torsdag 30. juli 2026
People in Many Countries Now View China More Positively Than the U.S.
Global views of the United States worsened last year as President Donald Trump’s second term began, though most people still had a more positive opinion of the U.S. than China. This year, that is no longer the case.Global views of the United States worsened last year as President Donald Trump’s second term began, though most people still had a more positive opinion of the U.S. than China. This year, that is no longer the case.
US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say
The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts.
The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification on Monday.
The administration has expressed deep concern about China’s activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China’s Belt and Road initiative in the region, and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector.
The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification on Monday.
The administration has expressed deep concern about China’s activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China’s Belt and Road initiative in the region, and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector.
China Sending Weapons to Iran Despite Trump’s Faith in Xi: Report
A Chinese company is set to supply Iran with hundreds of portable anti-air missile systems as the Islamic Republic seeks to rebuild air defenses devastated by United States and Israeli strikes, according to Reuters. The report comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had assured him Chinese firms would not arm Tehran.
While China is a close political ally of the Iranian government and has repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes since they began on February 28, Beijing has limited its direct involvement in the conflict, instead engaging in behind-the-scenes diplomacy and, according to Reuters and other media reports, providing Iran with satellite imagery of U.S. military targets around the Gulf.
While China is a close political ally of the Iranian government and has repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes since they began on February 28, Beijing has limited its direct involvement in the conflict, instead engaging in behind-the-scenes diplomacy and, according to Reuters and other media reports, providing Iran with satellite imagery of U.S. military targets around the Gulf.
The Great Chinese Oil Mystery
When Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, experts warned that oil prices could hit $150 or $200 a barrel within a few weeks. The great mystery of the Iran war is why that hasn’t happened—why, nearly five months later, oil prices have scarcely surpassed $100, even as countries around the world have been forced to dip into their oil reserves. Now an explanation seems to be emerging: China.
Before the war, China, by far the world’s largest oil importer, was buying morebarrels than the entire European continent and almost twice as much as the second-largest importer, the United States. Then, weeks after the conflict broke out, the country abruptly slashed its oil purchases, eventually cutting them by half compared with prewar levels.
Before the war, China, by far the world’s largest oil importer, was buying morebarrels than the entire European continent and almost twice as much as the second-largest importer, the United States. Then, weeks after the conflict broke out, the country abruptly slashed its oil purchases, eventually cutting them by half compared with prewar levels.
How India’s Young Faced Down Modi
A botched medical entrance exam, a judge’s slur, and a young Indian student in Boston turning to satire converged to produce something India has not witnessed in over a decade: a youth movement that punctured the hegemony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and forced his education minister to resign.
The sparks that ignited the protests came in May. More than two million students took a punishing examination for admission in medical colleges. Not for the first time, papers were leaked, the examination was scrapped, and the government ordered the students to take the test again. Frustrations mounted.
The sparks that ignited the protests came in May. More than two million students took a punishing examination for admission in medical colleges. Not for the first time, papers were leaked, the examination was scrapped, and the government ordered the students to take the test again. Frustrations mounted.
On May 15, India’s chief justice, Surya Kant, disparaged the unemployed youth of India as "cockroaches" who complain about the system on social media. Abhijeet Dipke, an Indian student in Boston, embraced the slur and created the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Instagram, deploying it to forge a new political vocabulary that spoke to India’s youth in a grammar they understood. The CJP page briskly gathered 20 million followers.
The U.S. wants Asia to use its AI — but China dominates cheaper models
The artificial intelligence race between the U.S. and China is heating up in the world’s largest continent: Asia.
“The American strategy is to stop China from becoming the leading AI supplier for the rest of Asia ... and frankly the whole world,” said Gary Dvorchak, managing director at The Blueshirt Group. While China’s alternatives are cheaper, he pointed out the U.S. currently offers a more complete solution from chips to AI models. But the U.S. sales challenge was apparent at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation “Digital Weeks” in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu this month.
“The American strategy is to stop China from becoming the leading AI supplier for the rest of Asia ... and frankly the whole world,” said Gary Dvorchak, managing director at The Blueshirt Group. While China’s alternatives are cheaper, he pointed out the U.S. currently offers a more complete solution from chips to AI models. But the U.S. sales challenge was apparent at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation “Digital Weeks” in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu this month.
China threatens retaliation against U.S. humanoid robot ban, says it ‘severely damages’ relations
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has repeatedly ignored Beijing’s restrained stance on product bans, China’s commerce ministry said Thursday, threatening retaliation. The FCC on Tuesday said due to cybersecurity concerns, it added foreign-made advanced robotic devices, including humanoids, to a list restricting imports to the U.S. The statement did not specify a country, and said retailers could still import models the FCC has previously approved.
As the FCC keeps escalating restrictions on Chinese goods, it “severely damages China-U.S. economic and trade stability,” China’s commerce ministry said in an online statement Thursday. That’s according to a CNBC translation of Mandarin.
Translation: “Education for Migrant Workers’ Children Can’t Wait Any Longer”
In late May, China’s State Council announced new guidelines on providing basic services in the place of people’s actual residence, rather than formal registration. Such a shift could substantially alleviate the hardships imposed by the current hukou household registration system, which has effectively kept many tens of millions of migrant workers apart from their parents and children for long periods. This is not the first time changes to the system have been promised.
In 2023, one Chinese expert told Reuters that "Hukou reform is a hard bone to chew, […] it’s not something you can do simply because you want to. Currently, all reforms are difficult." One major obstacle is the question of how local governments in urban areas would pay for sharply increased public-service responsibilities under China’s largely decentralised system. The new guidelines issued in May emphasized gradual progress "in line with local conditions," with local governments "doing their best within their capacity," suggesting that this problem will remain in local hands.
Translation: No Scaling the Great Firewall in the Library
The notice below was issued by the Hunan Library, a provincial institution located in Changsha. It announces the temporary suspension of library Wi-Fi in response to "hazardous" use of censorship circumvention tools. The message is underlined by the inclusion of partly redacted cellphone numbers belonging to three alleged offenders, implicitly reminding library patrons that network use is tied to their real identities.
For more on the alleged dangers of “scaling the wall,” from moral degeneracy to criminal prosecution, see our recent translation of a piece from the National Defense Times which enumerates them in terrifying detail. There is a long history of similar warnings, but some recent signs suggest that pressure on circumvention tools may be escalating.
For more on the alleged dangers of “scaling the wall,” from moral degeneracy to criminal prosecution, see our recent translation of a piece from the National Defense Times which enumerates them in terrifying detail. There is a long history of similar warnings, but some recent signs suggest that pressure on circumvention tools may be escalating.
Amid Hong Kong Book Fair, Police Raid Two More Independent Bookstores, Arrest Five Booksellers
In yet another blow for book lovers and free thinkers in Hong Kong, national security police raided two independent bookstores (Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield, respectively) and arrested five individuals on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, an offence punishable with up to seven years in prisonunder Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law (NSL). Three of those arrested have since been released on bail, while the status of the other two remains unclear.
The raids and arrests took place on Wednesday, against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s annual international book fair. They also produced an iconic image, circulated widely on social media, of a woman with her hands cuffed behind her back, wearing a t-shirt declaring “I am a bookstore clerk,” and holding her head high as she is escorted into a police car.
The raids and arrests took place on Wednesday, against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s annual international book fair. They also produced an iconic image, circulated widely on social media, of a woman with her hands cuffed behind her back, wearing a t-shirt declaring “I am a bookstore clerk,” and holding her head high as she is escorted into a police car.
tirsdag 28. juli 2026
Torbjørn Færøvik: Tjuetre sekunder som rystet Kina
Den natten revnet både himmel og jord. «Løp!» ropte familiefaren, og alle styrtet ut. Men hvor skulle de gjøre av seg? «Alt skjedde så brått, og vi var som fanget i en felle.»
Femti år er gått siden jordskjelvet i Tangshan i Kina – et av de største i historien. Det varte i bare 23 sekunder, men krevde mer enn 246.000 menneskeliv. Ytterligere 144.000 ble alvorlig skadd.
Tragedien inntraff klokken 03.42 om morgenen 28. juli 1976. Nesten hele byen lå i grus da etterskjelvene kom, fulgt av skittent regn som varte i flere timer. I ruinene ravet sårede og sjokkskadde; mange i undertøy eller filler, andre var nesten nakne. Fra dype sprekker og gapende hull lød tusener rop om hjelp. En by med vel en million innbyggere var plutselig borte.
Torbjørn Færøvik: That Night, Both Heaven and Earth Tore Apart
That night, both heaven and earth tore apart. "Run!" shouted the father, and everyone rushed outside. But where could they go? "Everything happened so suddenly, and we were trapped like in a snare."
Fifty years have passed since the Tangshan earthquake in China—one of the largest in history. It lasted for only 23 seconds, but claimed more than 242,000 human lives. Another 144,000 were seriously injured.
The tragedy struck at 3:42 in the morning on July 28, 1976. Almost the entire city lay in ruins when the aftershocks came, followed by dirty rain that lasted for hours. In the rubble, the wounded and shock-stricken stumbled around; many in underwear or rags, others almost naked. From deep fissures and gaping holes, thousands of cries for help echoed. A city of over a million inhabitants was suddenly gone.
A weeks-old Gen-Z protest group managed to get India’s Modi to blink. What’s next?
For more than a decade, India’s leader Narendra Modi has seemed politically unassailable, presiding over a government that has outmaneuvered opponents, dominated public discourse and squeezed the space for dissent in the world’s biggest democracy.
But last weekend, an online-fueled and youth-led protest movement just a few weeks old landed a blow none of the embattled mainstream political parties who oppose him have been able to: They forced his government to back down.
For days, tens of thousands of Gen Z protesters had flooded the streets of New Delhi, led by a satirical movement called the “Cockroach Janta Party”, to demand accountability for a university entrance exam leak they say robbed millions of students of a fair shot at their future. In their crosshairs was education minister and trusted Modi lieutenant Dharmendra Pradhan, on whose watch the leak had happened.
But last weekend, an online-fueled and youth-led protest movement just a few weeks old landed a blow none of the embattled mainstream political parties who oppose him have been able to: They forced his government to back down.
For days, tens of thousands of Gen Z protesters had flooded the streets of New Delhi, led by a satirical movement called the “Cockroach Janta Party”, to demand accountability for a university entrance exam leak they say robbed millions of students of a fair shot at their future. In their crosshairs was education minister and trusted Modi lieutenant Dharmendra Pradhan, on whose watch the leak had happened.
I have lived in Sunset Park for almost six years, next to the bustling Brooklyn Chinatown
I have lived in Sunset Park for almost six years. A 15-minute walk from my house lands me in the heart of this bustling Brooklyn Chinatown, lined with grocery shops, vegetable stands, fish-mongers, and the kind of general stores sporting piles of kitchen utensils, household supplies, and gardening tools. I moved to Sunset Park for easy access to Chinese groceries I couldn’t find elsewhere: fresh water bamboo, whole yellow croaker imported from China, freshly-made tofu sold in individual takeaway containers instead of mass-produced plastic packaging. But I had never found my way into the life of the community; I felt sheepish calling it “my neighborhood.”
Trump’s Saudi Nuclear Deal Fiasco May Finally Push Ally to China and Russia
President Donald Trump's decision to impose a heavy post-deal condition on a landmark agreement that would see the United States support Saudi Arabia in establishing a civilian nuclear program has threatened to tank the deal and push the longtime U.S. partner to explore separate arrangements with China and Russia.
Trump's declaration Thursday that the U.S.-Saudi agreement could only proceed if the Kingdom were to join the Abraham Accords, effectively normalizing ties with Israel, came less than 24 hours after both nations announced the deal. The new clause, later reinforced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is widely viewed as a non-starter within Saudi Arabia, which has consistently held that diplomatic relations with Israel would be explicitly contingent on a roadmap for Palestinian statehood.
Trump's declaration Thursday that the U.S.-Saudi agreement could only proceed if the Kingdom were to join the Abraham Accords, effectively normalizing ties with Israel, came less than 24 hours after both nations announced the deal. The new clause, later reinforced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is widely viewed as a non-starter within Saudi Arabia, which has consistently held that diplomatic relations with Israel would be explicitly contingent on a roadmap for Palestinian statehood.
Can AI Preserve a Homeland in Exile? Tibetan Memory in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the Sonamling Tibetan Settlement outside Leh in Ladakh, I found that the most venerable memories were not to be had in any museum or archive. They were to be found in conversation. My fieldwork there put me in the company of elderly Tibetan refugees who would talk of the monasteries from their youth, the villages they put behind them and the Himalayan crossings that altered the course of their lives. Younger members of the family would be seated about them, keenly listening. Now and then, one might subtly raise a mobile phone to put the exchange on record. An unremarkable thing to do, perhaps, but with no small import. In a sense, these were more than family tales, they were pieces of a homeland being put aside for the keeping of those who have never set eyes on it.
For Tibetans in exile, memory is never just an act of recollection, it is how culture endures. Before such things ever made it into an institution’s files, they made their way through the home and the prayer hall, in song and in the ordinary course of talk, conveying language and faith and an abiding connection to Tibet over the years.
For Tibetans in exile, memory is never just an act of recollection, it is how culture endures. Before such things ever made it into an institution’s files, they made their way through the home and the prayer hall, in song and in the ordinary course of talk, conveying language and faith and an abiding connection to Tibet over the years.
Who Gets to Choose the Next Dalai Lama? A Sacred Tradition Caught in a Political Tug-of-War
When the 14th Dalai Lama turned ninety in July 2025, he finally said what Tibetans everywhere had been hoping to hear for years. In a formal statement from his home in Dharamshala, tucked into the Indian Himalayas, he confirmed that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after him. It was just one sentence — but it hit like a thunderclap in Beijing, in New Delhi, in Washington, and across monasteries stretching from Ladakh to Kathmandu.
Behind that single line lies a much bigger question, one that no religious body, government, or international institution has ever really settled: who actually gets to decide who the next Dalai Lama will be? For most of Tibetan history, this was purely a Buddhist matter, worked out by senior monks, oracles, and search parties reading signs in sacred lakes. Today, it’s become one of the most closely watched geopolitical flashpoints in Asia — wrapped up in China’s claims over Tibet, India’s tense relationship with its northern neighbor, and the simple fact that millions of people see this one elderly monk as a living embodiment of compassion.
Behind that single line lies a much bigger question, one that no religious body, government, or international institution has ever really settled: who actually gets to decide who the next Dalai Lama will be? For most of Tibetan history, this was purely a Buddhist matter, worked out by senior monks, oracles, and search parties reading signs in sacred lakes. Today, it’s become one of the most closely watched geopolitical flashpoints in Asia — wrapped up in China’s claims over Tibet, India’s tense relationship with its northern neighbor, and the simple fact that millions of people see this one elderly monk as a living embodiment of compassion.
‘There is freedom’: Why Asian women are leaving their husbands in their 50s and 60s
Eiko Toyama had waited 32 years to leave her husband. Throughout their marriage, she said, she did all the housework and childcare in their Japan home, as well as supporting the family financially. Her husband “wanted to control everything,” from her social life to professional ambitions, leaving her feeling trapped and miserable. Still, she stuck it out for their two children.
That finally changed when she turned 60. Her adult sons no longer needed her, and her husband was healthy – not yet so old that he needed a caretaker. It was a precious window of opportunity, and she took it.
“I was nothing but happy (after the divorce). That was my only emotion,” she said. “I was so happy I wanted to run around all over the place.”
That finally changed when she turned 60. Her adult sons no longer needed her, and her husband was healthy – not yet so old that he needed a caretaker. It was a precious window of opportunity, and she took it.
“I was nothing but happy (after the divorce). That was my only emotion,” she said. “I was so happy I wanted to run around all over the place.”
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