Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 105

'I need help': Freed from Myanmar's scam centres, thousands are now stranded

"I swear to God I need help," said the man quietly on the other end of the line.The Ethiopian, who calls himself Mike, said he is being held with 450 others in a building inside Myanmar, along the country's border with Thailand. They are among the thousands of people who have been freed from the notorious scam compounds that have thrived on the border for years, in what appears to be the toughest

EXPLAINED: Why is China so worried about food security?

China has unveiled its rural “revitalization” plan for 2025, listing “ensuring the supply of grain” and overall food security as its top priority. “China’s grain supply, overall, does not surpass demand; instead, it remains in a state of borderline sufficiency,” Han Wenxiu, director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group under the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee.

China receives 40 ‘Chinese illegal immigrants’ from Thailand

Thailand repatriated 40 Chinese “illegal immigrants” on Thursday after human rights activists and a Thai media outlet reported that Thailand was deporting Uyghurs, who had been detained in Thailand for more than a decade. The men of the mostly Muslim minority from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China have been held at Thailand’s Immigration Detention Center since 2014, after attempting

China denounces Vietnam’s island building in South China Sea

China on Wednesday voiced opposition to Vietnam’s recent developments in the Spratly archipelago in a rare public protest. Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that the Nansha Qundao are China’s inherent territory, referring to the group of islands and reefs known internationally as the Spratlys. Hanoi has been reclaiming several features within the Spratlys, and is building a 3000-meter

What Trump's Gamble on Putin Could Mean for China

Former U.S. President Richard Nixon famously reconciled with China's Communist leader Mao Zedong in a process that shut out the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War and deepened a Sino-Soviet split. U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine, have brought speculation that President Donald Trump could be orchestrating a "reverse Nixon" that might pull Russia away

As its trust in US ebbs, Europe takes hard look at more defense spending

A consensus is solidifying on both sides of the Atlantic: Europe must stand on its own two feet. For too long, the thinking goes, Europe has relied on the United States to shoulder the costs of its own defense. Washington will “no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship” with its NATO allies, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Feb. 12 at an international defense meeting in Brussels. The

Billion Indians have no spending money - report

India is home to 1.4 billion people but around a billion lack money to spend on any discretionary goods or services, a new report estimates. The country's consuming class, effectively the potential market for start-ups or business owners, is only about as big as Mexico, 130-140 million people, according to the report from Blume Ventures, a venture capital firm. Another 300 million are "emerging"

North Koreans working in China 'exploited like slaves'

Last month, reports emerged that North Koreans working in China had rioted, after finding out they would not be paid, and that their wages had instead been put towards building weapons for Pyongyang. Instances of North Koreans protesting are virtually unheard of, as the state exercises near total control over its citizens, and public dissent can result in execution. The reported riots, though

UN abruptly cancels Uyghur scholar’s speech at Paris language forum

The United Nations on Monday abruptly cancelled a speech by a prominent exiled Uyghur scholar and linguist barely 24 hours before he was to address a Paris conference on language technologies, he told Radio Free Asia. In an email to Norway-based researcher Abduweli Ayup shown to RFA Uyghur, organizers provided no reason for rescinding the invitation to speak at the Language Technologies for All,

China aims to improve ties with EU amid transatlantic tension

China has launched a new round of diplomatic outreach to European countries amid rising tension between the United States and its European allies.While top U.S. officials and European leaders clashed over issues such as values, democracy and Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi held bilateral meetings with several top European officials,