Svalbard global seed vault flooded

“Smallholder farmers are essential to providing food security to billions of people, but the ongoing COVID pandemic is placing extra challenges on their ability to produce food for their communities and beyond,” Liam Condon, president of Bayer’s crop science division, said. … [Read more...] about Bayer to support 2m smallholder farmers in developing countries impacted by COVID-19

In fact, Vietnam is among the most developed snack markets in the ASEAN, joining Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the $3.5-billion club, according to a recent report from Japanese consultant Corporate Directions. This has attracted many foreign brands to capitalise on the market growth. Among them, snacking heavyweight Mondelez Kinh Do is taking the lead in the market. Other foreign snack brands such as Oishi (Liwayway), Poca (PepsiCo), and Choco Pies (Orion) have also stepped up their game to tap into Vietnam’s snack boom. … [Read more...] about Kido Group blasts back on local confectionery scene

The town, which is seen by the organization as "a secondary city strategically located along the economic corridor that connects Ho Chi Minh City to Mekong Delta," will use the credit to reduce flooding risk to 60 percent of its population and build three strategic roads to serve as critical links in the city's transport network. … [Read more...] about World Bank puts $422 million toward Vietnamese universities, delta climate fight

The bodies of at least 100 jade miners were pulled from the mud after a landslide in northern Myanmar on Thursday, in one of the worst ever accidents to hit the perilous industry. Scores die each year while working in the country's lucrative but poorly regulated jade industry, which uses low-paid migrant workers to scrape out a gem highly coveted in China. The disaster struck after an early bout of heavy rainfall close to the Chinese border in Kachin state, the Myanmar Fire Services Department said in a Facebook post. "The miners were smothered by a wave of mud," the statement said. "A total of 113 bodies have been found so far." They had apparently defied a warning not to work the treacherous open mines during the rains, local police told AFP. Rescuers worked all morning to retrieve the bodies from a mud lake, pulling them to the surface and using tyres as makeshift rafts. Police told AFP that 99 bodies were found by noon, with another 20 injured. They said search and rescue … [Read more...] about More than 100 dead in Myanmar jade mine landslide

The finance ministry and the State Bank of Vietnam presented their forecast in which Viet Nam's CPI for the year 2020 was said to range from 3.5 to 4.1 per cent. This left some headroom for the committee to manoeuvre but policymakers said caution is advised as the global economy was likely to stay gloomy in near future due to the pandemic. … [Read more...] about VN to keep inflation under 4 per cent