South Africa has barred Vietnamese nationals who have applied to hunt rhinos in the country because it hasn’t been assured that they won’t illegally sell the animals’ horns, which are worth more than their weight in gold. All 23 rhino hunting applications by Vietnamese residents this year were rejected, South Africa’s Minister of Environmental and Water Affairs, Edna Molewa, said in an interview on Wednesday. Hunters from the southeast Asian nation didn’t convince South Africa’s [...]

As the new moon dawned on 2011, America’s Embargo against Cuba turned 50. For half a century, Americans everywhere have been prohibited from engaging in any kind of economic transaction with a Cuban or partially-Cuban entity. That means anywhere in the world—even in Vietnam. But there I was, staring at the brown, bullet-shaped bottle of Havana Club Anejo Reserva on a crowded wholesale in the District 6 Metro Cash & Carry. It was just days [...]

Expatriates who violate traffic laws in Vietnam are let off the hook by the language barrier or small bribes The traffic officer just waved Alex on after pulling him over for speeding on Ho Chi Minh City’s Hung Vuong Street. “When I got off the bike, the police officer saw that I was a foreigner and told me to continue,” said the British expat. Many foreigners like Alex do not fear being pulled over thanks [...]

Poor patients are being squeezed out of the health care system as doctors accept significant commissions from the pharmaceutical industry and more affluent patients Dang Thi Kim Oanh has been reluctant to go to the hospital to be examined and treated for a goiter she has been suffering from for more than 10 years. “The Tumor Hospital is among a few that could offer adequate treatment for this. But I have heard that patients must [...]

Public cynicism about the mystery of vehicle fires can prove ‘dangerous’, sociologists warn For around 32 million Vietnamese motorbike owners, January 9 was a black day. They woke up to realize that adulterated fuel might have been the reason behind hundreds of motorbike explosions, meaning their main means of transportation could be a time bomb set to go off anytime. That day, Vietweek ran its first exposé of unscrupulous tanker truck drivers siphoning gasoline and [...]

In the framework of the programme “Returning to the roots of Vietnamese people” 2012, the first Red River Festival will be held from March 29th to 31st in Van Yen district, the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai. The event will be jointly held by three provinces of Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai. Diverse activities such as mass art performance, traditional clothing shows, traditional food fairs, sports games, professional art performance, film shows, [...]

Dr Diep Bao Tuan says he is often reminded of a crowded market place when he sees the scores of patients at Vietnam’s premier cancer treatment facility. Speaking about the massive load on the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, Tuan, who has been working at the hospital for more than 20 years, says: “The priority is to ease the overload for the patients.” Cramped in a makeshift room in a corridor, Tuan has prepared [...]

Agricultural authorities in a southern Vietnamese province have asked police to investigate the use of an illegal chemical to produce super-heavy pigs, while inspectors have been accused of allowing culprits to continue. Two animal drug stores in Dong Nai Province, a major pig supplier to slaughterhouses in neighboring Ho Chi Minh City, temporarily had their licenses revoked for reportedly selling the banned growth-promoting agent. The punishing actions were made following a series of reports by [...]

A Facebook group seeks to elicit positive experiences from foreigners in the country It was an unforgettable experience for the expatriate. He was out of petrol on a road in the middle of nowhere one night, and was pushing his bike in the rain, when a stranger materialized and virtually rescued him. “A Vietnamese fella comes up behind me, having a laugh saying ‘3km to petrol’ and rides off. A couple of minutes later he [...]

While urging for more vigilant responses from police to complaints of noise and crime, foreigners also concur that they do not have major security problems in Ho Chi Minh City An Indian expat was happily shooting pictures of “mobile nurseries,” vendors selling plants on bicycles when his expensive camera was snatched by a young man on a motorbike. The theft happened last August in broad daylight on Cong Hoa Street opposite the Maximark supermarket in [...]