Latest from Int'l Business Times
Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Anxious Relatives Await News From Vietnam Wreck Rescue
Relatives anxiously sat beside ambulances on the wharf of one of Vietnam's most popular tourist sites on Sunday, waiting for news of loved ones who were on a tourist boat that capsized killing dozens. Fruits and flowers were laid on the coast for the 37 killed in the wreckage on Saturday in what some called Ha Long Bay's worst-ever disaster. As rescuers worked into Sunday morning to salvage the sunken boat, a handful of people were still missing. The tourist vessel called "Wonder Sea" had been carrying 53 people, including more than 20 children, around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to state media. Hoang Quang rushed from Hanoi to Quang Ninh province at 2:00 am on Sunday for news of his cousin and her family who were on the boat when it capsized. The couple -- a housewife and fruit seller married to a bus driver -- had "tried their best" to afford the trip around the world-famous bay. "They found the body of (the husband), not my cousin yet," Hoang told AFP. He was "so shocked" when he heard news of the incident and immediately went to the wharf with other worried family members. "Suddenly the victims were my relatives -- anyone would be scared. We didn't know what to do, except to keep waiting," he said. "We think that as we are all here, she knew and she would show up. We are all so anxious... We just wish and pray for her to come back here to us." By early Sunday, the wreckage had been towed into the wharf and 11 people had been rescued and taken to a nearby hospital. Security guard Nguyen Tuan Anh spent the night on the wharf where ambulances were waiting to carry the bodies away -- a scene he described as "painful". "I don't think I have experienced this scene before. This maybe the worst accident ever in Ha Long Bay," he told AFP, adding it had been "unpredictable and also I think unpreparable." "The whirlwind came so sudden and so big. The wind blew off the framework of a big stage for a grand music show nearby," he said. Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of people visiting its blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands each year. Several hundred rescuers including professional divers, soldiers, and firefighters joined the search for survivors through the night and heavy rain, state media said. "The whirlwind came just so sudden," a rescue worker, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Saturday. "As the boat turned upside down, several people were stuck inside the cabin. Me and other rescuers pulled up two bodies and rescued one," he said. "The accident was so devastating." The tourist vessel had been carrying 53 people when it capsized AFP Relatives wait for information about their loved ones after a boat capsized in Vietnam AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Int'l Business Times
Hanoi Scooter Riders Baulk At Petrol-powered Bikes Ban
Vietnam's plan to bar gas-guzzling motorbikes from central Hanoi may clear the air of the smog-smothered capital, but riders fear paying a high toll for the capital's green transition. "Of course everyone wants a better environment," said housewife Dang Thuy Hanh, baulking at the 80 million dong ($3,000) her family would spend replacing their four scooters with electric alternatives. "But why give us the first burden without any proper preparation?" grumbled the 52-year-old. Hanoi's scooter traffic is a fixture of the city's urban buzz. The northern hub of nine million people has nearly seven million two-wheelers, hurtling around at rush hour in a morass of congestion. Their exhausts splutter emissions regularly spurring the city to the top of worldwide smog rankings in a country where pollution claims at least 70,000 lives a year, according to the World Health Organization. The government last weekend announced plans to block fossil-fuelled bikes from Hanoi's 31 square kilometre (12 square mile) centre by next July. It will expand in stages to forbid all gas-fuelled vehicles in urban areas of the city in the next five years. Hanh -- one of the 600,000 people living in the central embargo zone -- said the looming cost of e-bikes has left her fretting over the loss of "a huge amount of savings". While she conceded e-bikes may help relieve pollution, she bemoaned the lack of public charging points near her home down a tiny alley in the heart of the city. "Why force residents to change while the city's infrastructure is not yet able to adapt to the new situation?" she asked. Many families in communist-run Vietnam own at least two motorcycles for daily commutes, school runs, work and leisure. Proposals to reform transport for environmental reasons often sparks allegations the burden of change is felt highest by the working class. London has since 2023 charged a toll for older, higher pollution-emitting vehicles. France's populist "Yellow Vest" protests starting in 2018 were in part sparked by allegations President Emmanuel Macron's "green tax" on fuel was unfair for the masses. Hanoi authorities say they are considering alleviating the financial burden by offering subsidies of at least three million dong ($114) per switch to an e-bike, and also increasing public bus services. Food delivery driver Tran Van Tan, who rides his bike 40 kilometres (25 miles) every day from neighbouring Hung Yen province to downtown Hanoi, says he makes his living "on the road". "The cost of changing to an e-bike is simply too high," said the 45-year-old, employed through the delivery app Grab. "Those with a low income like us just cannot suddenly replace our bikes." Compared with a traditional two-wheeler, he also fears the battery life of e-bikes "won't meet the needs for long-distance travel". But citing air pollution as a major threat to human health, the environment and quality of life, deputy mayor Duong Duc Tuan earlier this week said "drastic measures are needed". In a recent report, Hanoi's environment and agriculture ministry said over half of the poisonous smog that blankets the city for much of the year comes from petrol and diesel vehicles. The World Bank puts the figure at 30 percent, with factories and waste incineration also major culprits. Several European cities, such as Barcelona, Paris and Amsterdam have also limited the use of internal combustion engines on their streets -- and other major Vietnamese cities are looking to follow suit. The southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City aims to gradually transition delivery and service motorbikes to electric over the next few years. But with the high costs, office worker Nguyen My Hoa thinks the capital's ban will not be enforceable. "Authorities will not be able to stop the huge amount of gasoline bikes from entering the inner districts," 42-year-old Hoa said. "It simply does not work." Hanoi's scooter traffic is a fixture of the city's urban buzz AFP The government plans to block fossil-fuelled bikes from Hanoi's centre by next July AFP The World Bank says factories and waste incineration are major culprits for Hanoi's smog AFP Vietnam says over half of the smog in Hanoi comes from petrol and diesel vehicles AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Japan Sees Bright Future For Ultra-thin, Flexible Solar Panels
Japan is heavily investing in a new kind of ultra-thin, flexible solar panel that it hopes will help it meet renewable energy goals while challenging China's dominance of the sector. Pliable perovskite panels are perfect for mountainous Japan, with its shortage of flat plots for traditional solar farms. And a key component of the panels is iodine, something Japan produces more of than any country but Chile. The push faces some obstacles: perovskite panels contain toxic lead, and, for now, produce less power and have shorter lifespans than their silicon counterparts. Still, with a goal of net-zero by 2050 and a desire to break China's solar supremacy, perovskite cells are "our best card to achieve both decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness," minister of industry Yoji Muto said in November. "We need to succeed in their implementation in society at all costs," he said. The government is offering generous incentives to get industry on board, including a 157-billion-yen ($1 billion) subsidy to plastic maker Sekisui Chemical for a factory to produce enough perovskite solar panels to generate 100 megawatts by 2027, enough to power 30,000 households. By 2040, Japan wants to install enough perovskite panels to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to adding about 20 nuclear reactors. That should help Japan's target to have renewable energy cover up to 50 percent of electricity demand by 2040. The nation is looking to solar power, including perovskite and silicon-based solar cells, to cover up to 29 percent of all electricity demand by that time, a sharp rise from 9.8 percent in 2023. "To increase the amount of renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality, I think we will have to mobilise all the technologies available," said Hiroshi Segawa, a specialist in next-generation solar technology at the University of Tokyo. "Perovskite solar panels can be built domestically, from the raw materials to production to installation. In that sense, they could significantly contribute to things like energy security and economic security," he told AFP. Tokyo wants to avoid a repeat of the past boom and bust of the Japanese solar business. In the early 2000s, Japanese-made silicon solar panels accounted for almost half the global market. Now, China controls more than 80 percent of the global solar supply chain, from the production of key raw material to assembling modules. Silicon solar panels are made of thin wafers that are processed into cells that generate electricity. They must be protected by reinforced glass sheets and metal frames, making the final products heavy and cumbersome. Perovskite solar cells, however, are created by printing or painting ingredients such as iodine and lead onto surfaces like film or sheet glass. The final product can be just a millimetre thick and a tenth the weight of a conventional silicon solar cell. Perovskite panels' malleability means they can be installed on uneven and curved surfaces, a key feature in Japan, where 70 percent of the country is mountainous. The panels are already being incorporated into several projects, including a 46-storey Tokyo building to be completed by 2028. The southwestern city of Fukuoka has also said it wants to cover a domed baseball stadium with perovskite panels. And major electronics brand Panasonic is working on integrating perovskite into windowpanes. "What if all of these windows had solar cells integrated in them?" said Yukihiro Kaneko, general manager of Panasonic's perovskite PV development department, gesturing to the glass-covered high-rise buildings surrounding the firm's Tokyo office. That would allow power to be generated where it is used, and reduce the burden on the national grid, Kaneko added. For all the enthusiasm, perovskite panels remain far from mass production. They are less efficient than their silicon counterparts, and have a lifespan of just a decade, compared to 30 years for conventional units. The toxic lead they contain also means they need careful disposal after use. However, the technology is advancing fast. Some prototypes can perform nearly as powerfully as silicon panels and their durability is expected to reach 20 years soon. University professor Segawa believes Japan could have a capacity of 40 gigawatts from perovskite by 2040, while the technology could also speed up renewable uptake elsewhere. "We should not think of it as either silicon or perovskite. We should look at how we can maximise our ability to utilise renewable energy," Segawa said. "If Japan could show a good model, I think it can be brought overseas." Japan is hoping ultra-thin, flexible solar panels made from perovskite will help it meet renewable energy goals AFP By 2040, Japan wants to install enough perovskite panels to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to adding about 20 nuclear reactors AFP Infographic factfile on the perovskite solar panel, a new ultra-thin flexible alternative to dominant silicon panels that are heavier and more difficult to handle. AFP Traditional solar panels on a hillside in Fukushima prefecture. Flexible perovskite panels are perfect for mountainous Japan, with its shortage of flat plots AFP Perovskite solar cells can be just a millimetre thick and a tenth the weight of a conventional silicon one AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Driver Charged After Plowing Into Los Angeles Nightclub Crowd, Injuring 30
A driver was charged with assault after plowing into a crowd outside a Hollywood nightclub early Saturday, police said, injuring 30 people, with bystanders attacking and shooting the driver before he was detained by authorities. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokeswoman Rosario Cervantes told AFP. Ramirez had been "undergoing surgery" at a local hospital after suffering a gunshot wound from the incident. "He is not free to leave, he is in the custody of Los Angeles Police Department," LAPD Commander Lillian Carranza told local news station KCAL. Ramirez had been kicked out of The Vermont Hollywood nightclub in East Hollywood before he deliberately rammed his vehicle into the crowd, US media reported. Based on reviewing a video of the incident, "when he hit bystanders, it was an intentional act," the Los Angeles Times quoted LAPD Captain Ben Fernandes as saying. The crowd pulled Ramirez out of the car, reportedly a Nissan Versa sedan, and attacked him in the chaos that followed the car ramming, which took place around 2:00 am (0900 GMT), police detailed. Authorities were still searching for a gunman who shot and wounded the driver before fleeing on foot, Cervantes said. Footage posted on social media showed panicked people running outside the club and victims sprawled on a blood-stained sidewalk, while others sobbed nearby. "When officers arrived, they found the driver being assaulted by bystanders and determined he had sustained a gunshot wound," a police statement said. More than 100 firefighters responded to the scene in East Hollywood. "We have 30 victims, 18 females and 12 males between the ages of the mid-twenties to early thirties," Carranza said. Seven were in critical condition and six were in serious condition, authorities said. Ten suffered minor injuries while seven left the hospital against medical advice. Many clubgoers were outside when the car plowed into the crowd, a taco truck and a valet stand. "They were all standing in line going into a nightclub. There was a taco cart out there, so they were ... getting some food, waiting to go in. And there's also a valet line there," Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Adam Van Gerpen told ABC News. "The valet podium was taken out, the taco truck was taken out, and then a large number of people were impacted by the vehicle." At dawn Saturday, a tow truck hauled away the car, its bumper torn off. Club employees power washed the sidewalk outside The Vermont Hollywood, which had been hosting a reggae and hip-hop event. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident "a heartbreaking tragedy." "The hearts of Angelenos are with all of the victims impacted this morning -- a full investigation into what happened is underway," she said in a statement. The Vermont Hollywood club said on social media it was "deeply saddened by the tragic incident." The area of the car ramming is near Hollywood landmarks including Sunset Boulevard and the Walk of Fame -- a sidewalk emblazoned with stars commemorating movie industry figures. Video posted on social media showed bystanders pulling the driver out of his car and assaulting him AFP
Int'l Business Times
6 hours ago
- Health
- Int'l Business Times
Sunbears To Elephants: Life At A Thai Wildlife Hospital
The patient lay prone on the operating table. An IV line snaking from his left leg, near the wound from the tranquilliser dart that sedated him. Yong, a pig-tailed macaque rescued from a life harvesting coconuts, was being treated at Thailand's only NGO-run wildlife hospital. He is one of dozens of animals treated each month at the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) facility. Patients range from delicate sugar gliders intended as pets, to some of the hefty rescued elephants that roam WFFT's expansive facility in Phetchaburi, southwest of Bangkok. The wide variety can be a challenge, said vet Siriporn Tippol. "If we can't find the right equipment, we have to DIY use what we already have or modify based on the specifications we need." She described strapping an extension handle onto a laryngoscope designed for cats and dogs so it could be used during surgery on bears and tigers. A treatment whiteboard gives a sense of an average day: cleaning a wound on one elephant's tail, assessing another's possible cataract and treating a Malayan sunbear's skin condition. Yong was in quarantine after rescue -- coconut monkeys often carry tuberculosis or other infectious diseases -- and needed a full health check. But first, he had to be sedated, with a tranquilliser dart blown from a white tube into his left haunch. Before long he was slumped over and ready to be carried to hospital. Blood was taken, an IV line placed and then it was X-ray time, to look for signs of broken bones or respiratory illness. Next was a symbolic moment: vets cut off the metal rings around the monkey's neck that once kept him connected to a chain. The operating theatre was the final stop, for a vasectomy to allow Yong to join a mixed troop of rescued monkeys without risk of breeding. The light-filled hospital only opened this month, replacing a previous "tiny" clinic, said WFFT founder Edwin Wiek. "I've always dreamed about having a proper medical facility," he told AFP, over the sound of nearby tigers roaring in grassy enclosures. With over 900 animals in WFFT's care and a regular stream of emergency arrivals, "we needed really a bigger place, more surgery rooms, a treatment room," he said. Wiek founded WFFT in 2001 with two macaques and a gibbon. It now spans 120 hectares (297 acres) and houses 60 species. "That hobby got out of hand," he laughed. He has long advocated for stronger wildlife protections in a country well-known as a wildlife trafficking hub in part because of its location and strong transport links. Wiek once had tendentious relations with Thai authorities, even facing legal action, but more recently has become a government advisor. WFFT is now a force multiplier for the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). "In many cases, when wild animals from elephants and tigers to macaques are found injured and displaced, we coordinate with WFFT, who assist in rehabilitation and medical care," said DNP wildlife conservation director Chalerm Poommai. One of WFFT's current campaigns focuses on the estimated thousands of monkeys like Yong trained to pick coconuts on plantations in southern Thailand. "The animal welfare issue is horrible," said Wiek. "But another very important point is that these animals actually are taken out of the wild illegally. And that, of course, has a huge impact, negative impact on the survival of the species." WFFT is working with authorities, the coconut industry and exporters to encourage farmers to stop using monkeys, and switch to shorter trees that are easier to harvest. There is also work to do equipping the new hospital. A mobile X-ray unit and specialised blood analysis machine are on Siriporn's wishlist. And Wiek is thinking ahead to his next dream: a forensics lab to trace the origins of the animals confiscated from traffickers. "The laws are there, we lack the enforcement," he said. "But with this tool, we could actually do some real damage to these illegal wildlife traffickers." Vet assistants carrying "Yong", a pigtailed macaque rescued from a life harvesting coconuts AFP Thailand is a well-known wildlife trafficking hub AFP Over 900 animals are in WFFT's care with a regular stream of emergency arrivals AFP
