Social News 8/4 Ministry releases info on preventing the Zika virus The Ministry of Health has released instructions on treating and preventing infection by the Zika virus for pregnant women in Việt Nam. The instructions are for doctors and medical staff at obstetrics hospitals, and include instructions on Zika prevention and the care of pregnant women living in Zika affected areas. It said that a pregnant woman should be tested for the Zika virus if she had some of the following factors: she was within the first three months of her gestation period; has lived in or travelled through a Zika affected area; has a husband or sexual partner who has tested positive to Zika; or had symptoms of fever and hives, and at least one symptom like conjunctivitis or pains in their bones and joints. For pregnant women who tested positive to the Zika virus, obstetric care should be based on ultrasound results for proper interventions. Pregnant women should be sent to hospitals capable of prenatal diagnosis and be admitted for re-checkup and examination if the ultrasound results show signs of brain damage or microcephaly (abnormal smallness of the head). The move has been put forward following the ministry’s confirmation yesterday of two women, including a pregnant woman, who have contracted the Zika virus in the central Khánh Hòa Province and in HCM City. The Khánh Hòa Preventive Medicine Centre yesterday sprayed mosquito repellent in Phước Hòa Ward of Nha Trang City where a 64-year-old woman tested positive to the virus. The activity was one of the province’s drastic measures to kill mosquito and larvae and prevent the Zika virus from spreading in the community. The ministry also released a recommendation to take the initiative in preventing the Zika virus with a focus on practicing measures to avoid mosquitoes bites and killing mosquito larvae in the community. People should wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, sleep under a mosquito bed net and use insect repellents to kill mosquitoes and prevent bites. Households can kill larvae by introducing ornamental fish into open standing water and keeping water tanks and containers tightly covered. During the first three months of their gestation period, a pregnant woman who has lived or returned from an area infected by the virus and has fever, hives or any one symptom such as bone and joint pains or conjunctivitis, should undergo tests. The ministry also warned people to minimise travelling between regions and localities. People returning from a Zika-affected area should monitor his or her health for 12 days. Those with symptoms should visit a medical station for early examination and treatment. Thanh Hóa Police smash online gambling ring An online 14-member gambling ring, allegedly involved in accepting bets on football, amounting to more than VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$57.8 million), was smashed in the central Thanh Hóa Province, local police said. The police seized 20 mobile phones, five laptops, two self-made guns and about VNĐ1 billion ($44,500) in cash from the gang on Sunday. Two leaders of the ring were identified as Nguyễn Thế Hiếu and Nguyễn Thành Trung, both residents of Thanh Hóa City. The case is being investigated further. Six months ago, the Thanh Hóa Province police, working with the Police Department for High-Tech Crime Prevention under the public security ministry, smashed a huge gambling ring that appropriated nearly VNĐ1 trillion ($44.5 million). US Communist Party leader welcomed in HCM City Vice Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee Tat Thanh Cang hosted a reception for Chairman of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) John Bachtell in the city on April 6. He said local authorities have been creating all-favourable conditions for US businesses to operate, adding that he hopes US enterprises will continue to invest in the city, while more tourists from the country will visit HCM City. The official thanked the US people for supporting Vietnam in the cause of national liberalisation and reunification. He said he hopes the US delegation’s ongoing visit will help strengthen people-to-people cooperation and friendship between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the CPUSA, especially sharing experience in addressing emerging issues in the market economy. The US guest said he was impressed with the dynamic development of Vietnam, particularly HCM City. He said he hopes to have more opportunities to visit Vietnam in the future. It is necessary to tighten solidarity between the two nations’ communist parties, he said, adding that the CPUSA is willing to cooperate and exchange experience with the CPV. New Year wishes offered to Khmer people A delegation from the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region visited local Khmer pagodas and the Patriotic Clergy Solidarity Association in the southern province of Vinh Long on April 6 on the occasion of Chol Chnam Thmay – the traditional New Year holiday of the Khmer people. In My Bon, Ky Son, Cu and Hanh Phuc Tang pagodas, Bui Ngoc Diep, head of the delegation, wished monks, nuns and dignitaries a happy and lucky New Year. He affirmed that solidarity among Vietnamese ethnic groups in general and between Kinh and Khmer people has been strengthened. Venerable Son Ngoc Huynh, Chairman of the provincial Patriotic Clergy Solidarity Association, vowed to be absolutely loyal to the Party leadership and continually help build a great national unity. On the occasion, the committee presented gifts to the pagodas and several poor households. Vietnamese, Lao women’s unions bolster bonds President of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa hosted a courtesy meeting with Chairwoman of the Lao Women’s Union (LWU) Inlavan Keobuonphanh in Hanoi on April 6. The VWU President said the visit helps bolster the traditional friendship and special bonds between the two Parties, States, people and women. At the meeting, the two women’s leaders highlighted the joint progress made in improving the lives of women in the two countries, and the outcomes of the cooperative agreement phase 2012-2017 between the two unions. In recent years, the programme has gained significant achievements in all levels. The VWU has supported and cooperated with the LWU in many areas, including female official training, credit development, and fighting cross-border human trafficking. The Lao official thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and the VWU for their warm support and hoped to receive such support again in economic development and international integration. The LWU is on a working visit in Vietnam from April 5-7. Water supply to shift from subsidised to market mechanism It is vital to shift from a subsidised to a market-based water supply mechanism in order to improve the efficiency of agricultural water use amid severe water shortages caused by historic drought in Vietnam. It was heard at the workshop “Sharing international experience on agricultural water pricing” held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi on April 6. Addressing the event, MARD Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang said the government has subsidised irrigation services to ease the burden for farmers for many years. The policy should be changed, in which agricultural water supply must follow a market mechanism to promote water conservation and sustainable farming practices, Thang noted, adding that the country needs to pursue a sustainable and climate change-adapted agriculture. Pham Hong Giang, President of the Vietnam National Committee on Large Dams and Water Resources Development, said there are limited freshwater reserves while demand for water is on the rise, necessitating the pricing of farming water so as to reduce water waste. According to Deputy Minister Thang, the market-based water pricing policy does not equate to less support for farmers as they will be assisted by the government in other ways. Poor management of irrigation systems is a major problem, particularly in drought-hit areas, and it could be solved not only by the government but also with the involvement of people and the private sector, he stressed. During the workshop, foreign experts shared practices on water pricing methods in several countries. Water pricing will encourage water saving and effective distribution of the resource but it requires strict supervision, they said. Many stated that there will be a long way to go before water supply can be managed in accordance with market principles in the country, especially in terms of policy making. Asia Foundation scholarships granted to 12th grade female students The Asia Foundation, on April 6, granted scholarships to 134 female students in the 12th grade, who are living in difficult circumstances but have good school performances, in Can Tho city and An Giang province in the Mekong Delta, to encourage them to continue their studies. Filip Graovac, Deputy Country Representative of the foundation in Vietnam, said that the foundation’s objective is to promote the rights and development opportunities of girls in underprivileged areas in developing countries, to help them realise a better life through learning. Over the past 11 years, the foundation has provided scholarships worth 2 million VND (90 USD) each for thousands of female students, he added. At the granting ceremony in Can Tho, students were offered career guidance as they prepare for the university entrance exam. Can Tho and An Giang are currently home to 50,000 female students who are facing a risk of leaving school. Irrigation projects prioritised to tackle drought in Central Highlands The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is prioritising fund allocations for major irrigation projects in Central Highlands provinces to increase water supply for agriculture amid severe drought. According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan, the ministry has invested 3.5 trillion VND to construct the Ia Mo irrigation system in Gia Lai province and the Krong Pak Thuong Reservoir in Dak Lak province. It has proposed the building of a number of key irrigation projects between 2016 and 2020 with an estimated investment of 7.4 trillion VND to be funded by government bonds. The focus will be given to Krong H’Nang and Ea H’Leo reservoirs in Dak Lak, Ia Thul Reservoir in Gia Lai, and Da Si and Ia H’drai irrigation systems in Lam Dong and Kon Tum, respectively. About 3.8 trillion VND funded by ODA and WB8 will also be distributed to projects that improve water use efficiency in drought-hit provinces during the period. The government has developed more than 2,700 irrigation projects across the Central Highlands including Ia Mla irrigation system in Gia Lai, Ka La and Dak Klong Thuong reservoirs in Lam Dong, and Ea Sup Thuong and Krong Buk Ha reservoirs in Dak Lak. Travel safety must be guaranteed as holidays near: ministry Local tourism departments and travel companies across Vietnam have been requested to augment efforts to ensure absolute safety for tourists as national holidays come in the next few weeks. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) said on April 6 that the number of people on holiday in domestic and foreign destinations is forecast to rise sharply, given there are many days off for the death anniversary of the Hung Kings – the legendary founders of Vietnam – in April, the South Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30), and May Day. The ministry has asked its provincial departments to ensure that local travel agencies and the management boards of places of interests gear themselves up to serve visitors as best as possible. To guarantee tourists’ safety, they have to install warning signs and ready rescue forces at necessary areas, tighten control to prevent possible fires, and hasten anti-epidemic measures. Tourism service prices also need to be stabilised, the MCST said, adding that relevant agencies should inspect the quality of all tourism services, including transport, accommodation, catering and shopping, and strictly handle violations. Additionally, radical actions must also be taken to ensure safe food as the national holidays fall on the action month for food safety from April 15 to May 15. Regarding Khanh Hoa province and Ho Chi Minh City, which have reported two Zika cases, the MCST told them to update the virus development in Vietnam and guide tourists in how to prevent Zika virus infection. Though the Ministry of Health has raised the alert for the virus, it has yet to issue travel warning since Zika is classified as a group-B arbovirus which is not very dangerous, except for pregnant women, according to the WHO, the MCST noted. Photos feature Vietnamese expats in France over decades Vietnamese people in France are the main characters in 130 photos featured in an exhibition opened on Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street (Nguyen Van Binh street) on April 6. The photos, taken by photographer Le Tan Xuan, give the public a close-up view of the imprints of Vietnam and the late President Ho Chi Minh in France and efforts by the Association of Vietnamese People there to uphold traditional values and strengthen bilateral friendship. Outstanding photographs include those showing Vietnamese expatriates enjoying Tet (Lunar New Year festival), a celebration of President Ho Chi Minh’s birth anniversary, and a ceremony marking Vietnam’s National Day. The country’s diplomatic activities at the Paris Conference (1968 – 1973), the visit by Prime Minister Pham Van Dong to France (April 1977), and other international activities are also captured. Xuan said he is touched most by a photo of Vietnam’s booth at the L’Humanite newspaper festival in 1969 – the year when President Ho Chi Minh passed away. After learning of his death, an altar to commemorate him was set up at the booth, and many foreign visitors came to pay homage to him. Also at the 1969 festival, Xuan pictured the booth of Algeria, which also hung a photo of Ho Chi Minh to pay tribute to the leader, he added. Xuan, born in 1939 in Cambodia, went to France in 1964 to study film and photography. In 1968, he became a member of a union which is now the Association of Vietnamese People in France, and has been taking photos of the organisation’s activities since then. The photo exhibition, organised by HCM City’s Department of Information and Communications, will last through April 9. Highway in central VN to open The La Sơn-Túy Loan highway that links the central provinces of Thừa Thiên-Huế and Đà Nẵng is expected to open by the end of this year as land clearance work has been completed. The La Sơn-Túy Loan Highway project kicked off in December 2013 with investment totalling about VNĐ 11.5 trillion (US$ 515.66 million) .Construction work stretches 77 kilometres, beginning in La Sơn Town, Phú Lộc District, Thừa Thiên – Huế province, and ending at the intersection with the Đà Nẵng – Quảng Ngãi Highway in Túy Loan Town, Đà Nẵng City. By the end of last month, land clearance work was completed, making land available for road construction. Previously, the work was stalled when many families in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province’s Nam Đông District, where the road was designed to run through, refused to move or accept compensation. Local authorities and the project management board visited protesters to persuade them to move out. Chairwoman of Nam Đông District People’s Committee Lê Thị Thu Hương said that all families living in affected areas agreed to move by March 31. She asked the  project management board to build additional feeder roads, so that local residents can reach their residential areas and fields more easily. Vice head of the road project management board, Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, said that the coming dry season would bring good working conditions for constructors to speed up work on the road. He also said that the work could be completed this year and the road opened next year. La Sơn-Túy Loan Highway will form part of Hồ Chí Minh Highway which is 3,183km long, and runs through 28 provinces and cities. The highway starts in northern Cao Bằng Province and ends in the southernmost province of Cà Mau. The HCM Highway Master Plan was approved by Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng in 2007. Bến Tre, Binh Thuận lack water More than 400,000 people in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bến Tre are badly in need of water for household use, as the worst drought in 100 years continues in the delta. Most of the provinces in the delta have declared the situation a disaster and are in a state of emergency.   Phạm Thị Sắn, a resident of Ba Tri District’s An Hiệp Commune, said every year her family stored rainwater for use in the dry season, but due to a shortage of rainwater, they had been using salt water since March. “My family even dug a well for water but the water is saline, which we cannot use. So we have to buy freshwater from outside the province at an extremely high price,” Sắn said. Lê Văn Chiến, chairman of An Hiệp Commune’s People’s Committee, said: “There is no more fresh water. There is nothing in wells, either. Most people are dying for freshwater now. We badly need help.” At coastal communes in the province, people have lacked fresh water since the beginning of the dry season, forcing them to buy water at unusually high prices (VNĐ80,000-150,000 (US$3.6-6.7) per cubic metre). Many poor families cannot afford to buy fresh water, ending up using salt water for drinking and cooking. Recently, around 3,000 tonnes of oysters in Thừa Đức Commune in Bình Đại District died en masse, which caused a loss of more than VNĐ40 billion ($1.79 million). The cause was attributed to the increasing level of salinity. The drought and salinity also destroyed nearly 20,000 hectares of paddy rice and caused cattle to contract disease. More than 6,000 hectares of grapefruit are also likely to be seriously affected by the disaster. Although local authorities have built temporary dykes to prevent salinity, and have set up pump stations at the river’s upstream, the province still cannot cope with the disaster. Senior lieutenant-colonel Hà Đình Phượng, of Military Zone 9, said the zone had helped transport fresh water from the BOO Đồng Tâm water plant in Tiền Giang Province to the coastal residents in Ba Tri and Bình Đại districts, most of which were affected by drought. The Việt Nam Red Cross has provided drinking water for 1,000 poor households (40 litres per household) at Lương Hoà, Lương Qưới and Phong Mỹ communes. Nguyễn Thị Xuân Thu, chairwoman of the Việt Nam Red Cross, said the agency was running a campaign to help the Central and Central Highlands regions affected by the prolonged drought and salinity. Most of the measures are temporary, as thousands of households in the province will need fresh water more badly in the coming time, she said. In addition, in the south-central province of Bình Thuận, nearly 100,000 people lack fresh household water, mostly in Hàm Tân, Hàm Thuận Bắc, Bắc Bình and Tuy Phong districts. In Hàm Tân District, 10 out of 10 communes with more than 40,000 people lack fresh water. They have to buy fresh water from Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province. The provincial committee has directed localities to give priority to supply of fresh water for people, cattle and crops. The local authorities said the situation in the province would become even worse if there is no rain by the end of this month.   In a related issue, the international community on Monday committed to donate $1 million to help Việt Nam deal with the drought and saline intrusion. Seven international non-governmental organisations and businesses vowed to provide clean water and food as soon as possible to the central, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions. Drought and saltwater intrusion caused a severe water shortage and destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops in the three regions. The damage is expected to worsen in the summer as the dry season reaches its peak. HCM City tightens food hygiene in school lunches The main causes of increased risk of school-food poisoning in HCM City are diverse but uncontrolled food sources, the increased number of school-food producers and the many unlicensed small-scale production workshops, experts have warned. In mid March, tens of students of Trần Quang Khải Primary School in District 1 were hospitalised due to school-food poisoning after having lunch provided by the city-based Tâm Tâm Ltd. Company. HCM City’s Food Hygiene and Safety Department later investigated the company and discovered many food safety-related violations, fining it VND48 million. The company did not give periodic health check-ups for workers, and the process of production didn’t guarantee food hygiene conditions. Also absent were measures to prevent harmful insects and pests, the dining rooms and tables weren’t kept in a hygienic condition, and the drainage system in the kitchen didn’t meet health standards. The department’s deputy director, Nguyễn Thị Huỳnh Mai, said there were only regulations regarding the sources of food, but not the hygiene conditions when workers distributed the food to students. Many schools put the food in a corridor before dividing it up, so it was difficult to avoid it getting dusty.         “Distributors don’t wash their hands even before dividing it up, allowing bacteria from their hands to infect the food,” she said. The department not only examined school-food producing workshops, but also investigated and discovered five canteens in high schools and colleges that violated food safety standards. To prevent food poisoning and guarantee food safety in schools, the city’s Department of Education and Training has asked all schools that provide lunch meals to re-examine their food hygiene measures. School kitchens have to be granted a license on food safety conditions and ensure that edibles were hygienically covered. Schools have to sign a contract to source their food from licensed foodstuff companies. Schools should implement a three-step examination that includes the source of the food, processing, and the finished food and distribution to students. All steps are to be supervised by the school managing board, head cook and health staff who are responsible for signing an inspection book every day. Workers at school kitchens and canteens have to pass training courses on food safety and hygiene, as well as be given periodic health check-ups. Workshops supplying school-food must meet the conditions on the food safety certification, which includes specialised food boxes and hygienically-covered vehicles for carrying the food. Deputy Director of the city’s Education and Training Department, Bùi Thị Diễm Thu, said headmasters must be responsible for cases of food poisoning if the cause involved foodstuff supplied at school. The school managing board has to inform the health department and relevant agencies about cases of food poisoning, with the aim of coordinating resources and solving the matter quickly. The city now has 2,820 schools ranking from kindergartens to universities that have dining services. Of that, 1,620 have collective kitchens, 880 have canteens and 320 have signed contracts with school-food supplying companies. Rabies vaccines needed after bites, doctors warn Doctors have warned of rising deaths from rabies due to neglect of post-bite vaccination, especially in pregnant women. More than 20 deaths from rabies have been reported in the southern region in the last few years, according to the Pasteur Institute in HCM City. Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that is always fatal, doctors said. No fetal abnormalities have been reported with the rabies vaccine, they said. Nguyễn Thị H., a 31-year-old pregnant woman, from Thanh Hóa Province’s Lang Chánh District on March 21 died within a few days after she had been bitten by a dog owned by her family. The dog also had bitten six other people, all of whom received a post-bite vaccination and had no complications. Dr. Lê Mạnh Hùng, deputy director of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in HCM City, said that many deaths related to dog bites occurred each year due to failure to get post-bite vaccinations. Dozens of people, including adults and children in HCM City and neighboring provinces, receive rabies vaccination at the hospital every day, Hùng said. The outbreak of rabies in domestic animals mostly occurs during hot summer weather, said Nguyễn Thị Kim Phượng, an official at the HCM City Animal Quarantine Station. An average of 35-40 dogs are vaccinated at the station every day, Phượng said. She said that locals should be careful and get post-bite vaccination if indicated. Dr. Lê Thị Thu Hà, a doctor at Từ Dũ Obstetrics Hospital in HCM City, said pregnant women exposed to rabies from dog bites should receive the rabies vaccine. In Việt Nam, rabies causes around 70-90 deaths every year, according to the Ministry of Health. Dogs are the source of the majority of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 97 per cent of all rabies transmissions to humans. Hanoi regulates high-rise buildings The Hà Nội People’s Committee has issued regulations on the general planning and management of high-rise buildings in the five main districts of Hà Nội. Areas that are allowed to build high-rise building include both sides of ring roads, main streets, radial road networks and highlight areas of the city. The regulations specify conditions on the construction of high-rise buildings. This includes the number of floors, the maximum height allowed, the management of space, architecture and urban landscape, as well as population growth control in the districts of Ba Đình, Đống Đa, Hoàn Kiếm, the northern part of Hai Bà Trưng and the southern part of Tây Hồ. Under the regulations, high-rise buildings along both sides of Ring Road No 1 will be allowed to build a maximum of 24 floors with a total height with 86m. The maximum height for the buildings on both sides of Ring Road No 2 is 27 floors and 97m. Buildings along the Hong River dike are allowed to build 21 floors no greater than 76m in total. Urban rebuilding projects over 2ha in area are required to ensure open space, limitations on population growth, land allocation for education facilities, space for planting trees and public areas. According to the regulations, old high-rise buildings in five districts are allowed to rebuild from 21-24 floors, including the streets of Nguyễn Công Trứ, Giảng Võ, Hào Nam, Ngọc Khánh, Thành Công, Khương Thượng, Vĩnh Hồ, Láng Hạ, Phương Mai and Thanh Nhàn. Areas for constructing high-rise buildings are required to ensure traffic safety and meet the demands of fire fighting and prevention and a number of other specific conditions. Director of the Department of Planning and Architecture, Lê Vinh, said the regulations show the big efforts being made by the city on urban architecture planning. It would play an important part in creating a beautiful landscape for the city, ensure effective land use to help building investors implement their works following the regulations, and would overcome the previous shortcomings of high-rise building management, he said. The regulation will come into effect on April 14. VN to celebrate ethnic minority culture day The Culture and Tourism Villages of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups will host various cultural and sports activities to celebrate Việt Nam’s Ethnic Culture Day on April 19. Between April 15 and 19, hundreds of people from eight ethnic groups such as Mường, Thái, Khơ Mú and Ê Đê from eight provinces, will stage traditional festivals and worship rituals. About 150 players from the localities will compete in a national stick-pushing championship. Hundreds of artists and students from culture art colleges throughout the country will perform at the opening ceremony on April 16. A workshop on developing cultural values of ethnic groups in business will be held on April 16. The village is located in Sơn Tây District, 45km west of Hà Nội’s centre. Weightlifters seek to secure Olympic berth in Uzbekistan The national weightlifting team will leave for Uzbekistan to participate in the Asian championships, an Olympic qualifier tournament, later this month. World silver medallists Vương Thị Huyền and Nguyễn Thị Thúy are strong candidates in the seven-member squad. According to the rules, the top six teams at the tournament will automatically qualify for the Olympics. The Asian tournament will be organised from April 20 to 29. Mercedes Trophy qualifiers to be held in Nha Trang Around 100 members and guests of Vinpearl Golf Nha Trang will take part in a qualifying round on April 30 for the annual Mercedes Trophy, one of the largest amateur golf tournaments in the world. The top performers will secure a spot in this summer’s Mercedes Trophy, where they will have the opportunity to advance to the regional final in Australia in August. The Mercedes Trophy World Final takes place in Stuttgart, Germany, from October 3 to 8. Last year more than 60,000 golfers from 60 countries participated in the series. The entry fee for the Vinpearl Golf Nha Trang qualifier starts at VNĐ1.5 million and includes a number of benefits. The deadline to register is April 20. Khanh Hoa takes drastic measures to curb dengue fever, Zika virus The southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa’s health authorities are taking drastic measures to minimise the double risk of dengue fever and Zika virus spread, following the report of one Zika virus case in the locality. Most of measures focus on killing mosquitoes and mosquito larvae, especially Aedes aegypti striped mosquito which can carry both Zika and dengue fever viruses. Last year, around 9,200 dengue fever cases were reported in Khanh Hoa, the worst year since 2004 and since the beginning of this year, the province has recorded nearly 3,000 cases. The dengue fever epidemic is predicted to get worse in June-July and September-October when the weather is favourable for the development of striped mosquitoes. Tran Dac Phu, Head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said Khanh Hoa is among provinces most vulnerable to dengue fever and as a tourist destination, the risk of Zika virus is also very high. According to Nguyen Dac Tai, Vice Chairman of provincial People’s Committee, the province has formed teams to spray mosquito-killing chemicals in the whole province within April. The supervision at international border gates such as airports and seaports has been stepped up to deal with any emerging suspect cases. Singer threatens to sue real estate developer that has already repaid deposit and given compensation Singer Thu Minh said she was preparing to file a case against the investor of the Leman Luxury Apartments in HCM City for failing to complete its project on time. Minh and her husband visited the Leman Luxury Apartments project on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM City last year. The couple wanted to buy two penthouses here. Construction on the Leman Luxury Apartments project, owned by CT Phuong Nam Company, covers 4,275 square metres started in March 2011 and was expected to be completed in the final quarter of last year, but ran over into this year. However, Thu Minh, proved unable to wait. "Happiness was smothered by lies and deception," Minh hysterically wrote on her Facebook page on April 5. "My dream about a dream home at Leman should have been realised a year ago. Now I'll officially sue CT Phuong Nam... Let's see how it all plays out, I'll inform you later. Too disappointed!" Minh said she decided to take the legal action because of delays and “too many unfulfilled promises”. In last January, Minh and her Dutch husband, Roelof Wilem Otto De Jager, decided to buy two penthouses at Leman Luxury Apartments project on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in District 3 which cost over USD4m. The couple said the penthouses which cover 670 square metres were to be a gift to welcome their firstborn son. When the contract was signed, Minh was five months into her pregnancy. Now her one year-old son will no longer be the recipient of a luxury penthouse. CT Phuong Nam held a press meeting shortly after the singer posted the information. The company argued that what Minh said was completely wrong and was largely affecting their reputation. Le Thi Mai Tam, representative of CT Phuong Nam, said they had signed a contract with Minh in January last year. They asked Minh to pay VND15.8bn as a deposit but Minh said she did not have the money and so the company agreed to let the couple pay VND2bn (USD90,000). Then last November, Minh said she wished to terminate the contract because the company was slow to complete the construction. They terminated the contract and returned the money to Minh and had provided compensation of over VND3bn. "She received her money and interest last year and does not have any ties to the penthouses. Now she is misleading people, with her comments," Mai said. She went on to say that the company wished to maintain good relationships with customers but they would let the legal system deal with Minh's supposed claims. Photo book about Danang presented A photo book featuring the central coast city of Danang of the past and the present as well as its journey to become a modern city has been launched by Goethe-Institut Vietnam. The “Danang Coastal City” photo book by German researcher Michael Waibel from the University of Hamburg is about the balanced and sustainable development and integration of a fast-changing city in the urbanization and globalization processes and its effort to preserve historical values. According to a statement from the Goethe-Institut Vietnam, the book contains over 600 photos illustrating the dynamic city from a variety of perspectives, from bird’s eye views to portraits of its inhabitants. In addition to the visual illustrations, the publication has assembled some essays by local residents. The work is based on many years of academic work stretching back till the late 1990s. Waibel is a senior researcher and project leader in urbanism at the Department for Geography of Hamburg University, said the statement. In 2014, he co-published the photo book “HCMC: Mega City” together with Henning Hilbert from the Vietnamese-German University (VGU) and in 2015 he published the photo book “Hanoi: Capital City” which got awarded with the “2015 Bui Xuan Phai – For Love Hanoi” Award in the category “best works.” This is the third book of this series which introduces Danang’s recent urban development and has been published in three languages of Vietnamese, German and English. “I can’t” campaign calls for environmental protection Change/350.org Vietnam, a youth-led climate change movement in the country, and the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA) have launched two photo collections themed “I can’t” to raise people’s awareness on direct impacts of environmental pollution to daily life. With a message of “Don’t let the pollution destroy your life,” the two photo collections with two different settings of home and street life illustrate severe impacts of environmental pollution and climate change, mainly from waste gases from coal-fired thermal power plants. Photographer Vu Bao Khanh, born 1990 in Hanoi, owner of the family-themed photo collection, said via the image of a toxic mask he wants to share his concerns about people’s health threatened by pollution. Life goes on and people have to wear face masks. Khanh got the nod from five families with five different stories to conduct the collection, from a newlywed couple who is afraid of forgetting each other’s face since they have to carry masks everyday or a couple cares for their baby’s future in a polluted environment or a dad’s concern about no fresh air for his son. Apart from Khanh’s creations, the campaign received another “I can’t” collection about daily life from people who care about the environment. These photos show the inconvenience of people wearing masks in different locations like parks, markets and especially a thermal power plant in Vinh Tan Commune in Tuy Hoa District in the central coast province of Binh Thuan. Previously, another photo collection featured eight local celebrities, including musician/singer Thanh Bui, actress Diem My, musician Tien Tien, dancer Do Hai Anh, winner of So You Think You Can Dance in Vietnam in 2015, choreographer Alex Tu, and singers Hoang Quyen, first runner-up of Vietnam Idol in 2012, Trong Hieu, winner of Vietnam Idol in 2015, and Bich Ngoc, first runner-up of Vietnam Idol in 2015. The “I can’t” campaign aims to inspire people in the community to pay more attention to environmental issues and to raise their voices to make changes in energy issues to cope with environmental pollution and climate change in Vietnam. According to statistics from Harvard University, Vietnam has 4,300 people dying of coal-fired power generation a year. The number will rise to 25,000 by 2030. The campaign will take place until May 2. The launch of these two photo collections followed the first photo collection by local youth on social networks in 2014 and an art night on climate change that featured celebrities and over 1,500 young people in HCMC in 2015. Further information can be found at changevn.org, 350.org.vn or facebook.com/vietnam350. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri