This handout picture taken on September 30, 2018 and released by Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency shows rescuers retrieving a body from the rubble of a building in Palu, Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi, following the September 28 earthquake and tsunami. — AFP/VNA Photo Viet Nam News PALU, Indonesia — Indonesian volunteers dug mass graves for more than 1,000 bodies on Monday after a quake and tsunami devastated swathes of Sulawesi, as authorities -- struggling to deal with the sheer scale of the disaster -- appealed for international help. Indonesia is no stranger to natural calamities and Jakarta wanted to show that it was able to deal with a catastrophe that has killed at least 832 people so far according to the official toll. But four days on some remote areas have yet to be contacted, medicines are running out and rescuers are struggling with a shortage of heavy equipment to reach desperate victims calling out from the ruins of collapsed … [Read more...] about Quake-hit Indonesia asks for help, graves dug for 1,000-plus
Buried shipping container
Plastic waste grows as authorities fail to act
Viet Nam News HCM CITY – HCM City is being slowly choked by plastic waste, with 60 tonnes generated every day and only 10 per cent of them recycled. Due to the low quality of the plastic, only a small proportion is treatable, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Overall, the city generates 9,000 tonnes of plastic waste, of which 6,000 tonnes are buried and 3,000 tonnes are treated. Another reason for the low treatment rate in the case of plastic is the failure to classify waste by households and commercial establishments alike. All kinds of wastes are mixed during collection and transportation. According to environmental experts, plastic is non-bio-degradable and remains in the environment for hundreds of years. Besides, there are no regulations to restrict plastic usage. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) slapped an environment tax on the non-bio-degradable plastic of 150 – 200 per cent, but it is not being … [Read more...] about Plastic waste grows as authorities fail to act