Vietnam hosts eighth Asia Media Summit

The eighth Asia Media Summit (AMS 8) will be held in Hanoi from May 22-26, 2011.

The news was released at a preparatory session for the eighth AMS held by Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) on January 12.

At the session, VOV Deputy General Director, Dao Duy Hua said that thorough preparations for the summit have begun to ensure its success.

The event is expected to attract 500 international and 200 domestic delegates including general directors, executive directors, managers, policy makers, experts and scholars in the field of broadcasting and television from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Africa, North America and the United Arab Emirates.

The summit, the first of its kind in Vietnam, includes two plenary sessions to be held on May 24-25.

The annual event, which was established by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in 2004, is expected to provide broadcasting and television agencies in the region with a paltform to share experience and ideas.

Vietnam Airlines aircraft damaged by catering truck

A Vietnam Airlines plane was hit by truck at Tan Son Nhat Airport as it was about to take off for Beijing at six o'clock this morning, Jan 14.

The aircraft's undercarriage was damaged in the incident and the crew decided to abort take off for repairs. The passengers departed two hours later on another aircraft.

Vietnam Airlines spokesman Le Hoang Dung said the delay followed standard procedures of any crash incident occurring to an aircraft. "We have a number of back-up planes so this incident does not affect our Tet flight schedule," he said.

Dung also said that Vietnam Airlines would tighten ground safety regulations at the airport and the driver would undergo disciplinary proceedings through his company, Tiags.

Two Vietnam Airlines planes were hit by trucks in 2010.

Midnight city blaze sparks panic

Nearly 10 houses in a row of colonial era homes in District 1 caught fire at around midnight yesterday, frightening dozens of nearby residents who rushed out carrying their belongings to the street.

More than 100 firefighters and six fire-engines were deployed to the scene at the corner of Le Thi Hong Gam and Pho Duc Chinh streets near Ben Thanh Market. They had the fire under control after one hour.

The blaze caused no fatality or injury but damages are estimated at several dozen billion of dong.

The row of houses that caught fire was built during the French colonial period. More than 100 residents lived there, earning a living by selling clothes, jewelry, electronic goods, and LPG (cooking-gas) cylinders.

Police said they had launched an investigation to find out the cause of the fire.

Orphanage worker cleared of child abuse

The four boys who ran away from an orphanage in Dong Nai Province were not abused or violently treated by the orphanage manager as they alleged, police have concluded.

The eldest boy wanted to take revenge on the manager, Le Thi Phuong Lan, because she had constantly scolded him for his stubbornness and disobedience, according to Sr Lt Col Truong Quoc Hieu, deputy director of Bien Hoa City Police.

He then persuaded the others to leave with him and lied to the media and police about abuses by Lan.

Man gets two years for motorbike scam

A local court in the southern province of Binh Duong sentenced on Tuesday a young man to two years in prison on charges of "deliberately damaging belongings" in a case that involved a motorbike repair scam.

The Thu Dau Mot Town People's Court charged Nguyen Van Cong, 20, of Ninh Binh Province with an offence that "had left local residents in a panic and had seriously disturbed local social order".

The court also prosecuted Dinh Van Sang for conducting an illegal business.

Court records showed that in July last year, Cong began living at the home of 27-year-old Sang, also from Ninh Binh, to learn how to repair motorbikes.

By August, Sang handed over to Cong ownership of a motorbike repair shop on Binh Duong Avenue. Income generated from the business went toward the families of Sang and Cong.

To earn more money, Cong bought metal barrel strips and cut them into triangular-shaped 2-cm pieces of metal that resembled nails.

Every day, Cong scattered the metal pieces on several streets to set a trap for motorbikes.

For each motorbike rider who had a flat tyre, Cong sold a new tyre for VND45,000-50,000 (US$2.3-2.6), but the actual price he had paid for the tyre was VND20,500 ($1.1).

On August 16, the Phu Hoa Ward Criminal Prevention and Fighting Task Force caught Cong scattering around 150 handmade metal pieces near Cho Dinh Market while riding a motorbike without a registration plate.

Local police said that in 2004 Cong was assigned to Re-education Center No2 and in 2007 was sentenced to six months' suspension on charges of asset theft.

Cong said at the court that he committed the offence under the guidance of Sang, who showed him how to cut the triangular-shaped metal pieces.

He said he scattered the nails once a day at 5am from August 4-15.

When asked if he was aware of the danger of what he did to motorbike riders, Cong said nothing, but added that Sang told him to go ahead and, if caught, he would only be fined.

Cong said he then felt more confident about committing the offence.

Data warehouse opens

Viet Nam's first national data warehouse has been opened - and it is available on-line, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced today.

"This is the first time the country's statistics have been collected and standardised," said GSO director Do Thuc.

GSO deputy director Nguyen Bich Lam said the warehouse, which included all information on Viet Nam Household Living Standard Surveys in 2004, 2006 and 2008, was expected to improve data input and management.

"The user-friendly data warehouse will help enhance national supervision," he said.

Lam said Viet Nam already had a lot of statistical data, but it was scattered all over the country and was not synchronised. This made it difficult to use.

The data warehouse is available in both Vietnamese and English at www.gso.gov.vn/khodulieuMS.

It will continue to be updated and extended. More data warehouses will be developed when the opportunity arises.

Unlicensed boat tragedy kills two

Two people died and six remain missing after a boat wreck on the Lo River in the northern mountainous city of Tuyen Quang yesterday.

Local authorities said the 13 people aboard the iron boat were heading from the right bank to the left bank of the river to attend a betrothal ceremony in the Hung Thanh Ward.

Agencies were still searching for the missing passengers.

The city has decided to provide VND3-4.5 million ($150-230) to the families of the two who died.

One killed, one injured in crane collapse

One worker was killed and another seriously injured on Tuesday when a gantry crane collapsed at the construction site of a resettlement area on Chu Van An Street, Binh Thanh District in HCM City.

Dang Van Quang, 24, who was operating the crane at the time, died when the 45- metre-high and 50- metre-long gantry collapsed into a hole 10 metres deep. The injured worker remains unidentified.

Local police said the collapse occurred because the crane was overloaded with concrete blocks.

Charity launched to help Ha Noi's AO victims

The Ha Noi Fund for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin Victims was launched today.

The fund, established by the Municipal Association of AO Victims, is expected to mobilise different sources from both inside and outside of the country to care for and help AO victims in the city improve their living conditions and integrate with society.

At the launch ceremony, the fund received VND815 million (US$41,565) from donors.

The fund hopes to raise more than VND1 billion ($51,000) to buy 1,000 gift packages for local AO victims for the upcoming Lunar New Year festival (Tet), said the fund director, Tran Thi Phuong Dung.

There are around 35,000 AO/dioxin victims in the city but only 16,000 of them receive a State allowance.

Four arrested in 1,000 ecstasy tab bust

Border guards in central Da Nang City arrested Nguyen Van On of Son Tra District's Nai Hien Dong Ward for storing narcotics yesterday.

After investigations, guards also arrested three other people in Lien Chieu District's Hoa Minh Ward for storing over 1,000 ecstasy tablets.

Prepay mobile services to be monitored

Viet Nam will soon have a system of online-identity-card data to strengthen the controlling of prepaid telephone subscribers nationwide.

The system is being built by the Ministry of Public Security in co-ordination with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MOIC).

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan requested the MOIC to direct mobile enterprises to strictly execute State regulations related to mobile phone tariff promotions in order to encourage the development of post-paid packages as a priority.

Rail freight receives 10 per cent discount

Freight will discounted by 5 to 10 per cent from now until June 30, according to the Viet Nam Railways (VR).

Fares for the transporting of domestic fertiliser, salt and iron ore increased by 5 per cent, while cement and clinker were discounted by up to 10 per cent.

Train freight from the Sai Gon Railway Station to Kim Lien Station in central Da Nang City, from northern mountainous Lao Cai Province to Hai Phong City rose by 10 per cent, including cement, oil with the exception of apatite ore.

VNN/VOV/VNS