Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 309

Can tech help revive India's 'crumbling' health system?

The first wave of Covid-19, that swept India in early 2020, was a gruelling experience for Dr Sangram Kapale and his colleagues. "The kind of mental pressure we were all going through is very difficult to put in words," he says. "It was about saving lives with minimal resources. We had a lack of medicine, beds, oxygen ... The lack of skilled manpower, like paramedics, was another issue. We were

White House split delays plans for investment controls on China

Disagreements between key White House national security and economic officials are delaying the Biden administration’s plans for new rules on American banks that invest in Chinese technology firms and startups.National security officials, led by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have been advocating for months for President Joe Biden to issue an executive order that would prohibit many

Can China and India help Sri Lanka to avoid a sovereign default?

Sri Lanka is currently facing its worst economic crisis since the country gained independence in 1948. In spite of constant assurances by the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), international rating agencies as well as economists have sounded the alarm about Sri Lanka’s ability to make its foreign debt repayments in 2022. A number of analyses indicate that Sri Lanka is on the verge

China seeks to unify public in support for Russia

As the West condemns Russia, President Vladimir Putin has vocal supporters in China, where the ruling Communist Party tells its people they are fellow targets of U.S.-led harassment. “If Russia is destroyed, we will be next. This is for sure,” said Wang Yongchun, a retiree in Beijing. “The United States wants to dominate the world.” Such comments reflect the stance of a ruling party that is the

China to raise defense spending by 7.1% to $229 billion

China on Saturday announced a 7.1% increase in defense spending in 2022 to $229 billion, continuing years of robust spending on its increasingly powerful military that is challenging the U.S. armed forces’ dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.China has the world’s second-largest defense budget after the U.S., allowing it to maintain the largest standing military, with 3 million personnel and an

Can China do more to stop Russia's war in Ukraine?

A month ago, Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared there was "no limit" to Beijing's newly strengthened relationship with Russia.  He and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had met face-to-face in Beijing, culminating in a joint document - and then they went off to see the opening of the Winter Olympic Games. Days after the Games ended, Russia invaded Ukraine. China's government has neither

China bans New Year religious gatherings in Tibetan capital Lhasa

Chinese authorities have banned major religious activities in monasteries in and near Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa during the Lunar New Year, citing COVID-19 concerns. But critics call the move a further encroachment by China on Tibetan religion and national culture. The ban announced in a Feb. 22 notice by Lhasa’s Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau comes ahead of a period of politically

Hong Kong bet on zero-Covid. Now it's facing a 'preventable disaster'

Morgues are nearly at capacity, hospitals overwhelmed and, as fears grow of a citywide lockdown, panicked shoppers have stripped supermarket shelves bare. Hong Kong -- once lauded as a zero-Covid success story -- is now battling a deadly outbreak reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, despite having had more than two years to prepare.With locally transmitted cases surging past 312,000 in

New US ambassador arrives in Beijing amid tense relations

New U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns has arrived to take up his post in Beijing amid heightened tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan, trade, human rights and the war in Ukraine. Burns arrived Friday with his wife Libby and a group of other U.S. diplomats and their families and will undergo three weeks of quarantine at his official residence as China requires, according to a U.S.

China sets lowest economic growth target in decades at annual meeting

China has set its lowest annual GDP target in decades, as premier Li Keqiang warned of a “grave and uncertain” outlook against the backdrop of the coronavirus, a slowing economy and the war in Ukraine. Li announced on Saturday the unusually modest target of about 5.5% growth for 2022 – the lowest since 1991 – in an address to about 3,000 members of the National People’s Congress in Beijing’s