Airport authorities quell concerns raised by drinking water scandal

The Southern Airports Authority in Vietnam has explained that the water their staff was seen taking from a WC tap was used for cleaning and not as drinking water.

Tran Thuy Minh, director of the agency, made the confirmation after a passenger uploaded a photo to Facebook in which an airport staff member was filling a drinking water container from the tap in the restroom. The photo caused public concern, as airports in Vietnam have recently started providing passengers with free drinking water.

“We’ve done an investigation and found that the water was in fact used for cleaning," she emphasised.

According to her statement, on July 20, some children vomited on the floor and an employee at a restaurant used a 16-litre Wami, the same used for drinking water, to get water from the bathroom to clean the mess.

“Shops at Tan Son Nhat International Airport do not sell 16-litre Wami water containers like the one in the photo. We’ve installed two water purification machines at the airport for passengers convenience," she noted.

The agency has requested that the company stop using drinking water containers for cleaning in order to prevent future misperceptions.

US$330 million needed for Vietnam-Japan university

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decision approving establishment of a Vietnam-Japan university under the Vietnam National University in Hanoi at an initial cost of US$330 million.

Japan is expected to provide more than US$200 million in official development assistance (ODA) loans for the project and US$100 million will be contributed by Japanese enterprises and organizations. The remainder will come from the State budget.

A source from the Vietnam National University in Hanoi said the Vietnam-Japan university will develop on the foundations of basic sciences and advanced technologies as well as close connections between tertiary schools of Japan and Vietnam.

The university will organize Bachelor, Master’s and Doctorate decree programs for around 6,000 students. For the Master’s level, the school will offer courses on sciences and technology, healthcare, agriculture, Japanese language, law, economics, and business administration.

Until 2016, the Vietnam-Japan university will focus on infrastructure and human resource development before running courses for postgraduates in 2016-2019. The school will offer Bachelor and Doctorate courses in 2019-2022 and develop into a research university in 2022-2025.

With the new school, the Vietnam National University in Hanoi now has seven member schools, including those specializing in courses on sciences, humanities, languages, international studies, engineering, technology, and education.

Local authorities in Quang Binh Province have recommended presenting a Labour Medal of Grade 3 to a British cave researcher.

Howard Limbert, chief of the British Cave Research Association, has had a strong attachment to the mountains in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang area of Quang Binh Province for past 24 years.

He searches the mountains there for caves and has found hundreds there. Limbert has added more than 200km of Vietnamese caves to internationally recognised the world lists.

He, along with other members of his team, have taken hundreds of spectacular photos of caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang area. Thanks to these photos, a number of television channels, including the BBC, NHK and National Geographic have come to feature the area, along with other media outlets such as the AP, AFP and Kyodo.

The world's largest cave is called Son Doong Cave and is located in Quang Binh Province. It was found by a local man named Ho Khanh in 1991 and was recently rediscovered in 2009 by a team of British cavers, led by Howard Limbert.

Rammasun victims helped overcome difficulties

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked localities and ministries to help victims of tropical storm Rammasun deal with its aftermath.

He asked local authorities to help the victims resume their normal lives as soon as possible, while promptly implementing relief work and evacuating local people living in areas hit by landslides.

The Ministry of Health is tasked to keep the environment hygiene, and ensure the supply of medicine and essential equipment for storm-hit localities if required.

The Ministry of Transport is responsible for repairing damaged roads, while other relevant ministries are requested to work hard to restore electricity and communications to locals.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is also asked to prepare varieties and fertilisers to aid production.

The recent devastating typhoon has killed at least 27 people as it swept through the northern mountainous provinces, unleashing flash floods, landslides and lightning strikes, with Ha Giang, Lang Son and Lai Chau provinces worst hit.

It has caused an economic loss of around 125 billion VND (5.87 million USD), according to the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue.

A total of 7,000 houses were submerged or had their roofs blown down while 4,000 ha of rice and other subsidy crops were inundated.

The ferocious storm has left at least 46 people dead in China, and nearly 100 in the Philippines.

Company refuses to pay prize-winner

A man from Binh Duong Province has complained that Tribeco Company did not give him the VND100 million (USD4,700) prize he won by using their product.

Ta Van An, from An Binh Commune, said that in May his family bought a carton of instant noddles from a convenience store. On the carton, the Tribeco Company, owned by Uni-President Vietnam, advertised a sweepstakes with prizes totaling VND2 billion.

When he opened one of the packages, he found a card which said he had won VND100 million. However, when he tried to call the company to redeem his prize, no one answered. An then returned to the convenience store and asked them for the company's address.

"On June 5, four Tribeco employees arrived at the store and said that my card was invalid because it didn't have stamps and signatures. They said that they could only give me VND2 million but when I refused, they increased the money to VND5 million. If my card were invalid, why would they offer me any money? I bought the product and won the prize. The evidence is right here, they must give me VND100 million," An said.

The next day, An went to the headquarters of Tribeco in Binh Duong, but he was met by the same employees who refused again to recognise his winning ticket. He later received a letter from the company saying the ticket was invalid.

Representatives from Tribeco have been unavailable for comment.

Da Nang launches e-government system

The Da Nang City Department of Information and Communitions  has recently inaugurated an e-government information system.

At the launch, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son said  that the system, along with the city’s new administrative center that will be launched in the near future, will enable Da Nang to operate the ‘one-stop’ administrative mechanism rapidly and turn the place into an ‘intelligent city’ soon.

The city's synchronous and updated e-government system will allow greater transparency and efficiency among State agencies while minimising bureaucratic delays, said Director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications Pham Kim Son.

It also helps connect all city agencies, grassroots administrations and online public services, he added.

Over 320 million USD for cow breeding in Dak Nong

A cow breeding project worth over 7 trillion VND (329 million USD) will be carried out in the Central Highland province of Dak Nong from 2015.

Under the project, 30,000 dairy cows and 20,000 beef cattle will be raised in a total area of about 4,000 hectares by 2019.

Implemented by the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) and the Duc Long Gia Lai Group JSC, the project is expected to create a momentum for the development of the local agricultural sector, and generate jobs for about 2,000 locals at breeding farms.

The project is welcomed by local leading officials at a working session with representatives from the two companies on July 23.

Local departments and authorities were asked to create favourable conditions for the investors.

Journalists helped to sharpen pens for corruption fight

A conference was held in the central city of Da Nang on July 23 to give an insight into anti-corruption laws to journalists who are said to play an important role in the combat against the scourge.

At the function, held by the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Justice, reporters and editors heard in-depth presentations on the Law on Corruption Prevention and Control, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

There are 906 press agencies operating in Vietnam at present with some 17,000 journalists, thousands of whom pen investigative articles on corruption.

Through preliminary information gathered by the press, State agencies have brought a number of serious corruption cases to light, such as irregularities in the land management in Hai Phong city, and Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan and Kien Giang provinces.

The media have also helped raise people’s awareness of the issue by actively publicising legal regulations and updating the public on the fight against corruption.

Thua Thien-Hue targets green urban transport system

Authorities of central Thua Thien-Hue province are working hard to implement a cooperation project on a master plan for developing a green urban transport system in Hue city and surrounding areas.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Cao on July 23 had a working session with representatives from the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea to discuss financial and technical cooperation in the project.

As part of the ADB-funded “ Green Cities: A Sustainable Future in Southeast Asia” initiative , the project is to upgrade the transport system in the city, improving environment for economic development and raising the people’s living standards.

The project, launched in late July, covers the planning of car parks in Dai Noi (Royal Palace) and surrounding areas and the use of non-motorised vehicles, surveys on public transport and travel demand, and making a geographic information system ( GIS ) map.

Speaking at the working session, Cao affirmed the cooperation project, the ADB-funded initiative and another project on planning for Huong River’s banks would help realise Hue’s socio-economic development goals, targeting an environmentally friendly city.-

Lam Dong: Vocational training benefits rural workers

At least 7,000 people in rural areas of the Central Highland province of Lam Dong will receive job training each year, with 60 percent of them expected to work in agriculture and the remaining in industry and non-agriculture fields and for export.

Each trainee will be offered a grant of 2-3 million VND (95 – 140 USD) to take the courses, as part of the ongoing project to provide vocational training for rural workers.

The 2014-2020 project prioritises people living under the poverty line and ethnic minorities as well as the disabled and social welfare beneficiary families.

Lam Dong is home to 10 vocational training centers and more than 50 vocational training establishments.

Since 2010, the province has provided vocational training for about 30,000 labourers, most of whom living in rural areas.-

Workshop seeks to boost female workers’ rights

Female workers and the role of trade unions in protecting their legitimate rights and interests were the focus of discussion at a workshop in Hanoi on July 24.

Jointly held by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) on the occasion of the 85 th founding anniversary of the VGCL (July 28), the event attracted representatives of 17 trade union organisations under the WFTU.

Participants at the workshop discussed measures to promote legitimate rights and interests of female workers, and strengthen coordination between the national trade union organisation and the WFTU as well as its members.

In his speech, VGCL President Dang Ngoc Tung said that according to the United Nations Development Programme, Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia in implementing gender equality. However, he pointed to several disadvantages still suffered by women, particularly in salary, working conditions, and training and promotion opportunities.

To deal with this matter, the Vietnamese Government has adopted many important policies, including the 2011-2020 National Strategy on Gender Equality, the National Action Programme on the prevention of domestic violence to 2020 and the 2011-2020 National Action Plan for Vietnamese Children, he said.

Issues on female workers are also included to in the Labour Code and the Trade Union Law.

Gia Lai steps up sustainable development efforts

The Central Highland province of Gia Lai will allocate more than 21 billion VND (987,000 USD) for a sustainable socio-economic development project in the two communes of la Khai and la Pech in la Grai border district.

The project will be implemented between 2014 and 2016, focusing on agricultural production, education, healthcare services, workforce training and infrastructure development .

It is hoped to improve the livelihood for local people, thus promoting sustainable poverty reduction.

In recent years, local authorities have paid special attention to looking after their people’s spiritual and material life, especially those of ethnic minority groups and in remote areas, helping bring down the rate of poor households in the locality to only 17.3 percent from some 27 percent in 2010.

Roads accessible for automobiles now run through all the communes in the province, while 90 of local households are connected to the national grid and 80 percent have access to clean water.-

Health Ministry presents first-aid kits to central fisheries trade unions

Three fisheries trade unions in central region will be given medicine-chests and first-aid kits to fisheries trade unions in the central region as part of the programme supporting fishermen launched by the Ministry of Health in late May.

During her visit to Da Nang city and Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces from July 24-27, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien will present 545 medicine chests along with first aid kids to the three trade unions in the localities.

Fishermen in the localities will be provided with first aid skills to deal with injuries from accidents at sea.

In an effort to realise the Government’s target that all workers on ships and maritime economics-science-service complexes will be provided with knowledge on health protection by 2020, the programme has called on individuals and organisations to join hands in equipping fishing boats with essential medicine and tools.

Through the programme, 300 medical chests and first aid kits were given to fishermen in Ly Son island district, in central Quang Ngai province.

Hanoi traffic police trained in first aid skills

A first-aid training course is underway for Hanoi traffic police as part of the joint coordination between the Road and Railway Traffic Police Division (PC67) under the Hanoi Police and the municipal Police Hospital.

The two-day course, opened on July 21, comes up with skills to help policemen deal with injuries from traffic accidents or in other incidents as well as techniques to deliver babies.

Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the PC67 Division, said the course contributes to equipping the traffic police with indispensable knowledge and skills to swiftly and effectively assist people in distress.

Defence ministry takes care of war hero families, invalids

The Ministry of National Defense has undertaken a string of activities to support families of war heroes and contributors to the national revolutionary cause on the occasion of the War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day, which falls on July 27.

The ministry has spent 1.67 billion VND (78,766 USD) visiting wounded and sick soldiers under treatment at some nursing homes as well as many families of war invalids and martyrs and Vietnamese heroic mothers in Hanoi and other localities.

Besides, the ministry’s officials came to visit and present gifts to families of cadres and soldiers who laid down their lives while protecting the country’s sovereignty over sea and islands and serving in remote and mountainous areas.

The ministry has directed its units to collaborate with stakeholders to generate jobs for offspring of seriously wounded and sick soldiers.

It has also continued to realise a programme on building 1,000 houses for wounded soldiers, heroic mothers and those who had rendered great services to the national revolutionary cause.

Efforts to restore electricity for Rammasun-hit provinces

Repairmen are working hard to resume electricity for households in northern mountainous provinces, whose power supply has been cut off since the second East Sea tropical storm Rammasun made landfall last week.

While the power transmission system in Cao Bang province has been fixed, that in Quang Ninh, Bac Kan, Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Bac Giang and Lang Son are under repair, according to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Latest statistics show that as of July 23, at least 27 people were killed, two missing and four injured after Rammasun swept through these localities.

Heavy rain has collapsed nearly 6,500 houses and submerged about 3,300 ha of crops, while landslides have blocked traffic in many highways and provincial roads.

Quang Ninh and Son La suffered serious economic loss of around 2 billion VND (95,200 USD), each.

The typhoon’s impacts have not gone yet as heavy rains are forecast to continue in northern mountainous provinces.

The super typhoon has claimed at least 94 lives in the Philippines and 26 lives in China.

Vietnam, Japan localities step up medical cooperation

The Cancer Centre of Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture will assist the Cancer Hospital of the central city of Da Nang in improving personnel capacity under a cooperation memorandum of understanding inked on July 24.

In three years from now, the Vietnamese side will send its doctors, nurses and technicians to the Kanagawa centre for one-year refresher courses, while the centre’s experienced staff will come to Da Nang with technical consultancy.

At the signing ceremony in the presence of Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Van Huu Chien said his city hopes to receive more support from the prefecture in the promotion of medical workforce capacity and the procurement of advanced equipment.

Yuji Kuroiwa voiced his hope that the cooperation between the two establishments will actively contribute to the partnership between Kanagawa and Da Nang in the future.

Over the past years, Japan has been providing a number of medical help for the Vietnamese city.

Notably, Japanese experts have trained caregivers and midwives of the Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children under a project of the Asian Urban Information Centre of Kobe from 2012 to 2015. Leaders of the hospital have also made short-term visits to the country to learn their experience.

Vietnam seeks donors for key natural resource, environment management projects

Strengthening international cooperation for sustainable management of natural resources and the environment is a key task for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in the second half of the year.

At a meeting to review work in the first half of this year and devise tasks for the remainder of the year, MoNRE Minister Nguyen Minh Quang said his ministry will seek donors for its key programmes while improving the efficiency and quality in its on-going international cooperation projects.

Quang also said that his ministry was working hard for organising the 11th conference of the Vietnam-China joint working group on meteorological cooperation and attending the 5th Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Summit and the 20 th GMS Ministerial Conference.

Leaders of the ministry will also join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministerial Meeting, the sixth round of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) negotiations, the sixth round of negotiations on cooperation in less sensitive issues at sea between Vietnam and China, and an ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC). The ministry has also drafted contents for attending the 11th Vietnam -the Republic of Korea Environment Ministerial Meeting , the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity(COP13), the 20th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP20) and the 10th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP10).

The ministry has proposed to take the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC) into the list of priority projects using official development assistance (ODA) capital for submitting to the Prime Minister for approval. It is working to promote the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation with its Russian counterpart in surveying geology and using mineral resources.

In the first half of this year, the ministry signed a funding agreement with the Australian Government on examining the impacts of hydropower projects on the Mekong River mainstream. The MoNRE inked a MoU on environment cooperation with Turkey’s Ministries of Environment and Urban Planning, and Forest and Water Affairs.

Students in culture universities receive exempted tuition fee

The Prime Minister decided to give incentive to students who study traditional arts in universities and colleges with programs in cultural studies and related programs.

Accordingly, in the academic year 2014-2015, university and college students following traditional studies and related program in state-run or private facilities will receive tuition fee exemption as well as bonus.

Cultural studies include bandsman for tradition drama, instrumentalist for Hue traditional folks and don ca tai tu Nam Bo (Southern amateur folk music), “Ca tru” (northern ceremonial singing), “hat bai choi” (a kind of traditional music).

Students studying cultural studies or related programs in state-run facilities are going to receive 70 percent exemption of tuition fee while their counterparts in private schools will receive exemption which does not exceed the regulated level set by the government.

In addition, students in these culture public schools will receive job incentive of 40 percent of scholarships per month and so do their peers in private schools.

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