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.

Gaza war is the deadliest for journalists since 1992

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

As of December 4:

 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)

Committee to Protect Journalists

Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war

December 4, 2023 4:09 PM EST

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 deaths in 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.

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History fades as rising sea levels slowly destroy Thailand’s temple murals

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

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.

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Vietnam’s largest conservation center for rare dog species thrives

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

vnexpress.net By Ngoc Tai   December 1, 2023 | 06:20 am GMT+7

Vietnam's largest conservation center for rare dog species thrives

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.

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COP28 climate summit just approved a ‘loss and damage’ fund. What does this mean?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

theconversation.com Published: December 1, 2023 2.24am GMT

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.

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The Ocean and the Law of the Sea – History of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

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.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(A historical perspective)

UN.org Originally prepared for the International Year of the Ocean, 1998

A Historical Perspective

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Cambodia scraps coal power project to build gas-fired plant, import LNG

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

reuters.com By Sudarshan Varadhan

November 29, 202312:52 PM GMT+7Updated 5 days ago

Cambodia's national flags are seen as labourers work at a construction site in Phnom Penh

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.

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Wives suffer one-sided marriages with ‘man-child’ husbands

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

vnexpress.net By Thanh Nga   December 3, 2023 | 08:00 pm GMT+7

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.”

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COP28: four key issues that will dominate the latest UN climate summit

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

theconversation.com Published: November 29, 2023 4.56pm GMT

The United Nations Environment Programme recently published a report with an unusually strong title for a UN body: “Emissions Gap Report 2023: Broken Record – Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again)”. Yet again, it highlights how far countries are off track from safeguarding the planet – and us.

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.

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“Cánh cửa” Thanh niên Xung phong

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

(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”.

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“Under no circumstances will the US permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,” US Vice President, Kalama Harris

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Harris says Israel must do more to protect civilians: “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed”

CNN live updates

Washington will not allow for the forced relocation of Palestinians or any redrawing of the current border of the Gaza Strip, US Vice President Kamala Harris said in a meeting Saturday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

“Under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,” Harris said, according to a statement from the White House.

What’s behind China’s mysterious wave of childhood pneumonia?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

nature.com

Scientists expected a surge in respiratory disease, but what is happening in China is unusual.

Many adults and children, a lot of them wearing masks, in a hospital waiting room.
Parents wait for their children to be treated for respiratory disease in Chongqing, China.Credit: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty

China is grappling with a surge in respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that common winter infections — rather than any new pathogens — are behind the spike in hospitalizations. A surge of infections was expected in the country this winter, China’s first without COVID-19 restrictions since the pandemic began in 2020. What is unusual, say epidemiologists, is the high prevalence of pneumonia in China. When COVID-19 restrictions were eased in other countries, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) drove most spikes in illness.

The WHO requested information, including laboratory results and data on recent trends in the spread of respiratory illnesses, from China’s health authorities last week. This followed reports from the media and the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases — a publicly available system run by the International Society for Infectious Diseases — about clusters of “undiagnosed pneumonia”.

In a 23 November statement, the WHO said that China’s health authorities have attributed the rise in hospitalizations since October to known pathogens, such as adenoviruses, influenza virus and RSV, which tends to cause only mild, cold-like symptoms. However, an increase in children being admitted to hospital since May, particularly in northern cities such as Beijing, is mainly due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterium that infects the lungs. It is a common cause of ‘walking pneumonia’, a form of the disease that is usually relatively mild and doesn’t require bed rest or hospitalization, but that is hitting children hard this year.

Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, is not surprised by the wave of illness. “This is a typical ‘winter surge’ in acute respiratory infections,” he says. “It is happening slightly earlier this year, perhaps because of increased population susceptibility to respiratory infections resulting from three years of COVID measures.”

A familiar pattern

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All the Metals We Mined in One Visualization

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

 visualcapitalist.com November 15, 2023 By Bruno Venditti

All the metals we mined

Metals are a big part of our daily lives, found in every building we enter and all devices we use.

Today, major industries that directly consume processed mineral materials contribute 14% of the United States economy.

The above infographic visualizes all 2.8 billion tonnes of metals mined in 2022 and highlights each metal’s largest end-use using data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Iron Ore Dominance

Iron ore dominates the metals mining landscape, comprising 93% of the total mined. In 2022, 2.6 billion tonnes of iron ore were mined, containing about 1.6 billion tonnes of iron.

Metal/OreQuantity Mined in 2022 (tonnes)% of Total
Iron ore2,600,000,00093.3%
Industrial metals185,111,8356.6%
Technology and Precious Metals1,500,0080.05%
Total2,786,611,843100%

Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Iron ores are found in various geologic environments, such as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks, and can contain over 70% iron, with many falling in the 50-60% range.

Combined with other materials like coke and limestone, iron ore is primarily used in steel production. Today, almost all (98%) iron ore is dedicated to steelmaking.

The ore is typically mined in about 50 countries, but Australia, Brazil, China, and India are responsible for 75% of the production.

Because of its essential role in infrastructure development, iron ore is one of the most crucial materials underpinning urbanization and economic growth.

Industrial Metals

Industrial metals occupy the second position on our list, constituting 6.6% of all metals mined in 2022. These metals, including copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc, are employed in construction and industrial applications.

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Laos Maps Showing Sites of US Bombings Resurface: ‘Kissinger’s Legacy’

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

newsweek.com By Ellie Cook Security & Defense Reporter

Resurfaced maps showing the heavy Cold War bombardment of Laos have fed the controversial legacy of diplomatic giant Henry Kissinger following his death.

Kissinger, a former secretary of state and national security adviser who is credited with shaping decades of U.S. foreign policy, died at his Connecticut home aged 100 on Wednesday.

Kissinger “played central roles in the opening to China, negotiating the end of the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, and helping to bring America’s role in the Vietnam War to a close,” the diplomat’s international geopolitical consulting firm said in a statement on his passing.

The influential diplomat won the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize along with Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho “for jointly having negotiated a cease-fire in Vietnam in 1973.” The latter declined the prize.

But as tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers died in Vietnam, anger in the U.S. was also spurred on by the extensive bombing of neighboring countries Laos and Cambodia.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on September 22, 1992 in Washington. Newly resurfaced maps showing the heavy Cold War bombardment of Laos feed the controversial legacy of diplomatic giant Henry Kissinger following his death on Wednesday.ROBERT GIROUX/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The U.S. was attempting to disrupt a logistics chain — known as the Ho Chi Minh trail — running from Laos into Vietnam, which was used by North Vietnamese forces.

Laos is the most bombed country in the world. Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped more than 270 million bombs on the country, which had a population of around 3 million at the time.

U.S. aircraft dropped a new wave of bombs on Laos every eight minutes for nearly 10 years on average.

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90 NGOs question Thailand Prime Minister on fisheries deregulation plan (commentary)

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

news.mongabay.com by Steve Trent on 23 November 2023

  • Thailand’s new government is promising to “unlock” fisheries by reducing regulation and transparency around vessels’ activities.
  • A letter signed by 90 NGOs questions the National Fishing Association’s proposals for fisheries reform, including returning to day-rate salaries, permitting child labor and weakening punitive measures designed to deter illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
  • This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

The government of Thailand is about to reverse eight years of progress.

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