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.
APnews.com BY SYLVIA HUIUpdated 4:23 PM GMT+7, December 5, 2023
Britain’s polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough has crossed paths with the world’s largest iceberg as it was drifting out of Antarctic waters. (Dec. 5)Photos
BY SYLVIA HUIUpdated 4:23 PM GMT+7, December 5, 2023Share
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s polar research ship has crossed paths with the largest iceberg in the world — a “lucky” encounter that enabled scientists to collect seawater samples around the colossal berg as it drifts out of Antarctic waters, the British Antarctic Survey said Monday.
The RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is on its way to Antarctica for its first scientific mission, passed the mega iceberg known as the A23a on Friday near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Raz Segal, an Israeli expert in modern genocide, calls Israel’s assault on Gaza a textbook case of “intent to commit genocide” and its rationalization of its violence a “shameful use” of the lessons of the Holocaust. Israeli state exceptionalism and comparisons of its Palestinians victims to “Nazis” are used to “justify, rationalize, deny, distort, disavow mass violence against Palestinians,” says Segal.
Giữa tháng 10/2023 Cơ quan An ninh điều tra – Công an tỉnh Kiên Giang đã ra Quyết định khởi tố bị can, thực hiện Lệnh bắt tạm giam đối với Trần Văn Luyến (sinh năm 1981 – ngụ phường Vĩnh Bảo, TP. Rạch Giá) và Phạm Chí Dũng (sinh năm 1965, ngụ xã Mỹ Lâm, huyện Hòn Đất, tỉnh Kiên Giang) về tội “Tổ chức cho người khác xuất cảnh trái phép” theo khoản 3 Điều 348 Bộ luật Hình sự.
Trần Văn Luyến (bên trái) bị bắt giữ và khởi tố
Theo cơ quan Công an, để điều tra xử lý vụ việc nêu trên, Cục Cảnh sát hình sự- Bộ Công an đã cử một tổ công tác gồm những cán bộ, điều tra viên nhiều kinh nghiệm phối hợp với Công an tỉnh Kiên Giang tổ chức điều tra. Ban chuyên án xác định việc các đối tượng đưa tàu, thuyền viên ra vùng biển nước ngoài đánh bắt hải sản có dấu hiệu hành vi “Tổ chức, môi giới cho người khác xuất cảnh trái phép”.
‘I would think that you would notice that you’re dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometers,’ says minister.
Finland and Estonia have since been in touch with Chinese authorities seeking their cooperation with the investigation | Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images
BRUSSELS — As the investigation into damage to Baltic Sea critical infrastructure continues, Finland’s Minister of European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz said it’s hard to believe sabotage to the undersea gas pipeline was accidental — or that it happened without Beijing’s knowledge.
“I’m not the sea captain. But I would think that you would notice that you’re dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometers,” Adlercreutz said in an interview Thursday in Brussels. “I think everything indicates that it was intentional. But of course, so far, nobody has admitted to it.”
Finland and Estonia have been investigating the rupture of the Balticconnector, a 77-kilometer-long gas pipeline that connects the two NATO members beneath the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was damaged around October 7-8, along with two telecoms cables connecting Estonia to Finland and Sweden.
An investigation by Finnish authorities identified as the main suspect Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear, which is believed to have dragged its anchor across the Baltic Sea seabed, cutting through the cables and gas lines. The anchor — which weighs 6,000 kilograms — was retrieved a few meters from the site of the damage.
Finland and Estonia have since been in touch with Chinese authorities seeking their cooperation with the investigation. The Baltic Times reported earlier this week that the two European countries have asked to send representatives to Beijing to investigate the vessel, which is currently en route to a Chinese port.
Adlercreutz said he can’t speculate on whether the action was approved by the Chinese government. But the vessel’s imminent return to China raises some questions, he said.
“If I as a captain would have done something that the Chinese government wouldn’t approve of, then I would be concerned about returning with my boat to China,” he said.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur expressed similar sentiment in an interview with Swedish public broadcaster SVT last month, saying the captain of the ship surely “understood that there was something wrong” after dragging an anchor for over 180 kilometers.
Coming more than a year after the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany were damaged by several explosions, the Balticconnector incident raises more concerns over the safety of undersea critical infrastructure and possible measures to protect them from external sabotage. No culprit has been identified for the Nord Stream attack despite an international investigation.
Adlercreutz said there should be “more protection” of these types of infrastructure, for example in terms of better surveillance of suspicious ships. But there are limitations to what can be done, he added.
Mourners carry the coffins of the two Al-Mayadeen TV journalists killed November 21 by an Israeli strike in Lebanon. The funeral procession is shown outside the station’s Beirut headquarters on November 22. (Photo: AP/Bilal Hussein)
Editor’s note: The list below is CPJ’s most complete account of journalist deaths in the war. Our database will not reflect many of these casualties until we have fully investigated the circumstances surrounding them. For more information, read our FAQ.
The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
As of December 4, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 63 journalists and media workers were among the more than 16,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 15,500 Palestinian deathsin Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 deaths in Israel. The deadliest day of the war for journalist deaths was its first day, October 7, with six journalists killed; the second-deadliest day occurred on November 18, with five killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France Press news agencies that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, after they had sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted by Israeli strikes, Reuters reported on October 27.
Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages and extensive power outages.
theguardian.com Saltwater damage could see precious historical Buddhist artworks dating back hundreds of years slowly fade entirely from view
by Rebecca Ratcliffe and Navaon Siradapuvadol in NonthaburiWed 29 Nov 2023 02.37 GMT
If you look closely, you can just about see the characters and scenes that once stretched across the walls of Wat Prasat, a temple in Nonthaburi. There’s the dark shape of an elephant’s head, a figure slouching on its back; outlines of swords pointing upwards to the centre of the display; patches of curved roofs.
“The mural used to be more vivid,” says Phra Maha Natee, the abbot of Wat Prasat. Even when he was a novice monk, 20 years ago, the image – which shows one of the jātakas stories that recall the Buddha’s past lives – was easier to understand. “The colour was brighter and sharper,” he says.
The murals offer a glimpse into a past era – a time of prosperity but also social upheaval, when a more empowered nobility had emerged, as did a desire, say historians, for Buddhism to play a more stronger role in reinforcing discipline in society. They date back to the mid or later years of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Siam, which existed from 1351 to 1767, in what is now Thailand and are a treasured early example of the art form.
Two Phu Quoc Ridgebacks at a conservation center in Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc TaiLe Quoc Tuan, 59, has spent nearly 30 years looking for and protecting the Phu Quoc Ridgeback, and now runs a conservation center with over 400 of the dogs.
Ever since he was young, Tuan, who lives in Kien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta, has been going into the buffer zone of the U Minh forest to look for plants and animals and support his family. One day, when he got lost in the forest, he climbed on top of a tree to sleep, and his dog refused to leave his side.
Since then he has been dreaming about finding rare dog species to conserve them.
Once after completing college he went on a business trip to Phu Quoc and learned about the Phu Quoc Ridgeback and its unique characteristics like webbed feet, dorsal ridges and great swimming expertise, and decided to protect this species.
In 1999 he bought 2,000 m2 of land in Phu Quoc for VND200 million (US$8,270) to set up a farm and looked for purebred puppies.
Day one of the COP28 climate summit saw the first big breakthrough: agreement on a “loss and damage” fund to compensate poor states for the effects of climate change.
Met with a standing ovation in Dubai, the agreement means wealthy states and major polluters will put millions of dollars towards a fund that will in turn distribute funds to poor states harmed by climate change. The fund will be administered by the World Bank. Initial commitments amount to US$430 million.
It will come as a huge relief to the United Arab Emirates, the summit’s host. The country was under pressure even before talks began about its fossil fuel expansion plans and the fact the president of the climate talks is chief executive of a national oil company. This undoubtedly featured in the UAE’s decision to commit US$100 million to the fund.
Other countries to make initial commitments to the fund include the United Kingdom ($75 million), United States ($24.5 million), Japan ($10 million) and Germany (also US$100 million). Pressure will now build on other wealthy countries, including Australia, to outline their own commitments to the fund.
🌍 Day 1 of COP28 was truly momentous
🤝 Agreement was reached on Loss & Damage
💵 Over $420m was pledged to L&D within an hour
✅ The negotiations agenda was agreed & adopted swiftly
👨⚖️ Dr. Sultan Al Jaber was formally appointed COP President
How the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework within which all activities in the ocean and seas must be carried out.
Links to the texts of the 1958 Geneva Conventions on the Law of the SeaConvention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958Convention on the High Seas, 1958Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas, 1958Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958Optional Protocol of Signature concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, 1958
SINGAPORE, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Cambodia has abandoned plans to build a $1.5 billion 700 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power project in a protected reserve along the southwestern coast and will build an 800 MW natural-gas fired plant instead, its energy minister told Reuters.
As part of the project, Cambodia is exploring construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to import the super-chilled fuel and re-gasify it for use in the power plant, Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told Reuters.
The planned LNG terminal, likely to be a fixed land-based facility, would be Cambodia’s first and would make it a new import market in Southeast Asia. Vietnam and the Philippines took their first shipments this year.
“The Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will announce on Nov. 30 the cancellation of the 700 MW coal power plant project in Koh Kong and the plan to replace it with an 800 MW LNG to be commissioned after 2030,” Rottanak told Reuters.
In the middle of washing her hair, Ngoc Trang had to run out of the shower to check on her crying baby while her husband played video games on the couch.
The 24-year-old woman living in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, said that for the past four months, she’s only managed to sleep three hours a night because she has no help caring for her child during late-night crying fits.
Instead of helping her look after the baby, her husband has been constantly occupied with his games and phone. Every time she has asked for his assistance, he has used the excuse that he had to wake up early for work.
“He sulks at me when I complain about his carelessness. In the end, I had to console both him and the baby to get some peace,” Trang said.
After being in a relationship for three years, Trang decided to marry her current husband at the beginning of 2022 not only because of his stable income, but because she had thought he was someone who was willing to share responsibilities with her.
However, after they married, he transformed into an entirely different person, she said. He left everything to her, from finding a place to rent to even when to have a baby. Whenever Trang asked his opinion about a decision, he would simply reply: “It’s up to you.”
As the world gathers in the United Arab Emirates for the annual UN climate change conference (or, more formally, Conference of the Parties, COP), the stakes are as high as ever. The head of the UN climate change secretariat Simon Stiell has urged for this meeting – COP28 – to be a “turning point.”
Can this COP deliver on that goal? Perhaps.
As an academic focused on international climate governance, I’ve seen how trust is vital for an ambitious outcome. Delegates negotiate all night. They trade off issues against another. And at the end of the long summit, negotiators and ministers rely on each other to uphold bargains made over hundreds of hours of talks. But, though COP28 will be my 11th climate COP, I’ve never seen trust so low among countries.
(trích Chương VII Bên Thắng Cuộc – Tác giả Huy Đức)
Từ tháng 8-1975, ông Võ Văn Kiệt đã giao cho Thành đoàn tổ chức một lực lượng thanh niên xung phong đi “thí điểm” khai khẩn đất hoang. Cuối năm ấy, ông Võ Văn Kiệt triệu tập Ban Thường vụ Thành đoàn đến nhà riêng ông Phan Minh Tánh, bí thư Trung ương Đoàn Thanh niên Cách mạng miền Nam. Vào họp, ông Kiệt giao nhiệm vụ: “Thành phố cần một lực lượng, lực lượng đó là thanh niên xung phong. Giao Thành đoàn đứng ra tổ chức, cần Thành ủy hỗ trợ gì, Thành ủy sẽ đáp ứng”. Ông giải thích: “Phải tạo ra một môi trường để mọi thanh niên đều có thể tham gia lao động để có suy nghĩ tích cực và để hãnh diện về bản thân mình”.
Ông Võ Ngọc An năm ấy ba mươi mốt tuổi, đang là ủy viên Thường vụ Thành đoàn phụ trách báo Tuổi Trẻ, nhớ lại: “Lúc đó, nghe ông Kiệt nói cảm thấy như đang nghe một điều gì đó thật thiêng liêng”. Sau cuộc họp ấy, ông Võ Ngọc An lãnh trách nhiệm huy động tiền bạc để may hàng ngàn bộ đồng phục xanh.
Hàng chục năm sau, nhiều người dân Thành phố nhớ tới ngày 28-3-1976, không chỉ vì tính hoành tráng của cuộc biểu dương lực lượng ở sân vận động Thống Nhất với một “rừng người” áo xanh, tay cầm cuốc xẻng, mà ở cách mở đầu bài nói chuyện của một bí thư cộng sản. Thay vì, “các đồng chí” như cách xưng hô thống trị thời bấy giờ ở trên mọi diễn đàn, ông Võ Văn Kiệt đã làm nhiều thanh niên ứa nước mắt khi nói: “Các em đoàn viên, thanh niên yêu quý!”. Trong số hàng vạn thanh niên có mặt hôm ấy không chỉ có con em Cách mạng. Theo yêu cầu của ông Võ Văn Kiệt, Thành đoàn đã vận động được cả những thanh niên nghiện xì ke, ma túy, có người đã từng là “đĩ, điếm”, có người là “lính ngụy”. Theo ông Võ Ngọc An, trong số ấy có một đại úy Sài Gòn, cha anh đã từng bị giết nhầm bởi “Việt Cộng”. Những thanh niên ấy, từ sau ngày 30-4, thông qua cách cư xử của các cán bộ phường, thông qua những ngôn từ cao ngạo trên báo đài, biết được thân phận của mình, dám mong chi có ngày một ông bí thư gọi mình là “các em yêu dấu”.
Với tư cách là một nhà lãnh đạo Đảng, ông Võ Văn Kiệt cũng nói về truyền thống theo cách của mình: “Tôi cũng xin phép được bày tỏ với lứa tuổi hai mươi của đất nước đã hết đau thương và từ đây thẳng đường đi tới chủ nghĩa xã hội với tất cả tấm lòng trìu mến và kỳ vọng thiết tha của những lớp thanh niên nối tiếp nhau đã từng tham gia khởi nghĩa Nam Kỳ, cách mạng Tháng Tám…”. Ông nói tiếp: “Lý tưởng của họ, ước mơ của họ chính là hiện tại mà hôm nay các em đang sống. Nếu các em sau này có điều kiện ôn lại kỹ càng một giai đoạn cách mạng hùng vĩ đã qua của dân tộc, các em sẽ biết thương yêu vô hạn Tổ quốc Việt Nam nghìn lần yêu dấu. Các em sẽ mạnh lên gấp bội vì một niềm tin ở nhân dân và đất nước”.
CVD 