Authorities ask firm to recall contaminated food

Inspectors of the agriculture and rural development ministry and police yesterday detected the use of banned chemical substances in animal husbandry in the northern Hai Duong Province.

The inspectors discovered a toxic substance in animal feed in Truong Phu Ltd Company. The company used vat yellow and lean-meat agents, which are not allowed in food processing, as they pose a health risk to people.

The inspectors asked the company to recall all products that it supplied to the market and to destroy them.

Vat yellow is an imported substance that is used for dyeing cloth or in the construction sector.

Pham Tien Dung, head of the inspection team, said seven of eight samples of the company's products were contaminated with the banned substances.

Breeders mix vat yellow with animal feed to make chicken look more attractive to traders and customers, Dung said.

The inspectors also discovered several kilograms of vat yellow at the company. The authorities estimated that the company released nearly 300 tonnes of animal feed containing the banned substance in the market.

According to the latest circular of the agriculture ministry, the Truong Phu Company will be fined VND280 million (US$12,700), be forced to suspend production for one month and will have to withdraw all its products from the market.

Marine police seize 80,000 litres of smuggled oil

Soldiers posted along the border in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have seized a vessel carrying 80,000 litres of oil with no clear origin.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hung Son, head of the Ben Da Unit, said the team had stopped a Duy Dong 02 vessel, with registration number BV 1258, for inspection.

The vessel was carrying some 190,000 litres of oil in its tank. However, Nguyen Cong Trinh, the captain, could only show papers for 110,000 litres of oil. The rest had no clear origin.

The case is still under investigation.

Authorities destroy smuggled dried leeches in Tay Ninh

The southern Tay Ninh Province's fisheries department yesterday destroyed 72kg of dried leeches that were smuggled from Cambodia to Viet Nam.

The police in Chau Thanh District's Thanh Long Commune earlier found Lam Van Viet, 31, to be transporting two bags of dried leeches by motorbike, and seized his cargo.

Viet said he was transporting two bags, but did not know that they contained dried leeches. He said a woman living near his house had hired him to transport the cargo, which she claimed was dried fish.

According to the department officials, four cases of transportation of live leeches, weighing a total 600kg, have been detected in the province so far this year. This was the first time the transportation of dried leeches had been detected.

Local people have been collecting and transporting leeches of late because of reports that they are used for treating diseases. There is demand from many foreigners too, but the local people don't know that trade in leeches is prohibited by law.

Building construction work halted over safety concerns

The Ha Noi's Hoang Mai District People's Committee ordered the construction work of an office and condominium project to be suspended on Monday, as it has severely affected the buildings nearby.

The project at 87 Linh Nam Street involves the construction of a high-rise business centre, office and condominium project.

Nguyen Thi Huong, a resident living near the construction site, told Viet Nam News that rocks falling from a crane had damaged the roofs of many houses.

"Not only that, grease from the crane has fallen onto the nearby roofs several times, posing a significant fire and explosion risk if electrical appliances catch fire," Huong said.

Nguyen Duong Tuan, a resident of No 20, Lane 85, said his four-storey house was damaged at several places, and the sanitation area was filled with water and could not be used.

The walls of many other houses have been ripped apart in several places.

Document No. 8972 / 25.09.2015 SXD-GDCL of the Ha Noi Construction Department, sent to the developers of the project, clearly says the cranes that affect local traffic and neighbouring buildings are allowed to operate only between 10pm and 6am. Plus, there must be adequate number of warning systems and instructors to ensure traffic safety. The operators also have to boost checks to ensure the cranes are safe to operate.

However, observers said the cranes were still being blatantly operated outside the permitted time-frame.

Deputy Chairman of the District People's Committee Nguyen Duc Hai asked Mai Dong Ward to immediately stop the operation of the cranes as the developers had not submitted plans to temporarily move households out of the affected area.

After all the residents are moved out, the developers have to comply with the time frame set by the city's construction department. "Mai Dong Ward authorities will be responsible to the district if the violations continue," Hai said.

Referring to the damage caused to local residents' property by the Linh Nam project, Hai said the developers had to coordinate with the ward People's Committee to prepare a compensation plan for the local people by November 25.

If the residents agree, the developers will be allowed to resume construction. But if they disagree, the construction work must be postponed.

The 2ha building, which is a joint venture of beverage company Viet Ha Corporation and the Viet Nam Engineering and Construction Joint Stock Company, will have four buildings with 19 to 30 floors.

Ha Noi destroys 5,000 pirated books

The Ha Noi Department of Information and Communications yesterday destroyed more than 5,000 pirated books that Ha Noi Police had seized this year.

Nearly 3,600 of the destroyed books were from Thuy Binh, Tri Duc and Quang Loi bookstores, while more than 1,800 pirated copies of the book entitled Dac Nhan Tam (How to Win Friends and Influence People) by author Dale Carnegie were from Duong Khanh Printing Co., Ltd.

Dac Nhan Tam is the registered property of First News-Tri Viet Publishing Co., Ltd.

The owners of the three bookstores could not show any legal documents to prove the place of origin of these books and the printing company could not show any contract with the publishing company.

The action taken by the authorities showed their determination to promote a healthy publishing market and a reading culture among the public, a representative of the department said.

Large fish spotted off Tuy Hoa City

Coach management team of central Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City today banned people from swimming in the sea after a large fish, weighing about one tonne, was seen near the shore yesterday.

The move was aimed ensuring people's safety, the coach management team of the city in the central province said. The team is on duty 24 hours a day on the shore to spot and identify the fish, which is believed to be about 4m long.

Four years ago, local fishermen caught a shark near a beach of the province's Song Cau Town.

Hospital forum focuses on provision of comprehensive care

More than 150 health experts are discussing measures to improve the quality of hospital management at the seventh annual hospital forum that opened today in Ha Noi.

The two-day meeting is being held under the framework of the Vietnamese-German development health programme as a forum of exchange on crucial topics and innovations contributing to strengthening Viet Nam's health system.

"We are already well-connected within our project areas. Yet, face-to-face meetings are very important to exchange insights and lessons learnt beyond provincial and hospital borders," Dr Anna Frisch, chief technical advisor of the Deutsche Gesellschaft for International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)'s health programme in Viet Nam, said.

Whereas earlier forums focused on modern technologies for hospital management, hospital financing, infrastructure and quality management topics, this year's hospital forum focuses on comprehensive care, human resource management and gender mainstreaming.

The forum will concentrate on the usage of software for human resource management and on the integration and monitoring of gender perspectives at every stage of hospital management processes.

Provincial and district hospitals will share their experiences and observations about recent interventions to improve the quality of care.

The seventh hospital forum marked seven years of continued fruitful partnership with GIZ's health programme. Together we would keep working towards providing better access to quality healthcare services in Viet Nam's rural areas, National Programme Director at the health ministry Dr Tran Quy Tuong said.

Under the framework of the project, more than 1,300 nurses have been trained in comprehensive care and 13 hospitals have developed human resource management strategies using modern IT tools. The project also developed a gender handbook with a web-based monitoring tool. 

Tonnes of bananas go to waste

As the sales price of bananas steadily rose last year there were many farmers in northern Vinh Phuc province who took out loans to expand their orchards. Without notice, however, China ceased buying Vietnamese bananas so most of this year’s harvest was simply disposed of.

At the same China ceased buying Vietnamese bananas the domestic market also declined. Last year the sales price was VND130,000 to VND150,000 a bunch but is now VND20,000 to VND30,000, making it more economical for farmers to throw away their crop.

“We can’t sell them all and we can’t eat them all,” banana grower Ms. Nguyen Thi Luoc told local media. “We tried to feed local cattle with bananas they soon tired of them and wouldn’t eat any more.”

Vinh Phuc currently grows 300 ha of bananas, with output of more than 2,000 tonnes annually. Last year the price was extremely high and farmers did very well. This prompted many to borrow money to expand their growing area, but their efforts have only landed them in debt.

“Like many others, we borrowed money from the bank but now can’t even afford to pay the interest let along the principal,” said farmer Ms. Le Thi To.

Local authorities are at a loss at what to do. “We have been trying to improve the living conditions of people here but the price of bananas makes everyone’s life difficult,” Mr. Doan Xuan Tuan, Deputy Chairman of Lien Chau Commune People’s Committee told local media.

Low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific opens new routes

Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam’s low-cost airline, has opened three new domestic routes. 

The new routes are between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, Vinh in the central province of Nghe An and Cam Ranh in the central province of Khanh Hoa, and Hanoi and Tuy Hoa in the central province of Phu Yen. 

The cheapest price from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat is VND450,000 (US$20). From Vinh to Cam Ranh is VND790,000 and from Hanoi to Tuy Hoa is VND1,020,000. 

Flights will begin on December 15, with one flight per week between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat, three flights per week between Vinh and Cam Ranh, and four flights per week between Hanoi and Tuy Hoa. 

On the occasion, the airline will sell tickets at the price of VND3,000 on 18 domestic routes and five international routes from 11 a.m on November 16 to November 17. 

From 11 a.m. on November 17 to November 20, the ‘Buy a departing ticket, get a free return ticket’ promotion programme will be applied to 23 domestic routes and five international routes. 

Tickets will be automatically distributed by computers at all sales channels, including www.jetstar.com , ticket offices and agents nationwide. 

At the end of October, the airline opened routes from Hue to Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku and Chu Lai to Buon Ma Thuot. 

Vietnam Airlines and Qantas Airlines, main shareholders of Jetstar Pacific, agreed to increase the airline’s fleet to 30 planes by 2020. 

Jetstar Pacific is a member of the Jestar Group, a leading low-cost airline brand in Asia-Pacific with a fleet of 75 aircraft and network of routes to 17 countries.

HCM City urged to change bus subsidy method

Experts and HCMC People’s Council deputies have called on the municipal government to provide subsidies for commuters rather than bus operators as a measure to deal with a steady fall in public transport users.

Last week, deputies of the council looked into the efficiency of bus subsidies and service quality at Saigon Passenger Transport Co. Ltd. (Saigon Bus) and May 19 Transport Cooperative. These entities reported significant declines in commuters in the first half of the year.

In particular, Saigon Bus transported 121.8 million passengers from January to June this year, down from 129.5 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the cooperative saw only 24.5 million passengers, meeting 84% of the target.

The two attributed the drops to deteriorating locally assembled buses, heavier traffic congestion and inappropriate behaviors of drivers and their assistants towards passengers.

The two bus operators complained that subsidy cuts for bus services have made it hard for them to cover operating costs.

However, deputies of the council said transport enterprises should be held responsible for the commuter fall and called for change to the way subsidies are provided.

Professor Nguyen Thi Canh of the HCMC University of Economics said the city is subsidizing buses in an inefficient way and that the city should directly subsidize bus fares for commuters instead of bus operators.

Canh said this subsidy change would work if pre-paid smart cards are used.

Nguyen Van Lam, deputy head of the Economic and Budgetary Committee of the council, urged transport operators to improve service quality as it is commuters who generate revenue for them, not the State.

According to Lam, subsidies for bus enterprises have not gone down in the last few years and are still over VND1 trillion (US$45.1 million) a year. However, the efficiency of the public bus service has remained low, which is evident in ebbing commuter interest.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, city buses met only 9.9% of commuter demand and carried 593 million people in 2014, down 4.7% over a year earlier. The figure in the first six months of 2015 declined 6.1% year-on-year to nearly 271 million.

Vietnam helps train Laos' reporters

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), in collaboration with the Lao Institute for Information, Culture and Tourism, opened a training course for 35 reporters from Laos’ press agencies in Vientiane on November 16. 

This is the 12th training course held by the two offices aiming to improve professional knowledge and capacity for Lao journalists. 

Head of the MIC’s Authority of Press Hoang Huu Luong said that this course focuses on equipping participants with knowledge and experience in working during major events, in the context that Laos is to celebrate its 40th founding anniversary on December 2, and to organise the 10th National Party Congress and to assume the Chair of ASEAN in 2016. 

Director of the Lao Institute for Information, Culture and Tourism Vilaythong Sisanone spoke highly of the outcomes of the 11 previous training courses, saying that they have helped raise Lao reporters’ journalist skills. 

The training course will last one week.

Ho Chi Minh City airport applies dual luggage scan to cut exit time

Passengers leaving Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City will save time exiting as their luggage will be scanned by both customs and security forces at the same time instead of twice as was previously the case from Monday onward, customs officers said.

The new procedure is made pursuant to Government Decree 92 on aviation security issued on October 13, 2015 that will take effect on November 27, 2015.

Based on the decree, the transport ministry called on its finance counterpart, which manages the General Department of Vietnam Customs, to combine the two procedures into one.

After the finance ministry gave approval to the dual scanning method, the transport ministry’s Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) requested that all international airports and those domestic terminals that offer international services carry out the one-time luggage scan within the final quarter of this year.

The new procedure must be jointly implemented by customs and security forces at each of the airports, the CAAV said.  

The dual luggage scan is aimed at reducing the time passengers have to wait for their baggage to be checked before they leave Vietnam, according to the CAAV.

As for Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the CAAV have requested that the new rule be applied sooner than other airports.

During the one-time scan, customs officers will examine luggage to discover and handle any illegal exports from Vietnam such as undeclared foreign currency or Vietnamese dong; gold, precious metals and stones; or goods that are banned from being exported.

Meanwhile, security officers will check luggage to detect and handle any weapons, explosives or other items that can threaten flight safety.

Previously, passengers leaving Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat, as well as other international airports, had their carry-on and checked luggage scanned separately by airport security and customs officers.

This scan procedure tended to cause overload and delays during peak hours, the CAAV said.

EVN replants trees in more than 12000ha

Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has replanted trees in more than 12,850ha to replace the forests it chopped down to make room for its 18 hydropower plants nationwide.

The replanting of trees by three hydropower plants in the central region - A Vuong, Song Ba Ha and Buon Tua Srah -- is over, and the process is underway at 14 other hydropower plants.

At the Huoi Quang Hydropower plant alone in the northern mountainous Lai Chau Province, the local authority has agreed that EVN will contribute to the province's forest development fund to get the job done.

Apart from spending thousands of billions of dong for the replanting of forests, the corporation also paid more than VND1 trillion (US$45 million) annually as forest environment service fees.

The corporation paid nearly VND1.15 trillion ($51.7 million) as forest environment service fees in 2013, more than VND1.19 trillion ($53.5 million) in 2014 and VND4.06 trillion ($182 million) since early this year.

According to EVN, hydropower currently provides close to 49 per cent of the country's power supply.

Figures from the industry and trade ministry show that roughly 51,000ha of forests in the country were cleared to make room for the hydropower plants. 

Workers to get free bus tickets for Tet

The Ha Noi Trade Union said it would give more than 20,000 free bus tickets to low-income workers to help them return home for the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year).

The free tickets will be provided to workers in industrial zones, processing zones and textile companies in Ha Noi, by enterprises, organisations and individuals.

According to union authorities, the buses will run on three routes -- Ha Noi-Thanh Hoa, Ha Noi- Nghe An and Ha Noi-Ha Tinh -- to pick up workers from the Thang Long and Quang Minh industrial zones and the headquarters of the trade union.

The annual activity of the trade union is aimed at helping low-income workers to return to their families to enjoy the Tet festival.

Vietnamese students benefit from Germany-funded scholarship

Over 720 scholarships worth over US$990,000 have been given to Vietnamese students under the Happel Scholarship programme funded by Germany’s Happel Institute over a decade.

A conference reviewing the programme was held in northern Thai Nguyen province on November 13 by the centre of education and vocational training cooperation under the Vietnam Study Promotion Association (VSPA) in collaboration with the Happel Institute in Vietnam.

Piloted in the Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture and the Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in 2005, the programme has benefited students in seven universities nationwide so far.

The beneficiaries included disadvantaged students with good study performances, children of families having rendered services to the national revolutionary and those living in remote and ethnic minority areas.

Each selected student receives a financial assistance of EUR30 per month. They are requested to commit to serving communities in rural or disadvantaged areas after graduation.

The Happel Institute pledged to continue its support, towards expanding the programme to more universities in the next ten years.

On the occasion, the VSPA presented certificates of merit to three organisations and seven individuals for their contributions to the programme’s development

OVs share scientific research at workshop in RoK

A workshop in Seoul on November 15 gathered Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) from throughout the country to share experience and scientific research, the Vietnam Embassy in the RoK has reported.

“The event provided scientists, scholars, and members of academia an excellent setting to share their perspectives and develop professionally from the knowledge and experience of others,” said embassy official Tran Huu Diep.

Vice Ambassador to the RoK Tran Anh Vu in turn applauded the more than 5,000 OVs in the RoK for having made significant contributions to the national construction and development.

Vice Ambassador Vu expressed his sincere appreciation for their hard and dedicated service and work and encouraged them to continue serving as a valuable resource for the host country,

Those in attendance also discussed research projects in depth and proposed measures and specific policies to serve as a catalyst for stimulating cooperation between the two countries for mutual benefit.

APEC funds scholarships for young professionals in HCM City

The Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will fund 125 scholarships worth VND425 million (US$19,125) for students and young professionals in architecture and construction fields in Ho Chi Minh City. 

The scholarships are for a training course in AutoCAD and SKETCHUP software at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, which will start on December 5. 

This is the first time APEC has provided the scholarships for Vietnam via the Japanese Government’s human resources development project, according to Saigon Giai phong newspaper. 

The programme aims to improve professional skills for the youngsters in developing countries, including Vietnam, to meet businesses’ recruitment demand and mitigate unemployment rate.

Vietnam attends charity fair in Pakistan

Vietnam joined nearly 50 foreign missions and international organisations and companies at the international charity fair PFOWA Bazaar 2015 in Pakistani capital of Islamabad on November 16.

The Vietnam’s pavilion was attractive to visitors with traditional handicrafts such as embroidery paintings, conical hats and other exquisite handmade products.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Pakistan Nguyen Xuan Luu introduced typical characteristics of the Vietnamese culture in the exhibits to visitors, including Speaker of the Pakistani National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Deputy Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chauhdry.

At the event, an art performance was also organised.

The charity fair, organised annually by the Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association in Islamabad (PFOWA), aims to raise fund to help the poor and disadvantaged people while creating better opportunities for them to access education and health care services.-

Vietnamese association in Czech Republic marks founding anniversary

The Association of Vietnamese People in the Czech Republic (AVPC) on November 16 marked its 16 th founding anniversary in Prague with a special gala staged by artists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. 

Founded on November 15, 1999, the association aims to promote solidarity and mutual support among the Vietnamese community in the host country. 

Through various activities, it has helped preserve traditional Vietnamese culture and improve relations between Vietnam and the Czech Republic. 

Hoang Dinh Thang, AVPC President, said the association’s activities cover different areas, ranging from diplomacy to popularisation, education, culture, sports and charity. 

Such cultural and sports activities have helped increase solidarity within the association, while introducing the land and people of Vietnam to Czech friends, Thang said. 

The association also expanded its ties with local authorities and media, calling for their support for Vietnamese in the Czech Republic, he said. 

About 65,000 Vietnamese live and study in the Czech Republic. In July 2013, Czech people of Vietnamese origin were recognised as the 14 th ethnic group in the Eastern European country.

Communal police abets illegal loggers, says official

Police of central Nghe An Province yesterday said that three natives were arrested while transporting illegal timber out of Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong District on Sunday.

About 28 wood panels of Sang-vi (Sapindus oocarpus Radlk) were seized by the Environmental Crime Prevention Police (PC49), Nghe An Police and the district's forces.

As the forces went deep into the commune's headwater forest reserve, they detected more sawn off planks, which increased the total amount of illegal timber seized to nearly 50 cubic metres.

Lo Van Quang, Chairman of communal People's Committee said that Kha Van Moong, a communal permanent deputy police, was involved in the illegal logging.

Moong had initially applied to the local authorities for some wood for housing. However, he then cut the wood into large panels and sold them for profit. The wood was seized by the forces while it was being transported out of the forest.

"We have asked Moong for a report of the incident, and then report to the Standing Committee for further action. But, as of now, I do not know where he is," Quang said.

The loggers who have been arrested are La Bon Tuong (31), Lu Van Hung (41) and Lo Van Thuy (26), are all residents of the commune.

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