Now Bali wants your blood

DENPASAR – There are conficting reports coming out of Bali about how local authorities are dealing with the outbreak of swine flu on the island. Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com) says the airport authorities will single out planes from countries confirmed to be infected with the H1N1 virus for special treatment. Upon landing at Bali's airport planes will be taken to a remote aircraft parking area where the plane and its passengers will be sprayed with disinfectant. Passengers will then be disembarked and subjected to thermal scanners. However, the Jakarta Globe is reporting that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is now requiring all arriving international air passengers to undergo a blood test. Nyoman Murtiyasa, the head of the airport’s health office, quoted in the Jakarta Globe said that all passengers arriving from overseas would be required to take a blood test at the airport. 

 A tourist from Melbourne, 22-year-old British passport holder Bobbie Masoner, became the country’s first confirmed swine flu patient when she was rushed to Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar shortly after landing a week ago. 

She has since been declared healthy and discharged. Gusti Lanang Suartana, head of medical services at Sanglah, said that Masoner and her family were currently isolated at a house in the Jimbaran area just south of the airport. .Three patients are still being treated at Sanglah hospital, including a 12-year-old Australian whose test results were positive. 

 Murtiyasa said that, initially, the blood test would be prioritised for passengers coming from endemic countries such as Australia, and that their health records would be ascertained while they were still on the plane. “Once they get off the plane, we will ask them to take a blood test,” he said, adding that the results would be ready within 30 minutes. 

 Six Indonesians have also been confirmed as having swine flu, although all but one are overseas and will not be allowed to return until they are declared free of the virus, health ministry officials have said. The sole Indonesian being treated in the country is a pilot currently hospitalised in Jakarta. 



TRAVEL IN BRIEF 27/6

City tour operators come out on top

HCM City had the largest number of top hotels and tour operators last year followed by Ha Noi, according to an annual honours list put out by the Viet Nam Tourism Association.

Saigontourist Travel Service Co, Exotissimo-Cesais JV Co, Viet Nam-Ha Noi Joint stock Co, Hanoitourist, and An Giang Tourism Co led the top 10 international tour operators list.

The top 10 five-star hotels were Sofitel Plaza and Melia in Ha Noi, Rex, Renaissance Riverside Sai Gon, and Majestic in HCM City, Nikko in Ha Noi, Evason Ana Mandara, Sun-rise Beach, and Vinpearl Resort&Spa in Nha Trang, and Furama Resort in Da Nang.

Television series helps Viet Nam

The first episode of the travel series "Discovery: An itinerary", which showcases Viet Nam’s natural beauty, has been broadcast on several television channels since June 21.

The programme, produced by Long An TV and the Uniad Joint stock Co., brings to viewers the scenic landscapes and the cultures of Viet Nam’s 64 provinces. It also offers much information about the traditional lifestyles of the ethnic groups.

Departing from the Mekong province of Ca Mau, the 52-episode series takes viewers north. In every episode, two guides and four travellers will arrive at a new place and discover life there.

Viewers aged 18 to 30 can win free trips by logging on to hanhtrinhkhampha.uniad.com.vn or calling hotline 80111878.

The programme is being broadcast on Long An TV, Ca Mau TV, Kien Giang TV, Ba Ria-Vung Tau TV and Binh Thuan TV.

Vintage cars, bikes on display

Many vintage cars and scooters are being displayed at the Sai Gon Vintage Vehicles Club at HCM City’s District 9.

The club, formerly the Suoi Mo eco-tourism park, has scooters, mopeds and motorbikes besides cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Citroen DS, many of them manufactured in the 1940s.

Many of the vehicles are not only on display but also for sale. An antique Citroen, for instance, is currently offered at US$5,600.

TV documentary on national park

A German television crew from Medien Kontor will arrive next month to make a documentary on the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh.

The park’s director, Luu Minh Thanh, said the film, to be directed by Therese Engels, would be about the Park’s flora and fauna, world-renowned caves, and some wildlife conservation projects Germany has funded in Viet Nam.

It will also feature tourist destinations like Tien Son caves, the Eight Maidens cave, and Moc Spring eco-tourism park.

PV

Gone Too Soon Michael Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=101iXwPTNE0

Deepak Chopra: A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson

ED NOTE: Billie Jean, Thriller, His Music brought me joy. Made my feet move, fingers snap, and moved me. I will miss his music. Rest in Peace, Michael. Listen to his record "Gone to Soon" it will bring you tears. It's about lost love, someone dear, and now Michael.

Michael Jackson will be remembered, most likely, as a shattered icon, a pop genius who wound up a mutant of fame. That's not who I will remember, however. His mixture of mystery, isolation, indulgence, overwhelming global fame, and personal loneliness was intimately known to me. For twenty years I observed every aspect, and as easy as it was to love Michael -- and to want to protect him -- his sudden death yesterday seemed almost fated.Two days previously he had called me in an upbeat, excited mood. The voice message said, "I've got some really good news to share with you." He was writing a song about the environment, and he wanted me to help informally with the lyrics, as we had done several times before. When I tried to return his call, however, the number was disconnected. (Terminally spooked by his treatment in the press, he changed his phone number often.) So I never got to talk to him, and the music demo he sent me lies on my bedside table as a poignant symbol of an unfinished life.When we first met, around 1988, I was struck by the combination of charisma and woundedness that surrounded Michael. He would be swarmed by crowds at an airport, perform an exhausting show for three hours, and then sit backstage afterward, as we did one night in Bucharest, drinking bottled water, glancing over some Sufi poetry as I walked into the room, and wanting to meditate.That person, whom I considered (at the risk of ridicule) very pure, still survived -- he was reading the poems of Rabindranath Tagore when we talked the last time, two weeks ago. Michael exemplified the paradox of many famous performers, being essentially shy, an introvert who would come to my house and spend most of the evening sitting by himself in a corner with his small children. I never saw less than a loving father when they were together (and wonder now, as anyone close to him would, what will happen to them in the aftermath).Michael's reluctance to grow up was another part of the paradox. My children adored him, and in return he responded in a childlike way. He declared often, as former child stars do, that he was robbed of his childhood. Considering the monstrously exaggerated value our society places on celebrity, which was showered on Michael without stint, the public was callous to his very real personal pain. It became another tawdry piece of the tabloid Jacko, pictured as a weird changeling and as something far more sinister.It's not my place to comment on the troubles Michael fell heir to from the past and then amplified by his misguided choices in life. He was surrounded by enablers, including a shameful plethora of M.D.s in Los Angeles and elsewhere who supplied him with prescription drugs. As many times as he would candidly confess that he had a problem, the conversation always ended with a deflection and denial. As I write this paragraph, the reports of drug abuse are spreading across the cable news channels. The instant I heard of his death this afternoon, I had a sinking feeling that prescription drugs would play a key part.The closest we ever became, perhaps, was when Michael needed a book to sell primarily as a concert souvenir. It would contain pictures for his fans but there would also be a text consisting of short fables. I sat with him for hours while he dreamily wove Aesop-like tales about animals, mixed with words about music and his love of all things musical. This project became Dancing the Dream after I pulled the text together for him, acting strictly as a friend. It was this time together that convinced me of the modus vivendi Michael had devised for himself: to counter the tidal wave of stress that accompanies mega-stardom, he built a private retreat in a fantasy world where pink clouds veiled inner anguish and Peter Pan was a hero, not a pathology.This compromise with reality gradually became unsustainable. He went to strange lengths to preserve it. Unbounded privilege became another toxic force in his undoing. What began as idiosyncrasy, shyness, and vulnerability was ravaged by obsessions over health, paranoia over security, and an isolation that grew more and more unhealthy. When Michael passed me the music for that last song, the one sitting by my bedside waiting for the right words, the procedure for getting the CD to me rivaled a CIA covert operation in its secrecy. My memory of Michael Jackson will be as complex and confused as anyone's. His closest friends will close ranks and try to do everything in their power to insure that the good lives after him. Will we be successful in rescuing him after so many years of media distortion? No one can say. I only wanted to put some details on the record in his behalf. My son Gotham traveled with Michael as a roadie on his "Dangerous" tour when he was seventeen. Will it matter that Michael behaved with discipline and impeccable manners around my son? (It sends a shiver to recall something he told Gotham: "I don't want to go out like Marlon Brando. I want to go out like Elvis." Both icons were obsessions of this icon.) His children's nanny and surrogate mother, Grace Rwaramba , is like another daughter to me. I introduced her to Michael when she was eighteen, a beautiful, heartwarming girl from Rwanda who is now grown up. She kept an eye on him for me and would call me whenever he was down or running too close to the edge. How heartbreaking for Grace that no one's protective instincts and genuine love could avert this tragic day. An hour ago she was sobbing on the telephone from London. As a result, I couldn't help but write this brief remembrance in sadness. But when the shock subsides and a thousand public voices recount Michael's brilliant, joyous, embattled, enigmatic, bizarre trajectory, I hope the word "joyous" is the one that will rise from the ashes and shine as he once did.

Deepak Chopra: A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson

Airlines pull 14m flights in next six months-24 June, 2009

The level of cutbacks by airlines between July and the winter has been identified as equating to more than 14 million flights.

This represents the lowest level of flights since the second half of 2005, according to aviation data firm OAG.

The world’s airlines will offer 3.67% fewer flights and 2.76% fewer seats than they did a year ago, according to the company’s calculations.

“The numbers reflect the airline industry’s attempts to adjust to a weak economic climate, but capacity nevertheless remains almost 20% higher than the levels of the early 2000s,” OAG said.

The OAG analysis covers all future schedules filed by airlines to date, to provide a snapshot of planned airline activity for July to December 2009.

Airbus delivers first China-built plane to owner

TIANJIN, China - Airbus delivered its first plane assembled outside Europe to its Chinese owner on Tuesday, as the world’s largest plane maker extends its reach into fast-growing markets to fend off rival Boeing.

Airbus, owned by European consortium EADS, handed Dragon Aviation Leasing a A320 plane emblazoned with a bright yellow dragon that coiled around the length of the fuselage, a further sign of China’s growing clout in the global aviation industry.

“China is certainly a centrepiece of our strategy,” Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said at the delivery ceremony.

“We are not just selling aircraft to China, but designing aircraft, manufacturing aircraft and supporting aircraft in China,” said Enders.

Airbus — which owns 51 percent of the venture, partnering with Chinese state investors — began assembling the A320 in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing in September from parts made mostly in Europe. It plans to assemble four planes a month in China by the end of 2011.

But the milestone comes as Boeing and Airbus are headed for their worst annual order tally in at least 15 years as struggling airlines cancel or defer almost as many planes as they are buying.

In addition, China is spreading its own wings, as the country’s first regional aircraft, the 90-seat ARJ21-700 jet, made its maiden test flight late last year and is scheduled for commercial delivery in mid-2010.

The country’s broader ambition is to eventually challenge the global dominance of Airbus and Boeing for long-haul and wide-bodied planes, although analysts have said that such a goal is lofty and could take decades.

“Our industrial footprint in China will expand considerably in the coming years,” said Airbus China President Laurence Barron.

Barron said his company now purchases more than $100 million in components, including door frames, wings and composite materials, from China, and that figure that is expected to reach $500 million by 2015.

“This demonstrates the deep commitment of Airbus to build a strong future for China’s aviation industry,” Airbus CEO Enders said.

Rough weather

The airline industry is expected to lose $9 billion this year alone, according to the International Air Transport Association, battered by weak travel demand in an economic downturn, high fuel prices and the H1N1 flu pandemic.

The tough economic times have hastened the move toward globalisation, an Airbus strategy that has been criticised by European workers and governments that say it could result in the loss of European technology to a potential jet-making rival.

“There is no cooperation in industry without a certain transfer of knowledge, processes and technology,” said Enders. “It’s not just in China, but everywhere in the world.”

China can often influence that cooperation because of the leverage gained from its huge demand for goods.

China Eastern Airlines, one of the country’s top three carriers, said last week it was committed to buying buy 20 Airbus A320 aircraft for $1.45 billion at list price, as part of a much larger order that China made in 2007.

Chinese firms have ordered more than 700 aircraft from Airbus, the majority of which are in the A320 family.

Enders noted that 15 percent of Airbus deliveries currently go to China.

“I think that’s very impressive and I have no doubt we will get more orders out of the Chinese market,” he said. “Chinese demand for modern airlines is immense.”

The plane maker has estimated China would need more than 3,000 large aircraft by 2025, including 180 super-jumbo passenger jets.

“So for us not to be in China would be a mistake,” Enders said.

UN: One Billion People Are Hungry Every Day

Cheikh Mukhtar carries the body of 20-month-old Anfac Anwar Mohammed across the family compound minutes after she died from starvation at Dagahaley camp in Dadaab in Kenya's northeastern province. (Photo: Reuter Pictures)

Rome - The global financial meltdown has pushed the ranks of the world's hungry to a record 1 billion, a grim milestone that poses a threat to peace and security, UN food officials said yesterday.

Because of war, drought, political instability, high food prices, and poverty, hunger now affects 1 in 6 people, by the UN estimate.

The financial meltdown has compounded the crisis in what the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization called a "devastating combination for the world's most vulnerable."

Compared with last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they consume fewer than 1,800 calories a day, the agency said.

"No part of the world is immune," said Jacques Diouf, the UN agency's director general. "All world regions have been affected by the rise of food insecurity."

The crisis is a humanitarian one, but also a political issue.

Officials sought to stress the link between hunger and instability, noting that soaring prices for staples, such as rice, triggered riots in the developing world last year.

Josette Sheeran of the World Food Program, another UN food agency based in Rome, said hungry people rioted in at least 30 countries last year. Most notably, soaring food prices led to deadly riots in Haiti and the overthrow of the prime minister.

"A hungry world is a dangerous world," Sheeran said. "Without food, people have only three options: They riot, they emigrate, or they die. None of these are acceptable options."

Even though prices have retreated from their mid-2008 highs, they are still "stubbornly high" in some domestic markets, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. On average, food prices were 24 percent higher in real terms at the end of 2008 compared with 2006, it said.

"Malnutrition kills through the fact that it weakens the immune system of a child," said Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu, a Nairobi-based spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in East Africa. Some 22 million of the 1 billion hungry people counted by the UN are in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, he said.

Engstrand-Neacsu said he had just returned from a corner of southern Ethiopia on the Kenyan border where the food situation is dire, and had been speaking to a family who lost a child to malaria in February. The parents said they were told their son couldn't be saved because he was malnourished.

Engstrand-Neacsu called on donors to act before "skeletal African children are shown on the television screen at dinnertime" in the West.

The number of hungry people is estimated to have reached 1.02 billion - up 11 percent from last year's 915 million, the Food and Agriculture Organization said. The agency said it based its estimate on analysis by the US Department of Agriculture.

The UN agency said that the hunger rate is rising, too - that is, the number of hungry people is growing more quickly than the world population. Officials did not provide a rate but said the trend began two years ago.

Almost all the world's undernourished live in developing countries. But all regions of the world have registered two-digit increases in hunger from last year.

The world's most populous region, Asia and the Pacific, has the largest number of hungry people - 642 million, up 10.5 percent from last year. Sub-Saharan Africa registers 265 million undernourished, an 11.8 percent increase. Even in the developed world, undernourishment is a growing concern, with 15 million in all and a 15.4 percent increase, the sharpest rise around the world, the UN agency said.

Report: Thailand fails to crack down on ivory bazaars, much of it from African elephants

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's government has failed to crack down on one of the world's largest markets of illegal ivory, allowing vendors to openly sell products that come from African elephants, a conservation group said in a report released Friday.The group TRAFFIC, which monitors trade in wildlife, said that judging by recent seizures of ivory imports and exports and several surveys it has done since 2006, Thailand has surpassed traditional hotspots like Japan and China.Hundreds of venues from five-star hotels to the popular Chatuchak weekend market in the capital, Bangkok — which has by far the biggest markets in the country — were found to be selling tens of thousands of items, from pricey carvings of religious deities to cheaper bangles, belt buckles and knife handles.Much of the illegal ivory is smuggled from central African countries to workshops outside Bangkok, the British-based conservation group said. Merchants in the capital and to a lesser degree tourist cities like Chiang Mai sell the ivory products to locals as well as foreign tourists, benefiting from loopholes in current laws that make it hard to crack down on the trade.
Some of the items are also exported to markets in Europe and the United States."Thailand has consistently been identified as one of the world's top five countries most heavily implicated in the illicit ivory trade, but shows little sign of addressing outstanding issues," said Tom Milliken, of TRAFFIC, which oversees a global monitoring program, Elephant Trade Information."Thailand needs to reassess its policy for controlling its local ivory markets as currently it is not implementing international requirements to the ongoing detriment of both African and Asian Elephant populations," Milliken said.He said the booming Thai market is endemic of a larger problem in Southeast Asia, where countries including Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines have become key transit points for ivory that is bound for markets in China.TRAFFIC recommended that Thailand boost its regulation of the domestic ivory market, and amend a law that allows sales of domestic ivory. It also called on the government to streamline often-conflicting legislation related to the trade and to train Thai Customs officials in identifying illegal ivory."The Thai government needs to crack down on this serious illegal activity and stop allowing people to abuse the law," said Colman O'Criodain, the World Wide Fund For Nature's analyst on wildlife trade issues. "A good first step would be to put in place a comprehensive registration system for all ivory in trade and for live elephants."An official with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, who could not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the report would be discussed at a government subcommittee on ivory trade control next week.The official acknowledged there was a "problem" with ivory sales in Bangkok but that it was hard to regulate since it can be difficult to differentiate between ivory that comes from domestic elephants and those from Africa. Some shops selling ivory items are registered with the government but he acknowledged many are not.The Thai official said the government was trying to address the problem partly through the passage of a new law called the Elephant Act, which would toughen regulations on the import and export of elephants and elephant products, including ivory.Shops or stalls selling ivory products in Bangkok are widespread. A visit to River City mall, a popular haunt of tourists and antique collectors, turned up 10 shops selling ivory carvings, necklaces or cigarette holders. All the merchants interviewed insisted their ivory came from Thailand or Myanmar, a claim disputed by Milliken who said the region doesn't have enough elephants to support the industry.At Chatuchak market, the owner of the Ethnic Tribe jewelry stall, Chotika Wongchan, was more forthcoming. She acknowledged she bought African ivory in bulk from another trader in the market and that her brother then crafted it into the rings and belt buckles she had on display."As a jeweler, it's no problem because we don't sell that much," she said.Thailand is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which banned trade in ivory in 1989 after a wholesale slaughter of African elephants by poachers in the 1970s and 1980s. But Thailand, unlike China and Japan, has done little to enforce the trade ban.___On the Net:http:www.traffic.org

more info-->>>Report: Thailand fails to crack down on ivory bazaars, much of it from African elephants -- Newsday.com

5-star hotels, resorts offering big discounts

Having few customers, a lot of 5-star hotels and resorts have decided to slash service fees or offer discounts.

Vinpearl in Nha Trang

Returning from a 4-day trip to Nha Trang city, Nga in the Dinh Cong new urban area in Hanoi related that her big family had a wonderful holiday there for a very good price.

Her family, comprising 24 members, booked rooms at Vinpearl at $125 per night only from June 3 to 6, nearly a 50 percent decrease in comparison with the previous rate of $200 per night.

Nga related that she and her family members felt lucky because they did not have to worry about meals when they were there because the resort provided free breakfasts, lunches and dinners. This is part of a promotion programme the resort is offering to travellers who stay there through the end of August.

When asked about total expenses, Nga said she spent only 20 million dong on five members of her immediate family, including two children.

The economic downturn and H1N1 super flu have led to the sharp decreases of numbers of travellers, which has forced hotels and resorts to launch promotion campaigns to lure travellers back.

Sand Doclet has launched a relax package priced at $155 per person which includes hotel room, meals for two days, free pick-up and drop-off at the airport and massage services. At Sun Rise resort, guests who stay here for three nights only have to pay for 2.5 nights, while those who stay for five nights only have to pay for four nights.

In Hanoi, Tran Khanh Ngoc, Marketing Director of Hilton Hotel, said that from June 1 to July 31, if guests book rooms for stays between now and August 31, they will have to pay only a 1-night fee for two-night stay. On weekends, the hotel serves breakfast until 11 am, while guests don’t have to check out until 6 pm and children enjoy free meals and stays.

The five-star InterContinental has launched a promotion package which sets the fee of $238 for a room for two people for two nights. Guests can have free use of the sports room, swimming pool and sauna. Previous, two guests had to pay $170 for each night.

As hotels and resorts have begun slashing service fees, travel firms are doing likewise. Saigontourist has launched the “easing the summer heat” tours of sea beaches, namely Tuy Hoa, Phu Quoc Island, Ha Long and Nha Trang. The 3-day Saigon-Phu Quoc Island trip costs 3.155 million dong per traveller, not including airfare.

Regarding tours to Phu Quoc Island, families are able to save 300-550,000 dong for a trip for two adults and two children. Travellers will stay at Saigon-Phu Quoc resort.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy Director of Hanoi Redtours, has said his travel firm has reached an agreement on room rate reductions with Diamond Resort & Spa.

The travel firm has launched a series of tours to Da Nang city, Lang Co beach, Da Lat city, Mui Ne beach and Phu Quoc Island, in which travellers will enjoy room rate reductions at high-grade hotels. Travellers have to pay 3.8 million dong per person for the Hanoi-HCM City-Mui Ne tour and 5 million dong for Hanoi-Phu Quoc.

Ngoc Ha

Cambodia Is Ranked in the Second Tier for Human Trafficking in the 2009 US Report

photo:Chuck Kuhn
Phnom Penh: The 2009 report of the US Department of State shows that this year Cambodia stays in the Second Tier [of three] in the assessment on human trafficking. Though, in general the Cambodian government has improved in responding to trafficking, last year the efforts to fight human trafficking declined, especially in the prosecution of human trafficking crimes.

“The report of US Department of State gives some details that Cambodia is a transit country and is targeted for the trafficking of men, women, and children who are victimized by trafficking for sexual exploitation and for forced labor. Children and women are trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia to exploit their labor and for forced prostitution. Some Cambodian men who migrate to Thailand by themselves and to Malaysia to seek jobs are forced to do hard work as fishermen on fishing boats, as construction workers, and as agro-industrial workers. Cambodian women and men sent back to Cambodia recount that they were forced to work hard there, after they had left Cambodia to work there through Cambodian worker recruiting companies. Cambodian children were trafficked to Thailand and Vietnam to do begging and to sell candy or flowers, or to shine shoes. Sometimes, parents sell their children to work as servants or to beg, or they sold them to brothels for sexual exploitation, or to force them to work as house servants. In Cambodia children are trafficked to become beggars. They become scavengers or work at salt fields, at brick and tiles kilns, and at quarries.

The Cambodian government has not fully met the minimum standards of trafficking elimination. Although the government is making remarkable efforts to fight trafficking, the government has not really proven that there are improvements in the prosecution and punishment of human trafficking perpetrators as well as officials who had colluded with those perpetrators, and it has not shown how it is protecting human trafficking victims. Therefore, Cambodia is ranked second in the observation list. To improve this rank, Cambodia should do more to bring human traffickers and colluding officials to be prosecuted and punished.

“Based on the adoption of a law to protect victims of human trafficking in 2000, which was later amended, the US parliament requires the US Department of Sate to send annual reports to the US parliament. These reports on 164 countries are the most comprehensive reports worldwide about the efforts of various governments to fight human trafficking. The reports aim at encouraging activities and stepping up partnership arrangements worldwide to fight this new form of slavery. Countries defined as having many human trafficking victims will be included in any of the three following ranks. Countries evaluated as meeting “the minimum standard to eliminate serous human trafficking” as stated in the law will be put in the first tier. Countries assessed of not meeting the minimum standard but making significant efforts will be included in the second tier. Countries assessed as not meeting the standard and not making any significant efforts will be placed in the third tier.

“This report continues that the law even requires the US Department of State to deliver a special watch list for countries that have been assessed again temporarily for the report by 1 February every year. In addition to the assessments of various countries with improving ranks from third to second to fist, this special watch list even creates a fourth rank. This ranks includes countries in the third tier defined as (1) not making any efforts a year ago and (2) being able to avoid the third rank because of commitments to conduct reforms against human trafficking in the future or (3) having fairly many victims of human trafficking or having fairly increasing rates of human trafficking victims.

“The US Embassy waits to cooperate more with the Royal Government of Cambodia next years in order to achieve success to bring Cambodia to the first tier at last. It should be noted that in 2008, Cambodia was in the second tier also.” Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6679-6680, 18-19.6.2009

- Air India executives to forgo salary

Struggling national carrier Air India on Friday asked its top managers to forgo one month's salary as part of efforts to survive a cash crunch, the company said.

The move comes a week after ordinary staff were told the payment of their salaries would be delayed, prompting a strike threat by 20,000 employees, more than two-thirds of Air India's workforce.

"Executives in the level of general managers and above should voluntarily forgo salary... payable in the month of July 2009," said Air India chairman Arvind Jadhav.

A combination of high fuel prices, fewer passengers and the global financial meltdown have left the airline with an estimated 800 million dollars in losses for the past year and debt of four billion dollars, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

The flagship carrier is expected to follow the example of privately-held Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines by increasing fares in line with global oil prices, and has reportedly asked the government for a bailout package.

| Circle K joins Vietnam’s retail market - Circle K joins Vietnam’s retail market

photo:Chuck Kuhn
ED NOTE: What will follow? 7-11, Target? Visit Vietnam NOW
Circle K - an international chain of convenience stores in the US with more than 7,000 stores around the world put five stores into operation in district 1, HCM City on June 19.

In the second half of this year, Circle K will open another five locations in HCM City and enter the retail markets in Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang and Can Tho with the aim of opening around 550 stores in 20 provinces and cities throughout the country.

Circle K stores are characterized by a small retail space stocked with convenient items customers buy daily and supplementary products.

Circle K has devised an ambitious plan to develop a chain of top stores in the Vietnamese market then expanding its retail network to other regions.

Nuclear power emerges as green option for Asia

MANILA: Nuclear power is emerging as a key option as a source of "green energy" for most developing Asian countries, as they seek to stem the spike in greenhouse gas emission that came with the region's economic success, experts who participated in a Manila forum said.

The growing concern over climate change and how it will hurt the region's environment, human health and economy has forced economic planners, advocates and business leaders in Asia to search for a stable energy source that can moderate the carbon emissions, China's Xinhua news agency cited them as saying.

"Developing Asian countries whether they like it or not should take a look at nuclear power as a source of energy," said Piyasvasti Amranand, chief advisor of the Bangkok-based Energy for Environment Foundation and former Thai energy minister at the closing of the Asia Clean Energy Forum on Friday.

The three-day forum was organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for International Development.

Piyasvasti said renewable energy sources such as wind power and biofuels were indeed environment-friendly, but they might not be enough to meet the needs of the fast-growing region.

In Thailand, for instance, Piyasvasti said it would be difficult to rely on biofuels for its energy requirements as it doesn't have enough land for fuel crops like oil palm.

"Nuclear power is proven technology and it won't contribute to greenhouse gas emissions," Piyasvasti said.

From 1990 to 2006, the average annual 3.5 percent GDP growth rate in Asia resulted to annual energy consumption growth rate of 3.2 percent.

But the region's dependence on fossil fuels has also raised its greenhouse gas emissions, and now accounts for 30 percent of the world's nearly 30 billion metric tonnes carbon emissions, the Tokyo-based Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) said in a report.

According to APERC, Asia consumed 2,558 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) in 2006, most of which were sourced from coal and oil.

The threat of climate change won't stop Asian economies from using fossil fuels, but they will definitely include other energy sources that won't contribute to global warming.

Naoko Doi, senior economist at the Institute of Energy Economics in Japan, said that the trend is moving towards the development of low-carbon technology and diversifying of energy sources which include renewable and nuclear power.

China and India, the twin biggest economies and largest energy consumers in Asia, are actively developing nuclear power in line with their respective policies on energy security and clean energy.

China's top economic planning body the National Development and Reform Commission in May announced that it has developed an energy development plan that focuses on increasing the share of nuclear power and renewable energy such as wind and solar power to their total energy sources.

Currently, coal accounts for 70 percent of the roughly 980 MTOE that China consumes each year, while renewable and nuclear energy only account for less than 10 percent.

The Indian government, on the other hand, plans to increase the production of nuclear power generation from its present capacity of 4,000 megawatts to 20,000 megawatts in the next decade, according to data issued by the Asian Development Bank.

Last year, the Indian government sealed a nuclear pact with the U.S. government.

The pact will give India access to nuclear reactors, fuel and technologies from the U.S. and supported India' s plan to develop its nuclear power capacity.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had endorsed nuclear energy as one of the "commercially available climate change mitigating technologies," IPCC chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri, described nuclear energy as a "green technology" as it doesn't contribute to carbon emission that causes the global warming.

But not everyone agrees with this view.

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace International has been actively campaigning against nuclear energy, arguing that it's not only expensive and inefficient but also harmful to the environment.

"When it comes to combating climate change, nuclear energy cannot deliver the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in time; any emissions reductions from nuclear power will be too little, too late and come at far too high a price," according to a paper issued by Greenpeace in April.

Greenpeace said that no one has yet found a solution to the hazards posed by nuclear waste.

"Despite the billions already invested in research and development for dealing with radioactive waste, new experiments are still being presented as 'solutions'; methods that will not be ready for a long time, may never be commercially viable or do little to solve the long term waste problem," the group said.

For Pachauri, nuclear energy may be an option for those who want to develop green technology.

But he admits that nuclear power isn't for everyone.

"Nuclear energy provides a solution (to our climate change problem), but it’s not a solution (fit) for every country in the world.

“You need a certain infrastructure, engineering skills and safety standards that are followed very strictly.

“Not every country can ensure that," he said. - Bernama

Babcock & Wilcox in $182 mln Vietnam boiler deal |

HANOI, June 19 (Reuters) - McDermott International Inc's (MDR.N) Babcock & Wilcox Co (B&W) has won a $182 million contract to supply a boiler system to a thermal power plant in central Vietnam, the Vietnamese plant builder said on Friday.

Under the contract signed with state-run Lilama on Thursday, B&W would supply the boiler, supervise its installation and conduct test runs at the 1,200-megawatt Vung Ang 1 coal-fired power plant in Ha Tinh province, Lilama said in a statement.

In April, Lilama signed a contract with state oil monopoly Petrovietnam, the owner of the plant, to build the facility over 45 months. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Alan Raybou

Vietnam newspapers - June 18 | Reuters

HANOI, June 18 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

THANH NIEN

-- Ho Chi Minh City-based Southern Bank said it has projected that it will boost assets by 63.7 percent this year to 34 trillion dong ($1.9 billion) while gross profit would soar 156.5 percent to 350 billion dong.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- Military Bank said its two-year bonds to raise 1 trillion dong ($56 million) issued on June 17 carry an annual yield of 10 percent.

ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS:

VIETNAM NEWS

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the issue of 22 trillion dong worth of government bonds for the construction of new urban areas and to speed up Ho Chi Minh City's urban development programme.

-- Three sailors are missing after a ship carrying 1,783 litres of crude oil and 10,000 litres of diesel exploded and sank off the southern city of Vung Tau.

LAO DONG

-- Consumers are exposed to many diseases if they use low-quality paper tissues made by small manufacturers around Hanoi, health experts said.

TUOI TRE

-- A 62-year-old woman returning to Ho Chi Minh City from Canada on June 12 was detected as having the H1N1 flu virus, bringing the total infected cases in Vietnam to 28, the city's Health Department said.

-- Paper product consumption has so far fallen about 25 percent from the same period last year, forcing many producers to run at only 70 percent of their full capacity, the Vietnam Paper Association said. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)

International tourists unimpressed by Impressive Vietnam-18 June, 2009

ANOI – Media sources in Vietnam say the largest-ever Vietnamese tourism promotion, Impressive Vietnam”, jointly organised by Vietnam Airlines and tourist companies to attract foreign tourists, has failed to deliver.

Saigon Daily reports that after just five months of the nine month promotion, many businesses have withdrawn from the campaign after several shortcomings were revealed.

Operators have complained that they have been unable to arrange tours because Vietnam Airlines, which backed the promotion with discounted fares, has been unable to reveal how many discounted seats they will make available.

Tour companies and travel agents say that they now have to negotiate with VNA to offer discounts on tickets for domestic flights to international customers.

They pointed out that offering discounts for airline tickets to flights from Japan to Vietnam does not do any good, as Japanese travel agents often bring their customers to Vietnam via airlines from their own country.

The operators said tourists would only benefit from the campaign if they paid lower prices for domestic tours thanks to special discounts offered by VNA on domestic flights.

Saigon Daily added, “The campaign does not really work as there is not a common voice among VNA and tourist companies.”

Latest reports indicate a fall of 18 percent in the number of international tourists arriving in Vietnam.

Teacher killed by alleged insurgents in Thai south

uspected Muslim insurgents fatally shot a Buddh ist teacher Tuesday in southern Thailand, where violence has continued since a massacre at a mosque last week, police said.

The 55-year-old teacher was riding a motorcycle to her school in Yala province when at least two assailants killed her in a drive-by shooting, said police Col. Poompetch Pipatpetchpoom.

An Muslim separatist insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat has led to the deaths of more than 3,400 people, both Buddhist and Muslim, since early 2004.

Violence has spiked since the killing of 10 Muslims at a mosque in Narathiwat on June 8.

Authorities suspended classes at the school after Tuesday's shooting, Poompetch said.

“The school will remain closed until we can be sure we can provide security for teachers and students,” he said.

Public school teachers in the three provinces are viewed as symbols of government authority and are regularly attacked. At least 90 have been killed in the five-year-old insurgency.

Teachers and Buddhist monks are frequently escorted by soldiers or police. The escorts have themselves become frequent targets of the insurgents. A massive counterinsurgency effort had slowed the pace of attacks in recent months but violence has occurred daily since the attack at the mosque last week.

On Monday, a beheaded and charred body of a Buddhist rubber plantation worker was found in Yala province. His head was found nearby along with his severed limbs.

Thai authorities said the mosque attack was meant to inflame tensions between the Muslim and Buddhist communities. Some local Muslims said the attack was masterminded by Thai authorities, a charge the government and military have denied.

Security forces often blame the insurgents for attacks on Muslim individuals and institutions, saying they are attempting to incite hatred to boost their cause and trigger sectarian strife.

Airbus wins $4.2 billion in deals with Air Asia, Vietnam Airlines, Cebu Pacific

Airbus announced orders from three Asian airlines — two of them low-cost — in deals worth $4.2 billion on Tuesday, giving the European planemaker a boost at the Paris Air Show, which is overshadowed by recession and a slumping industry.

Archrival Boeing Co. has yet to place a single o So far, Airbus has made $6.1 billion in sales of 55 aircraft at the air show, including an order placed Monday.

Airbus' biggest order on Tuesday came from Air Asia, a low-cost carrier based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for 10 A350-900 jets worth $2.4 billion.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders and Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes announced the deal, which also includes options for five more.

"Today's order is certainly proof that there are some rays of sunshine in the market, especially in the low-cost sector," Enders said in a signing ceremony after talks were concluded early this morning.

Fernandes claimed credit for the improved weather at the Paris Air Show — which opened Monday to heavy rain — as well as a lift to the industry's gloom.

"We from Malaysia have brought the sun over," he said.

Airlines often negotiate substantial discounts to catalog prices, particularly in tough economic times.

Fernandes said he got a "good deal" from Airbus, but claimed that he wasn't taking advantage of the period of weak economic growth, when planes are cheaper.

Separately, Vietnam Airlines ordered 16 Airbus A321 single-aisle jets worth $1.4 billion and pledged to buy two more A350-XWB planes.

Airbus only counts firm orders in its overall tally. When airlines make a commitment to buy, they place a small deposit but the sale is not legally binding.

Airbus also said Cebu Pacific has made a firm order for five single-aisle A320s worth a total of $385 million at list prices.

On Monday, Qatar Airways placed firm orders for 20 single-aisle A320s and confirmed a commitment for four A321 jets announced last year at the Farnborough Air Show. The deal is worth $1.9 billion.

Mosquitos in monsoon season are expected to increase

Mosquitos in monsoon season are expected to increase

The 2009 monsoon season will soon arrive in the Asian territories and culicine mosquito populations are expected to increase. "These mosquitoes may carry the virus that causes Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which kills 10-15,000 people each year," warned Fran Lessans, CEO of Passport Health, the largest provider of travel medical services in the U.S. A new vaccine called Ixiaro(R) has been approved by the FDA, and is ready for distribution in the United States. Some Passport Health's offices will have both JE-VAX(R) and Ixiaro(R) until JE-VAX(R) is phased out. "The new vaccine is good for adults over 18 so we still have to use JE-VAX(R) for the younger population," concluded Lessans. Both vaccines protect against JE.

Monsoons flood areas with fresh rain water and this attracts culicine mosquitoes which may carry the virus that causes Japanese Encephalitis. 30,000-50,000 people are infected each year.

China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand have seen epidemics of Japanese Encephalitis. The CDC explains that the disease is controlled primarily by vaccination in these areas. "Vaccination is the best prevention for this potentially deadly disease," cautioned Lessans, whose clients' number one travel destination is India, followed by China. "JE is endemic in northeastern India and we see outbreaks in China as well."

The new JE vaccine is given in a 2-shot series, 28 days apart, while JE-VAX(R) requires 3 doses. The FDA has approved the new vaccine and it is already available at some Passport Health offices.

Japanese Encephalitis is a serious infection which occurs in certain rural parts of Asia and it's transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. It causes the brain to swell and symptoms of severe infections include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, abnormal movements, occasional convulsions (especially in infants), coma, and paralysis. About 1 in 4 of such cases results in death.

"In addition to being vaccinated travelers need to know how to use the correct type of mosquito repellent and other precautionary measures," cautioned Lessans. She went on to offer some tips for travelers:

Remain in well-screened areas whenever possible
Wear clothes that cover most of the body
Use an insect repellent containing 20%-30% DEET on skin.
Spray Permethrin on clothes, bedding and mosquito nets

For more information visit www.passporthealthusa.com or call 888-499-(PASS)

MGM MIRAGE and New Giza for Real Estate Development Company announce agreement to Include MGM near Egypt's famous pyramids-16 June, 2009

MGM MIRAGE and New Giza for Real Estate Development Company announce agreement to Include MGM near Egypt's famous pyramids

MGM MIRAGE and New Giza for Real Estate Development - an Egyptian company building a luxury, mixed-use community near the base of the famous pyramids - today announced plans to develop the MGM Grand New Giza. All equity funding for the development will be provided by New Giza for Real Estate Development. MGM MIRAGE will provide management services and brand fees through MGM MIRAGE Hospitality.

Conveniently located 40 minutes from the airport on the outskirts of Cairo, the 550-room MGM Grand will provide spectacular views of the city of Cairo and the famous pyramids of Giza. It will be connected via electric train to the new and highly anticipated Egyptian antiquities museum, currently under construction.

"The New Giza community presents an opportunity for us to be part of an extraordinary new master-planned development near Egypt's famed pyramids," said Gamal Aziz, President and CEO of MGM MIRAGE Hospitality. "Our partners share our focus on luxury, excellence, customer-oriented design and unparalleled service. Together with this spectacular location, this new resort will quickly become a tourism and conference destination that is both in high demand and fully reflective of the MGM Grand brand."

The New Giza development marks a new beginning for luxurious, master-planned communities in Egypt. Built over 1,500 acres of land, it will incorporate elegant homes, three resort hotels, lavish restaurants, shopping malls, all-inclusive sporting facilities and a high-end golf course designed by Thomson Perrett & Lobb. Built on graded elevations, approximately eighty percent of the 2,500 villas and townhomes will enjoy all-around views of Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza. Developed as nine individual neighborhoods, the community will be surrounded by endless greenery, parks and lakes.

"We are delighted to have the MGM Grand anchor our hotel and hospitality sector in New Giza," said Mahmoud El Gammal, CEO of New Giza for Real Estate Development. "MGM's reputation for quality living, dining, entertainment, spa and nightlife offerings will provide the amenities, excitement and energy that reflect the lifestyle of this unique development."

MGM Grand New Giza is currently under design, and the resort is anticipated to open in 2013.

ATV adventures in Mui Ne

Considered one of the most beautiful places to visit in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan, the Mui Ne Ward of Phan Thiet Town is most famous for its vast sand dunes.

Situated just 10 kilometers from the heart of Phan Thiet, one of the largest sand dunes of Mui Ne stretches over an area of 10-hectares with breathtaking views of the seascapes.

One of the best ways to get around the dunes, and by far the most fun, is to rent a four-wheel, all terrain vehicle (ATV).

Seeing a demand for a greater range of tourism services, Binh Thuan authorities have licensed the local Mico Company to offer rental services for the four-by-four vehicles.

Fitted with high-power engines, ATVs are specially designed to overcome challenging terrain and can handle a wider range of road surfaces than other vehicles. Great for adventure-lovers, ATVs offer a fun way to explore the sand dunes and make for an especially exhilarating way to travel along the beach.

One visitor named Van tried the activity for the first time last February when the company began offering the service, and said he found the ATVs thrilling.

“Me and my girlfriend tried it out,” said Van. “At first, it felt really difficult to control, but when you get used to it, what you gain is terrific. A little danger like this makes our vacation much more exciting,” Van added.

According to Mico Company, the cost of renting a four-wheeler depends on how long the drivers wish to use it. The company charges VND175,000 (US$9.84) for 10 minutes, VND350,000 ($19.70) for 30 minutes, and VND600,000 ($33.75) per hour. In the near future, Mico says it will begin offering other leisure activities such as camel rides.

For more information on renting an all-terrain vehicle in Mui Ne, contact the company at (062) 3 374 3511.

VietNamNet/TN

Zooming over Nha Trang Bay

10:52' 15/06/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - High-flying trikes could soon be a common sight around Nha Trang on the central coast.

Mai Linh Group has been test-flying motorized hang gliders at Do Island in Nha Trang Bay and will make them available to the public soon. The trikes, as they are commonly known, can reach an altitude of 3,000 meters but will be restricted to 150 meters, according to a regional executive of Ho Chi Minh City-based Mai Linh.

Ho Minh Chau, Mai Linh’s general director for the south central region and the Central Highlands, said each test flight lasted less than 20 minutes.

Similarly, they can reach 70kph but will be restricted to 48kph for paying customers, he said.

Quite a few people have been invited to take a test flight.

One woman who claimed to be scared of heights described it as “sensational.” Another said flying in a motorized glider gave him a feeling of lightness and wonder.

The trikes have two seats (one for the pilot), a three-blade propeller and a boat-like bottom for sitting in the sea. The wingspan exceeds 11 meters and the fuel tank at the rear can hold 40 liters.

Donning a crash helmet and seat belt is a must before take- off. When everything is ready, the glider rolls down the sand into the water and lifts off when it reaches sufficient speed.

Chau says Mai Linh plans to operate five trikes for tourists in Nha Trang.

Anyone wanting to leave the pilot behind and go it alone will have to produce a flying certificate from the Vietnam Aviation Institute in Nha Trang.

To be certified requires completing a training course and getting in 21 hours of flying practice.

VietNamNet - The quiet caves

The caverns of Tam Coc (three caves) and Bich Dong (emerald grotto) in northern Vietnam have been known for centuries as the inland Ha Long Bay.

It took millions of years for nature to hollow out the country’s second most beautiful caves by the Ngo Dong River in Ninh Binh Province. Huong Tich Cave in the former Ha Tay Province, now a part of Hanoi, is still considered the most beautiful.

The only way to visit the caves in Ninh Hai Commune, Hoa Lu District is by taking a three-hour cruise in a sampan rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidery.

All is one

“It’s so peaceful and quiet, you can hear the sound of butterflies beating their wings,” says boatwoman Chu Van as the first morning sunbeams illuminate the placid countryside where creeks tumble down between huge rock formations.

The boat journey begins at the village of Van Lam and proceeds through a scenic landscape dominated by rice paddies and karst towers.

Edwen Bell from Britain is spellbound by the chain of sheer limestone peaks rising out of the verdant paddy fields and sees no boundary between land and water.The two seem to merge into one.

The first underground excursion is through Ca Cave, the largest and longest of the caverns. It was created when the sea occupied the area, long ago, and is 127 meters long with a ceiling about two meters above the water.

In the morning light, the cliff above the cave entrance is vividly reflected in the water as it sparkles in the sunshine.

The longer we travel in the row boat, the more beautiful, fanciful and poetic the scenery becomes.

“The air is so fresh. It’s a far cry from the bustling, dusty streets of the city,” says Nguyen Thu Oanh from Hanoi.

Charmed by the interspersed peaks and water, she finds the name “Inland Ha Long Bay” very apt.

We duck as the boat scrapes under a low bridge and feel ourselves lost in a paradise of never-ending lotus ponds and their distinctive aroma.

Farther along the meandering river we come to the shady entrance of Hai Cave, which is 60 meters long and 18 meters wide.

The roof of the cavern is studded with magnificent stalactites that reach nearly to the water and makes us feel like we are floating in a cloud of dripping limestone.

After Hai Cave, we travel along the river through scenery even more imposing than before.

The entrance of Ba Cave looms ahead like a fracture in the mountain. It is the smallest of the three caves and is the coolest thanks to the pleasant breeze.

We duck inside for a spell, say goodbye to Ba Cave, and go along the river a bit more to relax, enjoy the scenery, and smell the perfume from the lotus ponds.

Soon after leaving the spectacular vista of Tam Coc, we alight from the boat and climb a pretty mountainside to visit the tiered temples of Bich Dong Pagoda. The view from the top temple is spectacular.

The French actress Catherine Deneuve left her footprints here when they filmed the final scenes of the film Indochine in 1991. It sparked a rush of French-speaking tourists to Tam Coc-Bich Dong.

From the pagoda, we have the option of traveling farther along the Ngo Dong River before returning to the village, or visiting a brook called the Fairy Stream.

Our journey back is broken with a visit to the centuries-old temple of Thai Vi, which is only a short walk from the river through lush fields of green.

VietNamNet/TN

Travel affected by Virus Flu

The tourism authority is calling on travel firms not to send tourists to areas affected by super flu, dealing another blow to the industry that is already reeling from the global financial crisis and higher oil prices.

Last Monday, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Deputy General Director Nguyen Manh Cuong signed Decree 347/TCDL-LH saying that all travel agencies should suspend tours to countries affected by the A H1N1 virus, which the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic on Thursday.

Designed to contain

"The move is designed to contain the disease, which has spread to many countries," Cuong said.

But travel firms are worried about the financial consequences on business.

Ta Huu Chien, from Transviet Tourist Company, said he would be forced to cancel booked tours.

"We will have to pay compensation for air tickets, hotel reservations, coaches and entry tickets to sight-seeing places," Chien said.

He said compensation could amount to billions of dong.

A representative from Vinatour Tourist Company said that Asian tours were a major part of his business, particularly trips to Singapore, Taiwan and Japan – all affected by the super flu pandemic.

"We agree that these tours should be stopped to protect people’s health, but enterprises such as ours should be given support to stay in business," she said.

Meanwhile, Viettravel Tourism Company’s Dang Thanh Tung said more than 30 tourist parties were booked to travel to China and Hong Kong this month.

"We heard about the order, but cannot implement it this month as consumers have booked the tours and all travelling procedures have been finalised," Tung said.

Cuong said travel firms ignoring the decree would face the consequences.

"A tourist found to be positive for the A H1N1 virus must be isolated and under treatment in a foreign country for weeks. Travel firms would have to cover this cost," C

Vietnam newspapers - June 12 | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters

HANOI, June 12 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

TUOI TRE

-- Banks have raised annual interest rates on dong deposits to 10 percent, 50 basis points below the central bank ceiling. However, growth in dong deposits remains slow as people seeking higher returns shift funds into stocks and gold, bankers said.

-- Several banks have said they would pay their first dividend for this year to boost share prices. Eximbank planned to pay an 8 percent dividend, while Asia Commercial Bank ACB.HN would pay a 9 percent dividend in cash.

LAO DONG

-- Maritime Bank said its gross profit in the first five months of this year reached 470 billion dong ($26 million), or 66 percent of its full-year target. The lender's assets have risen 10 percent to 41 trillion dong from the end of April.

-- Commodities manufacturers and construction materials makers are expected to post solid profits for the second quarter as they benefit from the government's loan subsidy scheme.

-- Foreign investors have been net buyers of bonds worth 1.3 trillion dong ($7.4 billion) in the past two months while they sold 190 billion dong worth of shares, statistics showed.

GENERAL AND ECONOMIC NEWS

VIETNAM NEWS

-- The number of H1N1 flu cases in Vietnam have reached 23, the Health Ministry said.

-- Seafood exports this year are expected to equal 2008's $4.5 billion despite the global economic slump, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said.

THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM

-- National television VTV said it had established a joint venture with French pay-TV group Canal Plus (VIV.PA) in Vietnam.

-- Oil monopoly Petrovietnam said it had established a coal trading unit to import coal for its power plants. Petrovietnam plans to invest in coal-fired power capacity of 6,000 megawatt, bringing its total coal need to 18 million tonnes per year when all plants are operational. Continued...

more info-->>>PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - June 12 | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters

TRANS-ASIAN RAILWAY NETWORK LINKING 28 COUNTRIES ENTERS INTO FORCE

BANGKOK, June 12 (NNN-TNA):The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network (TAR) came into force on Thursday, allowing countries throughout Asia to coordinate the development and operation of international rail routes linking 28 countries in the region.

The agreement took effect on Thursday, the ninetieth day after the governments of at least eight member states consented to be bound by its terms. The eight countries which already ratified the agreement with the UN Secretary-General are China, Cambodia, India, Mongolia, South Korea, Russia, Tajikistan and Thailand. The Republic of Georgia has also agreed to the terms of the pact, but its membership will take effect after 90 days.

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Executive-Secretary, said that the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network spans 114,000 kilometres linking 28 countries, providing regional connectivity and linkages to Europe via Russia and the Middle East via Iran.

Dr. Heyzer said, however, 8,300-kilometres of necessary linkages are still missing and an estimated budget of US$25 billion is required to complete construction. Many routes are being built, such as the rail lines linking Iran to Azerbaijan, Turkey to Georgia and Iran to Armenia.

Some routes have only recently been inaugurated, such as those connecting Thailand’s Nong Khai province to the Lao PDR’s Thanaleng district, adjacent to the its capital Vientiane.

The agreement is the second treaty which has been developed under ESCAP, beginning ain the 1960s, following the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network, comprising of 141,000- kilometre of roadways, which entered into force on July 4, 2005.

Dr. Heyzer added that the TAR network, together with the Asian Highway, will help stimulate the economic recovery of member countries and create new economies of scale while reducing transportation costs. Trade will also be more distributed across the region, including landlocked countries and remote hinterland areas to create the so-called ‘dry ports’.

While many governments plan to invest in road construction to facilitate their growing cities and populations, Dr. Heyzer said that the Asian Railways network will be a better mode of transportation which can help reduce the negative environmental impact and concern over energy-dependency during periods of oil price fluctuations.

As many parts of the missing lines are in Southeast Asian region, Thailand’s Minister of Transport Sophon Zaram revealed the agreement is in accord with the policy of the Thai government to increase the role of the railway transport to reduce energy consumption and enhance the efficiency of the national logistics system.

Sophon said that the cross-border rail services between Thailand and Malaysia are already in place for passengers and freight. Thailand has also completed the railway tracks on the Thai border to connect with that of Cambodia’s rail network, with only a 48-kilometre line section between Poipet and Sisophon missing and under restoration.

Meanwhile, Sophon said that, regarding rail services to Myanmar, a feasibility study has been undertaken with the assistance of the South Korean government.

Barry Cable, director of the UNESCAP Transport Division, said with the entry into force of the agreement, a working group has been set up to consider challenges of the Asian Railway network such as the efficiency of cross-border rail services which depend on smooth border operations, as well as social and security issues which may occur following the operations.

Vietnamese sweltering on hot summer days - People's Daily Online

Vietnamese sweltering on hot summer days
It was a Wednesday morning in Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi, but instead of noisy and busy, the city's streets were empty with only a few motorbikes and taxicabs passing through.

High temperature, as high as nearly 40 degrees Celsius, drove most of the city's people away from the streets and confined them to the rooms.

"It takes only five minutes to get all sweaty if you go outside," said Ngoc Quynh, a girl working as an office clerk in Hanoi. "I have not experienced such hot days for one or two summers."

According to the weather forecast, a hot spell is lingering in northern parts of Vietnam. The temperature went as high as 42 degrees Celsius in the past few days.

Hot days make people tired, slow people's pace and hurt office efficiency.

"It is too hot. I don't want to work in the office, and I don' t want to cook at home, "said Ngoc Quynh. "It is very hard to fall asleep at night. I stay awake until two o'clock in the morning, all sweaty."

People are responding differently to hot weather. Men complain more than women, and the children suffer most.

In the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Pediatrics, nearly 2,000 children were received within one day on Tuesday. They came with heat stroke or flu.

Doctors at the hospital said children were vulnerable to hot weather, and change of temperature between the air-conditioned room and outside.

Hanoi people spent a whole day waiting for the evening to come. When the night fell, they embraced the happiest time of the day.

Local residents, after being confined indoor for the whole day, came out of their houses and rode motorbikes circling around the city for a breath of fresh air.

In a large square near the city's My Dinh Stadium, many people gathered here in the evening for fun and they wouldn't go home until midnight.

Business booming on hot days

As people don't want to go outside, delivery service becomes hot with the hot weather.

Van Anh did not go home as usual when she finished her office work on Tuesday noon. It was hot and her home was experiencing power cut. Van Anh stayed in the office and asked for fast-food delivery service.

The swimming pools in Hanoi are receiving more customers. The number of swimmers at Hanoi Westlake Water Park doubled in the past weekend compared with normal weekends, reported local newspaper the Young People. The number will go even higher if the park is able to hold more people.

Air-conditioners, fans and refrigerators are selling briskly. According to a local supermarket for home electronics, it doesn't have enough technician to install the air-conditioners in the after-sales service.

Mekong Delta provinces seek capital for 13 tourism projects

The Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang and An Giang provinces are seeking funds for 13 tourism projects.

Tien Giang this year has welcomed around 795,000 tourists, over half of them foreigners, up 13% compared to 2008.

They include Chau Doc Town Entertainment Area, Ky Lan Son Culture and History, Oc Eo History Relic and Tourism, Bung Binh Thien, My Khanh, My Hoa Hung-Con Pho Que Ecological Area, Cam Mountain Ecological Area, Tra Su Ecological Area, and infrastructure for Tourist Area No. 2 and the area of Cam Mountain.

Tien Giang province’s 77 hectare Thoi Son Islet and 80 hectare Tan Thanh Beach projects have a few local investors and the Dong Thap Muoi Ecological project covers 100 hectares.

“We have many projects but we are focusing on the Thoi Son Islet project,” Nguyen Ngoc Minh, director of the Tien Giang province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told the Daily at a meeting in HCMC on Friday.

The provinces’ tourism officials said the organizers not only wanted to promote their projects to investors but to let the tour operators know more about tourist sites in the two provinces.

“We (Tien Giang and An Giang) are joining hands to make a strong connection between the beginning and the last destinations of the inland section of a tourism route between countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region,” Minh said.

He said the project would help these provinces develop infrastructure and promote the area’s tourism potential and that with the region’s waterways the two provinces are aiming to develop river tours.

Under the sponsorship of the Asian Development Bank, An Giang province has built a tourist wharf in Chau Doc. A similar wharf is due in Tien Giang’s My Tho in the next few months.

“There are suitable conditions to help us develop the tourism sector,” Minh said.

Tien Giang this year has welcomed around 795,000 tourists, over half of them foreigners, up 13% compared to 2008.

An Giang attracts many visitors but most of them are not tourists as they come only to pray at Ba Chua Xu Temple in Chau Doc City.

Admiring Dray Nur Waterfall and discovering the Central Highlands

Buon Ma Thuot, located deep in the Central Highlands and about 360 km from HCMC, is worth the trip as it offers travelers clean natural beauty, a temperate climate, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and national parks.

Dray Nur Waterfall in the Central Highlands province of Daklak.

Serepok River, one of the biggest rivers in the Central Highlands at a length of 300 kilometers, creates many waterfalls such as Dray Sap, Krong K’mar and, especially, Dray Nur, a masterpiece of nature which is luring travelers.

Dray Nur Waterfall is located in Krong Ana district, about 25 kilometers south of Buon Ma Thuot City in Daklak province, and falls from its cliff for 30 meters before hitting the pool. Its name translated into English is “wife waterfall”.

The area around the waterfall has been developed with VND500 million in hotels, roads, modern staircases and entertainment services. The pool created by the waterfall is large enough for hundreds of people to play together in the fresh water and watch the river curl its way downhill and spray countless drops of water toward the tropical sun.

There’s a cave under the waterfall that offers exotic adventure. Picking one’s way over moss-covered flagstones and tortuous rock hills under the shade of seasoned trees to the cave, travelers are dazzled by the magnificent and poetic scenery of clear lakes that teem with fish.

Bamboo bridges link several waterfalls in the area.

Buon Ma Thuot is home to a number of ethnic minorities who have maintained century-old traditions. A trek through the villages and a night of drinking wine through a pipe and dancing with the locals by campfire is a must-do.

Tourists also should not miss Ban Don village where the people domesticate wild elephants and use them as transportation through the green forest. Biking and motor biking are also recommended ways to discover the Central Highlands.

Doing business on bodies of others

With 15,000 dong, anybody can download sexy pictures of celebrities onto their hand phones. The selling of sexy pictures for mobile phones has become a business, and business is good.

Advertisements for picture download services in local newspapers.

When they post their own sexy photos on their blogs, perhaps many girls don’t think that their pictures might be used for commercial purposes one day and spread widely. Perhaps actresses also don’t think that their photos could easily become the means of entertainment and money-making of others, who both spite the law and business morals.

“Cool” service

“Music must be blaze-up, photos must be hot like this,” “Burning scenes by…,” “The whole collection of sexy pictures of…” are advertisements for music and picture download services for mobile phones.

Going with these small ads are pictures of famous Vietnamese and foreign actresses and models like Hong Kong actress Liu Yi Fei, South Korean pop star BoA, Vietnamese model Tang Thanh Ha and hot girl Thuy Top.

These ads cover many advertising pages of big and small newspapers, most popularly in magazines for students like Hoa Hoc Tro and Muc Tim.

These invitations aim to make mobile subscribers send messages to ask for the pictures and pay fees to service providers. Visiting websites introduced in these ads, one can see that the pictures are really hot, even more than the advertisements, with the presence of sex models from Japan and Thailand.

Experts say that the golden age for paging, ringtone and picture download services for cell phones has passed as modern handphones can be connected to computers. Software products that enable users to create their own ringtones and background pictures are also available.

In addition, the boom of service providers in recent years has forced them to struggle fiercely to survive. Service providers have to create diversified and attractive services to get customers.

Nevertheless, many think the competition is turning in a harmful direction as most new pictures focus on sex. In the past, pictures of international celebrities in bikinis were considered to be very hot. At present, topless and nude photos of sex models are available. Several years ago, pictures of artists came from newspapers. Currently, most of them come from movies.

The trend of young girls uploading hot pictures of themselves on their blogs is also being exploited as these pictures are modified to become products for commercial services.

Vague things

Advertisement on a website.

Asked whether they know that their pictures are being used for business, some artists say they know, some say they don’t, but none really seem to care. This is indisputably one way to advertise one’s image. Moreover, it is very difficult to sue service providers.

Some young artists are even ready to provide pictures to service providers to promote their images.

As a result, many companies go further in illegally using pictures, music works and video clips of artists. Some note below service ads that they hold the copyrights of the products they supply. It can only be guessed if they know that each picture they co-opt is the property of the photographer and the photographed, or the press agency if the picture is published -- it can probably safely be assumed they do though.

A senior official of an Internet-based value-added service providing company said: “Most of the pictures we use are taken from newspapers. If we use photos of artists we are acquainted with, we ask for their permission. That’s all! The pictures of foreign artists abound on the Internet, we can use them freely!

Downloading sexy pictures of a famous model-actress onto a hand phones.

“Many people think that we pocket all VND15,000/message so they say we are dishonest. Actually, we earn a small part of that number. The remaining goes into the pockets of telecom service providers or mobile service providers and the owners of the service number. If we had to pay royalties, we couldn’t survive.”

The question is: Do service providers have the right to use assets of others for profit? What is the responsibility of mobile service companies when they allocate service phone numbers to others and don’t supervise how they are used? Does the Press Agency keep a watch on the contents of websites which post ads for music and picture download services to prevent violations?

Photos of artists are a few among many products offered by message service providers. Other ones are fortune-telling, love-making position guides, sexual-choosing services. These services have been complained about, but they still exist -- and many are concerned about the direction they are going.