Vietnam

Date: August 20th, 2002 |

The flood season here also looks like a bad one, with officials in Hanoi worried that the 500-year-old dyke system may not be able to hold back the floodwaters. If the dykes give way the entire city of Hanoi could be flooded. In the south, the Mekong river has already reached last year’s levels, threatening [read more]

Vietnam

Date: December 11th, 2001 |

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Fatalities on Vietnam’s highways have shot up more than 30 percent this year, in part because of an increased number of vehicles on the road, but also because, ironically, of improved road conditions that have made higher speeds possible. Highway 5 between Hanoi and Haiphong has become so dangerous that three emergency clinics have been [read more]

Vietnam

Date: November 1st, 2001 |

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On Sept. 7, more than 24 years after the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, the U.S. opened a consulate on the site next door. Saigon is now called Ho Chi Minh City, and the return of a U.S. diplomatic presence symbolically completes the resumption of official ties between the two [read more]

Vietnam

Date: October 23rd, 2001 |

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The worst flooding in decades has swamped central Vietnam, shutting down road and rail lines between Hue and Danang. Thousands have been forced from their homes. It’s likely to take weeks for the area t [read more]

Vietnam

Date: August 14th, 2001 |

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In an effort to ease congestion on the sole north-south highway that runs the length of the country, the government plans to build a highway along the Ho Chi Minh trail, the old Viet Cong supply route. Plans call for the two-lane road to be complete [read more]

Vietnam

Date: February 19th, 2002 |

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Traffic in Vietnam is chaotic and getting worse. Few people obey traffic laws and there is little enforcement by police. Accidents have increased significantly in recent years and now more than 30 people die every day from injuries suffered in road accidents. Such injuries are the leading cause of death and emergency evacuation of foreigners [read more]

Vietnam

Date: November 11th, 2001 |

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The same tropical storm that walloped the Philippines was headed for Vietnam, where the Mekong Delta region in the south has been suffering severe flooding since August. Travel in the region should be undertaken wit [read more]

Vietnam

Date: October 23rd, 2001 |

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The sighting of an apparition in a remote village in Tan Chau district has started a mini-pilgrimage to the area. Catholics claim it’s the Virgin Mary while Buddhists claim it’s Buddha. Officials say it’s sunlight reflecting from a marble deposit unearthed by a landslide, and the Catholic Church says it’s a natural phenomenon. The only [read more]

Vietnam

Date: August 20th, 2001 |

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Less than a month after the worst flooding in decades, central Vietnam is again under water as several days of heavy rain have dumped more than five feet of water on the saturated countryside. Hue, Danang, and two new UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Hoi An and My Son have been affected. Travel in the [read more]

Vietnam

Date: August 13th, 2001 |

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Celebrations are planned in Vietnam in April to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the end of the war with the USA, but there have been reports of planned violence during the festivities in Ho Chi Minh City and other urban areas. Potential targets include foreign businesses in Vietnam and Vietnamese affiliated facilities in Phnom Penh. [read more]