Work slows on upgrade of dilapidated housing

Ha Noi lags far behind its plan to upgrade old and dilapidated residential quarters, deputy director of the municipal Department of Construction Nguyen Quoc Tuan has said.

A resident in one old building complained that when it rained, sewage swirled around apartments.

The upgrade project started in 2000 and was scheduled to be completed by 2015, but so far only 1 per cent of homes needing attention have been done.

The city has 982 old four- and five-storey residential quarters managed by the city authorities. It also has 173 residential quarters managed by the Ministry of National Defence.

Most of the structures were built from 1970-80 and need upgrading or re-building, according to the Department of Construction.

Tuan said all work had been given to investors, but only 11 projects had so far got underway. He blamed investors for the stagnation.

Typically, the Ha Noi Investment and Construction Joint-stock Company No 2 was responsible for upgrading the Van Chuong residential quarter in Dong Da District, but it has not carried out any work.

A resident from Van Chuong said that many houses leaked. "If there is rain for half an hour, sewage will rise up to the calf on people's legs," he said.

Director of the Van Chuong upgrade Nguyen Chi Sy said lack of temporary places of relocation to house residents slowed the work down.

Progress also halted after the Government issued instructions to stop the building of multi-storey residential quarters in central Ha Noi.

Deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Khoi asked the departments of construction, planning and architecture, natural resources and environment to check all old residential quarters this month and decide if investors could continue their work.

"If investors do not meet the guidelines, the departments have the power to replace them," he said.

From now on, every month the city authority and relevant bodies would meet to resolve any outstanding issues, Khoi said.

5 killed in Hue bus-truck smash-up

Five passengers died in a horrific head-on collision between a truck and a bus at 5.00 this morning, Aug 8, on National Highway 1A in Hue.

Six injured passengers are being treated at the Hue Central Hospital while the bodies have been sent to the hospital’s mortuary.

Nguyen Van Cao, deputy secretary of Hue Party Committee, arrived on the scene to oversee rescue operations.

Local authorities have announced a compensation of VND3 million to the families of the dead people and VND1 million to those of the injured.

Experts discuss land planning

Land-use planning, an important tool in ensuring sustainable development, should be done in accordance with international technical standards, according to experts attending a workshop held by the Land Management Department in Ha Noi yesterday, Aug 7.

Acting Director Phung Van Nghe said that current policies based on land-use planning were inadequate in the context of an open market economy.

"There is still a lack of regulations governing land-use planning in terms of identifying norms and evaluation criteria," he said.

Experts highlighted the important relationship between land use, socio-economic, urban and agriculture planning.

Professor Ton Gia Huyen, from the Viet Nam Land Science Association, said that by 2030, more than half of the population would be living in urban areas, expected to have increased by an additional 2 million ha.

"This figure requires policymakers to pay attention to the increasingly important relationship between urban construction and land-use planning," he said.

Most experts agreed that rewriting plans after only 10 years of implementation was irrational in the face of land leases valid for between 50 and 70 years.

Tran Kim Chung, from the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Central Institute for Economic Management, suggested a provision requiring each land-use plan to remain unchanged for at least five years.

Former Deputy Minister Dang Hung Vo said that land-use planning should be compiled to ensure sustainable development, social justice and environmental protection.

Vo added that land-use planning based on effective dialogue would root out corruption.

Socio-economic development should be built on strategic prediction in order to lay a firm foundation for land-use planning.

As of now, 100 per cent of provinces and cities have finished land-use planning up to 2020.

Student hospitalized after brutal attack by militia

A 19-year-old university student in Da Nang was brutally assaulted by some local militia Saturday and had to be hospitalized with severe burn and other injuries.
Tran Van Thi, 19, from Gia Lai province, a student at the Shipping Vocational High School, had been beaten with hard objects, doctors at the Da Nang General Hospital said.
Nguyen Van Phu, one of Thi’s friends, told the police that Thi was attacked by three militia members armed with batons, electric batons, and tear-gas guns in Hoa Hiep Nam Ward.
He, Thi, and four other students had been drinking and talking noisily in their rented house on Nguyen Luong Bang Street for around 30 minutes.
When their party was over, the guards came into the house for a look and the two groups began to quarrel.
The guards then hit Thi with the cudgel, sprayed tear gas on him, and struck him with the electric baton.
All of a sudden Thi’s body was covered in flames. Phu and other witnesses said the tear gas was inflamed by sparks from the electric baton.
The others put out the fire and took him to hospital.
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Phuoc Hanh, head of the ward police, said the “the tear gas caught fire due to a burning cigarette.”
He said the guards had gone to the house to check since the students caused a lot of noise.
The three guards have been ordered to submit their reports about the incident to the police, he said.
An officer visited Thi in hospital and handed over VND1 million (US$47) as initial payment for his treatment, he added.
In Vietnam, the militia are chosen from among local residents to police their areas.

Gang boss killed in Ho Chi Minh City, another shot

The leader of a criminal gang was killed in a fight in Ho Chi Minh City while a man was shot and seriously injured in the northern city of Hai Phong yesterday, Aug 7.
In a pitched battle on Huynh Tan Phat Street in HCMC’s District 7 between two gangs of 20 people, a man was killed and another had a hand chopped off.
The fight involved swords, knives, and helmets, the local police said.
Nguyen Hoang Mai, 26, was stabbed to death, while Dang Van Can, 21, had his right hand chopped off.
Mai of District 7 was the leader of one gang and Can of District 4 was the head of the other.
They clashed over an earlier conflict related to a road accident involving members of the gangs, local residents said.
The police are looking for the killer and the others involved in the violence.
In Hai Phong, Nguyen Chi Kien, 33, was eating breakfast with his wife and his mother at an eatery near his house on Hai Ba Trung Street when a masked man in a pair of shorts came up and shot him, witnesses said.
He was shot in his right chest, abdomen, and thighs, doctors said.
He was taken to Viet-Tiep Friendship Hospital in Hai Phong for emergency treatment but doctors later transferred him to a hospital in Hanoi because of his serious condition.
The culprit fled on a motorbike ridden by a waiting man.
The police came to the scene and found four bullet cases, and are looking for the culprit.

Coronary artery disease on the rise

The number of people suffering from clinical coronary artery disease is on the rise in Viet Nam and this is a leading factor causing death among patients with cardiovascular problems, warn HCM City-based Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University's experts.

International and domestic experts recommend people go for medical treatment as soon as possible if experiencing intense chest pain for over 20 minutes because it is the first symtom of clinical coronary artery disease.

It's reported that 50 per cent of the patients die before arriving hospital, 3 per cent of them die at hospital and about 12 per cent die 6 months after the first symtoms appear.

2.2 tons of unhygienic herbal medicines seized

The Ho Chi Minh City market management authorities have seized more than 2.2 tons of dubious herbal medicines stored in two dirty, unhygienic warehouses in District 5, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.
They inspected an old, poorly-lit warehouse on Trieu Quang Phuc Street and found more than 1.5 tons of medicines, most of which had rotted due to dampness.
The warehouse owner failed to produce invoices or certificates for them.
The inspectors also found a number of packages of caterpillar fungus that the owner said was from China.
They saw 47 boxes of this product with labels completely in Chinese on the floor which was full of rubbish and even mice and cockroaches.
Meanwhile, officials inspecting a warehouse cum herbal medicine store on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street owned by Nguyen D.S. and his wife found 700 kg of traditional medicines without clear origins.
Tran Huu Vinh, head of the city Traditional Drugs Administration, said herbal medicines have to be stored in proper warehouses where temperature and moisture are controlled.
“The medicines will be infected with bacteria and lose quality if they are placed on the ground,” he said, adding it would be hazardous to use them.

Vietnam, Thailand cooperate in radio and television broadcasting

A delegation led by the deputy head of the Thai Public Relations Department (PRD) Ladavan Bua-Aim has arrived in Vietnam to attend the third meeting of the joint technical committee between the PRD and Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) from August 8-10.

Before leaving Bangkok, Ms Ladavan granted an interview to VOV on cooperation among media agencies of both countries and proposed measures for future cooperation.

Thailand National Television Station sent a team to Vietnam in May 2010 to make a documentary film on the life and cause of late President Ho Chi Minh. The film is expected to make its debut in September.

In the field of radio broadcasting, both sides exchanged music and tourism programmes.

Regarding cooperation potential between the PRD and VOV in future, Ms Ladavan pledged to increase cooperation through new channels.

She said the PRD will focus on promoting exchanges in culture, socio-economics and other fields of activity during the time of celebrating the 35^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Thailand and Vietnam.

31 evacuated in Quang Ngai hospital fire

Thirty one patients had to be evacuated from the Quang Ngai General Hospital’s recovery department after a respirator went up in flames Sunday, but no casualties were reported.

Investigators found that when doctors were treating patients, they detected a burning smell from one of the respirators. A fire that had broken out then spread quickly to a computer monitor nearby, sending both doctors and patients into a panic.

Dr Nguyen Thai Hung, deputy head of the hospital’s emergency and recovery department, said he saw a fire up to 1m high, causing thick smoke.

“We had to shift 31 patients to the surgery and anesthesiology department,” he said.

It took six fire extinguishers to douse the flames, he said.

Amid the panic, nurse Nguyen Thi Tuyen was quick-witted enough to turn off the power to prevent the fire from spreading further, he added.

Preliminary investigations have blamed an electrical short circuit for the fire.

Strippers fined for breaking fashion regulations

Three female strippers have been fined VND10 million (US$500) each for “violating regulations concerning artistic and fashion shows” when they performed a striptease inside a karaoke house in Hanoi two days ago.

The three women, from 19 to 21 years old, were busted performing the erotic show on two tables inside room 301 at 14 Phan Van Tri Street on the early morning of August 6.

Two employees responsible for planning and choreographing the striptease - Ho Si Thang and Giap Van Vien - have been fined VND20 million each. The karaoke owner Giap Van Lam, 31 has also been fined.

The strippers told police they were instructed to carry out an “artistic performance” by Thang on the evening of August 5.

According to the women, each customer wanting to enjoy the show had to pay VND1.8 million but the dancers each received only VND500,000.

Local police have revoked the business license of the karaoke parlor and pulled down its sign.

Passenger fined for Hai Phong bomb hoax

Local authorities have fined a passenger VND10 million (US$500) for joking he had a bomb three days ago at an airport in the northern Hai Phong City, Nguoi Lao Dong reported.

On August 5, as security staff was checking his bag at the Cat Bi Airport, Nguyen Van Tuan, 38 of Quang Ninh Province, said “there’s a bomb in the bag”.

Tuan was immediately detained and all passengers evacuated and inspected but no bomb was found.

Due to the joke, the VN1189 flight bound for Ho Chi Minh City was delayed 50 minutes.

Last month, a former employee of Vietnam Airlines was Tuesday sentenced to 15 months in prison for a similar bomb hoax last year that disrupted a flight to Cambodia.

Nguyen Bang Viet, 36 on November 9, 2010, texted a chief stewardess a message that there was a bomb aboard a Vietnam Airlines aircraft that was about to leave Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport for Siem Reap.

The flight was canceled and security forces searched the airport but found no bomb.

Viet was also ordered to pay over VND200 million (US$10,000) in compensation to Vietnam Airlines.

Last May, a French passenger - 27-year-old Mariano Francois Xavier Jean Agostini – was fined VND15 million (US$724.98) for making a false bomb threat when a plane was boarding at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport.
The hoax delayed the flight for nearly three hours and caused 180 passengers to be evacuated to the airport’s terminal.

Requiem for heroic martyrs in Nghe An

A grand requiem was held at the Vietnam-Lao Martyrs' Cemetery in the Anh Son district of central Nghe An province on August 6 to commemorate heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for national independence in the past war.

The event was organised by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) in coordination with the An Son district People’s Committee. It was attended by military officials, martyrs’ families and thousands of monks, nuns and Buddhist followers.

The requiem paid tribute to the fallen combatants who laid down their lives for peace and national independence.

Currently, more than 11,000 martyrs are buried at the Vietnam-Lao cemetery.

On the occasion, the VBS and Anh Son district presented gifts to heroic Vietnamese mothers and policy beneficiary families in Nghe An.

Policeman opens fire to threaten colleagues

Xuan Dong Commune’s police in Dong Nai Province are demanding an explanation about the case of Ninh Thang Quyen, the police chief of Xuan Hung Commune who opened fire to threaten their policemen.

According to the Xuan Dong police, at 5:00 pm August 3, two policemen from the commune, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh and Tran Ngoc Thuan, were sent to Co Dau 1 Hamlet to stop a man from shooting birds with a shotgun.

While these two policemen were questioning the man, Ninh Thanh Minh, Quyen, who was then not wearing his uniform, appeared.

Quyen asked the two policemen on duty, “Who are working here?” then without waiting for an answer, took out his gun and fired three shots into the air.

He then demanded Thanh and Thuan to show him their papers and snatched the shotgun that the two policemen had confiscated from the bird shooter and left.

A short moment later, he returned and insulted Thanh and Thuan, and once again, he opened fire. This time, he shot into a bush.

Talking with Tuoi Tre yesterday afternoon, the police chief of Xuan Loc District where Xuan Hung Commune is located, Le Van Khue, said he had heard about what Quyen did and would decide the case after receiving a report from him.

Meanwhile, the police of Xuan Dong Commune have asked its superior in command, the Cam My District police, to take action to clarify the case.

False bomb threat delays flight in Hai Phong

A Vietnam Airlines flight was delayed for more than 1 hour at Hai Phong City’s Cat Bi Airport on Friday evening after a passenger claimed he was carrying a bomb.
The VN1189 flight from Hai Phong to Ho Chi Minh City was scheduled to depart at 7:40 pm but postponed until 9 pm, after Nguyen Van Tuan, 38, told a security officer that there was a bomb in his wallet.
At about 7 pm, Tuan entered the waiting room after getting through the security gate, but a moment later he asked for permission to get out for some personal affair.
Tuan returned later and was asked to put his wallet into the scanning machine but he told the security that there was a bomb in the wallet.
The security immediately detained Tuan, re-examined his luggage, including the wallet, and inspected the entire area but did not find any bomb.
Tuan has been detained by the Hai Phong City police for investigation, said Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the Cat Bi Airport.
A similar false threat happened at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on May 14 when 27-year old Frenchman Mariano Francois Xavier Jean Agostini claimed he was carrying a bomb in his luggage while taking a Vietnam Airlines flight from HCMC to Da Nang.
The flight, which was scheduled to leave at 12:45 pm, was then delayed and all of the 180 passengers aboard were sent back to the terminal.
Airport securities searched Agostini’s handbag and the whole aircraft but did not find any bomb. Agostini later told security officers he was just joking.
The flight took off two hours and a half later.
Agostini was later fined VND15 million (US$725) by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.

Action month for AO victims launched

The Vietnam Red Cross Central Committee launched a 2011 Action Month for Agent Orange Victims on August 5, with a view to publicising the serious consequences of the toxic chemicals on human health and the environment.

The Vietnam Red Cross will hold a march themed, “Joining hands to take care of health and improve living conditions for AO victims” scheduled for the morning of August 7 at the Thong Nhat Park square in Hanoi. It is expected to draw 7,000 people.
The programmes are in response to the movement on “Actions for Agent Orange Victims in Vietnam” launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee. They aim to call on more joint efforts from organisations and people to assist AO victims, as well as honour collectives and individuals who made contributions to helping the victims.

During the past four years, through the Action month for AO victims, the society raised VND152.7 billion to help over 50,000 AO victims each year.
The Vietnam Red Cross Central Committee also carried out a project on helping AO victims in Central Highlands and Tay Ninh provinces for 2006-2010, with a total expense of 16.3 billion VND and expanded the project for the 2011-2015 period with a total budget of VND33 billion.

Inaccurate diagnosis causes massive abortions

Hanoi-based Central Maternity Hospital reports over a thousand pregnant women infected with Rubella have chosen abortion this year because doctors inaccurately thought their babies would suffer from birth defects.
T.T.H, a 30 year-old woman from Hai Duong who caught Rubella, had an abortion although she was pregnant for the first time after three years of infertility treatment because her doctor had told her that if she kept the child, it would suffer from serious and incurable birth defects.
As Rubella has spread quickly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City recently, Central Maternity Hospital said H. was among more than 1,000 pregnant women who had followed doctors’ advice and decided to abort their babies.
Many chose abortion even though they were having their first babies after going through difficult infertility treatment.
But Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the hospital, said only 16.5 percent of doctors’ suggestions was right.
In a study released by the hospital last month, only 17 out of 103 aborted babies would actually carry the Rubella virus if they had been born.
Tuan said having an accurate diagnosis of whether a fetus has contracted Rubella is a challenging task. Although a mother’s infection can be easily detected, it is hard to know if her child would be infected as well.
Tuan said his hospital had recently received an equipment using amniocentesis, a new molecular biology technique that can gain information about the status of fetal cells with an accuracy rate of at least 95% accuracy.
50 percent of the cases of Rubella-infected pregnant women is now being tested using the technique and the number of mothers who are advised to have abortion has gone down considerably.
“I wish we had this earlier,” Tuan said.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre