ANH NU TRUONG WRITES – Internationally, today, there are around 20 to 40 million people in modern slavery, otherwise known as human trafficking. Yet cases are difficult to assess because, according to the United Nations, the vast majority go undetected. Only about 0.4% cases are identified. And in Vietnam, human…
ANNALISA DEL VECCHIO WRITES – With the Asian market in mind, Adidas shut down its footwear factories in Germany (Ansbach) and the United States (Atlanta) and has opened two new “Speed Factories” in Shanghai, China and Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam. Adidas is the largest footwear company in Europe and the second-largest…
MICHELLE DOR WRITES– For as much as $50,000, Vietnamese migrants can get the “VIP package” to Britain– a flight, fake passport and even an attorney. Too good to be true? This deal, although unlawful, is regarded as the cheaper and safer alternative to land routes by smugglers, where migrants are…
TALIN DEROHANESSIANS WRITES – QR Codes in Asia are a hit! This could be attributed to an increase in mobile devices sold with built – in QR Code readers as well as the overall increase in smartphone sales. Quick review: Quick Response codes were first invented in the 1990’s, by…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – For 15 years, I was a senior staff social worker at the United States federal government’s Department of Veterans Affairs—the country’s largest integrated healthcare system— in its largest branch, located in West Los Angeles, California. Each year, the system serves 9 million veterans nationwide. One summer…
Directed by Leon Le, the movie Song Lang, set in 90s Saigon, begins with Dung “Thunderbolt”, a debt collector, meeting Linh Phung, a cải lương (Vietnamese opera) actor. When Dung sees Linh Phung on stage, Dung was instantly pulled back to the past he has long been trying to ignore…
KHALED AL RASHOUD WRITES– Formula 1 has already been in Japan, Singapore, and China, but earlier this year, another name country was added to this prestigious list: Vietnam. Liberty Media Corporation, the owner of Formula 1, announced that this historically rich country would be on the 2020 calendar. Since bringing…
TALAL BUKHAMSEEN WRITES– The gaming industry is quickly becoming a lucrative part of the Southeast Asian economy. As the region continues to benefit from a growing digital user-base, traditional tech companies that previously made video games have branched into online gaming, incorporating players from all over the world and improving…
ALEXANDRA RADILALEH WRITES– Thirty-one years after an unlikely relationship, Pham Ngoc Canh, a Vietnamese man, and Ru Yong Hui, a North Korean woman, were finally married in 2002, when North Korea allowed Ru to marry a foreigner. Now, almost two decades later, the couple sees hope that their two countries’…
ASIA MEDIA INTERNATIONAL WRITES – Tre Publishing House, the noted publisher of books and magazines and one of the top publishers in Vietnam, has issued its Vietnamese translation of ‘The Fine Art of the Political Interview’. Serving a dynamic country of almost 97 million, Tre (https://www.nxbtre.com.vn/en/about-us/general-introduction.htm) has its headquarters in…
DELANEY DEWHURST WRITES– “I’ll write as long as I’m free,” says independent blogger and website contributor Pham Doan Trang. In February, Trang was taken from her mother’s home and interrogated over a period of more than 10 hours about a textbook she published that references Vietnamese politics. Trang is not…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – What’s the big deal about Dr Ronny L. Jackson, President Trump’s embattled nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs? It’s obvious, if the allegations are true. They include: creating a hostile work environment. Drinking excessively on the job. Prescribing and dispensing medications inappropriately, to his own staff,…
KATRINA CROSBY WRITES – Lap sitting is often not allowed with adults, but two Vietnamese workers were able to get away with it on a Lunar New Year train in Taiwan. These two men stole the hearts of social media users as one of them willingly gave up his seat…
S PROF TOM PLATE WRITES — Despite not having before his all-seeing eyes the example of Donald J. Trump, the 17th century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal came to the conclusion: “All human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room.” Next week, our…
KATIE TRINH WRITES – Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, posts Nick Ut’s photo of “Napalm Girl” on their Facebook page. However, within hours, Facebook removes the photo because the image violates the company’s standards on nudity. Pulitzer Prize recipient, Nick Ut, photographed the Vietnam war with hopes of stopping the war…
KATIE TRINH WRITES – The aftermath of the South China Sea disputes led Vietnam to look for new partnerships with the U.S., and now – worried – China wants in on the action. This past Tuesday on September 13, Chinese Premier Li Kequiang and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc came to…
