Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 288

A Former Chinese Ambassador’s Trenchant Comments on Ukraine War Attract Notice

In a highly unusual move, a former Chinese ambassador to Ukraine spoke against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His published remark was subsequently quietly scrubbed from the Chinese internet.  Gao Yusheng, a 75-year-old career diplomat, delivered a scathing indictment of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war during an internal webinar hosted by the government-affiliated China International

Is Studying Overseas Losing Its Allure for Chinese Students?

Nanjing, a city 300 kilometers away from Shanghai, has been only mildly affected by China’s recent Omicron outbreak: high schools resumed in-person classes on April 7, two days after the city reached zero COVID.Two years ago, when the epidemic started in central China’s Hubei province, Nan Zhaojin was in the middle of her first year in the international department of a local school, where she

North Korea promotes traditional medicines in bid to fight Covid outbreak

North Korea is ramping up production of drugs and medical supplies including sterilisers and thermometers as well as encouraging the use of traditional Korean medicines said to reduce fever and pain as it battles an unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. Traditional medicines were “effective in prevention and cure of the malicious disease,” state-run news agency KCNA said, although no medical

North Korea’s Covid caseload passes 2 million amid global concern about regime’s pandemic plan

Experts have questioned North Korea’s claim that it is achieving “good results” in its battle against a Covid-19 outbreak, as the number of people with symptoms of the virus surpassed 2 million. The regime reported 263,370 new fever cases on Friday and two deaths, taking the total caseload to 2.24 million, including 65 deaths, according to state news agency KCNA.It did not report how many of

Shanghai declares zero-Covid milestone but residents cast doubt on reopening

Shanghai officials on Tuesday said they had achieved "zero-Covid at the community level" in what appeared to be a turning point in a heavy-handed and costly campaign to tame an Omicron outbreak -- but many residents remain skeptical the city will reopen anytime soon. "Zero-Covid at the community level" means infections are no longer found outside centralized quarantine facilities or neighborhoods

Biden arrives in South Korea with worries growing over possible North Korean missile test

President Joe Biden arrived here Friday on a mission to reaffirm a key alliance at an uncertain moment in East Asia. Even as the war in Ukraine has preoccupied Washington -- and took up the first half of Biden's day before he departed for Asia -- provocations from North Korea have intensified and China continues flexing its economic and military might. Biden wants to show his top partners here he

5 Asian military hotspots and how they play into Biden's visit

United States President Joe Biden arrives in Asia this week, visiting South Korea and Japan, with the region facing its most volatile security environment in decades. Hot spots including Taiwan, North Korea, the South China Sea, the India-China border and the Kuril Islands have all seen a Ukraine effect, as Russia's war accelerates regional security concerns -- while providing lessons that major

Sri Lanka defaults on debt for first time in its history

Sri Lanka has defaulted on its debt for the first time in its history as the country struggles with its worst financial crisis in more than 70 years. It comes after a 30-day grace period to come up with $78m (£63m) of unpaid debt interest payments expired on Wednesday. The governor of the South Asian nation's central bank said the country was now in a "pre-emptive default". Later on Thursday, two

White House braced for North Korean nuclear test during Biden’s Asia trip

The White House is braced for a North Korean missile or nuclear test while Joe Biden is on a trip to South Korea and Japan, which begins on Thursday. The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Wednesday: “Our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly both

South Korea and Japan just don't get along. That's a problem for Biden

In uniting Western democracies against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, United States President Joe Biden managed something his critics thought was impossible. Before Moscow's unprovoked war, European nations were split over issues ranging from Russian energy pipelines to Brexit and -- with lingering resentments dating back to Trump-era trade disputes and the Iraq war -- some even appeared to be