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Social News Headlines 13/2
Sand
clogs Binh Dinh seaport
Sand
has been clogging the Tam Quan Seaport in Hoai Nhon District, the central
This
is posing difficulties to ships arriving and departing from the port.
La
Phai, a local seaman, said that the seaport has been getting badly clogged
more and more in the past few years.
After
the local authorities hired ships to remove the sand, the condition improved
for a short while. But the seaport got clogged again when the wind and waves
were strong, he said.
Local
fishing ships, especially the big vessels, often had to make landfall at the
Quy Nhon fishing port or other safer and more convenient ports, he said.
Deputy
chairman of the Tam Quan Bac People's Committee Diep Van Thuong said that the
State had built a 400-metre-long dike to block the waves in 2006 to prevent
the sand from filling up the seaport.
The
dike was extended by 400 metres in 2009. However, the amount of sand has
increased over the previous years and scientists say that it's due to climate
change, Phai said.
Five
ships have had accidents while entering and leaving the seaport since last
year, causing losses of nearly 12 billion dong.
To
deal with the problem, the Tam Quan Bac Commune People's Committee last
Saturday signed a contract with the Thien Kim Construction Co Ltd for
dredging the port. So far, two ships have pumped out 6,000 cubic metres of
the 30,000 cubic metres of sand in the port.
Vu
Thanh Tung, a technical worker of the HD-1029 ship, said that the ship can
pump out 140 cubic metres of sand per day. However, it pumps out the sand
only thrice daily due to shortage of workers.
It's
expected that by this Saturday more workers would be assigned so that the
ships can pump out the sand about 15 times per day, he said.
National
Highway car crash injures 11
Eleven
people were seriously injured after a passenger car crashed into two
motorbikes traveling in the opposite direction on National Highway 13,
section running through southern
The
victims, including two driving the motorbikes and nine traveling in the car
to go on a pilgrimage to Ba Chau Doc pagoda in Mekong Delta's An Giang
Province, were sent to hospital for treatment. Three were reported to be in
critical situation.
Local
police are conducting further investigation.
Two
national border urban areas planned for Tay Ninh
The
border gates of Chang Riec and Vac Sa in the southern
Under
a detailed master plan ratified by the provincial People’s Committee on
February 11, the 285-hectare Chang Riec border urban area sits in Tan Bien
district and borders
Functional
and public facilities like border management areas, trade and services
complexes, post offices, banks and business representative offices will link
with residential areas covering 643 hectares.
Meanwhile,
Vac Sa border urban area in Tan Chau district will sit on a site of 89
hectares and accommodate 4,000 residents.
The
total investment for both is estimated at VND7.5 trillion (US$350 million).
According
to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le
Thanh Cong, border trade between Tay Ninh and
A/H5N1
flu hits Quang
The
central
The
deadly virus was detected in ducks at several Duy Xuyen and Thang Binh
district households. Suspected carriers were immediately culled, and strict
quarantine measures enacted in affected areas.
Concerns
are growing as the spectre of an A/H5N1 flu epidemic looms over Quang
Local
authorities are currently coordinating with relevant agencies on preventive
measures against disease risks including influenza A/H7N9.
The
Health Ministry reported two H5N1 avian flu fatalities in the southern
provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Thap in January 2014.
Central
fishermen harvest young lobsters
Fishermen
from Pho Quang Commune, Duc Pho District,
Each
boat harvests 50 to 300 young lobsters priced VND80,000-380,000 (US$3.8-18)
each receiving a total of about VND7-15 million (US$333-714) in profit.
Vo
Long Dinh, a local fisherman, profited as much as VND26 million (US$1,233)
after one night’s harvest.
High
profit from this species has prompted hundreds of fishing boats to venture
out to the sea to find the commodity.
People
in the neighboring
Fishermen
in
Influx
of hospitalizations in Hanoi
Hospitals
in
There
was a 10 percent increase of children hospitalized since February 9, said
chair of Pediatrics Department of Bach Mai Hospital Nguyen Tien Dung. Parents
should be cautious for fever and pneumonia. High fever can cause
seizures affecting the brain.
The
hospital along with
The
hospital experienced about 100 senior patients suffering from breathing
problems, heart disease, digestive problems and diabetes.
Outbreaks
of A/H5N1 on poultry in provinces
An
outbreak of bird-flu viruses occurred in various provinces of Quang Ngai,
Quang
A
spread occurred in a poultry farm in An Thuong Village owned by Le Van Hue.
Since
February 9, the farm containing 900 chickens some had died in mass, said
A
poultry farm in
Mass
outbreak of various bird flu occurred in
All
poultry found infected are promptly disposed of.
Veterinarians
of
When
hydrofoil service resumes remains unknown
More
than two weeks after
According
to a source from the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, authorities are
thoroughly checking both single-engine and two-engine hydrofoils.
As
requested by the HCMC government, those hydrofoils which have been in service
for over 20 years may be decommissioned. When the hydrofoils can restart
their operation rests with the Ministry of Transport.
Speaking
to the Daily last week, Tran Quoc Hieu, deputy director of Quang Hung Co.,
the owner of Petro Express hydrofoils, said there had been no word from
authorities about when the hydrofoil service could resume.
“I
back the safety checks but those hydrofoil meeting safety requirements should
be allowed to operate. The suspension of all hydrofoils has adversely
affected the service providers,” Hieu said.
Employees
of Petro Express could not enjoy this year’s Lunar New Year holiday as the
firm had no other revenue streams, Hieu said.
Regarding
a Government request to the Ministry of Transport to mull decommissioning
hydrofoils failing to meet safety requirements, Hieu suggested the Government
should have issued regulations clarifying the age of imported hydrofoils. For
now there must be a road map for enterprises to follow, he added.
On
January 20, a VinaExpress hydrofoil with 92 passengers on board, 85 of them
Vietnamese and foreign passengers and seven crewmembers, caught fire near Phu
My Bridge en route from HCMC to
The
cause of the fire has yet to be announced.
Roaming
"monks" descend on
A
group of monks who are thought to be frauds have been loitering outside of
Tay Ho Papoda in
Thousands
of people flock to pagodas across the city to pray for health and happiness
in the wake of the new year celebration. Fake monks are not a new issue, but
it is difficult for the small security team to cover the entire area around
the pagoda.
These
"monks" wear brown robes, shave their heads and often stand
far from the entrance of the pagoda to avoid security, but get gradually
closer to attract visitors' attention. Once their bowls are full, they throw
the money into a bag and keep standing to wait for more.
Only
on rare occasions do visitors ask questions. Many assume they are legitimate
just because of their dress and looks, thinking their money will go to doing
good deeds.
Each
day one "monk" may earn over one million of VND. When asked, they
will usually admit they do not have any licence and are not from any pagoda.
"We travel across the country earning money to do charity work. We
practice praying at home," one "monk" said.
According
to monk Thich Dao Minh, the roaming monks that collect alms must wear yellow
robes and their heads and feet must be bear. He said, "According to
traditional practice, monks will keep walking and receive whatever food they
are given, not money. If these monks standing outside pagodas want to do
charity work, they shouldn't use the reputation of real monks."
Currently,
only one branch in the southern region keeps the practice of taking alms. The
monks that collect alms often only walk from 8am to 9am. However, the
Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam tries to minimise this practice in order limit the
number fake monks.
Supreme
Procuracy insists on prosecution of financier
The
People’s Supreme Procuracy has decided to prosecute Nguyen Duc Kien, the
founder of ACB bank, along with eight accomplices, on several charges.
The
agency issued the second indictment on Nguyen Duc Kien and his accomplices on
February 9 after additional investigation. In January the Hanoi People’s
Court decided to return Kien’s dossier for further investigation.
In the
follow-up investigation the court focused on Pham Trung Cang, 60, ACB’s
former Vice Chairman, who allegedly intentionally violated state regulations
on economic management. Huynh Quang Tuan, former standing member of ACB’s
Board of Directors was accused of the same charge.
The
investigative agency said Cang and Tuan were involved in a scam by which ACB
staff members made into deposit money at Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank
for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) to benefit from interest rates of between
17.8% and 27% per year. This would be considered misconduct as it violates
the Law on Credit Institutions.
Both
Cang and Tuan were added to the list of those to be prosecuted, bringing the
number of offenders in the case to nine.
In the
second indictment, the People’s Supreme Procuracy stood firm on prosecuting
Kien on four charges, including illegal business, extortion and asset
appropriation, tax evasion and intentional breach of state regulations on
economic management.
Meanwhile,
Tran Ngoc Thanh, the former director of ACB Hanoi Investment JSC and Nguyen
Thi Hai Yen, the company's former chief account were also both prosecuted for
extortion and asset appropriation.
Others
accused included Tran Xuan Gia, former Chairman of ACB’s Board of Director,
Le Vu Ky and Trinh Kim Quang, former ACB Vice Chairmen, Ly Xuan Hai, former
ACB General Director, Pham Trung Cang, ACB’s former Vice Chairman and Huynh
Quang Tuan, former standing member of ACB’s Board of Directors, who were
prosecuted for intentional breach of state regulations on economic
management.
If the
allegations are true, the crimes will have caused a total loss of over
VND1.695 trillion (USD80.2 million).
Less
than a month ago, January 27, Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, a former VietinBank
employee, was sentenced to life in prison for embezzling VND4 trillion
(USD189.25 million) and falsifying documents.
Hydropower
projects rejected due to local population concern
The
The
Highlands province of Lam Dong rejected the largest number of such projects -
over 40, followed by Kon Tum, 34, and the central province of Quang Nam, 22.
An
array of social and environmental considerations stemming from the hydropower
development poses a headache to the
Specifically,
the region has had to devote 80,000 hectares of land for the construction of
hydropower plants.
The
remediation of environmental consequences is slow, with only 757 hectares of
forest being planted compared with 22,770 ha of forest that were converted
for the purpose of building hydropower projects.
Hundreds
of households have not been allocated with land for production to replace
lost farms, while the construction of transport links and social welfare
policies in resettlement areas for displaced local people has also moved at a
snail’s pace.
The
Central Highlands has put into use 118 hydropower projects with a total
capacity of 5,798 MW, while 75 others are under construction.
At a
meeting relating to the implementation of waste and water treatment projects
in the city on February 10, Khanh added that priorities will be given to
experienced and prestigious enterprises which wish to invest in the projects.
According
to Deputy Director of
It
also asked the city to allocate a budget of 25 billion VND to ensure a
project using state-of-the-art Japanese waste treatment technology will be
put into operation this year.
In
addition,
Under
the project, which has been recently approved by the Hanoi People’s
Committee, the first seven systems are scheduled to run in 2014.
The
city at present houses 47 industrial clusters, of which only seven have
concentrated waste water treatment systems.
Man
accuses pesticide company of polluting
A man
in
Le
Dinh Son, from Quan Phac Hamlet, Cam Van Commune, decided to lodge a
complaint to provincial officials against Nicotex Thanh Thai Joint Stock
Company after others sent several complaints to communal and district
governments but saw no actions taken to deal with the problem.
After
an investigation, the company was found to have dumped hazardous untreated
chemicals in the commune and was fined over VND421 million (USD19,919). They
were also forced to take measures to clean up the pollution.
To
date, hundreds of chemicals and contaminated soil have been excavated, but
the company refuses to allow it to be taken for treatment. The situation has
forced local environmental agencies to temporarily halt excavation.
Son
said that to date people in Cam Van and Cam Tam Communes in Cam Thuy District
as well as in Yen Lam Commune in Yen Dinh District cannot live a healthy and
safe life because the company has taken no action to deal with the hundreds
of excavated chemicals and soil over the past five months despite a firm
request from the provincial government to do so.
He
also said that, when the company was still in operation, all local residents
in his hometown were aware of the pollution caused by the factories from the
bad smell and because their animals died en masse and suffered stunted
growth. After several inspections, however, the provincial Department of
Environment and Natural Resources continued to say the impacts were still at
acceptable levels.
“I
decided to report the case after hearing one retired official from the
company say that they buried chemicals. I linked this detail with the fact
that my 100 hives of bees gradually went away, pigs died and fish on over
2,000 square metres of ponds were stunted in growth,” Son said.
He
said that after his complaint, many people did not believe him. Communal
cadres and investigative agencies even threatened him and said that he would
be held accountable if he was wrong.
“Our
lives were full of worry during that time. Sometimes, I would not let my wife
leave our home,” he said.
He
added that at one point groups of strange young men riding motorbikes
surrounded his home, threatening his life.
“When
authorities could not find the places where the company dumped chemicals, the
firm’s leaders continued to try to discredit local residents. But those same
people kept silent and fled when everything was brought to light,” he
commented.
In
early January, Trinh Van Chien, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee
decided to grant Son a certificate of merit for his bravery in bringing
attention to the situation.
Source: VNS/VOV/VNA/SGGP/Dantri/SGT
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Thứ Tư, 12 tháng 2, 2014
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