over 17,000 square feet, imagine what 7.5 billion people could do together if we stopped discrimination, judgment, and agenda. Our goal is One World, One Soul, One Planet," the artist added.

"Creating the Largest Art Canvas is an impressive achievement by Jafri. We are confident that the humanitarian cause behind it will inspire many around the world. We congratulate him and those involved in this extraordinary work," said Shaddy Gaad, senior marketing manager (MENA) at Guinness World Records.

The monumental painting was later broken down into numbered, signed, cataloged, and framed canvases. A total of 70 individually framed pieces of the artwork will be sold in four auctions in 2021. The raised funds will be donated for charitable initiatives in education, digital connectivity, healthcare, and other fields.

Artist Sasha Jafri inspired his initiative "Humanity Inspired" from his vision to strengthen ties between people in order to achieve a more aware and compassionate post-Covid19 world, and from his commitment to support the future of education, and to provide financial resources and support for health care issues and infrastructure projects in the poorest regions around the world.

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Emergency Room for Injured Wild Birds Opens at Warsaw Zoo in Poland

A male bullfinch is treated at the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo after crashing against the window of an apartment building, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)
A male bullfinch is treated at the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo after crashing against the window of an apartment building, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)
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Emergency Room for Injured Wild Birds Opens at Warsaw Zoo in Poland

A male bullfinch is treated at the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo after crashing against the window of an apartment building, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)
A male bullfinch is treated at the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo after crashing against the window of an apartment building, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

When a male bullfinch smashed into Marcin Jarzębski’s apartment window, he took it in but realized it needed expert treatment. So the next morning he brought it to Warsaw’s new emergency room for wild birds.

He placed the tiny, plump bird with a black head, gray back and reddish chest feathers into a shoebox and took it as one of the first patients to the new drop-off center for sick and injured birds at the entrance of the Warsaw Zoo.

“The bird stayed with us overnight, but unfortunately it probably has a broken wing so we brought it to the bird hospital,” The Associated Press quoted Jarzebski as saying.

The 24/7 emergency room in the Polish capital is actually a system of automated metal containers – something like a parcel room – where the containers can keep the birds warm in winter. The boxes send an immediate signal to the bird hospital just a few meters away, where veterinarians bring the birds for diagnosing and treatment.

Jarzebski filled out a questionnaire and carefully placed the shoebox and the paper form into one of the containers, assured that the bullfinch would now have its best chance of surviving.

The box system, designed based on ideas of the workers at the bird hospital, locks the birds in to keep them safe until a doctor can collect them. The drop-off center, opened in February, is boosting the efficiency of a bird hospital that has operated at the Warsaw Zoo since 1998 and now treats about 9,000 patients annually.

It’s the brainchild of the zoo director, ornithologist Andrzej Kruszewicz, who said that people have a responsibility to care for creatures whose habitat they have altered, such as that of the bullfinch.

“This bird is a child of the forest who, during migration, didn’t understand the window,” Kruszewicz said.

“Humans often cause problems: car accidents, crashes into windows, electrocutions, tangled strings on storks’ legs,” he said. “All this is humans’ fault and they should feel responsible to give these birds a second chance.”

 

Treated storks are seen in an external cage outside the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

 

Typical patients at the Warsaw Zoo include common songbirds like tits, sparrows, thrushes and starlings, as well as pigeons. However, in a green city like Warsaw, which has the river Vistula running through it, rarer species also can appear.

Hospital manager Andżelika Gackowska says that warm winters caused by climate change have meant birds that were previously migrating south, including cranes or herons, are choosing to stay in Poland.

“Birds who stopped migrating because of warm winters were caught off guard by such a harsh winter as this year,” Gackowska said. Some birds developed anemia during the cold months because of tough conditions and insufficient nutrition, making them more vulnerable to disease.

The emergency room was financed in part with money from Warsaw’s citizen budget, a program that chooses projects based on their popularity in online surveys of city residents.

Warsaw Zoo workers say residents have become more conscious about providing help if they see a sick bird, although they also warn against overzealousness, saying that people shouldn't pick up young and healthy birds that they might believe are orphans.

“In spring, we always make an information campaign warning people not to ‘kidnap’ birds,” Gackowska said. “Birds take care of their small ones differently than humans. If we see a baby bird on the grass alone, it is likely just training how to fly independently.”

In the bird hospital, veterinarian assistants are constantly on their feet, feeding and giving medicine to the various birds, located across multiple rooms depending on species and degree of illness.

Once birds are stronger, they are placed in large cages outside, to readjust to their natural environment before being released.

Releasing the cured birds back into their habitat is the ultimate goal, veterinarian Ewelina Chudziak said.

“We are fighting for freedom,” she said.

Varieties

Nepal's 'Icefall Doctors' Fix Everest Route for Spring Season

A tourist looks at a view of Mt. Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar
A tourist looks at a view of Mt. Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar
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Nepal's 'Icefall Doctors' Fix Everest Route for Spring Season

A tourist looks at a view of Mt. Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar
A tourist looks at a view of Mt. Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

Highly skilled mountaineers known in Nepal as "icefall doctors" have begun fixing ropes and ladders on Mount Everest to prepare for the coming spring climbing season, officials said Wednesday.

The team has reached the base camp before starting work on the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, a constantly shifting maze of crevasses and ice blocks that forms the gateway to the world's highest peak.

"Our team of eight have reached the base camp and begun their work," Lama Kazi Sherpa, chair of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, which oversees route-setting, told AFP.

As tradition dictates, the group began with a sacred ceremony at base camp to seek divine blessings before stepping onto the mountain.

This year, authorities increased the permit fee for the spring season from $11,000 to $15,000 for climbers aiming to scale the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) summit.

Authorities also tightened rules to reduce pollution, requiring each climber to bring back at least two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of waste to Camp 2 and enforcing the use of "poo bags".

Camp 2 is a broad glacial valley above the Khumbu Icefall where climbers often spend several days to acclimatize for higher altitudes.

Expedition operators in Kathmandu are also gearing up for the season, although they anticipate some impact from the travel chaos caused by the Middle East war.

"Flight disruption may affect some of the climbers but we don't expect a big impact," said Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association.

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and attracts hundreds of climbers each spring, when temperatures are warmer and winds calmer.

A climbing boom has made mountaineering a lucrative business since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first ascent in 1953.

Around 700 people reached Everest's summit last year, according to Nepal's tourism department, with another 100 climbers believed to have reached the peak from the northern Tibet side.

Varieties

Chinese University Tells Students to 'Fall in Love' During Spring Break

FILE PHOTO: A couple react during their wedding photoshoot near the Forbidden City, as the city is hit by sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A couple react during their wedding photoshoot near the Forbidden City, as the city is hit by sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
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Chinese University Tells Students to 'Fall in Love' During Spring Break

FILE PHOTO: A couple react during their wedding photoshoot near the Forbidden City, as the city is hit by sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A couple react during their wedding photoshoot near the Forbidden City, as the city is hit by sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

A Chinese university is urging students to "enjoy the flowers, fall in love" during their mid-term break, an unusual directive in a nation obsessed with getting good grades, as authorities seek new ways to spur marriages and domestic consumption.

"See the flowers and enjoy romance" is the theme for the spring holidays from April 1 to 6, the Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Aviation said on its official Wechat account.

Tuesday's notice exhorting teachers and students to put down the books came about two weeks after China said it would introduce spring and autumn holidays for schools, ⁠in addition to the ⁠traditional times of summer and winter.

Authorities have said they will also encourage staggered paid leave to enable workers to travel in off-peak seasons.

Provinces such as Sichuan and eastern Jiangsu, along with cities like Suzhou and Nanjing, have unveiled plans for spring breaks, most set for April or ⁠early May.

China seeks to boost domestic consumption by encouraging travel and leisure activities among its population of 1.4 billion. Authorities also hope more free time will set the stage for births to reverse a worrisome trajectory of decline.

In 2025, the population fell for a fourth consecutive year, as the birth rate dropped to a record low, with experts warning of further decline.

Beijing also issued a guideline on Tuesday to promote child-friendly development, the powerful state planner, the National Development and Reform ⁠Commission (NDRC), said ⁠in a notice.

According to Reuters, it called for coordinated efforts to bring about "child-friendly cities", by improving public services in areas from education and health to travel, sports and recreation.

Society needs to have enough time and money to raise children, said James Liang, the co-founder of Chinese travel company Trip, who called for more such initiatives.

"Greater efforts are needed to educate young people on the social and personal benefits of raising larger families," added Liang, who is also a prominent demographic expert.

The government could establish a broader support framework by reallocating resources and boosting financial assistance, he said.