Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 116

The list of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities is out. All but one are in Asia

All but one of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities last year were in Asia, a new study shows. The majority of these cities – 13 – are in the world’s most populous country, India, where booming economic growth is fired largely by coal and where hundreds of millions live in traffic-clogged and congested megacities. Another four are in neighboring Pakistan, with one in China and Kazakhstan

Why Argentina’s military is deploying to surveil hundreds of Chinese fishing boats off its coast

The P-3 propellor plane banks sharply, silhouetted against dozens of shimmering lights in the sea against an Argentine sunset. As the camera pans across the scene, it becomes clear: the glaring lights come from dozens of fishing vessels dotting the ocean below.  The footage, shared by the Argentine military in late February, shows the overwhelming scale of a flotilla near a marine boundary

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in custody on ICC warrant for crimes against humanity, government says

Former President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody on Tuesday after the Philippine government said it received an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest for alleged crimes against humanity. During his time in office, Duterte presided over a sweeping and brutal anti-drugs crackdown that killed more than 6,000 people, according to police data, though independent monitors

Why Argentina’s military is deploying to surveil hundreds of Chinese fishing boats off its coast

The P-3 propellor plane banks sharply, silhouetted against dozens of shimmering lights in the sea against an Argentine sunset. As the camera pans across the scene, it becomes clear: the glaring lights come from dozens of fishing vessels dotting the ocean below. The footage, shared by the Argentine military in late February, shows the overwhelming scale of a flotilla near a marine boundary which

Iran, China and Russia launch annual joint naval drills as Trump upends Western alliances

Warships from Iran, China and Russia kicked off their annual joint exercises in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, showing off their military ties as US President Donald Trump upends longstanding Western alliances. The “Security Belt-2025” drills, taking place near the Iranian port of Chabahar, is the fifth joint naval exercise Iran, China and Russia have held since 2019, according to Chinese state

Chinese journalists return to North Korea after 5 years: South Korean ministry

Journalists from China’s state-run media outlets, CCTV and the People’s Daily, have returned to North Korea five years after their withdrawal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said South Korea’s unification ministry. North Korea has selectively opened its doors to foreign media, allowing a limited number of outlets to establish bureaus in its capital, Pyongyang. Chinese, Russian, Japanese and a few

Migrant deported in chains: 'No-one will go to US illegally now'

Gurpreet Singh was handcuffed, his legs shackled and a chain tied around his waist. He was led on to the tarmac in Texas by US Border Patrol, towards a waiting C-17 military transport aircraft.It was 3 February and, after a months-long journey, he realised his dream of living in America was over. He was being deported back to India. "It felt like the ground was slipping away from underneath my

China has a message for Trump: the US won’t stop its rise

As US President Donald Trump ratcheted up economic pressure on China over the past week, Beijing sent back its own message: Its rise won’t be interrupted. A major political meeting taking place in the capital was the ideal backdrop for Beijing to respond. The “two sessions” gathering of China’s rubber-stamp legislature and its top political advisory body is where the government reveals its plans

Meet China’s ‘Six Little Dragons’: The Hangzhou-based firms have upended China’s tech scene

Move over Alibaba and Tencent, China has a new set of tech champions. Often referred to as the “six little dragons,” they’re DeepSeek, the Black Myth developer Game Science, robotics firms Unitree and DeepRobotics, Neuralink challenger BrainCo, and spatial intelligence firm ManyCore. And while they may still pale in size relative to their more established peers, they’ve breathed new life into

Two Sessions: Labor Rights, Child Safety, AI Scams Among Key Debates

AI-generated deepfakes, labor rights, public healthcare, and child protection have emerged as some of the most debated topics at this year’s Two Sessions, the annual meetings of China’s top legislative and political advisory bodies, which began this week.Proposals on these issues have sparked widespread debate on social media, with related hashtags drawing hundreds of millions of views on