Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 240

North Korea food crisis looms behind displays of military prowess

North Korea is experiencing a critical food crisis, experts say. The country is no stranger to chronic food shortages, but border controls, poor weather and sanctions have worsened the situation in recent years. Top officials are expected to meet at the end of February to discuss a "fundamental change" to agriculture policy, state media has said. This is a "very important and urgent task" amid "

Uyghur asylum-seeker death heaps pressure on Thailand

The death of a 49-year-old Uyghur asylum-seeker in Thailand has prompted pleas from rights groups to find a humane solution to the plight of around 50 Uyghur men who have been detained for nine years. Aziz Abdullah died after he collapsed in the Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok where he was being held. He was part of a wave of more than 350 Uyghur asylum-seekers who fled from Xinjiang in

Taiwan visit by Chinese delegation spurs internal political tensions

A Chinese government delegation has visited Taiwan for the first time since the start of the pandemic, sparking some partisan tension on the island over cross-strait interactions as Beijing reiterated its intentions to annex it.The delegation of six officials, including the deputy head of the Shanghai office of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Li Xiaodong, arrived in Taipei with plans to visit the

As Biden visits Ukraine, China’s top diplomat goes to Russia

As US President Joe Biden touched down in Ukraine to meet with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, China’s top diplomat was traveling in the opposite direction, on his way to Russia. Wang Yi – who was promoted as Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser last month – is due to arrive in Moscow this week for the final stop of his eight-day Europe tour, a trip that brings

Stolen trove of Angkor crown jewels returned to Cambodia after resurfacing in London

Dozens of pieces of Angkorian crown jewellery stolen from Cambodia, many never seen by the public, have been returned after resurfacing in London, the Cambodian culture ministry said on Monday. The trove includes crowns, necklaces, amulets and other treasures from the Angkor period, which ran from the ninth to the 14th century AD, when the Khmer empire was a dominant force in south-east Asia.The

Why Japan has so many ‘never travelers’

A surprisingly large number of Japanese say that travel is no longer a priority for them. A survey done last year by global intelligence company Morning Consult showed that 35% of Japanese respondents said they were unwilling to travel again, the highest number of any country. Tetsu Nakamura, a professor at Tamagawa University and a tourism behavior and psychology specialist, says the results are

U.S. Warnings to China on Arms Aid for Russia’s War Portend Global Rift

When the top foreign policy officials from the United States and China appeared this weekend at Europe’s premier global security conference, both stressed that their governments were not seeking a new Cold War. Yet, new warnings by U.S. officials that China may be preparing to give weapons and ammunition to Russia ‌for its war on Ukraine portend the worst of the old Cold War.In that decades-long

The protesters who've gone missing as China deepens crackdown

As China declares victory over the pandemic, the landmark protests in November which spelled the end for zero-Covid rules have begun fading from memory. But as the country moved on, many of those who took part in the demonstrations went missing, taken by authorities in a quietly deepening crackdown on dissenters. Thousands rallied against restrictive Covid policies in the so-called White Paper

Tense US-China meeting deepens balloon row

As the rift between the US and China over the balloon saga widens, so has the divide within the global community scrutinising their high-stakes dispute. The latest testy exchange took place on Saturday, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met China's top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, in the first high-level meeting since the row began.Mr Blinken said

Ukraine war: Blinken says China may give weapons to Russia

China is considering giving Russia weapons and ammunition for the Ukraine war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Mr Blinken told CBS News that Chinese companies were already providing "non-lethal support" to Russia - and new information suggested Beijing could provide "lethal support". This escalation would mean "serious consequences" for China, he warned.China has denied reports