Danang allows cruise ships gambling in port
The central city of Danang has allowed cruise ships keeping their casinos and duty-free shops open while docking overnight at Tien Sa port.
The decision will be implemented as from mid-January, said Tran Chi Cuong, vice director of the Danang municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
SuperStar Libra Cruise Ship of Star Cruises will be the first ship to follow the new rule.
Danang received more than 1.268 million foreign tourists in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 34%, including more than 5,000 foreign sea travellers.
It is expected to welcome more than 100,000 passengers on board of 110 cruise ships this year.
Three Lao drug traffickers arrested in Quang Tri
Police and border guards in Lao Bao international border gate in Quang Tri Province on January 7 caught three Laotians in the act of illegally transporting 900 pills of synthetic drugs.
The arrested are 41-year-old Xun Thoong Bun Pha Voong, 49-year-old Pam Phen and 49-year-old Kham La, all reside in Laos’ Savannakhet Province.
529 pills of synthetic drugs were found tightening behind the knee of Pha Voong. Being questioned, he told the authorities of his two accomplices.
The two men, Pam Phen and Kham La were arrested after that with 376 pills of synthetic drugs.
The case is under further investigation.
Early this year, border guards in Lao Bao arrested a man attempting to transport 6kg of dry marijuana across the border into Vietnam.
Vietnam improves human resources to join ASEAN Community
After Vietnam joined the ASEAN Community, Vietnamese labours in 8 professions including doctors, dentists, nurses, accountants, surveyors, architects, engineers and tourism professionals are allowed to be employed freely within the bloc.
This creates both opportunities and challenges for Vietnam to develop its vocational training sector, improve its human resources and stabilize its labor market.
Joining the ASEAN Community, Vietnamese laborers have great opportunities to find jobs in 9 other countries. Therefore, it is essential to pay more attention to vocational training and developing highly skilled workers who are employable not only in Vietnam, but also in other countries.
Duong Duc Lan, General Director of the General Department of Vocational Training of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said “In recent years, Vietnamese employees have been capable of taking responsibility for jobs requiring high skills that were only taken by foreign experts in the past.
We are not worried about the quality of Vietnam’s vocational training. Vietnamese laborers can work in high-end professions, but we lack soft skills including team work, work disciplines and foreign language proficiency”.
Since 2011, Vietnam has focused on improving human resource training and creating a breakthrough in vocational training. The government has implemented the 2011-2020 Vocational Training Strategy and the 2011-2020 Human Resource Development Plan.
The Prime Minister has allowed the transfer of foreign training programs and foreign teachers to work in Vietnamese vocational training centers and focused on developing a system of vocational training schools. Mr. Lan said “We now have around 500 vocational training schools. We’ve selected 120 jobs for training, 34 of which are targeted to reach international levels.
We plan to use Australian training programs for 12 advanced jobs. Australian partners are checking the teaching conditions, infrastructure and quality of teachers. 1200 students are expected to receive both Vietnamese and Australian graduate certificates from our vocational training colleges by 2018. We will cooperate with Germany in training 14 other jobs”.
Judicial plans up to 2020 under security
The Ministry of Justice held a national online conference on January 8 to discuss judicial plans for 2016 and up to 2020.
National Assembly (NA) vice-chairman Uong Chu Luu praised achievements of the judicial sector in recent years and said the sector should shift from building to fine-tuning and enforcing laws.
He asked the Ministry of Justice to continue judicial reforms.”The Ministry of Justice should cooperate with other ministries and National Assembly agencies to implement the National Assembly’s legislative programs and complete laws adjusted by the legislative body. The Ministry should help to ensure the applicability and feasibility of laws,” he said.
People’s Artist and Meritorious Artist titles bestowed on
As many as 102 People’s Artist titles and 377 Meritorious Artist titles will be presented to outstanding artists at the 8th honouring festival of “People’s Artist and Meritorious Artist” held at Hanoi Opera House on January 10.
The information was announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on January 8.
Before submitting for the Government’s approval, the professional board received 114 submissions for People’s Artist nominees and 416 submissions for Meritorious Artist nominees.
The titles are billed as the country’s recognition of significant dedication and contributions made by authors and artists to the culture sector, which helps preserve Vietnam’s traditional culture and foster socio-economic development.
To date, some 265 artists have been honoured with a People’s Artist title and 1,602 with a Meritorious Artist title in the fields of music, film, architecture, dance, fine arts, photography, theatre, folk culture, literature and broadcasting.
Imperial Group opens hospitality school in Vung Tau
The Imperial Group that owns and runs the five-star hotel Imperial in southern Vung Tau city has opened the Imperial International Hotel School.
The Vung Tau-based school will offer short- and long-term training courses for staff in the hospitality industry.
This is the first school in Vietnam that can tap its advantages to enable students to practice what they learn in class at a high-end hotel with sophisticated infrastructure, equipment and services.
During the inauguration ceremony, the school concluded an agreement with Niagara University in the US, which will transfer training programmes. The agreement enables the Imperial school to issue Niagara’s global certificates.
The programmes will also be combined with those approved by ASEAN and the ASEAN Economic Community.
Rector Richard Linstrom said initially the school would focus on short-term courses on reception, restaurant and room service, security and English for hospitality.
Nguyen Huu Tho, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that Vietnam was still short of human resources who meet international standards of the hospitality industry.
He said that one of the problems was insufficient practice at qualified hotels.
The Imperial Group also owns the Shifu restaurant chains in HCM City, the serviced apartment building The Imperial Residences in Vung Tau, and others.
Road renovation worries Ho Chi Minh City residents ahead of Lunar New Year
Many streets in Ho Chi Minh City are undergoing renovation, raising concern among local residents as now is a critical time for them to speed up their business operations before the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
Several streets, sidewalks and alleys are being excavated, blocking the entrances to multiple shops, restaurants, and diners as well as creating immense difficulties for people traveling on the roads, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters’ observation.
A part of Nguyen Van Qua Street in District 12 has been subject to such renovation for a couple of months, with building equipment, materials and roadblocks being placed all over the area, preventing local businesses from operating and speeding up before the Lunar New Year holiday, Dung, the owner of a confectionary shop on the street, told Tuoi Tre.
Vietnam’s Lunar New Year falls on February 8, with festive preparations and celebrations going on one week before and after the date.
The renovation began in September and was said to be completed at the end of December 2015, but it is nowhere close to finish at the present time, according to Dung.
Dung’s business has suffered heavy losses during the time of the renovation, with his daily revenue dropping from VND2.3 million (US$102.3) to under VND100,000 ($4.45), he said, adding that he has to pay a regular rent of VND5 million ($222.5) per month.
A two-meter-deep hole spanning over 20 meters and two big piles of rocks on another part of Nguyen Van Qua Street are seen as obstacles in front of a mobile phone retailer, a food stall, and a grocery store.
“It is already excruciating for us to enter or leave our place, let alone our customers. The dust produced by the construction work and the smell from the sewerage holes are also likely to scare everybody away,” Nguyen Van Dong, the owner of the grocery store, complained.
His income has also shrunk from the minimum of VND8 million ($356) to VND3 million ($133.5) a day, he added.
The hole, which blocks the entrance to an alley of the street, prevents garbage trucks from entering and collecting household trash, and causes inundation by blocking the sewer, according to local people.
Similar situations can also be spotted on several streets in Tan Binh District and Tan Phu District.
Plans for such construction works were approved by competent agencies after they were prepared and submitted for a long time, said Tran Huu Nam, director of a firm responsible for renovation projects in Tan Binh and Tan Phu.
Nam added that their coincidence with this busy time of the year is purely arbitrary.
The delay to the renovation work on Nguyen Van Qua Street is due to the overlapping execution of other road projects, Le Thanh Liem, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Upgrading Investment – Investment Management Unit, explained, adding that he expects the understanding of local people.
The construction on this street is expected to finish before the upcoming Tet holiday, he said.
About 47 road construction projects are being carried out on 27 streets in the southern city for multiple purposes, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport.
The department will set standards for the construction companies that manage urban upgrade projects and will record any violation that affects the city’s traffic and environment, Tran Quang Lam, deputy head of the department, said.
Those organizations that are penalized three times will be banned from carrying out the construction in the city, the official added.
Police don’t rule out terror attacks in Ho Chi Minh City
There have been complicated developments in security and order in Ho Chi Minh City, leading to a possibility of terrorism, according to police officers.
The assessment was announced on Tuesday at a press conference organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Police to review the maintenance of security and order in the city in 2015.
Police do not rule out the probability of terror attacks based on the complicated situation at the moment, said Colonel Nguyen Sy Quang, the department’s chief of staff
The municipal police will deploy special units and equipment to defend important targets and essential locations and prevent them from being compromised, Col. Quang added.
Vu Nhu Ha, deputy chief of staff, affirmed that officers will tighten security and focus on certain offenses, including theft, robbery, burglary, organized crime, and others, during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
About 6,004 cases of criminal offenses were committed in 2015, decreasing by 377 cases compared to the previous year, claiming 102 lives and injuring 712 people, with financial damage worth VND106.6 billion (US$4.74 million), Col. Quang said at the conference.
Officers in the southern city succeeded in dealing with 4,059 of the offenses, accounting for 67.6 percent, and arrested 4,670 suspects, several of whom were Chinese, Taiwanese and Nigerian, the colonel added.
A decline in the number of cases was also recorded last year in 10 out of 13 types of criminal offences, which were murder, theft, property appropriation, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, fraud and some others, he added.
Despite the drop, only 1,903 out of 3,416 theft cases were solved in 2015, according to Col. Quang.
Police could only close 50 percent of such cases as criminals have been becoming more professional and organized in their operations, said Colonel Le Ngoc Phuong, head of the Police Division of Criminal Investigation and Social Order.
Criminals often study their targets thoroughly and carefully erase their tracks after committing crimes, barring police from detecting them, Col. Phuong said.
The installment of security cameras in several residences has proved very effective as robbers always try to avoid showing their faces, making it difficult for officers to identify them.
It is advisable that civilians pay more attention to protecting their own properties, according to the colonel.
Crimes related to prostitution have also transformed into a subtler form which involves the use of the Internet, creating more obstacles for police to discover and investigate their wrongdoings, officers said at the conference.
Unlawful organizations often disguise themselves as modeling agencies, restaurants, beauty salons, and others, officers added.
Police apprehend money laundering ring
A trans-national ring of suspects involved in swindling and money laundering was recently apprehended by the Ha Noi Police.
The police have decided to prosecute the case, after arresting five suspects.
Those arrested include Le Thi Huyen Trang, 34, of Long Bien District, Ho Ngoc Duong, 42, of Tay Ho District, Nguyen Hong Hai, 44, of Ba Dinh District, Nguyen Viet Anh, 24, from the outskirts of Thanh Tri District, and Lin Ren Feng, a foreigner.
Police reported that members of the ring used forged identity cards to open bank accounts in various banks and withdraw “dirty” money sent from Taiwan.
Warning on swimming at public beaches
The management board of beaches and Son Tra peninsula warned tourists and local people to avoid swimming at the city’s beaches during the rough season.
The board said big waves caused by strong winds could endanger the lives of swimmers at beaches during year-end vacations at resorts.
The city’s rescue teams had saved over 100 tourists and locals at eight public beaches between October and December.
Many notices were set up at public beaches to warn swimmers of the risks.
It suggested that visitors should swim between 5.30am and 6pm at beaches with safety warnings and available rescue teams.
Smuggled brandy seized
The central city’s market watch agency seized 252 bottles of brandy being smuggled on board a bus from HCM City to Da Nang yesterday.
Deputy Head of a market watch team under the city’s market watch agency, Nguyen Thuc said the brandy labelled Ballantine’s, was sent by an unknown consigner from HCM City for sale in Da Nang city.
According to the city market watch, the bus driver could not provide documents or invoices verifying the brandy.
The brandy is estimated to be worth over VND200 million (nearly US$9,000).
Last year, the agency also discovered around 7,300 bottles of fake alcohol at a downtown shop in an inspection.
The case is still under investigation.
Police seize foul-smelling meat from shop
The Can Tho City Police yesterday discovered 17 different kinds of meat, weighing a total of 800kg, with unclear origins at a shop selling food products in Binh Thuy District.
The meat came from pigs, cows, goats and rabbits.
Nearly 170kg of the meat emitted a foul odour.
Binh Thuy Ward, owner of the shop on Le Hong Phong Street, admitted to the police that the meat was bought at very cheap rates in HCM City and transported to the southern city of Can Tho via coach.
The meat was then sold to restaurants in the Ninh Kieu and Cai Rang districts for VND130,000 (US$5.7) per kilogramme. The restaurants cooked the meat for their customers.
The city police said the owner of the shop had failed to present any quarantine papers for the meat.
Peer educators tell migrant workers in Dong Nai about welfare policies
On Saturday and Sunday nights, Tran Nam Sung, 31, and other workers drive down to places in Dong Nai Province where migrant workers live, and speak to them about labour laws and social welfare policies.
Their speeches draw the attention of many workers since it is common for them to have problems with their employers.
Sung is a migrant worker with the Construction No 7 Company in Dong Nai Province’s Long Thanh District.
He is the leader of a network of peer educators comprising 42 members working for different companies in the district.
“As a migrant worker, I understand the difficulties faced by other migrant workers,” he said.
“I and my wife moved from the central province of Nghe An to Dong Nai to find a job.”
With an average income of around VND3.5 million (US$160), migrant workers had to struggle with the high cost of city life, he said.
Some employers deliberately flouted labour laws or ignored employees’ rights, he told Viet Nam News, citing the instance of a worker who was fired for taking three days off without permission after falling sick.
It was a violation of labour laws, he explained to the worker.
The Labour Law allowed workers to take five days off without permission for sickness, he said.
“I am happy to see disadvantaged migrant workers get treated fairly and enjoying all their rights under the Labour Law.”
He was trained in labour laws, social insurance, health insurance, and counselling.
Dong Nai has more than 880,000 workers at 31 industrial parks, with migrant workers accounting for 60 per cent, according to the province’s Labour Federation.
There are 26 companies with 3,000 or more workers, 24 of them foreign-owned.
Most of the workers here were from rural areas, Nguyen Phuoc Manh, deputy chairwoman of the federation, said.
Workplace etiquette and knowledge of labour laws were poor among migrant workers, she said.
Some companies ignored policies and regulations benefiting workers, she added.
To educate workers in labour laws and regulations, in 1993 the federation established a centre for legal consultancy.
But the demand for legal support to workers was unmet since there was a severe shortage of lawyers, Vu Ngoc Ha, a lawyer with the centre, said.
The peer educators who were chosen from active and enthusiastic workers for propagating the laws had proven to be efficient assistants for lawyers and law counsellors, he said.
“We recognise that nobody can assist migrant workers as well as their peers.
“Workers prefer to listen to other workers than to their managers.”
Many workers sought legal advice from peer educators during lunch time, he added.
The centre has held 98 training courses for 670 peer educators in labour laws, social insurance, health insurance, and legal counselling.
It has also offered legal advice to nearly 8,700 workers and litigated for nearly 1,000, winning compensation worth a total of VND16 billion ($711,000).
In 2014 alone more than 130 workers were provided legal services and they ended up getting compensation of VND1.9 billion ($84,500).
Most of the cases were related to unfair termination of labour contracts or unfair dismissal.
Year-end labour shortage sinks in
The final month of the lunar year sees a seasonal employment surge, however, the number of job seekers decline, making it difficult for enterprises to handle the trade of the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.
Vu Thi Thanh Lieu, deputy director of Ha Noi Center for Employment Service (HCES) said commercial and manufacturing companies, accounting for 80 per cent of registered employers, usually organised promotion events at the end of the lunar year, therefore their labour demand increased strongly.
Her company received over 900 job orders from 52 companies in December 2015, in which big supermarkets such as MediaMart, Pico, BigC ordered 500 seasonal workers.
Although her center, as well as many other centers in the city, tried all the ways to promote the jobs to potential job seekers, the situation has not improved much.
The number of job applications had decreased by 30 per cent compared with the same period last year, Lieu said, given that the center had increased from one job transaction session per week to two this year.
Smaller-scaled businesses are dealing with the same issue.
Thu Huong, owner of a handmade confectionary production facility in Xuan Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, said that to ensure sufficient goods for the Tet holiday, her business planned to hire 50 workers for product packing and shipping.
She hired people of acquaintances or siblings as she knew the labour shortage always happens at this time of the year.
Trinh Van Duc, a freelance worker in Van Canh Commune, Hoai Duc District, said he found no difficulty to find a job in this season. Three to four weeks prior to Tet, kiosk owners in Dong Xuan market called him for a porter job.
Nguyen Nhu Lai, a university student got introduced by a friend to work as a salesperson for a promotion event with a salary of VND200,000 (US$8.8) for a 12-hour work day. Meanwhile, she also got introduced to another job where she had more options to earn money.
Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of HCM City’s Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information, said that cashiers, warehouse workers, supermarket food processing workers, along with waiters and house maids have the highest demand among job categories.
The average salary ranges from VND15,000 to VND50,000 ($0.66-$2.2) per hour or VND140,000 to VND300,000 ($6.2-$13.3) per day, depending on time and work volume.
Experts said that some foreign companies organise conferences integrated with job transaction workshops throughout the year, therefore, the number of unemployed people decreases. However, they also advise that enterprises should prepare early with a seasonal employment plan as manpower crisis are likely to happen.
Health ministry to offer children new polio vaccine
The national extended programme on immunisation (EPI) will offer IPV vaccines to immunise children aged five years against polio, in June 2016, according to the Ministry of Health.
The IPV vaccine will be administered alongside the injections of the OPV vaccine for children who are aged two, three and four months, which also immunises against polio.
OPV vaccine currently has three doses that help children avoid three types of virus (type 1, type 2, and type 3). The virulence in the OPV vaccine has been reduced so that the vaccine would not be harmful to children while activating the immune system against polio.
However, the latest research from the World Health Organisation shows that virus type 2 in OPV vaccine might be the cause of some cases of acute flaccid paralysis after its use in several countries.
“Consequently, we will exclude virus type 2 from OPV vaccine and administer the new IPV vaccine injections for children aged five months,” Prof Dang Duc Anh, director of the national institute of hygiene and epidemiology said.
The IPV is an inactivate vaccine that contains antigens from dead polio viruses.
Viet Nam controlled the spread of polio in 2000 thanks to the deployment of polio vaccines in the EPI.
However, the disease may resurface if the children do not receive vaccinations in time.
Fire destroys workshop in Binh Duong
A fire erupted at 10.30am today in an area of more than 5,000sq.m at Wang Feng Co Ltd in the southern province of Binh Duong’s Thuan An Town.
Workers from the company, which processes wood for export, said that the fire started at the paint workshop while the workers were taking a lunch break.
More than 10 fire engines were assigned to the spot.
The fire caused traffic jams as the company is near the Binh Duong Boulevard.
The fire was temporarily controlled at 1.20pm.
No casualties were reported.
The Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent reported that thousands of square metres of the workshop and a lots of wooden products were destroyed.
The losses are still being estimated.
Workers said that the workshop’s total area was 7,000sq.m. The company had more than 150 workers.
The police are investigating the cause of the fire.
Police crackdown on gambling ring in HCM City
Police in HCM City yesterday detained and prosecuted a woman and her ring’s members who were accused of gambling and organising gambling activities.
Police arrested Nguyen Thi Kim Ha, 46, the leader of the ring and 13 members in Ward No 17 of Binh Thanh District and seized VND37 million (US$1,680) and some exhibits.
The gambling activities in this area returned again after an infamous ringleader, Nguyen Hoang Kiet, 44, was arrested in May, police said.
According to the police, Ha is the elder sister of Kiet and organised gambling activities in this area after her brother was arrested.
Ha installed four cameras to rapidly detect any strangers who approached her gambling area.
At the police station, Ha admitted that she organised gambling activities over the last two months and the gamblers are mainly women.
Besides 24 ring members, the police summoned others to clarify on the activities of the gambling ring.
4 Illegal unmanned aerial vehicles detected
The Ha Noi High Command and Ha Noi Police last year discovered four cases of illegal use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The municipal Department of Industrial and Trade, in co-ordination with the city police, detected three shops selling 120 UAVs that did not have trading permits and legal bills.
Colonel Bui Trong Quynh, deputy commander of the Ha Noi High Command, said that recently the city high command joined hands with different departments, districts’ authorities and the air defence forces to manage flying objects to sustainably protect the capital’s airspace.
This year, the city high command will be equipped with more tools to improve its management capacity, check and maintain the system of air defence alarm whistles and better protect political events and big public holiday ceremonies in the capital.
Colonel Nguyen Van Tam, head of the Air Defence Division under the Ha Noi High Command, said that the city’s air defence militiamen forces were always on alert following the General Staff’s guidance.
The air defence militiamen were equipped with weapons based on the decision by the city authorities, he said.
People protest against overloaded quarry trucks
Hundreds of residents of Phuoc Tan Commune in the southern Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa City are blocking a road to prevent trucks from reaching Tan Cang quarries.
The local people have set up barriers on Dinh Quang An, which links the commune — that has several quarries– to National Highway 51.
Mai Tan Tai, chairman of Phuoc Tan Commune’s People Committee, said the roadblock was a spontaneous action by the local people who have long suffered from unsafe traffic movement, high level of dust in the air and damaged roads caused by several trucks carrying rocks every day.
The overloaded trucks not only damage the road, but they also have been speeding, posing a great danger to people’s lives.
As per regulations, the trucks are permitted to travel from 6am to 8pm. However, in reality, the trucks have using the road day and night.
The roadblock set up by the people has caused a 1km-long traffic jam, extending from Tan Cang quarries to the national highway.
The Bien Hoa City authority met enterprises of Tan Cang quarries and representatives of the local people to discuss measures such as road repair to resolve the situation. The local people, however, did not attend the meeting. The parties could not reach any agreement at the meeting, and the road continues to be blocked.
According to the local authority, about 1,000 trucks loaded with rocks travel through Dinh Quang An every day.
It is estimated that more than VND7.6 billion (US$350,000) will be needed to repair 2km of the severely damaged road.
Revolver, bullets found in package at airport
A revolver and 40 bullets were found in a package last night, while departure procedures were being conducted for Jetstar Pacific flight BL806 at Tan Son Nhat Airport.
The aviation security centre at the airport is collaborating with the police in HCM City in the case investigation.
The package that was about to be sent from HCM City to Ha Noi on flight BL806.
Company T (located at Bach Dang Street, Ward 2, Tan Binh District) had received seven packages that weighed more than 100kg from express delivery company W (located at Aâu Co Street, Ward 10, Tan Binh District), and had agreed to deliver them to the airport.
Company W said the packages contained clothes and electronic components.
An employee of company T was checking the packages to complete the departure procedures, when he felt suspicious that one of them contained weapons. He immediately asked the airport’s security centre to examine the package.
The revolver that was found inside the package was reportedly made in Taiwan.
The security centre made a record of the case and transferred it to HCM City Police for further investigation.
Four persons to be prosecuted for smuggling iPads
HCM City Police today said the municipal people’s procuracy should begin legal proceedings against four people for smuggling electronic devices of different kinds via Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
The four accused persons are 38-year-old Le Nguyen Thi Ai Tram from Tan Binh District, a former worker of the airport’s customs sub-department; 29-year-old Nguyen Hoang Minh from the southern Tien Giang Province, who works for Tan Son Nhat Goods Services Co Ltd; and 32-year-olds Phan Quang Vinh and Phan Thi Da Huong, both from the southern Dong Nai Province.
The police’s investigation showed that Vinh and Huong had smuggled more than 800 iPads and mobile phones of different kinds, worth more than VND9 billion (US$400,000), from Hong Kong to Viet Nam via Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Vinh and Huong colluded with Tram and Minh to avoid customs checks and in forging signatures on some papers to help the goods pass the customs gate.
The case was uncovered on January 14 last year, when the city police checked an automobile and found the goods, which did not have any stamps showing that they had been checked by customs.
Biggest cruise ship docks at Tien Sa Port
On January 6, the Superstar Virgo arrived at the Tien Sa Port in Danang for a one-day port of call carrying 1,850 passengers and crew, say officials at Saigontourist Travel Services.
Saigontourist says the Superstar Virgo holds the mantle for largest passenger cruise ship, having replaced Royal Caribbean International’s Legends of the Seas for the top spot.
It is 4.34 metres longer and weighs 5866 tons more than the Legend with two extra decks and it carries more than 700 extra passengers (2800) at maximum capacity with nearly double the crew (1300).
While in port, an official at Saigontourist said the ship’s harbourmaster and pilot would undertake a full risk assessment to ensure the large Superstar Virgo could safely navigate the port.
Meanwhile the travellers – who came from Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China), China, Austria, Australia and Canada – went sightseeing at the Linh Ung Pagoda, Cham Museum and Ngu Hanh Son tourism area.
They also took in some shopping at Hoi An Ancient Town, cycled to the Tra Que Vegetable Gardens and attended an art performance by the Cham ethnic group.
Authorities to shut down famous night market on Phu Quoc Island
Authorities in Phu Quoc, a heavenly island off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, have decided they will close down a night market well known to tourists in mid-2016 to improve traffic in the downtown area.
The Phu Quoc People’s Committee has announced that all activities at the Dinh Cau night market in the island’s Dong Duong Town will be halted after June 30 this year.
Frequent sellers at the market have expressed their worry over the decision, as authorities issued a different announcement in August last year, stating that they would construct a new market at the Dinh Cau site after the sellers handed their premises back on December 31, 2015, when their lease agreements expired.
The decision to build the new market was backed by the traders as they thought it would help them compete with those at the Bach Dang night market, which is some hundreds of meters away from Dinh Cau.
However, the sellers were then invited to a meeting hosted by local authorities on December 22, 2015 to be informed of the permanent demolition of the Dinh Cau nigh market to improve traffic in the downtown area of the island.
The sudden change is considered shocking as the traders will have no place to run their business after the market is closed for good.
The new decision was not made in a timely manner, as it is too late for them to sign contracts to lease alternative spaces at the Bach Dang night market, one of the sellers said.
Huynh Quang Hung, vice chairman of the Phu Quoc People’s Committee, has confirmed the Dinh Cau demolition to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, adding that local authorities have been trying to establish a new place for the sellers to continue their business.
Phu Quoc is the largest island of Vietnam, located in the Gulf of Thailand, 50km off Kien Giang Province and a 50-minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
The island is famous for stunning beaches, an untouched natural environment, the relaxed atmosphere, friendly locals, and fantastic scuba diving and snorkeling.
The Dinh Cau night market, which is managed by the Phu Quoc Tourist and Trade Promotion Center, was open for business in September 2007 on Vo Thi Sau Street in central Duong Dong Town.
The place quickly became a must-visit destination in many tourists’ itinerary.
The market houses over 70 stalls of 50 small businesses, featuring various culinary delights and unique souvenirs, and is usually packed with visitors all year round, for it is one of a few places for entertainment on the pristine island.
The famous travel site Lonely Planet regards the market as the most atmospheric, affordable and excellent place to dine on Phu Quoc, with around a dozen stalls serving a delicious range of Vietnamese seafood, grills and vegetarian options.
Vietnam, China municipalities strengthen cooperation
The northern province of Cao Bang and the City of Baise in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China have reached an agreement to cooperate in border trade and management.
“The agreement will foster peace along the border,” said leaders of the two regions in making the announcement on January 7 at a press conference following talks in Cao Bang Province.
During the talks, the two sides reviewed the status of nine cooperation deals spanning the fields of everything from economics, transport, agriculture, forestry and education, to border management.
“Border regions have maintained high level exchange visits, which have borne fruitful results,” they said at the press conference.
The two sides agreed to beef up exchanges between the Tra Linh, Trung Khanh and Ha Quang districts in Cao Bang and the City of Jingxi in Baise and boost trade in agricultural products as well as fish and seafood via border gates.
Internet Netflix makes its ways into Vietnam
Netflix – the world’s leading Internet subscription service- has officially become the global internet TV network covering 190 nations across the globe, including Vietnam.
Netflix’s streaming TV service has expanded to 130 new markets like the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. In addition, the service has given three new options for Arabic, Korean and Chinese languages.
Recently, Netflix and Dreamworks have agreed to provide films to the foresaid markets. It is set to cooperate with LG group to bring 4K Ultra HD products to Asian, European and the Middle East markets this year.
Zac Efron concludes ‘enlightening,’ memorable Vietnam trip
Zac Efron has had an “enlightening trip to Vietnam,” with priceless memories to bring home, the US actor and singer said on January 6.
The former teen idol has met wonderful people, drank delicious coconut juice, and learned of Vietnam’s complicated history during his secret trip to the Southeast Asian country, according to a status update on his verified Facebook account.
The post, garnering nearly 50,000 likes as of January 6 afternoon, came with a collage of six pictures, including a selfie he took with local fans and two others showing him enjoying coconut juice.
The latest Facebook post was uploaded exactly one month after the 28-year-old amazed fans with a surprise check-in in Ho Chi Minh City on December 7.
Efron, who found fame in the Disney “High School Musical” franchise, however did not disclose any other details about his journey in Vietnam to more than 1.6 million fans on the social networking site.
Prior to expressing his effusive praise for Vietnam, he also uploaded a photo on Facebook on January 3, which again surprised his local supporters.
The photo shows the topless Efron, donning a Vietnamese conical hat, posing with a girl on board a boat in what appears to be a river in the Mekong Delta, purportedly breaking the hearts of some female fans.
With two Facebook posts about his Vietnam trip having been written in the last one month, it is not clear if Efron had a month-long journey in the country.
But he appears to only explore the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, according to the photos leaked so far.
On November 23, a picture showing Efron and his girlfriend, Sami Miro, posing with several Vietnamese fans surfaced on the Internet, with many Facebook users asserting that it was taken in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.
It is believed that the couple chose Vietnam as their next destination after touring Japan in November 2015.
Efron did not seem to reply to any of dozens of thousands of comments under the Vietnam-related posts on his Facebook, so what he did in the country remains a big mystery to Vietnamese diehard fans.
In the photo that revealed he was in Vietnam last month, the US actor donned sunglasses, a mask and two Vietnamese conical hats at a time, which are all typical of the Southeast Asian country.
The US actor and singer apparently compared himself to Raiden, one of the legendary characters in the Mortal Kombat fighting video game series by Midway Games, who also wears a similar conical hat.
Born in California, Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known as a teen idol after his lead roles in the High School Musical, the Warner Bros. series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.
Revolver, bullets found in package at airport
A revolver and 40 bullets were found in a package last night, while departure procedures were being conducted for Jetstar Pacific flight BL806 at Tan Son Nhat Airport.
The aviation security centre at the airport is collaborating with the police in HCM City in the case investigation.
The package that was about to be sent from HCM City to Ha Noi on flight BL806.
Company T (located at Bach Dang Street, Ward 2, Tan Binh District) had received seven packages that weighed more than 100kg from express delivery company W (located at Aâu Co Street, Ward 10, Tan Binh District), and had agreed to deliver them to the airport.
Company W said the packages contained clothes and electronic components.
An employee of company T was checking the packages to complete the departure procedures, when he felt suspicious that one of them contained weapons. He immediately asked the airport’s security centre to examine the package.
The revolver that was found inside the package was reportedly made in Taiwan.
The security centre made a record of the case and transferred it to HCM City Police for further investigation.
VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri
Social News 9/1 Related image(s)
0 comments:
Post a Comment