Podcasts about Laos

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 8/8:  The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1964 5/8:  The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1960 7/8:  The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1957 6/8:  The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Discover the dangerous covert world of MACVSOG [the U.S. Military's premiere special operations organization during the Vietnam War]. Operating deep behind enemy lines, in both Laos and Cambodia, SOG Recon Teams were tasked with observing the Ho Chi Minh trail, capturing NVA soldiers, direct action assaults, and many other extremely difficult missions. Brett's Call-to-Action Follow us on:  Instagram @Americafogofwar   TikTok @america_fogofwar Become a Member for more insider content Follow Civil War Trails — www.civilwartrails.org/    Hosts Colby Sumner        Brett Thomas                 Host                       Host                       

  Did you grow up feeling like you didn't belong?  And you want to find a sense of community? In this episode with Ny Derry, we discuss: - What it means to feel like a “throwaway” because our families are refugees from Laos. - How our cultural backgrounds make us “workaholics” and how managing so many identities (employee, mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, and more) can lead us to abandon ourselves. - Why it's important to acknowledge mental health issues like postpartum depression, and ask for help. - What you need to say during difficult conversations with your family (partner, parents, children) to make the best decisions for yourself and your loved ones. - How the lack of language can make it hard for us to express our feelings to our parents, and how to bridge the gap for intergenerational conversations with language.   - Why it's important to create a place for the community to come together and find a sense of belonging, and what you can do if you feel inspired to create something new for your community. Learn more about Ny on www.linkedin.com/in/nyderry and www.laohelpinglao.com. Connect with Samorn on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim. Get a copy of Samorn's book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c. Get weekly career tips by signing up for our advice column at www.careerunicorns.com. 

Click here to view the book on Amazon Buu-Van AjareyaJemir Hope Nguyễn Rasih American Poet/ Author, Christian Thinker, Author of Change, Spoken-word American Poet, Son of Immigrants and Son of Man(kind). 1950, Rasih was born on March 1st in Luangprabang, Laos as the youngest of four children to his Vietnamese immigrant parents. 1975, he received his undergraduate degree in irrigation engineering from Nonthabury College of Irrigation Institute in Pakkred, Thailand. After the fall of the Lao Royal Government in 1975, he escaped to thailand and eventually arrived in The United States of America. 1976, April 9 he immediately began working as Refugee Resettlement Associate Director for Catholic Charities of San Diego and promoted to work for the home office USCC based in Florida as a Regional Resettlement Specialist for 8 states in the Southern regions of the U.S. 1977, January 29th he married his other half, Vilaykhone Rasih Connie Simuong. They have three wonderful children: Bobby, George Jr. and Valentina Cupid Rasih McClees and two grandchildren Hayelee and Fox Rasih. 1984, January 20th he became proud naturalized citizen of the United States of America. 1991-1994 he was appointed as a City Commissioner by the San Diego City Council to serve the City's Commision for Human Relations. 1994, he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and became an ordained Christian minister in Las Vegas, Nevada .Soon after this experience, he engulfed himself with oral literature, and began writing new modern American poetry 2001, he decided to further education and earned his graduate degree from Cali State University of San Marcos in Business Administration and leadership Studies 2000. He's Polyglot. He speaks five languages: Laotian, Vietnamese, Thai, English and French. 2005-2006, he is a winner of both the Asian Heritage Awards 2006 for Art, Literature and Philosophy and the International Society of Poets for Editor's Choice Awards I'm 2005 and 2006; He was named one of the 100 great Poets of the Western World by Famous Poets Press, was selected by Marquis Who's Who in America and in the World and Who's Who of Asian Americans. 1995 to present, he Co-founded Global Childe/ Rasih Citizenship Education Institute(RACE) to promote civic education to the Asian immigrants for successful citizenship throughout the states of America and assisted 2,776 refugees and new immigrants in successful achieving their American dream of becoming American citizens. His honors also include being Immortalized on the Immigrant Wall of Honor, a permanent exhibit by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and recognized as Statue of Liberty Museum Founder. On March 9th, 2019, he was recognized as the Inaugural recipient of the Asian Pacific American Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary personal commitment to improving the Asian Pacific American community through volunteer service, civic engagement, and dedication to his APAC organization. In 2022, he was recognized with the Top Honor of the Little Saigon Foundation of the Year 2022 Award in Outstanding Leadership and Community Service from Congressional, State, City and County of San Diego.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow Vietnam 4/4: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1927 Vietnam 3/4: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1920 Vietnam 2/4: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow 1906 Vietnam 1/4: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 28, 2023 by  George Black  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.

Listen to this enlightening conversation with Richard McLemore as he sheds light on the current state of the assisted living industry and the potential for technological solutions to improve the lives of those in care. Learn various technological solutions that enhance a business's quality of service and boost sales.Key Takeaways to Listen forHow is artificial intelligence beneficial for your business?Advantages of incorporating AI into your operationsOverview of the current state of the assisted living industryNew prospects and avenues for investors in assisted livingUnderstanding the pricing dynamics of residential assisted living facilitiesResources Mentioned in This EpisodeMom's House Free Apartment Syndication Due Diligence Checklist for Passive Investor About Richard McLemoreRichard lists, sells, and invests in Austin, TX homes. He is a seasoned REALTOR®, investor, ex-Oracle leader, a long-term senior executive in technology, ex-college athlete, and member of US SpecOps veteran who served in Vietnam and Laos. He has been married for over 45 years with two grown children. Richard is known to be a creative and intuitive person who loves people and finding simple solutions.Connect with RichardWebsite: Life and Abundance Senior Care Twitter: @richardmclemoreTo Connect With UsPlease visit our website: www.bonavestcapital.com, and please click here, to leave a rating and review!SponsorsGrow Your Show, LLCThinking About Creating and Growing Your Own Podcast But Not Sure Where To Start?Visit GrowYourShow.com and Schedule a call with Adam A. Adams

Project Hammer, money launder, Golden Lily, Yamashita's Gold, Black Eagle Trust, Daniel Vincent Hughes Jr, Howard Hughes, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Irving S. Shapiro, Du Pont family, links between David Vincent Hughes & Project Hammer, South Africa, Rolf van Rooyen, Riaan Stander, South African National Intelligence Agency, Erle Cocke Jr., Shriners, Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), Sovereign Order of Saint John (SOSJ), SMOM vs SOSJs and which one Cocke belonged to, Douglas MacArthur, Council on Foreign Relations, American Legion, Paul Helliwell, Castle Bank & Trust, Nugan Hand, Michael Hand, US Army Special Forces, Green Berets, special operations forces mafia, "The Company," Theodore Shackley, Edwin Wilson, Richard Secord, Thailand, John Singlaub, drug trafficking, Laos, Golden Triangle, Citibank, Bank of New York, PROMIS, tracking Russian funds, Putin's financiers, South Africa's role in Project Hammer, why Project Hammer is NOT the Golden Lily or Black Eagle Trust, why Golden Lily is disinformation, Robert Maxwell's links, Executive Outcome, Eeben Barlow, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah. Dr, Zedan, attempts to entrap Barlow in money laundering, 9/111st musical break (6:40): Project Hammer overview, David Vincent Hughes Jr., the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Du Pont family2nd musical break (21L40): the banks linked to Project Hammer & Vincent Hughes; Peter Seaman, South Africa's dynamic duo3rd musical break (41:00): the ultimate Erle Cocke Jr. deep dive: Shriners, Maltese knights, American legionaries, drug trafficking, money laundering and more!4th musical break (1:18:40): Why Project Hammer is NOT the Golden Lily and why Golden Lily is mostly disinformation5th musical break (1:41:00): Robert Maxwell's links to Project Hammer & Executive Outcome's Eeben Barlow and his strange encounters with the Saudis during Hammer's exposure & 9/11 Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/Additional Music by: Corwin Trailshttps://corwintrails.bandcamp.com/album/wolf-songs-folk-songs Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last time we spoke about the final battles to push the Qing forces out of Tonkin. The Qing, Black Flag and Vietnamese forces were fighting bitterly, on the open field and as guerillas to kick France out of Tonkin. The guerilla activity led to bloody months at the isolated outposts of Thai Nguyen, Hung Hoa and Tuyen Quang. To dislodge the Qing army from Tonkin, the French attacked them at Nui Bop and seized Lang son thus saving the outposts from being taken. After securing their outposts the French recommenced their offensive attacking Hoa Moc. But the Qing and Black Flag forces erected a siege at Tuyen Quang, to which the French beat them again. Then at Dang Dong, the French finally pushed the Qing forces across the Gate of China back to their homeland. The war over Tonkin was fierce, costing countless lives and all for a war never officially declared, but was it all won and done? Well we are about to find out.   #47 The Sino-French War of 1884-1885 part 4: Of War and Peace   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. General Francois Oscar de Negrier took his 2nd brigade and absolutely smashed the remnants of the Guangxi army at Dang Dong, sending them fleeing back into their homeland. For good measure the French literally blew up the Gate of China, also known today as the “Gate of Friendship” which was the border between Guangxi and Tonkin. The customs building, walls, gate itself, all of it was blown sky high. Once this was done the 2nd brigade pulled back to Lang Son at the end of February of 1885. Thus by March the the Guangxi army had been pushed out of Tonkin by General Oscar, while the Yunnan army had been defeated heavily at Tuyen Quang and Hung Hoa by the 1st brigade of Giovanninelli.  Despite the sweeping victories, the Qing were not truly defeated by any means they still held considerable forces across the border. General Briere de L'isle thought about launching an offensive against the nearest target within China, such as the military depot at Longzhou, but he did not have enough men to really pull it off, he had to wait for reinforcements. Reinforcements would arrive in mid march. He sat down with his officers and devised a course of action. It was agreed the 1st brigade would attack the Yunnan army to push them beyond the Yen Bay while the 2nd brigade would hold its position at Lang Son.  The Guangxi Army in the meantime was rebuilding its strength and by March 17th had been bolstered to 30,000 men. Soon the Guangxi army was pressing upon the Tonkin border with two major camps at Yen Cua Ai and Bang Bo with over 9 separate military commands. At Yen Cua Ai were 10 battalions led by General Feng Zicai, around 7500 men strong. Behind Yen Cua Ai in the village of Mufu, 2-3 kms away were another 7000 men led by Generals Su Yuanchun and Chen Jia; another 15kms behind Mufu at the village of Pingxiang was another 7000 men led by General Jian Zonghan and Fang Yusheng. 50 kms to the west AT Aiwa village was 3500 men led by Wei Gang. 15 kms east in at Cua Ai sitting just a toehold within Tonkin was 3500 men led by General Wang Debang. And overall commander of the Guangxi army, General Pan Dingxian was at Haicun, over 30 kms behind Mufu village with 3500 men. General Oscar had around 1600 men to hold Lang Son, yes it was not looking good for the french boys. On March 22nd, Feng Zicai led a raid against a French outpost at Dong Dang. That said outpost was held by forces under Lt Colonel Paul Gustave Herbinger, someone we spoke a tiny bit about in a previous battle who made the rather idiotic decision to outflank the enemy by going way too far around, so far that his superior simply sent another force to attack the enemy. Herbingers french foreign legionnaires fought off the raid once the rest of the 2nd brigade came up to support his outposts defense. Upon driving off the raiders, General Oscar decided it was a good idea to strike back. He hoped to take the enemy by surprise and led the men to cross over to the Zhennanguan pass which held the Guangxi encampment at Bang Bo. Oscar did not intend for a major offensive against Guangxi province, his simple aim was to raid them back and give some breathing room for Dong Dang.  Oscar left a single company of the 2nd African battalion with some batteries to hold Lang Son and the 23rd battalion to hold Dong Dang which would act as his supply line as his main body marched to Zhennanguan. On March 23rd, 1600 men with 10 artillery pieces made their way. The next day the French were met with fierce resistance when they approached Zhennanguan. There they found the Guangxi army utilizing outwork fortifications. Along with the defense, Wang Debang sent his force from Cua Ai to launch a counterattack hitting the French right flank. Oscars men were able to repel the counterattack and seize the outworks and the next day he had his men launch an attack against the enemy's main at position of Bang Bo. He planned to hit the front while simultaneously sending men to sweep around the rear. The frontal defensive line of Bang Bo held a long trenchline which the french named the Long trench. To attack the front, Oscar sent the 111th battalion led by chef de bataillon Francois Leon Faure and for the rear attack, the 2nd legion battalion of chef de bataillon Digeut and the 143rd battalion of chef de bataillon Farret. Herbinger who was leading the 3rd regiment was ordered to guide Diguet and Farret to perform their rear attack maneuver. Unfortunately a thick fog hit the area causing Herbinger to get lost. Oscar, unaware of Herbingers plight mistook a Guangxi army column moving towards the Long Trench to be Herbingers 2 battalions, and promptly ordered Faure to launch his frontal attack.  Fauvre's 111th formed their line and charged into the fray. They immediately came under intense fire from Feng Zicai's infantry manning the Long trench and other Guangxi units manning nearby hills. Within seconds several officers were killed. Two companies made it to the trench and after a very short hand to hand fighting match were fleeing from a major counter attack led personally by Feng Zicai. The carnage was intense, and what saved many of the fleeing French was the Guangxi army's resolve to behead the wounded and plunder them of their arms.  Meanwhile to the right of the battlefield, Ferrets 143rd battalion and Diguets 2nd legionnaires leapt into the fray of battle, several hours longer than expected. They quickly seized a Qing held fort. At 3pm, Pan Dingxin after watching the 111th battalion flee for their lives saw Herbingers command and tossed a counterattack their way. Herbingers command was nearly encircled, in fact a single company of the 143rd battalion led by the Irish officer, Captain Patrick Cotter were completely encircled. Harbinger ordered the men to retreat and leave Captain Patrick's company behind, but the French foreign legionnaires ignored the order and charged at the Qing to break free the company. Despite the company being able to break free, Captain Patrick was killed in the action. Gradually Digeut and Farret's men fell back, performing a fighting withdrawal to keep the Qing onslaught at bay best they could.  During the chaos, the 3rd legion battalion of Lt Colonel Schoeffer had been ordered to stay on Tonkinese soil around Dang Dong to protect their flanks found themselves fighting desperately to keep a line of retreat for the incoming french. Schoeffer's men had to fight off both flanks enabling the rest of the army to fight their way back down the middle. General Oscar was leading the rearguard to try and maintain morale and was successful at stopping a complete rout of his forces. Oscar spent the majority of the late afternoon quelling disorder amongst differing commands, trying to keep the men together. The entire brigades morale was dropping as was their ammunition, so Oscar called for a general retreat back to Lang Son. On the night of March 24th they camped at Dong Dang  exhausted and shell shocked. Sergeant Maury of Digeuts 2nd legionnaires had this to say about the feelings of the men.  “The night was very dark. The soldiers marched in complete silence. We felt cheated, ashamed, and angry. We were leaving behind us both victory and many of our friends. From time to time, in low murmurs, we established who was missing. Then we relapsed into the silence of mourning and the bitterness of loss. And so we reached Dong Dang, without being disturbed. We slept in the field hospital huts, after drinking some soup. We were harassed and hungry. We had not eaten all day, and had drunk nothing since morning except a single cup of coffee. In spite of my weariness, I spent a troubled night. My spirits were haunted by the day's memories, by images of the fighting and phantasms of our misfortunes. I was shaken with spasms. I trembled as I have never done on the battlefield. I lay down, but was unable to sleep.” The French had 74 deaths, 213 wounded, amongst the dead were 7 officers. They estimated the Qing casualties to be around 1650. The defeat shocked France who were becoming accustomed to victory reports. Oscar kept the men marching back to Long San, as their coolies all abandoned them creating a sever supply issue. The Guangxi army pursued them the entire way, leading to another battle at Ky Lua on march 28th. This time the French had rested a bit and took up defensive positions behind earthworks. The rationale for the battle was to hold onto the road to Long San for as long as possible and they managed to repel an intense attack from the enemy. The French saw 7 deaths with 38 wounded but inflicted severe casualties upon the pursuing enemy. The French claimed to have seen over 1200 corpses scattered around the battlefield and perhaps wounded over 6000 Guangxi soldiers if its to be believed. Towards the end of the carnage, Oscar was severely wounded in the chest while helping his scouts find Qing positions. He was forced to hand command over to the most senior officer, Herbinger. At this point many officers had commented on his lackluster performance during the undeclared war, he had seriously messed up on quite the occasions. It seems Herbinger began his command in a rather panicked state, for despite the fact they had battered the Qing pursuers, he was convinced they were going to encircle the brigade at any moment. Against the majority of his officers' protest, he ordered the 2nd brigade to abandon Lang Son on the night he took command. They were to retreat to Chu and initially they were divided marching in two columns with Herbingers going towards Thang Moy and Schoeffer's going to Dong Song. Herbinger began to fear the men towing the artillery would slow down his retreat so he ordered the artillery pieces tossed into the Song Ki Cong river alongside their brigades treasure chest. At the same time Herbinger send a runner over to Briere de l'isle over in Hanoi claiming he did not have enough ammunition to fight a second battle for Lang Son and that he was retreating. His claim of not having enough ammunition would later prove to be incorrect.  Both Herbinger and Schoeffer forced a intense pace for their marches and by the time the men reached Thang Moy and Dong Song they were exhausted. Briere de L'ilse upon receiving the message from Herbinger was shocked he abandoned Lang Song. He prompted sent word back to Paris about the ordeal. The next day Briere de l'isle sent a message over to Herbinger demanding him to hold his position at Thanh Moy and Dong Song. Herbinger thought it insane to do so, but he obeyed the orders nonetheless.  On the 30th, the French prepared their defenses at Thanh Moy and Dong Song. Herbinger tossed some cavalry patrols to figure out where the Guangxi army would hit them from and they came back with reports they were heading down the Mandarin road south of Lang Son. Harbinger sent word to Briere de l'isle, stating he believed the enemy would soon encircle them. The French defenders were told by Herbinger to fasten their bayonets and hunker down. Now it seems Herbinger's nerves were shot, because on the night of the 30th he told his fellow officers he believed they were all going to be massacred the following morning. He went to bed at 8pm and an hour later he began to hear firing from forward outposts. It would turn out to be a false alarm, but one officer rushed over to Herbinger to wake him up and report the action to which Herbinger allegedly said “'I'm sick, and the column is just as sick as me! Leave me alone!' Meanwhile Briere de l'isle was receiving Herbingers panicked reports throughout the night and he reluctantly gave Herbinger permission to retreat back to Chu at 10pm if in his words “if the situation demanded it”. That was more than enough for Herbinger who immediately ordered a retreat to Chu that very night. Harbinger's message back to Briere de l'isle read this 'I will take advantage of the night and the moon to retire, in conformity with your instructions”. And so the men packed up and began their trek from Thang Moy and Dong Song linking up along the way. Schoeffer's force were attacked by some Qing patrols, but it did not amount to much. Harbinger yet again, ordered artillery pieces to be spiked and abandoned believing they would slow down his column. However the gunnery officers disobeyed the orders and kept carrying the pieces all the way safely to Chu. At dawn the on the 31st, the Guangxi army caught up to the French near the village of Pho Cam, just as Herbinger received reinforcements, a squadron of Spahi cavalry. Upon seeing the cavalry, the French officers and soldiers rejoiced, seeking to direct them to charge into the forward Guangxi army patrols to break them down a bit, but Herbinger forbid a charge and instead ordered the retreat to continue at pace. Now, while Herbinger thought the entire Guangxi army was coming after him, this was not the case. Back on the 29th, the bulk of the Guangxi army was actually retreating back towards Zhennanguan. That was until some Vietnamese caught up to them, giving them reports the French were shockingly abandoning Lang Son and in a full retreat. General Pan Dingxin could not believe it, and he immediately ordered his battered army to turn around to seize Lang Son. Once Lang Son had been taken he sent out smaller forces to skirmish with the retreating French to prod them along, because the reality was his army was in no condition to fully attack them. When he received word his skirmishers were hitting the French around Pho Cam, he ordered his main body to occupy Dong Song and Bac Le, knowing they were undefended. Thus Herbinger had unknowingly lost everything gained during the last offensive to kick the Guangxi army out of Tonkin! On April 1st, the 2nd brigade finally got to Chu, exhausted and bitterly demoralized. Briere de l'isle had ordered the 1st brigade to depart Hung Hoa for Chu and told Colonel Gustave Borgnis Desbordes to take command of the 2nd brigade. On the 2nd of April Colonel Desbordes relieved Herbinger of his command and issued the following order to the 2nd Brigade,  “In view of General de Négrier's serious wound, I have been asked to take provisional command of the brigade. I have arrived with fresh troops and ammunition. I have been told by the general-in-chief that there is to be no further retreat. We are to remain here at all costs. And that is precisely what we shall do.” Minecraft Ompf sounds. Now the 1st brigade had not sat by idle while all the chaos and disorder befell the 2nd brigade. Back on March 23rd, the 1st battalion led by chef de bataillon Simon were ordered to depart from Hung Hoa to perform a preliminary reconnaissance of the village of Phu Lam Tao. The reason for this was because the French had been receiving reports the Black Flags along with remnants of the Yunnan army had begun occupying it. Simons men, 1000 strong went to the village discovering the reports to be true. Simon ordered his men to attack and disaster struck. According to Lt Colonel Bonifacy the troops quickly fell into disorder, tossed their equipment down, including rifles and fled the scene. A military report of the operation indicated 400 uniforms and large quantities of arms were abandoned. The French suffered around 50 casualties. Now while this was by no means a large engagement nor that significant of a defeat, in combination to the disastrous Long San retreat, it would lead to a devastating effect for France. The situation these two combined events created is known as the “Tonkin affair”. Briere de L'isle while in Hanoi had begun to plan moving his HQ over to Hung Hoa where he further planned to launch an offensive against the Yunnan Army believed to be still operating around Tuyen Quang. However the disastrous retreat of Herbinger combined with the defeat of Simon's force. This led Briere de l'isle to believe the entire Red River Delta region was threatened and he sent a fateful telegram, under duress which made its way to the French government on the 28th, here is the Lang Son Telegram, “ I am grieved to tell you that General de Négrier is seriously wounded and Lạng Sơn has been evacuated. The Chinese forces advanced in three large groups, and fiercely assaulted our positions in front of Ky Lua. Facing greatly superior numbers, short of ammunition, and exhausted from a series of earlier actions, Colonel Herbinger has informed me that the position was untenable and that he has been forced to fall back tonight on Dong Song and Thanh Moy. All my efforts are being applied to concentrate our forces at the passes around Chu and Kép. The enemy continues to grow stronger on the Red River, and it appears that we are facing an entire Chinese army, trained in the European style and ready to pursue a concerted plan. I hope in any event to be able to hold the entire Delta against this invasion, but I consider that the government must send me reinforcements (men, ammunition, and pack animals) as quickly as possible.” The telegram created a political crisis, the stock market plunged and many called for Jules Ferry to resign. Ferry dove into a heated debate calling for the need to avenge the loss at Lang Son and to secure Frances hold over Tonkin. To do this, Ferry demanded 200 million francs to be handed over to the army and navy which met a bitter rebuttal from George Clemenceau who absolutely tore Ferry for everything. Here is a bit of his speech, “We're completely finished with you! We're never going to listen to you again! We're not going to debate the nation's affairs with you again! We no longer recognise you! We don't want to recognise you!You're no longer ministers! You all stand accused (long pause) of high treason! And if the principles of accountability and justice still exist in France, the law will soon give you what you deserve!' A motion of no confidence was immediately tabled and  Ferry was voted down 306 to 149. Ferry left in absolute disgrace as all of Paris blew up blaming him for what became infamously known as “the tonkin affair”. The humiliating blow saw Henri Brisson become Prime Minister who started his premiership by trying to negotiate a peace with the Qing dynasty. Meanwhile back over in Formosa, the French were still effectively blockading its northern territory. The war in Formosa had never quieted down, Liu Mingchuan as you might recall received reinforcements in the form of Anhui and Xiang army units, by April of 1885 he had 35,000 men. They were also armed with more modern firearms such as the Lee Model 1879 rifle, Winchesters, Remingtons and Mausers. The french considered these forces to be the cream of the Qing military, well dressed, well armed, and noticeably tall and sturdy. Liu Mingchuan did not stop there, he began hiring more local Hakka militiamen and head-hunting Formosan aborigines.  On the other side the Formosa expeditionary corps had also been bolstered, now 4000 men strong led by Lt Colonel Jacque Duchesne who had gained fame serving a major defeat to Liu Yongfu's black flag army at the battle of Yu Oc. The two opposing forces skirmished quite often, until January of 1885 when a real offensive began. Duchesne ordered his men to seize Yeuh-mei-shan known as “la table” to the french. The offensive started out rough due to terrible torrential rain. The French and Qing forces fought for days at a place known as Fork Y, but in the end Duchesne's men were able to push the Qing out of the way and they continued to march upon La Table. By February La Table was seized and the Qing forces bombarded their position by mid february until the French silenced their artillery using their own. In March Duchesne launched a second offensive, successfully breaking the Qing encirclement of Keelung, delivering an outstanding outflanking maneuver. Duchesne's men pushed the Qing past the Keelung river losing 41 men dead and 157 wounded, while estimating they inflicted up to 1500 casualties on the enemy. The French seized numerous forts the Qing had built up to surround Keelung at Shih-ch'iu'ling, Hung-tan-shan and Yeuh-mei-shan, renaming them La Dent, Fort Bamboo and fort La Table.  It was an incredible French victory given the odds, but these feats were done at the same time as the famous Siege of Tuyen Quang and thus remained largely unknown to the French public. Alongside this, Duchesne's victories enabled Admiral Courbet to follow them up by landing marine forces from the Keelung garrison to capture the Pescadore islands in late March. Controlling the Pescadore islands allowed the French to thwart Qing reinforcement of Formosa, thus France was gradually consolidating its control over the entire island. But this also came right smack dab in the middle of the Herbinger Lang Son retreat disaster. Admiral Courbet almost had to evacuate Keelung to take the forces over to Tonkin to save the situation, but the peace talks had begun before he could do so. Imagine that, a French controlled Taiwan? What the alternate history peeps would do with that one I do not know.  So things were not going well for France, the French public were losing their minds over the Tonkin debacle forcing them to the peace table. However, things were going wildly worse for the Qing dynasty. Because if you can remember way back when, before we began this French adventure, the Qing were having troubles with Japan over Korea. The Gapsin coup had occurred in December of 1884 drawing the Qing attention towards the threat of Japan. Things in Korea were beginning to get much worse and to be honest, as grand a success as Herbinger had delivered the Qing during his disastrous retreat, in truth the Guangxi army was decimated by the war. Yes they grabbed their positions back within Tonkin, but holding them was another matter entirely. To add to their misery it looked like they were going to lose Formosa, thus Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the Qing envoys to the peace table.  The Qing sent Li Hongzhang to meet with Jules Patenotre and they opened up by agreeing to the provisions of the Tientsin Accord. The French would get their protectorate over Vietnam, but they were to drop the longstanding demand of reparations for the Bac Le ambush. Negotiations carried on into April of 1885 where they finally agreed to a preliminary peace protocol and an immediate ceasefire in Tonkin and Formosa. The French agreed to life their rice blockade and the Qing finally agreed to pull out the Yunnan and Guangxi armies from Tonkin with an official deadline stated for May of 1885. The Qing also made sure to pressure Liu Yongfu and his Black Flag Army to withdraw from Tonkin so he did not screw up their peace deal. By June of 1885 the new Tientsin Accord was signed.  A by product of this war, was the absolute destruction of a capable Vietnamese resistance movement. France added Tonkin and Annam to their holding of Cochinchina and would seize Cambodia by 1887 thus creating French Indochina. By 1893 Laos would also be added after the Franco-Siamese War, thus creating a large French Far east colonial empire. It would not be until the Pacific War whereupon France would lose its iron control over southeast asia.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. And so, France had won an undeclared war over the Qing dynasty and in the process would control a large portion of Southeast Asia, known to them as French Indochina. The Qing had been dealt yet again another humiliating blow. 

One night, TK, extremely sick, found himself in his room praying, “I am ill and if you are the one true God then I will commit my life to you.” TK slept through the night and woke up completely healed! From that moment, he was committed to following Christ. His father—a former drug dealer who met Christ in prison for his crimes—encouraged TK to learn more about the one true God. With passion for following Christ after he had experienced God's power over disease, TK went to Bible school in Thailand. Returning to Laos with Christian materials to help his ministry, TK was arrested at the border and imprisoned for three months before God ordained his release from prison. Today TK serves persecuted Christians inside Laos and holds a leadership position within Laos's registered church organization. He says at the time of his arrest it was common for Christians in Laos to endure physical suffering for being a Christian—arrests, beatings and other pressure. Today, he says, mental and spiritual pressure for following Christ is more common, including being ostracized by family members, cut off from work or educational opportunities and even being kicked out of your village. Listen as TK shares what our persecuted church family faces in Laos today. TK will also explain how he is serving persecuted brothers and sisters there. Pray for communist authorities in Laos and for wisdom and discernment for TK as he assists persecuted Christians.

As we see an increasing number of culturally diverse patients in our US-based practices or on the mission field, our understanding of cultural influences in healthcare and our own biases is essential. How can we develop an eye to see where a patient’s values and worldview may differ from our own? We will review an approach to cultural humility highlighted by medical missions case studies. Presentation Slides: https://bit.ly/gmhc2022_davidnarita_culturalhumility

Gurmehar Kaur brings you the news from the Supreme Court, Delhi, Ghaziabad and Laos. Produced by Ashish Anand, edited by Satish.Contribute to our legal fund. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

durée : 00:04:28 - Sous les radars - par : Sébastien LAUGENIE - Au Laos, un célèbre militant politique critique du gouvernement a été l'objet de tirs à bout portant à la vue de tous dans un café de Vientiane, une scène brutale diffusée en ligne par les médias d'État.

durée : 00:04:28 - Sous les radars - par : Sébastien LAUGENIE - Au Laos, un célèbre militant politique critique du gouvernement a été l'objet de tirs à bout portant à la vue de tous dans un café de Vientiane, une scène brutale diffusée en ligne par les médias d'État.

The United Nations has warned that the world is at risk of exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit for global warming in the next 10 years. How is Malaysia responding to the climate crisis? We speak to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change on progress to reduce carbon emissions, the timeline for tabling the National Adaptation Plan and concerns over environmental data transparency.Auto-generated TranscriptThis is a podcast from BFM 89.9. The business station,The BFM Breakfast Grille, connecting you to the top people and ideas powered by U Mobile 5G. Now with you.Good morning, you're listening to the Breakfast Grille. I'm Syazana Mokhtar. The science couldn't be more clear. The world is running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius with un scientists warning that we could breach this target in the 2030s without urgent action.The house is on fire. So how is the Malaysian government responding to the climate change? Alarm bells? Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources Environment and climate change? Joins me on the show today to discuss this. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Nik. Welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for having me here. I'm going to put you on the spot. Is Malaysia facing a climate emergency?Well, definitely, I mean, we, we see it every day. We see it with the floods that we have that keep breaking records year after year and we see it with the incoming heat wave that we're having now. So definitely we are facing a climate emergency like other countries in the world. Ok. So you have taken a different position from the previous government. The national government said there wasn't a need yet to declare a climate emergency as efforts were being taken to combat climate change. In this sense, you're departing from their stance, Malaysia is facing a climate emergency. Well, in substance. Yes. But what I'm saying, you know, I think what was asked by the previous, on the previous government was for the government to declare a climate emergency in law with that? I think that, you know, I I I think that we don't have to declare a legal climate emergency. It was declared in law in the UK and nothing much has happened. What is more important I think is to understand about how big the climate situation is and to address it rather than, you know, putting us to certain standards that may be, you know, that, that are false or provide an illusion. Ok. At the same time, you acknowledge there is a climate emergency of sorts, but you have also postponed the climate change bill which was a piece of legislation that was on the cusp of being tabled by the the national government. If not for GE15, you push that back another 2 to 3 years. Why has this bill been delayed similar to having, you know, about declaring us having a climate emergency? I do not want us to just tick the boxes without having a significant or substantial uh meat to the legislation. So, with regards to the Climate Change Act, and I, I know uh my, my predecessors, a few generations back Yeo Bee Yin,Uh she did put some work into it, you know, and, and it was uh uh what do you call that progressing at good pace? However, when I came into office, I didn't get much on the table uh from my immediate predecessors. Uh So, you know, for me, you know, I do not want to just rush a Climate Change Act this year.Uh And seeing that it does not address many of the things that we want to address. Um Actually, we have many legislations that are existing that can address climate change, uh that we can work on, make it more effective, which is, is I think uh as important as having a Climate Change Act in place. So you tweeted back in February this, that we want a bill that's not toothless, that is comprehensive and that will be truly impactful what was lacking in the draft bill that warrants a complete overhaul from your perspective. I think I've said it often enough that uh I did not get anything from my predecessor.So, so now, you know, the team, that's why you're starting from scratch. Yes. Um You know, so I'm, I'm asking the officials at the ministry and and you know, for us to have a, to have a really thorough look at the legislation to really consult widely um to see how other countries are doing uh the the legislation and also to have a proper engagement with the various stakeholders, civil society, um academia, businesses to see when the bill comes out, it will be truly comprehensive. So at this point, do you have, I suppose a vision of sorts, Nik in terms of what you think should be in this bill or what you want it to encompass?I think there are two key elements um in terms of carbon emissions. Uh it's something that we really need to address. Uh but you know, as a country, we do not emit that much, we emit about 0.69% of the carbon emissions globally. We are doing quite well compared to many other countries at our stage of development and our size of economy. However, we are also, we also have to play our part. I mean, that's very crucial.And secondly, we are a trading nation as we know many um E N E companies, for example, are putting stringent climate goals. So if we do not uh have uh ambitious climate goals, then we, you know, our industries will be hollowed out in the next 5, 10 years. That's one. Uh but the other part which is just as important is things like adaptation and mitigation.Um I think that is more urgent for Malaysia. We are a country, a maritime country. Basically, we've seen the floods, we've seen sea level rise, we've seen erosion happening.Um So I think those are things that we need to address in the Climate Change Act to ensure that we are able to, you know, survive, you know, when, when it comes to not just 2050 2030. All right, ambitious climate change targets. That that's what you mentioned carbon targets. So Malaysia has clear goals for climate mitigation that were submitted to the United Nationsas part of our National Determined Contribution N D CS. We updated that in 2021 we're going to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Some parties would argue that our N DC targets are not ambitious enough, reducing carbon intensity by 45% of 2005 levels can be done without actually lowering emissions. How would you respond to that?Well, I think one of the concerns um in fact, I mean, there are two sides to the argument. Some people also said that, you know, we put that target unconditionally many other countries when they have their submissions to the N DC on reduction of carbon intensity, it was conditional but we, you know, we gave it away. But I think, you know, it is what it is and, and I think we will be reviewing it uh in the next few years. Um So I think as long as we, we, we stick to that plan,um I think we are in good state because um actually many of our targets are very ambitious compared to our neighboring countries, even the more advanced ones. Um But the issue is not about targets alone, it's about the pathways to achieve those targets. You know, it's like, you know, going a, a student going and declaring to his parents, I'm going to get 10 A in S PM and not studying, you know, or or not working for it. So the targets I think is there is about working and finding the pathways to achieving those targets. So just to clarify, uh Malaysia has also pledged to become net zero at the earliest by 2050 this was announced by the Ismail Al Sabri government and this is a pledge that the present government also intends to stick to. Yes. Yes. Ok. UmOne of the key pieces of Malaysia's climate mitigation strategy is the transition to renewable energy which the government targets to reach 40% generation capacity by 2035. My question for you, Nik is, can this be achieved without first dismantling the fuel subsidies that are keeping energy prices artificially low? For Malaysians? At the, at the moment,I think the shift to uh targeted subsidies is crucial for us to jumpstart our energy transition. And we've started that, you know, one of before one month in office. Uh My first task was to uh have the review for the next IC P T cycle where we, where we increase the surcharge um for industries for commercial sectors which were using uh which were medium and high voltage users in the energy sector.Uh by what, 400% right from, from uh all the way to 20 cent. Um it still subsidized. Uh but it's a huge increase from what it was. Uh And, and I think, uh and there was a lot of complaints, uh, understandably and, but I also think that industries, businesses need to understand that we have uh given a blanket subsidy for so long, you know, and many of these uh businesses have enjoyed that. Right.So, uh complaints, yes. Um a lot of noise in the media but uh ultimately, you know, I met a few of them after a few months and, and now they have adopted uh energy efficiency plans. They are using more solar. Uh And I think just because it's uh priced nearer to the market and people understand that and I think um the plan is not just for the industries and commercial sector, the non-domestic sector, but also for the domestic uh consumers for the, at least we can start with the T 20. I mean, if you are using, uh if you're having a bungalow, a landed house with 10 air cons, you know, dryers and what not, you should be paying a market rate for your electricity. I mean, that's something that we, we, we, we want to work on, right. Um So, so that's part of it, the energy efficiency and Conservation Act is it has been in the works, I think even during the Naps administration, we hope to pass it this year. So I think that will be another important impetus towards energy transition.Uh And, and yes, as you rightly said, the next other part, the other part is electrification of mobility of, of transport. Um And we also need to address where now you know, if you are using regardless, I mean, even people who are using the most expensive cars uh are now using route 95 for example, because it subsidized,it's cheaper. So I think we also need to address that towards targeted subsidies so that then people will make that transition towards electric vehicles as well. Does the fuel subsidies? Does that come under your portfolio? As an R E C C Minister? I mean, do you have influence over what happens? Input will be there? But it's led by the Ministry of Finance anduh Ministry of Domestic Trade. And yeah, ok. I'm speaking to Nik Nazmi, Nik Ahmad, Minister for Natural Resources Environment and climate change is Malaysia doing enough on climate adaptation. We'll have more on the Breakfast Grilleafter the break. Stay tuned. BFM 89.9,you are listening to the breakfast grill brought to you by you Mobile 5G. Now with you.Thanks for staying tuned to the breakfast grill. I'm Syazana Mokhtar. And with me on the show today is Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, minister for Natural Resources, Environment and climate change. Nik. Earlier on in the show, you mentioned the energy efficiency and Conservation Act, which you said has been long in the works. Why is this a priority for the government now?Well, because there's two sides to, to when we talk about energy, one is about having cleaner sources of energy generation, right? Uh We still have a lot of coal, for example, gas is low carbon but its still carbon. Um we want more solar and all that. So that's one element of it and, and that takes time,but the other element is energy efficiency. Uh because um we, we also know that actually um with new technology, a lot of equipment, a lot of uh uh machines and stuff are getting more and more efficient in terms of using energy. Um the electrical appliances that we use today are much more efficient in terms of using energy compared to what our grandparents were using. For example,the UK over the past 20 years, the energy consumption has gone on the downtrend, right? So if we can do that, that means we require less energy and, and that means we, we do not have to rely so much on, on the uh coal and gas plants that we have today. And, and you know, we also have enormous uh reserve margins for electricity. So that will definitely help in our energy transition.Nik is the introduction of an energy efficiency and conservation Act. A prerequisite of sorts to secure renewable energy transition deals with developed countries. I wonder, I understand that most of our neighbors have some form of energy efficiency regulation in place. And last year, both Indonesia and Vietnam concluded finance partnerships with rich countries to advance their green energy agenda. Is that part of the reason why you want to push this? Now,I I, you know, if you ask me, it's not just because of that. Um I think um if you talk, I mean, definitely we would love to be part of uh you know, all these lucrative deals um for us to accelerate our energy transition. Um I mean, if anyone can help us to have now our commitment is no new coal plants, but if we can have uh early retirement of coal plants with the right uh structure in our energy sector, with the right financing.Um whether it comes from overseas or from the banks and whatnot, it's something that we'd be happy to consider, right? Um But I think why, why we missed out was um and, and we actually have a lot of good policies and plans but maybe it was not communicated or marketed enough before. Um And I have spoken uh you know in cabinet, I've spoken to the Prime Minister that I think this is something thatit has to be central. And I think definitely, you know, the the Prime Minister has understood this. Uh we had a lot of things for my ministry in this budget 2023. So the government understands how important climate change is and and we hope that that that can be the key plank for the an Ibrahim administration. Ok. So there's definitely going to be more foreign policy outreach when it comes to thegreen energy agenda and the green agenda in general, I want to stick to energy a little bit more. The appointment of Mohammad Radan Moma Yusuf as chair of the Energy Commission in February did spark backlash given his then position as the Deputy managing Director of Gamuda Gauda is of course a major player in the renewable energy space. He has since resigned two months after he was first appointed. I mean, was this the result of the Prime Minister's intervention?No, I mean, uh you know, in the first place, uh obviously we did our checks and what not. Uh There are a few things that we have to correct. Dauda is not a major major renewable energy player. They have a small investmentuh in uh renewable energy. They are mostly uh construction uh property player and most of their revenues come from abroad. Uh But what, what, what was uh and I think the most important thing. Um Yes, as you rightly said, I think a lot of people were expecting him to design from S T but it was just a narrative that people wanted to create.Uh But uh rash, he, he made the choice to his credit that he, he was excited about contributing to this and, and I think, surprised a lot of people by resigning, not from S D but from Gamuda.Um And, you know, he has a long record of, of um being able to shake up um markets, being able to uh do uh various uh corporate uh restructuring that has uh left uh you know, it was really radical corporate restructuring, which I think uh uh has shaken up the market. And I thinkas that's why we wanted him there. You know, that's why we, we put him there was because he uh I, I believe that we can do better in terms of energy transition and, and we need to have a more uh you know, uh focus uh view on this and, and Rash is the right person for thisis that you've specified to him that you want to see him achieve in his post as the chair of the Energy Commission. Well, well, right now, you know, we, we under my R er we our renewable energy road map, we have targets of installed capacity for R E 31% as opposed to 24% present me31% in 2025 40% in 2035. Um But as I've said, if there are ways to accelerate that, if there are ways we can look at uh uh you know, to really ramp up solar uh to get uh Malaysia to play a central role in the ASEAN power grid.Um You know, we are already supply, we are already, our grid is already supplying electricity from Laos to Singapore. For example, you know, we should be able to be at the center for ASEAN. Once all the interconnections are there, um the looking at reviewing our ban on renewable energy exports, you know, so all these things are things that are the K P I s for for rush to achieve. Ok. So very full inbox trayand passing it on to him. I would like to turn our attention to the other side of the climate change action coin which is adaptation. How would you respond to accusations that the government is doing far too little to address climate resilience? The policy focus has been very much on mitigation on reducing carbon emissions as evidenced by the many blueprints on low carbon aspirations. When will the government present the Malaysia National Adaptation plan?Well, our uh we've just submitted our proposal to G C F, the Green Climate Fund uh to prepare the National Adaptation Plan N A P uh on 27 March this year. Uh and it is going to focus on water security and water resources, agriculture and food security,uh infrastructure, energy and environment, forest biodiversity, and public health. So yes, as I said, um you know, in truth, a lot of the things about carbon emissions and what not, we are a very small player in the big sum of things, right? Uh We, we, you know, other countries are contributing far, far more to that and, and even if we play our part and they don't, you know, we'll still be underwater by 2050.Uh But adaptation is then plays a very key role because we have more control over that.Uh We've seen the floods, we've seen what's happening. Um With regards to every uh uh places that have never been flooded are now experiencing floods. Um erosion. I've seen, you know, roads in, in the east coast, in the west coast where they are now disappearing because of uh erosion. So I think um adaptation plays a very key role and, and definitely, it's one of our focus and I think one of the things that we keep repeating on,um yes, we need to do the, the, the carbon emission side and all that because of yes, we want to play our part. Secondly, we are a global trading uh player. But adaptation is the priority. Uh if you want to talk about survival for our Children and their Children.So the previous government cited that Malaysia would need funding to the tune of 400 billion ring to overcome flooding issues until the end of this century. This is just for flooding is that the quantum that you have in mind as well in terms of what's going to be needed to invest in adaptation measures.Well, you know, if you want to talk about adaptation as a whole, it might be even more, right? Um but yeah, I mean, that's based on one study uh um that, that has been cited and, and definitely, you know, we are spending more and more uh for flood mitigation uh for adaptation. Uh We are also going to come up of uh flood hazard maps and whatnot so that it can be built in, in, in insurance. So, you know, basically the, the the country has to move uh has to transition towards this.Um The B and I think, you know, when, when some people look at it as a huge cost um is the biggest portion of my ministry, for example, uh flood. Uh But if you then calculate how much losses, ultimately loss of life, but also loss of property loss to the economic sectors.If there is. Uh I mean, when we see a sea level rise, our biggest uh port Port Clan will be totally exposed. Uh And what's the impact to our supply in the country? Right? Uh getting food, getting vital uh goods inuh our power plants and a lot of them are near the, the sea as well. Uh What will happen to them? So these are things that we have to recognize and, and then you will understand that the huge expenditure is actually affordable once you look at it because we are going to save much more when we spend on adaptation and mitigation. Ok. I think um many,I agree with you, Nik, I think that we do need to see more funding being sent to adaptation. But the point is we're not seeing it yet. So when will the government, I suppose put these efforts in motion, when will we see on the ground, the adaptation efforts take place? Well, I think um some of the, you know, flood the projects that are addressing floods and whatnot. I mean, that's already there. Uh But um I think the key part will definitely be uh when we have the National Adaptation plan because that will beuh you know, the, the, the focus for all our adaptation uh programs and projects. When will this be tabled? Um Well, we, we are working on it. I mean, as I said, it's been submitted to the uh to the G C F. So hopefully, uh we can uh you know, once we go through the various um stakeholder discussions because we want the inputuh from the grassroots, from the activists, from various stakeholders. Uh Then uh you know, then we can uh then we will uh make it as an official policy? Why has it taken so long for adaptation to be made a priority by the government? Do you think Nik? I mean, people would say this is, this is late, we are very late in coming up with this adaptation plan. Um What gives,well, you know, um I do not want to blame predecessors or whatnot, but I think sometimes, like I said, I mean, it, it becomes sexy to talk about uh carbon emissions because it's there. And, you know, some, a lot of times our energy uh sorry environment conversations are driven by what's been talked about in the developed countries. Um And obviously, I mean, I understand why, why, you know, they want to talk about carbon emissions, they are the major polluters, right?Uh They've cut down the forest for 2, 300 years and they've developed at our expense, but people don't want to talk as much about adaptation. Um because it's something that is more relevant to a maritime developing country like Malaysia.Um And, and I think, uh you know, sometimes you, you do get, you, you get uh you, you're stuck with the narrative that's been played in the developed countries. And I think we need to understand that every country's climate challenge differs. Uh you know, when you are a developed economy, when you're a big polluter compared to a developing country, which is um a peninsula and part of an island, right? So that, that's the context that we have to understand.I'm speaking to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, minister for Natural Resources, environment and climate change on an extended edition of the breakfast grill after the 8 30 AM news bulletin is Malaysian policy making being held hostage by state elections. Stay tuned. BFM 89.9.You are listening to the breakfast grill brought to you by you Mobile 5G. Now with you, you are listening to an extended edition of the breakfast grill. I'm Syazana Mokhtar. And with me today is Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister for Natural Resources Environment and climate change. Now, Nik earlier on, we were talking about adaptation and adaptation measures that Malaysia is taking. I would like to touch on forestry measures because unchecked development and deforestation have been cited as among the key reasons for the increased severity of flooding and higher incidents of landslides. Now, we know that forestry management is under state government purview. But what levers do you have in the federal government? What are you using to maintain oversight on what's happening at the state level?Yeah. So um when you are at the federal level, we have uh we do coordinate between the state governments. We have, we have Biodiversity Nagara which recently said uh we have the Malaysian Climate Change Action Council which is chaired by the Prime Minister. So uh a, so those are the platforms that we have uh with uh the state governments um in order to uh coordinate uh policies uh and also to share targets and best practices. Uh So what, what we try to do is um you know, you know, there, there are various things, for example, now, you know, when, even when there's a palm oil, for example, we have uh you know, sustainable palm oil certification, uh even for forest management. So that is an encouragement for them to conform because in order for them to have access to the widest markets, then they have to meet those targets. Um And most, I would say most states do meet those targets.Um And to be to the credibility of the standards when they don't, they are penalized. I mean, they are taken out uh the, the from the certification. Um but rather than just sort of a stick approach, uh you know, uh we also uh we also have uh what you call the incentives carrots, for example, which has been there since 2019 is the ecological fiscal transfer. How effective has this mechanism been?Well, uh you know, the, we, we do see um states because the main complaints when you talk about states that, that tend to have problems. I mean, I'm generalizing but it tends to be the states when, where they do not have a big uh commercial or industrial sector. So they rely on exploitation of forests. Um and they, they, they also tend to be the ones with the biggest forest covers. So they rely on exploitation of forests in order to uh for, for revenue.Um So they say, OK, you are giving us all these lofty targets and all that. But what's in it for us? And they are, it's, it's a bread and butter issue as well. I mean fair to them.So, so we say, OK, you know this uh E F T it was 60 million Ring Gate when it was launched in 2020 19. Then the last two years, it was 70 million ring gate each year. And now the Prime Minister has increased it to 100 and 50 million ring gate. But what's the take up is this actually going to state government is sitting in a bank somewhere? They, they all go to states. Um We look at uh one is the size of the forest coveruh but also what they are doing uh in terms of uh if, if they do add uh their, their uh permanent uh forest reserves, uh what they're doing for, for uh the uh the dilapidated forest, what are they doing to restore it? So there are a few criterias uh that we look into and we are trying to make it even more sophisticated so that uh you know, it's not just giving free money but it's conditional. Um And, and to encourage good behavior, I think that that's the most important thing.Um But yeah, I mean, the problems are there definitely, for example, uh was the only state that had a public consultation uh for the gaze of Forest. It was there in the enactment then last year, the previous government adopted that for the National Forestry Act amendment. Uh Unfortunately, after that, only one other state has adopted that as well. The others have yet to do so. So because that the state legislation in order to, to uh exercise that we have to keep reminding themthat, you know, you have to do that and, and it will eventually reflect, I mean, some of them now want to go into carbon trading and what not. If you don't do that, it will have an impact into the credibility of your carbon assets and so on and so forth. OK. So I can see that there is continuous engagement with the state governments on the initiative that they're taking on forestry management. Now there has been excellent investigative journalism byMalaysian organizations like Rainbow Watch and Makara on the gaps in forestry data, including differences between what satellite images show and what's in official records of land use. How are you addressing questions of government credibility when it comes to environmental data?Yeah, I mean, I, I think uh it's also an issue of sometimes an issue of definitions. OK. Uh I mean, I, I, I, I came up with a very open statement, you know, listening to and I, I in fact met, met uh with most of these NGO or or institutions listen to their concerns. Um Sometimes it's also an issue of how we can communicate better.Uh But yeah, for example, one of the major issues is whether forest plantations should be deemed as uh you know, forests at all. Um and, and we know that there's a problem states like for example, or even other states have issues with uh uh forest uh uh plantations and what we have been doing. Um You know, the the previous Prime Minister uh to his credit, he has uh put a moratorium on forest plantations because what happens is that it's supposed to repair dilapidated forest, then you're supposed to have uh you're able to have selective uh forestry uh exploitation over the next 30 years or something.But some often it goes to virgin forest and they just want the timber and then the replanting doesn't happen or it happens very slow or it's just uh mono species or, or foreign species that's been planted because it's, it's actually forest plantation can be very, very expensive if you want to do it, right. Uh So the moratorium was the right move and I think we really need to address uh to, to see um what can be done to address the damages that has been done by forest plantations. And so that's something that is in the works. Um So, and, and that adds to the discrepancy, the gaps in the data that's been raised by, by watch and and what the government has. OK. So this is something you're aware of, you're looking into it. Why can't data be more transparent? Nik? I think that's some of the things that these organizations are calling for, for this data to be made public so that more parties can scrutinize this. Uh Is that something that you are considering doing? Well? It's, that's the ideal uh you know, we have three forest Agencies, Saba and um and then, as I said, in terms of uh the jurisdiction is actually state jurisdiction, although JP S M is the body but then um you know, is in charge of its forest, is in charge of its forest and so on. So in that process, uh there is uh some uh mismatch of data as well. Um And, and I think um I mean, it's an ongoing process, it won't be easy. You know, when, I mean, uh when, when you want to talk about integrating uh government data um across the various levels of government uh across various agencies, it can be difficult. Um I mean, to be fair, I mean, even the government now we do use, I mean, we also use satellite. We, we also use uh to look at the problems of deforestation and what not. So we are also taking into account of all the data that's being used by other agencies, Penang South Islands. Uh Nik, let's talk about that. The Penang South Islands reclamation project received approval for its environmental impact assessment report last month, subject to 71 conditions. I haven't been able to find the E I A decision in the public domain. What are these conditions? It's actually in the website. Uh you can download it. Um But you, it's actually accessible uh in the website. Um uh What,what I can say is that uh you know, it is a process, it's not that I personally approve or reject the report. How much say do you have over this E A, I had a few things. Um, I mean, I met, uh, I, I, I listened to the case of the state government, you know, um, I, I also listen to uh the concerns that were raised against the project but it has its own process, it has its own board, uh that, that actually approves it.Uh, it's not an arbitrary thing where even the, I mean, that's, and that's how it should be, you know, it shouldn't be on one person to approve or disprove a project and, and to be fair, you know, it has gone through a long process. Um, it was approved what, 2018 and then, uh 2019 and then an appeal came in. Um, so the E I A was rejected, I think in 2020 or 2021. And then, umwhenever then the state, uh the project, the state authorities came out with uh the plan. Um, the, the, the uh related authorities had some concerns, you know, it was all addressed one by 11 by one.So it was a very comprehensive process. It took many, many years. Uh And, and I think that's why has this process been transparent enough because you yourself talked about how E I A reporting sometimes isn't transparent in the case of the Penang South Islands. It has it been trans, I mean, it's one, as I said, it's one of the most transparent and comprehensive uh processes for E I A that has been, that has happened. OK. That, that's one.But uh what, what the other thing that we have to bear in mind, even the approval was granted with 71 conditions. It's not a blank check and they still is still subject to the uh environmental Management plan. E MP being approved. It has not been approved, right? So there's a few more stages to go as well just because the A I A was conditionally approved, doesn't mean that, you know, it's alluh that they can do what they want there. OK. So what are you going to do then to ensure that there's proper oversight on the project implementation? Well, you know, like I said, you know, we, we will uh the, the E MP, the E MP will be looked into, we will ensure that uh what you call that uh the, the project can satisfy all the 71 conditions.Um And you know, there's still, I mean, people can still appeal if they want to appeal against the E I A approval, even though it's conditional. Uh people can still go to the state government uh that approves and, and you know, they have that process through the local government route. So there are various routes that they can use uh for anyone who is unhappy with the project.So Nik, here's the conundrum of the dilemma that I see the Penang South Islands project can be used as an example of the policy incoherence perhaps in terms of our climate change action. So on one hand, we have these goals of having adaptation, ensuring climate resilience of uh you know,2050 0 net zero targets. But at the same time, we are also green lighting, these projects which will cause massive carbon emissions which will destroy the marine biodiversity of the area. How do you reconcile these very two disparate uh I guess aims? No, I mean, even if you look at the report, there is an impact ultimately on some shrimp migration on fisheries. Yeah, but if you look at details, yeah, most of it has been mitigatedand we have to accept that unless we do not want to grow as an economy, then uh we can stop all development. Uh But that's always the balancing game that we have to recognize. I accept that there has to be sustainable development, but development is there and it has to be sustainable, right? And balancing that is not an easy job, I can recognize that.Um And, and you know, I said this like the thing, it was uh it was submitted, it was approved in 2019initially, right? And then it was uh uh the the the what they call that uh the appeal against it was accepted. So they had to go back. So the process was very rigorous. Um And with 71 conditions with many agencies, Fisheries, um there was a social impact as assessment done. Also things that are outside environment, traffic impact assessment,all those things were submitted. Uh So I think, you know, it was a very, very thorough process and, and I, that's how it should be done in the sense that any development process cannot be given as easily as it was before, it has to be looked thoroughly. UhBut it's something that we have to recognize that there will be uh uh what do you call that? There will be things that we have to give and take in any decision. But as much as possible, I would like, you know, the development has to be sustainable, right? We have one minute left on the clock Nik, but I can't let you go withoutmaking some reference to the political situation in the country. We're heading into state elections in the next six months, if not sooner. Is this a primary consideration in policy making for the government? Are you holding off on the tough decisions until after the polls to avoid risking the disenchantment among the voting public? No, I think uh for us it's what's best for the country. Um Obviously you have to be smart at communicating it. Obviously you have to listen to and engage with the stakeholders.Uh That's the political reality. Uh You, you have to be tactical about those things. But the big picture for us if we need to do something now, um it's a bit difficult then we will do it now because it's uh if it's necessary, Nik. Thank you very much for joining me on the show today. Thank you. Thank you very much. I've been speaking to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and climate change. This has been the Breakfast Grille on BFM 89.9.The BFM Breakfast Grille is brought to you by you mobile 5G. Now with you.You have been listening to a podcast from BFM 89.9, the business station for more stories of the same kind. Download the BFM app.

Sandwiched in between Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Cambodia, The Lao People's Democratic Republic is one of SEA's most lesser known tourist destinations. Landlocked, mostly mountainous, with rivers and waterfalls nearly everywhere in between, Laos is most famous for its natural beauty and friendly, laid-back locals. For those who may have heard a bit about it or have traveled there before, the mystical ancient capital of Luang Prabang or the rubber-tube river rafting party town of Vang Vieng spring to mind. But to those who listen to the show, you already know there's so much more. We've covered a number of great destinations in Laos before, but today we're going deeper, exploring Lesser Known Laos with Jason Rolan.

–The Pipeline Podcast – Ep 249 - Construction in Thailand: 1st and 3rd World Combined – With Scott Jennings Listen to the most recent episode of "The Pipeline Podcast," wherein Scott Jennings discusses his visit to Thailand and how it is a combination of both old and new construction methods and equipment.  This is comparable to his writeup on Laos in late 2019, early 2020.  Listen to the episode to learn more! I hope you find this episode as informative and as exciting as we have. Please let us know your thoughts about the episode! Connect with Scott Jennings, host of The Pipeline Podcast:   Website:        http://sjcivil.com LinkedIn:       www.linkedin.com/in/scott-jennings-p-e-1435103 Email:                         sj@sjcivil.com   Subscribe to the Podcast: http://sjcivil.net/podcast/ https://anchor.fm/sjccsitesurvey --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sjccsitesurvey/support

Welcome to Episode 2 part 3 of The Baron 52 MIA Mystery "The Crash Investigation" In this episode, Ralph and our team will delve into his investigation of the mysterious Baron 52 crash. We feature a phone interview with the Operation's Officer from Joe's squadron. This officer believed that the intercepted radio message about "4 captured air pirates" was evidence that Joe and the other three missing crewmembers were captured, and opposed the USAF official change of status from MIA to KIA-BNR. Host's of the Baron 52 Series Podcast: John Bear, researcher and host John Matejov and Mary Matejov Salzinger, siblings and Primary Next of Kin of Sgt Joseph Matejov who is the subject of this podcast. 361st TEWS Squadron family member, fellow researcher and Matejov family supporter, Heather Atherton. Heather is the daughter of Lt Michael Moore who was a pilot in the 361st TEWS Squadron (known as the "Front Enders" on the EC-47 aircraft. Heather is a board member of nonprofit “Legacies of War” an organization that educates the public about the American secret war in Laos and works to remove unexploded ordnances still impacting lives today. Find our podcast, Stories of Sacrifice on your favorite podcast player or visit https://www.storiesofsacrifice.org/ How You Can Help: All money raised goes to support our Podcast and our POW/MIA Family Research where we are directly involved in the repatriation of WW2 POW/MIA's. Direct Support - https://paypal.me/JBear213 Please visit our affiliate links that help support our Podcast and POW/MIA research. I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. All money earned goes to support our Podcast and support to POW/MIA family research. Flipside Canvas - Owned by Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer (USMC). At Flipside Canvas, we believe that art offers an opportunity to showcase your commitment to empowering yourself and others. High quality materials that will last 100+ years. All our art comes stretched and ready to hang on your wall. 100% Made in America using locally sourced and manufactured materials. https://flipsidecanvas.com/?ref=SOSPodcast The Home Depot - Is not only for the Do It Yourself building and construction projects, you have access to over two million products ranging from small appliances to your everyday needs for the home, RV travel to camping. Purchase online and pick up your order at your local Home Depot free of charge or ship it to your home! The sky is the limit on the products offered by the Home Depot! https://homedepot.sjv.io/SOSPodcast FAIR USE NOTICE - These videos may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, such material has been referenced to advance understanding of political, human rights, ecological, economic, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues. This constitutes a "fair use" of any such material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. #Baron52 #SgtJosephMatejov #MissingInAction #POWMIA #DIA #DoD #USAF #VietnamWar #Laos --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storiesofsacrifice/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storiesofsacrifice/support

As women, we have this strong confidence from a job perspective; and yet when it comes to ourselves, if we don't feel we're valuable or worthy, then it's hard to step into our own power.”Karen Laos is a communication expert and confidence cultivator who has helped thousands of women leaders communicate more effectively and confidently. She is the founder and CEO of Karen Laos Consulting, a company that provides communication training and coaching to individuals and organizations. Karen is passionate about helping women leaders reach their full potential. She believes that communication is a key skill for success in any field, and she is committed to providing women with the tools and resources they need to communicate with confidence and impact.Connect with Karen today to learn how you can increase your confidence and communication skills to shine in the workplace:https://karenlaos.comhttps://twitter.com/karen_laoshttps://www.instagram.com/karenlaosofficialhttps://www.facebook.com/KarenLaosConsulting/https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlaos/https://karenlaos.lpages.co/words-to-avoid/Support the showVisit the Have A Seat website for more conversations or Have A Seat with me and register to be a guest at: www.haveaseatconversations.com. Interested in starting your own podcast but not quite sure it's right for you? Are you ready to dive into all the details of what it takes to run a successful podcast? From finding your niche to episode editing and podcast marketing, I've got you covered. I have three years of podcast producing and hosting experience to happily share with you. Click to access my Conversations About Podcasting blueprint to learn more about becoming a podcaster today! Thanks for listening!

One night, TK, extremely sick, found himself in his room praying, “I am ill and if you are the one true God then I will commit my life to you.” TK slept through the night and woke up completely healed! From that moment, he was committed to following Christ. His father—a former drug dealer who met Christ in prison for his crimes—encouraged TK to learn more about the one true God. With passion for following Christ after he had experienced God's power over disease, TK went to Bible school in Thailand. Returning to Laos with Christian materials to help his ministry, TK was arrested at the border and imprisoned for three months before God ordained his release from prison. Today TK serves persecuted Christians inside Laos and holds a leadership position within Laos's registered church organization. He says at the time of his arrest it was common for Christians in Laos to endure physical suffering for being a Christian—arrests, beatings and other pressure. Today, he says, mental and spiritual pressure for following Christ is more common, including being ostracized by family members, cut off from work or educational opportunities and even being kicked out of your village. Listen as TK shares what our persecuted church family faces in Laos today. TK will also explain how he is serving persecuted brothers and sisters there. Pray for communist authorities in Laos and for wisdom and discernment for TK as he assists persecuted Christians. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Kate Adie presents stories from Thailand, Israel, Laos, Switzerland and Ireland. Thailand is standing at a crossroads, with many wondering if the country can move on to a more dynamic, democratic future in the forthcoming election on 14th May. Recent polls put progressive parties ahead, and on target to win a majority of the seats - but can they overcome the conservative status quo? Jonathan Head has been on the campaign trail with one of the young, progressive candidates hoping for change. Israel has been in the grip of nationwide protests over the right-wing coalition's plans for judicial reform, but Israeli Arabs have been conspicuous by their absence. Rhodri Davies spoke to people about why this is in an Arab city in northern Israel. Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita and is still suffering the consequences of American air strikes 50 years ago. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent heard stories of the dangers posed by unexploded ordinance to farmers and children. In Switzerland, thousands of older Swiss women, nicknamed 'Climate Grannies' are bringing a case against their government to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the government's lack of action on climate change is putting their health at risk. Imogen Foulkes heard about their fight. And finally, as world leaders, both past and present, have descended on Ireland recently, and after Ireland's victory over England in the Six Nations Rugby grand slam, James Helm reflects on Irish soft power around the world. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Producer: Louise Hidalgo Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross

Sign up to receive podcast: https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/podcast People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18689 #AThirdofUs                    https://athirdofus.com/ Listen to "A Third of Us" podcast with Greg Kelley, produced by the Alliance for the Unreached: https://alliancefortheunreached.org/podcast/ ·        JoshuaProject.net/frontier#podcast provides links to podcast recordings of the prayer guide for the 31 largest FPGs. ·        Go31.org/FREE provides the printed prayer guide for the largest 31 FPGs along with resources to support those wanting to enlist others in prayer for FPGs. ·        Indigitous.us/home/frontier-peoples has published a beautiful print/PDF introducti ·        on to FPGs for children, supported by a dramatized podcast edition. God's Best to You!  ~Mark Kordic

LES EXPERTS : - Françoise Vimeux - Climatologue, directrice de recherches à l'Institut de recherche pour le développement - Esther Crauser-Delbourg - Economiste de l'eau - Philippe Dessertine - Directeur de l'Institut de Haute Finance, Le grand basculement - Célia Quilleret - Journaliste, spécialiste de l'environnement et des énergies – France Inter C dans l'air du 28 avril - Eau : déjà l'alerte ! Un gigantesque incendie dans l'État du New Jersey alors qu'une chaleur record s'installe dans le nord-est des Etats-Unis et comme l'année dernière à la même époque, l'Inde et ses voisins qui suffoquent. Une épisode caniculaire qui touche toute la partie sud de l'Asie, jusqu'en Thaïlande et au Laos, où les records de températures sont tombés, accablant une région qui abrite près de 2 milliards d'habitants, soit plus du quart de l'humanité et menaçant cette année encore les récoltes de céréales, notamment de blé. Conformément aux avertissements émis par les experts du GIEC, avec le réchauffement climatique, la fréquence des évènements extrêmes augmente, les vagues de chaleur se multiplient et sont plus longues. Dans le sud de l'Europe, au Portugal ou encore en Espagne, et plus particulièrement en Andalousie, le mercure atteint depuis plusieurs jours des températures comprises entre 38 °C et les 40 °C. En France des températures records ont aussi été enregistrées cet après-midi avec 27 °C à Bordeaux, 26 °C. à Tarbes, et vingt départements sont déjà concernés par une alerte sècheresse. Une pénurie d'eau qui inquiète notamment dans les Pyrénées orientales où des premiers feux de forêt majeurs ont eu lieu à la mi-avril et des villages sont déjà privés d'eau potable. Une situation d'autant plus alarmante que le préfet a averti mardi qu'en raison de la sécheresse exceptionnelle dans ce département, "il n'y aura pas suffisamment d'eau pour tous les usages" cet été, ce qui obligera à "des décisions difficiles". Il a décidé ce vendredi de placer le département en état de crise liée à la sécheresse - le plus haut niveau d'alerte possible - à compter du 10 mai. Mais comment vivre avec moins d'eau ? Face à la sécheresse, la France va devoir s'adapter dans l'urgence à la pénurie d'eau, et dans certaines communes, des élus locaux entendent remettre en question des procédés qu'ils jugent désormais obsolètes. C'est le cas à Grigny dans l'Essonne où le maire souhaite que l'entreprise Coca-Cola arrête de prélever de l'eau directement dans la nappe phréatique et se fournisse désormais auprès de la Régie publique de l'eau. DIFFUSION : du lundi au samedi à 17h45 FORMAT : 65 minutes PRÉSENTATION : Caroline Roux - Axel de Tarlé REDIFFUSION : du lundi au vendredi vers 23h40 RÉALISATION : Nicolas Ferraro, Bruno Piney, Franck Broqua, Alexandre Langeard, Corentin Son, Benoît Lemoine PRODUCTION : France Télévisions / Maximal Productions Retrouvez C DANS L'AIR sur internet & les réseaux : INTERNET : francetv.fr FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/Cdanslairf5 TWITTER : https://twitter.com/cdanslair INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/cdanslair/

50 years after the last US bombs fell on Laos, they're still killing and maiming. In an effort to stop the march of communism, between 1964 and 1973, America dropped over two million tonnes of ordnance on neutral Laos: on average, a planeload of bombs was released every eight minutes, 24 hours a day. This is more than was dropped on Germany and Japan in the entire Second World War. Laos, today a country of just 6 million people, remains the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita. Five decades after the war, these deadly items remain a persistent threat and daily reality for communities across Laos. More than 20,000 people have been killed or injured by UXO (unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs, and explosive remnants of war) in Laos since the war ended in 1975, with people still killed and injured every year. Around half the victims are children. But UXO doesn't just kill and maim, it renders agricultural land useless and prevents economic progress. Although Laos is rich in natural resources, its development has been crippled by the legacy of the war. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travels to Laos to tell its story 50 years on. Producer John Murphy (Photo: Clearing unexploded bombs in northern Laos. Credit: MAG / Bart Verweij)