Vietnamese businesses are facing increasingly rigorous trade defence measures

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As Việt Nam joins more international trade agreements, dealing with and overcoming trade defence measures has become a top priority for Vietnamese businesses, especially for those working with markets known for their numerous and robust defence instruments such as the US and the EU. Vietnam News reports.

Vietnamese shrimp exporters received good news as the US’ Department of Commerce (DOC) announced their conclusion regarding anti-dumping tariffs on products from Việt Nam with some 31 exporters exempt from the tariff, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Shrimp exports from Việt Nam to the US reached US$334 million in July, a 13.4 per cent increase from the same period last year. The DOC’s decision has resulted in a boost of morale for Vietnamese exporters as well as investors’ confidence. It showed a well-coordinated effort among VASEP and exporters to meet all the DOC’s requirements on transparency and credibility.

Looking elsewhere, however, there have been signs of trouble as measures are being tightened in major markets for Vietnamese products such as steel and fish.

For example, since the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effect in December last year, steel exports to Canada, a member of the trade pact, climbed to $78 million during the first six months of the year, almost three times the total value for the whole of 2018.

While the Vietnam Steel Association attributed the increase in exports to the CPTPP, which effectively reduces tariffs on Vietnamese products to zero, and claimed Vietnamese steel exporters do not participate in tax evasion and dumping practices, Canada has started a process to make changes to trade defence measures.

Notably, Canada and the US have reached an agreement in which Canada is committed to preventing the import of unfairly subsidised or dumped steel, as well as transhipment – foreign steel that moves through either country to the other.

Against the backdrop of stricter defence measures, the Trade Remedies Authority of Việt Nam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) advised Vietnamese exporters to review and revise their production and export output to avoid potential anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations.

It also issued a warning to Vietnamese steel exporters to steer clear of and not support violations of product origin rules and trade fraud to avoid hurting the country’s trade and potential lawsuits.

A source from the MoIT said the ministry is handling seven trade defence-related cases since the beginning of the year with another seven from last year.

Phạm Thanh Nga from the Việt Nam Society of International Law said for the next three years after the CPTPP takes effect, Vietnamese businesses and products are to face increasingly rigorous trade defence measures.

“Countries may impose numerous defence instruments based on suggestions from their domestic producers,” Nga said

Commenting on the topic, minister of Industry and Trade Trần Tuấn Anh said businesses must take the initiative to conduct a comprehensive study of trade defence and safeguard measures, intellectual property right protection and technical barriers for their markets.

 

iPhone fell to fourth place in Vietnam in July sales

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iPhone fell to fourth place in Vietnam in July sales as people wait for Apple’s next product. VnExpress International reports.

Its market share fell to 6.4 percent behind China’s Xiaomi, which had a 7 percent share, according to a recent report by market research firm GfK.

South Korea’s Samsung stayed top with a 42.3 percent share followed by China’s Oppo with 25.4 percent.

Apple saw the biggest decline among all brands from July last year — 2.2 percentage points.

Online sales contributed only 19 percent of its revenues in July, a steep fall from the average of 30 percent until then. Apple’s share of the online market fell from 17.5 percent in June to 7.1 percent in July.

Sales at authorized stores were also lower than competitors’, accounting for only 6.3 percent of the market, while for Samsung it was 45 percent and for Oppo, over 25 percent.

Industry insiders said the Vietnamese tendency to wait for the upcoming iPhone model, which is likely to be unveiled next week, is the reason for the falling sales.

Competition from Samsung and Oppo with their new products and promotions is also a reason, they said.

A report issued in January 2018 by We Are Social, a social media marketing and advertising agency, said around 75 million, or almost 80 percent of the population in Vietnam use smartphones.

By Luu Quy.

Monkey business and criticism

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Menacing macaques snatch bags of crisps, water bottles, cookies and crackers from uneasy tourists on Vietnam’s Monkey Island, a popular attraction decried as cruel by activists calling for an end to animal tourism in Southeast Asia. AFP reports.

Tourists are encouraged to show the monkeys their empty hands if they don’t want to be accosted by the aggressive macaques, who routinely steal snacks, hats, and even mobile phones from visitors, who nervously laugh and snap pictures.

AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN

“They grabbed my biscuits and climbed on my body,” Dinh Thi Hoa told AFP on the small island in Nha Phu bay in south-central Vietnam.

“I didn’t even have time to open my bag, the monkey took it from me and opened it!” she said, smiling, after a gang of macaques rifled through her rucksack.

Macaques at Monkey Island in Nha Trang city, Vietnam, are known for snatching bags of crisps, water bottles, cookies and crackers from uneasy tourists (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)
Monkey Island in Nha Trang city is one of the countless animal tourism sites across Vietnam that raise the concerns of activists (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

It is one of countless animal tourism sites across Vietnam where for just a few dollars visitors can ride elephants or ostriches, or see costumed bears and tigers perform at circuses.

Over on Monkey Island, macaques ride motorbikes, lift weights and shoot basketballs in their own packed circus performance that ends with a monkey in a frilly skirt collecting tips from the audience.

On Monkey Island in Vietnam, macaques ride motorbikes, lift weights and shoot basketballs in a packed circus performance (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

Elsewhere on the island, visitors eagerly place bets on a monkey swimming race to close out a morning of animal entertainment.

It’s cruel work, according to some.

There are about 1,200 macaques at Monkey Island in Nha Trang, central Vietnam, which is decried as cruel by activists (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

“Monkeys don’t choose to walk on their hind legs, ride bikes, or perform other meaningless and humiliating tricks — they’ve simply learned to fear what will happen if they don’t,” said Jason Baker, animal rights group PETA’s vice president of international campaigns.

“Travel companies and tourists must stop buying tickets to cruel exhibits like Monkey Island,” he added.

There are about 1,200 macaques on the small island, where vaccine experiments were once carried out by Soviet scientists before it was transformed into a tourist attraction in the 1990s.

Monkey Island manager Truong Nguyen Phuoc An says the animals are never beaten, and are well looked after thanks to tourist dollars.

“We can have money to maintain the island and buy more food for the monkeys,” he told AFP, as tourists boarded boats under a searing midday sun.

Throngs of visitors stream though every week, mostly Vietnamese, Chinese and Russians who jet across the bay from the beach resort hotspot Nha Trang.

Many are happy to see the monkeys, brushing aside claims the animals should be left alone.

“I think they are well-fed and happy, it’s perfect,” said Kirill, a 19-year-old visitor from Russia.

 

Head coaches were upset because of Vietnam and Thailand draw

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Both Park Hang-seo and Akira Nishino were upset because their team couldn’t get a win in the World Cup qualification clash Thursday. VnExpress International reports.

In the post-match conference, Park admitted that Vietnam almost lost the game but also had many chances to score in Thammasat University stadium.

“Vietnam had a tough game against Thailand, who is truly the rival. We had to play on their home ground and almost conceded a few goals. However, we also had some opportunities to decide the match but too bad we couldn’t score.”

Park praised his players for having given their best, but said Thailand have played better thanks to their new coach Akira Nishino.

“Nishino is an experienced coach. I believe Thailand will develop under his lead.”

Forward Nguyen Van Toan, who had more than one great chance to score for Vietnam, showed his disappointment for missing so many shots.

“I’m not happy with myself because I missed great scoring opportunity, especially at the start of the match. The wet and slippery field was really challenging for me,” Toan said.

Nishino is also frustrated as Thailand only got a draw with Vietnam on home turf.

“Playing at home, we wanted to win so bad. But the team only got one point today. I find that result very embarrassing, but we will continue to fight as Thailand have seven more games to play,” Nishino said.

“In the first half, Vietnam played defensively which caused us some trouble in deploying the ball. We had to pass around and try to reduce their stamina. The second half is better as we switched to playing long balls and find more space to exploit but still couldn’t score. We will have to work on our finishing skill,” Nishino explained Thailand’s tactics in the game.

Vietnam and Thailand both had great chances to score but the game ended up goalless because of the lack of accuracy from their players.

Thailand will play Indonesia on September 10 while Vietnam will get to play at home against Malaysia on October 10.

By Lam Thoa.

Vietnam’ retail sales up 11.5% in first eight months of 2019

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Total revenues for retail trade and services of Vietnam reached an estimated US$137.4 billion in the first eight months of 2019, up 11.5 per cent year on year.

According to the Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO), this positive growth proved the rising demand of local people, GSO statisticians have said, adding that if the price factor was excluded, purchasing power in the first seven months increased by 9.03 per cent, higher than the 8.9 per cent recorded in the same period of last year. Vietnam News reports.

Retail sales of goods during the period were estimated at $104.9 billion, surging 12.5 per cent year on year or accounting for 76 per cent of the total revenue.

Among all sectors, purchases of educational and cultural products grew by 14 per cent year on year, followed by food and foodstuff (13.6 per cent), home appliances (11 per cent) and textiles and apparel (10.5 per cent) and transportation (8.5 per cent).

According to Vietnam News, two economic hubs of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi growths of 13.3 per cent and 13 per cent.

Revenue from accommodation and catering services rose 10 per cent year-on-year to nearly $16.56 billion, making up 12 per cent of the total revenue. GSO reports.

During the same period, travel service revenues totaled $1.27 billion,  the revenues of other services were estimated at  $15.27 billion, 7 per cent higher than the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam Institute for Trade Research, the goods retail market is seeing a increase at mini marts and convenience stores.

The institute forecast that convenience stores would see double-digit growth in the next three years and reach 37.4 per cent growth in 2021.

Under the domestic trade development strategy, total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 per cent each year through 2020 and by 14 per cent per year in the 2021-25 period.

The Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment in January-August period with total registered capital of $1.2 billion, accounting for 5.2 per cent of the country’s total FDI

Thailand and Vietnam started their World Cup qualifier with a goalless draw

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Vietnam produced a positive start to their campaign in the second round of the 2022 World Cup AFC qualifiers as they held hosts Thailand to a goalless draw in their Group G opener at Thammasat Stadium in Rangsit, Pathum Thani on September 5. NhanDan Online reports.

Thailand dominated possession during the majority of the match but could not convert it into a goal.

Despite a slow start, Vietnam came back strongly in the second half and fought bravely to keep a clean sheet until the final whistle.

The goalless away draw could be considered a success for Park Hang-seo’s side. The Golden Dragons will have the upper hand, in terms of psychology, as they host the War Elephants at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on November 19.

Inspired by their 1-0 victory against Thailand in the 2019 King’s Cup, Vietnamese players started the match confidently, and came close to opening the scoring in the very first minute of play, but striker Van Toan placed a shot narrowly wide.

Thailand deployed three players in the attacking line, including Supachok, Thitipan and Chanathip, without a real striker.

With better physical strength and individual skills, Thailand controlled the ball better in the following minutes of the first half, but the lack of a real striker, possibly Supachai Jaided, made their attacks not sharp enough to be successfully converted.

Thitipan met a right-wing cross with a header off the post in the 20th minute before Supachok placed a shot wide 22 minutes later.

Thailand control the ball better but fail to turn their possession into a goal. (Photo: Vnexpress)

After the break, Park Hang-seo replaced Tien Linh with striker Cong Phuong seeking to strengthen Vietnam’s attacking power. Meanwhile, Thailand coach Akira Nishio also sought to put up their offensive pressure by deploying striker Supachai Jaided.

The strategic substitution enabled Vietnam to diversify their attacks; however, Cong Phuong missed some good openings for the away side.

The appearance of defender Van Hau on the field from the 74th minute helped the Golden Dragons solidify their back line and made it difficult for the Thai side to approach keeper Dang Van Lam’s goal.

Striker Van Toan missed a good chance to break the deadlock for Vietnam eight minutes from over-time, shooting the ball high after a clever through ball from teammate Quang Hai.

The Golden Dragons almost nearly conceded a goal in the last minute of stoppage time, as Supachok dribbled the ball past Vietnam keeper Dang Van Lam, but the goalie then brilliantly parried the Thai midfielder’s shot immediately later to rescue the Vietnamese side.

By keeping a clean sheet away, Vietnam will hold the upper hand into the second leg against the Thais at My Dinh Stadium on November 19.

Next up for Park’s troops will be a home clash against Malaysia on October 10.

By Van Toan.

 

China leads foreign investors in Vietnam in first eight months

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First eight months of this year, China became the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with the investment capital reaching US$1.876 billion.

According to a report, released by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) on August 29 indicates that between January and August 20, Vietnam had 2,406 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects granted investment permits, with a combined registered capital of US$9.127 billion, representing a year on year increase of 25.4 per cent in the number of projects and a fall of 32.3 per cent in registered capital.

Related: Company formation in Vietnam

As many as 908 licensed projects were seen making adjustments to their investment capital worth an added US$3.989 billion, a slump of 28.6 per cent on year.

Therefore, the total of newly registered and additionally foreign capital during the eight-month period reached US$13.117 billion, an annual drop of 31.2 per cent. FDI inflows during the reviewed period amounted to US$12 billion, a rise of 6.3 per cent on year. VOV reports.

The processing and manufacturing industry was the largest receiver of FDI throughout the reviewed period, with newly registered capital reaching US$6.807 billion, or 74.6 per cent of the total.

Following this industry was real estate with US$852.3 million, accounting for 9.3 per cent of the total. Other sectors attracted a combined US$1.468 billion, or 16.1 per cent.

China grew into the largest foreign investor among the 68 countries and territories making investments in Vietnam during the eight-month period, making up 20.6 per cent of the total newly registered foreign capital. It was followed by the Republic of Korea with US$1.721 billion, and Japan US$1.184 billion.

VOV

Vietnam Airlines licensed for commercial flights to US

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National flag carrier licensed by US Department of Transportation for commercial transport of passengers and cargo between two countries.

Vietnam Airlines has been officially licensed by the US Department of Transportation for the commercial transport of passengers and cargo between Vietnam and the US.

This is one of many conditions for an airline to fly to the US. Vietnam Airlines is permitted to operate flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to some US destinations, perhaps through transit destinations in Taipei (Taiwan, China) and Osaka and Nagoya (Japan).

US destinations include Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Dallas / Fort Worth. The carrier can also operate non-stop flights from the US to the cities of Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto in Canada.

Vietnam Airlines is also licensed to operate routes from destinations outside Vietnam, via Vietnam or other transit points to 25 destinations in the US under codeshare arrangements. This license also allows it to operate charter flights between the two countries.

Vietnam Airlines is the first and only airline in Vietnam to receive such as license from the US Department of Transportation, which is an important step in it preparing for direct flight to the US in the near future.

In addition to this license, Vietnam Airlines will also need to continue carrying out other licensing procedures with other US agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and a number of other competent agencies and organizations before officially operating direct flights to the US.

Vietnam Airlines and the US’s second-largest airline, Delta Air Lines, previously signed an agreement for a two-way joint venture, expected to begin in October. Passengers need only book and check-in once with Vietnam Airlines or Delta Air Lines to travel to the US via connecting flights in Tokyo or Frankfurt (Germany). This is the first step in Vietnam Airlines exploring the US-Vietnam market.

Early this year, the FAA issued CAT 1 certification to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), which is considered a new step in aviation cooperation between the two countries. This is an initial condition for Vietnamese airlines to set up non-stop services to the US and to cooperate with US airlines.

After the CAAV meets all its standards, the FAA will continue to assess the capacity of each airline in Vietnam. During this time, Vietnam Airlines is officially licensed by the US Department of Transportation, which contributes to affirming the quality of services and capacity to ensure flight safety of Vietnam Airlines’ flights in particular and Vietnam’s aviation sector in general.

Source: Vneconomictimes

VN-Index drops for three straight days

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The VN-Index declined for three straight days on Thursday as many large caps unexpectedly lost value by the end of the session.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange lost 0.09 per cent to close Thursday at 976.79 points, totalling a three-day fall of 0.8 per cent.

Nearly 160 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth more than VNĐ4 trillion (US$173 million).

The large-cap VN30-Index dropped 0.11 per cent to end at 886.10 points with 15 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation declining.

According to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities JSC (SHS), the market traded in a state of low liquidity with the main indices moving marginally. The selling force increased during the last minutes of trading session, sending the VN-Index down slightly for the third day in a row.

“The market may keep struggling and moving sideways in the next sessions,” SHS said.

According to BIDV Securities Company (BSC), there have been optimistic signals about global politics and economic developments as the Sino-US negotiations will restart in October and geopolitical tensions in Hong Kong somewhat cooled down.

However, the strong drop in liquidity showed that investors still maintained their cautious sentiment and cash flow is still outside the market, BSC said.

Real estate, securities, information and technology, retail, banking, food and beverage, seafood processing, and construction were the sectors that weighed down the stock market.

Pillar stocks were strongly hit, including Vinamilk (VNM) (-1,5 per cent), Vingroup (VIC) (-0,3 per cent), Military Bank (MBB) (-1,7 per cent), Mobile World Group (MWG) (-1,4 per cent), Masan Group (MSN) (-0,7 per cent), FPT Corporation (FPT) (-1,1 per cent), Bank for Investment and Development (BID) (-0,3 per cent) and Novaland (NVL) (-0,7 per cent).

In the opposite direction, some pillars supported the market, such as Sabeco (SAB) (+1,5 per cent), Techcombank (TCB) (+2,3 per cent), Vietcombank (VCB) (+0,4 per cent), VPBank (VPB) (+2,3 per cent), Hòa Phát Group (HPG) (+0,5 per cent), PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS) (+0,1 per cent) and Vincom Retail (VRE) (+0,3 per cent).

The HN-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange climbed 0.02 per cent to 100.96 points on Thursday.

Nearly 17 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VNĐ250 billion.

Foreign investors net sold VNĐ116.19 billion on HOSE, including Vinamlik (VNM) (VNĐ34 billion), HDBank (HDB) (VNĐ12.7 billion) and Vietcombank (VCB) (VNĐ10.2 billion). Foreigners were net sellers on the HNX with a value of VNĐ7.25 billion.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC), the VN-Index is forecast to adjust around the support zone 970-975 points next session. The market would possibly recover in this support zone.

“However, foreign investors still continued the net selling trend today. The market is expected to move sideways with alternate ups and downs together with a wide divergence among stock groups,” BVSC said.

Source: VNS

Grabcar driver found for cheating Japanese passengers

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A Grabcar driver have been accused of overcharging a group of Japanese passengers for a recent trip in Hanoi.

According to the Hanoi police, on August 31, four Japanese students booked a ride of driver Vu Ngoc Quang through Grab application to travel from Nguyen Khang Street in Cau Giay District to Hang Duong Street in Hoan Kiem District.

The electronic receipt showed that the foreigners had to pay a total VND192,000 (USD3.60) for the 8-kilometre distance. However, when they were transported to a hotel on Hang Duong Street, the driver ordered them to pay VND2 million (USD86.9).

Despite disagreeing with the fees, the passengers still paid and then informed the hotel security guards as well as local police.

On Wednesday, the driver was requested to come to Hang Dao Ward’s police station to work on the case. Quang repaid the Japanese and then apologised them for what he had done.

The police are considering the appropriate punishment for Quang’s violation.

Source: Dtinews

Former Da Nang leaders caused city $1.5 billion losses in land deals

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Land-related violations by two former Da Nang chairmen caused the city losses of VND36 trillion (over $1.5 billion), police allege.
Tran Van Minh, 63, leader from 2006 to 2011, and Van Huu Chien, 64, leader from 2011 to 2014, face charges for wrongdoing in connection with land and public property administration and use, the Ministry of Public Security said in a report last week.

Its investigators found the two had signed a number of documents to transfer land use rights to Phan Van Anh Vu, a city real estate tycoon and briefly a fugitive from the law.

The probe into the two former leaders in fact began with an investigation into Vu’s dubious acquisition of public lands.

During Minh’s time as chairman Vu established five real estate companies that managed to acquire a lot of public lands and secure housing projects.

Minh allegedly enabled the tycoon to acquire the assets without going through any bidding process and often at below market prices. He then approved Vu’s sale of the lands.

In all, Vu acquired 18 public property projects and seven land lots, causing an estimated loss of more than VND22 trillion ($949 million) to the city.

According to investigators, Minh had been supported by Chien, then his deputy. The latter signed a series of decisions allowing the transfer of land and projects to Vu and setting their prices, all of them subsequently found illegal.

When he took over as chairman in 2011 he continued to authorize the sale of public assets to Vu at below market prices, causing a loss of VND14 trillion.

“What Tran Van Minh and Van Huu Chien committed caused huge losses to the state budget, violated public trust and caused public distress,” the police said.

37 assets acquired by Vu have been seized so far.

The Ministry of Public Security is also investigating 19 other people, including Vu, in this case.

They include a former director and deputy director of the city finance department, two former directors of the natural resources department, a former deputy chief of staff of the city, and a former head of the people’s committee’s urban management office.

Vu, 44, used to be one of the biggest developers in Da Nang, the third largest city in Vietnam after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

He also ran businesses in HCMC and manipulated public land prices there. Several former HCMC officials are also being investigated for their role in Vu’s violations.

The biggest casualties in the case so far are former deputy public security ministers Bui Van Thanh, 60, and Tran Viet Tan, 64, who were imprisoned last January for “dereliction of responsibility, causing serious consequences.”

Vu is awaiting trial in this case even as he serves an eight-year sentence for disclosing state secrets and a 17-year sentence for misappropriating more than VND200 billion ($8.6 million) from Dong A Bank.

Source: Vnexpress

A huge database of Facebook users’ phone numbers in Vietnam leaked online

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The phone numbers and other personal data of more than 50 million Facebook accounts in Vietnam are among 419 million accounts exposed online worldwide.

The exposed server contained more than 419 million records over several databases on users across geographies, including 133 million records on U.S.-based Facebook users, 18 million records of users in the U.K., and another with more than 50 million records on users in Vietnam. TechCrunch reports.

But because the server wasn’t protected with a password, anyone could find and access the database.

Each record contained a user’s unique Facebook ID and the phone number listed on the account. A user’s Facebook ID is typically a long, unique and public number associated with their account, which can be easily used to discern an account’s username.

A redacted set of records from the U.K. database. The “44” indicates +44, the U.K.’s country code and the “7” indicates a cell phone number.

But phone numbers have not been public in more than a year since Facebook restricted access to users’ phone numbers.

TechCrunch verified a number of records in the database by matching a known Facebook user’s phone number against their listed Facebook ID. We also checked other records by matching phone numbers against Facebook’s own password reset feature, which can be used to partially reveal a user’s phone number linked to their account.

Some of the records also had the user’s name, gender and location by country.

This is the latest security lapse involving Facebook data after a string of incidents since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which saw more than 80 million profiles scraped to help identify swing voters in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Since then the company has seen several high-profile scraping incidents, including at Instagram, which recently admitted to having profile data scraped in bulk.

This latest incident exposed millions of users’ phone numbers just from their Facebook IDs, putting them at risk of spam calls and SIM-swapping attacks, which relies on tricking cell carriers into giving a person’s phone number to an attacker. With someone else’s phone number, an attacker can force-reset the password on any internet account associated with that number.

Sanyam Jain, a security researcher and member of the GDI Foundation, found the database and contacted TechCrunch after he was unable to find the owner. After a review of the data, neither could we. But after we contacted the web host, the database was pulled offline.

Jain said he found profiles with phone numbers associated with several celebrities.

Facebook spokesperson Jay Nancarrow said the data had been scraped before Facebook cut off access to user phone numbers.

“This data set is old and appears to have information obtained before we made changes last year to remove people’s ability to find others using their phone numbers,” the spokesperson said. “The data set has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised.”

But questions remain as to exactly who scraped the data, when it was scraped from Facebook and why.

Facebook has long restricted developers‘ access to user phone numbers. The company also made it more difficult to search for friends’ phone numbers. But the data appeared to be loaded into the exposed database at the end of last month — though that doesn’t necessarily mean the data is new.

According to TechCrunch, this latest data exposure is the most recent example of data stored online and publicly without a password. Although often tied to human error rather than a malicious breach, data exposures nevertheless represent an emerging security problem.

In recent months, financial giant First American left data exposed, as did MoviePass and the Senate Democrats.

Mercury levels in air, water near site of Hanoi fire exceed safety limit: ministry

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Mercury levels recorded in the air and surface water around the site of a fire in Hanoi last week are way over safety limits, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said on Wednesday, contrary to an earlier report that air quality in the areas was safe.

A six-hour inferno engulfed the Rang Dong Light Source & Vacuum Flask JSC in Thanh Xuan District at around 6:30 pm on Wednesday last week, destroying approximately 6,000 square meters of the firm’s warehouses and factories.

The fire caused between 15.1 and 27.2 kilograms of mercury – used in the production of fluorescent light bulbs – to be released into the environment, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said at a government press conference in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday.

Mercury levels recorded in the air and surface water in some areas within a one-kilometer radius from the fire are 10-30 times over safety limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO), Nhan said, citing readings from monitoring stations installed across the capital city.

Such levels are harmful to human health, he added.

Specifically, results from two monitoring stations located at the Ha Dinh Lake and To Lich River – around 1.5 kilometers downstream the site of the fire – showed the surface of these bodies of waters containing mercury levels exceeding WHO recommendations, Nhan elaborated.

Overall, water and sediment samples taken from four locations in Hanoi – all within one kilometer from the site of the fire – contained unsafe mercury levels according to standards set by WHO and in the U.S., Europe and Canada, the deputy minister added.

In addition, soil samples extracted from a flower garden at the Rang Dong Company contained higher mercury levels than other areas.

However, Nhan added that the inferno was only categorized as a “medium-scale chemical safety accident,” which calls for caution in a 500-meter contamination parameter from the fire, in accordance with WHO and European recommendations.

Last week, the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH) under the Ministry of Health said that it had conducted quick air quality tests near the fire site and found that all indicators were within safety limits.

NIOEH did note that the readings did not negate all health concerns, as heavy rains in Hanoi during the days following the incident could have affected the results.

As of Wednesday, over 100 people – including reporters, firefighters and local residents – have been examined and tested for adverse health effects at the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi after exposure to the air near the warehouse fire, a representative from the hospital told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“Most results showed mercury levels in these patients are within safety limits,” the representative said.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, head of the Bach Mai Hospital’s poison control center, said those suffering from mercury poisoning can show symptoms including nausea, vomiting, fever, numbness in the limbs, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.

The Health Department of Hanoi said on Wednesday that it had submitted these patients’ test results to poisoning experts for feedback before making them public.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Saturday issued a recommendation advising residents near the Rang Dong Company to clean their walls, floors and household appliances while temporarily refraining from consuming water stored in open-air tanks or farm produce grown in the areas until an official contamination zone is announced by authorities.

Source: Tuoitrenews

 

Vietnam rejected over 500 containers of waste in first-half of 2019

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More than 500 containers of waste which failed to meet Vietnam’s import requirements have been re-exported this year.

According to the statistics from customs agencies showed that nearly 12,300 scrap containers remain in Vietnam’s seaports. About 7,450 of them have been stuck there for more than 90 days, meaning State agencies are permitted to take any measure to deal with them at their discretion, including auctioning the quality scraps and disposing of sub-par quality scraps that pose an environmental threat. Vietnam News Agency reported.

Under the maritime administration’s instructions, imported scrap containers can be unloaded only if their owners have certificates that prove they are qualified to import scraps, including environmental permits and the allocation of import quota.

According to Vietnam News Agency, after China banned imports of 24 types of scraps last year – since then, the ban has expanded to cover 32 types of solid waste – the amount diverted to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries has significantly increased, raising fear of becoming the world’s dumping ground.

Local firms have been importing scraps from many different countries as materials for production or recycling, but many are forging import permits to illegally bring waste into the country.

Last year, Vietnam’s Prime Minister called for urgent measures to improve the management of imports of waste as production material. He directed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment not to issue new scrap import certifications or extend the validation of existing certificates. The ministry only considers granting a permit when the direct importer can prove demand for and ability to use the scraps in goods production.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance was tasked with directing customs agencies to hasten clearance for scrap containers of firms or individuals with valid certifications.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is in charge of strengthening the inspection and monitoring of the trade and usage of scrap imports.

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