Corruption signs found in losses of Vietnam's major shipbuilder 

  

Signs of embezzlement and other corruption have been found during investigations into the huge losses suffered by state-owned shipbuilder Vinashin, the Government Inspectorate has said.  

 

Nine “specific problems” have been transferred to police for investigations, Tran Van Truyen, chief of the inspectorate told the press on the sidelines of an anti-corruption conference related to minerals mining held in cooperation with the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi Wednesday.

 

Police had arrested eight of Vinashin’s former officials to investigate charges of mismanagement after the shipbuilder was found to have racked up debts totaling VND86 trillion (US$4.4 billion) in June 2010. Pham Thanh Binh, the company’s former chairman and chief executive officer, is among the detainees.

 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his subordinates were also held responsible for mismanagement, but the Party Politburo deemed their offences did not warrant punishment.

 

Since the scandal was exposed last year, Vinashin has undergone restructuring plans and made "initial progress," Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hung told  the National Assembly in March.

 

Concerted effort required for road safety: PM 

 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent a dispatch on May 26 ordering relevant ministries and agencies to make concerted and determined efforts to reduce traffic congestion and road accidents across the country.

 

A traffic accident in Thai Nguyen province. PM criticized Thai Nguyen where death tolls in traffic accidents had jumped in the last three years.

 

Mr. Dung also asked the National Committee on Transport Safety to raise the safety bar levels and find firm and effective ways to curb traffic accidents.

 

The number of traffic accidents in the past three years fell by 5.4 percent, the death toll dropped by 13.2 percent and injury cases reduced by 6 percent.

 

Although traffic accidents have decreased, violation cases have soared because more drivers are drinking alcohol and not wearing helmets while driving. There is also more encroachment on roads and railroads.

 

The PM applauded the 20 provinces that implemented drastic measures to avoid traffic accidents and reduce the fatality toll. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the southern province of Dong Nai, An Giang, the northern province of Ha Nam, the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and the highland provinces of Dak Nong and Dak Lak were hailed for their achievements in preventing traffic accidents.

 

However, the prime minister criticized the Mekong delta province of Kien Giang and the northern province of Thai Nguyen where death tolls in traffic accidents had jumped in the last three years.

 

Terminate bird flu vaccine: deputy PM   

 

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung issued orders on May 26 to immediately terminate use of the bird flu vaccine as the virus strain was showing signs of transforming into a more lethal form, as proposed earlier by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). 

 

MARD was asked to inform relevant agencies, local administrations and farmers about the situation.  The governments must now adopt other preventive measures to curb fresh outbreaks from spreading.

 

According to the Department of Animal Health, a new virus strain H5N1 has appeared in Vietnam, which is presently circulating in China. Vaccine H5N1 Re-5 proved ineffective to some virus strains. MARD has directed researchers to find new vaccines.

 

WHO award for Dr. Ly Ngoc Kinh 

 

The World Health Organization is honouring Dr Ly Ngoc Kinh, Senior Consultant and Former Director of Vietnam Steering Committee On Smoking and Health (VINACOSH) with the "World No Tobacco Day 2011 award" for his efforts in controlling the use of tobacco in Vietnam.  

                        

In its citation, WHO said Dr Ly Ngoc Kinh had made great contributions towards the campaign in ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Vietnam and helping draft the National Action Plan for Implementation of the WHO FCTC in 2009.  He is now a member of the drafting group for the tobacco control law that awaits approval by the National Assembly in 2012.

 

More than 5 million people worldwide die each year from tobacco-related diseases, more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

 

The WHO FCTC was developed in response to a global tobacco epidemic. To date, more than 170 countries have ratified the FCTC. Vietnam was amongst the first countries to have ratified the FCTC in 2004.

 

Crime gang leader arrested in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta 

 

Thach Quang, 43, arrested in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu for illegal posession of arms.

 

Police in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu have arrested a man believed to be the leader of a local criminal gang and confiscated several illegal weapons.

 

The police raid netted four guns, grenades and hundreds of bullets among other things at the residence and workplace of 43-year-old Thach Quang. 

 

Quang, who had many previous convictions for causing public disorder and deliberately injuring others, is also said to have led his gang’s work as racketeers.

 

After arresting Quang on Tuesday, the police also detained Tran Van Hung, 34, and Nguyen Nguyen, 44, for illegal possession of weapons.

 

Three other people in Quang’s gang were arrested earlier for extorting property, deliberately injuring others and illegal possession of weapons.

 

Further investigation is underway into the case, police said.

 

Vietnam demands Brunei’s release of fishermen 

  

Vietnam’s foreign ministry Wednesday asked Brunei’s agencies to clarify the arrest of 11 Vietnamese fishermen, and release them soon. 

 

According to border guards in the central province of Phu Yen, the boat of Do Van Phung together with its crew were detained by Brunei’s navy last Saturday. They were fishing about 40 sea miles off the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago, which belongs to Vietnam’s territorial waters.

 

So far Brunei has confirmed the arrest, Tuoi Tre reported. 

 

In other news, authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai on Wednesday said China has confiscated properties and seafood of a local boat when it was fishing at the waters of Hoang Sa. 

 

Tons of stolen goods were taken and worth an estimated VND200 million ($9,675).

 

Previously a boat in Ly Son District was also robbed by China with some 3.5 tons of fish and 450 liters of oil worth around VND160 million ($7,740).

 

Man serving death sentence acquitted of crime 

 

After four trials, two of which sentenced him to death, and seven years in prison maintaining his innocence, Le Ba Mai walked free on Tuesday (May 24).

 

The People’s Court of the southern Binh Phuoc Province found Mai, now 29, not guilty of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in November 2004.

 

The court said there was insufficient evidence to charge Mai with the crime. It also found conflicts in the testimonies of the only witness as well as in Mai’s statements, including his so-called confession. Critical mistakes were also made in both legal and investigative procedures, court officials said.

 

According to the original indictment by the Binh Phuoc prosecutors’ office, on November 12, 2004, Mai, who was working for a farm, saw 11-year-old Thi Ut and her nine-year-old younger sister Thi Hang picking cassava in a garden.

 

Mai persuaded Ut to go with him on his bike to a jackfruit garden nearby, raped her, and strangled her to death with her pants. Five days later, he was arrested and gave a full confession to the police, the indictment said.

 

At a trial held in the province in 2005, Mai was found guilty and sentenced to death. Later the same year, the  Supreme People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the verdict.

 

However, Mai and his family maintained his innocence, claiming that his confession was coerced by the police. They submitted several letters to related agencies calling for a retrial.

 

In late 2006, the Supreme People’s Procuracy (SPP), the nation’s highest prosecutorial agency, called for a retrial, citing many mistakes made by provincial investigators, including a failure to preserve evidence collected at the crime scene and incorrect written records.

 

The SPP also found contradictions in the testimony of Hang, the sole witness for the prosecution. For example, she first told police that she saw a “young man” giving Ut a ride on his motorbike, and only said it was Mai after he was arrested.

 

Mai’s testimony was also in conflict with crime scene investigation records and evidence, and his allegation that he was coerced into confession was also cited as a reason for a retrial.

 

In May 2007 the SPP canceled the verdicts of the first and second trials and called for further investigations.

 

At the latest trial held by the Binh Phuoc People’s Court, one of his co-workers, Nguyen Van Trong testified that Mai was applying fertilizers at the farm along with Trong at the time the crime was said to have been committed. It was the first time Trong’s testimony was taken.

 

It was not clear if further action would be taken against those responsible for the earlier investigation and indictment or if Mai would receive compensation for his unjust imprisonment.

 

2011 Summer Camp for Overseas Vietnamese to be held in July

 

The 2011 Summer Camp for Overseas Vietnamese will be held in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan province from July 19-22, said the State Commission on Overseas Vietnamese.

 

During the four-day event, young overseas Vietnamese will visit the Hung Kings temple, the zoological and botanical garden, the Vietnam History Museum, the Peace Village at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City; as well as the Duc Thanh school and famous places in Phan Thiet.

 

The annual event, coordinated by the State Commission on Overseas Vietnamese and the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, offers a good chance for young overseas Vietnamese to learn about the history and culture of their homeland and promote the country’s image to international friends.

 

ADB helps people have access to clean water

 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on May 27 signed two loan agreements totalling US$198 million to improve clean water access for residents in Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Of the total, US$138 million will be used to cover the cost of a project aiming to reduce water losses, increase water supply networks and enhance the performance of Saigon Water Supply Corporation.

 

The project was expected to benefit 500,000 residents in HCM City and help 20,000 families have access to piped water for the first time, contributing to the goal of increasing the city’s piped water coverage from 82 percent to 95 percent by 2050.

 

The project will also help to reduce water losses in the city from 40 percent to 25 percent by 2050.

 

Meanwhile, a US$60 million loan provides supplementary financing to Phuc Hoa Water Resources Project, prepared in 2003 to supply water for agricultural, domestic, municipal and industrial uses, and, at the same time, develop management skills for State oversight agencies and community water user groups.

 

Ngo Bao Chau honoured by University of Chicago

 

Professor Ngo Bao Chau has been selected as one of the six University of Chicago scholars from the humanities, the physical sciences and the social sciences to receive the “Distinguished Service Professorships” title.

 

Born in Hanoi, professor Chau won gold medals at the 1988 and 1989 International Mathematical Olympiad and received his PhD from Université Paris-Sud in 1997.

 

Chau, who also won the Fields Medal for his proof of the Fundamental Lemma in the theory of automorphic forms through the introduction of new algebro-geometric methods, became a professor at the University of Chicago in September 2010, said the University website.

 

The Hanoi native is now Director of the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.

 

He has also been conferred a honorary doctoral degree by Vietnam National University – Hanoi.

 

Only a few professors at US universities are selected to be awarded the “Distinguished Service Professorships” title.

 

NGO projects help Cao Bang province reduce poverty

 

The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang is benefiting from 50 non-governmental projects worth a total of VND120 billion, according to a conference held in Cao Bang town on May 27.

 

Presentations at the conference, held by the provincial People’s Committee, and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, showed that these projects contributed considerably to local socioeconomic development.

 

Ly Hai Hau, Vice Chairman of the Cao Bang People’s Committee, said that the NGO projects have been helping the province improve people’s lives and strengthen partnerships with international friends.

 

Participants at the conference discussed issues such as challenges to and solutions for improving cooperation efficiency, and sharing experience, as well as new orientations for implementing NGO projects in Cao Bang.

 

These discussions are expected to provide the basis for a programme to promote overseas non-governmental donation in the 2011-2015 period.

 

On this occasion, the Cao Bang People’s Committee signed cooperation agreements with Action Aid-Vietnam and Spain’s Anesvad for the new phase.

 

Some 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are currently operating in cities and provinces throughout Vietnam.

 

In recent years, the value of disbursed donations from overseas NGOs has risen dramatically, hitting US$279 million in 2010 alone, with a focus on Vietnam’s priority fields and issues.

 

Seized fishermen in good health

 

All ten crew members from the fishing boat PY 90260 TS which was seized by Brunei authorities on May 21 were in good health, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

 

The MoFA sent a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Brunei in Vietnam and instructed officials at the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei to work with relevant agencies in the country to verify the information and learn all the facts of the situation. The Ministry has asked Brunei to quickly release the boat owned by Do Van Phung and its crew.

 

Vietnamese embassy officials in Brunei have visited the fishermen and will continue to monitor the situation and provide support to protect the fishermen's legitimate rights and interests.

 

City eases ownership certification

 

Tens of thousands of households whose homes are located in housing projects for which infrastructure facilities have not been completed will be granted house ownership certificates under a new decision taken by the HCM City People's Committee.

 

Decision 29, effective May 29, will cancel several provisions of Decision 54 regarding procedures for granting house and land ownership certificates.

 

One of these provisions is that the certificates can be issued only after the construction of infrastructure facilities at housing projects are completed.

 

Another condition that has been removed is the submission of documentation related to inspection and acquiring possession of property when the builder fulfils the construction contract; as well as documents related to construction quality at the time of acquiring possession along with the application for ownership certificates.

 

A District 2 People's Committee representative told the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the district has many housing projects and 70 per cent of these have not completed construction of infrastructure facilities.

 

With Decision 29, buyers of many houses in these projects will be granted house ownership certificates very soon, he said.

 

The city People's Committee has issued the new rule because of irregularities in current stipulations on completion of infrastructure facilities for housing projects, Tuoi Tre reported.

 

Vocational training needs better teachers, equipment

 

Vocational training for rural labourers working in HCM City has not met expectations outlined under the national project on vocational training for rural labourers, according to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA).

 

Nguyen Thanh Hiep, DoLISA's head of vocational training, told Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper that the city had more advantages than other localities as it has the capacity to train 40,000 labourers each year.

 

In addition, there are many mobile vocational training models for workers living on the city's outskirts as well as programmes to export labourers to other countries.

 

Despite this capacity, only 1,200 out of thousands of labourers in the city's outlying rural areas each year receive vocational training.

 

The cause is due to outdated equipment at vocational training facilities and a lack of qualified teachers at facilities, particularly those in the city's outskirts.

 

Many vocational training facilities at the district level did not have regular teachers, and have to hire teachers from the inner city's vocational training centres, Hiep added.

 

Moreover, the training programme has not been properly conducted, with each person required to finish their training within three months.

 

Teachers at vocational training facilities said that three months training was insufficient to qualify for a job.

 

A student learning computers, for example, in a three-month period only learns basic knowledge.

 

With insufficient training, the workers found it hard to get hired because they did not meet enterprises' demand, Hiep explained.

 

Furthermore, some vocational facilities did not take the initiative to recruit learners or work with enterprises to provide jobs for their graduates, he added.

 

Experts have said that more vocational training was needed but that it should be adapted to each region's condition so that workers were able to find jobs.

 

In a conference last month, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan asked localities to set up steering boards to develop new vocational training programmes at the grassroots level.

 

Job opportunities for Ha Noi's youth

 

A third job fair, aimed at the capital's youth, will be held at the Ha Noi National University tomorrow.

 

To date, more than 100 groups and companies have registered to join the fair that will offer around 37,000 job opportunities to young people.

 

According to the city's Youth Union, the fair will provide young people with job orientation and opportunities in order to help ensure social security.

 

Safety urged for West Lake boat operators

 

The Ha Noi People's Committee called on the Department of Transport to take drastic measures in ensuring the safety of boats operating on the West Lake during the forthcoming rainy season.

 

The local district People's Committee and the West Lake management board were urged to disseminate information regarding waterway safety and to conduct regular inspections on boats and floating houses operating on the lake.

 

Anti-corruption task forces set up in City

 

Anti-corruption task forces would be set up to monitor the activities of authorities as well as the capital disbursement of Official Development Assistance projects starting from June 1, officials said.

 

The move is aimed at preventing and fighting corruption, which has caused significant State budget losses.

 

Task forces are set to monitor the activities of tax collecting agencies, custom departments and courts as well as the disbursement of ground clearance and compensation.

 

The HCM City People's Committee Chairman, Le Hoang Quan, asked the Steering Committee for Corruption Control and Prevention, as well as the police, to speed up investigations into several special cases in order to placate public complaints.

 

Petitions regarding corrupt city officials, mostly related to land and housing issues, have been pouring in. Despite follow-up action, corruption cases have increased during May.

 

Online forum fined for failing to register

 

The Trans-Vietnam Automobile joint stock company on Monday was fined with VND20 million ($930) by the HCM City Department of Information and Communications for its failure to register its online forum at http://www.otosaigon.com.

 

According to Tran Thi Ngoc Huong, the department's chief inspector, although the forum had been operating as a social network since 2009, its owner, the Trans-Viet Nam Automobile JSC, failed to have it registered.

 

She added that, after being fined, the Trans-Vietnam Automobile JSC conducted registration procedures in order to gain permission to continue operating.

 

At its peak, the forum attracted more than 150,000 online members.

 

Students receive discounted rail fares

 

Viet Nam Railways will offer 10 per cent train ticket discounts to students on their way to taking university entrance exams or who have already been admitted to university.

 

During exams, a student will be allowed to buy two two-way tickets at a discounted price and two one-way tickets with admission notice. The additional ticket is for his/her next kin who accompanies him/her to the college

 

Students will be required to show their identity cards in order to buy discounted tickets.

 

Discounts will cease on December 31.

 

HCMC testing juice drinks for cancer-causing DEHP

 

Tuoi TreFollowing a recent discovery of the carcinogenic chemical DEHP in some bottled drinks in Taiwan, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-department are taking samples of drinks on the market to test for the substance.

 

They are testing for diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), a cost-effective general purpose plasticizer which is used mainly for making PVC soft and pliable, the city Heath Department said yesterday.

 

The plasticizer, which serves as cloudy agent, is commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juices and other drinks to keep emulsions well dispersed.

 

Huynh Le Thai Hoa, head of the sub-department, said the agency has initially collected 10 samples of fruit juice products that usually contain a cloudy agent.

 

The samples would be sent to relevant agencies for testing soon, he said.

 

WantChinaTime on Thursday said Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of its recent discovery of the carcinogenic chemical DEHP in some bottled drinks.

 

DOH has also informed health authorities in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United States of the incident, since the DEHP-tainted drinks and food additives may also have been exported to those areas, WantChinaTime quoted Kang Jaw-jou, director-general of the DOH's Food and Drug Administration, as saying.

 

A total of 168 Taiwanese food processors have been recalling more than one million food and drink products as they are found to have been tainted with DEHP, according to Food Beverage Review.

 

Among the processors is Jin Zhuan, some of whose syrup and fruit juice products have reportedly been sold at restaurants and shops in Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Such syrup is contained in plastic bottles of 2.5 liter and sells for VND120,000-130,000 (US$5.8-6.3) per bottle, according to a survey by Tuoi Tre.

 

Most traders have yet to know the company has been blacklisted.

 

Meanwhile, Nguyen Cong Khan, head of the Food Safety and Hygiene Department, under the Ministry of Health, said the agency would take samples of randomly-selected food products on the market for DEHP.

 

DEHP is present in plastic products such as wall coverings, tablecloths, floor tiles, furniture upholstery, shower curtains, garden hoses, swimming pool liners, rainwear, baby pants, dolls, some toys, shoes, automobile upholstery and tops, packaging film and sheets, sheathing for wire and cable, medical tubing, and blood storage bags, according to Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Malaysian man seized for using fake credit card

 

Hanoi police yesterday said they had arrested a Malaysian man, Choi Mingkian, who used a fake credit card to shop at the Pico Plaza supermarket at 28 Ba Trieu Street, Hoan Kiem District in Hanoi.

 

Earlier, on the afternoon May 26, Choi Mingkian and another man came to the supermarket. After buying a laptop worth VND20 million (US$973) and 4 mobile phones valued at VND60 million ($2,920) in total, he handed a credit card to the teller.

 

When the teller called Techcombank, where the card was issued, to get a confirmation, Choi and the other man ran out of the supermarket, bringing along with the goods.

 

The teller shouted for help and the supermarket security guards chased them and seized Choi and recovered the products. The other man escaped.

 

The guards handed Choi over to the district police.

 

Choi told police that he had come to Vietnam with a fake passport provided by an underground gang in Malaysia. He admitted he had used a false credit card at the supermarket and it was among the 13 credit cards he brought along with him.

 

Choi said the gang had provided him with the cards to buy goods in Vietnam.

 

On searching his room at a hotel on Hanh Hanh Street, the police found another 21 credit cards of various types.

 

The police seized all the cards for verification and are investigating.

 

2-month-old boy almost killed by family dog

 

A two-month-old boy in Hanoi’s Ha Dong District was badly bitten by his family dog while he was sleeping and his mother was out on May 19.

 

Duong Hong H., the mother of the victim V.D.N, said she had come out to buy some milk after the child was already sleeping.

 

But when she came back 20 minutes later, Hong was stunned to find her son had turned livid with numerous bites on his body, she said.

 

H. said her son was bitten by their family dog, which had managed to escape from his chain and attacked the baby.

 

The unconscious, severely injured boy was immediately taken to the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics afterward.

 

Doctor Nguyen Trong Dung, from the intensive care department, said the boy has now begun to recover after a week of intensive treatment.

 

Forest worker killed by elephant

 

A forest worker in the forest hill of the Anh Son Forestry Company in the central province of Nghe An was Friday trampled to death by an elephant, confirmed Anh Son District’s Forest Management Department.

 

At 12a.m., Vi Van Sinh, 41, residing in Con Cuong District, was sleeping with 3 other workers in their hut in the forest when they were woken up by a loud noise coming from around the hut.

 

Supposing that the noise came from the cattle of the locals that were destroying their newly-grown plants, Sinh and the other workers got up to drive off the animals.

 

But the animals turned out to be a herd of elephants, which fiercely attacked them.

 

The four workers immediately ran away, but Sinh failed to escape and was then trampled to death by one ferocious animal.

 

The culprits might be the herd of 6 elephants that had previously attacked nearby villages of the Pu Mat National Forest, according Anh Son Forest Management Department.

 

One elephant from the herd was killed in the borderline of Anh Son and Thanh Chuong districts in February 2011, the department said.

 

Indonesia seizes pangolin meat bound for Vietnam

 

Tons of dead pangolins, an endangered scaly animal, were seized by Indonesian customs on Thursday, foiling an effort by smugglers to ship the meat to Vietnam, officials said on Thursday.

 

Indonesia's customs office found 309 crates each containing between six to 10 adult and baby pangolins, weighing a total of 7.5 tons, at the country's biggest port in Jakarta, said a customs official. It also found 65 kilograms of pangolin scales.

 

"The most outrageous thing here is they even exterminate the young pangolins, the ones that when curled up are about 20 centimeters long," Rahmat Subagio, the head of the port's customs and excise office, told Reuters.

 

Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are meant to be a protected species in Indonesia. The endemic wildlife of the sprawling archipelago of tropical forests, from orangutans to Javan rhinos, is under threat from widespread logging and poaching.

 

The exporting company had covered up the illegal shipment with frozen smelly fish, but customs received a tip-off and X-rayed the container to discover pangolin shapes.

 

Local media reported earlier this month that a customs office in northern Sumatra island had also foiled an attempt to illegally smuggle about 1,700 pangolins to Vietnam, where eating the creature is believed to improve health.

 

A 2010 report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and conservation group the WWF, said trade in pangolins is well established in Southeast Asia and seized specimens were just a fraction of the actual wildlife trade.

 

3 barbaric killers executed by firing squad today

 

The execution council of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court today executed by firing squads three barbaric killers who involved in two different murder cases.

 

Chau Hung Son, 41, organized to kill his lender Vo Thi Hoa and her brother in law Ngo Van Cuong to repudiate his debt.

 

After killing them, he places the two bodies in a carton paper box and threw in a cemetery in the neighboring Binh Duong province.

 

He appealed in 2009 but couldn’t avoid the death sentence.

 

In the other case, Nguyen Quang Tran and Ngo Van Cuong killed the owner of the pawn shop Ba Son in Go Vap district for robbery in 2007. They had an appeal court in 2009.

 

24 Vietnam tourists injured in Thailand accident

 

24 Vietnamese tourists got injured on Thursday after their bus crashed with a 4-seat Honda Civic and was turned over on highway 36 in Thailand. Luckily, no one falls in critical condition.

 

They were moving from Rayong province to a shopping center in Pattaya and the accident happened. The victims were taken to three local hospitals Bangkok Pattaya, Banlamung, and Pattaya Memorial.

 

Police said the bus was capsized with glass brokn and the right door thrown out. The Honda Civic lied 50m away from the bus.

 

Bus driver Khun Sarawoot, 27, and Honda Civic driver Khun Wirot, 39, denied their mistake and blamed each other, according to police.

 

The two are now under police detention for investigation.

 

Lorry kills young man in HCMC

 

A lorry ran over a 26-year old man at the Kha Van Can- Chuong Duong crossroad in Linh Chieu Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon.

 

At the scene of accident, a bike was lying on the pavement and the body of the young man named Tran Hoang Dong, 26, hailing from Hau Giang province was in the middle of the road.

 

Many people came to the scene despite heavy rain. Police were present to barricade the scene and regulate traffic.

 

According to witnesses, the man was taking his 20-year-old friend on the back of the bike, riding towards Thu Duc market.

 

At the crossroad, he dodged a bike running in the wrong direction and fell off the street. The lorry from the back ran over his head, killing him on the spot.

 

His friend only suffered minor injuries when he was thrown onto the pavement.

 

After killing the man, the lorry continued to run but was chased and stopped by local people. According to police, the truck driver is 26-year-old man hailing from Ben Tre province.

 

Police are investigating.

 

Man killed after crossing railway

 

A man was killed Friday after crossing a railway track without a crossing barrier or light on a motorbike in a residential area in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

 

At 9 a.m., Mai Van Nghiem of Ha Trung District was riding across the railway tracks in the town of Bim Son while the SE7 train from Ninh Binh to Thanh Hoa was passing and it hit him.

 

The 39-year-old man died instantly and his motorbike was seriously damaged.

 

Man crashes into cop while speeding

 

Police arrested a man Thursday in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai after he hit a police officer while attempting to flee when he was spotted driving over the speed limit.

 

Dang Hoai Nam, 18, crashed into Lieutenant Colonel Pham Cong Thien as he tried to escape when police attempted to stop him for speeding on Highway 19 in Dak Doa District.

 

Thien received serious injuries to his forehead, legs and neck and was taken to the hospital after the accident.

 

City shuts restaurant with bikini waitresses

 

Ho Chi Minh City authorities shut down My Trinh restaurant in District 5 last Thursday following a raid during which inspectors found waitresses in bikinis.

 

The women were mostly from the Mekong Delta and did not have contracts.

 

They had been ordered to wear skimpy clothes while serving, sing along with customers, and coax then to spend as much as possible.

 

It also had two unlicensed karaoke rooms.

 

The authorities are investigating.

 

Japanese plant caught discharging untreated waste

 

The environmental crime police yesterday caught a Japanese company manufacturing lamp sockets and other auto parts in the Noi Bai Industrial Park in Hanoi discharging untreated wastewater into the environment.

 

Toyoda Giken Vietnam Co Ltd’s plating factory released waste into a secret underground pipeline that was connected to the IP’s drainage system, they said following an inspection May 19.

 

The effluents contained sulfuric acid, paint, oil, sludge, and Crom 6+, a substance that can cause cancer, they said.

 

Yamanochi Fumitaka, deputy general director of the company, admitted that his company had laid the pipes.

 

Toyoda Giken has a wastewater treatment system, but resorts to discharging untreated waste to cut costs, the police said.

 

Fumitaka, who promised to stop the discharge, had the pipeline dismantled Tuesday.

 

Seized fishermen in good health

 

All ten crew members from the fishing boat PY 90260 TS which was seized by Brunei authorities on May 21 were in good health, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

 

The MoFA sent a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Brunei in Vietnam and instructed officials at the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei to work with relevant agencies in the country to verify the information and learn all the facts of the situation. The Ministry has asked Brunei to quickly release the boat owned by Do Van Phung and its crew.

 

Vietnamese embassy officials in Brunei have visited the fishermen and will continue to monitor the situation and provide support to protect the fishermen's legitimate rights and interests.

 

Support for climate framework

 

Viet Nam has given its full support for the proposed Global Framework for Climate Services on the sidelines of the 16th congress of the World Meteorology Organisation.

 

The proposed framework is designed to help countries – particularly the most vulnerable – cope with climate variability and climate change. It is one of the priorities under discussion at the congress which is held every four years.

 

The framework would effectively close the gaps in the provision of existing information and services, said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on Wednesday.

 

It would make them available to around 70 developing countries which had little or no such climate information, providing tailor-made information systems which were accurate, reliable and relevant.

 

The implementation of the framework would create an important step to countries like Viet Nam in their efforts to combat the impacts of climate change, said Ha, who heads the Viet Nam delegation to the congress from May 16 to June 3.

 

Viet Nam was one of the front-line countries affected by the impacts of climate change and had experienced an increase in the frequency and changing pattern of floods and storms, he said.

 

The consequences of climate change would be serious, he said. Early forecasts and sufficient climate change information would have positive impacts, particularly in natural disaster reduction.

 

It was for this reason that Viet Nam supported the establishment of the framework and hoped it would soon be put into practice, he said.

 

By the end of the 21st century, the average temperature in Viet Nam was forecast to rise by 2.3C, with more rainfall in the wet season and less in the dry.

 

Seawater could rise by 0.7cm to 1m compared to the 1980-1999 average. Such a level would flood 40 per cent of the Mekong River Delta, 11 per cent of the Red River Delta and 3 per cent of other coastal areas. About 20 per cent of HCM City will be under water.

 

Viet Nam wanted to fully prepare and mitigate the impacts of climate change through early forecasts, Ha said.

 

At the Congress, Viet Nam was selected by organisation members to take part in a 12 member nomination committee in preparation for the congress's election of the leading bodies.

 

The Vietnamese delegation took part in several important sessions and had bilateral contacts with delegations from China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

 

The Congress yesterday elected David Grimes from Canada as organisation president and Michel Jarraud its secretary-general for the 2011-15 period.

 

Local workers keen to go back to Japan

 

Local labor export companies said a large number of Vietnamese workers are desperate to go back to Japan for guest work.

 

The Overseas Labor Management Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said the Japanese market occupies nearly 70% of the total of export labor contracts that the department assessed over the past two months.

 

The department had thought that Vietnamese laborers were worried about the disaster that hit Japan two months ago and about radiation fears. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.

 

The Air Service and Trading Joint Stock Company (Airseco) said that after fact-finding trips to seven provinces in Japan last month, Japanese companies wanted to increase employment.

 

The company needs to recruit over 200 workers to Japan, while Human Resource Development Corp. needs 300 people to work in the fields of auto parts manufacture, lathing, food processing, clothing, mechanics and shipbuilding among others.

 

These positions require candidates aged between 19 and 30 who are proficient in the Japanese language with good technical skills.

 

Tran Van Thanh, vice director of Suleco, told the Daily on Wednesday that the number of laborers that registered through his company increased 1.5 times compared to before March. He explained that Japan needed more labor to reestablish their manufacturing base after the earthquake and tsunami.

 

“80% of labor demands are for the mechanical fields. We are training around 600 workers after some tests,” he added.

 

There are some 35,000 Vietnamese studying and working in Japan, the second-highest of the 14 foreign countries that have workers there. There are around 90 Vietnam export labor enterprises allowed to bring laborers into Japan.

 

Dao Cong Hai, deputy head of the Overseas Labor Management Department, told the Daily that every year, there are between 5,000 and 7,000 Vietnamese sent to Japan for work.

 

Japan tourist arrivals remain strong

 

Japanese tourist arrivals this month are expected to increase 6.5% year-on-year despite earlier worries from local tour operators about a slump due to the disaster in the Northeast Asian country, the national tourism authority said.

 

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) forecasted that the number of Japanese visitors to the country in May would grow 6.5%, taking the total in the year to date to 204,000, a year-on-year increase of 2.6%. The May figure is highly encouraging as now is the start of the low season for the hospitality industry.

 

The tourism sector earlier worried that Japanese visitors would travel less after the earthquake and tsunami battered northeastern Japan. Based on the statistics from VNAT, the number of Japanese visitors barely decreased in March and April.

 

However, local tour operators serving the travelers in the country told the Daily that they need more time to gauge the impact of the disaster on Vietnam’s tourism industry. People who are traveling in this season have booked tours in the past while new tour reservations for the high season late this year are less than in the same period of last year.

 

Nearly three months since the disaster in Japan, Vietnam’s tourism still has not taken any move to encourage Japanese tourists to come back, and travel firms have therefore called on VNAT to lend a helping hand.

 

APEX Travel Co., representing some companies serving Japanese tourists, has requested authorities to allow for Japanese tourists to stay in Vietnam up to 30 or 60 days without having to obtain an entry visa, instead of the current 15 days. However, there was no response from the administration office.

 

Meanwhile, outbound tour operators were starting first activities to restart tours to Japan by arranging fact-finding trips to the country and offering more budget tours to woo local people to Japan.

 

VNAT has forecasted that despite the low season for the inbound segment from April to September, visitors from Japan, China, and Malaysia would increase this month.

 

The total number of international visitors this month will reach nearly 526,500, up 37% year-on-year to bring the total number in the first five months of this year to nearly 2.52 million, up 18% year-on-year.

 

HCMC, the biggest tourism center of the country, has reported 240,000 foreign arrivals this month, a slight fall from April. However, the total number of visitors in the first five months of this year still reached 1.4 million, up 8% year-on-year.

 

Vietnam to join fewer travel fairs abroad

 

Vietnam will participate in fewer travel fairs this year than last year as the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) is tightening the purse strings to focus resources on significant events.

 

Vietnam last year joined 10 events but the number this year is just seven, said Nguyen Van Tuan, head of VNAT.

 

Tuan told the Daily that the administration was centering on important fairs, particularly those in key markets for the country’s tourism sector. ITB Berlin, TRAVEX for ASEAN markets and CITM in China are among the favorites.

 

“We need to save the tourism promotion budget by withdrawing from the events of less significance and at the same time, improving the design of the national display pavilion,” he said.

 

A local news report this week said a couple of companies had turned down VNAT’s invitations to go to Singapore, China and Japan late this year for travel fairs, citing  VNAT’s lack of professionalism.

 

However, Tuan said he had not heard about this. “Many companies have registered for these fairs. I’m not aware of any complaint and the news report,” he said.

 

VNAT, he said, would listen to suggestions and complaints on tourism promotion projects and programs so that it could improve them.

 

Scientific conference on Ho Chi Minh

 

A scientific conference ‘President Ho Chi Minh – the journey to save the country’ will be held on Tuesday in the City Committee Home in 127 Truong Dinh, District 3 and will discuss the period after Uncle Ho left Vietnam 100 years ago to find a way of freeing the nation.

 

Uncle Ho was forced to up sticks from his beloved nation aged 21 on June 5, 1911 to go overseas and try to seek a way to liberate the nation. He lived abroad for 30 years.

 

Organizers received 133 essays on the subject from local leaders, scientists, and researchers. Some foreign experts have also expressed their opinions of Ho Chi Minh and his methods for national liberation.

 

There will be a live TV broadcast of the conference as well as a festival and photo exhibition.