VPF on February 8 asked the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to maintain the name of the former First Division tournament as V-League 1 and change the name of the national championship from Super League into V-Super League.

VPF wishes to maintain the name League to both professional football tournaments. It explained: “Before 2011, there were only 14 professional FCs so we differentiate the names of the National Football Championship and the First Division Tournament because at that time many FCs playing in the First Division Tournament were not recognized as professional FCs.”

“At present, all 28 FCs are recognized as professional FCs so if the old names of the National Football Championship and the First Division Tournament are maintained, the ranking of FCs will not be differentiated.”

However, VFF did not agree and asked VPF to resume the old names of the National Football Championship and the First Division Tournament, meaning the V-League and the First Division Tournament.

Both VFF and the General Department of Sports and Physical Training asked VPF to observe the current regulations until the new regulations for 2012 are approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

source form: vietnamnet

The police went to Thang’s school and asked the principal to release Thang to them, without notifying his parents.

According to Vietnamese law, a guardian must be present in order for police to question a minor. Thang will turn 18 in July.

Thang alleges that while in custody, the commune police beat him, repeatedly punching him the face, head and abdomen.

Test results from a local hospital on February 9 showed that Thang received multiple injuries to his chest, stomach, lower back and pelvis. Doctors also determined there was excessive fluid in his kidneys.

Thang’s father Huynh Ba Duc said his family knew nothing about the case until few days afterward.

“He was scared and hid it from us. I only learned of it when his teacher told me later about the police’s summon.”

Ho Van Lieu, the school principle, admitted his mistake in allowing the police take Thang away without a guardian present.

“I was overconfident and do not quite know the laws,” Lieu said.

Ngo Quang Thang, deputy head of the commune police, who escorted the student to the police station, denied that the teen had been beaten during the interrogation.

The police officer also said that it was not necessary to have a guardian along because Thang is “nearly” 18.

His superiors say they are investigating Thang’s allegations.

source form: thanhniennews

Forest rangers in the Dong Nai Natural and Cultural Conversation Zone in Dong Nai Province yesterday saved a 100-kg elephant that had fallen into a well.

With the help of local residents, the rangers managed to take the elephant out of the 2-m deep well in Subzone 59, Phu Ly Commune, Vinh Cuu District, said Tran Van Mui, the zone’s director.

Some locals had earlier heard the howling of the elephant and reported to the rangers, who later found the well where the animal was stuck.

They dug a ditch on a side of the well and then used ropes to pull the elephant out.
The number of wild elephants in Dong Nai has been reduced from 17 in 2009 to 10 at present, Mui said.

To protect the remaining wild elephants and prevent them from attacking humans, the zone plans to set up a 30-km electric fence with an intensity of 800-1,000 V/10 mA around the area they are living.

The fence will give a slight shock when touched but will not be dangerous for both humans and animals.

About 1,500 warning signs will be installed along the fence to inform local residents of the area where the wild animals live.

There will be 8 gates set up for rangers and people to enter and exit the zone.

The fence is expected to cost VND6 billion (US$286,000) and to be completed in 2014, Mui said.

source form: tuoitrenews

Nearly a hundred garden houses, a cultural attraction in the World Heritage town of Hue, have been closed over the past five years with the owners saying they were tired of preserving the heritages without getting paid.

The owners said they could not keep receiving visitors, putting on smart clothes, serving them drinks and answering hundreds of their questions like tour guides without any payment.

Nguyen Thi Minh Trang, owner of a garden house at No.1 Phu Mong Street, told the Tuoi Tre newspaper last week that a preservation project for garden houses in the town had been approved six years ago, but she has not received a single dong.

“I had to close the house to do other jobs. We still have to eat,” Trang said.

Nguyen Ngoc Trinh, the 88-year-old owner of a house at No.5 Phu Mong, said he sometimes he had to tell the visitors that the house owners were not at home, since “I cannot be a free tour guide forever.”

The Tuoi Tre report said that most other garden houses in the area also refused to receive customers, and some did so very reluctantly.

Many tourists were also frustrated after paying tour operators and not getting any service.

A total of 98 garden houses started to refuse their services after waiting for years for the garden house preservation project to provide them with funding. The project to preserve 150 garden houses was approved by Thua Thien-Hue provincial government in 2006 but the province only decided to establish a fund for the project in 2010.

Ngo Anh Tuan, vice chairman of Hue town government, told Tuoi Tre that the paperwork “took four years.”

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial administration has not named the agencies or individuals responsible for the undue delay.

The delay has not only caused 98 houses to shut their doors to visitors, but many have also been modified for different purposes, one of them because people need more room.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial government said at a meeting in December last year that there were only 52 garden houses remaining in their original form, with a ruong, an ancient wooden house typically found in Hue, surrounded by a big garden.

One of the modified garden houses is located at 38/3 Le Thanh Ton in the town center, built in 1932.

Two years ago, two modern houses for the owner’s sons were put up on either sides of the ruong, and the garden was tiled.

One of the sons said “We have more than ten people, we cannot live in the small ancient house forever.”

Another garden house nearby at 64 Han Thuyen also saw a two-story concrete house built next to the ruong house.

The owner of another garden house at 66 Doan Thi Diem Street has built a mezzanine inside the house for shelter in case of flooding.

Researcher Nguyen Huu Thong, director of the Hue office of Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, told Tuoi Tre that Hue was listed as a world heritage not only because of its temples and palaces, but also to the villages inside the urban zones of the town, which is a special characteristic of Hue.

“Without the garden houses, Hue is no longer Hue,” Thong said.
source form: thanhniennews

Schools applaud MOET’s decision

MOET has announced that a new exam group – A1 (students will have to attend mathematics, physics and foreign language exams) – will be set up from the 2012 enrolment season. Some experts also say that this is a reasonable decision, because the exam subjects would help find the best students for information technology – the major that needs logical thoughts and foreign language skills.

Dr Vu Van Hoa, Deputy President of the Hanoi University of Business and Technology, said that this is really a reasonable policy. “We had a meeting right after the ministry announced the decision, and we have decided that we would enroll students with A1 group right in the 2012 enrolment season.” Hoa said.

Hoa said that to date, the school has been seeking students for information technology faculty from the students who attend A group exam (students attend mathematics, physics and chemistry). Meanwhile, the knowledge in chemistry is not really necessary in the training at the university, while information technology engineers need foreign language skills.

The school’s curriculums prove to be heavy in foreign languages with the lessons in foreign languages accounting for 72/240 credits during the four year study.

However, Hoa said that the schools will still seek students for the information technology major from the students who attend A and D groups as well. Meanwhile, A1 group will only be applied to the students who register to study information technology.

Doan Van Ve, Head of the Training Division of the Hanoi University of Natural Resources, has also advocated the policy on adding A1 group into the university entrance exam system.

Ve said that there are many training majors, which do not require deep knowledge in chemistry at university. Therefore, it would be reasonable if schools require the knowledge in natural sciences and foreign language skills when selecting students.

However, Ve said in the 2012 enrolment season, his schools will still apply traditional exam groups.

Tran Huu Nghi, President of the Hai Phong People’s Founded School, though applauding the decision, also said that the school needs to discuss about that in the next enrolment conference before making final decision.

High schools feel worried

Do Cat, a student of the Van Xuan High School in Hanoi said that he has heard about the appearance of A1 group from newspapers, while teachers of the schools have not informed them.

However, Cat said, he does not intend to attend A1 group, because he has too little time left to prepare for the exams.

“I planned to take A and B exam groups, therefore, I have been focusing on four subjects of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology only.” He explained.

“I believe that the students who prepare to attend D group (mathematics, literature and foreign language) will not be able to learn physics right now to attend the A1 group exam. Meanwhile, those, who intend to attend A group, will not have time to learn foreign language.” He said

Nguyen Yen, a student of the Hoai Duc A High School in Hanoi, complained that if she had heard the news earlier, she would have had more time to prepare for the both A1 and D group exams. Meanwhile, it is now clear that this is impossible, because she does not have much time left.

source form: vietnamnet

Hospitals are overloaded in big cities, causing a headache to the health sector

In an online dialogue with patients and people on January 7, Minister Tien pointed to the fact that two or three patients, sometimes more, have to share a bed.

The overload is the worst at cardio vascular, cancer, pediatrics and functional rehabilitation hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Many developed countries are also confronted with a similar problem, said Tien.

Although the health sector has increased the number of hospital beds, simplified administrative procedures, opened more private hospitals and transferred technology to district and commune hospitals, the overload has not yet been eased, said Tien.

According to the Minister, the ratio of hospital beds in Vietnam, 20.5 per 10,000 people, is rather low compared to the 33 considered the minimum under the World Health Organisation (WHO), 86 in the Republic of Korea and 140 in Japan.

She admitted that Vietnam still lacks medical workers at district levels and remote areas despite incentives offered by the health sector.

Most medical university graduates want to stay in big cities and it is difficult to attract them to work at medical centres in districts and far-flung regions, Tien confided.

She went on to say that investment in grassroots level medical centres remains modest due to limited budgets and it is hard to mobilize capital from outside sources for healthcare development projects.

Higher living standards also enable people to move to big cities for treatment where specialized hospitals are equipped with modern facilities and highly skilled doctors.

Solving this chronic problem requires the joint efforts of relevant ministries and people, not only the Ministry of Health, said Tien.

She said the Ministry of Health is drafting a project aimed at easing hospital overload and submitting it to the Government for consideration. Major solutions include increasing the number of hospital beds, building more hospitals, enhancing the capacity of local medical centres, and developing a network of family doctors.

source form: dtinews

A giant turtle, titanic loach and a butterfly, and an oversized mushroom are amongst the supersized animals and plants that could have been left by the giants from the land of Brobdingnag during their visit to Vietnam in 2011.

They are listed by Dat Viet newspaper as follows.

1. Giant turtle in Hanoi

On the morning of December 12, 2011, 60-year-old Nguyen Ba Toan caught a 22-kilogram turtle when he was fishing under Chuong Duong Bridge in Hanoi.

The 22-kilogram turtle. Photo: Kenh14
The turtle is one meter long and 50 centimeter wide. It is said to bear resemblances to the giant old turtle in Sword Lake.

Many neighbors have visited Toan’s house to see the giant creature. Some offered hundreds of millions of dong for the creature, but Toan and his wife turned them down
Two days after catching the animal, they decided to sell the creature to a Chinese national for VND180 million (US$8640).

2. Titan loach in Ha Tinh

In mid-September, Nguyen Thi Huong of Nghi Xuan District in the central province of Ha Tinh captured a loach, a type of fish, which was more than 1.5 meters long, and weighed 10 kilograms, on her fishing trip.

The loach that is 5 meter long. Photo: BDVN
Huong said it was not until she took the large creature back to land that she realized it was a loach.

Locals flocked to her house to see the big creature as soon as she got home.

3. Enormous butterfly in Nghe An

On August 26, Le Dinh Dinh in Hau Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, in the central province of Nghe An found an enormous butterfly with a wingspan of 40 centimeters in his garden.

The giant butterfly. Photo: NLD
The butterfly, whose wings had white dots and brown patterns, perched upon a dragon fruit tree in Dinh’s garden and stayed there until the next morning, despite the curious stares of Dinh’s neighbors.

In late July, a woman in Quang Nam Province also found a giant moth with a wingspan of 50 cm wide in her garden, which experts said belonged to a night butterfly species known as Attacus Atlas, the biggest butterfly species in the world.

4. Lemon as big as a piglet in Da Lat

At the Da Lat-based Muoi Loi garden of Bui Van Sang, lemon trees whose fruits are as big as a piglet can easily be found.

The lemons weigh an average of 3.5 kilogram, have a 20-cm diameter, and are 40 cm wide.

Sang and his piglet-sized lemons. Photo: VNN
Sang said the lemons originated from India, Myanmar, and the Mediterranean, adding that he has treated the trees with special techniques so that each one stands nearly 1 meter high.

5. Jumbo gourd in Ninh Thuan

In early March, Truong Thanh Le of the central province of Ninh Thuan found a giant gourd that weighed as much as 35 kilograms in his garden.

Le and the jumbo gourd in his garden. Photo: GDXH
The gourd is 0.7 meter long and, its largest circumference measures up to 1 meter.
Le said the gourd was grown in his garden at Phuoc Khanh Hamlet, Phuoc Thuan Commune, Ninh Phuoc District.

He had taken care of the gourd and it had gradually grownto such a big size, he said, adding that he would keep it for seeding purposes.

6. Enormous lotus-shaped winged yam

On the morning of April 22, several dozen locals flocked out of curiosity to the house of Pham Thi Ngoc Anh, in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, to have a look at the giant winged yam that was shaped like a lotus.

The enormous lotus-shaped yam
Anh said it took her and her family more than an hour to unearth the yam, which weighed 30 kilograms.

7. Oversized cassava in Bac Giang

In April, 64-year-old Nguyen Cao Khai, of the northern province of Bac Giang, yielded a mammoth ginseng-shaped cassava that weighed 45 kilograms, and was 1.7 meter wide.

The cassava weighing 45 kilograms. Photo: KHDS
Khai said he had planted the fruit two years ago, and had not watered or fertilized it since.

Earlier he had also unearthed a 30-kg cassava.

8. Huge mushroom in Binh Duong

On June 6, Truong Anh Dao of Binh Duong Province was returning to her home with her sister from their morning exercise when she found a bizarre mushroom in an unused brick kiln.

The giant mushroom. Photo: Binh Duong Newspaper
“I was walking when I found a giant white object behind a bush,” Dao recalled.

“My sister insisted that it was a conical hat someone had left, but when I approached it, I realized it was a giant mushroom.”

source form: tuoitrenews

P1: A convenient home for expats

“Foreigners account for nearly a half of Vietnam’s population”

The area is surrounded by four streets: Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham, Bui Vien and Do Quang Dau, in District 1.Each street specializes in one kind of tourism service. Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham streets provide a large number of travel agencies, while Bui Vien is the place to find hotels and rooms for rent, and Do Quang Dau offers many bars and restaurants.

According to Viet, a hotel owner on Bui Vien Street, the backpacker area was formed in the 1990s when local travel agency Sinh Café opened its first office to transfer foreign tourists in the area. Then local residents started their own tourism service businesses, such as restaurants, accommodation and entertainment services, and the area quickly turned into a zone for foreigners.

“One of my customers said it seemed that foreigners accounted for nearly a half of Vietnam’s population when he saw the large amount of foreigners in the place,” Viet added.

Dung, owner of the Saigon Beautiful Group, which has five hotels in the area, said his hotels usually welcome customers who stay for only two or threedays.

He also shared that most of his customers are from English-speaking countries, and the majority are Australian.

While the peak season for European visitors is from August to January, Japanese and Chinese travelers prefer to come from February to April, and September to October, respectively.

In 2011, the area saw an increase in the number of customers from other Asian countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
According to hotel owners in the 40th alley, one of the alleys which has the most hotels and rooms for rent on Bui Vien Street, the manners of the area have improved greatly.

Years ago, foreign tourists who came to the area saw fights between local hotels, which were household businesses, in their attempt to get customers. Unscrupulous brokers also contributed to the rather messy situation.

But now things have changed. Tu, owner of the Mimi hotel, said every hotel in the alley works with the others as a friend, and they share customers.

Still, some owners are seeing a trend in which they have to rent their houses out in order to have enough money to run their hotel, since it’s getting hard to remain in the business due to its high costs versus cheap rent (US$ 8 – US$13).

A convenient second home for expats

Although many people think that tourists just stop by the backpacker area and then go, the region still has its friends who consider Vietnam in general, and the backpacker area in particular, their second home.

Austrian expat Micheal G. James, who is now an English teacher in the city, has lived in the area for five years, while Tudor Calin Cotarta, a Romanian, has spent four months in the Mimi hotel.

According to Tu, her hotel also welcomes regular guests who come once a year, like Japanese photographer M.Yasufumi, who held an exhibition titled “Noi Dau Chien Tranh O Vietnam” (The War Pain in Vietnam) in 2009.

Each time he comes to Vietnam, Yasufumi stays at the hotel for one or two months, and usually goes out early in the morning to take pictures.

Hotels lying in a row in Bui Vien Street (Photo: Ngoc Dong)

Overseas Vietnamese also choose to stay in the area for their few-month vacations, while some foreigners who have decided to settle in Vietnam also stay there and seek jobs.

Most of these regular guests are nice and behave politely. If they come back late, they may sit outside and wait until the early morning when the hotel opens. They also treat the staff at hotels like friends by giving lucky money for the Tet holiday or gifts on Christmas, as well as often tipping them.

However, sometimes customers do pretend to be robbed, or claim that they have lost property in hotels.

“In such cases, though we know their stories are false, we don’t have any proof, so we have to deal with them and discount the rent, or even let them stay for free, in order to save our reputation” Tu shared.

According to some local hotel owners, the reason the area has existed for such a long time is its convenience.

“All hotels provide their customers with all the things they need, from laundry service, to motorbikes for rent, and even bringing their mail or parcels to the local post office,” Tu explained.

Moreover, local businessmen also know how to attract their customers by being flexible in dealing with rent and remaining willing to organize the room as required.

“During the last year, the average price of rooms in the region has actually decreased compared with previous years,” she added.

source form: tuoitrenews

Many Vietnamese garment brand names have gradually gained back local market share in low-cost product segments targeting average-income consumers, which used to be dominated by Chinese products.

Many fashion stores on Ho Chi Minh City’s Le Van Si and Nguyen Dinh Chieu streets, which used to sell large amounts of Chinese garments, have now reduced the ratio of Chinese-imported products in their stocks.

Stores selling Chinese women garments and accessories have recently received few customers, even though product prices are only around VND200,000-500,000 (US$12-24) an item.

Meanwhile, boutiques of local businesses such as Ha Gatini, Ninomax, N&M, Viet Thy, Viet Tien, and An Phuong are always full of shoppers, especially at night.

Phan Van Kiet, deputy CEO of Viet Tien Co, said buying power has so far risen by 25 to 30 percent year on year.

Viet Tien has also increased supply by 30 percent to meet demand, which is likely to soar further as the Lunar New Year is approaching, Kiet said.

Specifically, he said the company increased supply of products intended for workers, laborers, and low-income earners by as much as 60 percent.

“Our Viet Long brand, which is intended for these consumers, now costs around VND180,000-250,000 a product,” Kiet said.

“Our sales, as well as those of other local garment manufacturers, have surged, since consumers no longer accept low-cost garments with dubious origins, including Chinese products.”

For her part, Dang Quynh Doan, director of Viet Thy Fashion Co, said many local garment makers have won back home market share thanks to the fact that consumers have turned their back on low-quality products originating from China.

“Viet Thy’s most-consumed products are those whose prices range between VND150,000 and VND260,000, the segment which used to face harsh competition from Chinese counterparts in previous Lunar New Years,” Doan said.

She said Chinese garments are now only VND10,000-15,000 an item cheaper than Vietnamese products, since China is no longer able to make use of its advantage of low production costs.

For its part, the local fashion garment chain Vinatex Mart also said sales have unexpectedly soared since last Christmas.

The company’s marketing director, Pham Thi Quynh Ny, said supply for the coming Tet holiday soared by 57 percent year on year.

Daily sales of the entire chain are around VND9 billion, a 192-percent increase compared with normal days.

Meanwhile, in the high-class segment, most of the market share is still held by Korean, Malaysian, and Singaporean manufacturers.

A shop assistant at a fashion store in Zen Plaza said few customers come to the store these days, since prices are too high given the average incomes of most consumers.

“Korean or Malaysian products cost around VND2-4 million for a pair of jeans or a shirt, which is too expensive,” Tran Thu Trang, a shopper at Zen Plaza, said.

“I can only buy when they are on 50-percent discount.”

source form: tuoitrenews

Eximbank’s Chairman Le Hung Dung (right).

Dung said that the TV right war has turned football leagues into a hot spot, which may affect the image of Eximbank, the major sponsor. Some shareholders have asked the bank’s executive board to consider its investment in football.

Dung added that if the dispute is not solved, Eximbank may withdraw from the Super League.

On December 22, 2011, VFF announced Eximbank’s sponsor contract worth VND33 billion ($1.6 million) for the Super League 2012. This is the second year this bank sponsoring the Super League.

If Eximbank withdraws, VPF, which has just replaced VFF to manage the Super League and the First Division Tournament, will face financial difficulty.

VFF and VPF are now in a dispute for the TV right contract between VFF and AVG, which lasts for up to 20 years, starting from 2010.

source form: vietnamnet