Some 16,610 coaches, taxis and buses do not operate their global positioning systems (GPS) equipment regularly, according to the Hà Nội Department of Transport.

Hà Huy Quang, deputy director of the department, said that GPS equipment was required to be installed in all taxis, coaches and buses since 2015 by the Ministry of Transport so that authorities can monitor their journeys.

However, he said, over the past month inspectors discovered that 16,610 vehicles did not use the equipment regularly, and 1,043 of them even did not use it once in the month, so they transferred no data to the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam and the municipal Department of Transport.

Deputy Director Quang temporarily suspended the 1,043 automobiles for a month. The automobiles included taxis from various firms including Mai Linh, An Dân, Thành Công and Bảo Việt, and coaches of firms such as the Hà Tây Transport Joint-stock Company, Hà Nội Transport Joint-stock Company and South Hà Nội Coach Enterprise.

The remaining 15,500 automobiles, which did not operate the GPS equipment regularly, received warnings from the Hà Nội Department of Transport. If they repeat the violation, they will also be temporarily suspended.

Ngô Văn Hùng, deputy director of Tân Đạt Enterprise, which has three buses that did not use the GPS equipment for a month, told Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that all of the firm’s buses had the equipment and were checked regularly.

The three buses in question may not have been used or may have been in a repair shop, and the enterprise would inspect the situation, he said.

Conference discusses ways to improve publishing

High-quality human resources are required to promote the publishing sector in Việt Nam, a conference on improving publishing heard in HCM City on Friday.

Lê Hoàng, vice chairman of the Việt Nam Publishers’ Association, said “The association’s major plan is offering training courses for young editors to improve their skills.”

He added that “Young editors are now good at information technology and foreign languages, but they lack skill in dealing with manuscripts.”

The conference, organised by the Central Commission for Publicity and Training, Ministry of Information and Communications and the association, pointed out the weakness of the Vietnamese publishing sector.

According to the Central Commission of Propaganda and Training, the number of publications was nearly 30,000 each year, an annual increase of 10-20 per cent.

However, the number of high-quality books is less.

The violation in copyright in both printed books and electronic books has still been serious.

In order to prevent these weaknesses, the commission asked local publishers and distributors to reorder the book publishing and distributing system.

The organisaition also urged them to upgrade their facilities, equipment and technology to introduce high-quality publications by Vietnamese authors to local readers and to the world.

The opening of more pedestrian book streets is necessary to promote publishing as well as reading habits among people. VNS

5 illegal sand dredging boats found on Red River

Police in Hà Nội’s Phúc Thọ District yesterday took over an investigation involving sand dredgers on the Hồng (Red) River that are suspected to be operating illegally.

On Friday, the city’s environment police found the vessels dredging sand at the border between Vân Hà Commune in Hà Nội’s Phúc Thọ District and Trung Hà Commune in Vĩnh Phúc Province’s Yên Lạc District.

Police seized five sand dredging boats, containing about 533 cubic metres of sand.

Phúc Thọ District Police will be investigating the case. Illegal sand dredgers usually operate at border areas between provinces so they can escape easily thanks to loose co-operation between provincial authorities.

People urged to get vaccine against tetanus

Doctors from HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases advised people to vaccinate against tetanus as the hospital admitted 134 patients with the disease in the first four months of this year, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of last year’s total.

Nguyễn Văn Bàn, 60, from the south central coastal province of Bình Thuận, was hospitalised at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases due to tetanus.

Bàn’s thumb was hit by a hammer while working as a bricklayer. He felt pain and went to a drug store near his house to buy medicine to reduce it.

Several days later, he had symptoms such as jaw cramping and trouble swallowing.

His family thought he got stroke and brought him to a practitioner of traditional medicine for acupuncture.

However, his health became worse and worse. He was hospitalised at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. He was then diagnosed to with tetanus.

Dr Nguyễn Thanh Phong of the hospital’s infectious diseases department, said that all the patients with tetanus did not vaccinate against the disease during their childhoods.

Most of them are at working age, which is the high risk time to get tetanus because it is easy to get spores of tetanus in the body through broken skin or injuries caused by an object puncturing skin such as a nail or needles, Phong said.

The hospital’s recent study showed that around 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the hospital’s total patients contracted the disease without an identifiable injury, he said.

Phong said that tetanus can threaten life, especially patients with other diseases, such as myocardial ischemia which occurs when blood flow to heart is reduced, preventing it from receiving enough oxygen.

Last year, tetanus killed seven patients at the hospital. 

US, Japan naval vessels visit Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Port for PP17

One vessel of the U.S. navy and two ships of the Japanese self-defense forces arrived at Cam Ranh Port in south-central Vietnam on May 21 for activities to accelerate cooperation in the region.

The visit is part of the Pacific Partnership 2017 (PP17), a U.S. Navy-initiated mission to enhance regional coordination in areas such as medical readiness and preparedness for man-made and natural disasters.

The U.S. Navy’s expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF-4) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s helicopter destroyer JS Izumo 183 and Takanami-class destroyer JS Sazanami 113 arrived at Cam Ranh for a training agenda revolving around humanitarian and medical aid.

According to Captain Stanfield Chien, PP17 mission commander, this year’s mission in Khanh Hoa Province would include seminars on civil construction projects, professional discussions and disaster response drills.

There would also be coordination in coastal health and marine search and rescue missions.

Naval forces of the three countries will preside over the completion of Hoa Mi and Son Ca kindergartens in Khanh Hoa, and the U.S. Seventh Fleet Band will be performing at local parks and a secondary school as part of the agenda.

The USNS Fall River belongs to the U.S. Military Sealift Command, measuring 103 meters in length with a beam of 28.5 meters and a draft of 3.83 meters.

The ship can reach a maximum speed of 43 nautical miles per hour and is capable of accommodating 312 crew members.

Water supplier says Chinese pipes safe amidst health concern

Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco), a major water supplier in Ho Chi Minh City, has reassured citizens that its ductile iron water pipes provided by Chinese firms pose no threat to public health.

The announcement came at the request of the municipal administration, which had earlier received a letter from a man who claimed to be Truong Van Hai, a former Sawaco official.

In his letter sent to multiple agencies in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai suggested that Chinese-made water pipes used by Sawaco were made from ductile cast iron that had been recycled from waste products, unexploded ordnance and expired weapons that could affect the water quality.

According to Sawaco, its water pipes were manufactured by a number of foreign suppliers from different countries such as France, Malaysia, India and China.

Out of over 470,000 meters of water pipes installed by the corporation since 2000, Chinese tubes account for 249,000 meters, or 53 percent of the total length.

Ho Van Lam, CEO of Sawaco, said the corporation’s selection of suppliers for water pipes strictly followed established procedures and regulations, which included a bidding process to choose the best manufacturer in terms of quality and price.

As pipes by Chinese manufacturers are usually between ten and 30 percent cheaper than those of the same kind from more developed nations, it is common for Chinese firms to win the bid, according to an official from Sawaco’s management of water supply projects.

According to Lam, all imported pipes must also go through a random quality test by the Quality Assurance and Testing Center 3 before they can be installed.

A senior official at the Preventive Medicine Center of Ho Chi Minh City, which is in charge of monitoring the quality of the city’s tap water, admitted that the level of residual chlorine and turbidity found in the water can vary from time to time since the installation of Chinese ductile iron pipes.

“But no heavy metals have been detected in the water,” the official said. “We will notify city leaders immediately if there is any sign of the metals.”

“There should be no concern over the water quality if the pipes are of satisfactory standards,” said Nguyen Van Tam, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport.

Saigon Water, another water supplier in Ho Chi Minh City, used ductile iron pipes made by Chinese company Xinxing to install its water supply system in the rural district of Cu Chi.

According to Truong Khac Hoanh, CEO of Saigon Water, the water quality in Cu Chi has so far met all safety standards.

Nguyen Ly Trong, a senior engineer at the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Engineering Science, attributed recent skepticism over the quality of Chinese pipes to the fact that there have been multiple incidents concerning deteriorating pipes.

“In my opinion, there should be an independent unit responsible for quality testing and inspecting over these pipes,” Trong said. “If they are of desirable quality, it would be reassuring news to the public. Otherwise, they should be removed from the city’s water supply system.”

Regarding Hai’s letter, Lam said he had run a check on the list of Sawaco’s former employees and found nobody by that name.

“This could have been an anonymous sender impersonating someone else,” Lam explained. “Nevertheless, it is our duty to provide explanations as requested by city authorities.”

Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant program open for applications in Vietnam

The U.S. Mission Vietnam has recently announced the 2018 competition for the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program.

Fulbright FLTA Program is a nine-month, fully-funded, non-degree program for early career English teachers or professionals in related fields including American Studies, American/English Literature, and more.

Vietnamese participants have the opportunity to refine their teaching skills, increase their English language proficiency and extend their knowledge of the society and culture of the United States, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said in a press release on May 19.

They can also be teaching assistants for their native language to U.S. students and strengthening foreign language instruction at U.S. colleges and universities. 

The Fulbright Program in Vietnam will coordinate to nominate up to three primary and two alternate candidates from Vietnam.

It is anticipated that at least three awards will be made.

Only online applications with completed supporting documents submitted by 12:00 pm on August 10 will be considered. 

The online application is available at: https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/flta.

Painted manhole covers in Saigon hoped to increase environmental awareness

Around 30 manhole covers in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City have been turned from cement and metal eyesores to exquisite paintings by a group of young people hoping to raise awareness of the city’s battle against litter.

Old, hideous manhole covers on Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Tan Da, and Trieu Quang Phuc Streets have become relics of the past, replaced by scenes of fish ponds and nature’s beauty.

The project was initiated by Youth Union members from the district’s Ward 10, with fine art students from Saigon University serving as the primary artists for the campaign.

“We have ask private businesses and individual donors to sponsor the paintings,” said  Nguyen Ngoc Uyen Phuong, deputy secretary of the ward Youth Union,

“If we are able to raise more funds, we can expand the program to other streets in District 5.”

It is not uncommon for manhole covers to double as dumpsters in districts throughout the city.

“Since the covers were changed to art, people have stopped littering on them,” Nguyen Phuong Hoa, a 54-year-old street vendor on Tan Da, said.

“It is also relaxing to look at the paintings while I sell here every day.”

Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son said artwork and its contribution to the urban landscape should be respected.

Vo Thi Minh Hue, a psychological expert, believes the beautiful manhole covers, as well as alls featuring colorful murals, will encourage more walking amongst local residents.

“Residents will also feel the need to keep the street clean,” she said.

However, some are concerned that the paintings will do more harm than good.

“Many Vietnamese like to stop and watch anything unusual they see on the street.  These people will cause traffic jams if they’re distracted by these exquisite manhole covers,” one Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reader said.

Another reader believes that it is more important to have clean sewages and safe manholes than beautiful covers.

Vietnam opens criminal case into ship collision that killed 9

Police in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau have officially launched a criminal investigation into a collision in late March that sank a cargo ship and killed nine sailors.

The probe means the fatal collision between the Hai Thanh 26 and a tanker owned by state-run Petrolimex is not being treated simply as an accident.

Nine Hai Thanh crew members were killed after the ship, carrying clinker to the Mekong Delta, sank about 44 nautical miles from the beach town of Vung Tau.

The other vessel, Petrolimex 14, managed to rescue Hai Thanh's Captain Nguyen Viet Thang and his deck officer Hoang Tien Khoi after the incident, which took place in the early hours of March 28.

Police decided to open the criminal case after a report from the provincial maritime administration ruled out technical or weather factors. It has suggested that human negligence could have been the cause, which requires further investigation, police said.

The sunken 3,000-ton vessel hasn’t been recovered.

Petrolimex 14 is operated by Vietnam Tanker Joint Stock Company (VITACO), a subsidiary of Petrolimex, Vietnam’s largest fuel wholesaler.

Plan approved for steel ladder to help explorers conquer 'Great Wall of Vietnam'

Authorities in the central province of Quang Binh have approved a plan to place a ladder next to a 100-meter (330 feet) wall near the end of Son Doong Cave, the world's largest, to help explorers conquer it.

British cave experts who were among the first to explore the cave have suggested that a stainless steel ladder can be very useful for explorers who wish to climb the wall, which has been praised a masterpiece of nature and nicknamed the Great Wall of Vietnam.

The cave lies some 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Hue, Vietnam's old royal city. It has put Quang Binh Province on the global travel map in recent years.

Screws and ropes will be used to assemble and hang the ladder and there will be no welding, said cave expert Howard Limbert.

The ladder can be removed any time without causing any damage to the cave, he said.

It remains unclear when the plan will begin its trial phase.

According to a report published by Nhan Dan Newspaper recently, there is still no environmental impact assessment yet. The official publication of Vietnam's Communist Party said "caution is needed."

Son Doong, or Mountain River, stretches for around five kilometers (three miles) with at least 150 individual grottoes, many rivers, a dense subterranean jungle and fossilized corridors.

The cave was discovered in 1991 by local man Ho Khanh, who in 2009 helped Limbert and other British experts explore it.

It was first opened to tourists on a trial basis in August 2013 and tours are usually fully booked a year ahead.

Most tourists now stop at the wall, after traveling six kilometers deep into the cave, and must head all the way back.

The exploration time for the cave could be shortened to three days from five if there's a ladder to go past the wall.

But many cave lovers are concerned that visitors climbing the wall may damage it, no matter how careful they are.

The experts behind the idea said they must be strict rules that allow only one person to mount the ladder at a time and require them to wear clean shoes.

Environment photo competition open for entries

A new competition of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists invites both professional and amateur photographers to capture what the environment means to them.

As reported by the Vietnam News Agency, participants can win cash prizes and their photographs may be used to illustrate environmental issues in major nationwide publications. 

The competition covers a wide variety of topics – indeed, anything related to the environment, said Mr Vu Quoc Khanh, chair of the Association.

For example, photographs could illustrate a pollution problem or the beauty of wildlife. Others may wish to take a different angle, looking at unsustainable consumption, a changing landscape or some positive action to reduce environmental impacts.

The deadline for entries is October 20, 2017. Entries can either be submitted to the Vietnam Environment Administration at 556 Nguyen Van Cu Street in the Long Bien District of Hanoi or at www.facebook.com/ongkinh.moitruong.

Artists, writers urged to promote culture, people development

President Tran Dai Quang has asked artists and writers to show stronger performance in implementing the Party and State’s orientations in building literature and art in the new period as well as developing the culture and people of Vietnam.

The President made the request while addressing a ceremony in Hanoi on May 20 to honour 18 authors winning the 2017 Ho Chi Minh Award and 95 others with the State Award on literature and arts, the two noble awards for outstanding authors.

The State leader noted that the literature and art of Vietnam have inherited and promoted the patriotism and humanism of the nation, while closely attaching to the revolutionary career of the Party and nation. They are a sharp tool in the cultural and ideological battlefield, significantly contributing to the victory of the struggle for national liberation, reunification as well as construction and defence, he said.

He recognised the creativity and devotion of generations of artists and writers in improving the country’s revolutionary literature and art, and bringing glory to the nation.

He highlighted the outstanding artistic and ideological values of works honoured at the ceremony, which he held that will make great and long-term influences to society and contributing to the development of the country’s literature and art.

He asked literature and art associations to focus on reforming their operation to create favourable conditions for artists and authors to engage deeply to the society to make more valuable works with high value, meeting the increasing cultural demand of people.

The associations should encourage new progressive factors and denounce the bad that hinders the growth of the country and people of Vietnam, he said, urging the association to promote community art and focus on boosting the growth of the professional art by expanding international cooperation and learn humanitarian values of friends around the world.

On the occasion, he also requested the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to continue paying due attention to encourage artists and writers to promote their talent and creativity, while popularising the country’s art and literature with high awareness of their social responsibility and citizen’s obligations.

He also asked the ministry to work more closely with relevant ministries and agencies to propose the presenting of the Ho Chi Minh Award and State Award on Literature and Arts to those who deserve them.

The awards have been presented every five years since 1996 for nine categories: literature, fine-arts, music, cinema, theatre, photography, architecture, folklore, and dance. These two prestigious awards conferred by the President provide encouragement to authors and receive strong response from the public.

400 take part in boat passenger rescue drill on Saigon River

The Ho Chi Minh City fire department, alongside multiple other agencies, participated in an emergency response drill simulating a fire and explosion aboard a passenger vessel on the Saigon River on May 18.

The exercise operated under the pretense that a vessel carrying 40 passengers had its engines explode at 4:30 pm, only three minutes after leaving the southern city for Vung Tau.

While panicked passengers shouted for help, the ship collided with another nearby passenger line hosting 78 passengers. The second ship started sinking after the collision left it with a hole in its bow.  Ten passengers “fell” into the river.

Crewmembers aboard both ships were quick to throw life belts to the passengers and asked those remaining aboard to keep calm while the captains called for help from the municipal fire department’s emergency response team.

Five minutes after receiving the SOS call, Nguyen Thanh Huong, deputy director of the fire dept, led a team of 400 to the scene to begin rescue efforts.

The vessel ST-115, Vietnam’s most advanced firefighting ship, was also deployed for the drill.

The local border guard unit and sea transportation authority was also present to rescue any passengers thrown overboard.

Ten minutes after arriving at the scene, ship ST-115 was able to approach the passenger line and extinguish the flames.

Medical responders were on hand to provide first aid to the victims and rush those with severe injuries to the hospital.

The rescue and firefighting efforts were completed in 20 minutes.

By5:20 pm, the fire department announced that the situation has been completely resolved.

Ho Chi Minh City eyes construction of helipads on high-rises

Ho Chi Minh City announces intentions to build more helipads on top of the city’s high-rises to improve firefighting and emergency response capabilities.

Buildings with at least 20 floors will be thoroughly examined to see if they are suited to accommodate a helipad, according to the city’s administration.

The southern metropolis currently has around ten functional helipads atop its buildings, according to survey results from the municipal Fire Police.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thien Tong, an expert in aviation engineering, asserted that equipping the city’s emergency teams with helicopters should be encouraged.

Victims caught in fires are often trapped on the building’s highest floor without a means of escape, Tong said, making helicopters an optimal rescue option.

For larger buildings, adding a helipad is not a challenge and offers is a relatively cheap solution to fire-safety fears, assuming the terrace is spacious and capable of withstanding the weight of a helicopter, he said.

Tong also noted, however, that rescue helicopters don’t always have to land to pick up passengers, so the construction of such helipads should be encouraged rather than compelled.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Hiep, former dean of the Civil Engineering Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, suggested that helipads only be built on newer buildings.

Meanwhile, architect Ngo Viet Nam Son rejected the idea of requiring helipads on all buildings with more than 20 floors, as a helicopter’s firefighting capabilities are limited by their ability to only pick up ten people in each landing.

While hundreds of buildings in the city satisfy the height requirement, not all are designed to withstand helicopters, according to Brigadier Le Tan Buu, chief of the municipal Fire Police.

Tran Trong Tuan, director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said helipads could also serve to boost tourist activities by allowing commercial helicopters to land across the city.

In addition, he said, some certain public buildings, such as hospitals, should be required to have helipads for emergency purposes, despite being less than 20 storeys.

Brigadier Buu suggested that the city draft a plan to gradually increase the number of helipads in the city, while working closely with military units in rescue missions.

According to a circular by the Ministry of Public Security effective since 2016, each special-status metropolis in Vietnam is to be equipped with a maximum of two helicopters for firefighting and rescue missions.

However, as of today, both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have yet to add a rescue helicopter to their fleets.

In principal, the construction of any type of landing space for aircrafts, even helipads, must be approved by the Ministry of Defense with consultation from the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Transportation and the provincial administration, according to Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

The detailed design of such a project is to be approved by the Chief of Staff of the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAV), Cuong said.

After construction is finished, the developer must submit relevant documents to the General Staff of PAV for helicopters to be allowed to land and take off from the helipad.

The Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Defense are also required to provide consultation on such projects.

Open visa policy could double foreign arrivals to Vietnam by 2020

The Vietnam Tourism Association has urged the government to extend visa waivers for European tourists and offer the same exemptions to countries such as Australia, Canada and India if it wants to double foreign arrivals in the next four years.

Vietnam has set a target of welcoming 20 million foreign visitors in 2020 and develop tourism into a key economic sector, and the association said that one way of achieving that goal is to provide visa waivers for important markets, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The agency said that Vietnam should extend visa waivers for tourists from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Belarus, and extend the policy to markets with large numbers of arrivals such as Australia, Canada and India, as well as Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and former Soviet states Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Vietnam has been offering single-entry visa exemptions to citizens from Western European countries since mid-2015. Arrivals from the markets increased between 13-32% this year.

The relaxed visa policy, which allows visitors to stay for up to 15 days in Vietnam, will expire at the end of this June.

Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the association, said visa exemptions are a global trend and Vietnam’s tourism competitors in the region are “very open” with their policies.

The country currently offers visa waivers to visitors from only 22 countries including ASEAN co-members. Indonesia, one of the world’s most liberalized countries for visas, grants visa-free travel to 169 countries. Singapore allows 158 nationalities to enter visa-free, while the figure for Malaysia is 155 and Thailand 61.

Binh said the e-visas introduced last February will not be able to replace visa exemptions.

He also said the government should extend its visa waivers by five years instead of reviewing them annually.

Travel firms said they cannot use the visa exemptions for promotional campaigns as the policy could change after a year.

This short-term policy only works for individual tourists while businesses that offer large tours need a more stable policy, they said.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association have been making similar pleas about extending visa exemptions but no promises have been made.

Visitors flock to President Ho Chi Minh’s hometown on his birthday

Thousands of people across the nation have the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh at the Kim Lien Relic Site, Nam Dan district, the central province of Nghe An, to offer incense to the late leader on the occasion of his 127th birthday on May 19.

Travelling more than 300km to reach the site, Nguyen Thi Que from Hanoi said that despite her busy work, she and her husband took their children to Uncle Ho’s homeland to pay tribute to the leader on his birthday.

Que held that the sacrifice and service that Uncle Ho rendered to the nation should be popularised among younger generations.

At the same time, Dang Thi Thom from the northern province of Phu Tho said that offering incense to President Ho Chi Minh at his house has long been her dream. She was moved to visit the house in which the late leader grew up as well as his simple living style.

Nguyen Bao Tuan, Director of the Kim Lien Relic Site’s Management Board, said that on the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday every year, the site often welcomes up to 7,000 visitors each day, four times higher than normal.

Along with strengthening personnel for security and order at the site, the board also restored the cultural space of Sen village and Hoang Tru village where are hometown of the late leader’s parents to give visitors a clearer insight into the childhood of Uncle Ho, while organising film screening and a photo exhibition on the leader’s life, he said.

Vietnamese, Chinese youth seek closer ties

Vietnam’ and China’s youth organisations should enhance exchange activities and partnerships in personnel training, said Le Quoc Phong, First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee at a meeting with First Secretary of the China Communist Youth League’s Central Committee Qin Yizhi in Beijing on May 21.

The two sides should encourage young entrepreneurs to share experience and seek investment opportunities in each country, he said.

Affirming that the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Vietnam attaches importance to ties with China’s Communist Youth League, Phong asserted that the two sides should work together to implement agreements reached by senior leaders of the two Parties and State, while continuing underway cooperation activities.

According to Phong, the two sides should also continue backing young reporters and media officials of the two youth unions to meet and share experience and skills.

At the meeting, Qin welcomed the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, describing it as a good chance to bolster the partnership between the two countries.

He said that exchange activities between the youth of Vietnam and China will reinforce the traditional friendship between the neighbouring nations.

Qin affirmed that the China Communist Youth League will work to maintain and support relations between the two countries. He also recalled the warm welcome that Vietnamese people gave him during his visit in November 2016.

He said that in the futures, both youth unions should engage in people-to-people connection activities, especially in border localities, while paying more attention to training youth union officials and strengthening cooperation among young entrepreneurs. 
On May 22, Phong is scheduled to meet with head of the Communist Party of China’s International Liaison Department Song Tao, and Vice President Li Yuanchao.

Fire, traffic accident occur in Da Nang

Nearly 100 firemen and 15 trucks were called to stamp out a fire at an electronics shop in Ngũ Hành Sơn District early yesterday.

The fire started at around 6am and it took firemen nearly two hours to extinguish it. Damage to property was extensive but there were no injuries because the store was closed.

Last month, a fire at a house in Ngũ Hành Sơn district killed three family members. At least four fires occurred in the city since last month.

On Saturday, a car with Đà Nẵng plates overturned on Trường Sa Street in Ngũ Hành Sơn District after colliding with a motorbike coming from the opposite direction. The motorbike driver broke his leg, while four car passengers were lightly wounded.

Police say at least eight cars were vandalized in the city’s downtown districts of Hải Châu and Thanh Khê on Saturday night, having their windows smashed by bricks.

The police has been monitoring the city’s security camera system to try and find the vandals.

Charity concert honours support for Ha Tinh children

The Vietnamese embassy in Japan held a charity concert on May 20 to honour Japanese and foreign friends’ support for disadvantaged children in Vietnam. 

More than 120 guests, mostly Japanese entrepreneurs, attended the event in Shinjuku ward, Tokyo. 

The embassy handed over 6 million JPY, which was raised from the 41st Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) Charity Bazaar in Tokyo on April 19, to the Japan International Friendship Association (JIFA). 

JIFA will later transfer the sum to the central province of Ha Tinh to help build clean water supply systems in Vuong Loc kindergarten in Can Loc district and Huong Long elementary school in Huong Khe district. 

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong expressed his thanks to the ALFS, JIFA, Tokyo women’s club and Vietnam Airlines for their contributions. 

Participants enjoyed performances by well-known Japanese jazz artist Keiko Borjesson, a show of traditional long dresses, and traditional Vietnamese food.

Paris concert raises funds for Vietnamese students

A concert was held by the Companion Fund at a church in the Louis-le-Grand School’s precinct in Paris, France on May 20 to raise funds to give scholarships for poor Vietnamese students.

The concert drew participation of Vietnamese artists from the Vietnamese Culture Centre in France and French artists from conservatories across Paris.

It was sponsored by Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Son and supported by Professor Odon Vallet from the Sorbonne University, who himself runs the Odon Vallet scholarship fund for excellent young students in France and Vietnam.

Le Hong Thai, the Companion Fund Chairman, said that the concert was first held in 2009, and has become an annual event since 2012.

This year’s concert received 4,000 EUR (over 100 million VND) which will be divided into 30 scholarships worth 3.5 million VND each.

The Companion Fund was established in July 2001 by a group of Vietnamese students in Paris, who wanted to support their less fortunate peers back home. The fund now has a network of 100 members and volunteers operating in France, Singapore and Taiwan. 

By fund-raising activities, the fund has to date presented about 3,500 scholarships worth nearly 7.5 billion VND (296,000 EUR) to poor students in Vietnam. In the 2016-2017 academic year, a total of 320 scholarships were presented.

Thirty organisations, individuals honoured for role in renewal process

The annual Vietnam Glory programme honouring national spirit and patriotism presented its awards to 30 organisations and individuals at a ceremony in Hanoi on May 20.

Addressing the event, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc praised the organisations and individuals for their outstanding contributions to the country’s Doi Moi (Renewal) cause over the past 30 years. 

They were selected among millions of workers and labourers across the country by the programme’s organising council and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour under this year’s theme of “Vietnam Glory – Imprints of the 30-year Doi Moi”.

Phuc said that after 30 years of renewal, Vietnam has gained great achievements. From a poor agricultural economy, Vietnam has become a middle-income country with the poverty rate declining from 60 percent in 1990 to 4.45 percent in 2016.

He attributed the achievements to important contributions by all economic sectors, people from all walks of life and socio-political organisations, with the worker class always a pioneer in the renewal and integration, and national construction and safeguarding process.

The Government will create all favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises, organisations and individuals to bring their capacity and fortes into full play to contribute more to the nation, he added.

The “Vietnam Glory – Imprints of the 30-year Doi Moi” Programme was held to honour organisations and individuals who made special contributions to socio-economic development. They are exemplary role-models in patriotic emulation movements and the nation construction and protection cause during the 30-year renewal.

On the same day, the honoured individuals and organisations were received by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Praising their contributions to the nation’s renewal achievements, the Party chief asked the honoured organisations and individuals to keep up their excellent performances and contribute more to the country’s industrialisation and modernisation, and nation construction and safeguarding cause.

Youth programme honouring war heroes kicks off in Quang Nam

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) and the Vietnam Youth Federation launched a programme called “In the footsteps of the nation’s heroes”, in the central province of Quang Nam on May 21, as part of activities marking the 70th Day of War Invalids and Martyrs (July 27, 1947-2017).   

The event is a chance for the youth to show gratitude toward people who have rendered services to the nation and the national liberation revolution and their families through practical activities such as providing free-of-charge health checkups, house upgrade and cemetery clean-up.

At the launching ceremony, President of the Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF) Nguyen Phi Long called for engagement in and support for the programme from young people nationwide.

On the occasion, the HCMCYU and the VYF presented local heroic mothers 100 gifts valued at 100 million VND (4,422 USD) in total.

Twenty scholarships for children of war invalids were also granted.

The same day, the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association started construction of 4 charity houses worth 200 million VND (8,844 USD) in the local Dien Ban town, alongside a free health checkup and medicine distribution event.

Seminar, film screening on East Sea issue in Paris

A seminar and screening of a film on the East Sea directed by Marc Petitjean took place in the headquarters of Foyer Vietnam in Paris on May 19. 

Produced and broadcast by the France’s Arte TV, the film highlights the political context and status quo of sovereignty disputes in the East Sea, China’s ambition with its nine-dash claim, challenges to the region, and experts’ opinions. 

French-Vietnamese journalist specialised in Asian affairs Vo Trung Dung coordinated the discussion session with director Petitjean as the keynote speaker. Participants looked into disputes in the East Sea, including legal consequences of China’s illegal construction, the impacts and validity of the July 12 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, regulations on islands in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, and powerful countries’ role in the settlement of disputes. 

A majority of opinions shared the view that the disputes impact on not only regional countries but also many other nations, particularly marine-reliant powers.  

The event was expected to help the public in France and the world get a deeper understanding of the situation in the East Sea.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia diplomatic ties establishment marked

A wide range of activities will be held in Ho Chi Minh City to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and its two neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia. 

According to the plan of the municipal People’s Committee, activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam – Cambodia diplomatic ties (June 24, 1967 – June 24, 20107) will be organised in June.

Meanwhile, meetings to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18, 1977 – July 18, 2017) and 55 years of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (September 5, 1962 – September 5, 2017) will take place in July.

The city will organise events to exchange experience in operation of people’s councils at levels, agriculture and finance between authorised agencies of Vietnam and Laos.

The municipal education and training department will provide scholarships to Cambodian and Lao students in the city while taking measures to improve training quality. 

Disadvantaged patients in some Lao and Cambodia localities will be provided with eye check-ups and surgeries.

In terms of trade relations, numerous trade promotion events will be held in the city and Lao central provinces. Ho Chi Minh City will also welcome high-ranking delegations of Laos’ Savannakhet, Khammouan and Borikhamxay provinces to visit to the city.

In addition, exchange programmes for students of the three countries as well as exhibitions on diplomatic ties between Vietnam – Laos and Vietnam – Cambodia will be held between April and August to strengthen their people-to-people relations.

President Ho Chi Minh’s 127th birthday marked abroad

Many activities were held abroad to mark the 127th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).

The Vietnamese Embassy in Argentina and the Argentina-Vietnam Cultural Institute (ICAV) on May 19 held a series of activities to promote the land, people and culture of Vietnam on the occasion of the late President’s 127th birthday.

Late President Ho Chi Minh’s life, revolutionary career as well as his ethics was highlighted at the activities. A representative from the embassy affirmed that the Vietnamese beloved leader has inspired liberation movements all over the world and been a source of encouragement for Vietnamese generations.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba and the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) laid flowers in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his monument in Havana capital. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Nguyen Trung Thanh called for practical actions to popularise the image and example of President Ho Chi Minh, who made significant contributions to nurture Vietnam-Cuba special relations.

Also, the Vietnamese Embassy in Prague held a ceremony to mark the national liberation hero’s birthday.  Documentary featuring his revolutionary life was screened at the event.

Meanwhile, President Ho Chi Minh’s contributions to the national liberation and world’s peace were recalled at meetings held in Hyderabad city, Telangana state and Kolkata city, Bengal state in India. 

A book on President Ho Chi Minh’s life and career in Telugu language was launched on the occasion.

His birthday was also celebrated in Saint Petersburg, Russia on May 18, drawing the participation of the city leaders, the Vietnamese community, Russian veterans and students and local people.

Get-together for former Lao military students in Vietnam

As many as 300 former Lao students, who studied in military schools in Vietnam, met at a get-together in northern Luang Prabang province, Laos, on May 19.

The event was part of activities to celebrate the Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017. 

Speaking at the meeting, Major General Sonethong Phomavong, deputy head of the General Politics Department of the Lao People's Army, underlined the significance of the event, saying it offered a chance for former Lao students to reminisce unforgettable memories of Vietnamese teachers, officers and people, who helped them during the time they lived and studied in Vietnam.

Those who studied in Vietnam have been holding important duties and positions, and many of them became senior officers, commanders in the Lao People’s Army. They are playing a vital role in strengthening and nurturing the special solidarity and time-honoured relations between the two countries.

Former Lao military students are very proud of the ties between the two countries’ armies in particular and bilateral relations in general over the last 40 years, he stressed, adding that the two sides have consistently fostered and deepened their cooperation across fields. 

The event contributed to further strengthening the relationship between the two Parties, States, armies and peoples, said Colonel Tao Van Thai, Vietnamese defence attach in Laos.

Artists, writers urged to promote culture, people development

President Tran Dai Quang has asked artists and writers to show stronger performance in implementing the Party and State’s orientations in building literature and art in the new period as well as developing the culture and people of Vietnam to suit the requirements of the country’s sustainable development.

The President made the request while addressing a ceremony in Hanoi on May 20 to honour 18 authors winning the 2017 Ho Chi Minh Award and 95 others with the State Award on literature and arts, the two noble awards for outstanding authors.

The State leader noted that the literature and art of Vietnam have inherited and promoted the patriotism and humanism of the nation, while closely attaching to the revolutionary career of the Party and nation. They are a sharp tool in the cultural and ideological battlefield, significantly contributing to the victory of the struggle for national liberation, reunification as well as construction and defence, he said.

He recognised the creativity and devotion of generations of artists and writers in improving the country’s revolutionary literature and art, and bringing glory to the nation.

He highlighted the outstanding artistic and ideological values of works honoured at the ceremony, which he held that will make great and long-term influences to society and contributing to the development of the country’s literature and art.

He asked literature and art associations to focus on reforming their operation to create favourable conditions for artists and authors to engage deeply to the society to make more valuable works with high value, meeting the increasing cultural demand of people.

The associations should encourage new progressive factors and denounce the bad that hinders the growth of the country and people of Vietnam, he said, urging the association to promote community art and focus on boosting the growth of the professional art by expanding international cooperation and learn humanitarian values of friends around the world.

On the occasion, he also requested the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to continue paying due attention to encourage artists and writers to promote their talent and creativity, while popularising the country’s art and literature with high awareness of their social responsibility and citizen’s obligations.

He also asked the ministry to work more closely with relevant ministries and agencies to propose the presenting of the Ho Chi Minh Award and State Award on Literature and Arts to those who deserve them.

The awards have been presented every five years since 1996 for nine categories: literature, fine-arts, music, cinema, theatre, photography, architecture, folklore, and dance. These two prestigious awards conferred by the President provide encouragement to authors and receive strong response from the public

Ha Tinh reburies Vietnamese martyrs repatriated from Laos

A ceremony was held in Huong Son district, the central province of Ha Tinh to commemorate and rebury remains of some volunteer Vietnamese soldiers fell down in Laos.

Addressing the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Ha Tinh People’s Committee Dang Quoc Vinh showed gratefulness to heroic martyrs who shed blood for the Vietnam-Laos solidarity.

Vinh thanked the Lao side for coordination and support in searching, repatriating the remains of the martyrs to their homeland.

Earlier on May 18, a requiem for the martyrs was held in Ha Tinh.

In the dry season of 2016-2017, Ha Tinh team for searching and repatriating martyrs’ remain brought home 12 sets of remains of martyrs from Laos.

Since 1999, Ha Tinh has repatriated 750 sets of remains of Vietnamese martyrs from Laos to rebury in Vietnam, including 503 sets from Bolykhamsay, 118 from Vientiane capital city and 129 from Vientiane province.

Hanoi to host exhibitions on Belarus

A photo exhibition on Belarus will be held in Hanoi from May 25-28 along with a show of paintings by Belarusian artist Vasily Yasyuk, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) said on May 19. 

The events are part of the 2017 Belarus Culture Days in Vietnam, which is jointly organised by the MCST, the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, and the Embassy of Belarus in Vietnam to mark the 25th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic ties. 

The photos will give an insight into Belarus’s 1,000-year history, its rich culture, beautiful landscapes and hospitable people through images of antique objects, maps, and documents.

The painting exhibition will show 21 oil paintings of Vasily Yasyuk using the “alla prima” technique. 

In the framework of the exhibition, a short training section will be held on May 26 to train a number of students from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts on the “alla prima” technique.

Activities to be organised to mark 54th African Day

The diplomatic delegation of African countries in Hanoi announced activities to celebrate the 54th African Day (May 25, 1963-2017) at a press conference in Hanoi on May 19.
 
Angolan Ambassador to Vietnam Joao Manuel Bernardo, head of the diplomatic delegation of African countries in Vietnam, took the occasion to recall the formation and development history of the African Alliance, and highlighted future prospect for stronger development of the organisation.

He stressed that despite the geographical distance, African countries and Vietnam have enjoyed time honoured relations.   

The Ambassador also hailed the role played by the diplomatic delegation in promoting political, economic and culture exchange and cooperation between African nations and Vietnam. 

Activities to be organised to mark the 54th African Day in Hanoi will include a scientific workshop held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) and the diplomatic delegation on May 22, and a banquet on May 25.

Visitors flock to President Ho Chi Minh’s hometown on his birthday

Thousands of people across the nation have the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh at the Kim Lien Relic Site, Nam Dan district, the central province of Nghe An, to offer incense to the late leader on the occasion of his 127th birthday on May 19.

Travelling more than 300km to reach the site, Nguyen Thi Que from Hanoi said that despite her busy work, she and her husband took their children to Uncle Ho’s homeland to pay tribute to the leader on his birthday.

Que held that the sacrifice and service that Uncle Ho rendered to the nation should be popularised among younger generations.

At the same time, Dang Thi Thom from the northern province of Phu Tho said that offering incense to President Ho Chi Minh at his house has long been her dream. She was moved to visit the house in which the late leader grew up as well as his simple living style.

Nguyen Bao Tuan, Director of the Kim Lien Relic Site’s Management Board, said that on the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday every year, the site often welcomes up to 7,000 visitors each day, four times higher than normal.

Along with strengthening personnel for security and order at the site, the board also restored the cultural space of Sen village and Hoang Tru village where are hometown of the late leader’s parents to give visitors a clearer insight into the childhood of Uncle Ho, while organising film screening and a photo exhibition on the leader’s life, he said.

President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday marked in Algeria, Russia

The Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria on May 19 held a ceremony to mark the 127th birth anniversary of the late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Pham Quoc Tru briefed participants on the life and career of the late leader as well as his role and influence in the struggle for national liberation and in international workers’ movements.

President Ho Chi Minh has continuously been an example for all Vietnamese people to follow, the ambassador said. 

He called on the Vietnamese community in Algeria to learn and follow the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh, upholding traditions to build Vietnam into a country with civilisation, prosperity, peace and stability in the new context in the international and regional arena.

Earlier, Ambassador Tru and the overseas Vietnamese offered incense to the President at his alter at the Embassy.

The same day, staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia staff laid flowers at the President Ho Chi Minh statue Moscow to mark the late leader’s 127th birthday.

The event drew representatives from Vietnamese representative offices, the Vietnamese community, the Vietnamese business association in Russia, the Vietnam – Russia Friendship Association, and the Russia Veterans Association, among others.

Contest boosts awareness and provides free HPV vaccine

Phạm Thị Hải Triều, 23, from the south central coastal province of Ninh Thuận, had searched for information about human papillomavirus (HPV) on many websites to learn about the virus and why girls and women aged 9-26 get HPV vaccine.

“I was advised to get the vaccine by a lecturer at HCM City University of Science. Two weeks ago, an online contest on HPV and cervical cancer prevention and control inspired my curiosity and participation. That is the reason why I searched for information about this issue,” Triều said.

She added that through searching, she has a better understanding about HPV, which can lead to cancers such as penile cancer among men and cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers among women, as well as the importance of the vaccine against HPV.

This understanding helped her win the online contest for HPV and cervical cancer prevention and control held from April 22 to May 13 by Việt Nam Association of Preventive Medicine in co-operation with HPV Việt Nam Facebook Fanpage.

Asso.Prof Dr Trần Ngọc Hữu, deputy chairman of the Việt Nam Association of Preventive Medicine, said that the contest is a part of the annual programmes of the association and HPV Việt Nam, which is considered a community providing and sharing reliable and accurate information and experiences around HPV for the public.

“The programmes aim to improve people’s awareness and call on them to take part in the prevention of cervical cancer, which kills seven women in the country each day, and other diseases relating to HPV,” Hữu said.

The contest’s 70 winners will help spread education on HPV and related diseases to their friends and relatives in order to reduce the health burden caused by this group of viruses, he added.

Raising awareness on HPV and cervical cancer, which is diagnosed in 14 women every day in the country, as well as preventive methods, is one of the targets aimed by the National Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Cervical Cancer in the country for the period from 2016 to 2025.

The plan targets 70 per cent of adults to have awareness on this issue.

The contest’s winners receive free vaccine at Từ Dũ Hospital in HCM City and National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hà Nội.

Nguyễn Phạm Mỹ Trang, 26, from the south central coastal province of Phú Yên, who was also one of the 70 winners, said: “I wanted to get a vaccine against HPV for a long time, but I did not do this because I could not afford paying around VNĐ1.2 million (US$52.6) to get the vaccine to protect against four HPV types.”

Trang said that the vaccine against two HPV types was cheaper, but she did not want to get it.

Such contests help to raise the rate of girls and women aged 9-26 getting vaccines as the action plan’s goal aims to vaccinate at least 25 per cent of them by 2025.

Dr Trần Ngọc Hải, deputy head of Từ Dũ Obstetrics Hospital, advised that in addition to getting a vaccine, women should visit hospitals for periodic gynaecological examinations and Pap tests which are methods to detect cervical cancer.

A programme for the screening of cervical cancer is being carried out in the country to help prevent it.

News contest to reward Party builders

This year’s Búa Liềm Vàng (Golden Hammer & Sickle) Press Awards will be open to all Vietnamese citizens at home and abroad, instead of only journalists like in last year’s competition.
The information was announced yesterday at a press conference on the competition in the capital city, on the occasion of the 127th birthday of late President Hồ Chí Minh’s birthday.
The competition’s second year is among the events to mark the the 87th anniversary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (February 3, 2017).

Speaking at the press conference, Phạm Minh Chính, Poliburo member and head of the competition organising board, said the Press Awards comes after the success of the first one last year.

“Last year’s event contributed to the work of Party Building and Rectification – a regular and key task of the Party. At the same time, it has further sharpened the Party’s determination to fight and to win”, Chính emphasised.

“The theme for this Press Awards this year will continue to focus on the work of Party building and rectification,” he added.

He said that the awards aim to recognise outstanding work done in disseminating information and promoting understanding about the Party’s policies and Party building work.

“There will have one special prize, worth VNĐ 100 million (US$4,400); five first prizes, 50 million ($2,200) each, 10 second prizes and 15 third prizes”, Chính said.

Entries to the contest must have appeared in print or on radio or TV programs between November 1, 2016 and October 31, 2017. An awards ceremony will be held on the 88th anniversary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam, on February 3 next year.

The first Búa Liềm Vàng Press Awards was organised in 2016 and it received a total of 1,173 entries, with 47 selected for prizes.

Global C-section rates surging

The Vietnamese Government should intervene to reduce the rate of caesarean section deliveries, which has seen an upward trend globally, including in this country, an International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) official has said.

Professor Gerard H.A.Visser, chairman of FIGO’s Committee for Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health, said world-wide there has been an explosion in caesarean deliveries, ranging from 50 per cent in south-eastern Europe to 60 per cent in some Latin American countries.

In Việt Nam, the rate was 33 per cent in 2008, he told an annual Việt Nam-France-Asia-Pacific Conference that ended yesterday.

According to the Ministry of Health, the rate was only 12.4 per cent in 2003.

Visser said the incidence of C-section has nothing to do with evidence-based medicine.

“It has more to do with the doctor’s salary, the lazy doctor who does not want to work at night, the doctor who has lost his/her skills to attend a vaginal delivery.”

The increase in C-sections raises direct maternal morbidity, complications in subsequent pregnancies, neonatal morbidity due to early delivery, and auto-immune and metabolic disease in the offspring, he said.

He cited a 2015 World Health Organisation statement on C-section rates which said that C-section rates higher than 10 per cent were not associated with reductions in maternal or newborn mortality rates.

“C-sections cause effects on immune response in children because they do not have stress response before birth, leading to failed immune activation.”

It is also associated with an increase in childhood onset of type-1 diabetes, obesity, later risks of allergy, and celiac disease, he said.

It is time to consider the risks of C-sections for long-term child health, he said.

“Obstetricians seem incapable of reducing C-section rates,” he said, suggesting that they need help from government agencies.

Fees for caesarean deliveries should be reduced for both the doctor and hospital, he said. Besides, caesarean fees should be used to increase vaginal delivery fees for doctors, better preparation for labour and delivery, skills training for doctors and upgrading labour wards at hospitals, he said.

“Women are designed to deliver vaginally and they only need a caesarean delivery if it is really indicated.”

Nguyễn Đức Vinh, head of the Ministry of Health’s maternal and child health department, said Visser’s recommendations are important for policy makers like him.

“I agree with him that Việt Nam should have policies and methods to reverse the upward trend in C-sections.”

The two-day conference also highlighted good nutrition in the 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday.

Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Anh Tuấn of the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy said the 1,000 days are a unique period of opportunity to ensure children’s optimum health, growth and neurodevelopment.

Good nutrition during this period helps prevent non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes in future, he said.

“During pregnancy, women should eat diversified food. Children are fed breast milk for at least the first four months and even two years.”

Other health experts spoke about the importance of vaccines during pregnancy and children’s first years.

The conference was held by Từ Dũ Hospital together with the French National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, FIGO and the Federation of Asia and Oceania’s Perinatal Societies.

It was sponsored mainly by FrieslandCampina Việt Nam’s Friso brand.

It was attended by hundreds of academics, doctors and experts from Việt Nam and other countries like France, Italy, the US and others, who shared their scientific studies and provided an up-to-date overview of obstetrics and gynecology, assisted reproductive technology, and screening, diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancers.

Việt Nam’s Glory honours national spirit and patriotism

An annual programme honouring national spirit and patriotism, called Việt Nam’s Glory, will be held tomorrow at the Friendship Cultural Palace in Hà Nội.

The programme, themed “Việt Nam’s Glory - 30 years after reform”, will also be broadcast live on the national television channel, VTV1.

Trần Văn Thuật, vice president of the Việt Nam Confederation of Labour, said the programme was held for the first time on International Labour Day on May 1, 2004.

In 12 years, 179 collectives and individuals with excellent achievements and contributions to building and defending Việt Nam have been honoured.

This year’s programme aims to honour collectives and individuals who have made special contributions to socio-economic development, science, technology and security, and national defence.

Editor-in-chief of Lao Động (Labour) newspaper, Nguyễn Ngọc Hiển, said that this year’s programme has new features compared to the 12 previous.

Previously, individuals and groups who have already been honoured could not be selected again, but this is not the case this year.

The selection council received 183 profiles of individuals and groups representing provinces, cities and 15 ministries, central agencies and bodies. Through five rounds of evaluation, the council voted by secret ballot and selected 12 collectives and 18 individuals with outstanding achievements.

The Viettel Telecommunication Group, the 103 Military Hospital 103, the Military Medical Academy, are among the 12 groups to be honoured this year.

Professor Nguyễn Văn Hiếu, former director of the Academy of Science and Technology; Professor Nguyễn Anh Trí, director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion; Mai Kiều Liên, general director of Vinamilk Việt Nam; Colonel Hoàng Xuân Vinh –Việt Nam’s first Olympic gold medalist, will be among the individuals who are honoured.

Ministry urged to raise capital for North-South Expressway

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng has ordered the Ministry of Transport and concerned agencies to raise domestic capital for the construction of the North-South Expressway.

The agencies were told to attract more capital from investors under the public-private-partnership model, Dũng said.

As per plan, the North-South Expressway, which is being built to meet the increasing demand of commuters, will be a high-speed road that stretches from Hà Nội to HCM City, running through 20 localities and connecting various socio-economic centres.

The 1,372-km expressway is expected to reduce the burden on National Highway No. 1 once it opens to the public by 2028 as schedule.

Initial estimates put the cost of constructing the expressway at around VNĐ300 trillion (US$13.2 billion).

Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Indonesia’s Padang city in co-operation deal

The southern coastal province of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu signed an action plan for co-operation with Indonesia’s Padang city on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to send their farmers to learn from each other, exchange experiences in fisheries processing, packaging and preserving and marine management, exchange teachers, and take part in yacht racing in Padang and the kite festival in Vũng Tàu.

At the signing ceremony, Lê Tuấn Quốc, deputy chairman of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, spoke about his province’s capabilities in exploiting and processing fisheries for export to Europe and Japan.

Tuấn suggested that fishing boats from Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu could fish off Padang and process the catch in Indonesia, and vice versa.

Padang city asked for time to study the proposal.

Padang mayor Mahyeldi Ansharullah said a ‘Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu corner’ has almost been completed in the centre of his city to showcase Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Province’s potential.

A similar Padang corner will soon be built in Vũng Tàu City.

The Indonesian consul in HCM City, Jean Anes, said one more Vietnamese airline would start flying to Indonesia besides Việt Nam Airlines.

In May last year the two cities signed a memorandum of understanding for establishing a partnership.

Responsible forest sourcing benefits businesses: report

Retail companies with responsible forest products sourcing policies are seeing numerous tangible business benefits, demonstrating that sustainability makes business sense, according to a new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

Việt Nam is the fifth largest timber products exporting country in the world, with revenues last year of US$7 billion.

While the luxury furniture segment in Việt Nam requires responsibly sourced products, only 230,000ha of forests in the country are Forest Stewardship Council certified. So Việt Nam has to import around 4.5 million cu.m of timber every year, the report said.

Unable to utilise domestic timber, the country is now largely dependent on other countries, reducing the potential benefits of production.

But with responsible products still a new concept for Vietnamese, there is no market for them.

“In the next few months, under the Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade project, WWF will promote sustainable forest products in the domestic market,” said Dr Lê Thiện Đức, Forest Practice Lead of WWF-Việt Nam.

“We aim to raise awareness among domestic consumers of responsible forest products and influence producing companies and retailers to sell responsible products in Việt Nam.”

WWF-Việt Nam, through the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), has been working with businesses to promote processing and trading of responsible timber and supporting forest owners to achieve FSC certification.

All members of GFTN have to commit to using certified timber and adopting responsible forest management for five years.

“Deforestation and forest degradation are one of the leading environmental challenges today, and we need concerted action from across sectors to tackle this issue,” Alistair Monument, WWF’s Forest Practice Lead, said.

“Research overwhelmingly shows that retail chains are positioned to mobilise transformational impacts because of their leverage over product supply chains and influence on consumer choices. We need retailers to take the lead and understand that sustainability is no longer a niche, but the norm.”

Companies surveyed for the WWF report cited a number of benefits of responsible sourcing: Over 80 per cent reported positive impacts on risk management and brand reputation, and over 60 per cent saw positive impacts on customer satisfaction and stakeholder engagement.

More than 70 per cent said sustainability commitments had a positive impact on employee engagement, indicating potential gains from higher employee satisfaction and retention.

At Migros, one of the largest retailers in Switzerland, sales of sustainable products increased by more than 30 per cent between 2012 and 2015, demonstrating clearly that customers expect to see responsibly produced products on the shelves.

“Companies with genuinely responsible timber sourcing strategies – based on clear commitments and public reporting – have an opportunity to stand out from the crowd,” Monument said.

The WWF study surveyed more than 50 retailers in 20 countries and had in-depth interviews with select retail leaders.

The companies shared detailed information about their timber sourcing policies, and the perceived costs and benefits.

Rotha wins last stage of Return to Countryside event

Keo Rotha of Cambodia won the last stage of the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament yesterday.
It was a short race, so cyclists made every effort to change their rankings. Rotha beat Hà Văn Sơn of Bình Dương at the finish line to take the lead in the 56km race from Châu Giang to Thuận Giang ferry with a time of 1:23.33.
Quàng Văn Cường of Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời-An Giang won the overall yellow jersey for the best overall time of 23.52.40 after 10 stages. Yoeun Phi Yuth of Cambodia and Nguyễn Minh Luận of Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long were the runners-up.
Yuth also won the green jersey award as the best sprinter with 126 points.
Cường’s win helped An Giang top the team rankings with the best overall time of 71:39.26. Domesco Pharmacy Đồng Tháp and Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long finished second and third.
In the amateur event, Bùi Văn Sành of Hiệp Nhất-Tịnh Biên won the overall yellow jersey with a time of 23:54.38. Nguyễn Hoàng Sang of Lê Đoàn-Kiên Giang won the green jersey with 111 points. Lê Đoàn-Kiên Giang triumphed in the team race, followed by Hiệp Nhất-Tịnh Biên and Calytos Đồng Tháp.

Can Gio-Vung Tau waterbus service proposed

Agriculture, trade and tourism cooperative Long Hoa has proposed setting up an express waterbus service connecting Can Gio District of HCMC and Vung Tau City of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The project is aimed at luring more tourists to the outlying coastal district of Can Gio.

A source told the Daily that Can Gio has drawn up a plan to develop two tourist waterway routes, with one linking Can Thanh, Thanh An and Long Hoa, and the other connecting Can Thanh, Ly Nhon and Long Hoa. They are scheduled to be put into service this year.

Long Hoa Cooperative, which will also operate the two waterway routes, has proposed an express waterbus route between Cau Den Wharf of Can Gio and Vung Tau with an expected fare of VND100,000 (US$ 4.4) per person.

Can Gio is developing eco-tourism by investing in a number of routes such as roads from the center of HCMC to Can Gio, river routes to Dong Dinh and Can Thanh, and express boat services from Can Thanh to Vung Tau, Can Duoc and My Tho.

Dang Thi Thy Thanh, deputy general director of Ben Thanh Tourist Company, said most visitors to Can Gio come from inner-city districts of HCMC and spend just one night there. Therefore, extending tourism services from Can Gio to Vung Tau City should be carefully weighed.

“The Can Gio-Vung Tau express boat service project would not work until the district’s tourism sector is stronger with a large number of seaside tourism projects in place. With the current number of visitor arrivals, the project is not viable,” Thanh said.

Speaking to the Daily, Can Gio vice chairman Truong Tien Trien said the HCMC Department of Tourism will call a meeting with relevant agencies on May 19 to discuss the two waterway routes proposed by Can Gio.

Tuan Chau Group and Vingroup JSC are involved in two coastal luxury resorts which are expected to help Can Gio District attract more tourists and become an eco-tourism center in the future.

Can Gio, 60 kilometers southeast of HCMC, has a coastline of more than 13 kilometers and is crisscrossed by canals and rivers. UNESCO recognized the district as a world biosphere reserve in 2000.

Can Gio attracted one million visitors and gained tourism revenue of VND400 billion (around US$17.6 million) last year. It targets more than one million tourists this year.

APP gets environment award

The Vietnam Environment Administration awarded a certificate to Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP) for its Integrated Forestry and Farming Strategy (IFFS) at the Eco-Products International Fair 2017 in HCMC last week.

This is the second time APP has been honored for its environmental activities. The award acknowledges the company’s forest conservation policy, according to APP director Suhendra Wiriadinata.

IFFS is a community empowerment program designed to help prevent and mitigate forest fires, as well as enhance the livelihood of local communities.

By improving the living standards of local villagers and helping them adopt environmentally friendly farming methods, APP has been able to minimize forest clearance known as slash and burn by engaging these communities in preventing and mitigating forest fires.

So far, 76 villages have participated, he said, and the firm’s aim is to have 200 villages actively involved by the end of 2017.

Vietnam-Japan human resources training center in the offing

The Saigon Hi-Tech Park Training Center and Japan’s Toyooka Co Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding on establishment of a training center responsible for supplying high-quality human resources for local enterprises.

The center is planned to be located in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) as there is strong demand for high-quality manpower meeting Japanese standards in the park, HCMC and neighboring provinces.

The first center specializing in providing courses on Japanese robotics technology, funded by a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and carried out by Toyooka, came into operation in the park.

The Saigon Hi-Tech Park Training Center on Tuesday launched an automation technology training program worth 100 million Japanese yen funded by JICA.

During the three-day training program, Japanese and Vietnamese instructors will give lectures to technicians, trainers and students majoring in mechatronics, automation and robotics at universities and colleges in HCMC.

Workshop highlights energy efficiency solutions

A workshop took place in the northern city of Hai Phong on May 19, where a pilot voluntary agreement (VA) programme on efficient use of energy and a model of energy service company (ESCO) in Vietnam were introduced.

The programme and model is part of the Vietnam Clean Production and Energy Efficiency Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank (WB).

Trinh Quoc Vu, Director of the Department of Science-Technology and Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s General Directorate of Energy, said the VA and ESCO aim to save energy in industries, thus helping enterprises reduce costs and enhance competitiveness.

The pilot stage of the 10-year VA programme will last for two years, during which firms commit to cutting energy in production based on assistance from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
workshop highlights energy efficiency solutions hinh 0 An ESCO is a commercial business providing a broad range of energy solutions including the design and implementation of energy saving projects, retrofitting, and energy conservation and infrastructure outsourcing. An ESCO provides services via an Energy Performance Contract (EPC).

Subjects appropriate to ESCO projects are public lighting systems; administrative agencies, non-productive agencies, state budget beneficiaries, industrial manufacturers and service suppliers. 

Statistics showed that there are about 100 energy efficiency service suppliers in Vietnam, but only a fraction of them follows the ESCO model.
     
Activities in Singapore, Mexico mark late President’s birthday

Activities to celebrate the 127th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890) have been organised in Singapore and Mexico.

On May 19 morning, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Nguyen Tien Minh and the Vietnamese community paid tribute to the late leader at his statue located at the Asian Civilisations Museum Park.

Minh recalled the great contributions of late President Ho Chi Minh who founded the Communist Party of Vietnam and led the Vietnamese Party and people to triumph in the two resistance wars.

One day earlier, Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Le Linh Lan and embassy staff offered flowers at the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in the embassy’s precinct.

The embassy also coordinated with the Economic Faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) opened a photo and book exhibition on Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh at the faculty’s library on the occasion of the late leader’s 127th birth anniversary and the 42nd anniversary of Vietnam-Mexico diplomatic ties (May 19, 1975).

Ambassador Lan had a talk with UNAM teachers and students on potential and prospects of the Vietnam-Mexico relations.

She expressed her belief that the time-honoured bilateral friendship and cooperation will be enhanced further for peace, stability, cooperation and development of the two regions and the world.

A film screening was also organised to introduce Vietnam’s land and people to Mexican friends.
     
Screaming passenger banned from flying for one year in Vietnam

She failed to pay a US$176 fine for picking a fight with attendants and other passengers, which delayed the flight by 50 minutes.

The Southern Airport Authority has imposed a one-year flight ban against a woman after she failed to pay a penalty for scolding attendants and loudly arguing with other passengers which delayed a domestic flight for 50 minutes last month.

A statement from the agency said the woman from Hanoi will be banned from flying for a year starting this Sunday and will be subject to strict surveillance on any flight for a year after.

She was fined VND4 million (US$176) for “violating regulations of aviation security by disrupting order on a flight” but has never paid it.

A video shared online showed the 44-year-old woman scolding attendants and loudly arguing with other passengers on a VietJet flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on April 3. The pilot then refused her service, after the flight had been delayed for 50 minutes.

She was reportedly unhappy when boarding the flight, saying the budget airline changed the boarding gate without notifying her and she almost missed the flight. She did not receive the seat that she wanted either.

Vietnam’s airport authorities last month also fined a man VND7.5 million for hitting a VietJet employee who refused to let him board due to late check-in.

Vietnam Airlines offers lowest ever HCM City-Hong Kong fares

Vietnam Airlines will offer direct flights on its route between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong with tickets starting at US$100 roundtrip for travel departing now through December 21, it said on May 19, according to InfoMoney.vn.

The move is designed to put pressure on other Southeast Asian rivals to competefor Vietnamese outbound travel to top tourist destinations in Hong Kong such as Disneyland Park, Sky 100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, and Avenue of Stars. 

Established Vietnamese carriers have been forced to consider restricted cheaper fares and redesigned cabins with more seats to win budget-conscious travellers to compete in the hotly contested Asian market, said a Vietnam Airlines spokesperson.

The flight time on the direct air route using Airbus A321 aircraft is roughly two hours and 45 minutes, said the spokesperson, with flights departing and retuning multiple times weekly.

Vietnam finishes third in Southeast Asia race for tourist dollars

Tourists arrivals in Vietnam past the 10 million mark last year, and the US$18 billion in revenue collected by the sector contributed around 7.5% to the country’s economy.

According to tourism data, Vietnam fell far short of Southeast Asia's most popular destination,Thailand, which received over 30 million international arrivals and bagged nearly US$46 billion from tourists.

The entire region, excluding Myanmar and Brunei, raked in an estimated US$120 billion from tourism, based on data compiled by VnExpress International. However, the figure was just half that earned by the United States alone.

On average, each visitor to the U.S. spent approximately US$3,000, while in Asia, their spending was three times less.

However, Vietnam made significant progress by rising eight places in a global tourism competitiveness index compiled by the World Economic Forum. It also said the country could take better advantage of this momentum by focusing more on sustainable environment policies.

Tourists are mostly lured by Vietnam’s rich natural and cultural resources.

By 2020, the sector is expected to contribute 10% to Vietnam’s gross domestic product and is set to welcome 17-20 million foreign visitors per year.

By 2030, it is aiming to become the leading destination in Southeast Asia.

Crane driver behind massive blackout gets jail time 

The People’s Court of Thủ Dầu Một City on Wednesday sentenced Ngô Tiến Thảo, 30, to five years imprisonment for violating regulations on safely operating electricity works.
According to the indictment, Thảo controlled a crane on May 22, 2013, to move young dầu (Dipterocarpus alatus) trees from a nursery to plant in other areas. While Thảo was moving a 17.5m tree, the tree accidentally bumped into a 500KV transmission line belonging to the national power grid, causing an explosion. It instantly resulted in a massive blackout in 18 southern provinces on that day.
The police said the incident caused severe economic damage and negatively affected daily lives of residents in these provinces.
According to Bình Dương Province’s Industry and Trade Department, Electricity of Việt Nam (EVN) was forced to hire diesel generators to temporarily provide electricity for customers before the problem was fixed, which cost EVN some VNĐ5 billion (US$22,000).
The court also ordered Trần Văn Nhích, who hired Thảo to move the trees from the nursery, to pay compensation of VNĐ5 billion ($22,000) to EVN.

More gifts to policy beneficiaries ahead of war invalids’ day

Some 126,614 policy beneficiaries in Hanoi will receive gifts worth more than 104 billion VND, more than last year, on the 70th Day of War Invalids and Martyrs (July 27), said Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Quoc Khanh. 

Heroic Vietnamese mothers and war invalids will receive 1 million VND each, double the amount last year, while a total 761 million VND (33,000 USD) will be presented as gifts to invalids who are outstanding business owners in 30 communes and districts. 

A survey found that the city has 7,566 war-hero households that need funds for home repairs at a total cost of 402 billion VND (17.4 million USD), with the State and city administration having agreed to provide 230 billion VND (10 million USD). 

As of May 10, 4,825 households had completed home building or repairs, 63.8 percent of the total, while 2,205 others are in the process, or 29.1 percent, and the remaining 486 will complete it before July 27. 

On the occasion, a commemorative ceremony and a conference to honour individuals and organisations who served the nation will be held. 

The municipal People’s Committee asked authorities of districts, communes and townships to ensure social welfare is provided to war heroes and their families.

Tra Vinh sets to send 200 guest workers abroad per year

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh aims to send at least 200 workers abroad per year between 2017 and 2020.

The goal was outlined during a meeting on May 16 to review labour export over the past three years in the province.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Duong Quang Ngoc, to achieve the target, the province’s People’s Committee has offered loans to local labourers from difficult backgrounds so they can afford to receive training to work abroad.

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs plans to work with local authorities and agencies to provide local residents more information on working abroad, which may lift them out of poverty, Ngoc said.

The efforts are expected to help the province develop more disciplined and skilled human resources, he added.

The department will continue to invite guest worker service providers to its career fairs and provide visitors with information on foreign labour markets. It will also open training courses for local workers.

The department estimated that the province sent 647 guest workers abroad, mostly to Japan, from 2014-2016, including 304 female workers and 128 people from ethnic minorities.

Book display on President Ho Chi Minh opens in Hanoi

A book exhibition, entitled “President Ho Chi Minh with the People’s Public Security and Army”, officially opened at the People’s Public Security Museum in Hanoi on May 16 as part of activities to celebrate the 127th birthday of the former President (May 19, 1890-2017).

The event showcases more than 3,000 book titles featuring the themes of Uncle Ho with the Vietnamese People’s Armed Forces, the history of Vietnam’s People’s Public Security and Army, the People’s Public Security and Army in national construction and defence, and the building of a revolutionary, formal, elite and increasingly modern public security force.

Addressing the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Politburo member and Minister of Public Security To Lam hailed the exhibition as an occasion for officers and soldiers to read books featuring President Ho Chi Minh with the People’s Public Security Force (PPSF), thereby exploring and studying the President’s ideology, morality and lifestyle.

In order to promote the reading movement within the PPSF, Sen. Lieut. Gen. To Lam asked units and localities to continue promoting the reading culture among officers, soldiers and students, while urging press agencies, publishers and libraries under the force to renovate and improve the quality of documents and publications and to develop abundant and diverse sources of documents.

He also requested the General Department of Politics to enhance its advisory role in implementing the project “Developing the reading culture in the community until 2020, oriented towards 2030”; guiding the establishment of bookcases, including a thematic bookcase on the behavioural culture of the PPSF; and developing books on the behavioural culture of the force.

On the occasion, Sen. Lieut. Gen. To Lam presented units of the PPSF copies of the over-300-page book “President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on staff and personnel work in the People’s Public Security Force”.

Thanh Hóa splash out on striker Thắng

FLC Thanh Hóa have signed Lê Văn Thắng from Hải Phòng on loan for the second leg of the national premier league, the club’s chairman Doãn Văn Phương has confirmed.

The national team striker has six months left on his contract with the northern side, with Thanh Hóa reportedly paying a large fee for just half a year of service.

The 27-year-old was the top Vietnamese scorer in the last two seasons. In 2015, he scored 16 goals, second only to top scorer Tambwe Patiyo of Quảng Nam by two goals. In 2016, he bagged 11.

According to Phương, Thắng will help Thanh Hóa achieve their goal of winning this year’s title.

Besides signing Thắng, Thanh Hóa are searching for one more midfielder.

At present, Thanh Hóa rank second out of 14 teams in the league with 23 points, behind Hà Nội T&T on goal difference. 

Nhan Dan newspaper national table tennis tourney commences in Hai Duong

The 35th Nhan Dan Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships officially kicked off in the northern province of Hai Duong on May 16, with nearly 140 players representing 15 delegations from across the country.

Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Vuong Bich Thang presents flowers to the organising committee.

The opening ceremony was attended by Thuan Huu, Editor-in-chief of Nhan Dan newspaper; Nguyen Manh Hien, Secretary of the Hai Duong provincial Party Committee; and leaders of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation.

In his opening remarks, Phan Huy Hien, Nhan Dan newspaper Deputy Editor-in-chief and head of the tournament’s steering board, affirmed that the championship is not only a national-level sport event but also a political task of Nhan Dan newspaper, contributing to the development of Vietnam’s high-performance sports as a whole and table tennis in particular, and the facilitation of the sport movement among different strata of people for better health.

More significantly, the tournament is being held in Hai Duong, one of Vietnam’s cradles for table tennis, as an array of activities are underway across the country to celebrate the 127th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh, he noted.

The annual event offers a good chance to players to sharpen their skills and vie for slots in the national teams, in preparation for future international and regional competitions, notably the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Malaysia this August.

During the six-day sports event, players will be vying for seven sets of medals in the men’s singles and doubles, the women’s singles and doubles and the mixed category.

In addition to major awards, the organising committee will also present two prospective prizes for the best young male and female players, and grant awards to the host locality as well as disadvantaged localities, which have actively developed the grassroots table tennis movements.

This year, the organising committee will continue working with the Vien Dong Assurance Corporation (VASS) to implement injury insurance for participants, with an insurance value of up to VND200 million (US$8,800) per person.

Earlier on May 15, team matches took place, with title favourites Hanoi T&T (men’s) recording a resounding 3-0 victory over Hanoi 1 and Khanh Hoa. The Army team and Vicem Hoang Thach Hai Duong also crushed Hanoi 2 and the team from Bac Ninh province’s sports university, respectively, with the same score. 

In the women’s team category, Ho Chi Minh City, Vicem Hoang Thach Hai Duong, the Army team and Hanoi registered easy 3-0 wins against their opponents.

Da Nang authority lauds UPU first prize winner

People’s Committee in the central city of Da Nang held a meeting to appraise eighth grader Nguyen Do Huyen Vi who won the first prize of the 46th Universal Postal Union (UPU) national letter writing contest

On behalf of Da Nang authority, Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee Dang Viet Dung congratulated the student and gave her certificate of merits and VND2 million in cash.

Mr. Dung proposed the Department of Education and Training, the school and related agencies to create the best condition for Huyen Vi and all students in the city to show their creativeness and opinions on the national and international matters. 

The theme selected for the 2017 competition is: "Imagine you are an advisor to the new UN Secretary-General which world issue would you help him tackle first and how would you advise him to solve it?"

The competition was launched nationwide from October, 2016 to February, 2017. Around 1,171,328 entries were sent to the organizers.
After five rounds, the organizer selected 100 entries for the final round and Huyen Vi of Tay Son Junior School in Hai Chau District was awarded the first prize. 

This is the seventh candidate from Da Nang won the national competition and Huyen Vi is the third student of Tay Son school capturing the first prize of the competition.
Her letter was translated into French and English to the Universal Postal Union in Switzerland to partake in the international competition.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training in Da Nang Nguyen Minh Hung said that with her deep knowledge of refugees in the globe, her persuasive words in the letter attracted the readers and receivers to realize what happened to the refugees. She won the jury board’s heart by her frankness and responsibility for her opinions.

70 tons of smuggled sugar confiscated

The Department of Market Management in Ho Chi Minh City announced they seized total 70 tons of smuggled sugar on May 16.

Through several days keeping track on smugglers, the team of market management 2A yesterday supervised two suspected trucks, which were driving into Thanh Phat Company’s warehouse at 55A Kinh C Street in in Tan Tao A in HCMC’s Binh Tan District.

Inspectors found hundreds of sugar hidden by waste bags. The company could not showed receipts and certificates of origin. Moreover, the sugar bags have no Vietnamese brand name.
The inspection team continued checking the warehouse and detected tens of tons of sugar in Thailand bags without receipts also.

30-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc Xiem is the owner of the warehouse. 

Market managers said that the sugar is smuggled from Cambodia to the southern province of An Giang and then brought into Ho Chi Minh City for consumption.

Da Nang to set up support centre for inclusive education

Da Nang’s department of education and training on May 16 announced plans to establish a support centre to develop inclusive education.

The centre will be established as part of the department’s efforts to re-structure Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School.

The move aims to improve the centre’s functions besides its teaching work. It will also provide consultations on inclusive childcare methods at schools and share experiences of parents with disabled children, said Nguyen Dinh Vinh, Director of the department.  

The centre will provide appropriate lessons for students with different disabilities and conduct early interventions for inclusive education.

It will also work with domestic and international individuals and organisations on education and  children with disabilities for children with disabilities.

In 2016-2017, the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School ran 23 classes for 209 disabled children from kindergarten to high school levels. 

Motorbike driver killed in collision with tractor trailer in Dak Lak

A man lost his life Wednesday (May 17) when his motorbike collided with a tractor trailer in the city of Buon Ma Thuot in the province of Dak Lak, local police officials have reported.

Local police investigating the tragedy say the accident occurred at approximately 2:30am in the commune of Hoa Thuan.

According to police, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, 24, was piloting his motorbike at excessive speeds and unable to slow down and avoid crashing into the semi pulling a trailer carrying freight.

As the semi-trailer began crossing over and turn onto the roadway, Thanh attempted to brake suddenly and lost control of his motorbike. At that point, police said he struck the front of the trailer portion.

Thanh, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, police officers reported. The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.

Sang wins stage of cycling tourney

Nguyễn Hoàng Sang of Lê Đoàn-Kiên Giang won the seventh stage of the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament yesterday.

Sang won in a time of 1:23.38 in the 50km race around Trần Hưng Đạo Street in Sóc Trăng City. Sang’s teammate Huỳnh Văn Thuận and Bùi Văn Sành of Hiệp Nhất-Tịnh Biên finished second and third, respectively.

Although Quàng Văn Cường of Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời-An Giang didn’t rank in top three of this stage, he still holds the yellow jersey for best overall time of 17:00.52 after seven stages. Yoeun Phi Yuth of Cambodia and Nguyễn Minh Luận of Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long are second and third, respectively.

Yuth holds the green jersey for best sprinter with 91 points.

The team rankings were unchanged, with Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời-An Giang on top with a total time of 51:03.35, followed by Domesco Pharmacy Đồng Tháp and Premium Cycling Vĩnh Long.

Today, cyclists will compete in the eighth stage from Sóc Trăng City to Vị Thanh City. 

Children’s protection: Network providers to follow new rules

Network service providers and individuals are required to get permission from parents, guardians and children above the age of seven before publishing private information of any child on the internet from July 1.
The request follows Government Decree No. 56/2017/NĐ-CP, recently signed by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.
According to the decree, private information of a child, including name, age, identifying characteristics and health status, as well as images, home address and school, must be protected.
The move aims to better protect children, avoid child abuse and ensure private information of children it not published on internet.
Parents, guardians, and children above seven can ask network service providers to immediately delete all related images and private information of a child on the internet.
The decree also requested network service providers to publish a list of online products and services safe for children and remove all unsuitable images and content for children.
The public security agency was asked to take prompt action to protect children’s rights on the internet, the decree said.
Additionally, a national hotline with three digits was ordered to be set up to receive complaints related to child protection. The Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affair was tasked with managing the hotline, which will be operated 24x7. People who contact the hotline will not be charged.
Under the Law on Children, the definition of a child is a person under the age of 16.

Japanese firm to help farmers produce safe food

Japan’s Arrowfield Co. Ltd. has signed an agreement with Việt Nam Farmers’ Association on providing support for the growth and development of agriculture and farmers in Việt Nam.

Under the agreement, the two sides will work jointly to pass on agricultural skills, techniques, and know-how based on traditional Japanese natural farming methods (organic farming/pesticide-free production) to Vietnamese farmers, to encourage the production of safe foods.

Việt Nam will promote the purchase and use of clean  agricultural products and techniques, organic farming and pesticide-free production provided by the Japanese firm and permitted for sale and circulation in the country to improve agricultural yield, taste, and quality of cultivation, shipment and distribution.

With regards to the cultivation of flowers and fruit trees, the Japanese firm will make recommendations on chemical products such as fertilisers sold in Japan by specialists or companies selected by Việt Nam.

The mutual co-operation aims to contribute to the socio-economic development and development of Việt Nam’s agricultural sector, as well as promote cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries. At the same time, the co-operation will contribute directly and indirectly to the growth of agricultural product exports of both countries.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lại Xuân Môn, president of Việt Nam Farmers’ Association, said: “Việt Nam is one of the countries that has an edge in agricultural production, but productivity is still low. The mutual co-operation will contribute towards Việt Nam’s agricultural development and production of safe products, and help farmers increase their earnings.”

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