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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

HCMC targets Crossfire in online games crackdown

HCMC targets Crossfire in online games crackdown Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities on Tuesday ordered the closure of a role-playing game released by a company under the Ministry of Information and Communication.

The move is part of the city's crackdown on online games.

At a meeting with Internet service providers, the City’s Department of Information and Communications asked them to stop customers from signing on to the Dot kich (Crossfire) game developed by VTC Intercom and to get rid of digital content that contain illicit images from the game.

The providers, including FPT and SCTV, were required to act right away and report to the department by September 1. If they fail to do so, they will be punished, the department said.

Released in 2008 by VTC Intercom, which is under the Ministry of Information and Communication, Crossfire has a lot of violent content with characters killing others with knives, guns and grenades, it said.

The department has sent all violent images taken from Crossfire to authorities in 24 districts, requesting them to ask local Internet shops to stop providing the game’s content with such images.

A ten-day investigation into the conduct of VTC’s branch in HCMC over a year starting August 20, 2009 was also launched Monday.

Asked why the department had targeted Crossfire first, Le Manh Ha, director of the department, said previously they had met with three companies that had released games with a lot of shooting, of which VTC’s was the most violent.

The company’s representatives have also come to the meeting with no goodwill and intention of cooperating with the department, the director said.

Last week the department had proposed to the Ministry of Information and Communications that the provision of online games be cut from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. instead of instituting online curfews at Internet cafes.

The response came after the ministry ordered the suspension of internet service to all internet cafes nationwide from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from this September 1.

The department argued that there was no legal basis for a government body to order the suspension of internet service to internet shops after their official business hours, as not all Internet shops have broken the law.

In the meantime, FPT Online – subsidiary of the leading information technology firm FPT, on Monday committed it will not import and release games involving shooting with guns if governmental agencies asked them to do so.

FPT Online will also close the Dac Nhiem Anh Hung (Special Force) game from next April onwards, it said.

HCMC targets Crossfire in online games crackdown

The move is part of the city's crackdown on online games.

The providers, including FPT and SCTV, were required to act right away and report to the department by September 1. If they fail to do so, they will be punished, the department said.

The department has sent all violent images taken from Crossfire to authorities in 24 districts, requesting them to ask local Internet shops to stop providing the game’s content with such images.

A ten-day investigation into the conduct of VTC’s branch in HCMC over a year starting August 20, 2009 was also launched Monday.

The company’s representatives have also come to the meeting with no goodwill and intention of cooperating with the department, the director said.

The response came after the ministry ordered the suspension of internet service to all internet cafes nationwide from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from this September 1.

FPT Online will also close the Dac Nhiem Anh Hung (Special Force) game from next April onwards, it said.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

200,000 more pigs to get blue-ear shots

HA NOI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Animal Health Department will administer over 200,000 doses of Chinese-made vaccines against blue-ear disease later this month, said Van Dang Ky, head of the department's epidemiological service.

Pigs in high-risk regions in the south would be prioritised for vaccination, Ky said.

If the vaccines prove safe and effective, they would be put into wider use, he added.

Department inspectors visited Guangdong, China, where the vaccine has seen success in preventing the spread of the disease in several southern Chinese provinces.

This was the fifth vaccine against blue-ear disease to be piloted in Viet Nam, Ky noted, and it was expected to show greater effectiveness.

The disease has been largely kept out of HCM City so far, thanks to strict control of transportation and slaughter of sick pigs.

Nguyen Phuoc Trung, deputy director of HCM City's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, warned, however, that the disease could still break out following the recently culling of swine belonging to 22 households in District 12. The city has offered financial support of VND25,000 per kg of live pigs to 11 households.

Phan Xuan Thao, head of the HCM City Animal Health Department, said blue-ear disease had mostly struck small-household farms with inadequate facilities to ensure sanitation.

The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to donate 25,000 litres of disinfectant to the southern provinces of Soc Trang, Tien Giang and Long An to help halt the spread of the disease.

Blue-ear disease has been reported in 27 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide, mostly in the south. Figures from the Department of Animal Health showed that 56,810 pigs had contracted the disease and that 27,000 pigs had been culled.

Pigs raised using industrial methods were safe, and consumers did not need to avoid pork products, said Thao. — VNS

Friday, August 27, 2010

Ministry tightens up on road regulations

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) is determined to tighten the enforcement of traffic violations as Traffic Safety Month and Hanoi's millennium celebrations approach.

The ministry released data showing a decrease in both the number of accidents as well as the numbers of deaths and injuries in the first six months of the year.

It reported 6,559 accidents, 18 less than the same period last year, while traffic fatalities totaled 5,610, a 4 percent drop.

However, the department said illegal motorbike racing and other violations causing traffic congestion and accidents has worsened in Hanoi and HCM City.

In the six-month period, the Traffic Police Department and the municipal security authorities stopped and punished 455,000 violators with total fines of VND70 billion ($3.8 million).

Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung asked the National Traffic Safety Committee in collaboration with Traffic Safety Department to establish interdisciplinary delegations in localities.

Nguyen Nhat Huy, head of the Hanoi municipal Transport Department's Urban Management Office said they had been rushing to implement solutions to ensure traffic safety during the one-month long campaign planned for next month, ahead of the anniversary.

"We will strictly punish those caught speeding, motorbike racing, drink driving and driving without helmets," Huy said.

He said authorities will review parking sites on pavements to abolish illegal parking that caused traffic jams.

In the coming time, the department will define streets forbidden from parking and invest in some parking sites in Tran Nhat Duat and Tran Quang Khai streets.

He added that it will also strengthen inspections of taxis, buses and trucks in the capital and stop their operation if they do not meet traffic safety requirements.

"We will construct traffic control posts at key traffic sites in the city which have policemen on duty 24 hours a day," he said.

He said camera systems will also be installed to supervise traffic at key routes. The department wants to ensure smooth traffic flows along notoriously bad routes, including Nguyen Trai-Tay Son-Nguyen Luong Bang-Ton Duc Thang, Giai Phong-Le Duan, Le Van Luong-Lang Ha-Giang Vo, Cau Giay-Kim Ma-Nguyen Thai Hoc.

To ease traffic congestion on belt roads, the department would segregate lanes.

Parking sites would also be arranged at Ly Thai To street, Ba Dinh Square and My Dinh National Stadium which will all host activities celebrating the anniversary.

"Bus services will be improved and special routes will operate for tourists during the event," he said.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Ministry tightens up on road hoons

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) is determined to tighten the enforcement of traffic violations as Traffic Safety Month and Hanoi's millennium celebrations approach.

The ministry released data showing a decrease in both the number of accidents as well as the numbers of deaths and injuries in the first six months of the year.

It reported 6,559 accidents, 18 less than the same period last year, while traffic fatalities totalled 5,610, a 4 percent drop.

However, the department said illegal motorbike racing and other violations causing traffic congestion and accidents has worsened in Hanoi and HCM City.

In the six-month period, the Traffic Police Department and the municipal security authorities stopped and punished 455,000 violators with total fines of 70 billion VND (3.8 million USD).