Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 306

China shuts down city of 17.5m people in bid to halt Covid outbreak

China’s government has locked down Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, as it tries to contain its worst ever Covid-19 outbreak across multiple provinces, with case numbers tripling from Saturday to Sunday. A government notice on Sunday said all residential communities were now under “closed management”, meaning they would be locked down. Every resident would undergo three rounds of testing,

China battles worst Covid outbreak for two years as cases double in 24 hours

China reported nearly 3,400 daily Covid-19 cases on Sunday, double the previous day, forcing lockdowns on virus hotspots as the country contends with its gravest outbreak in two yearsA nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several north-eastern cities, as almost 19 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.The city of Jilin has

Ian Johnson: What keeps China from stopping Russia's war

The war in Ukraine has prompted renewed appeals for China to get involved in an international crisis, with commentators discussing how the country is well-placed to negotiate an end to the fighting. Politicians have taken up the call too: the Ukrainian foreign minister reportedly asked China to get involved, while on Tuesday European leaders video-called Chinese leader Xi Jinping in an effort to

Students trapped in quarantine beg for help online as China faces biggest Covid outbreak since 2020

China is fighting its biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, with discontent spreading on social media after one university cluster left students reportedly without access to bathrooms or drinking water. The country reported 1,100 new locally-transmitted cases on Thursday -- which, though nowhere near the level seen in other nations, is considered high by China's

Chinese tech stocks plunge after US names companies for potential delisting

Popular Chinese tech stocks have plunged after the US regulator named five Chinese companies that could be removed from American stock markets for failing to meet audit requirements. Alibaba (BABA) fell more than 6% Friday in Hong Kong. Its US-listed stock ended down 7.9% on Thursday. JD.com (JD) plummeted nearly 17% in Hong Kong, after closing 16% lower on Wall Street. Baidu(BIDU) was down 5%,

How South Korea's new president could shake up the region

South Korea's new president is taking power at a turbulent time for the country and the path he carves could shake up the region. Conservative Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party secured the election by a razor-thin margin Wednesday, pulling ahead of rival Lee Jae-myung by less than one percentage point.Yoon is a newcomer to politics, having spent the last 27 years of his career as a

China's promotion of Russian disinformation indicates where its loyalties lie

In public statements and at international summits, Chinese officials have attempted to stake out a seemingly neutral position on the war in Ukraine, neither condemning Russian actions nor ruling out the possibility Beijing could act as a mediator in a push for peace.But while its international messaging has kept many guessing as to Beijing's true intentions, much of its domestic media coverage of

Nearly 30% think China likely to have spread Covid on purpose, UK poll finds

More than a quarter of people believe Covid-19 was likely to have been a biological weapon intentionally spread by the Chinese state, according to a new UK poll highlighting the spread of conspiracy theories. The findings are contained in a major report by the campaign group Hope Not Hate (HNH) warning that the rise of Covid conspiracy theories and the antilockdown movement are recruiting young

War in Ukraine: How Asian economies are divided over Russia sanctions

Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has become the world's most sanctioned country. But only a few governments in Asia have taken tough action against Moscow. China has refused to outright condemn the invasion of Ukraine and has not imposed any sanctions on Russia.India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos and Mongolia also sat out the vote on a United Nations' resolution to demand

North Korea recently tested intercontinental missile system: US

The US says N Korea recently tested parts of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, in what it called a "serious escalation". Pyongyang said the launches on 26 February and 4 March focused on developing a reconnaissance satellite. But the Pentagon now says the tests were experimental launches, before a likely full-range ICBM launch.With a minimum range of 5,500km (3,417 miles),