Polluting slaughter house to be moved out of Hoi An

A slaughter house will be moved out of Hoi An Town

A large slaughter house will be moved out of the centre of Hoi An Town next year to prevent environment pollution according to local authorities.

The slaughter house in the centre of Hoi An Town has been in operation for 30 years. Ho Trong Nghia, former party secretary cum chairman of Son Phong Ward, said the slaughter house was located in his ward had caused severe pollution.

After gathering opinions, the slaughter house was temporarily relocated to Cam Chau Ward, out of residential areas. When the authorities find a better location, they would relocate the slaughterhouse again.

"I only agreed to let the slaughter house stay in Cam Chau Ward for a maximum of five years because of rapid urbanisation. But it was still there when I retired," he said. "I also suggested relocate it several times since more and more private houses, hotels and restaurants have been built."

According to the locals in Cam Chau, whenever it rains, the foul smell from the slaughter house intensifies.

Nguyen Van Son, vice chairman of Hoi An, said after working with Quang Nam Department of Industry and Trade, they have finally completed procedures to relocate the slaughter house to Thanh Ha Industrial Zone.

"The slaughtering process and waste treatment system will be inspected to prevent pollution," he said.

Đắk Lắk Province police discover wild animals at local restaurant

Buôn Ma Thuột City police seize materials from Biển Rừng restaurant for further investigation. 

Buôn Ma Thuột police in the Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) province of Gia Lai have seized 51 wild animals at a restaurant in the city’s Tân Tiến Ward.

Biển Rừng Restaurant at 231 Nguyễn Thị Định Street was discovered to be involved in an illegal wildlife transporting case.

Last Saturday, police caught Nguyễn Mạnh Hà, 40, while he was transporting two live minks in the city.

Hà, a resident of Thành Nhất Ward, failed to present legal papers proving the origin of the wild animals, saying only that he bought them from Biển Rừng Restaurant.

The same night, city police examined the restaurant and discovered 12 minks, nine snakes, 27 bamboo rats and three turtles hidden in the garden behind the restaurant. Its owner, Nguyễn Đức Hoán, 62, had no legal papers proving the origin of the animals.

The police team temporarily seized all the animals for further investigation in accordance with the law.

Biển Rừng Restaurant was registered to operate in 2005.

Lang Son earns big from horse breeding

White horses in Huu Kien Commune

Many people in the northern province of Lang Son’s Chi Lang District have made big money from raising white horses.

Huu Kien Commune is home to 1,700 horses, including 742 white ones. 

White horse breeding has started in the commune since the 1990s. The locality is endowed with 8,000 hectares of pasture. A mature white horse is priced at VND40-50 million (USD1,739-2,173). 

The life of Nong Van Chung’s family in Co Huong Village has seen a remarkable improvement since he started raising horses. They have been able to build a new house and bought a new car. 

According to Nguyen Van Phuc who now owns 15 white horses said that his family could earn around VND100 million annually thanks to the horse herd.  

The horse owners said that it is quite easy to take care of white horses which often do not contract diseases. Food is abundant and usually available. They mostly eat rice, maize and leaves.

Over the past 15 years, the industry has been boosted due to the increasing demand for horse glue.

The horses have helped transform Huu Kien Commune where was previously known as a poor locality.

More young doctors volunteer to work in disadvantaged areas

A young doctor works at Bac Giang General Hospital. 

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on December 18 to see off 14 freshly-graduated doctors of the Hanoi Medical University (HMU) to work in Vietnam’s mountainous and remote areas.

It is part of the pilot project to send voluntary young doctors to disadvantaged areas, including border and island localities and especially focusing on 62 poor districts around the country.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the project is a breakthrough for the health sector in ensuring skilled personnel and meeting the healthcare demand of people in disadvantaged localities. 

It also helps local people gain access to better healthcare services, while reducing overload in central hospitals and wastefulness, she added.

She also asked cities and provinces to join hands with the health ministry to devise incentives for skilled and efficient medical staff, thus attracting more personnel to work in the localities.

Tien voiced her hope that the project will be a success with the close cooperation of ministries, departments and localities, along with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam Youth Federation.

The 62 poor districts are currently in need of nearly 600 doctors in 15 areas of specialty. 

Launched in February 2013, the pilot project aims to ensure the sustainability of skilled medical staff, with a view to sending more than 300 young doctors to work in disadvantaged districts by 2020. 

The project has provided training courses for 300 doctors in 11 areas of specialty over the last two years. 

Also on December 18, the HMU held a ceremony to start a course for 32 aspiring doctors who will be sent to work in impoverished districts in the northern provinces of Lao Cai, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Bac Kan, and Tuyen Quang. 

A conference to review and share effective models on livelihood and climate change response for the poor and ethnic minority groups in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh was held in the province on December 18 

A conference to review and share effective models on livelihood and climate change response for the poor and ethnic minority groups in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh was held in the province on December 18.

The event was jointly held by the People’s Committee of Tra Vinh city and ActionAid Vietnam. 

Addressing the event, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Tang Thi Dep said that since early 2017, local authorities have worked together with ActionAid Vietnam to implement models to help locals grow organic vegetables and build an early warning system in some localities. 

Following two years since the implementation of such models, local residents have been able to earn a stable income, with 30 previously disadvantaged households currently gaining profit of up to 2.3 million VND (about 100 USD) per month from their organic farms.

Meanwhile, models for risk management and the building of an early warning system via a smart phone app proved effective in raising public awareness of prompt information access, as well as preparation for measures against climate change impacts and risk mitigation.

On the occasion, the official also voiced her hopes that ActionAid Vietnam will offer further support to improve livelihoods and raise the capacity in climate change response for local people. 

The complexity of extreme weather and climate change has put coastal areas and land on the banks of rivers and canals in Tra Vinh at high risk of erosion.

The erosion of coastal and riverside land has occurred in many parts of the Mekong Delta, including Tra Vinh, for many years. It has affected cultivation and the lives of millions of residents living in erosion-prone areas.

Erosion and sea water intrusion are expected to become more severe in the time ahead. Experts forecast that the delta would lose 39 percent of its area to the sea if the sea level rises by 100cm before 2100.

Since 2012, Tra Vinh has invested more than 107 billion VND (4.7 million USD) to support over 2,000 people living in high-risk areas, mostly helping them move to safer ground, receive vocational training, and shift to cultivating new plants and animals that are more adaptive to local conditions. 

A Malaysian court on December 18 postponed the trial of an Indonesian suspect accused of killing a citizen of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) at a Malaysian airport in 2017 using the VX nerve agent.

Siti Aisyah, 26, is charged along with Doan Thi Huong, a 29-year-old Vietnamese, of poisoning the DPRK passport holder with the name of Kim Chol. 

She was originally set to take the stand in January next year, after the court ruled in August that prosecutors had successfully established a case against her and Huong.

However, the judge on December 18 ordered a stay to allow her lawyer to appeal a court decision not to compel prosecutors to turn over copies of statements made by seven witnesses.

Siti Aisyah's lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, said the documents were vital to her case, as five of the witnesses had gone missing.

The court set December 21 to decide whether the trial would continue with Huong's defence or be postponed until Aisyah's appeal has concluded.

Previously, on August 16, Judge Azmi bin Ariffin said that the prosecutors had made prima facie evidence against the accused women and, therefore, called upon them to enter their defence on their respective charges before the final ruling is given.

Meanwhile, the Shah Alam High Court in Malaysia’s Selangor state announced on November 7 the new confrontation dates for the two female suspects.

Director General of the VOV Nguyen The Ky speaks at the launching ceremony (Photo VOV)

The Korean-language programme of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV Korean) was launched in Hanoi on December 18 in celebration of the 26th anniversary of the relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (1992-2018).

Director General of the VOV Nguyen The Ky said the airing of programme demonstrates the development of the news department for foreign service and the VOV in general.

He asked the department to strengthen coordination with others to improve the quality of the programme which will serve as a bridge to connect with the Korean community in Vietnam.

This also helps enhance the comprehensive cooperative partnership between the two countries as expected by their governments and peoples, he said.

The programme covers political news, commentaries, lessons on Vietnamese and Korean, culture, ethnicity, tourism, and economy.

Earlier on March 15, 2018, the VOV launched a Korean version on its website, the 13th foreign language.

Scene at the event

A programme featuring an exhibition and performances of cai luong (reformed opera) opened at Tran Huu Trang Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City on December 17 to celebrate 100 years of the art form.

The event introduced to visitors the development of cai luong over the past 10 decades, with artists from the theatre staging excerpts from different periods in the art’s history. The performers also showed their audiences props, costumes and make-up techniques used for cai luong plays.

As part of the three-day programme, nearly 100 paintings by Truong Van Y are on display, featuring portraits of renowned cai luong artists and playwrights like Vien Chau, Cao Van Lau, Ut Tra On and Dinh Bang Phi.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Huynh Thanh Nhan, Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, said from its southern cradle, cai luong has reached audiences nationwide, becoming a distinct art of the south.

Nhan expected the event will help people understand cai luong and its values so the art can continue to thrive.

Cai luong is a form of modern folk opera, particularly popular in southern Vietnam. It is the convergence of southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, tuong (traditional opera) and modern spoken drama.

Vietnamese drivers aren’t known for their keen powers of observation, but one truck driver took the cake last week. Or, rather, the gate.

On December 4, a truck loaded with timber pulled down a concrete village gate while driving under it in Gia Hội village in the central province of Quảng Nam.

Although the concrete block was jammed on top of the truck, the driver continued as normal. He continued driving for a considerable distance until some motorbike drivers got him to stop. The concrete block was removed safely.

The truck driver, Nguyễn Trường Sơn, was a local villager. After the accident, Sơn went to the communal People’s Committee office, confirming he would pay to re-build the gate.

According to a representative of Quế Phong Commune authorities, Quế Sơn District, the truck driver confessed he knew his truck had pulled down the gate but due to fears the vehicle would overturn, he continued driving.   

The startling image of a truck carrying timber and a whole concrete block was certainly a hit on social media, even if Sơn wasn’t in his local bia hơi. 

Thanks a million – Vietnam sets new annual tourist landmark

TAT’s Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, right, and Duong Thu Trang, the one millionth Vietnamese tourist. — Photo the Nation

A Vietnamese woman, Duong Thu Trang, has become one millionth tourist arrival from Việt Nam to Thailand in 2018, a historic first between the two Southeast Asian neighbours.

Duong landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12.25pm on Thursday on a Thai Airways International flight from Hà Nội.

She received special prizes, including a Thailand tour package for two, return airfare for two, and a gift voucher for Bt10,000.

Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor for International Marketing (Asia and the South Pacific), who welcomed the lucky arrival, said more than 90 per cent of first-time Vietnamese travellers chose Thailand as their destination.

Việt Nam is one of Thailand’s most vibrant short-haul markets. With a population of more than 96 million, the country is enjoying an economic boom fuelled by foreign investment from Japan, South Korea, China and Russia in several large industrial sectors. 

This is combined with the introduction of new low-cost carriers offering increased flight frequencies between Việt Nam and Thailand.

In 2017, Thailand welcomed 970,000 visitors from Vietnam generating over Bt30 billion in tourism-related revenue.

TAT plans to be more proactive in promoting Thailand around Việt Nam next year - it has scheduled marketing initiatives in both key and secondary cities, including the capital Ha Noi plus emerging destinations like Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh and surrounding provinces. 

TH Group launches nutrition project

Pupils drink milk at an elementary school in Hà Nội. The nationwide school milk programme is one of Việt Nam’s efforts to improve the physical strength and height of young generations. 

A proposal to increase the amount of nutrients in the meals of Vietnamese people was introduced in Hà Nội on Thursday.

It outlines nutrition plans for six age groups with different demands, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, children from 0-24 months old, school-age children, as well as elderly people, people with long-term arthritis and sportspeople.

The plans will be implemented nationwide from now until 2028, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of nutrients in physical and intellectual development.

They offer menus with nutrient contents catered to each group and give suggestions on which food supplements they should take.

The proposal was developed by local dairy maker TH Group and implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Training.

Speaking at a launch ceremony on Thursday, Lều Nguyệt Ánh, director of TH Group’s product research and development centre, said: “We will focus on the nutrient demand of children in their first 1,000 days to create a foundation for an optimal development of their health.

“The project will also help people of working age improve their health, prevent diseases, and slow down the aging process.

“We hope our suggestions will create a drastic change in people’s consumption habits and encourage the food industry to go back to using clean, natural ingredients.” 

108 Military Central Hospital to open modern 2,000-bed facility

The 108 Military Central Hospital central building is the country’s largest and most modern medical facility.— Photo courtesy of the hospital

The 108 Military Central Hospital will put its central building into operation on December 17 as the country’s largest and most modern medical facility after more than seven years of construction.

Located inside the current hospital at No1 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội, the construction consists of three buildings (two 22-storey buildings with a height of 108m and a 10-storey building) with a total floor area of 150,000sq.m and 2,000 beds, with capacity for 4,000 in emergencies.

The building is the country’s only medical facility with 50 positive-pressure operating rooms, including 45 standard operating rooms, three organ transplant operating rooms and two hybrid operating rooms. The hybrid rooms are equipped with advanced diagnosis, intervention and surgery facilities such as MRI machines, CT Scanners and a robotic intervention imaging system.

"With patient-centered orientation, the building has been equipped with many modern facilities that meet international standards to provide accuracy, speed and satisfaction to patients," said Deputy Director of the 108 Military Central Hospital Phạm Nguyên Sơn.

Sơn said as the highest level of military hospital, the hospital receives between 4,000 – 5,000 patients daily. In 2018, it has provided health checkups and examination for nearly a million patients.

To reduce waiting time of patients and increase efficiency in medical examination and treatment, the hospital will be the first medical facility in the country to operate two gas and conveyor transport systems. The gas transportation system is used to transport samples, drugs, medical instruments weighing from three to five kilos.

"With gas and conveyor transportation systems, samples are transferred automatically from the lab to the testing centre that helps to reduce human power and health workers would have more time to take care for patients," said Sơn.

In addition, the hospital also has an advanced automated testing system that can perform 3,600 tests per hour.

"This automated testing system help improving quality and quantity of tests and shortening the waiting time of patients," stressed Sơn.

This facility will contribute to the enhancement of scientific and technical resources for scientific research, training, technology transfer for the medical staff in the military sector as well as medical facilities in the country, according to Sơn. 

Bình Thuận expands area under VietGAP-quality dragon fruit

Farmers grow dragon fruit in Bình Thuận. The province is consistently increasing the area under the fruit grown to VietGAP standards. 

In Bình Thuận Province, the country’s largest dragon fruit producer, more than 10,000ha of the fruit are being grown to Vietnamese good agricultural practice (VietGAP) standards, 500ha more than last year, according to the Dragon Fruit Research and Development Centre.

The area accounts for 30 per cent of the province’s total dragon fruit growing area.

Nearly 10,000 households are involved, having established nearly 450 groups, farms and co-operatives.

Phạm Hữu Thủ, head of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Office, said growing the fruit to VietGAP standards enabled farmers to apply advanced farming techniques to ensure hygienic production and add value.

"It is also gentler on the environment by reducing the use of plant protection chemicals," he said.

Dragon fruit is among the province’s key products and fetches a lot of export revenues.

Since 2009 a province programme to grow the fruit to VietGAP standards has helped change traditional farming habits and encouraged local farmers to use advanced farming techniques.

In the past VietGAP-quality dragon fruits did not fetch a big premium, and so not many of them had been keen on the programme, according to farmers.

To attain VietGAP standards, farmers have to strictly comply with regulations related to hygiene, maintain a diary about their farming processes and use of plant protection chemicals.   

Recently many farmers have begun to embrace VietGAP after seeing the prices of normal dragon fruits decline and farmers struggle to sell them even as those who grew to VietGAP standards faced no such issues.

In Hàm Thuận Nam District, farmers grow VietGAP-quality dragon fruit on 5,200ha, the largest area in the province and, according to Nguyễn Văn Phúc, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Division, accounting for 40 per cent of the total area under the fruit.

Many local farmers have developed linkages down the line up to the consumption stage to ensure they can sell their fruits, he said.  

To expand the area of VietGAP-quality orchards, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has said it will collaborate with districts to propagate to farmers the importance of growing clean crops.

It will also work with relevant agencies to identify more buyers for VietGAP-quality dragon fruits.

This is expected to encourage more companies to tie up with co-operatives, thus building value chains for the fruit.

Individuals and organisations growing and buying VietGAP-quality dragon fruit will be given priority in trade promotion activities, according to the department.

Bình Thuận has an annual output of the fruit of around 600,000 tonnes.

Its export markets include China, the US, the EU, Australia, and Japan. 

Kon Tum authorities pay pre-Christmas visits to religious dignitaries

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum organised 19 delegations to visit local religious dignitaries on December 17-18, on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas celebrations.

The local authorities extended Christmas greetings to Bishop Nguyen Hung Vi of the Kon Tum Diocese; Priest Do Hieu, head of the Kon Tum city parish; Pastor An Uoc, President of the Vietnam United World Mission Church; as well as Catholic and Christian priests, pastors, and followers in the province.

The provincial officials wished the religious dignitaries and followers a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, hoping they will make further contributions to local development.

The religious dignitaries were urged to continue promoting their role in encouraging followers to be law-abiding citizens, and enthusiastically respond to patriotic emulation movements, thus contributing to national unity.

The dignitaries thanked the provincial leaders for facilitating the operation of religious establishments and followers’ religious practices in line with the law. 

They vowed to persuade followers in the province to work together to build the great national unity, help disadvantaged families, and actively participate in patriotic emulation movements launched by central and local authorities.

On the occasion, Kon Tum city and districts sent many delegations to visit religious dignitaries and worshipping facilities in the localities. 

Forestry contributions to economic development analysed

The forestry sector is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s economy, according to a forestry expert.

Do Anh Tuan, head of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, made the statement at a conference in Hanoi on December 18 to analyse the contributions of the forestry sector to growth through the application of input-output charts and the implementation of efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).

He noted the sector’s contributions to the economy’s added value rose from only 0.5 percent in 2008-2013 to 2.3 percent in 2013-2018.

The event, part of an Australian-funded project on forest planting policies to balance the demands of small-scale forest owners, wood processing industry and environment in Laos and Vietnam, aimed to seek policy recommendations to encourage planters to switch to a larger scale. 

Tuan said forest planting and management has become significant in boosting the sustainable development of Vietnam’s forestry sector.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Hau from the Agro-Forestry-Fishery Statistics under the General Statistics Office (GSO) said that the GSO collects statistics on newly-planted forest areas and wood and non-wood output.

The GSO also summarises information of forestry products for the calculation of macro-economic indications, she said.

Dr. Bui Trinh, an advisor the project, said that evaluating the contributions of the forestry sector to GDP via input-output charts is important.

He said demand for forestry products does not pose considerable impact to the added value of other economic sectors, adding that it is necessary to encourage farmers to switch to planting large wood forests, while supporting them in developing high quality wood that meets international standards.

Meanwhile, Vu Tuan Phuong from the Vietnam Academy of Forestry Sciences said Vietnam is ready to implement REDD in terms of legal framework and technical capacity.

Participants at the event also discussed forestry statistics collection methods and contributions of the sector to economic growth and sustainable development.

Vietnamese-funded projects contribute to Laos’ socio-economic growth

Delegates cut ribbon to inaugurate four Vietnamese-funded works (Source: nhandan.com.vn)

Vietnamese-funded projects have contributed to Laos’ socio-economic development and human resources improvement in particular, Lao Deputy Minister of Education and Sports Boualien Silipanya has affirmed.

The Deputy Minister made the confirmation at a ceremony in Vientiane on December 18 to hand over four works using the Vietnamese Government’s non-refundable aid to the Lao side.

He expressed his gratitude for the support from the Vietnamese Party, Government and Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), stressing that Laos considers the four projects valuable gifts for the country’s educational development.

Speaking at the event, Director of the Project Management Board under the MoET Tran Thanh Khiet said that the four projects were part of an agreement on cooperation between the two Governments for 2016-2020, and another collaboration deal between the two ministries.

They include a project worth more than 40 billion VND (1.7 million USD) to repair lodging for foreign students at the Laos National University, the second phase of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship High School project worth 20.5 billion VND, a Vietnamese-language Faculty project at Suphanuvong University and another Vietnamese-language Faculty at Champasak University with combined capital of 50.8 billion VND.

Youths of Ha Giang, China’s Wenshan prefecture foster ties

Youths from the northernmost province of Ha Giang and Wenshan prefecture in China’s Yunnan province meet for talks in Ha Giang on December 18. 

Youths from the northernmost province of Ha Giang and Wenshan prefecture in China’s Yunnan province met for talks in Ha Giang on December 18 to foster ties between the two areas.

The event was part of a youth exchange programme between the two neighbouring localities on December 18 – 20.

According to Deputy Secretary of Ha Giang’s Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Dao Quang Dieu, the event enhanced cultural and sport exchange as well as experience sharing in the two youth unions’ operation and support for the young people to start their own businesses.

He expressed his belief that the talks would facilitate the expansion of links between young entrepreneurs of Ha Giang and Wenshan and help them explore investment opportunities. 

He also expected that trade relations between the two sides would flourish thanks to the two youth unions, which act as bridges between the entrepreneurs and provide them with support to develop businesses in various fields, including trade, services, high-tech agriculture, eco-tourism and mineral processing.

During the talks, the two youth delegations exchanged views on issues of mutual interest. They agreed the two youth unions will serve as a bridge to implement common perceptions reached by the two border localities’ leaders and that they will hold youth exchanges once a year to increase mutual understanding and forge a closer friendship and cooperation. 

They also agreed to raise awareness among their young people of the long-standing solidarity and comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and China.