Online newswire Vietnam Times launches Russian version

Vietnam Times, the online newswire of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), launched its Russian version on June 17 at huunghivietnga.com.vn.

The introduction of the site aims to provide information on the Party and State’s guidelines and policies, and promote images of Vietnam and its people as well as all aspects of Vietnamese society to Russian speaking countries.

The site is also a channel to reflect the friendship, people-to-people exchanges, cooperation in business, culture and art, the life of overseas Vietnamese, and political relations between Vietnam and Russian speaking countries.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong said the site presents official, necessary, diverse and interesting news to international friends, overseas Vietnamese and local people.

It also helps people from around the world learn about Vietnam and then increase exchanges and cooperation with its people, he added.

Action month against domestic violence to be launched

The Action Month against Domestic Violence will be launched at a ceremony at the Hanoi Opera House on June 26 to raise the awareness and responsibilities among authorities at all levels, sectors and society on combating domestic violence.

The event is part of activities to mark the 15th anniversary of Vietnam Family Day (June 28), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on June 17.

A writing competition will be launched during the action month to combat domestic violence. Entries will focus on individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the fight against domestic violence. The competition is open for submission until the end of October on the Family and Children Magazine.

Numerous other activities will also be organised during the annual Vietnamese Family Festival, such as cultural exchanges, photo exhibitions and workshops featuring the traditional values of Vietnamese families.

Texting campaign assists central coastal fishermen

The Vietnam Red Cross Society and the National Humanitarian Portal 1400 launched a mobile texting campaign to raise fund for fishermen residing in 10 central coastal provinces and cities on June 17.

People can support the campaign by texting “BD” to 1409; each message costs 18,000 VND (0.8 USD).

All donations will be used for the organisation of various programmes to provide free health checkups and medicine, fishing equipment and first aid training courses, among others.

Localities benefiting from these programmes include Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam and Thua Thien – Hue.

The campaign last until August 4.

In 2014, a similar campaign gathered one million text messages, equaling approximately 20 billion VND (896,800 USD). The funds raised helped the organising board buy specialised cameras and seawater filters for fisheries surveillance and coast guard forces, as well as support their families and needy fishermen.

Forest fire risk threatens many localities

Baking weather has pushed the forest fire warning in six provinces to level V – the extremely dangerous level, according to the Vietnam Forest Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

These localities are Phu Tho in the north as well as Ha Tinh, Khanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh and Quang Ngai in the centre of the country.

The administration has urged the localities to take precautionary measures and make local forces ready to put any fires under control.

They were asked to deploy more forest rangers to guide locals on safe farming practices, zone off areas where slash-and-burn practice is strictly forbidden, and keep strict control on forest entry.

On June 13, there were three forest fires recorded Nghe An’s Thanh Chuong district. They were promptly dealt with but still caused damage to locals.

Another fire, which took hold on peat land in Ca Mau’s U Minh district on June 10, has yet to be extinguished, with damage mounting to 100 million VND (4,500 USD) so far. Locals said the fire is now smoldering in the peaty soil about 1 meter under the ground’s surface.

Mining suspended after pollution found at titanium operation

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà has suspended titanium mining operations, after an embankment was breached surrounding waste reservoirs at Hàm Thuận Nam District’s Thuận Quý Commune.

The mine is operated by by Tân Quang Cường Trading Co. Ltd in in the central province of Bình Thuận.

Hà further requested the General department of Geology and Mineral of Việt Nam to coordinate with the Environment Administration to determine the cause, as well as solutions to problems caused by the spill of waste into the environment.

If the company was found to have allowed violations or improperly managed waste control, it would be subject to having its mining licences withdrawn, in accordance with government regulations, Hà said.

Further, the General department of Geology and Mineral of Việt Nam has asked the southern department for Control of Mining activities to work with the southern environment department and Bình Thuận Province’s natural resource and environment department to identify the cause, as well as whether regulations were followed in mining operations and in protecting the surrounding environment at Nhum Stream titanium mine.

These agencies were expected to submit a report to the General Department of Geology and Mineral of Việt Nam before June 20.

Yesterday morning, hundreds of cubic metres of water and sand spilled out onto the street, along with spillovers at tourists sites, after the nearly 3,000 sq.m wide embankment was partially breached.

The incident has affected the Hieu Nam Tourist Complex and local households, due to the thick sludge which flowed into the area.

Also, pollution was said to have reached Thuận Quý beach, causing sea waters to turn red.

This year, the host country for World Blood Donor Day was the Netherlands, through Sanquin, the national blood supply organization. The global event took place on June 14, 2016 in Amsterdam, attended by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander.

Vietnam will play host to the Global Celebration of World Blood Donor Day in 2017. The official handing over ceremony took place on June 16 in Hanoi when Ambassador to the Netherlands Nguyen Van Doan delivered it to Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Van Doan.

In accepting the flag, Ambassador Doan noted that it is the shared responsibility of Member States to band together, optimize on the synergy created and thereby aid and support the World Health Organisation and each other in ensuring that people live healthy and productive lives.

The Ambassador said confidently that: "Vietnam will fulfil its mission for the success of the event in 2017, contributing to promote the blood donation movement in Vietnam in particular and the whole world in general."

Voluntary, unpaid blood donations must be increased rapidly in more than half the world’s countries in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it, WHO said on World Blood Donor Day.

This year, the theme of World Blood Donor Day is ‘Blood connects us all’, highlighting the common bond that all people share in their blood. The slogan, ‘Share life, give blood’, draws attention to the role that voluntary donation systems play in encouraging people to care for one another and promoting community cohesion.

“Although we have many external differences, the same vital blood pumps through all our veins,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “Voluntary, unpaid blood donation is the act of giving life – the greatest gift any person can give or receive.”

About 108 million blood donations are collected globally every year. Nearly 50% of these blood donations are collected in high-income countries, home to less than 20% of the world’s population. The average blood donation rate is more than nine times greater in high-income countries than in low-income countries.

However, in many countries, demand exceeds supply, and blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety. An adequate supply can only be assured through regular donations by voluntary, unpaid blood donors.

Regular voluntary unpaid blood donors are the foundation of a safe blood supply because they are associated with low levels of infection that can be transmitted by transfusions, including HIV and hepatitis viruses.

Around the world, 25 countries are unable to screen all donated blood for one or more of these infections due to irregular supply of test kits, staff shortages, poor quality test kits, or lack of basic quality in laboratories.

WHO encourages all countries to establish blood services based on full voluntary non-remunerated blood donations. Today, only 62 countries get close to 100% of their national blood supplies from voluntary unpaid blood donations, with 34 countries still dependent on family donors and even paid donors for more than 75% of their blood supply.

Blood can be used whole, or separated into its component parts, such as red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and other ‘substances’ that can be used to treat a wide range of diseases. A single unit of blood can be used to benefit several patients.

Transfusions of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year, including during emergencies such as conflicts, natural disasters, and childbirth. It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures.

“Voluntary blood donors come from all walks of life but they have one thing in common: they put others before themselves — people they don’t even know,” said Dr Ed Kelley, Director of the Department of Service Delivery and Safety at WHO. “Each time they donate blood; they commit an act of selfless heroism.”

World Blood Donor Day has been celebrated annually since 2004, with the aim of improving the safety and adequacy of national blood supplies by promoting a substantial increase in the number of safe, voluntary, unpaid donors who give blood regularly.

The central city of Da Nang will start construction of a USD196.65 million tunnel beneath the Han River in the third quarter of this year.

People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho speaking at a meeting on June 15 agreed the proposal after technical discussions.

The six-lane 1,315-metre tunnel will run from Dong Da Street in Hai Chau District to Van Don Street in Son Tra District and take three years to build.

Regarding the funding for the project, Tho said that it would partly come from the sell-off of land along local beaches.

Islands tours attract large visitors to Nha Trang

Nha Trang City has received a surge in both domestic and international tourists for islands tours during the summer holiday.

According to the Nha Trang Bay management board, they have received 4,000 to 5,000 tourists to Cau Da Port daily and the number of visitor each day over the weekend reached over 6,000. Such high numbers of tourists has only been seen during festivals. However, the hot weather and the fact that it's the peak of summer holiday have seen people flocking to beaches and islands.

The port is overloaded because of the influx of visitors from 8.30am to 10am.

Huynh Binh Thai, head of Nha Trang Bay management board, said the city had welcomed a large number of Russian and Chinese tourists, who accounted for 60-70% of the total tourists in Nha Trang.

The local authorities have tightened inspections of tourism boats and safety measures to prevent accidents and had punished several unlicensed boats.

The Maritime Administration of Nha Trang will record the violations and transfer the cases to the Department of Transport.

VFF leader asks press agencies to create breakthroughs

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has expressed his hope that Vietnam News Agency (VNA), The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Vietnam Television (VTV) will create breakthroughs to help the local media and press system keep pace with its regional and global counterparts.

The VFF leader made the wish on June 17 when visiting the three press agencies on the occasion of the 91 st Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21), during which he highlighted their company with the national defence and development cause.

The press agencies have outstandingly contributed to disseminating the Party and State’s guidelines and policies to the people while conveying the public’s desires to the Party and State, he said.

Nhan used the occasion to thank news outlets nationwide for their support to the VFF and the front work in general through their provision of timely and accurate information, helping boost emulation movements, steer public opinions and strengthen the great national unity bloc.

The VNA, VOV and VTV have made big strides in terms of material facilities and contents with many specialised pages and columns meeting social demands, the VFF leader noted.

The VFF will continue its coordination with the three press agencies in social supervision and criticism to fuel the spirit of solidarity during national development, he promised.

On this occasion, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Dinh La Thang visited the VNA’s Southern Region Representative Office, where he praised the agency’s contributions to national development and the southern metropolis’s socio-economic performance in particular, especially during the 30 year reform.

The official noted his wish to receive more support from the VNA as well as its representative offices in fulfilling the city’s assigned tasks, particularly in the context that the locality is facing multiple problems like flooding, environmental pollution, traffic-related issues and social misconduct and misbehaviour.

HCM City will actualise agreements on information cooperation reached by the VNA and the municipal People’s Committee in order to carry news in a timely and accurate manner.

Nguyen Tien Le, Director of the VNA’s Southern Region Representative Office, said he wishes that the municipal leaders will create optimal conditions for the VNA to perform its task as a news agency of the Party and State.

The same day, Thang visited and extended greetings to the representative office of the Nhan dan (People’s) daily paper based in the city.

The Steering Committee for the Southern Region on June 17 also held a meeting with representatives from 40 centrally-run and local press agencies in the Mekong Delta on the occasion of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day.

At the event, Son Minh Thang, deputy head of the committee’s standing board, applauded the press agencies’ contributions to regional socio-economic development over the recent past.

40th anniversary of VN-Philippines diplomatic relations marked

An art performance programme was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 16 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Philippines diplomatic ties and 118th National Day of the Philippines.

The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Consulate General of the Philippines in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vice Chairman of the Can Tho city People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam noted that the programme aims to bring the Philippines’s multi-coloured culture closer to Vietnamese people, which helps enhance friendship and mutual understanding between two peoples while offering cooperation opportunities in fields of culture and economy in the future.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador in Vietnam Noel Servigon expressed his high hope that the two countries will further develop the bilateral cooperation based on sound relations in the past four decades.

The Philippines will pay heed to education collaboration with the Mekong Delta region as well as promote personnel exchanges between the Philippines’ top universities and Can Tho University, he said.

The Philippines has so far run over 60 investment projects in Vietnam.

In the first three months of this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and the Philippines reached 737 million USD. The figure is hoped to reach 3 billion USD this year.

Last year, Can Tho city earned 50 million USD from exports to the Philippines, with key products being rice, aquaculture and garments.

Meetings respond to anti-drug action month

Meetings were held in Hanoi and the northern province of Nam Dinh on June 16-17 to respond to the Action Month on Drug Prevention and Control and the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26).

This year’s action month, themed “Protecting youths from drug danger”, aims to intensify coordination between ministries, sectors and offices involved in communications to raise public awareness of drug-related crimes and their impacts, and increase the community’s responsibility for the combat.

At the Hanoi meeting on June 16, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh stressed that protecting the public, especially the youths, from drugs and addictive substances, is an urgent task requiring synchronous and effective preventive measures.

He asked the Ministry of Education and Training to incorporate the fight against drugs into extracurricular activities in the beginning of each semester.

The Ministry of Public Security was requested to crack down on drug crimes and particularly eradicate hot spots in schools, ensuring healthy education environment for students.

The Ministry of Information and Communications is tasked to closely monitor Internet and social media to prevent drug abuse from spreading as well as impose strict punishments on violations.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta expressed wish that ministries, agencies, businesses and the entire society would actively act to raise awareness of drugs’ harmful effects and provide support for drug dependents.

During the Nam Dinh meeting on June 17, head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Truong Thi Mai asked ministries and offices to synchronously carry out measures to raise public awareness, renew drug detoxification methods, and help addicts give up drugs and reintegrate into the community.

She stressed the crucial role played by police, armed and customs forces in the fight, urging people to denounce drug-related criminals in order to reduce the number of criminals.

Christopher Batt, UNODC Officer-In-Charge in Vietnam, stated that UNODC and other UN offices are joining hands with the Vietnamese relevant agencies in developing policies and seeking legitimate treatment therapies to address challenges caused by drug dependence.

According to a 2015 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 246 million people aged 15 to 64, or 5 percent of the world population, used drugs in 2013, and 1.64 million drug addicts were living with HIV/AIDS.

2015 marked the first year in more than two decades that the number of drug addicts in Vietnam decreased by more than 4,000 compared to the previous year.

As of January 2016, there were about 200,000 drug addicts in the country.

Universities, enterprises connect to boost training quality

Over 100 experts gathered for a two-day dialogue starting on June 16 in Ho Chi Minh City to seek ways to better connect universities and enterprises to enhance training quality.

They are from governmental bodies, enterprises, universities, and research institutes from the UK, ASEAN nations and Vietnam.

The delegates highlighted the need to equip university graduates with necessary skills to participate in the competitive globalised job market.

To that end, educational institutions need to adjust their curricula and connect with enterprises to provide more relevant training programmes.

The experts also discussed ways to develop a capable and skilful labour force by strengthening the cooperation between universities and enterprises.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga highlighted the global on-the-job training trend, saying that domestic enterprises need to become further involved in the education and training sector to better meet the market demands in labour force.

Currently, over 20 UK universities are working with Vietnamese educational partners, according to UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever.

The UK has pledged to provide financial and technical support for Vietnam’s educational sector, for the sake of the society and sustainable economic development, he said.

Dong Thap’s tourist sites draw more travelers

Since the beginning of the year, Dong Thap province’s touristm industry have attracted around 1, 35 million domestic and international travelers with total turnover of over VND 210 billion, an increase of 33 percent in comparison with the same period last year, reported the People’s Committee of Dong Thap province.

Many new tourist destinations in the province such as  mango and longan gardens in Cao Lanh, Phuong Nam Cultural Tourism Park and mandarin garden in Lai Vung district have attracted more visitors.

As plan, the local tourism industry will strive receiving more than 1, 3 million visitors, including 20, 000 international travelers with total turnover of VND 240 billion in the last six months of this year.

Accordingly, the local authorities in collaboration with relevant agencies will continue investment and development of its hot-pots in order to promote tourism products & services such as exploring homestay tours in Sa Dec flower village, the water rising season in Tram Chim National Park and others.

Customs officers handled 353 cases of goods being illegally transported by air in the first six months of 2016, worth more than VNĐ14 billion (US$627,000) in total, officials said.

The smuggled goods included more than 2kg of heroin, 2.58kg of methamphetamines, 1.8kg of cocaine, 372.7kg of ivory and 105 elephant tusks.

Popular smuggled goods transported by air also include wild animals, gold and weapons.

The department said smuggling and the illegal transport of goods by air have become more complicated in recent years, particularly at international airports such as Nội Bài Airport in Hà Nội, Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City and Đà Nẵng Airport in central Đà Nẵng City.

AirAsia, Vietjet Air have your tickets to paradise

AirAsia and Vietjet Air, two airlines known for reinventing domestic travel have unveiled the ultimate in sales on airfares from now through June 19 on tickets to some 120 destinations in 24 countries.

One-way fares including taxes from Hanoi-Bangkok start at low as US$35, Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur (US$62), Danang-Kuala Lumpur (US$48), Ho Chi Minh City-Kuala Lumpur (US$26), and Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok (US$27).

Other super deals are Danang-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta from US$80, Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok-Chiang Mai (US$51), Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok-Phuket (US$56) and Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok-Macau (US$48).

Tickets are for travel beginning January 4, 2017 through August 21, 2017.

HCM City police arrest swindlers

Police in HCM City have arrested two men for using fake bank accounts to cheat several customers, earning hundreds of millions of đồng.

Phạm Tiến Mạnh, 32, residing in District 8, and Hạp Tiến Bắc, 46, residing in Tàn Phú District, were arrested on charges of “appropriating property through swindling.”

According to police investigators, the two suspects bought identity cards at pawn shops and used them to open different bank accounts. They advertised online the sale of motorbikes at a reasonable price. When customers agreed to their price, they would be asked to transfer the money to the designated fake accounts.

On March 8, a man named H from Đồng Nai Province telephoned Mạnh, asking to buy a motorbike at a price of VNĐ20 million (US$890) based on information he had read on the website chotot.vn.

Mạnh asked H to contact a man named Hoang, an accomplice whose real name is Hạp Tiến Bắc, to deliver the money and receive the motorbike.

Bắc told H that he was attending a meeting when he called and persuaded him to transfer the money to his account.

H did so but did not receive the motorbike as promised and could not contact Mạnh or Bắc by phone.

Suspecting that he had been swindled, H informed the police of the incident.

Police in Bình Thạnh District have blocked the account to which H had transferred his money.

Police further discovered that 23 people had sent money to this account, including 12 other victims like H.

Investigations revealed that the person named on the account has lost his identity card and had not opened the bank account. Mạnh was identified as the recipient withdrawing money from the account.

Mạnh and Bắc were arrested last Friday while they were meeting on Bình Tân District’s Lê Trọng Tấn Street.

HCM Police are expanding their investigation into this case of fraud.

Hanoi ensures power supply during hot weather

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has asked the Hanoi Electricity Company not to cut power during the ongoing hot weather.

This is one of numerous measures requested by the Chairman to help local residents cope with the current hot weather, with temperatures forecast to rise to 38-39 degree Celsius during the day.

The electricity company was also required to set up a hotline to receive local citizens’ requests and complaints, and guarantee timely solutions to deal with issues relating to electricity. Officials were also asked to develop plans to supply power, particularly at water pumping stations and safe water production plants.

Further, Chung instructed the municipal Health Department to take measures to prevent outbreaks of summer diseases and increase health check-ups and medical treatments during hot weather, as well as step up inspections for food safety and hygiene.

The city’s construction department was requested to open a hotline to receive information relating to water supplies, and water production plants will review water supply systems and supplement pumping stations to ensure they provide enough water for local citizens during the ongoing hot weather.

He also asked agencies to take measures to prevent forest fires during the hot and dry weather, as well as the municipal transport department to work with Hanoi traffic police to ensure traffic flows and prevent traffic accidents during the hot weather.

Prolonged hot weather over the past few days in Hanoi has also had negative impacts on production, business and living conditions for local residents.

The highest temperature during the daytime is expected to hover at 35 to 37 degrees Celsius. Some areas will experience temperatures of 38-39 degrees Celsius. Earlier this week, outdoor temperatures were recorded at 40 degrees Celsius at noon in some locations.

The scorching weather is forecast to end from June 16 in northern provinces.

Nineteen enterprises awarded for solutions to climate change

Nineteen enterprises have been honoured at an award ceremony on startups focusing on coping with climate change, held in Hanoi by the Ministry of Science and Technology in collaboration with the World Bank.

These are enterprises given financial assistance as well as incubating service from the Vietnam Centre for Innovation and Creativity.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh stressed that climate change has increasingly drawn the interest of the international community and that Vietnam is considered as one of five countries in the world most heavily affected by climate change.

In the wake of climate change, in recent years the Vietnamese government has been implementing many new institutions, policies and action plans to enhance national capability in response to climate change, it has also been working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in economic sectors, he said.

In order to help Vietnam cope with climate change, the international community has supported many projects on green growth, and in technical and investment assistance projects to strengthen institutions and infrastructure.

In 2015, the WB provided non-refundable aid sourced from the official development assistance of the Department for International Development ( DFID ) of the United Kingdom and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, to create the Vietnam Climate Change Innovation Centre.

Through the selection and assessment of more than 300 project entries, the Minister of Science and Technology and experts from the WB selected 19 enterprises with excellent ideas which prove technology’s positive impact on green growth – to develop a low-carbon economy in Vietnam.

Localities warned to be vigilant against dengue fever in rainy season

The health sector warned provinces and cities nationwide to be extra vigilant against dengue fever as risk of the return of the disease is high in rainy season, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The ministry said dengue fever often has a repeating cycle of 4-5 years, and appears in almost all localities across the country, but gets more severe in the southern region.

Due to the scarcity of water in some regions, people, especially in rural areas, tend to store water in big jars, providing ideal conditions for striped mosquitoes to develop, the MoH said, adding that bad sanitary and environmental conditions in residential areas are also facilitating the development of the disease.

According to health officials, the outbreak of dengue fever in 2015, which did not ease up through the early months of 2016 in some provinces and cities, is predicted to continue to grow in an unpredictable pattern in the southern region in the months to come.

According to the MoH, there were 88,324 cases of dengue fever found in 58 provinces and cities in 2015, and 57 deaths from the disease.

Tran Duc Phu, head of the ministry’s Preventive Health Department, said that seeing the high risk of the return of the disease in rainy season, the MoH has implemented larvae-killing efforts nationwide and positive results have been seen in 55 provinces and cities.

The ministry formed eight inspection teams to inspect efforts to combat Zika virus and dengue fever and provide assistance to localities.

Vietnam will respond to the ASEAN Day for fighting dengue fever on June 15, with the introduction of measures to fight the disease and the building of prevention plans from central to local levels.

The health sector will enhance supervision to detect dengue fever cases for timely treatment, and hold campaigns to kill larvae and spray areas of high risk to kill mosquitoes.

Training classes will be held for preventive health employees, doctors and collaborators.

HCM City to provide temporary measures to houses at levels lower than roads

The Secretary of HCM City Party Committee Đinh La Thăng has asked the Department of Transport to adjust roads that have been built at levels higher than the ground floor of houses.

Due to road upgrades to deal with flooding, thousands of residents’ houses have been affected, with their ground floors lower than the roads outside, Bùi Xuân Cường, director of the department, said.

“The department will temporarily build pavements or ladders to connect residents’ houses and the street,” Thắng said.

“This has occurred on Kinh Dương Vương Street, the section in Bình Tân District,” he added.

He explained that the section had been affected by floods for several years, and peak flooding had reached 1.68 metres.

The road is nearly one metre higher than the floor of the houses.

Cường added: “The city still has streets lower than people’s houses, including Hồng Hà, Phạm Văn Đồng, and Trường Sơn in Tân Bình and Gò Vấp Districts.”

The roads were upgraded under the Tân Sơn Nhất – Bình Lợi Outer Ring Road Project. The upgrade is to be completed in August.

Cường said the project’s investor had not provided enough information about the project to local residents, who built their houses lower than the road.

The department will check affected areas and find ways to deal with the situation.

Painting contest launched in Hanoi

A painting contest, with the theme of protecting and caring for children infected with HIV, opened yesterday in Hà Nội.

It was launched by the Department of Child Care and Protection and by Family and Children Magazine under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The contest calls for society to protect and help children living with HIV and to prevent discrimination against them.

Vietnamese and foreign children, aged between 6 and 16, who live in Việt Nam, can join the contest.

Paintings should be sent to No 139 Nguyễn Thái Học Street, Ba Đình District, Hà Nội, or by email to giadinhvatreem@fpt.vn before October 30.

Awards are VNĐ500,000-VND5 million (US$20-$200).

The award ceremony will be organised in November in response to the National Action Month on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control.

Vietravel launches new escorted tours to Cambodia

Discovering the white sand beaches of Sihanoukville, the mysterious Bokor Plateau as well as watching an Apsara Dance performance are just some of what included in the time-saving escorted tours which are jointly operated by Vietnamese tour operator Vietravel and Cambodia’s Angkor Air.

The four-day tours will be launched after the direct flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Preah Sihanoukville become operational from June 17.

These tours comprise Sihanoukville-Koh Rong Samloem-Seam Riep starting on June 17, July 28, August 23 and September 29; and Sihanoukville-Bokor-Seam Riep setting off on June 30, July 14, August 11 and September 8. They will be offered at reasonable costs.

Air travel to Sihanoukville will take the customers only one hour instead of eight hours going by car.

Earlier, Vietravel launched two new luxury package tours: five-star cruise package and five-star holiday package.

The five-star cruise package included outbound tours to Singapore, Malaysia, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Russia.

When selecting the five-star holiday package, holiday-makers have a chance to enjoy a number of luxury services at the Vinpearl villas and resorts in the central cities of Da Nang and Nha Trang, as well as on Phu Quoc island in the south.

Rạch Giá City opens tourism information centre

Rạch Giá City in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang has opened a tourism information centre on Nguyễn Công Trứ Street in Vĩnh Thạnh Ward to serve local and foreign tourists.

The centre also has information about the specialities of Kiên Giang and the Delta, which is designed to help the National Tourism Year 2016 themed “Phú Quốc - Mekong River Delta - Exploring Southern Land”.

Located about 250km from HCM City, the city of Rạch Giá is the country’s first locality to build a new urban area on land reclaimed from the sea. The zoned area covers a total of 420,000 ha. The new urban area has many coffee shops and restaurants where tourists can drink, eat and enjoy coastal sights.

The city has many cultural, historical and entertainment sites, including the temple of national hero Nguyễn Trung Trực (1837-1868), leader of the Vietnamese uprising against the French in the South; Tam Bảo Pagoda; Kiên Giang Museum House; 52-ha An Hoà Cultural Park, the delta’s largest cultural park; and Cổng Tam Quan (Three-Entrance Gate), a city symbol.

Phong Nha – Kẻ Bàng botanical garden eco-tourism magnet

The 40-ha botanical garden of the Phong Nha – Kẻ Bàng National Park is an attractive eco-tourism destination in the central province of Quảng Bình with 500 plant species, including 133 rare and precious ones.

Located in the centre of the national park, the botanical garden is a natural forest with six major tourism sites: the 30-metre high Gió (Wind) Waterfall, Vàng Anh Lake, a specimen showroom, a 3-km natural pathway, plant nursery and precious and rare plant areas.

Walking on the pathway, tourists can see monkeys and porcupines in the wild and in a semi-wild zone.

Visitors can camp or rent rooms overnight and enjoy local food made from chicken, spring shrimp, river fish and pigs bred in forests.

The Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hà Giang to hold 2nd annual Mông Ethnic Cultural Festival

The second Mông (H’mông) Ethnic Cultural Festival will be held in Đồng Văn District in the northern province of Hà Giang in early October.

The event themed “Preserving and promoting cultural identity of Mông People in the country’s renewal, integration and development period” will have activities related to the ethnic Mông such as a pan-pipe festival, a traditional costume display, folk song performances, cuisine, and native products.

Seventeen provinces nationwide with a large number of Mông will also participate in the festival.

Việt Nam has about 800,000 Mông people, one of the country’s ethnic minorities with a large population. Most Mông live in mountainous areas at a height of 700 metres to 1,500 metres above sea level in the north, north-central and Central Highlands regions.

Irish cultural festival celebrates Euro 2016

The Craic On Irish festival, featuring cultural exchange, sport, music and dance, will be held on Saturday to increase mutual understanding and friendly relations between Việt Nam and Ireland.

In the Irish language, craic means fun, laughter and happiness. The Craic On  festival will be hosted by the Irish Embassy in celebration of EURO 2016.

A friendly match between Ireland and Việt Nam will take place at 3pm at the Việt Nam National University on Xuân Thủy Street in Hà Nội. It will be followed by a series of music, game, dance and culinary performances. At 8pm, spectators will watch the Euro 2016 match between Ireland and Belgium on a big screen.

Books enlighten children about their rights

A series of pictorial books entitled Children’s Rights has been translated into Vietnamese and published nationwide.

The series comprises 10 fiction books that deal with children rights proclaimed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989. Young readers will enjoy the fantastic stories – one for each principle. The accompanying illustrations are suitable for both children and adults.

The series are translated by Trần Lưu Hà Anh from the books of Aleix Cabrera, an audiovisual creative communicator in Spain, who is the author of more than 30 children’s book collections.

The stories remind us that all boys and girls have the right to a name and a nationality; all children deserve to be treated well, without any kind of exception or discrimination; enjoy special protection and opportunities for their development, always in conditions of freedom; and children have the right to food, a home, play and medical attention.

VNA, Bac Giang shake hands in communication work

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the northern province of Bac Giang have agreed to shake hands in communications work, allowing information of the land, culture and potential of the locality to be published on VNA media products.

Under a cooperation inked in Bac Giang city on June 16, Bac Giang will actively provide news on its policies and all fields to the VNA, while the provincial People’s Committee spokesperson will also contact the agency to clarify or reject incorrect information on the locality.

Meanwhile, the VNA will coordinate with Bac Giang in collecting and wiring news of activities in the province in a timely and accurate manner. The agency will give suitable space on all of its media channels to news of Bac Giang.

At the same time, the VNA will allow local media agencies in Bac Giang use its communication products for free, while offering training courses to local reporters and editors.

The provincial People’s Committee will back VNA reporters on duty in the province, while directing localities across the province to provide timely information to the agency and guiding them to book and use VNA products.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi pledged that the VNA will try its best to realise the deal effectively.

Chairman of the Bac Giang People’s Committee Nguyen Van Linh said that he hopes the agreement will be fruitful for Bac Giang.

With more than 60 media products, the VNA is a multimedia complex that provides news to all media agencies across the country. The VNA currently run 63 bureaus nationwide and 30 others abroad. Its reporters and staff count reaches nearly 2,500.

The media office also delivers news in various languages such as English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Lao and Khmer – the Cambodian national language.

It has also tightened its communications cooperation with numerous localities across the country, including Long An, Dong Nai, and Da Nang.

Ha Giang strives to raise literacy rate of over 94 percent by 2020

Some 17,650 people aged 15-60 in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang are expected to read and write by 2020, increasing the local literacy rate to over 94 percent, as heard a conference held in the locality on June 15.

According to Trieu Tai Vinh, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, illiteracy elimination is a key mission to raise local livelihoods, especially those residing in remote and border areas.

More classes for vulnerable groups will be set up to increase their education approach, he said, noting that the province also strives to have 80 percent of the new literates attending classes to get away re-illiteracy.

Under the Prime Minister’s project to remove illiteracy by 2020, 351 literacy classes were opened for 8,600 locals, nearly 2,600 of whom can read and write after attending those classes.

Although the province has paid heed to maintaining the number of class attendants, dropouts are still popular in the locality due to poor transport infrastructure and living standards as well as poverty.

Ninety percent of Ha Giang’s population is ethnic minorities with limited education levels. Most of the illiterates are from poor and near-poor households and they do not have time to attend literacy classes.-

Central Highlands localities strive to improve transport system

Five Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong plan to upgrade their transport infrastructure systems at a cost of more than 115 trillion VND (5.22 billion USD) during the 2016-2020 period.

According to the plan, the localities will continue to upgrade and construct highways and main roads as well as roads linking the provinces and connecting them with the southern central region and important border gates.

The Dau Giay-Lien Khuong highway will be built, together with urban bypass roads for Gia Nghia in Dak Nong, Pleiku in Gia Lai, Buon Ho in Dak Lak and Bao Loc in Lam Dong.

At the same time, more efforts will be made to expand the rural transport system, while a project to build nnd upgrade 468 bridges to meet travel demand of ethnic minority groups will also be sped up.

Meanwhile, local airports, including Buon Ma Thuot and Lien Khuong, will be upgraded, while Pleiku airport will have a new terminal and Kon Tum airport will be constructed.

In the 2010-2015 period, the Central Highlands region mobilised over 60 trillion VND (2.72 billion USD) for road upgrade projects, with a total length of over 1,200km, meeting the region’s socio-economic development demand and ensuring national security and defence.

So far, 3,620km, or 70.62 percent of total district roads in the region have been concreted, together with about 4,224km in communes and 4,657km in villages.

As many as 129 out of a total 600 communes in regional provinces have fulfilled the transport standard in the 19 criteria of a new-style rural area.

Seminar seeks to conserve folk art forms in south-west

Ways to preserve and promote the traditional art genres of ethnic groups in the South western region was the focus of a seminar in Tra Vinh province on June 16.

Hosted by the Tra Vinh University, the event was attended by over 100 researchers, scientists and artisans from localities across the region.

In his speech at the event, Pham Tiet Khanh, Rector of Tra Vinh University referred to a fact that many forms of folk art, especially those of regional ethnic minority communities, are falling into oblivion.

Participants made proposals to protect and honour the value of original art genres of the region; like shadow puppetry, “hat ru” (lullaby singing), dances of the Khmer people, “Cham Rieng Cha Pay” folk music, “Ro Bam” theatre art, and the mat-weaving tradition of the Champa and Khmer people.

Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Vinh Phuong highlighted the significance of the role played by artisans and communities in conserving these genres of traditional art.

Participants stressed the need to outline policies and specific measures to conserve these traditions, focusing on facilitating artisans to operate and designing programmes and projects to restore trade villages.

Campaigns should be promoted to raise public awareness of the importance to preserve and uphold the region’s cultural values, they said.

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