Firm fined for making cosmetics with dubious formula

The Health Ministry fined the HCM City-based Eternal Beauty Company Ltd (Viet Nam EBC) Viet Nam $US50, 000 on Monday, for violating the ASEAN-Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice (ASEAN-CGMP).

The company was found to be using a formula in its cosmetic products that was different from the formula that had been registered and approved, said Nguyen Tat Dat, vice head of the Drug Administration of Viet Nam.

ASEAN-CGMP is a quality management system for cosmetic products that has been set for the member countries of the group.

The company was also ordered to recall and destroy products in 17 product lines that were manufactured using the unapproved formula and then report to the ministry.

HCM City student wins business talent award

The idea of making a bath sponge from the fibre of the loofah fruit has won Phan Thi Quynh Hoa of the University of Economics and Law the first prize in the 2014 Luong Van Can Talent Award.

She beat 25 other rivals in the final of the contest held annually on Wednesday at the HCM City Open University.

Hoa said she had read an article about hotels using imported loofah sponges, and knowing that the fruit grew in the country, she learnt how to make sponges from it online.

Road accident caused five casualties

Dakrong's Traffic Police Department has reported a motorbike accident at Dakrong commune, causing two deaths and three injures.

A motorbike, driven by Ho Van Nang (born 1996) carrying Ho Van Thang and Ho Van Bui (both born 1997), collided with the other one carrying Ho Van Lieu and Ho Thi Luoi (both born 1983).

Luoi and Thang died on the way to hospital, three others were heavily injured and both bikes were damaged.

The local police department is investigating the case.

Coffee shop fire kills one in District 1

A fire that broke out at a coffee shop on the first floor of a hotel in HCM City's District 1 killed a foreigner and injured two others yesterday.

Thirty firefighters from the Firefighting and Fire Prevention Department extinguished the fire within 20 minutes.

Eight foreigners were staying in the hotel when the fire occurred.

The case is under investigation.

Two die in Quang Tri bike accident

Two people were killed and three injured when two motorbikes collided in Dakrong commune in the central province of Quang Tri on Tuesday, according to the local Police Department.

The two died on their way to hospital.

The local police department is investigating the case.

POs to accept insurance premiums

People can now pay for social and health insurance at post offices, the same place they go to receive pensions and welfare benefits.

The Viet Nam Social Security Administration and the Viet Nam Post Corporation launched the initiative on October 1 to give rural areas more access to insurance.

During a six-month trial period in 15 provinces, 5,497 voluntary social-insurance payers and 94,144 voluntary health-insurance payers registered for services, generating US$2.9 million in payments.

But the number of insured in certain provinces didn't rise as much as expected. The Government hoped to attract 42,000 new payers in the Mekong Delta province this year, but it may not meet that goal, said Nguyen Thi My Phuong, vice director of Can Tho Social Security.

The province only registered 7, 287 new payers before September, just 17.6 per cent of the target number.

Some people in rural communities have lower incomes, and only buy insurance when they fall ill, Phuong said.

"The main problem is that people are not fully aware of the benefits of having social and health insurance," she said.

The Post Corporation started working on social and health insurance policies for their employees, so they could promote the benefits of being covered by social and health insurances to people who aren't covered.

The northern city of Hai Phong is facing a different challenge: The city's post offices have been overwhelmed by people seeking to register.

Since April the Hai Phong post office has processed 782,000 pension payouts and managed 49,000 pension and welfare accounts, as well as handling an increasing number of people buying insurance.

Pham Thanh Quang, director of the An Lao Post Office, said his post office had been swamped, especially on pension pay days, when it had to process so many cases it was impossible to handle insurance requests. The backup has caused long delays.

Also, due to a lack of co-operation between the Post Corporation and justice departments, pension payments are often still sent to deceased people. This is because local justice departments failed to notify the social security administration of the deaths.

Statistics key for VN growth: Japanese expert

Viet Nam should spend more on compiling a statistics system to back socio-economic development, President of the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS), Shigeru Kawasaki told Viet Nam News at aconference in the central city of Da Nang yesterday.

"Viet Nam's rapid development needs reliable statistics," Kawasaki said. "They play an important role for those making crucial decisions for the country's development."

Kawasaki said the IAOS conference enabled Viet Nam's statistics system to share experience and build partnerships with countries and territories around the world.

He said statistics had played a key role in the economic recovery of Japan after World War II.

Director of Viet Nam's General Statistics Office, Nguyen Bich Lam, said the conference was the second largest statistical event after the World Statistics Congress.

"Official statistics are an important source of information for policy makers and investors formulating policies to drive socio-economic development," Lam said.

"It is the forum for the senior leaders of national statistical offices, international experts and scientists to exchange new ideas and initiatives in statistical development as well as share experiences," he said.

Ethnic minority goals lack funding: workshop

The millennium development goals for improving the living conditions of ethnic minority communities lack sufficient funding, workshop participants were told yesterday in Ha Noi.

The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the United Nations in Viet Nam co-organised the event aiming to outline an action plan to accelerate the millenium development goals' achievement via discussion of participants.

The goals were supposed to be completed by 2015, but several challenges have led to less than positive results, national consultant Pham Thai Hung told the gathering.

Hung said that overlaps in policies and a lack of funding had slowed progress on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

Ethnic groups account for 14.6 per cent of the country's population, and half of the minority groups have significantly lower incomes than the majority Kinh (Vietnamese) group, Hung said.

The second development goal, to achieve universal primary education, also faced difficulties, including a lack of funding for infrastructure and adequate teachers.

Literacy and primary school enrollments remained lower than those of the Kinh group, Hung said.

Information on ethnic people was lacking for another development goal, promoting gender equality and empowering women.

The fourth, fifth and sixth goals, reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, also faced challenges.

Hung said that although malnutrition and child mortality had declined, a gap between Kinh children and ethnic minority children persisted.

Poverty and a lack of knowledge about nutrition had also contributed to malnutrition, Hung said. Also, ethnic minority areas had less access to child care.

"It is imperative to issue an action plan to accelerate the achievement of the development goals," said Trinh Cong Khanh, director of the Ethnic Minority Policy Department under the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.

Khanh suggested Viet Nam use the millenium development goal acceleration framework approved by the United Nations Development Group.

The framework would identify problems in implementing the development goals, and help solve them. More than 50 countries have used the framework so far, Khanh said.

HCM City parade to raise awareness of breast cancer

A parade to raise awareness of breast cancer will be held next on October 18 at the Crescent Mall in HCM City's District 7 from 7am.

Pink Parade is a part of We Care For Her, the first nation-wide community campaign aimed at raising public awareness of breast cancer.

We Care For Her was launched in 2013 by the Ministry of Health's Bright Future Fund (BFF), which works on increasing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment capability to improve the survival rate and quality of life for survivors.

Tickets costing VND100,000 will include a We Care For Her T-shirt and free breast cancer screening at the Oncology Hospital.

Weather forecast bulletin receives European awards

The Vietnamese weather forecast bulletin on Super Typhoon Haiyan has been presented EMS (European Meteorological Society) TV Weather Forecast Award an Oct. 7 ceremony in Prague, the Czech Republic.

The bulletin, produced by Tran Thao Linh, who is acting manager of the Meteorological Information Department, Weather and Disaster Broadcasting, Vietnam Television (VTV), and a producer of daily weather forecast programmes and disaster breaking news.

Linh has successfully surpassed nine outstanding entries to receive the honourable award.

According to EMS news, the entry was a good mixture of forecast details and practical information for viewers as Super Typhoon Haiyan approached Vietnam.

Producer/editor Tran Thao Linh, who is a meteorologist with a master’s degree, did an excellent job of putting the enormity of the typhoon in context by showing a video of the storm in the Philippines, and comparing it in size and strength to other well-known storms.

The parameters of the storm and its forecast track were delivered in a calm but authoritative tone. The presentation included examples of what residents could do to prepare for the impending storm’s landfall.

1 dead, 2 injured in HCM City hostel fire

One Malaysian woman was confirmed dead and two other unknown people were injured in a fire at Budget Saigon Hostel in HCM City’s District 1 on October 8.

Witnesses said that at 12:40pm they discovered ferocious blaze with thick smoke coming out the first floor.

Local people immediately helped guests jump to the surrounding roofs to escape.

Five fire engines were called in to put out the roaring fire. The blaze was under control in half an hour.

The cause of the hostel fire accident is under investigation.

Vietnam cannot fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in ethnic minority communities unless joint efforts are undertaken by all relevant authorities, Vice Minister and Deputy Head of the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs Son Phuoc Hoan said on October 8.

At a workshop in Hanoi, Hoan explained that despite the overall remarkable progress made towards the MDGs, there was a significant disparity in results between the predominant Kinh ethnicity and minority ethnicities, as well as between rural areas highly populated by ethnic minorities and urban areas.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, Pratibha Mehta, said the action plan will act as a tool to set specific targets, identify challenges, rank priority measures and organise financial resources in order to achieve the goals effectively.

The plan will also help Vietnam ensure that resources for national programmes and strategies aimed at ethnic minority groups are used efficiently, she added.

Participants at the workshop provided feedback on the action plan, and proposed measures to address problems and accelerate the implementation of the MDGs.

They suggested restructuring poverty reduction policies, investing more in education in ethnic minority communities with a focus on teaching the Vietnamese language, and enhancing vocational training for young members of ethnic minority groups.

They also stressed the need to integrate gender equality into socio-economic development programmes, increase access to reproductive health services for ethnic women, and boost afforestation and environmental protection efforts in the regions populated predominantly by ethnic minorities.

Memorial service for war heroes marks Hanoi Liberation Day

A service to commemorate the heroic soldiers who laid down during the war was held at Hanoi’s Martyrs Cemetery in Tu Liem district on October 8.

The service, the first of its kind in Hanoi, is part of a series of events to mark the 60th anniversary of the city’s Liberation Day on October 10.

During the ceremony, nearly 100 Buddhist monks and nuns, municipal officials, Buddhist followers, and local residents laid down wreaths and offered incense in honour of the 2,070 war heroes buried at the cemetery. The ceremony was followed by a prayer for world peace, prosperity and happiness.

At the service, Ngo Van Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Confederation of Labour, expressed his deep appreciation for the contributions of the fallen soldiers to the liberation of Hanoi. He emphasised that the great spirit of patriotism and revolutionary heroism they inspired will remain forever in the hearts of the Vietnamese people.

Germany supports Vietnam in vocational training

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) on October 8 signed the implementation agreement for the programme component “Centre of Excellence for Technical and Vocational Education and Training - LILAMA 2”.

Signatories were Director of the MoLISA Department of International Cooperation Le Kim Dung and GIZ Country Director Jochem Lange.

The component is part of Vietnamese-German ‘Programme Reform of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Vietnam’, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).

The component aims to support the development of the LILAMA 2 Technical and Technology College to become one of the first Centres of Excellence for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Vietnam. LILAMA 2 Technical and Technology College in the southern province of Dong Nai shall be a role model for TVET quality achieving German standards.

Under the agreement, MoLISA and GIZ will work together to implement vocational training programmes to meet the increasing demand for skilled workers in Vietnam’s current industrialisation process.

“LILAMA 2 College as a capable and highly motivated partner will serve not only as a role model for the spread of high quality TVET and further development of the Centre of Excellence Network in Vietmam and in the region but also as an example for the further commitment of German development cooperation to the support of Centres of Excellence,” said Jochem Lange.

USAID helps Thanh Hoa promote green growth

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on October 7 between the the central province of Thanh Hoa and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), pledging to jointly develop an action plan for green growth.

The document aims to further tighten the cooperation between the locality’s Green Growth Task Force (GGTF) and their partner implementing the USAID-funded Vietnam Forest and Deltas Programme (VFDP) in Thanh Hoa, with a view to realising the province’s green growth strategy by 2020.

Under the MoU, the two sides will enhance the exchange of information, knowledge and technology in the field of climate change, while jointly conducting surveys and collecting data on agriculture, forestry and aquaculture; energy; industry and waste treatment.

They will also work together to draft an action plan for Thanh Hoa’s green growth strategy. USAID will support the Vietnamese locality in improving institutional capacity and training human resources to be able to implement strategy successfully.

The strategy is expected to improve the capacity of local agencies to develop land use plans and build a sustainable financial mechanism for forest development. It will also focus on measures to reduce green house emissions from the forestry sector.

Implemented from 2013-2017 in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Nam Dinh and Long An, the Vietnam Forest and Deltas Programme aims to help localities tackle key issues related to climate change and sustainable development.

It not only helps local authorities enhance forest management and reforestation, but also introduces climate change resilient livelihood strategies to the residents of areas having forests.

Thanh Hoa and Nghe An were selected as pilot provinces for implementing the nation’s green growth strategy.

Workshop seeks to promote environment industry

Experts have underlined the need to develop the environment industry in order to better control pollution and environmental degradation in the country at a recent workshop-and-fair on environmental industrial products in Hanoi.

A representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Science and Technology said the environment industry has taken shaped in the country five years after the Prime Minister’s approval of a project on the environment industry to 2015, with a vision to 2025.

The industry has met part of the demand regarding waste treatment and protection of land and water environment, he said, stressing that the rising pressure in environmental protection requires a greater involvement of the private sector in developing environmental technologies and equipment as well as offering related services.

Surveys conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment show the country’s 16 economic sectors need an estimated US$7.6 billion in investment in environmental protection. However, only a small number of businesses, mostly small-and medium-sized enterprises, have registered to supply urban and industrial waste water treatment services.

Only 6 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide have waste water treatment plants, and just 105 among 283 operational industrial parks across the country have concentrated waste-water treatment plants, which are able to meet around 34% of the real demand.

About 1.5 billion cu.m of untreated waste water, most from urban areas and industrial parks, are directly discharged into the environment each year, said Dr. Do Huu Hao, Chairman of the Vietnam Environment Industry Association.

He added that urban areas discharge about 30,000 tonnes of solid waste every day but only 83% of which are collected and treated. The rate is just 50-60% for rural areas, which generate a combined 5,000 tonnes a day. The most common treatment method is burying in duping sites, with 85% of the total solid waste being disposed this way.

The workshop also provided a venue for participating enterprises to introduce their latest products and technologies in the field.

Hanoi hosts Global Environment Facility dialogue

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) held a national dialogue in Hanoi on October 7 bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders from Government ministries and agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutions, as well as international donors.

Speaking at the dialogue, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said the GEF has been instrumental in coordinating and financing national environmental policy in Vietnam.

The GEF has so far poured US$130 million in 51 national and 43 regional projects involving Vietnam, Ha said.

For the GEF sixth cycle from 2014-2018, delegates agreed the agency should focus on assisting Vietnam in strengthening national co-ordination and sharing experiences in the implementation of GEF-funded projects.

It will also seek to assist in giving effect to measures improving cooperation with the private sector, social organisations and donors in the environmental field.

For her part, World Bank (WB) Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said Vietnam has always paid special attention to green growth strategy, quality of environment and adaptation to climate change.

 The WB will support the Vietnam government in its endeavours to carry out environmental policy to enhance its position at global environmental forums she said.

UNCEF commits more support for childcare in Vietnam

The United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) jointly held a seminar in Hanoi on October 9 to discuss child-related issues in the 2016-2020 period.

MPI Deputy Minister and UNICEF Deputy Chief Representative in Vietnam Jesper Moller stressed the need to provide more investment for children, who they said, play a key role in ensuring sustainable development in Vietnam.

All children have their own right to live, grow up and develop their capacity. Vietnam has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and this has shown the country’s commitment to childcare, they noted.

The two officials also laid emphasis on the provision of necessary services for children, saying this is an urgent task to help them grow up properly.

Other participants at the seminar shared experience in adding children-related issues to national development plan and proposed measures to deal with problems emerging in such areas as education and training, health care, and social welfare.

They also suggested improving public financial management skills to provide better care for children.

FAO applauds Vietnam’s poverty reduction achievements

Vietnam is an idyllic model of success in agriculture and rural development that other economically troubled countries throughout the world should emulate, said officials from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

They made the comment during an October 8 meeting with Vietnam Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat in Rome, adding they are particularly impressed with the splendid strides the nation has made in alleviating poverty and enhancing food security.

FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva was forthright in his assertion that Vietnam is a blueprint that other economically troubled nations should follow, particularly given the backdrop of a world facing immense threats to global food security and challenges caused by climate change.

Graziano da Silva spoke glowingly of the efforts of the Vietnam government and its predisposition to create favourable conditions conducive to the success of FAO-funded projects in the country.

He proposed that Vietnam share its valuable experience by actively taking part in the South-South cooperation framework, and pledged his unabiding support in endeavours to strengthen bilateral cooperative relations in the coming time.

He said he will ask FAO relevant agencies to work closely with Vietnam and provide assistance to the country in completing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations and other targets set by FAO.

For his part, Minister Phat lauded the Vietnam government and people for being in the vanguard of agro-forestry and fisheries technologies, pioneering new approaches to ensuring food security, reducing poverty rate, applying advanced technologies in agricultural production and protecting the environment.

He noted Vietnam strongly supports FAO initiatives and activities. The country has sent agricultural experts and technicians, and provided a wide variety of seeds for other developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

The country has also assisted them in drawing up plans and implementing innumerable other measures to bolster the development of agro-forestry and fisheries sectors, he said.

Phat thanked the FAO for its assistance with more than 400 FAO-funded agricultural projects over past years and said he avidly looks forward to their continued backing.

Minister Phat’s meeting with the FAO Director General took place subsequent to the 8th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP-8), where his speech on Vietnam’s agricultural development, poverty alleviation and food security drew wide acclaim.

Donors praise Vietnam’s climate change adaptation efforts

International donors highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to improve policy on climate change adaptation, and pledged their continued support for Vietnam, representatives from the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC) announced in a meeting in Hanoi on October 8.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said Vietnam greatly appreciated the support from international partners and hoped they would assist the country in the long run.

In addition to international funds, Vietnam persuaded a number of private businesses to invest in adaptation measures, he added.

He confirmed that the Government would earmark approximately VND3 trillion (US$135 million) for climate change adaptation, with a special focus on afforestation.

He urged relevant ministries and sectors to work with international donors to accelerate the implementation of the SP-RCC programme in Vietnam post-2015.

Vietnam is implementing the National Strategy on Climate Change, the Green Growth Strategy and the Law on Environmental Protection.

The SP-RCC programme has been implemented in Vietnam since 2009 with more than 200 relevant policies adopted by Vietnamese ministries and development partners.

Foreign drivers need VN permits

Most foreign tourists or residents who rent motorcycles do not have Vietnamese driving licences and are unaware of Vietnamese traffic laws.

A year ago, at the annual consular consultation meeting between Vietnam and Russia, the Russian delegation asked Viet Nam not to rent motorbikes to Russian tourists who do not have valid Vietnamese driving licences.

The Russians said that if Russian tourists who drove motorcycles and cars in Viet Nam caused accidents, Russian insurance firms would not pay compensation.

In August 2013, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism issued a notice on the management of motorcycle rental services for Russian and foreign tourists.

The notice said that motorcycle rental shops were not allowed to rent vehicles to foreigners if they failed to present valid driving licences in accordance with Vietnam law. However, the regulation has not been properly observed.

There are 12 motorcycle rental shops along Pham Ngu Lao Street in District 1 which is considered "Foreigners' Street". To hire a motorcycle, foreigners only need to leave their passport and deposit, about VND5 million (US$240). The daily rent is VND150,000 (US$7).

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy from the HCM City Bar Association told the Nguoi lao dong (Labourer) newspaper that in many cases, foreigners caused traffic accidents, but they were only fined or expelled.

There were several reasons for this, she said. The offences were usually not intentional and many foreigners were willing to pay adequate compensation if victims withdrew their complaints.

However, according to the Supreme People's Court, if an accident was the fault of a driver who has been drinking, he or she would must be jailed, no matter what their nationality was, Thuy added.

Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Cong, a member of the HCM City Bar Association, said that those who drove without valid Vietnamese licences faced jail for up to 12 years if they caused an accident.

On January 30 last year, HCM City People's Court fined Chinese national Li Zhong Jun VND30 million (US$1,420) for causing a fatal accident in Cu Chi District.

On September 27, 2012, HCM City People's Court fined Norwegian Lars Hanssen VND30 million (US$1,420) for fatally injuring a woman on his motorbike after he had been drinking.

On January 19, 2011, the HCM City People's Court deported Russian national Makhov Vladimir for killing a vendor in a traffic accident in Mui Ne in the southern province of Binh Thuan.

In the latest case, an American man died and two Vietnamese were injured in an accident at the intersection of Dien Bien Phu and Dinh Tien Hoang streets in Da Kao Ward, District 1 in HCM City.

The American man, Fluery Formigoni, 24, was driving a motorbike at high speed when he collided with another bike driven by a local woman and a lottery vendor. Formigoni died at the scene.

Long An destroys nearly 1,000 H5N1 infected poultry

The veterinary practice and epidemic station in the Mekong Delta province of Long An culled 1,000 A/H5N1 infected chickens on October 8.

The infected flock was traced to a poultry farm in Long Khe commune in Can Duoc district. This is the second H5N1 bird flu case recorded in the province.

Prior to the cull, district veterinarians discovered fever symptoms on poultry at the farm . The department tested the animals and concluded that the flock was infected. The 75-90 day-old flock had not been vaccinated.

In order to prevent an outbreak, local authorities promptly destroyed the infected birds and sterilised the poultry farm to contain the virus.

Vaccination was given to all pultry flocks in the districts of Can Duoc, Ben Luc and Can Gioc, while farmers were urged to apply bio-safety measures and vaccinate all poultry against the H5N1 bird flu virus in line with the regulations issued by the veterinary department.-

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