Cambodia rejects paying ‘dirty debt’ to the US

Al Jareeza March 21, 2017

Cambodia-US relations will further deteriorate if Trump insists on collecting debt incurred by an illegitimate regime.

General Lon Nol, former prime minister of Cambodia, who incurred the principal debt of $276m, attends a national solidarity rally in Cambodia on April 16, 1970 [Ian Brodie/Getty Images]
General Lon Nol, former prime minister of Cambodia, who incurred the principal debt of $276m, attends a national solidarity rally in Cambodia on April 16, 1970 [Ian Brodie/Getty Images]

By

@chheangcam

Vannarith Chheang is a Consultant at the Nippon Foundation in Japan.

The United States has renewed its demand for Cambodia to repay a war debt of $500m amid President Donald Trump’s push to improve the state budget. Such a demand has met with an outcry from Cambodian political leaders and their people, who have consistently called the debt “dirty” and “blood-stained”.

Clearly, the memory of the United States’ war in Indochina continues to shape Cambodian perceptions of and foreign policy towards the US. Cambodia is reluctant to pay the debt. However, should the US keep forcing Cambodia to service the debt, its moral high ground may be adversely affected. Tiếp tục đọc “Cambodia rejects paying ‘dirty debt’ to the US”

Dementia Village

A small village in Weesp, the Netherlands, where every resident has severe dementia

Living with Dementia: To Be or Not To Be

Yvonne van Amerongen is Head of Quality and Innovation at Hogewey, and one of the founders of its internationally award-winning small-scale living model of care.

Yvonne has been working at Vivium Zorggroep since 1983, in particular at nursing home Hogewey. In 1990, she developed a new product which revolutionised care for people developing dementia in the vicinity of the Hogewey nursing home. In 1993, Yvonne became a fulltime project manager for the development of the care project small-scale living with lifestyle for the psycho-geriatrics target group.This project was also the subject matter of her graduation thesis for the Higher Vocational Training in Social Pedagogic Care with a specialisation in Management. Since 1996 Yvonne has been a staff executive for Quality & Innovation for Vivium Zorggroep in Weesp.

Hogewey is located in Weesp, a town outside Amsterdam. Since it opened in 2009, Hogewey has attracted a huge amount of interest from all over Europe, with a centre based on its design currently being built in Switzerland.

Vietnam asks Google to remove 2,200 toxic YouTube videos

TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 03/25/2017 17:06 GMT + 7

Vietnam’s broadcast watchdog has demanded that Google pull more than 2,200 videos with ‘toxic’ content from YouTube, a deputy chief official of the authority confirmed on Friday.

The Department of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under Vietnam’s information ministry said earlier this month that there are as many as 8,000 videos whose content is either fake or anti-government on Google-owned YouTube.

A list of more than a quarter of those videos has been sent to Google, so that the company can review and remove them from the world’s largest video-sharing platform, the department deputy head Le Quang Tu Do said on Friday. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam asks Google to remove 2,200 toxic YouTube videos”

In Bến Tre school, students grow clean vegetables

vietnam news

Update: March, 25/2017 – 09:00

Caption: Students of Lương Thế Vinh High School in the Mekong Delta province of Bến Tre grow clean vegetables in the schoolyard. — VNA/VNS Photo Phúc Hậu
Viet Nam News BẾN TRE — Students at Lương Thế Vinh High School in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bến Tre grow clean vegetables at school and have even begun to sell them.

Phan Thị Kim Thanh, a teacher at the school who manages the student-farmers, said: “The school has just been opened. There is an empty yard and the school decided students can use it to grow clean vegetables.” Tiếp tục đọc “In Bến Tre school, students grow clean vegetables”

Falling Hồng river water levels hurting VN agriculture

Vietnam News Update: March, 25/2017 – 09:00

A section of the Hồng (Red) River running under Hà Nội’s Long Biên Bridge has dried up. The average water level of the river had dropped remarkably in recent years, affecting both agricultural production and the daily lives of local residents.— VNS Photo Đoàn Tùng

Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI – The average water level of many parts of the Hồng (Red) river has remarkably reduced in recent years, badly affecting agricultural production and the living conditions of residents in the northern lowland and midland areas.

The level in some sections is two metres lower than the previous 20 years. The level in some parts reached the lowest point of 2.2m, causing difficulties for irrigation work, said experts at a conference held in Hà Nội on Wednesday to assess the impact of lower Hồng River water levels and to discuss solutions. Tiếp tục đọc “Falling Hồng river water levels hurting VN agriculture”

Chinese premier warns Australia ‘taking sides’ could lead to new cold war

Li Keqiang says Beijing pursues foreign policy of peace and seeks ‘development paths suited to our traditions’

Chinese premier Li Keqiang told Malcolm Turnbull that Beijing respects Australia’s foreign policy.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang told Malcolm Turnbull that Beijing respects Australia’s foreign policy. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, has warned China does not want to see a new cold war, emphasising that throughout his country’s history, peace has “always been the most precious thing”.

With increasing tensions in the South China Sea a significant backdrop to his visit to Australia, Li told parliamentarians in Canberra on Thursday that China did not want to see countries “taking sides, as happened during the cold war”. Tiếp tục đọc “Chinese premier warns Australia ‘taking sides’ could lead to new cold war”

Free funerals and food: A small comfort to South Korea’s elderly who live alone, die alone

Community teams are trying to ease the loneliness of the elderly poor, both in life and in death, in a country with the world’s highest elderly suicide rate.

SOUTH KOREA: At a crematorium on the outskirts of Seoul, a group of mourners are preparing to collect the body of 54-year-old Seol Min Bok.

They will hold a wake for him, prepare his funeral rites, and then send him on his final journey with a dignified ceremony. Tiếp tục đọc “Free funerals and food: A small comfort to South Korea’s elderly who live alone, die alone”

Netherlands, Việt Nam sign 49 food security contracts

Vietnam news

Update: March, 24/2017 – 15:32

Việt Nam is co-operating with other countries to seek solutions for food security and sustainable agricultural issues. — Photo http://dwrm.gov.vn
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Forty-nine contracts were signed during the two-day regional conference on food security in Hà Nội, which ended Thursday, the Netherlands’ deputy minister of agriculture Marjolijn Sonnema said.

The Netherlands has three major contracts, which includes a commitment to an investment package worth 150,000 EUR (US$ 162,000) to develop a seafood index and governance, thereby supporting seafood companies in Asia towards achieving sustainability in aquaculture, Sonnema said. Tiếp tục đọc “Netherlands, Việt Nam sign 49 food security contracts”

Brazil’s $60 million-a-day meat exports collapse to $74,000 amid inspection scandal

Japan Times

AP Mar 23, 2017

Brazil’s meat exports effectively collapsed this week, the agricultural minister said Wednesday, as several countries halted imports from the South American country in the wake of a meat inspection scandal.

Brazil is struggling to contain the scandal, in which investigators say that health inspectors were bribed to overlook expired meats and chemicals and that other products were added to meat to improve its appearance and smell. The government has largely tried to downplay the extent of the corruption, while also criticizing the federal police for how they have communicated about it. Tiếp tục đọc “Brazil’s $60 million-a-day meat exports collapse to $74,000 amid inspection scandal”

Quận 1: Tháo dỡ bậc thềm lấn chiếm vỉa hè của rạp hát gần trăm tuổi

Quang cảnh tháo dỡ các bậc thềm lấn chiếm vỉa hè trước rạp Công Nhân vào tối qua

  Đêm qua, 22.3, ông Đoàn Ngọc Hải, Phó chủ tịch quận 1 đã dừng chân trước rạp Công Nhân (Nhà hát kịch thành phố) nằm trên đường Trần Hưng Đạo (thuộc phường Nguyễn Cư Trinh), ra lệnh phá dỡ toàn bộ 5 bậc thềm có chiều ngang hơn 20 mét vì lấn chiếm vỉa hè. Ít ai biết rạp hát có tuổi đời gần 1 thế kỷ này từng là tài sản của một vị đại gia lẫy lừng Sài Gòn.

Ông Lê Quan Ba, một nhân viên kỳ cựu của Nhà hát kịch thành phố nói trong tiếng ồn của máy khoan: “Tôi năm nay đã được 83 tuổi thì 5 bậc thềm lên xuống rạp này đã có khoảng 80 năm”. Ông Ba cho biết khi nghe tin lực lượng chức năng tháo dỡ bậc thềm, ông chạy từ trên lầu nhà hát xuống để nhìn nó lần cuối, vì bậc thềm này gắn bó nhiều kỷ niệm với ông từ khi còn nhỏ. Trong khi bậc thềm lần lượt bị phá dỡ thành đống gạch vụn thì ông Ba ngồi trên ghế nhìn chăm chú. Tiếp tục đọc “Quận 1: Tháo dỡ bậc thềm lấn chiếm vỉa hè của rạp hát gần trăm tuổi”

Sand meant to protect beaches ‘stolen’ in central Vietnam

TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 03/24/2017 13:55 GMT + 7

A huge amount of sand dredged in two river projects originally meant for protecting an eroding beach in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam has been directed away from its expected location.

In early 2017, the Quang Nam administration approved two dredging projects on Cua Dai River in the province’s Hoi An City, with the exploited sand meant to be used as an aid against erosion at the nearby Cua Dai beach.

However, ships transporting sand dredged from the projects have been spotted heading to locations other than Cua Dai beach. Tiếp tục đọc “Sand meant to protect beaches ‘stolen’ in central Vietnam”

Echoes of war, seeds of hope

Harvardgazette

In visit to Vietnam, Faust stresses importance of remembrance in healing from conflict

March 23, 2017 | Editor’s Pick Popular
Drew Faust travels to Asia

Even decades after the Vietnam War, the United States and Vietnam are still surveying the conflict’s aftermath, seeking understanding and healing of wounds physical and spiritual, individual and widespread, Harvard President Drew Faust said today during a visit to the Southeast Asian nation. Tiếp tục đọc “Echoes of war, seeds of hope”

Four sand mining projects suspended in Đồng Nai

vietnam news

Update: March, 24/2017 – 19:00

Sand mining on the Thị Vải River in the southern province of Đồng Nai. — Photo dantri.vn
Viet Nam News ĐỒNG NAI — The southern Đồng Nai Province’s transport department on Thursday ordered four sand mining and dredging projects in the region to suspend operations.

The four projects are: dredging on the inland waterway of Thái Thiện stream from Thị Vải River to Kim Nhật inland wharf (Phước Thái Commune, Long Thành District); dredging on Ông Trung channel (Phước Tân and Tam Phước communes, Biên Hoà City); dredging and clearing of Buông River and Bến Gỗ River (Phước Tân and Tam Phước communes, Biên Hoà City); and dredging and operating inland waterway on Đồng Kho River (Phước An Commune, Nhơn Trạch District). Tiếp tục đọc “Four sand mining projects suspended in Đồng Nai”

WB pledges $1.8 billion in 2017 assistance

Vietnam news

Update: March, 24/2017 – 10:01

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (R) receives WB CEO Kristalina Georgieva in Hà Nội yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — The World Bank (WB) will earmark US$1.8 billion for Việt Nam in 2017 to support the nation’s poverty reduction, water resource management, agricultural development and urban improvement efforts.

Visiting WB CEO Kristalina Georgieva said this in Hà Nội yesterday as she met with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân.

Prime Minister Phúc said that the WB has played a valuable role in the country’s socio-economic development, especially poverty elimination. Tiếp tục đọc “WB pledges $1.8 billion in 2017 assistance”