Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 378

Pakistan orders Monday closure of schools and offices in Lahore to cut smog

Pakistan has ordered private offices and schools to remain closed on Mondays in Lahore in the hope that a three-day weekend will help reduce toxic levels of smog in the country’s second-largest city. The directive, issued by Punjab relief commissioner Babar Hayat Tarar, aimed to act “as a preventive and speedy remedy” during the winter smog season and will last until 15 January.Lahore was

'We will never’: Ausrtralia's frank warning to China over demands

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has ruled out Australia entertaining China's highly-publicised 14-point dossier requesting concessions from Canberra. Beijing has repeatedly stressed Canberra must be the one to act to improve battered Sino-Australian relations, and last year issued to Australian media a list of grievances the Morrison government must amend if relations were to improve. But the

China Backs Down in South China Sea After U.S., Philippines Warnings

Chinese vessels have backed down from a Philippine-occupied atoll in the South China Sea after imposing a quasi-blockade that provoked strong warnings from Manila and Washington. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters on Sunday that "the Chinese will not interfere per my conversation with the Chinese ambassador." He was referring to Beijing's envoy in Manila, Huang Xilian,

A silent killer is choking India's capital. For millions, there's no choice but to breathe it in

Gulpreet Singh begs for food from a dirty hemp mat spread on the sidewalk outside Delhi's South Campus metro station. Like millions of Indians who survive on handouts or daily wages, the 84-year-old says he has no choice but to be outside, breathing air thick with smog in the Indian capital. "I come here and wait. Sometimes, people give me food," said Singh, his voice straining over the noise of

Hong Kong activist Tony Chung jailed under national security law

A 20-year-old student activist who was arrested while attempting to seek asylum at the US consulate in Hong Kong has become the youngest person sentenced under the city’s draconian national security law. Tony Chung was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison after being convicted of secession and money laundering.The secession charge related to an activist group that had disbanded in

Chinese birthrate falls to lowest since 1978

China’s birthrate has plummeted to its lowest level since 1978 as the government struggles to stave off a looming demographic crisis. Data released by the country’s national bureau of statistics shows there were 8.5 births per 1,000 people in 2020, the first time in decades that the figure has fallen below 10. The statistical yearbook, released at the weekend, said the natural rate of population

Out of the world’s 100 most polluted cities, 94 are in India, China, and Pakistan

Every year, a thick smog covers India’s capital New Delhi. Last week, it got so bad for the 20 million residents that authorities shut schools.New Delhi’s concentration of PM2.5 particles, which damage people’s lungs, is 34 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) acceptable levels. The toxic haze is especially bad during the winter as farmers burn stubble left in their fields.In 2020, India

How child sex abuse rose during pandemic in India

In July 2020, police in India's north-eastern state of Assam received a complaint about a suspicious Facebook page. A non-profit organisation had passed on information that the page had pictures and videos of children, and that it may be promoting child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.Police opened an investigation and roughly a month later, they arrested a 28-year-old man from a village near the

Japan: From vaccine hesitancy to vaccine success

It seems hard to believe now, but at the beginning of June, I was seriously contemplating flying to the United States to get a Covid vaccine. With just seven weeks to go until the Olympics, only 3.5% of Japan's population had been fully vaccinated. While friends in the UK were merrily posting vaccine selfies on social media, here in the capital Tokyo, we were joking we might not see a needle till

China uses maritime militia to assert claim on South China Sea

There may be as many as 300 vessels from China’s maritime militia patrolling the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea at any one time as Beijing continues to stake its controversial claim on the disputed waters, according to new research from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in the United States.Composed of purpose-built militia vessels and commercial fishing fleets, China’s