Latest news with #MekongDelta
ABC News
3 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Jennifer Feller
He has chased his impossible dream across clubs and continents. Now, Ange Postecoglou has made it real by coaching Tottenham to glory in the Europa League. 2h ago 2 hours ago Sun 1 Jun 2025 at 7:03pm There's a fear that follows Sue-Yen Luiten as she cycles through the Mekong Delta with hundreds of DNA kits in tow. What if her birth parents have been looking for her and it's too late? Mon 26 May Mon 26 May Mon 26 May 2025 at 6:07am Polarising politician Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is rising up the political ranks after helping defeat the Voice referendum. The former singer and TV host reveals the private pain that shaped her views and why she's unapologetic. Tue 11 Feb Tue 11 Feb Tue 11 Feb 2025 at 1:23am Controversial senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price could become the next Minister for Indigenous Australians. She says tragedy and trauma shaped her views. Sat 8 Feb Sat 8 Feb Sat 8 Feb 2025 at 11:30pm A mysterious email. Shocking revelations. And the ultimate betrayal. How teacher Hannah Grundy was forced to become her own detective to unmask a sick cyber criminal whose identity she couldn't believe. Mon 14 Oct Mon 14 Oct Mon 14 Oct 2024 at 9:35am Anna Coutts-Trotter was a teenager doing well at school, living at home with supportive parents Tanya Plibersek and Michael Coutts-Trotter. But she was being abused by her then-boyfriend. Sun 21 Apr Sun 21 Apr Sun 21 Apr 2024 at 7:03pm Anjali Sharma, 19, is taking her fight for a cleaner future direct to the lawmakers in federal parliament. Mon 11 Mar Mon 11 Mar Mon 11 Mar 2024 at 9:19am What were you doing at 19? Anjali Sharma is trying to change the law. Meet the teenager taking the fight for her generation's future from the streets to the halls of parliament. Mon 11 Mar Mon 11 Mar Mon 11 Mar 2024 at 12:25am Libbi Gorr talks about the notorious 'Chopper' interview, the identity crisis that followed and why, at the age of 58, she's embarking on a new adventure. Mon 6 Nov Mon 6 Nov Mon 6 Nov 2023 at 9:15am Libbi Gorr shook up Australian television in the 1990s with her comic character Elle McFeast. A controversial interview saw her TV career tumble. This is how she found her way back. Sun 5 Nov Sun 5 Nov Sun 5 Nov 2023 at 7:01pm From fashionista to farmer ... how seaweed science drove Sam Elsom's career change. Mon 2 Oct Mon 2 Oct Mon 2 Oct 2023 at 9:05am Seaweed, cows and cutting-edge science: This is how Sam Elsom swapped fashion for farming to spearhead a revolutionary climate change solution. But he's facing a major obstacle. Tue 3 Oct Tue 3 Oct Tue 3 Oct 2023 at 12:03am Continuing the story of the remarkable life of Valerie Taylor, the celebrated underwater filmmaker and shark conservationist. Mon 20 Mar Mon 20 Mar Mon 20 Mar 2023 at 11:03am Shark legend Valerie Taylor and her latest fight to save our most feared predator. Mon 13 Mar Mon 13 Mar Mon 13 Mar 2023 at 9:35am Remembering singing legend Judith Durham and the trailblazing band who put Australian music on the map. Mon 24 Oct Mon 24 Oct Mon 24 Oct 2022 at 9:28am Lyn Dawson was missing for 40 years but her brother and sister never gave up hope. ABC's Australian Story goes behind the scenes as her siblings prepared for the outcome of her husband Chris Dawson's murder trial and digest the guilty verdict. Mon 5 Sep Mon 5 Sep Mon 5 Sep 2022 at 10:19am The murder verdict that gripped the nation, Australian Story goes behind the scenes with Lyn Dawson's family Thu 29 Sep Thu 29 Sep Thu 29 Sep 2022 at 7:45am A devoted aunt investigates the mysterious death of her niece Amy Wensley, throwing doubt on the police case and exposing devastating investigative failures. Tue 5 Jul Tue 5 Jul Tue 5 Jul 2022 at 12:15am Concluding the story about the mysterious death of Amy Wensley. As her family fights for justice, they discover a flawed police investigation and devastating forensic oversights. Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul 2022 at 1:33am A devoted aunt investigates the mysterious death of her niece Amy Wensley, throwing doubt on the police case and exposing devastating investigative failures. Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul 2022 at 1:32am Bank robber Russell Manser was destined for a life in prison before he discovered a new path by confronting his hidden trauma. Now he's working to help others seek justice for crimes long buried. Sun 29 May Sun 29 May Sun 29 May 2022 at 9:18pm A notorious bank robber destined for a life in prison discovers a new path when he confronts his hidden trauma. Now he's assisting others to seek justice for crimes long buried, but it's been a rocky road to redemption. Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul Fri 22 Jul 2022 at 12:15am This is how an Australian family challenged a US policing system and its use of brutal force. But for Justine's Ruszczyk's family there is more to be done to ensure their daughter's "obscene" death was not in vain. Sun 7 Nov Sun 7 Nov Sun 7 Nov 2021 at 6:46pm A Sydney family takes on the Minneapolis police department in a long-running court battle to hold officer Mohamed Noor accountable for the death of Justine Ruszczyk. Fri 12 Nov Fri 12 Nov Fri 12 Nov 2021 at 9:22am When former international tennis player Louise Pleming met Brian Turton at a soup kitchen for the homeless, an extraordinary friendship developed and incredible events followed. Mon 14 Jun Mon 14 Jun Mon 14 Jun 2021 at 2:16pm
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vietnam's Durian Farmers Power Up with XAG Drones to Boost Efficiency
MY THO, Vietnam, May 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid Vietnam's "durian gold rush," farmers are turning to smart agri-tech, notably XAG agricultural drones, to stay ahead. In the Mekong Delta, where durian exports have soared to $3.3 billion, growers use drones to cut costs, improve yields, and work more safely, adapting quickly to the demands of this booming fruit market. Few understand these shifting tides better than Nguyễn Văn Hường, a lifelong farmer in Tiền Giang province. At 64, Hường and his wife manage more than 300 durian trees, along with 250 jackfruit and coconut trees, on a four-hectare farm. "Selling durians is like selling a house," he says, noting that a single mature durian tree can yield nearly 100 kg of fruit a year and earn him 15 to 16 million VND. Hường's real edge, though, comes from his willingness to embrace innovation—a trait that traces back decades. "I was the first here to buy a backpack sprayer 50 years ago," he recalls proudly, believing firmly that "technology brings profits." Today, that same forward-thinking spirit once again sets Hường apart as a local pioneer, helping him tackle challenges and stay ahead of the curve. Standing confidently in his lush orchard with a remote control in hand, Hường now relies on the XAG P150 agricultural drone—a tool that has completely changed his approach to crop protection. Before, he would row his boat between the trees, stand near each trunk, and reach up with a long-handled sprayer to coat the highest branches, which often failed to cover thoroughly and left him exhausted. "On windy days, chemicals would get on my head and in my eyes," he explains. By late 2024, motivated to "protect health and change traditional agriculture," Hường invested in the drone, making the plant protection process safer, more efficient, and far less labor-intensive. It took him just three days to learn how to operate the drone, and now he manages every aspect of pesticide spraying with only a few taps on the screen. The impact was immediate. Hường estimates that the P150's intelligent RevoSpray system cuts water use per spray from 3,000 to just 800 liters, and what once took two tiring days now finishes in just three hours. Equipped with a 70-liter smart liquid tank and rotary atomization nozzles, the drone can spray evenly and thoroughly, sending droplets deep into the canopy where pests lurk and manual spraying can't reach. "It used to be dizzying wearing a mask and spraying by hand, but now I can keep my distance and let the drone handle it more accurately," Hường says. The financial impact is also expected to be substantial. "Using drones for spraying can reduce my overall costs by about one-third. With expenses down and our work made easier, the profits would be higher," he proudly exclaims. Last season, nearly one billion VND in revenue came from just 100 mature durian trees, thanks to higher yields and the export surge. Hường's experience reflects a wider movement. According to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the adoption of agricultural drones in Southeast Asia led to yield increases of up to 20% and a 30% reduction in pesticide use. For Vietnamese smallholders in regions like the Mekong Delta, adopting such technologies isn't just about profit, it's also about keeping pace with rising global expectations and unpredictable weather. Word of Hường's success has spread in the community. "If anyone asks, I'm happy to share my experience. This drone is almost fully autonomous and delivers much better spraying quality. Its automatic return-to-home function is especially convenient," he says. "I'm really satisfied with this drone." From the days of hauling heavy sprayers through his orchard to now guiding a drone above bountiful trees, Hường embodies the evolution of Vietnamese farming—proving that with the right tools and openness to change, small family farms can still thrive in an increasingly competitive world. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE XAG
ABC News
25-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Adoptees from war in Vietnam return with DNA kits in desperate search for family
There's a fear that lives within Sue-Yen Luiten, a building terror that propels her as she cycles alongside the paddy fields of Vietnam's Mekong Delta, searching. It's a fear that has haunted Sue since she was a girl growing up in Western Australia and with each year it gets stronger: what if her biological mother and father are looking for her and she's not even trying to find them? And so, she searches. "I don't know if they're alive; I don't know if they'd have any interest in finding me," Sue, 51, tells Australian Story. "There's only hope that they'd be looking for me and that if I found them, there'd be value in that reunion." In May 1974, as the war in Vietnam entered its final chaotic year, four-week-old Sue was whisked out of her ravaged birthplace and into the arms of her adoptive parents, Marlene and Richard Luiten. A year later, as US-aligned forces scrambled to leave the country, thousands more Vietnamese children were flown out to be resettled around the globe in what was dubbed Operation Babylift, the largest ever war-time adoption program. Sue had a good life in WA: loving, comfortable, safe. But the older she got, the more she became aware of her "difference" and the more a void inside her yearned to be filled. "As an adoptee, there's a space which is always carved out; we call it the void, the miasma, which we hold within ourselves about our origins, about who we are … and that, for me, has always been there," Sue says. For 25 years, the now Melbourne-based architect has trawled records, visited Vietnam multiple times, followed leads and been left deflated when they go nowhere. But over the course of her search, she's met others like her — children born in and displaced by war who are now in their 50s and desperate to know their ageing birth parents. They know time is running out. Adoptees have a unique bond, says Sue, a kind of family with shared experiences, questions and hopes, despite living in countries as far-flung as the United States and the Netherlands. Through Viet Nam Family Search, an organisation Sue co-established, these adoptees continue to look for their birth parents, registering their DNA on ancestry sites and hoping for a match. But without the DNA of Vietnamese relatives, a crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. Which is one big reason why Sue and about 40 others, adoptees and their supporters, saddled up and took on an emotional five-day bike ride through southern Vietnam last month. The moment Sue held her newborn daughter Ashika, the years of prevaricating about launching her search to find her parents were over. "The first feeling that occurred to me the seconds after I held her and looked at her was how inadequate I felt in what I had to offer her — about 50 per cent of who she was," says Sue. She began her search, cobbling together what documentation she could, a name here, an address there, including the orphanage where she was cared for after birth. But before heading to Vietnam for the first time, Sue wanted to consult a veteran of the war. "There was a missing door that I was pretty scared about opening and walking through," Sue says. "Maybe the end result of my search would be that a veteran would be my father, whether American or Australian." She contacted then-WA federal politician Graham Edwards, a veteran who lost both his legs in the war. He'd recently returned to Vietnam and, despite his reservations, found it cathartic. He listened to Sue's concerns about causing more trauma to her biological father if he was a veteran, but urged her to go. "I just wanted to encourage her to go back with some confidence and to feel positive about the experience," Graham says. Within a week, Sue was in Vietnam. She went to the maternity hospital where she was born, where an elderly nurse who had cared for thousands of babies during the war wept at her first reunion with one of those children. She found an address listed as her mother's and set off, only to find it was a long-gone refugee camp, now a throbbing metropolis. She visited the orphanage she'd been in before she was adopted and "felt an instant connection to the space" but found no relevant records. What Sue did find there, however, was almost more powerful: adult orphans, people about her age, the children who had never left. "Just that moment of thinking, how easy could it have been that I was you and you were me," says Sue. "I couldn't speak Vietnamese, they couldn't speak English, but we didn't have to. Sue returned to Australia, no closer to finding her parents but with a stronger connection to her origins, to the girl who had been born Luu Thi Van. She spoke publicly about her quest and broadened her contact with other adoptees. One of them was My Huong Le, now the director of Nha Xa Hoi Long Hai, a centre for underprivileged children in Vang Tau. She had returned to live in Vietnam and later found the woman she believed was her mother. The excitement of My Huong's reunion filled Sue with hope. But on trips back to Vietnam, Sue grew concerned about the ad hoc nature of family searches. She learned of rogues who faked DNA tests to "match" families for financial gain. A better system was needed and in 2015, Sue and My Huong began Vietnam Family Search. It provides DNA testing and other comprehensive search services, working with the Vietnam-based Catalyst Foundation to assist mothers and adoptees looking to connect. For years, Sue had been hesitant about doing her own DNA test but in 2016, after exhausting all leads, she did. With her DNA registered in a database, Sue waited for contact. None came. Last year, she did a new test that found she was 100 per cent Vietnamese. Having laid to rest the idea she might be the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, a week later, more compelling news came. She had a match. There was a second cousin out there, also searching. She sent an email. Now, she waits for that person to make contact. "Fifty years of never having any sign of a human being that is actually related to me, it was like a tree with roots … just that sense of having that root there, even if it's a mystery." Of all the sights and sounds that filled the senses of adoptees Barton Williams and Kim Catford on the bike tour of their birth country, nothing was more striking than the sea of faces of Vietnamese women who came to welcome them at a government-run ceremony in the Mekong. Perhaps some of those women were there because 50-plus years ago, they gave birth to a child they had lost or given up in the throes of war. Perhaps they were searching too. "I eyeballed one lady," says Barton, who has written a play about life as a Vietnamese adoptee. Kim adds: "We're all thinking, 'Could this be our mother, or could this be a relative of some type?'" DNA testing is key. The group knows how vital that step is through My Huong's tumultuous experience — 14 years after she moved to Vietnam to live with the woman she thought was her mother, My Huong discovered it was all a lie. Another woman came forward and after a DNA test, it was proved that she was My Huong's mother. Secrecy, shame and deception live alongside many Vietnamese women's desires to find their children, and Sue and her group were determined not to add to the pain. They advised women in advance of their trip that DNA testing would be available and left it at that. No-one came forward on the day of the welcoming ceremony. But 24 hours later, about 25 women expressed an interest in taking a test. "It's been really encouraging," says Sue. "We'll spend some time with them, talking about privacy and … making sure we get consent. For Sue, the trip stirred a jumble of emotions but the loneliness she has often felt in her search for her origins was not one of them. She knows she may never find her birth parents, but she knows she'll keep looking — and that she shares her quest with other adoptees. "That solo journey you're on, that isolation, the frustration, the immensity of the task at hand can just be such a lonely and strange and obscure place," Sue says. "After this trip, I definitely feel less lonely … having gone on the ride, the experiences that I now carry with me will become a strength, something that I can lean on and refer to in those times where things are tough and I am feeling lonely and isolated. "They'll become a really solid base for me to continue my journey." Watch Australian Story's Missing Pieces, 8:00pm, on ABCTV and ABC iview.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Missing Pieces: Sue-Yen Luiten
Fifty years after the end of the war in Vietnam, adoptee Sue-Yen Luiten has returned to her country of birth in an effort to track down the family she left behind. Luiten was just a few weeks old when she was adopted by an Australian couple but she's spent her adult life trying to piece together her biological puzzle. Australian Story filmed with Luiten as she led a group of adoptees around the Mekong Delta, arranging for DNA kits to be handed out to mothers in the hope the results connect adoptees with their biological families. Watch 'Missing Pieces' at 8pm Monday on ABC TV or iview.
