Vietnamese families living in slums along the Red River in Hanoi are using red plastic buckets and old printers to help light homes, cook meals and slash electricity costs by as much as a third. 
 
The recycled goods form the blades and motors of electrical generators that power old motorcycle batteries to illuminate lamps with a brightness equivalent to a 45 watt light bulb. 
 
Though the output generated is small, it makes a significant difference for families previously denied power because they lived too far from a power station or had to ration supply because of the expense, at an average cost of $9 a month. 
 
&quot;It is enough to light the home of my family and other families around here,&quot; said Bui Van Ha, who earns about $4.50 a day on average by trading pottery to feed his family of four. 
 
&quot;Even for only a few hours after dark, it helped us to save on our monthly spending and bring profit to my family.&quot; 
 
The clean energy innovation on the floating village about five kilometres from Hanoi&#39;s central business district is the brainchild of Le Vu Cuong, a lecturer at a Hanoi university. 
 
His wind-powered generator makes use of materials that are cheap and easy to replace and works with a wind speed of just 0.4 metres a second. 
 
&quot;We want to support the low-income community,&quot; Cuong said. &quot;Now they can use more electricity without any extra costs, with energy coming from renewable sources.&quot; 
 
Vietnam produces just 140 MW of solar and wind power each year, but officials say it has the capacity to produce 500 times more. 
 
Cuong hopes to boost energy production, and is looking for donors to help lighten the electricity costs of other low-income families. 
 
(Reuters)

The clean energy innovation on the floating village about 5 km from Hanoi's central business district is the brainchild of Le Vu Cuong

Vietnamese families living in slums along the Red River in Hanoi are using red plastic buckets and old printers to help light homes, cook meals and slash electricity costs by as much as a third. The recycled goods form the blades and motors of electrical generators that power old motorcycle batteries to illuminate lamps with a brightness equivalent to a 45 watt light bulb. Though the output generated is small, it makes a significant difference for families previously denied power because they lived too far from a power station or had to ration supply because of the expense, at an average cost of $9 a month. "It is enough to light the home of my family and other families around here," said Bui Van Ha, who earns about $4.50 a day on average by trading pottery to feed his family of four. "Even for only a few hours after dark, it helped us to save on our monthly spending and bring profit to my family." The clean energy innovation on the floating village about five kilometres from Hanoi's central business district is the brainchild of Le Vu Cuong, a lecturer at a Hanoi university. His wind-powered generator makes use of materials that are cheap and easy to replace and works with a wind speed of just 0.4 metres a second. "We want to support the low-income community," Cuong said. "Now they can use more electricity without any extra costs, with energy coming from renewable sources." Vietnam produces just 140 MW of solar and wind power each year, but officials say it has the capacity to produce 500 times more. Cuong hopes to boost energy production, and is looking for donors to help lighten the electricity costs of other low-income families. (Reuters)

Plastic buckets, broken printers shine light on Hanoi's poor

Michael Cimino, whose roller-coaster career as a Hollywood film director included Oscar-winner &#39;The Deer Hunter&#39; and legendary box office flop &#39;Heaven&#39;s Gate&#39;, has died, US media reported. He was aged 77. 
 
The success of &#39;The Deer Hunter&#39;, a 1978 film about the Vietnam War starring Robert De Niro, made Cimino one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. The film won five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. 
 
But he followed up in 1980 with &#39;Heaven&#39;s Gate&#39;, an epic Western that New York Times critic Vincent Canby called &quot;an unqualified disaster&quot;. The film&#39;s budget went way over at $36 million, three times the average cost of a movie then. 
 
Cimino&#39;s career never fully recovered. 
 
&quot;He went from a big Oscar film to suddenly being a pariah - everybody&#39;s whipping boy,&quot; Kris Kristofferson, who starred in the film, told the Los Angeles Times in 2004. &quot;Everybody who didn&#39;t get to do a film blamed &#39;Heaven&#39;s Gate,&#39; saying all the money went to &#39;Heaven&#39;s Gate&#39;.&quot; 
 
Born in New York City to a wealthy family, Cimino earned a master&#39;s degree in architecture at Yale University. He was a well-known director of TV commercials before directing his first movie, &quot;Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,&quot; a crime drama starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, in 1974. 
 
After the flop of &#39;Heaven&#39;s Gate&#39;, Cimino&#39;s comeback film in 1985, &#39;Year of the Dragon&#39;, starring Mickey Rourke as a New York City cop, failed to excite neither moviegoers nor critics. 
 
He followed up with &#39;The Sicilian&#39;, based on a Mario Puzo novel and &#39;Desperate Hours&#39;, a remake of a Humphrey Bogart film about a fugitive, starring Rourke and Anthony Hopkins. Both films were panned by critics and largely ignored by filmgoers. 
 
His final Hollywood film, 1996&#39;s &#39;The Sunchaser&#39;, a drama about a doctor, played by Woody Harrelson, who is kidnapped by a dying patient, didn&#39;t fare any better and marked the end of Cimino&#39;s career. 
 
US media said Cimino died on Saturday, but that the cause of death was unknown. 
 
(Reuters)

His 1978 film about the Vietnam War starring Robert De Niro won five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director

Michael Cimino, whose roller-coaster career as a Hollywood film director included Oscar-winner 'The Deer Hunter' and legendary box office flop 'Heaven's Gate', has died, US media reported. He was aged 77. The success of 'The Deer Hunter', a 1978 film about the Vietnam War starring Robert De Niro, made Cimino one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. The film won five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. But he followed up in 1980 with 'Heaven's Gate', an epic Western that New York Times critic Vincent Canby called "an unqualified disaster". The film's budget went way over at $36 million, three times the average cost of a movie then. Cimino's career never fully recovered. "He went from a big Oscar film to suddenly being a pariah - everybody's whipping boy," Kris Kristofferson, who starred in the film, told the Los Angeles Times in 2004. "Everybody who didn't get to do a film blamed 'Heaven's Gate,' saying all the money went to 'Heaven's Gate'." Born in New York City to a wealthy family, Cimino earned a master's degree in architecture at Yale University. He was a well-known director of TV commercials before directing his first movie, "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," a crime drama starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, in 1974. After the flop of 'Heaven's Gate', Cimino's comeback film in 1985, 'Year of the Dragon', starring Mickey Rourke as a New York City cop, failed to excite neither moviegoers nor critics. He followed up with 'The Sicilian', based on a Mario Puzo novel and 'Desperate Hours', a remake of a Humphrey Bogart film about a fugitive, starring Rourke and Anthony Hopkins. Both films were panned by critics and largely ignored by filmgoers. His final Hollywood film, 1996's 'The Sunchaser', a drama about a doctor, played by Woody Harrelson, who is kidnapped by a dying patient, didn't fare any better and marked the end of Cimino's career. US media said Cimino died on Saturday, but that the cause of death was unknown. (Reuters)

Oscar winning director of 'Deer Hunter' Michael Cimino, dead at 77

Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. 
 
Rhetoric around Canberra&#39;s controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. 
 
The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. 
 
&quot;They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren&#39;t owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam,&quot; he said. 
 
Under Canberra&#39;s tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. 
 
While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. 
 
&quot;This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently,&quot; Turnbull told reporters. 
 
&quot;The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again.&quot; 
 
Since the start of its &quot;Operation Sovereign Borders&quot; in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. 
 
Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. 
 
(AFP)

The immigration minister said the 21 aboard did not need protection as claimed and sent them back to Vietnam

Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. Rhetoric around Canberra's controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. "They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren't owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam," he said. Under Canberra's tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. "This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently," Turnbull told reporters. "The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again." Since the start of its "Operation Sovereign Borders" in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. (AFP)

Australia intercepts Vietnam asylum-seeker boat

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