Foreign man caught carrying 2.4 kilos of cocaine

A 27-year-old Laotian man was found carrying 2.4 kilograms of cocaine at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, according to the Tan Son Nhat Border Gate Customs Department.

The department said it had co-operated with relevant city agencies to detain the man and hand over reports to the HCM City Drug-related Crime Investigation Police Department for prosecution.

The department said criminals had gone to great lengths to hide illegal goods, creating challenges for authorities in detecting violations.

Canal rupture at hydro plant causes flooding

The canal linked to Serepok 4A Hydropower Plant in Dak Lak Province ran into breakage problems yesterday afternoon, submerging dozens of rice paddies and agricultural produce.

The breakage measured around 50 meters each side, while Buon Don District authorities were working to draw up the final cost of the damage.

A technical representative from subcontractor Serepok 4A, Buon Don Hydro Power Joint Stock Company, said that sustained heavy rains over several days had caused water rising levels at Serepok River.

Repair efforts to the canal were completed yesterday.

The Serepok 4A hydropower plant has a design capacity of 64MW and supplies around 308.35 million kWh a year to the national power grid.

Nine seamen rescued in daring mission

The Cua Viet Border Post soldiers in the central province of Quang Tri rescued a ship with a crew of nine drifting on the sea in Trieu Lang Commune, Trieu Phong District.

The ship, with a load of 900 tonnes, was on its way from the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to the Cua Viet Sea to avoid a typhoon last Saturday when they ran out of oil and drifting on the sea .

The rescue met with many difficulties due to strong waves and wind, said head of the border post Nguyen Minh Tam.

Northern houses at risk of storm damage

Hundreds of houses in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau are likely to collapse at any minute due to heavy flooding, but the inhabitants cannot afford to move.

Than Uyen District has more houses in imminent danger than the neighbouring districts of Tan Uyen, Muong Te and Phong Tho, with more than 80 dwellings located in areas where there is a high risk of landslide. Most are in Muong Kim Commune's Na Pha Village.

Hoang Thi Vuong, a 27-year-old resident, said that her house was seriously damaged by heavy rain two weeks ago. The rain soaked furniture, cracked the floor and broke the roof, so the family had to move in with relatives.

However, that living situation was not satisfactory, so they asked the local authorities for help. Their plea was not accepted and they ended up risking their lives moving back to repair the house.

A few days ago, she dreamed about the house collapsing and ran outside clutching her 3-year-old daughter.

"We are living in fear because the house might fall down at any moment," Vuong said.

Two houses in the area recently collapsed, according to Na Pha Village chairman Hoang Van Chai.

"We really hope that the Government will offer vulnerable residents support to move out of dangerous areas and settle down in new places," said Ha Trong Hai, vice chairman of the district People's Committee.

The current support of VND20 million (US$962) from the State budget is not sufficient, Hai said.

In Tan Uyen, Muong Te and Phong Tho Districts, over 50 families need to be relocated. The provincial People's Committee has proposed the Prime Minister allocate VND30 billion ($1 million) to support local residents in resettlement and production.

Land-use certifications held up

Collaboration among authorities, people and housing developers was needed to speed up the granting of land-use right certificates, said vice director of Ha Noi's Department for Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Huu Nghia.

Speaking at an online forum on the Government's portal yesterday, Nghia said that thanks to recent advice from the Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai, the city could address problems involving the granting of certificates, especially for those buying apartments in housing projects.

In one month, the city granted nearly 6,000 certificates, including 1,600 for those involved in housing projects.

At present, 223 housing projects in the city offer about 220,000 apartments. About 120,000 apartments have been delivered to house buyers but only a quarter have so far been granted land-use right certificates.

Nghia said that his department was making efforts to complete the granting of certificates by the end of this year.

However, some investors in housing projects ignored their obligations to submit applications for their clients, he said, adding that only about 50 per cent of enterprises and investors had submitted documents.

"Investors who received the department's request three times but delayed their obligations will be punished," he said, adding that house buyers could directly submit applications.

Nghia said that about 80,000 buyers of project homes had yet to get certificates mostly because investors had delayed fulfilling their financial obligations or had not followed approved planning.

He said Deputy Prime Minister Hai's direction would help buyers if they were not involved in the violations.

He said that the municipal People's Committee was tackling shortcomings in granting ownership certificates and land-use certificates for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners living in Viet Nam.

Le Van Lich, vice head of the Land Management General Department under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said that overseas Vietnamese and foreigners living in Viet Nam had been able to apply for certificates since 2008. So far, about 520 certificates had been granted.

The modest number could be the result of violations or conflicts. For example, some overseas Vietnamese used their relatives' money to buy houses and the relatives were named in the certificates.

Four convicted of fleeing abroad

Four defendants, who reside in Vinh Hai commune, Vinh Chau town, southern Soc Trang province, received sentences from two to six years’ imprisonment on September 27 for “fleeing abroad to act against the people’s administration” and “organising for other people to flee abroad”.

Following the first instance public hearing held by the Soc Trang province People’s Court, Thach Thuol, born in 1985, received a six-year jail sentence; Lieu Ny, 1986, get four years; and Thach Phum Rit, 1989, three years for “fleeing abroad to act against the people’s administration”. Tra Quanh Tha, born in 1978, was sentenced to two years in prison for “organising for other people to flee abroad”.

According to the verdict of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, some Vietnamese exiles of the Khmer origin belonging to the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) contacted and asked Thach Thuol, deputy head of the Ta Set pagoda, and Lieu Ny, head of the Ta Set pagoda in Soc Trang, to provide information to and follow instructions from the reactionary organisation from 2010.

Thach Thuol and Lieu Ny received 118 million VND (5,590 USD) in 12 times from the KKF and gave 21 interviews to foreign radio stations, slandering that the Vietnamese Government violates Khmer people’s human rights.

Because of their actions, Thach Thuol and Lieu Ny were forced to give up their positions as monks by the Patriot Monk Association. When the association representatives came to the pagoda, the two did not accept the decision and gathered others to accuse the police of “destroying the pagoda” and call on Buddhist followers to go to the pagoda in order to hinder the association. Thach Thuol and Lieu Ny instructed Thach Phum Rich to make video clips slandering the Vietnamese authorities, alleging that the authorities suppressed the monks of the Ta Set pagoda.

On May 20, 2013, Thach Thuoi and Lieu Ny met and asked Thach Phum Rit and Tra Quanh Tha to help them escape to Cambodia. They were arrested by the police of Khanh Binh commune, An Phu district, southern An Giang province while attempting to cross the border.

Course for overseas Vietnamese teachers opens

Fourteen overseas Vietnamese teachers will have a chance to improve their skills of teaching Vietnamese language when attending a course opened in Hanoi on September 26.

The course, the first of its kind, is coorganised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Education and Training.

The teachers are working in such countries and territories as Czech, Germany, Laos, Thailand and Taiwan which see a high demand of learning Vietnamese language.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the Committee, said the demand has become increasingly essential among over 4 million overseas Vietnamese people who are living and working in more than 100 countries and territories across the world.

During the course, the teachers will share professional skills, attend Vietnamese language lessons at several schools in Vietnam and make field trips to Vietnamese language research facilities.

They are scheduled to take part in a seminar on the role of the press in improving the efficiency of teaching and learning Vietnamese language among overseas Vietnamese community on October 22.

They will have a chance to learn more about their homeland’s history, culture, land and people as well as the country’s renewal process through a series of extracurricular activities.-

VN’s efficient use of loans for poverty reduction hailed

Vietnam’s achievements in poverty reduction programmes can serve as a crucial foundation for its dialogues and expansion of cooperation, a World Bank executive has said.

In a recent interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in the US, Axel van Trotsenburg, WB Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, noted that the WB and Vietnam have shared visions on various fields, especially poverty reduction - one of the WB’s most important goals.

Over the past five years, the WB has provided a combined loan of 1.9 billion USD for Vietnam, according to Trotsenburg.

He said his institution will continue supporting Vietnam’s efforts in gaining more of its loan sources and using them efficiently.

Regarding Vietnam’s economic growth and stability in recent time, the WB official noted a slowdown in economic growth compared to 20 years ago.

To ensure its long-term growth, Vietnam should attach importance to stable macroeconomic indicators and pay attention to the restructuring of state-owned enterprises and the reform of the financial system, he said.

The WB official also made it clear that most countries around the world must always make adjustments to adapt to the global changes, and Vietnam is not an exception.

The country needs to centre investments on education and training to help its youngsters well prepared for the global labour market in the coming time, he said.

New ring road offers traffic relief to HCM City

A five-kilometre section of the Tan Son Nhat- Binh Loi Outer Ring Road in Ho Chi Minh City opened to traffic on September 28.

It has 12 lanes and runs from Nguyen Thai Son intersection not far from the airport to National Highway 13.

The 1.1km, 12-lane Binh Loi Bridge across the Sai Gon River is on the highway, which is named under after former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

The bridge is expected to serve around 40 percent of the traffic crossing the Sai Gon River from the city.

It is an important part of the ring road, serving to connect Tan Son Nhat International Airport with industrial parks in Binh Duong Province through National Highway 13.

It is expected to help reduce traffic, accidents, and pollution on severely congested roads like Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Dinh Bo Linh, Bach Dang, Phan Dang Luu, and Phan Van Tri streets.

The ring road, to measure a total of 13.6km, starts at the airport in Tan Binh District and will end in Thu Duc District at National Highway 1.

It will run through the districts of Go Vap and Binh Thanh.

It will cost nearly 495 million USD, with land and relocation accounting for 281.3 million USD.

Construction began in 2008. It is 75 percent complete and expected to be finished in 2014.

It is the country's first BT (build - transfer) project in collaboration with a foreign partner, the Republic of Korea-based GS E&C Company.

Nearly 4,000 households with 30,000 people had to be relocated for the work.-

Vietnam, Cuban youth unions grow closer

Communist youth leaders of Vietnam and Cuba have vowed to work more closely together in the future.

During talks held in Havana, Phan Van Mai, Permanent Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) Central Committee and Yuniasky Crespo, First Secretary of the Cuban Young Communist League (YCL) Central Committee, have voiced their mutual support.

The two bodies made preparations for their participation in the 18 th World Festival of Youth and Students to be held at the end of the year in Ecuador.

Mai, who is also President of the Vietnam Youth Federation, briefed his host on outcomes of the HCMCYU’s tenth National Congress and its major programmes.

The HCMCYU is dedicated to improving education and awareness-raising work among young people to fulfil their role as pioneers in the path of national construction and defence, he said.

The Vietnamese youth leader used the occasion to praise the YCL’s contributions to the World Federation of Democratic Youth and the organisation of the World Festival of Youth and Students.

He said Vietnam could learn from Cuba as its youth representatives take a more active role in the international arena and hoped the two sides could work together more closely in the time to come.

For his part, Yuniasky Crespo thanked the HCMCYU for its backing of Cuba, considering this a manifestation of the close ties between the two countries’ youth.

While introducing the YCL’s current tasks, the Cuban youth leader affirmed that the Cuban Party and Government always work to raise the awareness and patriotism of its young people.

During his stay in Cuba from September 23-29, Mai met with President of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples, Kenia Serrano, and was briefed on major programmes of action being launched by the institute.

He also paid a courtesy visit to Oscar Martinez, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department of the Cuban Communist Party, and laid wreaths at the Memorial of Jose Marti, Cuban’s national hero, and the statue of late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh.

Lao passenger arrested for smuggling cocaine

A passenger from Laos has been arrested at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport for allegedly smuggling 2.4 kilograms of cocaine into Vietnam.

The airport’s customs branch named the suspect as Khamchanh Daovone, 27, on September 29.

The branch has worked with the municipal Division of Drug and Crime Control and airport police to transfer the case files and material evidence to the city’s Drug Crime Investigation Police.

The airport’s customs force has worked hard to reduce the number of illegal drugs being transported into Vietnam and has made positive strides, despite smugglers developing more sophisticated and varied tricks to enter the country undetected.

Hanoi buses get fast lane in public transport upgrade

A bus priority lane will be set up on National Highway 1A in Hanoi at the end of this year as part of a major project to improve public transportation in the capital.

The move is the initiative of the Department of Transport with technical co-operation coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The proposed route is planned to cover the section from Hanoi Railway Station to Cau Gie, in the Phu Xuyen commune of Thanh Tri district, a stretch nearing 36 kilometers in length.

According to Takagi Michimasa, chief advisor of the project, buses will share the same lane as motorcycles but be separate from the car lane.

Priority will be given to buses via traffic signs and lights.

The pilot route will be divided into three sections, in which the bus priority lane will be set up in the section from Kim Lien Tunnel to Vinh Quynh commune in Thanh Tri district.

In the sections from Hanoi Railway Station to Kim Lien Tunnel and from Vinh Quynh commune to Cau Gie in Thanh Tri district, buses will not be given priority over other vehicles, but the city will facilitate bus users by upgrading bus stops.

Two large parking areas will also be built in Thuong Tin district and Cau Gie commune allowing passengers to leave their vehicles and travel by bus to the inner city.

The pilot programme has been developed after many surveys of all the city's bus routes conducted by the project's organizers.

The findings indicated that route number 6 - the only one connecting Hanoi's southern districts with the city centre - had buses running from 5am to 9pm every day with 10 minute intervals.

Despite this frequency, results showed the buses on the route were usually overcrowded in peak hours, at weekends, and on holidays.-

Da Nang - a progressive city

The central city of Da Nang is making every effort to fulfil its target of becoming a harmonious, friendly and peaceful metropolis by 2020.

The city is striving for a civilised society, rich cultural life and a knowledge-based economy.

It has already tasted some success in these goals, with visitors to the city often expressing their satisfaction towards its green, clean and peaceful environment, even though its “master plan” has been implemented for just a decade.

Recently, the Centre for the Development of Community Initiative and Environment partnered with the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment under the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam; the SGS Group of Switzerland; and SGS Vietnam to organise a fair themed “Green thinking, clean buying.”

Boasting more than 30 booths, the fair aims to promote an environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyle.

Bui Be Tu, who has worked as a drinks vendor in Tran Ke Xuong Street for dozens of years, always throws tea leaves into the pubic dustbin a little far away from her shop which locates in the shade of a big tree, rather than dumping them onto the foot of trees like others.

She explained that tea leaves would make the street dirty and attract termites that eventually kill the trees.

Visitors to Da Nang are often struck by surprise setting foot in Han market, which was established in the early 1920s. It is hard to find another market so clean and ordered in Vietnam, even in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Products are reasonably priced and good-quality and the shopkeepers have very civilised behaviour, attracting visitors who are accustomed to aggressive and hard-selling vendors in other markets.

Da Nang’s Son Tra peninsula is home to Vietnam’s highest Buddha statue, which sits atop Linh Ung pagoda and looks towards the sea. The area’s hills also house the rare brown-legged langur, which lives only in Vietnam and the neighbouring country of Laos.

Many scientists have selected the Son Tra Nature Reserve as the perfect location for research into tropical endemic faunas and floras.

My Khe beach, which has been voted by the US’s Forbes magazine as one of the six most beautiful beaches on the planet, is always busy as visitors come here in droves to enjoy the clean blue water and white sand.

Thanks to the efforts of local authorities and people, Da Nang has gradually become an attractive and desirable city, increasingly becoming the economic hub of the central region.

In Hoa Binh, "New Light" shed on rural areas

The "New Light" project in northern Hoa Binh province is proceeding smoothly, along with other projects to improve local roads, clinics, and the sports and cultural centre as part of the national new rural area construction programme. The Vietnam Economic News reports.

The project has involved with lighting systems at local schools, health centres, office buildings, cultural and sports centres, and post offices where mainly used incandescent bulbs or T10 fluorescent lamps mounted directly on the wall without lampshades. Therefore, the brightness was lower than standards from 300-400 percent while the electricity used for lighting was calculated approximately equal to the maximum permissible level of standards.

The Rang Dong Light Source and Vacuum Flask Company provided Nhuan Trach Commune 100 lamps and sets of lighting equipment to improve the lighting performance at local schools, health centres, and sports and cultural centre.

Previously, the Nhuan Trach Elementary School was fully illuminated by power consuming incandescent bulbs just reaching luminance rate of 100 LUX, lower a lot compared to the 300 LUX standards. When these bulbs were replaced with energy-efficient T8 fluorescent lamps, these schools can increase power savings up to 64 percent. The luminance rate reached 350 LUX, ensuring vision for students.

The sports and cultural centre in the commune was previously unlighted but now has been installed with two sets of 250W lamps, six sets of 150W lamps, and two sets of 70W lamps, with total installed capacity is around 1850W.

Particularly, the office building of the Nhuan Trach commune’s People’s Committee, previously lighted by power consuming T10 fluorescent lamps with iron ballast and without lampshades has now been installed with FS-40/36x2 M10 and T8 Deluxe fluorescent lamps, increasing lighting efficiency by 800 percent while saving a lot of power.

For the rural communes, lighting local traffic roads is most important, just to ensure the security and easy traffic. Previously, inter-village roads in Nhuan Trach Commune were absolutely unlighted. Now, a lighting system of RSL 05 (50W) compact fluorescent lamps has been installed to help people travel more conveniently.

Speaking about the "New Light" project implemented in Nhuan Trach commune, Secretary General of Vietnam Bio-Study Branch Association Nguyen Lan Hung said: "The lighting system installed in Nhuan Trach commune proved very effective in terms of lighting efficiency and power saving. For example, the lighting system installed in schools in the commune helped reduce power consumption by 30 percent while increase lighting efficiency by 300 percent."

According to Chairman of Luong Son district’s People’s Committee Nguyen Quoc Thao, the "New Light" project deployed in Nhuan Trach Commune is excellent and considered as a major step in the implementation of the National New Rural Area Construction Programme. "This model should be replicated to other communes in the future," he said.-

Vietnam-Cuba Dong Hoi hospital – a symbol of brotherhood

The Vietnam-Cuba Hospital in Quang Binh province’s Dong Hoi city was built in 1973 following the visit of Cuba’s then-president Fidel Castro to the region. In the following years, it has become recognised as a shining monument to the sacred brotherhood and intimate friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.

The hospital is also a manifestation of President Fidel’s famous statement “For Vietnam, Cuba is ready to shed its blood”.

To Lai Van Ly - one of the people involved in the designing and planning of the hospital, and Vice Chairman of the Quang Binh People’s Committee in the 1973-1976 period - the story of Castro’s decision to build the hospital is still fresh in his mind even now.

In September, 1973, Fidel Castro visited the newly-liberated areas of Quang Binh and Vinh Linh, despite numerous dangers as these areas, dubbed “the fire zone” were the site of fierce fighting.

As his car was travelling from Dong Hoi to Quang Tri, Fidel saw several people carrying an injured woman on a stretcher on the road side. Immediately, he asked to stop the car and got out to inquire about her health. The woman was wounded by a bomb when she and local young people were repairing the road. He then asked Cuban Ambassador Valdes Vivo to take the victim to Vinh Linh in the car for emergency aid.

The loss and pain that local people and soldiers in Quang Binh suffered made a strong impression on the Cuban President. With the hope of helping the people, the president decided to help Vietnam build a general hospital equipped with the latest equipment in Dong Hoi, offering treatment for not only local resident but also to neighbouring localities.

Immediately after returning to Cuba, Fidel sent a seven-member engineering team to Quang Binh to help choose the location and make a plan for the building the hospital. Later in 1974, four Vietnamese officials, including Ly, were sent to Cuba to take part in the design of the hospital.

On the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday on May 19, 1974, the then Minister of Construction, Do Muoi, laid the first brick of the hospital.

All materials and construction machineries for the hospital were sent from Cuba, traveling half-way round the world.

In addition, as many as 100 Cuban workers and engineers were dispatched to Quang Binh to directly build the hospital and support local workers.

After seven years, the hospital opened on September 9, 1981, with a capacity of 462 beds. More than 140 Cuban medical experts then arrived to help with both the management of the hospital and patients’ treatment.

Over the years since, the Vietnam-Cuba Dong Hoi Hospital has make great steps in improving its quality and applying more advanced technology. It now has 600 beds and nearly 600 staff members, and is trying to raise the number of beds to 800.

The hospital is truly a symbol of the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.-

Human resources training discussed for Central Highlands

The Steering Committee for the Central Highlands, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Training, held a seminar in Dak Lak province on September 28 to discuss human resources training for the region.

Participants agreed that the area’s provinces hold huge economic potential which has yet to be tapped effectively due to a lack of high-quality human resources.

They agreed that priority should be given to improving the quality of teaching staff, increasing the proportion of students belonging to the ethnic minority groups and those in remote, border areas. It was also stated that universities and colleges should be reviewed to ensure they conform to the planning of the region’s educational institution system.

They also suggested the region boost training cooperation with others in the country and focus on professions that it lacks, such as technology and pharmaceuticals, in order to meet the demands of the region’s socio-economic development.

Immunisation safety imperative

Quality of immunisation services will be strengthened nation-wide in an effort to improve vaccination safety in the National Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI).

Health minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that comprehensive inspections would be conducted at all immunisation sites nation-wide during September and October.

"The campaign aims to find shortcomings or difficulties in immunisation programmes at the grassroots level," she said at an online conference for implementing the health sector's immunisation safety plan yesterday.

"The most important thing is that medical staff should correctly follow the immunisation process, such as temperature supervision for children, vaccine preservation or having separate locations for vaccinations and consulting," said Tien.

"Local administration, the health department and hospital leaders have played a very important role in ensuring immunisation quality follows the current regulations," she added.

"In order to ensure immunisation safety for children, provinces and cities were asked to not receive more than 50 children per day. It would provide more time for medical staffs to provide consulting, examination, supervision and minimise reactions after vaccination," said EPI director Nguyen Tran Hien.

The health ministry's Preventive Medicine Department director Nguyen Van Binh said that the sector has inspected more than 6,650 among 16,000 vaccination sites in 54 of the 63 provinces and cities.

More than 20,000 medical staffs were trained in immunisation safety and examination before vaccination and in how to handle reactions after vaccination, he noted.

"Around 20 per cent of vaccination sites haven't meet the health sector's regulations due to narrow vaccination rooms or waiting places," said Binh.

According to the EPI, it is estimated that around 1.75 million children aged under 1 year old would be given vaccines in the programme in 2013.

VFF pledges support for evangelical church

President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan yesterday pledged to continue creating favourable conditions for the Evangelical Church of Viet Nam (North).

Speaking at a working session with the church, the VFF president, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, praised the church's efforts, urging the church to continue encouraging its people to make contributions to building Viet Nam.

Nhan was optimistic of the forthcoming 34th General Assembly of the Church, scheduled to take place in Ha Noi on October 2, with the participation of around 500 delegates.

Pastor Nguyen Huu Mac, Head of the Evangelical Church of Viet Nam (North), said the church currently had 950 smaller organisations with around 150,000 followers and 155 pastors in 27 localities.

The church recently set up the School of Bible and Theology in Ha Noi, with the first course commencing this month with 25 students attending, he said.

As a member of the VFF, the church has actively participated in initiatives spearheaded by the organisation, including projects to support the poor and build new rural areas.

During 2008-12, the church raised more than VND4 billion (US$190,500) for charity, he added.

Multi-level road plan underway in Da Nang

The central city started construction of a multi-level flyover project at Hue junction on Saturday in a bid to alleviate congestion at the city's busiest roundabout.

The Build-Transfer (BT) project with investment capital of VND1.797 trillion (US$85.6 million) is now in its first phase and is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc praised the efforts of the city's administrators in raising funds for the scheme.

He called on investors and bidders to instill plans for safe and environmentally friendly construction of the flyover. The road is designed with three levels, whereby vehicles traveling on the ground will not cross the railway line in place.

The first and second levels will have four lanes each, measuring 15m and 17m wide respectively.

According to statistics, each day the junction is used for 30 train journeys, 5,000 automobiles, 10,000 motorbikes and 80,000 bicycles and pedestrians.

Co Tu children strut their stuff

Bh'ling Thi Xiec, who lives in B'Hoong Village in the central province of Quang Nam, loves the dances of the Co Tu ethic minority so much that she has taught 12 girls and boys the routines for free.

Xiec said the patriarch of the village had asked her to teach the young generation so the traditional dances could be preserved.

The dance tung tung - da da, which worships god and involves men and women, shows the strong and brave Co Tu men when they face the enemy or disaster.

It expresses their belief and love of life, villages and the people.

Another dance, da da, worships god and symbolises gentle women who love their husbands and children, and make great efforts to help their village.

Xiec said the children were excited to learn the dances of the Co Tu people and wanted to help with preservation.

The group has rehearsed every weekend. Each member was given brocade clothes and gongs.

Twelve-year-old B'riu Ly, the eldest member, said: "We are proud of being chosen to perform the dance. We will do our best to practice so we can receive more invitations to perform at more festivals and let more people know about our dancing."

They have performed alongside professional dancers at festivals in the village and Dong Giang District, and at the Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2013.

Takeaways promise to deliver

Many people do not have time to cook these days so meal preparation services have grown in number to accommodate demand.

With just a call or a click, the web offers dozens of dishes including salad, soup, main dishes, desserts, vegetarian food, fresh fruits, sweet porridge and even hot pots.

For instance, the websites - ilovefood.vn and comchieungon.com - offer many favourites.

Nguyen My Thanh, a young mother of Tan Phu District, said she feels more free thanks to the services.

Reservations for the dishes for lunch and dinner are needed before 8am.

Each dish costs from VND14,000 to VND75,000, and about VND200,000 for a hot pot set.

"I'm completely pleased with the services because their food is fresh and is delivered to your home," Thanh said.

Besides meals, many cooks are increasingly ordering ingredients for dishes as well.

Freelance love letters send hearts aflutter

A brief advertisement on the online marketplace vatgia.com recently raised many eyebrows. Alongside postings for vacuum cleaners, cameras and second-hand cars, the note instead offered a service of a different kind that had been presumed consigned to the past:

"Do you cherish in your heart a message that you want your other half to know? Do you have a sacred feeling that you want to send someone? Do you want to thank or apologise to someone, but don't have confidence in your ability to express your thoughts on paper? We can help you by creating letters which will win them over with sincere and persuasive words."

Writing letters on demand, it turns out, is rapidly becoming the part-time job of choice for young people in need of some extra income.

Le Thi Bich, a final year student of the Foreign Trade University in Ha Noi, says she has been writing love letters for money for two years.

Her unusual sideline began when she was still in high school. Many people in her class knew of her way with words and persuaded her to craft love letters for them to send to their crushes.

As her reputation spread, Bich's service became increasingly in-demand. Such was her success; people even began crediting her for sparking marriage proposals. She is not limited only to notes of desire and devotion however. On the contrary, Bich can write for any occasion; a child sending a letter to their mother, a man writing to catch up with a far-away sibling, a woman expressing her feelings to her grandparents.

However, it is inevitably love that is the biggest seller.

"Most of my clients are young people, aged between 17 and 30, who have a weakness expressing their feelings. Most of the letters I have written have been for lovers or spouses. It is my job to put words in their mouths."

Bich is not alone. This service is also widely used at the Ha Noi Law University.

In her small dormitory room, Hoang Thi Thuy diligently writes a letter for a young client who is head over heels in love with his neighbour.

"Sometimes, my customers are very young. Recently, I got an order from a 10th grader who asked me to write a letter each week addressed to the stereotypical girl next door. He has requested that I send her anonymous note with some witty flirting, but he also wants it to be unique and romantic," she says.

Thanks to this job, Thuy can afford to pay the daily expenses of a final year student.

Bich too has found that a talent for expressing other people's feelings can offer financial reward.

While she usually charges VND50,000 per letter, for the poor students who come to see her on their bicycles she only charges VND30,000. For those who cannot afford even this, she is ready to help them free to get their message across.

Style and substance

Another letter writer, Bui Quoc Tung, a former student of the Academy of Journalism and Communication, says the most difficult thing for a hired letter writers is choosing an appropriate writing style.

"If the 'author' of the letter is inherently gentle, his writing style can't be too ornate and polished. Conversely, if the recipient is a person who does not like flowery words and poetry, the letter should sound more down-to-earth and sincere. Writing for an introvert should be different from writing for an extrovert.

"Writing for a dynamic and modern girl is different from constructing a note for a hard-working wife. Letters take a lot of time because we have to do several rewrites to satisfy our customers."

Tung says there are some people he has written letters for through courtship, dating, marriage and children. Outside of love letters, one man aged more than 70 asked him to write some poems for him to read at his grandchild's birthday celebration.

In the last three years, Tung estimates that he has written about 500 letters for clients.

"Believe it or not, for my regular clients I often encourage them to write letters themselves, so they can reveal their true emotions themselves," he says.

While it is becoming more popular, the service is in fact nothing new. It is thought to originate from ancient times in both the East and the West, when the majority of people were illiterate and could not express what they wanted to say with a pen.

In Viet Nam, there are a couple of hired letter writers who have been diligently getting on with their work for many years.

In HCM City, many people have heard of Duong Van Ngo, an 82-year-old man who writes letters at the city's Central Post. He has been recognised as the author of the highest number of love letters in Viet Nam, and the Viet Nam Records Book honoured him in 2009 for being the longest-serving letter writer in the country. His story has attracted coverage from many foreign newspapers, including Canada's Toronto Star and Germany's Spiegel.

His work has brought love and joy to many people over the decades. It would be nice to think that the young generation of romantic scribes like Bich, Thuy and Tung will follow in his illustrious footsteps.

Sofitel Plaza Hanoi receives domestic and international awards

The Sofitel Plaza Hanoi has been chosen by its guests and the magazine’s readers of the prestigious accolades: The Guide Award (Top Ten most favoured hotel), Booking.com, TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence (both for hotel and Summit Lounge) and World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013.

In recent years, those awards have grown in stature to become among the most respected travel and hospitality honours.

Sofitel Plaza Hanoi offers a unique, non-standardised service combining its French roots – a classic combination of elegance, savoir-faire and the art of hospitality – with the best of local culture in Vietnam. The hotel's dedicated team constantly delivers memorable touches that create an exceptional experience tailored to each individual guest. They continuously maintain and upgrade their rooms and facilities to ensure of ultimate comfort and luxury experiences.

“Those awards are truly meaningful recognition for our dedicated team’s constant efforts throughout the hotel’s renovation and helps demonstrate Sofitel’s success in continually upgrading its products and services to provide guests with the best experience possible,” said Antoine Lhuguenot, general manager of Sofitel Plaza Hanoi. “We will savour those awards and then redouble our efforts to ensure our clients’ highest expectations are always met. Hopefully this will enable us to toast further success in years to come.”

Especially during last week, in line with its position as an ambassador of French culture and joie de vivre, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi came together with Sofitel Luxury Hotels across Asia to celebrate this year’s grape harvest in France through a dedicated French Wine Week 2013.

Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake encourages physical fitness

Over 1,000 students marched around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi on September 29 to raise public awareness of a government master project on developing the physical strength and the height of Vietnamese in the 2011-2030 period.

The project was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 641 dated April 28, 2011.

The students started marching from Ly Thai To statue and spread onto arterial streets around the lake, and attracted the attention and enthusiastic support from thousands.

This is a pivotal year for the project as four of its key programmes are being given effect. The four programmes include identifying factors influencing height growth, nutrition care combined with population quality activities, measures to boost physical education for students aged 13-18, and propagandising, educating and raising common awareness of Vietnamese physical fitness and stature development.  

Following its successful march in Hanoi, the campaign is moving on to Ho Chi Minh City and central Da Nang city before fanning out nationwide, with the overall goal of raising awareness that physical fitness benefits everyone.

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