Hundred die in Indonesia quake
A POWERFUL earthquake has rocked western Indonesia, killing 100-200 people and trapping thousands under collapsed buildings – including two hospitals – and triggering landslides.
The death toll is expected to climb sharply after the magnitude 7.6 quake struck at 5:15pm local time yesterday, just off the coast of Padang city on the island of Sumatra.
When the quake struck, the ground was shaking so hard that people had to sit down in the streets to avoid falling over. Children screamed as residents tried to put out fires started in the quake. Thousands fled the coast, fearing a tsunami.
It came a day after a quake in the South Pacific hurled a massive tsunami at the shores of Samoa and American Samoa.
The epicentre of the earthquake off Indonesia was several thousand miles to the west. A tsunami warning for countries around the Indian Ocean was issued, and panicked residents fled to higher ground fearing giant waves. The warning was lifted about an hour later.
Initial reports said 75 people died, but the real number is "definitely higher than that", vice-president Jusuf Kalla said in the capital, Jakarta. "It's hard to tell because there is heavy rain and a blackout." The figure soon hit at least 100 confirmed dead.
Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre, said: "Thousands of people are trapped under the collapsed houses." A field hospital was being readied and medical teams were on their way from neighbouring provinces. An official at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta said: "Many buildings are badly damaged, including hotels and mosques."
Footage from Padang showed flattened buildings, one with a foot sticking out from beneath the debris.
"The earthquake was very strong," said Kasmiati, who lives on the coast near to the epicentre. "People ran to high ground. Houses and buildings were badly damaged. I was outside, so I am safe, but my children at home were injured…" At that point, her mobile phone went dead. Reports said landslides had cut all roads to Padang. Power was also hit.
"I want to know what happened to my sister and her husband," said Fitra Jaya, who owns a house in Padang and was in Jakarta when the quake struck. "I tried to call my family there, but I could not reach anyone at all."
• A 6.3 quake struck in southeastern Peru last night, near Bolivia's capital of La Paz, the US Geological Survey reported. It said the quake, fairly deep at 160.3 miles, occurred about 100 miles north-west of La Paz. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
ECHOES OF BOXING DAY 2004
YESTERDAY'S earthquake was along the same fault line that produced the massive 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Here, the India plate, which is drifting northwards at a rate of 6cm per year, slides under the Burma plate, creating a fault line where compressed energy builds up.
On 26 December 2004, the sudden release of this energy ripped open the ocean floor for 1,600km northwards from near Aceh, the northernmost province of Sumatra.
The ensuing earthquake, reaching a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 and lasting for eight to ten minutes, was one of the largest ever recorded.
Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, told MetroTV that yesterday's earthquake caused a mall and two hospitals to collapse in Padang, a low-lying city in Western Sumatra with a population of about 900,000. Geologists had earlier warned that the city was vulnerable.
"This is a high-scale disaster, more powerful than the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006 when more than 3,000 died," the minister said, referring to a major city on the main island of Java.
Padang has been badly hit before, by an 8.4 magnitude quake in September 2007, when dozens of people died and several large buildings collapsed.
The full article contains 657 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Typhoon Kills at Least 41 in Vietnam
DA NANG, Vietnam — Typhoon Ketsana headed west toward Laos on Wednesday after battering central Vietnam with powerful winds and heavy rain, leaving behind blue and sunny skies but dangerously rising floodwaters. The official death toll in Vietnam was placed at 41, but officials said that number was expected to rise as more reports came in and as the floodwaters threatened further destruction.
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“The rain was heavy and the wind was like crazy,” Nguyen Trong Tung, a photographer, said. “Right now the sun is beautiful, there are white clouds and the sky is blue, and the streets are already clear.”
The clear weather is deceptive and the danger has not passed, said Andrew Wells-Dang, a representative of Catholic Relief Services, who called Ketsana “the most serious typhoon that’s hit here in four or five years.”
“The casualty figures will get worse over the next days as more reports come in and also as the river levels rise from rain up in the mountains that will cause more flooding,” he said in a telephone call from the capital, Hanoi.
The floods could reach the historic highs of 1964, said Le Van Duong, a relief and disaster mitigation coordinator for World Vision International, a Christian aid organization.
The storm was already weakening as it headed toward Laos, weather stations reported.
“The system is expected to completely dissipate over land within the next 12 hours as it continues to track to the west,” the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.
The damage in Vietnam was far less than in the Philippines, where the typhoon was reported to have caused 246 deaths and inundated the homes of nearly 2.3 million people. More storms were reported to be heading toward the Philippines on Wednesday.
In Cambodia, at least 11 people were killed Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “We’re used to storms that sweep away one or two houses,” Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom Province, told The A.P. “But I’ve never seen a storm this strong.”
Official reports said some of the worst damage in Vietnam was in the central highlands, where flash floods and mud slides took at least 13 lives and caused serious damage to the country’s coffee growing industry. Flooding receded Wednesday in the ancient capital of Hue and the preserved town of Hoi An, which are popular with tourists.
Many foreign visitors had been trapped in Hoi An, some doubling up in hotel rooms as water rose on the lower floors. Others were sequestered in luxury hotels on China Beach in Da Nang. Vietnamese television showed Westerners in rain coats wading through the waist-deep water in Hoi An, taking pictures of each other.
“I had to jump from the second floor of a hotel to get into a boat,” said Mr. Trong, the photographer, who visited Hoi An Wednesday. “People were trapped in their homes and the police and army were bringing them instant noodles and water.”
Hardest hit were the provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Tien Hue and Quang Tri, according to the government. Four other provinces were also affected, including Kon Tum in the central highlands.
The storm damaged nearly 170,000 homes as well as crops and irrigation systems, the government said. It said 350,000 people had been evacuated ahead of time in a well-practiced drill in this disaster-prone region. The most destructive flooding in central Vietnam in recent years came in late 1999 when 750 people were left dead or missing.
In recent years Vietnam has experienced more frequent and powerful typhoons and floods, the United Nations Development Program said in a report last year.
After Tuesday’s typhoon passed in central Vietnam, some areas shown on television looked like vast brown oceans with rooftops and trees poking above the water. Technicians were shown struggling to repair power lines and power stations to restore electricity. Officials waded knee-deep through water to inspect the damage.
In Da Nang, the country’s fourth-largest city, damage appeared relatively light given the force of the storm, with fallen trees scattered on the streets and electric lines down but with houses and roofs intact, according to witnesses and television footage.
Much of the damage came along the coastline, where many houses were washed away and thousands of people were forced to shelter in schools and public buildings, said Mr. Duong, the World Vision coordinator. He said thousands of people were evacuated along the coast, and many of their houses were swept away.
Television stations broadcast images of uniformed officials delivering food supplies to people huddled in damp and darkened homes, their faces lighted by flashlights as they thanked the government for its help.
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A view of a street in the flooded Vietnamese town of Hoi An on Wednesday. More Photos »
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Typhoon Ketsana Batters VietnamSlide Show
Typhoon Ketsana Batters Vietnam
“The rain was heavy and the wind was like crazy,” Nguyen Trong Tung, a photographer, said. “Right now the sun is beautiful, there are white clouds and the sky is blue, and the streets are already clear.”
The clear weather is deceptive and the danger has not passed, said Andrew Wells-Dang, a representative of Catholic Relief Services, who called Ketsana “the most serious typhoon that’s hit here in four or five years.”
“The casualty figures will get worse over the next days as more reports come in and also as the river levels rise from rain up in the mountains that will cause more flooding,” he said in a telephone call from the capital, Hanoi.
The floods could reach the historic highs of 1964, said Le Van Duong, a relief and disaster mitigation coordinator for World Vision International, a Christian aid organization.
The storm was already weakening as it headed toward Laos, weather stations reported.
“The system is expected to completely dissipate over land within the next 12 hours as it continues to track to the west,” the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.
The damage in Vietnam was far less than in the Philippines, where the typhoon was reported to have caused 246 deaths and inundated the homes of nearly 2.3 million people. More storms were reported to be heading toward the Philippines on Wednesday.
In Cambodia, at least 11 people were killed Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “We’re used to storms that sweep away one or two houses,” Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom Province, told The A.P. “But I’ve never seen a storm this strong.”
Official reports said some of the worst damage in Vietnam was in the central highlands, where flash floods and mud slides took at least 13 lives and caused serious damage to the country’s coffee growing industry. Flooding receded Wednesday in the ancient capital of Hue and the preserved town of Hoi An, which are popular with tourists.
Many foreign visitors had been trapped in Hoi An, some doubling up in hotel rooms as water rose on the lower floors. Others were sequestered in luxury hotels on China Beach in Da Nang. Vietnamese television showed Westerners in rain coats wading through the waist-deep water in Hoi An, taking pictures of each other.
“I had to jump from the second floor of a hotel to get into a boat,” said Mr. Trong, the photographer, who visited Hoi An Wednesday. “People were trapped in their homes and the police and army were bringing them instant noodles and water.”
Hardest hit were the provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Tien Hue and Quang Tri, according to the government. Four other provinces were also affected, including Kon Tum in the central highlands.
The storm damaged nearly 170,000 homes as well as crops and irrigation systems, the government said. It said 350,000 people had been evacuated ahead of time in a well-practiced drill in this disaster-prone region. The most destructive flooding in central Vietnam in recent years came in late 1999 when 750 people were left dead or missing.
In recent years Vietnam has experienced more frequent and powerful typhoons and floods, the United Nations Development Program said in a report last year.
After Tuesday’s typhoon passed in central Vietnam, some areas shown on television looked like vast brown oceans with rooftops and trees poking above the water. Technicians were shown struggling to repair power lines and power stations to restore electricity. Officials waded knee-deep through water to inspect the damage.
In Da Nang, the country’s fourth-largest city, damage appeared relatively light given the force of the storm, with fallen trees scattered on the streets and electric lines down but with houses and roofs intact, according to witnesses and television footage.
Much of the damage came along the coastline, where many houses were washed away and thousands of people were forced to shelter in schools and public buildings, said Mr. Duong, the World Vision coordinator. He said thousands of people were evacuated along the coast, and many of their houses were swept away.
Television stations broadcast images of uniformed officials delivering food supplies to people huddled in damp and darkened homes, their faces lighted by flashlights as they thanked the government for its help.
Vietnam Finds Itself Vulnerable if Sea Rises
For centuries, as monsoon rains, typhoons and wars have swept over them and disappeared into the sunshine, the farmers and fishermen of the Mekong Delta have drawn life from the water and fertile fields where the great river ends its 2,700-mile journey to the sea.
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An estimated 85 percent of the people in the Mekong Delta are supported by agriculture. More Photos »
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A fishermen’s dock in Ben Tre. If sea levels rise by three feet, 11 percent of Vietnam’s population could be displaced, a World Bank paper says. More Photos >
The rhythms of life continue from season to season though, like much of the country, the delta is moving quickly into the future, and industry has begun to pollute the air and water.
But everything here, both the timeless and the new, is at risk now from a threat that could bring deeper and longer-lasting disruptions than the generations of warfare that ended more than 30 years ago.
In a worse-case projection, a Vietnamese government report released last month says that more than one-third of the delta, where 17 million people live and nearly half the country’s rice is grown, could be submerged if sea levels rise by three feet in the decades to come.
In a more modest projection, it calculates that one-fifth of the delta would be flooded, said Tran Thuc, who leads Vietnam’s National Institute for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Sciences and is the chief author of the report.
Storm surges could periodically raise that level, he said, and experts say an intrusion of salt water and industrial pollution could contaminate much of the remaining delta area.
The risks of climate change for Vietnam go far beyond the Mekong Delta, up into the Central Highlands, where rising temperatures could put the coffee crop at risk, and to the Red River Delta in the north, where large areas could be inundated near the capital, Hanoi.
Climate experts consider this nation of an estimated 87 million people to be among the half-dozen most threatened by the weather disruptions and rising sea levels linked to climate change that are predicted in the course of this century.
If the sea level rises by three feet, 11 percent of Vietnam’s population could be displaced, according to a 2007 World Bank working paper.
If it rises by 15 feet, 35 percent of the population and 16 percent of the country’s land area could be affected, the document said.
The government report emphasizes that the predictions represent the threat, based on current models, if no measures are taken in the coming decades, like building dikes.
But the potential disruptions and the tremendous cost of trying to reduce their impact could slow Vietnam’s drive to emerge from its postwar poverty and impede its ambitions to become one of the region’s economic leaders.
Once again, this nation, which has spent much of its history struggling to free itself from foreign domination, finds itself threatened by an overpowering outside force.
“Climate change isn’t caused by a developing country like Vietnam, but it is suffering the consequences,” said Koos Neefjes, a policy adviser on climate change with the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi.
In addition to rising seas in the Mekong Delta, climatologists predict more frequent, severe and southerly typhoons, heavier floods and stronger storm surges that could ultimately drive hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Climate refugees could swell the population of Ho Chi Minh City, on low-lying land just north of the delta, as war refugees did when it was known as Saigon.
But the city itself is also at risk, says the government study, prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Up to one-fourth of the city’s area would be threatened by rising floodwaters if the sea level rose by three feet.
“Ho Chi Minh City could have a double impact if sea levels rise and living conditions in the delta are not sustainable,” Mr. Thuc, the lead author of the government report, said in an interview.
His report assesses only the climatological risks, he said, and a great deal more work needs to be done to try to determine their social and economic impacts and the probable effect on population displacement.
Because of the uncertainties of climate change and the variables of mitigation measures, it is impossible to rank nations precisely on a scale of risk, Mr. Neefjes said.
However, the 2007 World Bank working paper studied 84 coastal developing countries and found Vietnam to be the most threatened in terms of percentage of population affected, and second only to the Bahamas in terms of percentage of land area affected, if no mitigating measures are taken.
“Among all of the indicators used in this paper, Vietnam ranks among the top five most impacted countries,” the paper says. It did not include some small island nations like the Maldives and Tuvalu that are also threatened with severe inundation.
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Chau Doan for The New York Times
An estimated 85 percent of the people in the Mekong Delta are supported by agriculture. More Photos »
Multimedia
Threat to the Mekong DeltaSlide Show
Threat to the Mekong Delta
Enlarge This Image
Kevin German/Luceo Images
A fishermen’s dock in Ben Tre. If sea levels rise by three feet, 11 percent of Vietnam’s population could be displaced, a World Bank paper says. More Photos >
The rhythms of life continue from season to season though, like much of the country, the delta is moving quickly into the future, and industry has begun to pollute the air and water.
But everything here, both the timeless and the new, is at risk now from a threat that could bring deeper and longer-lasting disruptions than the generations of warfare that ended more than 30 years ago.
In a worse-case projection, a Vietnamese government report released last month says that more than one-third of the delta, where 17 million people live and nearly half the country’s rice is grown, could be submerged if sea levels rise by three feet in the decades to come.
In a more modest projection, it calculates that one-fifth of the delta would be flooded, said Tran Thuc, who leads Vietnam’s National Institute for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Sciences and is the chief author of the report.
Storm surges could periodically raise that level, he said, and experts say an intrusion of salt water and industrial pollution could contaminate much of the remaining delta area.
The risks of climate change for Vietnam go far beyond the Mekong Delta, up into the Central Highlands, where rising temperatures could put the coffee crop at risk, and to the Red River Delta in the north, where large areas could be inundated near the capital, Hanoi.
Climate experts consider this nation of an estimated 87 million people to be among the half-dozen most threatened by the weather disruptions and rising sea levels linked to climate change that are predicted in the course of this century.
If the sea level rises by three feet, 11 percent of Vietnam’s population could be displaced, according to a 2007 World Bank working paper.
If it rises by 15 feet, 35 percent of the population and 16 percent of the country’s land area could be affected, the document said.
The government report emphasizes that the predictions represent the threat, based on current models, if no measures are taken in the coming decades, like building dikes.
But the potential disruptions and the tremendous cost of trying to reduce their impact could slow Vietnam’s drive to emerge from its postwar poverty and impede its ambitions to become one of the region’s economic leaders.
Once again, this nation, which has spent much of its history struggling to free itself from foreign domination, finds itself threatened by an overpowering outside force.
“Climate change isn’t caused by a developing country like Vietnam, but it is suffering the consequences,” said Koos Neefjes, a policy adviser on climate change with the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi.
In addition to rising seas in the Mekong Delta, climatologists predict more frequent, severe and southerly typhoons, heavier floods and stronger storm surges that could ultimately drive hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Climate refugees could swell the population of Ho Chi Minh City, on low-lying land just north of the delta, as war refugees did when it was known as Saigon.
But the city itself is also at risk, says the government study, prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Up to one-fourth of the city’s area would be threatened by rising floodwaters if the sea level rose by three feet.
“Ho Chi Minh City could have a double impact if sea levels rise and living conditions in the delta are not sustainable,” Mr. Thuc, the lead author of the government report, said in an interview.
His report assesses only the climatological risks, he said, and a great deal more work needs to be done to try to determine their social and economic impacts and the probable effect on population displacement.
Because of the uncertainties of climate change and the variables of mitigation measures, it is impossible to rank nations precisely on a scale of risk, Mr. Neefjes said.
However, the 2007 World Bank working paper studied 84 coastal developing countries and found Vietnam to be the most threatened in terms of percentage of population affected, and second only to the Bahamas in terms of percentage of land area affected, if no mitigating measures are taken.
“Among all of the indicators used in this paper, Vietnam ranks among the top five most impacted countries,” the paper says. It did not include some small island nations like the Maldives and Tuvalu that are also threatened with severe inundation.
Next Pages
Hit by typhoon, Vietnam rivers swell to historic levels
The typhoon that ravaged the Philippines on Saturday is now ripping through central Vietnam and Cambodia, where it has killed dozens, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and unleashed torrential rains that could cause some of the worst flooding in decades.
Authorities in Vietnam say the typhoon, packing 90 mph winds, killed 38 people before heading further inland into Cambodia and heading toward Laos and Thailand. The storm has since weakened, but Cambodia’s province of Kampong Tham has been hard hit, with as many as 11 people reported dead and nearly 80 houses destroyed.
Vietnam has been left reeling from the devastation. The typhoon, which set down on Tuesday, destroyed nearly 300,000 homes and forced 357,000 people to evacuate, reports Reuters.
Some 50,000 acres of agricultural land have been affected. Waters have also flooded the ancient palace city of Hue, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, adds Agence France-Presse.
The worst may not be over. By Wednesday, rivers in Vietnam appeared ready to swell beyond levels not seen since 1964, reports Vietnam’s Thanh Nien news:
In fact, with the rainfall measuring up to 1,300 millimeters in some localities like Thua Thien – Hue on Tuesday evening, water levels in the Tra Bong River reached 5.58 meters, 0.19 meters higher than the historic flood peak in 1964.
Authorities were struggling Wednesday to reach areas cut off due to power outages and blocked roads, such as the Nhon Chau Island in Binh Dinh Province, where 2,000 people cannot be reached. Authorities say that, as river waters continues to rise, the biggest challenge is getting food to isolated populations and stopping the spread of diseases, Thanh Nien adds.
Prior to the typhoon touching down in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen made an urgent appeal to “authorities at all levels to take all necessary measures to protect the people who might be affected by the typhoon,” reports China’s Xinhua news service.
The BBC adds that international aid organizations and local government authorities in Cambodia were sending tents and food supplies to the affected province, which is about 80 miles north of the capital, Phnom Penh.
By Wednesday, the typhoon had downgraded to a tropical depression as it passed into Laos, where no casualties were reported, and was expected to make its way to Thailand, where residents were on alert for flash floods, according to MCOT English news.
As Southeast Asia feels the impact, the Philippines is still staggering to its feet from the devastation wrought there. Some two million people have been affected and 246 killed. Many in the capital, Manila, have been reduced to waiting on excruciatingly long lines for food, reports Bloomberg.
<<> | MainTuesday, September 29, 2009
Dubious distinction: World’s best places for pickpockets-29 September, 2009
Dubious distinction: World’s best places for pickpockets-29 September, 2009: "Dubious distinction: World’s best places for pickpockets
Where in the world are you most likely to be the victim of a pickpocket? Barcelona in Spain, says US-based TripAdvisor.
Rome came second, followed by Prague, Madrid, Paris, Florence, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Athens and Hanoi in Vietnam.
The company based its findings on the opinions of its travel editors, as well as taking into account complaints from users.
'Las Ramblas, the famous wide, pedestrian walkway full of life, music and people at all hours of the day and night, is the perfect place to get your purse poached,' said the Web site's review.
The narrow alleyways in the city's historic centre have attracted pickpockets, muggers and drug-dealers for years.
Las Ramblas, one of the world's most famous boulevards, has also recently gained a reputation as a magnet for street prostitutes.
By David Wilkening"
Where in the world are you most likely to be the victim of a pickpocket? Barcelona in Spain, says US-based TripAdvisor.
Rome came second, followed by Prague, Madrid, Paris, Florence, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Athens and Hanoi in Vietnam.
The company based its findings on the opinions of its travel editors, as well as taking into account complaints from users.
'Las Ramblas, the famous wide, pedestrian walkway full of life, music and people at all hours of the day and night, is the perfect place to get your purse poached,' said the Web site's review.
The narrow alleyways in the city's historic centre have attracted pickpockets, muggers and drug-dealers for years.
Las Ramblas, one of the world's most famous boulevards, has also recently gained a reputation as a magnet for street prostitutes.
By David Wilkening"
Unprecedented drop in US hotel prices-29 September, 2009
The average price of a hotel room in the US fell 17 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Room rates in the US now cost, on average, $115 a night, down from $139 the year before.
So says the recently released Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).
"This is by far the most significant change in prices we've seen since we created the Hotel Price Index. Americans' travel dollars have never gone farther than in 2009," said David Roche, President of hotels.com. He added:
"As properties continue to roll out discounts and other incentives to attract guests, the gap between the top star categories has narrowed, giving travelers more value and making luxury more accessible than any other time in the past five years."
The United States followed a larger global trend with room rates around the world down 17 percent in the first half of the year, according to the HPI.
The fall in room rates was driven by price drops across every continent with hotel rooms in Europe down 16 percent, rates in North America and Asia both declining 17 percent, and hotel prices in Latin America falling 18 percent.
Hotels.com's HPI revealed that Las Vegas overtook New York City as the favorite domestic destination for US travelers in the first half of 2009, with room rates in Las Vegas hotels just $82 a night on average.
Destinations rounding out the top five U.S. favorites included New York City, Orlando, Chicago hotels and San Francisco.
By David Wilkening
Hotel chain offers a first: air tickets-29 September, 2009
Hotel chain offers a first: air tickets
Offering new meaning to the phrase, “the sky’s the limit,” InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced its newest reward: Flights Anywhere.
The offering is the first of its kind, according to IHG.
“This new program lets members redeem Priority Club® points, or combine points and cash, to book flights on more than 400 airline carriers worldwide without restrictions on availability,” the chain says.
“Our customers are looking for ways to stretch their wallets when they travel; with Flights Anywhere they can now pay directly for airline tickets using Priority Club points,” said Don Berg, vice president, Loyalty Programs, IHG. He added:
“They’ll never have to worry about seat availability or blackout dates when redeeming Priority Club points for flights.”
IHG has more than 4,300 hotels worldwide.
It says the program is “the first and only hotel loyalty program to offer the flexibility to redeem points and cash for flights.”
Priority Club points can be redeemed for the entire cost of an airline ticket (including all taxes and applicable fees), or combined with cash for a ticket, enabling consumers to “buy” a ticket at a discount.
Also, there are no blackout dates or limits on available tickets.
Winter holiday pound to go further in Asia-28 September, 2009
The Far East offers the best winter sun value for British holidaymakers, a new study shows.
Those offering the best value include destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to First Rate Exchange Services, the wholesaler behind the Post Office’s foreign exchange service.
Thailand again tops the barometer of holiday spending costs, but Bali and Malaysia are close contenders – all three significantly cheaper than any of Europe’s winter sun options.
Estimates show that package prices to Thailand could be up to a quarter cheaper than last winter.
The country also benefits from a shopping basket of popular tourist staples priced at just £38.13, which is around one third of the cost in Australia, whose basket totals £104.95 – making it the highest priced of 16 long haul destinations in a Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer.
The Indonesian destination of Bali enjoyed its best year this decade with demand up 54% during the summer for its currency, the rupiah. This makes it the third fastest growing currency in Post Office branches, behind the Kenyan shilling and South African rand.
But a sterling recovery puts Mexico and Jamaica high among the contenders for best value winter sun trips.
Holidaymakers returning to Mexico, hard-hit earlier this year by the swine flu epidemic, can expect over 12% more pesos for their pounds.
Jamaica was the cheapest of the Caribbean destinations surveyed– 21% cheaper than Antigua. With sterling currently worth more than 12% more than a year ago, the Jamaican dollar is close behind the Mexican peso in offering UK tourists the most currency for their pounds this winter, according to the study.
Despite sterling’s slide against the dollar in early 2009, the research shows that almost one third of holidaymakers planning winter trips will head to the US.
With sterling now worth 21% more than at its low point in March, UK tourists can benefit from lower prices in shops and restaurants hit hard by the credit crunch.
First Rate Exchange Services managing director Gordon Gourlay said: “As sterling once again plummets against the euro people will be looking for destinations which offer guaranteed sunshine, combined with prices that don’t break the bank.
“We’re expecting increased demand from foreign currency retailers for more exotic currencies such as Thai Baht this winter.
“Dollar sales should also remain strong as the USA looks set to remain a popular destination. Despite sterling’s continued weakness against the dollar, price cuts made by many holiday operators means a trip across the Atlantic will still offer good value to UK travellers.”
by Phil Davies
Monday, September 28, 2009
Vietnam economy expands 4.59 percent in 9 months
Vietnam gross domestic product grew 4.59 percent in the first nine months of the year, up from 3.9 percent in the first half, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said Monday.
The growth was led by the service sector, which expanded 5.91 percent over the period. The industry-construction sector posted a growth of 4.48 percent and the agriculture sector 1.57 percent.
In the third quarter alone, growth accelerated to 5.76 percent, compared to the second quarter’s 4.46 percent and 3.1 percent in the first-quarter. The first quarter growth was the slowest on record over the last decade. The ministry said the acceleration means the economy was improving although the growth rates are lower than last year.
The government is targeting a 5.2 percent expansion for the year, followed by 6.5 percent in 2010.
The Asian Development Bank on September 22 revised upwards its 2009 GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 4.7 percent from the 4.5 percent it projected in March.
Source: VNA
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Third foreigner dies after Vietnam boat accident
HANOI — A third foreign tourist has been confirmed dead after a pleasure boat overturned during a storm in Vietnam's picturesque Halong Bay last week, police said Sunday.
Local immigration police officer Pham Van Truong said a total of two British tourists, a Frenchman and a local guide died in the accident on Thursday and that a Vietnamese tourist was still missing.
"There was very heavy rain at the time of the accident," he said.
A French tourist on the boat said there were 31 people on board, including South Africans, Japanese and Australians, as well as the Britons and Frenchman who died. Police had earlier said there were 32 on board.
Halong Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital Hanoi, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.
Its 1,600 islands and islets form a spectacular seascape of mostly uninhabited limestone pillars made famous by the 1992 French movie "Indochine".
Numerous tourist boats that ply the waters of the bay offer sleeping and dining facilities.
Last year 2.65 million tourists, including 1.71 million foreigners, visited Halong Bay, according to the provincial tourism department.
Airfare reduction race stiffens
Travelers will have many opportunities to fly more cheaply as airlines increase their numbers of flights and launch promotional campaigns.
Most airlines have planned their winter season flights to begin on October 25, 2009 and end on March 27, 2010. More flights and lower costs mean many good deals for the next several months.
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More flights
Budget airline Jetstar Pacific has increased the number of flights per day, providing 22 flights per day on the Hanoi-HCM City leg, eight HCM City-Danang flights (up by two), and four more flights (up by 2) on the Hanoi-Danang route.
The airline plans to increase the number of flights for key air routes during Tet 2010 (the lunar new year).
Vietnam Airlines (VA) has said it will increase the number of flights on routes to Europe, including the Hanoi/HCM City to
After Thai Bangkok Airways decided to give up the
The airline has also decided to increase the number of flights on Hanoi/HCM City to Pusan, South Korea route (from seven to ten per week in October 2009 and 12 flights in February 2010) and also from Hanoi to Kunming, China (from four to five flights per week). The airline has also decided to open a Hanoi-Fukuoka air route starting October 10, 2009.
As for domestic routes, VA will also increase its flights by 20 percent on the
Vo Huy Cuong, Head of the Air Transport Division under the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), revealed that Indochina Airline has stopped providing flights on the HCM City-Danang route since September 16, but it is still maintaining four flights per day on the main
Airfare reductions
VA has recently announced sharp discounts of 60-70 percent of airfares for international and domestic routes.
The airline has not revealed how many discounts will be offered, but analysts say that VA is experiencing the pressure created by a lack of passengers and the fierce competition with forty other airlines operating in
The low-cost airfare policy applied by Jetstar Pacific sounds very attractive and the expected number of passengers taking domestic flights is two million, an increase of 25 percent over 2008.
Foreign airlines have also joined the airfare reduction race.
Nguyen Tien Dat, Head of Marketing Division of Transviet, said that Korean Air is offering 20-25 percent discounts on fares for Hanoi to the US and Canada, 25 percent for those to Europe and 16 percent on those to South Korea.
Airfare discounts and reductions are a golden opportunity for travel firms. Yet agencies are reporting that it is not easy to book low cost tickets right now. For example, in order to book discounted tickets with VA, travel firms have to purchase more than 10 tickets, which is quite difficult during the low tourist season.
Ngoc Ha
Hop on Cambodia’s (very) light rail
As we hurtle down Cambodia’s decrepit train tracks on a bamboo platform the size of a billiards table, another car rushes in our direction, crammed with 17 passengers returning from marshy rice fields after a day of labour. Their trouser legs are still wet.
Green rice fields stretch out on either side. This is public transportation in parts of Cambodia, and it has become one of the the biggest tourism draw in Battambang, a town a few hours south-west of the temples of Angkor Wat.
Decades of slow and unreliable train service prompted Cambodians to make their own use of the tracks and hundreds of illegal “bamboo trains” now run along the single-lane, 596km-line, that begins near the Thai border in north-west Cambodia, extends east through Battambang to Phnom Penh, then runs south to the coastal port of Sihanoukville.
“There’s only one in the whole world,” a Battambang tour guide, known as Tap Tin Tin says, while escorting a Dutch family of five along the bamboo railway. “You see it transporting tourists, but it’s very useful for the Cambodians to carry rice or bring a cow or pig to slaughter in town.”
more info-->>Hop on Cambodia’s (very) light rail - The National Newspaper
Windsor Plaza to rock Saigon with Oktoberfest |
For the fifth year in a row, Windsor Plaza Hotel, in cooperation with the German Business Association (GBA), will give everyone a blast of traditional Germanic culture with the annual Oktoberfest.
This year’s Oktoberfest, which will run for six days, begins October 6.
Visitors can enjoy live music, dancing, authentic German food and beer and a party through to October 11.
The GBA is coordinating the event. One of the GBA’s missions is to build a relationship between Germany and Vietnam, and Oktoberfest is one of many cultural events GBA has organized to cement this relationship.
The hotel’s Jade Ballroom will play host to Ho Chi Minh City’s 18th Oktoberfest, and may be the country’s biggest ‘beer tent.’
Visitors can party the night away with all the draught Krombacher and bottled Schneider Weisse beers they can drink. A champagne bar with German Schnapps is also open to everyone.
Matching the drinks is a massive German buffet with plenty of sausages, sauerkraut, pork knuckle, pretzels, potato salad and lots more.
Oktoberfest will feature live music by the German band, “Trenkwalder,” a modern, young, dynamic but especially authentic music band.
At this return, the band led by charismatic lead singer Hubert Trenkwalder will entertain guests with folk songs played in a rock style.
Other entertainment and activities include Bavarian Log Buster, the Draw Well, and a game for couples called the Stone Labyrinth.
The Jade Ballroom also features an art design that will give visitors the feeling they are in Bavaria.
Finally, each visitor will get the chance to take the experience home with a souvenir beer stein and many prizes to be won.
Oktoberfest will run from 6:30pm until late on October 6 to 10 and from 10am to 4pm on October 11 (Sunday).
For more information, contact Windsor Plaza Hotel at 18 An Duong Vuong St., Dist. 5, HCMC. Tel: (08) 3 833 6688.
VietNamNet/SGGP
This year’s Oktoberfest, which will run for six days, begins October 6.
Visitors can enjoy live music, dancing, authentic German food and beer and a party through to October 11.
The GBA is coordinating the event. One of the GBA’s missions is to build a relationship between Germany and Vietnam, and Oktoberfest is one of many cultural events GBA has organized to cement this relationship.
The hotel’s Jade Ballroom will play host to Ho Chi Minh City’s 18th Oktoberfest, and may be the country’s biggest ‘beer tent.’
Visitors can party the night away with all the draught Krombacher and bottled Schneider Weisse beers they can drink. A champagne bar with German Schnapps is also open to everyone.
Matching the drinks is a massive German buffet with plenty of sausages, sauerkraut, pork knuckle, pretzels, potato salad and lots more.
Oktoberfest will feature live music by the German band, “Trenkwalder,” a modern, young, dynamic but especially authentic music band.
At this return, the band led by charismatic lead singer Hubert Trenkwalder will entertain guests with folk songs played in a rock style.
Other entertainment and activities include Bavarian Log Buster, the Draw Well, and a game for couples called the Stone Labyrinth.
The Jade Ballroom also features an art design that will give visitors the feeling they are in Bavaria.
Finally, each visitor will get the chance to take the experience home with a souvenir beer stein and many prizes to be won.
Oktoberfest will run from 6:30pm until late on October 6 to 10 and from 10am to 4pm on October 11 (Sunday).
For more information, contact Windsor Plaza Hotel at 18 An Duong Vuong St., Dist. 5, HCMC. Tel: (08) 3 833 6688.
VietNamNet/SGGP
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Travel to Vietnam Sapa
SEE MY PHOTO GALLERY of SAPA-->> http://www.pbase.com/ckuhn55/sapa_vietnam
Located in the northwestern mountains of the country, Sa Pa is a modest town nestled within the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in Lao Cai province. Sa Pa is an excellent destination to enjoy outdoor activities with stunning landscapes that attract both domestic and foreign tourists.
In the sticks: Locals introduce brocade products made by ethnic Mong and Dao people to foreign tourists.
Travelling in Sa Pa, few tourists miss an opportunity to trek to mountain villages and majestic waterfalls.
Cat Cat village sits atop unspoiled landscapes and is a desirable destination for trekkers seeking to spend full days walking in a world of natural charm and tranquillity.
Visiting the village, tourists will discover various traditional trades of the local people such as weaving, jewellery manipulation, metal work and stone carvings.
The road from Sa Pa winds through hilly terrain, past terraced paddy fields. A sign reads "Welcome to Cat Cat Cultural Village", greeting visitors as they arrive at the entrance of the village.
A leisurely walk within the old village provides visitors with a better understanding of the traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Mong people that live here.
While wandering around the village, I continually asked the locals about their crafts and houses. I was curious about everything and the locals were friendly and ready to help. They also politely asked me to buy some hand-made souvenirs.
Visitors in Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire and watch locals sit with looms and create colourful pieces of brocade. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs of flowers and birds. Interestingly, Mong women use plants and leaves to dye the fabrics. After dyeing the fabric, they then roll a round, smooth piece of wood, covered with wax, over the material in order to polish. By doing this it helps to make the colours more durable on the fabric.
In addition to their weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at making gold and silver jewellery. Their products are quite sophisticated, especially the women’s jewellery.
Further into the village are waterfalls along with a stream that weaves its way around boulders, hills and mountains. The pristine stream is spanned by a suspension bridge, which offers a good view of the waterfalls and mountains.
The path after the bridge passes through bamboo forests filled with wild flowers and past tranquil brooks.
Another must-see village is Ta Phin, a remote village located 12km from the centre of Sa Pa, which still retains traditional customs and lifestyles of the Dao, Tay and Mong ethnic groups.
It’s recommended for tourists to catch a local xe om (motorbike taxi) at price of VND180,000 (US$10) in order to get there. Another option is to rent a motorbike for VND100,000 ($5.50) a day, which provides a convenient and interesting way to discover the landscape and villages.
Despite the winding road to the village, tourists can see picturesque rolling hills and terraced fields on the way. Much of the Sa Pa valley has been cultivated into verdant rice paddy fields equipped with irrigation systems.
Capitalise
Sculptured: Terraced rice fields make Sa Pa picturesque.
Ta Phin village seeks to capitalise from tourism and thus causes local children and adults to constantly follow visitors, in an effort to persuade them to buy wallets, hats, bags or fabric. However, these sellers tend to be friendly and hospitable.
The villagers often invite tourists to visit their homes, where they show them how they live and what they have, and tell about their families. Their living standard is still low, but their lives have been improved by the expanding tourism industry.
"We women are so active – not only do we grow vegetables and raise pigs and get wood for the fire, we also try to learn English so we can talk to tourists," said a 25-year-old Dao woman. "Before there were tourists we were very poor, but now we can make handicrafts, make money and meet people."
Ta Phin village is able to win tourists’ hearts thanks to the beautiful sights that surround it. Lavie waterfall is a common destination for trekkers. After trekking through forests, maize fields and mountains, tourists often enjoy soaking in Lavie stream and sunbathing on flat boulders.
After a long day of walking on the curvy roads and hills around Sa Pa, it was pleasant to soak my bones and muscles in a traditional Dao herbal bath at Ta Phin.
The price was reasonable, VND60,000 ($3.30) for a one-hour bath. Soaking in medicinal waters may make you feel a little tipsy. When you start feeling dizzy, it’s time to get out of the wooden bathtub. After the soak, I finally felt relaxed. The herbal bath was good for my health, mind and bones.
I was very happy to have a chance to travel to Sa Pa. I will never forget how it felt to stand in front of imposing, beautiful mountains.
Located in the northwestern mountains of the country, Sa Pa is a modest town nestled within the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in Lao Cai province. Sa Pa is an excellent destination to enjoy outdoor activities with stunning landscapes that attract both domestic and foreign tourists.
In the sticks: Locals introduce brocade products made by ethnic Mong and Dao people to foreign tourists.
Travelling in Sa Pa, few tourists miss an opportunity to trek to mountain villages and majestic waterfalls.
Cat Cat village sits atop unspoiled landscapes and is a desirable destination for trekkers seeking to spend full days walking in a world of natural charm and tranquillity.
Visiting the village, tourists will discover various traditional trades of the local people such as weaving, jewellery manipulation, metal work and stone carvings.
The road from Sa Pa winds through hilly terrain, past terraced paddy fields. A sign reads "Welcome to Cat Cat Cultural Village", greeting visitors as they arrive at the entrance of the village.
A leisurely walk within the old village provides visitors with a better understanding of the traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Mong people that live here.
While wandering around the village, I continually asked the locals about their crafts and houses. I was curious about everything and the locals were friendly and ready to help. They also politely asked me to buy some hand-made souvenirs.
Visitors in Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire and watch locals sit with looms and create colourful pieces of brocade. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs of flowers and birds. Interestingly, Mong women use plants and leaves to dye the fabrics. After dyeing the fabric, they then roll a round, smooth piece of wood, covered with wax, over the material in order to polish. By doing this it helps to make the colours more durable on the fabric.
In addition to their weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at making gold and silver jewellery. Their products are quite sophisticated, especially the women’s jewellery.
Further into the village are waterfalls along with a stream that weaves its way around boulders, hills and mountains. The pristine stream is spanned by a suspension bridge, which offers a good view of the waterfalls and mountains.
The path after the bridge passes through bamboo forests filled with wild flowers and past tranquil brooks.
Another must-see village is Ta Phin, a remote village located 12km from the centre of Sa Pa, which still retains traditional customs and lifestyles of the Dao, Tay and Mong ethnic groups.
It’s recommended for tourists to catch a local xe om (motorbike taxi) at price of VND180,000 (US$10) in order to get there. Another option is to rent a motorbike for VND100,000 ($5.50) a day, which provides a convenient and interesting way to discover the landscape and villages.
Despite the winding road to the village, tourists can see picturesque rolling hills and terraced fields on the way. Much of the Sa Pa valley has been cultivated into verdant rice paddy fields equipped with irrigation systems.
Capitalise
Sculptured: Terraced rice fields make Sa Pa picturesque.
Ta Phin village seeks to capitalise from tourism and thus causes local children and adults to constantly follow visitors, in an effort to persuade them to buy wallets, hats, bags or fabric. However, these sellers tend to be friendly and hospitable.
The villagers often invite tourists to visit their homes, where they show them how they live and what they have, and tell about their families. Their living standard is still low, but their lives have been improved by the expanding tourism industry.
"We women are so active – not only do we grow vegetables and raise pigs and get wood for the fire, we also try to learn English so we can talk to tourists," said a 25-year-old Dao woman. "Before there were tourists we were very poor, but now we can make handicrafts, make money and meet people."
Ta Phin village is able to win tourists’ hearts thanks to the beautiful sights that surround it. Lavie waterfall is a common destination for trekkers. After trekking through forests, maize fields and mountains, tourists often enjoy soaking in Lavie stream and sunbathing on flat boulders.
After a long day of walking on the curvy roads and hills around Sa Pa, it was pleasant to soak my bones and muscles in a traditional Dao herbal bath at Ta Phin.
The price was reasonable, VND60,000 ($3.30) for a one-hour bath. Soaking in medicinal waters may make you feel a little tipsy. When you start feeling dizzy, it’s time to get out of the wooden bathtub. After the soak, I finally felt relaxed. The herbal bath was good for my health, mind and bones.
I was very happy to have a chance to travel to Sa Pa. I will never forget how it felt to stand in front of imposing, beautiful mountains.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Cambodia to end contract with Bangkok Airways for domestic flights+
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Cambodian government said Friday it will not renew a contract for domestic flights being run by Thailand's Bangkok Airways after it expires next month.
Mao Havannal, secretary of state of Cambodia's Civil Aviation Authority, said Cambodia has already informed Bangkok Airways that the contract ending Oct. 25 will not be renewed.
Mao Havannal refused to elaborate on the decision, only saying Cambodia now already has its own national airline.
In July, Cambodia reopened the national airline Cambodia Angkor Air in a joint venture with Vietnam Airlines.
The country had had no national carrier since 2001.
Since last year, Bangkok Airways was allowed to operate daily domestic flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap Province.
Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex, attracted more than one million foreign tourists last year.
Mao Havannal, secretary of state of Cambodia's Civil Aviation Authority, said Cambodia has already informed Bangkok Airways that the contract ending Oct. 25 will not be renewed.
Mao Havannal refused to elaborate on the decision, only saying Cambodia now already has its own national airline.
In July, Cambodia reopened the national airline Cambodia Angkor Air in a joint venture with Vietnam Airlines.
The country had had no national carrier since 2001.
Since last year, Bangkok Airways was allowed to operate daily domestic flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap Province.
Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex, attracted more than one million foreign tourists last year.
Endangered sea turtle released in central Vietnam
Endangered sea turtle released in central Vietnam
 | ||
A 120-kilogram endangered turtle was released into the sea on Thursday in the central province of Phu Yen.
The green turtle (Chelonia mydas), whose shell is 140 centimeters long and 100 centimeters broad, was caught on September 10 by fishermen in Hoa Hiep Trung Commune.
Local resident Nguyen Ngoc Son bought the turtle from the fishermen and began raising it on his own.
But he then decided to ask the Phu Yen Aquatic Resources Protection Department to release it, as the turtle was in its reproductive period
The department had previously released a 50-kilogram-plus turtle caught by local fishermen in Xuan Hai Commune.
The turtle is classified as endangered by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List of Threatened Species. Researchers estimate that the sea turtle’s population size has been reduced by more than 50 percent over the past decade.
Several human practices have cut down the species’ numbers, including hunting them for their flesh and their eggs, which can be served as a delicacy.
Reported by Minh Nguyet
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Empty hotel rooms means cheaper accommodation for tourists |Vietnam
Newly released figures reveal Vietnamese hotel room occupancy dropped by 30 per cent in the first eight months of 2009.
HCM CityHowever, what’s bad news for the industry is good news for bargain hunting tourists planning on visiting Viet Nam.
The information, provided by commercial real estate CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), also shows numbers of foreign tourists coming to Viet Nam has decreased by 19.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2008.
In Hanoi, the occupancy rate at three-star hotels dropped from 77 per cent last year to 43 per cent in the first six months of 2009, while the rate at four star hotels dropped from 67 per cent to 39 per cent. The rate at five star hotels dropped from 69 per cent to 50 per cent.
It’s a situation that has been mirrored in HCM City. By June the average room rate at four-star hotels had dropped from its year beginning price of $80 to just $50 per night. Five star hotels averaged a drop from $130 a night to $80.
In general, the room rate in HCM City has dropped by 25-38 percent within six months.
Though the survey makes for gloomy reading for the tourist industry, according to global hotel index provier STR Global, Vietnam is still considered a more bustling market than many others.
According to Robert Mcintosh, a senior executive of CBRE Hotels Asia Pacific, hotels are taking the right course of action in reducing room rates in order to attract more clients.
However, in some cases, hotels fear reducing room rates will badly affect brand names. Some have opted instead for launching promotional campaigns.
Mr Mcintosh added that Vietnam’s biggest problem in the hotel market remains the lack of medium range options. However he believes the situation will be quite different in three to five years.
He adds that big hotel management groups like Accor, Intercontinental and Marriot may well bring more mass market and top level brand names to further develop the market.
VietNamNet/VNE
HCM CityHowever, what’s bad news for the industry is good news for bargain hunting tourists planning on visiting Viet Nam.
The information, provided by commercial real estate CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), also shows numbers of foreign tourists coming to Viet Nam has decreased by 19.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2008.
In Hanoi, the occupancy rate at three-star hotels dropped from 77 per cent last year to 43 per cent in the first six months of 2009, while the rate at four star hotels dropped from 67 per cent to 39 per cent. The rate at five star hotels dropped from 69 per cent to 50 per cent.
It’s a situation that has been mirrored in HCM City. By June the average room rate at four-star hotels had dropped from its year beginning price of $80 to just $50 per night. Five star hotels averaged a drop from $130 a night to $80.
In general, the room rate in HCM City has dropped by 25-38 percent within six months.
Though the survey makes for gloomy reading for the tourist industry, according to global hotel index provier STR Global, Vietnam is still considered a more bustling market than many others.
According to Robert Mcintosh, a senior executive of CBRE Hotels Asia Pacific, hotels are taking the right course of action in reducing room rates in order to attract more clients.
However, in some cases, hotels fear reducing room rates will badly affect brand names. Some have opted instead for launching promotional campaigns.
Mr Mcintosh added that Vietnam’s biggest problem in the hotel market remains the lack of medium range options. However he believes the situation will be quite different in three to five years.
He adds that big hotel management groups like Accor, Intercontinental and Marriot may well bring more mass market and top level brand names to further develop the market.
VietNamNet/VNE
Turquoise tranquility | Vietnam
LookAtVietnam - A hidden charm awaits visitors to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central region.
Modestly flowing through the famous Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in Quang Binh Province, is an amazing gift of nature called Nuoc Mooc Creek.
Flowing from a backdrop of limestone peaks to the Chay River, Nuoc Mooc Creek is born in a shaded pool formed by large blocks of patterned marble.
The water spills down from the pool to create a waterfall whose gentle mist casts a cooling spell across the valley. Birdsong fills the air.
There’s an inviting track down to the creek that was paid for by Germany and the local residents as part of a project named “Nature Conservation and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang Region.”
The main objective of the project, which has a budget of 17.6 million euros (US$25 million), is to help the local people improve their standard of living without harming the natural landscape by giving them cheap loans and training them to run tourist services. The project is scheduled to last until 2015.
When the 30 hectares around Nuoc Mooc was being established as a tourist site, the administrators calculated there would be a thousand visitors a day on average. Little did they realize how popular it would become.
Already this year an average of 1,800 tourists per day have come to enjoy the scenery and wildlife and learn about the local flora, fauna and history from the park’s tour guides.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is listed as one of the world’s top 200 centers of biodiversity and boasts two bird sanctuaries and more than 2,600 species of wildlife, including 116 plant species and 129 animal species at danger of extinction in Vietnam and indeed the world.
VietNamNet/Thanh Nien
Modestly flowing through the famous Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in Quang Binh Province, is an amazing gift of nature called Nuoc Mooc Creek.
Flowing from a backdrop of limestone peaks to the Chay River, Nuoc Mooc Creek is born in a shaded pool formed by large blocks of patterned marble.
The water spills down from the pool to create a waterfall whose gentle mist casts a cooling spell across the valley. Birdsong fills the air.
There’s an inviting track down to the creek that was paid for by Germany and the local residents as part of a project named “Nature Conservation and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang Region.”
The main objective of the project, which has a budget of 17.6 million euros (US$25 million), is to help the local people improve their standard of living without harming the natural landscape by giving them cheap loans and training them to run tourist services. The project is scheduled to last until 2015.
When the 30 hectares around Nuoc Mooc was being established as a tourist site, the administrators calculated there would be a thousand visitors a day on average. Little did they realize how popular it would become.
Already this year an average of 1,800 tourists per day have come to enjoy the scenery and wildlife and learn about the local flora, fauna and history from the park’s tour guides.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is listed as one of the world’s top 200 centers of biodiversity and boasts two bird sanctuaries and more than 2,600 species of wildlife, including 116 plant species and 129 animal species at danger of extinction in Vietnam and indeed the world.
VietNamNet/Thanh Nien
Sunday, September 20, 2009
| Cuba rocks to huge peace concert
Havana is hosting the biggest open-air concert since the 1959 revolution, featuring some 15 top Latin American, Spanish and Cuban performers.
Hundreds of thousands of people - many wearing white - are attending the free event in Revolution Square, Havana.
Colombian singer Juanes, who organised the "Peace without Borders" concert, has received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
But he has won support from 20 high-profile jailed dissidents inside Cuba.
The BBC's Michael Voss at the concert says there is a mood of excitement, as many residents of the isolated, music-loving island have never seen anything like it before.
AT THE SCENE
Michael Voss, BBC News, Revolution Square
It's absolutely packed here. There's never been a free open-air concert like it ever before.
When Pope Jean Paul II gave his historic mass in this same place just over 10 years ago, there was about 250,000 people here. We estimate there is double that number here now.
This is the centre of power here in Cuba. Normally when I come here, it is to cover the big May Day parades and there are red flags everywhere.
Now, everyone is wearing white. There are white flags, white shirts. That's the message - Peace without Borders.
He says people have travelled from across the island to attend.
Organisers said some 500,000 people were expected.
But our reporter says heat is a problem. He has seen a lot of people being carried away on stretchers.
"Together, we are going to make history," said Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon, as she opened the concert with the love song, Es Mentiroso Ese Hombre (That Man is a Liar).
"We've been here since 0300 waiting for everyone, waiting for Juanes and for Olga Tanon," Luisa Maria Canales, an 18-year-old engineering student, told the AP news agency.
"I'm a little tired, but I am more excited."
While critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert is an opportunity for reconciliation.
In pictures: Cuban peace concert
Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics.
"It's a message of peace, not only for Cuba. It's for the entire region," he said.
He added that preparations for the concert had not been easy, but "we have all got over our fears".
Our reporter notes that the location of the free concert is highly symbolic.
The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square, along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head.
The square was used by Fidel Castro to give five-hour speeches, and is also where Pope John Paul II held a historic open air mass in 1998.
Among the artists taking part on Sunday are Spain's Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.
Hundreds of thousands of people - many wearing white - are attending the free event in Revolution Square, Havana.
Colombian singer Juanes, who organised the "Peace without Borders" concert, has received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
But he has won support from 20 high-profile jailed dissidents inside Cuba.
The BBC's Michael Voss at the concert says there is a mood of excitement, as many residents of the isolated, music-loving island have never seen anything like it before.
AT THE SCENE
Michael Voss, BBC News, Revolution Square
It's absolutely packed here. There's never been a free open-air concert like it ever before.
When Pope Jean Paul II gave his historic mass in this same place just over 10 years ago, there was about 250,000 people here. We estimate there is double that number here now.
This is the centre of power here in Cuba. Normally when I come here, it is to cover the big May Day parades and there are red flags everywhere.
Now, everyone is wearing white. There are white flags, white shirts. That's the message - Peace without Borders.
He says people have travelled from across the island to attend.
Organisers said some 500,000 people were expected.
But our reporter says heat is a problem. He has seen a lot of people being carried away on stretchers.
"Together, we are going to make history," said Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon, as she opened the concert with the love song, Es Mentiroso Ese Hombre (That Man is a Liar).
"We've been here since 0300 waiting for everyone, waiting for Juanes and for Olga Tanon," Luisa Maria Canales, an 18-year-old engineering student, told the AP news agency.
"I'm a little tired, but I am more excited."
While critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert is an opportunity for reconciliation.
In pictures: Cuban peace concert
Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics.
"It's a message of peace, not only for Cuba. It's for the entire region," he said.
He added that preparations for the concert had not been easy, but "we have all got over our fears".
Our reporter notes that the location of the free concert is highly symbolic.
The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square, along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head.
The square was used by Fidel Castro to give five-hour speeches, and is also where Pope John Paul II held a historic open air mass in 1998.
Among the artists taking part on Sunday are Spain's Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Bangkok Attractions, Vacation Rentals, Vacation Homes, Holiday Rentals
BBangkok has many fabulous attractions which make excellent day-trips. One of the most popular day-trips from Bangkok is the 110 km trip to the picturesque Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which is in Ratchaburi province.
Bangkok is famous for its floating markets. You will find them at Ton Khem, and there are others at Hia Kui and Khun Phitak.
Organised tours to Damnoen Saduak will probably also include a visit the Rose Garden and the chedi at Nakhon Pathom.
The Rose garden is set in large landscaped tropical gardens but is mostly visited for the 'cultural show' that's put on there - Thai traditional dance, Buddhist ordination ceremony, muay thai (Thai boxing), elephants at work, and takraw (a common sport in Thailand).
Also in the grounds is a luxury riverside resort, thousands of rose bushes and hundreds of exotic birds. Close to Rose Garden are the Thai Human Imagery Museum and the Samphran Elephant Park.
The human imagery museum is a Thai Madame Tussauds with images of famous monks and all the Chakri dynasty kings.
The Elephant park has a variety of elephant and crocodile shows ( featuring these animals wrestling, performing in various ways, including tug-of-war).
Nakhon Pathom, around 60 km west of Bangkok, is a town famous as the reputedly the oldest in Thailand and the place where Buddhist missionaries first entered Thailand from India. It is a typical provincial Thai town with only the gold encrusted Phra Pathom Chedi giving a clue as to its celebrated past.
This is a massive 127m high, making it the word's largest Buddhist monument, and the most important in all of Thailand. As well as the main chedi, there are numerous bots, Buddha images and other structures nearby. This area is mostly visited either on a day tour from Bangkok, or sometimes on route to Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi is home to the River Kwai and its infamous bridge. The building of the bridge in 1943 was part of a wartime project to link existing Thai and Burmese railway lines to create a direct route from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) in an effort to support the Japanese occupation of Burma.
Over 100,000 conscripted laborers and 12,000 prisoners of war died during the whole project.
To the northeast of Bangkok in Minburi are both the Suwan Siam Water Park and the Safari World Park. Easy to combine in one day trip, the water park is set in large landscaped gardens and has surf, whirlpools, fountains, waterfalls, large water slides and flumes.
Other family attractions here are children's playgrounds, colorful aviaries, an open zoo and botanical gardens.
With more than 150 acres, Safari World is the largest wildlife park in Southeast Asia. There are almost a hundred different animal species, including giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions and tigers.
The marine section has trained dolphin shows and an aviary section with eagles, macaws and parrots. There are various shows available (including dolphins, birds, seals and monkeys).
This is best visited on a tour, as the wildlife section is for vehicles only. Though the park also has coaches you can go through on, most taxi drivers can be persuaded to take you through it if pay them a little more for it. The other sections can be visited on foot.
Bangkok is famous for its floating markets. You will find them at Ton Khem, and there are others at Hia Kui and Khun Phitak.
Organised tours to Damnoen Saduak will probably also include a visit the Rose Garden and the chedi at Nakhon Pathom.
The Rose garden is set in large landscaped tropical gardens but is mostly visited for the 'cultural show' that's put on there - Thai traditional dance, Buddhist ordination ceremony, muay thai (Thai boxing), elephants at work, and takraw (a common sport in Thailand).
Also in the grounds is a luxury riverside resort, thousands of rose bushes and hundreds of exotic birds. Close to Rose Garden are the Thai Human Imagery Museum and the Samphran Elephant Park.
The human imagery museum is a Thai Madame Tussauds with images of famous monks and all the Chakri dynasty kings.
The Elephant park has a variety of elephant and crocodile shows ( featuring these animals wrestling, performing in various ways, including tug-of-war).
Nakhon Pathom, around 60 km west of Bangkok, is a town famous as the reputedly the oldest in Thailand and the place where Buddhist missionaries first entered Thailand from India. It is a typical provincial Thai town with only the gold encrusted Phra Pathom Chedi giving a clue as to its celebrated past.
This is a massive 127m high, making it the word's largest Buddhist
Kanchanaburi is home to the River Kwai and its infamous bridge. The building of the bridge in 1943 was part of a wartime project to link existing Thai and Burmese railway lines to create a direct route from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) in an effort to support the Japanese occupation of Burma.
Over 100,000 conscripted laborers and 12,000 prisoners of war died during the whole project.
To the northeast of Bangkok in Minburi are both the Suwan Siam Water Park and the Safari World Park. Easy to combine in one day trip, the water park is set in large landscaped gardens and has surf, whirlpools, fountains, waterfalls, large water slides and flumes.
Other family attractions here are children's playgrounds, colorful aviaries, an open zoo and botanical gardens.
With more than 150 acres, Safari World is the largest wildlife park in Southeast Asia. There are almost a hundred different animal species, including giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions and tigers.
The marine section has trained dolphin shows and an aviary section with eagles, macaws and parrots. There are various shows available (including dolphins, birds, seals and monkeys).
This is best visited on a tour, as the wildlife section is for vehicles only. Though the park also has coaches you can go through on, most taxi drivers can be persuaded to take you through it if pay them a little more for it. The other sections can be visited on foot.
Cyclist makes it around the world in record 175 days
Cyclist makes it around the world in record 175 days - World - NZ Herald News: "LONDON - A British man has become the fastest person ever to cycle around the world, pedalling past the finish line in London's Hyde Park less than six months after he set off.
Sporting a shaggy red beard and a suntan, an exhausted James Bowthorpe was greeted by cheers from friends and family yesterday after an epic, 18,000-mile circumnavigation that has taken him through 20 countries in 175 days.
'I'm a bit tired,' said Mr Bowthorpe, 31, whose journey was sponsored by The Independent. 'It's been a long six months and I'm just finally relieved to be here - and glad that the world isn't any bigger because I couldn't have done it.'
Facing an attempted kidnapping in Iran, a bruising encounter with a wombat in Australia and a severe case of 'Delhi belly' in India that saw him lose a fifth of his body weight, Bowthorpe has clocked up an average of more than 100 miles a day, sometimes cycling twice that distance in his effort to bag the biggest prize in endurance cycling.
The cabinet maker from Balham in south London has taken 19 days off the record set last year by the Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont. Speaking from Mexico, where he is taking on a new challenge, Beaumont called Mr Bowthorpe's achievement"
Sporting a shaggy red beard and a suntan, an exhausted James Bowthorpe was greeted by cheers from friends and family yesterday after an epic, 18,000-mile circumnavigation that has taken him through 20 countries in 175 days.
'I'm a bit tired,' said Mr Bowthorpe, 31, whose journey was sponsored by The Independent. 'It's been a long six months and I'm just finally relieved to be here - and glad that the world isn't any bigger because I couldn't have done it.'
Facing an attempted kidnapping in Iran, a bruising encounter with a wombat in Australia and a severe case of 'Delhi belly' in India that saw him lose a fifth of his body weight, Bowthorpe has clocked up an average of more than 100 miles a day, sometimes cycling twice that distance in his effort to bag the biggest prize in endurance cycling.
The cabinet maker from Balham in south London has taken 19 days off the record set last year by the Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont. Speaking from Mexico, where he is taking on a new challenge, Beaumont called Mr Bowthorpe's achievement"
Hyundai to launch $5k car in India
Seoul: South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co plans to produce a new model in India priced as low as $5,000 and targeting emerging countries, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported.
Lheem Heung-soo, chief executive of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, told Nikkei in an interview the 800cc car, to be manufactured at its Chennai factory, would retail for $5,000-$6,000, adding the vehicle's debut was several years away.
In addition to the roll-out in India, where Hyundai is ranked No. 2, the model will be shipped to other emerging countries, the paper said.
A Hyundai spokeswoman in Seoul said the company was developing a small-size model in India but declined to give details such as the likely price or timing of sale.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Declares All Properties Belong To Government
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (r) and his Hungarian counterpart Gordon Bajnai inspect the honor guards in front of the Parliament building in Budapest, 18 Sep 2009Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung says his government will notaccept demands from the Vatican to return confiscated properties to theCatholic Church in Vietnam. Mr Dung made the comments in BudapestFriday, following trade talks with his Hungarian counterpart GordonBajnai. | |
| Saturday, 19 September 2009 VOA News | |
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Friday, September 18, 2009
Indian domestic traffic returns to growth in June; international traffic up throughout Q2
After continuing to fall in April and May, India’s domestic air traffic returned to growth in June with passenger numbers up a significant 5.2%. It was last June when domestic demand first began to fall since when monthly traffic has been down, typically between 10% and 20%.
more info--->>>>Indian domestic traffic returns to growth in June; international traffic up throughout Q2 | anna.aero
more info--->>>>Indian domestic traffic returns to growth in June; international traffic up throughout Q2 | anna.aero
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Vietnam Airlines up to 70% discount Oct1 -Jan 31
Vietnam Airlines has announced that it will offer a discount, of 60-70 per cent on all domestic and international flights scheduled from October 1 - January 31, the carrier's largest promotion to date.
Tickets for Vietnam Airlines flights must be purchased from October 1-20. Requests for flight delays or cancellations will not be allowed.
The airlines southern director, Nguyen Thi Minh Yen, said the promotion, which begins on the same day as the International Travel Expo (ITE), would help to shore up tourism during tough economic times. 
The ITE, the country's largest and most important tourism fair, will be held from October 1-3 at the Phu Tho Exhibition Centre in HCM City's District 11.
Tickets for Vietnam Airlines flights must be purchased from October 1-20. Requests for flight delays or cancellations will not be allowed.
At the tourism fair, 300 exhibitors will be showcasing the tourism potential of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia to 150 participating travel agencies from 25 countries, including the US, Russia, Germany, mainland China, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Exhibitors are players in the hospitality industry, including governmental authorities, tour operators, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants, insurance companies, publications, business and conference facilities and recreation services, among others.
La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, said the event would familiarise guests with the "three countries in one destination" concept, which was agreed upon by the tourism ministers of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia in 2007.
Boasting several UNESCO World Heritage Sites each, the three countries will offer tours that include stops at major sites like Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Viet Nam's Ha Long Bay and the former imperial city of Luang Prabang in Laos.
Deputy director Khanh said that despite the economic downturn, this year's event had managed to attract 50 more international buyers compared to last year.
"The event was carefully prepared down to the last detail," said Nguyen Van Tuan, director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's representative office in HCM City.
The event also features an investment conference that brings together top tourism officials in the three countries and international investors to discuss strategies to develop Indochina's tourism potential and enhance its competitiveness.
The Tourism Alliance Award (TAA) will be also launched for the first time at the exposition.
A board of judges including industry experts will select 10 winners out of 100 nominees across 10 categories, including the best hotel, resort, restaurant, air carrier and tour operators, among others.
The awards aim to increase the overall standards of the hospitality industry in the region and to raise benchmarks to greater heights, according to the three countries' tourism associations, which are the organisers of the event.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
Top Ten Cities for shopping Asia
Vietnam contributes three names to the top 5 and top 10 lists of the most attractive tourist destinations in Asia of the online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia: Hanoi, HCM City and Hoi An.
Hoi An ancient city enters the top five of Asian cities for festivals and relaxation in 2009, besides Thailand’s Bangkok and Phuket, Indonesia’s Bali, India’s Kerala and Hong Kong.
Among the top ten resort cities in Asia are Vietnam’s Hanoi and HCM City. Hanoi is also one of the top ten Asian cities for shopping while HCM City is in the top ten cities for businessmen in Asia.
Readers of the Smart Travel Asia voted the best tourism sites in Asia based on the following standards: the best cities for relaxation, the best cities for shopping, the best cities for businessmen and the best hotels, restaurants and airlines in Asia.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Four Points by Sheraton debuts in India -
hotStarwood Hotels and Resorts has opened its first Four Points by Sheraton property in India, near Mumbai, with a second property in Jaipur to follow in October.
Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi is located in the business centre of Navi Mumbai, one of the main suburbs to the north of the Maharashtra capital. The 151-room hotel has a health club and swimming pool, with a spa due to open in December, plus a bar, a café and two restaurants.
Sky Grill restaurant specializes in barbecue specialties served al fresco by the pool, while the second restaurant Asia Kitchen serves east Asian cuisine, cooked in an interactive live kitchen. Meeting facilities at the hotel include nine meeting rooms, with the largest measuring 43sqm.
Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square, located near the city's commercial hub on MI Road, will open on October 1. The hotel will feature 115 guest rooms, a bar/deli and an all-day dining restaurant plus nearly 369sqm of meeting and function space.
Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of specialty select brands for Starwood Hotels & Resorts said: "In keeping with Four Points by Sheraton's commitment to providing honest, uncomplicated comfort, these two hotels will offer travellers to and within India a new kind of style combined with spirited 'can do' service at an honest value."
The Four Points by Sheraton brand has 12 hotels in Asia Pacific and nearly 20 under development in China, Cambodia, Taiwan Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific said: "Starwood has spent the last two years laying the groundwork for the debut of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in India, and we are thrilled to see our plans come to fruition with the opening and signing of these new hotels. We look forward to continuing to grow this brand in key markets throughout India and Asia Pacific."
The Starwood group currently operates 21 hotels in India under the brands Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton and now Four Points by Sheraton. Another 15 hotels are due to open in the subcontinent by 2012, across the Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft brands.
Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi is located in the business centre of Navi Mumbai, one of the main suburbs to the north of the Maharashtra capital. The 151-room hotel has a health club and swimming pool, with a spa due to open in December, plus a bar, a café and two restaurants.
Sky Grill restaurant specializes in barbecue specialties served al fresco by the pool, while the second restaurant Asia Kitchen serves east Asian cuisine, cooked in an interactive live kitchen. Meeting facilities at the hotel include nine meeting rooms, with the largest measuring 43sqm.
Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square, located near the city's commercial hub on MI Road, will open on October 1. The hotel will feature 115 guest rooms, a bar/deli and an all-day dining restaurant plus nearly 369sqm of meeting and function space.
Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of specialty select brands for Starwood Hotels & Resorts said: "In keeping with Four Points by Sheraton's commitment to providing honest, uncomplicated comfort, these two hotels will offer travellers to and within India a new kind of style combined with spirited 'can do' service at an honest value."
The Four Points by Sheraton brand has 12 hotels in Asia Pacific and nearly 20 under development in China, Cambodia, Taiwan Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific said: "Starwood has spent the last two years laying the groundwork for the debut of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in India, and we are thrilled to see our plans come to fruition with the opening and signing of these new hotels. We look forward to continuing to grow this brand in key markets throughout India and Asia Pacific."
The Starwood group currently operates 21 hotels in India under the brands Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton and now Four Points by Sheraton. Another 15 hotels are due to open in the subcontinent by 2012, across the Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft brands.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
First-ever conference ib Tourism Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia in
The first-ever regional conference to encourage businesses to invest in tourism in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from September 30 to October 1.
The HCM City Municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism says that using the theme of “Three Nations – One Destination”, the conference will promote the three countries as an ideal region for tourism investment and development.
The event will be attended by government delegations from the three countries and many other international delegates who will discuss issues related to tourism investment and development in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
The conference will provide a forum in which tourism organisations of the three countries can introduce their latest development strategies to international businesses.
The event is being held on the sidelines of the 5th international tourism exhibition taking place in HCM City from October 1-10. This exhibition is expected to attract more than 150 international travel agents from 15 countries and territories.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Vietnam, US set up health task force on AO/dioxin - Vietnam, US set up health task force on AO/dioxin
Vietnam and the US have reached consensus on directions to address the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin in the Southeast Asian country, including the establishment of a health task force.
The two nations came to the decision during the fourth annual meeting of the Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Council (JAC) on AO which ended in Hanoi on September 10 after three days of talks.
The establishment of the health task force, following the environmental task force set up at the third meeting, is seen as a step forward by the JAC, said Le Ke Son, co-chair of the JAC, at a press conference following the event.
The health task force comprises experts chosen from both Vietnam and the US, said Son, who is also Deputy General Director of the General Environment Department.
The group will first gather all information related to AO/dioxin and their adverse effects on humans generally and in Vietnam in particular to help the JAC make accurate assessments of this issue, especially in AO/dioxin-contaminated areas.
The health task force will also put forth measures to prevent exposure in AO-affected areas and provide better health care to people who have been exposed or have a high likelihood of exposure to AO, said Son.
Having praised the establishment of the task force, US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak reiterated the US’s commitment to continue cooperating with Vietnam in seeking solutions to decontaminate the environment and provide health assistance to tackle the damage caused by AO/dioxin.
The diplomat revealed that the US is assisting Vietnam to address AO/dioxin contamination at Da Nang airport-one of the country’s three hot spots-with funding sourced from the US commitment of US$6 million. VNA/VOVNewFriday, September 11, 2009
Terrorist new target: hotels -10 September, 2009
Terrorist new target: hotels
The new target for terrorists are hotels and other easier-to-access tourist areas as security continues to be beefed up at military and government facilities, says a global inelligence organization.
“Al-Qaida is changing from a centralized organization with global goals to regional ‘franchises’ with more parochial aims and strong grass-roots support, according to a report from STRATFOR,” says the AP.
These smaller cells get less training and less money, so they set their sights lower.
That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, "particularly if they are attempting to prove their value or if they are able to link up with someone who is highly tactically skilled," the report says.
The number of attacks on hotels has more than doubled since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, according to STRATFOR.
Why have hotels become a soft target for Islamic extremists? Answer: a fixed location, a lot of human traffic and shallow security.
Hotels also attract many Westerners, giving militants high probabilities of killing or injuring large numbers of them in a single attack, according to the report.
Although hotel security guards try to monitor suspicious people and activities, extremists know how to get around this: check in as a guest, giving them full access to the grounds. As an example, the report says the bombers who carried out the July twin suicide attacks at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, had registered two days earlier.
“The first step for large hotel operators in dealing with this threat is to undertake a vulnerability assessment to identify properties that are most likely to be at risk,” the report says.
Despite the increasing attacks in hotels, the report says many owners and managers have been reluctant to equip their buildings with more security measures, which can be cumbersome and inconvenience guests, says the report. But in the wake of lawsuits, that may be changing.
Measures for countering terrorism include more security guards and prominently placed security cameras.
By David Wilkening
Terrorist new target: hotels -10 September, 2009
The new target for terrorists are hotels and other easier-to-access tourist areas as security continues to be beefed up at military and government facilities, says a global inelligence organization.
“Al-Qaida is changing from a centralized organization with global goals to regional ‘franchises’ with more parochial aims and strong grass-roots support, according to a report from STRATFOR,” says the AP.
These smaller cells get less training and less money, so they set their sights lower.
That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, "particularly if they are attempting to prove their value or if they are able to link up with someone who is highly tactically skilled," the report says.
The number of attacks on hotels has more than doubled since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, according to STRATFOR.
Why have hotels become a soft target for Islamic extremists? Answer: a fixed location, a lot of human traffic and shallow security.
Hotels also attract many Westerners, giving militants high probabilities of killing or injuring large numbers of them in a single attack, according to the report.
Although hotel security guards try to monitor suspicious people and activities, extremists know how to get around this: check in as a guest, giving them full access to the grounds. As an example, the report says the bombers who carried out the July twin suicide attacks at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, had registered two days earlier.
“The first step for large hotel operators in dealing with this threat is to undertake a vulnerability assessment to identify properties that are most likely to be at risk,” the report says.
Despite the increasing attacks in hotels, the report says many owners and managers have been reluctant to equip their buildings with more security measures, which can be cumbersome and inconvenience guests, says the report. But in the wake of lawsuits, that may be changing.
Measures for countering terrorism include more security guards and prominently placed security cameras.
By David Wilkening
Terrorist new target: hotels -10 September, 2009
Tiger kills zoo worker in southern Vietnam
Tiger kills zoo worker in southern Vietnam | |||||||
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According to other employees of Dai Nam Zoo, the tiger jumped over the two-and-half-meter concrete wall surrounding its enclosure. Nguyen Cong Danh, 47, died on the spot while Nguyen Thanh Giau, 21, had to be rushed to hospital with severe injuries to the head and neck. The other man escaped by diving into a moat. The Indochina tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), which weighed more than 150 kilograms, was then forced back into its den. Duong Thanh Phi, director of Dai Nam Zoo, which is also a resort, told Thanh Nien the tiger was coming into rut, which might have given it the extra strength to leap so high. There’s also suspicion that the tiger was frightened by the cranes lifting the trees into position. It was the first such incident in the zoo’s history and was beyond anyone’s control, Phi said. He told the newswire Vnexpress Thursday it was impossible for the tigers to escape into the public area because of the electric fence and the four-meter deep by eight-meter wide moat. The zoo’s managers visited Giau at Binh Duong General Hospital on Thursday but made no comment. The Binh Duong Bureau of Forest Management said it was investigating the incident as well as animal management generally at the zoo. An inspection of Dai Nam Zoo Co. Ltd. in July revealed there were 13 tigers at the zoo, nearly double the seven it was registered for. In total, the company was keeping 583 wild animals of 71 species but its license, which had expired by then, only permitted 294 animals of 27 species. Inspectors conceded that the enclosures were properly designed and that there were qualified veterinarians on the premises to take care of the animals, but also found that the zoo did not record its breeding and raising methods to ensure the animals maintained normal reproduction under captive conditions. Reported by Hoang Tuan | |||||||
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
More efforts needed to solve dioxin issues - More efforts needed to solve dioxin issues
Vietnam-US projects to deal with the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin on the environment and human health has not met expectations despite efforts from both sides, says a Vietnamese official.
The Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, made the statement at the fourth annual session of the Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on Agent Orange/dioxin in Hanoi on September 8.
It’s time the two governments reached official agreement on a long-term and effective programme for this issue, insisted Mr Cuong.
He said Vietnam gives priority to cleaning up dioxin-contaminated hotspots to prevent further exposure and providing healthcare services to the victims. He asked the JAC to put forward specific proposals to realise these two tasks.
He recommended that a Vietnam-US working group on health care be established to draw up a roadmap and propose solutions to minimise the number of children born with deformities. He lauded the Vietnam-US working group on the environment for creating a roadmap and technical solutions to deal with hotpots at Da Nang Airport in central Vietnam.
However, he said, the amount of money that the US government has promised to help with the environmental cleanup at this airport has not been disbursed yet, hampering JAC activities.
Mr Cuong thanked non-government organisations such as the Ford Foundation, the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund, UN agencies and other organisations for showing their interest in projects to overcome the consequences of the toxic chemicals in Vietnam.
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| US Ambassador M. Michalak and US officials at the session. (Photo: Hanoimoi) |
The US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Michalak, acknowledged the implementation of healthcare and environmental projects which were proposed at their meeting last year.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed three-year projects with a number of organisations including Save the Children US, East Meets West Foundation and Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped to provide medical and rehabilitation services to handicapped people in Da Nang City, and to help them earn a livelihood.
The US has received bidding dossiers and will soon announce the winner of a project to assess the environmental impact and prepare to clean up dioxin-contaminated hotspots at Da Nang Airport. In June 2009, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) carried out experiments at Da Nang Airport using bioremediation technology. The technology is expected to bring about highly-efficient, low-cost solutions.
During the three-day meeting, JAC delegates, scientists and representatives from non-governmental organisations will hear reports and propose solutions to the ongoing problems in Vietnam.
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