Vietnamese Entrepreneur Develops Rice ATM to Help People amid Pandemic

People get rice from a 24/7 automatic rice dispensing machine, ‘Rice ATM’, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Reuters
People get rice from a 24/7 automatic rice dispensing machine, ‘Rice ATM’, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Reuters
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Vietnamese Entrepreneur Develops Rice ATM to Help People amid Pandemic

People get rice from a 24/7 automatic rice dispensing machine, ‘Rice ATM’, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Reuters
People get rice from a 24/7 automatic rice dispensing machine, ‘Rice ATM’, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Reuters

A Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to Reuters, Vietnam has reported no deaths so far, but as a result of a 15-day social distancing program that began on March 31 many small businesses have been shuttered and thousands of people temporarily laid off from work.

Nguyen Thi Ly's husband was among those who have lost their job. "This rice ATM has been helpful. With this one bag of rice, we can have enough for one day. Now, we only need other food. Our neighbors sometimes gave us some leftover food," said the 34-year-old mother of three children.

The machine distributes a 1.5kg bagful of rice from a small silo to waiting workers, many of whom are street sellers or people who earned a living from cash-in-hand jobs. Hoang Tuan Anh, the businessman behind the idea, had initially donated a batch of smart doorbells to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City before turning his technological expertise to food distribution.

Similar "rice ATMs" have been set up in other big cities like Hanoi, Hue and Danang, according to state media. Anh told state media he wanted people to feel they still had access to food and resources, despite the current economic difficulties they found themselves in.

"I read about this rice ATM on the internet. I came to check it out, and couldn't believe it came out for real. I really hope the sponsors would keep doing this until the end of the pandemic," said Ly, adding that her family's biggest problem was now paying their rent.



Heavy Snow Brings Widespread Disruption across the UK

People walk in the snow at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Britain, 05 January 2025. (EPA)
People walk in the snow at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Britain, 05 January 2025. (EPA)
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Heavy Snow Brings Widespread Disruption across the UK

People walk in the snow at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Britain, 05 January 2025. (EPA)
People walk in the snow at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Britain, 05 January 2025. (EPA)

Heavy snow and freezing rain has brought widespread disruption across the UK, with several major airports forced to suspend flights and many key roads in the north of England unnavigable.

With the weather set to stay inclement on Sunday, there are concerns that many rural communities could be cut off with up to 40 centimeters (15 inches) of snow on ground above 300 meters (985 feet).

The National Grid, which oversees the country's electricity network, said it had been working to restore power after outages across the country. The company’s live map shows power cuts in Birmingham in central England, Bristol in the west and Cardiff in Wales.

Many sporting events have already been postponed, but the heavyweight Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United is still on, though there will be another inspection later.

Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport had to close runways and divert flights, Birmingham Airport also suspended operations for several hours overnight but said it was on schedule for “business as usual” on Sunday.

The road network was heavily impacted too, on what would have been a very busy day with many families returning home from the Christmas and New Year break and students heading back to universities.

On the railways, many services were canceled with National Rail warning of disruption continuing into the working week.

Britain's main weather forecaster, the Met Office, has forecast the sleet and snow will continue to push north on Sunday and be heaviest in northern England and into southern Scotland. After experiencing freezing rain for a time, the south will turn milder.

Frost and icy patches will continue through the early part of the week, but Monday and Tuesday will become drier with sunny spells and scattered wintry showers.