Children that need a home

German schoolteacher Verena Brunschweiger decided shortly after her marriage not to have children - not because she did not want them but because she felt she could not justify the climate damage caused by adding to the planet's population. She is part of a growing movement of women and young people who have vowed not to have a families out of concern about a looming climate change crisis. "We really thought long and hard about this," Brunschweiger told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview from her home in Bavaria. "Eventually the environment was the most important factor for me," she said. "I struggled, of course. We love children – my husband is also a teacher... But I'm certain I made the right decision." Climate change is changing choices for some young people as the world struggles to limit global warming, aiming to hold off impacts ranging from more extreme floods, droughts, storms and sea level rise to growing hunger, water shortages and poverty. … [Read more...] about A new ‘climate strike’: Opting for no children as climate fears grow

Truong Van Long is Vietnamese in name only. He was born in Cambodia and has lived there for decades, including many years in a floating house on the Tonle Sap lake where he still lives. But his days on the water are numbered. Citing concerns over pollution and overfishing last year, Cambodian authorities have moved hundreds of ethnic Vietnamese families in the central province of Kampong Chhnang to land. More than 1,000 ethnic Vietnamese families, including Truong Van Long’s, who are still on the water will be relocated to land in the coming months, provincial authorities have said. "Why move us from the water? We are not in anyone’s way, and there is nowhere else for us to go," said Troung Van Long, seated on the floor of his blue-colored houseboat. "The officials say we are polluting the water, but it is industries and city people who do that. We just want to make a living from fishing - we will starve if we are moved," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Ethnic … [Read more...] about No room on water, no home on land for Cambodia’s ethnic Vietnamese

A Vietnamese man from southern Vietnam is living his dream, or everyone’s dream: traveling the world by motorbike. On the 794th day of his journey, Tran Dang Dang Khoa reached Sydney - the two-third mark on his seven-continent motorbike journey. “Suddenly I opened my eyes and I saw Sydney, an important milestone which marks two-thirds of my world journey on ‘The Memo’ and over two years since my departure,” Khoa shared with his 237,500 Facebook followers on August 3. A picture capturing nature in a rural area in Australia taken by Khoa has received positive feedback from his Facebook followers. “The Memo” is the name of the motorbike he has used for the trip, which began in June 2017, and the vehicle has so far taken him through around 50 countries. After Australia, the Tien Giang Province native expects to travel to Africa and the South Pole before heading home to Asia. In the middle of his journey, Khoa met with a Tuoi Tre News … [Read more...] about Vietnamese man visits 50 countries, and counting, on motorbike

Luong Van Lam My parents recently spent VND12 million ($517) to install cameras inside and outside our family home in the countryside. Dad took a step further by placing a broken one near our chicken coop, just to fake out potential thieves. "We just installed some cameras," Mom told me on the phone while I was at work. "Four of them - inside the house, in the front, out on the street, even at the back," she said. She even sent me the password for a mobile app which would allow me to access the cameras remotely, saying I should check them out once in a while to check the house in case she and Dad were out. "There's only two of you and a few chickens, why spend so much?" I asked. "They bring us peace of mind," Dad replied. "There are so many thieves these days. Our neighbor even has eight cameras." My parents weren't the only ones going paranoid about security and installing cameras. My colleagues, friends and so many people I know have started to buy cameras or other similar … [Read more...] about Security cameras are a rational choice, but are they a solution?

Child sexual abuse in Vietnam has witnessed an alarming increase with culprits in most cases being acquaintances or even parents. Children make handprints on a giant ball at the launch of Vietnam’s Action Month for Children in May 2019. Despite legal and social efforts, child abuse in Vietnam remains prevalent. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tung Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Central Ombudsmen Committee, said inspections conducted in 17 provinces revealed the number of children who suffered sexual abuse in 2019 had surged compared to 2011-15. Nearly 1,200 children in the northern localities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hoa Binh, Bac Giang, Thai Binh and Quang Ninh are reportedly victims of abuse, of which up to 70 per cent were sexually abused. Perpetrators were diverse, ranging from family members and teachers to local civil servants and even policemen. “All six localities reported cases of fathers sexually abusing their own daughters,” said Hai. “Abusers were … [Read more...] about Vietnam sees no improvement in reducing child abuse