International

An estimated 15,000 people suffer severe weather conditions with scant protection, and live amidst squalor and pollution that they add to, not having recourse to normal amenities like toilets, bathrooms and stable roofs and walls. The slum stands in what is known as Hue Relic Area 1. For several decades, people have built their houses right on Thuong Thanh in Thuan Thanh Ward, Hue City, a “strictly preserved relic.” According to the Center for Conservation of Hue Imperial Citadel, Area 1 of the imperial city has about 4,200 households with more than 15,700 members seriously infringing on the monument. There are four wards in the citadel, Thua Loc, Thuan Thanh, Thuan Hoa and Tay Loc, that house 2,410 households. The 12km moat built in 1805 by the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last in Vietnam’s feudal history, is now home to 1,790 households in Phu Binh, Phu Hoa, and Phu Thuan wards. Many houses like the one in this picture are loosely and precariously constructed. … [Read more...] about 15,000 people live an ‘imperial’ life in Hue slum

She thought she would have a heart attack. She was absolutely unprepared for what just popped out of the closet on to her body. A sex doll. There it was. Direct, irrefutable evidence of her husband’s infidelity. “She demanded a divorce,” said M.D. Nguyen Lan Hai, a theology lecturer, recalling what happened to one of her patients. On the verge of losing his life partner, the husband confessed that before he met her, he’d bought this doll to satisfy his needs when he was single. He said he did not want to deal with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) from having casual sex with random girls or pay for sex services, Hai said. The use of a sex toy being seen as a partner being unfaithful is an indicator of how these are being understood and misunderstood in Vietnam. Hai is a prolific author well known for her psychological expertise in gender and sex education. She, and her work, have been featured in various newspaper columns as well as on TV shows. The story … [Read more...] about Dildos, vibrators, fleshlights

By Nguyen Ha  &nbspOctober 15, 2018 | 07:26 pm GMT+7 Apartment buildings seen from below in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo by Shutterstock/Thoai Premium and luxury apartments in HCMC are seeing high absorption rates while those in Hanoi get few takers. Realtor Vietnam, an association of Vietnamese real estate developers, said in a newly-released report that the absorption rate of premium apartments in Hanoi was 13 percent in the third quarter, while it was six times higher in HCMC at 78 percent. The gap is even wider in the luxury segment, with the absorption rate in Hanoi at 2 percent and that of HCMC a full 100 percent. Premium apartments are defined as those which cost VND45-70 million ($1,925-2,995) per square meter, while luxury apartments cost from VND70-200 million ($2,995-8,558). “This shows that investors have high confidence in the potential for development of HCMC and expect an increasing number of rich Vietnamese and expats to reside there in the … [Read more...] about HCMC upscale apartment sales much higher than Hanoi

Biraghi gives Italy stoppage-time win in PolandThe Saigon Times Daily Italy's Cristiano Biraghi celebrates scoring their first goal with Nicolo Barella at Silesian Stadium, Chorzow, Poland October 14, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS CHORZOW (REUTERS) - Italy snatched a dramatic and deserved 1-0 win away to Poland in their Nations League match on Sunday thanks to a stoppage-time header from Cristiano Biraghi, his first international goal. Biraghi gave Italy their first win in the competition and also their first in a competitive match since Roberto Mancini took over as coach in May. It also meant that Poland, who have one point from three games after also losing at home to Portugal on Thursday, will finish bottom of Group Three in League A and will be relegated to the second-tier League B. It was a richly-deserved win for Italy who produced one of their best performances in the last few years and twice hit the crossbar in the first half. Italy have four points from three games … [Read more...] about Biraghi gives Italy stoppage-time win in Poland

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA), Vietnam’s legislative body, said the NA’s Standing Committee will decide Wednesday whether or not to present the CPTPP to the parliament for ratification. The Standing Committee will discuss the trade pact after listening to presentations from Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade and Nguyen Van Giau, Chairman of the NA's Committee for External Relations. Should the Standing Committee approve the trade agreement, the government will present this to the NA at its upcoming session that opens on October 22. Speaking to the media while on an official visit to Japan earlier this month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said that there was a high possibility that Vietnam will ratify the CPTPP this year. “Vietnam is striving to be one of the first six country members to ratify the CPTPP,” he said. PM Phuc also said that Vietnam welcomes countries which have announced interest in joining the CPTPP, … [Read more...] about Vietnam to discuss ratification of major free trade pact

After GDP growth reached 6.98 percent in the first 9 months of 2018, the highest in the past 8 years, it is relatively clear that the Government will reach its 6.7 percent growth target by the end of the year. Only a 6.11 percent growth in the fourth quarter to meet this objective. Usually, the fourth quarter will have the highest quarterly GDP of the year, thanks to the rise in exports, production and consumption. Consequently, some experts are optimistic that this quarter’s growth is likely to exceed the third quarter (6.88 percent) to bring GDP in 2018 to 6.9 – 7 percent as predicted by major international financial institutions. In its forecast, HSBC Vietnam made a rather safe prediction that GDP growth in 2019 would stand at 6.7 percent, equivalent to the bank’s forecast of growth for this year. In line with this, GDP per capita is expected to improve from $2,321 in 2017 to $2,734 next year. However, inflation will rise to 4.2 percent, the bank said. … [Read more...] about US-China trade spat will exert exchange rate pressure on Vietnam

The team announced that the 1,500 or so police officers wrote an estimated 37,800 Internet comments and Twitter posts between February 2010 and April 2012 in an effort to help form public opinions favorable to the conservative Lee government and police. The team said it has asked the prosecution to indict former NPA Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh and 10 other former ranking police officials involved in the alleged opinion manipulation on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of exercising a right. Four others also suspected of being implicated in the case are still under investigation, it added. The 63-year-old Cho was placed under arrest on Oct. 5 after a Seoul court approved his arrest warrant. Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on the same day for corruption. The NPA investigation team said it has confirmed the existence of about 12,800 Internet comments and Twitter posts written by the about 1,500 rank-and-file police … [Read more...] about Probe finds 1,500 police officers mobilized for online opinion rigging…

By Vu Le  &nbspOctober 15, 2018 | 03:13 pm GMT+7 Landmark 81 in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran Shopping malls are mushrooming outside HCMC’s central business district, a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam says. The real estate service firm (JLL) said the most prominent example is Landmark 81 in Binh Thanh District, which opened in the third quarter with 46,000 square meters of retail space. The tallest building in Vietnam has retail outlets of many major international and domestic brands. This year there will be more new entrants in the non-CBD area such as Estella Place (District 2), Cong Hoa Garden (Tan Binh District) and TTC Plaza (Binh Thanh District). Retail space in the non-CBD area currently accounts for 80 percent of the total supply in the city and the ratio will remain to be on the rise in the coming time, JLL said. The current rental rate in the city retail market is $46.2 per square meter per month, down … [Read more...] about Saigon shopping malls moving out of downtown: property consultancy

The scaffolding was being used in building an overpass running beyond the Saigon River Tunnel, which connects District 1 and District 2, which is home to a large community of expats. At around 5 a.m. on Monday morning, a truck carrying oranges had taken the tunnel to District 2 when it hit the scaffolding standing about 50 meters ahead of the tunnel’s mouth. Police had to block the entire tunnel after the accident, causing heavy traffic gridlock on streets that run through and nearby the tunnel. Thousands of cars and motorbikes were stuck on Vo Van Kiet and Ton Duc Thang streets in District 1, Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh and Mai Chi Tho Street in District 2, from early in the morning until 10 a.m. All the drivers wanting to use the tunnel had to switch to the Thu Thiem Bridge several kilometers away. A driver named Chau was stuck for more than an hour. "We have to call our companies to tell them we are going to be late," he said of the solution for him and other stuck … [Read more...] about River tunnel blocked, traffic chaos as truck hits scaffolding in Saigon

HOAPROX is a 19-year-old Vietnamese DJ whose song has been included in an album called Billboard Presents Electric Asia Volume Two. The album is the second volume in Billboard’s electronic compilation series, presenting the top 15 electronic songs of the year by talented Asian artists. The song, I Can’t Find You, was also released exclusively as the first single from the album, with Billboard introducing it as “an exclusive track from Vietnam’s top ranking DJ/Producer HOAPROX”. HOAPROX's song I Can't Find You was released as the first single in Billboard's electronic compilation album. “I sent I Can’t Find You to Billboard and they approved it immediately. I also sent another song, but I can only have one song on the album, so I decided to stick with the first one,” HOAPROX said. The Vietnamese DJ also said the song’s inspiration was a story, shared on social media, about a girl who had lost in love and was trying find … [Read more...] about Vietnamese DJ’s composition among top Asian electronic tracks