Draft Decree on pavement open to submissions

The use of footpaths for non-traffic purposes should be allowed, providing 1.5m was kept clear for pedestrians, the Ministry of Transport has suggested.

The proposal is part of a draft decree on management and use of footpaths nation-wide.

Among other proposals are:

° Part of the footpath could be used for a funeral or wedding ceremony for up to two days.

° House builders could use a footpath and part of a road for off-loading material from 10pm to 6am, providing they had a permit.

° Footpaths and part of roads could be used for parking for festivals or cultural activities during a time of celebration.

° Footpaths could be used for campaigns and activities of the Party and State for up to 30 days, or longer by consultation with local authorities.

° Encroachment on highways and single-lane roads would not be allowed.

The ministry is taking submissions for the decree which will replace Decree No 11 issued in 2010.

Vietnam scholars win U.S. scientific research awards

Vietnam has recently earned two awards in the first round of a U.S. government program to fund scientific research in developing countries, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday in a press release.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have accordingly decided to provide grants to two research projects on climate change headed by Vietnamese scholars from local institutes and universities, with support from their Indonesian and American partners.

The two winning research projects include Assessment of Impacts of the Emission Reduction Measures of Short-lived Climate Forcers on Air Quality and Climate in Southeast Asia, and Research and Capacity Building on Reduced Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+) Livelihoods, and Vulnerability in Vietnam, both of which will be conducted from now until May 2015.

The funding is given under the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) awards, meant to award research collaboration grants to support and build scientific and technical capacity in the developing world.

PEER is a USAID-funded competitive grants program that is administered by the National Academy of Sciences in coordination with NSF.

Auto service workers aid Red Cross efforts

Employees of car service company Quang Duc Trade and Investment Joint Stock Co will join in humanitarian activities by the Viet Nam Red Cross Society.

Staff will help Red Cross provide emergency aid, respond to natural disasters and help victims of Agent Orange, and the disabled.

The Red Cross will help establish the company's natural disaster response team as well as mobilising them for humanitarian programmes.

$55 mil casino winning trial postponed

The District 1 People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City has delayed the trial for the lawsuit in which a Vietnamese-American man named Ly Sam is demanding that a city-based casino pay him the US$55.5 million he won while gambling in 2009.

Yesterday all of the plaintiff, defendants, witnesses and related parties were present at court for the trial under the chair of Judge Mai Xuan Binh, but the jury announced a postponement of the trial, for the reason that the prosecutor’s office needed more time to look into the case file.

All concerned parties will be notified of the date of the re-opening of the trial later, the jury said.

Sam, the plaintiff, is a 61-year-old American entrepreneur of Vietnamese origin, and the defendant is Dai Duong Joint Venture Company, which owns the Palazzo Club at the five-star Sheraton Saigon Hotel.

Sam filed a complaint to the court in HCMC after Dai Duong refused to pay him the exact winning amount US$55,542,291.70, which was shown on the screen of game machine No. 13 that he played at the club on October 25, 2009.

Dai Duong told Sam that due to “some fault” within the machine, the result was “invalid.” The company also said that due to technical faults, the actual winning amount was displayed in the wrong place on the screen.

Commenting on the lawsuit, lawyer Truong Thi Hoa, from the HCMC Bar Association, said that if Dai Duong claims that the machine was faulty when Sam put his coin into the machine to start his game, then it will have to provide evidence for this claim.

Shrimp disease less widespread this year

More than 38,380ha of shrimp pond, about 5 per cent of the total area, have been infected with hepatopancreas caseation disease, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

However, this is much less than last year, when more than 97,000ha, mainly in Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Ben Tre provinces, was affected.

Cabbie rips off Spanish tourists in HCM City

Ho Chi Minh City police yesterday, June 26, impounded a taxi and questioned its driver for posing as a Mai Linh (a famous taxi brand) employee, and for ripping off two Spanish tourists, asking them to pay prices 20 times higher than normal.

The price, however, was later cut by half, meaning it was still 10 times higher than it should have been.

On Monday night, Jose Angel Matas and Raquel Rviz took the taxi with license plate 51A-311.64 from Ben Thanh market in District 1 to Nguyen Thai Binh market, also in District 1 (a distance of a little over 1 km).

The normal fee for such a short trip would be VND20,000 (US$1), but the driver told them to pay nearly VND400,000 ($20), based on the taxi meter.

This cab’s outside appearance was similar to a Mai Linh taxi, a prestigious taxi brand.

Ms. Jose Angel Matas said she wanted to complain but the driver rumbled on in Vietnamese so she had to cough up the amount he was demanding.

However, in the end the driver returned half the amount to the tourists when they mentioned the police.

The Spanish customers were later given an invoice bearing a Mai Linh logo, but when they took it to the actual Mai Linh Company, they were told the invoice was fake.

They then reported the matter to local police who invited the driver - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Kiet - for a questioning session.

The police also impounded Kiet’s vehicle, which has been registered to deliver taxi services.

Kiet told police the fee was nearly VND40,000 and he received VND200,000, but did not return any change because “I thought it was a tip”.

City traffic inspectors from the Department of Transport are checking whether the taxi meter was rigged.

Flood-proof homes to be built for the poor

Flood-proof houses will be built for 700 poor households in 14 communes in seven provinces in the north central and central regions.

The price of a flood-proof house is estimated at least VND30 million (US$1,420).

Work will begin in October. Next March, the scheme, which is considered a pilot, will be assessed for large-scale application.

Inspectorate official held for revealing State secrets

Police in Khanh Hoa Province have detained a former official at the Government Inspectorate for disclosing a confidential report issued by the agency.

36-year-old Nguyen Manh Ha, of Hanoi’s Ba Dinh District, was arrested yesterday, three months after he was prosecuted for “intentionally revealing State secrets,” police said.

The police also seized Ha’s accomplice, Tran Anh Hung, 55, the general director of Tam Dao Marine Trading Service Joint Stock Company in Nha Trang City, who has been indicted for the same charge.

According to the case file, on June 18, 2010 the Inspectorate set up a team to inspect the progress of the construction of the Phuoc Long New Urban Area in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province.

The inspection was undertaken after the Inspectorate received a complaint from a local resident.

On October 27, 2010, when the inspection was completed, Ha sent a draft report on the results to Hung.

The report exposed serious wrongdoings committed by a number of officials in relation to in the project, and proposed that the corrupt case be referred to police for criminal investigations.

The officials under scrutiny were working for agencies in Khanh Hoa Province, Nha Trang City and the city’s Phuoc Long Ward.

Hung, a resident of Nha Trang, then met with those officials, showed them the report, and set forth conditions under which he could help them avoid prosecution for their offenses.

The officials later reported Hung’s actions to police, and he was dismissed by the Inspectorate.

Yesterday, the Inspectorate said three other officials at the agency had been given a reprimand for their loose management of confidential documents in relation to Hung’s case.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre