Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 17

China-Mongolia-Russia Agreement on Power of Siberia 2 Could Reroute Energy Trade

China recently hosted the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, gathering heads-of-state and high-level representatives. Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa participated in the summit, representing Mongolia as an observer state — a status that no longer exists as the SCO reformatted how it labels partners after the recent summit. On the sidelines of the SCO, China,

Seoul holds emergency meeting after citizens detained in US Hyundai raid

South Korea's government has held an emergency meeting and vowed to swiftly respond to the arrests of hundreds of its citizens in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in the US. Seoul has dispatched diplomats to the site in Georgia, while LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, said it was suspending most business trips to the US.US officials detained 475 people -

How the US exerts controls over foreign chipmakers in China

Despite years of engagement in a global chip war, China remains a vital operation base for several Asian-grown champions. But even from afar, Washington still holds key levers of power. The latest example: The US government’s revoking of authorization for Taiwanese and South Korean chip titans to freely send vital American technology-powered equipment to plants in China.The change, which

Who is Japan’s ‘dragonfly’ prince, who could be the last emperor of the world’s oldest monarchy?

Japan’s Prince Hisahito is the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years. Many people in Japan worry he could be the last. The elaborate palace rituals to formally recognize Hisahito as an adult on Saturday are a reminder of the bleak outlook for the world’s oldest monarchy. Much of this comes down to its male-only succession policy and dwindling numbers.Hisahito is second in line to

India's iconic Parsi magazine to shut after 60 years

In an old, neo-gothic building in Fort, an upmarket area in India's financial capital Mumbai, is a run-down office that produces one of country's oldest and most prominent Parsi magazines - Parsiana. The magazine was started in 1964 by Pestonji Warden, a Parsi doctor who also dabbled in the sandalwood trade, to chronicle the community in the city.Since then, the magazine has grown in

China’s Summer of Climate Whiplash Brings Heat, Floods, and Drought

China has just endured its hottest summer on record, marked by deadly swings between extremes, from floods that killed 44 in Beijing to blistering temperatures across the northeast.China’s National Climate Center said average temperatures from June to August reached 22.31 degrees Celsius, the highest since records began in 1961. The heat drove millions to riverbanks, shopping malls and even

Wartime Woodcuts: The Art That Helped China Fight Japan

When the carving knife hit pinewood and art collided with the chaos of war, a new weapon emerged in China. Woodcut printing — a traditional handicraft once used for images that captured the sanctity of Buddhist scriptures and expressed the elegance of literature — assumed a new mission during WWII. It became a potent battle cry to rouse the people and ignite the flames of resistance.The Chinese

Trump signs executive order rebranding Pentagon as the Department of War

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War,” telling reporters in the Oval Office it was a more “appropriate” name given the state of the world. “I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now. We have the strongest military in the world,” Trump said, before signing the order.The

Xi Jinping asks the world to choose ‘war or peace.’ Which direction is China headed?

The optics could not have been more stark as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived at a massive military parade in Beijing flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – with some two dozen other leaders including from Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and Myanmar trailing behind.Jumbotrons at Tiananmen Square beamed the image to the 50,000 people gathered under the beating

Can India retaliate against Trump's 50% tariffs?

US President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on India came into effect on 27 August. So far, rather than retaliating, India has put forth a carefully orchestrated geopolitical response to signal its displeasure to the US. There's been the much publicised attempt at a rapprochement with China, and striking images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing a limousine ride with Russian President