Late afternoon on May 1st, when Vietnamese across the country were wrapping up a 6-day holiday combining National Reunification Day and International Labor Day, a short live video made its way around Facebook – the country’s biggest social media platform. It showed a middle-aged man standing in front of a shaggy thatched-roof restaurant on the side of a highway, his head covered in blood. Surrounding him was a crowd of idle onlookers, dotted with a few men in police uniforms. He had apparently quarreled with a woman in blue pajamas, it was understood that the man was beaten by the restaurant’s employees for questioning his family’s overcharged drinks. His wife who recorded the scene on her phone narrated in broken voice, "They hit him with stones. [...] One of them used a stick. Nobody dared to intervene." "Please share," she pledged in the caption of the video on her Facebook account, "We are now in Long An," the province that stands between Ho Chi Minh City … [Read more...] about Mob fury: tackling social media vigilantism in Vietnam
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‘Paris is disfigured’: Tears and shock as Notre-Dame burns
Smoke billows as flames burn through the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on April 15, 2019, in the French capital Paris. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. — AFP Photo PARIS — Crowds of stunned Parisians and tourists -- some crying, others offering prayers -- watched in horror in central Paris on Monday night as firefighters struggled for hours to extinguish the flames engulfing the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Flames ravaging the roof illuminated the outline of the monument's two square towers in a fiery glow, and were reflected in the waters of the Seine. Along the Pont au Change bridge, which connects the Ile de la Cite with the Right Bank, the atmosphere was one of a vigil as … [Read more...] about ‘Paris is disfigured’: Tears and shock as Notre-Dame burns
BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 17/3
Farmers need support to expand fruit production Dragon fruits is a key produce in Chau Thanh District, Long An Province. — Photo dangcongsan.vn Fruit is a key produce of provinces around the Mekong Delta. However, small-scale production and poor links from production to purchase, from process to export, are hindering the development of orchards, attendees heard at a workshop held yesterday in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the southern provinces have an area of 596,330ha of fruit trees, accounting for 60 per cent of orchards nationwide. Their annual productivity has reached over 6.6 million tonnes, accounting for 67 per cent of the country. Productivity has risen 61 per cent against that of 2010. Due to scattered production, it is difficult for investors to pour capital into developing infrastructure, setting up links in production and controlling product quality. There are 71 fruit processing … [Read more...] about BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 17/3
World News in Brief: January 21
* The Syrian air defenses responded to heavy Israeli strikes early Monday, destroying most of the missiles before they reached their targets, the Syrian state TV reported. *The Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held phone talks Monday morning over the second summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, according to Seoul's Foreign Ministry. * The Security Council on January 20 condemned "in the strongest terms" a deadly attack on the UN peacekeeping force in Mali that killed 10 soldiers from Chad. * US President Donald Trump spoke over phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on January 20 over ongoing tension in Syria and bilateral ties, said the White House. * Afghan incumbent President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on January 20 registered with the election commission to contest the presidential elections slated for July 20. * Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: January 21
BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 16/10
Vietnam’s Macroeconomic Policies-Third Quarter 2018 under scrutiny HCM City Securities Corp tops derivatives market share HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC) had the biggest market share on the derivatives market in the third quarter of 2018, according to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange. Of the 11 securities companies that are allowed to operate in the derivatives market, HSC held a 25.35 per cent market share. HSC was followed by VNDirect Securities JSC (23.98 per cent), MB Securities JSC (15.88 per cent) and Saigon Securities Inc (15.40 per cent). Other securities firms with less than 10 per cent market share included VPBank Securities JSC (9.87 per cent), BIDV Securities JSC (4.65 per cent) and Viet Capital Securities Co (2.84 per cent). The three new securities companies whose operation on the derivatives market had been accepted earlier by the HNX were Viet Dragon Securities JSC, KIS Vietnam Securities Co and Vietcombank Securities Co Ltd. Those three … [Read more...] about BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 16/10