Four dead, two missing in aftermath of Storm ‘Nari’

Cyclonic storm Nari, the 11 th of its kind to hit Vietnam this year, killed at least four people and left five others missing in the central region, the National Committee for Search and Rescue has reported.

The storm, which hit land on October 15, also injured 69 people in Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri and Nghe An provinces and Da Nang city, as waters rose and houses and trees were pulled down.

The tropical storm, packing maximum winds of 102 kph, sunk 41 ships in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, destroyed over 16,300 houses, unroofed 110 schools and damaged 662 ha rice and farming land in the region.

The armed forces mobilised over 8,700 soldiers and volunteers to help local residents keep safe during the storm.

Due to the incredibly strong winds, a whirlwind killed two and injured 22 people in Quang Trach district in the central province of Quang Binh on the early morning of October 16.

Vietnamese people spend $3.5 million on jewelry annually

Vietnamese people are estimated to spend a total $3.5 billion on jewelry every year, making the country to be a large potential market for jewelry consumption.

This information was given at a International Gemmological Conference,  held in Hanoi on October 13, the first of this kind in Vietnam.

At the event, Do Minh Phu, Chairman and General Director of DOJI Group, said besides being a big jewelry consumption market, Vietnam has high potential as a jewelry exporter. But due to export tariff restrictions, domestic gold is often priced higher than that of the world market, affecting exports.

He added that Vietnam’s jewelry gold value reached over over USD2 billion in the period between 2009 and 2010. However, recently the value has dropped to below USD50 million per year, with EU, the US and the Middle East being the major importers.

Vietnam is home to 12,000 companies that specialise in the production of jewelry, but only a small number of them have large-scale investment with industrial production.

General Giap: Expressions of gratitude

The family of the late General Vo Nguyen Giap has expressed gratitude to individuals and organisations for their tributes to the late military leader.

The funeral organising board, the Party Central Committee, National Assembly, State President, Government, Fatherland Front, Central Military Commission and Ministry of Defence also expressed their gratitude.

The thanks were extended to Vietnamese, comrades, overseas Vietnamese, revolutionary veterans, intellectuals, scholars, religious dignitaries, agencies, localities, armed forces and central Quang Binh Province's Party Committee.

Also included were members of the diplomatic corps and international organisations and friends who sent their condolences and wreaths.

General Giap died on October 4 in Ha Noi at the age of 103.

He was a former Politburo member, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister, and Commander-in-Chief of the Viet Nam People's Army.

The funeral commemorations began in Ha Noi on Saturday and concluded in the Vung Chua-Dao Yen area in Quang Trach District of his home province of Quang Binh on Sunday.

Ten agencies to join Red Cross programme

Ten ministries, organisations and media agencies will work together with the Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) in a joint humanitarian programme over the next five years.

An agreement to this effect was signed yesterday in Ha Noi.

The groups involved are the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha, the Viet Nam News Agency, the People Newspaper, the Party online newspaper, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations, the Viet Nam Union of Co-operatives and the National Traffic Safety Committee.

They will work together to mobilise sources for humanitarian activities and to help people facing difficulties.

They will also mobilise their staff to get involved in Red Cross programmes such as the Tet Festival for the Poor and Agent Orange victims - and the Cow Bank programmes.

State President and honorary President of the VNRC Truong Tan Sang called on ministries, sectors to get involved in providing more sources for Red Cross humanitarian programmes.

"The Party and Government have paid a lot of attention to people's social security, material and spiritual lives, especially those living in mountainous, remote and island areas," said Sang.

Sang also urged the Red Cross to focus its humanitarian activities on supporting those affected by the tropical Storm Wutip in the central region.

VNRC General Secretary Doan Van Thai launched a campaign to provide gifts for one million deserving families for Tet.

At yesterday's event, the Red Cross received more than VND24billion (US$1.14million) from organisations and agencies to help victims of Storm Wutip.

Previously, nine other agencies and businesses raised more than VND20billion ($950,000) to help the Red Cross provide 3,790 cows to poor households.

Expatriates in UK support flood victims

More than VND614 has been raised by Vietnamese residents in the UK to support victims of storm No 10 in the central region of the homeland.

Participants in the charity night in London on October 13 observed a minute’s silence in tribute to General Vo Nguyen Giap. They had great sympathy for the losses suffered by their compatriots in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces when they were hit by storm No10 in late September and early October.

Le Ngoc Linh and his wife Nguyen Thi Bich Nhung who own a New Sai Gon restaurant, have often organised charity activities to raise funds for poor and disadvantaged people at home. They said the charity night is of great significance as it shows the overseas Vietnamese community’s gratitude to General Vo Nguyen Giap.

In recent years, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Vu Quang Minh said the Vietnamese community has raised plenty of funds for natural disaster victims, soldiers garrisoned on Truong Sa (Spartly) Islands, Agent Orange victims, poor people and children with heart disease.

Former Vinalines boss faces prosecution

Former chairman of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) Duong Chi Dung and nine others face prosecution on charges of intentionally violating State regulations on economic management that caused severe consequences (Article 165, the Penal Code), and misappropriating public property (Article 278, the Penal Code).

Files of the case were conveyed to the People’s Supreme Court on October 14 by the Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security.

Under Dung’s leadership, a number of violations were carried out at the State-owned logistics company from 2007-2010.

One blunder related to the purchase and repair of Floating Dock 83M. The initial cost was pegged at 14.13 million USD but later skyrocketed to 24.3 million USD. Originally built in 1965, it did not meet licensing registration requirements and has been unsuitable for use for years.

Dung was arrested on September 4, 2012 following an international manhunt that lasted several months. He had been on the run since May 17 when an indictment and arrest warrant were issued for him.

Earlier in July, police arrested six other people suspected of conspiring with Dung.

Land sites exchanged for four roads in Thu Thiem

The HCMC government is seeking approval from the Finance Ministry to transfer seven cleared land sites in Thu Thiem New Urban Area to Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Co. in exchange for four main roads to be developed by the firm at a cost of VND10 trillion in the new urban center.

According to the city’s documents sent to the Ministry of Finance last week, the four roads include an arch avenue, a lakeside road, a riverside road and an elevated road having a total length of nearly 12 kilometers.

The seven land sites have a total area of nearly 47 hectares. Currently, the city is completing procedures so that the investor can soon start work on the four roads in 657-hectare Thu Thiem New Urban Area, which is expected to be the city’s new center in the future.

Although the demand of accelerating the completion of major infrastructure facilities in Thu Thiem is urgent, the progress of calling for investments and implementing projects in the area is quite slow and faces many difficulties, according to the city government.

The main reason is that it is not easy for local and foreign investors to have sufficient capacity and capital to invest in big projects in Thu Thiem.

Currently, the seven land sites have been cleared, and the city wants to transfer the sites to the investors now rather than waiting until the infrastructure works are completed. The city reasons that if the sites are handed over after the four roads are completed, there will be a waste of cleared land as this new urban area is in need of quick development.

Therefore, the city government seeks support from the Ministry of Finance to transfer the land sites now to encourage the investor to develop the roads under the build-transfer format.

In case the total investments of the four roads are lower than the total value of assigned land sites, the investor is allowed to pay the difference by implementing other build-transfer projects in Thu Thiem New Urban Area such as the pedestrian bridge, the central square or the riverside park.

Construction of the four main roads started in April and they are set for completion in 2016 to link to eight functional sections in the new urban area.

Thu Thiem New Urban Area is expected to supply accommodation for around 160,000 people, provide working place for some 450,000 people, and welcome around one million visitors everyday in 2020.

The seven land sites transferred to Dai Quang Minh are comprised of projects to develop two low-rise residential quarters, two office-commercial complexes, two school-cultural work complexes and a marina.

Company fined for polluting in Phu Yen

Environmental Police in central Phu Yen Province have fined Tan Binh Co Ltd VND14 million (US$658) for discharging untreated sewage.

The company's action has caused pollution in Dong Bac Song Cau Industrial Park.

The company at the same time was required to improve the situation before October 25.

According to provincial residents, the company also regularly burnt garbage, causing severe air pollution.

Donors at home, abroad help Wutip victims

Hundreds of overseas Vietnamese people in the UK have donated over 18,200 GBP (29,000 USD) in support of Wutip victims in Vietnam’s central region.

The fund was raised during an October 13 gathering at New Saigon restaurant in London , together with proceeds of a charitable auction held by the Vietnamese Embassy.

Meanwhile, on October 14, the northern province of Bac Ninh launched a drive to support victims of tropical storm Wutip and poor people.

Organisations and individuals at the ceremony contributed over 418 million VND (19,646 USD) while more than 60 agencies, units and businesses committed over 3.7 billion VND.

Wutip, the tenth to hit Vietnam this year, caused losses totalling 11 trillion VND in central coastal provinces last month. The storm killed 14 people and injured 225.-

Mountainous voters ask for social development support

Voters in the northern mountainous provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang have met with the deputies to the National Assembly’s upcoming sixth meeting, asking them to convey an array of their issues needing the law-making body’s answer.

Voters in Lang Son have voiced the need for the continued socio-economic development investment in mountainous and remote areas and the review of implementation of policies on education, healthcare and job generation for ethnic minorities.

They underlined the necessity of focusing all resources on building essential infrastructural facilities, like power lines, drinking water pipes, and bridges to ensure long-term benefits for local people.

They also gave their opinions on policies on salary and housing assistance for officials serving in military and police units, as well as support policies for residents in boundary areas.

Meanwhile, voters in the neighbouring province of Cao Bang voiced their wish to receive support policies for sustainable poverty reduction in mountainous and remote areas.

They asked for assistance in seeking markets for agricultural products, further developing the agriculture sector, and building and upgrading infrastructure, especially transport and water supply systems, in mountainous areas.

Besides, the voters suggested that the sending of teachers to remote areas should be implemented more properly to increase education efficiency and the procedures on educational fee reduction for poor students should be further simplified.-

Better access to services for people with disabilities

Disabled people of all ages living in Vietnam will enjoy better access to health and education, employment and protection services by 2015 as a result of a high-profile initiative launched recently by the United Nations (UN) in partnership with disabled people’s organisations and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. The Vietnam Business Forum reports.

According to statistics, people living with disabilities, up to 15.3 percent of Vietnam’s 90 million population, are some of the most vulnerable members of society and often face discrimination on a daily basis, with limited access to basic health care, education and other public services.

With low levels of education and training, few people living with disabilities have stable jobs or regular incomes. The vast majority of people living with disabilities, up to 80 percent, depend on their families, relatives and social allowances to survive.

While Vietnam was one of the first signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and is actively considering ratification of the Convention, the country still lacks adequate mechanisms to fully respond to protecting and allowing people with disabilities to claim their rights.

With financial support from the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of People with Disabilities Fund, the UN’s 350,000 USD initiative will help disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) actively engage with the Government in the effective implementation of the Convention. The project will also help address disability issues more effectively in different UN programmes and projects in Vietnam.

The ILO-UNDP-UNICEF joint initiative will include people with disabilities in all decision-making steps through strengthening the capacities and role of DPOs in the advocacy, development, implementation and monitoring of legal frameworks and policies.

UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta praised disability organisations for their timely and important work in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities to be fully recognised in Vietnam. She called on the Government and other partners to respond to the rights and needs of people with disabilities.

“Vietnam was one of the first signatories of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and although there is still work to be done, we believe that the time is now right to ratify,” she said.

The three UN agencies will implement the project in partnership with the Vietnam Federation on Disability, the Action Community Development Centre, the Disability Resources and Development, the Hanoi Association of Persons with Disability and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The UN Joint Programme on People with Disabilities in Vietnam is based on the expertise and involvement of UNDP in support of ratifying conventions, human rights-based methods and access to justice; the expertise and experience of UNICEF in children's rights and children with disabilities as well as the expertise and experience of ILO in policy issues and programmes related to labour and employment.

The UN, its member countries, and organisations of people with disabilities have created a tool called the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), aimed to support the implementation of conventions on the rights of people with disabilities.

Young people find harder to secure jobs in rural areas

Majority of young people in the rural are in vulnerable employment and the rural unemployment trend is on upward trend, according to a research carried by Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

Vietnam currently has 17 million young people in the rural areas, accounting one-fifth of the Vietnam ’s population. However, young people in rural areas are mainly working in low-productivity job with meager income or jobless, researchers said.

More than one-third of 663 rural respondents in a recent survey said they were jobless while 35.8 percent of respondents are underemployment.

The survey also found that more than half of employed respondents were farmers, 11.1% others were public servants, 9.5 percent of them were workers and only 1.1percent of them were businessmen. As a matter of fact, about 70 percent of employed respondents said they had earned less than 2 million VND ( nearly 90USD) per month.

One of the main reasons led to increase unemployment rate among rural young people is the rapid urbanisation process. Besides this, it was said that many agricultural land was taken for building industrial zone, processing zone and public facilities.

From 2004 to 2013, 750,000 hectare of land in 49 provinces across Vietnam was used for 29,000 investment projects. Vocational trainings for young people in the rural areas have failed to meet the demand.

Many businesses in the rural areas were not considered rural labour force as their key human resource. They did not provided financial support for young people to help them develop their own businesses meanwhile investment in agriculture was very modest.

The Government has so far set up rural and industrial development programmes to solve employment issue for rural labour force. The Government has created over 1.2 million new jobs annually and majority of them went for rural labourers.

Vietnam is expected to have an additional 9.5 million people joining the labor force in the next 10 years, and needs to create 15.3 million new jobs during the period, according to the job department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs.-

Houses donated to poor in central province

The Vietnam Industry-Trade Joint-stock Commercial Bank (VietinBank) presented 52 new houses to poor people in the central province of Ha Tinh on October 14.

Besides the houses, the bank also presented essential household utensils to local residents, a school and a clinic to the province.

It handed over 300 million VND (14,000 USD) as relief aid to the victims of the recent storm Wutip in the province.

Total donations made by the bank to social welfare projects nationwide have so far amounted to 4,000 billion VND (189 million USD).

Dien Bien records fall in domestic violence

Domestic violence in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien is on the decrease, heard a conference in the locality on October 14.

The event was held to review how Dien Bien has implemented the law on prevention and control of domestic violence over the past five years.

Incidents of domestic violence dropped from 800 in 2009 to 530 last year. In the first half of this year, the locality recorded just over 240 cases. Almost 90 percent of which were brought against men.

It is partly thanks to the active support of 73 clubs and 210 quick-response teams with some 2,000 members. They are working to raise public awareness of the fight against domestic violence via the spread of legal publications across the locality.

To reduce the number of cases, the province will issue more criteria to better the combat while paying attention to dissemination in remote and mountainous areas with a priority given to personnel training.

Hotlines will be launched while groups specialising in marriage and reconciliation consultation will be established soon.

OV pupils start new school year in Cambodia

Overseas Vietnamese pupils at Khmer–Vietnam Tan Tien primary school started their 2013-2014 school year in Phnom Penh on October 14.

Nearly 300 Vietnamese pupils are registered at the school. Though parts of its facilities have closed due to the recent flooding, the school is doing all it can to offer pupils the best school curriculum as scheduled.

Addressing the school opening, Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Anh Dung said besides the Vietnamese language, the Vietnamese children should also pay attention to learning Khmer and subjects as in other Cambodian schools so that they can easily integrate into the host society.

On the occasion, Ambassador Dung presented scholarships to four outstanding overseas Vietnamese students in Cambodian universities and bicycles to five pupils at Tan Tien school.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia and Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia also took the occasion to grant gifts to excellent pupils.-

Hydro-power plant causes land fissures

Four families living in houses close to a hydro-power plant reservoir in Central Highland Lam Dong Province have been evacuated after land they were built on suddenly started to subside.

The houses, in Tan Nghia Commune in Di Linh District, have been under threat for a week.

People's Committee Chairman Le Ngoc Chanh said the land started to sink around Gia Bac 2 hamlet, a few hundred meters away from Dong Nai 2 Hydro-power Plant's reservoir.

He told Viet Nam News that the earth movement had continued for a week as cracks extended towards the reservoir.

The largest, deepest, and longest cracks are 500 metres apart, more than two metres deep, and two kilometers long.

Nine houses in the area are reported to have cracked walls and damaged foundations.

Three of them collapsed completely and two others are said to be at risk.

The cracks have also destroyed 55 hectares of coffee planted by 16 local households.

"The incident is the third of its kind to occur in the district in three years," Chanh said. "But this is the worst."

According to local residents, land subsidence started after the reservoir began storing water three weeks ago.

"Provincial authorities will visit the commune to study the situation, and in co-operation with the communal administration, investigate the exact cause of the subsidence", Chanh said.

Huge drug bust in Bac Giang results in 10 arrests

Anti-drug police in northern Bac Giang Province arrested ten more members of a drug trafficking ring that they said was among the largest the country had ever seen.

The alleged traffickers confessed to the police that they had been illegally transporting and trading thousands of cakes of heroin.

The ring was led by Trang A Tang, 31, from Loong Luong Commune in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

According to the police, Tang sold drugs to Luong Thi Thao, an agent in northern Bac Giang Province who would go on to distribute the products.

With the co-operation of police from seven cities and provinces, Tang and his accomplices were arrested while transporting 265 cakes of heroin worth about VND40 billion (US$1.8 million) to Bac Giang Province. Thao was arrested in Ha Noi.

The ring began operating in 2010. The police are expanding their investigation to track down other members of the ring.

Localities asked to ensure safety of reservoirs during storm

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung directed localities and agencies yesterday to boost management ensuring the safety of reservoirs across the country.

At present, there are nearly 7,000 reservoirs, many of which belong to hydropower plants. However, most of them, especially those located at small and mid-sized hydropower plants, were built 30-40 years ago and are vulnerable to degradation.

So the Prime Minister asked the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, Sciences and Technology and local authorities to improve the quality of planning and developing reservoirs and decentralise and clarify the responsibilities of relevant parties for investing, constructing and managing the works.

The Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control asked reservoir operators in several provinces (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh. Gia Lai and Kon Tum) to closely follow the development of storm Nari, which hit central provinces early this morning.

The operators and local authorities were asked to take drastic measures, including releasing water at the reservoirs and quickly informing people and authorities to avoid losses caused by flood.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting, Nari – the eleventh storm to hit Viet Nam this year – made landfall in the Central region early this morning.

At 8am, the strongest wind at the storm's eye reached level eight (62-74 kilometres). Heavy rain is battering provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai and north of the Central Highlands region.

The centre also warned about rising sea levels, high tides of two to three metres and waves reaching 5-8 metres.

The storm is expected to lose strength and become low pressure tomorrow.

Deloitte raises funds for scholarships

A total of US$30,000 has been raised for the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund at the Deloitte Southeast Asia Partners Conference being held in HCM City from October 7 to 12.

The money was raised from donations by partners, the sale of traditional Vietnamese souvenirs, and a charity auction of items including art pieces by renowned Vietnamese artists, collector items such as a framed football jersey signed by Lionel Messi, and a limited edition bronze bell.

The Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund supports education for ethnic students and development of human resources in poor and remote areas.

HCM City bus scheme running late

HCM City's infrastructure for a public bus system has failed to keep pace with its plans to make buses a major means of public transport by 2020.

There are not enough bus terminals and stops or parking space to meet the expected demand, officials from the city Department of Transport, complained to city leaders last week.

The plan envisages having 191,000ha for bus terminals and stops by 2020, but the area in use now is a mere 28ha.

Duong Hong Thanh, deputy director of the department, said the bus system has 76 starting and termination points, but at 49 of them there is no space for parking and roads have to be used.

Phung Dang Hai, general director of the city Transportation Cooperative Union, said if the co-operative has enough parking space at bus starting and ending points, the vehicles would not have to travel long distances to find temporary parking places and much fuel would be saved.

"Stopping thousands of buses from travelling around the city to find parking space will help reduce congestion on city roads.

"Without parking places, co-operative staff find it difficult to maintain the buses."

Department officials also complained that it takes a lot of time and paperwork to get approval and build bus stations.

Using inter-provincial bus stations for city buses is a temporary solution for the department, but the stations are severely overloaded.

The city is being served by nearly 3,000 buses, and the department plans to get land for the construction of not only bus stations but also free parking lots for two-wheelers to make it convenient for commuters.

In 2011 – 15 the department plans to buy 1,680 new buses at a cost of nearly VND2 trillion, most of it funded by bank loans.

Food and agriculture framework finally sees light of day

After more than a year of preparations and consulting with various agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday organised a launching ceremony for the FAO Country Programme Framework (CPF) 2012-16 in the capital city.

The objective of the CPF is to identify priority areas for support and formulate the implementation plan for the 2012-16 period. FAO's priority areas are selected based on Viet Nam's Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2010-20), strategic development plans for agriculture, forestry and fisheries in Viet Nam and based on the strengths and experience of FAO Viet Nam.

Addressing the ceremony, Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said in Viet Nam, agriculture plays a very important role in ensuring food security, poverty alleviation, social security and serving as a leverage for the country's path toward industrialisation and modernisation.

"It will be difficult for agriculture to continue to grow from the expansive model and the exploitation of existing natural resources, high use of intermediate inputs and the export of raw materials," Thu said.

"It is time for agriculture to shift from an expansive to intensive growth model. It is time to apply an intensive growth model focusing on better quality, efficiency, value addition and sustainability," Thu added.

She stressed that, during the upcoming five- year development process, the CPF has defined priorities that the FAO will continue to accompany and support Viet Nam to achieve food security, continue to develop agriculture, forestry, fishery production and improve quality of life for the rural people.

Thu noted the support given to Viet Nam by FAO, international organisations and donors, and said she hoped Viet Nam will continue to receive technical and financial support from the international community during its process of restructuring the agricultural sector.

Viet Nam will implement the national programme on agriculture, farmers and countryside; develop green agriculture, improve the added value and strengthen the competitiveness of agro-forestry and fishery products to meet the home consumption and for export during the restructuring process, she added.

In his remark, JonHa Bae, FAO representative in Viet Nam said:

"Viet Nam is facing many challenges. Economic growth has slowed down along with serious macro-economic instability such as high inflation and trade deficit, structural weakness in banking and state owned enterprises that require fundamental reforms and managerial oversight."

He asked Viet Nam to pay more attention to the development of agricultural clustering, mechanisation, value chain upgrading and export of high value and processed agriculture products as well as sustainability.

In the five year period, the CPF has identified the four priorities that FAO will support Viet Nam. They are: support for effective and legal framework on rural livelihood; food and nutrition security and food safety; support for climate change adaptation and mitigation, focusing on coping with climate change effects on agriculture and disaster management; support for improving the provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner and support for enabling more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food system for the rural vulnerable groups.

In the first period of activities in Viet Nam, FAO's priorities were to restore food security and to help the government to rebuild institutions and capacity, and the agriculture sector after the devastation during the war. Since the 1990s, FAO focused on areas of policy advice.

In the period from 1978-2005, FAO implemented about 100 projects in Viet Nam with a total budget of $ 100 million, of which 36 were national projects, 53 regional projects, 10 inter-regional projects and 1 global project.

In the past five years, FAO's support to Viet Nam has covered various areas, including animal health, food safety and quality, pesticide risk reduction, agricultural product value chain development, irrigation and water management, rural development, human health, natural resources and environmental issues.

In his remark, Henning Pederson, Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said his agency and other international donors will be by the side of Viet Nam, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to make the country's Rural Development become a success. In its programme to support farmers living in the Cuu Long delta to adapt to climate change, IFAD has committed $50 million and stood side by side with Viet Nam in an effective response to the climate change.

Henning also reiterated his agency's commitment to co-operate with FAO and congratulated FAO for its close working co-operation with Viet Nam to develop the Viet Nam Country Programming Framework 2012-16.

International donors participating in the meeting have pledged their commitment to support Viet Nam to bring the framework to life and to bring benefits to the people, particularly groups of the most venerable people, including indigenous people.

Dozens survive as coach capsizes in Yen Bai

A passenger was killed, one missing and 33 injured after a coach from Lai Chau to Lao Cai plunged 3m into a stream in Yen Bai province on October 15.

The accident happened at 03.00am when the coach was carrying 35 passengers on board en route from Lai Chau to Lao Cai provinces.

The driver was said to lose control when driving the vehicle along Minh An bridge in Yen Bai’s Van Chan district, crashing into the concrete bridge railing and falling down into the stream underneath.

Most of the passengers managed to escape the capsized coach. One was confirmed dead, and another remains missing.

Among the remaining 33 passengers, three were seriously injured.

Rescue workers were searching for the missing.

The accident caused traffic congestion on the road to Minh An commune. Relevant agencies were deployed to clear traffic and identify the cause of the accident.

German foundation helps build school in Soc Trang

The southern province of Soc Trang on October 14 inaugurated a two-classroom nursery school and a bridge in Thach Thoi Thuan commune, Tran De district.

The projects were built with a total investment of VND700 million (almost US$33,000) sourced from Germany’s Schmitz Stiftung Foundation, local budget and people.

The projects are part of a programme to build 150 bridges in remote and difficult areas in Vietnam funded by the German foundation.

Vietnam Food Administration tests aluminum in UK milk products

Based on information, the Vietnam Food Administration on October 14 asked the National Institute for Food Control to test all Aptamil products from the UK for aluminum content, which is detrimental for health of babies.

In a recent study by Keele University, published in the journal BMC Pediatrics, 30 types of popular formulas sold in the UK were tested.

Top formula baby milk brands including Aptamil Toddler Growing Up, Sma Toddler, Cow and Gate First and Hipp Organic, all contained levels of aluminum which were too high.

Both ready-to-drink and powdered varieties were contaminated with same concentration of aluminum.

Vietnam Food Administration has been quick to contact the Food Standards Agency and the European Food Safety Authority over the matter yet both agencies have not confirmed their findings yet.

According to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, there is no adequate criterion upon which to base a safety level for aluminum in infant formulas.

Therefore the administration has conducted an independent testing.

Can Tho expands VietGAP standard rice field area

The Mekong Delta province of Can Tho has decided to double its VietGAP standard large-scale rice fields to 14,000 ha in the 2013-2014 Winter-Spring crop, said Director of Can Tho Agricultural and Rural Development Department Pham Van Quynh.

The new VietGAP rice fields will be in Vinh Thanh, Thoi Lai, Co Do and Phong Dien districts, added Quynh.

To support these new large-scale rice fields, the Can Tho authority upgraded irrigation systems in the localities, and provided high quality rice seeds for farmers.

Farmers will be trained in farming technique and field management under the VietGAP standards. They will also be instructed how to apply bio-technology, and use microbiological fertilizer.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also urged 13 enterprises in the province to provide modern production equipment and pesticides to local farmers.

In the Winter-Spring crop of 2010-2011, the model of large-scale rice field in Vinh Thanh district reaped an average output of 7.78 tonnes/ha, much higher than the normal-scale rice field.

VietJet Air offers hot promotional air fares

From October 15-17, VietJet Air is offering 10,000 tickets at only VND100,000 per ticket on three new routes, namely, Hanoi-Hue, Hanoi-Buon Ma Thuot, and Ho Chi Minh City-Quy Nhon.

The time frame for use of these tickets is from October 20 to April 20, but the promotion is not applicable during public holidays and Tet Festival.

The tickets apply on daily flights on the above routes.

In related news, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced cancellation of flights and delays in many flights from airports in the central city of Da Nang and the central province of Thua Thien-Hue due to impact of Storm ‘Nari’.

The airline has cancelled four flights on routes from HCMC-Da Nang and four others on routes from Hanoi-Da Nang.

More than 2,000 passengers will be affected by this cancellation and delays, informed the airline, adding that it will try to arrange other flights for the stranded passengers as soon as possible.

Passengers can visit website www.vietnamairlines.com or contact Vietnam Airline agents for updated information.

Over 100 students participate in Blood Donation

115 volunteers from Ho Chi Minh's universities, colleges and the general public took part in a blood donation camp organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital in collaboration with the HCMC Youth Social Work Center, on October 13.

People were eager to donate blood to help patients in hospitals and health centers. Bui Xuan Thoi, a 28-year-old staff of HCMC Youth Social Work Center has donated blood more than 14 times. He believes that donating blood is a meaningful activity to help sick people.

The Blood Donation Camp took place at 5 Dinh Tien Hoang Street in District 1.

Saigon 2 Bridge opened to traffic

The Saigon 2 Bridge, that links District 2 and Binh Thanh District in Ho Chi Minh City, was officially opened to traffic on October 15, after 18 months of construction.

The Saigon 2 Bridge will significantly contribute to easing traffic congestion in the area.

The bridge is 987.32 meters long and 23.5 meters wide, with four lanes for cars and one lane for motorbikes. It has been built under the BT (Build-Transfer) form at a cost of nearly VND1.5 trillion (US$70.75 million).

To relieve overload on the existing Saigon Bridge and take advantage of the widened Dien Bien Phu-Hanoi Highway, the new bridge will run parallel with the existing Saigon Bridge and help in reducing traffic jams, especially during peak hours and enhance traffic volume in the city’s east entrance area.

Mekong explores ways to deal with wastewater pollution

Concrete measures to deal with the pollution caused by wastewater discharged from industrial parks in the Mekong Delta were under discussion at a recent international workshop in Can Tho city.

The event was co-organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and representatives from the German AKIZ project.

Participants were warned that the region is facing a number of adverse environmental impacts caused by industrial parks’ operations such as polluted air and water.

The delta is home to 120 industrial parks and aims to have 240 by 2020. They are reported to discharge an average of 47 million litres of wastewater and 220,000 tonnes of solid waste every year.

According to the ministry, only 66 percent of the region’s industrial zones are built with waste treatment stations.

Head of the Southwest Environmental Protection Bureau Pham Dinh Don conceded the pollution in the industrial zones, saying that as the provinces and cities failed to follow the region’s master plan on socio-economic development, the environmental protection work has been ineffective.

To deal with the problem, the participants suggested focusing on the industrial parks’ development plans in line with the local sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection plans. In addition, more money should be poured into upgrading industrial park infrastructure to protect the environment.-

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