An electrical fire swept through an Egyptian Coptic Christian church during Mass on Sunday, causing a stampede and killing at least 41 people, most of them children and many suffering from smoke inhalation. The blaze started just before 9 a.m. in the Abu Sifin church in the city of Giza where about up to 1,000 people had gathered. The fire blocked an entrance to the church, causing the stampede, the two sources said, adding that most of those killed were children. "People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other," said worshipper Yasir Munir. People react during the funeral of victims, who died due to the fire that broke out at the Abu Sifin church, inside the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Warraq Al Arab district in Giza Governorate, Egypt, August 14, 2022. Photo: Reuters "Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of … [Read more...] about Egyptian church fire kills at least 41, most of them children
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Saigon street breathes after metro construction site cleared
A 800-meter section of Le Loi Street from Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Zone to Ben Thanh Market is cleared of barriers on Aug. 12. The street has been blocked since mid-2014 to build Ben Thanh Station, one of the three underground hubs of the Metro Line No.1. The station, at about 32 meters underground, has four floors with six entrances and is now more than 95 percent complete. The street has been resurfaced with 10 lanes. Barriers are removed from a 250-meter section near Ben Thanh Market. Workers repair the street in front of Ben Thanh Market. The city is also working on a plan to resume the roundabout in front of the market, one of its top tourist attractions and cultural icons. The lighting system is established on Le Loi Street on Aug. 11. Nguyen Ngoc Quy, 52, paves the sidewalk near the Le Loi – Pasteur intersection on Aug. 12. His group is … [Read more...] about Saigon street breathes after metro construction site cleared
Low-cost meals for the underprivileged in Ho Chi Minh City
Budget eateries offering each meal at a mere VND1,000 (US$0.04), VND5,000 ($21), or for free in Ho Chi Minh City are warming the hearts of low-income workers and disadvantaged people amid surging goods prices. Situated at 317 Trung My Tay 13 Street in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, the eatery run by Tran Thi Dung and her husband serves offal porridge for disabled and elderly people and lottery ticket vendors. Tran Thi Dung recounted that three years ago, her husband was severely injured in a traffic accident so she took him to their hometown for care and treatment. When he was in good health again, they returned to the city to do business. The couple decided to open a low-cost eatery as a way to lend a helping hand to the underprivileged. “We charge no money to customers who are disabled and sell lottery tickets, but some still pay VND5,000 for their meal as they don’t want to be indebted to anyone. “Receiving their thanks for our acts makes me happy and indefatigable.” … [Read more...] about Low-cost meals for the underprivileged in Ho Chi Minh City
Airline cancels Vietnamese tourists’ tickets to South Korea’s Jeju Island
Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, 34 and her friends had their tickets from Singapore to Jeju Island canceled on August 9 because they did not have visas. The island, however, has a visa exemption policy for tourists. Hien, from Hanoi, said she'd already visited Jeju back in 2018 under the visa exemption policy and wasn't aware that it had changed when she booked the tickets for her and her friends to fly there from Singapore. "When we got to the Changi Airport for check-in procedures, an employee told us to discuss the issue with the airline. A representative of Scoot Airlines said Vietnamese, Thai, Mongolians and people from certain other countries would no longer be able to enter Jeju Island under the visa exemption policy. The airline said it would refund our tickets," Hien said. Vu Quoc Hung, 31, who had booked tickets with 11 other Vietnamese to fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Jeju on August 11 via Singapore, had the same experience. Hung's group reached the Changi Airport and did some … [Read more...] about Airline cancels Vietnamese tourists’ tickets to South Korea’s Jeju Island
Facing up to some ugly truths about beauty contests
The proliferation of pageants in the country has become a recent topic of discussion/debate. People say that the sheer number of competitions has caused a drop in both the quality of the candidates and entertainment value. Comparisons have even been made to Thi No, a literary character famous for being the polar opposite of beauty in Nam Cao's "Chi Pheo." Over the years, I have come to believe firmly that today’s beauty contests, not just in Vietnam, are inherently flawed. While the concept of beauty pageants has existed for millennia in both the East and the West (known through the Greek myth "Judgment of Paris"), modern beauty pageants as we know them only truly began in America during the early 20th century. The first beauty pageant of the modern times was the Miss America Pageant in 1921. Besides the touted appreciation of female beauty, pageants were a major tourist attraction, enticing people to go to resorts and entertainment centers in America's beach cities at the time. … [Read more...] about Facing up to some ugly truths about beauty contests
