Warning danger

AFP Beijing, China   ● Thu, March 23, 2023 2023-03-23 13:35 0 c764d7f631a5262d39a7c5c953bee8f0 2 Asia and Pacific China,US,military,confrontation,South-China-Sea,geopolitics Free The Chinese military said it warned a US warship to "leave" waters in the disputed South China Sea on Thursday, claims swiftly denied as "false" by American forces. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea -- a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually -- despite an international court ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have overlapping claims in the sea, while the United States sends naval vessels through it to assert freedom of navigation in international waters. The Southern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the USS Milius, a guided missile destroyer, on Thursday entered waters around the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed … [Read more...] about Chinese military says ‘warned’ US warship to leave South China Sea

The United Nations used its first conference on water security in almost half a century on Wednesday to exhort governments to better manage one of humanity's shared resources. A quarter of the world's population relies on unsafe drinking water while half lacks basic sanitation, the U.N. said. Meanwhile, nearly three quarters of recent disasters have been related to water. "We are draining humanity's lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating," said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Ensuring access to clean drinking water and sanitation is part of the 17-point to-do list the U.N. has set for sustainable development, alongside ending hunger and poverty, achieving gender equality, and taking action on climate change. The three-day conference beginning on Wednesday in New York is not intended to produce the kind of binding accord that emerged from climate meetings in Paris in 2015, or a framework like the one … [Read more...] about UN warns ‘vampiric overconsumption’ is draining world’s water

The picture was not uploaded by social media influencers on an adventurous vacation -- it's an advertisement by people smugglers. Technology-savvy criminals using the popular video-sharing app are posing a growing challenge to Mexican and U.S. authorities fighting a regional migration crisis. "Departing this weekend. People from Mexico interested in crossing to the United States, leave your messages," the TikTok post said. Another account offering to smuggle irregular migrants through the violence-wracked Mexican border state of Tamaulipas shows a photo of minors in an inflatable boat on a river. "We also make crossings with children and family," it said. An AFP investigation found dozens of similar accounts around the region, including in Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador. And using the hashtag #pollero -- a slang term for a people smuggler -- one account offered "safe work" for drivers in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona for payment of up to $15,000. "If you have … [Read more...] about People smugglers use TikTok to promote their services

Deputy head of the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) Hoang Duc Cuong said that the workshop, jointly held by the VNMHA and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in response to the World Meteorological Day (March 23), will provide international experiences on forecasting and warning based on practical impacts in the world and Vietnam, contributing to forming processes and measures to effectively forecast disaster impacts in Vietnam at present and in future. At the workshop, the ADPC guided participants on how to build an impact matrix of storms and floods. Participants also discussed the role of disaster forecasting and warning, and emphasized the importance of information on impact-based forecasting in easing damage caused by natural disasters. Senaka Basnayake, Director for the ADPC’s Climate Resilience Department, said that in order to increase urban resilience to climate extremes, it is necessary to understand current and future risks, build … [Read more...] about Workshop highlights importance of impact-based disaster forecasting

Two children from Nghe An Province, north-central Vietnam have died following suspected dog bites. Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital confirmed on Wednesday it had recently received two young patients in critical conditions. Doctors believed that the patients had been bitten by dogs and were infected with rabies. In the first case, three-year-old L.B.T. showed symptoms, such as vomiting and convulsions, before his family took him to a district hospital for examination. T. was then transferred to Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital for emergency treatment, with symptoms including respiratory failure, prolonged convulsions, profuse sputum secretion, and dread of wind and water. Family members said T. often played with dogs and cats, and that a dog raised by the family recently died of unknown causes. Doctors diagnosed T. with rabies. Despite the treatment, the young boy eventually passed away. The second patient, nine-year-old V.Q.H., also contracted … [Read more...] about Two children die following suspected dog bite in north-central Vietnam

A household in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City that breeds 82 dogs as pets in a 2.6m-wide house has been fined VND64 million (US$2,724) for causing environmental pollution. A representative of the People’s Committee of Ward 9 in District 4, where the family of Nguyen Thi My Thanh -- the owner of the dogs -- resides, confirmed the information to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday. In particular, Thanh’s family was fined VND40 million ($1,698) for discharging wastewater which exceeds the criteria by over 10 times and VND24 million ($1,019) for releasing wastewater with a pH level above the permitted. The household was also asked to take measures to deal with the environmental pollution and pay measurement and sample analysis fees. According to the representative of the People’s Committee of Ward 9, most of the 82 dogs are puppies and sick canines that other people brought to Thanh’s house. Local residents have repeatedly complained that Thanh dumped the dogs’ excrement … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City household raising 82 dogs fined for causing environmental pollution

There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg virus disease. Vietnam's Ministry of Health (MoH) has urged all localities nationwide to strengthen supervision and step up preventive measures to control the possible spread of the deadly Marburg virus disease. Marburg virus disease is rare but severe hemorrhagic fever which affects both people and non-human primates with a fatality rate of up to 88%, the ministry said in a dispatch to localities across the country, adding that it belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola. Human infection with Marburg virus disease initially results from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus aegyptiacus bat colonies, the MoH said. The host of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus. Photo: Canva Once a person is infected with the virus, Marburg can spread from person to person through direct contact (through hurt skin or mucous … [Read more...] about Vietnam steps up vigilance against deadly Marburg

How did a bank ranking on the list of American Best Banks for five straight years collapse in your viewpoint? Professor Andreas Stoffers, country director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Vietnam Just before March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was the 16th largest in the US. It had taken four decades to build and its parent company SVB Financial Group. However, it took only 36 hours to completely dismantle. SVB was forced to sell assets at a loss to pay for withdrawals from venture capital funds and tech startups. However, this led to massive withdrawals, while SVB was facing many difficulties, which left it unable to pay its debts, leading to bankruptcy on March 10. Dark memories of the 2008 financial crisis returned and this crisis did reach other banks in the US as well. Many questions remain unanswered, such as why bonuses were still being paid to management shortly before the bank collapsed and why the CEO was still gold-plating his shares in January … [Read more...] about The potential ramifications of US banking collapse

At the meeting (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission convened its 27th meeting in Hanoi from March 21-22 under the chair of its head Tran Cam Tu , who is a Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Central Committee. The commission decided to give a warning to the Party Civil Affairs Committee of the People’s Court of Dak Lak province in the 2015-2020 tenure and its Secretary and Chief Justice of the provincial People’s Court Ngo Duc Tho as a disciplinary measure. The Party Civil Affairs Committee of the Dak Lak provincial People’s Court violated the democratic centralism principle, working regulations, and personnel work, showed a lack of responsibility, and loose leadership, resulting in the provincial People's Court and several district courts violating the Party rules, State laws, and regulations of the court sector in trial proceedings. The above violations and shortcomings caused serious consequences and negative … [Read more...] about Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission convenes 27th meeting

The stock trading board inside the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE). In order to promote the healthy development of Viet Nam's stock market, it is necessary to diversify products on offer. — Photo HoSE The State Securities Commission (SSC) will review the Law on Securities and related decrees to complete the legal framework, and strengthen sanctions for violations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors. “Although the current Law on Securities stipulates a high level of sanctions for violations compared to the common ground, the maximum administrative fine is VND3 billion for organisations and VND5 billion for individuals. However, recent violations in the market have shown that these fines have not been strict enough, requiring a higher level of sanctions and tighter regulations,” said Ta Thanh Binh, Director of Market Development Department under the State Securities Commission. At a seminar held late last week, Binh said the SSC will step up the … [Read more...] about Stock market violations to face stricter sanctions