Tears for fears 80s hits

/ February 7, 2021

Early start to Tet exodus over pandemic fears

At 3 p.m. on February 5, Tran Nguyen Thuy Trang was supposed to be in her office in downtown Saigon. Instead she was at the Mien Dong (Eastern Region) Bus Station in Binh Thanh District, about to get a bus for Phu Yen Province. The 28-year-old woman had booked a bus ticket for February 10, two days before the first day of the Lunar New Year, but she was worried that the latest, fast-spreading Covid-19 outbreak would derail her plans. "I am afraid Saigon will have more Covid-19 infections and I will not be allowed go home for Tet , or they will ask me to quarantine myself before I can be with my family," Trang said on the phone as she waited for her bus. Many other migrant workers in the southern metropolis were also at the bus terminal, worried eyes peering out from their masks. For millions of migrants workers and students, Tet is the only opportunity to reunite with their family every year. Many are racing to get to their hometowns earlier this year because of worries over possible Covid-19 travel restrictions. A student in Saigon sits in a bus headed for home in the central province of Quang Ngai, February 2, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Manh Tung. This has meant that they have stopped working long before the holiday starts on February 10, rushing to bus and train stations as well as airports to get home. "My flight is at 11 a.m., but I got to the airport five hours earlier because there are a lot of passengers and the waiting time could be long," said Nguyen Van Thuong, 36, on the morning of February 6. The worker from Binh Tan District normally spends his last days before Tet buying gifts for his parents in the northern province of Vinh Phuc Province before setting out for home. But this year, he asked for annual leave well before the holiday begins, ignoring bonuses and other events. "I do not care about shopping or partying now. There is no (Covid-19) case in Vinh Phuc, but the situation in Hanoi, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh …

/ October 1, 2018

Quake-hit Indonesia asks for help, graves dug for 1,000-plus

Indonesia is no stranger to natural calamities and Jakarta wanted to show that it was able to deal with a catastrophe that has killed at least 832 people so far according to the official toll. But four days on some remote areas have yet to be contacted, medicines are running out and rescuers are struggling with a shortage of heavy equipment to reach desperate victims calling out from the ruins of collapsed buildings. In response, President Joko Widodo opened the door to the dozens of international aid agencies and NGOs lined up to provide live-saving assistance. "Last night, President @jokowi authorized us to accept international help for urgent disaster-response & relief," senior government official Tom Lembong wrote on Twitter, asking rescuers to contact him directly via his account and email. Officials fear the toll will rise steeply in the coming days and are preparing for the worst. At Poboya -- in the hills above the devastated seaside city of Palu -- volunteers dug a 100 metre-long grave to bury the dead, with instructions to prepare for 1,300 victims to be laid to rest. Authorities are desperate to stave off any disease outbreak caused by decomposing bodies and have announced a 14-day state of emergency. Twisted wasteland In Balaroa, a Palu suburb once home to a housing complex, the scale of the damage was apparent. A wasteland of flattened trees, shards of concrete, twisted metal roofing, doorframes and mangled furniture stretched out into the distance. Dazed groups of people ambled over the wreckage, unclear where or how to start digging. Among them were three men looking for their younger brother. Rescuers are racing against the clock and a lack of equipment to save those still trapped in the rubble, with up to 60 people feared to be underneath one Palu hotel alone. Two survivors have been plucked from the 80-room Hotel Roa-Roa, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said, and there could still be more alive. Desperate …

/ February 21, 2021

Over 80% of cases in Vietnam’s current coronavirus wave are asymptomatic: ministry

Vietnam is facing the severest outbreak of COVID-19 infections since the virus first hit the country early last year, with more than 80 percent of the cases in the current wave showing no symptoms, according to the Ministry of Health. The pathogen re-emerged in the Southeast Asian nation on January 27 after it had spent almost two months detecting zero domestic infections, the health ministry said. A total of 776 local cases have been detected in 13 provinces and cities since then, making it the most serious wave to have struck Vietnam after the first-ever COVID-19 patient was recorded in the country on January 23, 2020. Among these patients, 82.5 percent are asymptomatic while 14.7 percent show mild symptoms, according to the health ministry’s analysis. Nineteen of the patients are in a critical condition. In this latest round of infections, 596 cases were registered in Hai Duong Province, 60 in Quang Ninh Province, 27 in Gia Lai Province, 35 in Hanoi, five in Bac Ninh Province, two in Bac Giang Province, 36 in Ho Chi Minh City, two in Hoa Binh Province, one in Ha Giang Province, three in Dien Bien Province, six in Binh Duong Province, one in Hai Phong, and two in Hung Yen Province. January 28 saw the largest number of community-based cases recorded, 84, whereas Saturday logged the lowest, six. Daily new infections have been in decline over the past week thanks to social distancing, contact tracing, and targeted testing and lockdowns, the health ministry said, adding that community spread in the epicenter of Hai Duong has clearly slowed down. At-risk individuals have been tested for COVID-19 in the 13 provinces and cities as well as other related provinces, except for Hai Duong, where over 32,000 contacts are waiting for tests. Vietnam has recorded 2,368 coronavirus cases, including 1,469 local infections, as of Sunday morning, with 1,627 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. At the time of writing, the country is …