HCM City seeks more green space amid rapid urbanisation Efforts needed to preserve wetlands Unconventional entrepreneur develops Việt Nam’s best-known co-working space Southern goodness, till the last bite, the last drop A comedian who made people cry Working hard: A man sorts and processes scraps in front of his house in the “scrap village” on Hoàng Cầu Street. — VNS Photo Khánh Dương By Khánh Dương HÀ NỘI — In a narrow alley on Hoàng Cầu Street in Đống Đa District, among a residential complex and multi-storey buildings, there is a row of shabby one-storey houses without address plaques. About 10 houses here were carelessly erected of wood. Pieces of canvas cover the low roofs and doors, making the houses more scruffy-looking. Passing these dark houses, nothing attracts more attention than big sacks filled with scraps, piled on the ground and stacked to the roof. This is where migrant scrap dealers have stayed and earned a living for more than 10 … [Read more...] about “Scrap villages” might explode in Hà Nội
Sell home buy owner
Social houses ’increasingly abused’: officials
A social housing project in Đặng Xá commune in Hà Nội’s Gia Lâm District. VNA Photo Tuấn Anh Viet Nam News Compiled by Mai Phương HÀ NỘI – “Why do you want to buy a low-priced social house when you already own a house?” “Because I qualify and I can afford it.” The answers surprised me. Several people whom I know already own a house applied to buy low-priced social houses, too. Yet social houses are supposed to be sold only to poor people who don’t own a house as part of the Government’s low-income accommodation policies. The primary qualification to buy a social house is that the buyer does not already own a house. Another qualifying factor is that each household member has less than 8sq.m of living space in a low quality home which is not State-supported. So what’s happening? “They are cheating, of course” said Nguyễn Hồng Sơn, an official specialising in administrative procedures for social housing projects in Hà Nội. The official is working for … [Read more...] about Social houses ’increasingly abused’: officials
Hà Nội street offers tax-free foreign goods
Hand-carried good stores on Nguyễn Sơn Street, Hà Nội. — Photo laodong.vn Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — On Nguyễn Sơn Street in Hà Nội’s Long Biên District, there is a small alley which is home to dozens of mini-shops standing close to each other. In each store, there is a variety of goods, including cosmetics, food, beverages, clothes, tooth brushes, cigarettes, glasses, knives, chopsticks and cooking pans. All of them are foreign branded and hand carried to Việt Nam on airlines. For this reason, Alley No 158 is infamously called the “paradise of hand carried goods (HCGs)” in Hà Nội. The goods sold by residents are not low cost compared to Vietnamese products, however, they are cheaper than legally imported products. Being sold at only slightly lower cost than market prices, hand-carried perfumes, cigarettes and wine are the favourite products because legally imported goods often bear high taxes and also, there are many fakes. Nearly 20 years … [Read more...] about Hà Nội street offers tax-free foreign goods
Ten records Apple broke in its historic holiday 2020 quarter
AppleInsider breaks down every record Apple smashed in its gargantuan fiscal quarter ending in December 2020. Apple's first fiscal quarter was one to remember, breaking records left and right on its way to a staggering $111.4 billion in total revenue. While that number was the biggest takeaway, it was far from the only record the company shattered. Total revenue Apple brought in a staggering $111.4B in Q1 2021 During the 1Q 2021 financial quarter, Apple raked in $111.4 billion in total revenue. This is the first time the company has passed $100 billion for a quarter, breaking its previous record of $91.8 billion in the prior year's December-ending quarter. It's all the more surprising that Apple did this during a global pandemic, as many working families cut down on luxury purchases. Impressive iPad and Mac sales boosts may have partially reflected the greater need for work-from-home and Zoom-friendly computing devices. However, the iPhone continued … [Read more...] about Ten records Apple broke in its historic holiday 2020 quarter