Bach Mai General Hospital opened a new 500-bed childhood cancer and heart centre at a ceremony in Hanoi on December 30.

"The centre will dramatically help to ease the situation of patient overload at Bach Mai Hospital, especially in the emergency, cancer, kidney and respiratory, besides examination departments," Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said at the opening ceremony.

The 21-storey new cancer and heart centre, with a total floor area of 45,000sq.m, has been built with a total investment of more than 1,300 billion VND (578 million USD).

It is equipped with advanced medical facilities required for diagnosing and treating cancer and heart diseases in children.

Hospital Director Nguyen Quoc Anh said childhood cancer and heart diseases were among the health issues that raised the maximum concern in the world and in Vietnam due to the high fatality rate and after-effects.

The new advanced centre will help to save more children with cancer and heart diseases in Vietnam, he added.

Established in 1911, Bach Mai Hospital is the largest medical facility in Vietnam that handles examination and treatment of about 1.4 million patient visits each year.

BIDV to fund waste treatment complex

The Bank for Investment of Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in Ho Chi Minh City on December 30 signed a contract to sponsor a green project in the southern hub.

According to the contract, BIDV would provide sponsorship for the first phase of the Green Environment Technology Park in Long An province with 148 million USD, 70 percent of the whole investment.

The project's investor, Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS), is considered a creditable business and one of BIDV's leading clients, said Van Dinh Hai, director of BIDV Ho Chi Minh City.

The project, which was approved by the Prime Minister in 2008, will be building a solid waste treatment system for three major economic zones by 2020.

"We believe the project would meet the demand of the three economic zones in waste treatment and help raise quality of life for local residents," Hai said.

Men charged for transporting tiger

Hai Ba Trung District's police in Ha Noi are prosecuting two people for illegally transporting a tiger.

Luong Van Ly, 36, and Phan Thi Huong, 40, both living in Ha Tinh central province's Huong Son District, were accused of violating the State's regulation on wild animal protection.

On December 2, police discovered a dead tiger in their car, a Hyundai, parked at a pagoda in Dong Nhan District.

At the police office, the two confessed to transporting the dead tiger from Nghe An to sell it in Ha Noi.

21 foreigners detained for staying in Vietnam illegally for years

Police in Ho Chi Minh City said they have detained 21 foreign men for staying in the city without personal papers, some for as long as nine years.

The officers checked their rented apartments on Phan Huy Ich Street, Go Vap District, where 52 men were staying, on December 28 and many tried to flee.

Some fought back and the police had to use tasers to control them. Police said 21 of them failed to present valid passports and visas.

Police check a restaurant run by foreign men in Ho Chi Minh City December 28, 2015. Photo: Hai Nam

It is not immediately clear how and whether police officers could verify their nationalities. According to several media reports, the men came from African countries, including Nigeria and Cameroon.

Initial investigation found some of them have been staying in Vietnam without personal papers for eight to nine years.

Locals said the foreigners came to their neighborhood, renting ground-floor apartments to open shops and restaurants. Some suspected that several of the foreign men have also provided illegal sex services.

Police are investigating further.

Streets left in disarray after careless construction work

Untidy pavement recklessly covered by rocks, gravel, water pipes along with electricity wires lying in disorder after construction can be easily seen on many HCM City's streets on these year-end days. Repaired roads of utility projects which were left unfinished before New Year have plagued the aesthetic beauty of the city while the local residents complain that these works have caused a nuisance to their daily lives.

Since the beginning of November, nineteen roads in districts 5, 6, 11 have been dug out to install a drainage system and revise old channels in an attempt to address flooding in the city.

Barriers have been erected for construction work, which causes chaos for traffic during rush hour.

Locals on Tan Thanh Ward's Luy Ban Bich Street showed their anger over broken water pipes caused by workers while they were installing underground electricity wires. The construction company failed to fix the pipes, only covering them with soil to evade their responsibilities.

Do Ngoc Giang, deputy director of Tan Phu electricity company, said that Nguyen Loc Thinh construction and trade limited company asked to dig pavement on Luy Ban Bich Street to install electricity wires for a wedding restaurant but has yet to be allowed. However, the workers sneakily executed the work at night.

A regulation issued by the municipal People's Committee last year mandates that companies must restore dug pavements and road surfaces within 48 hours after construction. In fact, many units still evade this regulation.

Do Xuan Hop Street, which is under construction, is home to a rice seller who complained that she could earn VND1.5million (US$67) per day when there is no construction work. Now she can only earn tens of hundreds of thousands dong as customers hesitate to thread through sewage pipes.

Careless road excavation still continues through the years despite the efforts of inspectorates to crack down on violations. According to the municipal transport department, until the end of this year, there are 60 works under construction in the city.

Inspectors of HCM City's transport department said that during two weeks from November 20 to December 4, they imposed administrative punishment on 45 violations with total fines of VND271 million ($12,045). Among those, 27 cases have had the delayed road restored.

Tackling careless road excavation remains slow and ineffective. Each sector has reasons for its project and insists that its work is urgent, said Tu Minh Thien, a member of HCM City's People's Council.

Project finance is usually approved in the final months of the year so many projects are implemented at this time, he said.

To address traffic jams at construction works during the upcoming holidays, the execution team will finish construction on every 70 to 80 metre-long road and restore the road surface before continuing to the next section. Construction barriers will be removed prior to Tet (Lunar New Year), said Dang Ngoc Hoi, management board director of a project on HCM City's drainage system improvement.

Murderer arrested after month on run

Local police yesterday held a press conference about the case of a Chinese suspect murder, who was arrested last month in Da Nang City.

Director of the central city's Public Security Department, Colonel Le Van Tam said that Feng Long Chun confessed to using a gun to kill a Chinese man Li Mu Zi, 34, in Da Nang's Son Tra district on November 26th.

Feng admitted that he killed Li for revenge because of a business conflict.

Tam said investigation forces had taken a month to identify the murderer and he was in custody in the central city.

According to the investigation agency's report, Li Mu Zi ,34, known as A Ly in Vietnamese, from Beijing, was shot by a masked man in front of his house in Nguyen Duy Hieu Street in Son Tra district on November 26th.

Li was taken to hospital, but he died from his injuries a few hours later.

Deputy PM urges farming restructuring

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh called on the southwestern region to accelerate agricultural restructuring while chairing a meeting of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region in Can Tho City yesterday.

Regional authorities should adjust production plans on the basis of market demand and increase connectivity among localities in the region and beyond, he said, adding that ministries and agencies should provide the latest market information to local businesses, helping them expand markets and develop farm produce trademarks.

He urged localities to promote the application of scientific and technological advances, build a new co-operative model connecting businesses and farmers, and ramp up transport and economic infrastructure in support of agriculture.

The relevant agencies, particularly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, were asked to pay more attention to dealing with issues related to climate change.

Localities should speed up the progress of new rural development in tandem with sustainable poverty reduction, while rallying resources to provide better care for the poor as the New Year is coming, the Deputy PM said.

According to the steering committee, the regional economy will grow by an estimated 7.8 percent this year with agro-forestry-fisheries accounting for 33 percent.

Rice output will be 25.7 million tonnes, up 430,000 tonnes from 2014. As of November 2015, the region exported 6.24 million tonnes of rice and earned US$2.7 billion, up 3.6 percent in volume and down 5 percent in value.

Total seafood production reached 3.8 million tonnes, a 6.5 percent annual increase.

In the new rural development drive, four districts and towns have been recognised as new-style rural areas and 233 out of the total 1,260 communes have met all 19 criteria for the status.

Progress has also been seen in industry, trade and services, and the national defence-security and social order have been maintained.

The region aims to increase its gross domestic product by 7.8 percent and collect more than VND50.3 trillion ($2.3 billion) for the State budget, a 7.7 percent rise from 2015.

Border city welcomes one millionth tourist

Mong Cai border city in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh welcomed its one millionth tourist arrival on December 31.

The lucky tourist was Lin Pen from Shanghai, China. He said he had visited the city for several times thanks to its beautiful landscapes and hospitable people.

He added he would come back here together with his friends in an appropriate time.

Vice Secretary of the city’s Party Committee Vu Van Kinh said the locality has taken a number of drastic measures to promote sustainable tourism development.

In 2015, the city launched a project on developing tourism products until 2020, with a vision to 2030.

It introduced more than a dozen of new products to lure more tourists, including launching a walking street in Tran Phu ward.

HCM City plans to avoid risks by terminating unsafe livestock

Livestock found to have been raised with banned substances must be immediately exterminated, the People's Committee of HCM City suggested to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

After banned substances were found to pose major health and biological hazards, regulations were enacted to require the authority to hold the livestock from three to 15 days, according to the southern city's committee.

However, the holding facilities are often inadequate both in size and equipment. As a result, it may exacerbate the spread of infectious diseases among livestock, especially during an extended period of time when livestock are exhausted, the committee said.

The city said that immediately exterminating the livestock would minimise the chance of disease outbreaks and deter the use of banned substances in livestock farming.

It would also prevent butcheries and livestock owners from delaying sample testing while forcing them to co-operate with market watch and animal health forces.

The city's animal health department recently increased the number of inspections at livestock and food processing companies. Of 500 pork samples taken from numerous butcheries in cities, banned substances of various degrees were found in 97.

Power, agriculture sectors brace for water shortages

Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have agreed to regulate water held in hydropower reservoirs power supplies and water for agricultural production activities.

Due to the low water volume flowing into hydropower reservoirs, power generation has decreased. Total hydropower production is estimated to be 55.3 billion kWh this year, about 4.5 billion kWh less than last year.

This year, water levels in some reservoirs in Central regions, the Central Highlands and Southern regions have been lower than normal due to low rainfall towards the end of the year, Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper reported.

About 4.86 billion cubic metres will be needed for agricultural activities during the 2015-2016 winter-spring rice crop.

Hydropower reservoirs in Son La, Hoa Binh-Thac Ba and Tuyen Quang will provide water needed for the 2015-2016 winter-spring rice crop season in the midlands and northern delta, according to EVN and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In order to prevent droughts, saline intrusion and respond to the impacts of El Nino, EVN has directed related units to closely follow weather and climate patterns as well as water levels in hydropower reservoirs to ensure water security for electrical and agricultural production during the 2016 dry season.

The electricity sector will also use thermo-electric sources and schedule maintenance work for power plants in 2016, while expanding the national power grid in order to improve power transmission between regions.

EVN also said that the agriculture sector should have response measures in place in case of drought, and us water from hydropower reservoirs efficiently.

Tien Giang hospital treats 47 for food poisoning

Cai Lay District's general hospital in the southern province of Tien Giang has treated 47 workers suffering from food poisoning, hospital director Nguyen Van Nguu said.

The workers were employees of Ecoway Garment Co. Ltd, who were hospitalized on Tuesday afternoon after having lunch at the company's canteen.

Of those treated, 37 workers were discharged from the hospital by the evening. The remaining workers are expected to be released from the hospital soon.

Workers complained of suffering from headaches and vomiting after eating a meal of Chinese braised pork, Chinese peas, and papaya soup.

The director said an initial examination of the workers confirmed their having symptoms of food poisoning, such as headache, stomach pain, vomiting and dizziness.

Phuc Loc private company, in the southern province of Ben Tre, supplies meal to Ecoway Co. Ltd.

Airport security, police discover drug smuggling cases

Noi Bai International Airport's security force found 10kg of methamphetamine in luggage yesterday.

Airport security officials scanned 26 pieces of luggage that were being transported from Noi Bai to Lien Khuong Airport in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Airport security officials are co-ordinating with the police to find the owners of the drugs.

The HCM City police also said yesterday they had discovered a drug trafficking ring extending from Laos to Viet Nam, and had seized a huge amount of heroin and cash.

The police arrested five suspects and seized 75 packs of heroin, 2kg of synthetic drugs, 5.7kg of methamphetamine and two cars, besides a gun, VND3 billion and US$22,700 in cash.

The persons arrested were Nguyen Thi Hoa, born in 1948, and her daughter Do Thi Dung, born in 1981, both residents of HCM City's Hoc Mon District; Nguyen Tri Dung, born in 1972 and a resident of HCM City's Tan Binh District; Tran Quy Dang, born in 1964; and his elder brother Tran Xuan Luyen from the central Quang Binh Province.

The gang bought heroin in Laos, smuggled it in via northern Viet Nam and sold it in the southern provinces and HCM City. Hoa was the main purchaser who collected a huge amount of drugs from northern Viet Nam and delivered it to dealers in the southern region.

Tran Quy Dang and Tran Xuan Luyen were caught while they were illegally transporting 10 packs of heroin and 2kg of drugs from Quang Binh Province to sell it to Hoa.

Nguyen Tri Dung was caught while he was delivering drugs to Do Thi Dung at a supermarket in Tan Binh District.

Dung, a regular drug supplier of Hoa, mainly smuggled drugs from Laos to the central Nghe An Province, and then transported it for sale in HCM City.

In the meantime, the northern Bac Giang Province's transport police caught two passengers of a four-seater taxi for illegally carrying 1.65kg of heroin on Monday.

A police official said they found the taxi travelling in the northern Lang Son mountainous province-Ha Noi route, and decided to inspect it when it was crossing Lang Giang District.

Both the drug traffickers and the taxi driver are members of a family living in Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung District. The persons arrested are Bui Bich Huong, 35, and her husband, Nguyen Xuan Hiep, 36; and the driver Bui Anh Vinh, 44, who is Huong's elder brother and is HIV positive.

More efforts to build action plan for climate change adaptation

It is imperative to speed up the building of action plans for carrying out the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a meeting on December 30.

He urged ministries and sectors to accelerate the establishment of a target programme on green growth and response to climate change for the 2016-2020 period to submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

International donors have so far provided nearly US$1.3 billion for Vietnam, focusing on urgent climate change response projects.

The Deputy PM underlined the need to make greater efforts in responding to climate change as Vietnam is one of countries heavily affected by climate change.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently attended the 21st Conference of the Parties to COP21 in Paris, France. The Vietnamese delegation made important contributions at the event and received international plaudits.

The Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC), which assists the development and implementation of strategies, policies and projects aiming to effectively respond to adverse impacts of climate change in Vietnam, demonstrates the country's strong commitment to the global fight against climate change.

Co To island district recognised as new-style rural area

The island district of Co To in northern Quang Ninh province has been recognised as a new-style rural area under a decision recently signed by the Prime Minister.

Located in the east of Quang Ninh, 100 km off the mainland eastward to the Gulf of Tonkin, Co To comprises 50 large and small islands.

The district has two communes and one township with 100% of roads linking the communes and villages cemented. As many as 73% of local households have access to clean water.

The locality’s average per capita income reached VND45 million (US$2,025) in 2014 and annual average growth rate hit 14% during 2011-2014.

The district’s poverty rate now stands at only 0.49%.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released its latest ranking of guest worker recruitment agencies operating in Vietnam that show their ethical standards and integrity have improved.

The release of the rankings, timed to correspond with International Migrants Day on December 18, gave nearly one third of the recruitment agencies surveyed high marks— scoring five out of a possible of six points.

The survey, carried out with the support of the ILO and Australian Government, rated 66 recruitment agencies on the basis of their compliance with the code of conduct promulgated by the Vietnam Association of Manpower Supply (VAMAS).

The ranking system, first introduced in 2010, aims to improve recruitment services accorded guest workers and better protect their human rights while working in overseas markets.

“Employment agencies have shown positive improvements in their operations,” said VAMAS President Nguyen Luong Trao.

More specifically, Trao emphasized they have improved pre-departure worker training, management of employees while they are abroad and support for workers returning home following completion of their contract.

However, Trao cautions that though progress has been made, “much more remains to be done.”

Meanwhile the Overseas Labour Management Department (OLMD) has forecast the number of guest workers for 2015 to surpass the annual target set by the National Assembly.

“The number of workers that went abroad for the eleven months through November has already exceeded the target of 95,000 set for the entire calendar year,” said OLMD Deputy Director Tong Hai Nam.

Nam said although the guest workers have surpassed the target, a number of difficult problems still remain.  Far too many workers lack self-discipline and are quitting their employment early and not returning home on time.

Though the situation has been improving, temporary agencies continue to make material misrepresentations to workers, short change them on pay related matters and fail to follow through with training promised.

“Some employment agencies are greedy and only concerned with making a profit,” said Nam and ignore the best interest of the workers.

For example, Nam said Taiwan and Japan received 80% of the nation’s guest workers for 2015 and far too many of them are quitting because the recruitment agencies are charging exorbitantly high fees in excess of US$5,000.

This has evolved into the situation where 17% of the workers in Taiwan and 4% of those in Japan are quitting and illegally staying in the country to avoid having to pay the high fees.

To resolve the situation, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is implementing a series of measures to prevent companies from charging excessively high fees.

The Japanese Government has warned that if the rate is reaches 5% it will stop recruiting allowing guest workers into the country.

To date, compliance with the VAMAS code of conduct has primarily been done on a voluntary basis but has contributed greatly to resolving problems with the guest worker program, said VAMAS President Nguyen Luong Trao.

However, making adherence with the code mandatory would give it more teeth to alleviate the problems encountered with unethical and unscrupulous conduct by recruitment agencies, he emphasized.

Western Union presents handbook to Vietnamese migrant workers

The Western Union and the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) have presented 20.000 handbooks to Vietnamese migrant workers for reference before they go to work abroad.

The handbook with six volumes covers six labour markets in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Macau, Taiwan and Japan. Each volume provides basic information on the host country and people, vocabulary, important tips upon arrival and necessary contact addresses.

Ms Patricia Z.Riingen, Senior Vice President of ASEAN and Pacific region of Western Union said the handbook will help migrant workers quickly integrate into the host country and work more efficiently.

According to statistics from DOLAB, in the first 11 months of this year, the total number of Vietnamese migrant workers amounted to 109,251 including 35,472 women. Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia have been promising labour markets for Vietnamese migrant workers.

Vietnamese fishing village overcomes shyness to host tourists

Le Thi Mot launched her homestay business on Ly Son Islands two years ago after being urged by a group of tourists she had hosted for free.

“The tourists group arrived on Ly Son late and all guest houses were full,” the woman from the island 15 nautical miles off the central Quang Ngai Province said. “I asked them to stay in my house for free that night.”

After returning from the trip, the tourists called Mot and advised her to start a homestay and her business has been a big success.

“In summer there are 5-15 tourists a day. The room rates are VND50,000-100,000 (US$2.2-US$4.4) per night,” she said.

Soon around 10 families on Ly Son’s main island of Re got into the business to meet the increasing demand.

Vo Thi Loan, Mot’s neighbor, said people on the island are mostly fishermen, and it was a bit unusual for them to have strangers in their houses.

“It took time, but we have gradually got used to hosting guests in our houses.”

She has hosted many tourists including students and those visiting the island in groups, she said.

“It is like staying at home for the tourists. I cook any food they want and boil water for drinking. It is not expensive like in restaurants and hotels.”

The hosts also tell interesting stories when taking tourists to visit old houses, an old pagoda, a cave or garlic fields – a specialty on the island.

Currently there are three high-speed boats from Quang Ngai to Ly Son Islands that depart at 8 a.m. and five boats depart an hour later every day. The trip takes an hour by speed boat and two hours otherwise.

According to local authorities, the homestay industry has not been managed properly, with many service providers lacking experience.

34 families have registered to run the business.

Around 150,000 people visited Ly Son this year, or 27% of the tourists coming to the province.

Huynh Thi Phuong Hoa, deputy director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said her agency has organized two trips for families on Ly Son to see homestay services in other places.

“They have visited Hoi An and Cham Islands, where homestay developed earlier, to learn and have a look from tourists’ viewpoint to improve their service at home.”

Chinese airline to launch Kunming-Nha Trang direct flight

China’s Yunnan Lucky Air on December 28 announced the launch of a direct flight between Kunming city in southwest China’s Yunnan province and Nha Trang city, Vietnam's southern central of Khanh Hoa province.

Lucky Air will use Airbus A320 to operate flights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting from January 25, 2016, according to the Xinhoa news agency.

Flights will depart from Kunming at 19:55 (Beijing time) and arrive in Nha Trang at 21:30 (local time).

The return flight will depart from Nha Trang at 22:30 (local time) and arrive in Kunming at 1:55 (Beijing time) the next day.

Nha Trang, the capital of Khanh Hoa province, is located on the south central coast of Vietnam and is well known as a popular tourist destination.

Lam Thao district in the midland province of Phu Tho has become the first district recognised as new-style area in the northern mountainous region.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, head of the Steering Committee for the National Target Programme on New Rural Development, granted the Prime Minister’s decision to local authorities during a ceremony on December 31.

With the event, Lam Thao is the 15 th district nationwide to earn the status, with 10 out of its 12 communes having achieved all the criteria during the past five years. Two remaining communes have also met many criteria.

Agricultural production value reaches 110 million VND (5000 USD) per ha in the district. The rate of poor households has been brought down to 2.8 percent while all communes meet national standards on health care.

Technical and socio-economic infrastructure has been improving.

In the foreseeable future, Lam Thao will continue upgrading its socio-economic infrastructure, with a focus on infrastructure for agriculture and rural areas.

The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new rural areas covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.

One district must have at least 75 percent of its communes meeting all the 19 criteria in order to receive the new rural area title.

Nearly 1,000 disadvantaged people in Ha Giang receive eye care

The Republic of Korea’s organisation Vision Care in collaboration with the Ha Giang Eye Hospital provided eye care for nearly 500 poor and ethnic minority people in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

During the December 28-31 programme, doctors have also performed surgery on patients with serious problems such as cataracts and eye refraction.

Poor patients from the remote areas also received financial support from the Vision Care and the hospital to cover travel expenses.

Earlier, doctors from the Military Hospital 354 under the Defence Ministry’s General Department of Logistics provided free health check-ups and advice to 500 people and eye care for 500 students in Cao Ma Po commune, Quan Ba district.

They also gave free medicine to 110 policy beneficiaries, people who rendered service the nation, and the needy in addition to gifts including books and notebooks, blankets, and clothes to local boarders.

Deputy PM asks for stronger climate change respond

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has requested Ministries and sectors to accelerate the building of action plans for implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21).

Chairing a meeting on December 30, Deputy PM Hai asked to hasten the formation of a target programme on green growth and response to climate change for the 2016-2020 period to submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

In the documents lists of concrete projects should be updated, especially those related to greenhouse emission reduction, he said.

Hai informed that international donors have provided nearly 1.3 billion USD for Vietnam so far this year with focus on urgent climate change response projects.

The Deputy PM stressed the neccessity to further efforts in addressing climate change as Vietnam is one of countries heavily affected by climate change.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently attended the 21st Conference of the Parties to COP21 in Paris, France. The Vietnamese delegation made important contributions at the event and received praises from the international community.

The Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC), which aims to assist the development and implementation of strategies, policies and projects designed to effectively respond to reverse impacts of climate change in Vietnam, shows Vietnam’s strong commitment to the global fight against climate change.

It set up dialogue forums as well as coordination mechanisms in the field.

Electricity comes to la H’Drai district

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum’s la H’Drai district has finally joined the national grid thanks to the national power supply plan for rural, mountainous and island areas for 2013-2020.

The event has benefited 334 local households living in la Dom and la Dal communes.

The electricity project worth 17 billion VND (756,564 USD) has a total capacity of 670 kilovolt-amps.

It is part of a national power supply plan aiming at rural, mountainous and island areas between 2013 and 2020, which expects to light up 183 target hamlets with 14,000 when it is over.

la H’Drai is a newly established district with small population and poor transport infrastructure.

National conference reviews 2015 external information services

The Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education hosted a national conference in Hanoi on December 30 to review external information services and dissemination of news regarding seas, islands and border demarcation for 2015 and set tasks for 2016.

Over 600 representatives from ministries, agencies, socio-political organisations, localities and the media attended the event.

Participants hailed achievements made during the year thanks to increased liaison among relevant units at home and abroad, which they said, has brought about better news products in both quantity and quality.

Foreign-language news about major country events, all-level Party congresses towards the 12th National Party Congress, outstanding diplomatic activities of Party and State leaders and international integration have received special attention.

The East Sea issue, land border delimitation, public opinion orientation and the fight against wrongful allegations by hostile forces have rallied public support both in and outside the country toward the cause of safeguarding national sea, island and border sovereignty and maintaining an environment of peace and stability for national development.

The conference also pointed out existing flaws, including asynchronous organisation mechanism which has yet to utilise collective power of the entire political system, low efficiency of news forecast and tracking in several cases that affects orientation quality, and the lack of attractive publications that suit specific areas and audiences.

Though in higher volumes, external relations news have yet to reach a desirable and wider audience while the role of key press outlets and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad is yet fully brought into play.

Concluding the conference, Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Central Committee Dinh The Huynh, who is also head of the commission, said 2016 is a year when the 12th National Party Congress is held. The country is forecast to continue facing challenges while complicated and uncertain developments remain in the region and the world, including in the East Sea.

About missions for 2016, he stressed the need to focus on key tasks in line with Vietnam’s stance and external relations policies mentioned in the 12th National Party Congress’s documents, refine coordination and steering mechanisms at both local and central levels, and further improve the number and quality of foreign language news.

While combating wrongful and distorted allegations by hostile and opportunist forces, he requested continuing to popularise Vietnam’s viewpoint on the settlement of the East Sea issue by peaceful means in line with international law, Vietnam’s friendly relations with major and neighboring countries, and the foreign policy of peace, independence and self-reliance, contributing to pooling the global support to safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

At the event, the commission presented certificates of merit to 25 units and 18 individuals in recognition of their dedication to external information as well as sea, island and border demarcation news services.

2016 to be the year for youth union member development

2016 has been designated as the year for the development of youth union members, said Dang Ngoc Tung, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL).

At the seventh conference of the VGCL Standing Committee that concluded in Hanoi on December 30, Tung explained that after Vietnam joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and a number of free trade agreements, trade unions will have to face a spate of challenges, especially in developing their members, establishing trade unions at the grass-roots level and improving the performance of the units.

Apart from advantages, the country’s socio-economic situation is forecast to face a range of difficulties in 2016 which directly affect labourers’ employment, income and living standards, he said.

Trade unions will also encounter a string of difficulties and challenges as a result of globalisation and international integration, he added.

Given this, the official suggested all-level trade unions complete guidelines and policies relating to youth members and labourers, especially those regarding employment and trade union in the context of international integration.

Tung called for trade unions at all levels to fight wastefulness and encourage workers to participate in social insurance.

The conference adopted a number of reports on the operation of the confederation and voted additional members to the VGCL Standing Committee and the Presidium of the VGCL for the 2013-2018 tenure.

Vietnam helps Cambodia combat drug

The Vietnamese Government has presented a batch of medicine for treatment of drug addiction worth 3 billion VND (133,530 USD) to Cambodia, aiming to support the country in its fight against drug.

The batch was handed over to representatives from the Cambodian Health Ministry at a ceremony in Phnom Penh on December 30 by Chief Inspector of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health Dang Van Chinh, who is on a working visit to Cambodia.

Minister of State for the Cambodian Ministry of Health Chu Min Lin thanked the Vietnamese Government, the Ministry of Health and the National Committee for HIV/AIDS , Drugs and Prostitution Prevention for their effective assistance to Cambodia in preventing, fighting, and curbing harmful effects of drug.

She expressed his hope that his country will receive more support from Vietnam in the time ahead.

According to Chief Inspector Dang Van Chinh, the batch of medicine was part of the cooperation programme on preventing and combating drug between the two governments, contributing to improving the efficiency of their cooperation in the field, and ensuring security and order of both nations.

The medicine, produced under a national-level scientific research, is the only remedy for treatment of drug addiction licensed by the Ministry of Health.

Hanoi’s 2015 achievements provide firm foundation for new year

The remarkable achievements that Hanoi has gained in 2015 creates a good premise for the capital to make new progress in 2016.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung talked about Hanoi’s targets and missions in 2016 in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the eve of the new year.

He said a four-year high economic growth of 9.24 percent in 2015 will create a momentum for the city’s development, adding that the city has also identified outstanding weaknesses and shortcomings with a view to promptly addressing them.

According to the official, urban order and civility will continue to be the key task for the city in 2016, following up on the two years 2014 and 2015, which covers various fields from transport, construction, and street management to working style adjustment, planning, environmental resources, and administrative reform.

The recent municipal Party Congress has outlined three breakthroughs to be made in the new tenure, focusing on administrative reform and investment climate improvement, he said.

The city administration is set to hold more dialogues and exchanges with local businesses while increasing budget for trade and investment promotion in major global markets and supporting loan interest rate in order to assist the development of businesses.

The connectivity between banks and enterprises will be maintained and promoted to ensure stable capital access for business production, the Chairman said.

He reiterated that the municipal authorities will create the best possible conditions for all businesses which are operating or plan to invest in the city.

It was reported at a recent meeting that Hanoi’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) rose 9.3 percent in 2015, the highest level over the past four years.

The city's index industrial production increased by 8.05 percent over the same period last year.

Commodity prices are kept under control. The total retail revenue of goods and services increased 11.7 percent.

Export turnover was calculated to rise 2.5 percent to 11.4 billion USD, and the consumer price index was estimated to climb 1 percent.

The capital has so far welcomed nearly 2.24 million international tourists, a year-on-year rise of 9.6 percent.

The city strives to record a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of between 8.5 percent and 9 percent, and a GRDP per capita ranging from 85 million and 87 million VND (3,772-3,861 USD) in 2016.

Construction commences on temple of heroic youth volunteers

Construction commenced on December 30 on a temple commemorating the 10 female youth volunteers who died on duty at the Dong Loc T-junction during wartime in Can Loc district, central Ha Tinh province.

The temple, located in the Dong Loc T-junction relic site, will be built in a traditional style at a cost of some 43.7 billion VND (1.92 million USD) donated by individuals and private organisations.

It is also dedicated to all Vietnamese youth volunteers who fell down in the US war.

During the war, Dong Loc junction was heavily bombarded by US forces as it was one of the most important sites on the legendary Truong Son – Ho Chi Minh trail, where trucks carrying soldiers, food, arms and munitions from the north to southern battlefields passed through.

Between 1965 and 1968, the US army dropped nearly 50,000 bombs and fired tens of thousands of missiles at this T-junction in the hope of cutting off the transport route to the southern front.

In 1968, while levelling bomb craters, the ten girls were buried alive by bombs dropped by US forces. Their sacrifice remains immortal and becomes a symbol of the Vietnamese heroism.

The historic site also witnessed the death of thousands of soldiers, volunteers, drivers and innocent civilians.

Can Tho city meets national targets on gender equality

The Deputy Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee on December 29 urged the assignment of female officials in government positions, especially as members of the National Assembly and People's Council.

At a conference on the 2011-20 national strategy on gender equality in Can Tho, Le Van Tam said the rate of female officials in the Party Committee's executive board in the city was more than 15 percent.

Over the last five years, the city met the national gender equality targets on employment, healthcare services and training, among others, said Tam, adding that awareness and gender issues among the community had also improved.

The city also carried out programmes to ensure that women access jobs such as managers and leaders of state offices in the city.

Employment programmes also helped create jobs for 124,839 women, accounting for more than 47 percent of the city's women of working age.

The number of female owners of enterprises accounted for 25 percent of all enterprises.

Of all government and private company employees in Can Tho, more than 34 percent of women have a master's degree and 30.36 percent a doctoral degree.

In addition, the girl-boy ratio has been 105 per 100 since 2011.

Tam said the Board for Women's Progress and other agencies should continue to promote gender equality awareness as it relates to social and economic development among leaders, officials and women in social and political organisations.

He also said the programme on helping disadvantaged women should be expanded.

At the conference, individuals and organisations that made contributions to the national gender equality strategy were presented certificates of merit from the city's People's Committees and Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

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