Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 304

Shanghai Covid lockdown extended to entire city

Chinese authorities have extended their lockdown of Shanghai to cover all its 25 million people after a fresh surge in Covid cases. Initially, there had been separate measures for the eastern and western sides, but the whole city is now subject to indefinite restrictions. Shanghai is the largest single city to be locked down to date. The important financial hub has battled a new wave of

Ukraine: India strongly condemns Bucha civilian killings

India has "unequivocally condemned" killings in Ukraine's Bucha and supported calls for an independent investigation into the "deeply disturbing reports". Images of mass graves and bodies of civilians reportedly executed in the Kyiv suburb have shocked the world. India's condemnation at the UN meeting is the strongest statement it has made since Russia invaded Ukraine.Delhi has so far abstained

Sri Lanka president defies calls for his resignation

Sri Lanka's beleaguered president will not be resigning, his government's whip has told parliament. The declaration defies calls from the public and political opponents for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down amid the country's economic crisis. Crowds have protested for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortages of gas, food and other basic goods. The public anger has prompted nearly all Cabinet

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