Vietnam Deel 2

Two children drown in southern Vietnamese province over babysitter negligence

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Children learn swimming in Vietnam. Photo: Truong Giang / Tuoi Tre


Two little children drowned in a pond in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong while their babysitter was doing house chores on Friday.

According to preliminary information, N.T.G, a 46-year-old woman from the southernmost province of Ca Mau and living in Binh Duong’s Ben Cat Town, babysat her grandchild .

H.M., who was born in Ca Mau in 2018, and N.T.T.V., an acquaintance’s child at the same age as M., from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

After doing some house chores, G. found out that the two children had gone missing.

She and some neighbors searched for the babies everywhere to no avail.

It was until people reached a nearby pond that they found the babies motionless in the water.

Despite emergency treatment at a hospital, the two children died.

The two families already took the bodies of the babies to their hometowns for funeral rituals.

According to the Health Environment Management Agency under the Ministry of Health, a research by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2017 showed that an average of over 7,000 children drowned each year in Vietnam, accounting for 22.6 percent of injuries and accidents, behind the road crash death rate of 26.7 percent.



Bron: Two children drown in southern Vietnamese province over babysitter negligence


Reden om dit artikel te plaatsen is de laatste alinea.Tot op heden werden altijd cijfers genoemd van rond de 3500 verdrinkingsgevallen per jaar. Nu zijn het al 7000 kinderen. Wat is dan wel niet het aantal incl.. volwassenen?
10.000???
15.000???

Een snelle vraag aan één groep van Minh’s leerlingen leerde dat slechts twee van de zes kunnen zwemmen. Eentje (de knutselaar) gaf aan “een heel klein beetje” maar die tel ik gewoon als niet. Dat “beetje” kan hij vast niet automatisch in de praktijk brengen als hij in het water valt.

Ook voor dit probleem zijn ongetwijfeld, net als voor karaoke, massa’s plannen in de maak. Maar hoe was het gezegde ook al weer? De weg naar de hel is geplaveid met goede voornemens. En hoe het hier met plaveisel gaat toont Vietnam Deel 2 O-)

Op mijn plannen voor een zwembad is in ieder geval nooit enige reactie gekomen. Zegt alles. Complete desinteresse. Zie ook de laatste zin van Vietnam Deel 2
 
Deliveries coming out of our ears

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Thousand-year-old egg (actually only 14 days old)


When I was growing up in Canada, we had a large contingent of street vendors -- one each for eggs, bread, milk, cheese, household mops and brushes (The Fuller Brush man!), fresh meats and cold cuts, shoe repairs, and even a knife-sharpening man. I can still hear that knife-sharpener announcing his arrival on our block, jingling a bell whilst pulling his cart down the street.

Those vendors knew every household and which items each family preferred, truly great times for a little kid. Just about the only commercial activities seen in those neighbourhoods nowadays are the courier services and Post Office that roar around the streets in their delivery vans. Those street merchants were gradually eliminated, replaced by supermarket chains, swallowed up by mega-corporations, or supplanted by an Internet website.

Hardly the hub of human interaction it once was, is it?

Here in Vietnam, it’s another story, a heavenly blast from the past. Many tasks are still done using traditional methods with independent dealers zipping around town, products in tow, shuffling in and out of businesses all day.

The neighbourhood beer joint has an endless stream of delivery people. Those of us privileged enough to get prime real estate at the 'Regulars Table' in the kitchen get a first-hand view of all the goings-on, plus dibs on any interesting grub that’s cooked up. Despite my primitive Vietnamese language skills, I’m valued as the token White Guy, purveyor of entertainment and foreign trivia for the locals.

One day while knocking back a cold one, it suddenly dawned on me that there is a hell of a lot of traffic in and out the place, so I started to take notes.

The chips sales guy (the crunchy kind known as crisps in the UK and Australia, not the deep fried variety referred to as chips) and others pop in and out delivering eggs, beer, milk, cigarettes, household cleaning supplies, napkins and toilet paper, large, circular rice sheets adorned with sesame seeds ready to be grilled, big bags of ice, then soft and energy drinks, which are handled by different delivery people (no idea why).

We can tally up no less than eleven vendors without even working up a sweat.

Add to that people going to the bathroom, serving and cooking staff, those outside taking a phone call on the quiet (“I’ll be home in 10 minutes, promise!”), and you’ve got the equivalent of Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on a busy holiday weekend.

Soy milk also has two vendors -- one that delivers cartons of the plain version, and another stationed outside with the turbocharged version 'sua duu nanh,' made with peanuts and pandan leaves and served warm from a pot. I’m oblivious as to why someone with soy milk is parked outside a beer parlor, since the two seem mutually exclusive. Can you imagine anything more icky than a warm soy milk after a bunch of beers?

Then comes the thousand-year-old egg vendor. The person sells eggs black all the way through featuring marbled swirls of brown and yellow, coated with crumbs and fermented for a couple of weeks, either outside in the sun or next to the warm air expelled by the beer fridge motor, as if we needed another thing to clutter up the kitchen.

Those eggs -- usually the duck variety -- are smooth as silk, rich, delicious with teeny-weeny dried shrimp, red chilis, and pickled spring onions on top, all washed down with a cold beer of course.

A couple of stinky items also have dedicated delivery people: the sun-dried squid is so pungent that the aroma fills up the entire bar in seconds when being warmed up in the microwave.

That makes me wonder what the deliveryman smells like at the end of the day:
“Honey, I’m home!”
“I know, there’s a tail wind so I could smell you coming down the street.”

Then comes the clear local rice wine which is transferred by the deliveryman from a large container into 500-milliliter bottles for drinking on the go. That potion emits a wretched manure-like stench -- little wonder everyone who drinks it looks like they’re one step from the next world.

'Cha lua' rolls of pork sausage (eaten with pepper and raw garlic) are always on hand, managed by a lady stationed across the street and her partner in crime -- a 'banh mi' vendor parked on the sidewalk with a large, brown bamboo basket. 'Cha lua' and 'banh mi' go together like cookies and milk, so it’s clever marketing to have the duo side by side.

That’s 18 separate vendors and their wares, and no doubt there are some that I’m not aware of. Goods are schlepped in, shelves stocked, invoices paid, all amid the din of customers hollering out orders and whooping it up.

Customers carry on drinking and eating unfazed -- we lean to the side like a bobsled team to let the vendor and goods squeeze past, crouching so another can place his goods high on the shelf. When the beer deliveryman shows up, the entire table has to stand so he can trudge through the clutter with five boxes of beer on his back.

Or maybe we stand at attention to salute the arrival of the golden nectar? I just follow the crowd, content that he delivers faster than we can drink.

After that enlightening experience, I couldn’t wait to hike over to my favourite coffee shop to see if the same kerfuffle of vendors and products was the flavour of the day.

I’d never taken particular notice of the hubbub, but there is also an endless flow of delivery people, so due to every square centimeter of the shop being utilized, customers are continuously asked to shift over, lift up benches, move stools, open cupboards, and stand up to let them squeeze by.

I was only able to identify 10 dealers, but that coffee shop is the size of a shoe box, so they can create quite a log jam, especially if several turn up simultaneously.

First up is the yogurt sold in those cute little jars found in most cafés. You can hear the clinking of the steel spoons inside the glass jars around the café as people try to scrape off the last drop.


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Yogurt man and cute little jars


The milk and energy drink guys are the same ones that service the beer joint, but the coffee guy is obviously different since the bar has only yucky '3 in 1' packets usually purchased by desperate hotel guests.

The coffee guy in the café delivers interesting unmarked packages of local robusta. Never mind the lack of brand details, sometimes ignorance truly is bliss, and the coffee is tasty.

This one could be a red herring: there is a laundry guy who frequents the café, armed with freshly washed clothes folded and wrapped in cellophane and plastic. Since the café has no linen accessories (nor any paper napkins for that matter, just a few dirty old cloths) he may not be there on official business, just popping in for a quick drink during his rounds.

Then come the food vendors, the 'banh mi' lady down the street making several trips with sandwiches and 'xiu mai' meatballs bathed in chili sauce with bread on the side. You can hear the hissing sounds people make around the room as they try to tone down the spicy chili sauce that comes with the 'xiu mai.' The soup people come from all directions delicately balancing their wares -- 'mi Quang' from the next block, then 'bun bo' and 'bun rieu cua' from the stall around the corner.

The brigade of lottery ladies, who usually ignore me when we bump into each other on the street, come in grinning from ear to ear as they move between the tables and stools, eager to flog their tickets.

The coffee shop makes 'sua dau nanh' from scratch, so the soy milk, peanuts, and pandan leaves are delivered in one load, carefully packaged separately.

And the last shipment is arguably the most important of all: a delivery guy with a load of clean burning biomass contraptions reminiscent of thick, blackened, charcoal honeycombs the diameter of a dinner plate, which are tossed in a modified old can and used to heat water for drinks.


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Old can with biomass heating fuel


In just two small businesses, we have a whopping twenty-eight delivery people and dealers, not taking into account that multiple soup and lottery people provide similar products. What a joy to behold!

Let’s hope this style of business lasts a very long time in Vietnam. It may be a bit cluttered but it sure is entertaining.



Bron: Deliveries coming out of our ears


Rick Ellis, de auteur, kan de couleur locale vaak heel goed overbrengen. Zoals overduidelijk in dit artikel. Jawel, het is lang maar het tekent echt de sfeer en hoe het er hier aan toe gaat.

De “cute little yoghurt jars “ zijn ongetwijfeld de kleine potjes, waar vroeger in NL de Bulgaarse yoghurt in zat. “Vroeger” omdat ik met googlen nauwelijks een foto kon vinden.

Hier nog moeiteloos te koop. Minh maakt hierin haar eigen yoghurt.

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Beauty from north-central province crowned Miss Vietnam 2020

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Contestants congratulate newly-crowned Miss Vietnam Do Thi Ha (center) during the closing part of the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant’s final in Ho Chi Minh City, November 20, 2020.


Do Thi Ha, a 19-year-old contestant from the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, was crowned Miss Vietnam 2020 on Friday night.

The final night of the beauty pageant was organized at Phu Tho Stadium in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City. It was broadcast live on national TV channel VTV3 and relayed on 14 other broadcasters and social media platforms.

Following a performance in Vietnam’s traditional costume ‘ao dai’ joined by 35 semifinalists, the panel of judges selected the top 22, who then competed in their swimsuits for the top 15 to participate in the evening gown competition.

The judges next picked the top ten before slimming down to the top five, which included Huynh Nguyen Minh Phuong, Do Thi Ha, Pham Thi Phuong Quynh, Pham Ngoc Phuong Anh, and Nguyen Le Ngoc Thao.

The five beauties competed in the question and answer round, followed by the announcement of the top three.


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This supplied photo shows newly-crowned Miss Vietnam Do Thi Ha waves to the audience during the closing part of the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant’s final in Ho Chi Minh City, November 20, 2020.


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This supplied photo shows newly-crowned Miss Vietnam Do Thi Ha (center), first runner-up Pham Ngoc Phuong Anh (left), and second runner-up Nguyen Le Ngoc Thao during the closing part of the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant’s final in Ho Chi Minh City, November 20, 2020.


At the end of the night, Do Thi Ha, a 19-year-old girl who hails from Thanh Hoa Province and is studying at the prestigious National Economics University (NEU) in Hanoi, was crowned Miss Vietnam 2020.

Pham Ngoc Phuong Anh from Ho Chi Minh City was the first runner-up, and Nguyen Le Ngoc Thao, another beauty from the same city, was the second runner-up of the contest.

Born in 2001, Do Thi Ha is a 1.75-meter-tall beauty with stunning body measurements of 80, 60, and 90 centimeters.

In addition to the prime title, Ha also won a handful of other prizes at the beauty pageant, including the Media Beauty, Fashion Beauty, and Sea Beauty awards. Before competing at the Miss Vietnam 2020 pageant, Ha attended a beauty contest held by NEU. Ha’s parents are farmers and day workers in Thanh Hoa. She saved money to cover the costs during her competition at the Miss Vietnam 2020 on her own. The 19-year-old girl said her parents showed their support during her journey as a Miss Vietnam 2020 contestant.


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This supplied photo shows newly-crowned Miss Vietnam Do Thi Ha in daily life.


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Do Thi Ha during the swimsuit competition at the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant’s final in Ho Chi Minh City, November 20, 2020.


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This supplied photo shows newly-crowned Miss Vietnam Do Thi Ha (center), first runner-up Pham Ngoc Phuong Anh (left), and second runner-up Nguyen Le Ngoc Thao during the closing part of the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant’s final in Ho Chi Minh City, November 20, 2020.


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Do Thi Ha during the Fashion Beauty competition at the Miss Vietnam 2020 beauty pageant


Bron: Beauty from north-central province crowned Miss Vietnam 2020


Kies zelf maar… :9
 
Even tussendoor. Het is hier al dagen beestenweer.
Vrijdag en zaterdag beide ca. 60 mm. regen.
Zondag 125 mm.
Mijn weerstation geeft op dit moment al/pas 26 mm. aan.

Een paar jaar geleden stortte een noodbrug al na één dag regen in. O-)
 
Officials found using fake degrees issued by university in Hanoi

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Dong Do University in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre


Several civil servants have been discovered among over 600 individuals implicated in a scandal in which a Hanoi university had been issuing fake second bachelor’s degrees in English studies.

An investigation by the Ministry of Public Security recently revealed that Dong Do University, located in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, had granted as many as 626 bogus English bachelor's degrees, 216 of which have been verified.

Among the verified cases, 23 people had their degrees deemed invalid as Dong Do University is not licensed to offer training programs for a second bachelor’s degree. The other 193 people had never enrolled in the school or had failed to meet requirements to be granted their degrees.

Fifty-five of them had already used the degrees to apply for postgraduate education or to defend their doctoral thesis.

One of them used the qualification for master's thesis defense, while another obtained it to participate in public servant recruitment exams.

An inspector used the fake degree to take part in an examination for rank promotion, and two public officials declared the qualification in their personal background.


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From left: Duong Van Hoa, former president of Dong Do University, Tran Kim Oanh, former vice-president, and Le Ngoc Ha, incumbent vice-president are shown in this photo provided by officers.


The Ministry of Public Security has asked relevant authorities to impose suitable penalties upon the implicated officials. For those who have not used their bogus degrees, investigators have asked the Ministry of Education and Training to revoke he qualifications.

The agency has requested relevant bodies to indict Duong Van Hoa, former president of Dong Do University, Tran Kim Oanh, former vice-president, Le Ngoc Ha, incumbent vice-president, Tran Ngoc Quang, deputy head of the university’s training management office, Pham Van Thuy, an official of the school, and five others.

According to investigators, Dong Do University is not licensed to offer training programs for second degrees, but the school had announced its plan to admit hundreds of students every year from 2015 to 2018 for its second bachelor's degree courses.

The student admission plan was submitted to the Ministry of Education and Training each year and was approved.

The admission announcement was also posted on the university admission portal of the education ministry.

The public security ministry stated that those responsible for the process should also be disciplined.



Bron: Officials found using fake degrees issued by university in Hanoi


Topje van de ijsberg? O-)
 
Vanzelfsprekend hou ik voor de broodnodige balans ook die ontwikkelingen in de gaten. Maar helaas zul je het voor nu met de stoere jongens uit de posts van gisteren en vandaag moeten doen. Xin Loi. O-)
 
Na die 26 mm. van gisterenmorgen hield het op met zachtjes regenen. De laatste keer dat ik keek was op ca. 23:00 en toen was er bijna 160 mm. gevallen.
Vandaag zou het in de loop van de dag beter moeten worden. Toto op heden 37 mm. maar het is inmiddels droog en wat meer helder.
 
Laatst bewerkt:
Hundreds evacuated in Hanoi for removal of 340-kg bomb

Hundreds of people living around a street in downtown Hanoi were briefly evacuated on Sunday night after a 340-kg bomb was found at a construction site.

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Authorities cordoned off parts of Cua Bac, Pho Duc Chinh, Pham Hong Thai, and Nguyen Truong To streets in Truc Bach Ward, Ba Dinh District to remove the bomb discovered the previous day.


They banned the use of mobile phones and walkie-talkies in the vicinity.
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Construction workers on Cua Bac found the bomb six meters below the surface while digging on Saturday night. The incident was reported to authorities, all activities were halted at the site and the workers were evacuated.


Combat engineers from the Hanoi High Command found the bomb had two intact fuses and said it posed a huge threat.


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At 10 p.m. on Sunday people living within a 200 m radius from the bomb site were requested to move out for around two hours for the bomb to be removed. Soldiers and vehicles were dispatched to the site.


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A woman carries a child away during the evacuation. The temperature was around 15 degrees Celsius at the time.


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A person living on Cua Bac said: "While authorities said the bomb would be removed in around an hour, I thought it could take longer. The weather was also cold, and so I decided to take my family to a relative's house for the night. We will return tomorrow to be safe."


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While the bomb was being removed, outsiders were requested not to enter the cordoned off area. Police officers searched the place thoroughly to ensure no one was still in the area.


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At around 11:40 p.m. the bomb was removed from the site, loaded on to a vehicle and taken to another location to be defused.


As of Monday morning, the bomb has been safely detonated in northern Bac Giang Province, around 60 km away, said Ta Nam Chien, chairman of the Ba Dinh District People's Committee.


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A girl cheers as hundreds of people return home after being told to keep away for an hour.


In June Hanoi authorities had found a 1.6-m bomb under the Long Bien Bridge over the Red River. The bomb was removed four days after it was found.

Hanoi was heavily bombed between 1965 and 1972 by the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. In one fortnight (December 18-30) in 1972 alone, 36,000 tons of bombs were dropped on the city.



Bron: Hundreds evacuated in Hanoi for removal of 340-kg bomb


Ik heb de volledige fotoreportage maar geplaatst voor een duidelijk overzicht.
En jawel, het ligt aan mij.
Domme buitenlander.
Ondanks mijn 1½ jaar militaire dienst weet ik weinig van bommen af. Maar ik heb daar wel met scherpe handgranaten en molotov-cocktails gegooid en met scherpe bazooka- en geweergranaten geschoten. Dus de uitwerking van “kleine” explosieven ken ik uit eigen ervaring.
En dus rijst de vraag: is de procedure op basis van onderstaande citaten uit het verhaal logisch?

“…to remove the bomb discovered the previous day.”
To remove?

“They banned the use of mobile phones and walkie-talkies in the vicinity.”
Kan de bom daardoor ontploffen?

“Combat engineers from the Hanoi High Command found the bomb had two intact fuses and said it posed a huge threat.”
Helder. Groot risico, dus alle mogelijke voorzorgsmaatregelen, zoals telefoons uit etc..

“…people living within a 200 m radius from the bomb site were requested to move out for around two hours for the bomb to be removed. “
Slechts 200 m. met de Vietnamese bouwkwaliteit in het achterhoofd? Als het ding ploft ligt alles in een veel grotere straal plat.
Removed???????
Bij een “huge threat”???
Waar zelfs telefoons voor uitgeschakeld moeten worden???

“At around 11:40 p.m. the bomb was removed from the site, loaded on to a vehicle and taken to another location to be defused.”
Zou de weg ook tot 200 m. zijn leeggemaakt?

A person living on Cua Bac said: "While authorities said the bomb would be removed in around an hour, I thought it could take longer. The weather was also cold, and so I decided to take my family to a relative's house for the night. We will return tomorrow to be safe."
Gelukkig, er zijn ook nog verstandige mensen.

Al eerder schreef ik commentaar over het vervoeren van op scherm staande bommen op een hobbelige vrachtwagen. Schijnt hier gewoon standaard-protocol te zijn. Maar ondanks mijn gigantische onkunde op dit gebied kan ik mij niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat de procedures in NL, zoals je die leest (ontruimen en ter plaatse demonteren), toch een “ietsje logischer en veiliger” zijn. O-)

Over de logica, dat werkende telefoons vlakbij gevaarlijk zijn en vervoeren op een vrachtwagen dat niet is, hebben we het dan maar niet.
 
Thousands evacuated as heavy rains flood Nha Trang

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Residents in Nha Trang wade on a flooded street, November 30, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Ngoc.


Beach town Nha Trang in the south central province of Khanh Hoa has evacuated 1,500 people from several residential areas that have been inundated by heavy rains. On Monday many areas on the outskirts of the popular tourist destination were under 0.5 meters of water.

In Vinh Thanh Commune, the floodwaters entered Ga Market, forcing shops to move their goods to higher places or close. People are wading in knee-deep water in many places to buy food and candles.

A combination of a cold spell and monsoon winds triggered heavy rains and flooding in the central and south-central regions and the Central Highlands, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Center.

Nguyen Trung Quang, 28, of Vinh Thanh Commune said since his house is under 30 cm of water he is unable to cook and his family has to make do with instant noodles. "The house is in a low-lying area, and when it rains I am always braced for flooding."

At 7 p.m. on Sunday, when it rained heavily, Quang and his younger brother saw the water rise quickly, immediately unplugged the refrigerator and put their vessels and fans on top of a bed. "We had a sleepless night," Quang said.


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Nguyen Trung Quang in Nha Trang puts his furniture on to a scaffolding when the floodwaters overflow his house, November 30, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Ngoc


Not far from his house, Le Thanh Chinh, 53, had to close his machinery repair shop. Following heavy rains for three days he expected flooding, but was surprised by its speed on Sunday night, as, within just 30 minutes, the water rose to 50 cm inside his house and his family had to move machinery and furniture upstairs. "I hope the rain stops soon and the floodwaters recede quickly so that people can clean the mud."

In Vinh Hiep Commune, around five kilometers from downtown Nha Trang, Nguyen Hung, 64, looked tired after a sleepless night. After moving the furniture and other things at home to safety, he and his wife went to their son's house to shelter.

Town authorities have evacuated more than 1,500 people living in low-lying areas or facing a high risk of landslides to safer areas.

Educational institutions have been closed since Monday.

Many communes in Dien Khanh and Van Ninh districts, home to salt farms, are flooded. Two groups of tourists from HCMC visiting Khanh Son District for trekking in Ta Giang Mountain are stuck.

On Monday night Nguyen Van Nhuan, district chairman, said local authorities have contacted the 36 tourists, who are sheltering in tents and waiting for the floodwaters to recede.

Prolonged downpours also hit other central provinces and the Central Highlands, the country's main coffee growing area.

A landslide dumped rock and soil down onto Highway 26, the only road between Khanh Hoa and the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, blocking traffic since Monday.

Authorities in Dak Lak evacuated 100 families living near the Krong Pach Thuong irrigation lake to safer places.

Natural disasters, mostly floods, storms and landslides, have killed 372 people in the first 11 months of this year and caused losses worth VND38.4 trillion ($1.65 billion), according to the General Statistics Office.



Bron: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/thousands-evacuated-as-heavy-rains-flood-nha-trang-4199541.html


Ik weet hoe het is: in 1953 stond er 30 cm. water in onze kamers. We woonden in een benedenhuis in Rotterdam.

Gelukkig zitten wij nu ca. 16 m. boven zeeniveau en niet inde buurt van land, dat kan gaan glijden. Op dat evacueren kom ik nog wel een keer terug: voor nu is dat een duidelijke terras- en Dalatwijn zaak.
 
Saigon's mega anti-flooding project at risk of suspension

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Workers at the VND10-trillion ($431-million) anti-flooding project in District 7, HCMC, May 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Nguyen.


A VND10-trillion ($431-million) to prevent urban flooding in HCMC could be suspended as the contract with the investor has run out of time.

The city-based Trung Nam Group, main investor of the anti-flooding project that covers 100 hectares (250 acres) in districts 1, 4, 7, 8, Binh Chanh and Nha Be, said the city is yet to sign a project extension, preventing it from continuing the work.

The current contract had set June this year as the deadline for work to be completed and the entire project to become operational in December. This deadline had been adjusted from a previous one set in June last year.

If the contract is not extended, there is no way the bank will disburse the remaining sum of VND1.8 trillion ($77.6 million) for Trung Nam to continue the project, the company's CEO Nguyen Tam Tien said Wednesday at a meeting with city authorities. "Given the current situation, we cannot continue to work on the project for more than two months; and if obstacles related to extending the contract are not removed, we would have no choice but to suspend the entire project," he said.

Delays, delays
The project was set for completion in April 2018. It was put on hold for 10 months for two reasons. In 2018, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) could not disburse funds because the city had yet to sign the disbursement report.

This was followed by a controversy after a supervision consultant found out that Trung Nam had used Chinese steel for the valves of the project’s sewer system. The contract it had signed stipulated that the steel had to be sourced from G7 countries.

Trung Nam insisted that it had fulfilled all terms and conditions in the build-transfer contract it had signed with the city, and that the concerned municipal department had approved changes in the use of steel. The firm also gave its assurance that the quality of the Chinese steel used for the valves was suitable with the project’s functions.

When the dispute was resolved and work eventually resumed in February 2 last year, Trung Nam signed another contract with the city to extend the deadline for the project to start operations this year.

However, the private company encountered another problem when affected districts failed to hand over cleared sites for the project by June 30, 2019 as they’d promised earlier. "If those districts handed over cleared land for the project in time, it would have been completed and started operating by now, and the situation of an expired contract would not have arisen," Tien said.

He added that if the project is suspended yet again, it would take as long as five months to resume because of administrative procedures that the company has to fulfil to pick up where it had left off.

Disagreements surface


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Part of the anti-flooding project at the barrier of District 7 and Nha Be District, May 2020. Photo by Trung Nam Group


Tien said Trung Nam had already come to terms with the city administration late September on what items in the project needed to be included in the extended contract, but the municipal Department of Planning and Investment has refused to sign it.

Sources told VnExpress that the department would not sign the contract extension because it has yet to reach an agreement on the payment method for the project. Previously, the government had advised that HCMC will pay for the project with land and will only make cash payments when that resource runs out. The city later asked for permission to cover 15 percent of the project’s cost with land and pay the rest as cash. No final decision has been taken on the payment issue.

Started in 2016, the entire project is completed 93 percent, according to some estimates.

The project aims to build a new drainage system and add more pumping stations that will be able to keep dry a 750 square-kilometer area in the downtown section along the Saigon River. Residents of Vietnam’s biggest city have been waiting for the project to give them respite from the chronic flooding they have been suffering years after years.

For almost two decades, urban flooding has been a major headache for HCMC, and no comprehensive solution has been identified yet. The city’s development plan before 1975 was designed for around two million residents but that population has risen to 13 million, excluding migrants, and yet, the drainage system has not been upgraded.

Experts have said that the drainage plans being used now are outdated. They have also warned that without a sea change in flood-fighting efforts, the current situation will not just continue, but get progressively worse.



Bron: Saigon's mega anti-flooding project at risk of suspension - VnExpress International


En nog meer overstromings- en aanverwante ellende.

“This was followed by a controversy after a supervision consultant found out that Trung Nam had used Chinese steel for the valves of the project’s sewer system. The contract it had signed stipulated that the steel had to be sourced from G7 countries.”
Hi, hi. Zeer bekende variant.
Kom ik in het kader van de terras- en Dalatwijnzaken ook nog wel een keer op terug.

"Trung Nam insisted that it had fulfilled all terms and conditions in the build-transfer contract it had signed with the city, and that the concerned municipal department had approved changes in the use of steel. The firm also gave its assurance that the quality of the Chinese steel used for the valves was suitable with the project’s functions."
Tja, hoe l*l je recht wat krom is? Vooral het "suitable" vind ik geweldig: politiek correct taalgebruik voor "het is goedkope troep maar het houdt wel een jaartje". O-)
 
Ach, en Als ze dat staal nou bij de G7 vandaan gehaald hadden die het weer door de chinezen heeft laten aanleveren.. wat schiet je er dan mee op... ;-)
 
Vietnam temple Po Nagar pinnacle of Champa splendor

Po Nagar Temple, built during the 8th-13th centuries in Nha Trang, is an architectural work of art typical of Cham ethnic aesthetics.

Situated on Cu Lao hill, next to Cai River in the central coastal town, the temple is a clear reflection of Cham culture. It was built when Hinduism lay at the center of the then Champa Kingdom.

Legend holds that the goddess Yan Po Nagar was sent from heaven to instruct the Champa how to develop agriculture, the kingdom's main foundation. For this contribution, the goddess was profoundly revered by the people of south-central and Central Highland regions.


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Po Nagar Temple in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province. Photo by Alamy.


Po Nagar Temple historically consisted of three levels, the lowest entrance level having disappeared. The second level, meant to offer pilgrims a place of rest, now only has two rows of pillars left.

The final level comprises four hollow towers, all facing north, built of mortarless red bricks. Decorations include ornate terracotta statues that portray the goddess Yan Po Nagar, the god Tenexa, fairies, along with deer, golden geese, and lions.


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Bas-relief of the goddess Durga dancing with two musicians on the main tower. Photo by Alamy


The main tower, at 23 meters in height, is dedicated to the goddess Yan Po Nagar, and includes four storeys covered in statues depicting the goddess and animals.

Its interior holds a black granite statue of Yan Po Nagar, formerly sculpted from gold and agarwood, placed atop a giant lotus bud with her back resting against a large bodhi leaf-shaped rock.

Meanwhile, the tower pinnacle is decorated with sculptures showing the supreme god Shiva and many scared animals from Hindu scripture.

The remaining three towers are all dedicated to Shiva, along with his two sons Sanhaka and Ganeca. Surrounding the towers are stone inscriptions commemorating Yan Po Nagar, some listing the offerings made by Champa worshippers.


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A statue of Yan Po Nagar. Photo by Alamy


Po Nagar Temple was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historic site in 1979.

Ponagar Tower Festival, held from 21th to 23th of the third lunar month annually, was also recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage and one of 16 national festivals.



Bron: Vietnam temple Po Nagar pinnacle of Champa splendor - VnExpress International


Een must-see als je Nha Trang bezoekt.
 
Novartis launches project to strengthen primary healthcare in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province

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Singvi Sandeep, CFO of Novartis, gives the opening speech at the workshop.


Novartis Vietnam Ltd. on July 21 collaborated with Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Health (DoH) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) to organize a workshop to officially kick off a project to strengthen primary healthcare in the province.

The workshop was attended by representatives from Khanh Hoa DoH, CDC, district-level health centers, commune-level health stations, and other local stakeholders. This workshop was considered a milestone given the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Khanh Hoa DoH and Novartis on Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, of which Vietnam is a member state.

The project to strengthen primary healthcare is a public-private partnership (PPP) between Novartis Vietnam and Khanh Hoa DoH that will be implemented during the 13 months between November 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021.

It is expected to offer high-quality healthcare to more than 10,000 citizens, focusing on adults at/above 40 years old or under 40 with a family history of, or symptoms of, hypertension and hypertension uncontrolled leaving cardiovascular diseases.

Specifically, the project will organize activities to raise people’s awareness of primary healthcare and having positive lifestyles. Moreover, it also focuses on promoting information exchange mechanisms between local medical stations and polyclinics in medical centers.

Besides, the project will implement particular programs strengthening local health capabilities and increasing the availability and accessibility of healthcare services at commune-level health stations, especially for the better prevention and management of non-communicable diseases.

Subsequent to a kick-off in Ha Tinh Province in July, Khanh Hoa is the second among eight provinces in the Ministry of Health’s project to partner with Novartis in strengthening the healthcare system in the local setting.


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The project is conducted in three main different modules.


Within the scope of cooperation, Khanh Hoa CDC will coordinate with local medical units in Ninh Hoa Town in implementing models and activities of universal healthcare according to three effective different modules. “Novartis looks forward to seeing a positive impact on the health status of the 10,000 or so eligible adults across the three blue-print commune health stations as well as Khanh Hoa health authorities planning to scale up successful interventions across the remaining 139 communes in the coming year, as aligned with the Ministry of Health’s strategy and programs,” said Amitabh Dube, country president of Novartis Vietnam.

Since 2018, Novartis has been working closely with Harvard Medical School to complement the Ministry of Health’s approach in strengthening healthcare and reached many medical cooperation agreements that help bring many practical benefits to public health programs.

Within this collaboration, Novartis aims to help leverage the advantage of technology and data to provide a convenient and efficient platform helping healthcare professionals access specialized information more easily.

This is also a milestone for Novartis on its journey to bring new technology to the medical field in Vietnam.

About Novartis in Vietnam
In early 2020, Novartis Vietnam Ltd. became one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to successfully transform into a foreign-invested enterprise and fully operationalize its import activities.

Through long-term commitments, Novartis is supporting the domestic healthcare system and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

Novartis is one of the leaders in innovative medicine across many therapeutic areas, namely oncology, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory ailments, ophthalmology, pain relief, neuroscience, dermatology and immunology, cell and gene therapy, and others.

Novartis is also a leader in high-quality generics through its Sandoz unit, and one of the largest investors in clinical trials in Vietnam.



Bron: Novartis launches project to strengthen primary healthcare in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province


Twee redenen om dit artikel op te nemen:
1. Dit is in mijn provincie en
2. Het deed me onmiddellijk denken aan een opdracht tijdens mijn opleiding: “Ontwikkelingswerk in de derde wereld. Zie Vietnam
Deze –m.i. zeer geslaagde- opleiding wordt niet meer gegeven dus mag ik wel een oplossing verklappen.

Eén dag was gereserveerd voor een door een universiteit ontwikkeld “ spel”. Je kreeg een landkaart van een streek in een fictief ontwikkelingsland, een serie objecten, variërend van een hele kleine kliniek tot een groot ziekenhuis, rondrijdende doktoren op motorfietsen etc. plus de prijzen van alle objecten en een budget.

De ochtend was gereserveerd voor het in groepjes maken van een plan: welke objecten kies je en plaats je waar op de kaart. In mijn groepje zat de medisch maatschappelijk werkster, waarmee ik ook samen de opdracht voor de eerste opleiding “Tropische ziekten” had gedaan. Op ons tweeën na waren het verder allemaal verpleegkundigen met ook nog eens een duidelijke voorliefde voor het grote ziekenhuis. Je budget was dan wel meteen grotendeels op. Ook in ons groepje een verpleegkundige, die niet echt geïnteresseerd was in de opdracht en het grotendeels aan ons over liet.

En dat vonden we een uitstekend idee. :+

We zijn eerst wat aan het rekenen geslagen met de prijzen van alle objecten in verhouding tot het budget. Een korte discussie gaf aan dat we op dezelfde golflengte zaten: veel kleine klinieken en rondrijdende doktoren in het binnenland en een iets grotere kliniek in de stad als uitwijk voor de moeilijkere gevallen. Absoluut geen groot ziekenhuis in de stad en daardoor nauwelijks iets in de buitengebieden!.

Na de lunch kwam de vuurproef (wat we tevoren niet wisten): een hele serie cases, die we op onze opzet los moesten laten. En we zaten goed! Veel cases met eenvoudige klachten, spoed of geen/slecht vervoer, waarbij het grote ziekenhuis in de stad veel te ver of domweg onbereikbaar was. Ons groepje had riant de meeste punten.

Het heeft toen wel veel mensen aan het denken gezet bleek tijdens de nabespreking.

Het viel me in het artikel op, dat ze in feite dezelfde opzet volgen. Zie de tweede alinea boven de tweede foto: “Besides, the project…”

Goh, soms… O-) (hoewel die Harvard Medical School ongetwijfeld hierbij een dikke vinger…)
 
Vietnamese man fined for donning fake genitals in Da Lat’s public square

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A photo collage of Nguyen Thanh Nguyen and Pham Nghi’s performances. The photo on the left shows Nguyen wearing a fake penis outside his costume.


Police in Da Lat, a tourist city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, have charged a man with obscene exposure and offensive conduct for donning fake genitals in the city’s crowded square.

Nguyen Le Nguyen, a 20-year-old resident of Ward 2, was summoned and recorded by Da Lat police and the city’s culture and information office for the administrative violation on Wednesday. Nguyen was also subject to a fine of over VND3.2 million (US$138).

At 6:30 pm on November 22, Nguyen and Pham Nghi, a 22-year-old man known for wearing costumes and make-up to hold audacious public spectacles, began a performance in Da Lat’s Hoa Binh Square. For this performance, Nguyen also wore a fake penis dangling from the crotch of his pants.


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Nguyen Thanh Nguyen writes a statement in Da Lat’s police station, November 25, 2020. Photo: Dam Trong / Tuoi Tre


The duo also had someone record their performance with the intention of uploading the video on Facebook. After being admonished by police in Ward 1, the two men moved to another location where they continued filming. Their performance in both locations was also captured by CCTV cameras.

Authorities in Da Lat are still carrying out an investigation into the case.



Bron: Vietnamese man fined for donning fake genitals in Da Lat’s public square


Ha, het is weer zondag. En deze post is natuurlijk schokkend zondig. De volksgezondheid loopt hier een enorme niet-omkeerbare schade door op. Hier moet echt op hoog niveau hard tegen worden opgetreden.

Misschien de wet aanpassen zoals voor het in de ogen van wat Vietnamezen wat schaars geklede model (Vietnam Deel 2 ) op de rode loper bij het filmfestival van Cannes?

Of valt dit eigenlijk onder het al eerder genoemde “improper dressing on stage, fine VND 10M”.? In dat geval komt hij er met VND 3,2 M goed vanaf. O-)

Trouwens: een boete uitdelen en daarna de zaak pas onderzoeken? Ehh… :?

Maar oordeel gewoon zelf met deze video: Man fined for donning fake genitals in Da Lat square Ik vind de video wel “toepasselijk eindigen” met een “langdurige geïnteresseerde blik”… O-) :+

OK, ook nog even serieus.

Ik blijf hier grote moeite mee houden. Hoe je ook over deze persoon mag denken –artistiek, exhibitionist, gestoord- hij heeft er veel werk in gestoken en over smaak valt nu eenmaal niet te twisten. En doet zijn performance nu echt schade aan de volksgezondheid? Zou hier in NL een boete voor worden uitgedeeld? Zelf denk ik van niet. MBM & c.s.???

En dat, terwijl je nauwelijks iets leest over echte volksgezondheidsproblemen als de grote hoeveelheid verkeers-, verdrinkings-, overstromings- en aanrandingsslachtoffers, tiener-abortussen, geluidsoverlast, smog, antibiotica”misbruik” (veel te korte kuren en dus resistentie) en het overdadige gebruik van giftige pesticiden (komt binnenkort nog iets over). In die categorieën is heel wat meer te winnen.

Waarom moet ik nu ineens aan een heel oude oudejaarsconference van Wim Kan denken?
 
Sa Pa blushes in shades of pink (1)

Two Vietnamese photographers have captured the winsome beauty of cherry blossoms blooming early in the northern highlands town of Sa Pa.

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Bui Xuan Viet from Dong Nai Province and Ao Kim Ngoc from Ho Chi Minh City made a trip to Sa Pa in late November.


Visitors can take the 4D National Highway, traveling about 8 km until the O Quy Ho kindergarten appears on the right. Opposite the kindergarten is a small path. About 500 m on it and the O Long tea hills appear.


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The cherry blossoms start glowing when the sun shines on the tea hills. The blossoms are expected to be in full bloom in the first week of December.


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The cherry trees usually see their leaves replaced around October to November. In the chilly ambiance, the hot pink flowers add a shade of warmth.


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The cherry trees were planted across the path of the tea hills, setting Sa Pa apart from other localities with the trees like Da Lat or Kon Tum in the Central Highlands.


Morgen het slot.
 
Sa Pa blushes in shades of pink (2)
This area has become a favorite spot for visitors and photographers in recent years.

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“Although we had been told about the beauty of the tea hills and the cherry blossoms here, we were still stunned into speechlessness,” Viet said.


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Dawn and sunset are awesome times to take in the landscape and capture it on film.


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The main purpose of the hills is tea cultivation, so the number of visitors is limited. People who visit are requested not to litter, damage the tea trees or pick the flowers.

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The last days of November and early December offer an ideal time frame to take in these wondrous sights and capture them for posterity.


Sa Pa is also well-known for many other attractions like Mount Fansipan, nicknamed “roof of Indochina”, terraced rice fields, a Gothic stone church at its center, and Saturday night "love market", a colorful exhibition of local ethnic minority culture.



Bron: https://e.vnexpress.net/photo/places/sa-pa-blushes-in-shades-of-pink-4197045.html
 
Down, up, down: Residents unsettled as HCMC fixes flood-prone street

Nguyen Huu Canh Street, infamous for frequent flooding, has been upgraded partially, but residents worry if this means their houses will get flooded instead.

The project to upgrade the 3.2 km (2 mile) long street, which connects downtown District 1 with District 2 through Binh Thanh District, was launched in October last year at a cost of VND470 billion ($20.39 million).

Scheduled for completion next April, more than half the project work has been completed, elevating the surface of the street at severely subsided sections while keeping other parts at the same height to ensure the water drainage system works well.

The 500-meter-long section of the street from an underpass in front of The Manor building to the Nguyen Huu Canh Overpass that typically suffers the heaviest subsidence has been lifted by 50 cm to 1.2 m.

Living near the overpass, Nguyen Thi Bich Phuong, 48, said the section in front of her house was badly submerged every time it rained heavily, and when the latest upgrade project was launched, she and her neighbours were very happy.

But two months ago when the surface of the street finally got lifted, her house went half a meter lower than the street level. She is now worried that her house could be flooded when it rains. Her family plans to raise the house’s floor later.


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The house of Nguyen Thi Bich Phuong on Nguyen Huu Canh is now half a meter lower than the street's surface. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh.


Another resident living along the street, Bui Thi Sai, 68, said her family’s life has been in disarray for two months, ever since the street section got elevated.

Two years ago, her family had spent VND100 million to lift their floor by half a meter to save it from flooding, but now, the house is half a meter below street level. If the project fails to save the area from flooding, she would sell the house, Sai said.

The HCMC Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Projects, the project investor, said the elevation of the street has caused more than 60 houses to go 15 cm lower than the street’s surface and nearly 70 houses lower by 30-50cm. "Once the project is completed, it will help improve the water drainage capacity and contribute to reducing flooding for the entire neighborhood," said Phan Van Anh, a representative of the board.

Houses that are more than 30 cm lower than the street will be given enough space to build perrons (stairs and platforms) in front, he said.


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A family struggles to wade through the flooded Nguyen Huu Canh Street after heavy rain on the night of August 6, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.


Built in 1997 and opened to traffic in 2002, the VND420 billion ($18.1 million) Nguyen Huu Canh Street had carried high hopes that it would improve traffic flow in HCMC. But not long after its opening, the street subsided and began getting inundated every time it rains.

Earlier, the city signed a rental agreement worth VND14.2 billion ($617,760) with the Quang Trung Industry Group Joint Stock Company to install a water pump on the street to prevent flooding, but the situation did not improve much. With no comprehensive solution identified, urban flooding has been a major headache for HCMC for almost two decades.

The city’s development plan before 1975 was designed for a population of around two million residents. Its current population has risen to 13 million, excluding migrants, but the drainage system has not been upgraded.

Rapid construction and poor investment in integrated infrastructure systems have exacerbated the flooding problem.



Bron: Down, up, down: Residents unsettled as HCMC fixes flood-prone street - VnExpress International


Hetzelfde zie je hier in de omgeving na de aanleg van de eerder beschreven nieuwe weg. Daar liggen nu ook ineens veel huizen een stuk lager dan de weg. Hai, mijn lasser, heeft bv. een metalen afrit moeten maken om zijn motor van de weg op het terras voor zijn huis te krijgen. Op Vietnam Deel 2 zit hij nog op ongeveer dezelfde hoogte als de weg en kan ik mijn motor ook moeiteloos parkeren. Zie foto 2.

Nu krijg ik zelf mijn motor daar nauwelijks vanaf: te zwaar en te weinig ruimte als ze bezig zijn. Dus maar op de weg laten staan. Hoe het hem met de overvloedige hoeveelheid regen is vergaan heb ik nog niet gevraagd.

Over het geneuzel in het artikel zullen we het maar niet hebben vandaag.
 
Unexplained HCMC metro line cracks raise serious concerns

More than a month after cracks appeared in HCMC’s first metro line, its contractor is yet to explain them, raising concerns about the nature of the problem.

One of the Elastomeric Laminated Bearings pads, which are made from high purity elastomers that encapsulate layered internal steel reinforcing plates and are designed for use in bridge and building constructions as a beam support, fell out from its position between two beams of HCMC’s metro line No.1 in late October.

Until now, the consortium comprising Vietnam’s Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 6 (Cienco 6) and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, the contractor of the line that runs 19.7 km from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien theme park in District 1, has failed to make any official statement on why it happened, according to the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

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The two beams at a section of HCMC's Metro Line No.1 in Thu Duc District are seen askew after an Elastomeric Laminated Bearings pad fell off in October 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Trinh Quan


The lack of explanation has prevented MAUR, the project’s main investor, to prepare a report on the incident for submission to higher authorities. What the contractor has said so far "is not convincing," and paves the way for the contractor to "disclaim responsibility," MAUR said.

The investor has demanded that the contractor submits soon evidence of its own investigation and submit an official report on the issue no later than Thursday. The project’s consulting unit, NJPT, a consortium led by Japan’s Nippon Koei, has also been requested to do the same.

The railway management authority has found that after the pad between the two beams of the metro line’s elevated section in Thu Duc District fell off, cracks have appeared on the beam and the rail has lost its connection with the supporting system below.

'Could be serious'
Nguyen Van Duc, an expert on road and bridge construction, said there could be many reasons leading to the fall of an Elastomeric Laminated Bearings pad during construction. To find out the real reason, a thorough review is needed, from the very first steps of designing to the construction process and the quality of the pad itself.

One of the reasons that could lead to the situation is the expansion of concrete, which causes a separation between the abutment and the beam, causing the pad to drop, Duc told Dat Viet newspaper of Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations. If this is the reason, then the "incident could be serious and it requires comprehensive inspection of the entire project," Duc said.

It is crucial to find the actual cause of the problem instead of just putting the pad back and continuing the work because that could make the pad drop again, threatening safety of the entire project, he added.

The first metro line of HCMC has already been delayed several times it is unavoidable that this incident will put it even more behind schedule. He said that the MAUR, as the main investor, could certainly use contractual obligations and payment suspension to force the contractor to find the exact cause of the problem, identify solutions and commit anew to ensure quality.


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Cracks appear on one of the beams on a section of HCMC's Metro Line No.1 in Thu Duc District, October 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Trinh Quan.


Soon after the cracks were seen, the contractor said it had fixed the issue, but made no mention of how it had occurred or how it would affect the life of the project. Shigeki Ihara, project manager for the Sumitomo Corporation, said last month that the incident was just a "single case" on one beam.

However, the State Council for Pre-Acceptance Test of Construction Works has requested MAUR to review the entire area where it happened, inspect nearby areas and make an assessment on how it would affect the safety and average lifespan of the project.

The metro route No.1 will have 14 stations – 11 on elevated sections and three underground.
Its construction is expected to cost VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion).
Work on the much-delayed project, which began in August 2012, is more than 78 percent complete now.
The city hopes to complete 85 percent this year and begin commercial operations by the end of next year.

In all, HCMC plans to build eight metro lines running a total of 220 km.



Bron: Unexplained HCMC metro line cracks raise serious concerns - VnExpress International


Vertrouwenwekkend nietwaar… ? O-)

“Soon after the cracks were seen, the contractor said it had fixed the issue, but made no mention of how it had occurred or how it would affect the life of the project. Shigeki Ihara, project manager for the Sumitomo Corporation, said last month that the incident was just a "single case" on one beam.”
Natuuuuuuurlijk, joh… Je denkt toch hopelijk niet dat er ook maar iemand durft te suggereren, dat dit mogelijk op meerdere plaatsen zou kunnen gebeuren? En al helemaal niet dat dit misschien wel eens meer structureel zou kunnen zijn. Nee, joh, echt niet. Dat denkt echt helemaal niemand. Nou ja, misschien alleen die ene stomme buitenlander op dat motor-forum. Maar die weet toch niets van bouwkunde dus…

_O-

Foto 2 bekijkend zijn het vast dezelfde lui geweest die mijn daken hebben gestort. Ter info: de afgelopen jaren binnen op minstens 7 plekken lekkage gehad en buiten op het terras op 4 plaatsen. Overal is een nieuwe onderlaag en nieuwe tegels gelegd. |(

Dit soort lekkage is trouwens iets dat ik hier van veel mensen hoor.
 
Parkinsonpatiënten noemen pesticiden als oorzaak ziekte: bijna honderd meldingen

Pesticiden die mogelijk schadelijk voor de gezondheid zijn moeten met onmiddellijke ingang worden verboden. Daarvoor pleit de Parkinson Vereniging, nu er steeds meer wetenschappelijk bewijs is voor een verband tussen blootstelling aan pesticiden en de ziekte van Parkinson. ,,Waarom mag dit gif nog steeds gebruikt worden?’’

Bij de Parkinson Vereniging hebben zich het afgelopen jaar zo’n honderd mensen gemeld die hun eigen ziekte in verband brengen met blootstelling aan gewasbeschermingsmiddelen. Het gaat om mensen die beroepsmatig veel met dit soort middelen hebben gewerkt, zoals boeren, maar ook om mensen die naast bijvoorbeeld bollen- of lelievelden wonen of hebben gewoond.

Eerder dit jaar adviseerde de Gezondheidsraad al om het gebruik van chemische bestrijdingsmiddelen terug te dringen, juist omdat ze door de wetenschap in verband worden gebracht met onder andere de ziekte van Parkinson. De Parkinson Vereniging overweegt zelfs juridische stappen om méér parkinsongevallen te voorkomen, bevestigt Jobien Wind van de Parkinson Vereniging.

,,Ons doel is helder: voorkomen dat nog meer mensen parkinson krijgen. Wat dat betreft is het goed dat mancozeb, dat ook in verband wordt gebracht met de ziekte van Parkinson, vanaf volgend jaar niet meer gebruikt mag worden. Het is een mooie eerste stap.”



Bron: DPG Media Privacy Gate


Dit is het eerste stuk van een veel langer artikel. Zie de bron voor de rest.

Parkinson als gevolg van pesticiden is natuurlijk iets dat in Vietnam niet voorkomt. Stel je voor zeg. O-)
Ik heb dus maar even wat gegoogeld over pesticiden in Vietnam. De artikelen zijn al iets ouder maar volgens mij helaas onverminderd actueel. :(


Weedkiller widely used in Vietnam despite cancer risks (2018)

Ik heb het artikel, en met name de laatste alinea, hoofdschuddend zitten lezen. De ongelooflijke stupiditeit die eruit spreekt is ronduit schokkend. Maar trek zelf je conclusies.


Vietnam losing control of excessive pesticide use (2017)

En nog een berg blah blah. Ze proberen de boeren bewust te maken. En verwachten dan ook nog dat ze luisteren en het snappen. Zolang ze hier in de omgeving nog roepen dat je niets in het slootwater ziet en het dus goed en veilig is kun je enige vorm van gezond verstand, laat staan bewustwording, gerust vergeten.


Toxic 'Tet' kumquats highlight Vietnam's pesticide problem (2015)

‘"Any insecticide can be dangerous," farmer Vu Huu Nhung told AFP while spraying chemicals onto his cabbage fields -- eschewing a protective mask -- in Dang Xa commune on the outskirt of Hanoi.
"But I think it's safe enough if you strictly follow the instructions," he said, saying he was unsure what his made-in-China products contained.


Ik moest het ook opzoeken maar eschewing is vermijden.
Mild opgemerkt: dit soort volslagen stompzinnig gedrag dus. En hier dus uitsluitend regel, geen uitzondering.


Vietnam can cut pesticide use significantly without productivity loss: expert - VnExpress International

Dit recente artikel (juli 2020) geeft werkelijk krankzinnige cijfers over hoeveelheden:
“Vietnam is currently transitioning from excessive usage period to usage crisis period, with the country using around 100,000 tons of pesticide a year starting 2015, Tung said. Before 1990, Vietnam used less than 10,000 tons a year.
"The amount of imported pesticides every year is over 100,000 tons, while the list of approved pesticides amounts to over 1,600 substances and over 4,000 products. For me, that’s too much," Tung said.”



Uiteraard heb ik ook nog gegoogeld op “Parkinson in Vietnam”. Wat je dan voornamelijk vindt zijn mogelijke links tussen Parkinson en Agent Orange. Waarom er dan geen link wordt gelegd naar pesticiden (m.i. globaal gezien een vergelijkbaar product) snap ik dan weer niet. Tja als eerder geconstateerd: domme buitenlander.
 
Celebs embrace trend of thigh-high slits

Vietnamese stars have been flaunting their curves in dresses slit high.

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In a newly taken photo, singer Chi Pu becomes a goddess in a dress made by designer Do Long. Photo courtesy of Chi Pu


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Do Long (R) is famous for his revealing designs. At a recent party model Quynh Thu (L) wore one of his dresses and caused controversy with many people saying the outfit was too short to wear in public. Photo courtesy of Quynh Thu


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Miss Universe Vietnam 2018 H'Hen Nie wears a nude top decorated with stones. Photo courtesy of H'Hen Nie


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Model Tra Ngoc Hang has high slits on both sides that show off her legs. Dresses slit on both sides are increasingly popular among international celebrities. Photo courtesy of Tra Ngoc Hang.


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Singer Yen Trang reveals her left leg in a slit dress that has a glowing contour along the slit. Photo courtesy of Yen Trang.


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Super model Thanh Hang wears a Cong Tri dress with a cutout at the waist. Photo courtesy of Thanh Hang.


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Actress Thuy Ngan wears a sequinned olive green dress that fully reveals her legs. Photo courtesy of Thuy Ngan.


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Model Ngoc Trinh, the high priestess of revealing outfits, wears a slit black gown. Photo courtesy of Ngoc Trinh.


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Singer Toc Tien shows virtually her entire right side in a red dress with metal detail. Photo courtesy of Toc Tien


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Model Nam Thu in a puffed shoulder gown with a high slit. Photo courtesy of Nam Thu


Bron: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/style/celebs-embrace-trend-of-thigh-high-slits-4197394.html


Het is weer zondag… *O*

…en eindelijk weer iets dat ik wel kan snappen (d.w.z. hoe ze de foto’s hebben gemaakt :+ ) Alleen natuurlijk niet hoe het kan dat ze de rode loper in Cannes nu ineens echt helemaal vergeten zijn… O-)

Tja, dit had ik geschreven toen ik dit artikel aan mijn voorraad toevoegde. Maar toen ik zojuist de link controleerde bleek deze niet meer te bestaan. Kortom, dit soort foto's mag blijkbaar nog steeds niet. Ik zal dus voortaan snel moeten handelen als ik een interessant artikel tegen kom. Iets als dit bv. O-)
 
Vietnam relaxes fireworks ban for special occasions

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A person holds lit-up sparklers in hands. Illustration photo by Shutterstock.


A new decree will allow citizens to use certain types of fireworks for occasions like weddings, birthday parties and Lunar New Year celebrations. The decree on the management and use of firecrackers and fireworks, set to take effect January 11 next year, will allow people and organizations with full civic rights to use non-explosive firecrackers and fireworks for special occasions.

It defines non-explosive firecrackers and fireworks as those producing sounds, lighting and color effects without causing "explosive sounds," like sparklers.

Explosive firecrackers and fireworks are defined as those that produce explosions (loud noises) and make hissing sounds, like those that are fired into the sky from cannons during certain national celebrations.

Eligible individuals and organizations can only purchase the firecrackers and fireworks from businesses and organizations approved by the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant agencies.

The government had prohibited the production, distribution and use of fireworks and explosive chemicals in 1994 after their rampant use resulted in many deaths, injuries and losses totalling several dozen billion dong (VND10 billion = $430,000) every year.



Bron: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-relaxes-fireworks-ban-for-special-occasions-4199160.html


Het lijkt erop dat de situatie in VN nu hetzelfde is als in NL: met sterretjes zwaaien.
 
Experience the wild and adventurous side of Da Lat

A different Da Lat emerges through activities like camping in the forest, kayaking, or scaling waterfalls.

Da Lat is known for its year-round cool weather, flowers, beautiful valleys and lakes, and villas built in the
French colonial times. It is called "the town of love", "the town of enternal spring" or "the Little Paris".

To make their Da Lat trip totally different from previous occasions Chau Yen Nhi, 25, and her friends from Saigon decided to discover the wild and adventurous side of the Central Highlands resort town.

Day 1: Cloud hunting, camping overnight
The group arrived in Da Lat's center at 4 a.m. About half an hour later, on rented motorbikes, they traveled 27 km to the Cau Dat tea hill to watch the sunrise.

The winding pass, with the first rays of the sun creeping through the pine forest and a cool breeze, immediately caused a sense of relaxation and calm in the group, Nhi recalled. "The
clouds floated as high as my eyes and gradually melted away amid the sunshine, a stunning experience."

Arriving at Cau Dat around 5:30 a.m., they encountered many other young people already assembled to enjoy the break of day. After returning to the downtown, the group had breakfast and sat at a cafe to take a rest, discussed and prepared for the afternoon, and an adventurous trip the next day.


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Chau Yen Nhi (middle with a blue scarf) and her friends.


At 3 p.m., they set up camp in the pine forest beside Tuyen Lam Lake. The camping package included tents, sleeping bags, chairs, rechargeable lights, evening barbecue, breakfast, drinks, and an inflatable with life jackets.

The fire was lit as twilight arrived. The group chatted merrily as music played in the background. "Without rain, this is one of the most ideal places to watch the sunrise in Da Lat," Nhi said.

Later on, they enjoyed a barbecue, played music and sung amid the rain dropping on the tent roof.

At sunrise the next day, the group took an inflatable out onto
Tuyen Lam Lake to enjoy the mountainous surroundings.

Day 2: Waterfall canyoning
At 8 a.m., the group departed on a canyoning trip to six Datana waterfalls, expecting to traverse rugged terrain along the way.


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The trip consisted of descending a 15 m dry waterfall, ziplining down an 18 m cliff, crossing a 25 m high waterfall, free jumping from a 7 m high fall, and crossing a 13 m high waterfall.

The 25 m high waterfall scared Nhi the most, with the cold, torrential rain providing a teeth-clenching, though thrilling experience. "Thinking back, the first 20 m swinging on a rope was not as scary as the remaining 5 m. After that, I turned my head to look at the instructor and saw people screaming "jump," that’s when I knew I had to jump into the lake," Nhi said.

Thanks to the enthusiastic cheers and encourage of her friends, Nhi was able to forget her fear and successfully conquered the waterfall.

Before starting the tour, the group was instructed on the necessary skills and supervised carefully by their guides to guarantee safety. Believing in yourself and following your own intuition are key lessons Nhi learned on the trip.


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Day 3: Relaxing in nature
After two days of wilderness and adventure, the group spent the last day relaxing. They decided to stay at a villa on Le Hong Phong Street of Ward 4.

The French-style building is nestled amid an emerald garden, complete with a fairy-tale-like path weaving through the pine trees back toward the house. In the middle of the yard lies a lotus lake, along with fragrant rose and rosemary bushes.


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"Waking up in the morning with the clear and soothing sky, the group felt peaceful, unlike anywhere else," Nhi said.

The only disadvantage that the group experienced on this trip was the cold rainy weather. The rain made the rowing and stargazing at the lake impossible, the forest way was slippery and the adventure of conquering the waterfalls became more difficult.

The three-day and two-night trip for the group of seven costs about VND3.8 million ($164) per person, of which, the camping service is VND650,000, waterfall tour over VND1 million, and return bus trip Saigon-Da Lat, VND500,000.


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Bron: Experience the wild and adventurous side of Da Lat - VnExpress International


“…they encountered many other young people already assembled …”
Dus niets voor een oude l*l als ik. ;(
 
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