600 logs of rare timber seized

Krong Trai forest rangers have seized nearly 600 logs of giang huong (pterocarpus pedatus pierre) timber, illegally stored at a local house in central Phu Yen Province.

Nguyen Tien Dat, 41, had been storing the timber and failed to show legal documents to prove the stockpile's origin.

It is the largest amount of timber found to be illegally stored at a local house in the province so far.

The case is currently under investigation.

Giang huong (Pterocarpus pedatus Pierre) is precious 2A timber. Special permission is required from authorised agencies to transport or trade the material.

VN Railway Station offers 20% discount on ticket price of SE19, SE20

Vietnam Railway Station is offering a discount of 20 percent on ticket prices for passengers who travel to Quang Binh to attend in General Vo Nguyen Giap’s funeral from 11 to 14 October.

The program is applicable for SE19 and SE20 trains from Hanoi to Dong Hoi Station in Quang Binh Province and return on October 11-14.

Viet Nam Railway Station has planned to add more carriages or trains if people travel to Quang Binh for the General Giap's funeral increase much more than as we expected, said Ha Noi Railway Station Officer.  

Vung Chua-Dao Yen in Quang Binh is a beautiful collection of mountains with absolutely breathtaking landscape. The place where the legendary General will be buried is Mui Rong (Dragon Cap) at a height of 110 meters above sea level. On the Island’s West and North is the Su Mountain and the Dragon Cap in the East overlooks the sea.

Three workers die at fish processor

Three workers at a private seafood processing firm in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province died after falling into a waste water treatment cellar.

Two workers were climbing out of the waste treatment cellar, where they were removing fish scales. When they fell in and died from suffocation, another worker stepped off the ladder to try to rescue them but also fell in.

The three victims were rushed to the hospital for emergency aid but could not recover. Investigation is ongoing.

Flood-isolated residents rescued

The border guard of southern Binh Phuoc Province moved 30 ethnic minority households isolated by flood in Dak O Commune to a safe place.

Torrential rain over the past few days triggered flash floods in four hamlets of the commune, which damaged 40 houses and swept away their food, crops and domestic animals.

Local authorities mobilised forces to help the locals surmount the consequences, upgrading roads, cleaning the surrounding environment and providing them with noodles and safe water.

Vietnam assists Laos’ archive sector

Vietnam will provide scholarships to 18 Lao archives students in 2014 and receive five Lao officials to work on probation in the National Archives Centre for one month.

An agreement to this effect was signed by the State Records and Archives Department of Vietnam and Laos’ National Archives Department in Hanoi on October 10.

Under the agreement, the two sides will submit to the Governments a project on the national archives insurance centre in Laos funded by the Vietnamese Government.

They will also ask the Government’s permission for cooperation in building and sharing a list of archived documents related to the history of Vietnam and Laos in line with the two countries’ law while continuing the exchange of professional skills and information.

Over the years, cooperation between the two archives agencies has been maintained and developed in an effective manner.

Fire damages timber factory in Binh Duong Province

A warehouse storing large quantities of wood and machinery has burnt down after a fire ravaged a foreign-invested company in southern Binh Duong Province last night.

According to the management board of Dong An 1 Industrial Zone, the fire broke out at around 11.45pm following an explosion at the Jining Tzuan Company warehouse.

The fire quickly engulfed the 700 square metre facility, causing widespread damage. There were no human casualties, however the cost of the damage is said to be significant.

More than ten fire trucks and fire-fighters were on the scene to quell the fire fed by flammable materials inside the facility. The blaze was put out in the early hours of this morning.

Fire-fighters were still at the scene by 9am checking for remaining hotspots.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire.

Vietnam to host ‘Youth Ambassador' event

Vietnam will host the Mekong Sub-Region Tourism Youth Ambassador 2013 programme for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City from October 17-21.

Sixty students from HCM City, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Yangon and Bangkok will introduce tourism destinations as well as joint cultural and sports exchanges through traditional games and cuisine contests during the five-day event.

The programme, part of an activity agreed upon by the Lower Mekong Tourism Cities Mayor Summit, aims to promote tourism industries in the region, with a focus on the youth travel market segment in five cities, according to La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

"The youth travel market segment contributes significantly to the tourism industry," Khanh said at a media meeting held in HCM City on October 10.

"The programme to be held annually in participating cities, will be an effective channel for tourism promotion through cultural exchanges between young people in the region," he said.

Each participating city will select two City Ambassadors, one male and one female, to compete with others to become the Youth Tourism Ambassador of Mekong Sub-Region 2013.

The City Ambassador winners will conduct video clips expressing themselves and write essays about their own cities and HCM City.

Ambassadors will also join a trip to Tien Giang Province to take snapshots for photo albums as well as performing in the final round held at the HCM City University of Economics on October 20.

Xa Tan Chuong from the HCM City University of Banking and Vo Hoang Oanh from HCM City University of Economics were winners of the City Ambassadors contest in HCM City.

The event is co-organised by the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union-HCM City Chapter, and the University of Economics.

Vietnam prioritises climate change adaptation

Vietnam gives top priority to adapting to climate change to minimize the consequences of floods, tidal surges, salt infiltration, and landslides, says Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Hai made the commitment at the 3rd National Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation Forum in Hanoi on October 10 to emphasise the pressing nature of both missions.

Hai reiterated Vietnam’s vulnerability to climate change’s repercussions. The intensity of natural disasters continues to increase, causing greater losses of all kinds.

Recognising its threat to national sustainable development, Vietnam has adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, he said.

He appreciated international support in enhancing Vietnam’s climate change adaptation capacity, bringing practical benefits to the community. Vietnam has defined 62 prioritised projects to be undertaken, of which 16 have been put in place in 2013.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said his ministry has worked with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to realise disaster mitigation measures.

It has upgraded storm and flood prevention infrastructure, build storm shelters for ships and vessels, planted and protected upstream forests, increased community-based disaster management, and integrated disaster mitigation into the agriculture restructuring programme.

Phat said that despite suffering more disasters over the past five years, the number of resulting fatalities has fallen by 8% and injuries by 17%.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang said protecting national security and sustainable development growth in the context of global climate change requires redoubled efforts to reduce poverty, achieve gender equality, manage natural resources, defend social welfare and communal health, and raise public awareness of climate change dangers.

Domestic and foreign experts shared their experience in disaster mitigation and climate change adaptation, evaluated Vietnam’s past five years of environmental programmes and initiatives, and examined the results of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2011–2013).

Forum participants also discussed policy and legislation related to climate change adaptation and improving the business community’s capacity to manage disaster risk.

Improving AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria prevention

The Ministry of Health (MoH) on October 10 called on domestic and foreign businesses to join the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in Vietnam.

Addressing a seminar in Hanoi, MoH Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long admitted that despite Vietnam’s great efforts to prevent the spread of the three diseases, its public health campaigns still suffer from insufficient human and material resources.

He said the medical sector is moving into public-private partnerships (PPP) and urged domestic and foreign investors to express their interest in the model.

Long acknowledged the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM)’s contributions to the fight, noting it remains one of Vietnam’s biggest providers of material aid and assistance towards reducing poverty and achieving its Millennium Development Goals.  

The seminar aims to improve the efficacy of healthcare PPPs and the services they deliver and brief potential partners on Vietnam’s PPP regulations and policies.

MoH statistics show HIV/AIDS infection rates are trending down in high-risk segments of the population, but warn rates of sexual transmission are rising.

Vietnam is currently 12th in the list of the 22 countries most affected by tuberculosis. A large number of TB patients have yet to be diagnosed and recorded.

The healthcare sector emphasises the importance of a united, integrated, community-level approach to preventing malaria, HIV, and TB.

Seminar attendees discussed business involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention, coordination between GFATM and private organisations, and communal healthcare initiatives.

The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Health and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.   

IFRC appeals for donation to Vietnamese flood victims

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has urged the international community to assist the victims of Wutip storm that recently struck Vietnam’s central region.

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) reported on October 10 that the call aims to raise CHF2,114,739 million between now and July 2014 for urgent relief aid to the 37,500 worst affected storm victims.  

The IFRC has already allocated CHF266,261 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to the humanitarian effort.

The VRC plans to use the funds to offer at least 5,000 households cash assistance and tools necessary to ensure clean water and disease prevention.

About 2,000 households will receive money to resume economic production and a further 500 will get repair or rebuilding supplies.

Wutip is the most destructive storm to have hit Vietnam since Xangsane in 2006. It caused huge human and property losses in Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh provinces.

The storm left 16 dead or missing and 225 injured, destroyed more than 219,000 houses, and caused damages worth approximately VND11,000 billion.

The VRC evacuated 100,000 people before the storm landed. Its staff and volunteers are still distributing relief goods, assessing storm damage, and compiling the recovering communities’ most pressing needs.

Child malnutrition still affects millions

Viet Nam still has more than 3.2 million malnourished children, making up more than 42 per cent of the total 7.7 million children aged under 5 years old nationwide.

"More than 2 million were stunted due to malnutrition, equivalent to 26.7 per cent of the total under-5 children, while around 1.2 million were underweight, making up 16.2 per cent of all under-5 children," said the National Institute of Nutrition's Communication Centre director Trinh Hong Son at a press conference recently.

Son said that the speed of reducing stunting from malnutrition was slower compared to previous years in all localities nationwide.

The country currently still has 21 provinces and cities with stunting rates at above 30 per cent of under -5 children and 17 localities with an underweight rate above 20 per cent.

Central Highland Kon Tum Province was the country's locality with the highest stunting rate at more than 40 per cent.

Son also warned about rapid increase of the obesity rate among children in Viet Nam. The obesity rate in children has increased 5.6 per cent in 2010, nine times the rate in 2000.

Experts said that development of people's height and physique are dependant up to 80 per cent on nutrition, environment and exercise. Therefore, regimes with reasonable nutrition would help children in comprehensive physical development.

A nutrition and development week, entitled "Ensure nutrient security and Food Safety for people's health," will be launched nationwide by the National Institute of Nutrition from October 16 to 23.

The week aims to enhance the community's knowledge and people's awareness on the prevention of malnutrition through the improvement of daily family meals.

During the week, the institute will collaborate with the agriculture and rural development sector to promote knowledge on gardening and husbandry as well as daily nutrition among families, especially those in mountainous, remote and natural disaster-prone areas.

The communication campaign will focus on encouraging people to eat more nutritious food; teaching food safety and hygiene habits; and confronting childrens' malnutrition and obesity prevention issues.

Hydrofoil owners required to install automatic identification

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) must be installed on all hydrofoils by the beginning of next month to ensure passenger safety, the Ministry of Transport has stated.

The system is supposed to satisfy current standards and, when used, is connected with the port authority's control system for the area where vessels are operating.

Under a document issued last Friday, the ministry also requested the port authorities of HCM City, Vung Tau, and Hai Phong to define areas where hydrofoils' speed should be limited. The restrictions must be set out before the end of this month.

Related agencies, such as the Domestic Waterway Department and Register Department, have been asked to regularly monitor high-speed hydrofoils' journeys via AIS, the document said.

According to Nguyen Xuan Sang, director of the HCM City Port Authority, AIS helps port authorities manage the route, speed and location of hydrofoils, while helping to quickly identify unexpected incidents.

"Vessel owners all advocate the installation of AIS," Sang said.

Waterway Police Department statistics under HCM City Police showed the city had 34 accidents involving hydrofoils in the past six years, with two deaths.

The latest happened nearly two months ago when Greenline B5 hydrofoil, on its way to Vung Tau City, had its glass casing broken by waves, causing water to overflow into the prow, sparking panic among the 75 passengers.

Last month, the Ministry of Transport inspected hydrofoil operations in HCM City and Vung Tau City, detecting many violations concerning traffic safety.

Lang Son stores lack fire protection

Most markets, trade centres and supermarkets in the northern border province of Lang Son fail to meet fire protection and prevention regulations.

When the provincial fire department inspected nearly 1,200 establishments to set up files on fire prevention, only 100 passed with no violations, according to a recent report from the provincial fire preventing and fighting police force.

It also reports that up to 80 per cent of 21 markets, trade centres and supermarkets were built in the 1990s and have insufficient fire prevention systems, posing a huge threat to people working and living around them.

The report shows that residents' poor awareness about fire prevention and actions such as stealing electricity, encroaching air spaces and sidewalk cause difficulties for the firemen to work if fire happens.

The markets' management boards and household businesses are still not aware of fire regulations and fire prevention and fighting; investment in firefighting equipment and facilities is still poor.

"To minimise the risk of fire in markets, the firefighters will provide guidance to residents on how to prevent and deal with fires," said Colonel Ngo Xuan Ket, head of the police force, adding that those who violate regulations will also be given strict punishments.

There are currently 56 fire fighting night-watch teams in the province with a total of 672 firefighters.

Sixteen fires have occurred in the province this year, causing a loss of VND1.2 billion (US$56,400).

China Red Cross donates US$30,000 to Vietnamese Flood Victims

The Red Cross Society of China has donated 30,000 USD to Vietnamese flood victims in the central region to partly help them stabilise their lives.

Tropical storm Wutip, the 10th to hit Vietnam so far this year, has caused losses totalling 11 trillion VND (517 million USD) for central coastal provinces.

Quang Binh was the hardest hit with losses topping 8 trillion VND, followed by Nghe An with 1.3 trillion VND, Ha Tinh with 1.17 trillion VND, Thua Thien-Hue with over 300 billion VND, and Thanh Hoa with 140 billion VND.

By October 5, the storm had killed 14 people and injured 225 others, while two people were still missing.

Authorities are striving to help the locals overcome the consequences of the storm while people and organisations nationwide are making financial contributions to assist them

HCM City to host tourism students for Greater Mekong Sub-Region

Ho Chi Minh City will host an Exchange Program for tourism students for the development of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region from October 17-21.

Accordingly, student groups of 10 from Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Vientiane (Laos), Yangon (Myanmar), Bangkok (Thailand) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) will participate in the event.

They will join exchange of cultures, enjoy local food and visit destinations in Ho Chi Minh City.

There will be a contest for a young tourism ambassador for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.

The Exchange Program is being organized after a successful meeting of the Mekong Sub-Regional Tourism Cities in HCMC last September.

Tourism officials of Lao, Cambodia and Vietnam gathered at the meeting and signed a mutual agreement on organizing tourism conferences every year to cooperate and develop the Greater Mekong Sub-Region; strengthen training of human resources for tourism; encourage cultural exchanges and activities; and preserve the traditional customs and cultures of the three countries.

The conference was one of the many activities during the 8th International Travel Expo-Ho Chi Minh City (ITE-HCMC) in 2012.

Hanoi Writers Association honors authors in arts, sciences

On October 10, the Hanoi Writers Association held an awards ceremony to honor writers, poets, translators, researchers who have made outstanding contributions in the field of arts and the sciences.

This year, the organizers honored two writers in the field of writing, including Nguyen Ngoc for ‘Cac Ban Toi O Tren Ay’ published by Youth Publishing House, and woman writer Giang Van for ‘Duong Gio’ published by Writers Association Publishing House.

The organizers also honored authors in the field of critique, translation, including Phan An Sa for ‘Nang Duoc Thi Cu Nang’ published by Tri Thuc Publishing House and translator Pham Vinh Cu for ‘Tam-Tuyen Tho Cua M.Tsvetaeva’ published by Writers Association Publishing House and East-West Cultural and Language Center.

Hanoi citizens of excellence honoured on Liberation Day

Hanoi celebrated the 59 th anniversary of Liberation Day with a ceremony honouring 1,084 outstanding individuals and organisations on October 10.

In his remarks at the event, Nguyen The Thao, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said the celebration would live long in the memory, especially as it coincided with a period of national mourning for the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, who passed away on October 4 at the age of 103.

Thao noted that after nearly six decades of construction and development, Hanoi has become a big, modern and spacious urbanised area covering 3,344 sq.km with a population of more than 7 million people.

In its long-term development plan, he said Hanoi has to connect to the key northern economic zones and trade centres in neighbouring localities to spur higher economic growth.

At the function, “Citizen of Excellence” titles were awarded to 10 individuals while 61 organisations and 102 individuals were honoured for successfully following the moral example of late President Ho Chi Minh. In addition, 911 people were lauded for their good deeds to society.-

French loan to help Vietnam cities develop

The Vietnamese cities of Da Nang and Can Tho will be provided with a loan of 10 million EUR each by the Agency of French Development (AFD) to improve their respective infrastructure systems.

According to a lending contract signed in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho on October 10, the two cities are to receive additional non-refundable aid worth 500,000 EUR, which aims to provide technical assistance and ensure the spending of the loan is effective.

The loans are expected to speed up socio-economic and urban development in the two localities.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Noel Poirier said the contract agreement will further strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries.

France is now one of the largest official development assistance (ODA) providers for Vietnam, especially in infrastructure building, technology transfer and agricultural and industrial development.

Australia doctor awarded for environment works

Doctor Michael Parsons has been awarded the insignia “For the Cause of Environment” in recognition of his great contributions to Vietnam’s green sector.

At a ceremony in Hanoi on October 10, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha hailed the significant works by Parsons during the time he served in Vietnam.

Over the past six years, the scientist has played a key role in the United Nations Development Programme’s projects on poverty reduction and environment in Vietnam.

He is also an active volunteer of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the ministry, where he has been building the institute’s capacity and connecting it with other regional and international agencies.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman said that using his 35 years of experience in the field, Parsons had determinedly helped Vietnam reach its sustainable environment goals, especially through his initiatives in climate change adaptation, resource management and environment protection.

Doctor Parsons said he was honoured to receive the honour, affirming that he will do his utmost to aid the development of Vietnam’s environment sector in the time to come.-

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia cooperate in vocational training

Officials in charge of vocational training in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia met in Vientiane on October 10 to review their cooperation and discuss ways to strengthen it in the future.

Deputy Minster of Education and Training Bui Van Ga and Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ngoc Phi were at the event, which drew representatives from the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) and Belgium’s Association for the Promotion of Education and Training Abroad (APEFE).

The Vietnamese delegates spoke highly of the cooperation between the three countries.

They proposed measures to strengthen trilateral cooperation to share experience in education and vocational training development, support each other to raise institutional capacity in financial management at schools, expand training programmes and strengthen relations between vocational training schools and enterprises.

Participants expressed their satisfaction at the cooperation between the three countries, the OIF and the APEFE over the past time. They agreed to

continue to the cooperation, share experience in building and managing education and training policies as well as develop suitable pilot programmes in order to achieve the best results.-

Education city to be put into service next year

Vietopia, the education, entertainment and indoor sport city for children aged 3-14 located in HCMC’s District 7, will open next year, said the project owner.

Having an area of more than 22,700 square meters in Him Lam residential area, the project worth around US$25 million is invested by Him Lam Vikid Company.

Nguyen Que Anh, general director of Him Lam Vikid, said that Vietopia aimed to help children explore the world and arouse their passion to improve their skills and understanding.

Vietopia simulates a city with airport, hospital, fire station, supermarket, television station, newspaper office, theater, construction site, subway station, filling station and space center. There are over 70 popular jobs and over 100 job orientation activities to cater to up to 3,500 children and teenagers per day.

At Vietopia, children can choose their favorite jobs, get training, work, manage money and have fun.

In addition, Vietopia includes a section for parents with reading room, fitness facilities, and coffee shops among others.

Constructed since last year, Vietopia is set for opening early next year.

Conference boosts PPP cooperation in infectious disease prevention

Delegates discussed ways to help businesses approach Vietnam’s policies related to public-private partnership (PPP) cooperation in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria prevention at a conference in Hanoi on October 10.

Co-organised by the Ministry of Health and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the conference aims at bettering people’s access to quality healthcare services, said Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long at the event.

Long also highlighted the organisation’s contribution to the work of prevention and combating over the recent past, adding that the fund is one of the largest sponsors of Vietnam and other developing nations in the field, which helps promote poverty reduction and realise the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Vietnam has spared no efforts to prevent and tackle the three infectious diseases over the past time, dynamically strengthening the partnership and calling for domestic and foreign investors’ involvement in the field, he added.

At the conference, delegated noted that the country is controlling the spread of HIV and gradually reducing the transmission rate among high-risk groups, but still sees an increasing rate of HIV infections through the practice of unsafe sex.

To reduce the rate of people falling ill to malaria, the health sector continues to encourage the community and the entire population’s involvement in the work and link activities against the infectious disease with the health system.

Vietnam ranks 12th among the world’s 22 TB high- burden countries and has the largest number of unreported TB cases.

At the event, participants also focused on discussing issues related to HIV/AIDS prevention and combating activities in the workplace, the coordination among the fund and private organisations, and community healthcare programmes.-

RoK university helps improve health care in Quang Nam

Yonsei University from the Republic of Korea (RoK) on October 10 donated medical equipment worth over 3.5 billion VND (164,500 USD) to the Quang Nam Paediatrics Hospital in the central province of the same name.

In addition to the medical equipment, which was channelled through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Yonsei University has so far this year organised many training courses on paediatric care for nurses and doctors of the Vietnamese hospital.

With the university’s funding, a doctor of the Quang Nam hospital has been sent to the Hanoi-based Paediatrics Hospital for professional skill improvement.

Meanwhile, central doctors have been dispatched to the local hospital to provide lectures there.

Vietnam sees high mortality rate of non-communicable diseases

The mortality rate of non-communicable diseases in Vietnam is four times higher than that of infectious diseases, accounting for 67.34 percent of deaths from diseases, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry’s statistics for 2011 also showed that the morbidity rate from non-communicable diseases was 62.72 percent or 2.4 times higher than that from infectious diseases at 25.89 percent.

Vietnam has given priority to five groups of non-communicable diseases, namely cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiration and mental disorders. They have been in the national target programme on healthcare since 1999.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen said all countries in the world are facing increasing morbidity rates of non-communicable diseases, people are able to prevent risk factors of the diseases by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Speaking at a recent workshop in Hanoi on the national non-communicable disease prevention and control strategy framework for 2014-2020 with a vision to 2030, Deputy Minister Xuyen affirmed that the healthcare sector has implemented programmes to fight against the diseases and reached initial outcomes.

However, she pointed out shortcomings needed to be solved such as coordination, implementation and expansion of the programmes to grassroots levels.

The draft framework is designed to minimise the avoidable burden of the diseases. It is also intended to increase responsibility, leadership and inter-sectoral cooperation in preventing non-communicable diseases, and reduce risks with the improvement of initial healthcare services.

Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri