Promote the management of invasive exotic species

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Promote the management of invasive exotic species<br /><p>In the morning January 14th, <a href="http://bit.ly/1gRTdD2">Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment</a> held a Steering committee meeting of the project “<a href="http://bit.ly/1e5DVKY">Prevention and management of invasive forest exotic species in production and protection forests of Southeast Asia</a>” to review the project performances in 2013 and set out on orientation in implementing the project in the year of 2014.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/PP301a"><img alt="1470933-14-1-2014-sep-dong" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="168" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1e5DVL0" width="300"/> </a> </p><br /><p>At the meeting, Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, <a href="http://bit.ly/1e5DU9J">Director of Project Management Board</a> presented the main results achieved, including the support to strengthen legal framework and national policies on management of invasive exotic species, support to develop, revise, finalize and submit the Inter ministerial <a href="http://bit.ly/1k1nbXo">Circular No</a>. 27/TTLT-<a href="http://bit.ly/PP30hM">BTNMT</a>-<a href="http://bit.ly/PP33de">BNNPTNT</a>, on providing criteria for determination of invasive exotic species and promulgating the list of invasive exotic species which was enacted in December 26th 2013 and the <a href="http://bit.ly/1e5DUq8">Draft Technical</a> risk assessment guidelines for invasive exotic species in quarantine, …</p><br /><p>In 2014, the tasks of the project include the completion of the Draft Technical risk assessment guidelines for invasive exotic species in Vietnam; continued conduct of pilot technical activities in eradication and control of Lojjaboti, the shy virgin species (<a href="http://bit.ly/PP33dg">Mimosa Diplotricha</a>) in <a href="http://bit.ly/PP33dk">Cuc Phuong National Park</a> and finalization of communication strategy to raise awareness and promote management of invasive exotic species in Vietnam…</p><br /><br/><br />Promote the management of invasive exotic species Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1e5DVL0" width="200"/><br/></div>

Promote the management of invasive exotic species

Promote the management of invasive exotic species In the morning January 14th, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment held a Steerin...

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Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi put into operation

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi put into operation<br /><p><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/1khsIcs">Hanoi Peugeot Showroom</a> has officially been put into operation in the end of March. It was the 4th showroom of Peugeot in the northern region and the 7th nationally after 4 months of the brand’s presence in Vietnam market.</strong> </p><br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470923'><a href="http://bit.ly/1qbwFgk"><img alt="The Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi is placed at 132 Le Duan street, Hanoi with a total area of over 2.000m2 including a 300 m2 car showroom and an 1.700 m2 workshop that is able to provide repairing services for a maximum of 30 vehicle turns a day." class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="147" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1khsFh2" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>The Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi is placed at 132 Le Duan street, Hanoi with a total area of over 2.000m2 including a 300 m2 car showroom and an 1.700 m2 workshop that is able to provide repairing services for a maximum of 30 vehicle turns a day.</p><br /></div><br /><p>It is the place that showcases the famous French manufacturer Peugeot models with frequent test-drives, through which customers can drive a product after experiencing it.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1qbwFgq"><img alt="1470921-images1001765-trong-sr2" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="199" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1khsFxm" width="300"/> </a> </p><br /><p>The fact that it was the 4th Peugeot Showroom in the northern region built by Thaco (<a href="http://bit.ly/1khsIcw">Truong Hai</a>) shown that the area could be a potential market and also confirmed the long-term co-operation and investment of <a href="http://bit.ly/1qbwFwQ">Thaco and Peugeot</a> to develop Peugeot products in Vietnam sustainably.</p><br /><p>On the occasion of opening the Hanoi Peugeot Showroom, customers that purchase Peugeot 408 there will be gifted with a luxury Peugeot bicycles with the price of 35 million VND and a 10 million VND preferential. The program will begin on April 1st, 2014 and end on April 30th, 2014.</p><br /><p><strong>Minh Anh</strong> </p><br /><br/><br />Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi put into operation Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1khsFh2" width="200"/><br/></div>

Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi put into operation

Peugeot Showroom in Hanoi put into operation Hanoi Peugeot Showroom has officially been put into operation in the end of March. It was the ...

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Hai Duong’s day cakes to be offered to Hung Kings

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Hai Duong’s day cakes to be offered to Hung Kings<br /><p><b>18 one-kilogram day cakes</b> <b>will be made of glutinous rice of the Eastern land to offer to Hung Kings on April 8 (i.e. lunar March 9).</b> </p><br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470914'><a href="http://bit.ly/1qbwHVl"><img alt="Six artisans in Dai hamlet, An Lac commune (Chi Linh) winning first prize in the contest of pestling banh day in 2013 were chosen to make banh day to offer to Hung Kings" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="231" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1khsHW0" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>Six artisans in Dai hamlet, An Lac commune (Chi Linh) winning first prize in the contest of pestling banh day in 2013 were chosen to make banh day to offer to Hung Kings</p><br /></div><br /><p>Six artisans in Dai hamlet, An Lac commune (Chi Linh, Hai Duong province), who won first prize in the contest of pestling banh day (round glutinous rice cake) in 2013, will make 18 one-kilogram day cakes of glutinous rice of the Eastern land to offer to Hung Kings on April 8 (i.e. lunar March 9).</p><br /><p>Earlier, the province’s artisans on the morning of April 6 took part in a contest of packing, cooking chung cakes (square glutinous rice cakes) and pestling day cakes with the teams of Hoa Binh, Ha Noi and two teams from Phu Tho on the occasion of the Hung Temple Festival 2014.</p><br /><p>Competing in the day cake pestling contest were six artisans in Bo Da hamlet, An Lac commune (Chi Linh); in the chung cake packing and cooking contest were five artisans in Tong Xa hamlet, Thai Thinh commune (Kinh Mon).</p><br /><p>From fragrant glutinous rice grains, the quintessence of heaven and earth, flavorful cakes were formed under the artisans’ skilful hands to be offered to Hung Kings.</p><br /><p>At the end of the contest, Phu Tho 2 team claimed first prize of the chung cake packing and cooking part; Ha Noi team was first place winner of the day cake pestling part. The two teams will be offering chung and day cakes to Hung Kings on lunar March 10, 2015.</p><br /><p><i>(HaiDuongnews – VNA)</i> </p><br /><br/><br />Hai Duong’s day cakes to be offered to Hung Kings Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1khsHW0" width="200"/><br/></div>

Hai Duong’s day cakes to be offered to Hung Kings

Hai Duong’s day cakes to be offered to Hung Kings 18 one-kilogram day cakes will be made of glutinous rice of the Eastern land to offer to ...

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Retired Japanese teacher writes book on AO victims

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Retired Japanese teacher writes book on AO victims<br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470853'><a href="http://bit.ly/1hRRP2h"><img alt="Dedication: To compile his book, Nishimura Yoichi had to travel across 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam to meet AO victims. — Photo phunu-online.com.vn" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="202" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1hRRP2i" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>Dedication: To compile his book, Nishimura Yoichi had to travel across 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam to meet AO victims. — Photo phunu-online.com.vn</p><br /></div><br /><p>DA NANG (VNS)— Retired Japanese teacher Nishimura Yoichi will release his 1,000-page book, The Prayer for Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange, this September.</p><br /><p>On a trip to Da Nang, Yoichi told Viet Nam News that he collected photos and information about Agent Orange (AO) victims in Viet Nam over the past 10 years.</p><br /><p>The book, published in Vietnamese, Japanese and English, tells the stories of Vietnamese AO victims. Yoichi spent nearly half of his pension of US$476,000 on his tireless trans-Viet Nam trips over the past decades.</p><br /><p>“I had to travel in all kinds of vehicles across 63 provinces and cities from north to south in Viet Nam to meet the AO victims. I took photos and heard their stories about sorrow, pain and the difficulties they faced due to the damage caused by the toxic chemicals,” Yoichi said in Vietnamese.</p><br /><p>“The book is my precious treasure, even if I had to spend half my pension on it. I want to tell the consequences being faced by the Vietnamese AO victims and the effects of toxic chemicals on people,” he said. Preliminary statistics compiled by Vietnamese scientists indicate about that 3 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the dioxin.</p><br /><p>The 73-year-old said he travelled for six months together in Viet Nam to collect information.</p><br /><p>“Sometimes I travelled with my wife and sometimes alone. This time, I revisited those people to know whether they are alive or dead.”</p><br /><p>Yoichi said he got the idea of writing the book when he witnessed a meeting of the Vietnamese AO victims and the Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.</p><br /><p>Yoichi is currently an honorary member of HCM City’s AO Victim Association. Yoichi, who was born in Osaka, lives in Sumoto city on Awaji Island.</p><br /><p>“Our country and people also suffered the sorrows of war, and I want all people to know that and share it,” he said.</p><br /><p>He said the processes involved in publishing the book in Viet Nam had been completed.</p><br /><p>In 2011, Yoichi donated 77 photos of AO victims to HCM City’s War Remnants Museum on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Day for Vietnamese Dioxin Victims. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Retired Japanese teacher writes book on AO victims Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1hRRP2i" width="200"/><br/></div>

Retired Japanese teacher writes book on AO victims

Retired Japanese teacher writes book on AO victims Dedication: To compile his book, Nishimura Yoichi had to travel across 63 provinces and ...

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Envelope Smile

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Envelope Smile<br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1jSKCQc"><img alt="1470847-p22" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="214" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1jSKCQg" width="300"/> </a> </p><br /><br/><br />Envelope Smile Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1jSKCQg" width="200"/><br/></div>

Envelope Smile

Envelope Smile Envelope Smile Related image(s)

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Central teams qualify in national robotics competition

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Central teams qualify in national robotics competition<br /><p>DA NANG (VNS)— Five teams of students took final round berths at the <a href="http://bit.ly/1mRIlVi">National Robocon</a> 2014 robot competition during the central and <a href="http://bit.ly/1fejOVo">Central Highlands</a> regional qualifying round on Saturday.</p><br /><p>The teams represented <a href="http://bit.ly/1jSKzUF">Duy Tan University in Da Nang and Ha Tinh Technology College</a>.</p><br /><p>The regional qualifiers saw 20 teams competing in group competition at <a href="http://bit.ly/1mRInfW">Da Nang University’s Sport Centre</a> over three days.</p><br /><p>At the same time, qualifying rounds of the robocon competition were held in <a href="http://bit.ly/1gA1BqA">Ha Noi and HCM City</a>.</p><br /><p>According to the organising committee, competitors manipulated their robots to cross over seesaws, and to pole walk and swing to win overall points.</p><br /><p>The final round of the national competition will be held in <a href="http://bit.ly/OLYLTZ">Nha Trang</a> city next month.</p><br /><p>Last year, HCM City-based Lac Hong University’s LH-SEE team won the Viet Nam Robocon 2013 competition at <a href="http://bit.ly/1mRInfY">Da Nang’s Tuyen Son</a> sports centre.</p><br /><p>Viet Nam’s team ranked second at last August’s Asia-Pacific Robot Contest 2013 (<a href="http://bit.ly/1jSKCQ7">ABU Robocon</a>) in Da Nang. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Central teams qualify in national robotics competition Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

Central teams qualify in national robotics competition

Central teams qualify in national robotics competition DA NANG (VNS)— Five teams of students took final round berths at the National Robocon...

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HCM City museum to use modern technology for new project

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>HCM City museum to use modern technology for new project<br /><p>HCM CITY (VNS)— <a href="http://bit.ly/1grLj3c">HCM City</a> will use 3D technology to build a museum of historical-cultural relics, which will provide information about the country’s iconic monuments.</p><br /><p>Envisaged under a programme to use IT to foster cultural tourism, it will see the use of modern equipment and technology such as radio frequency identification and geographic information system.</p><br /><p>The city hopes to welcome around 4.4 million foreign arrivals this year – or more than 55 per cent of the total number visiting the country – according to its <a href="http://bit.ly/1fq0Nzr">Department of Culture</a>, Sports and Tourism. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />HCM City museum to use modern technology for new project Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

HCM City museum to use modern technology for new project

HCM City museum to use modern technology for new project HCM CITY (VNS)— HCM City will use 3D technology to build a museum of historical-cu...

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Festival organised to celebrate memories of Long Bien Bridge

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Festival organised to celebrate memories of Long Bien Bridge<br /><p>HA NOI (VNS)— The 112th birthday of historic Long Bien Bridge will be celebrated on Saturday by an all-night series of cultural events.</p><br /><p>Exhibitions, film screenings, talk shows and performances will last from 11pm to 6am on Sunday.</p><br /><p>The night is the first of the five-night <a href="http://bit.ly/1jSKCjj">White Nights on Long Bien Bridge</a> series, which will be held monthly by non-profit arts centre Maison des Arts.</p><br /><p>“We organised the culture and art series to inspire bridge lovers and prepare for the <a href="http://bit.ly/1mRIloo">Long Bien Bridge Festival in October</a>,” said architect <a href="http://bit.ly/1jSKzDY">Nguyen Nga</a>, the centre’s director and founder of the Long Bien Bridge Festival, which has been held annually since 2009.</p><br /><p>The five nights focus in succession on the following themes: Memory, Love, <a href="http://bit.ly/1mRIloq">Blood and Flower</a>, Hope and Live. They aim to encourage <a href="http://bit.ly/1h3Kbl8">Ha Noi</a> youth to preserve the cultural, historic and architectural values of the Long Bien Bridge, according to Nga. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Festival organised to celebrate memories of Long Bien Bridge Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

Festival organised to celebrate memories of Long Bien Bridge

Festival organised to celebrate memories of Long Bien Bridge HA NOI (VNS)— The 112th birthday of historic Long Bien Bridge will be celebrate...

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PM Najib Razak urges Malaysian businesses to invest in Vietnam

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>PM Najib Razak urges Malaysian businesses to invest in Vietnam<br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470770'><a href="http://bit.ly/1fS11Tv"><img alt="PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak" class="attachment-medium" height="168" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1ejaBuX" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak</p><br /></div><br /><p><b>Nhan Dan Online/VNA – Malaysian entrepreneurs should seize opportunities to expand their businesses in Vietnam, taking advantage of growing bilateral ties, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the Malaysian National News Agency on April 5.</b> </p><br /><p>The Malaysian leader, who was speaking from Hanoi, also urged Vietnamese businesses to reciprocate by increasing their investment in and trade ties with Malaysia.</p><br /><p>The Malaysian PM said Vietnam plans to privatise 500 state-owned enterprises and that this would surely open up many business opportunities for Malaysian companies.</p><br /><p>He also advised Malaysian firms to gain an in-depth understanding of Vietnamese business culture and find the right local partners so that legal approval can be given with ease.</p><br /><p>PM Razak said he feels very positively with regard to the two-way trade between the two countries, adding that based on the current investment trend, Malaysia and Vietnam can achieve their total trade target of US$11 billion by 2015.</p><br /><p>Malaysia is the eighth largest investor in Vietnam with total approved investments of US$10.4 billion spread across 455 projects.</p><br /><br/><br />PM Najib Razak urges Malaysian businesses to invest in Vietnam Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1ejaBuX" width="200"/><br/></div>

PM Najib Razak urges Malaysian businesses to invest in Vietnam

PM Najib Razak urges Malaysian businesses to invest in Vietnam PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ...

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More ships rush to probe signals in plane search

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>More ships rush to probe signals in plane search<br /><p>Three separate but fleeting sounds from deep in the Indian Ocean offered new hope Sunday in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, as officials rushed to determine whether they were signals from the plane’s black boxes before their beacons fall silent.</p><br /><p>The head of the multinational search being conducted off Australia’s west coast confirmed that a Chinese ship had picked up electronic pulsing signals twice in a small patch of the search zone, once on Friday and again on Saturday.</p><br /><p>On Sunday, an Australian ship carrying sophisticated deep-sea sound equipment picked up a third signal in a different part of the massive search area.</p><br /><p>“This is an important and encouraging lead, but one which I urge you to treat carefully,” retired Australian Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, who is coordinating the search, told reporters in Perth.</p><br /><p>Houston stressed that the signals had not been verified as being linked to Flight 370, which was traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing when it disappeared March 8 with 239 people on board. Experts, meanwhile, expressed doubt that the equipment aboard the Chinese ship was capable of picking up signals from the black boxes.</p><br /><p>“We have an acoustic event. The job now is to determine the significance of that event. It does not confirm or deny the presence of the aircraft locator on the bottom of the ocean,” Houston said, referring to each of the three transmissions.</p><br /><p>“We are dealing with very deep water, we are dealing with an environment where sometimes you can get false indications,” he said. “There are lots of noises in the ocean, and sometimes the acoustic equipment can rebound, echo if you like.”</p><br /><p>China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday that the patrol vessel Haixun 01 detected a “pulse signal” Friday in the southern Indian Ocean at 37.5 kilohertz — the same frequency emitted by the flight data recorders aboard the missing plane.</p><br /><p>Houston confirmed the report, and said the Haixun 01 detected a signal again on Saturday within 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) of the original signal, for 90 seconds. He said China also reported seeing white objects floating in the sea in the area.</p><br /><p>The British navy ship HMS Echo, which is fitted with sophisticated sound-locating equipment, is moving to the area where the signals were picked up and will probably get there early Monday, Houston said.</p><br /><p>The Australian navy’s Ocean Shield, which is carrying high-tech sound detectors from the U.S. Navy, will also head there, but will first investigate the sound it picked up in its current region, about 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers) away, he said.</p><br /><p>Australian air force assets are also being deployed into the Haixun 01′s area to try to confirm or discount the signals’ relevance to the search, Houston said.</p><br /><p>In Kuala Lumpur, families of passengers aboard the missing plane attended a prayer service on Sunday that also drew thousands of Malaysian sympathizers.</p><br /><p>“This is not a prayer for the dead because we have not found bodies. This is a prayer for blessings and that the plane will be found,” said Liow Tiong Lai, the president of the government coalition party that organized the two-hour session.</p><br /><p>Two Chinese women were in tears and hugged by their caregivers after the rally. Many others looked somber, and several wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Pray for MH370.”</p><br /><p>Two-thirds of the passengers aboard Flight 370 were Chinese, and a group of relatives has been in Kuala Lumpur for most of the past month to follow the investigation. Liow said some of them were planning to go home on Sunday.</p><br /><p>After weeks of fruitless looking, the multinational search team is racing against time to find the sound-emitting beacons and cockpit voice recorders that could help unravel the mystery of the plane. The beacons in the black boxes emit “pings” so they can be more easily found, but the batteries last for only about a month.</p><br /><p>Investigators believe Flight 370 veered way off-course and came down somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, though they have not been able to explain why it did so.</p><br /><p>The crew of the Chinese ship reportedly picked up the signals using a hand-held sonar device called a hydrophone dangled over the side of a small runabout — something experts said was technically possible but extremely unlikely.</p><br /><p>The equipment aboard the Ocean Shield and the HMS Echo are dragged slowly behind each ship over long distances and are considered far more sophisticated than those the Chinese crew was using.</p><br /><p>Footage aired on China’s state-run CCTV showed crew members in the small boat with a device shaped like a large soup can attached to a pole. It was hooked up by cords to electronic equipment in a padded suitcase as they poked the device into the water.</p><br /><p>“If the Chinese have discovered this, they have found a new way of finding a needle in a haystack,” said aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com. “Because this is amazing. And if it proves to be correct, it’s an extraordinarily lucky break.”</p><br /><p>There are many clicks, buzzes and other sounds in the ocean from animals, but the 37.5 kilohertz pulse was selected for underwater locator beacons because there is nothing else in the sea that would naturally make that sound, said William Waldock, an expert on search and rescue who teaches accident investigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.</p><br /><p>“They picked that (frequency) so there wouldn’t be false alarms from other things in the ocean,” he said.</p><br /><p>But after weeks of false alarms, officials were careful Sunday not to overplay the development.</p><br /><p>“We are hopeful but by no means certain,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said of the detection of the signals.</p><br /><p>“This is the most difficult search in human history. We need to be very careful about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon,” Abbott told reporters during a visit to Japan.</p><br /><p>The search area has evolved as experts analyzed Flight 370′s limited radar and satellite data, moving from the seas off Vietnam, to the waters west of Malaysia and Indonesia, and then to several areas west of Australia.</p><br /><p>A senior Malaysian government official said Sunday that investigators have determined that the plane skirted Indonesian airspace as it flew from Peninsular Malaysia to the southern Indian Ocean.</p><br /><p>The official, who declined to be named because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said Indonesian authorities have confirmed that the plane did not show up on their military radar. The plane could have deliberately flown around Indonesian airspace to avoid radar detection, or may have coincidentally traveled out of radar range, he said.</p><br /><p>Houston, the search coordinator, conceded that his organization first heard about the initial signal China had detected when it was reported by a Chinese journalist aboard the Haixun 01. He said that at “almost the same time” he was informed of the development by the Chinese government.</p><br /><p>The agency was formally told about the second Chinese detection on Saturday “in absolutely the normal way,” he said.</p><br /><p>“China is sharing everything that is relevant to this search. Everything,” Houston said.</p><br /><p>Still, the search agency will be adding a Chinese-speaking liaison officer “to make sure nothing falls through the cracks,” he said.</p><br /><p>Houston also said there had been a correction to satellite data that investigators have been using to calculate Flight 370′s likely flight pattern. As a result, starting on Monday, the southern section of the current search zone will be given higher priority than the northern part.</p><br /><p>The signals detected by the Chinese ship were in the southern high priority zone, Houston said.</p><br /><p>Up to 12 military and civilian planes and 13 ships took part in the search Sunday of three areas totaling about 216,000 square kilometers (83,400 square miles). The areas are about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) northwest of the Australian west coast city of Perth.</p><br /><br/><br />More ships rush to probe signals in plane search Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

More ships rush to probe signals in plane search

More ships rush to probe signals in plane search Three separate but fleeting sounds from deep in the Indian Ocean offered new hope Sunday in...

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Health ministry urges measles vaccinations for children

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Health ministry urges measles vaccinations for children<br /><p>The health ministry has urged all cities and provinces nationwide to strengthen prevention measures against measles, particularly vaccinations for children between 9 and 24 months old.</p><br /><div><img src="http://bit.ly/1lDAydW"/><br /><div>Illustrative image (Source: VNA)</div><br /></div><br /><p>In an official letter, dated April 5, 2014, to the people’s committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, the ministry asked the local authorities to allocate sufficient resources and personnel to this work, as the number of measles cases is increasing with many fatalities recorded among child patients.</p><br /><p>Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said more than 5,000 cases of measles have been reported in the country since the beginning of this year. A majority of patients are children under 10 years old who have not received full vaccination against this disease.</p><br /><p>According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children. The disease, which is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family, causes about 330 deaths every day and 14 deaths every hour.</p><br /><p>Measles vaccinations resulted in a 78 percent drop in deaths between 2000 and 2012 worldwide, the organisation pointed out.-VNA</p><br /><br/><br />Health ministry urges measles vaccinations for children Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1lDAydW" width="200"/><br/></div>

Health ministry urges measles vaccinations for children

Health ministry urges measles vaccinations for children The health ministry has urged all cities and provinces nationwide to strengthen prev...

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Eating grass-fed mountain goat in Dien Bien

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Eating grass-fed mountain goat in Dien Bien<br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470600'><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmn5a"><img alt="Goat feast: The restaurant offers dozens of preparations of local grass-fed mountain goat, using both traditional and more modern techniques." class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="225" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/PIVK6P" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>Goat feast: The restaurant offers dozens of preparations of local grass-fed mountain goat, using both traditional and more modern techniques.</p><br /></div><br /><p>Goat is one of the local specialities in the mountainous province of Dien Bien. This cosy eatery serves up nearly 40 preparations of the flavourful meat, from stir-fries to barbecue. <strong>Thuy Ha</strong> reports.</p><br /><p>It was my first trip to a northern mountainous province, Dien Bien. People had told me to try the local specialities: mountain buffalo and pork raised by ethnic villagers. I didn’t expect to eat goat, but what I experienced was impossible to forget.</p><br /><p>Local friends took us to a restaurant they said was one of the best in town for goat. It was a good choice. We couldn’t help bursting out compliments after each course was served. We wanted the owner to introduce us to the dishes, but the local friend who managed to book us a private room couldn’t fulfill that request, as the owner, Phuong, was constantly busy during the lunch hour. But after lunch, she sat down with us and we learned why everything was so tasty.</p><br /><p>We started with de tai chanh, goat half-done in lime juice and spices. The dish is not easy to make, as the meat needs to be cooked just the right amount, so that it retains its juices but not its strong smell. We also enjoyed de hap, goat steamed plain.</p><br /><p>Stir-fried dishes complement the steamed ones. In one dish, goat is stir-fried with banana flowers; in another, de chao mem, meat from the best part of the goat is steamed and then stir-fried until tender.</p><br /><p>Phuong’s involvement in the cooking process sets her restaurant apart from others.</p><br /><p>“I have people do the cooking but I always do the seasoning,” Phuong said. Preparation is key, she explained: “if the meat isn’t marinated in the appropriate aromatic herbs and other spices or for the right length of time, no amount of cooking can save it.”</p><br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 260px' id='attachment_1470601'><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmkGo"><img alt="Rare treat: Stir-fried mountain goat is difficult to prepare, but the results can be breathtaking. Nha hang Minh Buc Add: Phan Dinh Giot, Dien Bien (near the city's stadium)Tel: (0230) 3828243Hour: 9am-21:30pmComment: One of the best restaurants in Dien Bien to sample the local specialty of mountain goat." class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="187" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1jQmkGo" width="250"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>Rare treat: Stir-fried mountain goat is difficult to prepare, but the results can be breathtaking. Nha hang Minh Buc Add: Phan Dinh Giot, Dien Bien (near the city's stadium)Tel: (0230) 3828243Hour: 9am-21:30pmComment: One of the best restaurants in Dien Bien to sample the local specialty of mountain goat.</p><br /></div><br /><p>She buys goats on the hoof personally to make sure she gets the best quality meat. The best goats, Phuong said, weigh 25-30kg. The restaurant has an exclusive provider who goes to ethnic villages to get the goats, which eat only grass.</p><br /><p>Phuong took over the restaurant from her parents, who ran it for 20 years. After over five years running the business, Phuong has created a diverse menu with nearly 40 choices. Her parents, who were born and raised in the Red River Delta but moved to Dien Bien in their 20s, offered only 10 or so goat dishes.</p><br /><p>She also made the menu more diverse by importing cooking techniques from foreign cuisines. De chao, inspired by a trip to China, is one of the most popular imports. The Chinese preparation chao is similar to the Western technique of sauteing.</p><br /><p>While Phuong made changes to satisfy customers’ changing tastes, the basic techniques passed on by her parents remain the same. One of the courses she added to the menu is <em>chao do xanh</em> (<a href="http://bit.ly/PIVLYC">rice porridge with green beans</a>) that is made with goat stock. It’s one of the most demanded courses, said Phuong, especially in winter, as it goes with meat dishes and rice wine better than steamed rice.</p><br /><p>Some dishes may sound strange, but they are worth trying. We enjoyed barbecued intestines, cooked through a long and complicated process, and jelly-like blood pudding, which is always served last, although the similar pudding made with pig or duck blood is served as a starter in <a href="http://bit.ly/1h3Kbl8">Ha Noi</a>. Phuong explained that if eaten first, the jelly would ruin your taste buds for the dishes that followed.</p><br /><p>I agreed, as its cool taste seemed to retain the sense and flavour of the goat in my mouth.</p><br /><p>When it comes to discovering the cuisine of a new place, local friends can be an amazing resource. Thanks to my friends, during my few days in <a href="http://bit.ly/1fTOHxQ">Dien Bien</a>, I got to know the regional culture through the food. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Eating grass-fed mountain goat in Dien Bien Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/PIVK6P" width="200"/><br/></div>

Eating grass-fed mountain goat in Dien Bien

Eating grass-fed mountain goat in Dien Bien Goat feast: The restaurant offers dozens of preparations of local grass-fed mountain goat, usin...

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Actress takes on role of courageous woman

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Actress takes on role of courageous woman<br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmkpX"><img alt="1470590-05" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="270" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1jQmkpX" width="180"/> </a> </p><br /><p>Nearly eight years after starring in the film <em>Ao Lua Ha Dong</em> (<a href="http://bit.ly/PIVLHU">The White Silk Dress</a>), which established her reputation as a talented actress in the Vietnamese film industry, <a href="http://bit.ly/1i5PCwC">Truong Ngoc Anh</a> has returned to the silver screen in Huong Ga, a crime film based on the real life of a renowned ringleader in the harbour city of <a href="http://bit.ly/Q3Upbw">Hai Phong</a> in the north of <a href="http://bit.ly/1grLiMK">Viet Nam</a>. The film is expected to hit the screens later this month.</p><br /><p>Anh talks to <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVLHX">Khac Thi</a> about her new role and how she relates to the character.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hOyyei">Inner Sanctum</a>: You have been busy working as a businesswoman. What made you return to films?</p><br /><p>I have been pursuing this film project for nearly three years, since director <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmmOK">Cuong Ngo</a> and writer <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVJQj">Nguyen Dinh Tu</a> made the first draft of its script. <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVJQl">When Ngo</a> consulted Tu about the image of Huong Ga, the main character in his mind, Tu replied that only I could play that role, so Ngo persuaded me to be part of the film.</p><br /><p>To be honest, I was planning to take part in another film, but finally it was the script by writer <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmkq0">Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc</a> that attracted my attention. Even though I have been working as a businesswoman, my nature is still that of an actress. Therefore, whenever there are film projects, I will try to arrange my work in a manner that enables me to dedicate all my time to focusing on them.</p><br /><p>I was fortunate to have talented colleagues, which explains why I have never been worried about choosing between film and business, two fields that co-exist in my life.</p><br /><p>Huong Ga is a crime film, which brought me real changes and new experiences.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmn52">Although Huong</a> ga has a woman’s tragic fate and leads a very severe life, she dares to overcome all prejudices and violence of the underworld as she has a strong desire to seek and worship love. Like the character, I too believe in staying true to my feelings.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: Recently, you have made frequent appearances on many media channels, which cannot be coincidental. Does this mean that you have always been in full possession of your mind and calculating in every step that you have taken?</p><br /><p>Some people might think that something I’m going to say is pre-arranged. But, I have been aware that making public appearances is necessary for little-known artists. To gain the attention and affection of the audience, the artists must appear presentable, sincere, and thankful. This might be the reason why the media has favoured me more than the others. However, I’m deeply grateful to my friends working as reporters because whatever I have achieved today could not have been possible without them. People say that I am smart because I never forget those who give me lots of affection. But I’m not calculating because this does not bring success easily in the field of entertainment.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: You said that you could relate to the character Huong Ga. Can you elaborate?</p><br /><p>As I said, <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVLI6">Huong Ga’s</a> character bears a lot of resemblance to me. At work, before doing anything, I tend to scrutinise all consequences of my actions. After I get the answers I need, I begin to work and never look back or regret. If I fail even after taking everything into consideration, it means that God did not want to give me that opportunity. Then, I try to let it go and find new things to do because losing something means that there will be a new chance.</p><br /><p>In sentiment, I always try to maintain the true values of all relationships. Or in love, I love passionately. Though my feelings are revealed slowly, I can never fake love. I’m not keen on playing tricks to build my personal image either. I found the character of Huong Ga to be similar to me in all these ways.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: What are your expectations from this film and is this role exciting enough to attract you to accept more roles like this one?</p><br /><p>I do not expect this role to be an impressive one or bring me any award. I just think that an actress does not always get good opportunities. So, whenever there is one, she should seize it and make it a turning point in her career. I believe this role is important for my acting career. If I’m offered other interesting roles after this film, I will certainly accept the offers. No matter what happens, I have been working as an actress for over 20 years, so acting has become part of my blood.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: In your journey, it seems that passion is still of minor importance because you tend to easily give up one thing for another. Should I only talk to you about your life goals and plans instead of passion?</p><br /><p>We need goals, but we also need passion for any work to achieve success; otherwise, success is simply a matter of luck. I have ambitions and determination and also my own passion.</p><br /><p>My passion for business encourages me not to give up after failures in order to be successful.</p><br /><p>My passion for acting is high enough to have affection for the characters I play. My passion for my family and my daughter gives me the wisdom to know that I have a place to rest with great comfort after facing all the tiring struggles in the outside world.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: I believe that the journey of an intelligent woman like you is a journey of constant self-introspection. At the moment, what questions are you asking yourself? Please answer me as if you were asking yourself.</p><br /><p>I often ask myself if I have been too ambitious to have worked relentlessly for the past 20 years. Because of my ambitions, I don’t know where to draw the line. Most of my friends have paid more attention to bringing up their families rather than acting. Even with modest means, they live happily. At times, I consider doing the same thing because my husband can earn enough money. However, I forget this line of thought as soon as I get a new opportunity.</p><br /><p>Presently, I have forgotten to question myself because I’m following the call of passion. I act in movies because it has become an important part of my life.</p><br /><p>Inner Sanctum: What are your plans after Huong Ga?</p><br /><p>My first plan is to go on a holiday abroad with my family. Thereafter, I will participate in the promotional activities of Huong Ga and continue with new film and business projects. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Actress takes on role of courageous woman Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1jQmkpX" width="200"/><br/></div>

Actress takes on role of courageous woman

Actress takes on role of courageous woman Nearly eight years after starring in the film Ao Lua Ha Dong ( The White Silk Dress ), which es...

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My teacher

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>My teacher<br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 234px' id='attachment_1470597'><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmmyc"><img alt="Illustration by Dao Quoc Huy" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="300" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/PIVLb0" width="224"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>Illustration by Dao Quoc Huy</p><br /></div><br /><p>by Tran Thuc Ha</p><br /><p>My hometown is in the Central part of the country. After I graduated from university with a degree in business management, I went to HCM City with my girlfriend to create a start-up. After several months of job hunting, I found employment in a company that specialized in moulding things from light, thin metal for the big companies that produce household appliances. I worked in the materials planning section and my girlfriend worked in the section that specialised in producing plastic accessories for Honda motorbikes, refrigerators, television sets, cameras and mobile phones. After three years of working diligently, we were promoted to become the heads of our respective sections. From then on, our relations expanded to foreign companies such as Samsung, Hitachi, Panasonic and Sanyo. These companies bought our products. Having a lot of contacts with these companies, I found out what they wanted. My girlfriend was an intelligent girl. After several years working at the company, she had invented a new way of preparing a very good quality plastic by adding some chemicals that could be both hard and pliant. She kept the formula a secret. The year after next, we thought about bigger things. We wanted to be our own masters, but capital was a big obstacle. However, with determination and the help of our friends, we set up a business unit. At first, we produced only a few high-quality items that were different from the ones made by other companies in terms of design. We offered the first batch for sale in some familiar places. Half a month went by and we were on tenterhooks, as if sitting on the edge of a knife. But as luck would have it, all the places accepted our goods. We started our business with three workers in a small house we rented. After twenty years, we had a factory of a thousand square meters with 200 workers and sophisticated machines. We had married 18 years before and now we had two sons, one 15 and the other 10.</p><br /><p>My company was located in a residential area, so there were a lot of street vendors and peddlers. Among these persons there was a new lottery ticket seller sitting near my company’s gate. I found that this man never smiled, but he looked sympathetic. He was quite different from the other vendors around. This morning, as I pulled up to the gate in my car, I saw that he was a man of medium height and looked smart in his clothes. He had a long beard. His hair was touched with grey strands. His eyes were bright and his face exuded the intelligence of an educated man. As the car came closer to him, I found that his eyes were lovely and affectionate. I stopped the car and went towards him to buy some tickets in an attempt to have a closer look at him. Some female workers saw me buying lottery tickets and rushed towards me. “Today is a lucky day. Director, will you buy one ticket for each of us, please?” After the man sold almost all the tickets, he said thanks to me. I felt he must have come from the respectable world. I guessed he must have had a decent job too. Maybe he had to sell lottery tickets due to unfortunate circumstances! And what was more, I might have seen these lovely eyes and heard his warm voice somewhere…</p><br /><p>After dinner, as was customary for me, I switched on the television to listen to the daily news and then sat down at my desk to list all the things I had done during the day and make a plan for the next day. Yet I could not concentrate on this task. My mind kept returning to the lottery ticket seller, even though he had nothing to do with me. What an irksome situation! I tried to forget it, but I could not. Those bright, lovely eyes, that warm voice! I tried to rummage in my memory to see if I had met him somewhere. Actually, I had met a lot of people, bad and good, but this man made me remember something vague in my mind. All of a sudden, the low voice flashed in my memory: “Don’t give in!” It had helped me overcome innumerable difficulties in my life. It had given me strength. The next day, I asked the guard at the gate to come and meet me. I told him to try to get in touch with the lottery ticket seller and find out who he was. The guard was so surprised: “Has he done anything wrong?” I smiled: “No, don’t worry about it. I feel that I have met this gentleman somewhere, but I can’t remember.” A few days later, the guard told me that the man used to be a teacher in D.H. City. He had been looking for a job here for several years, but he could not find one, so he sold lottery tickets to make a living. He had gone to a lot of places – now Dong Nai for a few days, now Binh Duong for a few months! I was dumbfounded upon hearing the news. A teacher from my city! I could not sleep a wink that night. I tried to remember all the teachers who had taught me, from senior secondary school to university, but I could not remember anyone who had those eyes! Then I got startled: Teacher Dang, who had eyes similar to those of the lottery ticket seller. He taught mathematics to me in junior secondary school!</p><br /><p>At that time I was 14 and in eighth grade. I was not good at maths, but teacher Dang was very devoted to the students like me. His intelligent and lovely eyes always encouraged us to keep trying. His teaching method helped us make progress. He was a skilled teacher; moreover, he was honest and sympathetic to everyone, while also being a straightforward man. After more than thirty years, that face had gotten much older and a lot of wrinkles surrounded his eyes. But his eyes seemed unchanged. I was sure that the lottery ticket seller was teacher Dang! But why would such a good teacher have to drift to this faraway land and sell lottery tickets, I wondered?</p><br /><p>When I began to study, he was about 27 or 28 and had a girlfriend. When I entered university, I heard that he had gotten married. So where was his wife now? How many children did he have? Or had his family been broken up so that he had to come here to make a living? I thought and thought… Was it possible that he had been involved in a legal case and lost his property? I tried not to think about it. But I could not forget the teacher who had taught me with all his heart. Now that he was in such a desperate situation, how could I forget him? I had to talk to him, to share things with him!</p><br /><p>On the day we met, my teacher said:</p><br /><p>“Possibly you are my student, but I cannot remember all my students. Now you’re a director. That’s good.”</p><br /><p>I knew that my teacher valued self-respect above all other things, so I tried to be as polite to him as I had been when I was still his student.</p><br /><p>“My teacher, no matter what has happened, I’ll always be your student. Please don’t think differently of me or I will be sad. I am very elated to see you here, my teacher! Please, I would like to invite you to my house. If you don’t agree, I will stand here until you agree to go with me!”</p><br /><p>Seeing my sincerity, my teacher agreed to come and stay at my home for one day. We talked about the old school days. His face looked brighter and I felt I was returning to my childhood. I remembered one day when my teacher called me to the blackboard to solve a problem. I tried but I could not do it. My teacher called a girl student to the board and she solved the problem in one minute. I blushed. My teacher said, looking at me:</p><br /><p>“It’s good to know shame. Knowing shame can help change one’s life, you know!”</p><br /><p>“When I grew up and began my life on my own, I always remembered your words, my teacher! I have never flinched before any difficulties or obstacles and built a good life for myself.”</p><br /><p>“Thank you. It makes a teacher so happy to know that his words can stay in his student’s heart!”</p><br /><p>My teacher stayed with me for one day. He left in the afternoon. Before he left, I ventured to ask him:</p><br /><p>“What made you come down here and sell lottery tickets? Why don’t you find another job?”</p><br /><p>He looked at me with his lovely eyes and said in his warm voice:</p><br /><p>“What do you think is suitable? I find selling lottery tickets quite interesting. You see, it is not fake goods; it is not smuggled goods; it does not pollute the environment; it does not do any tricks against men. I like moving from one place to another. Selling lottery tickets is quite suitable for me at this point in my life.”</p><br /><p>Seeing that my teacher had begun to open up to me, I took a bold step and asked him again:</p><br /><p>“But why do you want to sell lottery tickets?”</p><br /><p>“Why do you want to be a director?”</p><br /><p>“Please tell me. If you refuse, I’ll be very unhappy. I think something extraordinary must have happened!”</p><br /><p>“You are so curious, dear! If you really want, I’ll tell you now. It’s a simple story.”</p><br /><p>Following is my teacher’s story:</p><br /><p>When I graduated from university with a diploma in education, it took me three years to begin my teaching job at the junior secondary school. In the 15th year of my job, I asked a ninth grader to come to the blackboard and asked him why he had not done the exercises. This student replied nonchalantly, “I was busy.” I asked him, “You’ve got a two-day weekend, so what are you busy with?”</p><br /><p>“People don’t have the right to meddle with other people’s private lives.”</p><br /><p>My face at that time was so hot, but I tried to contain myself and said:</p><br /><p>“I gree with you about the right to freedom. But this is school and you are a student and I am your teacher, you know!”</p><br /><p>The student growled:</p><br /><p>“You are nothing to me! Do you know who I am?”</p><br /><p>Trying to contain myself, I replied in a firm voice:</p><br /><p>“I don’t care who you are! You are a student here and you are not allowed to be rude to me!”</p><br /><p>“What can you do to me if I am rude? You are not on an equal footing with my dog in my house, so stop criticising me!”</p><br /><p>“If you go on speaking like that to me, you will get a slap on the face, you know!”</p><br /><p>The boy yelled at me that I was a base man. I could not bear it, so I slapped him. He spit at me and went out of the classroom.</p><br /><p>I asked my teacher if he knew what family the boy belonged to. He said “Yes!” and told me that the boy was the son of an influential man in the province. The principal of the school met my teacher and gave him a decision from the provincial Department of Education sacking him because beating students was not allowed.</p><br /><p>My colleagues wouldn’t stop talking about the situation. I was 42 that year. I had a son in first grade and my wife was the head of the accountants’ section at a public agency. Unfortunately, she was also treated coldly by the people around her. Those who were vying with her for the title slung muddy words at her. My family’s income was sharply reduced, making my wife so confused that she did her job badly. The head of her office treated her like a housemaid, so she decided to quit. After that, she sold vegetables in the market.</p><br /><p>I don’t think I was in the wrong, but I landed in a miserable situation. In the face of such an incident, we have to know how to accept it and deal with all that happens on the way, you see!</p><br /><p>For several years, my family lived on what my wife earned and finally we decided to go south. I hoped that it would be easier for me to find a job there. Truthfully, HCM City was a good place to find a job. But you see, they needed young people, not older men like me. Even when I applied to work as a guard in an office, I was refused. I roamed the city for several months hunting for a job, but in vain. At the end of the day, I realised that selling the lottery tickets was quite suitable for me. Nobody competed with me; it was quite a free job to do. In terms of earning potential, it was quite sufficient to keep my family comfortable. I saved for several months and went back home with my wife and son.</p><br /><p>“What school do you think is suitable for your son?”</p><br /><p>“The Teachers Training School,” my teacher said right away.</p><br /><p>“But the teaching profession has done bad things to you. You’d better guide him to study at another school, I think,” I said.</p><br /><p>“My wife said the same thing. But teaching is the most important link in training human beings. A good education breeds a prosperous society, you know! Teaching changes lives. One had better not refuse that noble calling!”</p><br /><p>After that conversation, I intended to help my teacher by offering him an administrative job in our company’s office, but he thanked me and declined. He said he was used to his job and did not want to change it for the rest of his life.</p><br /><p>Finally, I had to say good-bye to my teacher with a heavy feeling in my heart.</p><br /><p><strong>Translated by Manh Chuong</strong> </p><br /><br/><br />My teacher Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/PIVLb0" width="200"/><br/></div>

My teacher

My teacher Illustration by Dao Quoc Huy by Tran Thuc Ha My hometown is in the Central part of the country. After I graduated from universit...

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Kaleidoscope (06-04-2014)

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Kaleidoscope (06-04-2014)<br /><p><strong>by Gia Loc</strong> </p><br /><p>Football fan ditches bride</p><br /><p>As an overenthusiastic fan of the Quang Ninh football Coal team, <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVIvK">Trinh Manh Hung</a> has not missed one match. <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVKDO">Even on Hung’s</a> wedding day – when the match between the Quang Ninh Coal team and <a href="http://bit.ly/Q3Upbw">Hai Phong</a> team at Viet-Nhat Culture House was taking place – he could not put his obsession aside.</p><br /><p>Watching the game, he left his bride alone at the wedding party organised at the bride’s family home.</p><br /><p>Three days before the wedding day, his future bride had warned him: go to the match and I will cancel the party, which is traditionally held to bring the bride to the groom’s house. Vietnamese people often organise two wedding parties at the houses of both bride and groom.</p><br /><p>After three days of begging for her forgiveness, Hung said he was relieved when his future bride agreed to reschedule the wedding ceremony.</p><br /><p>Hearing-impaired perform</p><br /><p>To celebrate <a href="http://bit.ly/ON5Q6H">Earth Hour</a>, 100 hearing-impaired people from the <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjSS">Deaf Community Organisation of HCM City</a> performed the song Khoang Troi Cua Be (<a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjSW">Children’s Dream of World with Happiness and Love</a>) composed by Nguyen Duy Hung. About 1,000 guitarists accompanied them at the <a href="http://bit.ly/1i0IdPc">Crescent Mall in District</a> 7′s Phu My Hung Urban Area on Sunday.</p><br /><p>The event was part of the <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVKDW">Green Talk</a> environmental awareness project implemented by <a href="http://bit.ly/1jHfVLO">UNESCO</a>-CEP from January 5 to May 25. The performance sends a message that people with hearing impairment can feel proud and confident.</p><br /><p>Homeless family gets house</p><br /><p>After seeing a mother and her seven children sleeping on very cold ground, a 28-year-old lecturer at <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVKE2">Gia Lai Vocational School</a> became obsessed with helping them build a house.</p><br /><p>So, <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjT7">Ta Thi Ngoc Diep</a> posted a story about the family on her Facebook page, and received many replies from her friends to help Bunh, the mother.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/PIVIMl">Of the Ja Rai Village’s</a> 76 poor families, Bunh’s family was the poorest, Diep said. Donations were also collected from people in the village, located in <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmmhJ">Chu Pah District in Gia Lai Province</a>. Although small, they had helped bring together people in the community.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1mHVMXL">On February</a> 20, construction began on the house which cost VND47 million (US$2,200), while the cash collection reached VND50 million ($2,380). With the remaining money, Diep will plant trees around Bunh’s house to produce wood for sale.</p><br /><p>Bunh said she was grateful to the teacher, saying that the <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmk9p">Yang God</a> had bestowed goodness on Diep. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Kaleidoscope (06-04-2014) Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

Kaleidoscope (06-04-2014)

Kaleidoscope (06-04-2014) by Gia Loc Football fan ditches bride As an overenthusiastic fan of the Quang Ninh football Coal team, Trinh Manh...

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Steamed rolled red snapper with pineapple and green onion

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Steamed rolled red snapper with pineapple and green onion<br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/PIVHrD"><img alt="1470593-22" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="138" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/PIVHrD" width="99"/> </a> </p><br /><p>with executive sous chef <a href="http://bit.ly/1fJx6tg">Nguyen Thanh Van</a> from <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVIfb">Sofitel Legend Metropole Ha Noi</a> </p><br /><p>This week, let’s yourself be carried away with a taste of red snapper rolled with pineapple and green onion. The dish is brough to you by chef Van. Enjoy!</p><br /><p>Ingredients: serves 1</p><br /><ul><br /><li>600g snapper fish fillet</li><br /><li>100g pineapple</li><br /><li>100g carrot</li><br /><li>50g green onion</li><br /><li>30g ginger fish sauce, pepper to taste</li><br /><li>50g leek, 50g celery, 50g onion, 50g red chilli, 50g fresh mushrooms</li><br /><li>Light soy sauce, clear stock, arrow-root powder to taste</li><br /></ul><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmm14"><img alt="1470593-22a" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="300" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/PIVHrP" width="200"/> </a> </p><br /><p>Method:</p><br /><ul><br /><li>Cut the fish fillet in thin but large slices, marinate with fish sauce and pepper.</li><br /><li>Cut in stick the pineapple, carrot and white part of green onion.</li><br /><li>Cut in julienne all the rest of vegetables.</li><br /><li>Rolled each slice of fish with a piece of pineapple, green onion, ginger and carrot, steam it.</li><br /><li>Make an aromatic sauce by sauteing julienne of vegetables, add soy sauce, a little clear stock, then check seasoning, thicken slightly with arrow root powder.</li><br /><li>Put the aromatic herbal sauce on the plate, arrange rolled fish on it, decorate with ginger, chilli and dill.</li><br /></ul><br /><p>You can sample the dish at Sofitel Legend Metropole Ha Noi, 15 Ngo Quyen St, <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjCn">Hoan Kiem Dist</a>, Ha Noi. Tel: +84 4 3826 6919 ext: 8242.</p><br /><br/><br />Steamed rolled red snapper with pineapple and green onion Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/PIVHrD" width="200"/><br/></div>

Steamed rolled red snapper with pineapple and green onion

Steamed rolled red snapper with pineapple and green onion with executive sous chef Nguyen Thanh Van from Sofitel Legend Metropole Ha Noi ...

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Teed Off (Apr. 6, 2014)

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Teed Off (Apr. 6, 2014)<br /><p><strong>with Robert Bicknell</strong> </p><br /><p>It appears that Tiger Woods will not be in this year’s <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVGUD">Masters Tournament</a> due to surgery on a pinched nerve in his back. What this really means is that he will not have to endure the embarrassment of missing out on another opportunity to win a major.</p><br /><p>I said it 16 months ago – stick a fork in him, he’s done.</p><br /><p>Tiger made a huge series of mistakes, starting with his infidelity, compounded by poor crisis management, poor public relations and, worse of all, changing his swing at a critical time in his life. If there is one thing we can say for certain, it is that Tiger Woods did it to himself – which is sort of fitting as golf is a game which demands each player accept responsibility for his actions.</p><br /><p>Anyone watching Tiger Woods over the years can see that his very violent golf swing would be his undoing. There is simply no way the human body can continue to generate that kind of power and speed without eventually breaking down in a spectacular way. Everything breaks down with time and there is no way around it.</p><br /><p>What’s funny is that we all thought it would be <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVEMA">John Daly</a> with the back problems, but we should have seen it coming with Tiger as well.</p><br /><p>All professional athletes suffer injuries from time to time, that’s a risk we all take. As time goes on, we risk it more than when young because our bodies cannot take the stress as well. Tiger isn’t young anymore either. Knees, back, wrists, fingers…all potential injuries waiting to happen.</p><br /><p>Also, the young guns coming up such as <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVEMC">Adam Scott</a>, Rory McIlroy, <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmlKt">Jason Day</a> to name but a few, are not afraid of Tiger. They respect his accomplishments, but see this as their time to shine and if Tiger is in the way, they will go over him. It’s up to Tiger to remind the kids that he’s still a force to be reckoned with, but I don’t see him in any position to do it.</p><br /><p>Tiger should seriously consider hanging up the spikes and moving on to the second half of his professional life… designing golf courses, becoming a spokesman for Viagra and doing commentary on the <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVGUL">Golf Channel</a>.</p><br /><p>If he’s smart, he’ll have some razor sharp investment guys making even more money for him without him even lifting a club. His future is set already, he just needs to accept the fact that his amazing run is over and do everything he can to pave the way for the next generation.</p><br /><p>Personally, scandal aside, I don’t think Tiger has anything to be ashamed of. He made a hotter run at Nicklaus’s record than anyone living or dead. He set the world on fire during his time and helped revolutionize the game as we know it. He brought excitement to the game and induced a lot of people to take up the game.</p><br /><p>The hottest phrase for a while was: “<a href="http://bit.ly/PIVEMK">I’m Tiger Woods</a>” and almost every junior golfer, regardless of nationality, was dreaming of being Tiger Woods on the 18th tee at Augusta about to close out another major title.</p><br /><p>Unfortunately, Tiger’s career will always have an asterisk and the unspoken question of “what if” surrounding it. What if the scandal never happened? What if Tiger remained healthy? What if he didn’t change his swing?</p><br /><p>There are a lot of questions but only armchair speculation on the answers because we would never know for sure.</p><br /><p>Personally, if managing him, I would have never let him enter a clinic or debase himself. US$100 million divorce settlement would have allowed him to visit his kids whenever he wanted, so that issue was off the table. I would have made him wear black, grow a goatee and turned him into a major league “heel” and surrounded him with sponsors like <a href="http://bit.ly/PIVGUN">Jack Daniels</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjlQ">Harley Davidson</a>, Viagra and Trojan. <a href="http://bit.ly/1jQmjlU">Let Phil Mickelson</a> be the white hat, donut-eating family guy. That would have been the only way to maintain his aura of invincibility and, at that level of professional golf, confidence is everything.</p><br /><p>In the end, he could have continued to win and strike terror into the hearts of his opponents. But, of course, that is just speculation…</p><br /><p>My advice to Tiger – hang it up and go out while still on top. — VNS</p><br /><br/><br />Teed Off (Apr. 6, 2014) Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://ift.tt/1eWmqbm" width="200"/><br/></div>

Teed Off (Apr. 6, 2014)

Teed Off (Apr. 6, 2014) with Robert Bicknell It appears that Tiger Woods will not be in this year’s Masters Tournament due to surgery on a...

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Chelsea grab Euro boost with return to top

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Chelsea grab Euro boost with return to top<br /><div><br /><p>Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at home to Stoke in a timely boost ahead of their do-or-die Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.</p><br /></div><br /><p><img src="http://bit.ly/1hhfAC6"/><br/><br /><em>Chelsea’s midfielder Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the opening goal during the EPL match against Stoke City in London, April 5, 2014. (AFP/Glyn Kirk)</em> </p><br /><p>LONDON: Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at home to Stoke on Saturday in a timely boost ahead of their do-or-die Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.</p><br /><p>Jose Mourinho’s side bounced back from their 3-1 midweek quarter-final first leg loss in Paris to move a point ahead of Liverpool, who will regain top spot if they avoid defeat away to West Ham on Sunday.</p><br /><p>“I think the players played well,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “Normally after a defeat you don’t start confidently but this team today went upwards all the time. After the second goal the game was over.”</p><br /><p>Egypt winger Mohamed Salah marked his first Premier League start by giving Chelsea, who welcome PSG on Tuesday, a 32nd minute lead at Stamford Bridge when he turned in Nemanja Matic’s cut-back.</p><br /><p>Salah then won a penalty after Andy Wilkinson’s poor challenge and although Frank Lampard’s 61st minute spot-kick was saved by Asmir Begovic, the veteran England midfielder followed up to make it 2-0.</p><br /><p>Willian added a third goal with a curling shot in the 72nd minute.</p><br /><p>Manchester City maintained their title challenge with a 4-1 win at home to Southampton that left them two points off the summit and still with two games in hand over both Chelsea and Liverpool at the end of this weekend.</p><br /><p>At Eastlands, Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Saints’ Rickie Lambert both struck from the penalty spot before Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko scored in first-half stoppage-time to make it 3-1 to Manuel Pellegrini’s men.</p><br /><p>However, controversy surrounded Nasri’s goal with David Silva, who played in the France midfielder, offside when he received the ball.</p><br /><p>City substitute Stevan Jovetic added a fourth goal in the 81st minute.</p><br /><p>“I haven’t seen it (City’s second goal) yet but it is the referee (Chris Foy) who decides,” said Pellegrini.</p><br /><p>“I don’t think the difference between the two sides was just one goal.”</p><br /><p>Defeat was made worse for the Saints when Jay Rodriguez, one of their England strikers, went off with a first-half knee injury that put a huge question mark against his chances of being selected in Roy Hodgson’s squad for this June’s World Cup finals in Brazil.</p><br /><p>“I don’t know how Jay Rodriguez is. It’s not looking good,” said Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino, who was furious at the decision to let Nasri’s goal stand.</p><br /><p>“This action from the linesman for the second goal killed the game,” he added.</p><br /><p>Everton and Arsenal, fifth and fourth respectively, clash at Goodison Park on Sunday.</p><br /><p>Juan Mata scored twice as Manchester United moved above Tottenham, who face Sunderland on Monday, and into sixth place with a 4-0 win away to Newcastle.</p><br /><p>Following their impressive 1-1 Champions League draw at home to title-holders Bayern Munich, David Moyes’s side took the lead at St James’ Park courtesy of Mata’s curling 39th minute free-kick.</p><br /><p>The Spain midfielder doubled United’s advantage five minutes after half-time.</p><br /><p>Javier Hernandez then made it 3-0 in the 65th minute after being played in by Japan’s Shinji Kagawa and substitute Adnan Januzaj completed the scoring in stoppage time.</p><br /><p>“Mata was terrific and so were Shinji Kagawa and Darren Fletcher,” said United manager Moyes.</p><br /><p>The Scot, who made eight changes from midweek, added: “We’ve left a few players at home and not played a few players. We are hoping they will be fit for Wednesday night’s game at Bayern Munich.”</p><br /><p>Fulham moved off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win away to Aston Villa.</p><br /><p>The Cottagers remained in the relegation zone but are now just five points shy of safety with five games left.</p><br /><p>Fulham took the lead courtesy of Kieran Richardson’s 22-yard shot in the 61st minute at Villa Park.</p><br /><p>But Villa equalised nine minutes later though striker Grant Holt’s header.</p><br /><p>However, the visitors made it 2-1 four minutes from time courtesy of Hugo Rodallega’s glancing header.</p><br /><p>“With this victory, we are very confident to go on for the rest of the season,” said Felix Magath, the German manager of Fulham.</p><br /><p>Jason Puncheon scored two goals, separated by one from Joe Leddley against his former club, as Crystal Palace moved seven points clear of relegation with a 3-0 win over Cardiff that left the Welsh side in the bottom three.</p><br /><p>West Bromwich Albion went five points clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 victory away to Norwich thanks to Morgan Amalfitano’s 16th minute goal.</p><br /><p>Hull beat Swansea by the same scoreline thanks to George Boyd’s first-half goal at the KC Stadium.</p><br /><p><em>Source AFP</em> </p><br /><br/><br />Chelsea grab Euro boost with return to top Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1hhfAC6" width="200"/><br/></div>

Chelsea grab Euro boost with return to top

Chelsea grab Euro boost with return to top Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at home to Stoke in a timely boo...

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Signal detected in MH370 search “consistent” with black box

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Signal detected in MH370 search “consistent” with black box<br /><p>A signal detected by a Chinese ship searching the <a href="http://bit.ly/Q6qjEt">Indian Ocean</a> for flight MH370 is “consistent” with the type emitted from the aircraft black box, according to the Australian ex-military chief in charge of the hunt.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfBWN"><img alt="1470539-mh370-1" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="168" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1idggnj" width="300"/> </a> </p><br /><p>>><a href="http://bit.ly/1idggnl">“Black box” detector joins MH370 ocean search</a> </p><br /><p>PERTH: A signal detected by a Chinese ship searching the Indian Ocean for flight MH370 is “consistent” with the type emitted from the aircraft black box, according to the Australian ex-military chief in charge of the hunt.</p><br /><p>China’s official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that a black box detector on board the Chinese search ship had picked up a signal at a frequency of 37.5kHz.</p><br /><p>The Underwater Acoustic Beacons on the MH370 flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder both operate at that frequency, a spokesman for <a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfA56">Honeywell Aerospace</a>, the manufacturers of the black boxes on board the missing plane, told AFP.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfA58">Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston</a>, head of coordination in the search, said the reported characteristics of the signal “<a href="http://bit.ly/1idggnp">are consistent with the aircraft black box</a>“.</p><br /><p>A number of white objects were also sighted on the surface about 90 kilometres from the detection area, he said, according to a statement by the <a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfA5b">Joint Agency Coordination Centre</a> (JACC).</p><br /><p>However, he warned: “<a href="http://bit.ly/1idggDF">There is no confirmation at this stage that the signals and the objects are related to the missing aircraft</a>.”</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1dyfQM6">Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott</a> meanwhile said searchers were “<a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfA5d">hopeful but by no means certain</a>” that the signal was related to MH370.</p><br /><p>In a statement Sunday, the JACC reiterated that the signals had not been verified.</p><br /><p>Up to 10 military planes, two civil planes and 13 ships will scour the remote waters on Sunday, almost a month to the day since the plane carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared on a flight from <a href="http://bit.ly/1jVpmrf">Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March</a> 8.</p><br /><p>The hunt will concentrate on about 216,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean around 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) northwest of Perth.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfCd6">The Chinese</a> search ship Haixun 01 picked up the pulse signal at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, Xinhua said in a brief dispatch Saturday.</p><br /><p>Australia has asked China for more information, Houston said, and was considering deploying search assets to the area.</p><br /><p>Chinese officials also warned the signal had not yet been identified.</p><br /><p>“Suspected pulse signal picked up by Haixun 01 has not been identified yet,” the <a href="http://bit.ly/1idgdrq">China Maritime Search and Rescue Center</a> said on a verified microblog.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hujFRT">Australian Defence Minister David Johnston</a> echoed the words of caution.</p><br /><p>“<a href="http://bit.ly/1idggDN">This is not the first time we have had something that has turned out to be very disappointing</a>,” he told ABC television.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfAlu">Australian and British</a> vessels are currently involved in a round-the-clock underwater search hoping to pick up a signal from the black box, but the battery powering those emissions is nearing the end of its roughly 30-day life span.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfAlw">The Ocean Shield</a>, which is carrying a US Navy black box detector, and <a href="http://bit.ly/1fNyBdv">HMS Echo</a>, which has a similar capability, are searching a 240-kilometre track of ocean in hopes of detecting sonic pings from the recorder.</p><br /><p>However, progress is painstaking as vessels must move slowly to improve readings, and officials have acknowledged there is no solid evidence the plane went down in that stretch of sea.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfCdc">Anish Patel</a>, president of US black box beacon manufacturer <a href="http://bit.ly/1idgdrw">Dukane Seacom</a>, said he was “<a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfAly">highly sceptical</a>” about the Chinese report Saturday.</p><br /><p>“I would like to understand why not two signals — there should be a second beacon from either the flight data recorder or the voice recorder. So if the recorders are adjacent or within reasonable proximity… they should have detected possibly two signals,” he told CNN.</p><br /><p>“So let’s get some additional assets in the water so we can corroborate, before we get everyone’s hopes up, before we disappoint these families one more time I think we need to corroborate.”</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfCde">But Charitha Pattiaratchi</a>, a professor of coastal oceanography at the <a href="http://bit.ly/1idggUd">University of Western Australia</a>, said the news was exciting.</p><br /><p>“The 35.7 kHz is a man-made noise. There’s not another noise at that frequency,” he told AFP, adding that this was exactly why black box pingers were set at this frequency.</p><br /><p>“<a href="http://bit.ly/1idgdrE">A whale or a dolphin or rain or an underwater earthquake… they have a completely different frequency</a>.”</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1idggUf">Earlier in Kuala Lumpur</a>, Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia would, in line with international agreements, appoint an independent “<a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfCdk">investigator in charge</a>” to lead an international team to probe what happened to MH370.</p><br /><p>The team will include Australia, China, the <a href="http://bit.ly/1gpGffI">United States</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/1hhfAlE">Britain and France</a>.</p><br /><p>Hishammuddin again declined to provide any detail from Malaysia’s ongoing investigation, however, saying he remained focused on finding the plane and its black box.</p><br /><p>Malaysian authorities believe satellite readings indicate MH370 crashed in the Indian Ocean, far off Australia’s western coastline, after veering dramatically off course.</p><br /><p>But no proof has been found that would indicate a crash site, and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the oceanic search as “<a href="http://bit.ly/1idggUn">the most difficult in human history</a>“.</p><br /><p><em>Source AFP</em> </p><br /><br/><br />Signal detected in MH370 search “consistent” with black box Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1idggnj" width="200"/><br/></div>

Signal detected in MH370 search “consistent” with black box

Signal detected in MH370 search “consistent” with black box A signal detected by a Chinese ship searching the Indian Ocean for flight MH370...

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PM’s speech at second Summit of Mekong River Commission

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>PM’s speech at second Summit of Mekong River Commission<br /><p><i>(CPV) -</i><b><a href="http://bit.ly/1hzMi02">On April</a> 5th, the second <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanH3">Summit of Mekong River Commission</a> (MRC) officially opened in Ho Chi Minh city. Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Tan Dung delivered a speech at the opening of the plenary session of the Summit. <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanH5">The Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper</a> respectfully introduces the full text of his speech:</b> </p><br /><div class='wp-caption aligncenter' style='width: 310px' id='attachment_1470514'><a href="http://bit.ly/QPfPtk"><img alt="PM Nguyen Tan Dung delivering his speech at the event. Photo: VNA" class="attachment-medium aligncenter" height="225" rel="lightbox" src="http://bit.ly/1ibalPE" width="300"/> </a><br /><p class='wp-caption-text'>PM Nguyen Tan Dung delivering his speech at the event. Photo: VNA</p><br /></div><br /><p><i>Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia,</i> </p><br /><p><i>Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos,</i> </p><br /><p><i><a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanH9">Heads of Delegations of the Kingdom of Thailand</a>, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,</i> </p><br /><p><i>Distinguished delegates,</i> </p><br /><p><i>Ladies and Gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>On behalf of the Government and people of Viet Nam, I warmly welcome leaders and representatives of the Member Countries, Dialogue Partners, <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRl9">Development Partners</a> and international organizations to the Second Mekong River Commission Summit.</p><br /><p>Our Meeting is of great significance to the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanHc">Member Countries and to the Mekong</a> cooperation process, as we will jointly review the implementation of the 2010 <a href="http://bit.ly/1peY95W">Hua Hin Declaration</a>, deliberate on opportunities and challenges, and chart out the way forward for the Mekong River Commission (MRC) for the period of 2016 – 2020. We are commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfPtm">Agreement on Mekong Cooperation</a> and the establishment of the Mekong River Commission next year, and this gives our forum today added meanings. Under the theme “<a href="http://bit.ly/1ibam5W">Water, Energy and Food Security in the context of climate change for the Mekong River Basin</a>“, our Summit represents part of the international community’s joint efforts to promote water, energy and food security, particularly as we are celebrating the 2014 World Water Day – <i>Water and Energy</i>.</p><br /><p>I applaud the Secretariat for its excellent job in helping ensure the success of the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanHh">International Conference</a> under the theme: “Cooperation for Water, Energy and Food Security in trans-boundary Basins under changing climate.” Over 300 participants with a number of proposals and initiatives floated out indicated the significant interest of the international community as well as the great potential for cooperation in sustainable use and development of trans-boundary rivers, including the Mekong River.</p><br /><p><i>Ladies and gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>Never before has the Mekong River Basin been confronted with so many challenges. There has been a mounting pressure on water and related resources and on the ecosystems of the Mekong River Basin as a result of increasing demand for natural resources for socio- economic activities, including energy and food.</p><br /><p>The Mekong River has become one of the five largest riversin the world with most serious flow reduction. The annual average flow of the <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRlc">Mekong River at Chieng Sen</a>, the gateway to the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibam62">Lower Mekong Basin</a>, has been reduced by 10% within the past 30 years. <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRBs">In Vientiane</a>, Laos, the Mekong River has dried out to the point the people can walk across the river in the dry season. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the once calm <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibam64">Chao Phraya River</a> inflicted huge floods of a national disaster level for months in 2011. <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfPtu">In the Mekong River Delta of Viet Nam</a>, salinity intrusion happened for the first time in the areas of <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibam66">Tan Chau and Chau Doc of An Giang Province</a>. Such impacts have become ever more severe and urgent in the face of adverse impacts of climate change hitting riparian countries. In a worst-case climate scenario, sea level will rise up to one meter in Viet Nam in the next 100 years, submerging 40% of the Mekong River Delta and directly affecting 10% of the Vietnamese population.</p><br /><p>To address such challenges, national efforts are not enough. We need to strengthen regional cooperation, particularly among the riparian countries, both upper and lower, through multilateral and sub-regional mechanisms such as the MRC.</p><br /><p><i>Ladies and gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>Nearly 20 years since its inception, the MRC has been growing on the basis of the 1995 <a href="http://bit.ly/1h0QTtz">Mekong Agreement</a> with important achievements, including the establishment of fundamental principles and strategic vision to ensure equitable and reasonable use of water resources in the Mekong River Basin. We are encouraged by the positive outcomes in the implementation of the 2010 Hua Hin Declaration, the 2011-2015 <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanXy">Strategic Plan of the MRC and the Basin Development Strategy</a> on the basis of <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanXA">Integrated Water Resources Management</a> (IWRM). Thanks to the Members’ efforts, 78 out of the 130 activities under the regional <a href="http://bit.ly/1fTOHht">Action Plan</a> have been rolled out with over 30% completed.</p><br /><p>Nevertheless, as strongly echoed at the Pre-Summit International Conference, we may and should redouble efforts to better capitalize on cooperation opportunities and rise above these acute challenges. With that, leaders of the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibam6a">MRC Member Countries</a> have considered the adoption of the <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRRW">Ho Chi Minh City Declaration</a> at this Summit to reaffirm the Hua Hin commitments and lay down the way forward for the MRC’s development in the upcoming crucial period.</p><br /><p><i>Ladies and gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>As a responsible Member and most downstream Mekong River country, Viet Nam always wishes to work with the other riparian countries for the sustainable development of the region. To strengthen the role of the MRC in our common interests, I propose that we place greater emphasis on the followings:</p><br /><p><b>First,</b> continue to fully and effectively implement the 1995 Mekong Agreement as well as the procedures and guidelines of the MRC on the equitable and reasonable use of water resources, including the Procedures for Notification, <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanXE">Prior Consultation</a>, and Agreement (<a href="http://bit.ly/QPfPJU">PNPCA</a>) to support sound decision-making on proposed water resources development projects in the Mekong River Basin.</p><br /><p><b>Second,</b> update the progress of and intensify the implementation of the IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy through national and regional action plans. In the development of the MRC’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, consider adopting a new approach of water, energy and food nexus with a long-term, inter-disciplinary and multi-sectoral vision.</p><br /><p><b>Third,</b> step up the MRC’s research and forecast activities, with focus on and highest priority given to the completion of the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanXG">MRC Council Study</a> on the sustainable management and development of the Mekong River, including the impacts of mainstream hydropower projects.</p><br /><p><b>Fourth,</b> further strengthen the MRC’s monitoring and coordination of Member Countries’ commitments to cooperation, management, utilization and protection of the Mekong River for the sustainable development of the region. It is also necessary to continue consolidating the regional and international legal frameworks to promote the equitable and reasonable utilization and sustainable development of water resources.</p><br /><p><b>Fifth,</b> further expand cooperation between the MRC and its Dialogue Partners as well as encouraging the participation of and consultation among countries within and outside the region for the sustainable development of the basin.</p><br /><p>Viet Nam joins the other <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRS2">MRC Members</a> in commending the two <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfPJY">Dialogue Partners of China and Myanmar</a> for the cooperation and sharing of related information and experience. We also praise the development partners for their interest, support and assistance, and look forward to their continued financial and technical assistance toward realizing the priority areas of actions of the MRC in the upcoming period.</p><br /><p><i>Ladies and gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>As a nation, Viet Nam’s foundation and development process has always been associated with water rice civilization. The Mekong River is, therefore, essential to our socio-economic development, and regional food security is also at stake. <a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRS5">The Mekong Delta of Viet Nam</a>, an area of over 40,000 km², is home to nearly 20 million people. Every year, the delta contributes some 27% of the GDP, 90% the rice export and approximately 60% of the sea-food export of Viet Nam. Nevertheless, the region has found itself impacted by climate change and Mekong mainstream projects and millions of local inhabitants found their livelihood significantly affected.</p><br /><p>In this context, the Vietnamese Government has been exerting enormous efforts to ensure stable and sustainable development of the Mekong Delta as well as to address the challenges of water security and climate change. We have adopted the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibanXM">National Target Program to Respond to Climate Change</a>, the <a href="http://bit.ly/NIJ0Mj">National Strategy</a> on water resources towards 2020 and specific action plans. In addition, the Vietnamese Government has proactively conducted the Study on the impacts of mainstream hydropower development on the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam. We welcome commitments from the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibammu">Laos and Cambodian Governments</a> to participating in this Study, and look forward to receiving support and assistance from development partners and donors to complete this project by the end of 2015 as scheduled.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/Q7uLTe">The Vietnamese Government</a> has cleared internal procedures for to join the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. This is part of our efforts to strengthen regional and international legal frameworks on the management, utilization and development of water resources at international rivers in a sustainable, equitable and reasonable manner.</p><br /><p><i>Ladies and gentlemen,</i> </p><br /><p>With all twists and turns of history, the Mekong River remains a bridge of friendship and cooperation spanning the riparian countries. Today, in addition to ensuring livelihoods of more than 60 million people in the basin, the Mekong River offers vast potentials for cultural exchanges, tourism and economic cooperation for the regional countries.</p><br /><p>I am confident that through exchanges and dialogue “<a href="http://bit.ly/QPfRSf">in the spirit of Mekong Cooperation</a>,” we will effectively address the challenges related to water resources, energy and food security while securing the legitimate interests of the people in the Mekong River Basin in terms of economic development, social security and environmental protection. As such, the Mekong River will remain forever a shared valuable asset of the present and future generations.</p><br /><p>With that, may I declare open the <a href="http://bit.ly/1ibaoe4">Second Summit Mekong River Commission</a>.</p><br /><p><a href="http://bit.ly/QPfQ0o">May the Summit</a> be a great success!</p><br /><p>May you all be of good health and happiness!</p><br /><p>Thank you./.</p><br /><br/><br />PM’s speech at second Summit of Mekong River Commission Related image(s)<br/><br /><img height="200" src="http://bit.ly/1ibalPE" width="200"/><br/></div>

PM’s speech at second Summit of Mekong River Commission

PM’s speech at second Summit of Mekong River Commission (CPV) - On April 5th, the second Summit of Mekong River Commission (MRC) officiall...

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