Russia approves agreement on migrant workers with Vietnam

Russia's Federation Council (Upper House) on October 30 approved an agreement on temporary migrant workers between the Vietnamese and Russian Governments.

The agreement was signed in Moscow on October 27, 2008 with the aim of establishing an international legal framework for Russian and Vietnamese guest workers in both countries.

It regulates standard procedures for migrant workers in terms of social and medical care, tax payment, and migration travelling.

It specially covers the legal status of migrant workers to ensure their freedom, individual safety and other legitimate rights under law.

The Federal Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee emphasised that the country will create an effective management system to control the flow of migrants and promote bilateral cooperation with Vietnam.

Earlier on October 18, the agreement was ratified by Russia’s State Duma (Lower House).

Kon Tum targets repatriation of more volunteer remains

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has set a target of bringing home 35 sets of remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers fallen in Laos and Cambodia during the 2013-2014 dry season.

The figure was announced at a ceremony to initiate Search Team K53’s mission held by the provincial Military Command in Kon Tum city on October 29.

The team plans to carry out search, excavation and repatriation operations in Attapeu, Sekong and Champasak provinces of Laos and Ratanakiri pnrovince of Cambodia.

At the ceremony, Vice President of the provincial People’s Committee Le Thi Kim Don asked the provincial Party Committee and the Military Command to create every favourable condition for the team to undertake their assigned tasks.

Over the years, Search Team K53 gathered 836 sets of remains of Vietnamese martyrs from Laos and other 357 sets from Cambodia. They also brought home 761 sets of remains collected by the Lao side.

New Zealand supports Vinh Long’s natural disaster response

New Zealand will provide US$500,000 for Vinh Long province to implement its “Livelihood Improvement for Building Resilient Communities-LIBRE” project.

The LIBRE project will be funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to help Trung Thanh, Hieu Phung, Vinh Xuan and Thich Thien communes achieve sustainable growth and cope with the impact of natural disasters on local people in four years (2013-2017).

At the launch ceremony on October 30, New Zealand Ambassador Haike Manning said as many as 30,000 local people will directly benefit from the project through disaster risk mitigation activities and 2,000 people from livelihood and credit improvement models.

In the 2012-2013 period, New Zealand already provided around NZD12 million in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, mainly in education, human resources development, agricultural production and natural disaster risk management.

Each year, it offers around 30 post-graduate scholarships for Vietnamese students.

RoK helps enhance labour safety capacity

The Republic of Korea will provide US$3.4 million out of a US$9.4 million project to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) capacity in Vietnam.

At an October 30 seminar in Hanoi to launch the project, Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) General Director Lim Seung Up said the Korean Government will help Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs (MoLISA) develop its OSH training centre into a leading OSH training centre in ASEAN.

In the next three years, the centre will be equipped with modern facilities, qualified training teachers and diversified training curriculum in line with reality.

Vietnam’s industry is burgeoning but it is yet to strictly follow OSH regulations, resulting in increased numbers of labour accidents.

Kim Inn, Chief Representative of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), proposed Vietnam devise measures to deal with arising issues related to occupational safety and health if it wants to become an industrialised country.

Ha Tat Thang, Head of MoLISA’s Labour Safety Department, said although millions of people are trained in OSH at work every year, the figure just accounts for 20-30% of the labour force. It does not include dozens of millions of migrant labourers and rural workers who are not trained.

Thang said with support from the KOSHA, the project will make positive changes in labour safety in the future.

Country nears Vietnamese workers abroad target

Nearly 7,500 Vietnamese workers, including 2,900 women, were employed abroad in October alone, nearly fulfilling the entire year's target for Vietnamese guest workers abroad.

Statistics from the Department of Overseas Labour show that Taiwan still ranked as the largest market for Vietnamese labourers in October with 4,381 workers. It was followed by Japan, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia.

470 Vietnamese workers, who had returned to Viet Nam after completing their labour contracts in South Korea, were also invited to return to work in South Korea again.

So far, more than 70,200 Vietnamese workers have been employed abroad in the first 10 months of the year. The country's target is to send 80,000 workers abroad this year.

Five critical after Hoa Binh mine blast

Five victims of a methane-gas explosion in a coal mine the northern province of Hoa Binh's Kim Boi District are in serious condition, according to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

A sixth who received mild burns has regained consciousness.

All of the victims, aged between 20 and 36, have been receiving treatment at the National Burns Hospital in Ha Noi.

The explosion occurred on Tuesday morning in a pit at the Kim Boi Mineral Exploitation Company.

The mine produces about 5,000 tonnes of coal a year and employs nearly 100 workers.

Cause of the explosion is yet unknown.

Dien Bien upgrades A1 martyrs' cemetery

The A1 martyrs' cemetery, one of three national cemeteries in northern Dien Bien Province, is being upgraded and repaired at a cost of nearly VND54 billion (US$ 2.5 million).

The work aims to make the cemetery's scale commensurate with the significance of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory in May 1954, according to the provincial People's Committee Vice Chairman Pham Xuan Koi.

The historic victory became a global event that surprised the whole world, and helped end the Vietnamese nation's nine-year war of resistance against the French colonialists.

Three men arrested for people smuggling

Police in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province arrested three men on Tuesday for allegedly trying to smuggle people to Australia.

On June 28, they left on a boat with 84 people bound for Australia, departing from Long Hai beach in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The boat arrived in Australian waters on July 15 but was detained by Australian authorities. Eight Vietnamese nationals were returned to Viet Nam with the rest sent to refugee camps.

Fire breaks out at mattress factory

A fire broke out yesterday afternoon, causing chaos at a busy bed mattress factory in suburban Ha Noi's Thuong Tin Town.

Dozens of workers and youngsters were forced to flee the area, carrying nearby gas tanks and other flammable materials to prevent a full-scale explosion.

Six firetrucks attended the scene and contained the fire after 20 minutes, by which point more than 300 square metres of the factory had been destroyed.

According to local media, the company has around 100 workers and uses recycled materials to produce mattress. An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire.

Bike parade stresses need for kids to wear quality helmets

A parade of motorcycles through Binh Chanh District and its surrounding areas kicked off the Helmet for Kids initiative on Wednesday, seeking to raise awareness of the importance of getting high quality helmets for the little ones.

The parade attracted nearly 1,500 children, parents and school officials from Vinh Loc Primary School No.1, representatives of United Parcel Service (UPS), the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and local government officials.

At the launching ceremony, 3,966 helmets were presented to students and teachers at six schools in HCM City.

Mirjam Sidik, chief executive officer of AIP Foundation said "parents across Viet Nam's major cities are putting helmets on their children in increasing numbers."

"In recognition of this monumental shift and the prevalence of below standard helmets on Viet Nam's roads, the programme is expanding to make sure that the helmets children are wearing meet standards," she said.

The difference between a high-quality helmet and a sub-standard one can make the diffrence between life and death, she added.

The Helmet for Kids programme is carried out by the AIP Foundation with funding from UPS. This year, the programme will also include road safety training for teachers and students through extracurricular activities.

Leather firm could lose license for polluting river

The HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (HEPZA) has petitioned city authorities to suspend operations and withdraw the license of a leather company for repeatedly discharging untreated wastewater into a local river despite being fined and warned many times.

Located in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone, the Hao Duong Leather Joint Stock Company has been discharging untreated wastewater into the Dong Dien River for years, environment police said last week.

The company, located on Road 1, has had a long history of violations, having been fined nine times since 2007 for discharging untreated wastewater.

Police said the fines did not deter the company from committing its offence again, and it resumed regular discharge of untreated water into the river soon after it was penalised.

The city's People's Committee had fined the company VND340 million ($16,150) and temporarily suspended its operations in September 2012. Earlier this month, the company was fined VND75 million ($3,560).

The company, located on Road 1, has had a long history of violations, having been fined nine times since 2007 for discharging untreated wastewater.

Most recently, on October 24, the company was caught red-handed by the Environmental Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security as it discharged untreated wastewater into Dong Dien River via two underground pipelines.

Doan Nguyen Thuy Trang, a National Assembly member, told the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that the city needed to evaluate the environmental impacts caused by the company, especially the damage caused to the Dong Dien River, and ask the company to compensate.

Le Manh Ha, vice chairman of HCM City's People's Committee, said he would work with HEPZA and other relevant agencies to review all the violations the company has committed over the years.

After the review, the administration would consider stricter measures and punishments, he said.

The company typically discharged untreated wastewater late at night to escape inspections, police said.

Tran Van Xinh, a worker who operates the wastewater treatment system, told the police that every night at 10 p.m., the company discharged hundreds of cubic metres of untreated wastewater for three to four hours.

According to a HEPZA report, in August 2012, the volume of wastewater generated by the company was 22 times the allowed standard, while its emissions exceeded the limit by 14 times.

HEPZA said it was difficult to discover the company's violations, especially during flood tides, because it had installed an underground pipeline system.

Local residents, meanwhile, had been complaining for years about the stink caused by the dirty water that the company was discharging into the river.

Tien Lang district court rejects prisoner’s compensation claim

The People’s Court of Tien Lang district, Hai Phong city on October 30 rejected a claim lodged by local farmer Doan Van Vuon asking for compensation for damage allegedly caused by land reclamation decisions issued by the Tien Lang district People’s Committee.

The plaintiff, who is serving his five-year sentence for murder and resisting on-duty officials, demanded that the People’s Committee pay him over 30 billion VND (1.4 million USD) as compensation for material losses and spiritual damage.

Vuon and other farmers involved in the coercive land reclamation in Vinh Quang commune, Tien Lang district, the northern port city of Hai Phong , were tried by the Hai Phong court on April 5 this year on charges of “murder and resisting on-duty officials”.

According to the Hai Phong People’s Procuracy, the Tien Lang district People’s Committee on October 4, 1993 allocated 21 hectares of coastal wetlands to Vuon for aquaculture in 14 years.

Vuon then encroached farther to the sea with an additional land area of 19.3 hectares, which earned him the district’s administrative fine along with the right to continue the cultivation on the encroached land until October 4, 2007.

On April 7, 2009, the district People’s Committee issued Decision 461/QD-UBND to take back the aforementioned plot, citing its usage expiry.

Disagreeing with this decision, Vuon brought the case to court which then upheld the above Decision 461.

On November 24, 2011 , the Committee issued Decision No. 3307/QD-UBND to implement Decision 461, but Vuon refused to comply.

Vuon and his relatives erected defence fences, planted self-made mines and used home-made guns to shoot at those enforcing the decision, injuring seven officials on duty.

On April 5, 2013, the Hai Phong City People’s Court handed down a jail term of five years to Vuon on the charge of “murder and resisting on-duty officials”. The Appeal Court of the Supreme People’s Court on July 30 upheld the sentence.

In connection with the case, five local officials were given suspended prison terms at the first-instance trial on April 8-10 and a retrial on August 1 on the charge of “destroying property, irresponsibility and causing serious consequences”. The former officials are also banned from holding any position in Government agencies or social organisations for one year after their main sentences. They were ordered to jointly compensate all losses and damage for the victims.

Land Development Fund set up by People’s Committee of HCMC

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has decided to set up a Land Development Fund to meet various socio-economic targets.

The fund will receive capital from land use, land lease, land auction, and advance on site clearance, compensation and resettlement in various projects. It has already mobilized approximately VND3 trillion (US$142 million).

The People’s Committee will consider changes, expenses and distribution during its operation on proposals given by the fund’s Chairman and Board of Governors.

The fund will run as a financial organization on the principle of integrity and not solely for profits, remaining an autonomous legal entity. It will have its own official stamp and an account in the State Treasury and Commercial Credit Institutions to operate as per regulations.

Ministry bans golden apple snail breeding

Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 30 sent an urgent dispatch to people’s committees across the country asking to put an end to golden apple snail breeding.

The Minister said that golden apple snails are a serious threat to rice cultivation and also some other crops cultivated in water. Hence the ministry has called for a ban on snail breeding.

Minister Phat has asked all people’s committees to step up on supervision of snail breeding and also issue strict penalties on violations of the ban.

Dragon fruit treatment solution wins Holcim Prize

Students of HCMC University of Architecture won the Holcim Prize 2013 last week in HCMC for their solution “Biological wastebasket” which treats infected dragon fruits.

Cao Dang Khoa, Dao Y Kha and Ton That Phu Tri are in their fifth year majoring in architecture of K09-A2 class. Their solution aims to help farmers in the central province of Binh Thuan isolate ill dragon fruit plants and extract the organic elements of the plants to fertilize themselves.

The biological wastebasket is made from wood and poly plastic composite with its measurements of 120cm in height and 40cm in diameter.

With this striking solution, the students defeated rivals from Hanoi, Danang and Can Tho to receive VND200 million to turn their dream into reality and a cash price of VND70 million. The project will be tested in the third quarter next year.

The organizers also granted three projects on environment protection, community development and sustainable construction VND10 million each to students of Hanoi’s University of Architecture, Danang’s University of Technology and HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Holcim Prize has been organized annually since 2009 for students from third year and upwards at universities which cooperate with Holcim Vietnam, helping contribute ideas for sustainable development in the fields of community development, environment protection and sustainable construction.

The Holcim Prize 2014 will be launched in November. Deadline for registrations is December 30. The total prize money will be VND600 million - a huge rise from the VND400 million for this year’s contest.

Hai Phong students warmly respond to blood donation festival

Some 1,200 students from eight universities and junior colleges in the northern port city of Hai Phong joined a blood donation festival on October 30.

The event at the Hai Phong Medical University collected nearly 1,000 units of blood.

Deputy Secretary of the municipal committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Bui Thi Ngoc said the voluntary blood donation drive has received great response from youngsters and students in the locality. However, the donation has just partly satisfied the demand.

According to the Hai Phong Centre of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the demand has doubled over the past seven years and the city needs over 14,000 blood units in 2013.

Director of the centre Hoang Van Phong said that at present, more than half of the blood supply comes from students of four large universities in the city.

Kon Tum urged to heed sustainable poverty reduction

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum to pay special attention to poverty reduction in a rapid and sustainable manner to help its people, especially those in rural and remote areas, enjoy better living conditions.

At a working session with the province’s key leaders in Hanoi on October 30, PM Dung also asked the locality to drastically implement social welfare policies in a synchronous manner.

The province needs to quickly review its industrial, agricultural and forestry planning and focus resources on growing industrial trees with high economic value like rubber, coffee and tea and developing animal breeding, he said.

The PM laid special emphasis on how the province should do to effectively exploit its strengths to promote tourism and the processing industry in service of its rapid and sustainable development.

More attention should be paid to health care, education, national security and defence as well as social order and safety, the Government leader told the provincial officials.

At the meeting, he also commented on the province’s proposals regarding capital allocation to several key transport and hydroelectric projects and the planning of forests, agriculture and border economic areas.

Kon Tum has recorded an annual GDP growth rate of around 13.4 percent in rate in 2011-2013, reported Chairman of the Kon Tum provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Hung.

The provincial economic structure has shifted towards industry and services. Per capita income in Kon Tum surged from 13.6 million VND (639 USD) to 22.2 million VND (1,043 USD) and is expected to hit 25.7 million (1,207 USD).

Hung affirmed the province’s strong resolve in addressing difficulties for production, attracting investment, developing small-scale rubber plantations and coffee farms and paying more heed to education and training, health care, culture and tourism, and social welfare policies.

The National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) will invest over 621 billion VND (29.6 million USD) in a 220kV transformer station and 220kV connection lines in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum to ensure stable power supply in the region.

Of the amount, the EVNNPT provides over 282.2 billion VND (13.4 million USD), while 300 billion VND (14,300 USD) will come from the Viet Capital Commercial Joint Stock Bank under a loan contract signed in the central city of Da Nang on October 30.

The rest will be funded by the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

The project’s construction is set to start in November, with the 220kV transmission lines scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014 and the transformer station by mid-2015.

Kon Tum province currently relies on only one 110kV transmission line for power, which has been operational for more than 15 years. Any breakdown on this line means the province will be cut off from the national power grid. The new 220kV network will help fix this problem, while allowing local hydro-electric power plants to sell their electricity to the national grid.

In addition, the network will be connected to the 220-500kV transmission network in the Central Highlands and the 500kV transmission line from Laos to Vietnam (the Hatxan-Pleiku line), contributing to accelerating ASEAN power connectivity.-

Gia Lai supports ethnic minority students’ education

Support policies for children from ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai have been implemented effectively to enable them to continue their education.

Besides reducing tuition fees, the province has provided additional financial assistance to poor students in boarding schools with 70,000 VND each every month.

The locality has also allocated billions of VND every year to help ethnic minority students improve their living and studying conditions.

In the meantime, the province is also considering an education master plan for the 2013-2020 period, which lays special emphasis on developing a strong system of boarding schools for students from ethnic minority groups.

In the 2012-2013 academic year, Gia Lai saw the enrolment of 360,000 students, 7,500 more than the previous year. The figure included 153,000 from ethnic minority groups.-

Book on Vietnam’s air battles launched

A book titled “The battles in the skies of Vietnam (1965-1975) – A view from both sides” made its debut on October 29 in Hanoi , providing readers and researchers with an overall and unbiased insight into the air combat and victories of the Vietnam Air Force in the period.

The seven-member writing team gathered the thoughts and memories of commanders and pilots directly involved in the battles.

In addition to precious historical information about the battles, the book also comments on the successful military tactics used by both sides in the fights. In many cases, victories were secured by the Vietnam Air Force thanks to a perfect combination of pilots’ bravery and the strategic vision of commanders.

Speaking at the book launch, Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and a book advisor, said this is the first written resource that provides detailed information from both sides so that readers can make comparisons.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tran Hanh, former Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam Air Force, said although the interpretation of each battle may differ between all involved parties, the writers has succeed in studying and analysing them in the most objective manner possible.

He said he hopes the book will make younger generations of pilots proud and increase their awareness of the important responsibility they hold safeguarding the country’s skies.-

More than 1,000 technical products will be displayed at the 2013 Techmart Dak Nong which is slated to take place in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong from November 12-15.

The products are of over 200 exhibitors which are research institutes, universities and businesses. Notably, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology will occupy up to 17 booths to present its latest scientific and technical innovations relating to materials, mineral processing, bio-technology, and information technology.

The Science and Technology Departments of 26 provinces will also bring their technologies and equipment while taking the opportunities to connect with other localities and scientists.

The focal fields at the event are agro-aquatic-forestry, food processing, mechanical engineering, electricity, electronics, automatics, information technology, materials-chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

Within the framework of the fair, several workshops and forums will be held for managers, scientists, businesses and farmers to get together to seek solutions for tapping potentials in the region as well as addressing their difficulties.

Second co-pay methadone clinic opens in Lao Cai

Vietnam’s second co-pay methadone clinic where treatment costs are shared by drug users and government funding opened on October 30 in the northern province of Lao Cai.

This clinic, supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is modeled on the success of the first one that was put into use two years ago in Hai Phong city.

The co-pay model creates an opportunity for opioid drug users to obtain quality treatment services at minimum cost. Under this co-pay system, the cost for methadone treatment will be shared by the Government and drug users.

USAID is providing funding for the methadone medication and technical assistance to the clinic.

According to Vice Chairwoman of Lao Cai Provincial People’s Committee Ha Thi Nga, the establishment of this socialisation methadone treatment clinic helps improve the quality of life, lower the risk of HIV transmission and support drug users’ integration into community.

The new co-pay methadone maintenance treatment clinic in Lao Cai can provide treatment for 250 patients per year.

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