Vietnam’s architectural gems are disappearing

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Zanna K. McKay, Special for USA TODAY Published 7:03 a.m. ET March 4, 2017 | Updated 1:58 p.m. ET March 4, 2017
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HO CHI MINH CITY —  Once an architectural gem emblematic of Vietnam’s era as a French colony, the Tax Trade Center with its iconic Art Deco facade is now mostly rubble.

Despite a petition drive spearheaded by a growing historic preservation movement, the building was demolished in recent months. In its place, developers plan a 43-story complex with a connection to the first subway line in the city.

The Tax Center, built in 1924, is one of many historic buildings in the last 20 years that have been razed or severely altered, according to a joint French-Vietnamese government research center.

Preservationists say developers and government officials are intent on making this city modern and care little for the vestiges of its colonial past. But destroying so many historic buildings, they warn, makes the city less livable and less attractive to tourists — which could undercut economic growth the government hopes to foster. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam’s architectural gems are disappearing” →

Developer remains upbeat as Vietnam’s bauxite project logs $165mn loss

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 baomoi.com

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Báo Tuổi Trẻ English – 2 day(s) ago 4 readings

A bauxite megaproject in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been making losses totaling VND3,696 billion (US$165 million) in the last three years, but the developer is unconcerned, believing that it will start generating profits in 2017.

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A bauxite megaproject in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been making losses totaling VND3,696 billion (US$165 million) in the last three years, but the developer is unconcerned, believing that it will start generating profits in 2017.

Vietnam currently has two major bauxite mining projects, Nhan Co in Dak Nong Province and Tan Rai in Lam Dong Province, both developed by Vinacomin, the country’s state-run coal and minerals giant.

Bauxite, an aluminum ore, is the world’s main source of aluminum.

Nguyen Van Bien, Vinacomin’s deputy general director, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the Tan Rai bauxite plant has been operating at a loss. Tiếp tục đọc “Developer remains upbeat as Vietnam’s bauxite project logs $165mn loss” →

Volatile hotel price ‘a failure of Vietnam tourism’

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\TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 04/22/2015 11:58 GMT + 7

It is now a week away from the six-day public holiday during which Vietnam will celebrate its 40th anniversary of reunification, and tourists will not be surprised if they are charged higher than usual by hotels in touristy spots.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

Hotel room rates are never a constant, as most hotels throughout Vietnam are not hesitant to increase their prices two- or three-fold during peak vacation times.

Almost all hotels in Da Lat have reported fully booked for stays between April 28 and May 3, with prices skyrocketing up to three-fold compared to normal rates. Tiếp tục đọc “Volatile hotel price ‘a failure of Vietnam tourism’” →

OP-ED: Attitude is the underlying problem of Vietnam’s tourist industry

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TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 04/25/2015 06:57 GMT + 7

Editor’s note: A reader simply calling herself Thuy argues that among the endless list of problems and challenges facing Vietnamese tourism, the underlying problem is attitude. The opinions here are solely hers.

It’s very good that you are bringing attention to the problems that Vietnam continues to face even after decades of the government discussing tourism development.

I’ve worked in the tourist/service/hospitality sector in the U.S. and Vietnam for more than 20 years so it is very frustrating to see the country’s lack of effort and interest in facilitating foreign visitors and pursuing cost-effective marketing opportunities. Tiếp tục đọc “OP-ED: Attitude is the underlying problem of Vietnam’s tourist industry” →

Costly visas, dual pricing, scammers are why tourists don’t return to Vietnam: expat

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TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 04/08/2015 19:11 GMT + 7

Editor’s note: Tuoi Tre News is encouraging our readers to share their stories about their trips to Vietnam, or give comments on or offer insights into the current downfall of the country’s tourism.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

An expat preferring to be known as A.H., who runs a real estate business in the central city of Hoi An, is among the very first readers to answer our call. In the following story, H., who said he has resided in Vietnam for six years, gives comments on why tourists do not come back to the country.

This article exclusively reflects the author’s personal views and experience. Tiếp tục đọc “Costly visas, dual pricing, scammers are why tourists don’t return to Vietnam: expat” →

Vietnam from a Briton’s perspective

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Tuoi Tre News

Updated : 03/16/2017 16:00 GMT + 7

Editor’s note: Helen Major from the UK is sharing several of her personal observations of Vietnam since relocating to the Southeast Asian country with her Vietnamese husband.

I’m British. I’m married to a Vietnamese man. For the first few years of our marriage, we lived in Britain – where my poor husband had to deal with an intensely curious public whose only real knowledge of his country came from American war films. Recently, however, my husband, our two children, and I moved back to Vietnam. I’ve been to Vietnam before, of course, to visit my in-laws and see where my husband grew up, but actually living here has been quite an eye opener! My children have immediately become Vietnamese, apparently – but I (to my husband’s great amusement) am frequently confused. Here, for your delight, is my bewildered outsider’s perspective on this wonderful nation. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam from a Briton’s perspective” →

Chairman of northern Vietnam province intimidated for putting brakes on sand exploitation

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Tuoi Tre News

Updated : 03/16/2017 16:45 GMT + 7

The chairman of the People’s Committee in the northern Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh has been the victim of threats since launching a campaign to end harmful sand exploitation in a local river.

Nguyen Tu Quynh, chairman of the provincial administration, has sent a letter notifying the prime minister that he and other officers had been threatened for ending a sand dredging project in the Cau River, an 83 kilometer long waterway snaking through Bac Ninh and Bac Giang Provinces.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday, Chairman Quynh stated he had asked the Ministry of Public Security to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the investors behind the detrimental project. Tiếp tục đọc “Chairman of northern Vietnam province intimidated for putting brakes on sand exploitation” →

Managing Security in the South China Sea: From DOC to COC

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Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

Mingjiang Li


Hailed as a milestone document between ASEAN and China in 2002, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) has not fulfilled its mission in building greater trust between the claimant states and preventing the dispute from escalating. It has merely played the role of imposing moral constraints on relevant parties. One could argue, however, that it has at least served as both a reference point when problems and tensions emerged and the grounds for negotiations of a formal code of conduct (COC).Now that ASEAN countries and China have just started the COC process, it is important for all the participating parties to address the loopholes of the DOC when they discuss and negotiate the COC. Tiếp tục đọc “Managing Security in the South China Sea: From DOC to COC” →

Australia urges South China Sea ruling as basis for ‘code of conduct’

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  • Posted 16 Mar 2017

MANILA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations should use an international court’s rejection of China’s claims to almost all the South China Sea as basis for a code of conduct, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Thursday.

Australia did not take sides in the South China Sea disputes, Bishop said, but it wanted to see “de-escalation of tension”, reiterating its opposition to China’s militarisation of man-made islands in the waters.

China and the 10-member ASEAN have been discussing for almost 15 years a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the South China Sea. Tiếp tục đọc “Australia urges South China Sea ruling as basis for ‘code of conduct’” →

Dutch Leader Claims Victory Over ‘Wrong Kind of Populism’ in Election

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Time

Mike Corder and Raf Casert / AP
Updated: Mar 15, 2017 1:47 AM ET

(THE HAGUE, Netherlands) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday claimed a dominating parliamentary election victory over anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, who failed the year’s first litmus test for populism in Europe.

Provisional results with over half the votes counted suggested Rutte’s party won 32 seats in the 150-member legislature, 13 more than Wilders’ party, which took only third place with 19 seats. The surging CDA Christian Democrats claimed 20.

Following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president, “the Netherlands said, ‘Whoa!’ to the wrong kind of populism,” said Rutte, who is now poised for a third term as prime minister.

Tiếp tục đọc “Dutch Leader Claims Victory Over ‘Wrong Kind of Populism’ in Election” →

Rodrigo Duterte impeachment papers filed in Philippine Congress

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Guardian

Opposition lawmaker formally calls for president to be removed from power, accusing him of high crimes

Rodrigo Duterte should be impeached over a host of offences, says an opposition MP.
Rodrigo Duterte should be impeached over a host of offences, says an opposition MP. Photograph: Erik de Castro/Reuters

Reuters Wednesday 15 March 2017 23.57 EDT

An opposition lawmaker filed an impeachment complaint in the Philippine Congress on Thursday against President Rodrigo Duterte, calling for his removal for what he said were high crimes, betrayal of public trust and abuses of power. Tiếp tục đọc “Rodrigo Duterte impeachment papers filed in Philippine Congress” →

Iraqis Threaten to Sue U.S. for War Crimes

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Freebacon

9/11 bill removing sovereign immunity rights will open U.S. to flood of international lawsuits

Iraq Training Troubles

U.S. army soldiers, alongside their Iraqi counterparts, provide security at a marketplace in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib suburb / AP

BY:
September 26, 2016 3:25 pm

An advocacy organization representing scores of Iraqis killed or wounded by U.S. forces has threatened to sue the American government for war crimes, according to a recent announcement that cites a new bill as opening a pathway for citizens to sue foreign governments over terror attacks.

The Iraqi National Project, a group that advocates on the behalf of Iraqi nationals, says that it is laying the groundwork to sue the United States for its war effort in the country. Tiếp tục đọc “Iraqis Threaten to Sue U.S. for War Crimes” →

Iraq Will Use Sept 11 Bill To Sue US Government For 2003 Invasion, Demand Compensation

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Tyler Durden's picture
by Tyler Durden
Oct 3, 2016 4:23 PM

As reported on Saturday, a September 11 widow was the first American to take advantage of the recently passed Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (JASTA), aka the “Sept.11” bill courtesy of Congress which for the first time in Obama’s tenure overrode his veto, by suing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Stephanie Ross DeSimone alleged the kingdom provided material support to al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden leading to the death of her husband, Navy Commander Patrick Dunn, who was killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2009, when Stephanie was two months pregnant at the time with the couple’s daughter. Her suit is also filed on behalf of the couple’s daughter. She sued for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Tiếp tục đọc “Iraq Will Use Sept 11 Bill To Sue US Government For 2003 Invasion, Demand Compensation” →