Vocal journalist burnt by stranger dies | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Vocal journalist burnt by stranger dies | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge - A Vietnamese journalist who was set on fire while he was sleeping by a stranger who broke into his private house died on January 29 - after 10 days in critical condition.

Le Hoang Hung, 51, of Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, passed away at 13: 45 after an unidentified intruder broke into his home, doused him with chemicals and set him on fire while he was sleeping alone in a room on the second floor.

He suffered from up to 50% burns.

The mattress, blanket and pillows on which he was sleeping were burnt to ashes.

Tran Thi Lieu, Hung’s wife, said she was in another room with their two kids downstairs when she saw him rushing into the room and screaming: “Help me! Someone tried to kill me!”. His body was on fire at the time.

She pushed him into the bathroom and sprayed water onto his body before taking him to hospital.

Lieu said Hung had recently told her about strange phone numbers that constantly sent threatening messages to his mobile phone, and that he had planned to report to the police.

Police have targeted some suspects but up to now, the cause of the crime and identify of the killer are under investigation.
But it is highly likely that the incident stems from Hung’s high-profile reporting.
Hung was an active reporter covering sensitive issues on corruption, social evils and the underworld. He recently wrote about state wrongdoings at the Long An Province Market Control Department and trans-border smuggling.

He left two daughters, one 12 and the other 17 years old.

Before 2007, Hung used to write freelance for Tuoi Tre, covering news in Long An and Tien Giang provinces under penname Tran Vu.

Then, he specialized in news on internal and governmental affairs.
Source: Tuoi Tre

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Rare langur found in Vietnam's northern highlands | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

A Francois' Langur and its babies found in the northern highlands province of Thai Nguyen.

Vietnamese scientists are going to announce the discovery of a rare langur species in the northernl highlands province of Thai Nguyen, a local official told Thanh Nien.

According to Ngo Xuan Hai, chief of the provincial Forest Rangers Agency, a group of researchers discovered a herd of eight Francois’ Langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) towards the end of last year at the Than Sa – Phuong Hoang Nature Reserve.

The research team comprised agency staff as well as lecturers of the Thai Nguyen University of Forestry, Hai said.

Also known as Francois’ Leaf Monkey, the primate was found in 23 different countries with a total population size of 2,000-2,500 individuals before 1990.

But hunting had dramatically decreaed its population to just Vietnam and China. However, the total number of this monkey species in the wild is unknown.

The monkey is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Reported by Tho Phuoc

Own house a mirage for most employees | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Ministry mulls national housing fund to assist low-income earners

Two men play chess near apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7. It takes between 24.5 and 26.6 years for a Vietnamese to be able to buy a house.

Live a very strict, austere life. Save everything you can after working very, very hard. Do this for 25 years, and maybe, just maybe you will be able to buy your first home.

This is the reality for millions of people in the country.

For people whose monthly income is just several million dong, the largest sum they can put aside is roughly VND1 million per month, said Deputy Construction Minister Nguyen Tran Nam said. This kind of savings does not mean anything considering that the cheapest apartment in Hanoi and other large cities costs VND400 million (US$20,500).

“Nobody can buy a home in large cities if they only rely on salary income,” Nam said.

Vietnam ranks 100th in the world in terms of wealth, but 20th in terms of house prices, he added, highlighting a disparity that makes a dream home, just that, a dream, for many citizens.

Nguyen Manh Ha, director of the Construction Ministry’s Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department, said Vietnam has a house price to household income ratio of 24.5-26.6.

“This means it takes between 24.5 and 26.6 years for a Vietnamese to be able to buy a house providing they save all of their money for this,” Ha said. The ratio is too high compared to the world average of 3-4 years.

Vietnam ended its housing allocation system two decades ago, when it stopped granting apartments and small houses to state employees and workers and started making housing allowance a part of their salary package. The problem is that this portion is too small to be of any real use.

In 1993, for instance, the allowance was equal to 7.5 percent of the minimum monthly wage, or VND9,000. As the minimum wage has been raised to VND730,000 a month, the housing budget has also expanded, but to a mere VND54,750 per month ($2.80).

Nguyen Thanh Hai has been putting aside more than that. Hai and his wife, both working for government agencies in Hanoi, earn around VND8 million a month together. Out of this income they save VND2 million every month for a house.

But the rate at which their savings increases cannot keep pace with the increase in real estate prices. “The chance to own a home is now out of my reach,” Hai said. “Two years ago, we were only VND600 million short of a house, but now we need another VND1 billion.”

Thinking about what the future may hold for him, Hai said there is one thing he can be sure of – that he and his wife will have to keep living in a rented house.

Opaque market

Total housing area in Vietnam has expanded steadily, by around 86.8 million square meters last year, and many projects to develop housing for low-income urban residents have been launched. However, the Ministry of Construction has conceded that providing housing for low income citizens is a stiff challenge.

The trend of consistently soaring house prices has not eased in years, and Dang Hung Vo, former deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said it was because the market was driven by speculators.

“The market is not transparent,” he said. “There is a group of people standing between developers and people with real housing demand and this group earns a lot of money from inflated house prices.”

When prices spiral out of control and far from the real value, the housing pressure grows exponentially, he said, stressing the need for more transparency in the real estate market.

In a bid to ease the problem, the Construction Ministry is mapping a 10-year plan that envisions, among other things, the launch of a national housing fund to which all employees in the country will contribute.

Contributors to the fund for 10- 15 years will be eligible to make purchases from social housing projects. If they choose not to, they will receive their money, with interest, at their retirement, just like a usual pension fund.

Deputy Construction Minister Nguyen Tran Nam said there are around nine million employees on official payroll records and a 1 percent contribution from them every month would amount to a fund large enough to finance more housing projects in the country.

Reported by Quang Duan

Chinese extraordinary artists performs in Hanoi | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - Picking the nose with a driller, hooking an iron hook onto the eyelid to pull a car, holding onto a whirling propeller with the tongue, allowing a snake to creep through the nose to the mouth are among bloodcurdling items performed by Chinese artists in Hanoi.

On January 23, 13 artists of the Sichuan Art Troupe from China had the first show at the West Lake Water Park. Among them, there are three men who have been honored as China’s top 200 oddly talented and extraordinary men..

After fanning fire as the opening item, this man uses his neck to curl up three iron bars.

This man stands on four electric bulbs and then uses his tongue to stop a spinning fan.

He also drills his tongue with an electric driller.

This man pulls a snake from his nose to his mouth.

This 1.56m man is famous in the world for odd performances.

He stands on electric bulbs, raises two water buckets with

his eyelids, plays a wind instrument and carries a girl on his back at the same time.

This woman is climbing a ladder with blades as its stairs.

He pulls the car with his neck.

Vietnam doesn’t welcome foreign unskilled labor | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Vietnam doesn’t welcome foreign unskilled labor | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

VietNamNet Bridge – “Vietnam’s point of view is not receiving foreign unskilled workers,” said Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

At a conference to release a report about job trend in Vietnam in 2010, Nguyen Dai Dong, chief of the MoLISA’s Job Department said that by the end of 2010, there were around 56,930 foreign workers in Vietnam. Nearly 53 percent of them didn’t have work permits.

Hoang Binh, deputy director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Lam Dong province said that loopholes in Vietnam’s labor law enabled a large number of foreign unskilled workers to come to Vietnam. As a result, they have taken the jobs of locals.

Binh provided evidence that the bauxite project in Lam Dong employs up to 1200 foreign workers, including many unskilled ones. Binh proposed to quickly complete the law on managing foreign labor.

“MoLISA and the Ministry of Construction need to reach agreements and have strict rules to control foreign workers. Once foreign investors win bids in Vietnam, they will bring their workers to our country, including unskilled ones,” Binh said.

Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that her ministry will report to the National Assembly to amend the Labor Code. She said that the Ministry is amending Decree 34 on foreign labor in Vietnam.

The Minister affirmed that in integration, the migration of labor forces between Vietnam and other countries is a fact. However, Vietnam’s policy is not welcoming unskilled foreign labor. The country opens its door for experts and highly trained foreign workers only.

“We are not locking our door because we send our workers abroad so we are not banning foreign workers to come to Vietnam. However, foreign workers in Vietnam have to obey Vietnamese laws,” Ngan said.

Vu Diep

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Wild animals stoop in chilly wind at Hanoi Zoo | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - Burning fires, raising food rations, and using high-voltage lamps are several measures applied at the Hanoi Zoo to protect animals in the current cold, which began on January 2.

In cold weather the Hanoi Zoo is quiet.

Animals also seek ways to combat cold. Instead of jumping up and down, these monkeys lean on each other to keep warm.

Spotted deer are warmed by fires. Veterinary doctor Pham Van Tuan said the zoo has to keep

animals warm whenever the temperature is below 15 degree Celsius.

Food rations for animals are also increased.

Deer graze near the fire.

Many baby deer stoop near the fire.

The house for elephants is covered by canvas. Fires are also burnt.

Tigers are warmed by lamps of up to 2,500W.

Birds, chickens, peacocks are also protected from chill.

Only hippopotamus soak their bodies under water. Workers pump warm water of 30-35 degree Celsius into the lake.

Kien Trung

Rhino died of bullet-wound infection: WWF | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Rhino died of bullet-wound infection: WWF | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "

Rhino died of bullet-wound infection: WWF

January 22, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - A Javan rhinoceros that was found dead in the Cat Tien National Park last April may have died of infection after being shot in its leg, the World Wildlife Fund said Thursday.

Park rangers found the endangered animal’s carcass in an almost completely decomposed state and without its horn.

It may have been shot by a poacher for its horn and died two months later from the infection, the WWF said in a report.

The animal’s sex is not known but its teeth and bones indicate it have been 15-20 years old, the report said.

Sara Brook, a WWF official based in Vietnam, said the shooting of the rhino is a warning for Vietnam about its lax management of wildlife resources.

The WWF has asked local police to find the poachers who may be in possession of the horn of what was possibly Vietnam’s last rhino.

The results of a study to identify the number of Javan rhinos left will be released soon, according to the WWF. “It will show if the death of this rhino marks the extinction of Javan rhinos,” Brook said.

Rhino horns are highly valued in the illegal wildlife trade while the animal’s skin and feces are used for medicinal purposes.

Vietnam’s Javan or lesser one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) population was one of only two left on the planet. Official estimates say there are fewer than 60 left in the world.

The major population, of 40-60, is found in Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia. There are none in captivity anywhere.

Source: SGTT/Tuoi Tre

Hanoi: Rich men pay hundreds of USD for breakfast | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

VietNamNet Bridge – Unhygienic food is now a big problem in Vietnam. Some rich people are willing to pay a lot of money to have meals at luxurious restaurants to have safe food.

Some people often take a bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle) which is priced VND750,000 ($37) as breakfast. On the weekend, they take their whole family to restaurants and spend several hundreds of USD for the breakfast.
For a half of the year, Thang, the owner of a real estate firm in Hanoi, has become a familiar customer of a restaurant of a hotel on Lang Ha Street. Thang goes to this restaurant to enjoy the famous pho there.
The restaurant offers six types of pho, which are priced from VND 70,000 to VND750,000 dong ($3.5-37) a bowl. At popular pho restaurants, the prices only range from VND20,000-30,000/bowl.
The pho at this restaurant is very expensive because it uses special beef, which is imported from the USA, Australia and Japan. A bowl of pho with Wagyu beef from Australia is priced VND220,000 ($11). The price is VND125,000 ($6.5) for a pho bowl with beef imported from the US and it is up to VND500,000-VND750,000 ($37) for pho with Kobe beef from Japan.
The restaurant manager told VietNamNet that he was unexpected to see such a high number of customers who choose the most expensive kind of pho here. Notably, they order the special pho for themselves, not for guests.
The price for a bowl of pho with Kobe beef is equivalent to a feast for four people.
Thang, who has become a regular of this restaurant for a half year, said that he chooses restaurants to avoid food poisoning.
“I don’t think that I go to this restaurant to show off my wealth. It is simple that I can pay VND750,000 for a pho bowl that I think it is safe and delicious,” Thang explained.
Thang visits this restaurant twice or three times a week. He also takes his family, including his parents, his wife and two children to this restaurant.
“The Vietnamese economy is developing strongly and there is a class of wealthy people, who don’t care about money. I often see families of three generations who come to my restaurant to eat our special pho at the weekend. They pay nearly ten million dong for the breakfast,” the restaurant owner said.
This restaurant has special customers who have ordered the special pho for two years. They have special seats there. The restaurant has 150 seats and they are all occupied from 7-9am, the time for breakfast.
Not only breakfast, wealthy men in Hanoi go to hotels to take lunch and dinner to feel safe.
Thuy Anh, PR manager of a big hotel in Hanoi, said that the hotel’s restaurants previously served foreigners but now the situation has changed. Many Vietnamese people, both individuals and families, go to the hotel for meals. The hotel has had to change its menus to serve these customers. The price is at least VND650,000-700,000 for a person.
The number of individuals and families going to luxurious restaurants to have safe and delicious meals is also rising. These restaurants have offered menus with a lot of vegetables and healthy food to serve the rich, who are not afraid to spend money to get the best for their health.
According to the Health Ministry, the ratio of people who contract cancer in Vietnam in 2010 is 181.3/100,000 for men and 134.9/100,000 for women. In 2000, the rates were 146.6 and 101.6/100,000.
The latest research conducted by the HCM City Cancer Hospital shows that one third of the cancer patients have problems with food.
Cam Quyen

It’s a national disaster | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

It’s a national disaster

January 15, 2011 about News

Victim of a motorbike accident sits on a sidewalk in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District.

Sometimes, disasters are not so in-your-face, like a tsunami or an earthquake.
They could happen in bits and pieces, in trickles instead of a deluge, and we are not likely to see them as a full-scale disaster.
Last month, a national conference on traffic safety in Hanoi reported that 11,449 people were killed in 14,442 traffic accidents in the country last year. 10,663 others were injured.
Compared to the previous year, the number of cases increased by 1,788.
While the death toll went down by 47, the number of injuries went up by 2,500.
The figures get scarier if we look at them closely, and make a few calculations and comparisons.
The latest death toll means 31 people die every day, 217 a week - the casualty rate of a plane crash. At the current rate of traffic fatalities, the equivalent of the entire population of a mountainous district of 30,000 people would be wiped out in less than three years.
The consequences of these accidents don’t stop at the loss of life and the injuries sustained.
A report by the World Health Organization says that road accidents cost between 1-2 percent of GDP in developing countries. That kind of money, which can be used to help thousands of poor people, is spent on treating victims of traffic accidents.
The government set up a National Traffic Safety Committee, and several agencies to enforce traffic laws. Traffic safety news is aired every day on national television, and thousands of community activities are held to promote traffic safety.
But traffic accidents have not decreased. Why?
More than a month ago, I caught a bus from the central province of Quang Tri to Nghe An Province. Like most other buses running from the north to the south, this one was also old, and very crowded.
When it rained, the whole windshield became opaque, as wipers broke down. But, the driver was still speeding and almost crashed into vehicles running in the opposite direction many times.
It’s unbelievable that the lives of people on the bus were at risk because of broken windshield wipers and an irresponsible driver.
If traffic officials agree to take a trip from north to south by motorbike or an old bus like millions of ordinary people, instead of by plane or car, they will understand better the risks involved, and come up with more effective policies.
We are lucky to live in a peaceful country. But how peaceful is it when we face the threat of traffic accidents whenever we go out.
We have talked so much about the causes of traffic accidents – increasing urban population density, increasing number of vehicles, poor awareness of traffic regulations, infrastructural deficiencies and so on.
But, as long as we aren’t fully aware of the reasons behind and consequences of traffic accidents, we are doomed to revisit these figures every year. We have to recognize the scale of this problem: it is truly a national disaster.

By Le Duc Duc (Tuoi Tre)

Vampire flying frog discovered in Vietnam | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam -
An Australian female scientist’s discovery of a strange frog species in Vietnam
has surprised many Vietnamese scientists.

Vu
Ngoc Thanh, who has spent 30 years on biology studies at the Biology Museum of
the University of Natural Sciences under the Hanoi National University, said:
“I have never seen the vampire flying frog that the Australian scientist Jodi
Rowley discovered in the south, though I have been to this area many times. The
frogs live in small water puddles in tree’s cavities, and therefore, it is very
difficult to see them.

Why was the discovery
not made by a native person?

In
biology, like in all sciences, there is no concept of borders, territories and
countries. All are common to the human kind.

Vietnam
has opened its doors 20 years ago, and
the scientific cooperation with foreign countries has been strengthened.
Therefore, the discovery of an Australian scientist in Vietnam should be seen
as a normal thing. Vietnamese scientists also make similar discoveries in Laos.

The forests in
Vietnam have been severely damaged. How come new species can still be found?

These
living beings do not have the capability to move far. They do not need large
forests to live like elephants and tigers. They will still survive until
natural forest exists. This shows Vietnam’s
biodiversity.

We
sometimes joke that there is nothing more to research in northern forests,
because there is no more forest. However, in fact, a lot of new species have
been found in the north in the past few years. while in the US, for example, no
new species has been found in the US ver the past 20 years.

Can this be explained
by the fact that the US has a large and powerful force of scientists, who have
already found everything in the US, while Vietnam does not have qualified
scientists and they still cannot find all the species living in Vietnam?

We
have to admit our weak points in researching biodiversity. The species live in
Vietnam, but they have been discovered by foreigners.

In
2008, my Vietnamese and German colleagues and I discovered a species of frog
living in small puddles in tree cavities, and I called it Ech Cay Quyet. Quyet
is the name of an old student of mine, who has made big contribution to the
biodiversity preservation in Vietnam.

In
fact, we have many problems, from the bad management mechanism to the lack of
enthusiasm.

How areVietnamese
scientists rewrded when they discover a new species?

Nothing,
though they have to spend time, money and can even be physically injured during
the scientific research. It sometimes takes scientists 10 years or even more to
complete the research process. But they only get one million dong for every
article published in scientific journals.

Vietnam has carried
out a lot of surveys on the biodiversity of natural reserves and national
parks, right?

Not
really. It is true that there are many such projects, especially when we
prepare to set up sanctuaries or national parks. However, the works are simply
just to list the already known species or to come to the conclusion that there
exists areas where some species live. We need
scientists who have deep knowledge in specific fields.

For
example, Jodi Rowley, who discovered the vampire flying frog, specializes
amphibian-reptile studies, particularly in frogs in South East Asia. Meanwhile,
most of the Vietnamese scientists try do to everything. They seem to know many
things in many fields, but in truth, they do not have deep knowledge in any.
Therefore, it is difficult for them to discover a new species.

Source: Tien phong

Turns down $50,000 to donate kidney to poor girl

Samaritan turns down $50,000 to donate kidney to a poor girl 

January 10, 2011  about Sci-Tech

Vu Quoc Tuan at the 8th national patriot festival in Hanoi.

Vu Quoc Tuan has not had an easy life himself, but is firmly in the business of saving lives -  and expects no reward in return.
His incredible humanity has seen him donate a kidney to a poor girl for free, refusing an offer of US$50,000 made by a better-off family.
Tuan’s story came to light when the 38-year-old native of Phu Tho was honoured at the 8th National Patriots Festival held in Hanoi  on Monday (December 27).
He was working as a guard at the Hanoi Children’s Hospital when Tuan was moved on seeing Ta Thi Thu Ha, 18, the same age as his daughter, struggling with kidney failure. It was the year 2008 and Ha had been suffering for at least six years then.
Learning that the family was poor, with the father a war invalid and the mother the sole breadwinner working as a vendor, he decided to give the girl one of his own kidneys.
When he started to undergo examinations in March 2008 to prepare for the surgery, a family from nearby Hai Phong visited him and offered to pay $50,000 for the kidney, but Tuan told them he had to give it to a niece.
“You have money, so you can find [the kidney] at many places, but if I don’t give the kidney to my niece, she will die,” Tuan said.
Tuan was born to a poor farming family and quit college after one month to take care of his family after his father died of sickness. He said he has been working different jobs around the northern region, thus has a special sympathy for poor people.
Doctors at the hospital were surprised by his decision to donate. No one that they know of had ever donated a kidney to a total stranger.
The donation was made after more than 60 tests were done between March and October 2008, during which time Tuan had to undergo the pain of needles several times, including into his spinal cord.
He had to borrow money to raise his children during the period as the examinations kept him too busy to go to work. His wife, a guest worker in Malaysia, was also struggling there because of the global economic crisis.
The transplant was successful but Tuan didn’t accept a single dong from Ha’s family, though they wished to give him some to help his recovery.
He now has a desk job at the Mechanics Company No.17 under the Ministry of Defense. The company director, Chu The Thinh, offered him the job after the surgery weakened him and he could no longer afford to do hard labor.
Not the first time
Tuan’s job as a guard at the Children’s Hospital was also the result of his second nature - helping others in trouble.
In 2007, he saved a child from two fighting buffalos on the street and was hospitalized with rib fractures.
At the hospital, Tuan offered to donate blood to a girl who needed an emergency operation. The hospital was short of blood, and Tuan, being a universal donor (O group), gladly donated his. The girl’s family found out where he lived and tried to pay him, but he refused. So they helped him get the position.
When working as a hospital guard, Tuan has been known for helping patients’ relatives look for rental homes.
Earlier, when working at construction sites, Tuan had several times carried pregnant women to the hospital for delivery.
And when he was a xe om driver, he often transported poor people for free.
“Every time I see a person in need of help, I just think that if I don’t do anything, they will die. I myself am unhappy, so I understand their situation,” Tuan said.

Source: Thanh Nien 

Dilapidated Hictoric Buildings

LookAtVietnam -
Historic buildings in two localities that functioned as commercial port towns
during the Nguyen dynasty are in a severely dilapidated condition.

Safe as houses? This unique two-storey wooden house in Gia Hoi Old Town is in a bad shape, but local authorities remain unsure how best to protect it. (Photo: VNS)

The Bao Vinh Town,
which hosted a busy port in 18th century, had 39 old buildings standing at the
end of the American War.

Meanwhile, Gia Hoi, a
bustling port town in early 19th century, had 140 old buildings featuring
traditional Vietnamese, Chinese as well as French colonial architecture.

These buildings have
been so badly damaged by the rampant urbanisation of last two decades, that only
15 of them still stand in Bao Vinh, while Gia Hoi has 55.

Residents complain
that they are caught in a bind. One the one hand, they cannot repair their
houses to make them safe or expand it to meet their needs because authorities
have banned such actions. On the other hand, the authorities themselves have
taken no action to preserve the old buildings.

“Many old houses in
Bao Vinh are in ruin and vulnerable to floods and hard weather,” said Nguyen Van
Bon, chairman of Huong Vinh Commune.

A conservation project
to protect the two towns was set up by Thua Thien Hue Province in 2003, but only
three houses were repaired with funds from the French Parliament. In Gia Hoi,
one pagoda had its gate and entrance restored.

Experts have called on
authorities to act before it is too late.

“Architecture reflects
history, so there is a need to protect Bao Vinh and Gia Hoi. Authorities should
promptly come up with ways to deal with the conflict between conservation and
locals’ benefits,” said Nguyen Viet Tien, chairman of the province’s Planning
Association.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa,
former director of the province’s Culture Department, said it was not possible
to restore Bao Vinh as an old town because not many old house remained in it.

“But Gia Hoi has
unique architectural values with a national-heritage pagoda, a Hindu temple, the
house of a Japanese karate master, overseas Chinese club house, French colonial
buildings and palaces of royal family members. It would be interesting to
restore the old town,” he said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News

118 year old woman lost 7 sons in freedom struggle | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

118 year old woman lost 7 sons in freedom struggle | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "Tran Thi Viet, 118, persevered after losing seven of eight sons to the war against foreign occupations.

She turns 119 in 2011, but Tran Thi Viet’s memores of events and people she has met over three centuries (19th, 20th and 21st) is still clear.

Â

It is not just her age that makes Viet, named the oldest Vietnamese by the Vietnam Records Book Center this month, stand out.

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The centurion with nearly 500 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is one of the country’s greatest Heroic Mothers, with seven of her children dying battling French and American occupations.

Â

Viet, a native of the southern province of Long An, said she got married when she was 21 and gave birth to ten children, including eight sons.

Â

As the mother herself was illiterate and their family was too poor to afford tuition fees, all of children received very little formal education.

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But they were aware of what they wanted to do when seeing their fellow country men killed and their villages destroyed by foreign powers.

Â

All of her sons joined the Vietnamese forces to fight against occupations, and seven of them sacrificed their lives for the country.

Â

In 1953, her eldest son, 37-year-old Nguyen Van Lien, was killed, leaving three children behind.

Â

Seven years later another son, Nguyen Van Tao, died on duty, and a year later, her husband died of injuries sustained after joining an attack against the French colonial forces.

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And in 1962 and 1963, Viet lost two more sons – Nguyen Van Kien and Nguyen Van Tri - to the foreign occupation.

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In 1968, her youngest brother Nguyen Van Dau died in a campaign against the US forces.

Â

On the same day in 1973, two more sons died in battle.

Â

Losing seven sons to the war, including two whose bodies have never been found, didn’t stop the heartbroken mother from going on living, supporting her grandchildren and daughters-in-law who’d lost their husbands.

Â

She went fishing and did all kinds of work to earn a living.

Â

Now Viet lives with one of her grandsons and his wife in Long An’s Ca Gua hamlet.

Â

Sometimes culture researchers come to listen to her singing southern lullaby songs which, according to them, can’t be found anywhere in books.

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While it is a great happiness to have so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Viet’s grief has never faded away, even after so many years.

Â

Nguyen Thi Nguyen, her granddaughter, said: “Many times I’ve seen grandmother lie in the hammock in tears. When I ask if she is okay, she would be silent for a moment, then say: ‘I miss your father and your uncles’.”

Â
Source: Tuoi Tre

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VietNamNet - Hanoi’s legendary turtle needs protection | Hanoi’s legendary turtle needs protection

VietNamNet - Hanoi’s legendary turtle needs protection | Hanoi’s legendary turtle needs protection: "Hanoi’s legendary turtle needs protection

VietNamNet Bridge – Associate Professor, Doctor of Biology Ha Dinh Duc said that the ancient turtle in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem lake faced many risks. The biggest risk now is red-eared turtles.



Legendary turtle suffers new injuries



Citing the book “World Turtles” by Carl H. Ernst and Roger W. Barbour, published in 1989, the famous expert on Hanoi and the legendary turtle, said that most Vietnamese people don’t know about the evil influence of red-eared turtles.



“When they are small, they eat animals. When they get bigger, they eat plants. According to my research, red-eared turtles have eaten the green algae in the Hoan Kiem Lake. They have become the biggest danger to the ancient turtle,” the expert said.



According to Dr. Duc, Hoan Kiem Lake had four old turtles in the past but only one is still alive. The turtle, one of the four of its species? in the world, faces many risks. He currently has many wounds, which were caused by fish-hooks and red-eared turtles.



Red-eared turtles appeared in the historical lake in 1997, Duc said.



“In 2004, Hoan Kiem district authorities invited me to a meeting about red-eared turtles. At that time, I confirmed that this species was exotic animal and they must be destroyed to protect the legendary turtle that is a thousand years old”.



He said that Hoan Kiem district authorities reported to the Hanoi government about the exotic turtles and asked the city to take measures to kill them. However, the dangerous turtles are developing.



Duc said that after eating out algae in the lake, they nibble the shell of the legendary turtle.



“The latest photos of the wounds of the ancient turtle which were published on some online newspapers are the worst that I’ve seen in the past 20 years, since I’ve researched the legendary turtle. The turtle is very old and weak. If his is not protected, he may die any time,” he said.



Director of the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology Le Xuan Rao said that the department had submitted to the Hanoi authorities the plan to kill red-earred turtles in the Hoan Kiem Lake. However, scientists have not found measures to cure the wounds of the ancient turtle.



“This is a sensitive issue so we need to conduct more research,” Rao said.



Experts said that it is difficult to immediately kill red-eared turtles but Hanoi authorities need to quickly protect the ancient turtle. If he dies, who will bear the responsibility?



The ancient turtle in the Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the only four turtles of the giant turtle species in the world. The others are living at another lake in Hanoi, named Dong Mo and the two are caged in China.



The turtle is famous for its rareness and its connection to the legend about the Hoan Kiem Lake.



Hoan Kiem Lake (meaning 'Lake of the Returned Sword' or 'Lake of the Restored Sword'), also known as Sword Lake, is a lake in the historical center of Hanoi. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life.



According to the legend, emperor Le Loi handed a magic sword called Heaven's Will which brought him victory in his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty back to the Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) in the lake and hence gave it its present name (the lake was formerly known as 'Luc Thuy' meaning 'Green Water'). The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of lake is linked to the legend.



PV

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VOVNEWS.VN | Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 - Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011

VOVNEWS.VN | Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 - Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011: "The ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 closed in Ho Chi MInh City on January 8, Vietnamese singers Thu Minh and Kasim Hoang Vu won the Gold Cup for folk song, silver medal in pop music and the Favourite Contestant title.

In addition, other Vietnamese singer, H’ Zara Bya, was awarded a silver medal and Tung Lam was awarded bronze medal in the folk song category.

Also, in folk song, silver and bronze medals went to singers Netta Kusumah Dewi from Indonesia and Mohammad Fikri Bin Abdullah from Brunei.

In pop music, gold medals were won by singers Sri Narina Hj Johari from Brunei and Herson Silas Rieuwpassa from Indonesia, while bronze medals were handed to both Pleng Praphun Kingthong from Thailand and Hyaw Zin Min from Myanmar.

One prize for a promising young singer was given to Ikhwal Hafiz Bin Ismail from Malaysia and a prize for a guest folk song performance and pop music went to two Japanese singers, Kumami and Annabel Yu.

The festival, which had attracted 17 participants from ASEAN nations, was overall a great success. This was an opportunity for contestants to introduce their national cultures, as well as for the ASEAN countries to strengthen the ties of their friendship.

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The six most impressive figures of Vietnam’s economy in 2010 | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

VietNamNet Bridge – The year 2010 finished with the record numbers of garment and rice export turnovers and the number of foreign tourists as reviewed by Tuoi tre.

6.9 million tons of rice exported

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam exported 6.88 million tons of rice in 2010, reaping $3.23 billion in turnover. The figures represent the 15.4 percent increase in quantity and 21.2 percent increase in export turnover in comparison with 2009. 2010 was also the year which had the highest volume of exports and highest export revenue so far.

However, the high export volume did not mean that farmers and export companies generated high profit. The rice price fluctuated so heavily in 2010 such that both enterprises and farmers suffered. The summer-autumn crop price dropped to 3000 dong per kilo, but farmers still had to sell rice because they did not have enough storage. When the rice price later surged to 6500 dong per kilo, they did not have more rice to sell.

Meanwhile, a lot of enterprises have also reported losses because they signed export contracts in mid-year at low prices ($300 per tone). However, when collecting rice from farmers to fulfill the export contracts, they had to pay high prices due to price increases.

$11 billion worth of garment exports

With an export revenue of $11 billion, garment has become the export item which has the highest export turnover among the 26 main export items of Vietnam.

According to Vu Duc Giang, Chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, the sum of money that garment companies can pocket after paying for expenses has increased by 18 percent, reaching $4.5 billion.

Many garment companies made breakthroughs in seeking new export markets and have reported high profits. For example, Phong Phu International Company, reported an impressive growth rate of 248 percent in 2010, while Viet Tien Corporation had the leading export turnover of over $200 million.

To date, many garment companies have received orders that will bring enough jobs until the third and fourth quarters of 2011. Vietnam strives to see the growth rate of 10-15 percent in 2011.

5 million foreign tourists

 For the first time Vietnam has received a record high number of foreign tourists in 2010 – 5 million tourists, an increase of 1.2 million compared to 2009. The revenue from tourism in 2010 is estimated to reach 96 trillion dong, up by 37 percent over 2009.

General Director of the Vietnam Tourism Administration of Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan believes that the number of foreign tourists will be higher in 2011 than in 2010. However, he thinks that the growth rate would not be as high as in 2010 for three reasons. First, Vietnam will not have big events in 2011 like it did in 2010. Second, Northeastern Asia, a potential market of Vietnam, shows latent political uncertainties. And third, in 2011, Vietnam will focus on heightening the quality and efficiency of tourism, while trying to improve service professionalism.

228 trillion dong poured into real estate

Though the real estate market was gloomy in 2010, outstanding loans to fund real estate trading deals in 2010 still increased by 23.5 percent over 2009, reaching 228 trillion dong, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Several new real estate projects were kicked off in 2010. Meanwhile, due to lack of capital; many real estate developers have been relying on bank loans to develop the projects. Moreover, real estate developers could not put high hopes on the stock market, which was very quiet in 2010.

Top 10 stock millionaires hold 48,400 billion dong worth of stocks

Pham Nhat Vuong has been recognized as the richest stock millionaire with the total stock assets of 16 trillion dong. Vuong is the Chair of Vingroup. The second position is being held by Doan Nguyen Duc, Chair of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group with assets worth 11 trillion dong.

The 10 richest stock millionaires in Vietnam are holding total assets worth 48,400 billion dong.

$11 billion was the FDI capital disbursement

The Foreign Investment Agency has announced an impressive figure of foreign direct investment (FDI) investment - $11 billion.

This has been described as a breakthrough in Vietnam’s FDI attraction. In previous years, the volume of FDI registered capital was always higher than the disbursed capital.

At the same time, some FDI super projects had their licenses revoked due to the investors’ tardiness in implementing projects.

Source: Tuoi tre

Vietnam's largest-cave

Check out National Geographic's Vietnam's largest Cave

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/largest-cave/peter-photography

Vietnam tourism: Work in progress -04 January, 2011

Vietnam tourism: Work in progress -04 January, 2011: "Vietnam tourism: Work in progress

Vietnam has fallen short of its 10-year target for tourism although it met two of its goals, achieving 25 million domestic tourists by 2009 and reaching more than US$4 billion in annual revenue by 2010.

The tourism sector had planned to receive up to six million foreign tourists in 2010, but reached only five million.

The industry had targeted annual GDP growth of 11 per cent, but was unable to reach that figure.

Experts have blamed the lack of progress on shortage of land in coastal cities to build large hotels and resorts, the poor quality of human resources working in the industry, and a shortage of tour guides speaking foreign languages.


Source:Travelmole

Central Highlands elephants face extinction | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Central Highlands elephants face extinction | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "Don village was dubbed the “elephant kingdom” in the Central Highlands for its tradition of taming wild elephants and also worshiping them
An elephant carrying a tourist in Dak Lak Province.
But those days are gone
Elephants in the wild are being killed in large numbers now
for their parts and their few left to tame.

“When I was 18, I started to ride elephants to the forests
to catch young elephants. The elephants were like members of the family, they
were loved and no one ever did any harm to them,” recalled local resident Nay
Phai Lao, 80.

Tears flowing down his face, he said, “Now, seeing how
people kill elephants, I feel so sad.”

The elephants that he and his friends caught long ago are
aging, between 50-70 years old. Many of them are weak but the owners dare not
let them go back to the forests, where the elephants usually find their own
food and herbs.
Dan Nang Long, who owns the largest number of elephants in
Lak District, said the pachyderms will die if they are kept from the forest for
a long time, “but the hunters there will not spare them.”
Long said three of his seven elephants now don’t have a
tail, the hairs of which are considered by many people to bring good luck, and
another has lost its tusks.
Y Phong, another elephant owner, said an elephant without
the tail will quickly get weaker as the tail helps keep insects away.
“Tailess elephants have their longevity shortened by 15-20
years,” Phong said.
There are around 50 domesticated elephants left in Dak Lak,
the youngest one 20 years old.
Hunted
Reports at a scientific conference organized by the Forest
Management Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
in November last year said that Vietnam had around 80 wild elephants left, from
around 160 five years ago.

Experts said at the conference that if no action was taken immediately,
wild elephants in Vietnam would disappear in 10-20 years.

Many bodies of elephants have been found recently in Dak Lak
Province, which has the highest number of elephants in Vietnam. Police said they
were shot in the head with big bullets.
Two bodies were found in just one month late last year.
Early this year, a body was found with its trunk, tail and a
nail already cut. In July, another was found with bullets in its head. Its body
was complete and police suspected that the hunters didn’t take anything as
they’d failed to locate the elephant.

Most of the elephants were killed near the Cambodian border,
which is home to herds that have more than 30 members.

Tran Manh Hieu, a local police officer who has helped
investigate most of the elephant deaths, said none of the killers have been
caught as the area is large.

Le Van Trong, a local forest management official, said it’s
hard to control the border area.
Killed for trinkets “If you do not buy a ring made with the elephant tail hair
or ivory, you have never come here,” a vendor at Don village tells a tourist.
A ring with elephant tail hair embedded in it is sold for
between VND50,000-200,000 (US$2.56-10.25). A comb made of ivory costs VND2
million and a bracelet VND6 million.
Elephant tail hair, skin, teeth, bone and tusks have been
made into numerous products that are sold at a lot of booths in the province

Nguyen Duy Thai, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said he was attracted by
“lovely” elephants when he first came to Dak Lak. “But after walking around for
a while, I was surrounded by markets with elephant products.
Many vendors also present their business cards and promise
to supply the products in large quantities if needed.
Hated
Losing their habitat to human encroachment and hunted
relently by poachers, several elephants have recently entered villages and
trampled on crops, becoming the residents’ enemies.
“For more than three years, we have had to deal with the
elephants but I don’t know why more of them are coming this year and they’re
coming more often, every month,” said local resident Hoang Van Quan who just
had eight hectares of rice field destroyed by the pachyderms.
“We cannot stand it anymore. Either we live or the elephants
live.”
Muoi Dien, who once stood five meters from an elephant to
chase it away with her flashlight, said the forest rangers have asked them not
to harm the elephants and border guards have promised to help the residents
chase the elephants away.
But no one has come to help so far, Dien said.
Local authorities have also not supported them in making
good the loss of their crops, the residents complained.
Many families said if things continued this way, they would
either move or fight the elephants by any means

Source: Dantrinews

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Where are Vietnamese goods in the global value chain? | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Where are Vietnamese goods in the global value chain? | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is well
known as one of the most powerful exporters of agricultural products in the
world. However, Vietnamese farmers and Vietnamese enterprises cannot pocket
enough money from their exports.



H’Nu is
sitting by the loom in her house in Don
Village in EaWer commune,
Buon Don District in Dak Lak province. When she does not have to go to the rice
field, she stays at home to weave blockade products to sell to tourists. Forty
kilometers far away from her house, the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Transaction Centre
is operating, where people trade coffee and earn money from the coffee beans
H’Nu and her husband harvest. However, she is neither aware or concerned with
this. The only thing H’Nu knows is that her husband sold coffee at 30,000 dong
per kilo.



H’Nu’s coffee



Daklak, the
most fertile land of the Central Highlands, is reputable for endless coffee
fields. However, for many years local farmers have experienced difficulties.
Sometimes they suffer from the failures of the coffee crop and they do not earn
enough money to make living. However, when they have bountiful crops, they are
still not satisfied, because the prices always decrease due to the profuse
supply.



Every year
after the harvesting H’Nu sells coffee to merchants, who then sell the coffee
to processors and exporters. The prices depend on the export prices. If Vietnam’s
coffee sells for good prices, she will be able to sell coffee at higher prices,
and vice versa. The only source that provides information to H’Nu are the
bulletins of the Dak Lak television. “I wish the coffee price would stay firmly
at 35,000 dong per kilo or higher. Only with that price can we earn enough
money to make a living,” H’Nu said.



Other
farmers have worries similar to H’Nu. Vietnam now has 561,000 households
growing coffee plants, 46 percent of which are poor households, 30 percent of
coffee growers are ethnic minorities and 75 percent of these people are poor
people.



Many
experts believe that Vietnam
has enough advantages and potential to boost coffee exports. However, Vietnam’s
coffee products have remained in the lower segment of the global value chain.



H/Nu and
other coffee growers once put high hopes on sustainable development models for Vietnam’s
coffee. To date, Vietnam
has not made any considerable progress in implementing the model.



Vietnamese exporters still cannot
earn money from added value



The same
situation is occurring in other
agricultural products, such as peppers, cashews, tea, garments and footwear
products. In the global value chain, Vietnamese enterprises can only undertake
production phases which contain little added value and the phases which
generate most of the profit (processing products, increasing brand value and
commercializing products) are undertaken by foreign enterprises.



For
example, when making garment products, Vietnamese enterprises only make
finished products, which generates the lowest value in the value chain, while
other phases of the production chain, including material production, and
production commercialization are carried out by foreign enterprises.



Currently,
the garment and footwear products that Vietnam export under the mode of
FOB accounts for just 20 percent of the garment product value chain. As a
matter of fact, enterprises cannot pocket all 20 percent because they have to
pay for materials, labor and import taxes.



The problem
is that Vietnamese enterprises still lacks the ability to design products that
fit the tastes of European and US consumers. Vietnamese enterprises can only
suggest ideas, while only importers can complete the designs and make decisions
about production. Distribution is also a weak point of Vietnamese producers due
to the limitations in experience and capital.



Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

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Traffic jams boom in Hanoi at the year-end | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

VietNamNet Bridge – Gridlocks prolonged traffic flow for
hours in many major roads in the capital city at the end of the year.

At the starting point of Vietnam’s most modern avenue –
Thang Long.

Nguyen Luong Bang
street at 12pm, December 30.

Hoang Minh Giam road.

Buses on the street.

Trang Thi
street at 11am, December 30.

Khuat Duy Tien Road.

Nguyen Trai Road.

Motorbikes run on the sidewalk.

Nguyen Thai Hoc Road

Tay Son Road

PV

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge
- The number of chartered flights to central Vietnam is jumping between now and
the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday compared to a year ago, according to the
Danang-based tour operator Vi-tours and the aviation authority.



Vitours director Cao Tri Dung estimated local and foreign
airlines had 12 to 15 charter flights from China,
Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea and elsewhere in Asia
to Danang International Airport
alone in the period, with more than half of them catered to by Vitours.



Dung told the Daily on the phone on Monday that the number
of chartered flights to the region in the period would triple or quadruple that
in the year-ago period. This substantial increase is attributable to the fact
that more foreign travel agencies are choosing central Vietnam as a new destination for
their guests, coupled with a recovery of global travel demand.



“They (foreign travel agencies) charter flights for their
customers to Phuket and Bali in previous years and now is the time for them to
visit central Vietnam,”
Dung said. He added this region was able to meet requirements for accommodation
and entertainment, as it was now home to many luxury properties and
UNESCO-listed heritage sites, including the former imperial capital of Hue and the Phong
Nha-Ke Bang
Caves in Quang Binh Province.



Dung said over half of the chartered flights to central
Vietnam were operated by Vietnam Airlines from such markets as Korea, Hong Kong
and Japan, and the rest by TransAsia Airways of Taiwan and other foreign
carriers.



The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said
Shanghai Airlines had suspended services to Danang
International Airport,
but this did not result in a reduction in frequencies of chartered flights to one
of the four international airports in central Vietnam. The others in the region
are Phu Bai, Cam Ranh and Chu Lai airports.



CAAV demonstrated that Russia’s
Vladivostok Air had kicked off their chartered flights from Vladivostok
and Khabarovsk to Cam
Ranh International
Airport in Khanh Hoa Province.



About one month ago, Vietnam Airlines started a series of
more than 40 flights chartered by the international travel firm Vietlink from Hong Kong and Danang until early May next year, using the
184-seat Airbus A321 aircraft.



Dung of Vitours said over the past years, Vietnam Airlines
and other carriers had operated their medium-sized aircraft with 160 to 180
seats for the chartered flights to and from Danang with an average load factor
of 70%.



Dung said the visitors using chartered flights often stayed
four to five days exploring services and destinations in central Vietnam,
and spent much money on services and products there.



Attracting visitors to central Vietnam on chartered flights
promises a bright future because the number of scheduled flights to the region
remains limited. Singapore’s
SilkAir now has four weekly flights to Danang while Vietnam Airlines has
launched its daily HCMC-Tokyo service with a stopover in the central city.



Dung said Vitours had invested US$40,000-50,000 this year on
promotion and support programs in order to bring more chartered flights to
Danang, or double the amount the company spent last year.



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