EPI to focus on increasing vaccination rate, quality

The National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) will focus investment on increasing vaccination rate and quality in mountainous, remote and difficult areas in 2017, said National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Deputy Director Dương Thị Hồng.

“Along with maintaining results achieved by the polio and neonatal tetanus elimination programmes, the institute will strengthen disease supervision for early detection and timely control to prevent outbreaks and epidemics,” Hồng said.

Hồng, who is also the EPI office head, told Việt Nam News that the programme will also boost its activities to increase Hepatitis B vaccination rate of newborns within 24 hours after birth, targeted at controlling the disease in 2017.

“Efforts would be concentrated also on maintaining high immunisation rates of measles and the combined measles and rubella vaccines for children under the annual vaccination programme as part of efforts to eliminate measles in the future,” Hồng said.

She said while polio and neonatal tetanus has been eradicated, it faced many challenges due to the risk of polio invading from neighbouring countries where the disease still exists and weak management of disease supervision at several localities.

The financial source for EPI only meets the country’s demand for vaccines, despite increasing investment from the government and the Ministry of Health. International support from NGOs has been reducing following Việt Nam’s transformation from one of the world’s poorest nations to a middle-income country.

In the coming years, the government of Việt Nam will have to pay corresponding expenses of the five-in-one vaccine and a half of the investment capital of the new freezing facilities to preserve vaccines at the EPI in 2017. Therefore, the people’s committees of provinces and cities will have to bear the capital source of materials supply, facility maintenance, replacement, vaccine transport and health workers’ salaries.

The health ministry’s statistics showed that infection and fatality rates of diseases under EPI continued to reduce in 2016. By the end of October 2016, the vaccination rate of children under one reached 83.4 per cent, meeting the target of above 75 per cent for children under one nationwide. Measles and rubella vaccine rate of 18-month-old children was at 79.1 per cent, while DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine rate was at 77.9 per cent, higher than the same period in 2015.

In 2016, nearly 1.8 million youngsters aged 17-18 were vaccinated against measles and rubella nationwide, comprising nearly 95 per cent of the targeted group. As a result, only 34 measles cases were reported in 2016, a decline by eight times compared with 2015 and 442 times in comparison with 2014.

HCM City confers Environment Awards on individuals, organisations

Four individuals and 38 organisations received the 2016 Environmental Awards from the HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment on Wednesday for their outstanding contributions to environmental protection.

Nguyễn Văn Thái, vice president of Phạm Ngọc Thạch Elementary School; Phạm Thị Thanh Nhàn, a teacher at Lê Đình Chinh Elementary School; Lê Thị Vân Hùng, a resident of District 6; and Venerable Thích Huệ Công, head of Long Hòa Pagoda in District 8, were the four individuals to be honoured.

The 38 organisations included 30-4 Hospital in District 5 for its outstanding medical waste disposal systems and green spaces.

Quan Âm Monastery, Sơn Ca 10 Kindergarten, and Hồ Văn Huê Secondary School’s contributions were also significant.

While the monastery often organised talks on the importance of saving the environment, the two schools encouraged their students to participate in meaningful activities like planting trees.

According to Lê Văn Khoa, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, the biennial award seeks to honour efforts to safeguard the environment and raise public awareness of environmental protection.

EVN to stop sending bill collectors to homes

In HCM City, Electricity of Việt Nam plans to accept bill payments only through banks and other modern platforms starting at the end of next year, putting an end to its conventional home collection service.

Speaking about the utility’s achievements and plans at a conference on Tuesday, standing deputy secretary of the EVN HCM City Party unit, Cao Nguyệt Anh, said 57 per cent of consumers are already paying electronically.

People are becoming increasingly familiar with such payment modes and so EVN would stop collection of bills at home at the end of 2017, she said.

The company produced 21.9 billion kWh of electricity this year, up 8.5 per cent year-on-year, she said.

It has begun to supply power to Thiền Liềng Island in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District and ensured fixed tariffs for nearly 1.4 million poor workers and students in the city, she said.

Around 50 projects to bury power cables underground would be completed in 2017, with work on 34 having already begun, she said.

Deputy secretary of the city Party Committee, Nguyễn Thị Quyết Tâm, hailed EVN’s effort to make the city a convenient, modern place to live in.

It needs to continue playing its part in developing the city, carrying out frequent inspections and offering its services to more people, she said.

Large suspected rhino horns being smuggled at airport

Animal horns weighing 50kg were seized yesterday at the Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội.

The horns, which resembled rhino horns, were hidden in a red suitcase weighing 61.5kg, which was covered with white plastic. The suitcase was carried on flight number KQ 870/28 DEC 16, departing from Nairobi, Kenya, to Hà Nội. No one claimed ownership of the suitcase.

The custom force of Nội Bài airport and police officers from the police department for smuggling prevention (C74) under the Public Security Ministry opened the suitcase and found nine large horns as a whole, seven horn pieces and three small horns. The heaviest one weighed up to 7kg.

A custom official at the airport said that if the horns had been sold in the domestic market, they would have fetched more than VNĐ20 billion (US$890,000) in total.

“The seized horns were still fresh, probably belonging to African black rhinos. In previous rhino horn smuggling cases, the seized horns were often cut into small pieces. The horns confiscated this time were some of the largest ever,” the official said.

The seized horns were sealed for further investigation.

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, rhino horn trade is banned. Rhinos are among the wildlife animals in need of protection. 

HCM City poverty goal said too ambitious

HCM City should not set itself the too ambitious goal of eradicating poverty by 2018, a senior former leader has said.

Phạm Phương Thảo, former deputy secretary of the city Party Committee and former chairwoman of the city People’s Council, told a conference on multidimensional poverty in the city yesterday “It is very difficult to achieve the goal. It is very high pressure for officials in charge of poverty reduction in communes and wards.”

She was referring to the target of having no person with an annual income of below VNĐ21 million (US$933), the poverty threshold.

When the officials face pressure to achieve the goal, they would focus solely on the number and ignore actual poverty alleviation, she said.

Efforts to improve the quality of life in the city should be linked to the poverty reduction programme, she suggested.

Because the quality of life now is “not good,” she added.

Nguyễn Văn Xê, deputy head of the city Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and standing deputy head of the Steering Committee for Stable Poverty Reduction, said the goal to eradicate poverty was first set for 2020 at the 10th congress of the city Party Committee last October.

Last April the city adopted a new approach called multidimensional poverty reduction programme.

It categorises poor households into three groups. The first comprises households with members each having an annual income of up to VNĐ21 million and with a score of 40 or more.

The score is calculated based on the following criteria: level of education; health including access to healthcare services and health insurance; employment-social insurance; living conditions including housing and water supply; and access to information. 

The second group comprises households with an annual income of up to VNĐ21 million and a score of 40 or less.

The third group includes households with incomes of VNĐ21-28 million and more than VNĐ28 million and a score of 40 or more.

Under this approach, which requires every earning member to have an income above the poverty threshold, or score, or both the two above criteria the city had 67,000 poor households as of last August.

Dr Lê Thị Thanh Loan, head of the United Nations Development Programme’s multidimensional poverty reduction project in urban areas, said the rate of poor is higher in the city’s rural than urban areas.

The poor households and those near the poverty line have the largest “shortage” in terms of education and employment-social insurance, she said.

Khmer and Chăm poor households had a larger gap than ethnic Kinh households, she added.

Xê said the new approach requires the city to change its policies to achieve sustainable poverty reduction.

At the district level, authorities should have their own programmes to narrow the gap in whichever dimension - education or healthcare, etc - poor families lack, he added.

Assoc Prof Dr Trần Tiến Khai, deputy head of the HCM City University of Economics’ research administration and international relations department, said the city’s Steering Committee for Stable Poverty Reduction should measure poverty among migrants and create programmes to help them.

Migrants contribute to the city’s socio-economic development, he said.

Many of them face multi-dimensional poverty caused by policies that only provide benefits to people with residence books, he said.

Most migrants do not have this book and only the temporary residence book, called KT3, a multi-dimensional-poverty survey of 201 migrant families in the city by the Southern Institute of Social Sciences found in 2015.

Nguyễn Thị Minh Châu of the survey team said they lack occupational knowledge, health and social insurance, and housing.

Wanted: new, easy to learn folk dances

The Hà Nội Association of Dancing Artists has launched a competition for new dances that can be easily learned and performed, according to Nguyễn Văn Bích, the association’s president.

The dances should be set to melodies and movements of traditional folk dances. They should be easy to learn and perform at community cultural activities. “We expect that dancing will help beautify life, help us live healthier and with more positive attitudes and get the public involved in cultural activities,” he said.

The qualifying round will end in April. The shortlisted dances will be introduced and practised at universites, schools and cultural centres. The final round and awards ceremony will take place in October.

Cyclists to compete at Bến Tre Television event

The Bến Tre Province Television Men’s Cycling Tournament will kick off on January 8 with big bonuses for the participants.

The event, which is known as the Hoa Sen Plastic Pipe Cup, will feature nine stages over a total of 1,061km, starting in Ninh Thuận Province’s Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm City to four destinations before ending in Bến Tre Province on January 16.

Well known cyclists from 14 clubs such as Nguyễn Thành Tâm, Trịnh Đức Tâm (An Giang), Phan Hoàng Thái (Đồng Tháp) and Nguyễn Trường Tài (HCM City) have registered to compete.

In this year’s edition, each stage winner will receive VNĐ2.5 million (US$110) while the rider who wins the sprint will grab VNĐ1.5 million ($70).

The overall yellow jersey holder will get a prize of VNĐ45 million. The organisers will also present cash to cyclists who take the green and white jerseys, as well as the winning team. 

Six Hạ Long Bay boats banned over fish shockers

An interdisciplinary team of northern Quảng Ninh Province’s Hạ Long City and the city’s Aquaculture department has inspected the aquaculture exploitation activities on the bay and found six vessels illegally using electric shockers to catch fish.

Electric fish shockers have been banned due to their negative impact, such as destroying entire populations of marine creatures.

The vessels were given penalties and their banned catch tools were seized.

The team will continue strengthening inspection of vessels performing aquaculture exploitation to protect the environment of the famed bay.

Hà Nội receives 12 labor-saving street sweepers

Hà Nội Urban Environment One Member Co yesterday received 12 German-made street sweepers worth more than VND20 billion (US$878,000) to help clean up the streets for the New Year.

Nguyễn Thế Hùng, chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said that the city has piloted to mechanise the cleaning up of streets in four districts of the inner city and obtained good results. Next year the city will expand the model to all districts.  

Nguyên Hữu Tiến, director of the Hà Nội Urban Environment One Member Co, said the company owns 28 Hako City master 1600 street sweepers.

Each sweeper could replace between six to eight workers. Moreover, the vehicles can collect dust and minimise emissions into the environment.

Apart from the street sweepers, the company plans to invest in 100 specialised vehicles to collect the increased rubbish during the New Year and Tet holidays.

Seminar highlights 30 years of press renovation

Over 30 years of renewal, Vietnam’s revolutionary press has made great contributions to communicating Party guidelines and State policies and law and reflecting people’s aspirations.

At a seminar on 30 years of renewal of the press in Hanoi on December 29, delegates praised the press’s role in national development and international integration, anti-corruption, and national defense.

In his address, VOV President Nguyen The Ky said,“We need to constantly reform and improve our capacity and quality as well as strengthen Party leadership and State management over press and press agencies”.

Also that day, the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and the President of the Federation of ASEAN Journalists presented awards for the “ASEAN-One Community” photo contest.

An exhibition featuring outstanding photos of ASEAN and its people by ASEAN journalists was also held.

Hundreds of houses built without permits in Danang

Hundreds of houses in the central Vietnamese city of Danang were found to have been built without the proper permits, resulting in troubles and headaches for their owners.

The residences found to be in violation of permit regulations are located in the K38 residential area in My An Ward, Ngu Hanh Sin District, a housing project developed by the 98 Project Management Committee under the Ministry of National Defense.

Two hundred and seventeen houses are under construction in the area, all of which were originally meant as homes for military soldiers and officers, however, many officers chose not to settle in the houses and have instead opted to resell the residences to civilians.

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, most of the residences have completed exteriors and reached three stories tall.

V.H., a local resident who purchased one of the houses, stated that she first became aware that the houses lacked a building permit when she was unable to finalize the legal procedures for ownership to be transferred to her name.

According to Le Ngoc Nam, an official from the People’s Committee in My An Ward, residence transfer procedures for the houses cannot be completed due to the lack of building permits.

Though local authorities are aware of the situation, they have not penalized the project developer because the land plots are owned by the military, Nam stated, adding that the military’s ownership disallowed inspections from being carried out on the construction site.

Aside from the absence of building permits, the balconies of the houses were also built wider than allowed, compromising public space along the neighborhood’s sidewalks, said Tran Thi Kim Hien, deputy director of the Land Registration Office in Ngu Hanh Son District.

The constructions also violated the city’s urban planning regulations, Thai Ngoc Trung, deputy director of the municipal Department of Construction, added.

Regarding a solution to the issue, no decision has been announced by local authorities, Vu Quang Hung, director of the city’s construction department, said during an interview with Tuoi Tre on December 27.

A meeting has also been convened between the municipal People’s Committee and the developer of the project to discuss the problem, Hung continued.

Any adjustment to the houses will be decided over the next few days, the official stated, adding that competent authorities should also take the rights and benefits of the owners into consideration.

Vietnam Peace Committee devises tasks for 2017

The Vietnam Peace Committee held its year-end meeting on December 29 to review its performance in 2016 and outline tasks for 2017.

In his address, National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu praised the Committee’s active role in multilateral people’s forums and regional and global networks.

Regarding the tasks for 2017, Luu asked the Committee to strengthen its cooperation with traditional partners and expand cooperation with others, participate responsibly in the activities of the World Peace Council, effectively participate in people’s forums, step up communications to raise public awareness about peace and related issues, and focus more on research for peace and human rights.  

Vietnam wins 2nd straight silver prize at Japan Int’l Manga Awards

A Vietnamese comic artist was the winner of the silver prize for the second consecutive time at the Tenth Japan International Manga Awards, a foreign ministry-backed drive to honor artists who contribute to promoting Japan’s comic culture overseas.

Ho Chi Minh City-based artist Can Tieu Hy won the silver award for her Gateway to Underworld work, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release on December 27.

Gateway to Underworld tells the story of a girl who is suddenly taken to the underworld and embarks on a search for the reason behind her death, and a way back to life.

Throughout her journey, she learns about life values and the importance of appreciating the relationships and bonds she held in the land of the living.

This year, 296 entries from 55 countries and regions were submitted to the competition, a fantastic showing for the award’s tenth anniversary, according to the announcement.

Fourteen winners, including one Gold Award and three Silver Award winners, were chosen by a jury led by famed manga artist Machiko Satonaka.

The competition’s top prize went to French duo, Joël Parnotte and Xavier Dorison, with their joint work, The Master of Arms.

This is the second consecutive silver prize awarded to a Vietnamese artist in the competition, the first being for the Long Than Tuong (Marshal Long) series, a fictionalized historical comic by the Phong Duong Comics group, honored with the award in last year’s ninth edition of the event.

Hy, born Phan Cao Ha My, graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture and is now a popular comic author in Vietnam known for manga, a special comic style created by the Japanese in the late 19th century.

She will travel to Tokyo to attend the awards ceremony on February 7.

The International Manga Award was founded by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007 in an effort to expand international exchange and mutual understanding through the manga culture, an art widely accepted around the world.

This award honors artists for their contributions to the development of manga throughout the world.

Selfish selfie hunters

From December 25-27, Nghệ An welcomed all selfie lovers.. ahem.. sunflower lovers to come and take pictures for free at a blooming field in the central province. The field in question had already become popular among the youth as the flowers blossomed towards the end of the year. The authorities were only institutionalising the trend in order to boost the local tourism industry.

Images of the sunflower field and people taking selfies were duly carried by several online publications and the social media, but they did not capture the havoc wreaked on the field by the visitors.

The 100-hectare field was cordoned with bamboo fences, but these offered little resistance as hordes of people rushed to find vantage points for their pictures. They crushed the plants, stomped on the flowers and used leaves to protect themselves from the sun.

At the end of the day, local authorities were forced to announce that those who destroyed the plants and flowers would be penalized.

It so happens that the field belongs to a dairy farmer who uses sunflower meals as cattle feed.

While the farmer was game to his field being milked for tourism benefits, he would have surely balk at it becoming fodder, not for his cows, but for ruthless selfie hunters.

Bike lost & found in an accident

A woman in Hà Nội’s Tây Hồ District was idly surfing the web when a story about a police station’s parking lot overloaded with vehicles taken from traffic violators caught her eye. Then she caught her breath.

No, she was not seeing things. Among the bikes in the picture accompanying the news item was her own SH motorbike (costing about VNĐ100 million) that she’d lost a year ago.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền followed up on the report, completed the paperwork, and retrieved her motorbike.

The police are now hunting for the robber. He had reportedly driven the wrong way on a one-way road at the Đại Cồ Việt-Giải Phóng Crossroads and been stopped by the police, but failed to show proper papers. The police seized the motorbike, and the man never bothered to return to collect it.

Finders Keepers, Loosers Weepers, they say. This looser’s smiling, though.

HCMC spends up to US$105 million on annual waste treatment

HCMC spends VND2.2-2.4 trillion (US$96.8-105.6 million) annually on treatment of nearly 7,000 tons of garbage discharged a day in the city, HCMC Urban Environment Co said on Monday.

Although the waste treatment sector calls for private sector investment, 90% of funds are still sourced from the city’s budget.

The city set a target of recycling 40% of waste, burying 40% and incinerate the rest last year. However, 75% of waste was still buried.

The central Government has issued a decree providing administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection. Those discharging waste into drainage systems in urban areas will be fined VND5-7 million while those dumping household waste illegally in residential areas and public places would pay a fine of VND3-5 million.

Tunnel planned under Ton Duc Thang road in downtown HCMC

The government of HCMC is planning to build a tunnel under Ton Duc Thang Street stretching from Ba Son Shipyard area to a bridge connecting districts 1 and 4.

The planned tunnel would run along the Saigon River from Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, which is under construction, to Khanh Hoi Bridge. It is part of a broader project to upgrade Bach Dang Wharf Park just adjacent to the Nguyen Hue pedestrian square.

In an urgent announcement issued last week by the Office of the HCMC People’s Committee, the city had given approval in principal to Saigontourist Holding Company to draw up a plan for upgrading Bach Dang Wharf Park.

Municipal authorities noted the investor should design approach roads to the tunnel for Ham Nghi and Nguyen Hue boulevards, as well as Khanh Hoi Bridge.

The investor would be able to expand the wharf park in a way that would not narrow the width of the Saigon River.

The city government requires the investor to factor waterway taxi, metro and rapid bus transit services into the project.

In mid-2013, the city assigned Saigontourist to prepare a plan for developing Bach Dang Wharf Park into a tourism complex which included piers for tourist boats and other recreational services.

In July this year, the city government allowed District 1 to overtake the wharf park upgrade project and call for investors. However, after a meeting with relevant departments and agencies on December 12, city chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong took Saigontourist back on board.

The city banned hydrofoils and restaurant boats from anchoring at Bach Dang Wharf in April 2015 to pave the way for the upgrade of the wharf park. However, the project has yet to get off the ground since.

Marine sovereignty-themed exhibition comes to Bac Kan province

The northern province of Bac Kan is the next destination of an exhibition on Vietnam’s archipelagos in the East Sea, giving locals an insight into historical and legal evidence testifying to the country’s marine sovereignty.

The display, opened on December 29 by the Ministry of Information and Communications, features many documents, objects and nearly 100 maps which were collected and publicised by domestic and foreign researchers.

The exhibits include copies of documents written in Chinese, Nom (a Chinese-like script of Vietnam), Vietnamese and French issued by Vietnam’s feudal regime and the French administration the Indochina from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. They confirm Vietnam’s establishment and exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

Copies of administrative documents issued by the Republic of Vietnam’s administration in the south of the country between 1954 and 1975, and by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam since 1975 also affirm Vietnam’s administrative management and exercise and protection of sovereignty over Hoang Sa, Truong Sa and some other sea areas.

Among the items on display are publications compiled and published by some western countries from the 18th to the 19th centuries which relate to Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Bac Kan provincial People’s Committee Pham Duy Hung said the exhibition is an important communication activity helping to raise public awareness and sense of responsibility in protecting the country’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

The exhibition, lasting through January 2, 2017, is a continuation of 74 displays previously organised in 51 provinces and cities, 10 islands and island districts, and 13 armed forces units nationwide.

Fair treatment needed to attract OV intellectuals

Policies and mechanisms that give fair treatment to overseas Vietnamese (OV) intellectuals and their domestic counterparts are needed to encourage OV scholars to work for the country, participants said at a workshop in Hanoi on December 28.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) Nghiem Vu Khai said a big number of Vietnamese intellectuals are working in the fields of education and science-technology abroad, but only several hundred of them return home each year to work or to implement research projects.

Participants recommended bringing into play the role of OV intellectuals in connecting foreign researchers, training and research establishments as well as investors with domestic counterparts to support the training of experts and investment in high technology and scientific research.

They proposed building a network of OV scientists and technical experts as a solution to engage OV intellectuals in national development.

In recent years, OV intellectuals have made significant contributions to the country’s development. 

Annually, about 300 scholars return to Vietnam to participate in cooperative programmes in science-technology and education-training. Around 55 percent of them work with State agencies and the other 45 percent give lectures and join in research at universities and research institutes.-

Vietnam Red Cross provides relief aid to DPRK’s flood victims

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) has provided commodities and necessities worth 70,000 USD to help victims who were affected by a devastating flood in September in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The aid aimed to help the flood victims overcome consequences and stabilise their lives.    

VRCS Vice Chairman Doan Van Thai symbolically handed over the goods to DPRK Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Myong Gil on December 28.

The ambassador expressed his gratitude to the VRCS, stressing that the assistance is a great source of encouragement to people affected by natural disasters in the DPRK.

Hanoi aims to lure over 23 million visitors in 2017

Hanoi tourism sector is set on attracting 23.39 million visitors, including 4.08 million foreign tourists, in 2017, with a revenue of over 66 trillion VND (2.89 billion USD), according to the municipal Tourism Department.

To 2020, the city aims for a rise of 15-17 percent in yearly tourism revenue to reach 120 trillion VND in 2020, added the department.

It reported that the capital city has welcomed 21.8 million visitors in 2016, including 4 million foreigners, earning over 62 trillion VND (2.72 billion USD), up 13 percent year on year. 

However, the department noted that the result has yet to match the city’s potential and position as a tourism centre of the country and region, as the sector’s revenue remains far lower than that of other countries’ capital such as Tokyo of Japan, Bangkok of Thailand and Seoul in the Republic of Korea.

Average spending of foreigners during their stay in Hanoi is about 110 USD per day, while that of domestic visitor is 55 USD per day.

Meanwhile, Hoppa, a website on aviation transportation, listed Hanoi as the world’s fourth cheapest destination after Budapest in Hungary, Tenerife in Spain and Bangkok in Thailand.

Recently, Hanoi is striving to increase earnings from tourism by attracting tourists with generous spending and keeping them stay longer, while developing additional tourism products and infrastructure serving the sector.

The city will focus on tourism promotion in promising markets of Western Europe, Northeastern Asia and Northern America.

Vietnam to boost enforcement of civil court decisions next year

The Ministry of Justice will step up the enforcement of civil court decisions next year, especially those related to the banking sector.

To this end, the ministry will focus on improving regulations on implementation of civil and administrative court decisions, consolidating staff, improving receipt of complaints from citizens, and boosting the use of advanced technology, according to a newly-issued plan for 2017.

Deputy Minister Tran Tien Dung said the successful execution of civil court decisions concerning the banking sector will help facilitate provision of credit for enterprises and citizens.

One of top solutions for next year’s plan is to boost administrative reform and application of high tech to cut time and cost and ensure transparency of information.

According to the ministry, nearly 530,430 civil court decisions have been enforced this year, up 8.53% higher than the original target.

Website launched to promote Quang Nam festival

The organising board of the Quang Nam Heritage festival 2017 has launched a website in a bid to promote the festival to domestic and international visitors.

The website in both Vietnamese and English provides information on the Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017 including schedule, ticket spots, local specialties and previous festival’s information, among other.

Visitors can get essential information at http://disanquangnam.vn and quangnamheritagefestival.com as its English version. 

Besides, social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter are also used for this purpose.

Themed “Connecting Cultural Heritage”, the Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017 is a big culture and tourism event of the locality, with an aim of attracting tourists as well as domestic and foreign investment to boost local socio-economic development, said Pham Hong Quang, Head of the provincial Department of Information and Communication.

The opening ceremony will be held on June 9 on Tam Thanh beach in Tam Ky city while the closing event will take place on June 14 at Hoai River Square in Hoi An City. 

The festival, the sixth edition, will start with the Hoi An light festival on January 27 to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2017, followed by a series of art programmes, competitions and exhibitions.

Vietnamese sailor left in South Africa returns home

Vietnamese sailor Nguyen Van Thanh, who was left in Cape Town by a Taiwanese fishing ship two months ago, returns home on December 28 on a Kenya Airways flight, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa.

Thanh was born in 1977 in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh. He left Vietnam on April 21, 2015 to work on a Taiwanese ship, which docked at Cape Town port on October 20. 

After being left in the city, he had to depend on sailors of Taiwanese and Chinese vessels as all his money and documents were kept by the ship owner.

With prompt assistance of the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa, Thanh has completed all necessary procedures and bought an air ticket to return home.

70 temporary drug stores to open on Tết

Hà Nội’s Health Department has asked pharmaceutical companies and drug stores of central hospitals to arrange 70 temporary stores to sell medicine on New Year’s and during the Tết holiday.

Specifically, Hà Tây Pharmacy JSC will set up 15 temporary drug stores in 14 districts in the west of the capital city. Hà Nội Pharmacy and Medical Device JSC will arrange 19 temporary drug stores in the inner city and in some suburban areas.

As many as 37 drug stores of central hospitals in the city will be open round-the-clock to serve patients’ demands.

Deputy director of the department Trần Văn Chung has also asked the drug stores to be prepared with special drugs and for infusion in case of an unexpected requirement in treatment and disease prevention.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE