Man killed as motorbike bursts into flame

 

A man died on the spot when his motorcycle burst into flame on the street in Da Nang City Thursday.

 

Eyewitnesses said they saw the flame sparked and burned the motorcycle into ashes on Bach Dang Street at noon.

 

The burnt body of the driver was found on the sidewalks.

 

Authorities said the man was identified as Phan Thanh Son, a 30-year-old IT engineer of the Da Nang Rubber Company.

 

Local police are investigating the cause of the fire.

 

1 more Vinashin official arrested, 1 charged

 

Police from the Ministry of Public Security have arrested a senior Vinashin executive and indicted another as investigations continue into the beleaguered state-owned shipbuilding company’s debts.

 

Trinh Thi Hau, 47, former general director of the Vinashin Finance Company, an affiliate firm, was taken into custody Tuesday and her house and office were searched.

 

Hau has been charged with "contravening state regulations causing serious consequences."

 

The police have also filed similar charges against Ho Ngoc Tung, Vinashin's CFO and a board member, who is now in Australia for medical treatment.

 

According to the police, Tung and Hau connived to illegally approve loans totaling VND60 billion (US$2.87 million) using money raised through government bonds.

 

So far, eight Vinashin officials have been arrested and a warrant has been issued for Giang Kim Dat, former business manager of a subsidiary company.

 

Vinashin’s outstanding debts now total around VND70 trillion ($3.36 billion).

 

Jilted Singaporean man sets house on fire

 

A 62-year-old Singaporean man set his rented house in Ho Chi Minh City on fire to kill himself Tuesday after becoming angry and frustrated with his 30-year-old girlfriend.

 

Lee Choong Hian and N.Q.T, his girlfriend, both survived with injuries.

 

Lee said T. recently seemed to be indifferent towards him and kept going out.

 

They lived in a three-story house in Binh Chanh District.

 

Vietnam learns nuclear regulations from US

 

Vietnamese officials are learning experiences in licensing the construction of nuclear power plants from US experts at a seminar being held from February14-18 in Hanoi .

 

The seminar is part of a cooperation framework between the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Department of Vietnam and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC).

 

The seminar is held as Vietnam is working on regulatory documents for the construction of Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant, which is scheduled for 2014.

 

Victims sue after UK citizens assaulted at club

 

Le Thi Tuyet Linh, 19, one of the people assaulted by security guards at the Sailing Club bar in coastal Nha Trang City last month, has requested local law agencies to indict the attackers.

 

On February 16, Linh sent a letter of accusation to the Police Department and People’s Procuracy of both southern Khanh Hoa Province and its capital city of Nha Trang to ask them to strictly punish the attackers.

 

At over 1 am January 30, Linh, her two sisters, her brother-in-law – UK citizen Matthew Paul Shaul – and Richach, Matthew’s brother, came to the Sailing Club bar at the beachside park at Nha Trang City for drinks.

 

They were told by security guards to leave a bag of belongings at the guard-house for security reasons. They did so but were given no receipt for the keeping of the bag.

 

Later, the group left the bar to walk along the beach.

 

The group returned to the Club for more drinks at about 3:00 am in the morning. Half an hour later, they asked security staff for their bag and were told that their bag was lost and that security could not bear responsibility for the loss.

 

A quarrel broke out between the two sides. Linh was punched several times in the face and in the stomach.

 

Additional security was called in by a man in a black vest. In total, nearly 20 personnel reportedly attacked the group of 5 tourists.

 

The attackers also challenged the group to call police.

 

Following the advice of bystanders, they called the emergency police 113, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

 

After waiting for a long time but no police came, the group called a taxi to bring the injured to hospital.

 

Matthew required 6 stitches on his upper lip, Linh suffered injuries to her spleen, and Richach had his ribs broken.

 

On the evening of January 30, Mr. Robert, who was in charge of the night shift at the Sailing Club bar, came to Ngan Ha hotel, where Linh and her relatives were staying, to offer an apology.

 

The group reported the case to the police departments of Loc Tho Ward, Nha Trang City and Khanh Hoa Province, asking them to handle the case strictly.

 

On February 1, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc, Matthew’s wife, came to the UK General Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City for assistance. The agency said it would ask local authorities for an explanation on the incident.

 

On the morning of February 9, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Ba My, deputy head of the Nha Trang City Police Department, said that his department had received a relevant report from the local police and that the victims had not yet lodged a complaint.

 

Indictment filed against 7 in deadly train crash

 

Bien Hoa City’s prosecuting authorities yesterday signed an order to initiate indictment against the seven currently detained in connection with a train crash on the Ghenh bridge that killed two on February 6.

 

The city Prosecuting Office also extended their detention to a further 3 months.

 

They are Bui Van Thuan (born in 1971), Tran Van Thoi (1984), Tran Viet Hai (1981), Nguyen Van Luong (1957) – employees responsible for the train crossing barrier and To Quang Toan (1971), in charge of traffic signal.

 

They are facing charges of “irresponsibility causing serious consequences” while chief driver Nguyen Van Tuy (1968) and assistant driver Nguyen Xuan Phu (1964) are facing charges of “infringing on railway regulations”.

 

On the same day, the prosecuting agency also extended detention against two taxi drivers - Nguyen Hung Quoc and Tran Minh Chau as they are suspected of causing the traffic jam in the first place that triggered the accident.

 

Two people died on the spot and 26 others were injured when the S2 train heading for Hanoi smashed into six vehicles being stuck on the railway track that runs along the Ghenh Bridge in Bien Hoa city near Ho Chi Minh City at 8pm.

 

Passengers stuck in the traffic jam started to scramble out of their vehicles as the train moved forward while others screamed and ran away, creating a massive stampede.

 

According to local police, this is the worst railway accident ever in Bien Hoa - the capital town of Dong Nai province.

 

Huge blaze hits central aquatic market

 

All food, beverage and other products were burnt to ashes when a fire swept through Nha Trang aquatic market in Khanh Hoa central province at 10:00 pm last night.

 

Fortunately, no human casualty was reported.

 

The fire broke out from the logistic area and then quickly spread to the electrical system, panicking hundreds of traders and customers.

 

Eyewitnesses said they saw a spark on an electric wire which spread to the whole market within seconds.

 

Two fire trucks were mobilized to the scene.

 

Firemen battled for more than one hour before the blaze was brought under control at 11:30 pm.

 

The cause is put down to a short electrical circuit, according to the market’s managing board.

 

$154 mln to improve Ho Chi Minh City water system

 

The Saigon Water Supply Corporation has got approval to upgrade its supply system in Ho Chi Minh City to reduce water losses.

 

The five-year task, due to start in June this year, will cost US$154 million, of which the Asian Development Bank will provide $138 million and the city government the rest.

 

Sawaco plans to build a pipeline to carry water from the Binh Thai crossroad in District 9 to the central districts, set up a monitoring center for water loss prevention, and upgrade all deteriorating pipelines in the city.

 

Water loss has now reached an astronomical 40 percent due to leaks in the old pipeline system, according to Sawaco.

 

The system stretches a total of 3,350 kilometers, supplying 1.7 million cubic meters of water a day. However, almost 700 kilometers of the pipes were laid more than 30 years ago.

 

Dalat murder suspect hangs himself

 

A man wanted on suspicion of killing an old woman to rob her gold killed himself in a locked house in Dalat Tuesday.

 

Nguyen Van Quang, 39, hanged himself in a staircase even as the police laid siege outside.

 

When they stormed the house, they found Quang dead.

 

He was the main suspect in the killing of his neighbor named Truong Thi Le, a 74-year-old gold saleswoman, who was found dead in a stream near a highway February 7.

 

The police said the murderer may have detained the woman before killing her and throwing her body into the stream.

 

She was last seen on January 27 after a man who introduced himself as a gold buyer drove her away on a motorcycle.

 

According to her family, the man had told her he wanted to buy 750 grams.

 

The police are continuing their investigation.

 

Teen robbers uses toy gun to rob students, nabbed

 

Police yesterday busted a gang of three teen robbers, who carried out more than 10 robberies targeting students using plastic guns in Kon Tum City.

 

The Central Highland city’s police arrested H.V.P., D.M.N., and L.H.T., all of them 11th graders in the city.

 

The three, all aged 17, admitted to police they had conducted 13 robberies since early January 2011, targeting high school students.

 

They would use a knife or a toy gun to attack and rob students who was walking or riding bicycle alone after school.

 

On the afternoon of February 13 alone, the gang carried out three robberies on Thi Sach, Le Hong Phong and Ly Tu Trong Streets.

 

Most prominent was one in which a gang member pressed a gun into the head of a student named Le Hoai Ph. in front of the Tran Hung Dao High School to rob a mobile phone.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan Dong, deputy head of Thang Nhat Ward’s force, said the gang used three motorbikes to conduct their crimes.

 

Police have impounded the three motorbikes, two mobile phones, a plastic toy gun, and VND334,000 (US$17).

 

Government Office asked to improve administrative reform

 

A meeting to review the activities of the working group and Prime Minister’s advisory board on administrative reform was held by the Government Office in Hanoi on February 19.

 

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung praised the responsibility of the working group and the advisor board over the past three years for joining hands to work towards administrative reforms which have gained some positive results.

 

For the first time, a national database on the administrative process was established, making Vietnam one of the top ten countries in implementing the administrative reform. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to domestic and international experts, organisations, staff and especially the businesses and people that have paid attention to the issue and supported the Government.

 

He said that administrative reform is a good policy, a breakthrough towards building a transparent, united, effective and efficient system to fight corruption and strengthen the capacity of the administration. It shows the country’s nature to serve the interests of the people and businesses through the course of development.

 

Mr. Hung noted that administrative reform is one of the key issues in the entire political system. A solid administrative system with a good relationship with the people will require its staff to enhance their capacity. The daily changes in the system will create new administrative regulations which can override older ones. Staff should control the new regulations effectively and replace outdated ones.

 

Administrative reform is a strategic reform, a revolutionary change against obstacles and mechanisms that cause a lack of transparency in the system. It is of extreme socio-economic importance, he added.

 

After three years of implementation (2007-2010), administrative reform through Project 30 has achieved some positive results to fulfill the Government’s commitment to create a solid and democratic people- and business-centred administration.

 

The project finished the statistical works in 2009, and published the national database of administrative regulations on the internet with over 5,400 administrative formalities, 9,000 documents and 100,000 statistics. It has also helped standardise and unify administrative regulations in each city and province so businesses and people can access and supervise their implementation more easily.

 

After reviewing the project in December 2010, the Government issued 25 resolutions to simplify nearly 5,000 regulations of 24 ministries and departments under State management. This will help reduce costs for businesses and individuals by 37 percent (around VND30 trillion annually).

 

On the occasion, the Government Office introduced a department on administrative reform control which is in charge of inspecting the implementation of administrative reform in ministries, departments, cities and provinces across the country and cooperating with relevant agencies to receive feedback and make proposals to tackle problems related to administrative procedures.

 

The Government Office also presented Prime Minister’s and Minister and Chairman of the Government Office’s certificates of merit to outstanding individuals and organisations for their contributions to simplifying the administrative procedures.

 

Ministry: Imported drugs must have one year expiry date

 

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has laid out strict guidelines for imported drugs to have a minimum one year expiry date.

 

The new guidelines for imported and exported drugs took effect on February 14. Under the new regulations imported drugs with more than a 24 month expiry date should have a minimum remaining period of 18 months when they enter into Vietnam while drugs with a less than 24 month expiry date should have a minimum remaining period of 12 months.

 

For unregistered vaccines or biological medications the expiry date before entering the country must be valid for at least two thirds of its period, while for registered products the expiry date must still be valid for half that time duration.

 

MOH also calls for raw ingredients for drugs to have an expiry date of over 36 months when imported into the country. Drugs for humanitarian aid with a 24 month or more expiry date must have a remaining valid 12 months when entering Vietnam.

 

Battle to heal wounds of AO continues, say U.S. experts

 

More than 30 years after the bullets stopped flying in Vietnam, a battle rages to help people still suffering from the effects of Agent Orange, U.S. experts said at a discussion held in North Carolina state on Feb 16.

 

During a panel discussion at the University of North Carolina, Charles Bailey, Director of Ford Foundation's Special Initiative on Agent Orange/Dioxin, said that Agent Orange was an herbicide, later discovered to be contaminated with the toxic nerve gas dioxin, that the U.S. military sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam to hamper guerrilla operations. He added: "If you use herbicides to kill the trees and shrubs, it exposes the tropical soil to tropical rains and degradation, and it’s very hard to get anything to grow again".

 

Other experts said that lingering health and environmental problems from Agent Orange affected an estimated 3 million Vietnamese, including 150,000 children.

 

Research has shown that an increased number of Vietnamese children have been born with severe birth defects and Down syndrome since the war ended in 1975, panelists said.

 

"Wars aren’t over when the last soldiers leave the battlefield," said Bob Edgar, President of the non-profit Common Cause, which works on the Agent Orange issue in Vietnam.

 

As a congressman when the Vietnam War was ending, Edgar pushed for a legislation to help veterans who has suffered from Agent Orange. Now, his focus is on the people of Vietnam.

 

North Carolina - based e-paper WRAL.com in an article posted on Feb. 16 onto "http://www.wral.com" quoted Edgar as saying at the discussion that he had seen "people there affected by unbelievable birth defects, spina bifida, cleft pallets and hair lips and other facial disfigurements".

 

According to Bailey, a number of U.S. groups, including the Ford Foundation and Common Cause, aim to raise 30 million USD each year over the next decade to clean contaminated Agent Orange hot spots and provide health services for families and children affected by Agent Orange, of which, during the war, the U.S. military sprayed 20 million gallons (1 gallon=3.785 litres) to destroy some 5 million acres (1 acre=4,046 sq.m) in Vietnam.

 

Bailey said: "Rather than continue the 40-year acrimony over the science, we're simply saying: This is a humanitarian issue, and we can do something about it".

 

Over VND37 bln for ethnic villages in Dak Lak

 

By the end of 2010, more than 1,160 agencies and units in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak had set up ties with villages inhabited by ethnic minority people to help them in their work and life.

 

The figure was released at a conference hosted by the provincial Party Committee on Feb. 17 to review the six-year implementation of the brotherhood establishment between government agencies and businesses and ethnic minority-inhabited villages.

 

During the 2004-2010 period, the units presented these villages received gifts and various equipment and goods needed for their people’s work and daily life worth over VND37 billion.

 

Thousands of cadres were also sent to the villages to help draw up their regulations and conventions, and to organize literacy and primary education courses as well as cultural, artistic and sport activities.

 

HSBC Vietnam offers funding for community projects

 

The Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Vietnam Ltd has agreed to provide financial assistance for international and local non-governmental organisations.

 

The deadline for application is February 28.

 

Priority will be given to projects aimed at providing education and life skills for street children, orphans and children in care, as well as vocational training for underprivileged young women in Vietnam.

 

HSBC Vietnam will select and transfer money to projects which ensure long-term interests for the community in late March within the framework of the Future First programme.

 

Over the past four years, 22 projects benefiting disadvantaged children in Vietnam have been funded by Future First Global and HSBC Vietnam totalling over VND10 billion.

 

People without papers to be granted nationality in HCMC

   

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee will allow people living in the city without official nationality to become Vietnamese citizens.

 

Those who’ve lived in the city continually for twenty years, or since July 1, 1989, will be granted status as Vietnamese nationals.

 

Individual districts will make lists of residents who fall into this category. After being identified, these people will be given instructions on the necessary procedures needed to give them legal status.

 

Afterwards, a final list will be presented by the People’s Committee to the Misistry of Justice, the prime minister and the president for their approval.

 

Saltwater intrusion turns worse in Mekong Delta

 

Saltwater intrusion has come earlier and deeper inland in the Mekong Delta’s coastal provinces this year, said and official of the Southern Hydrometeorology Center.

 

Nguyen Minh Giam, deputy director of the center, told the Daily that the water levels on southern rivers were now the lowest in as many years, causing salinity intrusion to come sooner as seen in 2003, 2004, 2005. But this is not the highest salinity level on record.

 

Long An, Ben Tre, and Tra Vinh provinces among others have suffered from saltwater intrusion this year. A study of the Southern Hydrometeorology Center shows that saltwater intrusion has thrush 30 to 40km inland in such coastal provinces as Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, or about 10km deeper than last year.

 

The Southern Institute for Water Resources Research forecasts that saltwater intrusion will be the highest between March and April 15. Specifically, in April, the salinity on the Cai Lon River will be some ten grams per liter at 15km inland, some four grams per liter at about 25 kilometers, and one gram at 40km from the estuary.

 

On the Ham Luong River, the saltwater will be penetrating as much as 50km inland.

 

Tang Duc Thang, director of the institute, said that the saltwater intrusion level may change upon the water flow from upstream the Mekong River.

 

“We are keeping track of the water flow in the upper Mekong River. With the research we hope to gather sufficient data to give more accurate prediction on saltwater intrusion in the long term,” Thang said.

 

City reaches out to laborers at bus stations

 

The HCMC Youth Job Placement Center has opened two employment offices at the Western and Eastern coach stations, hoping to fill gaping holes in the city’s workforce left by the week-long Tet holiday.

 

Nguyen Van Sang, director of the Youth Job Placement Center, said 100 enterprises have joined the project to recruit around 10,000 workers who arrive from other provinces at the bus stations with basic salaries ranging from VND1.5 million to VND8 million per month. Volunteers will assist the migrants that accept positions with accommodation and transport.

 

Over 5,000 people so far have visited the bus-station-based offices to seek employment information but most of them haven’t applied. The offices will give the personal information of the job seekers to enterprises, Sang said.

 

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the HCMC Center of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information, said the project would help reduce the labor shortage after Tet as the city seeks to fill 40,000 positions. Many enterprises are struggling while they wait for workers to return from holidays.

 

Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of job placement center of the HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza), said enterprises at IPs and EPZs needed 5,000 laborers before Tet but the number has now soared to 10,000. “Businesses keep posting recruitment announcements as they have to expand production. Many workers won’t be returning after Tet,” Tung added.

 

Labor specialist Tran Dac Thanh of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said the 30% labor shortage in the industry was to be expected. However, only enterprises with low wages had serious shortages, while large companies such as Phong Phu, Viet Tien, Nha Be and Saigon were only waiting for a shortage of 3% to 10% of workers only after the New Year break.