Beggars still rampant in HCM City despite crackdown

Beggars are still seen on many streets in HCM City even though the project to gather homeless people has been going on for a week.

Many people were still seen pretending to be disabled people and beg for money along Truong Trinh road in Tan Phu District on January 4.

At Tay Thanh – Truong Chinh intersection, one pregnant woman, Truong Ngoc Phuong, 25, was standing for hours to beg for money from passers-by. Phuong then moved to Phan Huy Ich – Truong Trinh intersection to continue her job.

Phuong was recently reported by some media agencies to be a drug addict. She often disguised herself as a pregnant woman and begged for money to buy drug. She moves very often to different places including Binh Thanh District, Mien Tay bus station, Districts 6, 8, 11 and Go Vap District. However, Phuong was still found there on January 4 cheating people without being caught.

Several disabled beggars are also seen at Cong Hoa – Truong Chinh intersection. A homeless man has been seen begging for money at Nguyen Van Qua – To Ky interchange in District 12 for around one month but there's yet any action from local authorities.

Roads like Chau Van Liem, Nguyen Trai, and Le Dai Hanh are considered “paradise of beggars” who often gather in groups with dozens of members for open operations despite crackdown by the municipal government.

Health authority tests strange snail to verify cause of fishermen’s deaths

The Department of Food Safety in the central province of Ha Tinh sent the snail, that caused the deaths of three fishermen on January 5, to the Ministry of Health’s Food Administration of Vietnam.

Dr. Phan Van Hung, head of the Department of Food Safety, yesterday said that his department will test the snails to verify soon the deaths of the three fishermen.

As newspaper released yesterday, three fishermen including Tran Xuan Thuc and Tran Van Duong both at 29 year old and Duong Van Tinh, 22 in Tinh Gia District of the northern province of Thanh Hoa died after eating strange snail though they were taken to the province’s General Hospital for emergency treatment by border safeguards.

The test result is hoped to be soon publicly released to warn the community of the strange snail.

Ministry vows to take drastic measures against unsafe food

As public concerns over contaminated food have been raised, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat asserted that the Ministry will take drastic measures to reduce pesticide residues in vegetables and tea leaves to gain consumers’ trust.

Though after the Law of Food Safety and Hygiene takes effect, agricultural produces are managed strictly, there has still been contaminated foodstuff that caused public anxiety; especially at the end of the year when unsafe foodstuff is rampant.

Health authority in coordination with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development seized many unsafe foodstuff including vegetables and fruits without origin or imported from China without checking in markets.

Minister Cao Duc Phat acknowledged that the rate of vegetables with pesticide residues exceeding the allowable limit by 5-6 percent; accordingly Mr. Phat confirmed to take drastic measures to battle this matter to re-gain consumers’ trust.

Minister Phat said that farmers have feed cattle with illegal substances to improve lean muscle mass and market value and so do big enterprises. He promised that in the future the Ministry will enhance supervision to tackle the problem in 2015.

He said that the Ministry will try to eliminate the abuse of illegal substance totally as the drug badly affects consumers’ health.

SOS children’s village estblished in Thua Thien – Hue

A ceremony was held on January 6 in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue to transfer the centre for child protection Thuy Xuan in Hue city to the system of SOS Children’s Villages in Vietnam.

 The signing ceremony to transfer the centre for child protection Thuy Xuan in Hue city to the system of SOS Children’s Villages in Vietnam (Credit: thuathienhue.gov.vn)

The name of the centre was changed to Hue SOS Children’s Village, the 17th of its kind in Vietnam.

The Association for Vietnamese Children (AEVN) established the Thuy Xuan centre in 2001 and committed to fund the village until 2019.

In addition to the AEVN, the Hue SOS Children’s Village will be funded by the SOS Chilren’s Village International and the provincial People’s Committee to invest in nursery facilities.

The village currently has nine houses, including the administrative area, and is home to 35 orphans and homeless children in the province.

The establishment of the Hue SOS Children’s Village is expected to mobilise domestic and international organisations to help the children integrate back into society.

Newspaper fined for violating regulations

The information and communications ministry has fined Nong Thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper VND42 million (US$2,000) for violating several media regulations.

The newspaper has been fined for advertising vitamin and minerals-enhanced food items or "functional food" that was not among the contents licensed to be covered by the newspaper.

It has also been fined for providing incorrect information in an article about new electricity rates, and for describing in detail a serious crime.

HCM City issues dengue warning

The HCM City Preventive Health Centre yesterday instructed its officials around the city to continue to monitor diseases, especially dengue fever, because of the recent reappearance of the dengue serotype 2 (DEN-2) virus, which could cause serious outbreaks.

At a monthly meeting between the Department of Health and district health divisions, Nguyen Tri Dung, head of the centre, said three people had tested positive for DEN-2 in the last few months.

Most dengue fever cases last year had been caused by DEN-1, he said.

Unlike most diseases, people who contract the DEN-1 type of virus develop no immunity to DEN-2, according to health experts.

Dung said there were 6,935 cases of dengue last year, down from 7,490 the year before, but there was a 6 per cent spike year-on-year in December when 1,735 patients contracted the disease.

That month the districts of Binh Tan, Thu Duc, Tan Binh, and 8 saw the highest number of cases.

In contrast, the incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease increased last year but showed a downward trend in December, Dung said.

The city had provided free measles-rubella shots to 220,000 children aged between six and 10 in the December-January second phase of a campaign under the National Expanded Programme for Immunisation, he said.

This accounts for only 51 per cent of the target, he said, explaining that the low rate was because many parents in districts such as 9 are apprehensive about the new vaccine.

In the first phase, nearly 310,000 children aged 11-14 got the vaccine.

He urged district health officials to continue with the second phase this month, and a third phase for children aged one to six starting in February.

Health officials should strengthen communication about the safety of the new vaccine to reassure parents, he said.

The Ministry of Health has said that the vaccine causes no serious side-effects, he added.

First fatal case of hand-foot-mouth disease in 2015

A 21-month child from the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang died of hand-foot-mouth disease on January 5, several days after she had been hospitalized.

Doctor Tran Van De, Director of Can Tho Paediatrics Hospital, which provided treatment for Truong Thi Nhu Q., said on January 7 that the child patient was sent to the hospital on January 3 from Hau Giang provincial hospital in a critical condition caused by hand-foot-mouth disease.

Despite great efforts by doctors and nurses, Truong Thi Nhu Q. died on January 5.

Last year, Can Tho Paediatrics Hospital gave treatment to 35,673 hand-foot-mouth cases including 2,500 in-patients, but no fatality was reported.

Female trafficker of 6 heroin cakes arrested in Tay Ninh

Border guards in the southern province of Tay Ninh has caught a woman in the act of transporting six cakes of heroin from Cambodia into Vietnam.

Six cakes of heroin hidden in a carton box of shrimp noodle were found in Nguyen Thi Be’s luggage when she was clearing customs procedures at Moc Bai international border gate.

Nguyen Thi Be, born in 1958 in Go Dau district, Tay Ninh province, admitted that she was hired to transport six heroin cakes from Cambodia to Vietnam via the border gate. She took a bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City and got out of the bus when it approached the borderline. Be then took a motorbike taxi to Moc Bai border gate where she was seized for illegally transporting six heroin cakes on January 5.

Local police officers on January 6 ransacked her house, and are now conducting further investigation into the case.

President receives recipients of January Star award

President Truong Tan Sang yesterday received the 102 outstanding students who received the January Star award.

He praised students as the pillar of the nation, particularly during the Ho Chi Minh era. Honouring the students on the occasion of the Traditional Day of Vietnamese Students and Pupils (January 9) would encourage emulation movements among students nationwide, he said.

Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Traditional Day of Vietnamese Students and Pupils, which took place yesterday in Ha Noi, Politburo member Le Hong Anh praised the achievements made by students in the past year. He called on the Vietnamese Students Association to act as a bridge between students and the Party and State.

Quang Ninh cleans up oil spill on Uong river

An oil spill on Uong river in the northern province of Quang Ninh, stemming from Uong Bi thermo-power plant on January 7, has been cleaned up within the day.

The incident was reported by locals at 6 am. A flow of oil was spotted at the plant’s sewer into Uong river.

The environmental police of Uong Bi City and relevant forces promptly arrived, and with the coordination of the plant, the oil spill was stopped. All the oil was cleaned by late afternoon.

According to Le Van Hanh, an official of Uong Bi plant, the oil leaked from a broken fuel oil container into a steamer. When the steamer was opened, the oil spilled into the river.

Australia supports small-scale development projects in Vietnam

Australia has pledged over 260,000 AUD (210,000 USD) for 14 small-scale development projects in 11 central and southern cities and provinces in Vietnam for the 2014-2015 period.

The projects focus on improving public health services and infrastructure in Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Ninh Thuan, Vinh Long, An Giang, Khanh Hoa, Tra Vinh, and Ca Mau provinces as well as Can Tho city and Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of the Direct Aid Programme (DAP) in HCM City on January 7, Australian Consul General John McAnulty referred to the many DAP projects over the past three years which have contributed to improved local living standards across central and southern Vietnam.

Specifically, DAP-provided water filter systems in rural areas gave children the opportunity to wash their hands with clean water.

The DAP, backed by 141 million AUD (119.8 million USD) as part of the non-refundable Australian government aid for Vietnam in 2014-2015, aims to address humanitarian difficulties. Each DAP project receives roughly 10,000 USD.-

Ho Chi Minh City to improve prostitutes’ access to social services

Ho Chi Minh City aims to pilot a model enhancing access to social services for prostitutes to assist them in quitting the trade and re-integrating into the community.

A workshop was held in the city on January 7 to discuss the implementation of the plan, which intends to raise the awareness and understanding of gender equality, domestic violence, and intervention measures against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

Deputy Director of the Municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Huynh Thanh Khiet said prostitution in the city has been on the rise and is becoming increasingly complicated over recent years.

He suggested increasing anti-prostitution measures while simultaneously making social services available for sex workers.

The city has piloted other models to help prostitutes integrate into the community, such as vocational trainings, job placement and health care services, he noted.

The project to improve access to social services for sex workers is being carried out in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Can Tho city, and northern Quang Ninh province between 2014 and 2017, with a total cost of nearly 6 billion VND (285,000 USD) funded by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the International Care in Vietnam.

Urban areas in urgent need of greenery

Vietnam’s urban areas are in urgent need of greenery, forestry experts said, citing very low green coverage in most cities in the country, at an average 0.5 sq. m per capita compared to “green urban” standards of 10 sq. m.

Statistics of the forestry sector showed the ratio in Hanoi was only 2 sq. m and in Ho Chi Minh City, 3.3 sq. m.

As a result, the environment, particularly air quality, in Vietnamese urban areas is degrading.

On a larger scale, forests across the country also fail to produce required effect on regulating climate, reducing green house gas and cushioning natural disasters such as flood and landslide, despite an increase in coverage, the 2013 National Environmental Report said.

The total forest area expanded by 138,461 ha to reach 10,423,844 million hectares in 2012, but forest’s quality showed signs of degradation. Most of the current forests are classified as economic forest including industrial and paper-material trees, which have little value in terms of ecology.

The acreage of primeval forests, which are mostly in the Central Highlands and Northwestern areas, is shrinking due to deforestation for agriculture development.

Last November, the Prime Minister has approved a master plan on development of the national special-use forest system through 2020, with a vision to 2030.

Under the plan, the entire special-use forest coverage will be expanded from the current 2.2 million hectares to 2.4 million hectares by 2020.

The 2.4 million ha will cover 34 national parks, 58 nature reserves, and numerous landscapes and research areas.

The northwest region will have 222,000ha of special-use forest, including a new nature reserve at Muong La with an area of 17,000ha, while 400,000ha will be zoned off in the northeast region.

Meanwhile, the Red River Delta will have 65,000ha of protected forests, aiming to preserve the local ecosystems on lime mountains and wetlands as well as the forests with close connection to the region’s culture, history and landscapes in Hanoi and the provinces of Ninh Binh, Hai Duong and Nam Dinh.-

Hanoi peach growers confident in sweet season

Peach gardeners in Hanoi are looking forward to a bumper crop in anticipation of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, the biggest of its kind in Vietnam.

The warm weather and leap lunar year will bring the flowers out in bloom early, while the application of advanced technology will make them last longer and with bigger buds.

The prices of peach trees are predicted not to fluctuate much over the previous year, ranging between 500,000 VND and 1.5 million VND.

Dang Van Manh, owner of the Nhat Tan peach garden, boasts that nearly 100 domestic and foreign businesses have came to hire his peach trees at 5 to 8 million VND per tree.

Peach flowers or Hoa Dao are a must-have decorative item for families in northern Vietnam during the Lunar New Year.

Hanoi is famous for peach orchards such as Nhat Tan, Phu Thuong, Quang Ba, Nghi Tam and La Ca peach village.-

Cattle Tet gifts presented to the poor in Bac Kan province

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) has commenced its efforts to deliver 1 million gifts to low-income individuals nationwide in anticipation of Tet (Lunar New Year holiday) in Dia Linh commune of Ba Be district, in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan.

Impoverished households in Na Cay village were presented with five breeding cows from the VRC-initiated “Cow Bank” project, designed to provide sustainable income and food security to Vietnamese poor, as well as 100 gift packages donated by Buddhist followers.

Raising cows provides a long-term mean of livelihood, said Chairman of the Bac Kan provincial Red Cross Nguyen Van Cuong, adding that the beneficiaries have received training in adequately caring for their cattle.

Dia Linh is home to more than 800 households with 3,700 residents. About 29 percent of the families here are poor or nearly poor, making the commune one of the most impoverished in Bac Kan.-

Drug transporting discovered in Quang Ninh

The customs department of the northern border province of Quang Ninh seized 19.8 kg of drug in Ka Long ward, Mong Cai city in the early morning of January 7.

The two carriers jumped into Ka Long River along with the drugs when being detected. Taking advantage of the darkness, they left the forbidden goods to run away.

The case is under further investigation.

Railway sector strives to improve passenger service

The Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR) aimed to continue creating conditions for railway transport companies to improve their competitiveness and ensure railway traffic safety, Deputy General Director Pham Cong Trinh said at a recent workshop.

This year, the sector would also continue taking measures to improve railway services and "manage ticket prices" better, according to Trinh.

In 2014, the number of railway accidents dropped by 6.1 percent. There were also fewer delays, Trinh said, pointing out that nearly 100 percent of Thong Nhat trains departed and arrived on time in the fourth quarter.

The launching of an online booking system in December made it easier and fairer for passengers to buy tickets, particularly during busy times like Tet, as customers could now use their phones to purchase tickets rather than going to the station and waiting in a long queue, he said.

Train transport accounts for 0.5 percent of the total passenger transport market and 1 percent of total freight transport. The sector aims to raise these rates to 13 percent of passenger transport and 14 percent of freight transport by 2020.

As part of the plan to realise the targets, the VNR will equitise 15 rail bridge maintenance and five railway communications companies next year and withdraw capital from non-core businesses.

The corporation finished the equitisation process for five member companies in 2014, selling all shares offered.

"VNR plans to stay focused on its core business: railway management," said Deputy Director General Doan Duy Hoach.

VNR will continue to withdraw capital from businesses operating in mining, construction and tourism, which are unrelated to its core function.

It will also reduce its stake in the Transport Investment and Construction Consultant JSC to less than 20 percent, in addition to lowering its stake in the Railway Construction Corporation JSC and Investment and Construction 3 and 6 to less than 30 percent.

"After the completion of the equitisation process, VNR will allow companies to bid for transportation businesses on high-demand routes, creating a fair playing ground for all," the deputy director general said.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said VNR must strengthen management capacity and keep operations and safety up to standard while implementing the restructuring plan and capital withdrawal.

Regarding VNR's restructuring plan, the minister said the corporation planned to carefully study customer demand and detect any overweight cargo, as VNR managers would be held responsible for weight violations found under their management.

The minister ordered VNR to ensure smooth transportation for the upcoming New Year and Tet holiday.

The corporation asked the Ministry of Transport and Government to come up with policies to address the number of surplus employees that resulted from VNR's restructuring process.

1000 trucks seen using oversized containers

More than a thousand container trucks from national transport firms were found carrying oversized tankers during five months of nationwide inspections, according to the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam under the Ministry of Transport.

During the crackdown, which began in August, more than 6,280 container trucks belonging to 1,046 transport firms in 56 cities and provinces were examined. Inspectors found 1,170 container trucks whose containers had been illegally modified to carry excessive cargo, mostly on national highways.

They seized the registration stamps for 255 trucks and cut the containers of 340 down to the original size, while 555 drivers were instructed to do this themselves.

According to the directorate, many drivers refused to co-operate with the inspectors or show the required papers.

Directorate head Nguyen Van Huyen said a list of violators would be sent to traffic construction project management boards asking them to avoid using these vehicles.

At previous conferences, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho affirmed that the crackdown on oversized container trucks was a key step to strengthen control over transport businesses and trucks' loading capacity.

Tho said that while there were more than 3,000 inspectors nationwide, the government lacked the ability to prevent drivers from illegally increasing trucks' capacity. Although the ministry had worked with the Ministry of Public Security to set up scales along national highways, the work had proved ineffective.

Child cases of diarrhea, respiratory diseases rise

The number of children admitted to hospitals in Ha Noi for respiratory diseases and diarrhoea caused by the Rota virus has increased in the last few weeks, doctors say.

They attribute the increase to changing weather conditions.

Doctor Nguyen Tien Dung, head of the Paediatrics Ward at Bach Mai Hospital, said that the number of children admitted with respiratory problems in December increased by nearly 20 per cent over the previous month.

He said about 200-250 children were visiting the hospital for health checks everyday and 10-15 of them were being admitted to treat pneumonia, bronchitis and other problems. Most of the admitted patients are under six months old.

The number of children suffering from diarrhoea caused by the Rota virus has also increased, he said, adding that the symptoms of vomiting had many families assume that their children had suffered food poisoning..

"Diarrhoea caused by Rota virus is more dangerous than other kinds of diarrhoea. Late treatment can lead to death, especially for children under-five," he said.

At the National Paediatrics Hospital, doctor Truong Thi Vinh, head of the Health Examination Ward, said that each day they were examining 2,500-3,000 children with respiratory diseases and Rota virus diarrhoea.

Vinh also noted a positive development, saying that since the beginning of last month, the hospital has not received any cases of measles. Last December had seen the start of a measles epidemic.

Dung said that some parents were putting on too many clothes for their children to protect them from the cold weather. He said overdoing this protection can cause fevers and other problems, including convulsions.

If children were suffering from high temperatures, parents should remove a few clothes and use warm water compress on their foreheads as first-aid, he said.

Vinh cautioned that children with symptoms of respiratory diseases or diarrhea should be taken to the hospital immediately. Parents should not buy medicines on their own or borrow prescriptions given for other children, he stressed.

Both doctors advised parents to maintain hygiene and ensure proper meals for their children to prevent diseases.

Children with abnormal symptoms should be closely monitored and treated, they said.

Futher doctors to be sent to disadvantaged district to improve healthcare quality

Being launched in 2013, the project “Sending young medical workers to disadvantaged districts” has contributed much to healthcare mission in these places.

The project was launched by the Ministry of Health, the Communist Youth Union and the Young Physical Association with the aim to increase healthcare quality in poverty regions; accordingly, many medical workers volunteered to work in these disadvantaged districts such as islands and distant places.

The project is not simple as it requires not only encouraging policies but also spirit of volunteer of young doctors. Dr. Ha Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the Young Physical Association is moved when mentioning these names of young doctors who volunteered to work in poverty districts.

Cao Thi Hong Yen, a female medicine graduate in Hanoi, volunteered to work in a remote mountainous district in Muong Khuong District of the northern province of Lao Cai. Nguyen Van Hieu with a pretty good diploma also volunteers to work in Muong Nhe District of the Northern Province of Dien Bien.

The project has been implemented in 20 provinces with expectation of around 500 volunteers to work in 62 provinces. The project also hopes to increase medical worker force in distant districts to reduce pressure on big hospitals.

President hails ex-youth volunteers’ efforts

President Truong Tan Sang has praised efforts made by the Vietnam Ex-Youth Volunteers Association (VEYVA) in connecting thousands of members nationwide and supporting them in boosting economic development and acting as good examples for youngsters.

Working with VEYVA leaders on January 6, the President said he hopes that the association at all levels will continue promoting the campaign of following President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings and encouraging their descendants to actively join patriotism movements.

According to VEYVA Chairman Nguyen Anh Lien, after 10 years of operation, the association currently has nearly 370,000 members in 60 cities and provinces.

It has helped over 30,000 families of war invalids, martyrs and Agent Orange victims to get rid of poverty while supporting 10,000 former youth volunteers in overcoming difficulties, he said.

He also proposed that the Party and State to soon launch an own medal for ex-youth volunteers as well as design more support policies for those with extreme difficulties.

President Truong Tan Sang acknowledged the suggestions, asking ministries and sectors to pay more attention to assisting the ex-youth volunteers.

Jrai ethnic teacher wants to pass on US study knowledge

A man from the Jrai ethnic minority group in Gia Lai Province wants to pass on what he learned during his studies in the US to local compatriots, teaching free English classes to help preserve local cultural identity.

Siu Hril was born in a poor family in Brel Village at Ia Der Commune. He worked since he was very young to help his family survive, which motivated him to study to improve his life and help the Jrai.

After graduating from Dalat University, he spent most of his time studying English, which helped undertake an MA course the University of Hawaii.

He received several job offers from domestic and foreign employers after finshing his overseas study in the US, which he declined.

“I was born in the Central Highlands region where everyone still rather poor, especially those from the Jrai ethnic minority group. I really want to teach them reading, writing and preserving cultural identity," he said.

He started up by organising a free English class for Jrai ethnic children. He also holds a class to help preserve Jrai traditional brocade making.

He is already wrestling with problems, such as a suitable venue for his classes amid a shortage of funding for teachers, but decided to use his own home and has some 20 students in his English classes, while his uncle agreed to host the brocade classes at his stilt house. They hope to sell the brocade made by students to foreign visitors and friends to raise more funds for more classes.

“In 2015, I intend to organise a class to teach how to make sepulchre statues, and I want to write a Jrai-Vietnamese-English dictionary to preserve Jrai ethnic language,” he added.

 

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