My father taught me how to swim when I was five. He took two coconuts and secured them together with a cloth to make a makeshift buoy. I used it to keep afloat as I flailed at the water in the middle of a flooded field. When I figured out how to stay afloat, my father took away the coconuts and planted two poles, two meters apart, in the water. I had to swim from one to the other. With each passing day the poles got further apart. One day I was able to swim all the way to the furthest part and make it back to land safely. It was how I and my siblings learned to swim. It was how all the kids in the Mekong Delta did. Our parents were not professional coaches, and merely passed down their experience to their children. Yet I rarely heard of anyone drowning in my hometown. My father said parents started thinking about teaching their children how to swim as soon as they were able to walk. It only takes a small mistake to lose one's life in the waters of the delta. We used to get … [Read more...] about Who is to blame when kids drown?
Red river vietnam map
S’pore, VN women cruise to badminton semis
Singaporean players Jin Yujia and Wong Jia Ying Crystal (red) play against Albo Airah Mae Nicole and Pomar Thea Marie of the Philippines in the women's doubles on May 16 at the Bắc Giang Sports Competition Hall. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam By Việt Thắng HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam and Singaporean players are heading to the semi-finals in the women's team badminton after successful matches on May 16. The women's team badminton quarter-finals were between Việt Nam and Malaysia, and Singapore and the Philippines at the Bắc Giang Sports Competition Hall. Việt Nam’s players put on a dominant show right from the start, defeating Malaysia’s team in three matches, and losing one match. In the opening game, Nguyễn Thùy Linh, the top seed in Việt Nam’s women's team, used her home advantage and the enthusiastic cheers of local audiences to prevail over her opponent Nurshuhaini Siti (Malaysia). Nurshuhaini was blown away 21-9 and 21-8. Linh said she recognised that her … [Read more...] about S’pore, VN women cruise to badminton semis
Fed rate hike’s impact on Vietnamese economy not significant
Goods at Cat Lai Port in HCM City. Demand for Viet Nam's export goods can be reduced due to the global economic slowdown in the wake of the Fed’s rate increase. — VNA/VNS Photo The latest interest rate hike by the US Federal Reversal (Fed) will weigh on the global economy, including Viet Nam, but experts expect impacts of the Fed’s move on the country will not be significant. The Fed last week raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, the most aggressive step yet in its fight against a 40-year high in inflation. Banking and finance expert Can Van Luc, chief economist of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, told Viet Nam News that the Fed’s move in theory will affect the country’s economic growth, foreign debt payment obligations, exchange rate and foreign investment. “The Fed’s move may push up the global interest rate and slow global economic growth, which will reduce the demand for Viet Nam's export goods. It therefore will slow the … [Read more...] about Fed rate hike’s impact on Vietnamese economy not significant