“Face-to-Face with Drugs” photo exhibition in Hanoi

A photo at the exhibition by photographer Pham Hoai Thanh

Photo: Pham Hoai Thanh

TUOI TRE

A photo exhibition titled “Face to Face with Drugs” is set to open today at the Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives and Tomorrow Media on the occasion of the International Drugs Prevention Day (25/06/2011).

Photographer Pham Hoai Thanh spent a year working with 50 people who have got rid of or are still using the substances to complete the collection.

Visitors to the event at 29 Hang Bai Street in Hanoi, sponsored by USAID with PEPFAR funding via partner Pact and the Open Society Foundations, can see stories described by images about the private lives of drug users.

They are stories of how drug users first became involved with drugs, about their battles against the long-lasting effects of addiction, and most of all, their desire to turn themselves into productive members of their families and communities.

The photos are presented in four groups, representing different periods in a drug user’s life, starting from how they are led to drugs, the struggle of drug users and their families in the battle against drugs’ deadly effects, efforts to overcome drug use and their gratitude to life.

Their stories celebrate the support they have received from beloved people and activists in society.

This is the first photo exhibition in Vietnam on the lives of drug users.

“These stories are neither intended to lay blame nor to justify the subjects’ decisions. But in today’s society, where drug use cannot be completely controlled, the perspectives from this photo book will hopefully help visitors develop a full and more objective understanding of this issue,” Thanh said.

Dr. Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, the Center’s executive director said, “We hope the exhibition will not only help reduce the stigma and discrimination against drug users, but will also encourage them to live more positively, and let them know that they are not alone in the fight against the negative effects of drugs.”

The event is being organized on the occasion of the International Drugs Prevention Day on June 25.

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Hanoi real estate prices outstrip HCM City

Homebuyers in the capital are paying far more than Ho Chi Minh City residents despite lower per capita incomes.

VTC, DAN TRI

According to real estate experts, homebuyers in the capital are paying far more than Ho Chi Minh City residents, despite lower per capita incomes, due to poor development procedures, speculation and lack of supply.
Exorbitant Hanoi prices

According to Nguyen Dinh Toan from the AZ Real Estate Company, a square metre in an apartment development in the capital could cost up to VND25 million (US$1,213) compared to just VND17 million ($825.24) in Ho Chi Minh City.

In Hanoi, the prices of apartments located near the city centre are extremely high. A 59-square metre apartment in a project located in Thai Ha Street is priced at VND41.2 million ($2,000) or VND39.6 million ($1,922) per square metre respectively for a 101-square metre apartment.

At the Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh apartment project in Cau Giay District, a 51-square metre apartment is priced at VND39.4 million ($1,912) per square metre, rising to VND40.1 million ($1,946) per square metre for a 158-square metre apartment.

Meanwhile, many apartment projects in Ho Chi Minh City are sold as low as just over VND10 million ($485.43) per square metre. In Hanoi, apartment projects priced at VND30 million ($1,456) are quite common.

Despite being recent reductions, land prices in Hanoi are still much higher than those in Ho Chi Minh City.

After cuts in price of VND5-7 million ($242.7-339.8) per square metre, land prices at the Kim Chung-Di Trach project still remain at roughly VND50 million ($2,427) per square metre, with the Tan Tay Do project in Hoai Duc District at a comparative VND48-50 million per square metre. While the Tan Viet project in the district at around VND40 million ($1,941) per square metre.

Adjacent houses on Le Trong Tan reach highs of VND120-130 million (USD5,82-6,310) per square metre.

In contrast, in Ho Chi Minh City, Him Lam-Tan Hung project has the highest price of VND84.3 million ($4,092) per square metre, with other projects ranging from VND30 million and VND40 million per square metre.

Mrs Hoa, a bank clerk who recently moved to Ho Chi Minh City to live said, with VND1 billion ($48,543), she could easily buy a house in the southern city, but it was next to impossible in Hanoi.

Reasons for the disparity

The explanation for lower Ho Chi Minh City prices according to Mr Toan related to cheaper construction procedures.

In Ho Chi Minh City, real estate investors can access bank loans; and therefore, they have to sell real estate projects at lower prices to pay off mature loans. In Hanoi, most of investors use their own capital and therefore are under little compulsion to sell at a cheaper price.

According to Nguyen Tran Nam, Deputy Minister of Construction, total real estate loans in 2010 reached VND224 trillion ($10.87 billion), up 22% compared to 2009.

In Ho Chi Minh City, real estate loans accounted for up to 47% of all bank loans, compared to just 16% in Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh City also boasts far higher supplies of real estate, with the southern city long being home to larger new urban developments, which the capital has only recently begun experiencing.

Former Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said Hanoi had also seen large numbers of people migrating to the city from other localities, pushing up demand for land and housing.

Mr Giang, a real estate agent, also said that Hanoi lacked enough suitable development land and that land lots and houses regularly increased in value several times between real estate agents before they had become available to customers.

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Billboard collapses in Hanoi, 3 severely injured



Photo: VnExpress


TUOITRENEWS

A large billboard collapsed due to strong wind and rain in Hanoi Sunday evening, badly injuring three people sheltering beneath, VnExpress

At around 7 pm, when it began to rain unexpectedly, dozens of people took shelter under the billboard in front of Ngoc Toan jewelry, 30 Quang Trung Street.

After being battered by heavy winds, the five-meter by four-meter billboard collapsed, breaking a man’s arm and leg and causing brain injury to his wife.

Another person too was severely injured and all were taken to the Ha Dong General Hospital for treatment.

The falling billboard also crushed several motorbikes and brought down a lamp post.
 

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Vietnam hosts international photo contest

Girl's Smile by Vu Thi Tinh, gold medal at the int'l photo contest (VN-07)

VIETNAMPLUS

The Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA) launched the sixth International Art Photography contest and exhibition in Hanoi on May 23, with the support of the International Federation of Photographic Art.

Chairman of the VAPA Vu Quoc Khanh said the event aims to help Vietnamese photographers improve their skills, especially in taking professional art photos, as well as expand exchanges with international counterparts.

The organising board will receive entries, including coloured or black and white photos, from June 15 to August 31 on the website www.contestvn2011.com or through the email contestvn2011@gmail.com .

Foreigners who are working and living in Vietnam also can send their entries with the theme “ Vietnam ’s images through international friends’ lens” to the contest.

The award ceremony will be held by the end of November this year in Hanoi. /.

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HCMC, Hanoi see CPI up 2.38 pct, 1.76pct in May

Vegetables pictured at Big C supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

TUOITRE

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Ho Chi Minh City’s consumer price index (CPI) this month rose 2.38 percent month on month and 16.23 year on year, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

The HCMC's CPI has risen by 10.86 percent since December, 2010.

Hanoi's CPI in May soared 1.76 percent month on month, said Hanoi Statistics Office, adding that the capital city's CPI in May surged 19.08 percent year on year and rose 11.59 percent from last December.

In the southern economic hub, only post and telecom services had their prices dropped while all other commodities and services had their price hiked.

The commodities posting the highest growth were medicines and medical services (4.25 percent), food and restaurant services (3.77 percent), housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials (2.9 percent), and transportation services (2.77 percent).

Other commodities, including garment, headwear and footwear; household utensils and appliances; cultural, entertainment and tourism services; beverages and cigarettes; and education services saw slight increases.

Gold prices in the southern hub rose 1.57 percent while US dollar prices fell 2.66 percent against the previous month.

The situation in the capital city is nearly the same with only post and telecom services saw their prices drop (1.73 percent) in comparison with last month.

The biggest price hikes in the month were seen in the group of housing, electricity, water, fuel and building materials (2.99 percent), following by food and restaurant services (2.25 percent) and transportation services (2.23 percent).

Other categories including cultural products, recreation and tourism; education; health care; and home appliances saw month-on-month increases of less than 2 percent.

Also during the month, the gold price increased 1.62 percent against last month while the US dollar price was down 0.75 percent month on month.

Hanoi exhibition to feature Japanese manga

TUOITRE

An exhibition showcasing Japanese manga comics will be held at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts in Hanoi from May 18 to June 16.

“New space for manga – Japanese contemporary comic art” will feature nine comics published since 2000 -- “Number Five” by Matsumoto Taiyo, “The World God Only Knows” by Wakaki Tamiki, “Children of the Sea” by Igarashi Daisuke, “Sugar Sugar Rune” by Anno Moyoco, “BECK” by Harold Sakuishi, “Nodame Cantabile” by Ninomiya Tomoko, “Solanin” by Asano Inio, “Sennen Gaho (One Thousand Years Diary)” by Kyo Machiko, and “Five Minutes from the Station” by Kuramochi Fusako.

A reading room will be opened for visitors to the exhibition.

The museum is situated at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc.

Two presentations, “Japanese manga: the entertainment industry penetrating space and time” by the exhibition curator Takahashi Mizuki and “When manga turns to art” by Japanese art critic Kyoshi Kusumi, will be held on May 19 and June 4 at the Fine Arts University of Vietnam, 42 Yet Kieu.

Manga comics and cartoons are extremely popular in Japan among both children and adults and are translated into many languages around the world.

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Giant cigarette smuggling operation busted in Hanoi

The contraband cigarettes found in Dung’s house

Photo: VnExpress

TUOITRE/VNEXPRESS

The Hanoi anti-economic crime police yesterday busted a cigarette smuggling operation, arresting three people and seizing 120,000 packs of cigarettes worth around VND4.5 billion (US$218,000).

They found Nguyen Viet Dung, 43, of Hoang Mai District, transporting two packages on a motorbike in doubtful circumstances.

When they stopped him to check, they found inside 50 cartons of cigarettes (500 packs) without documents indicating their origin.

On searching his house later, the police found nearly 7,000 cartons of cigarettes of various brands like 555, Esse, Hero, Davidoff, Sobranie, and Kent, Lieutenant Colonel Thanh Kien Trung, head of the Hanoi anti-smuggling police, said.

Dung failed to produce any documents to prove their origin. 

After interrogating him, the police searched the house of his mother and found another 5,000 cartons, which took the total number at the two locations to more than 120,000 packs. 

The police also impounded four cars, which they said were used to transport the contraband. 

They took in two more people involved in the storage of the cigarettes.

It is the largest cigarette smuggling case they have ever uncovered, the police said, adding Dung’s ring could have been one of the main suppliers of smuggled cigarettes in Hanoi in the last few years. 

The police are continuing their investigations to find out the origin of the cigarettes and others involved in the smuggling.

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Sex toy market thrives in Hanoi

The market becomes busy at night

DAT VIET

During the day, Hang Chieu Street in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District appears to be just another street, with shops selling carpets and curtains.

But come nightfall and it becomes altogether different, morphing into the renowned “sex toy market.”

Tuoi Tre visited the market one night last month, and was greeted by a 50-year-old woman who offered to show some of her wares.

Tuoi Tre asked to see her most “special” toys and she took out a black nylon bag with dozens of boxes of aphrodisiacs, which are banned in Vietnam, and bizarrely shaped condoms, some even looking like animals.

“You’ll never be disappointed with my unique products,” she said.

The condoms cost from VND20,000 to VND40,000, and the aphrodisiacs from tens of thousands of dong to hundreds depending on their power, she said.

“I have good aphrodisiacs of various types for both men and women,” she said.

“They are powerful enough for you to ‘enjoy’ for a whole night.”

She also had vibrators and even sex dolls costing VND500,000 ($25), but they were not openly displayed.

“Give me the money and I will go get it for you,” she said.

She swore that the products were from Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand and not from China.

There were discounts for customers buying in large quantities.

The market gets many customers, including many women.

And they are not coy about buying the stuff.

“Why on earth should I feel shy about buying this?” L., a very young girl, asked.

“This is a safe choice to satisfy your sexual needs without the risk of getting disease.”

L. said she frequently visits the market to buy sex toys for herself and for friends.

Locals said Hang Chieu market has been in existence for dozens of years though occasionally someone is arrested.

The sellers are very discreet and careful: Only five or six come any given night and tell customers how to get their items when they buy something.

The sellers usually hide their wares under trees so that the police cannot charge them for selling forbidden goods if they are found.

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Hanoi’s highway tunnel shows cracks

Dozens of long and wide cracks have appeared on the surface of the tunnel on Hanoi’s Thang Long Highway that passes through Tay Mo Commune in Tu Liem District.

4 out of the 6 lanes of the tunnel were found with cracks, some of which are over 10 m long and 3 cm wide. 

Several parts of the tunnel have even shown deep depression.

Ho Ngoc Loan, deputy CEO of the Management Board of the Thang Long Highway project, said the cracks were caused by the shrinking of the concrete surface. 

Loan said lime and mortar could be used to fix them. 

The board was waiting for solution suggestions from the Institute of Transport Science and Technology, he said.
 
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