After a near-death swimming incident, Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh realised he didn't know how to swim in natural water and decided to impart the swimming skills to as many people as possible. The experience has helped him find his life's mission. SWIMMING SAVIOUR: Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh, 35, started a network to give free swimming lessons to kids living along the Red River. Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh Inner Sanctum: Can you tell us why you initiated this project to teach swimming to children? It came from my own experience. I have only known how to swim properly for the past three years. After a near-drowning incident, I realised I had to learn how to swim all over again. I want to spread this message to as many people as possible; it's an immense disadvantage when you can't swim. You risk your life on waterways or beaches. I see that in the West, swimming is a major skill taught at school, and everyone needs to know. Whereas in Việt Nam, a country with many rivers and a … [Read more...] about The freedom of wild swimming
Donating just red blood cells
Three great street soups in Da Lat
Your browser does not support the audio element. I confess I’m a soup lover, yet another reason for Vietnam to be at the top of my list of foodie destinations since there is no shortage of options day or night. The beauty is although the common Vietnamese soups share the same name and unique place of origin, the ingredients and preparation are different depending on local tastes in each region as well as what’s readily available and fresh. Da Lat is a destination that’s on nearly everyone’s list and the city features unique and delicious food, but, like anywhere, the best hideaways aren’t always easy to find. These places aren’t found in foodie blogs nor in tourist magazines – their success is strictly based on word-of-mouth. They’re makeshift, worn and old, a couple don’t even have addresses, and popular among locals but otherwise not well known. After lengthy searches and comparisons they are the best I’ve found at what they serve. Mi Quang Da Lat Style As most people … [Read more...] about Three great street soups in Da Lat
Vingroup offers incentive for semiconductor manufacturers
Vingroup offers incentives for semiconductor manufacturers Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vingroup, said at the annual shareholders' meeting organised on May 11 that “It is a golden time for VinFast to expand its share in the domestic market and abroad, however, it is still challenging to source semiconductors.” “At present, there is a significant shortage in supply. We can not export products if they lack just a few of the approximately 40,000 parts and semiconductors that are required in a car. VinFast has to import some components from China, however, Shanghai is closing its gates due to the zero-covid policy and the chip manufacturers located there have been forced to halt their operations, causing disruption in the supply of chips around the globe,” Vuong said. The group has established a list of six groups of parts and materials for battery cell production and studied solutions to prepare long-term reserves of these products. The group’s main focus at present is looking … [Read more...] about Vingroup offers incentive for semiconductor manufacturers
Thousands in US march under ‘Ban Off Our Bodies’ banner for abortion rights
The protests kicked off what organizers predict will be a "summer of rage" ignited by the May 2 disclosure of a draft opinion showing the court's conservative majority ready to reverse the 1973 ruling that established a woman's constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. The court's final ruling, which could return the power to ban abortion to state legislatures, is expected in June. About half of the 50 states are poised to ban or severely restrict abortion almost immediately should Roe be struck down. "If you can't choose whether you want to have a baby, if that's not a fundamental right, then I don't know what is," said Brita Van Rossum, 62, a landscape designer who traveled from suburban Philadelphia to join the abortion-rights rally in the nation's capital, her first ever. Protesters marching under the slogan "Bans Off Our Bodies" took to the streets from New York and Atlanta to Chicago and Los Angeles in a show of outrage that Democrats hope will help galvanize support … [Read more...] about Thousands in US march under ‘Ban Off Our Bodies’ banner for abortion rights
‘Copycat’ mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after New York attack
An 18-year-old white man suspected of fatally shooting 10 people in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, appears to be the latest in a line of "copycat" gunmen carrying out deadlier mass shootings inspired by previous attackers, experts warned on Sunday. Payton Gendron, who surrendered to police on Saturday after the attack, apparently publicized a racist manifesto on the internet and broadcast the attack in real time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com. Authorities called the mass killing an act of "racially motivated violent extremism." Experts say the trend of mostly young white men being inspired by previous racist gun massacres is on the rise, citing recent mass shootings, including the 2015 attack at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a 2019 attack at a Walmart in an Hispanic neighborhood of El Paso. Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, … [Read more...] about ‘Copycat’ mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after New York attack
‘Weddings in Vietnam seem very aloof to me’
Editor’s note: Valentin Constantinescu wrote to Tuoi Tre News to share his thoughts on his own wedding following our series on things that often ‘shock’ foreigners when it comes to traditional Vietnamese weddings. The Romanian man has lived in Vietnam since 2004 and married his Vietnamese wife in 2018. This piece has been titled, subtitled, and edited by Tuoi Tre News for clarity, consistency, and coherence. Long story short, I met my wife in 2016 in Hanoi. About six months into our relationship, we realized we would be with each other forever. In August 2018, we decided to sign the papers to be legally married in Vietnam. We moved to Ho Chi Minh City shortly after and planned to hold our actual wedding ceremony on September 17, 2021. 17th of September is our anniversary – it’s the day she agreed to be my girlfriend. She chose the year 2021 because it looks cool – 20 and 21 are consecutive numbers. Unfortunately, COVID-19 completely ruined our plans – we lost a … [Read more...] about ‘Weddings in Vietnam seem very aloof to me’