Fire extinguisher recall

At least 43 people were killed Sunday in a devastating fire that ripped through a bag factory in the cramped, congested old quarter of the Indian capital New Delhi, trapping scores of workers who were sleeping inside. The blaze was the worst in Delhi since 59 movie-goers died in a cinema in 1997, with the city's poor planning and enforcement of building and safety regulations often responsible for such deadly incidents. Tearful relatives spoke of receiving desperate calls from factory workers from around 5:00am (23:30 GMT) pleading to be freed from the inferno in the dark, poorly lit premises in the commercial hub of Sadar Bazar. The four-storey building was home to a series of manufacturing units producing items including schools bags and packing materials which only worsened the spread of the fire, officials said. Locals said the factory also made purses. "Most of the casualties happened because of suffocation," witness Mohammed Khalil told AFP. "After the fire, people didn't … [Read more...] about At least 43 killed in ‘horrific’ factory fire in India’s capital

Two recent cases of xe om (motorbike taxi) drivers working for Grab  in Vietnam being attacked, with one ending in murder, have sent a shockwave through the local ride-hailing community as drivers scramble to find ways to protect themselves on the job. When technology-based ride hailing was first introduced to Vietnam in 2014, drivers rarely gave a second thought to the idea of getting robbed or assaulted during a pick-up. Now, the industry is seeing the dark side of a massive boom – more drivers means more opportunities for criminals to take advantage of unsuspecting drivers, particularly during trips to secluded areas late at night. The October 19 murder of Le Nhat Hao, a student and GrabBike driver, was a wakeup call for local drivers: times are changing and caution can no longer be thrown to the wind. From all walks of life It was only recently that xe om driving made the leap from lower-class employment to side-hustle for university students, manual workers, … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s tech-based xe om industry scrambles for safety in wake of multiple tragedies

Luong Van Lam "In the whole human relation there is no slavery or torture so horrible as coerced, unwilling motherhood," wrote women’s rights campaigner Marie Stopes in her 1918 book "Married Love." This remains very relevant in Vietnam even today. I met Phuong, 21, a student, when I was doing interviews with unmarried women on birth control methods last year. The quiet, reserved young woman told me she and her boyfriend had been together for almost two years and that they had had sex "a couple of times." "We mostly didn't plan any of those. Sometimes we used condoms, sometimes we didn't." She said she hadn't thought she could get pregnant that easily since they "didn't have sex that regularly." "If I don't know about something, I'd just Google it," she said when I asked her how she learned about birth control methods. Her parents never had "the talk" with her about safe sex and other related topics. And like many other women I have interviewed, Phuong could not recall much … [Read more...] about Lack of sex education taking its toll in Vietnam