Tour firms may be fined for environmental offenses

Last update 11:00 | 16/12/2017

VietNamNet Bridge –  Madelon Willemsen, head of the Vietnam office of the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, said that the wildlife-related tourism activities that have been popular in the country for decades, such as elephant riding, souvenirs made of wild animal parts, the consumption of  bear bile and dishes cooked with wild animal meats, need a radical rethinking.

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Tourists ride elephants in Central Highlands Province of Dak Lak. Elephant riding will be banned as of 2018. – VNA/VNS Photo

When the 2015 version of the Vietnam’s Penal Code takes effect on the first day of 2018, tourism businesses operating programmes that exploit wildlife could be charged with new offenses, she said at a conference for sustainable tourism development held in Hue City on Wednesday.

“The charge will not only result in penalties but also harm the business’s reputation. Certainly, no one could develop sustainably with negative comments from customers,” Willemsen said. Tiếp tục đọc “Tour firms may be fined for environmental offenses”

Only a fundamental mindset shift can save the Mekong Delta: expert

Last update 11:10 | 16/12/2017

VietNamNet Bridge – Well-meant but misguided climate change interventions in the Mekong Delta are set to do more harm than good, and only a change in policymakers’ mindset can reverse the damage, an independent researcher and expert said on December 14.

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Nguyen Huu Thien (standing), expert on Mekong Delta ecology, responds to questions at a workshop on the region’s water and energy needs held on December 14 in Hanoi. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Kien

The change in mindset would involve a shift from forceful interventions to embracing natural cycles, said Nguyen Huu Thien.

Thien, whose work focuses on the Mekong Delta’s ecology, was giving his assessment of Resolution No 120 on sustainable development for the Mekong Delta that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed in November. Tiếp tục đọc “Only a fundamental mindset shift can save the Mekong Delta: expert”

Foreign investors keen to acquire stake at oil refinery

Last update 16:00 | 16/12/2017

The equitization of Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR), the operator of Dung Quat Oil Refinery in central Vietnam, has drawn strong attention of big foreign investors given the company’s strong financial readings and its market position.

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Under the equitization plan approved last week by the Government, BSR will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange on the third week of next month.

Via this IPO, BSR will sell 7.79% of its chartered capital, equivalent to 242 million shares at a price starting from VND14,600 per share, generating an estimated VND4 trillion. A 49% stake will be sold to strategic investors in the next phase with nearly US$1 billion to be collected. Tiếp tục đọc “Foreign investors keen to acquire stake at oil refinery”

While focus is on North Korea, China continues South China Sea buildup: Think tank

channelnewsasia
 
Satellite photo shows Chinese-controlled North Island, part of the Paracel Islands group in the South China Sea, on Sep 29, 2017. (Photo: Planet Labs/Handout via Reuters)

WASHINGTON: While attention in Asia has been distracted by the North Korean nuclear crisis in the past year, China has continued to install high-frequency radar and other facilities that can be used for military purposes on its man-made islands in the South China Sea, a US think tank said on Thursday (Dec 14).

Chinese activity has involved work on facilities covering 29 hectares of the Spratly and Paracel islands, territory contested with several other Asian nations, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. The report cited satellite images. Tiếp tục đọc “While focus is on North Korea, China continues South China Sea buildup: Think tank”

Oxford Dictionary: Word of the year 2017 – Youthquake (Tuổi trẻ động)

Woty youthquake banner 760x220

Word of the Year 2017 is…

As 2017 draws to a close, we turn to language to help us mark where we have been, how far we have come, and where we are heading.

One word has been judged as not only reflective of the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of this past year, but as having lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2017 is… youthquake.

The noun, youthquake, is defined as ‘a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people’.

TĐH: Youthquake = Tuổi trẻ động

Tiếp tục đọc “Oxford Dictionary: Word of the year 2017 – Youthquake (Tuổi trẻ động)”

Iran says weaponry displayed by Haley is ‘fabricated’

Reuters via Yahoo!

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iran rejected as unfounded a U.S. accusation on Thursday that it supplied a missile fired at Saudi Arabia from Yemen on Nov. 4, describing weaponry displayed by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley as “fabricated.”

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a statement that the accusation by the United States was “irresponsible, provocative and destructive.”

“These accusations seek also to cover up for the Saudi war crimes in Yemen, with the U.S. complicity, and divert international and regional attention from the stalemate war of aggression against the Yemenis,” the statement said.

(Reporting by Michelle NicholsEditing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Haley reveals new evidence to back claim that Iran armed Houthi rebels

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks about the Iran nuclear deal at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on Sept. 5, 2017.

Reuters

Last Updated Dec 14, 2017 12:49 PM EST

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, on Thursday introduced what she sees as irrefutable evidence that Iran violated U.N rules by providing Houthi rebels in Yemen with arms.

Haley, holding a press conference at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., presented what she described as recovered pieces of a missile fired by Houthi militants from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, pointing out the missile bears “Iranian missile fingerprints.” Yemen is facing a devastating civil war that has been raging since 2015. Tiếp tục đọc “Haley reveals new evidence to back claim that Iran armed Houthi rebels”

Đấu thầu thuốc tại Sở Y tế Đắk Lắk: Lộ rõ dấu hiệu sai phạm

TP – Sau khi báo Tiền Phong đăng nhiều bài về các dấu hiệu sai phạm trong việc đấu thầu thuốc tại Đắk Lắk, các cơ quan chức năng đã vào cuộc. Ngày 23/11/2017, Hội đồng giám định của Bộ Y tế ban hành Kết luận giám định số 1257, xác nhận có việc chấm sai nhóm thuốc và chọn nhà thầu sai quy định trong đợt đấu thầu thuốc 2014-2015.

– Quanh vụ án VN Pharma: Chuyện về ‘ông vua’ đấu thầu thuốc
– Đấu thầu thuốc để kéo giá giảm từ 10 – 15%
– Giảm gần 500 tỷ nhờ đấu thầu thuốc tập trung
 

Báo Tiền Phong từng phản ánh việc Sở Y tế (SYT) Đắk Lắk cho 1 doanh nghiệp trúng thầu độc quyền 7 mặt hàng đã đổi nhóm, trong bài “Tham nhũng y tế ở Đắk Lắk: Lo ngại chìm xuồng”, đăng ngày 20/2/2017.

Điểm lại vụ việc

Bài viết khẳng định chỉ tính riêng 5/7 loại thuốc bị đổi nhóm mà Cục Quản lý Dược hồi âm cho một doanh nghiệp bằng văn bản, đã làm tăng giá thuốc trong kết quả trúng thầu lên tiền tỷ. Thực tế, tổng trị giá chênh lệch phải lên tới hàng chục tỷ đồng, vì SYT Đắk Lắk còn cho bệnh viện liên tục mua bổ sung số mặt hàng này sai quy định. Và trong 666 mặt hàng trúng thầu đợt đấu thầu thuốc năm 2014-2015, báo Tiền Phong cũng nhiều lần chứng minh còn có nhiều mặt hàng khác nữa bị chấm chọn sai trái. Tiếp tục đọc “Đấu thầu thuốc tại Sở Y tế Đắk Lắk: Lộ rõ dấu hiệu sai phạm”

‘Zero dong’ tours break out again in Quang Ninh

Last update 16:00 | 13/12/2017
VietNamNet Bridge – After a period of inactivity, zero-dong tours are bouncing back in Quang Ninh province and affecting the local tourism industry.

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After a period of inactivity, zero-dong tours are bouncing back

Thousands of Chinese travelers were seen entering Vietnam across the border gate recently on one day in early December. Most of them were middle aged.

Within one hour, 20 buses carrying passengers were seen travelling from the border gate to Thuong Truong Phuong Dong, a shop nearby. Tiếp tục đọc “‘Zero dong’ tours break out again in Quang Ninh”

China to become second largest importer of Vietnam shrimp

Last update 17:33 | 13/12/2017

Vietnam’s shrimp exports are estimated at US$3.5 billion in the 11 months leading up to December with the EU, Japan and China as the three biggest importers.

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Exports to China obtained an impressive growth of 60.5% with an estimated value of US$629.26 million, accounting for 18.1% of Vietnam’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile China’s shrimp imports are on a strong upward trend to meet rising consumer demands for year-end festivals, especially the Lunar New Year. Tiếp tục đọc “China to become second largest importer of Vietnam shrimp”

ADB: Growth at 6.7% in 2017 & 2018

Last update 18:05 | 13/12/2017

Vietnam’s growth prospects have been revised upwards to 6.7 per cent in both 2017 and 2018 compared to previous forecasts of 6.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, in a supplement to the Asia Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook Update 2017 report, released on December 13.

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The first three quarters of 2017 saw GDP grow by 6.4 per cent, up from 5.9 per cent in the same period of 2016, the report noted. Tiếp tục đọc “ADB: Growth at 6.7% in 2017 & 2018”