200 escape death as floating restaurant sinks

More than 200 people escaped death narrowly when a two-floor floating restaurant, My Khanh, in southern Can Tho City sank Saturday.

Those including customers and restaurant staff were partying on board.

There were no fatalities and only two were injure while trying to escape in a panic.

Many people gathered at one place to participate in the lucky draw program, probably causing the restaurant to be sunk, according to the restaurant’s staff.

The restaurant was not yet licensed.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Two fires cause loss of US$512,000

A huge blaze swept through My An Garment ltd. Company in the southern province of An Giang at 8:00 pm January 8, burning down its fabrics, machines, and other equipments.

It took over three hours for around 200 firefighters to extinguish the blaze, police said.

The flame is estimated to cause a loss of VND7 billion (US$358,000). Luckily no human casualty was reported.

At 10:00 am on the same day, a huge blaze broke out at a wood plant in Tran Hung Dao Ward, Kon Tum.

The neighborhood said that the flame began to appear at the plant’s wood heating room and then spread to other places.

The plant also experienced another fire last year.

But the blaze was controlled after an hour and no one was hurt.

The causes of the two fires are under investigation.

Nghe An fisherman catches endangered green turtle

Authorities in the central Nghe An Province are trying to persuade a local fisherman to release a giant endangered green turtle he caught last Monday back into the sea.

Le Tien Lieu of Quynh Luu District had netted the 70-kilogram reptile while fishing off the coast of Quynh Phuong Commune.

Curious crowds flocked to his house to see the turtle which they said was the biggest they have ever seen. One man offered VND30 million (US$1,500) to buy the animal.

The provincial Department for Protection of Aquatic Resources said Lieu has not agreed to release the turtle back into the sea and wants a sum of money.

The Department has reported to higher authorities.

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is among five species of marine turtles found in Vietnamese waters, the others being the leatherback, hawksbill, loggerhead, and Olive Ridley.

The largest nesting site for green turtles in the country is at Con Dao National Park on the island of the same name.

Police cracked major drug rings

Tran Thanh Toan, 29, carried 300 ecstasy pills when arrested in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh district as he was seeking for new trading partners in the area.

The district police searched his house and found an electric whip. The confiscated pills tested positive for MDMA or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

Following the arrest, two other top drug dealers Nguyen Thanh Tung and Mai The Duong were also caught the next day in Tan Binh.

Tung, 30 was carrying 52g of synthetic drugs and keeping another 22g at home stored in his refrigerator.

Police interrogation led to Toan’s main supplier who was staying at a hotel in Phu Nhuan district.

When arrested, Duong, 35 was with 138g of methamphetamine, other new kinds of synthetic drugs and an electric scale to weigh them.

All offenders are being detained for further investigation.

Hanoi police seize dried monkeys from bus

Hanoi police on Friday seized 12 dried bodies of the endangered black-shanked douc langurs from a passenger bus coming from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

The flayed black-shanked douc langurs were probably intended for the market across the border, the police said.

They have detained the bus driver, Luan Trung Thanh, and his wife for investigation.

The black-shanked douc (Pygathrix nigripes) is an endangered species of douc found in forests of Vietnam and Cambodia.

It is listed in the Vietnam Red Data Book, a list of rare and endangered native species.

The animals usually fall prey to poachers who hunt them to make traditional medicine.

A kilogram of dried douc may fetch VND3 million (US$150) on the black market.

Vietnam to monitor imported food 

Governments and animal health departments will closely inspect any food imports from overseas countries into Vietnam, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In a recent dispatch to provinces and cities around the country, the Ministry has ordered all provincial and municipal governments and relevant agencies, to supervise any animal products imported from foreign countries into Vietnam. As the Tet holiday is quickly approaching, consumption of foreign imports could be very high.

The Ministry has also asked government officials, to closely monitor border crossings, especially the ones like Tan Thanh, in the Northern Province of Lang Son; Cau Treo and Lao Bao in the central province of Ha Tinh; and finally, Quang Tri and Moc Bai, in the southern province of Tay Ninh.

Vietnam to restart express railway project 

The state-own corporation Vietnam Railways should work out a new plan to build the North-South Express Railway by 2012, Minister of Transport, Ho Nghia Dung, has said at a conference recently hosted by the corporation.

At the conference, minister Dung also ordered the Vietnam Railways to complete the building of new railway tracks on routes Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong and Lang Son - Hanoi, by 2020.

By 2030, the express railway will be basically completed. In addition, construction will be done on the urban rail network in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and on rail systems in the Central Highlands, the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta.

The government last year worked out a proposal that the North - South Express Railway will link northern capital city of Hanoi with the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, which is over 1,570 kilometers away. The train is expected to reach speed of up to 300 kilometers an hour.

However, the National Assembly did not approve the project and NA deputies have asked for further studies of the project. This is because the construction of such a railway system might eventually cost over US$100 billion.

Over 150,000 young people join blood donation event 

A festival for young people to donate blood was held in 13 cities and provinces nationwide on January 9. The festival attracted over 150,000 young people, in which more than 82,000 registered to donated blood. A total number of blood units collected was 20,000 units. 

The festival launched by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to cerebrate Student’s Day (January 9) and the Youth Year of 2011 was held in the following areas: Hanoi, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien – Hue, Khanh Hoa, Kon Tum, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Can Tho and Kien Giang.

In Hanoi, the festival was held at Thong Nhat Park, in the Hai Ba Trung District. The event attracted more than 120,000 young people and representatives from ministries and various departments.

At the opening ceremony, 61 outstanding students, that had donated blood more than five times, were specially honoured for their blood donations. On the January 9, 15,000 young people registered in Hanoi to donate blood.

It is estimated that 2,000 units of blood was collected yesterday in the capital.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri, director of the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, said the number of blood units collected would be used for emergency cases at hospitals.

Dr. Tri said the institute receives 10,000-20,000 units of blood on average per month, which meets about 60 percent of our demand; therefore, these events save people’s lives.

In Ho Chi Minh City, on the same day a similar event took place. This event was sponsor by the Committee of HCMC Communist Youth Union, with the Cho Ray Hospital and the city’s Haematology and Blood Transfusion Centre.

The event attracted more than 1,000 young people, who donated 1,000 units of blood.

In conclusion, the number of young people registering to give blood for 2011 is expected to be over 68,800 units of blood in the city.

Taxis rip off unwary foreigners at city airport

Many foreign visitors to Ho Chi Minh City last year fell victim to taxi drivers who overcharged them and stole things they left behind, police said.

“There were nearly 10 complaints against taxis in 2010,” said Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Pham Cong Nghia, police chief of Ward 2, Tan Binh District, said.

“The actual number must have been higher since some did not report to the police.”

Lihesheng, a Chinese national, arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and took a cab to a hotel in Ward 2.

On reaching the hotel, he told the driver he wanted to go to another place after checking in, and asked him to wait. When he came out a few minutes later, the cab had disappeared with his laptop, camera, and personal papers.

Kirill Perepletov, a Russian, forgot his bag with $4,700, 2,000 euros ($2,598), and two digital cameras.

He rang the taxi company, but the driver denied finding anything. The Tan Binh District police are investigating.

“Taxi drivers did not return belongings left behind by passengers and even blamed the next passengers,” Lieutenant Tran Thanh Sang of the district police said.

Phan Le Hoan, director of the Tan Son Nhat Operation Center, said taxi scams do not occur inside the airport thanks to the close watch kept by security guards and traffic inspectors.

“However, drivers fleece passengers once they are outside the airport. Some have even attacked or insulted passengers outside.”

The Japanese Business Association of HCMC called on the city People’s Committee and the Department of Traffic to crack down on taxi frauds at the airport following constant complaints by Japanese businesspeople.

Hoan said: “We have requested taxi companies to give passengers leaflets bearing the driver’s name and company hotline from January 1st.”

PV