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The Weekly News Roundup: Week of January 14

The weekly news roundup brings you a recap of the latest happenings in Vietnam and international development. This week, we have bears and Buddhist in Vietnam, and jobs and money talk across the globe.

A Rare Victory For Bears (The Economist)

It ain’t easy being a bear in Vietnam. Even when you thought you’d finally found a place to settle in at the Tam Dao bear sanctuary, the threat of eviction continued to loom. But thankfully for the bears, after a prolonged back-and-forth between animal advocates and developers, the bear sanctuary has been allowed to stay.

Bears are hunted for their bile in Vietnam, and the World Wildlife Fund ranks Vietnam as one of the world’s “worst country for wildlife crime.”

Vietnam’s Buddhist Response to Disasters (IRIN)

This is an excellent article from IRIN news about how religious groups in Vietnam effectively spring to action in times of community need. Buddhist groups and associations (as well as other religious groups) have played a critical role in community-development and community-based disaster response. They are often among the first responders, and, because of the trust vested in them by the community, are knowledgeable about local needs. (VNHELP has been lucky to work with some religious groups in our  past projects, and we can attest to their perseverance and indiscriminate goodwill.) However, because so much of religious work is informal, the impact of religious groups in Vietnam’s civil society has yet to be truly understood. More research is required.

More, Better Jobs (World Bank)

The International Finance Corporation (a World Bank Group) has just launched a new report on how jobs are created by the private sector, which accounts for 90% of job creation globally. According to the report, there are roughly 200 million people currently unemployed through ought the world, and most of them are women and young people living in developing countries. Another 600 million jobs will need to be created by 2020, especially in Africa and Asia, just to account for the growing global population. Some of the reports key finding underscores the importance of training and skills development, and it notes that the nature of job challenges varies by region and country.

More Libraries Help Haitians Overcome Earthquake (Global Voices)

This week marks two years since the earthquake in Haiti struck the Caribbean country and wrought unspeakable damage. Despite the outpouring of goodwill immediately following the quake, much of Haiti remains in dire conditions. But here is a positive story coming out of the rubble:  Libraries Without Borders is launching two new mobile libraries to circulate books and knowledge throughout the country’s capital. These books can help people find mental calm and spiritual healing when they are still living in such precarious times.

 

 

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