Latest news with #QuangNgai
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Vietnam warns of food supply disruptions as African swine fever spreads
HANOI (Reuters) -African swine fever outbreaks are spreading in Vietnam, threatening to disrupt food supplies in the Southeast Asian country, the government warned on Friday. Vietnam has this year detected 514 outbreaks in 28 out of 34 cities and provinces nationwide, the government said in a statement, adding that the authorities have culled more than 30,000 infected pigs. "The risk of African swine fever is on a rising trend, negatively affecting the pig farming industry, food supplies and the environment," the government said. African swine fever has disrupted the global pork market for years. In the worst outbreak over 2018-19, about half the domestic pig population died in China, the world's biggest producer, causing losses estimated at over $100 billion. The recent outbreaks in Vietnam have prompted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to send an urgent directive to provinces and government agencies this week to deploy measures to curb the disease. Vietnam in 2023 approved the domestic commercial use of its first home-grown African swine fever vaccines, but officials said the rate of vaccinated pigs remains low. "Only around 30% of the pigs in my province have been vaccinated," said an animal health official of Quang Ngai province, where infections have been reported over the past few weeks. "It's not clear why the rate is low - it could either be the issue of vaccine availability, efficiency or cost," said another provincial official, who declined to be named as the person is not authorised to speak to the media. The agriculture ministry's Department of Animal Health didn't respond to Reuters' request for comment. Calls to AVAC Vietnam JSC, the country's main African swine fever vaccine producer, went unanswered. AVAC said last month it had sold 3 million vaccine doses in the domestic market and exported 600,000 doses to the Philippines and Indonesia.
CNA
24-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Vietnam puts 41 on trial in US$45 million corruption case
HANOI: A US$45 million corruption trial against 41 people, including state official,s began in Vietnam on Tuesday (Jun 24), part of the communist state's wide-ranging anti-graft drive. The so-called "burning furnace" campaign against corruption has swept up dozens of senior government figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers, as well as top business leaders. In the latest case, a court in Hanoi began proceedings against 30 former officials of northern Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and central Quang Ngai provinces. Eleven others - businesspeople and company employees - are also accused of involvement in corruption that prosecutors say caused damage to the state worth more than 1.16 trillion dong (US$44.6 million). They are accused of offences including bribery, abuse of power, and violating laws on bidding and accounting. Prosecutors say that between 2010 and 2024, chairman of the Phuc Son Group, Nguyen Van Hau, spent over US$5 million bribing officials to win contracts in 14 multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects in the three provinces. Hau brought suitcases of cash to the offices or private residences of the officials for the bribes, prosecutors say. Former party chief of Vinh Phuc province Hoang Thi Thuy Lan received the biggest bribes from Hau, totalling almost US$2 million dollars - in suitcases weighing up to 60 kilograms. In April, Vietnam jailed a former deputy minister of industry and trade for six years after finding him guilty of "power abuse" in a solar energy development plan. Hoang Quoc Vuong, 62, had admitted to taking a US$57,600 bribe to favour solar power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province, but his family had paid the amount back before the sentencing.
CBC
31-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
One man's harrowing journey from Vietnam to Saskatoon after the fall of Saigon
True freedom Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, Dong Van Tran is grateful for the life he has in Canada. His journey here wasn't Graphics Jeffery Tram May 31, 2025 Dong Van Tran opens Facebook Messenger on his phone every morning. It's the only way he can speak to his family in Vietnam. He hasn't seen his mother since 2011, his only visit since he fled Vietnam on a boat nearly three decades ago. He tried to visit his homeland in 2013, but Vietnamese authorities turned him away at the airport because of his family's history. It was the final confirmation of what he'd long suspected: he would never be allowed back. Tran was born in 1964 in Quảng Ngãi, a city in central Vietnam. At the time, the Vietnam War was well underway. The country was divided. Communism ruled the north, while the south followed a capitalist model. That divide had been formalized by the 1954 Geneva Accords, after the end of French colonialism and the First Indochina War. Although the war officially ended on April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon and the reunification of the country under communist control, it was another night, about a month before, that Tran remembers most vividly. Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, Dong Van Tran is grateful for the life he has in Canada. His journey to Saskatoon wasn't easy. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. All over Vietnam, people marked the reunification of a country after years of bloodshed and foreign occupation, and celebrated a country that has now become a rising economic power in southeast Asia. Memories of Vietnam, 50 years after the war With a median age of 33, according to the World Factbook, many Vietnamese people weren't yet born when the war was going on. But the refugees who fled the nation and are now settled in countries like Canada, the United States, Australia and France — especially those who fled the south — still carry the trauma and memories of what was lost. The fall Tran was 11 years old when his family decided to flee their home as communist forces descended upon their hometown on March 24, 1975. The family was split. Tran and his three siblings, all under 17 years of age, crammed onto a Honda 68 motorbike. The plan was to get to the shorelines of Quảng Nam, get on a boat and escape to the southern city of Saigon. The route took them directly into crossfire between the two sides. 'We had to lie down in the grass,' Tran said. 'South Vietnamese soldiers told us, 'Don't move.' We were hidden there.' Time crept by, with Tran anxious about the fate of his siblings. 'I crawled out of the ditch and called my brother. 'Brother Hai, Brother Hai.' I felt relieved when he replied, 'Dong, where are you?'' As the fighting eased, he and his siblings tried to continue their escape, but a soldier stole their motorbike, forcing them to flee on foot alongside other people. Tran said the images of that night have stayed with him ever since. 'I saw skulls, bodies, blood still dripping,' he said. 'Some people were hanging from a truck. Civilians, too. Many people died.' By dawn, communist forces had taken control of the region and forced everyone back to their towns. Saigon fell just over a month later. No future The end of the war marked a new beginning for Vietnam, but it brought hardship for Tran's family. His father had worked as a police chief under the South Vietnamese government and had ties to the CIA-backed Phoenix Program. Tran was 12 years old when he and his family were targeted through the government's 'New Economic Zones' program, where people with connections to the old South Vietnamese government were sent to live in the jungle after the communist regime took over their homes. 'I couldn't study,' Tran said. 'One teacher in Grade 11 told the whole class my dad killed his father. He tried to kill me.' Tran moved to live with his uncle in the city of Dalat to complete his education, but the difficulties continued. When he looked for employment, he was turned away every time. Under the new government, he was required to show paperwork identifying him and his family. Over the years, Tran was forced to work numerous illegal jobs due to his father's ties. At one point, Tran was caught and was sent to a prison camp in the mountains, where he nearly died of malaria. Tran was able to escape when he was sent to a clinic to treat malaria. That's when he realized he had no future in Vietnam. He had to escape. Losing hope Tran made his way to the coastal city of Vũng Tàu, hoping to escape by boat. He had worked as a fisherman and knew he could captain a boat. In August 1989, at age 25, he visited his family for one last time, then boarded a boat with 65 others. What followed was a harrowing 20-day journey at sea. 'For 11 days, no food, no water,' Tran said. 'Two young men fell into the sea and died during a storm. Two children died of thirst.' Eventually, a Singaporean ship rescued the group near an oil station off the coast of the Philippines. Tran was taken to the Philippines First Asylum Camp in El Nido on Palawan island, where he applied for resettlement through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. His claim — like thousands of others — was denied. Tran remained on Palawan Island until 1996, when the UNHCR closed its camps. He moved to Manila and took on various jobs to survive. Tran and the remaining Vietnamese refugees built a community in the Philippines, but as years passed, his dreams of moving to the west were dwindling. 'We were losing hope,' Tran said. His chance finally came in 2008, when Canada launched the 'Freedom At Last' program to resettle the last 250 stateless Vietnamese refugees who had been stranded in the Philippines since the 1970s. Tran said he'll never forget the moment he arrived in Canada. 'When I put my foot down in Vancouver, I felt true freedom,' he said. He eventually settled in Saskatoon, where the small Vietnamese community welcomed him with open arms. 'About 20 people came to the airport,' he recalls. 'One of them was someone I knew from the refugee camp. She had already prepared dinner.' Strong connections Despite his difficult journey, Tran remains proud of his heritage. 'I always say that Vietnam is my first country, Philippines is my second country, and Canada is my third country.' Since arriving, Tran has worked extensively within his community. He served as president of the Vietnamese-Canadian Federation, the same organization that helped bring him to Canada, as well as locally with the Saskatoon Vietnamese Association. Vietnamese community in Alberta marks 50 years since fall of Saigon Tran said he wants to rejuvenate Vietnamese heritage for those without direct history or a strong connection to the motherland. As the Vietnamese community in Saskatchewan continues to grow, Tran hopes younger generations will continue to honour their heritage, remember the difficult journeys that brought their families here and live with gratitude for the privileges they have in their adopted nation. 'I am so happy to now be in a free country.' About the Author Footer Links My Account Profile CBC Gem Newsletters Connect with CBC Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Mobile RSS Podcasts Contact CBC Submit Feedback Help Centre Audience Relations, CBC P.O. 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