Cambodia-VN rail to cost $686m

A feasibility study on the construction of a 257km railway linking Cambodia and Viet Nam shows it will cost at least US$686 million.

The railway will be part of an intra-Asian railway that runs from Singapore to China via Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Under a scheme announced in 2008 to develop an intra-Asian railway, China has offered to contribute $500 million to build the Cambodia-Viet Nam stretch of the railway.

The overall cost estimate was announced on Wednesday by the Third Railway Survey and Design Institute from the Chinese Railway Ministry which began the study in July, 2009. The study results will be submitted to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for his approval.

The 275km railway will start in Kampong Speu Province's Oudong District, pass by Kratie Province's Snuol District and end at Viet Nam's Loc Ninh District in the southern border province of Binh Phuoc.

The $686 million cost does not include resettlement compensation to residents who have to leave their homes to make way for the line.

Experts said the railway could bring huge economic benefits to Cambodia, especially in agriculture and mineral exploitation.

At present, Cambodia is revamping the country's existing rail links, including the 254km southern line from the capital to Sihanoukville, and the 388 north line from Phnom Penh to the border with Thailand thanks to an Asian Development Bank loan worth $73 million.

Couple jailed for scattering nails on roads

Another motorbike repairman found guilty of scattering nails in Binh Duong Province has been sent to jail, the second in two weeks.

Pham Van Canh after his arrest last February. (Photo: Dan Tri)

Canh, originally from the central region but running the Thuan Phat motorbike repair shop in the district’s Thoi Hoa commune, told the police that he got the idea after himself having a similar experience a few months ago, when he had to pay a mechanic a large sum for a new tube after he got a flat tire.
He then bought scrap metal, cut them into small sharp pieces, and scattered them on nearby streets at 11:30 am every day within a radius of 400 meters from his shop.
He also got his wife and employees to do it.
He would charge VND60,000–90,000 (US$2.9-4.4) for old tubes he bought for just VND23,000-32,000, and VND190,000-250,000 for new ones for a 50 percent profit.

He also confessed to damaging spark plugs while changing the tubes, and charging up to VND115,000 for a replacement though it cost just VND15,000.
By scattering the nails, he sold an estimated 600 tubes, 130 tires, and 30 spark plugs, earning more than VND12 million (US$584).
He was arrested last February.
The Ben Cat People’s Court also banned the couple from working as motorbike mechanics for three years after their release.
On July 14 the province’s Thu Dau Mot town People’s Court sentenced Nguyen The Cong, 31, to 18 months in jail after he was caught scattering nails on National Highway 13 last February.

Police take in fake Buddhist monks

Following a tip-off from a Buddhist dignitary, police in Gia Nghia Town in Dak Nong Province yesterday, July 21, caught two men pretending to be monks to ask for alms.
Yesterday, after being informed by locals about two monks who frequently begged at the Gia Nghia Market, the Venerable Thich Quang Hien of the provincial Buddhist Sangha went to the scene to verify.
After speaking to them, he realized they were imposters and reported to the police, who detained them.
The two have been identified as Nguyen Van Binh and Tran Van Dinh of Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City.
They told the police they had received VND1 million (US$48.5) in alms just that morning, and also confessed to posing as monks often in the town to beg.

Woman sues media for using her photo for 8 years

A woman in Vinh Long Province has filed a suit claiming damages of VND200 million (US$9,700) against a photographer and 14 newspapers, newswires, and magazines for using her photos without her consent.
Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, 26, of Cai Von town had claimed “loss of honor, dignity and prestige” in a suit she filed last March against Nguyen Vinh Hien, who took photos of her eight years ago and used them without her knowledge and consent.
She has now added 14 media agencies to the list of defendants and doubled the compensation amount. She also wants them to stop using her images.
In her suit, Trang said that her photo titled Cô gái vườn bưởi (Girl in the grapefruit garden) had been used since 2004 by many publications, calendars, and advertisers.
Hien, a resident of Vinh Long city, told the court that in 2003 Trang and another student had agreed to pose for him in fruit orchards to promote the province.
But there was no written agreement.
Among the photos is one showing Trang in a grapefruit garden that was published in local newspapers that year.

It had later found its way online and many media agencies used it without citing the source or the name of the photographer, Hien said.
He denied ever receiving any royalty for it from any user.
On July 7 the court began to hear the case before postponing it because of the plaintiff’s absence.
It would now be heard early next month, the court said.

Vietnam signs visa exemption pact with Seychelles

 Vietnamese and Seychelles holders of diplomatic or official passports will no longer need visas to visit each other’s country. 

An agreement to waive the visas was signed by Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung and Seychelles Ambassador Philippe Le Gall in Hanoi on July 21.

Hand, foot and mouth disease spreads to adults

Two adults have been found with hand, foot and mouth disease in Ben Tre Province.
The southern province’s Nguyen Dinh Chieu General Hospital is treating two women who contracted the disease from their children, Dr Pham Thi Ngoc Chieu, head of its pediatrics department, said yesterday.
T.T.D., 33, of Ben Tre city was hospitalized July 14 with typical HFMD symptoms like fever, rashes on her palm and foot, and ulcers in her mouth.
Three day earlier, her child had got the disease.
T., 28, was discharged after treatment a few days ago.
Both patients have improved, Chieu added.
Meanwhile, two other adults in Da Nang and Quang Ngai Province are suspected of having HFMD and samples have been sent to the Nha Trang-based Pasteur Institute for tests, health authorities in the two places reported.

Nearly 100 suffer from food poisoning

Nearly 100 workers were taken to hospital yesterday suffering from food poisoning after a lunch at the Taiwan Latex shoe company in the Linh Trung 1 Processing Zone in Thu Duc District, HCM City.

Many lost consciousness, had headaches or were nauseous a few hours after having the same lunch menu of meat balls with tomato sauce, China squash soup, fried chayote and rice.

Some workers said the meat balls were not fresh.

HCM City's health authorities have collected food samples for checking.

New heat wave attacks northern, central Vietnam

Some areas in the north, especially Hanoi, and the central region have entered a new heat wave as of today.

The temperature in Hanoi has risen to 36 Celsius degrees and in Central Vietnam, to 37 Celsius degrees.

This new heat wave, which isn’t as severe as the previous one, will persist for 2 to 3 days, the Center of Hydrometeorology Forecast said.

Prosecutors want brutal ethics teacher rehired

A high school teacher who was fired 5 years ago for brutally beating up his student has secured support from the Supreme Prosecutor Office in appealing against the sack after years studying law to become a lawyer.

The Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Hanoi officially appealed against the decision to fire Le Cao Tanh for causing a nasal bone fracture and stomach injury to his 10th grade student when the latter swore at him in Da Lat city.

On 12, December, 2006, Tanh, then a teacher teaching ethics, kicked into Pham Hoang Minh Tri’s face and belly inside Nguyen Du High School.

Tanh was summarily sacked, sued the school but lost the case at the first-instance court in Lam Dong province. Since then, he has spent four years studying law and has entered the bar.

The former student-beating ethics teacher is now practicing law in Lam Dong’s Da Lat city.

Dien Bien reburies remains of 16 soldiers

The historic site relating to Vietnam’s final victory over French aggressors in northwestern Dien Bien province witnessed a memorial and reburial ceremony on July 21 for 16 soldiers who had died in Laos. 

A crowd of people stood in rain in commemoration of the anti-US soldiers during the memorial process, which was attended by special taskforces from the Vietnamese and Lao Governments.
Mua A Son, a representative of the provincial administration and ethnic minority groups, recalled traditional relations between the two countries, which have stood the test of time during the past wars against foreign aggressors.
Also present at the event were representatives from the neighbouring Lao provinces of Udomsay, Luang Prabang, Sayabuly, Phong Saly, Luang Namtha and Bokeo.

Hanoi University under construction

Breaking the ground on road No 11 is the first step of a major and long-awaited project to build Hanoi National University.

Attending the event on July 20, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan asked the Ministry of Construction and contractors to closely supervise progress to make sure the university does not cut corners on the nation's biggest training centre. 

The university, based in Hoa Lac Area in suburban Hanoi, spans 1,000ha and is slated for completion by 2020, when it will serve 10,000 students and 60,000 by 2030. 

The university is set to become a modern complex. A management building and libraries will be centrally located, with faculties, schools, research centres, dormitories and supporting units surrounding them. 

It is expected to reduce the overload that universities in inner districts currently face. 

Nhan also suggested the construction ministry to deliver a progress report to the Prime Minister every three months. 

In 2003, the Government assigned Hanoi National University to map out its own project, requesting the first phase be finished by 2009. 

However, the project's design did not satisfy the demand to build an advanced university complex. 

It was then handed over to the Ministry of Construction at the end of 2008.

Vietnam fishermen detained in Tanzania set free

Five Vietnamese fishing boat crew members who had been detained in Tanzania since March 2009 left the country for their homeland on Thursday.

They included Tran Van Phuong, Pham Dinh Suong, Tran Van Thanh, Cao Vuong and Nguyen Tuan from the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

They were employed as fishermen with Taiwanese employers under labour contracts with the Tourist, Trade and Labour Export JSC (TTLC) of the Vietnam Motors Industry Corporation (VINAMOTOR).

After they were arrested, the Vietnamese Embassy in Tanzania promptly implemented citizen protection measures, actively coordinating with concerned agencies both at home and abroad to ensure the crew members’ safety and to seek acquittal for them.

The embassy helped the crew members deal with difficulties in their daily lives, provided them with health care and completed procedures to bring them home.

The Vietnamese crew members were scheduled to arrive in Vietnam on July 22.

Hanoi youth launch voluntary activities in Vientiane

Thirty-six members of the Hanoi chapter of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union started their voluntary activities in Vientiane, Laos on Wednesday.

This is the first time the Hanoi chapter has sent members to Laos for volunteer service.

For one week, the group, including agricultural experts and young doctors and nurses, will travel to Hat Xai Phong district, Vientiane, to provide free medical check-ups, medicine and farming guidance for 1,000 people, present gifts to poor families, teach Vietnamese and share their experience in youth mission development.

They will also hand over 13 computers and 100 DVDs to local youth union chapters.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre