HCMC to build art and culture complex

The HCMC Government has approved a proposal by C.T Group to turn the current HCMC Drama Theatre into a multi-functional art and cultural complex at a total cost of VND150 billion (US$6.6 million).

According to a decision issued by the city government on May 11, the project will be implemented under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) format. 

The 820-square-meter site is expected to house a drama theater capable of seating 326 spectators, three cinemas with 126 seats each, and a parking lot for ten automobiles and 200 motorcycles.

The project is aimed at enriching the cultural and spiritual life of local residents and improving the urban landscape.

The current HCMC Drama Theatre under the Department of Culture and Sports is located at 30 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 1, HCMC.

Preventive solutions, not curative ones

A large-scale environment pollution case is devastating a large swathe of coastal areas these days, as fish farmers in Kien Giang Province are decrying mass deaths of fish, crabs and clams, among others. 
Fish farms along a 30-kilometer stretch of the coastline from Ha Tien Township to Kien Luong District have reported a loss rate of over 50%, with at least 558 hectares of clam plus innumerable fish farms.

In a report on Saturday, Kien Giang Province’s Department of Agriculture pointed to pollution caused by wastewater as the main reason behind the huge damage, estimated at billions of Vietnam dong.

After analyzing water samples taken on May 8 and 9, the department found that the two pollution indicators of NH4+ and Coliform are 3.6 times and 11 times higher than the permissible levels.

The next steps to be taken will be to determine the source of wastewater that pollutes the environment since there are several companies active in the area and discharging wastewater. Once the polluters are pinpointed, punitive sanctions will likely follow, including coercive compensation for farmers, or even criminal charges against violators.

This case is a reminder of numerous pollution incidents that have caused huge injury for fish farmers of late, a typical case being a court case last December in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Farmers there suffering from huge losses of fish worth tens of billions of Vietnam dong had blocked National Highway 51 demanding compensation, and the court on December 22, 2016 ordered 11 processing enterprises in the province to compensate VND13.2 billion for farmers.

In all such cases, when pollution causes damage, competent agencies will step in to find the culprit, and punitive measures will follow. Such a process has proven to be ineffective, as the frequency of pollution incidents in the country is worryingly higher lately.

Another approach, therefore, is badly needed.

From the very beginning, before any enterprise is licensed, its environmental protection commitment should be tightly appraised, and throughout the process of construction and operation, stringent controls by authorized experts must be constantly in place to ensure that no harm is done to the environment. If such “pre-emptive” rather than post-operation measures had been taken, huge problems like the cases of Formosa and Lee&Man Paper and Pulp might not have happened.

In the latest cases of mass fish deaths in Kien Giang or Ba Ria-Vung Tau mentioned above, farmers may be compensated for their losses. However, other greater damages such as the disruption of production, social instability, economic impacts, and a deteriorating environment that depletes natural resources and affects the quality of life often go unaccounted for.

It has been widely accepted that preventive solutions are less expensive than curative ones.

Da Nang Authorities cover hospital fee for poisoning tourists

Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee in the central city of Da Nang  yesterday decided to cover all treatment fee for 17 poisoning tourists. 

On the same day, Deputy Chairman Dang Viet Dung visited the tourists in Da Nang Hospital. All tourists were discharged except patient Dung – the leader of the tourist group. All the holiday-makers are in stable condition.

In addition to paying all hospital fee for the tourists, People’s Committee spent VND22 million ($969.5) as support for 11 poisoning in-patients.

Da Nang People’s Committee asked the Department of Health and people’s committee in Son Tra District, municipal Department of Food Safety to conduct investigation the eatery where 17 visitors had eaten and were poisoned and then to report to the Da Nang People’s Committee before May 16.
Inspectors will issue penalties if they find out violation of food safety.      

As Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper released on May 15, 17 tourists got poisoned after eating chicken rice in an eatery in Ho Nghinh Street in Son Tra District; accordingly they were rushed to Da Nang Hospital for treatment.

Hanoi’s book street attracts nearly 20,000 visitors

Hanoi’s first book street has attracted nearly 20,000 book lovers to visit, purchase books and join activities related to reading culture since its debut on May 1.

Visitors to the book street include children, teenagers, young people and the elderly as well as foreigners, mainly gathering there in the evenings and on weekends.

The book street features the participation of different publishing units serving diverse demands of readers; including Kim Dong Publishing House selling books for children, Tien Phong Publishing House for teenagers, Women Publishing House for women, National Political Publishing House – Truth for those interested in politics, and Hanoi Publishing House for readers wishing to find information about the capital city.

Currently, there are 16 bookstores, one coffee shop and one flower kiosk along the street which were designed harmoniously, creating a beautiful space imbued with traditional cultural identity.

The relevant agencies are completing the rules and regulations related to the management of the book street to ensure consistency at the reading space, according to Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee.

In addition, a wide variety of activities honouring reading culture will continue to be held in order to improve attractions at the book street.

A website on Hanoi’s book street is expected to be launched as soon as possible to widely introduce information about the displayed books and activities held there, towards making it become an attractive destination in the capital.

Patients in HCMC able to comment on hospitals

All 53 public hospitals, including 30 at the municipal and 23 at the district level, under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health have been equipped with a system for patients to share their level of satisfaction or otherwise.

Reviews from patients recorded at the survey kiosks will be sent immediately to the Quality Management Department and leaders of hospitals as well as the department. The department will continually update the satisfaction or dissatisfaction levels of patients and require hospitals make improvements if necessary.

The program has been implemented by the department and aims to improve the quality of health examinations and treatment and medical and health services, according to Professor Tang Chi Thuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Health.

This is now regarded as urgent, as from August 1 all hospitals are to be self-sufficient instead of subsidized by the government. Many patients have complained about service quality at hospitals. Patient overload leads to slow service, a lack of beds and medical equipment, and inattention from doctors and nurses.

The department plans to publish the results of the surveys at all hospitals every three to six months.

Vietnamese community in Russia opens Tennis Tournament in June

The tennis tournament named ViTAR-Incentra Open 2017 will be held by the Vietnamese Tennis Association in the Russian Federation (ViTAR) on June 3.

This largest annual tennis tournament of the year for the Overseas Vietnamese Community in Russia draws the participation of nearly 100 players.

They will compete in five categories, including men's singles, men's doubles, women’s singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

The tournament aims to gather a large number of Vietnamese athletes from countries around the world, helping to strengthen solidarity and mutual support among overseas Vietnamese communities, promote sport practice movement, and contribute to improving the physical and spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

Vietnam, German friendship golf tourney tees off in Berlin

The annual Vietnam-German friendship golf tournament sponsored by the Vietnam Embassy was held May 13 in Berlin at the Robert Baker Golf Course, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The amateur competition was attended by 112 Vietnamese and German women and men golfers including businessmen, diplomats, sportsmen, politicians, public figures and others.

Vietnam Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung said the event was a tremendous success drawing the participation of more golfers than ever in the history of the tourney. It was great to see a much higher turnout from golfers from Frankfurt and Munich.

Elephant tusks, leopard skins smuggled from Africa seized at airport

Tân Sơn Nhất airport customs officers on Sunday found elephant tusks and tails, leopard skins, and wild animal claws worth VNĐ2 billion (US$90,000) in the luggage of a Vietnamese woman who had been on a flight from Africa to HCM City.

The name of the woman was not disclosed.

Checking the luggage of the 62-year-old passenger, the officers found nearly four kilogrammes of elephant tusks, nine elephant tails, three leopard skins and many claws, all of which were from animals listed in the Red Book, according to the HCM City Customs Department.

Last month, the airport’s customs officers detected several smuggling cases of rhino horns, elephant tusks and pangolin scales worth a total of over VNĐ10 billion ($450,000), transported from Africa to HCM City.

4 killed in multi-vehicle pileup on National Highway 2

Four people died and several others were injured Monday (May 15) after a passenger bus, car and motorbike collided on National Highway 2 in the province of Tuyen Quang, northwest of Hanoi.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, the accident occurred at about 7:45am in the commune of Thai Son in the district of Ham Yen. Some people were trapped in their vehicles as a result.

Three passengers were seriously injured and transported by ambulance to a local hospital, said the Vietnam News Agency.

The crash forced the highway to close in both directions. Local police officials remain on the scene investigating the cause of the massive crash.

PM stresses importance of guaranteeing public order

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has underscored the need to reshape the awareness of the importance of guaranteeing public security and order in the new situation.

The PM made the request at a teleconference on security and order with officials from several ministries, agencies and 63 cities and provinces on May 15, during which he highlighted the new situation with a galaxy of challenges.

“Hostile forces are continuing with their plots and activities against the Party and State and the socialism regime via the Internet and other forms,” the leader said.

He also cited the complex development of organised crimes, those using weapons, explosives and high technologies, and drug crimes. 

Many have taken the advantage of the marine environmental incident relating to Taiwan-invested Hung Nghiep Formosa Steel Corporation last year to cause public disorder and disturb security, he said, adding that cases of illegal gatherings, illegal detention of people and violence against on-duty law enforcement officers still occur in a number of cities and provinces.

The PM blamed the problem on the loose coordination between competent agencies as well as between them and the public, plus the lack of experience in addressing these issues, especially land-related incidents, and violations of moral principles committed by a number of officials, resulting in the erosion of public trust.

To address the headache, heads of agencies and localities should raise the sense of responsibility for ensuring public security and order and consider this a regular and long-term task, he said.

Apart from socio-economic development and national defence and security protection, guaranteeing public security and safety is also an important task of all-level authorities and competent agencies, the leader said.

Vietnam hopes for more UNAIDS support in HIV/AIDS combat

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked for more support and sponsorship from the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in tackling HIV/AIDS. 

The Deputy PM made the proposal at meeting in Hanoi in May 15 with Steve Kraus, Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)’s Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific and Marie Odile Emondi, UNAIDs Country Director for Vietnam.

He highlighted that with the assistance of international organisations and countries, Vietnam has gained a number of achievements in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

He noted that Vietnam is among first countries joining the UN 90-90-90 goal, which targets 90 percent of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90 percent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 90 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Currently, Vietnam is striving to ensure sustainable results in the fight against AIDS by issuing mechanisms and policies via the fund for social and health insurance and target programmes as well as the strengthening of mobilising resources from the community, he said.

Kraus lauded Vietnam’s commitment as the first countries in the Asia-Pacific region to join the 90-90-90 goal as well as the Vietnamese Government’s achievements in combating AIDS.

The efforts have helped reduce the fatality from AIDS and HIV infection cases, he held.

He also pledged to assist Vietnam in implementing different measures to sustainably maintain the results in HIV/AIDS preventing, diagnosing and treatment.

Australia helps English training for Da Nang to host APEC events

The Australian Government is sponsoring a training programme for leaders and officials of Da Nang to enhance their English language and intercultural communication skills to contribute to a successful APEC year in Vietnam.

The training course opened in the central city on May 15.
 
The programme, delivered by RMIT University Vietnam for 50 participants from Da Nang opened in the central city on May 15. It is designed to meet diverse needs of participants of different English levels and work schedules.

Nguyen Cong Tien, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Foreign Affairs, said this training course will not only contribute to the preparation for the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and Da Nang’s foreign relations, but also contribute to enhancing and deepening the cooperation between Da Nang in particular, Vietnam in general with Australia."

Australian Ambassador Craig Chittick said the Australian Government is pleased to be able to respond effectively to an emerging, practical need of Da Nang city where key APEC events will take place. 

“We aim to contribute to Vietnam’s success in hosting APEC this year,” he said.

Thai Nguyen: Over 5.1 trln VND for sustainable poverty reduction

The northern province of Thai Nguyen will splash out 5.1 trillion VND (224.7 million USD) on its sustainable poverty reduction programme.

Of the total amount, 1.5 trillion VND (66 million USD) will come from State budget while the remainder will be mobilised from provincial budget and other legal financial resources.

The province is targeting to reduce the number of poor households by 2 percent per year by 2020. Meanwhile, the proportion of impoverished households in specially disadvantaged communes must be slashed by 3.5-5 percent per year.

Under the programme, the locality is also striving to have all of its poor and near poor receive vocational training and get access to healthcare insurance. In addition, all of the deprived families must have accommodations and 95 percent of the destitute people have hygiene water.

According to Trinh Viet Hung, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, the programme is synchronised with a line-up of multidimensional measures which help the poor access to basic services.

Those include providing vocational training in companion with job creation to ensure 80 percent of the trainees have jobs and facilitating conditions for labourers to work in local industrial parks, craft villages or in foreign countries, he said.

The province pays due attention to implementing preferential credit schemes and building practical models to encourage agriculture, forestry and fishery. Besides, it will allocate financial resources to carry out at least five sustainable poverty reduction programmes every year, develop essential infrastructure in difficulty-ridden communes and stabilise production in villages inhabited by ethnic minority groups.

According to recent evaluation from the provincial People’s Committee, the locality has 42,000 poor households, accounting for 13.4 percent of total households, and over 28,000 near poor families, making up of 9 percent of total households.

During 2011-2016, some 6 trillion VND (264.4 million USD) was mobilised for poverty alleviation programmes and projects, helping 36,000 families escape from poverty and drop poverty rate by 2.7 percent per year.

However, the programme still has some limitations, including accommodation support failing to meet set plan, poor households shifting to near poor households and disparity between number of poor households in urban areas and mountainous districts.

Việt Nam must beat Laos for girls' U15 semis

Việt Nam have to beat Laos in their last group round match today to advance to the knock-out stage of the  ASEAN Football Federation’s U15 Girls’ Championship in Laos.

Việt Nam currently stand at No 4 of Group A with three points as many as Laos who are at third position.

Both teams must win and hope Malaysia defeat second-place Myanmar in the earlier match at the KM 16 Stadium in Vientiane to go on next round. Myanmar, at second with six points, need only a draw to become the group’s runner-up.  Malaysia have been disqualified.

The runner-up will play the Philippines, the Group B’s leading squad on Thursday in the second semi-final match.

Thailand, who top Group A with 12 points, qualified for the semi-finals and will play Group B’s runner-up Cambodia in the first semis. 
 
Sơn wins sixth stage of Return to Countryside

Hà Văn Sơn won the sixth stage of the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament on Monday.

Sơn of Bình Dương won the 72km from Cần Thơ to Sóc Trăng City with a time of 1:58.32.

Kim San and Yoeun Phi Yuth of Cambodia finished second and third, respectively.

Quàng Văn Cường of Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời-An Giang holds the yellow jersey for the best overall time of 15:36.59 after six stages. Yuth and Nguyễn Minh Luận of Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long are second and third.

Yuth retained the green jersey for best sprinter with 84 points.

Cường helped his team Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời-An Giang to lead in the team’s rankings with a total time of 46:51.56, followed by Domesco Pharmacy Đồng Tháp and Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long.

In the amateur event, Bùi Văn Sành holds the yellow jersey.

Cyclists will compete in a 48km race around Sóc Trăng City on Tuesday. 

Việt Nam Mineral and Coal beat HCM City 2

Việt Nam Mineral and Coal beat HCM City 2 2-0 in the second leg of the National Women’s Football Tournament at Thống Nhất Stadium in HCM City on May 14.
Just two minutes after the referee blew his whistle, Phạm Thị Hằng opened the score for northern team Việt Nam Mineral and Coal.

After receiving a pass from Thúy Hằng, Trần Thị Thu doubled the score to 2-0 for the northern team in the 19th minute.

In the 43rd minute, the guests got an opportunity to raise their score from the penalty area, but Nguyễn Thị Hạnh did not shoot successfully.

Following the break, HCM City 2 made every effort to narrow the gap but failed.

In another match, HCM City 1 crushed Sơn La 3-0.

The hosts dominated the match from the first minutes, causing a Sơn La defender to make an error in the penalty area. Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy easily beat the Sơn La goalkeeper with a penalty kick in the 27th minute.

In the game’s last minutes, HCM City 1 scored two more goals thanks to Phan Thị Trang in the 80th minute and Huỳnh Như in the 87th minute.

Man arrested for allegedly abusing rights

Police of the central province of Nghệ An yesterday detained a man for allegedly opposing officials on duty and abusing his rights to freedom and democracy to infringe on State interests and the rights and interests of organisations and individuals.

Hoàng Đức Bình, 34, from the province’s Hưng Trung Commune, was arrested following the Penal Code.

The People’s Procuracy of Nghệ An province approved the arrest on Sunday following an investigation from authorised agencies.

The case is under further investigation.

Worker safety at risk, especially in fishing

Millions of fishermen are exposed to the risk of accidents because of an unsafe work environment.

On March 16, Nguyen Van Sy in the central province of Thanh Hoa and two other fishermen were pulling up a 2.5-tonne fish net. The weight of the net and the fast moving water pulled down a winch cable, which tightened around Sy’s ankles, cutting off his left foot and half of his right foot.

Significant Government budgets are spent on ensuring work safety, but in sectors that do not have work safety officials and rarely have access to labour health services, like agriculture and fishery, workers are constantly facing death traps while trying to make ends meet.  

Nguyen Thanh Sang, a 60-year-old fisherman from Thanh Hoa province’s Hoang Thanh commune, often starts his day at 3am. Like other locals, Sang and his son fish off their communal beach on a simple raft. “We hardly ever wear life jackets, and don’t think much about work safety,” Sang said.

“There was a time when we were pulling the net and a storm came, pulling us into the sea,” he added. “We held onto the raft, climbed on it and returned home.”

The fear of having nothing to eat is bigger than that of losing his life, so he held onto his work despite the attendant risks.

Some 255 households in the commune make their living by fishing, according to Le Huu Tu, Vice Chairman of the Hoang Thanh People’s Committee. “Most of them fish inshore on a small scale, so they don’t care much about safety for their assets (boats, rafts) and labourers,” he said.

The commune itself isn’t equipped with expertise and financial ability to provide training on labour safety at sea, he added. Some organisations came to the commune in recent years to provide fishermen with fishery knowledge and raise awareness of work safety, but not on a regular basis, he said.

Authorities visited each household in an attempt to persuade the fishermen to buy insurance for their boats and labourers, but the only result was to remind fishermen to be more vigilant about safety, he added.

Labour safety at sea is a complicated issue, not only due to an often harsh work environment, but also unforeseeable factors such as extreme weather that could cause fatal accidents. But most fishermen haven’t been trained to deal with these hazardous conditions, said Nguyen Anh Tho, deputy director of the Department of Work Safety under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Some vessel owners are ignorant of safety risks, and do not carry equipment such as life jackets and lifeboats; some do prepare but with outdated equipment, according to Tho. “A specific strategy is obviously much needed in order to amplify the importance of work safety in this sector,” he said.

Fishermen mostly contribute capital to purchase vessels, sail and work together without contracts, so it’s difficult for the authorities to protect them if they don’t protect themselves with work safety equipment, according to Nguyen Viet Thang, Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association.

Authorities are often unaware of accidents, which are settled by money among fishermen.

Acknowledging that not enough attention has been paid to ensuring work safety for fishermen, farmers and freelance labour, Nguyen Tien Dung, MOLISA’s chief inspector, has proposed to the ministry to conduct more inspections of this informal labour market (one without labour relations) from 2018.  

The inspectorate has also proposed that specialists in the agricultural, fishery and informal labour sectors from MOLISA’s Department of Work Safety be authorised to conduct inspections in these sectors.    

Thơ said amendments to the Law on Labour Safety enabled the informal labour sectors to receive support from the Government and localities since July 2016. Some, like Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces, saved parts of their budgets to support job training and awareness-raising activities for informal labourers.

A national programme on labour safety and hygiene in 2016-2017 also opened work safety training classes in these sectors, he said.

NIN to produce food supplements for NCDs prevention

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) is working with Japanese partners to research and produce food supplement products for the prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Participants heard this at a workshop today in Hà Nội on scientific evidence of health supplements as part of the cooperation between Japan and NIN.
The cooperation is part of NIN’s scientific research strategy for improving nutrition status and health of people as well as reducing the increase of NCDs in Việt Nam.
“Scientific research showed that many food supplements contribute to treating and preventing nutrition-related diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity,” NIN director Lê Danh Tuyên said at the event.
‘That’s why NIN has collaborated with Japanese experts to produce food supplements for obesity and diabetes patients,” Tuyên said.
NIN also partnered with Japanese firm Ichimaru Pharcos to develop biological material and products for skincare and bone and joint problems treatment, Tuyên added.
Research projects between Japan and NIN experts have focused on planting and processing raw material and manufacturing food supplements from shell ginger, rice, Ashitaba and artichoke plants to prevent nutrition related diseases.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, NCDs-related fatality rate made up 73 per cent of total causes, of which heart disease-caused fatality ranked first with 33 per cent and second was cancer with 18 per cent.
“NCD infection rate increased from 42.6 per cent in 1976 to 76.1 per cent in 2010 while communicable disease rate reduced to 19.8 per cent from 55.5 per cent, said Food Administration of Việt Nam Director Nguyễn Thanh Phong. 
In Việt Nam, overweight and obesity rate also doubled from 3.5 to 6.6 per cent of the population during 2000 to 2005 period. The rate of children under-5 with overweight issues and obesity increased nine times in 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, and reached 6.3 per cent of the total children population in 2013. The situation was mainly due to an unscientific diet and lifestyle.

Em Chưa 18 earns record revenue of US$6.6m

Vietnamese movie Em Chưa 18 (Jailbait) earned record revenue of VNĐ150 billion (US$6.6 million) following 16 days of nationwide screening, making it the highest-grossing Vietnamese movie to date.
Until May 13, more than two million cinema tickets of Jailbait were sold. Jailbait is also among the top three movies in Vietnamese cinema box office history to date, besides Kong: Skull Island and Fast & Furious 8.
With revenue of VNĐ150 billion, Jailbait surpassed Em Là Bà Nội Của Anh (Sweet 20), the most watched Vietnamese movie that set the Vietnamese box office record in 2015 by earning VNĐ101 billion ($4.8 million) in revenue.
Besides this, the music video of Yêu Là Tha Thứ (Love is Forgiving), a song from Jailbait, also got 24 million views on YouTube.
The movie has been directed by Lê Thanh Sơn of Bẫy Rồng (Clash) fame and Để Mai Tính’s (Feel For Love) filmmaker Charlie Nguyễn.
Nguyễn will next remake Japanese movie Key of Life with the participation of Kaity Nguyễn, the lead actress in Jailbait and Thái Hòa, Kathy Uyên and Huy Me.
“The audience will see a different Kaity Nguyễn in the role of a hacker in this movie. I have confidence in Kaity Nguyễn’s capability,” Nguyễn said.
Kiều Minh Tuấn and Kaity Nguyễn, lead actors in Jailbait, will also feature in a movie named Em trên 18 (Above 18 years old), which is expected to hit cinema by April 27 next year to celebrate the one year anniversary of Jailbait.

Samsung Việt Nam donates water filtration systems

Samsung Việt Nam (SEV) last weekend sponsored water filtration systems for 10 pre-schools in the northern Thái Nguyên and Bắc Ninh provinces, with the support of four other organisations.

The other four are Samsung South Korea, Energies Sans Frontière, Seoul Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, and Hà Nội University.

The project valued at more than VNĐ2.2 billion (US$96,000) starts from the campaign “Businesses uniting for community and combating climate change” with an aim to bring clean water that ensures health checks and contributes to a better life of the future’s generations in Việt Nam.

The systems were built and equipped based on innovative and modern technology using rainwater and groundwater.

Each system is expected to meet demands of 200 to 500 people a day with the capacity of about 1,000 litres of drinking water and 5,000 litres of water for daily use per day.

According to the previous field survey by ESF experts, most pre-schools daily use hundreds of litres of drinking water that cost on an average VNĐ5 million per month paid by students.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hyunwoo Bang, SEV’s vice president said, “For children, school is considered a second home where they live, study and play. In order to develop healthily and comprehensively, clean water plays a really important role. We always keep in mind that providing children with a safe and clean water source will contribute to the improvement of the quality of life and build a solid foundation for their future.”

Over the years, Samsung has been actively involved in social and charitable activities to support the development of local people. In Thái Nguyên and Bắc Ninh, Samsung Việt Nam sponsored the construction of Hope School for disadvantaged children. In addition, Samsung has organised many educational support programmes for students in universities such as ‘Samsung Talent Programme’ and ‘Samsung Software Challenge’ contest. 

31 pangolins hidden in truck carrying aquatic products

The economic police in the northern province of Thanh Hoa are carrying out an investigation of pangolin smuggling.
Before, on May 14, the anti-smuggling units belonging to the economic police stopped a truck of 47 year old driver Vu Trong Hung at Nguyen Vien Bridge in Dong Hai Ward in Thanh Hoa Town for checking.
Through searching, police discovered 31 pangolins weighing 122.3 kg in foam containers in addition to 14 tons of fish and variety of aquatic products.
Driver Vu Trong Hung confessed to transport the pangolin and products from the central province of Nghe to the northern province of Quang Ninh for consumption. To cope with police, the driver kept 31 pangolins with aquatic products in containers.
Economic police today gives the pangolins to the provincial forest rangers to release into the wild.

Deputy PM visits landslide-hit families in An Giang

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng on Monday visited households affected by the landslide on the banks of Hậu River in An Giang Province’s Mỹ Hội Đông Commune.

The landslide, which occurred on April 22 in Mỹ Hội Village, caused 14 houses to collapse into the river, leaving 107 families homeless.

Local authorities had reported to Dũng that the landslide was caused by water flow.

Dũng has asked local authorities to support families affected by the incident and help them settle in as soon as possible.

The Deputy PM has instructed local authorities to work towards finding solutions to protect residents and their properties. As landslides can be a recurring problem, there is a pressing need to conduct surveys and examine the situation closely so that long-term solutions can be executed, he added.

Dũng has also asked provincial authorities to work with relevant agencies from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to identify the reasons for such a landslide as well as to determine safe spots for the rehabilitation of affected residents.

Party leader asks Hoa Binh to pay more heed to poverty reduction

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong asked Hoa Binh province to pay more attention to sustainable poverty reduction while visiting the northern mountainous locality on May 14-15.

At a working session with provincial officials on May 15, he noted despite certain achievements, Hoa Binh still faces an array of difficulties with 74 percent of the local population being ethnic minority people, mostly Muong ethnics.

He told the province to fine-tune its development plan on the basis of local natural and human conditions, and pinpoint priorities for investment.

While it is necessary to step up the building of new-style rural areas, Hoa Binh should improve the quality of this work in communes already recognised as new-style rural areas.

The Party leader also told provincial authorities to strengthen the fight against drug crimes and work harder to maintain security and social order.

In 2016, Hoa Binh recorded an economic growth rate of 7.62 percent with the expansion of industry, construction and services in local economic structure. The proportion of agro-forestry-fishery sectors have shrunk to about 22 percent. Annual per capita income is estimated at 36.5 million VND (1,600 USD).

The province has also selected a priority for agriculture which is the development of industrial trees and citrus fruits which bring good profit and suit local conditions.

Shortly after arriving in Hoa Binh on May 14 afternoon, the Party General Secretary visited an orange farm in Cao Phong town of Cao Phong district. The 9ha farm generated about 4 billion VND (over 176,300 USD) in profits each year.

In a following tour of Phong Phu commune of Tan Lac district, he visited a homestay service model in Ai hamlet and presented gifts to some local policy beneficiary families.

HCMC mulls fertilizer production zone

The government of HCMC is weighing a plan to set up a zone where all fertilizer facilities are located, Vo Van Hoan, head of the Office of the city People’s Committee, said at a meeting on Friday with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Hoan said fertilizer production in the city is not well planned, leading to environmental pollution and hitting farming hard. “Fake and low-quality fertilizers affect crops and livestock, throwing poor farmers into a more difficult position. Relocating all fertilizer producers to a concentrated zone is a good solution to ensure the quality of fertilizers.”

Hoan asked the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to submit a fertilizer factory zoning plan to the city government in mid-June 2017.

A report by the environment department said that through its inspections into some areas in Binh Chanh District, the department found many fertilizer making facilities are located in residential areas, threatening community health. Notably, there is a fertilizer plant situated near a canal, putting local residents at risk.

In late 2016, in two days of inspections into 14 fertilizer companies in Binh Chanh District, inspectors discovered five of them were unlicensed.

Currently, there are about 300 fertilizer plants in the city, most of them in outlying districts.

1,000 Young Innovation Leaders program launched

The 1,000 Young Innovation Leaders (1,000 YIL) program was launched on Friday to promote innovation and creativity in the startup ecosystem.

The program will serve as the foundation for building a startup nation. It means all citizens need to know and apply innovation to create value.

Many university graduates have found it hard to land a job due to the lack of skills like innovation.

The 1,000 YIL program will also help train and develop Vietnamese human resources to integrate into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

The program is aimed at training members of university communities such as youth unions, student associations and clubs, student supporting staff and startup staff as well as department managers, middle-level managers and development and training specialists at enterprises.

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