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By Alice PHILIPSON Agence France-Presse HA LONG, Vietnam, May 26, 2023 (AFP) — Squinting in the bright light of a hot summer morning, Vu Thi Thinh perches on the edge of her small wooden boat and plucks a polystyrene block from the calm waters of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay. It’s not yet 9 am, but a mound of styrofoam buoys, plastic bottles and beer cans sit behind her. They are the most visible sign […]
LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia, May 11, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian nations have made “no significant progress” on implementing a peace plan aimed at ending bloodshed in Myanmar, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Thursday, on the final day of a summit. Escalating violence in junta-ruled Myanmar has dominated the three-day meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc on the Indonesian island of Flores. ASEAN, which has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to resolve the […]
HANOI, May 10, 2023 (AFP) – Vietnam’s state electricity company warned on Wednesday that the national power system would come under strain this summer due to anticipated heatwaves, days after the country recorded its highest ever temperature. Temperatures surpassed 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in central Vietnam over the weekend, according to national forecasters, breaking a previous high set in 2019. State utility EVN said in a statement that demand for electricity in the […]
HANOI, May 7, 2023 (AFP) – Vietnam reported a record high temperature late Saturday with a north-central weather station measuring 44.1 degrees Celsius (111.38 degrees Fahrenheit), officials said, breaking a previous high set in 2019. South Asia has been sweltering under a heatwave for much of April, with neighbouring countries also registering record temperatures. Vietnam’s weather varies from north to south, but the entire country is now entering its hottest summer months. The record temperature […]
Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Vietnam of kidnapping a blogger critical of the communist government who was living as a refugee in Thailand. Thai Van Duong, who fled to Thailand in 2019 to escape Vietnamese authorities and was subsequently given refugee status, disappeared last week. According to Vietnamese state media, the 41-year-old is now in custody in Vietnam after being detained for “illegally entering” the country through an unofficial border crossing close to Laos […]
The United States and Vietnam said Saturday they hoped to upgrade diplomatic ties, days after a flare-up in tensions with China over Taiwan. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, passing through Hanoi on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, met Vietnamese leaders on Saturday to pave the way for a potential diplomatic upgrade to a “strategic partnership”. The two countries have increasingly close trade links, while both […]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Vietnam Friday looking to expand diplomatic ties with Hanoi, days after a flare-up in tensions with China over Taiwan. Blinken — who is passing through Hanoi on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting in Japan — will meet top Vietnamese leaders on Saturday to pave the way for a potential diplomatic upgrade with the country. The two countries have increasingly close trade […]
by Shaun TANDON Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss growing military ties with the Philippines on Tuesday before heading to Vietnam and Japan days after a new flare-up of tensions with China over Taiwan. The Philippines, Vietnam and Japan all have longstanding territorial disputes with China that have grown more intense in recent years as Beijing flexes its muscle. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will […]
Washington, United States | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam later this week in the latest bid to build relations with a growing US partner as tensions flare with China over Taiwan, the State Department said Monday. Blinken will visit Hanoi on his way to a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting this weekend in the Japanese mountain resort of Karuizawa. Blinken will “discuss our shared vision of a […]
by Tran Minh Thi Ha, and Alice Philipson in Hanoi Agence France-Presse GIA LAI, Vietnam (AFP) — Bitter and earthy. Fit for instant brews only. Robusta coffee has a dire reputation, but a small group of farmers in Vietnam is trying to turn the bean’s fortunes around as a warming world threatens the industry. As an interior designer in trendy Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, 42, largely stayed clear of Vietnamese coffee, […]
Vietnam’s rubber stamp National Assembly voted in a new president on Thursday, who immediately pledged to crack down on corruption following the resignation of his predecessor in an anti-graft campaign. The appointment of Vo Van Thuong comes during a period of political upheaval in Vietnam, where the all-powerful Communist Party’s anti-graft purge and factional fighting have seen several ministers fired. Members of the National Assembly elected 52-year-old Thuong — the sole candidate — for a […]
A pilot was killed after a military fighter jet crashed in northern Vietnam during a training session on Tuesday, state media reported. The plane –- a Russian-made Sukhoi SU-22 belonging to the People’s Army of Vietnam air force — joined the training session around midday before crashing at a military airport in mountainous Yen Bai province, according to Vietnam News Agency. “The pilot was ordered to parachute out of the jet but he tried to […]
