Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 308

China: Peeking into the private lives of livestreamers

From a pigeon expert to a professor, a new photo series seeks to shed light on one of China's fastest growing communities - livestreamers. Chinese photographer Huang Qingjun is no stranger to capturing the intimate personal lives of ordinary Chinese. In 2003, he embarked on a unique project - documenting the possessions that people across China own. The project series - called Jia Dang, or Family

Sri Lanka: Protest at president Rajapaksa's home turns violent

Sri Lankan police imposed curfew and fired tear gas after a demonstration outside the president's house to protest dire food, fuel and power shortages turned violent. Agitated protesters stormed through barricades, and were accused of setting fire to a bus on Thursday night. President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa blamed the events on "extremist elements". Sri Lanka is in the midst of a foreign exchange

China's tech layoffs could become a self-inflicted headache for Xi

China's huge tech sector may be staring at its worst jobs crisis ever. The once-freewheeling industry was long the main source of well-paid employment in China, but major companies are now reportedly downsizing at a scale not seen before as President Xi Jinping's government continues its crackdown on private enterprise.The layoffs come as the world's second largest economy is already struggling

Imran Khan claims US threatened him and wants him ousted as Pakistan PM

Pakistan’s embattled prime minister, Imran Khan, has claimed that the US “threatened” him and is seeking his removal from office as he faces a no-confidence vote in the coming days that could mean the end of his premiership. Khan, who opposition parties accuse of bad governance and economic incompetence, had claimed at a rally on Sunday he had a letter that showed a foreign country was conspiring

Haryana: India's ambitious child brides who dare to dream

Photojournalist Ruhani Kaur traces the story of three child brides from the northern Indian state of Haryana who dream of studying and working against all odds. Priyanka, Meenakshi and Shiwani grew up in Damdama, an urban village that is home to Gujjars, an influential agricultural community. Their village is less than half an hour from Gurgaon, an upscale suburb of India's capital, Delhi. The

Torbjørn Færøvik: Kina er ikke nøytral i Russlands krig mot Ukraina

Kina har i årevis forsøkt å fremstå som de små og mellomstore lands høye beskytter. Vi er blitt fortalt at den prektige stormakten i øst stiller i en egen moralsk divisjon, i skarp kontrast til ondsinnede land anført av USA, som bare er ute etter å mele sin egen kake.Stemmer det? Kinas reaksjon på Russlands overfall på Ukraina forteller det meste.Så tidlig som i 1954 lanserte Kina ”de fem

Russia crisis gives EU a grim sense of what’s to come with China

CRITICS OF BEIJING IN BRUSSELS have taken to calling it the April Fool’s Day summit. The agenda for the virtual meeting between China’s top officials and the presidents of the European Council and Commission includes topics of “shared interest” like climate change, biodiversity and health, and a call by the European Union for the resumption of talks on human rights.But underlying the

Shanghai’s Older Residents Lament Over Lockdown Woes

As Shanghai divided the city into half for a two-phase lockdown Monday, the city’s older residents have complained about a range of problems from difficulties in adapting to modern technology to keeping up with pandemic-related measures as well as ordering everyday supplies and securing their medical needs.A resident surnamed Xiao from the Pudong New Area, which is currently in lockdown, said her

U.S. Could Do More Against China Than Against Russia, Taiwan Official Says

Taiwan's spy chief believes the U.S. has reason to put up a stronger response to a Chinese invasion, in contrast to Washington's indirect military assistance to Ukraine. Chen Ming-tong, who heads Taipei's National Security Bureau, told lawmakers on Monday that Beijing would've been surprised by the extent of the West's far-reaching economic sanctions against Russia, and as a result will be

At Home, 'Neutral' China Pushes Vladimir Putin's Agenda on Ukraine War

The United States bears "unavoidable responsibility" for the crisis in Ukraine, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper declared, as Beijing embarked on a fresh campaign to blame Russia's war on the West."Behind the Ukraine crisis lies the shadow of American hegemony," the People's Daily, which carries the party's official viewpoints, said on page 3 of its March 29 edition. Author "Zhong