Ha Noi stops building Nguyen Du – Le Duan resettlement area

Ha Noi People's Committee has approved a plan to suspend the building of the Nguyen Du-Le Duan resettlement area in Hai Ba Trung District.

The project, involving residents on Nguyen Du street and Hang Long alley, was approved by the committee in 1998.

The investor, Investing and Trading Real Estate Joint Stock Company, said it had completed the first phase of the project, but, due to a shortage of capital, could not go ahead with the second phase.

The resettlement area belongs to State-owned Ha Noi Housing Development and Management One-Member Limited Company.

The committee ordered both companies to resolve issues relating to residents who had rented houses that were part of the project.

The Construction Department has been assigned the task of instructing Investing and Trading Real Estate Joint Stock Company state what work has been completed. It will then hand over control of the project to State-owned Ha Noi Housing Development and Management One-Member Limited Company.

3 buses race on bridge, one dead

A man was killed and another seriously injured after being hit by a bus which, together with two others, was trying to overtake one another at high speeds on a bridge in Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Nam Hung, 56, was carrying his younger brother, Tran Son Ha, on a motorbike on the Linh Trung overhead bridge in Tan Phu Ward, District 9, when they were hit by the bus, which ran over Ha and dragged Hung a long distance before it stopped.

The accident killed Ha on the spot and caused serious injuries to Hung, who was taken by the bus’ driver to the Thu Duc General Hospital.

Due to his critical condition, Hung was later transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for intensive treatment.

He broke an arm, got fractures in his cheekbone, shoulder blade and face, and suffered from pleural effusion, doctors said.

He could not speak and had breathing difficulties, doctors added.
A witness told the police, “I was travelling behind Hung when I heard the loud sound from the horn of the bus that ran behind me. Right after I got close to the right side of the bridge for safety, the bus immediately surpassed me and crashed into Hung’s motorbike at a very high speed.”
The police are investigating.

Tien Giang Province to build 500 storm shelters

The southern province of Tien Giang plans to invest VND3.9 billion (US$186,000) in building 500 storm shelters for local households, said Nguyen Thien Phap, director of the Department of Irrigation and Flood and Storm Prevention.

The storm shelters will provide refuge for poor households in the coastal districts of Go Cong Dong District and Tan Phu Dong District.

The 10sq.m shelters, which will have a toilet, will be made from reinforced concrete and cost about VND7.8 million ($375) each to build.

They are designed to withstand level 9 – 10 storms.

The department said there were about 30,000 households in the two districts who would need to be relocated to safe areas in heavy storms.

HCM City woman stabbed 14 times in public

A woman was repeatedly stabbed in Ho Chi Minh City Monday evening by an unknown assailant in front of Quyen Spa on Le Van Si Street, District 3.

Police identified the victim as 37-year-old Nguyen Thi Tuong Khanh, a local resident.

Neighbors and passersby said they heard her cries for help and then saw her unconscious in a pool of blood.

An Atila motorcycle, her shoes, a knife with a broken hilt, and a pair of men’s sandals, suspected to be the attacker’s, were found at the scene.

The woman, who survived despite being stabbed 14 times, is being treated at Cho Ray hospital.

The police are investigating.

Friendly environment is great for VN children

A total of 184 children from 30 cities and provinces presented their ideas on building a safe, friendly and healthy environment for their own future, at the 2011 National Children’s Forum in Hanoi from August 8-10.

The event, entitled “Children and a safe and friendly environment”, was jointly held by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children.

Addressing the forum, MoLISA Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep said branches and agencies had paid attention to the protection and care for children, creating a safe, friendly and equal environment for every child.

As a result, children had better exercised their rights in their families, schools and society, Diep said.

He spoke highly of children’s involvement in social activities through which they proved their capacity and role as the country’s future owners, contributing to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education and other programmes and projects on children.

He said he hoped that the participating children would become goodwill ambassadors after returning from the forum and would pass on the forum’s messages.

Hoang Van Tien, Deputy Head of the Department of Child Care and Protection, said after the national forum in 2009, both Party and State had adopted many policies to further the translation of children’s fundamental rights.

He commented on the document of the 11 th National Party Congress in 2010, the project on monitoring the investment and construction of cultural and entertainment establishments for children launched by the NA’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, and the country’s development strategy by 2020 and five-year socio-economic development plan for 2011-2015, in which the protection and care for children were considered top priorities.

As scheduled, the children will talk directly with Party and State leaders about their concerns and desires for the friendly environment they would like to live in.

Girl killed by train after falling off bike

Truong Thi Hong Mau, a 12-year-old girl, was crushed to death by a moving train after falling off her uncle’s motorcycle down to a railway last Saturday morning in Quang Ngai central province.

Dan Tri newswire reported the tragedy came after her uncle Pham Van Loi carrying his son and Mau on his bike attempted to get across the railway-roadway intersection when the train was approaching.

When he heard the train whistle, he tried to get across the railway but her niece accidentally fell off the bike and was ran over, eyewitnesses said.

Meanwhile, Loi and his son only suffered minor injuries.

“She just returned to her hometown for her new school year after visiting her parents, who earn a living by selling noodles on the sidewalk in Ho Chi Minh City,” Loi said with tearful eyes.

“Just a few days earlier, she promised us she will try to study well to get a well-paid job in the future to support us. But,…” her father sobbed during her funeral.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre