All posts by Đọt Chuối Non

Me? Me? Me?... Yeah yeah yeah amigo... What can me say about me-self?... me-self...me-self... Ole ole ole... me me me... I'm a young banana shoot... My dad is Banana Pa... My mom is Banana Ma... I am happy happy happy... I run around... oops... I can't run... I sing aloud... all day long... I sing in the rain... I sing in the shine... I sing day and night... I sing all the time... I watch the butterflies and the bees... and the cranes and the geese... Aha aha aha... here we go again... this little swallow circling on my head... the little swallow on my head... is about to poop on me... Hey, little fella, don't cha know where to unload ya poopa?... But, that's alright... I can swallow my pride to befriend a swallow... Yup yup yup... swallow my pride to befriend a swallow...

Consumers’ belt tightening hits businesses

VNE – By Vien Thong   July 19, 2024 | 06:28 am GMT+7

Consumers shopping at a supermarket in HCMC’s District 3 in January 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

Dang Hoang of HCMC has been cutting back on discretionary purchases like dining out, coffee and branded clothing since the beginning of this year.

The 31-year-old marketing employee says he has been waiting for discounts to find cheap clothes and cooking at home to reduce expenses.

A survey by market research company NielsenIQ Vietnam found 62% of consumers chose to cook at home in the first quarter of the year to save money, a three point increase from the previous quarter.

Continue reading Consumers’ belt tightening hits businesses

Why China fears an Indo-Pacific alliance

South China Morning Post – 10-7-2024

Japan and the Philippines have signed a historic defence agreement, allowing both countries to station troops on each other’s soil. The pact is the first of its kind for Japan in the region. At the same time, Tokyo and Manila have been strengthening their alliances with the US and its allies in the region, including South Korea, India and Australia. China, which seeks to extend and maintain its influence in the region, has denounced any alliance-building. Why has the latest agreement sounded alarm bells in Beijing?

Lương tối thiểu và ý nghĩa của tăng trưởng kinh tế

HẢI MINH 15/07/2024 18:15 GMT+7

TTCT – Lương tối thiểu, vốn gắn liền với mức sống của người lao động và chi phí của doanh nghiệp sử dụng lao động, trở thành đề tài nóng ở hàng loạt nước Đông Nam Á, bao gồm Việt Nam, trong thời gian qua.

Kế hoạch tăng lương tối thiểu của chính quyền Thái Lan đang gây nhiều tranh luận. Ảnh: HRM Asia

Báo chí các nước giật tít gần như đồng loạt: “Tăng lương ở ASEAN gây lo ngại cho các ngành hưởng lợi từ dịch chuyển chuỗi cung ứng” (Nikkei Asia 2-7), “Thủ tướng Thái Lan hối thúc ASEAN cùng tăng lương tối thiểu” (Thailand Business News 22-1), “Indonesia có chi phí tổ chức kinh doanh cao nhất ASEAN-5” (Jakarta Globe 24-6), “Lương tối thiểu của Philippines cao nhất trong khu vực” (BusinessWorld Online 13-3), “Malaysia đứng thứ tư về lương trung bình ở Đông Nam Á” (thesun.my 8-6).

Continue reading Lương tối thiểu và ý nghĩa của tăng trưởng kinh tế

International Court of Justice – July 19, 2024 Advisory Opinion

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LEGAL CONSEQUENCES ARISING FROM THE POLICIES AND PRACTICES
OF ISRAEL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY,
INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM

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Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory — The West Bank and East Jerusalem are occupied territories in which Israel has status of occupying Power — Examination of status of the .Gaza Strip — Israel’s obligations in the Gaza Strip are commensurate with degree of its effective control.
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Court’s conclusion:

Legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Continue reading International Court of Justice – July 19, 2024 Advisory Opinion

Nearly 33,000 Vietnamese granted US citizenship in 2023

VNE – By Duc Trung   July 19, 2024 | 06:36 am GMT+7

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that 32,800 Vietnamese nationals were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 2023, ranking Vietnam among the top ten nations with most citizenship naturalization in the U.S.

A Vietnamese-American man paints the Vietnamese Thien Hau Temple beside the U.S. flag in Los Angeles, California on Dec. 16, 2018. Photo by AFP

The government agency’s recent report reveals that the U.S. naturalized 878,000 individuals in 2023, marking one of the highest counts in recent years. Naturalizations during the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 account for 24% of all U.S. naturalizations in the last decade, with over 7.7 million new citizens welcomed during this time.

Vietnam was ranked sixth among the countries with the highest numbers of citizens gaining U.S. citizenship in 2023, with 32,800 individuals naturalized—an increase of 500 from 2022.

Continue reading Nearly 33,000 Vietnamese granted US citizenship in 2023

Students killed in Bangladesh job-quota protests

South China Morning Post – 17-7-2024

At least six students have been killed and over a hundred injured in protests calling for an end to civil service job quotas in Bangladesh. The violence in the capital Dhaka on July 16, 2024, was the latest flare-up in a deepening conflict over the issue. Hundreds of university students demonstrated against the local government job allocation system, which currently favours children of pro-government groups who back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Thousands have taken part in protests in several cities since July 7.

ADB keeps Việt Nam’s growth outlook unchanged

VNN – July 18, 2024 – 08:03

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) keeps the growth outlook for Việt Nam in 2024 and 2025 unchanged at 6 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively, on the back of a strong first-half performance.

A cashew processing line for exports in the southern province of Bình Phước. VNA/VNS Hồng Nhung

HÀ NỘI — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept the growth outlook for Việt Nam in 2024 and 2025 unchanged at 6 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively, on the back of a strong first-half performance in 2024.

The forecast was released on Wednesday in the latest edition of Asian Development Outlook (ADO), which periodically provides assessment of recent economic developments in Asia and the Pacific and medium-term macroeconomic projections for the region.

Continue reading ADB keeps Việt Nam’s growth outlook unchanged

US-bound with risks and dreams, the ‘border crossers’ from China

South China Morning Post – 7-7-2024

US authorities arrested about 50,000 Chinese nationals for illegal entry at America’s southern border between January 2023 and May 2024. Chinese migrants are the fastest-growing group illegally entering the US from Mexico, with their numbers spiking after China eased pandemic travel restrictions in late 2022. Most of the Chinese asylum seekers begin pursuing new lives in communities like Monterey Park, a Los Angeles suburb with a large Chinese community. The Post spoke with some of the new arrivals about the challenges they face in the US. Their experiences revealed a complex picture of migration, adaptation and American dreams at times fulfilled – yet often shattered.

What’s happening in Sudan’s civil war?

Al Jazeera English – 3- 7-2024

Has the world forgotten Sudan? After more than a year of civil war, Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Thousands have been killed, millions displaced and children are dying of hunger. In the western region of Darfur, an old conflict has been reignited and there are new warnings about the risk of genocide in the fight for city of el-Fasher. #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann explains what’s happening.

Continue reading What’s happening in Sudan’s civil war?

Love Man Love Woman – Chuyện thày Đức

A film by Nguyễn Trinh Thi (2007).

In this documentary, the filmmaker follows Master Luu Ngoc Duc, one of the most prominent spirit mediums in Hanoi, and his vibrant community through their rituals and everyday life. The film explores how effeminate and gay men in homophobic Vietnam have traditionally found community and expression in the country’s popular Mother Goddess Religion, Đạo Mẫu.

How U.S. news media manufactured ‘antisemitism on campuses’

AJ+ – 6-7-2024

Has antisemitism been rampant across U.S. college campuses since October 2023, or has that narrative been manufactured in service of shielding Israel from criticism for its genocide in Gaza? In this episode of “Backspace,” Sana Saeed looks at the roots of the “antisemitism on campus” media narrative and its role in crushing condemnation of a U.S-supported policy of genocide.

Xăng sinh học E5: Xăng xanh thành… đống nợ – 5 bài

Xăng sinh học E5: Xăng xanh thành… đống nợ
Bài 1: Vốn nhà nước ngàn tỷ “trùm mền”

Bài 2: Nhà máy tư nhân mòn mỏi… qua ngày
Bài 3: Chưa xanh đã… tàn
Bài 4: Bỏ thì thương, vương thì tội!
Phản hồi loạt bài “Xăng sinh học E5: Xăng xanh thành… đống nợ”: Những lo ngại trước đây đã thành sự thực

Quang cảnh Nhà máy Nhiên liệu sinh học Phú Thọ bị bỏ hoang nhiều năm qua. Ảnh: GIA KHÁNH

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Xăng sinh học E5: Xăng xanh thành… đống nợ – Bài 1: Vốn nhà nước ngàn tỷ “trùm mền”

SGGP 09/07/2024 11:54

Tham gia sản xuất xăng sinh học E5 có khối nhà nước và tư nhân. Các dự án có nguồn vốn nhà nước gồm: Nhà máy Nhiên liệu sinh học (Ethanol) ở huyện Tam Nông, tỉnh Phú Thọ với vốn đầu tư 1.500 tỷ đồng; nhà máy ở Khu kinh tế Dung Quất (huyện Bình Sơn, tỉnh Quảng Ngãi) với vốn đầu tư hơn 2.200 tỷ đồng và nhà máy ở huyện Bù Đăng, tỉnh Bình Phước với vốn đầu tư 1.600 tỷ đồng. Thế nhưng, cả 3 nhà máy này đã đóng cửa trong nhiều năm qua.

Continue reading Xăng sinh học E5: Xăng xanh thành… đống nợ – 5 bài