Two men fined for smuggling rosewood

Photo for illutration: Police examine smuggled timber.

The southern Tay Ninh Province People's Committee yesterday fined two local men VND45 million (US$2,000) each for smuggling more than 1.3 tonnes of rosewood.

A 26-year-old driver named Tran Duy Phong and a 43-year-old truck owner Vo Van Thang from Tan Chau District were found to be carrying 270 pieces of rosewood from Cambodia to the district in a truck on Sunday. They told the police they were to deliver the timber to a local man named Nguyen Xuan Giao, who, however, denied he was going to receive the timber and, hence, was not be fined.

The timber, worth VND300 million ($13,300), and the truck, worth VND180 million ($8,000), would be added to local public property.

Drivers are usually paid about VND3 million ($133) per trip to transport smuggled timber from Cambodia to HCM City.

Lack of knowledge results in unfortunate HIV/AIDS cases

A lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest causes of cases in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

A 33-year-old local woman, who asked to keep her name anonymous, did not know what HIV/AIDS was and what happened to her husband when he died of the fatal disease eight years ago. She also did not think she needed to have her health checked until she suffered from continuous sickness and blurry vision.

Not until she went to a clinic and got advice from doctors did she know about transmission risks and basic knowledge on HIV/AIDS.

A situation like this is not uncommon in Son La. Many residents have been "victims" of HIV/AIDS in unexpected cases.

Tong Van Su, deputy head of Infection Department of General Hospital of Muong La District said that among the ten HIV infected children under treatment at the hospital, there is a child who tested positive for HIV after sucking breast milk of the aunt when the mother was away.

Even the child's aunt did not know she was living with HIV.

HIV/AIDS now not only focuses in the province's urban areas but tends to spread to mountainous areas where travelling by vehicles is difficult and the information level remains low. Meanwhile, drug smuggling and abusing were popular, especially in border areas, said Son La's HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre Director Dam Van Huong.

About 10,500 HIV/AIDS carriers have been reported in the province so far, according to the provincial HIV/AIDS control and prevention centre.

In the first ten months of this year, the province diagnosed 405 HIV infected cases. Up to 525 cases have developed full-blown AIDS and 110 people have died of AIDS. The majority of HIV infected cases belong to patients aged 20 to 39.

Cases with women and children are reportedly on the increase. It is estimated that in 2020, the number of females infected will make up 55 per cent of the total while the figure on children is predicted to reach roughly 11 per cent.

Huong said that facing these statistics, the province was striving to eradicate the epidemic. However, HIV/AIDS fighting and prevention in the province had faced many difficulties, he said, adding that many infected cases were diagnosed too late, which is one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the disease.

A shortage of employees to monitor patients had also limited efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS, he said.

Many infected children living in remote mountain areas have faced great difficulties in accessing health care services, which pose challenges to predicting infected cases as well as treatment and caring of anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy.

The governmental health programme in the province, which encourages the use of methadone therapy to curb drug addicts' reliance on certain drugs through 2020 has been slowly implemented and has faced obstacles.

About 6,000 drug addicts are expected to be under treatment under this programme, however, until now, only about 10 per cent are under treatment.

Binh Duong to give gifts to poor people

Binh Duong People's Committee will give new year gifts to poor people and those who receive preferential treatment such as heroic mothers and heroes of the People's Armed Force.

The southern province will spend more than VND152.68 billion (US$6.8 million) from the local state budget, 11 per cent higher than 2015, for the purpose.

Accordingly, each Vietnamese heroic mother will receive VND3 million ($133) in cash and a present worth VND500,000 ($22), while each hero of the People's Armed Force will get VND2 million in cash and a present worth VND500,000.

Families of at least two revolutionary martyrs will receive VND2.5 million ($110).

Each poor household and state employee will get VND1 million ($45) each.

The province will also give 6,900 gifts, worth VND500,000 ($22) each, to poor migrant workers who cannot return home for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The province also asked firms, individuals and organisations to help migrant workers enjoy better Tet celebrations.

Can Tho city meets national targets on gender equality

The deputy chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee yesterday urged the assignment of female officials in government positions, especially as members of the National Assembly and People's Council.

At a conference on the 2011-20 national strategy on gender equality in Can Tho, Le Van Tam said the rate of female officials in the Party Committee's executive board in the city was more than 15 per cent.

Over the last five years, the city met the national gender equality targets on employment, healthcare services and training, among others, said Tam, adding that awareness and gender issues among the community had also improved.

The city also carried out programmes to ensure that women access jobs such as managers and leaders of state offices in the city.

Employment programmes also helped create jobs for 124,839 women, accounting for more than 47 per cent of the city's women of working age.

The number of female owners of enterprises accounted for 25 per cent of all enterprises.

Of all government and private company employees in Can Tho, more than 34 per cent of women have a master's degree and 30.36 per cent a doctoral degree.

In addition, the girl-boy ratio has been 105 per 100 since 2011.

Tam said the Board for Women's Progress and other agencies should continue to promote gender equality awareness as it relates to social and economic development among leaders, officials and women in social and political organisations.

He also said the programme on helping disadvantaged women should be expanded.

At the conference, individuals and organisations that made contributions to the national gender equality strategy were presented certificates of merit from the city's People's Committees and Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

An Binh Islet to get electricity before Tet

Inhabitants of An Binh Islet, 30km off the coast of central Qang Ngai province, will have access to electricity before Tet holidays, which falls in February.

Vice chairwoman of Ly Son Island district's people's committee, Pham Thi Huong, said a diesel powered generator system will provide full-time electricity for over 500 islanders.

She said the project was part of the Electricity of Viet Nam Group (EVN) providing prolonged energy for living and production of the islet – 3 nautical miles away from Ly Son Island.

The province has been seeking funds for construction of a power line connecting the Ly Son Island and the islet.

Deputy director of QUang Ngai Provincial Power company, Cao Chuc said a 2km power line was completed and the islanders can use power full time.

Power was only used within a few hours during the evening due to a limit of funds for fuel for the diesel power system in the islet.

The 1sq.km islet has been using fresh water from a 2012-built desalination station with funding from the South Korean heavy industry group Doosan Vina.

Last year, the district launched a new sea route, a key transport route for the passengers and cargo, between the island and the An Binh Islet with a 30-seat passenger ship running every day, every 15 minutes.

Overseas Vietnamese contribute to national development

The 4.5 million Vietnamese living abroad constitute huge economic and human resources for the homeland, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has said.

At a meeting on December 29 with overseas Vietnamese members of the VFF Central Committee, who are attending the committee’s 4th session in Hanoi, Nhan said Vietnamese abroad sent about 13.4 billion USD to the country so far this year, making great contributions to national achievements.

The VFF leader updated the overseas Vietnamese delegates on domestic political and economic situations, social affairs and import-export activities.

He also spoke at length about the VFF activities such as holding workshops on building smart urban areas and developing Vietnam into a global manufacturing hub.

In 2015, the VFF for the first time held a conference on religious activities with the participation of 40 religious organisations, which later signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joining hands in environmental protection.

The VFF also organized a meeting of religious representatives across the country to collect their opinions on the Law on Belief and Religion.

It plans to launch a new campaign on inspecting food hygiene and safety.

The delegates said overseas Vietnamese are happy with the Vietnamese Government’s new policies which create favourable conditions for Vietnamese expatriates to buy houses, enjoy visa exemption, and naturalise in the host society.

Hanoi to ensure goods supply during lunar New Year

Hanoi authorities have directed its enterprises to seek and buy goods from other localities nationwide to ensure the full supply of goods for residents during the lunar New Year festival, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

At a working session on December 29 with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai, the department reported that local enterprises have stocked up 21.61 trillion VND (950.84 million USD) worth of essential commodities for the holiday.

The businesses will sell essential products at 1,165 outlets across the city, doubling the number of the same period in 2014.

From now to the lunar New Year, 179 mobile fairs will be organized in 18 suburb districts and industrial and processing zones.

The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday for Vietnamese, and also the biggest shopping season during the year. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on February 8.

Anti-corruption fight requires high resolve: Deputy PM Phuc

Fighting corruption is a long-term mission that requires strong will and high resolve, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on December 24 to review the locality’s ten-year implementation of the law on anti-corruption.

Hailing the southern metropolis’s performance in the fight against corruption over the past ten years, the official said the city has defined anticorruption as an urgent and long-term task significant to national construction and defence.

However, limitations still remained in carrying out the task, the Deputy Prime Minister said, citing the failure of a number of State management agencies to catch up with the pace of development, resulting in loopholes in management.

The deputy PM noted that heads of many State agencies have yet to pay due heed and take drastic measures to prevent corruption and handle complaints about corruption acts in their units. He also said ineffective inspections are also to be blamed for the failure to discover and punish corrupt practices.

Besides, a segment of officials have taken advantage of loopholes in management and relevant mechanisms and policies to conduct corruption acts. Many others have abused their power or deliberately broken regulations for their personal interest, he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister asked the municipal Party Committee and authorities to improve the quality of inspections in the spheres of administrative reform, food safety, State capital management at State-owned and joint stock companies.

The city was also asked to raise the efficiency of coordination between competent agencies during the fight, especially between home affairs, inspection, public security, procuracy and court sectors.

It is a must for Ho Chi Minh City to increase personnel training while strictly abiding to personnel regulations particularly in tax, market management and customs agencies.

The Deputy PM said the Government will consider recommendations made by the city on the amendments and supplements to the Law.

During the reviewed period, HCM City police investigated 152 corruption cases with a total of 463 suspects, while the municipal court tried 199 cases with 636 defendants. Nearly 60 percent of corruption cases and defendants were related to embezzlement.-

Over 429 billion VND raised for Mekong Delta poor students

The study promotion associations across the Mekong Delta have raised over 429 billion VND (nearly 11 million USD) in 2015 to support poor students, heard a conference in Tra Vinh province on December 24.

With this fund, the localities in the region have provided financial support for nearly 553,600 disadvantaged students.

In the promotion month of 2015, the associations mobilised more than 13 billion VND (572,000 USD) to grant scholarships to more than 50,000 needy students with outstanding academic performance.

The associations, along with local authorities and benefactors, have implemented a number of programmes to promote study among local inhabitants following the Prime Minister’s project on building a life-long learning society.

In 2016, they will focus on establishing study promotion groups and diversifying communication campaigns to enable underprivileged pupils to go to school.

Work on bridge spanning Red River set to start

Work on the Hung Ha bridge spanning the Hong (Red) River and road connecting to Hanoi–Hai Phong and Cau Gie–Ninh Binh highways will start on December 27, said Nguyen Xuan Lam, deputy general director of Project Management Unit No. 1 under the Ministry of Transport.

The 2km bridge is part of the 6km transport project, which links northern Hung Yen and Ha Nam provinces. The four-lane bridge is designed for vehicles to travel at 80 kilometres per hour.

The project has a total investment of 2.87 trillion VND (135.7 million USD), including 117million USD loaned from the Republic of Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

The project is expected to finish in 36 months.

Lao Cai aims for 35 percent of communes named new-style rural areas

Lao Cai province aims to have 50 communes, or nearly 35 percent of the total number, and one district recognised as new-style rural localities by 2020.

The northern mountainous province set the goals at a meeting on December 29 to review the five-year implementation of the national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010 to boost rural regions of Vietnam .

To those ends, it will focus on developing production activities to raise local income, building roads, maintaining infrastructure, promoting civilized lifestyles and traditional identity preservation, improving environmental hygiene, and ensuring rural security and order, local officials said.

The new countryside building programme has given a facelift to rural areas of Lao Cai in terms of infrastructure, material and spiritual life, environment and security. Notably, roads to the centre of all communes have been asphalted or concreted.

Twenty of the 143 communes, or 13.9 percent, have satisfied all 19 criteria of the programme so far.

The criteria cover infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others. A district must have at least 75 percent of its communes meeting all the 19 requirements in order to receive the title of new rural district.

As many as 1,300 communes, or 14.5 percent of the total, were recognised as satisfying all the criteria as of November 2015, according to a report delivered by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat at a Hanoi conference on December 8.

At the district level, 11 were accorded the status, including those in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City , Quang Ninh , Nam Dinh, Lam Dong, Dong Nai and Hau Giang.

Vietnam aims to have 50 percent of all communes nationwide meet all the criteria by the end of 2020.

Ninh Thuan works to ensure life of relocated households

The south-central province of Ninh Thuan is taking every measure to ensure a stable life for nearly 1,300 households with 5,000 people who have to relocate to make way for the construction of two nuclear power plants in the locality.

Fishermen, for example, will be supported with loans to build ships, buy equipment, and buy insurance. They are also provided with new technology in searching for seafood-rich fishing grounds.

Local authorities will also facilitate the establishment of off-shore fishing groups and build infrastructure at new settlements to develop fishing logistics.

Meanwhile, those living on farming and aquaculture will be given new land for production or vocational training to shift to other means of livelihoods such as trade and services, husbandry, traditional crafts, or tourism.

The province has also inaugurated a coastal road of over 106 kilometres connecting local routes with the National Highway 1A, which facilitates regional connectivity and goods trading.

The provincial People’s Committee has set up a steering committee for the relocation and resettlement project, comprising of three sub-committees for land clearance, human resources training, vocational training, job generation, and communication.

The Prime Minister approved a plan for resident relocation and resettlement in June 2015 to serve the construction of the nuclear power plants.

The relocation of people is scheduled to complete in 2018.

The National Assembly agreed to activate nuclear power projects in November 2009 and underlined the importance of implementing effectively relocation and resettlement.

The nuke plants are key national hi-tech projects with a view to ensuring energy security and greenhouse gas emissions prevention.

Press agencies praised for good performance

Press agencies and journalists nationwide received compliments on their significant contributions to the country’s achievements in recent years at the National Press Conference 2015 held in Hanoi on December 30.

Reports presented at the conference showed that press management agencies well performed their role in guiding and orienting press activities as well as actively built plans and coordinated with sectors and localities in providing information related to the country’s key events and issues for the press.

Press agencies worked to provide timely information about the political activities and socio-economic development of the country and international issues while popularising the implementation of the 11th National Party Congress’s Resolution and resolutions of the Party Central Committee’s meetings as well as the activities of the National Assembly and the Government.

With diverse contents, press products contributed to raising public awareness of political issues, thus enhancing the consensus in thought and action in the Party and among people from all walks of life as an important foundation for successfully organising the upcoming 12th National Party Congress.

Press agencies such as Nhan Dan Newspaper, Quan doi nhan Dan Newspaper, Vietnam Television, Radio Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency and Cong an nhan dan Newspaper took the lead in fighting wrong information, distorted allegations and anti-State activities of hostile forces.

The conference affirmed that press agencies fulfilled their role as official organs of the Party, State and political-social organisations, and served as forums of the people, actively contributing to the country’s renovation cause.

Participants also frankly pointed out shortcomings of press activities in 2015, such as provision of incorrect information and information on the society’s negative phenomena in preference to that on good people and deeds, and copyright violations.

In his conclusion speech, Dinh The Huynh , Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Education and Popularisation praised the important contributions of the journalism sector and journalists to the national development over the past time.

He urged press agencies to further focus on popularising the Resolution of the 12 th National Party Congress just after it concludes and implementing the Politburo’s Directive 03 on studying and following President Ho Chi Minh's moral example, among others.

Press management organs were requested to strictly inspect the implementation of political orientations, principles and functions of press agencies, and resolutely handle violations.

At the conference, the Party Central Committee's Commission for Education and Popularisation presented certificates of merit to 20 units in recognition of their excellent performances in the popularisation work in 2015.-

HCM City surveys housing demand

HCM City's Construction Department has announced that it is cooperating with the HCM City Institute for Department and Research (HIDS) to survey the demand for social housing with the aim of creating a plan to develop social housing in the city in the next five years.

The survey is in response to Decision No.6254 released in December 2014 by the city's People's Committee.

In a conference on December 29 in HCM City to guide surveying methods, Phan Truong Son, head of the department's Housing Development and Real Estate Bureau, said that the demand for social housing was increasing but there are not many houses available.

Many investors have poured money for these projects into the city, he added.

Because of that, Son said, the survey is conducted with the main aim of helping the city's People's Committee make a clear and exact plan to develop social housing in the next five years.

According to Son, HCM City has used the city budget to develop six social housing projects, supplying 568 apartments to state workers. These apartments are for lease only.

In addition, 22 other projects have been invested in by companies with a total of nearly 29,000 apartments. Of them, three have been complete, supplying nearly 700 apartments. Others are under construction or awaiting land-clearance.

Some commercial projects have also been converted to social housing projects.

The institution and department emphasised at the conference that the price of houses not built with state capital was not decided by the State. In private projects, the interest can not exceed 15 percent and the price is surely cheaper than that of commercial projects.

In the conference, participants also explained who has the right to buy houses. Under the law, there will be 10 groups able to buy social apartments including officials working in state-owned companies, soldiers, students, those with low-incomes and people contributing to the country's revolution.

Bridge completes HCM City beltway

Rach Chiec Bridge No 2 on the Eastern Belt Road in HCM City's District 9 opened to traffic on December 29, and it will be formally inaugurated before the Lunar New Year in early February.

The bridge is 868m long and cost 871 billion VND (40 million USD). It has four lanes in the first phase going one way from the Phu My Bridge to the Hanoi Highway. Four more will be added in the second phase at an undecided later date.

The bridge is a key link in travel from the Sai Gon High-tech Park in District 9 to Cat Lai Port in District 2, Hiep Phuoc Seaport in Nha Be District, and Phu My Bridge.

It is expected to ease congestion around the city's eastern gateway and generally improve traffic flow in the city.

It helps complete a beltway around the city. Under the master plan, Belt Road No 2 will run 70 km from Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7 through the Phu My Bridge, Eastern Belt Road, Binh Thai intersection on the Hanoi Highway, and Go Dua intersection on National Highway No 1 before competing the circle at Nguyen Van Linh.

When the bridge is complete, trucks going from seaports and the Mekong Delta to the south-eastern region will no longer have to pass through the city's downtown.

Yen Bai examines work on building new-style rural areas

The northern mountainous province of Yen Bai reviewed five-year outcomes of forming new-style rural localities and set out tasks for 2016-2020 during a conference on December 30.

Yen Bai has thus far allocated 5.8 trillion VND (261 million USD) for the work and established six communes fulfilling all criteria. There have been 126 local communes satisfying five criteria and 39 others meeting ten or more criteria.

Improved infrastructure and boosted production has contributed to the 16.5-percent rate of poor households recorded in the province this year.

Yen Bai is striving to establish five more new-style rural areas next year and over 25 areas by 2020.

In order to realise these targets, it will focus on replicating relevant successful models, restructuring agricultural sector, upgrading transport infrastructure, and boosting communications activities.

The national target programme on new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics and defence, aiming to boost the development of rural regions.

The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection and the promotion of cultural values.

South Binh Duong solid waste treatment project adjusted

The Prime Minister has decided to adjust the project on building the South Binh Duong solid waste treatment complex of (phase 2) using Finnish official development assistance.

The project (phase II) was approved by the PM on July 8, 2013 under Decision No 1065/QD-TTg.

The objective of the project is to improve sanitary conditions in the southern province of Binh Duong in general and the southern part of the province in particularly by treating waste in the complex and liquid waste in surrounding urban areas around the complex.

The project will be implemented from 2016-2017.

Programme for very small ethnic minorities to be aired on VTC

A television programme “Hanh trinh reo cao” (Journey to high mountainous areas) designed for very small ethnic minority groups in Vietnam is to be aired on the Vietnam Television Corporation channel from January 2, 2016, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications on December 30.

Each of the 18-episode programme will start at 20:45pm every Saturday and last 30 minutes, giving audiences a glimpse of the lives of Lo Lo, Pa Then, Pu Peo, Co Lao, Bo Y, La Hu, Phu La, Lu, Mang, Si La, Cong, La Ha, O Du, Chut, Ro Mam and Brau peoples.

The two final episodes will feature core cultural values of and incentives for very small ethnic minorities.

Unspoiled and off-the-beaten tracks as well as mysterious stories are also worth viewing.

It will also be rebroadcast on other television channels.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said the programme will help raise public awareness of the Party’s policies and State’s laws on very small ethnic minorities and call for public support for them.

Quang Tri fishing vessels to be equipped with LED lights

More than 70 offshore fishing vessels in central coastal Quang Tri province will be equipped with LED lights provided by Japanese Stanley Electrics Co., Ltd, starting next year, reported Nhan Dan.

The information was announced at a conference to launch the project in Quang Tri on December 28.

A pilot project for replacing ordinary metal-halide and mercury-vapour lamps with LED lights developed by Stanley Electrics was deployed on two Quang Tri ships in 2014.

In place for over a year, fishermen highly appreciated the efficiency of the lamps in fishing activities. The use of LED lights helps save over 70 percent of fuel costs on each sea trip. Electric power consumption of the LED system is reduced by over 90 percent compared with conventional lamps and the average life expectancy of the lights is about 20 years. In addition, the system is also resistant to dust and water.

Stanley Electrics will support 100 percent of the lighting cost; the installation will be carried out by the Quang Tri Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with local fishermen.

The project will be implemented in Gio Linh, Trieu Phong, and Vinh Linh coastal districts with strengths in offshore fishing.

In the first three months next year, practical research will be conducted to choose appropriate fishing vessels and the installation of LED lighting systems will be deployed from October 2016, helping improve productivity quality and cost savings for fishermen.

HCM City hosts concert to celebrate ASEAN Community

A concert was held at Park 23/9 in Ho Chi Minh City on December 30 to celebrate the birth of ASEAN Community on December 31, 2015, featuring artists from Vietnam and other ASEAN nations.

In her opening remarks, Vice Chairman of the city’s People Committee Nguyen Thi Thu highlighted the significance of the establishment of the ASEAN Community to the region and each ASEAN member state.

It marks a milestone in ASEAN’s five-decade history as well as a new chapter of the grouping’s development, Thu said, adding that the bloc is becoming a regional intergovernmental cooperation organisation.

Ho Chi Minh City is proud to have contributed to its success. As a socio-economic hub of Vietnam, the city has well implemented bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes with other ASEAN nations and further expanded ties with their regional peers, she stated.

During the concert, the artists took to the stage distinctive performances of their countries, notably Laos’ Mahaxay and Malaysia’s Joget folk dances.

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