Social News 21/2 HCM City’s authorities want to draw int’l tourists to Dam Sen Park   Deputy Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Mr. Tran Vinh Tuyen yesterday asked the city’s Department of Tourism to attract international visitors to Dam Sen Park which is the city’s largest natural park in District 11. The vice chairman also asked the District 11’s authorities to launch solutions in accordance with its strong points in the implementation of the seven breakthrough programs in his visit to the district. The seven breakthrough programs aims to satisfy the requirements for development, integration and an increase of the city residents’ quality of life, suiting the 12th National Party Congress and the city’s 10th Party Congress Resolutions. Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of District 11 proposed the municipal People's Committee to approve the detail master plan 1/2000 of Phu Tho Racecourse soon. Under the plan, the local authorities will begin the construction of a school, park and a children’s entertainment area. Thanh Hoa builds coastal road TheTransport Department of Thanh Hoa province yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony of a coastal road connecting Sam Son town and Nghi Son Economic Zone.  A groundbreaking ceremony of a coastal road connecting Sam Son town and Nghi Son Economic Zone. State President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai and leaders of ministries and agencies attended in the ceremony.  In the first phase, the distance of road is 16,946 kilometers, running from Nam Song Ma Boulevard in Quang Chau commune of Sam Son town to Ghep bridge in Quang Nam commune of Quang Xuong district.  Total investment capital for the construction costs VND 1,479 billion (US$ 65.74 million).  The project marks the 70th anniversary of the first visit to the province by late President Ho Chi Minh. Bac Lieu urged to promote hi-tech agriculture Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu to focus on developing hi-tech agriculture and sea-based economy.  During a working session with local key officials on February 20 as part of his ongoing three-day visit to Bac Lieu to examine its Party building and socio-economic development, the Party chief highlighted the province’s great potential for developing wind and solar energy, tourism, and off-shore fishing, urging the local authorities to give priority to the sectors.  He requested the locality to protect the environment and natural resources, work to mobilise all social resources for development, promote regional links and create a favourable business climate to attract investment.  To effectively implement socio-economic and cultural development and defence-security tasks, Bac Lieu needs to well perform the Party building duty and strictly implement of the 12th National Party Congress’s Resolution on building and revamping the Party. He emphasised the need to better criticism and self-criticism to find out limitations and shortcomings for timely solutions.  The Party leader expressed his hope that Bac Lieu will continue fully tapping its potential and strengths to achieve a stronger development in the future. Last year, Bac Lieu’s gross regional domestic product increased 5.38 percent from the previous year. The locality recorded positive development in agricultural production, with food productivity hitting over 1 million tonnes per ha. It welcomed 1.24 million visitors, earning 1 trillion VND in revenue.  The rate of poor and near-poor households fell 3.31 percent and 1 percent respectively, surpassing the set targets. The day earlier, Party Secretary Trong visited a super-intensive shrimp farming model in glass houses in Vinh Thinh commune, Hoa Binh district, which applies environmentally friendly technologies in production.  He also made a tour of the Bac Lieu wind-power plant in Vinh Trach Dong commune in Bac Lieu city, which includes 62 turbines with a combined capacity of 99.2 MW. Gia Lai strives to have 80 more new rural communes The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has made effort to have additional 80 new-style rural communes by 2020, or 43 percent of the total communes. After five years, 21 communes have been recognised as new-style communes in the locality. Vo Ngoc Thanh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee affirmed that Gia Lai will prioritise infrastructure development in rural areas.  The province will continue raising public awareness of the campaigns like “All people stay united to build new rural areas and civilised urban areas”. The national programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, includes 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics and defence, aiming to boost rural areas of Vietnam. The criteria cover infrastructure development, production capacity improvement, environmental protection and cultural value promotion.- Tien Giang reinforces Go Cong sea dike to protect farm land The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is reinforcing the Go Cong sea dike to protect thousands of hectares of coastal agricultural land, according to a local official. The 530 metre-long section in Tan Dien commune, Go Cong Dong district is seriously vulnerable to strong winds and wave, said Nguyen Thien Phap, head of the water resource management and flood and storm prevention division under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The construction of wave-proof structure and concrete-surface dike has been accelerated to be completed and put into use by stormy season in 2017, Phap said, noting it cost nearly 20 billion VND. The Go Cong sea dike is over 21,000 metres long, protecting over 28,000 hectares of cultivation land in the coastal districts of Go Cong Dong, Go Cong Tay, Go Cong town, and Cho Gao. Over the past years, landslides triggered by climate change and strong winds have damaged the protection forest outside the dike, putting the dike at the risk of collapse, particularly the 12-km section in Tan Dien and Tan Thanh communes in Go Cong Dong district. The locality has also piloted making sand dike outside the sea to plant protection forests, thus reinforcing the local sea dike. Tien Giang works to ensure clean water in coastal districts The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has taken several measures to ensure clean water resources for residents of coastal districts, preventing drought and saline intrusion in dry season of 2017. Initially, the province will increase the capacity of fresh water reserves by dredging ponds, while promoting dissemination to raise public awareness of keeping and saving water for dry season. The provincial People’s Committee also required relevant agencies and localities to reopen 165 public water supply points for coastal residents. As many as 183 new water pipelines will be built for over 7,700 households living in Go Cong Dong, Go Cong Tay and Tan Phu Dong districts and Go Cong town, with a total length of 150,000 metres.  The solution to clean water demand in the eastern part of Tien Giang province is estimated to cost more than 215 billion VND (9.4 million USD).- Patrols increased in Chu Mom Ray National Park to protect wildlife   Chu Mom Ray National Park in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum is stepping up patrols to protect the local wildlife habitat, after a gaur (a type of bison) was killed by a truck recently. Bui Van Quang, Director of Chu Mom Ray, said the park’s management board asked the constructor of Provincial Road 674 to minimise building activities to protect gaurs, an endangered species in Vietnam. The park is home to a herd of 10 gaurs, and experts are studying their movement to seek ways to protect them, he said, adding that the park’s staff are increasing patrols to limit human impacts like illegal logging and poaching on the wildlife. On February 17, a gaur weighing about 800kg rain into a truck carrying construction materials in the park and died. The park’s management board said the animal may have been on the road because it lost its herd and the habitat was disturbed by construction activities. The carcass of the gaur will be used for scientific study and education. APEC 2017: anti-illegal logging group convenes session APEC’s Expert Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (EGILAT) opened their meeting on February 20, as part of the first Senior Officials’ Meeting of APEC (SOM-1). The session focused on finding measures to boost links within the Asia-Pacific in a bid to protect forest resources, prevent illegal logging and enhance capacity of APEC member economies in legal timber trade. Participants discussed ways to improve connections between producers and consumers as well as between small-scale forest growers and wood processing companies to ensure that only legal timber is allowed to be exported. At the function, Nguyen Van Ha, deputy head of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, said Vietnam is making effort to scale up forest coverage nationwide, with the rate increasing to 40.84 percent in 2015 from 33.2 percent in 2010. APEC member economies account for 53 percent of the global forest areas. They also make up 60 percent and 80 percent of the global timber production and value. Founded in 2011, the EGILAT serves as a platform for the economies to strengthen policy dialogue on combating illegal logging and associated trade, as well as promoting the trade of legally harvested forest products. The SOM-1 is underway in Nha Trang city, the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, from February 18 to March 3. HCM City urges accelerating Peninsula land clearance All the land needed to develop the Thu Thiem urban area on Thu Thiem Peninsula in HCM City’s District 2 must be acquired this year, municipal People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong has told the project management board. Nguyen The Minh, deputy head of the New Thu Thiem Urban Area Project, said acquisition of 84 properties had been delayed, and early last year the People’s Committee had instructed relevant authorities to settle their owners’ grievances. The delay in acquiring the lands affected local residents, hindered investment promotion and construction works, and increased expenses related to resettlement, he said. It also delayed construction of Thu Thiem Bridge No 2, he said. The Thu Thiem Area includes 150 plots of land measuring 185ha earmarked for investment projects and public works. Some of the investment projects are already underway, including infrastructure work at a 38.4ha resettlement area in Binh Khanh ward, four major roads on the peninsula, the central square and riverside park, and a model eco-park. Other projects that have been approved are an embankment around the peninsula, Thu Thiem Bridge No 2, an artificial central lake and canals. Minh sought the People’s Committee’s instructions on what to do with unsold apartments built for households moved out of the area. The project management board plans to build 10,529 apartments, of which 4,903 have been completed and handed over to the District 2 People’s Committee. But only 3,296 have been bought by resettled families, with the rest remaining unsold, causing a huge financial and administrative burden for authorities. Phong said city authorities would find a solution to the problem. He instructed the management board to identify investors for 26ha of land the city owns on the peninsula. He called for linking the peninsula’s infrastructure with those of other areas in District 2. HCM City’s District 1 ups the ante in ‘sidewalk reclamation’ Parts of state-owned buildings were demolished and cars towed away on February 20 as authorities of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City stiffened their fight against sidewalk encroachment. A team of police and urban management officers was led by Doan Ngoc Hai, deputy chairman of District 1, on February 20 to penalize illegal occupancy of downtown sidewalks. At the crossroads of Nam Quoc Cang and Nguyen Trai, the officers forced the removal of steel sheets fixed onto a section of the sidewalk by a nearby office building operator, while confiscating billboards and advertisement panels that protrude from stores over the pedestrians’ path. The authorities also booked six cars for being parked on the sidewalk, and towed away two others whose owners refused to cooperate. A parking lot operator was also fined VND20 million (US$893) for putting nearly 100 motorbikes along the sidewalk. Even state-owned buildings were not exempt from the crackdown, as the officers forcefully uprooted a flower bed outside District 1’s Center for Political Education on Nguyen Trai Street, apparently because the construction was taking up space from the sidewalk. The elevated part of the sidewalk in front of the center was also ordered to be leveled to guarantee safety for pedestrians. “District 1 will carry out this campaign thoroughly, and violations by public agencies will be the first to be penalized to set an example for the people to follow,” Hai stressed. “All are equal before the law and must be subject to the same penalties upon violation, be it a government agency or a common citizen.” “I will resign if I fail to deliver on my promises,” Hai said. “Those are not empty words.” Truck driver’s murderers arrested The provincial police, in collaboration with the Department of Criminal Police, recently apprehended two suspects allegedly responsible for the murder of a truck driver on February 14. The two were attempting to steal the 34.3 tonnes of steel he was carrying. On Sunday, Colonel Nguyễn Công Khôi, head of the Bắc Ninh criminal police (PC45), told the media that the two apprehended suspects are Nguyễn Minh Liên, 34, and Trương Việt Cường, 38, both hailing from Kim Thành District in the northern province of Hải Dương. The truck driver was Chu Văn Phong, 41, from Ứng Hoà District of Hà Nội. According to the initial testimony, Liêm was working as a tractor driver for some time and personally knew Phong. Phong made a deal with Liêm on the phone to sell a certain amount of the steel the former was ordered to transport from Hải Dương to Hà Nội on the fateful day. When Liêm and Phong’s truck reached Hưng Yên Province, Liêm asked Phong to stop and let Cường hitch a ride. Cường and Liêm then killed Phong, reportedly with a knife, and hid his body in the cabin. The subjects told the police that later Liêm drove the truck around to find an interested buyer. Eventually, Liêm sold the entire 34 tonnes of steel to a company in Gia Lâm District of Hà Nội and received VNĐ30 million (US$1,300) in initial payment, following which they were arrested. The provincial police announced their decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Liên and Cường on the grounds of murder. At present, the 34.3 tonnes of steel have been confiscated by the Bắc Ninh provincial police for further investigation. Earlier, last week, some people noticed that a truck was parked on the side of Road 280 in Lương Tài District, giving off a foul smelling odor and with no signs of activity for several days. On inspection, the body of a man was found decomposing, tied up and covered with a blanket. The GPS on the truck was reportedly deactivated and damaged, so the owner of the steel shop, where Phong worked, was unable to locate the truck. Lương Tài District police immediately secured the scene, managed traffic on that section of the road and carried out the investigation.   One more victim of alcohol poisoning dies An ethnic man, who was under intensive treatment, died of alcohol poisoning in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu on Sunday. The victim was identified as Chẻo Sìn Hào, 51, living in Sín Chải hamlet, Sì Lở Lầu Commune of Phông Thổ District. Chẻo Sìn Hào was discovered in a state of coma and was in a severe condition when he was hospitalised. The victim’s family said he bought the alcohol drink from the Sì Lở Lầu Commune market. Last weekend, the largest fatal alcohol poisoning of this year occurred in the country. The incident took place in Tà Chải Village, where seven people died, while 31 are still being treated in Lai Châu General Hospital and the Phong Thổ District health centre. The local government has seized and destroyed nearly 4,800 litres of alcohol without brands and original certificates. Ministry asks VFF to treat Long An strictly The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism yesterday asked the National Sports Administration and the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) to strictly punish Long An following their behaviour in the match between Long An and HCM City in the V.League 1 on February 19. The match was delayed for 10 minutes as Long An refused to play to protest referee Nguyễn Trọng Thư’s decision to issue a penalty to HCM City in the 79th minute with the score tied at 2-2. After being persuaded to return to the pitch, Long An goalkeeper Nguyễn Minh Nhựt turned his back when the penalty was taken, allowing it to score. Afterwards the Long An players allowed HCM City to walk through their defence and score twice more, leaving the final score 5-2 to HCM City. The incident caused bad press for Vietnamese football as the story was covered by various international media outlets, with many mocking the Long An players. Chairman of the VFF, Lê Hùng Dũng said the VFF would deal with the case severely. According to Dũng, the match seriously affected Vietnamese football’s image. Long An’s behaviour was unprofessional, unsporting and disrespectful to the fans. “I haven’t discussed whether the referee’s decision was right or wrong but Long An’s reaction was unacceptable. The VFF has directed the tournament’s organising board to send a report to the federation,” said Dũng. Yesterday, Long An’s chairman Võ Thành Nhiệm offered the Long An Football Joint Stock Company’s board of directors his resignation. “Although I didn’t tell the players to do, as a leader of the club that harmed the image of Long An football and Vietnamese football, I will accept responsibility and resign as chairman,” said Nhiệm. “If the board of directors don’t agree, I will still resign,” Nhiệm added. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Nguyễn Minh Nhựt was suspended for three matches without pay. Long An won the V.League 1 in 2005 and 2006. False advertising alleged at Alma Resort Alma Resort may not meet the five-star standard that it claims to. According to complaints of some customers sent to Vietnam Investment Review, according to the advertisement, the resort is going to have 200 villas and 400 apartments, equal to 30,000 units of vacations a year, and can host up to 3,500 guests at a time. The resort has five types of apartments and villas for customers to choose from, namely type A (one bedroom, for a maximum five people), type B(with two bedrooms, maximum seven people), type C (three bedrooms, maximum nine people), type D (two bedrooms, maximum seven people) and type E (three bedrooms, maximum nine people). According to the contract, guests have to ensure that the number of people staying do not exceed the maximum for each type of apartment. During the vacation, guests can use services such as waste collection, towel change, bed making and changing of bedsheets, blanket and cleaning of the whole room once per week. If there’s any other service or if the above services are performed more often than said in the contract, the customers have to pay according to the price table applicable at the time of service. Customer S said that he signed a contract to own a vacation at a type A apartment with area of 70.8 square metres including the balcony, for five people, with kitchen, living room, balcony, a big bedroom with one bed and a big bath room.  Annex A of his contract enumerated some equipment available in the apartment but the description is very general, and according to the contract, “the equipment and furniture are planned by Paradise Bay Resort Co. Ltd. but are subject to change.” S said that the apartment, though advertised to be “luxury,” lacks basic equipment such as a TV and air conditioning. The once-a-week cleaning is less often than the cleaning done at cheap hostels.  Meanwhile, customer V from Ho Chi Minh City said that her type B apartment also lacks air conditioning and hot water. Meanwhile, the apartment was advertised to have two bedrooms but there’s no information on how big the beds are. Lawyer Tran Duc Phuong from the Ho Chi Minh City Lawyers’ Association said that given the information on the contracts, and as per Decision 217/QD-TCDL dated June 15, 2009, on the national standard to classify accommodation facilities, Alma resort won’t even fit the criteria to have a one-star rating. Also, it is illegal for the developer to introduce the project as having a five-star rating while stating in the contract that the design and equipment in the apartments “are subject to change.” AirAsia Runway to search for fashion talents in ASEAN Budding fashion designers in ASEAN are invited to challenge themselves at the AirAsia Runway 2017 which will be held from April to June 2017. Vietnamese designer Phuong My and editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam Pham Ngoc Luu Uyen and Andrew Tan, founder of the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week and Vivy Yusof, co-founder of FashionValet, one of the popular brands in Malaysia, will be judges at a qualifying round in Vietnam which is expected to be held in HCMC on May 6. Top two contestants from Vietnam will represent the country at the finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2017. The contest which is in its 3rd edition is aimed to search for fashion talents aged between 18 and 30 in ASEAN. Contestants are advised to apply registration forms and three other sketches for women’s costumes to klfashionweek.com. The deadline for online registration is April 29. The qualifying rounds will respectively take place in Manila, the Philippines on April 1, Singapore on April 8, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on April 15, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 22, Bangkok, Vietnam on May 6, Thailand on May 20, Yangon, Myanmar on May 27, Jakarta, Indonesia on June 3, Vientiane, Laos on June 10 and Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 17. The winner will receive a grand prize of 350,000 ringgit (nearly US$80,000) and a spot at KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear 2018, and a prize worth 25,000 ringgit (around US5,600) from the sponsor FashionValet brand to sell his/her collection at the website FashionValet.com, and 150,000 rewarding points from AirAsia BIG, and flight tickets from AirAsia. Andrew Tan, founder of the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week Ready To Wear, said in a statement that this year’s contest is expanded to five more ASEAN countries to help budding designers create their own brands. Short circuits the sole cause of boat blazes in Halong Bay The authorities of the northern province of Quang Ninh cited short circuits as the main reason for seven cruise ship fires in the World Heritage-listed Halong Bay since 2014 until now. Nguyen Duc Long, chairman of Quang Ninh Province People’s Committee, has asked the owners of tourist boats operational in the bay to replace electric wiring embedded in the hulk with fire-proof wiring, remove inflammable material, and install semi-automatic firefighting equipment. Otherwise, they will have to stop operation of tourist boats. All the boats made of wood from 2005 or earlier and offering overnight stays for tourists have to complete the above requirements by the end of next month, and the remaining boats by the end of June this year, Long told a meeting held last Wednesday to discuss urgent measures for preventing fires and other risks on boats in Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. A blaze engulfed a boat last week in the Halong Bay but no casualties were reported. This was the second incident at the bay in 2017. According to the provincial government, seven wooden tourist boat fires related to power problems have been recorded from 2014 until now. As for wooden boats, materials used for soundproofing and heat insulating are made of foam which is easy to catch fire.  The total number of tourist boats operating in Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay has now amounted to 534, with wooden boats accounting for a majority and those offering overnight accommodation service numbering some 250. The provincial government is mapping out a plan to gradually eliminate overnight tourist boats in the bay. Besides, the authorities of Halong City are required to make an adjustment of anchoring sites for boats to stay overnight, moving them closer to the shore to facilitate firefighting in case they are set on fire. Sputnik, VOV sign cooperation agreement Russia’s Sputnik agency and Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) have reached an agreement to boost bilateral cooperation in information. Sputnik News Agency and Radio has signed a cooperation agreement with Vietnam’s national radio broadcaster - Voice of Vietnam (VOV). It is Sputnik’s first cooperation agreement with a Vietnamese media outlet. The parties have agreed to develop a bilateral professional relationship in information to strengthen cooperation between Russia and Vietnam and to provide assistance to each other’s journalists. Sputnik and VOV have started sharing text materials and will soon share radio news and produce analysis, research, technology, culture, and education programs. Head of Sputnik International Broadcasting Anton Anisimov said, “Sputnik is honored to cooperate with one of Vietnam’s leading media outlets. We have the same goal – to give our audiences broader access to professional, quality, and up-to-date information about developments in Russia and the Southeast Asian nations.” VOV President Nguyen The Ky said, “The cooperation agreement that Voice of Vietnam and Sputnik have signed is evidence of a lasting friendship between our countries’ media outlets. This agreement will give our countries new opportunities to learn more about the cultural values, history and current developments in our countries through the exchange of radio programs, which will help strengthen the traditional relations of friendship between the Russian and Vietnamese nations.” VOV is a national media holding comprising several radio channels, more than a dozen television channels, a printed newspaper, two online newspapers, a news centre, a radio broadcasting technology centre, two radio and television schools, one advertising and radio services centre (VOVas), and the Export-Import Company Information Equipment Supplies (EMICO). Sputnik (sputniknews.com) is a news agency and radio network with multimedia news hubs in dozens of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its websites in over 30 languages, as well as on analogue and digital radio, mobile apps, and social media. Sputnik newswires are available by subscription 24/7 in English, Arabic, Spanish and Chinese. The multimedia portal Sputnik Vietnam is one of Sputnik’s resources broadcasting in East and Southeast Asian languages, including Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Photo exhibition on Hanoians’ national resistance struggle A photo exhibition showcasing 60 days of fighting by the soldiers and general populace of Hanoi against the French colonialists opened on February 17 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the battle (February 17, 1947-2017). The exhibition aims to review the remarkable historical tradition of the capital’s soldiers and people, as well as help visitors, especially young people, to feel proud of the tradition of protecting the country, said a representative from the Vietnam Historical Science Association. Until mid-December 1946, the situation in Hanoi and other regions from the 16th Parallel to the north of Vietnam became increasingly serious. After attacking and occupying Hai Phong, the French decided to speed up their invasion by taking inhumane measures like occupying illegally the head office of Ministry of Finance and conducting savage massacres at Yen Ninh and Hang Bun Streets. In the face of the conspiratorial and violent actions of the enemy, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh led the army and people of northern Vietnam to prepare for combat and to move agencies, treasures, workshops, food and raw materials machinery out of the cities. On the other hand, the Party and the President tried to take advantage of opportunities to reduce the probability of a war. However, that attempt came to nothing, as the French colonialists preferred war. On the evening of December 19, 1946, Vietnamese troops zeroed in their cannon at Lang Fortress, initiating the war. The next morning, Radio the Voice of Vietnam broadcastPresident Ho Chi Minh’s appeal for national resistance. As a responce, Hanoi’s army and people heroically fought for each of their houses and street corners over 60 days and nights. They managed to contain the enemy and to foil the enemy’s scheme for capturing main Vietnamese organs, which facilitated Vietnam’s entrance into a long-term resistance war. Ha Tinh first performs Miles operation for rectal cancer The General Hospital in the central province of Ha Tinh yesterday announced it has performed successfully abdominoperineal resection, formally known as the Miles operation, for rectal cancer.  66 year old patient Dau Thuyet in Can Loc District suffered low rectal cancer. Four months ago, he moved his bowel with blood; lately, he had his bowel with more blood in addition to fatigue and weight loss; accordingly he was taken to the hospital where he underwent CT scan and endoscope. Medical workers concluded that he has low rectal cancer. Doctors proposed to use the Miles operation. The 3 hour operation got success. Two days after the surgery, the patient could eat slight food and recovered. It is scheduled that he will be discharged from the hospital after one week treatment. Later, he will undergo further treatment with chemical. Dr. Nguyen Trong Doan who conducted the operation said that the Miles operation has some advantages such as less pain, quick recovery and less risk of infection. The hospital now can conduct endoscope for stomach illness, rectal diseases and inguinal hernia. South faces rain, cyclone and strong wind While nationwide weather maintains cirrus clouds without rain, the southern region are warned small- medium rain, thunderstorm, cyclone and powerful wind from February 19- 20, reported the Central Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center. From February 19- 20, the weather condition in the northwest and northeastern provinces, including Hanoi continues keeping cirrus cloud without rain, slight wind of level 2- 3, average humidity of 55- 94 percent and the lowest temperature at 14- 20 degrees Celsius. Yesterday, the north- central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien- Hue have also experienced cirrus cloud without rain, slight wind, humidity at 60- 95 percent and the lowest temperature at 17- 20 degrees Celsius. Both the south- central, central highlands and southern provinces were warned small- medium rain, thunderstorm and cyclone in evening or at night on the large scale with its lowest temperature at 15- 25 degrees Celsius and humidity of 53- 92 degrees Celsius. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE