Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 65

Beijing Hits Back After Hegseth Calls China a Threat

China has it back at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after he described the country as a threat to the United States, amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. "Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation," the Chinese foreign ministry said.Hegseth said on Saturday that

Australia asks China to explain 'extraordinary' military build-up

Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs to have "such an extraordinary military build-up". He said Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and reassurance as it is the "fundamental issue" for the region.Meanwhile, the Philippines defence minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr has called China "absolutely irresponsible and reckless" in its actions in the

The fallout from Trump's war on Harvard will long outlast his presidency

Donald Trump has had a busy seven days. On Monday, he threatened to redirect $3bn in Harvard research funding to vocational schools. On Tuesday, the White House sent a letter to federal agencies, instructing them to review the approximately $100m in contracts the government has awarded Harvard and "find alternative vendors" where possible. On Wednesday, he had more to say on the matter still."

Tim Cook paying the price for Apple’s bow to China

Tim Cook may run the world’s most valuable company, Apple, but let’s stop pretending he’s ever done anything genuinely revolutionary. The man is an efficient operator, a disciplined executor, a logistics wizard.But when it comes to vision—the kind that reshapes reality and bends the future to its will—Cook falls short. He’s a caretaker. A man polishing someone else’s crown while convincing the

Torbjørn Færøvik: «If we’re going to find Noah’s Ark, we can’t just sit here around doing nothing!»

The day was clear and bright, and in the distance, holy Ararat shone like a fairytale castle.“We’re heading out now,” shouted the American in a loud voice. “If we’re going to find Noah’s Ark, we can’t just sit around here doing nothing!” It was May, twenty-five years ago. I was on a journey to China in the footsteps of Marco Polo and had reached a small Turkish town near the Iranian border. In

China snubs Asia’s largest defense forum as tensions with US simmer

China will not send its defense minister to this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, shunning a chance for a high-level meeting with US and Asian counterparts as tensions simmer with Washington.China announced Thursday it will instead be represented by a delegation from the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, marking the first time in five years a high-level delegation from Beijing will

Regional Chinese censorship more aggressive than national Great Firewall: study

Online censorship in China by some regional governments is even more aggressive than enforcement of the national-level ‘Great Firewall’ by the central government, according to a recent study and local sources. The Great Firewall Report (GFW Report) highlights how the central Chinese province of Henan has adopted its own provincial firewall which is less sophisticated and robust than the central

US calls for Asia allies to boost defenses in face of China’s ‘imminent’ threat, Hegseth tells top defense forum

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday delivered a dire warning to the Asia-Pacific region and the world: China’s designs on Taiwan pose a threat to global peace and stability that requires “our allies and partners do their part on defense.”“There is no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent,” Hegseth said in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue,

These toys are so hot that Chinese customs agents have seized hundreds of them in recent weeks

Unveiling their latest seizure in front of news cameras last month, two Chinese customs agents revealed not drugs or weapons – but suitcases full of plush toys. The stash on display included dozens of Pop Mart Labubus - the toothy, fluffy figurines that have sparked buying frenzies around the world, and in some cases, brawls among fans outside shops selling them.Even in China, where Pop Mart is

North and South Korea are in an underground war - Kim Jong Un might now be winning

The border between North and South Korea is swamped with layers of dense barbed-wire fencing and hundreds of guard posts. But dotted among them is something even more unusual: giant, green camouflaged speakers. As I stood looking into the North one afternoon last month, one of the speakers began blasting South Korean pop songs interspersed with subversive messages. "When we travel abroad, it