Police seize plant growth stimulants

Police and market watch teams in Ha Noi yesterday seized a large amount of plant growth stimulants, allegedly imported from China.

About 80,000 tubes of liquid stimulants were found in a truck near Yen Vien Train Station in Gia Lam District. All were covered with Chinese labels, which translated to indicate they contained a chemical used for stimulating plants by an incredible one to two centimetres within a few hours.

The driver admitted to transporting the stimulants from the northern border province of Lang Son.

Further investigations are being held.

Two die, one injured in house fire

Two people died and a child was seriously injured in mysterious predawn fire today in Ha Long City, in northern Quang Ninh Province.

The couple, Do Thi Nhan, 22 and Pham Thanh Trung, 34 were alleged to have started the fire themselves with petrol after a domestic conflict. They died in the flames despite efforts by residents' to put them out.

Their two-year-old daughter is being treated in hospital.

Meanwhile, in another predawn incident, a coach burst into flames in Dak Glei District, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

None of the 30 passengers on the coach were injured.

Police were told the driver woke passengers when he noticed the flames at the end of the coach.

However, the coach and passengers' belongings were seriously damaged.

Three missing in boat accident

Authorities in Vi Xuyen District in the northern province of Ha Giang are searching for three people missing when a boat overturned in Nam An Hydro-Power Plant reservoir in Thuong Son Commune yesterday afternoon.

The three, all from the Dao community, were a mother and daughter - and another woman. Another four people on the boat were rescued by a person at the scene.

Wind and rain hindered search and rescue works. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Stranded S Korean ship starts to leak oil

Rescue work on the sunken South Korean ship Heung A Dragon has become urgent after an oil spill leaking from the ship was detected in Vung Tau Coast, according to the Vung Tau Port Authority.

The spill has been temporarily cleaned up, but due to the possibility of another storm, the rescue force has been urged to salvage the ship and goods in its container to prevent blasts and environmental contamination.

The port authority was set to finalise the rescue plan today.

The Heung A Dragon was carrying containers from Hong Kong to HCM City last Thursday, when it collided with the Eneli vessel departing from Phu My Port in Viet Nam's southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

17 injured in Dong Nai car accident

A truck and a coach crashed on Highway 51 at 10am yesterday, leaving 17 people injured.

Of those, 15 were passengers, while the other two were a bread seller and customer who were on the roadside when the accident occurred.

The three most severely injured have been sent to hospital.

According to the initial report, the accident occurred because the truck suffered brake failure. The investigation is ongoing.

Police nab fake doctor in Bach Mai Hospital

Ha Noi's Dong Da District Police detained a woman on Tuesday for posing as a doctor at the city's Bach Mai Hospital to swindle money from patients.

Nguyen Thi Thin, 37, from central Thanh Hoa Province's Quang Phong Commune, was caught red-handed trying to approach and beguile patients into buying specialised medicine, planning to then flee with the money.

Thin confessed to having committed six cases of frauds in September and October, earning a total of VND16 million ($769).

The scam is now under further investigation.

Award bestowed on online newspaper

Vietnam News Agency's online newspaper Vietnam Plus was awarded the Labour Order, Third Class, yesterday for its contributions to the media industry.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented the award on the occasion of the paper's fifth anniversary, hailing the efforts made by agency leaders as well as reporters, editors and technical staff.

Though it was created after many other online newspapers, Vietnam Plus quickly became one of the 15 leading domestic news websites, he said.

Given the rapid pace of development of global communications and social networks, quality information and credibility were necessary for such news sources, the deputy PM said.

He singled out programmes like vietkieu.info, which promotes the connection of Vietnamese around the world, and hanoi.vietnamplus.vn, which introduces the capital in five languages.

Vietnam News Agency's general director Nguyen Duc Loi said that over the past five years, Vietnam Plus had continuously improved its professionalism, applying modern technology to provide readers with information in a timely and proper manner and promoting the image and trademark of Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnamplus.vn officially launched a new interface yesterday.

Statistics training faces challenges

Domestic and international experts agreed the importance of statistical information and data has not been realised in Viet Nam, compared with other countries.

The conference, held in Ha Noi yesterday, aimed to discuss statistical training in universities, with experts identifying major skill shortages in statistical capabilities and human resources.

There are now only four universities offering statistics training in the country. The National Economics University, renowned as the country's top statistics training institution, revealed that the number of students specialised in statistics was decreasing each year.

"Only a few are able to find jobs suited to their qualifications," associate professor Bui Duc Trieu told the conference.

A survey conducted by the university between 2001-12 showed more than 80 per cent of graduates had jobs that weren't related to their degree.

Moreover, said Trieu, the curriculum on statistics placed too much emphasis on theory and ignored practical skills, leading to the drop in student enrolments.

Additionally, the fewer students enrolled in the field was having a negative impact on the quality and quantity of topical lecturers.

Trieu proposed universities with statistics faculties to create curriculums with a greater emphasis on practical skills and knowledge; including being equipped with foreign language skills, and computer and software skills to make them valuable to employers.

The associate professor also urged for more universities to cooperate with enterprise to train students to ensure higher graduate employment.

Short-term training courses in the field should be opened to improve statistical workers' qualifications, he added.

Arthur Erken, a United Nations Population Fund representative in Viet Nam, said:

"Improving statistics capacity is important not only when it comes to planning, monitoring and evaluation of our development policies and programmes, but it is also important for the improvement of the quality of statistical data in general."

Erken called for concerted efforts and effective partnerships between ministries and agencies to raise awareness of the importance of statistics in Viet Nam.

The Philippines National Statistical Co-ordination Board's Secretary General Jose Ramon G. Albert suggested the use of commercial software in statistics curriculums and statistical knowledge taught in high schools.

These would help address the shortage, he said.

Conferences for statistical students and lecturers should be organised to learn from experiences, he added.

Conference looks at public health sector

Non-communicable conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and injuries caused by traffic accidents account for 70% of health problems in Vietnam.

The rate was revealed by Nguyen Cong Khan, Director of Science, Technology and Training Department under the Ministry of Health, at an international public health conference in Danang City on November 13.

In previous years, infectious diseases were the major problem, but non-communicable conditions have been increasing in modern society," Khan told the attendees, warning that infectious diseases continue to be a threat.

The three-day event, organised by the Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (Tephinet), drew 350 scientists and others working in the public health sector from 16 countries and territories in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region besides Vietnam.

Vietnam has emerged as a hot spot for infectious emergences and trans-boundary diseases that can have a regional and global impact given rapid globalisation, he said.

The country's coastal and island areas are also vulnerable to transitional epidemics due to climate change and the quick spread of Avian influenza (H5N1), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, he added.

The country's public sector still "plays a key role" in health care, providing 80% of services, according to Khan. He said the government has been working to promote health insurance so that the poor can access treatment at hospitals.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said he hopes the conference will "boost further co-operative response to public health events as well as disease prevention and control among Tephinet members in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region."

Tephinet director Dionisio Herrera Guibert said that the event is an opportunity to share not only experiences and lessons learned by the teaching staff and fellows, but also the impact of public health in their particular countries.

Providing relief to Vietnamese people affected by Haiyan typhoon

Two officials from the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines on November 13 brought around 300kg of relief goods, including clothes, medicines, instant noodles and dried food to Ormoc City for Vietnamese victims of Haiyan typhoon taking shelter there.

Ormoc is about 105km from Tacloban and adjacent areas which were badly affected by Haiyan typhoon.

All their houses and property have been destroyed by no death reported so far.

Workshop discusses electronic waste treatment

A workshop was held in Hanoi on November 13 for participants to share their experiences in building electrical and electronic waste collection and treatment systems.

The event, organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in conjunction with the APEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Working Group, attracted the participation of domestic and foreign environment experts and representatives from IT businesses.

It also aims to raise awareness of building and implementing regulations on electrical and electronic waste treatment and management in Vietnam.

Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen stressed over recent years, Vietnam’s IT industry has seen a robust growth. However, environmental pollution caused by production activities in the industry is posing challenges to the environment and the community’s health.

Kok Wah Boey, Head of Environmental Management for Asia and Pacific and Japan at HP Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd, expressed his belief that experiences shared at the event will contribute to setting up a practical legal framework on electrical and electronic waste management in the country.

With the assistance from the Vietnamese Government, HP and its partners have implemented global environmental initiatives towards building a sustainable business environment in Vietnam, Kok-Wah Boey said.

At the event, participants focused their discussion on measures to design a waste collection model suitable for Vietnam’s socio-economic conditions. They also defined necessary preparations to help IT businesses develop the model successfully.

Vietnam sees a robust growth in the IT sector, with its turnover reaching US$25.5 billion in 2012, representing an increase of 86.3% over the previous year.

Last year’s exports of IT products hit US$20 billion, up 82% over 2011, accounting for 17.5% of the country’s total export turnover.

Int’l Education Week opens in HCMC

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of Education jointly launched an International Education Week 2013 in Ho Chi Minh City on November 11.

The event, held in many countries around the world, runs a  programme of activities, providing information about overseas study, scholarship opportunities and admissions and visa procedures for applying to American high schools and universities.

In recent years the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MoET) and the US Department of Education has collaborated successfully on educational projects and programmes, resulting in an increasing  numbers of Vietnamese students applying to study in the US.

According to the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, more than 16,000 Vietnamese students are studying in American universities and colleges, up by 3% compared to last year. Currently Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia and eighth in the world in terms of the number of its students in the US.

Do Quoc Anh, an MOET official, said the education cooperation programs with the US have provided vast opportunities for students to study in Vietnam with reasonable cost but still gain degrees from US universities.  

Additionally, US groups have also developed cooperation programmes with Vietnam, including presenting scholarships to students, upgrading labs with modern equipment, and opening contests to improve teaching methods in Vietnam.

Action month for HIV/AIDS prevention launched

A national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention was started on November 10 to increase government involvement in preventing new incidences of HIV/AIDS.

The event also aims to implement the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Vietnam till 2020, with a vision to 2030 by encouraging all Vietnamese citizens to be involved in HIV/AIDS prevention.

The campaign is expected to raise people's awareness of HIV prevention, focusing on vulnerable groups, living in remote areas and ethnic minorities.

It will improve the quality of preventative measures and treatment and care services for HIV/AIDS patients and their families.

Seminars will be held during the month to help miminise the negative impact of HIV prevention among high-risk people, and accelerate HIV/AIDS prevention activities along border, remote and ethnic minority areas.

Campaigners have also planned activities geared towards communication, such as meetings, support groups and a parade.

The event was launched by the National Steering Committee for HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control in response to the World AIDS Campaign and World AIDS Day.

Japan prefecture supports poor students in Ha Nam

A Friendship Association delegation from Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture paid a working visit to Ha Nam province on November 13 to support needy students and schools in the locality.

They made a fact-finding tour of a number of primary schools with unsafe facilities and out of date computers, as well as visiting students facing extreme hardship.

Mitsuhiro Honda, Chairman of the Friendship Association between Kumamoto and Vietnam, said they hope to implement specific plans to help those most in need, with a view to strengthening future relations between the two localities..

He added that since its establishment in 1993, the association has helped Ho Chi Minh City and Thanh Hoa province build schools and held cultural and economic exchanges between Vietnam and Japan. It plans to expand its supporting activities in northern provinces, especially in remote and impoverished localities.

The main activities of the association include, awarding scholarships and grants to poor students and donating teaching materials and facilities to schools.

The delegation also visited Trung Luong Primary School, one of the poorest schools in the province.

Seminar discusses Vietnam-Japan exchange

Vietnamese and Japanese scientists on November 13 examined the role of historical, cultural and social exchanges between the two countries to promote mutual understanding.

They discussed issues relating to ancient and medieval history and the more recent societal shift of East Asian countries in the context of contemporary culture, as well as entertaining trends of young Japanese people.

Vietnam and Japan have established the strategic partnership despite many upheavals over the past four decades, and their cooperation has expanded to various fields, spanning economics, culture, science-technology, and education-training.

Currently, Japan is one of leading economic partners and the third largest export market of Vietnam. It is also the largest official development assistance (ODA) donor for Vietnam, accounting for one-third of the total foreign aid committed.

Since 2011, Japanese language has been taught to third school graders across Vietnam. Japanese studies have been conducted in 12 Vietnamese universities and state agencies.

The Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) on November 13 presented 100 scholarships worth over 422 million VND (almost 20,000 USD) to disadvantaged students in Hanoi, who reached outstanding academic achievements.

The scholarship recipients come from five universities, namely the National Economics University, the Vietnam National University, the National Academy of Music, the Banking Academy and the Hanoi Foreign Trade University.

This is the eighth consecutive year the KEB has implemented the programme. The bank also participated in other charitable activities such as providing aid for flood victims, building libraries and child care centres and assisting projects on free surgeries for children suffering from harelips and cleft palate in Vietnam.-

US education day held in Ho Chi Minh City

The US General Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City opened an “International Students Day” on November 13 to introduce education opportunities for Vietnamese students who wish to study in America.

According to Consul General Rena Bitter, with 16,098 students studying in the US in the 2012-2013 academic year, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent, Vietnam topped the Southeast Asia in terms of students learning there.

The figure is also the eight highest among countries having students in the US , she added.

The mutual understanding between the two countries’ students will play a key role in the process of expanding the two countries’ bilateral relations and consolidating their comprehensive cooperation, she said.

The diplomat also expressed her hope that there will be more Vietnamese students in the US who will contribute to the learning environment in America as well as the building of an independent, strong and prosperous Vietnam.

The event is part of the international education week hosted by the US Departments of State and Education.

Japanese association supports needy students

A delegation from a friendship association between Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture and Vietnam on November 13 paid a fact-finding visit to the northern province of Ha Nam to support local schools and needy students.

Mitsuhiro Honda, chairman of the association, said basing on the outcome of the visit, detailed plans will be designed to help the students, thus boosting the two sides’ all-around ties in the time to come.

According to Chairman Mitsuhiro, during the last 20 years in Vietnam, the association has assisted many cities and provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City and Thanh Hoa province to build school houses alongside organising economic and cultural exchanges with Japan.

The association is now expanding its operation to the northern region, particularly remote and disadvantaged areas, where scholarships, gifts and teaching aids will be presented to the students, he added.

The same day, the delegation visited Trung Luong Primary School in Binh Luc district, one of the schools with the poorest infrastructure in the province.

Ninth grade student awarded for saving two persons from drowning

A ninth grade student in the central province of Ha Tinh has been honored with a bravery award for saving two youth from drowning in the floods, informed Nguyen Xuan Hung, Secretary of the Communist Youth Union in Ha Tinh Province on November 13.

Ninth grade student Nguyen Duc Quyen from Song Hoanh Village in Thach Vinh Commune is a student at the Luu Vinh Bac Son Junior High School.

He was given a ‘Tuoi Tre Dung Cam’ (Brave Youth) medal by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union for saving two youth from drowning in the floods.

On the way to school on October 16, Quyen heard a cry for help. He plunged into the turbulent floodwaters to rescue a drowning fifth grade student named Tu Van Dung who was being swept away by the water.

On the same day, he once again saved another fourth grade student named Nguyen Van Tu when his sister shouted that there was a person who was being swept away by floodwaters.

Earlier, he had also been given a certificate of merit for his brave act and more than VND2 million (US$94) by the Chairman of the People’s Committee, the Department of Education and Training, and the Communist Youth Union in Ha Tinh Province.

Unemployed graduates fail to settle student loans

Many poor students are unable to pay off loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies after graduation because they cannot find a job.

Even those graduates, who have found jobs, have trouble settling their debts as they earn modest salaries.

The bank’s programme to provide loans for students was considered an important move to help students. After five years of the programme nearly 350,000 students in the Mekong Delta region have been provided with loans.

By the end of 2012, the total capital used for the loans has been estimated at VND36 trillion (USD1.71 billion). The average loan for a students is VND1.1 million (USD52.38).

However, to date, many graduates hold an outstanding loan after one or two years. This is mainly attributed to their low salaries and failure to find a job after graduation.

Graduating from Can Tho University one year ago, Pham Minh N. in Long Hau Commune, Lai Vung District, Dong Thap Province, has yet to find a job. His family is very poor so the settlement of the VND30-million debt depends on him.

According to the Statistics Department of Dong Thap Province, out of 44,752 local students who have been provided with bank loans worth VND550.541 billion (USD26.2 million), only VND42.57 billion had been paid back as of June 30, 2012.

According to the Social Policy Bank of Dong Thap Province’s Lai Vung District, by late September this year, 3,466 students’ families recieved loans totaling VND68 billion (USD3.2 million) from the bank. However, to date, only 241 students have settled their debts, totaling VND1.9 billion (USD90,476).

Most of the student debt is from those who graduated from vocational training schools or colleges.

Poor management leads to destruction of forestland

Local authorities in Bac Giang Province have shown inconsistencies in forest management, leading to a large area of forest being destroyed by a local company.

Following a denouncement from local people, inspectors from Bac Giang Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) discovered the wrongdoings in Bong Am Commune, Son Dong District.

According to the letter, in 2008, the Son Dong Forestry Company was hired by provincial authorities to work on a forest rehabilitation project. They successfully rehabilated 351.7ha out of the assigned 390ha. But they also destroyed 23ha of natural of forestland to plant cash crops without permission. Saying that they needed a road to serve their purposes, Son Dong Company destroyed more forest to built a 4km long road. But, in fact, this road is used to carry wood out of the forest.

Even though inspectors concluded that this was a serious violation, they still said the damage was not substantial because only 50 cubic metres of forest were destroyed. Duong Xuan Banh, deputy head of provincial DARD, said they sent the reports to Bac Giang Province People's Committee but have not received any feedback as far as punishment for the Son Dong Company.

Meanwhile, the Son Dong Forest Ranger Unit did not know about the destruction or make report to the authorities. The unit has failed to perform their jobs, and inspectors have asked to make individual responsibility clear in this case.

However, the vice chairman of Bac Giang People's Committee, Lai Thanh Son, said they had assigned the job of forest management to the local DARD. "Authority to deal with this case belongs to the forest ranger units and the local DARD. They haven't reported the results of investigations to me yet," he said.

The head of the local DARD, Nguyen Van Khai, affirmed that only the provincial People's Committee has authority to handle this case. "To be more specific, the Department of Home Affairs must take over at this point." he said.

While the authorities continue pushing off responsibility, Chu Ba Nghia, director of Son Dong Forestry Company has not been dealt with.

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