The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam flood deaths rise to 72 as heavy rains continue

    Vietnam flood deaths rise to 72 as heavy rains continue

    Rescuers have found the bodies of another 13 people following flash floods in Vietnam, raising the death toll to 72, while 33 remain missing, authorities said on Monday.

    “Up to 700 millimetres of rain had fallen as the result of a tropical depression over the previous five days in central and northern Vietnam.

    “It, however, stopped on Friday, but resumed Sunday night and is continuing through Monday.

    “Thirteen of those killed in Hoa Binh province died early on Thursday when their houses were buried by a landslide while they were sleeping,’’ the committee for disaster prevention said.

    The committee added that five people were still missing in that incident.

    According to reports, almost 50,000 homes were still submerged across the centre and north of the country, while floods destroyed bridges and roads, isolating many areas, and several dams have burst.

    Some 9,300 pigs, cows and buffalo have been killed, as well as nearly 300,000 poultry.

    The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has warned that more landslides could hit the country’s mountainous central and northern regions, as the land had absorbed too much water.

    “More carnage is also expected as Vietnam braces for Tropical Storm Khanun, which is moving in from the South China Sea,’’ the centre said.

    It added that it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday.

    “Authorities have instructed 75,000 fishing boats with over 300,000 fishermen to dock at ports or move out of dangerous areas in the South China Sea,’’ the disaster prevention committee said.

    NAN

  • Hanoi to ban motorbikes from city centre

    Hanoi to ban motorbikes from city centre

    Vietnam’s capital passed a law on Tuesday that would ban motorbikes, the city’s dominant form of transportation, from the city centre by 2030, state media reported.

    Under the new law, which was approved by 91 per cent of the votes of the city’s legislative People’s Council, which is controlled by the ruling Communist Party, motorbikes would be banned from downtown districts and curtailed in others, the VN Express news site reported.

    Congestion and pollution reduction have been cited as the primary reasons for the ban.

    Cars, which currently make up 40 percent of Hanoi’s road usage, would not be banned outrightly, but restricted from certain streets at a particular time of day.

    Hanoi, with its population of 7.6 million, has more than 5 million motorbikes on the streets.

    The only public transportation available is a city bus system, with a metro system in the works that has been repeatedly delayed.

    Critics of the ban describe it as unrealistic given the popularity of motorbikes and the current lack of alternatives.

    “The city seems to be focusing more on imposing a ban than offering a real solution,’’ Ngo Anh Tuan, the former director of Hanoi’s urban planning department, told VN Express in June.

  • Chinese jets intercept U.S. radiation-sniffing plane – U.S.

    Chinese jets intercept U.S. radiation-sniffing plane – U.S.

    Two Chinese “SU-30” jets carried out what the U.S. military described as an “unprofessional” intercept of a U.S. aircraft designed to detect radiation while it was flying in international airspace over the East China Sea.

    U.S. Air Force spokesperson, Lt.-Col. Lori Hodge said: “the issue is being addressed with China through appropriate diplomatic and military channels.”

    Hodge said the U.S. characterisation of the incident was based on initial reports from the aircrew aboard the “WC-135`’ Constant Phoenix aircraft “due to the maneuvers by the Chinese pilot, as well as the speeds and proximity of both aircraft.”

    “Distances always have a bearing on how we characterise interactions,” Hodge said, adding a U.S. military investigation into the intercept was underway.

    She said the “WC-135” was carrying out a routine mission at the time and was operating in accordance with international law.

    Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying declined to comment on the specific incident and referred questions to the defence ministry which has yet to comment.

    “For a long time U.S. ships and aircraft have been carrying out close up surveillance of China which can really easily cause misunderstandings or misjudgments or cause unexpected incidents at sea or in the air,” she said.

    “We hope that the U.S. side can respect China’s reasonable security concerns.”

    On Feb. 8, a U.S. Navy “P-3” spy plane and a Chinese military aircraft came close to each other over the South China Sea in an incident the Navy saw as unsafe but also inadvertent.

    Reuters reported at the time that the aircraft came within 1,000 feet of each other in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal, between the Philippines and the Chinese mainland.

    China is deeply suspicious of any U.S. military activity in the resource-rich South China Sea, parts of which are disputed by China and its smaller neighbors including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia

     

  • Zika virus infection rises in Vietnamese city

    Zika virus infection rises in Vietnamese city

    Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City has so far recorded 145 Zika virus infections in 23 of its 24 districts.

    At least 19 pregnant women were among the victims,  the municipal Preventive Medicine Centre said on Thursday.

    It noted that among four new cases of infections was a local pregnant woman.

    “Relevant agencies in the city are urging residents to kill mosquitoes and their larvae, use mosquito nets when sleeping, and minimise travel to affected areas,’’ it stressed.

     

  • Vietnam helicopter crashes with three on board

    A Vietnamese air force training helicopter crashed in southern Vietnam on Tuesday with three people on board.

    The deputy transport minister, Nguyen Nhat, said the Eurocopter, EC130, lost contact some 15 minutes after take-off at 8.30 a.m. (0130GMT), adding that the pilot and two students on board remained unaccounted for.

    Nguyen quoted an army official that rescued forces as having found the suspected crash site on Dinh Mountain in the province of Ba Ria Vung Tau.

    However, Rescue forces were trying to approach the site, where smoke was observed rising into the air.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the Army to review its planes to avoid any further accidents.

  • Five die in Vietnam floods

    Five die in Vietnam floods

    At least five people were killed and seven others missing in flash floods in northern Vietnam triggered by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Nida, officials said on Friday.

    Among the dead were three children in Lao Cai province whose house was washed away late Thursday in a flash flood, Dinh Trong Tai of the provincial flood and storm control committee said.

    Flash floods damaged 140 houses in the area, forcing hundreds of families to evacuate, the committee said.

    Typhoon Nida made landfall near Hong Kong on Tuesday before dissipating over China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, according to Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

    The typhoon did not hit Vietnam directly but brought between 60 and 152 millimetres of rainfall to Lao Cai and other Northern areas.

  • 6th case of Zika virus confirmed in S. Korea

    6th case of Zika virus confirmed in S. Korea

    The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) on Friday said the sixth case of Zika virus infection in South Korea has been found in a 28-year-old woman who recently came back from Dominica.

    According to the KCDC, the woman, who had stayed in the Central American country from June 2014, came back to South Korea on June 23 via the U.S. and China’s Taiwan.

    She was confirmed positive with the mosquito-borne virus on Thursday after developing a rash, and joint and muscle pains from Monday.

    It marked the sixth case of the country’s Zika virus infection since the fifth one was detected some 50 days ago.

    Among the total, one came from Brazil, one from Vietnam, one from Dominica and three from the Philippines.

    The KCDC said the sixth patient was not pregnant, noting that it has been conducting an in-depth epidemiological investigation.

    Zika is a virus that is primarily spread by mosquito bites, particularly risky for pregnant women as it is thought to be linked to a rare birth defect – microcephaly that causes newborn babies to have unusually small heads and damaged brains.

    The Zika virus is believed not to be spread by ordinary touches between humans, but it can be transmitted through sex and blood transfusion.Cases of sexual transmission from travelers to their sexual partners had been reported from the U.S. and Europe.

    The KCDC has advised pregnant women not to travel to Zika-infected countries, while recommending fertile women delay pregnancy for at least two months after returning from such nations.

    Zika was first found in Africa and spread to Asia and Latin America.

    Ahead of the Brazil Summer Olympics, the World Health Organisation declared the Zika virus outbreak as a global emergency.

  • Vietnam reports two cases of Zika virus

    Vietnam reports two cases of Zika virus

    Two women in Vietnam have been infected with the Zika virus

     

    According to report, a 64-year-old woman from the popular beach resort of Nha Trang became the country’s first casuality of the case after being admitted to hospital complaining of fever, headache and a rash on her legs, while a 33-year-old woman with eight weeks pregnancy became the second victim of the virus.

    An online newspaper,  Vnexpress reported that 1,215 samples have been sent for testing for suspected Zika in 32 provinces throughout the country.

    It is not clear if either of the women have recently travelled abroad, or whether they were infected with Zika in Vietnam.

    However, health officials have quarantined the living areas of the patient’s families and taken samples from others living nearby for further tests.

     

    There have been a smaller number of cases in countries closer to Vietnam such as Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea.

     

    The Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and transmitted to humans, is thought to cause microcephaly.

    Characterised by unusually small heads, microcephaly can result in developmental problems in babies.

  • Business School International Scholarships for India, Kenya, Nigeria and Vietnam, 2016

    Leeds University Business School is offering international scholarships for Nigerian undergraduate students who have demonstrated sustained academic excellence and have the potential to make a significant contribution to Business School life. Student will receive an award of £2,500 per year for each standard year of study towards the cost of fees, to study in the University. The deadline for applications for 2016 entry is 31 May 2016.

    Scholarships are awarded in the field of Accounting and Finance, Business Analytics, Business Economics, Economics, Economics and Finance, Economics and Management, Human Resource Management, International Business, International Business and Economics, International Business and Finance, International Business and Marketing, Management, Management and the Human Resource and Management with Marketing.

    Scholarship can be taken at: UK

    Eligibility: Student must first submit your study application form via UCAS and be in receipt of a UCAS Personal ID Number. Applications without a valid UCAS Personal ID Number will be rejected.

    -Student must be holding a conditional or unconditional offer for a place on a Leeds University Business School undergraduate degree course commencing in 2016. (For a full list of eligible programmes please visit our website: http://business.leeds.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/)

    -To be considered for a scholarship you must complete the supporting statement section of this form addressing all the areas highlighted in the guidance notes.

    -Scholarships will be awarded conditional on you exceeding the academic grade conditions as stated in your study offer letter.

    Scholarship Description: Leeds University Business School offers a number of scholarships to celebrate exceptional international candidates. These are awarded to candidates who have demonstrated sustained academic excellence and the potential to make a significant contribution to Business School life. There are up to two scholarships available.

    Selection Criteria: Applications will be considered on the basis of the application form and be awarded conditional upon you exceeding the conditions of your offer.

    Notification: The award of the scholarship will be confirmed by the Admissions team by Friday 2 September 2016.

    How to Apply: The completed form should be submitted to the Undergraduate Admissions Office by email.

    Read more: Leeds University Business School International Scholarships Scholarship Positions 2015 2016

    Home Apri 2019

  • Six Nigerians isolated in Germany, Vietnam

    Six Nigerians isolated in Germany, Vietnam

    Six Nigerians have been quarantined in Germany and Vietnam because of suspicion of carrying Ebola virus.

    One Nigerian in Germany, two at Vietnam’s international airport on arrival and three students have confined to their abode for the next 21 days in the Asian country.

    Two Nigerians on a Qatar Airways flight to Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport last night were taken to a city hospital after being found to have flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

    Tran Dac Phu, chief of the Heath Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department in Vietnam, said the two passengers departed on Monday from Nigeria on the QR964 flight. They took seats 25B and 26D.

    The two Nigerians were then transported to the quarantined area of the Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Diseases Hospital to stay indoors under a 21-day fever watch.

    The Preventive Health Department, the city’s Pasteur Institute, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Office and the US Diseases Control Centre in Vietnam, has sent blood samples taken from the Nigerians for further testing.

    The Health Ministry also asked the passengers sitting near the two Nigerians on that flight to go to the nearest hospitals or call the number 0989 671 115 to get guidance on preventive measures.

    No Ebola-infected case has been detected in Vietnam so far.

    Similarly, Hanoi health authorities are watching three students from Nigeria for flu-like symptoms after they arrived in Vietnam between July 31 and August 8 to attend a college in the Vietnamese capital.

    Health authorities said the students, who are asked to stay indoors under a 21-day fever watch, remained healthy, and underwent daily medical checkups. They were asked to inform health officers as soon as they have symptoms of fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhage.

    The Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is planning to buy 10,000 protective outfits for health officers facing high risks of Ebola-virus infection while on duty, said the chief of the Preventive Medicine Department.

    German health authorities yesterday took to hospital and quarantined a 30-year-old Nigerian woman who showed symptoms consistent with the deadly disease.

    Dozens of other visitors and staff at a Berlin employment office building were also stopped from leaving for several hours as emergency services sealed off part of the street.

    The mass-circulation Bild daily said the woman fainted, adding later that she had recently been in contact with people infected with Ebola.

    Several people who had been with the woman inside the building in the northeastern district of Prenzlauer Berg were later also taken to hospital for testing.

    Berlin fire department spokesman Rolf Erbe said that because the patient came from “an area affected by a highly contagious disease, we took these precautions”.

    He said the testing in the city’s Charite hospital would take some time.

    “The patient was isolated inside the ambulance, the staff took the appropriate protective measures. An emergency medic, the public health officer, arrived and the necessary precautions were taken,” he added.

    Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu insisted yesterday that there are only three Ebola –positive cases in Nigeria, after the discharge of five people who came down with the virus after having primary contact with the late Liberian Patrick Sawyer. All the cases in Nigeria are from primary contact with Sawyer.

    Chukwu told a one-day National Youth and Student Leaders Sensitisation Lecture on Ebola Prevention and Management organised in Abuja:

    “Nigeria as at today (yesterday) discharged some of those who tested positive to the  Ebola virus disease.

    “We have only three Nigerians who have Ebola virus and they are under treatment.”

    The minister added that of the 21 secondary contacts with Sawyer, only six are still under observation.

    “Ebola gave us the opportunities to re-build our public health properly, to police our borders, for our health workers to protect themselves properly and its test has also revealed more HIV patients as they come out openly to say they have HIV and not Ebola. Even though we have lost some patriots, their death will not be in vain,” the minister promised.

    Cases in West Africa’s Ebola outbreak this year have risen to 2,240, including 1,229 deaths, the World Health Organisation said yesterday, reporting the toll in four countries, including Nigeria.

    The WHO said it was working with the U.N.’s World Food Programme to ensure food delivery to one million people living in Ebola quarantine zones in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

    “Food has been delivered to hospitalised patients and people under quarantine who are not able to leave their homes to purchase food. Providing regular food supplies is a potent means of limiting unnecessary movement,” the WHO said in a statement.

    The WFP is stepping up emergency food deliveries to the quarantined areas, which include severely affected cities, such as Gueckedou in Guinea, Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Foya in Liberia.

    While Nigeria has contained the virus, Liberia and Sierra Leone are struggling to halt the spread among their populations.