German hailed as ‘hero’ for warning motorcyclists about slippery Hanoi road

A German tourist in Hanoi has won a lot of hearts, at least on social media, by standing on a slippery road after a storm on June 13 to signal to motorists to slow down.

The young man, identified only as Maxx, was initially seen walking over to motorists on Ta Hien Street in the old quarter, waving his arms at them.

Several did not know what he meant, kept driving and skidded and fell.

So he then made a bilingual sign with the help of a young Vietnamese there to help drivers understand.

People in the area said oil from restaurants overflowed on the street after the heavy wind and rain that afternoon.

Some Vietnamese were cleaning the street, and the man helped by cautioning others.

Photos and a video of him are all over local forums with people praising his act as “heroic” even as many young Vietnamese could be seen laughing as bikes kept falling.

Many said it should have embarrassed the Vietnamese who did nothing.

But then it’s easier said than done.

New UN Convention for a better life of older people

A part of older people in Vietnam are disadvantaged, living in difficulties and need a legal foundation to protect their rights.

The information was shared by participants at a seminar to get opinions on the International Convention on the Rights of Older Persons (ICROP) in Hanoi on June 15.

The seminar aims to reach a consensus among ministries, departments and relevant agencies to propose that the United Nations approves ICROP to help older people have a better life and receive better care.

Pham Tuyet Nhung, deputy head of the International Relations Department at the Vietnam Association of the Elderly (VAE), said 1 out of 3 older people in the world are ill-treated. In Vietnam, 23.5% of older people live in poverty, 73% are not a pensioner and 80,000 elderly are supportless.

The VAE urged the Government and relevant ministries to support the completion of the UN legal system for the elderly.

Do Manh Hung, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, said only 60% of the older people in Vietnam have a health insurance card, much lower than the country’s average rate of 73%.

Participants discussed the ICROP contents and expressed their hope that relevant agencies will get involved in the campaign to protect the rights of older people.

Vu Xuan Quang, a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Vietnam is implementing the social welfare policy effectively so it should support the ICROP. However, it should be in line with common situation and not affect other rights, such as the rights of the child and gender equality.

The VAE hoped that a new ICROP will be an effective tool to ensure the rights of older people.

Summer camp for children organised

A summer camp for bright disadvantaged pupils in the provinces of An Giang, Ben Tre, and Dong Thap and Can Tho city, and children of soldiers stationed on Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and DK1 marine defense platform will be held in Da Lat from June 22-26.   

More than 120 children attending the camp will, besides visiting tourist attractions, learn about the history, nature and people of the Central Highlands, read scientific books, tell stories about scientists, and learn how to fabricate simple machines, all meant to stimulate an interest in science.

"Summer Camp for Small Ambassadors of Vietnamese Goods", an annual camp, seeks to offer children in "special circumstances" and those striving to overcome difficulties in their lives a meaningful summer.

They will be joined by members of the Ambassadors Club for Vietnamese Goods, all of whom are famous actors, writers, poets, designers and other celebrities and promote consumption of domestically made products.

Seminar boosts Vietnam's trade links with Czech Republic

The trade seminar “Vietnam Day” in Prague, the Czech Republic has introduced exporters on the latest developments of the realms of shared concern to carry out commitments reached during the recent Czech visit by State President Truong Tan Sang.

Commercial Counsellor in the Czech Republic Nguyen Thang Long gave an overview of Vietnam and its external economic achievements, including its growing trade with the European country.

Jaromir Dudak, head of the Asia-Africa Department from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Czech Republic, with more than 70% of earnings from exports help boost the market expansion abroad and speed up the signing of the Vietnam – European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The Czech government greatly values economic and trade ties with Vietnam - one of the 12 priority trade partners, Jaromir Dudak said.

At the seminar,participants shared their experience in doing business in Vietnam, such as seeking partners and legal regulations.

Long said between now and the end of this year, the Vietnam Embassy will continue holding similar events targeting Czech investors who are interested in the Vietnam market.

Over the past five years, two-way trade between the two nations has doubled, hitting US$652 million in 2014, 86% of which was in Vietnam's trade surplus.

The Southeast Asian nation imports industrial and hi-tech products, including precise engineering items, petrochemical equipment, energy and defence industry from the Czech Republic that wants to import Vietnamese aquatic products, coffee, tea and pepper.

Vietnam issues new rules for Taiwan guest workers

The Overseas Labour Management Department has unveiled a new program for Vietnamese household and onshore fishermen professionals to work as temporary guest workers in Taiwan.

“The new rules strengthen protections for the workers and also spur recruitment of Vietnamese for such jobs,” said Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, head of the Overseas Labour Management Department.

The new scheme is the latest move to revamp the temporary guest worker program between Vietnam and Taiwan and comes after 10 years of protracted negotiations, said Quynh.

The changes will take effect July 1 and have been hailed by advocates for guest workers who said they would make it more difficult for businesses to exploit vulnerable workers.

Currently, more than 160,000 Vietnamese temporary workers are employed in other professions such as manufacturing and the medical fields throughout the island of Taiwan.

The Taiwan government stopped the household and onshore fishermen guest worker programs in 2004 following substantial noncompliance with the rules by Vietnamese workers.

Under the revised rules, the department will impose fines on both workers and businesses for failing to comply and step up monitoring and inspections of labour export businesses.

Quynh said the department will also put in place better controls to more closely coordinate with Taiwanese governmental agencies and employers to manage workers.

Overall the new rules are a giant step forward, said Quynh as the program will provide workers with an increased awareness of the laws, customs, language, working and lifestyles of Taiwan.

Under the revised program, a housemaid will pay US$2,036 (VND44 million) for a three-year work permit fee excluding a deposit, with the minimum annual salary set at US$6,000 (VND144 million) per annum.

Meanwhile an onshore fisherman will pay US$1,550 for a three-year permit, excluding a deposit, to receive a salary of at least VND156 million annually.

Electricity ensured despite rising demand

The national power system, which has a total capacity of between 26,000 and 28,200 megawatts, is fully capable to serve the rising demand in the north in June, which is the peak of the hot season.

The electricity use this month could reach 478 million kilowatt hours per day, up nearly 13 percent from the same period last year, estimated the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) under the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Despite the surging demand in the hot summer weather, the EVN has ensured safe and stable provision of power for local daily life and business production across the country.

Last month, the group produced 12 billion kilowatt hours of commercial electricity, increasing the total output to over 55 billion kilowatt hours from January-May, an annual increase of 11.35 percent.

Electricity supply for agriculture saw the highest growth of 23.67 percent, followed by trade (up 20.15 percent), industry-construction (up 11.79 percent) and management and consumption (up 9.75 percent).

Deputy Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Dinh The Phuc said electricity provision in June will be ensured to serve the country’s major political and social events such as the ninth session of the 13 th National Assembly and national examinations.

Hydroelectric plants will regulate the flow of water to supply adequate electricity and water, especially for seriously drought-affected provinces in the coastal south central region. Meanwhile, the use of coal-fired power and gas turbine power plants will be optimised to provide electricity in the south and save water in the southern reservoirs.

The EVN will purchase about 150 million kilowatt hours from China to meet local demand in June.

The EVN in the north has asked power companies not to repair—and therefore cut—electricity in days with temperatures above 36 Celsius degrees, and called on customers to conserve electricity.-

PPP model to be adopted to fund new expressway

A 142.2 km stretch of the Phan Thiet – Nha Trang Expressway will be built under the public–private partnership (PPP) mode, according to the Cuu Long Corp. for Investment Development and Project Investment for Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM).

The project has been submitted by the latter to the Ministry of Transport for approval.

The expressway, to run from Phan Rang town in southern central Ninh Thuan province to National Highway 1A in southern central Binh Thuan province, will be 17 metres wide and have four lanes, allowing vehicles to travel at up to 80km per hour.

It will cost over 17.8 trillion VND (818 million USD), including 12.145 trillion VND (over 557 million USD) for the construction alone.

Cuu Long CIPM has proposed dividing the project into two sub-projects, one a 14.767 trillion VND BOT (build – operate – transfer) work and the other a 3.066 billion VND segment to be funded by official development assistance (ODA).

This stretch of the Phan Thiet – Nha Trang Expressway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2021.

It is part of a 235km Nha Trang – Phan Thiet Expressway that will run from Khanh Hoa province's Dien Khanh district to the northern point of the Dau Giay – Phan Thiet Expressway on National Highway 1A in Binh Thuan province.

This section, which will have 97 bridges, is expected to cost 46 trillion VND (over 2.1 billion USD).

It will be the North – South Expressway running from Hanoi to the Mekong city of Can Tho.

Da Nang to expand Han river green space

The central city of Da Nang has approved a plan to increase green space from 5 percent to 10 percent along the banks of the Han river, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

In addition, projects that encroach on the riverbanks will be rejected by the city. Development along the banks of the river has been disorderly and ill-managed, according to city authorities.

The city authority has hired a foreign consultant to devise a development strategy for the river banks.-

Food, water and energy relations discussed among students

Food security, water resource and energy management and the fight against climate change will be discussed during the first phase of the Asian student conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 15.

The students, including 15 from the Vietnam National University - HCM City and 10 from the National University of Singapore, are divided into 10 groups to analyse and discuss initiatives tackling issues of water, food and energy in specific districts, countries or regions.

After attending four discussions and one fact-finding tour, the groups will present their results on June 19.

In the framework of the conference, students have a chance to work at the Hoa An Biodiversity - Research Centre under Can Tho University and experience Vietnamese culture.

After the conference, ten Vietnamese students will attend the second phase of the conference in Singapore, which is scheduled to take place in July with the participation of 100 Asian representatives.

Committee to enhance security in southwest region

Ensuring political security and social order have been declared key tasks of the Steering Committee for the Southwest Region through the end of this year, according to Nguyen Doan Ket, Head of the committee’s Defence and Security Department.

Along with communicating on socio-economic and poverty reduction policies, the committee will collaborate with regional localities to popularise Party and State policies on ethnics and religion, alerting locals of destructive schemes by hostility forces, he said.

At the same time, the committee will work against those who take advantage of ethnic and religious issues to harm the country’s solidarity bloc.

Combating smuggling and drug trafficking crimes, especially in border areas, will be intensified, said Ket.

The committee will also work with localities to ensure safety at big events and festivals, including the Mekong Delta Green Tourism Week in Can Tho city.

Meanwhile, the committee will educate local fishermen on sea-related laws in Vietnam and regional countries, while expanding external relations and international security-defence collaboration and speeding up demarcation along the land border, added Ket.

Voluntary teams to join traffic safety efforts

The Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the National Committee for Traffic Safety have introduced 38 voluntary teams who will work to ensure traffic safety during the national high school graduation exam 2015.

At a press briefing in Hanoi on June 15, Secretary of the committee and President of the Vietnam Youth Federation Nguyen Phi Long said the volunteers will be arranged at 38 sites in 23 cities and provinces nationwide where the exams will take place.

They are responsible for working with relevant agencies to raise public awareness of obeying traffic laws, regulating flow and handling accidents.

Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Khuat Viet Hung said a number of measures have been enacted to ensure traffic safety and support means of transport for candidates and their family members during the exam.

The volunteer teams will commence their duties on June 21.

Malaysian tanker missing with crew

A Malaysian-flagged tanker carrying petroleum has gone missing off the southern coast and is feared to have been hijacked, said the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) on June 14.

Head of the IMB Kuala Lumpur office Noel Choong affirmed the owner of the vessel MT Orkim Harmony last had contact with the ship on late June 11.

He added the vessel’s condition remains unknown, but is predicted to have been hijacked.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak posted a message on his Facebook page saying he was "distressed by the news" and prayed for the safety of the 22 crew members, 16 of whom are Malaysian.

Bernama news agency reported that search operations are ongoing with the Malaysian Navy deploying three vessels with 150 personnel while the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency dispatched a helicopter, three ships and a boat.

Over the past two years, London-based IMB has warned that the waters of Southeast Asia are becoming the world's piracy hotspot amid a rash of attacks on small coastal tankers.

In a quarterly report recently released, it said the Southeast Asian region experienced 38 pirate attacks in the period or 70 percent of the global total of 54. Pirates usually siphon off the cargo to other vessels before releasing the ships and their crews.

Piracy in the region significantly reduced in the previous decade through stepped-up regional cooperation and maritime patrols, but has re-emerged as a hazard.

Much of the world's trade passes through Southeast Asian shipping lanes such as the

Malacca Strait between Malaysia and Indonesia.

A 160-metre broadcast tower was inaugurated in northern Nam Dinh province on June 15.

Beginning in July 2014 and worth VND21.6 billion (US$995,392), the construction features 32 force-resistant cement stakes and a body made of more than 245 tonnes of steel to bear heavy loads and cope with storms, as it was built where a tower collapsed during a 2012 storm.

The newly inaugurated tower caters to over 8 million television viewers across the southern part of the Red River Delta and the northern part of Thanh Hoa.

Tran Dung Trinh, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Television, said the operations contribute to completing the digitisation of television in the Red River Delta region 18 months ahead of schedule.

Public hospitals raise treatment fees by 10%

Public hospitals and health centres in Ho Chi Minh City have increased hospital fees by 10% over the last hike, according to the city's Department of Health.

As many as 29 city-level hospitals, 23 district-level hospitals and 322 health centres in wards and communes increased the fees under an official roadmap designed to raise funds for hospitals at a time of declining government subsidies.

Ho Chi Minh City's public hospitals and health centres have raised fees incrementally since last year.

Last year, the city increased fees for 477 technical services by 75% and 1,519 services by 65% under Circular No.4 issued by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance.

This year, the fees for technical services rose by an additional 10%, and by June 1, 2016, another 15%.

At a recent conference on hospital fees in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Nguyen Nam Lien, head of Ministry of Health's Financial Planning Department, said that under the roadmap, hospital fees nationwide will be increased as salary costs for hospital staff will be taken from the hospital fees by 2016.

Hospital fees must be calculated on the basis of full recovery costs for direct services received by patients, he said.

The full recovery costs are for medicine and chemicals; consumable materials; electricity and waste; equipment maintenance; basic salary; annual depreciation and repair for medical equipment; and training and research.

In a previous hike in hospital fees in 2012 and 2014, the fees charged to patients only covered costs for medicines and chemicals; consumable materials; electricity and waste; and equipment maintenance.

"Hospitals have used 15% of the increased hospital fees to buy more beds and to upgrade their facilities in order to reduce the sharing of beds and to provide better examination and treatment services," Lien said.

The full cost recovery policy for medical services will be applied widely across the board after 2018, he said.

As the state budget is limited, the fees will help reduce the State's subsidy for public hospitals.

Biker killed in level crossing accident

A motorbike crashed into a passenger train going from Ha Noi to the Hai Phong northern coastal city yesterday afternoon, killing the 43-year-old biker.

The accident occurred at a level crossing in Hai Duong City's Ai Quoc Ward.

Hai Duong City's police said though the level crossing was several years old, no barrier or warning sign had been put up.

Train accidents at level crossings still occur frequently in Viet Nam.

Black boxes catch speeding vehicles

A total of 473 cars, buses and trucks have been ordered off the roads for a month after their built-in black boxes revealed they had exceeded the speed limit.

The Directorate of Roads said, however, that only 71.5 per cent of the motor vehicles that had the boxes installed actually transmitted data to the central data recording system. The other 28 per cent of the boxes are assumed to have been deliberately turned off - or perhaps broken.

Compilation of black-box data from across the nation enabled the directorate to produce a black list of 10 provinces with the highest numbers of speed violations in May.

They included Ba Ria-Vung Tau, which topped the group with 124,611 speed violations, followed by Da Nang (107,806). Violations in the other eight provinces ranged from 16,000 to 30,000. The provinces were Dak Nong, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, Quang Nam, Vinh Long, Binh Phuoc, Lam Dong and Gia Lai.

Of the 63 provinces in Viet Nam, 28 reported to the directorate that they had issued punishments, including ordering some of the vehicles off the road; 13 reported that they had only issued warnings; and 22 have not reported if they took any action.

Reports from the 28 provinces that issued punishments, showed they had handled a total 557 vehicles in May. Of thesed, 473 were ordered off the road for a month.

Among them, five companies with vehicles had their business licences revoked.

The directorate said in the first five months of the year, the country recorded a total of 2,049 motor vehicles that had broken the speed limits.

Vehicles fixed with a black box include coaches and buses, including those running on fixed routes and those for hire, taxis, trucks, including container trucks and trucks and trailers.

In another development, on June 1, the directorate sent a note to provincial authorities, demanding that they instruct their departments of transport to control overspeeding in their areas by compiling weekly reports on the situation and taking measures to fix it accordingly.

Canal upgrade damages houses, residents demand compensation

More than 1,000 residents of 300 households in District 6, HCM City, are living in fear, following the upgrade of the Tan Hoa-Lo Gom Canal.

Construction work to upgrade the canal, which used to be one of the most polluted canals in the city, started over three years ago with HCM City Urban Construction Investment Company as the project's main contractor.

According to reports, ever since two buildings here collapsed after the repair of the canal, residents here fear that their houses may also collapse any moment.

The use of heavy machines and prolonged construction work severely damaged numerous houses in the area; houses quaked as heavy machines were put to work on the canal.

"There were cracks everywhere in my house, so my family had to rent a place to live in, which is proving to be expensive. We just want them to fix our house so we can move back," said Tran Ba Tai, a resident from Ward 11 in District 6.

He added that since March, the management unit of the project has been making empty promises to look at his house, but nothing has been done so far to help him and his family.

The project, which was carried out on an investment of VND5 trillion (US$231.4 million), officially concluded in April and construction companies hired to work on the project have long left the site. However, the procedure to pay compensation for damage caused to houses here appeared to be progressing slowly.

A few families who have met the project's management unit to discuss their compensation are not satisfied with the offer, which was reportedly set from VND2.3 million ($106) to VND10 million ($463).

"The walls in my house are about to crash. It's not safe to live there. I wanted them to rebuild it," said Phan Thi Tong, another resident from Ward 11.

A representative of the main contractor company said they are working together with the local authority to provide 60 of the affected households with compensation money this month, 75 more in the third quarter, and the remaining ones by the end of the year.

"Not all affected households are qualified for compensation to fully rebuild their houses. We are also doing our best to fix cracks and other problems caused by the canal's construction," Tran Trung Hau, deputy director of HCM City Urban Construction Investment Company, pointed out.

He added that households that had to relocate temporarily will receive financial aids from the project's contractors.

The District 6 People's Committee did not provide any answer as to why they haven't taken any measure to help project-affected residents. Local residents have also reported that they have not received any support from the district's People's Committee.

Police seize 73 tons of illegally imported sugar

Police have seized some 31 tonnes of refined sugar illegally imported from Cambodia, while investigating a rubber farm in the southeastern province of Tay Ninh's Chau Thanh District.

Nguyen Van Tam, a Cambodian Vietnamese, 27, was arrested last weekend and charged for hiding the sugar, but he said he was hired by a man named Trung to take care of it and did not know its origin.

Tam said Trung, who was also from the same district, had tried to convince him to store the sugar and had promised to pay him a lot for it.

Earlier, on Friday, police from Chau Thanh District also seized a truck, with registration number 70C- 049.16, carrying 42 tonnes of refined sugar in 200 sacks while travelling from Cambodia to Viet Nam.

Nguyen Tan Loc, 42, the truck driver, also said he had been hired by Trung to transport the sugar and did not know it was illegally imported.

Police are still investigating the case.

Bodies of two dead in ship capsize found

The bodies of two victims on board a ship that capsized on Saturday in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre were recovered this morning, said the local police.

Truong Van Muoi, 37, and Nguyen Thi Nguyet Tien, 18, were the only two who died when the ship, which was captained by Dang Truong Phat, partly sank during a storm on the Tien River.

The ship, carrying fruits and 26 passengers on board, was on its way from Cho Lach to HCM City.

Witnesses said Muoi and Tien jumped off the ship in panic and drowned in the river.

All the remaining passengers were brought inland later by locals' boats.

Earlier, search efforts for Muoi and Tien were hindered by bad weather.

Police arrest 40 for gambling on illegal cockfight

Uncovering a large gambling ring involved in cockfight, police arrested some 40 gamblers in the township of northern Hung Yen Province.

Hundreds of gamblers on Saturday gathered at a farm owned by Nguyen Ngoc Kheo, 59, in Bao Khe Commune, when police broke in and seized 15 fighting cocks, VND500 million (US$24,000), some 100 motorbikes, and many mobile phones.

While 40 gamblers were arrested from the spot, several others, including viewers, managed to escape.

According to police, this has so far been the largest-ever gambling ring they have unearthed in the province.

Local people who tipped off police about the gambling ring said cockfighting was organised every weekend for more than three months.

Gamblers used cockfighting for gambling and pay about VND50,000 each to enter the ring. They can bring their own cockfighting birds too. Each cock that won would pay about VND500,000 to the ring owner.

Police said they will expand their investigation and will impose strict charges on the gamblers arrested.

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