Call to further probe beating of reporters

The Journalists' Association of Dong Nai Province has asked police to further investigate the case of two local reporters who were beaten and threatened to be killed while working on a story.

As reported earlier by the Vietnam News Agency, on September 21 reporters Thien Vuong and Huu Thang, working for the Dong Nai Television and Radio and Thong Nhat District Television and Radio, respectively, were filming traffic police on the National Highway 1 who were apparently unlawfully stopping cars and other vehicles for inspection.

As they filmed at the section crossing the Hung Loc Commune of Thong Nhat District, two men approached the reporters, attacked them and confiscated their equipment. The men were later apprehended.

After studying the reporters' images, the press association has requested the police to conduct investigations to make sure the reporters' rights are protected.

They also called on police to identify the traffic police team operating on the National 1A Highway at that time.

France helps Da Lat develop urban planning

A draft master plan for the resort city of Da Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong until 2030 with a vision towards 2050 was discussed at a seminar in Paris on September 26.

The draft was jointly carried out by the France’s Interscène urban planning and landscaping company and the Southern Sub-Institute of Urban and Rural Planning.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said apart from being a favourite tourist destination blessed with mild climate and a unique ecological system for more than a century, Da Lat has also emerged as a political, economic and cultural centre of Lam Dong province.

It is also expected to become a hi-tech research and training centre for the country’s agricultural sector. Therefore, the Vietnamese Government wants a plan that balances development and the preservation of Da Lat’s own characteristics.

Thierry Huau, Director of Interscène said the French experts have paid special attention to the “poetic” feature of the Central Highland city. He stressed Da Lat’s advantages in having fertile soil which is favourable for agricultural and tourism development. However, it still lacks a linked-up infrastructure and public transport system, Huau said.

Nguyen Xuan Tien, Chairman of the Lam Dong provincial People’s Committee said the plan will be submitted to the Government for approval.

A ceremony to announce the master plan is slated for later this year to mark the city’s 120th anniversary.
Dengue fever affects up to 17 people

The first dengue fever outbreak in Ha Noi this season has been recorded in Ha Dong District's Phuc La Ward.
Seven patients tested positive and 10 more are suspected cases, announced the city's Preventive Medicine Centre on Monday.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has been working with local preventive medicine centres to prevent an epidemic.

No SARS-like virus detected in Vietnam

Vietnam has not detected any new virus coming from the same family as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), says the Ministry of Health (MoH).

In response to the complex progress of the appearance of the new virus, warned by the WHO, the MoH’s Preventive Medicine Department has asked the national epidemical surveillance system to strengthen monitoring work and effectively deal with the virus once it is detected in Vietnam.

The nation’s health watchdog has close contact with WHO officials to keep abreast of the virus development.

The Preventive Medicine Department has asked people not to be worried as no signs of virus transmission have been confirmed to identify the cause of the disease.

The WHO on September 23 announced the detection of a new virus coming from the same family as SARS after a 49-year-old Qatari man tested positive in the UK.

SARS, which emerged in China in 2002, killed 800 people around the world.

Insurance maternity allowance tax free

The maternity allowance from the Social Insurance Fund is not subject to personal income tax, announced an urgent document sent from the General Department of Taxation (GDT) to its local departments earlier this week.

The document confirmed that the allowance paid once for giving birth or adopting a child was among those exempted from taxation in accordance with the Law on Social Insurance and the Labour Code.

A document issued by the general department last week guiding taxation of personal income confused many workers as it also lists maternity allowance in the taxed category.

Dengue fever affects up to 17 people

The first dengue fever outbreak in Ha Noi this season has been recorded in Ha Dong District's Phuc La Ward.

Seven patients tested positive and 10 more are suspected cases, announced the city's Preventive Medicine Centre on Monday.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has been working with local preventive medicine centres to prevent an epidemic.

Police bust heroin trafficking rings

Ha Noi Police have smashed two large-scale transnational drug trafficking and trading rings.

They said yesterday that they had caught two people red-handed. They were allegedly carrying 29 cakes of heroin, one kilo of ecstasy and were armed with a 14-bullet handgun.

Further investigation led to two more people allegedly involved. The arrested people have admitted transporting heroin from Laos to Viet Nam and then to China.

In another case, a foreigner was arrested with four kilos of heroin while staying in a hotel in Hoan Kiem District.

VNN/VOV/VNS