Banyan | The Economist
THE Communist Party cadres who run Vietnam’s government have never been regarded as the biggest fans of free speech—they prefer jailing the dissidents who challenge their authority—but they may have reached a new low recently, with a law designed to force foreign television broadcasters to pay to be censored.
The New York Times June 12, 2013 LIJIANG, China — Tourists from China’s crowded coasts have long considered this city of 1.2 million in the Himalayan foothills to be a scenic getaway. Its hotel choices are still predominantly low- and mid-range properties, but a few of the world’s top luxury hotel brands are putting the …
Christian Science Monitor June 1, 2013 YANGON, MYANMAR Htein Lin Aung is studying hard for a degree in architecture, and the stakes are high: He has already failed his first-year exam twice, he says, and without a passing score this year, his chances of finding a good job won’t improve. more
Earth Island Journal Summer 2013 Late last fall, the government-built irrigation pipelines in the village of Alwan Sok stopped pumping water to rice fields. Local officials governing this small farming area about 13 miles southeast of Yangon, Myanmar’s former capital, offered no explanation. The fall rice crop had been harvested already, but without irrigation farmers …
International Herald Tribune May 30, 2013 HO CHI MINH CITY — Rosie Pollard and Rick Stockley were not planning to move in October 2011, but a surprise offer prompted them to reconsider. more
The Economist May 4, 2013 HO CHI MINH CITY THE rivers and canals of Ho Chi Minh City (known locally as HCMC) meander like veins through its motorbike-clogged districts. The city’s location is good for manufacturers who cheaply produce goods here and truck them to nearby ports with easy access to the South China Sea. …
Deutsche Welle May 15, 2013 Drowning kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, with children in poor countries being particularly vulnerable. Now, non-profit groups have started training impoverished children across the developing world to swim – as a way to protect them from water hazards. Mike Ives went to a water-safety class in Danang, …
International Herald Tribune May 9, 2013 KHAO YAI, THAILAND — Michael de Santiesteban maintains a business travel regimen that during especially busy weeks may whisk him from his home bases of Bangkok and Singapore to several spots across Asia or Europe. Whenever he has a free weekend, he rarely feels like boarding yet another plane. …
The Economist March 16, 2013 HANOI THICK envelopes mailed from villages in 57 of Vietnam’s 63 provinces are piling up in Le Hien Duc’s living room. The subject of the correspondence is land. “The government is seizing it,” says Ms Duc, an 80-year-old activist and retired primary-school teacher. “They say it’s all about investing in …
Deutsche Welle February 20, 2013 More than 1.3 million people worldwide are killed in traffic accidents every year – 90 percent of them in developing countries and emerging economies. In places with poor infrastucture, there are often too few ambulances and medics to respond to emergencies in the streets. But in some countries, motorbike-taxi drivers …
International Herald Tribune February 1, 2013 DA NANG, VIETNAM — The coastal road from Da Nang to Hoi An is littered with the concrete skeletons of unfinished beachfront developments — physical proof of how the slump in Vietnam’s banking and property sectors is dragging down its economy. But some projects have succeeded, and a trickle …
Yale Environment 360 January 28, 2013 In November, the first shipment of raw “rare earth” minerals arrived at an $800 million processing plant on Malaysia’s east coast near the home of Tan Bun Teet. The plant, run by Australia’s Lynas Corporation, has since begun refining the rare earth metals, essential components in wind turbines, hybrid cars, …
Associated Press January 5, 2013 HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nghiem Ngoc Thuy has been slinging coffees to thirsty Vietnamese for 20 years in her colonial-style villa with peeling shutters, and she and her customers aren’t too worried that the imminent arrival of U.S. giant Starbucks will alter their time-tested coffee traditions. more
Free Speech Radio News December 4, 2012 China’s 1.3 billion people are facing multiple threats to their freshwater sources. Development and urbanization are causing thousands of natural lakes to shrink, and rivers are becoming more polluted threatening water security for farmers and city dwellers. Meanwhile, scientists trying to predict what impact melting glaciers and shifting …
Free Speech Radio News November 27, 2012 China has subsidized construction of tens of millions of biogas tanks in rural areas over the last decade. The tanks produce fuel for heating and cooking, and reducing agricultural pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say it’s unclear how many of them are actually in use across …
Christian Science Monitor November 23, 2012 WAITSFIELD, VT. In the fall of 1979, George Schenk stuffed all his worldly possessions into his pickup truck and moved from upstate New York to central Vermont. After settling in the sleepy ski town of Waitsfield, he began working as a dishwasher, freelance photographer, and live-in baby sitter. He also apprenticed …
International Herald Tribune November 30, 2012 HANOI — Bettina Martin and Do Tuan Anh suspected that building a home together in Vietnam’s capital might be a challenge. But they did not think that it would shake the foundation of their relationship. Ms. Martin is an environmental consultant from southern Germany who values efficiency above aesthetics, …
Associated Press November 14, 2012 TAM DAO, Vietnam (AP) — Bears, some of them blinded or maimed, play behind tall green fences like children at school recess. Rescued from Asia’s bear bile trade, they were brought to live in this lush national park, but now they may need saving once more. The future of the …
