Tác giả: Đào Thu Hằng

I'm from Hanoi, Viet Nam. I'm an author of Dot Chuoi Non (dotchuoinon.com/author/hangbelu/), a blog on Positive thinking, founded by Dr. Tran Dinh Hoanh, an attorney in Washington DC. I'm a co-founder of Conversations on Vietnam Development - cvdvn.net, a virtual think tank. I am a co-founder of two companies in Viet Nam working on children education services. I advise companies on STEAM education, English language education for children and students in Vietnam. I'm studying the Buddha's teaching and the teaching of Jesus. I practice mindful living including meditation. I hold a PhD on Sustainable Energy Systems from University of Lisbon and Aalto University. I graduated from Hanoi University of Technology on Environmental Engineering. I obtained a Master degree of the same major from Stanford University and Nanyang Technological University. My English-language blog at: hangbelu.wordpress/. I play table tennis as a hobby.

Japanese trading giant Itochu to cut ties with Israeli defense firm over Gaza war

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Juliana Liu and Chie Kobayashi, CNN

Published 2:57 AM EST, Tue February 6, 2024

Itochu is one of Japan's biggest trading houses and is based in Tokyo.

Itochu is one of Japan’s biggest trading houses and is based in Tokyo. Toru Hanai/ReutersHong Kong/TokyoCNN — 

One of Japan’s biggest trading firms, Itochu, has decided to end its partnership with a major Israeli defense company due to the war in Gaza.

The sprawling conglomerate, best known outside Japan for its Family Mart chain of convenience stores, said its aviation unit will cut ties with Elbit Systems, which bills itself as Israel’s largest defense contractor, by the end of February.

The decision was made following a January ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the top court of the United Nations — and guidance given by Japan’s Foreign Ministry to observe the court’s findings in “good faith,” a spokesperson for Itochu told CNN on Tuesday.

Last month, the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for Israel to suspend its military campaign in the war-torn enclave, as South Africa, which had filed the case to the court, had requested.

The court said Israel must “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide and ensure access to humanitarian aid

Itochu’s announcement was first made Monday by Tsuyoshi Hachimura, the company’s chief financial officer, during an earnings presentation.

Itochu Aviation, Elbit Systems and Nippon Aircraft Supply signed a cooperation agreement in March 2023, months before war broke out between Israel and Gaza.

Itochu, which reported revenues of $104 billion in 2023, has faced small-scale, student-led protests in Tokyo against its partnership with Elbit since January. Its Family Mart chain has also been the target of calls for boycotts in Muslim-majority Malaysia over the agreement.

Hachimura sought to explain the deal on Monday, telling investors: “The partnership was based on a request from the Japan’s Defense Ministry for the purpose of importing defense equipment for the Self-Defense Force necessary for Japan’s security.”

During a November earnings call, Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said the company had “ramped up production” to support the Israel Defense Forces, which uses its services “extensively.”

— CNN’s Hanako Montgomery and Heather Chen contributed reporting.

An Intense Global Demand for Climate-Related Relief

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Council on Strategic Risk

A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter assigned to the 25th Infantry Division delivers essential medical supplies and logistical equipment for the Lahaina National Guard Role I facility, supporting Maui County authorities to provide immediate security, safety, and well-being to those affected by the wildfires to ensure unwavering support for the community of Maui and first responders. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Abreanna Goodrich)

Since June 2022, MiRCH has identified military deployments for floods, storms, droughts, heat, wildfires, and other hazards on every continent, involving the armed services of 68 countries. With the growing severity and frequency of climate hazards, the scale of some MiRCH incidents have been immense, placing enormous pressure on defense forces to provide assistance. For instance, wildfires in Canada burned through a record high of more than 45 million acres in 2023 requiring the Canadian Armed Forces to engage in firefighting for over 100 days. Meanwhile, extreme precipitation and flooding in Libya, East Africa, and elsewhere have displaced millions of people, resulting in the deployment of thousands of military personnel. 

The pace and breadth of climate hazards present additional challenges to militaries worldwide. MiRCH has recorded 10 countries where their armed services responded to more than one climate hazard in the same month. In December 2023, India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu was still recovering from the damage caused by Cyclone Michaung when intense rainfall later in the month led to severe flooding in the region again, prompting the Indian Armed Forces to amplify their recovery efforts. Additionally, although defense forces continue to widely perform more traditional disaster relief duties, such as providing logistical support, conducting search and rescue operations, evacuating affected areas, and delivering critical aid and supplies, they are also being deployed for missions beyond these roles. For example, the Swiss army has airlifted water to thousands of livestock during water shortages, the West Virginia National Guard conducted aerial firefighting for the first time, and Indonesia ordered the military to assist farmers in planting rice since drought has reduced production of the staple crop. 

Record high temperatures, combined with a strong El Niño event, contributed to unprecedented extreme weather events that required military responses in 2023, from the first Category-5 storm in recorded history to make landfall in the Mexican Pacific to Canada’s historic fire season. As global temperatures continue to rise, climate hazards are projected to further intensify, placing an even greater demand on armed services to provide relief in the future. In the near term, extreme weather events in the next few months could be particularly severe as the current El Niño is expected to continue at least until April.

High Demand Poses Readiness Questions for Militaries

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Climate Change Is Main Driver of Historic Amazon River Drought, Study Finds

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earth.org

Climate Change Is Main Driver of Historic Amazon River Drought, Study Finds

The months-long drought – a 1 in 100 years event – has dried up large parts of the Amazon River, with water levels at their lowest in more than a century. 

—

Climate change is the main driver behind the exceptional drought that has been affecting the Amazon River since mid-2023, with the return of El Niño further exacerbating the situation, new research suggests.

A group of scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group used published peer-reviewed methods to assess the role of climate change and El Niño in influencing the drought, which is affecting an estimated 30 million people that rely on the river for transport, food, and power. They found that climate change-driven high temperatures were the main driver of the historic drought – a 1 in 100 year event on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). On the other hand, the El Niño – a phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean and historically a driver of drought – had a “much smaller influence.”

You have a choiceTake action and strive for a better future

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How the Belarus-Russia axis works together on anti-EU disinformation push

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 euractive.com 26 Jan 2024 (updated:  26 Jan 2024)

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko attends the CSTO Collective Security Council meeting in Minsk, Belarus, 23 November 2023. [EPA-EFE/SERGY GUNEEV / KREMLIN / POOL]

 Belarusian propaganda positions the EU as its main enemy, but several other features make it a unique case among its European neighbours.

*The author of this text remains anonymous due to fear of repercussions in their home country.

The most important and, at the same time, the most destructive peculiarity of disinformation in Belarus is strong Russian influence, which has deep historical roots and covers various spheres, from economy and culture to the military sector.

However, nowadays, Russian propaganda is helped by Belarusian colleagues who work to follow the same narrative.

This narrative includes turning EU countries into an economically and politically unstable military threat in the eyes of Belarusians while ignoring benefits and positives.

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Canada’s oil sands spew massive amounts of unmonitored polluting gases

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nature.com

Innovative aircraft-based technique records carbon emissions not tracked before from the industrial region

An aerial photo of the Athabasca oil sands operations, with tar and dirt exposed.
Researchers flew an aeroplane over the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to measure all of their carbon-based emissions. Credit: John Liggio, Andrea Darlington and Andrew Elford

Canada’s controversial oil-producing tar sands generate a substantial amount of unaccounted-for carbon-based emissions that can affect air quality, according to measurements taken by aircraft. The sands release more of these pollution-causing gases than megacities such as Los Angeles, California, and about the same as the rest of Canada’s human-generated sources combined — including emissions from motor traffic and all other industries.

“No rules have been broken, or guidelines exceeded here,” says Janetta McKenzie, an oil and gas analyst for the Pembina Institute, a think tank in Calgary, Canada. “But that speaks to some issues in our rules and our guidelines.”How a dangerous stew of air pollution is choking the United States

The team that conducted the study — led by environmental engineer Drew Gentner at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and chemist John Liggio at the federal agency Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in Toronto — used an innovative approach to measure all the carbon-based molecules in the air over oil sands in the province of Alberta. The researchers factored out greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and instead tracked only molecules important to air quality, many of which haven’t been monitored at the oil sands before. These carbon-based gases can seed particulate pollution in the air and react with other chemicals to form ground-level ozone.

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Red Sea, Black Sea and Panama Canal: UNCTAD raises alarm on global trade disruptions

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UNCTAD.org 26 January 2024

The organization warns that escalating attacks on ships in the Red Sea are adding strain to shipping routes already hit by conflict and climate change.

© Shutterstock/byvalet | A large container ship passes through the Suez canal.

The UN’s trade and development body, UNCTAD, has raised profound concerns over escalating disruptions to global trade.

It says that recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea, combined with geopolitical tensions affecting shipping in the Black Sea and the impacts of climate change on the Panama Canal, have given rise to a complex crisis affecting key trade routes.

UNCTAD’s head of trade logistics, Jan Hoffmann, outlined the organization’s detailed analysis of the situation at the UN’s daily press briefing on 26 January. He underlined maritime transport’s critical role in international trade, noting that it is responsible for approximately 80% of the global movement of goods.

Disruptions in the Black Sea and Panama and Suez Canals

The Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, handled approximately 12% to 15% of global trade in 2023. UNCTAD estimates that the trade volume going through the Suez Canal decreased by 42% over the last two months.

Red Sea crisis: Suez Canal traffic plummets

Suez Danal, daily transits, 28-day rolling average, 2016–23 January 2024, Index, Average=100201620172018201920202021202220232024020406080100120140160180200

Total

Bulkcarriers

Containerships

Oil

 Tankers

Get the data  Download image

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has also triggered substantial shifts in oil and grain trades, reshaping established trade patterns.

Meanwhile, the Panama Canal, another key artery for global trade, is grappling with a severe drought that has diminished water levels, resulting in a staggering 36% reduction in total transits over the past month compared to a year ago.

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Gaza crisis: Babies being born ‘into hell’ amid desperate aid shortages

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
UN.news.org
Babies are fed at Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. (file)
© UNICEF/Eyad El Baba Babies are fed at Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. (file) Humanitarian Aid Babies are being “delivered into hell” in Gaza with many others likely dying as a result of conflict with Israel and increasingly dire conditions in the enclave, UN humanitarians warned on Friday. Reiterating urgent international calls for a ceasefire, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that there have been nearly 20,000 births since the start of widespread Israeli bombardment in response to Hamas-led attacks in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and approximately 250 taken hostage. Chronic aid access problems have meant that Caesarean sections have been performed without anaesthetic while other women have been unable to deliver their stillborn babies because medical staff are overwhelmed, the UN agency said. Tiếp tục đọc “Gaza crisis: Babies being born ‘into hell’ amid desperate aid shortages” →

‘Deadliest outbreak ever seen’: climate crisis fuels Bangladesh’s worst dengue epidemic

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

theguardian.com

Mosquito-borne disease once largely limited to Dhaka spreads countrywide as higher rainfall and heat lead to fivefold rise in cases in a year, with children the hardest hit

People lie on mattresses in a crowded corridor with drips on stands in the middle. Most of the people are children and women in colourful saris

Corridors in Dhaka Medical College hospital crowded with dengue patients amid a shortage of beds. Bangladesh’s worst outbreak of dengue on record comes after unusually heavy rain, torrid temperatures and high humidity led to an explosion in the mosquito population

 All photographs by Fabeha Monir for WHO

In a small, dimly lit control room at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Dhaka, data on Bangladesh’s dengue outbreak flashes across multiple computer screens. Government analysts here have been busy collecting and monitoring the impact of the disease across the country since cases were first reported last April.

In 2023, the total reported cases of dengue numbered 321,179, with 1,705 deaths recorded, a massive jump from the year before, when 62,000 people were known to have had the virus, and 281 died. It was the highest number of annual deaths caused by the mosquito-transmitted disease ever recorded in Bangladesh.

We can’t afford to admit her to hospital so I’ve been doing whatever I can to protect her at home

Masuma Begum

The deaths last year included at least 113 children. According to Save the Children, the majority of these deaths were of children under the age of 10, with 38 deaths among those under five.

“Children make up around 30% of all dengue cases in Bangladesh and are particularly vulnerable to the virus because of underdeveloped immune systems,” says Dr Shamim Jahan, Bangladesh director of Save the Children. “Those under five are particularly at risk from developing severe symptoms, such as dehydration and shock.”

Over the past few months, the surge in cases has pushed Bangladesh’s health system to the limit, with hospital corridors overflowing with patients as wards run out of beds.

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How Wolves Change Rivers

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25 years after returning to Yellowstone, wolves have helped stabilize the ecosystem

New research shows that by reducing populations and thinning out weak and sick animals, wolves have a role in creating resilient elk herds.

National Geographic

a half eaten carcass and six wolves behind it

Wolves and black-billed magpies scavenge at a dump where carcasses are stored in Yellowstone National Park.

PUBLISHED JULY 10, 2020

LARAMIE, WYOMINGTwenty-five years after gray wolves returned to Yellowstone National Park, the predators that some feared would wipe out elk have instead proved to be more of a stabilizing force. New research shows that by reducing populations and thinning out weak and sick animals, wolves are helping create more resilient elk herds.

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New International Maritime Bureau report reveals concerning rise in maritime piracy incidents in 2023

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
  • 11 January 2024

Released today, the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) raises concern over the first successful Somali based hijacking since 2017.

The IMB annual report recorded 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2023 compared to 115 in 2022. It reveals that 105 vessels were boarded, nine attempted attacks, four vessels hijacked and two fired upon.  

Where the number of 2023 reported incidents has slightly increased compared to 2022, the IMB urges caution for crew safety as the number of crew taken hostage and kidnapped increased from 41 to 73 and from two to 14 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. A further 10 crew were threatened, four injured and one assaulted in 2023. 

Alarming first successful hijacking off Somalia since 2017 

On 14 December 2023, the report recorded the first successful hijacking of a vessel off the coast of Somalia since 2017.  

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Vietnam’s State Shipbuilding corporation to declare bankruptcy: industry ministry

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A process has begun to allow the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) to declare bankruptcy, according to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang.

Shipbuilding corporation to declare bankruptcy: industry ministry hinh anh 1

A fishing trawler built by the Ha Long Shipbuilding Company, a subsidiary of SBIC, in 2018. (Photo: SBIC)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – A process has begun to allow the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) to declare bankruptcy, according to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang.

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) said the bankruptcy was, at this point, an inevitable conclusion and the ministry is now aiming for an overhaul of the corporation’s core businesses while trying to retain as many experienced managers and workers as possible.

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Ireland Could Become the Next Nation to Recognize the Rights of Nature and a Human Right to a Clean Environment

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The move to enshrine those rights is part of a flurry of developments advancing the rights of nature movement this year.

insideclimatenews.org By Katie Surma January 1, 2024

Environmental activists from the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion called on the Irish Government to introduce legislation in the form of a Biodiversity Act at a protest outside the National Biodiversity Conference in Dublin Castle on June 8, 2022. Credit: Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images
Environmental activists from the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion called on the Irish Government to introduce legislation in the form of a Biodiversity Act at a protest outside the National Biodiversity Conference in Dublin Castle on June 8, 2022. Credit: Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images

Ireland—a nation synonymous with its abundant, verdant landscapes—is considering a nationwide referendum on the rights of nature and the human right to a healthy environment.  

If that happens, Ireland would become the first European country to constitutionally recognize that ecosystems, similar to humans and corporations, possess legal rights. More than two-thirds of the 27 European Union countries already recognize a universal human right to a healthy environment.

In December, a legislative committee proposed that the Irish government take a series of administrative measures to draft proposed constitutional amendments recognizing that nature has inherent rights to exist, perpetuate and be restored, and that humans have a right to a clean environment and stable climate. 

To take legal effect, the proposed amendments must be approved by both houses of parliament, the Dáil Éireann (the lower house) and the Seanad (the upper house), and win a majority of the popular vote.

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THE REALITY OF ELDERLY POVERTY IN VIETNAM

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borgenproject.org

>> Vietnam’s ticking time-bomb of elderly poverty

Elderly Poverty in Vietnam
Elderly poverty in Vietnam is a significant issue considering that Vietnam currently has one of the highest rates of aging populations in the world. Right now, Vietnam is still a young country, despite the fact that its elderly population has increased from 4.9% in 1975 to 7.9% as of 2020. There is reason to have some concern over the aging population. Even just between 2009 and 2019, the elderly population older than the age of 60 increased by 2%. The World Bank has calculated that Vietnam could be the country that is aging fastest globally.

A Closer Look at Elderly Poverty in Vietnam

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Higher Education’s Donor Problem

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time.com

University Presidents Testify In House Hearing On Campus Antisemitism
Dr. Claudine Gay testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on December 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. She has since resigned from her post as President of Harvard University.Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images

BY NICHOLAS DIRKS JANUARY 11, 2024 2:02 PM EST

Dirks is currently the president of the New York Academy of Sciences and author of the new book CITY OF INTELLECT: The Uses and Abuses of the University

The end of Claudine Gay’s brief and turbulent presidency at Harvard has hardly put an end to controversies about elite university leadership and governance. Bill Ackman, the “activist” donor and Harvard graduate, is calling for further resignations from the Harvard Corporation, while baiting MIT’s President, Sally Kornbluth, with the Shakespearean query: “et tu?” Meanwhile, Mark Rowan, the board member who engineered the takedown of the University of Pennsylvania’s erstwhile president, Elizabeth McGill—the first of the Washington three to step down—has now been pressing his advantage in calling for major reforms of an academic nature at Penn. Philanthropy and academic freedom are colliding in ways that have the potential to undermine the true purpose and mission of our universities.

As much as these, and some other, donors have appeared to embody popular discontent with those at the pinnacle of higher education, it is easy to forget that not long ago the scandals around these universities had to do with donors who used their gifts as leverage to secure admission for their children, making visible the problematic relationship between some individual philanthropy and private interests. We all called for firewalls then but seem now to have forgotten those critiques of the relationship between private interests and higher education.

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.612.0_en.html#goog_765384836

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No piracy report in Asian seas but ship robberies increase by 19 per cent in Southeast Asian waters: Report

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telegraphindia.com

Though the 100 incidents in 2023 increased by 19 per cent over 2022, these were small-time robberies, with theft of items such as nominal value wires, brass ship products, engine spares and scraps, Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery, says executive director

PTI Singapore Published 09.01.24, 06:06 PM

Representational picture.

Representational picture.File picture

No report of piracy incidents occurred on the Asian high seas but 99 actual incidents and one attempted armed robbery against ships occurred in Southeast Asian waters in 2023, a Singapore based maritime organisation reported said on Tuesday.

Though the 100 incidents in 2023 increased by 19 per cent over 2022, these were small-time robberies, with theft of items such as nominal value wires, brass ship products, engine spares and scraps, Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery (ReCAAP) executive director Krishnaswamy Natarajan said at the annual press conference.

Such incidents were five in India in 2023, the same as those in 2022, while Bangladesh and Malaysia reported one incident each, compared to five and two incidents in 2022, respectively.

Reviewing the year, Natarajan pointed out that the increase in incidents occurred in Indonesia, the Philippines, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), Thailand and Vietnam.

Of concern was the occurrence of incidents in SOMS with 63 incidents compared to 55 incidents in 2022, said the former Director General of Indian Coast Guard.

In the Sulu-Celebes Seas, there was no report of the abduction of crew for ransom by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which was achieved through the concerted efforts of the Philippine and Malaysian authorities, he highlighted.

As part of the Centre’s continuous efforts to ensure that the evolving needs of the shipping industry are met, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) launched various initiatives in 2023, to keep the shipping community abreast of the latest piracy and ARAS situation in Asia and to facilitate ship masters in the timely reporting of incidents to the nearest coastal State.

The initiatives include the launch of the ReCAAP Data Visualisation Map and Panel (Re-VAMP) — an interactive dashboard to enable the viewing and analytics of past and current incidents of piracy and ARAS in Asia.

The initiative also includes the production of a poster containing the guidelines and updated contact details of law enforcement agencies of the littoral States of the SOMS; and engagement of the shipping industry through various events including conferences, forums and shipping dialogue sessions, he elaborated.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.