Hard rice and salt water had made him scrawny and thin-haired by his 40s.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Chi Thien

More dry-season water will greatly increase the production of rice and other crops.

ECONOMIST: Letters

In rural Quang Ngai province the authorities are seeking hoteliers to develop its golden, palm-fringed and empty beaches, and dream of building spa resorts around the hot-water springs that bubble up through the province's rice paddies.

ECONOMIST: Tourism could do a lot of good if Vietnam handles it properly

In California, well-connected farmers grow rice in the desert, even as Los Angeles begs for water.

ECONOMIST: Water

For hydration, there is water flavored with pandanus leaf, which tastes pleasantly of toasted rice, and fruit-flavored drinking vinegars, which, mixed with seltzer, are like sweet-and-sour sodas.

NEWYORKER: Pok Pok Ny

"With other water-soaked smartphones, consumers instantly move into MacGyver mode attempting to beat the odds with dry rice, Ziploc bags and other home remedies that rarely work, " said Andre Smith, vice president-Boost Mobile.

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