Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 69

North Korea makes arrests over botched ship launch

North Korea has detained three shipyard officials over an accident during the launch of a new warship on Wednesday, state media say. Parts of the 5,000-tonne destroyer's bottom were crushed during the launch ceremony, tipping the vessel off balance. An investigation into the incident, which North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un described as a "criminal act", is ongoing.KCNA, North Korea's

Chinese factory worker sets fire to textile plant over 800 yuan in unpaid wages

A Chinese factory employee set fire to a textile plant in China’s southwestern Sichuan province in his frustration over unpaid wages of just 800 yuan (or US$111), according to videos posted on social media and eyewitness accounts shared with Radio Free Asia.Officials aid the arsonist had been detained at the scene of the fire. It said on Friday that the case is under further investigation,

Nvidia Eyes Chinese Market With New AI Chip Launch

Nvidia is looking to break into the Chinese market with a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip that will begin mass production as early as next month, according to Reuters. Nvidia is the leading chip maker in the United States and has gotten caught up in the middle of a U.S.-China trade war. As of April, the U.S. made up around 42 percent of Nvidia business, versus China and Hong Kong's

Amid Trump tariffs, ASEAN summit to prioritise new trade links with other powers: Analysts

Diversification is likely to be the underlying theme at the upcoming 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, as the bloc seeks new partnerships and closer ties with other major powers to cushion the impact from United States President Donald Trump's tariffs and isolationist policies, analysts say.The US will not be present at the summits held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention

Long advantageous, Harvard's China ties become a political liability

Harvard University's links to China, long an asset to the school, have become a liability as the Trump administration levels accusations that its campus is plagued by Beijing-backed influence operations. On Thursday (May 22) the administration moved to revoke Harvard's ability to enrol foreign students, saying it fostered antisemitism and coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party. Among

Michael Clarke: Xi’s history lesson amid Putin’s party

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his 7–10 May state visit to Russia, which included Second World War commemorations in Red Square, to not only signal China’s ongoing alignment with Moscow but to burnish a historically based Chinese claim to leadership in international affairs.Central to this endeavour has been an attempt to link China’s contemporary power to what political scientist Rana Mitter

Longer hours, better grades? China pushes weekend breaks for high school students, parents push back

The school day begins just after 7.30am and ends past 9.40pm, well after nightfall. Two breaks punctuate the gruelling 14-hour study stretch - a two-hour lunch recess and a one-hour dinner break. This is the rhythm of academic life for Nian Nian (not her real name), a second-year high school student in China’s Yichun city in south-eastern Jiangxi province."My days in school are spent doing almost

India's colonial past revealed through 200 masterful paintings

Founded in 1600 as a trading enterprise, the English East India company gradually transformed into a colonial power. By the late 18th Century, as it tightened its grip on India, company officials began commissioning Indian artists - many formerly employed by the Mughals - to create striking visual records of the land they were now ruling.A Treasury of Life: Indian Company Paintings, c. 1790 to

How China Stands in the Way of a U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deal

China’s giant logistics machine was humming inside rows of metal warehouses near Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam this month. Hundreds of workers packed cosmetics, clothes and shoes for Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion retailer. Recruiters needing to fill hundreds more jobs were interviewing candidates outside. At another industrial park, owned by the supply chain arm of Alibaba, the

Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple and says Samsung and other tech companies could be next

President Donald Trump on Friday demanded Apple and other smartphone makers like Samsung make their phones in the United States or face a 25% tariff.“I have long ago informedTim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted Friday morning on Truth Social.