Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 289

Sri Lanka faces medical emergency as economic crisis hits drug supplies

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has deteriorated into a medical crisis, with the top medical union declaring a national health emergency over a life-threatening shortage of drugs. On Tuesday the country’s most powerful trade union, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), called a meeting and declared a medical crisis as doctors and hospitals reported a widespread lack of medicine.The

China Finds New Omicron Subtype Near Shanghai as 'Zero-COVID' Plan Falters

A new subtype of the Omicron variant was recently found near Shanghai, China, as the country continues to battle its latest virus outbreak, despite attempting to operate under a "zero-COVID" policy. The latest iteration of the virus evolved from the BA.1.1 branch of Omicron and was isolated from a mild coronavirus patient in Suzhou City, located less than 50 miles from Shanghai, the Global Times

COVID outbreak ‘extremely grim’ as Shanghai extends lockdown

The COVID-19 outbreak in China’s largest metropolis of Shanghai remains “extremely grim” amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday. Director of Shanghai’s working group on epidemic control, Gu Honghui, was quoted by state media as saying that the outbreak in the city was “still running at a high level.”“The situation is extremely grim

Imran Khan: What we know so far as PM's fate hangs in balance

The fate of Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, hangs in the balance. A decision by the Supreme Court - scheduled for Tuesday - will decide what will happen to the embattled premier following an attempt to oust him from office. Opposition leaders tabled a no-confidence vote against Mr Khan, which was scheduled for Sunday. But the vote was blocked by Mr Khan's own party.Opposition figures

Ukraine war to slow growth and drive up poverty in Asia, World Bank warns

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further dampened the economic prospects for developing countries in east Asia and the Pacific, meaning lower economic growth and higher poverty in the region this year, the World Bank has warned. The Ukraine factor came on top of the existing risks that the region – home to 2.1 billion people and stretching from China to Papua New Guinea – has been facing in

‘This is inhumane’: the cost of zero Covid in Shanghai

Jia Ruiling’s* father has been enduring severe pain since 17 March. He has late-stage stomach cancer, but his hospital refused to treat him because Jia’s neighbourhood in Shanghai was under lockdown as a result of a handful of Covid cases.“We begged the hospital to accept him again and again,” Jia said. “At some point my father was in so much pain that he wanted to take his life. What can we do?

Tensions are high between China and Australia over Solomon Islands, but it’s in everyone’s interests to simmer down

Over the last month, tensions between China, Australia andSolomon Islands have escalated dramatically over the draft of a security treaty between the Pacific nation and China, that some fear could see China establish a military base in Solomon Islands.There have been heated words from all sides, China intimating that Australia is promoting US-led competition in the region; Australia voicing fears

China could make a U-turn to stop its companies being kicked off Wall Street

China is extending an olive branch to the United States in a bid to prevent Chinese firms from being kicked off the US stock market. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's top securities watchdog, has proposedchanging a decade-old rule that forbids Chinese firms from sharing sensitive data and financial information with overseas regulators.The amendment might allow US

China drafts in the military as Shanghai ordered to test 25 million residents for Covid

When it comes to China's signature zero-Covid health policy, the country's leaders have made it clear: Shanghai is too big to fail. The city, which is grappling with a record number of daily Covid cases, has become the biggest -- and potentially costliest -- example of China's insistence on adhering to its strict elimination strategy.On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party announced the deployment

Shanghai to New York in two hours? China joins the hypersonic flight race

Shanghai to New York in just a couple of hours? Not a problem when you fly in a hypersonic space plane. Beijing-based Space Transportation (aka Lingkong Tianxing in China) aims to make this prospect a reality with the development of a passenger-carrying vehicle that can hurtle across the skies at one mile per second -- over twice the speed of Concorde. The firm has released an animated publicity