HCM City to hold 58 job bazaars this year

The HCMC Centre for Employment Service (CES) will organize 58 job bazaars this year to help locals find jobs and meet the recruitment demand of local enterprises.

The center will launch 20 job bazaars in the downtown area and 38 at seven offices for unemployment insurance in districts in the city, the center’s director Tran Xuan Hai said at the opening of this year’s first job bazaar on March 10.

The event was attended by 122 recruitment organizations, including 25 enterprises and four job placement centers. They were looking for 3,381 candidates in various sectors such as apparel, security, leather-shoe, customer care service, finance and sales, and the demand for unskilled workers was 865.

Last year, CES organized 51 job bazaars, which attracted 2,560 enterprises. These events offered consultancy to nearly 307,000 jobseekers and more than 43,670 out of 88,780 people found jobs, Hai said.

Toyota Vietnam holds traffic education drawing contest

Toyota Vietnam has launched a drawing contest for students under 15 years old in the school year 2014-2015 to create what they think are the best future vehicles in terms of travel needs and safety.

School children can participate in the competition individually or in group of up to three. The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on March 25 based on the postmark on the envelope.

The top nine entries in the national round will be sent to Japan to compete with those from 90 other countries. Winners will be invited to the award ceremony in Tokyo in August.

Many young Vietnamese have won high prizes at Toyota’s international painting competitions held in Japan over the last three years. In 2014, Bui Thanh Mai, a first grader at Le Hong Phong Primary School in Tam Diep, Ninh Binh Province, received the top prize in the group of contestants under eight.

The contest is designed to raise awareness of traffic safety among primary school children nationwide.

Heat wave hits east south region

Since early this month, a heat wave with the temperature of 30- 35 degrees Celsius has occurred in the area of Ho Chi Minh City and east southern provinces, reported by the National Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center of the southern region.

The highest temperature in Ho Chi Minh City was measured at 34, 9 degrees Celsius; in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Binh Duong reached at 36 degrees Celsius.

In next three days, due to the influence of a hot low-pressure system from the west, the temperature in the southern region will increase rapidly.

According to forecast weather, hot weather will generate on the large scale in the area of east southern region with temperature of 35- 36 degrees Celsius in next days.

The experts said that this year's hot weather has hit the Southern region earlier than normal  and it is forecast to last till the end of April.

President Sang donates cement to poor households

State President Truong Tan Sang on Monday gave 13,000 tons of cement to poverty-stricken families in six border provinces in the northwestern region.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the cement, President Sang said Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces that benefit from the donation play an important role in national defense and development but residents there are still leading a difficult life.

Previously, 2,000 tons of cement was given to people in Cao Bang Province in a social welfare program held by the provincial government and the the Northwest Steering Committee to support poor households living near the Vietnam-China border.

Through the program, each of 46 poor families in the area received a gift worth VND5 million (US$234), a breeder cow valued at VND5 million, and a mobile phone from telecom giant Viettel.

The 15,000 tons of cement cost a combined VND21 billion, funded by Viettel at the request of the State President, said Viettel general director Nguyen Manh Hung.

Viettel has also financed a project worth VND360 billion to give breeder cows to poor people in this upland region.

Since the project was launched nine months ago, 7,000 of 13,000 cows have been handed over to poor households in the northwest, said Hung.

Ha Noi traffic violations report to be released

Ha Noi Police will release a report of traffic violations next Friday, five months after they installed 450 cameras to keep an eye on the capital's streets.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the city's traffic police department, said that the department fined 69 persons, whose traffic violations were recorded by the cameras, between January 20 and February 28.

The cameras, installed last October, are incorporated in traffic lights and programmed to capture breaking of traffic rules, the vehicles' licence plates and the date and time.

The traffic police will print the photos and send them to the vehicle owners for imposing penalties.

Doctors resuscitate patient after he suffers cardiac arrest

Ha Noi's Ha Dong General Hospital has saved a patient, who suffered a sudden stop in blood circulation due to an unexpected cardiac arrest.

The patient was admitted to the Ha Noi Heart Hospital on Tuesday evening.

His family said that he suffered from serious cough and breathing difficulties. He was taken to the local hospital where he was diagnosed with lack of blood flow to the heart, and was then transferred to the Ha Noi Heart Hospital for treatment.

However, he suffered an unexpected cardiac arrest and was taken to Ha Dong General Hospital for emergency aid.

Dr Do Huu Nghi, deputy head of the hospital's emergency department, said that the patient was unconscious and was not breathing. No blood pressure could be detected.

After 30 minutes of getting immediate defibrillation, the patient's heart started beating again. He regained consciousness on Wednesday morning.

Nghi said that brain damage would have happened leading to sudden cardiac death, if the cardiac arrest had gone untreated for more than five minutes. Immediate treatment provided the best chance of survival.

MoH asks to inspect company over food scandal

The Food Administration  of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health (MoH), sent a document to the Department of Health in the southern province of Binh Duong asking to liaise with related agencies to investigate Phu Nhat Hao Company which had used perishable foodstuff to cook meals for students.

Immediately after parents of a student in Long Binh Primary School in Bau Bang District of the Southern Province of Binh Duong detected a foul odor and a vehicle of the company transporting perishable foodstuff  for cooking meals for students, the Food Administration asked the Health Department to inspect Phu Nhat Hao and kitchen of the primary school.

Inspection including inspecting their food supplies and processing methods; taking food samples for test. If inspectors discover any wrongdoing, they must issue strict penalties as per regulation and publicize on media.

After receiving the tip from inhabitants that a vehicle of the company transported perishable foodstuff for cooking meals for students, leaders from People’s Committee in Bau Bang District on March 5 were quick to set up an inter-department inspection team for checking at Phu Nhat Hao.

Inspectors smelt an awful whiff coming from around 80 kilogram of fish and animal fat and spoiled vegetables. Worse, inspectors decided to destroy 12 kilogram of pork without certificates of origin.

The primary school has 774 pupils, of which 650 have registered for the lunch at school.

Ta Quang Buu Scientific Award 2015 kicked off

The second Ta Quang Buu Award 2015 has been launched in Hanoi on March 10 by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The annual scientific prize named famous Vietnamese scientist Professor Ta Quang Buu (1910-1986) aims at encouraging and honoring scientists who have outstanding achievements in basic research in fields of natural sciences and technology; and contributions to boosting basic science research in particular and Vietnam science towards the international level as well as setting the stage for the country’s science and technology to integrate and develop further into the world.

This year’s award will be offered to Vietnam scientists who are the authors of excellent basic research works in natural sciences (mathematics, computer science and information, physics, chemistry, earth science and environment, biology, and other natural science fields), technological science and technique, medical science, and agricultural science.

Winners will receive cash prizes of VND50-200 million.

Submissions can be sent to the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development at 39 Tran Hung Dao Street in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District from March 6-April 18. Participants get a registration form at www.nafosted.gov.vn.

The award ceremony will be held in May.

The 2014 Ta Quang Buu Award went to Professor Nguyen Huu Viet Hung for his research on the homomorphisms between the Dickson-Mui algebras as modules over the Steenrod Algebra; and Associate Professor Nguyen Ba An for the “Joint remote state preparation via W and W-type states” project.

10 school canteens fail to meet hygiene standards

The southern Binh Duong Province's Food Administration yesterday inspected the canteens of 10 local schools for alleged use of substandard materials in food cooked for students.

The administration revealed that the food processing areas in the canteens failed to meet food safety and hygiene standards.

The inspections came after students' parents discovered last Thursday that 72kg of tilapia and 21kg of meat, which were allegedly decomposed, were delivered to the Long Binh primary school by Nhat Phu Hao Ltd, a local company specialising in food delivery services.

The 10 schools were inspected because they had signed contracts with the above-mentioned company, the administration said.

The Long Binh primary school was ordered to suspend lunch services for students till all doubts about the use of substandard food were clarified.

Woman dies of rabies after 16-day treatment

A woman bitten by a dog died on Wednesday after 16 days of treatment at the General Hospital of Quang Nam Province.

The provincial Health Prevention Centre said the 68-year-old woman from Que Lam Commune was bitten by a small dog on January 17, but did not receive any first aid treatment or a rabies vaccination.

Aid funds go toward food, education

Food for the Hungry International-Korea (KFHI) donated VND600 million (US$28,500) to construct two rooms in a kindergarten in Quang Nam Province's K'nooth Village.

The construction started last week and is scheduled for completion in May.

KFHI is a global partnership that focuses on bringing food, water resources, primary health care and income enhancement to poverty-stricken areas. It agreed to give the province's Development Programme for Children Project $315,000 between 2015 and 2022.

Earlier this week the US non-governmental Giving It Back to Kids also donated $56,300 to the province's Dai Loc District.

Police to install traffic cameras along Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway

Cameras will be installed along the Noi Bai–Lao Cai Expressway this year to ensure that people obey traffic rules, said a release by the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation yesterday.

The move comes after Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the National Committee Traffic Safety to strengthen the application of information technology in ensuring traffic safety.

The 245-km expressway is the longest of its kind in the country, passing through five provinces and cities of Ha Noi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai.

The city has 450 traffic cameras in local streets. The city police will release a report of traffic violations next Friday, five months after they installed the cameras.

Electric buses for HCM City’s ‘backpacker area’

Transport authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have requested that the city’s first electric bus route, which will be set up for the downtown area, include an area known as the “Westerner’s zone” or “backpacker area.”

The Department of Transport has asked competent agencies to add a neighborhood covering Bui Vien, Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham Streets in District 1’s  Pham Ngu Lao Ward to the proposed route of the first electric bus service that will be offered in the near future.

Local residents usually call this area the “Westerner’s zone” or “backpacker area” as it has long been home to a community of foreigners who visit the city.

The department also asked relevant agencies to adjust the proposed electric bus route so that it will not affect the current construction site of urban railway line No. 1 on Le Loi Street in District 1.

Last month, the department ordered its road management office to coordinate with the city’s road and railway traffic police, the People’s Committees of District 1 and 3, and other bodies to conduct a fact-finding survey on the proposed electric route that covers many streets in the downtown region, including Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Le Duan, Nguyen Du, and Thai Van Lung Streets.

The electric bus line, which is environmentally friendly, will mainly serve tourists around the city’s attractions, such as Ben Thanh Market, the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Reunification Palace, and some others, according to the department.

Modern patrol boats presented to Hai Phong, Quang Ninh police

Two modern patrol boats were handed over to the Departments of Public Security of the northern port city of Hai Phong and neighbouring Quang Ninh province on March 11.

The boats, presented by the Ministry of Public Security’s Police General Department, are the most modern vehicles available to waterway traffic police forces at present.

Each vessel, 20.8 metres long and 4.76 metres wide, has deadweight of 4.74 tonnes and engine power of 1,300 horsepower. It has a 20-person capacity.

Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department, said equipping the force with modern patrol boats is an urgent priority amid the complicated development of waterway crimes, especially illegal natural resource exploitation.

About 70 percent of the shipbuilding costs were sourced from transport service fees paid by transport vehicle owners, he said.

More coastal provinces and cities will be provided with similar patrol boats in the time ahead, he noted, adding that a third boat will be given to police in central Quang Ngai province.

Minister requests expeditious Pleiku Airport upgrade

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has asked for accelerated progress on the upgrades and expansion of Pleiku Airport in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai which began in late September last year.

During his tour to the locality on March 11 to inspect the project’s implementation, the Minister noted that the investors and contractors should take advantage of the current favourable weather patterns to hasten progress, while emphasising the importance of supervising and ensuring quality.

Per the announced project agenda, the airport’s runway, taxiway, hangers and other facilities will be upgraded and expanded to the west.

Notably, the runway was enlarged from 36 metres in width to 45 metres and from 1,830 metres in length to 2,400 metres in order to accommodate A321, Boeing 737 and other equivalently-sized aircraft.

The project has an investment of 945 billion VND (44.5 million USD), co-funded by the State budget, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam and Gia Lai’s provincial budget. The project’s first phase was completed earlier this month and its second phase is scheduled to be complete in late August.

The same day, Thang also examined the construction of Ho Chi Minh Highway section running through the Central Highlands.

He hailed effort of the project’s Management Board and relevant units in accelerating the progress and ensuring the quality of the work, noting that the Ministry will swiftly address contractors who did not meet quality standards as committed.

Vietnamese tourists in Bangkok say robbed US$1,400

Three Vietnamese tourists in Bangkok have reported to local police that they were tricked by a man who stole US$1,400 from them on March 9 night.

One of the tourists, Trinh Thi Hue, said they were asking the man for direction, only to fall into his trap.

“I told him that I’m from Vietnam ..., and he asked me to show him a Vietnamese banknote,” Hue said at a police station in Bangkok. The man claimed he came from Dubai. Another woman in her group showed him some banknotes from her handbag, which also contained dollar notes.

He kept pointing at one note after another, asking questions about its value. When they were distracted, he quickly grabbed a handful of dollar notes worth US$1,400 in total from the bag and ran away. “He even showed us his bag with a lot of banknotes inside, possibly to win our trust,” Hue was quoted by news website VnExpress as saying.

Police are investigating further, using footages from surveillance cameras.

Seminar boosts Kazakhstan-Vietnam affiliation

On March 12, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Vietnam Embassy in Kazakhstan co-hosted a seminar on Kazakhstan’s new economic policy in the current period named ‘Nurly Zhol’ (The Path to the Future).

At the seminar, VASS Vice Chairman Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, accentuated the all-sided effective cooperation between the two nations, particularly in politics, economics and culture after more than two decades of maintaining diplomatic ties.

However, the annual bilateral trade volume at US$100 million is still far from matching the two countries’ full potential, Thuan said, noting that the Customs Union of Russia - Belarus-Kazakhstan would open up a new door for strengthened comprehensive cooperation in numerous areas.

Kazakhstani Ambassador to Vietnam, Beketzhan Zhumakhanov introduced the fundamental contents of Kazakhstan’s economic policy that aims to develop this nation into one of the fast growing nations in Asia towards joining the group of the world’s 50 most competitive nations.

This policy covers seven areas- modern transport infrastructure development, industrial infrastructure, energy,  modernization of  public housing services, safe and hot water supply, social infrastructure development and support for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Zhumakhanov underlined the need for both sides to spur bilateral cooperation in culture, education, science and health care and encourage more young people to become involved in culture promotion activities.

Kazakhstan welcomes all Vietnamese students keen to learn at its leading universities, thus providing prospects for sustainable bilateral cooperation in various fields, he added.

Home-raising wild animals: Risks far outweigh fun, benefits

Several experts and doctors have warned about the potential risks owners and their families run when keeping wild animals in enclosure at private homes, including serious infections and losing limbs or even lives.

In recent years, a number of people in cities have taken up the practice of keeping wild animals, including bears, boas, tigers, crocodiles, elephants, and large breeds of monkeys in captivity in their homes behind the backs of local authorities.

Many also keep large, aggressive dog breeds imported from other countries such as Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, and Bulldogs.

Irrespective of their purpose, whether for fun or for business, the improper, illegal keeping of such animals does pose inevitable risks, including fatal ones.

In one of the latest incidents, which happened in January, a 3-year-old boy’s arm was ripped off and mutilated beyond repair to the stump by a 100-kg bear kept in a cage in the victim’s house in the outlying district of Hoc Mon in Ho Chi Minh City.

The bear was electrocuted so that the boy’s severed arm could be pulled out of the animal’s jaws.

The little boy’s parents were not home during the incident.

Late last month, another bear broke out from its cage in a home in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, sending neighbors into a panic.

Vo Dinh Son, a veterinary specialist on wild animals and visiting lecturer at Agriculture and Forestry University in Ho Chi Minh City, noted that most incidents involving wild animals are triggered by keepers’ negligence during moments when they drop their guard.

Son added no matter how tamed and submissive they can be, wild animals’ aggressiveness is never completely gone.

Their attack mode can be easily turned on any time, especially when they are raised in captivity.

Even vets and wildlife experts are also prone to sudden, unprovoked attacks, which can bring about fatal consequences.

Tran Dang Trung, former head of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden’s animal caretaking team, wild animals’ ferocity can also be triggered by frequent, painful bile extraction from bears or circus teams’ improper taming and training approaches.

He advised wild animals be kept at rescue centers or zoos.

“Bears are highly ferocious and can sometimes manage to break their well-cemented cages. Keepers and caretakers should therefore stay on guard all the time to avert mishaps or brutal, deadly attacks,” said a bear keeper in the southern city’s Cu Chi District.

Bear claws and slaps are even stronger and more powerful than those of tigers, lions, and leopards.

Experts thus advise against the use of wooden containers to enclose or transport bears, and strongly urge that their cages be well reinforced.

Meanwhile, boas’ strength mostly comes from their overwhelming constricting power and brawny body.

Crocodiles’ formidable jaws and their tendency to drown their prey for the ultimate death blow should be feared.

Good knowledge of the beasts’ biological features and instinctual habits helps reduce the risk of bloody, deadly attacks, experts said.

Apart from the substantial risk of animal attacks, keepers and caretakers also face real menaces from infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis, from wild and exotic animals, no matter how small and adorable they may be.

V.T., who lives in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, said he keeps some exotic squirrels at home because his nieces and nephews find them so cute and cuddly.

He is not aware at all of the infectious diseases which the cute animals could transmit to him and his family members, particularly kids.

According to Dr. Son, the veterinary specialist, wild animals are generally healthy and have self-healing power to a certain extent.

However, they are highly susceptible to illnesses due to stuffy captive conditions, an agitated mindset, and the inability to seek medicinal herbs as they can in the wild.

Son said that to avoid infection, keepers must make sure the animals’ enclosures and feed are kept clean, and they themselves are supposed to wash their hands carefully after making contact with the animals.

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