Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 52

Thailand Moves to De-Legalize Weed in Major Drug-Policy U-Turn

In 2022, Thailand bucked a trend in Asia. While many other countries in the region have historically meted out harsh punishments for drug use and even tightened restrictions in recent years, Thailand became the continent’s first to remove marijuana from its list of illegal narcotics. Since then, marijuana production and sale became a sprawling national industry, spawning around 11,000

RIGHTS DEFENDERS CRITICIZE UPCOMING ROLLOUT OF NATIONAL INTERNET ID SYSTEM

Last summer, the Chinese government released a proposal for a national internet ID system. The proposal was met with strong opposition, which was heavily censored online. (See CDT’s past coverage for examples.) The final rules for this new system were then released in May of this year, will be implemented on July 15, and remain largely similar to the original draft that was widely criticized. As

Central China Battered by Rainfall, With More Still to Come

Relentless rainstorms have battered central China’s Hunan province and neighboring regions over the past week, with forecasters warning that more downpours are likely through the end of June.Since June 18, severe weather has already triggered flash floods, river overflows, and widespread urban waterlogging, displacing tens of thousands of people across several provinces including Hunan and Hubei,

‘Aspirations of 1.4 billion’: India celebrates as first International Space Station mission gets underway

India has celebrated another step on its mission to become a space power, after Shubhanshu Shukla became the first astronaut from the country to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday.Shukla was aboard the private Axiom Space Mission 4, or Ax-4, which lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the latest mission organized by the Texas-based startup in

Iran’s defense minister thanks China for support on first foreign trip since Israel conflict

Iran’s defense minister has traveled to diplomatic and economic ally China on his first reported trip abroad since a 12-day clash with Israel that briefly dragged the US into a new regional conflict. Aziz Nasirzadeh is one of nine defense ministers that Chinese state media say attended a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping

EXPLAINED: What are scam parks?

Cyber scam compounds made international headlines in January after a Chinese actor was rescued from Myanmar’s notorious KK Park. In late December, Wang Xing flew to Mae Sot, Thailand on the promise of an acting gig. Instead, he was kidnapped and hustled across the border into a compound where victims like him are forced to trick others out of their savings. If they fail to do so, they are often

Iran’s defense minister goes to China on first reported foreign trip since conflict with Israel

Iran’s defense minister has traveled to diplomatic and economic ally China on his first reported trip abroad since a 12-day clash with Israel that briefly dragged the US into a new regional conflict. Aziz Nasirzadeh is one of nine defense ministers that Chinese state media say attended a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping

Why Trump’s strikes on Iran will leave North Korea more determined than ever to keep its nukes

As American B-2 bombers streaked over Iran, targeting facilities tied to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, policymakers and analysts in East Asia were already grappling with a critical question: What signal does this send to North Korea, a country whose nuclear arsenal is far more advanced than Iran’s?Experts warn Washington’s military actions may harden Pyongyang’s resolve to accelerate its weapons

Torbjørn Færøvik: Smiskingen for Trump gjør verden farligere

Dagen før NATO-toppmøtet i Haag møttes Jonas Gahr Støre og Frankrikes Emmanuel Macron i Oslo. Begge fastslo med høytid i stemmen at USAs plutselige angrep på Iran var et brudd på folkeretten. Men vel fremme i Haag ble tonen en annen, for ansikt til ansikt med Donald Trump ble de påfallende spake.Før møtet begynte hadde de kanskje lest hilsenen som NATO generalsekretær Mark Rutte sendte til Trump.

Key US Ally Quietly Prepares for China's Pacific War With America

Japan will begin building bomb shelters next year on its remote islands closest to Taiwan amid fears that its far western territory could become a legitimate target for Chinese missiles if China and the United States go to war. The plans point to a possible scenario in which Beijing orders preemptive strikes against major U.S. and allied bases in the Pacific before launching an amphibious