Hanoi launches “red book” crackdown

The Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment has decided to crack down on investors who delay the issuance of "red books", to home buyers.

The Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment has decided to crack down on investors who delay the issuance of land use certificates, known as "red books", to home buyers.

The department will call for the involvement of district people’s committees and inspectorates to deal with investors after two inspection teams reviewed the delay and proposed solutions, an official said.

The problem came to light when 45 households in the Song Da apartment building on Cau Giay Street complained that they had not been granted house ownership certificates.

According to regulation, the investor, Song Da 1 company, is responsible for submitting the relevant documents for the residents’ red books.

La Thuy Phuong, a resident of the building, said she had lived there for 11 years and received promises from the investor - but had yet to receive any announcement that her red book had been issued.

Residents of the Meco Complex apartment building on Truong Chinh Street are also frustrated, having spent billions of dong to buy apartments and having their ownership rights delayed.

Nguyen Huu Nghia, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that residents of about 50 buildings in the city are waiting for red books due to investor delays. The department has sent them many reminders, to no avail.

The department will now consider refusing permits to these investors to implement other projects if the delay continues.

Lawyer Bui Sinh Quyen, head of Phuc Tho Law Office, said that the investors might mortgage the red books, which seriously violates the law. House buyers might lose their apartments and all the money they paid for them.

The Construction Ministry is calling for comments on a draft proposal on administrative punishments in construction activities. Accordingly, investors who fail to submit documents for land-use certificates might be subject to a fine of up to 1 billion VND (45,000 USD).

More rice distributed to drought victims in Ninh Thuan province

The People’s Committee of the central province of Ninh Thuan on June 11 started to distribute more than 3,847 tonnes of rice as aid from the Government to local people who have suffered from losses by prolonged drought.

According to Dang Thi Phan, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, as many as 129,159 residents in six districts are expected to benefit from this second rice distribution.

Each person will receive 15 kilogrammes of rice per month within two months, she said, adding that the rice has been transported to the localities for distribution.

More than 1,338 tonnes of rice were delivered to the most drought-stricken district of Thuan Nam for prompt distribution to 44,618 people.

Lasting drought in Ninh Thuan province has left 129,159 people in need of food aid and 6,045 others thirsty for fresh water. It also has critical impacts on local production, damaging 154 hectares of crops, halting cultivation on over 9,600 hectares of land and killing more than 3,200 head of cattle.

Long An equips children with underwater skills

The Mekong Delta province of Long An has taken a number of measures to prevent children from drowning accidents, especially during the summer and rainy seasons when they usually take bath in canals.

According to Le Tan Dung, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, the locality has organised classes teaching swimming skills and launched communication campaigns to raise awareness among of teachers, parents and students of accidents and injuries, especially drowning.

Schools have been urged to effectively manage their students and organise safe summer activities as well as equip children with swimming techniques and include lessons on underwater skills in the curricula in primary and secondary schools.

Schools must review areas with high drowning or accident risks to take precautionary measures like erecting fences, planting warning signs at lakes, rivers, canals, deep and dangerous waters.

Besides, the province will continue the “Safe house for children” model, effectively implement the action month for children in 2016, and build swimming pools for children and the community.

According to statistic figures of the provincial Department of Labours, Invalids and Social Affairs, the province has around 367,400 children aged under 16, accounting for 24.72 percent of its total population. The number of children aged under six is around 142,000.

In 2015, 22 children lost their lives in drownings, which have also left five children dead since the beginning of 2016.

UK Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebrated in HCM City

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-UK Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City (VUFA-HCMC) on June 10 jointly held a ceremony to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II and the 10th founding anniversary of the association.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the VUFA-HCMC Huynh Ngoc An expressed his respect for the Queen and extended the best wishes to her on the occasion of her 90 th birthday.

He highlighted the fruitful developments of the Vietnam-UK relationship across multiple cooperation areas, especially in economy, trade and education-training.

The fine partnership has also been evidenced through regular high-level visits with the most noteworthy being the visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister David Cemeron in 2015, he added.

An noted that since its inception 10 years ago, the VUFA-HCMC chapter has significantly contributed to enhancing the friendship between people in the Vietnamese southern metropolis and UK citizens.

UK Consul General in HCM City Ian Gibbons underscored Queen Elizabeth II’s great devotion and sacrifice to the UK, even at age 90.

Gibbons voiced his hope that the UK Consulate in the city and the VUFA-HCMC will step up their cooperation and support each other in activities aiming to bring the two countries’ people closer.-

Vietnamese cultural show goes live on Egypt’s television

An art performance by overseas Vietnamese people in Egypt was broadcast live on the cultural channel of the local State-run Nile TV on June 11.

The event, which featured performances of traditional Vietnamese melodies and dances along with a costume show and cuisine demonstration, drew large crowds of Egyptian people.

In an interview granted to Nile TV, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Do Hoang Long introduced the culture of Vietnam as well as the achievements the country has made over the past 30 years.

He highlighted the growing cooperation between the two nations in economics, trade, culture and education.

The Vietnamese diplomat also attached significance to the event, saying that it helps promote the beauty of the landscapes and people of Vietnam to Egyptian people, thus laying the foundation for bilateral cooperation activities.

Over the past years, the Embassy of Vietnam in Egypt has organised numerous activities to boost cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Egypt, such as water puppet shows, photo exhibitions and presenting books on Vietnam to local libraries.

Experts: technology road map urgent for Vietnam’s rice

A road map is necessary for applying technologies to rice production in order to enhance Vietnam’s rice competitiveness to meet the increasingly high demand of the market, according to rice experts.

Speaking at a conference on technology application in rice production in Hanoi on June 10, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said in the face of fiercer competition and increasingly complicated climate change, the agricultural sector in general and rice production in particular need a strategy for technological innovation and development meeting the sector’s shift towards increasing added value.

Ta Viet Dung, Head of Department for Technology Application, said the road map for the application of technology will help enterprises have a clearer look at their capability in comparison with competitors. It will also allow them to identify opportunities to be brought about by investment in technology and decide how to make the investment.

Hoang Van Phong, Chairman of the National Science and Technology Policy Council, said the development of a technological map is a correct approach to have a comprehensive and objective assessment of the current technological capability.

Rice production is among key fields targeted by the national technological innovation programme until 2020, which aims to build the process and method of building a technological map and a road map for technological innovation in selected sectors.

Two construction workers killed in concrete floor collapse

Two female construction workers were killed and another injured after a concrete floor gave way on June 11 in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

A floor under construction of the building Kim Minh House, situated on Tran Hung Dao Street, Vung Tau City, the province’s popular resort town, tumbled down at around 10:00 am.

Two female workers, Duong Thanh Tuyen, 43, and Luu Thi Kim Phung, 42, were killed after being buried under the rubble.

Le Hong The, 34, who was their colleague, was wounded and later brought to a hospital for treatment.

Several other workers were also working at the construction site prior to the collapse but they managed to escape.

The construction site of Kim Minh House after a concrete floor collapsed on June 11, 2016 in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau

The floor began to fall down as the workers were leaving the site, after they finished covering it with concrete, a witness said.

Firefighting and rescue police officers, along with two large cranes weighing 50 metric tons each, were dispatched to the scene to clear the debris.

The bodies of Tuyen and Phung were brought out of the rubble at around 1:30 pm on the same day.

According to the municipal Office of Urban Management, the floor, which had an area of 90 square meters, subsided following the collapse of the scaffolding underneath.

The building, whose investor is Dang Van Tau, was granted a construction permit by the Vung Tau People’s Committee in March 2015.

The construction is 20.5 meters high, covering an area of 1,600 square meters and including five floors and a basement.

Vietnamese-American man charged for shooting daughter, son in-law to death

A Vietnamese-American man has been charged with murder after police say he shot and killed his daughter and her husband in Annandale, Virginia early on June 8.

Hiep Van Le, 67, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, local news website wtop quoted Fairfax County police as saying.

According to investigators, an argument began between Le and his son-in-law, 45-year-old Dang Ngo on June 6 midnight, and escalated when his daughter, 40-year-old Sophia Le, became involved.

Hiep Van Le then allegedly pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Hiep Van Le, 67, seized by US police on June 8 for killing his daughter and her husband.

Ngo was struck and killed outside the home, and police say Sophia Le was injured inside the home.

Reports of the shooting on June 8 triggered a heavy police response — patrol officers, SWAT, police dogs and a police helicopter — to the scene at around 1:30 p.m.

Police then found Sophia Le injured inside the home. She was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, but later died from her injuries.

Hiep Van Le was also found inside the home and taken into custody. Two young girls and a teenaged boy were home at the time. Police say they were not injured.

Police say Hiep Van Le and the victims all lived at the home.

Korea helps to address drought and saltwater intrusion

The Government of the Republic of Korea will deliver US$300,000 in humanitarian aid to support Vietnamese efforts to address the effects of drought and saltwater intrusion in the central and Mekong Delta regions.

Ambassador Lee Hyuk, who recently took office as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea in Việt Nam, conveyed the Korean Government’s decision on humanitarian aid to President Trần Đại Quang on Thursday, following presentation of his credentials.

Ambassador Lee reconfirmed that Việt Nam continues to be the most important development partner for his country and that the Korean government will continue its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to Việt Nam, as well as strengthening cooperation in addressing climate change.

Doctors get high-tech training

District and provincial-level hospitals, in an attempt to receive more patients, are seeking additional training in advanced techniques from leading hospitals in an aim to improve service quality.

The hospitals have been taking a more assertive stance in acquiring high-tech training as they are also aware that financial subsidies from the State will be reduced in the future.

Chợ Rẫy Hospital, for example, in HCM City has worked with the provincial Nghệ An Friendship General Hospital to provide training in advanced surgical techniques to treat laryngeal cancer.

Dr Trần Minh Trường, deputy head of Chợ Rẫy Hospital, said the surgery had been performed on 19 patients at Nghệ An Friendship over the last year.

Doctors at Nghệ An Friendship have been able to treat bronchial stenosis from scars, and an abscess caused by a choking incident with a fishbone.

In the past, the patients would have been referred to hospitals in Hà Nội for treatment.

Thủ Đức District Hospital last year sent its doctors to leading hospitals, including Thống Nhất Hospital in Tân Bình District, to receive training in high-tech treatments such as catheter-based cerebrovascular intervention.

As of June 9, the doctors had used the treatment on one patient who had a partial seizure on the left side of the body. The patient will be discharged from the hospital after three days of treatment.

Dr Lương Ngọc Khuê, head of the city’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, said that residents in outlying areas now had far better access to high-tech treatment.

The use of high-tech treatments at more district and provincial hospitals in recent years has helped reduce overloading at major city-level hospitals.

In 2010, the Ministry of Health told central and leading city-level hospitals to offer more high-tech training to doctors at provincial and district hospitals.

Since then, the central-level and city-level hospitals have seen a reduction in patient transfers from smaller hospitals.

The rate has fallen by 98.5 per cent in patients with heart-related diseases, 97 per cent for cancer patients and 99 per cent for obstetrics.  

A report from the HCM City’s Health Department found that the number of outpatients at district hospitals last year increased to 26 per cent from 2 per cent in 2014.

There was also a 19 per cent increase of inpatients, compared to 5 per cent in 2014.

Minister of Transport Trương Quang Nghĩa, has asked work units to ensure the quality of the Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Highway.

The instruction was issued yesterday at a meeting with leaders of central Quảng Nam Province during a direct inspection of the highway’s construction.

Cracks and subsidence were absolutely not permitted on the new highway, he said.

Contractors, who were not available to ensure quality of the construction, would be removed from the project, he added.

The Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Highway is expected to be 140km long.

A section of the highway, running through Quảng Nam Province, is nearly 92km long and passes through seven districts, towns and cities, affecting 8,300 households.

The province has, so far, paid compensation and resettlement money to nearly 8,200 local households and also handed over nearly 90km to construction units.

The province will complete land clearance and compensation formalities by the end of this month so that the highway can begin operations in 2017.

Speaking at the meeting, the minister emphasised that the highway was an important project for the country, so investors, construction units and localities should continuously work together to solve pending problems, especially in land clearance compensation.

Other local transport construction, which links to the highway, should be put on priority, aiming to create sustainable development for Quảng Nam and other provinces in the region, the minister said.

Đinh Văn Thu, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, also said the province would closely co-ordinate with investors and relevant agencies for efficient land clearance compensation to complete construction according to the proposed plan.

Ninh Thuận’s diversified culture introduced

The cultural heritage of ethnic groups in the southern province of Ninh Thuận is showcased in the provincial museum.

The 300sq.m Culture of Ethnic Groups in Ninh Thuận exhibition displays 500 photos and other items. The characteristic culture and history of these ethnic people are expressed through costumes, community activities, customs, religious rituals, handicrafts, and traditional arts.

The exhibition also showcases rare and precious photos of President Hồ Chí Minh and other leaders with local people.

"The show is an opportunity to introduce the diversified culture of the local people in Ninh Thuận to the public. It also nurtures cultural pride and raises awareness of protecting traditional local cultures, said Lê Thị Tuyết Ánh, the director of Ninh Thuận Provincial Museum.

The exhibition will run until November 10.

Tiên Phước district to mark 100th anniversary

A June 14-16 exhibition featuring 100 photos will mark the 100th anniversary of Tiên Phước District in the central province of Quảng Nam.

The district’s culture and information spokesman, Đặng Công Dung, said the event will also include a local cuisine festival, performances, a forestry product fair, and the opening of revolution-era relic centres in the district.

The district was established as a new district in the central province in in late 1816, during the Nguyễn dynasty, under the reign of King Khải Định . The district became a base of revolutionary force during the anti-French war and was the headquarters of the liberation army during the American war.

Tiên Phước was a land with a mixed culture of pre-Sa Huỳnh and Champa.

The district still preserves dozens of old houses and the memorial house of scholar Phan Châu Trinh (1872-1926).

Festival brings Vietnam, Japan closer

The Việt Nam Festival has kicked off at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan, featuring more than 110 booths and attracts about 180,000 visitors.

Addressing the opening ceremony on Saturday, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huỳnh Vĩnh Ái described the festival as evidence of cultural exchange between the two countries. This year’s event manifests the thriving bilateral friendship and cooperation, 43 years after Việt Nam and Japan established diplomatic ties, he said.

The two-day festival entertains visitors with traditional Vietnamese dishes and art performances. The country’s tourist destinations are also being introduced on this occasion.

This year a special booth displaying documents proving Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea is attracting a large crowd of Vietnamese and Japanese visitors.

The first Việt Nam Festival was held in 2008 to mark the 35th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties between the two countries.

VN contemporary art exhibited in US

Veteran artist Lê Huy Tiếp, a pioneer in printmaking in Việt Nam, recently showed his work at an exhibition at the Wedeman Art Gallery in Newton, Massachusetts.

The exhibition was part of a cultural exchange launched by Lasell College and its partner, Indochina Arts Partnership. The aim was to bring together artists from the US and Southeast Asian countries.

Tiếp displayed his latest collection of 20 woodcut prints and engravings.

He also introduced 20 works created by students, including Trần Văn Quân, Đài Trang, Nguyễn Thành Công, Phan Hải Bằng, Lê Văn Ba, Phạm Tường Minh and Ngô Anh Cơ.

Tiếp, a graduate of the Moscow University of Industrial Fine Arts in 1975, was recognised as the first artist who developed printmaking in Việt Nam.

There were few printmakers at the time because of the expense for the materials and equipment.

Prints are made by pressing a sheet of paper or other material against an image-bearing surface to which ink has been applied. When the paper is removed, the image adheres to it, but in reverse.

Woodcuts made in China in the fifth century AD were used to apply patterns to textiles. The process was not introduced to Europe until the 14th century. They were first used for textile decoration and then for printing on paper.

While woodcuts are a traditional form and use multiple coloured plates, they are not as popular today, but engravings on both metal and plaster remain more in vogue.

U14 nationall team to gear up for regional football festival

Việt Nam’s national U14 boys football team gathered yesterday to prepare for the AFC U-14 Regional Festival of Football for Southeast Asia which is scheduled to take place July in Brunei.

The team of 20 players, led by coach Lê Tuấn Long, is primarily comprised of the national junior team’s members who have received training at the Việt Nam Youth Football Training Centre in Hà Nội.

It also includes several promising youngsters from training centres of Viettel, the Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents and Đà Nẵng.

The team will have training sessions at the youth football centre and the National Sports Training Centre before leaving for Brunei for the regional football festival on July 24. The AFC event will take place from July 26-30.

Diplomats face off in friendly football match

Diplomats from European embassies beat diplomats from Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2-1 in a friendly match on Saturday.

The event, which attracted many fans to Xuân La Stadium in Hà Nội, aimed to give support to the ongoing 2016 UEFA European Championship in France.

Bruno Angelet, ambassador of the European Union to Việt Nam, and Lê Hải Bình, Vietnamese MoFA spokesperson, were captains of the sides.

Taekwondo tournament attracts 400 martial artists

More than 400 martial artists from 20 teams are taking part in the Hà Nội Open Taekwondo Championship at Trịnh Hoài Đức Gymnasium in Hà Nội.

They are competing for 180 sets of medals in performance and combat events in three age groups: 12-14, 15-17 and 18-20.

The event marks the first time Vietnamese martial artists are using electronic safety helmets.

The Hà Nội Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism organised the tournament.

Kien Giang improves education, training for Khmer ethnics

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has been striving to offer improved education and training to the local Khmer ethnic group, with positive outcomes recorded.

Kien Giang is home to more than 216,850 Khmer ethnics, who account for about 12.5 percent of the provincial population.

The rate of school participation of ethnic children between six and 14 years olds was above 96 percent in the 2014-2015 academic year. The year also saw 100 and 98.7 percent of ethnic students completing primary and secondary education, respectively.

Besides general education, there are 35 schools across the locality offering 193 Khmer-language classes with 4,870 students at primary, junior and senior high school levels.

Local authorities has invested in building educational facilities and subsidised tuition fees for the group.

The province has five boarding schools for ethnic students, accommodating 1,420 students. A new boarding school in An Bien district is now under construction and expected to enroll 200 students once become operational in the 2016-2017 academic year.

Kien Giang has also provided teaching tools and materials for Khmer monks to teach children the Khmer language in pagodas during summer.

PM inspects agricultural restructuring in Vinh Long

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a working session with authorities of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on June 11, discussing efforts to overcome saline intrusion impacts and agricultural production restructuring.

With its economy relying on agriculture, Vinh Long suffered greatly from the drought and saline intrusion during the first half of 2016. Rice yield and output in the period fell 10.6 percent year on year, while tra fish production dropped 8.3 percent, resulting in a 3.9 percent reduction in the total agro-forestry-fishery production value to 9.4 trillion VND (423 million USD).

At the function, local leaders appealed for aid from the State to build irrigation systems, including those in Tra On and Vung Liem districts, in response to saltwater intrusion.

Nodding his approval, PM Phuc said Vinh Long should focus on natural disasters prevention and global economic integration.

As the El Nino phenomenon persists, Vinh Long needs to come up with more creative measures, he said, suggesting changing agricultural production structure towards plants and animals adaptive to saline environment.

He highlighted the importance of employing advanced farming technologies to increase productivity.

The PM reminded the province to prepare for the implementation of several free trade agreements that Vietnam has participated in, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.

He requested Vinh Long to improve its business climate alongside overhauling administrative procedures and facilitating start-ups.

On the occasion, PM Phuc visited and presented gifts to the heroic mother Phan Thi Hong, whose only son sacrificed his life for the country.

He also talked to workers at the Taiwanese-invested Vinh Long footwear company, which has operated in the locality for ten years and employed 18,400 people.

Vietnamese, Lao journalists exchange professional skills

The exchange of journalism skills helps tighten solidarity and increase understanding between journalists from the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Lao News Agency (KPL).

VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi and KPL Deputy General Director Sinpanya Rattanavong shared the view at a meeting to review cooperation between the two agencies in the central province of Nghe An on June 11.

The boom of information requires the VNA and the KPL to promptly revamp their operation, affirming their role as State news agencies in each country’s press and political systems, Loi said.

He noted that his agency is focusing all resources on developing itself into a strong multimedia conglomerate which excellently performs its role as the Party’s and State’s key press outlet in the new situation.

He said he believes that the VNA will continue to receive support and cooperation from its Lao counterpart during its development path.

For his part, Sinpanya Rattanavong said the exchange of professional skills over the past time has helped KPL reporters enrich their knowledge and experience in the digital era while increasing mutual understanding between the two sides’ journalists.

The KPL will consult the Vietnamese agency’s experience to chart its development orientations in the time ahead, he said.

The exchange programme took place in Nghe An province from June 8-12 as the first activity under a cooperation agreement during 2016-2020 signed by the two agencies, aiming to deepen their special collaboration over the past 40 years.

While in Nghe An, more than 30 key officials and reporters from the two agencies offered incense at a memorial site dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh in Nam Dan district.

They were also briefed on the province’s socio-economic development as well as the friendship and cooperation between Nghe An and its Lao border localities such as Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamxay and Houaphan.

They also visited Nghe An newspaper, one of the Party’s newspapers which has revamped its operation over the past while.

Press’s role in tangible cultural heritage preservation highlighted

Researchers, scientists, managers and journalists stressed the press’s role in preserving and upholding tangible cultural heritages in Hanoi at a workshop on June 11.

They also assessed the status of the heritages in terms of protection and promotion, and proposed a host of solutions to preserve and carry forward their values.

Some suggested identifying responsibilities of management agencies at different levels for the work while others underscored the need to issue legal documents to protect countryside landscapes and culture.

Hanoi has nearly 5,850 relic sites, including one world heritage site, 11 special national, 1,167 national and 1,179 city-level relic sites.

Over the past while, despite the city’s efforts to protect the tangible culture and historical sites, there have still been limitations hindering the work such as loose coordination between heritage managers and users, and poor investment in upgrading and restoring relic sites.

Children in Quang Ngai taught swimming skills in river

Children in the central province of Quang Ngai have been taught swimming skills right in river instead of swimming pools.

On June 11, authorities of Tinh Long commune, Quang Ngai city, opened a swimming course for 100 children from the first to fourth grades in Tra Khuc River.

The class will last until the end of the summer to help children prevent themselves from drowning.

A representative of the commune said the model will continue to be implemented in following years as it is convenient to all locals, especially children.

Nguyen Tien Dung, Vice Secretary of the Quang Ngai city Party Committee, said the city plans to organise 20 swimming classes in hotels’ swimming pools this summer.

Forum helps women in northwest region with economic development

Women in the northwestern region should have more opportunities to access education-training, science-technology and loans in order to raise their competitiveness in economic development, heard a forum in Vinh city, the central province of Nghe An, on June 10.

During the event, 192 outstanding women from the region and the two neighbouring provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Ninh shared their experience as well as advantages and difficulties facing them in economic development.

To reap successes, the women, especially those from ethnic minority groups, have overcome multiple social barriers and family affairs.

Through the forum, good production and business models are expected to be rolled out in a larger scale, thus opening up more opportunities for women in the region to connect with businesses and expand the market.

The northwestern region is considered the poorest area nationwide with its average poverty rate of 26 percent.

However, regional people, especially women, have joined hands with local authorities in economic development, setting examples for their peers from other ethnic groups.

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