Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 262

US and India to boost defense and technology cooperation as China threat grows

The United States and India are taking steps to strengthen their defense partnership, officials said Tuesday, the latest sign of cooperation between the two countries in the face of an increasingly assertive China. The plans emerged following two days of meetings in Washington between government and business officials from the two countries and include greater collaboration on military-related

Chinese province ends ban on unmarried people having children

A Chinese province of more than 80 million people will lift restrictions on unmarried people having children and remove caps on the number of babies as part of a national drive to increase the country’s birth rate. Sichuan’s health commission announced on Monday it would allow all people to register births with the provincial government from 15 February. It will also remove limits on the number

China winds back online study ban after students left scrambling to get to Australia

The Chinese government has wound back its snap ban on recognising online degrees obtained from foreign institutions after tens of thousands of students were left scrambling for flights. The ban, announced on Saturday, required all Chinese students enrolled to study online with overseas providers to be on campus for semester one – due to start in a matter of weeks in Australia. At the time of the

How US Marines are being reshaped for China threat

The US military commitment to the Pacific was underlined in a White House meeting between the leaders of the US and Japan. But behind the scenes, this renewed focus on Asia has sparked a fierce debate within one of its most fabled military forces, writes defence analyst Jonathan Marcus. A bitter family row has erupted in one of the US military's most hallowed institutions, the US Marine Corps.A

How Indians crack one of the world's toughest exams

For close to three years, Gamini Singla stayed away from friends, did not go on a vacation and avoided family meetings and celebrations. She stopped bingeing on takeaways, going to the cinema and stepped away from social media. Instead, at her family home near the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, she woke up at the crack of dawn, pored over text books and studied for up to 10 hours a day. She

Lakes on Tibetan Plateau Freezing Late, Melting Early: Study

The lakes on the world’s highest plateau showed a trend of delayed freezing and melting that took place earlier than usual over the four decades up until 2017, a new study found, underscoring the impact of climate change on some of the planet’s most vulnerable regions.Around four-fifths of the 132 lakes monitored on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau saw the length of time they were covered by ice

How Climate Whiplash Is Upending Life in Rural China

This summer, Jiangxi province suffered a record-breaking drought and high temperatures. People in Jiangxi, especially farmers, suffered severe losses throughout the summer, when there was almost no rainfall. Dried-up rice fields, cotton fields, and fish ponds could be seen almost everywhere across the province. From an aerial view, we saw that China’s largest freshwater lake — Poyang Lake —

China’s Spring Festival 2023 in Numbers

Packed movie theaters. Crowded tourist sites. Congested transportation. This year’s Lunar New Year has seen a surge of people and activities across sectors, as millions of people welcomed the Year of the Rabbit without being preoccupied too much about COVID-19. This was the first time in three years that many traveled home for their annual family reunion or took restriction-free leisurely

Is it Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year? Depends who you ask

Last week, K-pop singer Danielle Marsh asked her online fans what they were doing for Chinese New Year. A profuse apology followed two days later, in which she promised to “try to be more careful” and acknowledged the “hurt” she had caused. Her crime? The “Chinese” that preceded “New Year.”A longstanding debate over the usage of “Chinese New Year” versus “Lunar New Year” has reignited in recent

‘It was all for nothing’: Chinese count cost of Xi’s snap decision to let Covid rip

When Sunny thinks back to March last year, she laughs ruefully at the ordeal. The 19-year-old Shanghai student spent that month locked in her dormitory, unable to shop for essentials or wash clothes, even banned from showering for two weeks over Covid fears. In April, the entire city locked down. It was the beginning of the chaos of 2022, as local Chinese authorities desperately tried to follow