Thu Trang’s family in the northern city of Hai Phong has been in iron and steel trade for 15 years. They leave some of their stocks out by the front door because there is often not enough space inside. This frequently results in stuff being stolen. Trang said in a forum on the internet: "We have been robbed many times recently as we place the materials out in front. But every time we checked our CCTV camera, there is this big, burly man who passed by and stole our steel. "Accompanying him is another burly man who waits for him on a motorbike and they drive off very quickly. We kept looking out for the thieves to catch them but to no avail. "So my mother came up with the idea of using a mannequin as our watchers. Passers-by think there is somebody guarding the door; some are alarmed, some are amused. Anyone having a thief problem can try this strategy." A mannequin guards the iron and steel stocks of the family in Hai Phong City. Trang's family got robbed four or five … [Read more...] about Fearful of getting burgled? Mannequins to your rescue
Dog not drinking water
Death toll in Indonesia quake-tsunami hits 832
Viet Nam News PALU, Indonesia — The death toll from a powerful earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia rose to 832 Sunday, as stunned people on the stricken island of Sulawesi struggled to find food and water, looting spread and fears grew that whole towns had still not been heard from. "It feels very tense," said 35-year-old mother Risa Kusuma, comforting her feverish baby boy at an evacuation centre in the gutted city of Palu. "Every minute an ambulance brings in bodies. Clean water is scarce. The minimarkets are looted everywhere." Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla said the toll could reach "a thousand, thousands" based on previous disasters. State media reported that the death toll had increased to 420 with a further 540 serious injured, but those figures were for Palu alone and relief agencies expressed fears that the number could spike once news started coming in from other affected areas. "Worryingly, the National Disaster Management Agency has said … [Read more...] about Death toll in Indonesia quake-tsunami hits 832
Death toll in Indonesia quake-tsunami hits 420
Viet Nam News PALU, Indonesia — The death toll from a powerful earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia rose to 420 Sunday, as stunned people on the stricken island of Sulawesi struggled to find food and water, looting spread and fears grew that whole towns had still not been heard from. "It feels very tense," said 35-year-old mother Risa Kusuma, comforting her feverish baby boy at an evacuation centre in the gutted city of Palu. "Every minute an ambulance brings in bodies. Clean water is scarce. The minimarkets are looted everywhere." Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla said the toll could reach "a thousand, thousands" based on previous disasters. State media reported that the death toll had increased to 420 with a further 540 serious injured, but those figures were for Palu alone and relief agencies expressed fears that the number could spike once news started coming in from other affected areas. "Worryingly, the National Disaster Management Agency has said … [Read more...] about Death toll in Indonesia quake-tsunami hits 420
When you eat a Mekong Giant Catfish, you are paying criminals
Most people in Vietnam knows it is illegal to sell tiger meat or pangolin scales or rhino horn. It is common knowledge that trading elephant ivory is a criminal offense, punishable by fines and jail time. But few of us seem to know that it is just as illegal to sell a Mekong Giant Catfish or Giant Barb. But it is. Every restaurant advertising these endangered giants is breaking the law. Every time you eat a plate of Mekong Giant Catfish in Hanoi or Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City, you are helping a criminal. In fact, you are paying a criminal. And you are also helping to drive this extraordinary species toward extinction. Instead of choosing one of these dishes from the menu, you should choose to contact the Provincial Department of Fisheries. The government and Vietnamese people have taken significant steps in recent years to tackle wildlife crime and trafficking of species like tigers, elephants and rhinos. It is time we ended the illegal trade in the Mekong’s most magnificent … [Read more...] about When you eat a Mekong Giant Catfish, you are paying criminals
India splutters in anger after toilet water used for train tea
An Indian tea vendor caught on video taking water from a train toilet before selling his drinks to passengers has been fined amid heightened concern in India over food safety. Screengrabs from the video circulating on social media of the men carrying the cans out of the train toilet. The vendor on the Chennai-Hyderabad Express was caught after footage of him and two others coming out of a toilet with large cans used to serve tea and coffee on Indian trains was widely shared. Indian Railways said in a statement that the "incident has been inquired into in detail" and that the tea seller had been fined the equivalent of US$1,500. The video was made on a train at Secunderabad in Telangana state. Out of the three vendors seen only one was licensed. The vendor claimed the group were transferring milk from one can to another and did not want to do it in the open. "The very fact that tea/coffee cans were seen being brought out of the toilet, is in itself a wrong practice," the … [Read more...] about India splutters in anger after toilet water used for train tea
Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – January 5
Check out the news you should not miss today: Politics -- During her reception for Chief Justice of the Lao Supreme People’s Court Khamphanh Sithidampha in Hanoi on Thursday, chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged deeper cooperation between the judicial systems of Vietnam and Laos. Society -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has proposed the municipal People’s Committee encourage private kindergartens to install surveillance cameras with the consent of parents in order to prevent child abuse.-- Market watchdogs in the southern province of Binh Duong on Thursday detected 300kg of expired frozen buffalo meat and chicken as well as more than two tons of frozen meats of unknown origin at a company supplying meals to workers at many other firms.-- The People's Procuracy of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Thursday said it had approved a decision to prosecute Dinh Tien Su, general manager of … [Read more...] about Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – January 5