The atomic energy sector, the attitude of the society to atomic energy and Ninh Thuan’s future socio-economic developments are being discussed at a forum in the south central coastal province of Ninh Thuan on April 13.

At the two-day forum, Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Kovtun Andrei Grigorievich spoke of the importance of the event for Vietnam and the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom of Russia, as well as Vietnam-Russia cooperation in building the first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province.

The forum will help broaden constructive dialogues between Russian and Vietnamese partners aimed at ensuring radiation and nuclear safety, he added.

Russia will be totally responsible for the safety of nuclear power plants inside its territory but also in other nuclear power plant projects in which it is involved, the diplomat emphasized.

The Director for Rosatom State Corporation Programmes Boyarkin Sergey Alexandrovich said that the corporation has built 66 units in 12 countries, confirming that Russia will use the safest technology in building the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant 1.

Rosatom experts gave a detailed explanation of the plant’s location in case of quakes and tsunamis.

Rosatom will also introduce its experiences in building nuclear power plants in Russia and policies to assist personnel training for Vietnam’s atomic energy sector.

* HCM City school tops academic standards

Le Hong Phong High School for Gifted Students in HCM City outperformed 93 counterparts in southern provinces to win an academic contest for excellent students last weekend in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho.

Second and third places in the contest were taken by Le Quy Don High School in Da Nang City and Ly Tu Trong High School in Can Tho City.

Dubbed ‘Olympics April 30', the contest is held on an annual basis for high schools from 30 provinces and cities from north-central Quang Binh Province to the southernmost Ca Mau Province.

* University students win Japanese design awards

Students of National University in HCM City won first and second prizes at a Japanese electronic-chip design contest 2011 held at Okinawa.

The FETEL07 team from the University of Natural Sciences and the KITTEN teamteam won the third prize. from the Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Centre (ICDREC) won the first and second prize, respectively, while a Japanese

Held by Japanese Ryukyu University, based on an initiative by the Kyushu Semiconductor Industries and Technology Innovation Association in 1997, the contest is held annually for students and graduates in the Asia-Pacific.

The winner of last year's contest, ICDREC engineer Tran Thi Hong, received a scholarship and is now studying at Japan's Kuytech University.

* Ambulance crash kills four

Four people were killed and two others badly injured when an ambulance hit a stationary truck in Thanh Hoa Province at 3am on April 12.

Witnesses said the ambulance was heading south when it hit the back of the truck that had stopped on the side of National Highway 1A in Tinh Gia Town.

The 41-year-old ambulance driver and three passengers who were accompanying a dead body died instantly, according to police.

All the victims, including the driver, were from Hien Son Commune in Nghe An Province.

Witnesses said the front of the ambulance, which was registered in Ha Noi, was completely crushed in the collision.

Thanh Hoa traffic police said the ambulance had been hired to transport the body of a person who had died while travelling abroad from Noi Bai Airport to his hometown in Hien Son.

The ambulance was allegedly speeding at the time of the accident.

Police suspect the ambulance driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The accident resulted in a two-hour traffic jam on the road.

* International Labour Organisation to help Quang Nam children

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) on April 10 has granted US$130,000 to the central province of Quang Nam to implement a project on child labour prevention.

The project is expected to be carried out in five communes of Dien An, Dien Phuoc, Duy Nghia, Duy Vinh and A Tieng.

As planned, the province will strive to provide vocational training to around 1,400 working children by September 2012, of whom at least 50 percent are girls who dropped out of school or are prone to quit school, in order to help them find more suitable jobs.

Additionally, 500 poor families will receive help to access credit programmes to improve their living conditions.

* 23 localities in Ha Noi likely to flood this rainy season

Ha Noi Construction Department has identified 23 flood black spots in the city.

The department said the city's waterways and sewerage system have become choked with rubbish and silt, which exacerbates the risk of flooding in the rainy season. When rainfall exceeds 100mm, officials said they expect major intersections in the centre of the city such as Tran Hung Dao and Phan Chu Trinh, Ly Thuong Kiet and Phan Boi Chau, and Ba Trieu and Nguyen Du to flood.

Officials from the department said they hope ongoing sewerage projects to be completed before the monsoon season. When completed, the drainage system would be able to cope with rainfall of 310mm over a two-day period, they said.

Ha Noi has 56 lakes that help to relieve flooding. The city also has access to pumps, the largest of which can drain 90 cu m of water per second.

VNN/VOV/VNS