Doctors operate on man with chopsticks in skull

Doctors at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City operated on a 25-year-old man who was hospitalized with chopsticks penetrating through his skull.

Nguyen Van Dung, from the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is being treated in the Surgical Ward of Cho Ray Hospital, the biggest hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, and is still in coma after the surgery.

The poor man was taken to a hospital in Ba Ria-Vung Tau on October 16 by two men who left him there without providing any information of the case.

Doctors in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Hospital conducted a CT scan which showed chopsticks in the man’s brain.

They then transferred him to Cho Ray Hospital on the same day for surgery.

Surgeons at Cho Ray Hospital and their counterparts from the Eye Hospital performed a four hour surgery to remove the chopsticks from the man’s skull.

Ministry to spend VND10 billion to rebuild firecracker factory

The Ministry of Defense will use VND10 billion (US$ 474,114) from the Fund for Natural Disaster Prevention to rebuild the Z121 firecracker factory and compensate households who suffered losses in the recent explosion.

General Phung Quang Thanh, Minister of Defense, announced this when he visited the site of the explosion at the firecracker factory and called on some of the victims. The General Department of Military Command, under the Ministry of Defense, is investigating the cause of the deadly explosion.

The explosion killed 27 workers and injured 65 others. The firecracker factory warehouse was completely destroyed in the explosion.  The Ministry, the General Department of Military Command and the factory leaders have provided VND100 million ($4,740) to each of the dead victims’ families and more than VND30 million ($1,422) to each of the injured.

The local government has also given VND5 million to each family of a dead worker, VND2 million to each injured worker, and VND10 million towards houses completely destroyed in the vicinity of the explosion.

70 percent of breast cancer cases involve successful women

70 percent of breast cancer cases in Vietnam affect successful women. This news was released at an event held at the Irrigation University in Hanoi on October 19, aimed to raise awareness of breast cancer among women and the community.

This is the first ever event of its kind to be organized in the country by the Breast Cancer Network Vietnam that was founded  by Duong Nu Khanh Thuong, who suffers from breast cancer at the last stage.

In the world, one woman dies of the disease every minute. Upto 70 percent successful women or those women who usually face stress in life contract the disease.

In Vietnam, 21 percent of cancer patients die of breast cancer, especially in Hanoi, which has a high rate of cancer.

Medical experts say bad habits such as drinking too much coffee, beer, wine, pills, passive smoking, pesticides via foods, and stress make people vulnerable to the disease.

Experts advise women to undergo medical check-ups every six months for timely discovery of breast cancer.

Vietnam’s acupuncture developed in Mexico

Vietnam and Mexico have pledged to open more acupuncture training and treatment centres in Mexico following a recent bilateral agreement on acupuncture cooperation for the 2013-16 period.

The two sides also agreed to boost activities of two alternative medical centres named after the late President Ho Chi Minh in Mexico City and Monterrey.

The document was signed in Mexico City between Director of Vietnam’s Central Acupuncture Hospital Nghiem Huu Thanh and Secretary General of the Workers’ Party of Mexico (PT) Alberto Anaya Gutierrez during Director Thanh’s visit from October 14-18.

While hailing efforts and skills of Vietnamese doctors who have been working in Mexico , Alberto Anaya Gutierrez said he shared Dr. Thanh’s view that the acupuncture centres in Mexico have contributed to increasing understanding about Vietnam ’s people and land in the world and enriching cooperation between the PT and the Communist Party of Vietnam and the two peoples.

According to Dr. Nghiem Huu Thanh, there are three acupuncture centres in Mexico all named after President Ho Chi Minh. Two of them are established under agreements between the Central Acupuncture Hospital and the PT and the other between the Vietnamese hospital and Zacatecas University .

Over the past 12 years, more than 100 Vietnamese doctors and interpreters have been working in the three centres, which provided treatment to about 500,000 Mexican patients.

In addition, 25 Mexican doctors got master degrees on acupuncture.

Largest private obstetrics-surgery hospital opens in Central Highlands

People in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and neighbouring localities are expected to access better healthcare services as the region’s largest private obstetrics-surgery general hospital was inaugurated in Buon Ma Thuot city on October 18.

The hospital, which was completed after four years of construction, is located on a site of nearly 8,200 sq.m at 43 Ngo Gia Tu Street.

The 450 billion VND (21.15 million USD) hospital has 200 beds with modern equipment imported from foreign countries such as the US, Germany and Japan.

As the first private hospital specialising in obstetrics and surgery in the Central Highlands, the hospital is expected to ease overcrowding at the Dak Lak provincial general hospital and those at the district level.

Marine environment management projects approved

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a number of projects for the 2013-2020 period to help implement the nation’s marine resources and environment investigation and management goals.

Accordingly, from 2013 to 2018 the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will preside over a project to investigate and assess the characteristics of the country’s geological structure and propose measures to exploit and use the territory to serve infrastructure construction and development, particularly in coastal areas.

The ministry will also implement a basic investigation project on the environment and resources of the coastal areas to serve maritime economic development and protect security and defence in the 2013-2016 period, and another to assess water resources for Vietnam’s islands from 2013 to 2015.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology is responsible for carrying out a project to research harmful parasites and microorganisms in the country’s waters to protect the marine ecosystem and public health during 2013-2015.

The ministry will coordinate with other relevant ministries, agencies and provincial People’s Committees to speed up the implementation process and ensure the efficiency of projects.

Symposium highlights ecological, organism resources

A symposium on ecological and organism resources was held in Hanoi on October 18 to respond to International Year of Biodiversity and Forests.

Organised by the Institute of Ecological and Organism Resources under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the event offered a chance for scientists in this field to present their research results and outstanding achievements over the past time.

Participants discussed and exchanged their experience with measures to deal with eco-environmental degradation and protect rare animals and plants, as well as proposed new scientific solutions to use Vietnam’s organism resources in a sustainable manner.

The symposium also selected 273 outstanding scientific reports to release in a collection of scientific reports.

French NGO provides IT training to poor students

Fifty four poor students from Central and Central Highlands provinces have benefited from an IT training programme funded by the French non-governmental organization, Passerelles Numeriques.

The students were granted graduation certificates at a ceremony in the central city of Da Nang on October 19.

During the two-year training course, they also received English lessons and were given opportunities to work as interns at IT companies or volunteers for non-governmental organisations.

According to Passerelles Numeriques’s statistics, 92 percent of the trainees have found jobs with stable income.

The organisation said it will continue with the training programme to assist disadvantaged young people from the Central and Central Highlands regions.

Passerelles Numeriques was set up in 2006 with the aim of enabling the largest number of disadvantaged youths to access IT training and employment.

Chinese national detained for drug trafficking in HCM City

Li Chunying has been arrested at HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport for bringing methamphetamine into Vietnam.

The airport’s customs officers uncovered the 26-year-old Chinese national hiding 2.23kg of methamphetamine his case.

Li, who boarded a plane from Hong Kong to HCM City, was said to go through a number of international airports without being discovered, before entering Vietnam.

The case has been transferred to HCM City’s Drug Criminal Investigation Police for further investigation.

So far this year the Customs Office of HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport has discovered and detained 9 drug trafficking cases, with the amount of confiscated drugs totaling 20kg.

Fishermen rescued from sinking ships

Border guards in central Thanh Hoa Province's Tinh Gia District rescued 11 fishermen from two sinking ships off the coast yesterday afternoon.

The ships, both from the central Quang Ngai Province, were on their way to Lach Bang Port to shelter from strong winds when they were suddenly crashed by big waves, according to Pham Quoc Vuong, one of the captains.

On receiving the SOS signal, local border guards, in association with authorities, rushed to the scene and all of the fishermen have since been brought safely ashore.

Tainted bread sickens 200 people

Approximately 200 people were hospitalised on Thursday in Huong Hoa ward, central Quang Tri province, after eating tainted bread from a local bakery.

They have all complained of fever, stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea.

Local authorities have taken a sample to test and forced the bakery to close while they investigate.

Central Highlands gets private hospital

A private General Hospital was opened yesterday in Tay Nguyen (the Central Highland) after four years of construction.

The VND450 billion (US$21.4 billion) hospital is the first private one in the region to have a dedicated surgical and obstetric ward.

Covering an area of 8,200sq.m, the hospital has 200 beds and is equipped with hi-tech facilities.

Ha Long City opens new belt road

The northern belt road of Ha Long City was officially opened for traffic yesterday in Quang Ninh Province.

With total investment of nearly VND500billion (approximately US$23.8million) from the province's budget, the 13.9km route aims to ease traffic overload and improve safety in Ha Long City

The road will also help minimise the negative impacts of exhaust and dust on the city environment and promote the area's socio-economic development.

Fire spreads on stranded vessel

A crane ship from Vanuatua, which is stuck in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province's Vung Tau City after running aground three years ago, caught fire yesterday.

By 8pm yesterday the fire was still out of control, despite the efforts of local authorities.

According to fire fighters, the blaze started from the inside the ship's cabin, making it hard for them to extinguish the fire. Meanwhile, a strong wind and the shallow depth hindered their efforts.

The ship's anchor was broken in July 2010 at Can Gio port in HCMC, and the vessel drifted away before running aground in Vung Tau.

The ship is 196m long and 50m wide. It weighs around 25,000 tonnes.

Voters ask for new roads

Voters in northern mountainous Son La Province and Central Highlands Lam Dong Province asked for more infrastructure investment at recent meetings with National Assembly deputies.

Voters in Son La Province's Yen Chau District recommended that the NA build roads to villages in mountainous areas, as well as supplying them with electricity and safe water and upgrading deteriorated people's committee headquarters.

Voters in Moc Chau District proposed the NA help students find suitable jobs after graduation, particularly ethnic minority students, and increase forest protection and management.

In Lam Dong Province, voters also voiced concern about road deterioration, saying that the degraded national and provincial highways caused difficulties for locals trying to travel or transport goods.

They also spoke of the need to build more irrigation works and safe water supply stations for people in rural areas.

Voters in other places recommended strengthening management of fertiliser production and trade and tightening control over mineral exploitation.

The meetings were held in preparation for the upcoming sixth session of the 13th NA, scheduled to begin on October 21 and end on November 26.

Flooded region gets help

People in Central provinces affected by the recent storms received food, money and construction materials from the Government, organisations and individuals.

The Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) provided aid to people in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai one day after the storm ended on Tuesday afternoon.

"We brought food, blankets, nets and water to the people in heavily affected communes and districts in Da Nang and Quang Nam; 800 emergency relief packages were handed to villagers in Quang Binh and Ha Tinh, where thousands of people were affected by the flood," said Doan Van Thai, VNRC's vice chairman and general secretary.

"A water filter system with a daily capacity of 50,000 litres was installed in Quang Binh Province yesterday. I hope the system can help provide clean water for the population of the most seriously affected commune in the province," he further said.

Aid to local residents will continue throughout the month, according to Thai.

There will be free medical examinations for residents of the storm-stricken areas in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces.

Da Nang gave 75 portions of food and daily necessities to people in Lien Chieu district, with the district people's committee providing 2,000 boxes of instant noodles and two tonnes of rice.

The Ministry of Public Security donated VND400 million to the Da Nang People's Committee to help local people.

Many individuals nationwide sent money to help. Communes in Duy Xuyen district in Quang Nam Province received VND100 million.

Viet Nam Rubber Corporation donated VND200 million to support local people in Quang Ngai Province.

Islanders on Cham Island, off the coast of Cua Dai beach in Hoi An town, received the first donations of food and money on Thursday.

Ha Noi's Fatherland Front chapter also sent VND4 billion to the central region, while Amway Viet Nam donated VND50 million.

In Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, local people have yet to receive support as flood isolated the areas and caused landslides in mountainous areas.

In Da Nang's Hoa Vang district, two people died after the storm yesterday. One man fell down from his roof while repairing it and a two-year old was swept away by floodwater.

Photo exhibition praises Vietnamese women in war

More than 100 documentary war photos are on display at an exhibition which opened yesterday in the Tan Trao Special National Historical Relic site, the northern province of Tuyen Quang.

Exhibited photos highlight the resilient spirit of women soldiers, who joined Viet Nam's resistance wars against France and the US.

As part of the activities to mark the 83rd anniversary of the Viet Nam Women's Union (October 20) and towards celebrating Viet Nam Heritage Day, the event attracted a large number of visitors, local people and students.

It provides a good opportunity for audiences to understand more about the patriotic spirit and sacrifice for the nation Vietnamese women made, as well as their great contributions to national liberation.

Running until the end of this year, the exhibition also aims to teach young Vietnamese people the national revolutionary tradition.

Climate change solutions lie in nature

Pilot projects related to mitigating the impacts of climate change in coastal Southeast Asia have proved that nature-based solutions are the key to climate-change adaptation.

The opinion was voiced by experts at the second Annual Coastal Forum, which ended yesterday in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

"Soc Trang and other coastal provinces in Viet Nam have been facing difficulties in applying their new knowledge and experience and lack the funding to do so," Le Thanh Tri, deputy chairman of the Soc Trang People's Committee, said.

"Therefore this forum is a great opportunity for Soc Trang Province to discuss with international organisations, scientists, and national and international administrators and obtain knowledge and experience on climate-change adaptation."

Around 200 delegates representing local communities, government agencies, academia, and NGOs from Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam have gathered for the four-day forum that highlights nature-based solutions.

It is being held under the aegis of the "Building Resilience to Climate Change Impacts in Coastal Southeast Asia" project, which aims to strengthen the capability of local governments and peoples to plan for and adapt to future climate risks, and is funded by the EU.

More than 30 projects tailored to the unique characteristics of each site in eight coastal provinces in Thailand (Chanthaburi and Trat), Cambodia (Koh Kong and Kampot), and Viet Nam (Soc Trang, Can Gio, Kien Giang, and Ben Tre) were carried out in the past two years, the conference heard.

They helped enhance the adaptive capacity of people and the ecosystems on which they depend to cope with the anticipated impacts of climate change and plan for reducing disaster risks.

Recently 10 projects in four provinces were launched in Viet Nam to build community resilience to climate change impacts.

Around US$350,000 is being poured into them.

The scope of work includes growing mangroves, raising awareness, eco-tourism development for poor mangrove-dependent communities, and a switch to fishery, agriculture, and aquaculture.

They will run until December next year.

"These coastal communities in three neighbouring countries are facing similar climate-induced destinies," Dr Robert Mather, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Southeast Asia, said.

"The reality is they all have to find ways to adapt to live in this changing climate.

"While ‘hard' engineering and infrastructure projects certainly have a role to play in resilience-building, these pilot projects demonstrate that development based on bottom-up planning and ‘soft' solutions provided by natural eco-systems are instrumental in bringing about desired solutions."

Two Mekong provinces, Ben Tre and Soc Trang, are expected to be worst affected by rising sea levels anywhere in the world.

The forum is being organised by the IUCN, the Viet Nam Administration for Seas and Islands, the German Development Cooperation, the Sustainable Development Foundation, and Soc Trang Province.

Tropical Storm Nari claims 18 lives

Storm Nari, that brought heavy rains and caused severe flooding in the central provinces, has killed 18 locals.

Seven fatalities were recorded in Quang Binh, six in Quang Nam, four in Ha Tinh, and one in Nghe An.

The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control reports central localities from Nghe An to Quang Binh continue to endure severe flooding.

Sixty-nine communes in Ha Tinh province were among the areas hardest hit, with three locals still missing.

Hundreds of houses have been swept away entirely, while multiple thousands of others suffered serious damage.

About 1,451ha of rice and 6,359ha of other crops were destroyed.

Travel through the region is impeded by impassable and submerged sections of road.

Local authorities and relevant state agencies are joining efforts to help local victims deal with the natural disaster’s aftermath, restore agricultural production, and stabilise their lives.

Two-wheeled floral parade encourages environment protection

A flower bike parade was held in Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in the central coastal city of Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan province, on October 20 to call for maritime environment protection.

The event is part of the celebrations of the 18th anniversary of Binh Thuan Tourism Day (October 24) with a view to promoting environmental protection for sustainable tourism development.

About 250 local students took part in the parade and joined in activities to clean up the streets and public places.

Participants carried slogans and posters designed by themselves and cycled through the main streets in Phan Thiet city, which is known for being an attractive tourist destination with beautiful blue sky, sunshine and white sandy beaches.

Nguyen Van Hoa, Director of the Binh Thuan Culture Centre, described the event as a way to raise public awareness of environmental protection, create a healthy living environment, and build a green, clean and beautiful city.

It also encourages local businesses to hold their responsibilities to protect the environment and produce environmentally friendly products.

Groundbreaking for Cao Lanh bridge in Mekong Delta

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh kick-started the construction of Cao Lanh bridge, the second biggest bridge out of four bridges in Connectivity Project of Mekong Delta, in Dong Thap province on October 19.

The US$147-million project is funded by a non-refundable aid from the Australian Government, a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), some from the Vietnamese Government.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy PM Ninh described the bridge as an important symbol of cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and Australia as well as the ADB.

Connecting Cao Lanh city and Lap Vo district, the bridge is designed to have 2 kilometers long and 6 lanes wide over Tien River, a branch of Mekong River, and will take 43 months to complete the construction.

Once completed, with a maximum speed of 80km/h, the bridge will benefit five million residents in the region and meet the travel demand of 170,000 people a day.

International seminar on Vietnam-Japan cooperation

Vietnamese and Japanese scientists have gathered in Ho Chi Minh City for an October 19 seminar discussing Vietnamese-Japanese education and training and human resource development cooperation.

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages—Information Technology (HUFLIT) and the local branch of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association co-hosted the event.

Seminar attendees considered more than 60 presented reports on cooperation in education and training and human resources in the service of Vietnamese-Japanese ties. Many papers highlighted Japan’s support for Vietnam’s national liberation struggles as well as its ongoing national renewal, construction, and development.

Participating Vietnamese scientists could draw practical lessons on education, scientific research, and human resources training, and promote cultural and linguistic exchanges between the two nations.

HUFLIT Founding Council Chairman Huynh The Cuoc used his seminar address to praise the state of relations between Vietnam and Japan, highlighting their cultural similarities. He noted the considerable expansion in bilateral interactions since diplomatic ties were first established in 1973.

Another seminar on promoting investment in Vietnam and encouraging the recruitment of Vietnamese apprentices was held in Tokyo earlier on October 18.

Addressing the seminar, Minister of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen said the two countries’ human resources development cooperation programmes are some of the relationship’s most successful, contributing to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

The Minister highlighted a joint programme, initiated by her ministry and Japan’s international human resources development organisation (IM Japan), that has helped 1,232 Vietnamese undertake industrial technical training in Japan.

The two countries have also established nurse and medical orderly labour exchange initiatives as part of the the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and another facilitating the training of disadvantaged Vietnamese youth to Japanese recruitment standards.

IM Japan Chairman Kyoei Yanagisawa said the seminar gives businesses an insight into Vietnam’s vast human resources potential and will promote future cooperation in the field.

The seminar attracted representatives from 244 Japanese businesses, 70 percent of which are considering investment in Vietnam and 10 percent of which have expressed interest in employing Vietnamese apprentices.

Celebs raise breast cancer awareness

A special photo exhibition featuring Vietnamese celebrities campaigning for the fight against cancer opened in Hanoi on October 19 to mark Pink Ribbon Day, organised for the first time by Breast Cancer Network Vietnam.

They include Miss Vietnam World 2007 Ngo Phuong Lan, celebrated actresses Chieu Xuan and Hoang Cuc, singer Thai Thuy Linh, and Miss Beach Beauty 2010 Nguyen Thi Loan.

By posing with a pink conical hat, they aim to promote cancer awareness to Vietnamese women.

"Breast cancer can be completely cured if diagnosed early," said Cuc, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and now completely disease-free.

Photos of women battling breast cancer are also on display, capturing moments of both pain and optimism. Audience can view the images at the University of Water Resources on October 19 and at Swing Lounge, 21 Trang Tien Street from October 20-31.

HCM City’s longest steel flyover opens to traffic

A steel flyover at Cay Go roundabout in Ho Chi Minh City opened to traffic on October 19, expected to offer a traffic relief to the city’s congested gateway to south-western provinces.

The Y-shaped flyover is formed by two branches -- the one, which is 350m long and 12-15.5m wide, connecting Hong Bang street and the other, which is 230m long and 6.5m wide linking street 3/2, making it the longest of its kind in the city.

Built in five months at a cost of VND339.3 billion, it is the city’s sixth flyover, a work that helps relieve the city’s traffic congestion.

The Cay Go roundabout is an important gateway linking the city’s centre with the south-western region.

Emergency aid for victims of storm and floods

Vietnamese and international charity and emergency relief groups have allocated substantial resources to helping the victims of the storms and flooding besetting central provinces.

Tropical Storms No. 10 and 11, and the resulting floods, have wrought great human and property losses throughout the central region.

Safe water shortages are the primary concern. The Vietnam Red Cross has installed a water filter system in Quang Trach commune’s Quang Son village.

Soldiers, police officers, and border guards have been mobilized to help local residents build temporary accommodation while waiting to repair their houses.

Storms, floods, and whirlwinds hitting Quang Binh have left seven dead or missing and injured a further 40. Six hundred houses are completely destroyed. Twenty five thousand houses have been flooded.

The province has mobilised all available resources to overcome the disasters but continuing heavy rains hamper recovery efforts.

Soldiers, police officers, and young volunteers are travelling through Quang Binh to assist victims wherever possible.

Political units, organisations, and individuals from across the country have donated VND21 billion to Quang Binh province—VND13 billion in cash and the remainder in essential goods and commodities.

Quang Binh Fatherland Front Vice Chairman Nguyen Xuan Hieu said the aid, while offering much needed short term assistance, will not cover the extent of the support overcoming the disasters’ aftermath will demand.

Danang City has so far received more than VND3 billion in cash, 1,000 gifts, and 200 crates of commodities and home repair tools. Benefactors have given Quang Nam VND5 billion worth of aid.

More than 30 organisations and individuals have registered with the VFF to sponsor almost VND10 billion in assistance for Quang Tri province. According to the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention’s latest report, Storm No. 11 caused four deaths and left 11 people missing in Ha Tinh province. Approximately 300 families have lost almost all their possessions. Many houses and crops were inundated or completely destroyed. Losses are estimated at VND500 billion.

Thousands of households in the Ha Tinh highland districts of Huong Son, Huong Khe, and Vu Quang are still under water. Flash floods and landslides have spread across the region.

Prolonged heavy rains are likely to worsen the situation. Six communes in Huong Son district remain isolated, affecting 850 households.

The Ha Tinh Provincial People’s Committee provided 1,000 tonnes of rice and 13,000 packages of instant noodles to the three districts’ residents. It also donated money to the families of dead and missing victims, and those whose houses have been destroyed.

Ha Tinh Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen Thien said the province has sent nearly 100 vehicles and canoes carrying food and water to flooded areas.

The area’s 62,000 pupils are unable to attend school.

A number of areas in Nghe An province’s Yen Thanh district have also been isolated. Local authorities are providing emergency relief. Two fatalities have been recorded, with 16 houses destroyed and nearly 10,000 houses inundated. Total estimated losses range to more than VND400 billion.

Twenty-one schools are still closed as of October 18 afternoon.

Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association supports AO victims

The Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association (BVFA) convened a European Parliament (EP) on October 18 to discuss dealing with the US military’s poisonous Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin legacy left after its war in Vietnam.

Representatives from French, German, Hungarian, Polish, Danish, and Vietnamese friendship associations, as well as the European Left, emphasised the severe and long lasting impacts caused by these chemicals on the Vietnamese environment and people.

Delegates cited their recent visits to and meetings with AO victims in Hanoi as proof of the damage the spraying campaigns wrought.

In November 2011, a European Parliamentarian group submitted a draft resolution asking EU organisations, the European Council, and the EP itself to actively assist Vietnam in dealing with their consequences.

The BVFA issued another resolution on dioxin, asking the EC and EP to conduct fact-finding tours of Vietnam. The association wants institutional representatives to witness AO/dioxin’s consequences themselves.

The seminar in Brussels also discussed the France-Vietnam Friendship Association’s struggle for justice on behalf of AO victims.

The BVFA resolution will be submitted to the EP.

The US sprayed 77 litres of dioxin during its war in Vietnam, affecting nearly 2.6 million hectares of land and five million people.

 WB vows to help Vietnam with climate change response

A senior World Bank (WB) official has vowed to work closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to share how to deploy climate change and green growth projects in Vietnam.

WB Director of Climate Change Policy Development Lending Christophe Crepin made the pledge while working with the MoNRE on the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP–RCC) in Hanoi on October 18.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said as of this late September, ministries and departments engaging in the SP-RCC worked out 24 policy actions as scheduled.

Delegates debated issues related to the WB’s third funding package worth US$70 million for this year based on the fulfilment of last year’s policy actions.

They also reviewed the outcomes of the previous packages and the 2014-2015 framework policy matrix which is due to be submitted to the Government later this year.

Nine ministries have so far involved in building the 2014-2015 framework policy matrix.

The MoNRE will incorporate the scheme on climate change response and green growth into the national action plan on climate change while offering technical support and policy dialogue counselling services to the National Committee Office on Climate Change’s working agenda.

Vietnam Women’s Union delegation visits Germany

The Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) pledges support to Vietnamese women’s activities abroad in general and Germany in particular, said the union’s President Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa.

Hoa made the commitment while meeting with representatives from Vietnamese women’s associations in Germany during her three-day visit to the country.

Representatives at the meeting briefed her on the difficulties and insufficiencies in their movements, expressing hope to receive more support from the Party, State and VWU, particularly in sharing experiences and ways to attract more participants.

The VWU President spoke highly of the initiatives and effective action models of the Vietnamese women in Germany , and said she will give out appropriate recommendations to step up activities for women abroad.

Earlier the same day, Hoa met with Vice President of the German National Council of Women Organisations Brigitte Triems.

The two sides exchanged their experiences in encouraging women to join national and international women organisations, raising public awareness of women’s roles and position, as well as working for their rights and equality in society.

They also agreed to further enhance mutual understanding between the two sides for future cooperation.

On October 16,Hoa and her escort presented gifts to children at a Vietnamese-German bilingual nursery school, the first ever bilingual education model for Vietnamese, German and international children of pre-school age in the country.

The VWU President and Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh highly valued the model.

They shared the hope that it will be expanded to help Vietnamese people better integrate into German society, while sustaining their Vietnamese origin and culture.

Ben Tre inaugurates 10 bridges on interprovincial road

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre has inaugurated 10 bridges on interprovincial Road 883, worth a total of 763 billion VND (36.3 million USD)

Each of the bridges is nine metres wide and able to allow vehicles to travel at a speed of 60 km per hour.

Their construction was started in March 2012, and completed 17 months ahead of schedule.

At the inauguration ceremony on October 19 in the province’s Binh Dai district, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh spoke highly of the bridges’ importance to the socio-economic development as well as security and defence.

Road 883 connects National Highway 60 through Binh Dai to the sea. In the past, old bridges could support vehicles with a tonage of only 8 tonnes, hindering the traffic on this route.-

Vietnamese sailor dies in RoK

A Vietnamese crewman working on a Chinese vessel that sank off the coast of the Republic of Korea (RoK), has been reported dead.

According to the Vietnamese Labour Management Board in the RoK, the deceased is Pham Tien Dung, 30, born in the central province of Nghe An. He was a guest worker in the RoK.

His body is being kept at East Pohang Hospital in the eastern city of Pohang .

The Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK and the Vietnamese Labour Management Board are endeavouring to support the victim’s relatives and protect his eligible rights.

On October 15, China’s CHENGLU 15 cargo ship sank in the southeast Pohang harbour in a storm, leaving nine people dead and two missing.-

War-era bomb defused in Quang Tri

A bomb weighing more than 500 kilogrammes was safely disabled by unexploded ordnance disposal teams from Peace Trees Vietnam in Huong Hoa district of the central Quang Tri province on October 18.

The bomb, which was discovered one day earlier following the recent flooding, measures 1.5 metres long and had a diameter of about 40 centimetres.

It was identified as a MK82, and is believed to have been dropped by the US during the war.

To date, as many as 23 bombs have been found in the area.

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