Conversations on Vietnam Development
Frances Haugen’s testimony at the Senate hearing today raised serious questions about how Facebook’s algorithms work—and echoes many findings from our previous investigation.
By Karen Hao
October 5, 2021
On Sunday night, the primary source for the Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files, an investigative series based on internal Facebook documents, revealed her identity in an episode of 60 Minutes.
Tiếp tục đọc “The Facebook whistleblower says its algorithms are dangerous. Here’s why.”
Current trajectory suggests region will struggle to escape middle-income trap
William Bratton November 28, 2021 05:00 JST
Workers arrange blades at an assembly line in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, in April 2016: many of the necessary ingredients for productivity-led development are missing across much of Southeast Asia. © Reuters
William Bratton is author of “China’s Rise, Asia’s Decline.” He was previously head of equity research, Asia-Pacific, at HSBC.
It is easy to forget that it was South America, not Asia, that was once seen as the world’s emerging economic hot spot.
Many of the region’s countries were relatively prosperous in the first half of the 20th century. Argentina, for example, was then one of the world’s richest countries. They also achieved impressive growth rates in the immediate aftermath of World War II.
But South America has fallen far since those halcyon days. The region’s combined gross domestic product, in constant dollar terms, was 22% of the U.S.’s in 1980 but just 17% in 2020. This relative decline is even more stark on a per capita basis. Brazil’s GDP per capita was 22% of the U.S.’s in 1980 but only 14% in 2020, while Mexico’s fell from 25% to 15% over the same period.
Tiếp tục đọc “Southeast Asia risks stumbling toward a South American future”
By Viet Anh November 30, 2021 | 10:32 am GMT+7
Measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic have also curtailed human trafficking from Vietnam to China, but traffickers are looking for other routes.
In the fall of 2020, when officials in a remote province in China began to check identities to combat Covid transmission, they found a 50-year-old woman in a poor family without any identity papers.
“It turned out she was a Vietnamese victim trafficked to China around 35 years ago,” Dinh Thi Minh Chau, a senior psychologist at the Blue Dragon Foundation, a Hanoi organization that works to rescue trafficking victims, said.
The woman from northern Vietnam had agreed to go with a person in her village to find a job because her family was too poor.
Tiếp tục đọc “Pandemic deters human trafficking to China, but fight far from over”
by Sheryl Lee Tian Tong on 25 November 2021
Tiếp tục đọc “Wildlife trade hub Vietnam is also hub of impunity for traffickers, report says”
The mystery of COVID’s origins has reignited a contentious debate about potentially risky studies and the fuzzy terminology that describes them.
In Greek mythology, the Chimaera was a fire-breathing monster, a horrifying mishmash of lion, goat and snake that laid waste to the countryside. In 2015, virologists led by Ralph Baric at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill reported the creation of their own chimaera. They took a version of the coronavirus responsible for the deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the early 2000s — now known as SARS-CoV — and adorned it with surface proteins from a different coronavirus taken from Chinese horseshoe bats. In the laboratory, this particular mash-up was able to break into human cells and also make mice ill1. This chimaera came with a message: other coronaviruses have the potential to spark a human pandemic. In just a few years’ time, that warning would prove prescient, as a distant cousin of SARS-CoV has now killed more than 4.9 million people worldwide.
Tiếp tục đọc “The shifting sands of ‘gain-of-function’ research”
Copyright: Flickr/UNAMIDPhoto-Albert Gonzalez Farran
Traditional medicine (TM) is due a revival. For millennia, people around the world have healed the sick with herbal or animal-derived remedies, handed down through generations.
In Africa and Asia, 80 per cent of the population still uses traditional remedies rather than modern medicine for primary healthcare.
And in developed nations, TM is rapidly gaining appeal. Estimates suggest up to 80 per cent of the population has tried a therapy such as acupuncture or homeopathy. And a survey conducted earlier this year found that 74 per cent of US medical students believe that Western medicine would benefit by integrating traditional or alternative therapies and practices. [1]
Tiếp tục đọc “Integrating modern and traditional medicine: Facts and figures”
Our planet needs successful cities-cities that are centers of innovation and productivity, cities where every family thrives, cities that realize the promise of low-carbon prosperity.
We are not yet building the cities we need. One in two people live in cities and 2.5 billion more will do so by 2050. Cities produce over 80% of GDP but also 70% of global GHG emissions. Our cities are growing, while inequality widens and livelihoods dwindle. Urban infrastructure is not keeping pace with the surge in residents. With many cities already struggling to meet people’s basic needs, global development and climate challenges are increasingly urban challenges. A sustainable future depends on whether cities can transform. Is there a path to transformative change that can make cities more prosperous, more equal, and low-carbon at the same time?
Tiếp tục đọc “Seven Transformations for More Equitable and Sustainable Cities”
NEW YORK, HÀ NỘI ngày 20/8/2021 – Theo báo cáo của UNICEF phát hành ngày hôm nay, thanh thiếu niên Việt Nam là một trong những nhóm đối tượng có nguy cơ cao nhất trước các tác động của biến đổi khí hậu; điều này đe dọa đến sức khỏe, giáo dục và sự an toàn của các em.
‘Khủng hoảng khí hậu là cuộc khủng hoảng về quyền trẻ em: Giới thiệu chỉ số rủi ro khí hậu liên quan tới trẻ em’ là phân tích toàn diện đầu tiên được thực hiện về rủi ro khí hậu từ góc độ của trẻ em. Trong phân tích này, các quốc gia được xếp hạng dựa trên nguy cơ rủi ro của trẻ em trước các cú sốc về khí hậu và môi trường, chẳng hạn như lốc xoáy và các đợt nắng nóng, cũng như mức độ dễ bị tổn thương của trẻ em trước các cú sốc, dựa trên khả năng tiếp cận các dịch vụ thiết yếu của trẻ em.
Báo cáo được thực hiện và phát hành với sự hợp tác của tổ chức Fridays for Future nhân dịp kỷ niệm ba năm phong trào biểu tình vì khí hậu toàn cầu do thanh niên lãnh đạo. Báo cáo cho thấy khoảng 1 tỷ trẻ em – gần một nửa trong số 2,2 tỷ trẻ em trên toàn thế giới – sống tại 33 quốc gia được phân loại là có “nguy cơ cực kỳ cao”. Các kết quả của báo cáo cho thấy số lượng trẻ em hiện đang bị ảnh hưởng; các con số có thể trở nên tồi tệ hơn khi tác động của biến đổi khí hậu tăng nhanh.
Tiếp tục đọc “Trẻ em Việt Nam có “nguy cơ cao” chịu tác động của khủng hoảng khí hậu – UNICEF”
By Kate Abnett and Elizabeth Piper
Summary
GLASGOW, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Indonesia, Poland, Vietnam and other nations pledged on Thursday to phase out use of coal-fired power and stop building plants, but their deal at the COP26 climate summit failed to win support from China, India and other top coal consumers.
Britain has said one of its main aims for the United Nations summit is “consigning coal power to history”. The deal saw 23 nations making new commitments, a move the president of the COP26 summit, Alok Sharma, said put the end of coal “in sight”.https://17f4ab6d574607e1c63d4da62d7a4666.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
“Today I think we can say that the end of coal is in sight,” Sharma told the Glasgow meeting.
Tiếp tục đọc “China, India, other big coal users missing from COP26 phase-out deal”
Critics say pledge to end use of dirtiest fuel source in 2030s and 40s does not go far enough
Fiona Harvey, Jillian Ambrose and Patrick Greenfield in GlasgowWed 3 Nov 2021 22.30 GMT
More than 40 countries have agreed to phase out their use of coal-fired power, the dirtiest fuel source, in a boost to UK hopes of a deal to “keep 1.5C alive”, from the Cop26 climate summit.
Major coal-using countries, including Canada, Poland, South Korea, Ukraine, Indonesia and Vietnam, will phase out their use of coal for electricity generation, with the bigger economies doing so in the 2030s, and smaller economies doing so in the 2040s.
Tiếp tục đọc “More than 40 countries agree to phase out coal-fired power”
Oct 9th 2021
NEW YORK
Today’s hydrogen business is, in global terms, reasonably small, very dirty and completely vital. Some 90m tonnes of the stuff are produced each year, providing revenues of over $150bn—approaching those of ExxonMobil, an oil and gas company. This is done almost entirely by burning fossil fuels with air and steam—a process which uses up 6% of the world’s natural gas and 2% of its coal and emits more than 800m tonnes of carbon dioxide, putting the industry’s emissions on the same level as those of Germany.Listen to this story
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Tiếp tục đọc “Creating the new hydrogen economy is a massive undertaking”
Adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held at Milan from 26 August to
6 September 1985 and endorsed by General Assembly resolutions 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985
Whereas in the Charter of the United Nations the peoples of the world affirm, inter alia , their determination to establish conditions under which justice can be maintained to achieve international co-operation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination,
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines in particular the principles of equality before the law, of the presumption of innocence and of the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law,
Whereas the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights both guarantee the exercise of those rights, and in addition, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further guarantees the right to be tried without undue delay,
Tiếp tục đọc “Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary”
Japan to host next Quad summit in 2022, U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator says
Kurt Campbell, the U.S. National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator speaks at the United States Institute of Peace on Nov. 19. (Screenshot)KEN MORIYASU, Nikkei Asia chief desk editorNovember 20, 2021 03:20 JST
NEW YORK — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration views India and Vietnam as key countries to strengthen relations with, his Indo-Pacific point man said Friday.
India will be a key fulcrum player on the global stage in the 21st century, and successive American administrations have been united in that assessment, said Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council’s coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, at an event hosted by the Washington-based United States Institute of Peace.
“I’m very bullish about the future with India. I think we all recognize that the critical, crucial member in the Quad is India,” Campbell said, referring to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue among the U.S., Japan, India and Australia.
Entrenched corruption in Vietnamese education sector threatens to the impressive improvements achieved over the past five decades.
Despite the Government’s recognition of the seriousness of corruption in education and the introduction of a number of directives, decrees and campaigns to eradicate it, corruption in the education sector continues to lack the appropriate level of attention and is often regarded as a social phenomenon rather than being recognised as a genuine form of corruption.
Tiếp tục đọc “Corruption in the Vietnam’s Education Sector”
Download full report here
What are the key corruption risks in the energy sector in Vietnam, with a focus on international budget aid, including aid from European donors?
Identify general risks of corruption, especially in the energy sector and determine what they mean for potential donors
A growing population, a rising appetite for goods and services, rapid urbanisation, and fast growing economic activities in industrial and service sectors are exerting increased pressure on energy supplies in Vietnam. The availability of an adequate and reliable energy supply is an essential prerequisite for maintaining the country’s record of socially inclusive economic growth and achieving the government’s socio-economic development goals.
Overall, the energy sector in Vietnam is affected by weak governance due to a lack of transparency, few checks and balances, bureaucracy and close ties between government and businesses. With the Vietnamese government planning to attract more investment and donor money to guarantee energy security, it has made increasing efforts to tackle corruption, which have failed to cause significant improvements.
An increasingly vibrant civil society and a growing social media realm exerts pressure on the government to continue their path of anti-corruption policies. As for international budget aid, there are concerns that large infrastructure projects and public-private partnerships will increase the risk of corruption and will be subject to corrupt practices. When it comes to investment in renewable energy, it remains to be seen how these types of investment will affect corruption.
Katrin Heger
21/06/2017
CVD 