Vietnam joins global efforts to control containers

The Prime Minister on September 15 approved Vietnam’s participation in the Global Container Control Programme (CCP) which is sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through a non-refundable aid.

Launched in 2004, the CCP has a global reach and aims to fortify the structures and processes that allow for the application of sustainable laws for States and selected ports to minimize the exploitation of maritime containers for drug trafficking and transnational organized crime activities.

The 2.7-million-USD program will be realized in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines from 2014 onward.

According to the UNODC, about 90 percent of all trade is conducted via sea containers with more than 500 million are being shipped yearly in the trade supply chain, and less than 2 percent of this amount is inspected.

The incredible volume of containers travelling around the world make them important targets for actors in the illicit drug trade and even more so for those involved in producing and delivering counterfeit goods and merchandise.-

5 Vietnamese girls returned home

Five Vietnamese girls were returned to Viet Nam on Thursday by Cambodia's Ministry of Social Issues, Veterans and Adolescents.

Promised jobs selling coffee, the girls were instead sold to brothels in Cambodia, according to the police.

Cambodian police found the girls in October 2013, following which they were handed over to the Ministry of Social Issues, Veterans and Adolescents. Representatives from Viet Nam's Department of Immigration and Tay Ninh's Police Department met them at the Moc Bai International Border Gate in Tay Ninh on Thursday.

Capital tackles illegal cigarettes

The Hoan Kiem People's Committee plans to crack down on illegal cigarette sales around Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the capital city.

A recent survey by the city's Steering Committee 389, which combats smuggling and illegal trading, revealed that there were 22 illegal vendors around the lake: eight from the district and the rest from elsewhere in Ha Noi.

"The Hoan Kiem District People's Committee has been working with other districts to eliminate the illegal sale of cigarettes around the lake. Local patrols have been dispatched to keep an eye on those individuals," said Lam Quoc Hung, head of the committee.

Sellers often divided their stock into small stashes and hid them until they found buyers, making it hard for the authorities to deal with the situation.

"We have to be careful to protect our stock, especially the valuable ones like imported cigars," said a cigarette vendor sitting by the lake who preferred to remain anonymous. "Mess up one time and you will lose most of your capital."

As cigarette vendors were no longer allowed to set up shop on the pavement around the lake, she simply stood around waiting for buyers.

Asked if she was worried about the crackdown by the city, she replied: "Our price is competitive compared to the licensed stores. Buyers will come to us and we have always figured out a way."

One way that she and other vendors evade the law is by offering delivery services. Regulars don't come to the lake; rather, they place orders by phone and have cigarettes delivered to their homes.

"Cigarette packs are small and easy to move, so we have to inspect cigarette shops often. Immediate fines are required to keep those shops in check," said Nguyen Trong Binh, deputy head of Market Watch Division 1.

The cigarettes are generally foreign brands such as Hero, Esse, Zest, Parliament and Garam.

About one billion packs of cigarettes are imported illegally into Viet Nam per year, causing the state to lose US$210–240 million annually, according to the Viet Nam Tobacco Association.

The association proposed several ways to stop cigarette smuggling, including tightening controls over cigarette imports at border crossings, stepping up co-operation among local authorities and cracking down on cigarette vendors.

Oyster breeders remove tires from Lang Co Bay

Following directions from the Lang Co Town People's Committee, 85 households tore down their oyster-breeding structures yesterday.

Approximately 290 households raise oysters on Lang Co Bay, using old tyres held up by wooden sticks. With 500 such structures, one household can produce about four tons of oysters per year, resulting in profits of VND40-50 million (US$1,900-2,380).

However, the tires also create an eyesore on Lang Co Bay, situated 60km from Hue and 20km from Da Nang and recognised as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. The 1,600-hectare Lap An lagoon is currently occupied by more than a million old tyres.

The People's Committee originally imposed the deadline of August 15 for residents to tear down the structures, but lacked the funds to implement the decision.

"Moving the structures was difficult because we could not find a new place for them. Moreover, we did not have enough funds to support local residents to enroll in vocational training and find new jobs," said deputy chairman of the committee Tran Dinh Vui.

Authorities plan to tell the residents to tear down the structures as soon as possible.

"Local residents have raised oysters for generations and it's their main income, so it's very hard for them to quit the job and we want to give them enough time," said Vui.

More than VND12 million ($570) was supplied by the Phu Loc District People's Committee for the project, but nearly VND3.6 billion ($171,400) was needed.

HCM City launches seeds centre

The Southern Seed Corporation has put into operation a Vegetable and Flower Seeds Centre in HCM City's Cu Chi District with a total investment cost of VND30 billion (US$1.4 million).

Using the most modern technology, the centre is expected to provide a wide variety of high-quality vegetable and flower seeds, meeting domestic demand and export.

It will train farmers in advanced cultivation methods to meet the goal of modernisation of agriculture and rural areas.

Dr Nguyen Quoc Vong, member of the company's board of directors, said besides the task of producing new seeds, the centre would also be a vegetable production model following VietGap (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) standards where farmers can visit.

There is an enormous demand for high-quality vegetable seeds in the domestic market, he said.

The country needs more than 8,000 tonnes of vegetable seeds a year, of which more than 80 per cent must be imported. About 10 per cent are created by farmers, and the rest are provided by enterprises, institutes and universities.

Overweight trucks caught in Thanh Hoa

Six sand trucks exceeding the weight limit were caught on Highway 47 in Trieu Son, Thanh Hoa this morning.

"The drivers had no papers to prove their business credentials, so we could only put one truck on the scale," said Trinh Ngoc Minh, Chief Inspector of Thanh Hoa's Department of Transportation and Traffic.

The weighed truck exceeded the limit by 200 per cent. The police put the rest of the trucks in custody.

Drug traffickers held in Mong Cai

The Bac Son Border Guard Station in the northern province of Quang Ninh's Mong Cai City arrested two local men for smuggling 760 methamphetamine pills from China to Viet Nam.

The border station reported yesterday that a man named Pham Van Tuyen was caught on Sunday with eight nylon bags that contained the drugs.

Further investigation led to the arrest of another man named Nguyen Van Son.

The police are continuing the investigation of the case.

Quarry blasts rock surrounding neighbourhood

For years, stone exploitation has disrupted daily life for the 20 households living near Trung Anh Company's quarry in northern Phu Tho Province's Yen Lap District.

"When dynamite is used to loosen rocks, our houses are showered with stones," said Du Quoc Tai, who lives in the district's Dinh Village.

Tai's fellow villager Ha Thi Minh was terrified when an 8kg stone from the quarry landed in front of her house. Hoang Ngoc Cham, who lives 700 metres from the quarry, said his house's glazed door was broken by a similar stone.

Local residents also complained about noise and dust.

Authorised agencies had failed to monitor companies' implementation of stone exploitation regulations, explained Hoang Nhu Lo, head of the Mineral Management Office under the provincial Natural Resources and Environment Department.

Chairman of Yen Lap District People's Committee Nguyen Truong Son also blamed the situation on poor management by authorised agencies.

The province has 24 quarries, mainly located in Yen Lap and Thanh Son districts. Yen Lap district had conducted inspections of 14 local quarries, according to Son.

A survey of 19 mineral exploitation companies by the provincial Industry and Trade Department revealed that six failed to routinely check lighting-resistant systems for their dynamite warehouses and 14 of 19 dynamite warehouses failed to follow dynamite storage regulations.

Hundreds of fake iPhones seized

Ha Noi police seized 264 fake iPhone 4S models on a bus bound for the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau yesterday.

They also found 140 back panels and phone components.

Bus driver Tran Ngoc Hoa failed to show documents to prove the origin of the goods. He admitted that he was paid VND400,000 (US$19) to transport the goods from Ha Noi to HCM City.

The case is under investigation.

Da Nang launches tourism portal

This central city's Culture, Sport and Tourism Department has launched its latest online tourism information portal following an eight-month trial period to further boost its tourism industry.

On the debut of www.tourism.danang.vn, the department said the portal would enable tourists to quickly get online information on bookings at restaurants and hotels as well as pricing and itineraries of tours to choice destinations in the city and world heritage sites in the central region.

The English-Vietnamese website has also been building its Japanese, Russian and Korean language editions.

The department has also co-operated with the Military Telecommunications Group, Viettel, in offering SMS Welcome service for travel and tour agencies and tourism information and promotion programmes.

The city has opened two tourism information centres at Da Nang International Airport's national arrival terminal that provide free maps, brochures and information on hotels and travel and tour agencies.

Traffickers receive death sentences

Nguyen Huu Bang, 35, and Nguyen Ngoc Hung, 45, received death penalties for drug trafficking in a court in the central province of Thanh Hoa yesterday.

Bang's wife Le Thi At was sentenced to life imprisonment while Hung's wife Phan Thi Vi and another defendant Van Thi Nga were sentenced to 20 years in jail.

The five were caught on December 31, 2013 when trying to sell more than 5 kg of synthetic drugs that had been transported to Viet Nam from Laos.

More than 100kg of drugs destroyed

Police in the northern province of Ha Giang's Meo Vac District yesterday destroyed more than 100 kg of herbal drugs of unknown origin.

Offered for sale at markets to ethnic minority residents for under US$1, they included massage balms and diarrhoea treatments.

Three fishing boat owners caught using compressed-air vessels

Local authorities on Thursday seized three fishing boats whose owners were caught using compressed-air vessels in this northern province's Co To District.

Arrested on suspicion of illegal fishing were Tran Van Ngai, Tran Dinh Cuong and Pham Van Huy. The suspects, all residents of Cam Linh Commune on Cam Xuyen District in central Ha Tinh Province, failed to produce documents confirming they were authorised to use compressed-air vessels.

The use of compressed-air vessels in fishing has been banned for its negative impact on the marine environment and the health risks it poses to scuba divers.

Ly Son Islands plants iconic Bang Vuong tree

As many as 15,000 Bang Vuong saplings (Malabar Almond) are being grown in Ly Son island district in the central province of Quang Ngai in a bid to preserve the iconic island tree and increase islanders’ incomes.

The Bang Vuong seedlings cultivation project, which was started in 2011, has been implemented by soldiers under the Military Command of Ly Son Island.

The idea was inspired by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Dao, Head of Logistics and Engineering Department under the Military Command, who spent half his life on the island, one of the country’s outposts.

Dao said the Bang Vuong tree represents the strength and resilience of islanders in the face of difficulties and challenges.

According to Deputy Chief-Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ho Ngoc Hien, the cultivation of Bang Vuong seedlings simply requires the careful selection of seeds and frequent watering. Cultivation is straightforward since the plant thrives in all kinds of weather conditions.

Currently, 2,500 Bang Vuong trees line the islands’ streets, providing shade and an aesthetically-pleasing environment.

Logistics Assistant Lieutenant Nguyen Duc Thuan said tourists will be given two saplings to take home with them in a bid to develop tourism and distribute the trees across Vietnam.

Recently, the district Military Command presented 1,000 saplings to Ho Chi Minh City and received large orders from the central city of Da Nang, as well as other provinces and cities all over the country.

Ly Son ready to connect to national power grid

A 22kV undersea power transmission cable line was connected successfully to a transformer station on Ly Son island district’s An Vinh commune, the central province of Quang Ngai, on September 15.

The work was undertaken by a contractor partnered by the Italia-based multinational company Prysmian and Vietnam’s Thai Duong company under the supervision of the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) and relevant authorities.

The cable is now being fixed firmly to ensure absolute safety and smooth operation for the network, which is scheduled to officially run on September 28.

The project worth over 652 billion VND (31.1 million USD) comprises an 8.7 km-long middle-voltage transmission line in Binh Son district and a 26.2m undersea cable line connecting Ly Son district.

Once joining the national power grid, the undersea cable line will greatly contribute to national security and marine industry development of the island district and will benefit 22,000 islanders.

Fifteen nautical miles from land, Ly Son, covering 10 sq.km, is the only island district of Quang Ngai.

It lies on the sea route from the north to the south of Vietnam and at the gateway of Quang Ngai’s Dung Quat Economic Zone, as well as of the central key economic region.

Education and sci-tech progress is key to success: PM

Training human resources to the highest standards, coupled with scientific-technological innovation, is pivotal to success, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.

Speaking to staff and students at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi (VNU) on September 15, Dung reiterated that the Party and State regard education as the top national priority.

The 2014-2015 year is of particular significance since the country is radically and thoroughly overhauling its education and training system, the PM said during his opening speech at the ceremony to launch the VNU’s new academic year.

To support this process, he urged the VNU and universities and colleges all over the country to revise their management practices and govern themselves autonomously and effectively, saying that these are decisive factors for improving their performance.

Apart from updating their curricula, he asked universities to be more active in scientific research and the transfer of technology, making them a productive environment for inventions and scientific breakthroughs.

He pointed out that the initiative relied on a contingent of qualified lecturers and managers in terms of intellect and virtue, and a modern infrastructure system, the two prerequisites for innovation.

The entire education sector is geared towards producing cohorts of high-calibre graduates who will drive national development, he stressed.

The PM took the occasion to ask VNU and the Ministry of Construction to relocate three of its universities in the next five years.

This year, the VNU revised its syllabi to meet new demands for higher education and increase the scale of post-tertiary education.

Many of its programmes meet the ASEAN University Network quality standards, benefitting its students, who are able to secure jobs after graduation more easily.

The VNU strikes a balance between liberal arts and science, and between basic sciences and applied sciences. It is one of Vietnam’s three leading institutions in terms of the number of scientific studies published in international publications.

Vietnam, Russia enhance educational cooperation

Representatives from Russian universities are on a September 14-19 visit to boost collaboration with Vietnamese schools.

During their stay, they will hold a working session with Vietnam ’s Ministry of Education and Training and visit some schools and universities in Hanoi where they plan to introduce Russia ’s educational services and talk cooperation programmes in the future.

The Russian guests will exchange views with their Vietnamese counterparts on possibilities for implementing joint scientific research and organising joint seminars and conferences.

On the occasion, the Russian Science and Culture Centre in Vietnam held a press conference on the “Russian Universities” project in Hanoi on September 15.

Shafinskaya Natalia, representative of the centre, said the project aims at establishing and developing direct relations between Vietnamese and Russian universities as well as encouraging young Vietnamese to pursue education in Russia.

Gia Lai ethnic minorities settle into housing

A total of 200 disadvantaged rural households in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai were provided with 30m2 houses on September 14, donated by the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Vietinbank).

The total investment was worth more than 11.2 billion VND (526,400 USD).

The majority of beneficiaries are of the Bahnar-J’rai communities in the province’s six poor districts of Chu Prong, Chu Se, Chu Puh, Phu Thien, Mang Ya and Krong Pa.

In Ia Mor commune in Chu Prong district, 50 houses were constructed, making it the first commune to eliminate household poverty based on housing conditions.

In recent years, Gia Lai has received 120 billion VND (5.64 million USD) from Vietinbank for its social welfare programmes, building a total of 500 houses for the poor, two schools and two communal houses.

With an area of more than 15,500 square kilometres, Gia Lai is home to more than 1.2 million people (2009 statistics), including 34 ethnic groups such as the Bahnar, Xo Dang, Thai and Muong.

Farmers reap high profits from prawn breeding scheme

Farming blue-legged giant prawns in paddy fields during the flooding season in Dong Thap Province has brought high profits for farmers in recent years.

Many farmers began breeding the prawns after harvesting their winter-spring rice crop this year. Dong Thap floods more heavily than other provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

In Tam Nong District, farmers adjusted their paddy embankments and used lime to sterilise fields in addition to putting up stakes and nets in surrounding fields.

Tam Nong District has the largest blue-legged giant prawn breeding area in Dong Thap.

Nguyen Thanh Cong, who has bred the prawns in Tam Nong's Phu Binh B Commune for seven years, said he had been breeding prawns over a 5.5ha area.

Blue-legged giant prawns grow rapidly when flood waters are high. Flooding conditions also provide an abundance of food for the prawns.

Cong started breeding prawns in June. The prawns take about six months to grow to full size.

In the delta, the annual flood season caused by the rising water levels of the Mekong River usually begins in August and lasts about five months.

Breeding blue-legged giant prawns in the flood season also brings other benefits for paddy fields as flood waters bring fertile silt into the fields, benefiting the next rice crop.

Last year, Cao Lanh had 124ha of blue-legged giant prawn and harvested a total of 234 tonnes, according to Nguyen Minh Khoa, deputy head of the Cao Lanh's Fisheries Station.

Farmers earned a profit of VND80-100 million ($3,800-4,700) per ha for each prawn crop last year, Khoa said.

Some farmers earned VND120-140 million ($5,700-6,600) per ha, four to five times higher than rice cultivation, he said.

However, to ensure stable outlets for the prawns, farmers need to join cooperatives. With such an arrangement, farmers could more easily sign contracts with companies to buy animal feed, medicines and quality prawn fries at reasonable prices.

Currently, blue-legged giant prawns are bought domestically and not exported, as supply has not met local demand.

Dong Thap plans to breed about 1,200ha of blue-legged giant prawns in this year's flooding season.

According to Nhu Van Can, deputy director of the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that blue-legged giant prawns play a secondary role after tra fish in the province's freshwater aquatic cultivation.

The rotation of rice and blue-legged giant prawn cultivation in paddy fields promotes sustainable cultivation and production.

However, the province still lacks a sufficient supply of prawn fries.

In addition, farmers have been reluctant to invest in breeding prawns because of changing weather patterns and the higher expense.

Farmers in Dong Thap now have to buy prawns from other provinces or countries such as Thailand.

Under the provincial People's Committee's plan to develop blue-legged giant prawn to 2020, Dong Thap targets having 4,000 ha of blue-legged giant prawns with an output of 6,400 tonnes in 2015, and 6,000ha in 2020 with an output of 9,600 tonnes.

Can said to develop cultivation sustainably, the shortage of prawn fries should be solved first.

Last year, more than 20 provinces and cities nationwide bred blue-legged giant prawns in a total area of 12,299ha.

Of the figure, the Cuu Long Delta accounted for 12,250ha, or 99.6 per cent, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

However, provinces and cities that breed blue-legged giant prawns can only supply 40-50 per cent of prawn fries for local farmers.

According to Nguyen Thanh Vu of the National Breeding Centre for Southern Freshwater Aquaculture said breeding the prawns has more advantages than other freshwater species as it requires less investment capital, and has fewer risks and more stable prices. Farming techniques are uncomplicated as well.

Blue-legged giant prawns can be bred in ponds and paddy fields, and with other fish species.

To increase the supply of fries, the Dong Thap People's Committee agreed to allow Ba Tong, a company that produces and trades the giant prawns, to set up a farm that produces blue-legged giant prawn fries.

The farm, which is expected to be put into operation this year, will be able to produce about 130 million fries a year, helping to ensure fry supply for local farmers.

Work agencies get thumbs up

Twenty-three per cent of Vietnamese recruitment agencies sending workers abroad were rated as "A1" or "top excellent" in an official ranking published yesterday.

More than 50 per cent of the agencies belonged to group A2, or "excellent", and nearly one fifth received B1 status - "good".

The evaluations were made by the Viet Nam Association of Manpower Supply (VAMAS) on the basis of a Code of Conduct for recruitment agencies.

This was introduced in 2010 with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through the GMS Triangle project funded by the Australian Government.

The Code of Conduct is a voluntary self-regulation tool aimed at improving companies' compliance with Vietnamese legislation and international standards, ensuring better business management and protecting migrant workers from exploitation.

The ranking includes four categories – top excellent and excellent (A1 and A2), good (B1 and B2), satisfactory (C1 and C2) and not satisfactory (D1 and D2).

Nguyen Luong Trao, VAMAS's president said the evaluation was not only about data, assessment and rating but more about persuading and supporting companies to improve work ethics and comply with ILO standards.

Nguyen Ngoc Thach, deputy general director of the SIMCO Song Da Joint Stock Company, which was assessed as an excellent recruiter (A2 ranking), said the programme was objective because assessments were made by gathering feedback from workers, localities and country representative offices in Viet Nam.

He said it benefited recruitment companies of high quality by boosting their reputation.

In the second year of ranking, the number of recruitment agencies opening up for evaluation more than doubled to 47 from 20 in the first year.

They account for more than 27 per cent of all the agencies in the country and cover half of the total number of contract-based overseas workers. The number of participating agencies is expected to reach 70 in the third year.

Six out of 20 companies rated in the first year climbed up in rankings in the second year by showing improvements whereas five others took a step back due to violations of the code.

Experts said they hoped the rankings would help boost competitiveness among enterprises so that they worked harder to improve their services to workers.

Tro said VAMAS also hoped to expand the code compliance to all recruitment agencies, while noting that this could be difficult because of the voluntary nature of the organization.

He said he expected more support from State agencies, especially the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor, in efforts to expand the evaluation.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, said the Ministry was committed to supporting efforts to expand the size of evaluation.

"It's a good way to promote fair competition, prevent abusive practices in the recruitment processes, improve the quality of company services, and bring companies to a new height," he added.

Hoa requested VAMAS, through the knowledge it gains from code assessment, to contribute to the revision of the Law for Vietnamese Workers Overseas in 2016. The law was issued in 2006.

He said the new law would be revised so that it better supported Vietnamese workers abroad.

While stressing the need that State agencies and companies take better care of workers, Hia also said it also important that workers take care of themselves, implying the importance of raising awareness and knowledge.

He also said Vietnam should learn from countries in the region, which had experiences in sending workers overseas, such as Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. He said they all sent more workers overseas than Vietnam.

The flow of Vietnamese workers overseas is expected to increase when the ASEAN Economic Community comes into being at the end of 2015.

"This requires better protection of migrant workers and improved services of recruitment agencies. So self-regulations tools are a win-win solution to both companies and workers," said ILO Viet Nam Director Gyorgy Sziraczki.

"Labour migration should no longer be seen as only a way to reduce poverty. Viet Nam should look more into the quality of recruitment services and the protection of workers to reap the full benefits of international migration."

Viet Nam presently has more than 170 recruitment agencies. It sends about 80,000 workers abroad annually to more than 40 countries.

Scholarships granted to OV students in Laos

The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos presented the Vietnamese Government’s scholarships to 25 outstanding overseas Vietnamese students in Laos on September 12.

The beneficiaries will continue their studies during the 2014-2015 academic year in Vietnam.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Nguyen Manh Hung highlighted the significance of the donation, saying it reflects the Party and State’s attention to OVs’ children.

He called on the Vietnamese community in Laos to increase their support for educational efforts in a bid to improve the learning conditions for students in the future.

Sectors join hands to brace for Ebola epidemic

Representatives from relevant ministries and agencies gathered at a seminar in the northern port city of Hai Phong on September 15 to popularise measures against Ebola virus which has killed more than 2,400 people in West Africa to date.

Vietnam has so far recorded no cases of Ebola infection, said deputy head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department Dang Quang Tan. However, he warned of a possibility that the virus could enter the country.

The health sector has applied medical declaration forms and temperature scanning of passengers from Ebola-affected regions at international border gates, while isolating those possibly exposed to the virus and taking their blood samples for further tests, he said.

The passengers will also be put under strict community surveillance within three weeks since the date they left the affected areas, he said, adding that the most effective measure is to wash hands regularly with soap or antiseptic solution.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport said it has launched a plan against possible petechial fever caused by Ebola virus with a goal of early detecting infections in the sector, preventing the epidemic from spreading and minimising deaths.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also issued an action plan to prevent the virus, which poses a high risk of entering the country via tourists, and at the same time encouraged Vietnamese people to travel at home.

The Ministry of Public Security affirmed that its clinics have prepared medicine, equipment, isolation areas and workforce in case of any Ebola outbreak.

Ebola can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and internal and external bleeding. The earlier the virus is detected and the symptoms are treated, the higher the chance of survival is, according to the World Health Organisation.

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