Bo Y border gate to overhaul procedure

The Bo Y international border gate in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum will shake up its customs procedure for optimised performance following a recent instruction issued by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Accordingly, the Bo Y border gate authorities will work closely with their counterpart at the Phu Cua border gate in Lao province of Atapeu to facilitate the flow of people and goods, especially at weekends, in line with the 2007 Hanoi agreement.

Meanwhile, the Kon Tum authorities are tasked with planning and upgrading the border crossing’s infrastructure facilities, including wards for import-export goods and vehicles.-

Norway helps Vietnam surmount bomb, mine aftermaths

The Norwegian People’s Aid (NPC) will provide technical and financial support for the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) to implement a project on building technical survey process in service of bomb and mine clearance.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Hanoi on September 17, under which the NPC will help the Vietnamese centre conduct technical survey process on the scene on a trial basis before introducing them to other bomb and mine projects.

With the NPC support, the VNMAC will carry out measures to ensure safety for people, equipment and all activities within the framework of the project while organising training courses for the project stakeholders.

Apart from technical consultations and field trips, the Norwegian side will assist Vietnam in organising conferences reviewing how the project to be carried out.

Tran Hong Minh, VNMAC General Director, said the project aims to mobilise foreign resources in minimising risks caused by bombs, mines and explosives left from wartime, and raise public awareness of the issue.

The project will be implemented in Hanoi and piloted in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue . It will be rolled out on a larger scale after the NPA is licensed to operate in Vietnam .

The project will run through December 31, 2016.

More than 800,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs and mines left from wartime are buried in 21 percent of the country, mainly in the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai.

Wartime bombs and mines have killed about 42,130 and injured another 62,160, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Eight dead as floods raging in central Vietnam

Eight people died and another went missing as the floods that followed a tropical storm early this week have inundated many areas in central Vietnam over the past few days, local authorities reported.

The ongoing floods were triggered by torrential rains, with rainfall of up to over 300 mm, in the wake of tropical storm Vamco that hit the region on September 14.

Five of the deceased were in Nghe An Province, two in Ha Tinh, and the other in Thanh Hoa.

The Nghe An victims include a six-year-old boy who was swept away by flood on September 17 and a 42-year-old man who was hit by lightning strike when he was fishing in a flooded field the same day.

Three other victims, a two-year-old boy and two students, died drowning in floodwater in Yen Thanh District on Friday. The only missing person is also a student in Yen Thanh.

In Ha Tinh, two boys aged 10 and 17 in Huong Khe and Huong Son districts were swept away by flood water on September 17 afternoon. Their bodies were recovered later the same day.

Also on September 17, a 57-year-old woman was struck to death by lightning in Thanh Hoa while she was working on a paddy field.

Downpours, with rainfall ranging from 200 to over 300 mm, have submerged over 1,000 hectares of rice, damaged houses and 13 irrigation works, and caused serious landslides and rock slides in Nghe An, local authorities said on September 18.

In Thanh Hoa, torrential rains have submerged about 800 houses and collapsed eight others, and damaged over 2,700 hectares of rice and other crops.

The downpours have also caused the water levels of many rivers in the province, including Buoi and Ma, to rise over the past few days, according to provincial authorities.

Many rivers in other central and northern provinces have also risen, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

They include Thao River in Yen Bai, Hoang Long River in Ninh Binh, Ngan Pho River in Ha Tinh, and  Lo River in Thanh Hoa.

As of Thursday night, torrential rains and flooding have also occurred in many northern provinces, including Hanoi, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Dialogue discusses population policy changes

Vietnam’s population policy overhaul should work towards maintaining the birth rate at 2.1 and gender balance to provide a workforce that can drive the economy forwards.

The view was presented by Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) Nguyen Thien Nhan at a policy dialogue jointly held by the VFFCC and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Hanoi on September 17.

Nhan spoke of the need to make a complete overhaul of the population policy after the country already achieved the replacement fertility rate in order to ensure the sustainable social-economic development after 2015.

He recommended renaming the National Target Programme “Population and Family Planning” into “Sustainable Population and Happy Family” and establishing a national committee on sustainable population and happy family headed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy PM.

According to Ritsu Nacken, interim head representative of the UNFPA in Vietnam, in its population policy, Vietnam should shift from managing population to integrating population variables into development-planning process.

Forthcoming policies and law on population must respect and protect reproduction rights and freedom of choosing reproduction methods.

Vietnam should have priorities on policies and interventions that help reduce inequality in sex and reproduction healthcare for vulnerable groups like ethnic minorities, migrants, and young people, according to the UNFPA official.

Vietnam is at an important stage of planning strategies for social-economic development, including population policy, for the upcoming years, and the UNFPA is always ready to provide the country with technical assistance, she said.

Participants agreed that the 12-year-old Ordinance on Population is out of date and called for the making of a law on population to meet changes in reality.

They also suggested quality sex education at school and on communication channels.

APEC workshop on community-based disaster risk management

Community-based disaster risk management was the focus of a workshop in the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which opened in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh on September 18.

The event drew around 100 delegates from the APEC economies, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNISDR AP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Women, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Vision, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Natural calamities have become more severe over time, directly impacting people’s lives and sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts, as well as hindering business and production activities, thus disrupting the global supply chains, said Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam.

Therefore, enhancing the involvement of the community in natural disaster prevention is a top priority within the APEC disaster risk mitigation framework, contributing to the implementation of the Sendai action plan which was approved at a conference held Sendai city, Japan, in March 2015, he added.

The workshop aimed at suggesting more solutions and sharing experience for participants in the field, especially when APEC member economies are pushing ahead with the establishment of a self-reliant and sustainable community, he said.

Tran Quang Hoai, a member from the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, said natural disasters and extreme climate phenomena have been rising around the world, becoming a global concern in the 21 st century.

He noted that Asia-Pacific is the most disaster prone region. Since 1970, the region has been hit by over 5,000 natural calamities, which killed more than 2 million people and affected close to 6 billion others.

Vietnam is one of the countries bearing the greatest brunt of disasters that kill and injure more than 300 people while causing economic losses of about 1.5 percent of GDP each year, Hoai said.

With the support of the international community, Vietnam has shifted from coping with natural calamities to proactively preventing and moving towards disaster risk management, he added.

Under the national strategy for natural disaster prevention, response and mitigation through 2020, Vietnam has enacted a number of preventive measures at both the central and grassroots levels, while integrating related programmes and projects into socio-economic development and climate change response plans, Hoai noted.

He reportedd that the five-year project on enhancing community-based disaster risk management have received warm response from localities across the country with a number of public awareness-raising activities held.

Jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee, the event will run until September 19.

The APEC workshop on community-based disaster risk management is one of the 80 initiatives proposed by Vietnam in preparation for the country’s hosting of the 25th APEC Summit and related activities in 2017.

Hau Giang lime farmers suffer loesse

The area used for seedless lime cultivation in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang has reached a record high of more than 1,000 hectares, with just 600ha of limes bearing fruit.

The mass shift to seedless limes has lowered prices, creating anxiety among local farmers.

In 2009, seedless lime plantations in Hau Giang only covered about 20ha. But since 2013, the price of seedless limes in Hau Giang has increased rapidly.

In May last year, the price rose to VND50,000 (US$2.2) per kg, almost double the previous month. This was the highest price ever in the local market. The price surge prompted local farmers to cut down their longan and rambutan trees to switch to seedless limes.

However, seedless lime prices have fallen to VND4,000 to VND6,000 per kg. This is the lowest price they've seen in the last three years.

Local farmer Nguyen Duc Le, who owns three hectares of seedless limes, said farmers would not profit at current prices. He also feared that the prices would continue to go down due to the increased supply.

"The mass shift to seedless limes hasn't just occurred in Dong Thanh Commune, but also in many other western provinces," said Le Vinh Bao, chairman of Dong Thanh Commune People's Committee.

Ngo Minh Long, head of the Hau Giang Agricultural Encouragement Centre, said one seedless lime tree could bear fruit for more than 10 years. So the seedless lime supply would increase yearly. However, domestic demand has not kept up with the increase in supply, leading an overabundance of the fruit.

"An urgent task for local agricultural authorities is to help farmers improve their cultivation skills to meet the Global and Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices to ensure export-level quality and stabilise growing areas," Long said.

Nguyen Van Chien, head of Chau Thanh District's Inter-agricultural Co-operative, said the biggest problem they faced was farmers' tendencies to gravitate toward the most profitable crops without an eye for the long-term effects of their strategies.

Moreover, they had not paid due attention to the quality of seedless lemon seedlings, which made export more difficult, Chien said.

Admiral praises VN health talks

Viet Nam organisation of the five-day Asia Pacific Military Health Exchange in Da Nang has been praised by Rear Admiral Colin Chinn, Command Surgeon, US Pacific Command.

Chinn, who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the exchange yesterday, said he was actually impressed with the preparations by Viet Nam's Military Medical Department.

He said the function, which was attended by nearly 500 deputies from 23 countries and organis-ations, professionally showed off the development of the Vietnamese military medical force

Major General Vu Quoc Binh, head of Viet Nam's Military Medical Department, said the health exchange was a great opportunity for participants to share experiences in modern medicine, treatment and health-care for soldiers.

"Strengthening co-operation and exchanging medical experience among military medical forces in the region will play an important role in dealing with all challenges," he said.

Binh also said he hoped the exchange and co-operation among countries in Asia Pacific region would develop strongly in the future, and become a forum of knowledge to help build trust and co-operation among countries.

Hoang Tien Trung Nghia, senior lieutenant medical officer from HCM City's Military Hospital 175, said the conference brought new technology, knowledge and practices in healthcare, surgery and treatment.

He said Viet Nam's military medical teams were preparing a field hospital as part of the country's participation in future UN peacekeeping missions.

The five-day conference attracted many scientific reports focusing on external and internal medicine, infections, disease prevention, community health-care, training military medical staff, traditional medicine and the application of advanced technology in healthcare.

It also marked the 20th anniversary of the normal-isation of ties between the US and Viet Nam. Malaysia will host the next conference in 2017.

Lack of cash ends resettlement work

Authorities in Khanh Hoa Prov-ince have started a massive plan to resettle more than 18,300 residents living in landslide-prone areas, but a lack of funds has stopped it from moving forward.

The plan, announced by the local Rural Development Branch (RVB) of the Department of the Agriculture and Rural Development, aims to ensure safety for and stabilise 4,300 households across the province.

Affected residents living in the landslide zones along the Cai and Dinh rivers' banks, and in coastal and mountainous areas, needed to be resettled to other accommodations as soon as possible, an RVB representative said.

RVB Manager Truong Huu Lan said that a lack of funds and vacant land on which residents could settle were hindering the plan, especially as the population density continued to increase in landslide-prone areas.

"Only a fraction of the budget needed to resettle the residents has been met so far," Lan said.

"Resident relocation in many landslide-prone areas has yet to be carried out despite its urgency."

More than 1,200 houses located around the San and Chut mountains and the Nhat Tri hillock in Nha Trang will be subject to resettlement, according to the plan. Others living along the Cai River in Vinh Trung, Vinh Thanh and Vinh Ngoc communes and in coastal areas in the wards of Vinh Nguyen and Vinh Phuoc also need to move.

The remaining 3,100 households come from areas that neighbour Nha Trang, including those who are staying by the sea in Van Ninh District and by the riverbanks in Dien Khanh District and Ninh Hoa Commune.

River erosion, landslides and tidal erosion have grown intense due to the encroachment of protective forests and riparian foothill land.

Pollution kills millions of Quang Tri shrimp

Pollution from waste water released by shrimp farms has killed millions of farmed shrimps in central Quang Tri Province, causing huge losses for farmers.

The province's Department of Veterinary Services said 79 out of 223 hectares of shrimp farming in the locality had diseased shrimp. The figure is expected to rise as pollution spreads.

Ninety-nine per cent of shrimp on 66ha on farms on Bac Phuoc islet in the province's Trieu Phong District have died from a variety of diseases poisoning the liver and head.

Each affected farmer has lost about VND100 million (nearly US$5,000) that they invested in shrimp fry.

Tran Van Duong, a farmer, said the disease had spread so fast he and other farmers could not react in time to save them.

Similar diseases have attacked other shrimp farms in Hai Lang District in the same province.

Nguyen Vu Si, chairman of Trieu Phuoc Commune, which has 149ha of shrimp farms, said farmers had not ensured good hygienic conditions on the farms.

"Farmers did not hygienically prepare the farms before each crop and their release of waste water has polluted environment around the farms," he said.

In Hai Lang, the pollution is more severe as farmers did not consult veterinary staff and used improper chemicals to treat waste water.

The veterinary department expects more shrimp farms will be affected and has warned farmers to beware.

It recommended farmers contact veterinary staff before dealing with the diseases, adding that waste water needed to be treated properly and each pond should be in good hygienic condition before starting a crop.

Bac Ninh gets specialised technology centre

The Bac Ninh People's Committee today inaugurated a specialised technology centre in Bac Ninh General Hospital.

At the inauguration ceremony, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen said the centre would help to reduce overcrowding at central hospitals by giving local residents access to high-quality health check-ups and examinations at the centre.

Xuyen said the provincial health sector should give more training to medical workers, apply information technology in its work and improve the medical workers' attitude while giving health check-ups to patients.

The construction of the specialised technology centre started on February 22, 2010, with a total investment of VND450 billion (US$20 million) funded by government bonds and the provincial budget.

The centre has 11 floors and a ground floor, comprising a total of nearly 42,000sq.m.

With the centre, Bac Ninh General Hospital can develop its key specialities such as cardiovascular disease treatment, early cancer diagnosis and blood filtering procedures.

How Vietnamese kids celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival?

Vietnamese children look forward to Tet Trung Thu, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, as they are not only treated to sweets and cakes, but also given presents. While the practice is still common, the choices of presents have changed significantly over the years.

Some items were kids’ favorites decades ago but can still be found in shops on Hang Ma Street in Hanoi's famous old quarter, especially with the festival coming soon (September 27).

The celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival is never complete without lanterns. In the past, before they became modern with the addition of LED lights and musical devices, these rotating lamps were like magic for kids. Known as den keo quan in Vietnam, the lamps look like little shadow theaters when lit up.

They cost VND50,000-VND100,000 (US$2.2-4.4).

At VND10,000-VND20,000 (43-87 cents), star-shaped lanterns may be too outdated for many people, but they can be still found at shops on Hang Ma and a couple of nearby streets.

With lion dances being an indispensable part of the celebrations, lion heads made from paper and bamboo is always a favorite among kids, whether in the past or now. Children would put the lion heads on and play around with other kids in their neighborhood, an adorable sight that can be seen even days after the festival.

A lion head costs VND1.5-3 million (US$66-131).

When it comes to lion dances, drums play an important part in their performance. Designed for kids, these drums are small with heads made from frog skin, thus its Vietnamese name trong ech or frog drum.

A drum costs VND30,000-50,000 (US$1.3-2.1).

On the festival day, people make offerings to either their ancestors or deities and pray for health and success. Besides fruits and com, a green rice dessert popular in the north in autumn, there are paper toys that are given to kids after the offering ritual.

Typically, they are paper dolls that cost VND50,000-VND150,000. Their meaning varies in accordance with their size and position. The lower-placed pair of figurines in the photo are servants, while those higher above are known as tien si giay, or paper doctors, and often given to children as a mark of good wish for their studies.

Small lion heads are another favorite offering and cost VND30,000-VND50,000 each.

In the past this little iron boat was a luxury toy for kids during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

With the design almost unchanged over years, the boat now costs VND150,000-VND300,000. It can sail in water when a small kerosene lamp inside its hull is lit up.

Currently selling at VND50,000, this swan basket was once a popular toy for young girls. The white swans are made of paper, sponge and cotton.

These masks, made from layers of paper, are one of the few traditional toys that have managed to retain their popularity until now.

At VND25,000-VND30,000 each, the masks depict popular Vietnamese characters likeong Dia, a happy-go-lucky Vietnamese Earth Deity, and the popular smiling character in water puppetry known as chu Teu.

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