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A newscaster is sitting at a news desk. He is well dressed, fitted with an expensive suit and tie. The rest of the newsroom crew scrambles into position. The program director signals to the crew to begin. The newscaster clears his throat and looks straight into the camera.

James: “This is the world news report on CAB News. I am James Forrester. Your voice for the morning news. The highlight of today; chaos in Vietnam as the country is struck by forest fires and earthquakes.”

A picture depicting a scene of panicked Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese flag in the background is shown on a screen behind the newscaster.

James: “Earlier today at 1pm Vietnamese time, approximately 2000 policemen, firemen, and military personnel flooded the streets of the Son La capital in an effort to get out of the city. Take a look.”

The screen transitions to a video clip of a city street packed with vehicles. Large trucks lined the streets and traffic police struggle to move the vehicle to ease up the traffic.

James: “This is the mobile footage of the commotion uploaded on social media. Police vans, fire trucks, and military trucks jammed the streets. All of them heading in one direction. Due west outside the city.”

The screen changes back to the newscaster and the screen behind him displays a slideshow of pictures of smoke seen from the forest.

James: “A few hours later, residents saw what was smoke rising a few kilometers away from the city. The official report is that a forest fire has started deep in the forest and is reported to have grown to massive size.”

The screen switches to a more direct view of the newscaster. The screen behind him is changed to an in-picture display showing various informative pictures.

James: “The forest fire was extinguished at 5.45 later that evening but this is by far no ordinary forest fire. There have been numerous reports of earthquakes felt throughout the Son La province. Panic has gripped the Vietnamese people as fears from the 2004 earthquake and tsunami disaster resurfaces. Officials from the coast of Vietnam have reported of no tremors felt along the coastline and the Vietnamese coastguard made the decision to withhold the order for a tsunami alert. Coastguard representative, Thao Kim.”

The clip of the interview is displayed. As the man speaks in Vietnamese, an English speaker speaks over him.

Kim: “Even if the earthquakes are strong and can be felt in multiple cities in Son La, the earthquakes are too far inland to cause a tsunami incident. Thus, it is a great relief that there is no need for the coastguard to put up a tsunami alert.”

The screen returns to the newscaster with the screen behind him.

James: “The Chairman of the Son La Province, Hue Kha, held an emergency press conference to address the public on the situation. He has confirmed that the exodus of law enforcement, fire and military personnel is in response to the forest fire. He stated that although the forest fire is put out at a quick pace, 37 members of the task force have lost their lives. Chairman Kha at the press conference.”

The video of the Chairman Kha’s conference is displayed. He wears a solemn face as the flashes of cameras flashes on him.

Kha: “At approximately 10 am in the morning, a forest fire has been spotted 20 kilometers from the city. the forest fire is so massive in size that over 2000 police, firemen and soldiers took apart in an operation to put out this forest fire.”

The chairman glances down on the document in his hands and faces the crowd once more.

Kha: “While putting out the forest fire, a big earthquake struck the Son La province, frightening the people of the city and complicating the operation. It is… With great sadness, I have to declare that 37 brave heroes have died during the operation. Any... loss of life is still too much. We should thank the brave people that fought for the safety of everybody. We should also remember the brave heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect everyone.”

The screen switches to the newscaster with the in picture screen.

James: “That is Chairman Hue Kha. The area affected by the forest fire has been cordoned off by local authorities. The public has been advised to report any damage infrastructure and be wary of flash floods and landslides.”

The newscaster flips through his scripts and the in picture screen displays a picture of a US Destroyer.

James: “In unrelated news, a US Destroyer is stranded in the coastal waters of Vietnam while conducting a routine patrol route. The Arleigh Burke class USS Mustin was patrolling the waters at the Gulf of Tonking when the ship suffered multiple technical failures, effectively stranding it at the sea. Multiple skilled technicians have been sent to fix the ship but it is uncertain when the destroyer will be operational again.”

The in picture switches images to an infographic explaining the claim disputes over the South China Sea.

James: “The destroyer Mustin has been stationed near Taiwan’s waters in response to increased tensions between Taiwan and China and China's bold assertion on laying claim over the South China Sea. The move has been lauded by the Philippine government who has strained ties with china due to china asserted claim of Philippines’s coastal archipelagos and the harassment of Philippine fishermen by Chinese fishing boats.”

The screen transition to the newsdesk with the back screen displaying the news studio logo.

James: “We will be taking a short break before breaking into the national news. This is James Forrester on the world news on CAB news. Stay tuned.”

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