DONG NAI – Sunday, May 31, 2015 15:52
TNN – Ho Huu Hanh, 16, in Ho Chi Minh City’s neighbor province of Dong Nai, was born without arms. His mother said her family was very sad at his birth while neighbors boycotted him as a “monster.” But since he turned 3, he started to make his legs come in to help. Continue reading Nothing’s impossible: Vietnamese teen boy does it all without arms
AMTI – Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s address at this weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue was generally well received by conference attendees and Asia-security watchers. A few critics have argued that Carter was “just talk.” What none have noted, however, is the fact that the Secretary’s remarks were the latest installation in a series of moves by the administration to articulate a fact-based approach to the South China Sea. This approach is a nuanced one and does not necessarily constitute a “strategy” for countering China’s recent moves. It is, however, a wise way to engage two key audiences to whom Carter was speaking at Shangri-La: other states in the region and China itself. Let me explain.
By Ralph Ellis, Jethro Mullen and Steven Jiang, CNN
Updated 3:19 PM ET, Tue June 2, 2015
Story highlights
Tornado hit part of Yangtze River where ship capsized, China Meteorological Center says
Survivor says he barely had time to grab a life jacket before escaping ship, report says
Authorities confirm 14 survivors and seven deaths
Jianli County, China (CNN)Most of the passengers on the Eastern Star cruise ship had gone to bed. A violent storm struck and rain pounded the windows with such force that water seeped into the cabins, survivor Zhang Hui told Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency.
The ship began tilting, Zhang told the agency, reaching an angle of 45 degrees at one point. Small bottles rolled off the table in his cabin.
“Looks like we are in trouble,” he remembers telling a colleague.
When the ship with more than 458 people aboard overturned late Monday, he said, it happened so quickly he only had 30 seconds to grab a life jacket and get out of his cabin. He went into the dark and choppy waters of the Yangtze River during the middle of the storm, later confirmed to be a tornado. Continue reading Survivor: Chinese cruise ship capsized quickly during violent storm
foreignpolicy – Beijing’s tough rhetoric over maritime disputes has inflamed nationalist fervor online. That’s not necessarily a good thing for China.
By Chi Nhan, TNN – Tuesday, June 02, 2015 11:21
Vietnam’s government is putting the environment at huge risks by approving many riverside and seaside golf courses, whose uses of fertilizers and pesticides are alarmingly high, experts said.
Le Anh Tuan, a senior environment researcher at Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta, said golf courses “are a threat to the environment.” Continue reading The cost of having fun: Golf courses are ‘killing’ Vietnam’s environment
AMTI.CSIS – Since China first sent a senior military officer to participate in the Shangri-la Dialogue (SLD) in 2007, it has come to the annual security meeting prepared with a carefully crafted strategy to deflect criticism and advance Chinese interests. This year was no exception. Continue reading China’s missed opportunity at the Shangri-La Dialogue
thediplomat – If the U.S. wants to moderate Chinese adventurism in the South China Sea, it should ratify UNCLOS.
By Ankit Panda
May 23, 2015 I 1.4k Shares I 46 Comments
As diligent Diplomat readers may be aware, the situation in the South China Sea is starting to heat up. The United States has started challenging China’s ongoing land reclamation activity in a bid to demonstrate that despite China’s actions, the sovereignty of the disputed reefs and islands, in the Spratlys and elsewhere, remains indeterminate. Continue reading How the US Senate Can Help Stabilize the South China Sea
UPDATED : 05/25/2015 20:30 GMT + 7
>> An audio version of the story is available here
She said her mother will come and take her home in four years because “my mom promised to me that she would pick me in five years when she took me here a year ago.” Continue reading The lonely lives in a rest home in Hanoi
UPDATED : 05/28/2015 17:24 GMT + 7
TTN – Advice for Vietnamese teachers: do not waste time finding interesting and good materials outside the textbook to intrigue students, as doing so may lead to punishment.
Continue reading In Vietnam, efforts to help students could be interpreted as rule-breaking
Document: China’s Military Strategy
The following is the first public Chinese Military Strategy white paper outlining a new policy of “active defense,” released by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on May 26, 2015.
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China’s Military Strategy
The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China
May 2015, Beijing
Contents Continue reading China’s Military Strategy White Paper
HO CHI MINH CITY – Wednesday, May 27, 2015 13:15
Doan Minh Hung had been so poor he had to drop out of school at a young age, and so he could see himself in the poor children wandering the streets of Ho Chi Minh City instead of being in school. Continue reading Dropout offers disadvantaged children in Saigon a second chance
Why Green School?
“Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.” [a]
The idea of this saying is the vital principle of a distinctive building called the Green School, located in Bali, Indonesia. The idea of this green school is no longer brand new yet there are only a few that exist in the world. It is not the lack of awareness but the lack of in-depth understanding about a green building. Continue reading A Green School for Sustainable Education
UPDATED : 05/26/2015 20:18 GMT + 7
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| The foundation staff found the Trieu Long 2 Primary School on a contaminated site. — VNS Photo Phuoc Buu |
QUANG TRI (VNS) — Non-governmental organisations have started investigating several sites in the central Quang Tri Province that have become polluted by pesticides.
Following a report in Viet Nam News on pollution causing locals hardship, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung from Germany last week held a preliminary survey in the area. Continue reading Quang Tri fights DDT pollution
Deane Marchbein
Deane Marchbein is President of the Doctors Without Borders USA Board of Directors
May 8, 2015
Lost in the political discussions over the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—a trade agreement currently being negotiated in secret between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific-Rim nations—is the very real negative impact it would have on global health.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works in over 60 countries, and our medical teams rely on access to affordable medicines and vaccines. We are deeply concerned that the TPP, in its current form, will lock-in high, unsustainable drug prices, block or delay the availability of affordable generic medicines, and price millions of people out of much-needed medical care. Continue reading The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat To Global Health?
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