Investigation into newborn’s death begins

The newborn was treated at Saint Paul Hospital after being mistakenly injected by a nurse at Hà Nội’s Đông Anh General Hospital. – Photos news.zing.vn

Hà Nội’s People’s Committee on Wednesday urged the city’s police department and Department of Health to investigate the death of an eight-month-old on January 23.

The child was allegedly mistakenly injected by a nurse at Đông Anh General Hospital.

In a document sent to relevant authorities, chairman of the committee Nguyễn Đức Chung asked directors of the city’s Police Department and Health Department to clarify the case of the newborn, who was mistakenly injected on January 15.

On the same day, the baby girl was hospitalised for coughing and diarrhoea with fever. She was diagnosed as suffering from diarrhoea and a sore throat, and was treated accordingly.

However, on that night, Hoàng Thu Trang, a nurse from the hospital, mistakenly injected the baby with kali-chlorid instead of letting her drink it. The baby turned pale, and her heart began beating fast after the injection.

She was immediately rushed to Saint Paul Hospital, but suffered from brain death and died eight days later.

Taxi passenger killed by falling steel beam at Ninh Binh construction project

A taxi passenger has been killed when a steel beam fell from a construction project in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when a taxi carrying a couple and their child was crossing a junction of Hai Thuong Lan Ong and Tran Phu streets in Ninh Binh City. 

According to witnesses, a steel beam from a three-floor building construction project fell and went through the taxi rooftop onto the man's head. The man died, while his wife and child and the driver escaped with no injuries.

The taxi driver said that the couple were taking their child to hospital for a health check-up.

Police are further investigating the accident.

Many accidents involving passers-by at construction sites in different localities including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been reported. An inspection by the Department of Construction and the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs showed that cranes posed the biggest threat to local people in Hanoi and requested that such cranes were allowed to operate only from 10 pm to 5 am.

Thua Thien-Hue invests in sustainable poverty reduction

The central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue will spend nearly 70 billion VND (3.1 million USD) implementing a programme on sustainable poverty reduction in 2018.

The locality aims to reduce the rate of poor households by 1.06 percent in 2018 in addition to helping 15,000 needy families access preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and providing vocational training for 1,200 rural workers, especially those from disadvantaged and ethnic minority areas.

Communes which have been recognised as new rural areas and those registered for the title in 2018 are hoped to have a rate of poor household under 5 percent.

Underprivileged people will also be provided with legal assistance, education and healthcare services.

The province will cover 30 percent of expenses to buy health insurance cards for people living under the poverty line and support 19 communes with the proportion of poor households of over 25 percent in A Luoi and Nam Dong districts.

It hopes to bring down the ratio of impoverished households in Thuong Long and Huong Huu communes (Nam Dong district) and Hong Thuong, A Ngo, Hong Ha, Hong Bac, Hong Thuy, Huong Lam, Bac Son, A Dot, Hong Quang and Dong Son communes (A Luoi district) to below 25 percent by 2020.

The ratio of needy households in A Roang, Hong Kim, Nham, Hong Van, Huong Nguyen, Hong Trung and Hong Thai communes (A Luoi district) is expected to fall by more than 4 percent each year.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Khac Dinh, the province spent over 2.5 billion VND supporting poor communes in A Luoi and Nam Dong districts over the past year, including one billion VND to support production and the remaining to build toilets, houses and essential facilities for water and electricity supply and health check-ups and treatment.

Vietnam Airlines plans more flights to Changzhou on U23 Vietnam’s final

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to add two return flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Changzhou city, Jiangsu province, China, on January 27 when U23 Vietnam play a final match against Uzbekistan of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship.

The airline said on January 23 that it will cover all travel and accommodation expenses for trips to the final match of the AFC U23 Championship for two relatives of each player of the U23 Vietnam team from January 26 – 28.

It will also offer free buses to take Vietnamese fans from the Changzhou Benniu airport, which is 20 kilometres far from the city to the Changzhou Olympic Stadium.

The carrier will deploy Airbus A321 with high-quality services for the flights to Changzhou city.

On January 23, Vietnam surprised the world by securing a berth in the final of the AFC U23 Championship after beating Qatar in a penalty shootout after an extraordinary 2-2 draw at the end of extra-time.

Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian country to enter the final of the AFC U23 championship.

Vietnamese travel firms offer Cup final tours to China as football frenzy grips nation

Travel firms in Vietnam are offering football fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch their team compete in the final of the Asian Football Confederation Under-23 (AFC U23) Championship.

And Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lent football fans a hand by requesting the Chinese embassy in Hanoi to allow additional flights from Vietnam and speed up visa processing for Vietnamese wishing to attend the final in Changzhou, a city in China's Jiangsu Province.

Vietnam secured a place in the final against Uzbekistan on January 27 with a dramatic victory over Qatar on January 23.

This is the first time ever in football history that a Southeast Asian team has made it to the final of the competition.

Earlier in the tournament, Vietnam also became the first Southeast Asian team to achieve a group stage victory by defeating Australia, and one of the first teams from the region to reach the quarter-finals together with Malaysia.

With football-mania sweeping the nation, travel firms have been quick to organize tours to China that include tickets to watch the game.

HanoiRedtours has coordinated with national flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines to offer a three-day tour that departs on January 26 night costing VND18.9 million (US$823) per person.

Deputy CEO Nguyen Cong Hoan said that fans had snapped up the deal soon after it was put on Facebook on January 23 morning, and the firm had allowed customers to confirm their bookings after the semifinal.

Vietnam Airlines has already announced it will be adding two additional flights to its schedule on January 27 from HCMC and Hanoi to Changzhou.

Vietravel is also offering four-day tours with a starting price of VND19.99 million per person from either Hanoi or HCMC.

Golden Tour in Hanoi is selling trips to Changzhou and Jiangsu from Hanoi on January 26 for VND14.9 million.

Fans looking for a cheaper alternative can travel by land with Vietsky Travel, Avitour or Goldsun Travel for a four-day trip costing VND11.9 million.

In the spirit of the occasion, one bank and a real estate firm have decided to play it big by paying for their staff to travel to China to watch the game, sending employees over the moon.

A senior official from the bank told VnExpress that the final will be held at the weekend so will not affect business, while a director from the property firm had said previously that all its staff would enjoy a trip to China if Vietnam made it to the final, and it looks like the company is fulfilling its promise.

Vietnamese diva breaks onto Billboard′s ′World Albums Top 10′

The new album released by Vietnamese singer My Tam has climbed to No. 10 on the Billboard World Albums Chart this week, making her the first Vietnamese singer to break into the top 10.

The Da Nang-born artist shares the spotlight with the Republic of Korea's boyband BTS, who are at No. 1 with “Love Yourself: Her”.

Based on sales data compiled by Nielsen Music, the chart ranks albums from all over the world, excluding the US. It is usually dominated by K-pop singers and bands who amass enormous fandoms across continents.

With 13 pop-soul tracks, My Tam's ninth album broke records with about 5,000 copies sold in the first hour after its release on December 3 last year. Signing events featuring performances also caused chaos on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi while she was promoting the album last year.

My Tam first came onto the scene in 1999 and has become one of the most successful singers in Vietnam. Hailed as the 'Queen of V-Pop', she has received many awards in and outside of the country, including Best Selling Artist of Asia by Big Apple Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Award for Best Southeast Asian Act, and World Music Award for World's Best Selling Vietnam Artist.

Spain’s leading sports newspaper covers Vietnam U23’s feat

“Vietnamese football is living in its most dazzling days,” Marca, the leading sports newspaper in Spain, said in its Spanish-version article published on January 23 covering the incredible journey of the Vietnam U23 team at the ongoing AFC U23 Championship 2018 in China.

According to Marca, despite previously known as one of the weakest teams in Asia, Vietnam, the “red warriors”, have recorded excellent achievements in recent years, which has been clearly manifested through Vietnam U23’s booking a place in the AFC U23 final following their 4-3 victory over Qatar in a nail-biting penalty shootout.

Vietnam U23s have produced a global shock after overcoming an array of title favourites to qualify for the final match of the AFC U23 Championship 2018. The team’s historic feat has been covered by many prestigious news agencies and TV channels across the continent. However, the attention from Marca shows that the “heat” generated by Park Hang-seo and his players has spread to Europe as well.

Vietnam U23 have achieved historic milestones and are on the brink of bringing home a great championship title for the country this Saturday, Marca said, commenting that being led by Republic of Korea coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnamese football is on its way to the very peak of success.

The Spanish newspaper narrated the thrilling journey that the Vietnam U23 team has undergone so far in this year’s competition, with emphasis put on the team’s incredible victories against regional football powers, such as Australia, Iraq and Qatar, en route to the final match against Uzbekistan.

Vietjet adds two direct flights to Changzhou (China) for Vietnam U23’s supporters

The low-budget carrier Vietjet Air has announced its plan to add two return flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Changzhou city (China), where U23 Vietnam will play the final match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship against Uzbekistan on January 27.

Following the dramatic victory of head coach Park Hang-seo’s side in the semifinals to book a historic final berth for the first time, Vietjet has cooperated with relevant travel agencies to operate two direct round-trip flights to Changzhou to meet the demand of football fans when coming to China to support their team in the final match.

The VJ2612 and VJ2610 flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh City at 6.35 am and 6.50 am early on Saturday and return home the same day on the VJ2613 and VJ2611 flights from Changzhou at 10.45pm and 11pm local time at the end of the match.

Fans can contact Vietravel tourism operator to register for the flights. The Chinese embassy also strengthens works from January 24-26 to grant visas to Vietnamese visitors.

Earlier, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines also announced that it will add two return flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and Changzhou on January 27.

The airlines will also cover all travel and accommodation expenses for trips to the final match of the AFC U23 Championship for two relatives of each player in the Vietnam U23 squad from January 26-28.

On January 23, Vietnam surprised the world by securing a berth in the final of the AFC U23 Championship after beating Qatar in a penalty shootout following an extraordinary 2-2 draw at the end of extra-time.

Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian country to enter the final of the regional U23 tournament.

US$17 million allocated to care for policy beneficiaries ahead of Tet

More than VND386 billion (about US$17 million) has been allocated from the State to care for revolutionary contributors ahead of Tet, the traditional Lunar New Year festival, according to a Decision signed by President Tran Dai Quang.

Accordingly, gifts worth VND400,000 (US$17.72) and VND200,000 (US$8.86) each will be given to those who participated in revolutionary activities up to the August Revolution (August 19, 1945), Heroic Mothers, Heroes of the People’s Armed Forces, Labour Heroes during the Resistance War, war invalids, and fallen soldiers’ relatives.

On the occasion, Hanoi city authorities decided to spend VND288 billion (US$12.7 million) to present Tet gifts to approximately 825,000 policy beneficiaries in the city.

Politburo member and Secretary of Hanoi municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai on January 24 granted more than 390 gifts to 10 poor households and 30 poor students in the An Phu commune, My Duc district.

The same day, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh visited and delivered gifts to low-income families, the visually-impaired, and children with disabilities in Phu Vang district, Thua Thien – Hue province.

She also attended the ground-breaking ceremony of Vinh Phu Secondary School in Phu Vang district, and presented 100 scholarships to poor students with excellent academic performance in the district.

Also on January 24, National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu visited and presented gifts to soldiers of Battalion No. 68 under the Military High Command of Thanh Hoa province ahead of Tet.

He highly appreciated the soldiers’ services to the country, reaffirming that the Party, Government and National Assembly always attach great attention to the development of Vietnamese People’s Army.

C.T Group gives $44,000 to U/23 football team

After the historic victory by Vietnam’s men’s U/23 football team over Qatar on January 23 in the semi-final of the U/23 Asia Cup, Mr. Tran Kim Chung, Chairman of the C.T Group, decided to give the team VND1 billion ($44,000).

The Group will also pay for the team to spend a relaxing week at its Léman Cap Resort and Spa in Vung Tau city after the tournament wraps up.

The gift and resort holiday expresses the C.T Group’s appreciation for the efforts of the team and to encourage them in the final against Uzbekistan on Saturday, January 27. The C.T Group said that through the reward it wants to send its deep gratitude to team managers and players. 

Vietnam was the first team from Southeast Asia to make the quarter-finals of the U/23 Asia Cup, where it defeated the much stronger Iraq in a penalty shootout. Even this was an incredible achievement, with the victory in the semi-final against Qatar to reach the final seeing fans shed tears of joy.

Established in 1992, the C.T Group has been known as the symbol of a young, dynamic, and diversified community taking long step forward in the new century. It has developed and grown into a strong group, with 36 member companies.

Its key businesses focus on six attractive sectors: real estate; retail for high-end products; construction; corporate finance; food and beverages - entertainment - education - health services; and plantation - mining and eco-tourism. Its recent success has been the result of its practical strategy and integration in every business sector.

People's voice and access to justice key to resolving environmental disputes

As environmental disputes, especially between citizens and businesses, are on the rise it’s important to ensure better environmental justice as well as people’s access to information and participation in decision-making in environmental matters that affect them. This was the core premise of a discussion on “Environmental Disputes, Social Changes, and Distributive Justice: Case Studies, Comparative Analysis, and Policy Implications for Vietnam” held on January 25.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam and the National Economics University (NEU) held the discussion to present and debate the findings of their latest thematic research, which provides insights into the causes and effects of past and ongoing environmental disputes. Utilizing environmental justice and social construction frameworks, the research presents policy options for Vietnam to consider in its efforts to promote a healthier environment for all.

According to the 2016 Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (2016 PAPI), environmental concerns ranked as the second most urgent matter that citizens expected the State to address (after poverty and hunger). In addition, the 2016 PAPI survey reveals that 77 per cent of respondents suggested the State give priority to environmental protection rather than economic growth at all costs. 

UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, highlighted the need to better understand the dynamics of environmental disputes in Vietnam, the socioeconomic and political implications of safeguarding environmental rights, as well as access to justice for those who are victims. 

“The case studies analyzed in the research and the experience from other countries show that three factors are important in order to ensure environmental rights: i) consulting with communities before governments take action that will affect the environment; ii) ensuring individuals have access to information and participate in decision-making in environmental matters that affect them; and iii) providing access to courts or any mediation mechanisms to settle environmental disputes,” Ms. Wiesen said.

Most policy and research initiatives in Vietnam have focused on the levels of pollution, leaving environmental injustice under-studied, according to Professor Tran Tho Dat, NEU President. A one-sided focus on the harm from pollution can underestimate the sense of injustice that animates and amplifies environmental disputes.

“Environmental disputes are not just economic-technical issues but social ones,” Professor Dat said. “Research and international experience show that an administrative management system, on its own, cannot effectively control environmental pollution and resolve disputes. Therefore, it is necessary to have policies that encourage participation by social, political, and professional organizations, such as universities and research institutes, in the environmental management system.”

Australia Night at Saigon Café

Saigon Café on level 1 of the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers will hold an Australian themed buffet night on January 26.

Guests can savor a range of Australian delicacies including Australian sweet seafood soup, ham and smoked sausage soup, peppered emu casserole, fish and chips with tartar sauce, seafood pizza, and chicken and pasta salad with sun dried tomato.

In addition, a dessert corner should not be missed with a selection of delicious Australian cakes such as Lamington cakes, cheesecake, chocolate crackle and peach melba vanilla cream.

The buffet is available from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on January 26 and priced at VND1.4 million++, inclusive of house wine, draft beer, soft drinks, coffee and tea.

Vung Tau beach transformed: clean, tidy and healthy

Bai Sau beach, part of the well-known seaside tourist town of Vung Tau, in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in southern Vietnam, has transformed thanks to the efforts of the local government over the last two years.

Visitors who have returned to Bai Sau for the first time in a few years are unlikely to recognize it.

Gone are the once ever-present piles of garbage, and the outdoor eateries and drinks vendors are no more

The Vung Tau authorities have successfully made the beach more tourist-friendly by establishing order here since they began their efforts in April 2016.

The campaign initially encountered strong opposition from food vendors on the beach, as well as local tourist companies, who worried that banning the long-standing eateries would jeopardize the location’s popularity.

Despite this, the city’s leaders pushed forward, determined to complete their campaign.

Bai Sau beach now boasts pristine conditions, much to local residents’ surprise.

Additionally, extortionate prices on food and drinks, which used to be rampant in the area, are no longer a problem.

Tourism businesses are also benefiting from the makeover, as the beach is now a magnet for visitors, many of whom return, according to Le Thanh Lam, deputy director of the Bien Dong Resort, Vung Tau City.

The dramatic turnaround can be in part attributed to local news media, which threw their weight behind the beach-cleaning campaign and have continued supporting the destination since.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, Trinh Hang, director of the provincial department of tourism said, “moving forward, the government will look to implement codes of civil conduct in the area and host events attractive to tourists with a view to presenting Ba Ria-Vung Tau as a friendly and welcoming destination.”

Sa Dec flower village may earn VND1 trillion in Tet season

Sa Dec flower village in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap is projected to earn VND1 trillion (US$44 million) from sales of flower and bonsai plants to visitors during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet.

Ngo Quang Tuyen, deputy director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dong Thap Province, told the Daily that tourists have flocked to the flower village over the past 10 days. The number of travelers to the village may hit a record high of one million this Tet, up 700,000 over last Tet.

The surge in the number of visitors to the flower village in recent years has raised revenue from flower and bonsai sales, which were put at VND300 billion last Tet.

Local residents have managed to combine farming and tourism to generate extra revenue for the village. Besides, the number of visitors to tangerine and persimmon farms in Lai Vung District which is 12 kilometers from Sa Dec flower village has increased sharply.

Sa Dec flower village is home to some 2,000 households farming 600 hectares of flower and bonsai. Many households have made their farms more attractive while authorities have provided parking space and electric vehicles taking customers to flower farms.

According to the Dong Thap Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the province welcomed more than 3.33 million tourists last year, up 25.3% against 2016, and reported total revenue of VND684 billion, soaring over 40.2% year-on-year.

BOT road upgrade in Vinh Long put on hold

The Ministry of Transport has decided to suspend a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project for upgrading a National Highway 53 section between Vinh Long and Tra Vinh provinces in the Mekong Delta.

The ministry had a working session with the government of Vinh Long over the Long Ho-Ba Si road rehabilitation project on January 22.

Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Nhat said the ministry and the local government had unanimously reached agreement on the project suspension. The move is also in line with a recent resolution adopted by the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee to ban the execution of BOT projects on existing roads.

The ministry plans to tap the State budget to finance the project in the coming time instead. “We are finding ways to let the project benefit from a VND15-trillion (US$660.4 million) package approved by the NA Standing Committee,” Nhat said.

He added National Highway 53 which connects the outlying district of Duyen Hai in Tra Vinh and Vinh Long is an old road, so BOT is no longer an appropriate investment format for it given recent driver protests against similar projects like BOT Cai Lay and BOT Can Tho-Phung Hiep in other parts of the Mekong Delta.

Tran Hoang Tuu, vice chairman of Vinh Long Province, said the NA resolution is regarded as a legal basis, so the local government has agreed to suspend this BOT project.

Using the State budget to fund the project is a solution, he added.

He asked the ministry to upgrade some seriously deteriorating sections of the road to guarantee safety for residents, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday or Tet when traffic is normally heavy.

Deputy Transport Minister Nhat backed his proposal, saying work on these sections could be upgraded prior to Tet.

Bac Ninh Management Board on food safety founded

The PM has agreed to issue Decision 123/QD-TTg on pilot establishment of the Bac Ninh Management Board on Food Safety. 

The Management Board is  managed by the Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee.  

The body is responsible for assisting the People’s Committee in investigating enforcement of hygiene food safety. The Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee is in charge of stipulating tasks and authorities of the Management Board. 

The pilot time will last for three years from January 23, 2018. 

After the trial period, the Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee will be responsible for assessing the board's performance and report to the PM. 

Recently, Chairman of Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tu Quynh issued Decision 736/QD-UBND on a project namely “Bac Ninh strives for non-dirty food.” By 2020, there will no longer have dirty food in the province./. 

Japanese experts share experience on building digital society in Vietnam

In the Asia Digital Society Forum 2018, Japanese experts stated that the trend of a digital society is forming and quickly developing all over the world, including in Vietnam.

The Asia Digital Society Forum 2018 took place on January 23 in Hanoi, attracting many experts from both Vietnam and Japan.

Mr. Yasuhiro Kawai from Nikkei Inc. (Japan) shared that Vietnam, similar to other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, is urbanizing, and thus facing with infamous issues like traffic congestions, low-level infrastructure, and insufficient energy supply. 

The forum would be an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to update feasible solutions to address these urgent problems.

Being more experienced in the field, the Japanese professionals enthusiastically provided their counterparts with effective and realistic answers to help Vietnamese enterprises raise their own awareness on strategies as well as designs for a more sustainable city with more facilities and technologies related to intelligent plants, power grids, and city.

With these solutions, the participants in the forum hoped that the implementation of digital technologies will have a comprehensive effect on various fields like agriculture, construction, finance, health in order to boost the living standards of Vietnamese citizens and contribute to turning the vision of an intelligent city into reality.

HCMC takes initiative to tackle diseases

People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City has planned to fight against diseases in 2018 aiming to prevent dangerous disease and reduce infection and deaths due to contagious diseases.

As plan, the city can control and detect diseases, curbing the occurrence of the major epidemic for healthcare mission and socioeconomic development.

On the other hand, the city will raise competence against contagious diseases for the city’s healthcare steering boards in districts, communes, as well as develop infectious disease controlling system.

It will enhance supervision in the expanded immunization program and build supervision system for Dengue - Chikungunya - Zika. Plus, it can put infection cases under observation to curb spreading.

It also focuses on raising grass-root infirmaries’ competence of diagnosis and treatment to early detect and give emergency aid to case with contagious diseases in a bid to reduce deaths to the maximum and fight patient overload in big hospitals.

Cooperation between localities and the health sector is enhanced to carry out a comprehensive campaign to kill mosquito which spread diseases such as Zika and dengue. In addition, it increases information of the danger of dengue to locals to encourage them to participate in fighting the insect.

37 products in Innovative Technologies Competition awarded

In the award-giving ceremony of the Fourth Innovative Technologies Competition from 2016 to 2017 on January 23, the organization board glorified 37 products for their best performance.

Statistics of the organization board reveal that this time’s competition attracted 233 candidates from various aspects like resources and environment, information technology, transportation, education, all of which are equally high quality.

The organization board awarded 37 models, products, and solutions, including 3 first prizes, 5 second prizes, 10 third prizes, and 19 consolation prizes. All of these winners are highly innovative, applicable, and very effective in the society, and thus have been already launched into the market.

In this ceremony, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc Province Nguyen Tien Dung greatly appreciated all products and solutions saying that thanks to their feasibility, they have contributed to the promotion of both economic and social developments of the province.

On this occasion, the People’s Committee also launched the Fifth Innovative Technologies Competition (2018-2019) with the hope that all districts and cities in the area would enthusiastically participate in it so as to introduce more effective products, yet still keep the motto of economy, feasibility, and high quality.

Khanh Hoa strives to cut household poverty rate by 1.2 percent

The south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa aims to reduce the number of poor households by 1.2 percent in 2018.

In 2017, due to impacts of typhoon Damrey in early November, the number of poor households in Khanh Hoa increased by more than 2,600, making the province fail to meet the target of only 16,500 poor households in the year. At the end of 2017, Khanh Hoa had 21,540 near-poor households. 

The province has supported more than 8,100 poor and near-poor households, families of social welfare policies and those in difficulties having their houses destroyed by the storm, with more than 60 billion VND (2.64 million USD), along with construction materials. 

Apart from distributing 1,000 tonnes of rice from the Government to storm-affected residents, Khanh Hoa has also used 18.5 billion VND from its own budget to purchase rice for storm victims. 

In 2018, the locality will continue to mobilise different resources to overcome consequences of the typhoon. 

Banks in the locality will offer an array of incentives to help residents restore production.

It is estimated that some 7,000 households in Khanh Hoa will be subject to charged-off debts worth 150 billion VND (6.6 million USD). 

Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh, the two mountainous districts with numbers of poor and near-poor households making up 62 percent and 59.6 percent of total population, will be assisted with varieties of plants and animals and social welfare programmes.

BOT booths get new parking policy

Drivers parking at Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) booths for longer than five minutes will be fined. 

This decision comes following the Directorate for Road of Việt Nam’s order to place “No Parking over 5 minutes” road signs. 

The directorate has ordered BOT investors, the Highway Management Department, local and road management departments and transport departments to complete placing the sign by Thursday. 

Nguyễn Văn Thành, deputy head of Road Management Department No.4 (in the South), told Tuổi Trẻ (youth) newspaper that transport inspectors of the department will work with local transport departments to inspect and impose a punishment on violating drivers at 19 BOT booths nationwide. 

Those who repeat violations on purpose will have to pay severe fines, he said. 

According to Decree 46 on administrative penalties for road traffic offences and rail transport offences, drivers who block traffic at BOT toll booths will be fined from VNĐ800,000 (US$35) to VNĐ2 million ($87). 

Those who do not follow police order or deliberately park their cars blocking traffic and leading to serious consequences will face three to ten years in prison for violating road traffic regulations, as stated in the Criminal Code. 

The administration also asked BOT investors to install additional cameras at the booths to record cases in which drivers cause disorder. The images recorded in the camera will be sent to the Ministry of Public Security and provincial people’s committees for further punishment. 

Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm and Transport Minister Nguyễn Văn Thể on Wednesday ordered police and local authorities to ensure traffic order and avoid traffic congestion at BOT toll booths during Tết (Lunar New Year), which will take place mid next month. 

In the last few months, drivers have been reportedly protesting at BOT toll stations nationwide because of high or unreasonable toll fees. The drivers drive slowly, park for long at toll stations or pay in small notes, causing traffic blocks. 

At present, there are 88 BOT toll stations on National Highways in Việt Nam, of which, 73 stations are overseen by the Transport Ministry, while the remaining 15 stations are overseen by provinces’ People’s Committees.

Lao staples introduced in Ho Chi Minh City

Nearly 140 Lao products, including staples, processed products, herbal medicines and handicrafts are on display at the Lao Goods Week which opened at Le Van Tam Park, Ho Chi Minh City on January 24.

The five-day event, held by the municipal People’s Committee and the Consulate General of Laos in the city, attracted the participation of 100 businesses from Lao provinces and city.

Huynh Cach Mang, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the week will bring Lao products closer to Ho Chi Minh City’s consumers, thus promoting trade collaboration between the two nations, he noted.

Meanwhile, Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Thongsavanh Phomvihane said that Lao businesses see Vietnam as an important market and the event aims to create opportunities for business from both sides to meet, exchange information and seek long-term cooperation.

Seminars on investment promotion and business-matching events for Vietnamese and Lao firms will be held on the sidelines of the week.

Trade between Vietnam and Laos topped 900 million USD last year, a year-on-year increase of more than 10 percent. The two countries have set a target of 4 billion USD in two-way trade by 2020.

Vietnamese enterprises have invested 5 billion USD in 276 projects in Laos so far, mainly in energy, services, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and forestry.