Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 139

Seoul confirms casualties among North Korean troops in Russia

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, or NIS, said on Monday it had “specific intelligence” that North Korean forces in Russia had suffered casualties but it did not comment on a media report that 500 North Koreans had been killed in a Ukrainian attack with British missiles.The U.S. and South Korea have said that North Korean troops had been fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. The

Kinesiska fartyget punktmarkeras – storpolitiskt spel pågår

Hela helgen har det kinesiska fartyget Yi Peng 3 punktmarkerats av fartyg från myndigheter i Danmark, Tyskland och Sverige. Samtidigt pågår diplomatiska förhandlingar i kulisserna, uppger källor i Sverige och Danmark. Diskussionerna kretsar kring att kunna gå ombord och utreda kabelbrotten.Dygnet runt skuggas det kinesiska fartyget Yi Peng 3 – som ligger för ankar på internationellt vatten mitt i

Chinese hackers preparing for conflict, US cyber official says

Chinese hackers are positioning themselves in U.S. critical infrastructure IT networks for a potential clash with the United States, a top American cybersecurity official said on Friday. Morgan Adamski, executive director of U.S. Cyber Command, said Chinese-linked cyber operations are aimed at gaining an advantage in case of a major conflict with the U.S.Officials have warned that China-linked

China's local governments step up public safety measures after attacks

Local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said on Sunday. In the eastern city of Wuxi, where a 21-year-old student's stabbing spree left eight people dead and 17 injured on Nov. 16, local officials convened on Friday to discuss measures to

National security officials meet with US telecom execs to share intel on Chinese cyber-espionage campaign, White House says

Top telecom executives met with US national security officials at the White House on Friday as concerns mount over a long-running Chinese cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted some of the most senior US political figures in the country. The hackers burrowed deep into some major US telecom providers to spy on phone calls and text messages and have proved difficult to kick out of some networks

US ahead in AI innovation, easily surpassing China in Stanford’s new ranking

The U.S. leads the world in developing artificial intelligence technology, surpassing China in research and other important measures of AI innovation, according to a newly released Stanford University index. There’s no surefire way to rank global AI leadership but Stanford researchers have made an attempt by measuring the “vibrancy” of the AI industry across various dimensions, from how much

Tariff hikes will backfire, and China can manage such ‘external shocks,’ a senior official s

Higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire, just increasing prices paid by consumers, while China can manage to weather the impact of such “external shocks,” a senior Commerce Ministry official said Friday in Beijing. Responding to a reporter’s question about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said that

China is armed and ready for trade war 2.0 with Donald Trump

In the summer of 2018, when former President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Beijing, the Chinese economy was riding high. There was even talk it could soon overtake the United States as the world’s largest. Now, with Trump months away from retaking office, what had appeared to be a juggernaut has been greatly diminished. Contending with property, debt and deflation challenges, China

What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?

 It now appears to be a question of “when, not if” Chinese security personnel will arrive in Myanmar, with Beijing looking to secure its strategic interests in the war-torn country and those of its ally, the military junta that has lost large chunks of the country since the 2021 coup. The Irrawaddy online news outlet reported that the junta formed a 13-member working committee on October 22

Cambodian trafficking victim describes forced marriage, abuse in China

Sok Suosdey had always worked hard to help support her family in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, on the border with Thailand, but no matter what she did, they remained poor. In 2016, things became even more dire when her family was saddled with repayment of a loan to a local bank.So when a neighbor approached her that year with the opportunity to make a higher salary in China, Sok Suosdey -