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The Weekly News Roundup, First Week of July

Here’s the second installment of our international development and Vietnam weekly news roundup. This week, we’ve combed through the internet to bring you articles on English teachers in Vietnam, civil conflicts, obesity, macroeconomics and foreign policy. Please check them out below.

English teachers in Vietnam lag behind world standards

The state of English teaching in Vietnam is not looking good. According to an ongoing national survey, “97 percent of high school teachers, and 93 percent of elementary and secondary school teachers failed the English tests that the education ministry drafted in accordance with European standards…Worse still, 17 percent of elementary school teachers tested only achieved a beginner’s level.” Even among university educators, the results so far have been dismal. Considering the increased globalization and importance of English, a deficit of proficient English teachers may end up holding Vietnam back in business, economic and social development.

Southeast Asia: Home to the World’s Longest Ongoing Civil War

This article is less about Vietnam than it is about the Southeast Asia region. While we often think of Southeast Asia as a region ripe for its moment of global ascension, this is a strong reminder that many domestic conflicts still plague the Southeast Asian nations. Mong Palatino, a Filipino activist and politician, writes, “Global headlines seldom mention Southeast Asia’s ongoing wars. This is unfortunate since it prevents global dialogue and understanding of the various conflicts and – ultimately – their resolution.”

Obesity in Asia: American Fast Food is Fare for the Rich

It’s an absurd world we’re living in: a billion people go to bed hungry each night, and another billion go to bed having stuffed themselves beyond what their bodies can healthily consume. Starvation and obesity are both serious problems in this world, and the obesity issue is becoming more widespread in Vietnam and other developing countries. Part of the reason is people’s growing predilection for fatty foods, made more accessible now by the expansion of Western fast food chains into Asia and other parts of the world.

Statement by the IMF Mission to Vietnam

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a statement after a recent trip to Vietnam. The IMF’s assessments are cautiously positive, noting that stabilizing measures adopted to cool inflation in Vietnam have been effective. The IMF advises continued structural reform, strengthening policies, being more mindful of measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, and committing to greater transparency.

Clinton to Visit Laos, Egypt and Israel / Clinton’s marathon trip tackles a range of U.S. foreign policy

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left yesterday for a 13-day diplomatic tour that will take her through Europe, Africa and Asia, including Vietnam. Clinton will be stopping by France, Japan and Mongolia before landing in Vietnam. After that, she embarks to Laos, making her the first US diplomat in 57 years to visit Laos. She will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting, and the U.S.-ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference. Discussion topics with Vietnam and the other ASEAN nations will likely include territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea (known to many in the Vietnamese community as the East Sea), drug trafficking, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and bilateral trade. Other nations on the tour include Cambodia, Egypt and Israel.

Photo by Brenderous via Flickr (Creative Commons)

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