VietNam Society

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Upcoming events

* October 22-24 (Friday-Sunday): Japan Film Week will be held in the coastal resort town of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province. Eight films - “Happy Flight”, “Rashomon”, “Tony Takitani”, “Kamikaze Girls”, “Sansho the Bailiff”, “5 Centimeters per Second” (cartoon), “Yunagi City, Sakura Country” and “Memories of Tomorrow” will be screened. Free tickets can be obtained at 10 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Nha Trang.

* October 22-28 (Friday-Thursday): EuroCham co-hosted Breakfast talk: Is it the dawn of a currency war? – organized by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (CCIFV) and the French – Vietnamese Center for Management Education (CFVG) – will take place in Hanoi and in HCMC. Speakers: Michael Troege, doctor of Applied Microeconomics, Professor at ESCP Europe and Joel Metais, doctor in Science of Economics, Professor at Paris Dauphine University.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on October 22 at L’ Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi and on October 28 at Eurocenter, 49 Mac Dinh Chi Street, District 1, HCMC. Fee: VND250,000 for members and VND400,000 for non-members. Register with CCIFV by email to catherine.namhee@ccifv. org.

* October 25 (Monday): The world-renowned percussion group “Tambuco” from Mexico will perform with the Vietnamese percussions troupe “Fireworks” at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, 77 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi. Admission is free.

* October 25-26 (Monday-Tuesday): Australian film director Phillip Noyce will meet outstanding theatrical students, film directors and scriptwriters in Ho Chi Minh City. The director will share his experiences through the making of such films as “The Quiet American” (2002) and “Salt”, which was released in North America in July of this year.

* October 27 (Wednesday): Toyota Classics concert will be held at the Hanoi Opera House, featuring Orchestra Citta di Firenze from Italy under the baton of Lorenzo Castriota Skanderbeg. Tickets cost VND800,000, VND600,000 and VND300,000. Tickets are available at the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street, (04) 3 933 0113/4, or Toyota office – Hanoi Branch, 8th Floor, Viglacera Towel, 1 Thang Long Avenue, Tu Liem District. Contact: 0126 218 2680 or (04) 3 553 6885.

* October 27 (Wednesday): The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) will host its monthly “Young Professionals Palooza Party” from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Orientica Restaurant at Hotel Equatorial, 242 Tran Binh Trong Street, District 5, HCMC. Entry fee: VND100,000 for members and non-members.

Upcoming events

Driver held for role in deadly bus accident

Driver held for role in deadly bus accident Police in the central province of Ha Tinh have arrested the driver of a bus that was swept away in floods on Monday, leaving 15 people dead and another five missing, VnExpress reported.

It quoted Nguyen Thanh Bao, Chief of Ha Tinh Traffic Police Division, as saying that several minutes before the accident, the bus sped past a check station in Hong Linh Town. The station was set up to stop vehicles from going through the flooded section of the National Highway No.1.

Police say that Dinh Van Luong was the main driver, but as he was sick that day, his subordinate Tran Van Truong took over the driving.

Luong died in the accident, while Truong managed to get out of the bus along with 17 other passengers as it was swept to the La River.

Truong is being held pending a police investigation of the accident.

The bus, which was en route from Dak Nong to Nam Dinh provinces, was recovered Thursday along with ten bodies. Another five were found washed upon the shore or floating in nearby waters.

Tran Van Long, Deputy Chief of the Nghi Xuan District police told the news website that the accident was brought on by the loss of road markers.

WIthout the markers, drivers unfamiliar with the road could easily get lost and fall into the river, which runs alongside the road, according to Long.

In related news, the Central Committee for Storm and Flood Control reported that as of Friday, at least 77 people have been killed and five remain missing in floods triggered by heavy rains in the central region last week.

Russian Academy of Sciences opens branch in VN

The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) on October 23 opened a branch in the campus of Binh Duong University located in the Vietnamese southern province of the same name.

The sub-institute is expected to open up new opportunities for Binh Duong and other provinces in the region in training high-quality human resources in science-technology.

Earlier, Doctor of Science Cao Van Phuong, who is also rector of Binh Duong University , was honoured as an academician of the RSA for his great contributions to bolstering traditional friendship between the two nations.

He was also awarded with noble Keldysh Golden Medal by the RAS for his achievements in mathematics and mechanics.

Establish in 1991 with 12 centres and 520 academicians, 30 of them are foreigners, the RAS functions in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Academy Charter. Its principal aim consists in organization and performance of fundamental researches for the purpose of obtaining further knowledge of the natural, social and human development principles that promote technological, economic, social and cultural development in Russia.

Rescuers recover 15 bodies of bus passengers

Rescuers on Friday found the body of the 15th passenger who drowned when his bus was swept away by flood waters in the central province of Ha Tinh, leaving 20 people missing Monday.

The body of 19-year-old Pham Van Tuyen was brought to his hometown for burial.

Tran Thi Mung, Tuyen’s mother, was on the same bus but she managed to get out of the bus and swam ashore with the help of local residents.

Tuyen could not make it and was swept away by strong currents from the flooded Lam River.

Of the 15 bodies recovered, 10 were found inside the bus after rescuers pulled it ashore on Thursday.

On Monday the vehicle that had been carrying 38 people was swept away by strong currents at the foot of a bridge in Nghi Xuan District.

Local authorities said 18 people managed to get out by breaking the front windows and swam ashore, some by clinging to power poles.

The public transport bus was traveling from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong to the northern Nam Dinh Province when it was swept away.

The remaining five passengers are presumed dead, police said, though the search for them has not been called off yet.

Rain-triggered floods have claimed 76 lives, including the 15 passengers on the bus in Ha Tinh, and left six still missing.

About 270,000 homes and 56,000 hectares of crops were inundated in the region, the Central Committee for Flood Prevention and Control said.

Highway dubbed a ‘death trap'

A roundabout on Highway 5 which links Ha Noi with Hai Phong, two biggest cities in the north. Risks of traffic accidents are high on this road. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — Highway No 5 connecting Hai Phong Port and Ha Noi has been dubbed a death trap following a spate of traffic accidents over the last two years.

In the first half of this year, 47 people were killed and 27 injured in 59 traffic accidents on the highway. In the same period last year, there were 48 accidents, 45 deaths and 20 injuries, according to the Nga Ba Hang Traffic Control Station under Hai Duong Police.

Lieutenant colonel Pham Van Luu, head of the Nga Ba Hang Traffic Control Station, said every year, hundreds of people died or were injured on the road. About 80 per cent involved lorries and motorbike drivers who were speeding or driving in the wrong lane.

He said there were four major hot spots where most of the accidents happened.

"Vehicles are allowed to travel at a maximum speed of 80km per hour, but the road quality is not good enough for them to drive that fast. If lorries travel at that speed they can easily have an accident," Luu said.

Furthermore, he said lorries often dropped gravel and building materials on the road, making driving even more hazardous.

He also said vendors had encroached on the sides of the road, making it too narrow for heavy traffic.

"Half of the highway's length has been encroached on by smallholders, especially in the territories of Hung Yen and Hai Duong Provinces and Hai Phong City," Luu said.

He also said residents had extended their homes onto the edges of the highway.

"At first the highway width was 15 metres, which met the standards of the Viet Nam Road Administration. But now it is just seven metres for much of its length," he said.

Local residents have also made gaps in the central reservation barrier so that they can cross the road – another major cause of accidents, he said.

He added that because of the poor condition of the road it was downgraded 12 years after opening to a minor highway.

Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, deputy director of Road Management and Repair Company No 240, said in 2008 the company invested hundreds of billion dong erecting iron barriers along the central reservation, but that local residents were continuing to cross the road where they shouldn't.

He said 30 of the firms' workers were on round-the-clock standby to repair the barrier when pedestrians break through.

Cuong said local authorities should explain to residents why they should only cross the road at designated areas.

He also said local authorities should impose stricter fines on those that damaged the central barrier.

Meanwhile, Quach Dac Giao, head of Traffic Police Team No 1 at Hung Yen Police, said officers had stepped up patrols along the road and had begun to photograph those breaking road rules or who were caught destroying the central reservation.

"The photographs will be sent to schools or offices where they study or work," he said.

Students and employees in the province have signed a pledge not to damage the central barrier, he added.

On June 28, four people were killed and two injured in a lorry crash on the highway. The lorry driver was speeding.— VNS

Sterilisation begins in flood-hit areas to avoid health risks

HA NOI — Authorities and health clinics in flood-hit areas have been ordered to promptly deal with water pollution and other health threats to enable residents to regain their lifestyles.

Coaches and buses have also been called in to transport passengers in sections of the North-South railway that have been inundated or swept away.

Central region authorities were asked by the Viet Nam Environment Administration to sterilise public places, such as hospitals, health clinics and schools, with sprays to kill mosquitoes and prevent post-flood diseases.

They were also told to strengthen food hygiene and safety inspections in problem areas now that further threats from Storm Megi are unlikely.

Donations for flood victims can be transferred to Viet Nam News via account numbers 001.1.37.2310047 for US dollars and 001.1.00.2310028 for Vietnamese dong at the Vietcombank. All the money will be transferred to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and used to support flood victims.

The administration also asked coastal provinces and cities to clean up beaches, river mouths, and repair landslides.

In turn, flood-hit residents have been instructed to collect rubbish, bury dead cattle and poultry far from water sources and sterilise their wells and breeding facilities as soon as the flood retreats.

The Environmental Protection Fund has provided VND2.1 billion (US$107,100) to help clean up Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

The latest report from the National Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention and Control shows that flooding in the central region has left 76 people dead, six missing and 42 injured.

More than 230 communes were still submerged and 90 low-lying communes isolated. Rescue teams have managed to supply food and clean water to all affected areas.

Most flooded roads have now been cleared and re-opened for vehicles.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro Meteorological Forecast Centre, said Storm Megi was not likely to cause any further harm to Viet Nam and people should therefore concentrate on overcoming the consequences of the floods.

The storm is forecast to move north at a speed of between five and 10kph and be over China's Guangdong Province for the next 48 to 72 hours.

About VND11 billion ($561,000), plus clothing, foodstuffs and medical supplies have been donated to support flood victims in Nghe An Province, where houses, livestock and crops worth more than VND1.7 trillion ($86.7 million) were swept away by floods.

Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina Viet Nam donated 21,000 cartons of milk worth more than VND4 billion (US$205,100) to flood victims in the provinces of Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue. — VNS

VietNam Society

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Upcoming events

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