National fire brigades dispatch centre unveiled in Hanoi

The centre is inaugurated on October 20 (Photo: cand.com.vn)

Vietnam’s National Fire Brigades Dispatch Centre, partly funded through the Austrian Government’s official development assistance, was inaugurated in Hanoi on October 20. 

The centre is under the management of the Ministry of Public Security’s Fire and Rescue Police Department, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported. 

It brings the number of similar facilities owned by the fire and rescue police force to five. The four others are in Hai Phong, Da Nang, Binh Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City. 

During nine months of pilot operations, the dispatch centres dealt with 1,927 emergency calls, 7,253 fires and 2,449 rescue cases. 

The pilot operations helped improve the Vietnamese police’s firefighting steering capacity and access to advanced technology.

Mass food poisoning hits Binh Dương firm's workers

Hundreds of workers of Vĩnh Nghĩa Shoes Company in Bến Cát Town in the southern Binh Dươnng Province were hospitalised yesterday for suspected food poisoning.

The workers said they had shrimp braised with pork, fried cabbage, boiled gourd and egg soup for lunch at the company's kitchen yesterday.

Soon after they returned to work, many of them developed symptoms of food poisoning such as vomiting, stomach ache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Many of them fainted and were taken to hospital.

Director of the provincial General Hospital Văn Quang Tân said his hospital received more than 130 workers and several of them had to lie down in the hospital's meeting hall due to patient overload in the emergency room.

Mỹ Phước Hospital and Vạn Phúc Hospital in Thủ Dầu Một City also received hundreds of workers yesterday afternoon.

More than 5,000 workers of the company consumed the same meal, which was supplied by Thành Danh Company yesterday.

Medical workers were still giving emergency aid and treating the workers.

Many of them have recovered, but some are being kept in the hospitals for further treatment.

The health authorities in Binh Dương took samples of the food the workers had consumed to identify the cause of poisoning. 

PPP, most effective in hospital management, say experts

The public-private partnership model in provincial-level hospital management is most effective in examining and treating patients, participants said at a conference today in southern Dong Nai Province.

Director of Dong Nai General Hospital Phan Huy Anh Vu named several strengths after his hospital, operated since April under the public-private-partnership model, initially showed effectiveness.

Running the model helped to mobilise capital investment from the private sector in order to buy the most advanced medical facilities, improve the quality of examination-and-treatment services, and reduce overcrowding for central-level hospitals.

Thanks to investments from the private sector, the State could reduce their investment in provincial-level hospitals, he said.

"Especially, patients could select doctors and examination-and-treatment services depending on their demand," he added.

Participants at the conference said that in the past, when going to a hospital, the first thing patients were told to undergo computerised tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, although in some cases it was unnecessary.

Also at the conference, participants discussed how to apply economic concepts in hospital management.

The conference gathered over 30 directors from different hospitals in the southern region. 

Quang Binh inaugurates foreign service information facility

A foreign service information facility was inaugurated at the Cha Lo International Border Gate in the central province of Quang Binh on October 20. 

Sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the provincial People’s Committee, the 3.5 billion VND (159,000 USD) centre is equipped with modern facilities, aiming to assist dissemination work in the area. 

Deputy Minister of MIC Truong Minh Tuan said the project would help disseminate the Party’s guidelines, the State’s laws and policies and Vietnam’s foreign affairs policies, as well as the country’s traditional cultural values, to neighboring countries and international friends.

Tuan added that the initiative would also increase people’s awareness about protecting the country’s border sovereignty and territory.

Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Hoang said the project was a practical model, helping Quang Binh provide foreign and internal affairs news with a view to attracting investors to the province.

Hoang also asked relevant authorities to strengthen co-operation in management and operation works in a bid to increase the project’s efficiency in the time ahead.

HCM City late to bring down weak buildings

Only eight out of the 25 very seriously degraded high-rise apartment buildings in HCM City were razed in 2011 to 2015.

Pham Van Khuong and his family started living in Ngo Gia Tu apartments in District 10 in 1971 when it was a dream address for many people.

But it has now become a nightmare because the building is decrepit, its walls have cracks, every house gets wet when it rains and some staircases are weak and potentially very dangerous and have portions cordoned off.

It was built in 1968 on marshy land, and has gradually sunk with time.

Khuong said: "We are very nervous to live in such a run-down apartment. We cannot repair or upgrade it ourselves and hope to move out as soon as possible."

The situation is the same at most of the other apartments too. While they are waiting to be knocked down, they still house thousands of people.

Recently the city People's Committee instructed relevant agencies to review all dilapidated and dangerous buildings, especially apartments.

The city has 533 apartments built before 1975 and they house 50,640 families.

Authorities planned to destroy 445,000sq.m of apartments in 2011-15 but only managed to achieve 60 per cent of it.

The slow progress was caused by the economic and real estate market downturns, the city's failure to provide funding to inspect apartments for quality — only 40 out of 178 buildings were checked — and the lack of alternative housing for people moved out destroyed apartments. 

Business fined for producing unhygienic meat

The People's Committee of HCM City's Binh Chanh District today decided to fine a private household business about VND12 million (US$540) for using banned substances when producing salted shredded meat.

The business also failed to meet the food hygiene and safety regulations, it said. More than 740 kilogrammes of meat was destroyed.

Nguyen Lan Truong, deputy head of local veterinary department said that a team inspected the business, owned by Doan Van Thuong in Vinh Loc A Commune, and found that the business operated without a licence.

Four workers were seen using their bare hands to produce meat on the dirty floor.

As many as 12 packages of a substance labelled in the Chinese language used to increase the sweet taste in the meat were also discovered.

Truong said the substance had been banned in the production of meat.

The business began operating two months ago. It produced hundreds of kilogrammes of salted shredded meat for the market at the cost of between VND40,000 and VND70,000 (US$1.7 to $3.1) per kilogramme. 

Dong Nai to discuss use of CNG buses

The People's Committee of southern Đồng Nai province yesterday worked with other agencies and Sonadezi Transport Company to discuss the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in the province.

The provincial Transport Department said that with the rapid development of the economy, the increase in industrial zones and demand for public vehicles, the current transport infrastructure is unable to cope with the demand.

There are about 1,300 buses involved in picking over 65,500 workers in 30 industrial zones in the province each day. However, the current public transport vehicle system meets only 20 per cent of workers' demand.

To deal with the problem, Sonadezi Company, the investor of CNG buses, has proposed to the committee the use 500 new CNG-powered buses replacing the current diesel-powered buses, in an effort to reduce environment pollution.

According to the company's initial calculation, the emission of carbon will reduce sharply and can save nearly VND8 billion (US$363,600) in fuel costs each year.

Trần Văn Quang, deputy director of transport department, said the project will also contribute to the protection of the environment.

Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee, Trần Văn Vĩnh, has asked the transport department and Sonadezi Company co-ordinate with HCM City and Binh Dưong province, who also have the same project, to unify the investment plan and policy recommendation to the government on the implementation of CNG-powered buses.

The total cost for the project, which includes 500 buses and setting up of CNG filling stations, is VND640 billion ($29 million).

The project will help limit exhaust fumes and improve development of environment-friendly public transport vehicles, the representative of the company said.

It will also hope to attract more people to use public transport to limit traffic jams at rush hours and traffic accidents. 

Hanoi disadvantaged youth provided with vocational courses

About 400 disadvantaged youth in Hanoi will be granted full scholarships to join vocational training courses under the Youth Vocational Training project, which began in the city on October 21. 

The project has a total budget of over 38.5 billion VND (1.7 million USD), funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Huyndai Motor Company, Huyndai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd and the Plan International. It aims to create jobs and generate incomes for thousands of deprived young people in the city during 2015-2018.

Students will be trained in courses lasting from 6 to 18 months in fields of automobile technology, pipe processing technology and welding.

Together with professional knowledge, students will be equipped with soft skills and life skills, which help them accommodate with the working environment after finishing the courses. 

The project will also support the upgrade of three vocational training workshops to ensure good-quality training.

Domestic and international experts will join the project to enhance capacity for the lectures of the courses.

The goal is 70 percent of the trainees will find stable jobs within six months of graduation and 70 percent of the participants will be able to contribute to the family income within four months of graduation.

The project demonstrates the commitment to social responsibility of the sponsoring enterprises and groups in Vietnam.

Khanh Hoa: Over 200 women bestowed “Heroic Mother “title

An additional 203 mothers in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa whose husbands and children laid down their lives for national liberation have been honoured as “Vietnamese Heroic Mother”.

Among them, only 12 are alive and were able to receive the title at a ceremony held in Nha Trang city on October 21.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Chien Thang urged local authorities, organisations and individuals to take more care of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, war invalids and those who contributed to the nation’s revolution.

As many as 859 mothers in Khanh Hoa have been recognised as Vietnamese heroic mothers so far.-

VNA, Dak Lak province sign communications agreement

The State-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and authorities of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak signed a communications agreement for 2016-2020 in Buon Ma Thuot city on October 21. 

Under the agreement, the VNA will cover major political events and the development process of Dak Lak; popularise its culture, people and potentials to the public at home and abroad. 

It will also take the responsibility for promoting the image of Dak Lak as a socio-economic and cultural hub in the region and a “development pole” in the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia development triangle. 

The agency is to produce a collection of reports and documentaries introducing cultures of ethnic minorities, particularly the UNESCO-recognised Intangible Cultural Heritage – the Tay Nguyen Gong Space, and other unique local festivals. 

In collaboration with spokesperson of the provincial People’s Committee and the Department of Information and Communications, the VNA will provide accurate information to refute incorrect reports on local activities, helping maintain social stability.

Thua Thien-Hue: over 60 billion VND in broadcasting digitisation

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue decided to spend 60 billion VND (2.69 million USD) on broadcasting digitisation and digital terrestrial television broadcasting, said Hoang Ngoc Khanh, chief of the Office of the Provincial People’s Committee.

Accordingly, by the end of 2018 all local households would be able to access digital television services, 60 percent of which are terrestrial television services. Meanwhile, fine-tuning and upgrades would be made to the local radio and television stations’ transmitting and broadcasting facilities by 2020.

Apart from raising public awareness and encouraging locals to participate in the project, the province will focus on developing the market and services to put various kinds of transmission into use.

The locality will also create favourable conditions to install cable television and internet television services in residential areas based on fair competition among service providers.

In addition, it will re-organise transmitting and broadcasting sections at the local radio and television stations while snapping up equipment to produce television shows using digital technology and national, standardised terrestrial television receivers.

Ninh Thuan distributes rice aid to poor people

The central province of Ninh Thuan is actively distributing more than 836 tonnes of rice as aid from the Government intended to help local poor people overcome the current between-crop food shortage.

The eligible recipients include 13,376 poor households from six disadvantaged districts of Bac Ai, Ninh Son, Ninh Phuoc, Thuan Bac, Ninh Hai, and Thuan Nam. Each household will receive an average of 15kg of rice a month.

Bac Ai will receive the biggest quantity, accounting for nearly 32 percent of the total distributed amount. It is followed by Ninh Son, Thuan Bac and Thuan Nam.

According to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the province has got rice aid for four years whose delivery was strictly monitored by local people.

Since 2014, Ninh Thuan has suffered long and severe droughts, which impacted crops and livelihoods of residents in 31 out of 47 communes.

Thuan Nam district was the hardest hit and its farmers halted production on 8,000 hectares because of water shortage.

The district’s locals breathed a sigh of relief when a heavy rain poured down in two hours on the night of October 20, expectedly filling in reservoirs to their capacity.

Revised Commercial Law to be in line with economic integration

The Commercial Law should be revised in line with the current legal system and market, said Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, at a workshop on October 20 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Since 2008, the People’s Courts at all levels have handled more than 81,000 trade-related cases with nearly 65,000 of them settled, according to the Supreme People’s Court.

The figure is expected to increase in the coming time, when Vietnam enters free trade agreements, Tan said, adding that the revised law should create a full legal corridor for handling trade disputes.

Meanwhile, Prof. Do Van Dai, head of the Civil Law Faculty of the Ho Chi Minh City Law University, expressed concerns about overlapping and conflicts in the application of the Commercial Law and the Civil Law in trade-related cases.

Tran Do Quyen, Deputy Director of the ministry’s Department of Legal Affairs, said the draft revised Commercial Law was expected to be submitted to the Government in 2017 for approval in 2018.

The draft Law on Foreign Trade Management is scheduled to be submitted to the Government in May 2016, she said.

Youth talk about gender equality

Vietnamese youth shared ideas for initiatives and practical activities to promote gender equality and eliminate discrimination against women at a programme in Hanoi on October 20 for Vietnamese Women’s Day. 

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Youth Federation Nguyen Phi Long said that equality for women and girls was not merely an aspiration, but a responsibility belonging to all people.  

He urged everyone to help build a future where all men, women, boys and girls can develop completely and devote themselves to creating a sustainable, equal society. 

Shoko Ishikawa, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)’s representative in Vietnam, said gender equality could not be attained without effort from men. 

Organised by UN Women, the HCMCYU Central Committee and the Vietnam Volunteer Information Resource Centre (VVIRC), the programme Promoting Gender Equality in Vietnam aimed to promote the importance of gender equality and the essential role men should play in eliminating discrimination against women and girls. 

The programme was also part of the HeForShe movement, which was launched in Vietnam in March for International Women’s Day (March 8). 

At the event, UN Women and VVIRC announced the winners of a photo and video competition, For Women Around Us, and the official song of the Vietnam HeForShe movement.

Courses for insolvency practitioners open in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City

Experts from the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL International) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are carrying out a two-day course in Hanoi from October 20.

Basic procedures to handle business insolvency, including bankruptcy management and operation assessments, are the training focus for participating accountants and lawyers who specialise in turnaround and insolvency.

A similar course will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from October 23-24.

The ninety participants in the two courses are trained in business restructuring in early 2016.

Deputy Chief Judge of the Supreme People's Court Tong Anh Hao said the educational programme helps learners develop the capacity for more effective practices.

The INSOL International, the IFC and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) are supporting the organisation of the programme.

Since the Law on Bankruptcy took effect in 2014, the practitioners have thus far established a network of more than 250 licensed professionals across Vietnam. Their work enhances efficiency and maximise values recovered by creditors,according to IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos Kyle Kelhofer.-

Purple onions not to blame for blindness

Peeling purple onions did not cause cornea inflammation and blindness in residents in the southern province of Soc Trang's Vinh Chau town, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on Tuesday after he and other health experts researched and investigated the problem for more than four months.

Earlier some people spread a rumour that traders had covered the purple onions with pesticide and clay to keep them in good condition and that the substances could cause blindness. They also believed that the onion's attar could cause blindness if it splashed into the eyes.

But research by health experts proved that the rumour was not correct.

Statistics from the HCM City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health showed that 967 people in Vinh Chau town suffered from blindness in one eye and 281 others suffered from blindness in two eyes.

The institute's report said that the rate of cornea inflammation, which was the main reason of blindness, in Vinh Chau town was 12 times higher than other developing countries. And the rate of cornea inflammation in Ward 2 and Vinh Hai Commune, where most of local residents grow purple onions, was three times higher than the common rate of Vinh Chau town.

Experts from the institute said that cornea inflammation could relate to acts involved in growing onions such as cutting the onions and working the soil.

Dust from soil, the onions' skin, having dirty hands and then rubbing the eyes and attar from the onions could cause cornea inflammation. Then late treatment and wrong treatment for cornea inflammation led to blindness, experts from the institute said.

Based on the research's results, Deputy Minister Long said that cornea inflammation prevention was the best measure to reduce the blindness rate in Vinh Chau town.

Residents should follow hygiene regulations, use glasses, comforters and gloves while harvesting and processing onions.

Residents should also wash their eyes daily and wash their hands regularly.

If their eyes have a problem, they should go to medical stations for treatment promptly, not do self-treatment or have treatment based on traditional experiences, Long said.

Vinh Chau town is the largest planting area of purple onions of the country with 5,000-7,000 ha every year. The yearly yield is more than 100,000 tonnes with 4,000 to 5,000 locals involved in planting, harvesting, preserving and processing. 

Health personnel could prevent half of errors

While mistakes by medical practitioners are understandable, 50 per cent of them are preventable, experts told a training workshop for the media organised by the health ministry in HCM City recently.

Professor Pham Manh Hung, chairman of the Viet Nam Medical Association, said that leaving devices inside a patient's body after surgery was one of the most common medical errors around the world.

"It also happens in Viet Nam."

To the list he added pulling out a wrong tooth and cutting out the wrong kidney.

They were a leading cause of fatalities, and in the US were only behind cancer and heart disease in claiming lives, he said.

Globally, 17 per cent of deaths due to errors were caused by wrong diagnosis, 10 per cent by wrong drugs, and 44 per cent by wrong treatment and others, he said.

In Viet Nam, there were many doctors with low professional knowledge, he said after earlier listing it as one of the reasons for medical errors.

In advanced countries, a doctor's training lasts nine years compared to just six in Viet Nam.

Hung also blamed hubris for errors, citing the example of many district-level hospitals whose doctors have demanded and got equipment for laparoscopy though they cannot even perform open surgeries competently, a pre-requisite for doing the so-called keyhole surgery.

Again, instead of several years of training, they only got six months' training, he said.

"As doctors, we should not disregard patients' lives," he said, calling for comprehensive reform of medical training.

The country had not standardised medical testing and that too leads to medical errors, he said.

Most hospital managers and doctors around the world including Viet Nam were loath to report medical errors, especially serious ones, he said.

"That is very dangerous. They should change their mindset. Reporting is very important to reduce errors and for better medical practice and patient safety.

"What does the Ministry of Health do to encourage doctors and hospital managers to report?"

"The first thing health staff should remember is to "do no harm", he said.

Bui Trong Khoa, deputy head of the Central Examination and Treatment Management Department, said 70 per cent of medical errors were caused by faulty systems and individual mistakes for 30 per cent.

"When an error occurs, we should not find out who caused it. It increases the risk of errors being concealed. We should analyse the system and not punishment an individual."

The ministry had instructed hospitals around the country to set up a risk management system to gather reports on medical errors and treatment failures, and it was mandatory for doctors to report errors, he said.

It also analysed the causes of errors and proposes solutions, he said.

Hospitals should buy liability insurance for their health staff to reduce the stress on doctors when errors occur, he added.

Police capture Vietnamese man who pretended to aid foreigner to rob him

Police in the north-central province of Quang Binh have arrested a young man who took away an iPhone 5s from a Dutchman after feigning help for the foreigner whose bike broke down on Monday, local media reported.

Police officers in Bo Trach District on Tuesday said they had detained Truong Trong Duc, 23, of Minh Hoa District, who robbed Yver Feraaz of his cellphone the day before.

The police returned the item to the man, a 24-year-old Dutch national, yesterday.

According to the case file, at about 8:00 pm on Monday, Duc was traveling on a motorbike on the Ho Chi Minh Road in the district when he saw Feraaz pushing his broken-down bike.

Duc told Feraaz that he could help the foreigner by using his leg while driving to push the vehicle to a place for repair.

Feraaz agreed and after a short distance, Duc asked the Dutchman to hand him his cellphone to use it to light the road for easier travel.

A short moment after receiving the iPhone 5s from Feraaz, Duc ran away, leaving the foreigner behind.

The Dutchman reported his case to local police who launched an investigation that led to the arrest of Duc the next day.

Duc told police officers he had sold the cellphone for VND800,000 (US$36).

He will be detained for three months for investigation on charges of “property robbery by snatching” pursuant to Article 136 of the Penal Code, police said.

Employment orientation aims to improve students' awareness of future jobs

Vocational training and employment service center under Youth Communist Union Committee in Ho Chi Minh City and it’s the union unit in Phu Nhuan District, Thong Nhat Hospital and Sai Gon Bach Khoa College organized an employment orientation program for 50 students in junior and senior high schools in the city on October 17. 

Students were consulted student preferential policies, scholarships, tuition fees and employment opportunity after graduation.

Students who like becoming a doctor or nurse have a chance to  learn how to bandage injured people, to measure blood pressure and heart beat, position of organs as well as practice nurse profession at Thong Nhat Hospital.

Through activities, the program organizer wants to provide job orientation to students; accordingly they will have right choice of their future jobs

Danang looks to scheduled flights from Osaka

A group of people representing the Danang government will travel to Japan next month to promote tourism and a plan for scheduled flights between the central coast city and Osaka to woo more tourists from the northeast Asian country.

Japan is now the third largest source market of Danang with Japanese arrivals growing significantly. However, regular flights are only available between Danang and Narita, said Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Danang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

There were eight charter flights from Osaka to Danang two months ago. “It is important to operate scheduled flights on the route to attract more tourists, so we are promoting a plan for these flights,” Cuong said.

In the upcoming business trip, Danang will work with representatives of tour operators and tourism associations in Japan as well as airlines over the plan.

According to the department, the number of Japanese visitors to Danang rose to 45,000 last year from 26,000 in 2012 and keeps increasing this year. While airlines are busy operating charter and scheduled flights between Danang and China and South Korea, the number of services linking Danang and Japan is small.

Cuong said the Japan-Danang flights are part of the city’s strategy to promote routes with effective charter flights into routes for scheduled services connecting major international tourism centers to attract more visitors to Danang.

“We target air links with airport hubs in Asia, including Bangkok and Taiwan, to bring visitors from a third city to Danang,” Cuong said.

“We are discussing a series of solutions including arranging passengers for a number of seats on international flights to and from Danang. In addition, the city will launch many promotional programs to introduce our attractions to Europe and other markets.”

In the first nine months, Danang welcomed about 850,000 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 20%. This high growth was supported by stable increases in the number of visitors on flights from Korea, Japan and China.

Thai Airways to operate more Bangkok-HCMC flights

Thai Airways will operate afternoon flights between HCMC and Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from October 27, increasing the number of its daily flights on the route from two to three on these days.

As scheduled, the carrier’s Flight TG552 will depart Bangkok at 1:30 p.m. and arrive at HCMC at 3 p.m. while Flight TG553 will leave HCMC 3:50 p.m. and land at Bangkok at 5:15 p.m. The additional flights will be operated with A320 and have 12 economy premium seats and 156 economy seats.

According to the airline, the extra flights will provide travelers with more options for connections to its flight network and enhance its air connectivity on several trunk routes to Auckland (New Zealand), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Penang (Malaysia) as well as cities in India and Pakistan.

Besides offering travelers more flexible schedules, the additional services are expected to stimulate trade, travel and tourism between HCMC and Thailand.

Thai Airways currently uses B787, B777 and A330 aircraft for its two daily flights between HCMC and Bangkok. The airline also operates two daily flights between Hanoi and Bangkok.

UK education fair to take place in Vietnam’s big cities

More than 70 leading schools from the UK are poised to offer nearly 100 scholarships to Vietnamese students during an education fair slated for later this month in three big cities.

The Education UK Exhibition 2015, considered the biggest educational event of the year by the British Council, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Danang, on October 24, 25 and 27, respectively.

More than 70 UK schools will seek local recipients for more than 80 scholarships during the events, which will also feature seminars to introduce sectors where workforce is needed.

The hot majors include information technology, banking and finance, design and creative arts, tourism services, hotel services and marketing.

Participants are also able to directly apply for the schools of their interest at the event, or seek advice on visa procedure and skills for the IELTS test.

Several outstanding UK alumni will also share their experience in adapting living and studying environment in the UK to those who want to study in there at the education fair.

Numerous gifts including lucky draw to win airplane tickets, student handbooks, T-shirts, tickets for the UK Film Week 2015, to be held at the beginning of November, and magazines will also be handed over at the event.

The fair takes place at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, JW Marriot Hotel in Hanoi, and Hotel Grand Mercure Danang in Danang.

Registration form could be found at https://vn.edukexhibition.org/vi-vn/signup.

Gia Lai: 95 MW biomass power plant to join national grid

The Prime Minister has approved the addition of a 95 MW biomass power plant project in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to the Vietnam national power development plan from 2011-2020 with a vision to 2030.

The An Khe biomass power plant is expected to go into operation between 2016 and 2017.

The PM requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade work with local authorities and investors to ensure the project’s implementation is in accordance with current regulations on construction, quality management and environmental protection.

The An Khe biomass power plant is funded by the Quang Ngai Sugar JSC. The company has developed a 29 MW power plant to supply electricity for its the An Khe Sugar Plant.

The An Khe Sugar Plant plans to expand its daily capacity from 12,000 to 18,000 tonnes of sugarcane, which will create some 614,400 tonnes of sugarcane bagasse.

Some 114,400 tonnes of bagasse will be used for its sugar plant and the power plant while the remaining will be allocated to the 95MW-capacity biomass power plant.

By 2020, the total output of Vietnam's power plants will amount to 75,000 MW, including 48 percent from thermal power plants and 25.5 percent from hydro-power plants, according to the national plan.-VNA

Wheelchairs given to the disabled in Bac Kan province

The Lawrence S.Ting Community Support Fund presented 140 wheelchairs worth 231 million VND (10,500 USD) to the Bac Kan Association for Support to the People with  

Disabilities and Orphans on October 21.

The gift is part of a charity programme funded by fund and the Phu My Hung Development Limited Company, which aims to support people with disabilities, Agent Orange/Dioxin victims, war invalids in provinces and cities nationwide.

Established in 2005, the fund has sponsored over 225 billion VND (10 million USD) to the education and healthcare sector as well as to community support activities in Vietnam.

The money has been used to grant scholarships to outstanding students, purchase computers for schools in remote areas as well as medical equipment for hospitals and medical stations present wheelchairs to people with disabilities, and provide cleft palate surgeries for thousands of children.

Japanese company donates blankets to Vietnamese poor

Onward Kashiyama, one of the largest apparel producers in Japan, has presented 4,000 felt blankets worth 111,600 USD to poor families in Vietnam as winter is nearing in the country. 

The donation was handed over to the Vietnam Red Cross Society at a ceremony held on October 21.

Half of the blankets will be sent to 14 northern mountainous provinces this year, and the remaining, to be delivered in March and April next year, will be distributed in 20 northern mountainous provinces and central localities. 

The company plans to give some 200 blankets to poor families in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang on October 22.

Representative from Onward Kashiyama said that this is the eighth batch of blankets that the company has presented to needy people in foreign countries. The company also expressed hope that they will have more opportunities to cooperate with the Vietnam Red Cross Society.

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