A Ho Chi Minh City elementary school has stirred up public controversy by having its students take their end-of-semester exams in the schoolyard, instead of inside the classrooms as is the normal practice.

Students sit for their end-of-semester exams in the schoolyard

Luong The Vinh Elementary School in District 7 last week required over 500 fourth and fifth graders to sit for their tests on science, history and geography outdoors from 7:15 to 7:55, when the sunlight is pretty strong.

Many parents were worried about their kids’ health when they had to take the tests in the open air under the sun.

Manh, a father, complained that the sunlight could adversely affect the students’ health and psychology, thus inhibiting their performance.

Some parents displayed great anxiety and dissatisfaction seeing their kids exposed to the sun on these mornings.

Others protested that sitting on the ground to take the tests could hinder the children’s writing and, even worse, create bad postures that harm their spinal health.

A reader wrote to Tuoi Tre to criticize the school’s unconventional methods, saying that the school must have failed badly to prevent cheating in classrooms so it had to give exams outdoors for easier supervision.

Another warned that the students could contract parasitic diseases and become short-sighted by sitting on the ground and bending down to write on their small plastic chairs, instead of traditional tables.

In the meantime, there are parents who supported this type of testing, saying it was rather cool at the time and a little sunlight in the morning would do more good than harm.

“Instead of sitting in stuffed-up classrooms, the kids can enjoy the fresh air in the schoolyard,” Binh, a father, said.

Many Tuoi Tre readers hailed this testing method as “innovative” since it gave the students more freedom and self-reliance, but less pressure, thanks to the open space.

Luong The Vinh principal Ha Thanh Hai said this was not the first time the school had asked its students to take their exams in the open.

An open space like the schoolyard would give the students a sense of independence, confidence, and discipline, and forced them to do the tests themselves, without thinking of cheating or asking for help, the principal explained.

The local education and training department also backed the school, saying it always encouraged innovative testing ideas as long as students’ health and safety were ensured.

“Sitting in the schoolyard to take exams could lessen pressure on students,” said Le Ngoc Diep, head of elementary education at the department.

Diep admitted Luong The Vinh was the first in Ho Chi Minh City to have organized an end-of-semester exam that way.

source from: dtinews

The New Zealand-born 46-year-old chef moved to Hanoi in 1996. After working as a chef in a few upscale restaurants, he opened his own place in downtown Hanoi, called Restaurant Bobby Chinn.

His restaurant is famous for its fusion of American and traditional and authentic oriental food.

Bobby Chinn has hosted the World Cafe Asia show for the Travel and Living Channel, BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, UKTV Food’s Great Food Live and Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia for the Discovery Channel.
source from: thanhniennews

Well, the options are endless but here are some pointers in the right direction. You have arrived with most tourists heading to hotels in District 1. Well the first port of call should be Saigon Notre-Dame.

Cathedral in Cong Xa Paris Square in downtown HCMC. It is a real landmark and it is a quick in and out trip. Short and sweet and of course free. Next up should be the Reunification Palace on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. For a small fee of around  three dollars you can visit the former home of the President of South Vietnam and one of the locations.

Not only is it a journey back in time but you get a wonderful view of the tree-lined street of Le Duan with its French design obvious.

A short five minute journey from there is the War Remnants Museum which is not for the fainthearted. The horrors of Agent Orange and U.S. bombing missions during the American War are evident and hard-hitting. A very sombre trip but one which I think all tourists to the city must make, if they have any interest at all in the country they are visiting.

From there you can head down to Cach Mang Thang Tam Street  and the new statue of Buddhist Monk Thich Quang Duc who burned himself to death to make a political statement about the treatment of Buddhist Monks in the early 1960s in District 3.

If you want to see the Chinese part of town from there it is a short journey to Cholon in District 5 and 6. There is the former premises of the Le Grande Mondial which was the most profitable casino in the world during the 1950s and straight up the road from there is St Francis Xavier church (Father Tam church) in Hoc Lac Street where former President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem was captured during the military coup in November 1963 before his execution.

After all that history you will want to relax a little and heading to Saigon Pho 2000 which is ideally located next Ben Thanh Market in downtown for a bite to eat. Then you can do a spot of shopping and wheeling and dealing.

There is of course high end and low end shopping facilities located throughout Le Loi Street and cafes aplenty for your downtime.

The Rex Hotel is the most famous location in the city. It was a popular haunt of journalists and U.S. servicemen during the American War.

The top floor restaurant and bar is a must for any visitor to Saigon. There is live music among all your other necessities but it is more than that. You can feel the history as you sit there with a nice view of the city.

Of course you can be very bold and forget about the city tour and instead go to the popular Cu Chi Tunnels with buses running regularly or you can hire a motorbike and take the two hour journey there. Word of warning, though, it can be dangerous if you are inexperienced on a bike. The great thing about this part of the nation’s history is that it has been turned into a fun area with groups of Vietnamese and tourists alike taking in the historical aspect and having a picnic at the same time with a lot of green areas in the complex.

source from: vietnamnet

HCMC plans flood prevention project (Photo: SGGP)
The flood prevention project will implement measures to tackle and cope with flooding in HCMC, taking into account the prevailing natural and socio-economic conditions.

The City also instructed the Urban Railway Management Board to report on the impact of flooding along metro routes, which are still under construction, and set up plans to prevent and cope with worst hit areas.

District people’s committees have been asked to intensify propaganda and tackle very strictly all those people encroaching along the canals and dumping waste indiscriminately.

source from: saigon-gpdaily

More than 3,000 football fans of Song Lam Nghe An flocked to Ho Chi Minh City-based Thong Nhat stadium on the afternoon of April 19 to cheer their side in the game against hosts Saigon FC in the late match at the 13th round in the V-League, and messed everything up there.

As the second half covered only around 10 minutes, from the stands, SLNA fans repeatedly shouted out “Referee fixes the match,” in a protest to the main referee Phung Dinh Dung’s decision not to award their side a penalty kick at the 57th minute.

Minh Chuyen of SLNA kicked out a ball which later touched the arm of Dang Van Robert of Saigon FC, who was standing in the penalty area, but referee Dung only signaled the match to continue, without blowing his whistle.

The SLNA hooligans then collected all of the newspapers they brought with and set fire to them to continue their objections, sending the security force at Thong Nhat Stadium to hurriedly extinguishing the fire.

The extremist fans then continued to riot on the stands, and sent huge crowds to prevent the security force from stopping them.

As the match ended, the fans refused to leave but continued to set fire on the stand.

They only stopped when being attacked by water cannons.

Below are some photos taken by Tuoi Tre:

Police force was deployed to the match

Police force seized a hooligan

The security force attempted to wipe out the fire

The hooligans tried to stop the security officers

Fire trucks were also deployed to the stadium

Security officials used water cannon to stop the hooligans

source from: tuoitrenews

A joint inspection team in Binh Duong Province has detected 8.4 tons of rotten cattle meat and organs which would have been sold to restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City after being processed thanks to information

The find included one ton of pig tripe stored at room temperature and four more tons of pig tripe, as well as 3.4 tons of pig, cow and buffalo legs kept in cold storage.

Huong said he had no documents related to the goods, claiming that a friend of his had sent them in from northern Hai Phong City.

After being processed, all of the goods were to be transported to northern Lang Son Province to a woman named Binh, who will then sell the goods to China as a kind of fertilizer.

Ta Trong Khuong, deputy head of the provincial Veterinary Sub-Department, rejected Huong’s statement, considering it unconvincing, since it wouldn’t make sense to send the goods from the North to the South for processing and then carry them back to the North for export.

“According to an inquiry of the veterinary force, the rotten meat and organs were meant to be sold to restaurants and other eateries in HCMC after being processed,” Khuong said.

The enterprise’s owner, Nguyen Viet Huong, 40, admitted to the inspectors that he did not have a business registration certificate for his establishment, which began operating 6 months ago.

Concerned agencies are investigating the case and all the goods will be destroyed today, Khuong added.

Workers at Trien Khanh Private Enterprise, where inspectors found 8.4 stinking, rotten cattle meat and organs

Seizure came from failure

The detection was made following an unsuccessful incineration of a large amount of rotten meat that had been seized in Dong Nai Province on April 18.

As reported earlier, market management officers and a veterinary unit in Dong Nai province seized a frozen storage truck carrying 2.2 tons of rotten cow and buffalo meat packed in 33 bags earlier the same day.

As the truck’s driver, 27-year-old Nguyen Van Hoan, failed to produce any documents related to the meat, the inspectors escorted the truck to a yard in Long Binh Ward for destruction of the meat.

All the bags of meat were put in a large hole in the yard and set on fire with petrol. About 20 minutes later, the officers in charge left the area.

The truck that carried the 2.2 tons of rotten meat from the incineration site to Trien Khanh Private Enterprise

At that time, the flames had only burnt the upper layer of the bags of meat and then died out. The driver and two other men proceeded to pull all the bags of meat out of the hole, loaded them back onto the truck and then drove it to the said enterprise.

Tuoi Tre immediately reported the case to Binh Duong’s concerned agencies.

When a joint inspection team arrived the lighting system in the warehouse area was turned off. Thirty minutes later, when the lights were switched on, the truck had disappeared.

Since the enterprise’s owner was not present at that time, the inspectors sealed the cold storage area pending an examination the next morning.

Inspectors are investigating to determine whether the 2.2 tons of meat had been placed together with the other meat in the cold storage before the lights were turned on, or whether it had been put somewhere else in the truck.

source from: tuoitrenews

A number of foreign business organisations and associations took part in a trade and investment promotion conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on March. 29 to seek partners and opportunities in Vietnam .

The businesses come from such countries and territories as Thailand , Canada , Germany , Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore and Hong Kong ( China ).

The annual event this year focused on the city’s economic restructuring in 2012, the development of industrial clusters, mechanism and policies to attract investors in the high-tech industry, monetary policy and solutions to support businesses.

Vietnam ’s consumption market in 2012 is forecast to develop faster than that of regional countries such as Thailand , the Philippines and Malaysia and thus remaining attractive to foreign investors, the seminar was heard.

Experts said the country’s retail market is forecast to keep its high growth rate of about 23 percent during the 2012-2014 period with one of the best profitability in the world.

Domestic businesses took the occasion to display their products.

The annual event was coorganised by the Ho Chi Minh City Businesses’ Association, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment.

source from: tuoitrenews

This years’ event is expected to have 150 booths showcasing cuisine and tourism services such as tour operations, transportation, hotels and airlines.

The festival will also include street parades, photo exhibitions and musical performances as well as fundraising for disadvantaged children around the city.

The 4^th annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival will also take place within the framework of the tourism festival. Last year’s event attracted around 5,000 visitors.

source from: vov

On the square in front of the Hanoi Opera House, representatives from the Ministry of Nature Resources and Environment (MoNRE), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee and the Danish Embassy in Vietnam pressed the button to turn off the lights to support the campaign.

The young people, wearing Earth Hour 2012 T-shirts with cheerful faces and delighted smiles, sang out ‘The song of Earth’ while carrying candles in their hands.

Nguyen Trong Duong, a third year student from the Post and Telecommunications (PTIT) Institute of Technology, said this is the first time he has joined such a campaign and he is very happy to join hands in the activity.

Nguyen Thuy Duong, another third year student from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), said Earth Hour is a meaningful campaign for not only the young people but also for all the Vietnamese people, as it shows Vietnam’s international intgration to contribute to protecting the global environment.

MoIT Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong stressed that Earth Hour has become the largest campaign ever, attracting participation in most countries and continents around the globe. It focuses on every single individual in the community and turns great commitments into practical action which can be implemented immediately and daily.

*** Meanwhile, a large number of young people gathered at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Culture House to participate in games and exhibition stands on recycled products before the event started.

At 20h30, at the countdown of the participants, all the electric equipment around the building was switched off. The electricity in many other places, including the city’s Municipal People’s Committee Building, the Municipal Theater, Museum, Thu Thiem Bridge, Phu My Bridge and a number of restaurants, hotels and residential quarters, was also cut for one hour.

During the hour, the young people shouted the Earth Hour slogan, sang songs about environmental protection and

listened to a music programme performed by the ambassadors of the campaign.

This year, Earth Hour volunteers used solar energy lamps to light up the stage instead of candles. The stage was also made from environmentally friendly materials.

According to the organizing board, more than 15,000 individuals and units in the city registered to take part in the event.

Nguyen Khanh Toan, Head of the Coordinating Group of 350.org in Ho Chi Minh City, said this year’s Earth Hour Campaign is totally different from the previous ones in the way that it introduces many solutions involving renewable energy and sustainable materials to millions of city dwellers.

source from: vov

Taxi companies will increase charges

Dang Duc Tiep, Director of Dang Tien Transport Company said that the company will increase fares on all new contracts by at least 4-5 per cent.

Luong Hoang Trung, Deputy Chairman of the Cargo Transport Association in Ho Chi Minh City, said that with the recent fuel prices increasing by 10 per cent, transport fares will also have to add on an increase on costs by a minimum 2.5-3 per cent.

According to Thuong Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Mien Dong Coach Station, freight companies have been hardest hit by the fuel price hike. The industry has been left with no choice but to implement a fuel surcharge to meet costs. However, they also face pressure from clients who bargain over prices, added Hai.

Transport units operating at the station now have to adjust their fares following the recent fuel price hike, said Hai.

On the other hand, if transport companies wait to seek formal approval to increase fares from relevant departments, the entire process will take at least 10 days, and companies will lose a lot of revenue during that time.

Till now, the station has not received any information regards an increase in transport fares from transport companies operating in its premises.

source from: saigon-gpdaily