Vietnam Morning Monitor: Man killed by tree collapse, photographer wades into lake to save tourist’s phone

| SOCIETY

-- Ho Chi Minh City has completed the excavation of all unidentified martyrs’ graves and collected remains for DNA testing, with 9,842 graves excavated and 7,083 sets of remains sampled for identification. In mid-October, the city organized solemn and dignified reburials at Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs’ Cemetery for the remains of 731 fallen soldiers recovered and gathered at Le Thi Rieng Park.

-- The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) on Thursday introduced ‘Give Back to Vietnam,’ a new initiative connecting European expertise and networks with the knowledge, strengths and aspirations of Vietnamese communities. Presented at the high-level roundtable between Vietnam’s Party chief and President To Lam and leaders of major European and Belgian businesses, the initiative expresses a conviction shared by many European businesses: growing with Vietnam also means contributing to the lives and communities around them. It will encompass distinct projects responding to local priorities, from practical assistance to livelihood opportunities and longer-term community development.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City have returned a wallet to Wang Xiaoan, a Chinese national, after he lost it while shopping at AEON MALL Binh Duong Canary in Thuan Giao Ward on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Public Security Portal. The wallet contained his passport, bank cards, personal documents and more than VND20 million (US$775) in cash.

-- A flamboyant tree suddenly toppled on Street No. 5 in Binh Thoi Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, at around 3:15 pm on Thursday, killing a man who was waiting for a family member undergoing a dental appointment. Several motorbikes were also crushed by the fallen tree. Earlier, on the evening of September 18, another tree fell on An Duong Vuong Street in Cho Quan Ward, hitting a bus and motorbikes traveling past Ho Chi Minh City University of Education.

-- A story went viral on social media about a photographer in Hue City, central Vietnam, who waded into Kim Thuy Lake, in front of the Imperial Citadel, to retrieve a smartphone dropped by a foreign tourist on Tuesday. At around 9:00 am, while stopping to take photos in front of Ngo Mon Gate, an elderly foreign tourist accidentally dropped his phone into the lake. The incident forced the tour group to stop, while the tour guide anxiously tried to figure out what to do. The tourist was extremely distressed and wanted to jump into the lake to search for his phone, local media reported. Shortly afterward, Nguyen Duc Anh Dang, a member of the photography team, quickly waded into the lake and successfully retrieved the phone for the tourist.

| ECONOMY

-- Vietnam and South Korea are on the verge of a historic milestone, with bilateral trade turnover expected to surpass $100 billion for the first time this year, the Consul General of South Korea in Da Nang said on Thursday. South Korea is currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. As of the first half of this year, cumulative investment between the two countries hit the $100 billion mark for the first time. Da Nang and the central region of Vietnam hold special significance in the relationship between the two countries, according to the consul general.

-- Ho Chi Minh City aims to develop a more specialized innovation ecosystem by concentrating resources and creating favorable conditions for technological solutions to be tested and put into practical use, according to Truong Minh Huy Vu, vice-chairman of the municipal People’s Committee. The city currently has 42 facilities and programs, including incubators, innovation centers and startup accelerators, to support this goal.

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