6,000 people take part in run to raise oral healthcare awareness

More than 6,000 students, parents and teachers took part in a run on March 21 in District 7 in celebration of World Oral Health Day (March 20).

Organised by the Viet Nam Odonto-Stomatology Association (VOSA), the World Dental Federation and Unilever Viet Nam's P/S brand, the run was held to raise awareness about the importance of oral healthcare.

"With one person joining the run today, we will send an Oral Health Kit including one toothpaste and one toothbrush to children in need in rural areas," said JV Raman, chairman of Unilever Viet Nam.

Speaking at the event, Trinh Dinh Hai, VOSA's chairman, said many Vietnamese people had not paid proper attention to dental care.

Up to 90 per cent of Vietnamese suffer from oral diseases such as gingivitis and tooth decay, he said, adding that a reasonable diet plus proper dental care and periodic dental checks will help prevent dental disease.

Police impersonating gang held in HCM City

A five-member gang in HCM City, headed by a Taiwanese person, was prosecuted for impersonating the police to commit fraud and steal nearly VND1.8 billion (US$85,700).

The prosecuted gang members are 35-year-old Taiwanese Chiu Yung Sheng; 36-year-old Vietnamese Taiwanese Le Thi Ha; Lam Trieu Cuong, 51; and Luu Binh, 41; and Tran Huu Duy, 26.

Cuong and Binh provided 27 bank accounts and cards to Sheng to transfer the money of 13 victims who had been cheated.

The police retrieved about VND200 million ($9,500) of nearly VND1.8 billion ($85,700) after the criminals' bank accounts were frozen. The money was returned to four of the victims. Police are co-operating with Taiwanese officials to investigate two more Taiwanese suspects in the case.

Ha Noi wants vendors, temporary markets gone

The capital city's authority has started a campaign to intensify the clearance of temporary markets and street vendors from the city.

The campaign, which is regulated by the city People's Committee's Document No 1895/UBND-CT that was issued yesterday, is part of a movement to support the yearly plan for building civility in Ha Noi. The plan is entitled "2015 - a year of urban civility and order."

The People's Committee has ordered the local people and authorities to strictly follow the campaign, which begins today and will last till mid-April, as part of the national plan to remove all illegal small-scale traders from the city.

It also urged other sectors, including the city police, traffic and trade management units, to co-operate with the committee in encouraging the local people to take part in the campaign.

The People's Committee's document said the leaders of all districts and communes' local People's Committees would be responsible for the implementation of the campaign, for ensuring there was no recurrence of any case and for reporting the results immediately to the city's committee.

Vietnam attends Francophone Festival

Vietnam has been selected to officially represent the Francophone community in a wide range of cultural activities and exchanges to be held throughout the world during the upcoming year.

The selection was made at an on-going week-long Francophone Festival, which kicked off on March 20 in Mozambique that was attended by thousands.

Speaking at the opening, Vietnam Ambassador to Mozambique Nguyen Van Trung highlighted the community’s contributions to world, citing its exemplary record ineffectively dealing with global challenges such as epidemics, natural disasters and environmental issues.

A photo exhibition on Vietnam’s land and people by three photographers Nguyen Viet Thanh, Hoang Hai Thinh and Le Ngoc Bich was held by the Vietnam Embassy during the week.

Alleged scooter snatchers nicked in Hoi An

Police in the popular tourist town of Hoi An said on March 22 that they have apprehended five teenagers suspected of robbing foreign tourists.

The suspects, aged 16-18, were taken into custody after allegedly snatching a handbag from American Nicole Elizabeth Trospes, when she was riding a bicycle on Friday.

They approached her on motorbikes, police said, adding that the bag contained a tablet, nearly US$140 in cash.

Police believed the teenagers had conducted two other robberies also targeting foreign tourists on March 13 and 17.

In other news, police in Ho Chi Minh City have started an investigation against Nguyen Nam Quan, 25, a cyclo rider, for allegedly stealing nearly VND2 million (US$92) from a British tourist.

The police said Quan stole the money when the tourist was paying him after a downtown cyclo tour on March 22, and fled on his vehicle.

The foreigner then informed local police who identified the rider and summoned him for questioning. The investigation is continuing.

 Canon Vietnam deploys planting forest cooperation project

Canon Vietnam has successfully organised the planting forest start ceremony “For a green Vietnam” in 2015 at Ben En National Park in Nhu Thanh district in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa.

With the support from Thanh Hoa Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nhu Thanh District People’s Committees and some relevant provincial organisations, the event attracted numerous local government representatives, citizens, 100 members of Canon volunteer network, and 100 young students in Nhu Thanh district.

This is the fifth year the planting forest cooperation project of Canon Vietnam is deployed in Ben En National Park with the total area of newly planted forests growing up to 100 hectares.

The project in Ben En National Park has not only contributed to protecting the forest ecosystem, but also raised young people’s awareness of environment protection through practical planting activities in particular and meaningful social activities in general.

“Through this programme, I hope that the students, and Vietnam youth in general, will heighten awareness of environment protection and afforestation to create ‘green-lungs’ for our earth,” said general director of Canon Vietnam Katsuyoshi Soma.

“The young trees we plant today are not only for us but also for our future generations. This will be the most precious gift that we bequeath for them. Let's try together for the greater development of Vietnam,” Katsuyoshi asserted.

According to Thanh Hoa Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has completed the reforestation programme with five million hectares of forest covering wasteland and barren hills between 1998 and 2010.

Currently, regional forest coverage has increased from 36.5% in 1999 to 51% in 2013, 10% higher than the country’s average.

Thereby, it helps mitigate the effects of natural disasters, ensuring sustainable raw materials for the processing industry and generating employments for about 20,000 households doing forest economy.

With the motto for a Green - Clean - Beautiful Environment and social sustainable development Canon Vietnam has contributed to helping the environment to be cleaner and enhancing people’s awareness of keeping and working together to protect the environment.

About 140 hectares of forest were planted under the Canon project “For a green Vietnam” since its debut in 2010.  In the near future, the project will continue to be expanded, bringing “green” throughout Vietnam.

 World Meteorological Day marked in Vietnam

A meeting was held in Vinh city in the central province of Nghe An on March 23 to mark the World Meteorological Day (March 23, 1950) by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) and city authorities.

Themed “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action”, the United Nations day aims to call on all governments and civil organisations to share and apply meteorological knowledge to mitigate climate risks and foster sustainable development.

Poster of the 2015 World Meteorological Day, themed “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action”

During the meeting, Minister Nguyen Minh Quang stressed the need for the hydro-meteorological sector to address shortcomings, improve management effectiveness and efficiency, and boost development and climate change monitoring.

He also urged the sector to implement practical activities to raise awareness on developing a climate-friendly lifestyle, prevent natural calamities and mitigate their consequences, adapt to climate change, and foster science research and technology application.

Vietnam frequently experiences severe and unpredictable natural calamities, including flooding, drought, heavy rains, and landslides.

The sector has made significant improvements in recent years in expertise and skills as well as upgrading facilities providing more accurate weather forecasts and evaluating climate change effects.

Cao Bang aims to reduce poverty

Northeast Cao Bang province has recently carried out a number of socio-economic programmes and projects in a bid to reduce poverty and boost local economic development.

Their efforts include implementing the national target programme on poverty reduction; the socio-economic development programme for underprivileged communes in mountainous, remote and isolated areas (phase 2 of the Programme 135); and the programme for rapid and sustainable poverty reduction in the 62 poorest districts, (Programme 30A).

The locality has also provided direct financial and housing assistance to local poor households for settlement and production development.

In 2014, nearly 400 impoverished households were provided new homes worth a total of 8.3 billion VND (388,000 USD). Another 130,000 individuals were provided with preferential loans totalling 12.7 billion VND (593,000 USD) to stimulate economic development.

Nearly 10,000 targeted households have also received production-aided financial packages of 40 million VND (1,870 USD) on average from the Social Policy Bank.

Others projects on job creation, income increase, vocational training and labour export have also been carried out, benefiting tens of thousands of individuals and bringing the urban unemployment rate to below 5 percent and the rate of labourers with vocational training to 24.5 percent.

The province has assigned specific targets on poverty reduction and economic development to localities while enhancing information access in a bid to bring the local impoverished household rate to 16.05 percent in 2015 from 20.05 percent, said Ha Minh Tran, Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The province has strengthened the involvement of various resources in localities and the implementation of the grassroots projects to ensure long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the projects and programmes on poverty reduction.

Binh Duong financially supports fishermen in Quang Tri

Some 300 million VND (13,950 USD) worth of gifts were presented to fishery associations and fishermen in central Quang Tri province by the Confederation of Labour of southern Binh Duong province on March 23.

The gifts were donated by workers and civil servants in Binh Duong province through the “Tam luoi nghia tinh vi Truong Sa, Hoang Sa” fund (Net of love for Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos).

Some 15 gifts worth 1 million VND (47 USD) each were given to local fishermen in the Gio Hai and Gio Viet communes as well as Cua Viet town in Gio Linh district whose properties and ship equipment were seriously damaged during Chinese ships attacks in May, 2014, when China deployed illegally its drilling oil rig Haiyan Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

The remaining gifts will be granted to local impoverished fishermen and to support fishery associations.

Le Thanh Nhon, President of the Labour Confederation of Binh Duong, said Quang Tri is among six coastal central provinces receiving financial aid from Binh Duong.

He expressed his hope that the aid will encourage fishermen to overcome difficulties and continue fishing offshore.

Additional support will be delivered to local fishermen, including soft loans to upgrade ship equipment and obtaining insurance, he pledged.-

Lam Dong strives to be main supplier of farm produce for Japan

With favourable natural conditions and a temperate climate, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is well suited to become a leading supplier of farm produce for Japan, one of the most promising market in Asia, as heard at a workshop in Da Lat resort city on March 23.

Jointly organised by the provincial People’s Committee, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the workshop brought together nearly 120 local and Japanese businesses.

According to the assessment of the Japanese consultancy company Dream Incubator, the project supporting Lam Dong to develop agriculture is providing huge opportunities for the province to become a leading exporter of vegetable and flowers for Japan .

Japan is currently the biggest Asian importer of processed vegetables and fresh flowers, comprising 70 percent and 60 percent of the region’s market, respectively.

While Japan’s import demand is increasing, local production is narrowing, the company said.

In recent years, many Japanese investors have shown interest in Lam Dong high-tech agriculture such as growing vegetables and strawberries and transporting farm produce.

Moreover, Japan’s major exporters like China, Malaysia, and Colombia are facing difficulties in food safety, production reduction, and geographic distance.

This constitutes a good opportunity for Vietnam and Lam Dong in particular to boost exports to Japan and become the stable market supplier, experts said.

Japanese businesses, however, pointed to bottlenecks such as high production costs, unstable and small-scale supply sources, and low product quality.

Additionally, the province has yet to develop a market mechanism for the flower industry.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Doan Van Viet also admitted shortcomings in the field, such as small-scale production, lack of capital sources, and limited connection in agriculture businesses.

Japanese firms advised local firms to modernize the vegetable supply chain and flower production and distribution, increase production scale to meet Japanese export quality standards, build a post-harvest agricultural industry, and develop agricultural tourism.

Local authorities called on Japanese enterprises to study and invest in building agricultural industrial parks and post-harvest fruit, vegetable and flower centres, as well as assisting the province in technology and finance.

Lam Dong has about 316,000 hectares for cultivation, including nearly 40,000 hectares for high-tech agricultural production. The production value of agro-forestry-fisheries accounts for over 44 percent of the local economy. It also has specialised areas for growing vegetables and flowers.

In 2014, the province exported 14,653 tonnes of fruits and vegetables and over 211 million fresh flowers.

Dong Nai: Soft loans provided to build rural grids

The People’s Committee of southern Dong Nai province will provide the Dong Nai Power Co. Ltd (PC Dong Nai) with soft loans to construct rural medium-voltage grids in the province.

The 68 billion VND (3.16 million USD) loans will be allocated for building 126 kilometres in electric networks and 97 transformer stations to support local agricultural production.

Scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015, the construction will be concentrated in Trang Bom, Xuan Loc and Cam My districts as part of a plan by local authorities to develop livestock breeding and large-scaled agricultural production in these areas.

A grid supplying medium-voltage power to two major slaughterhouses in Vinh An town and Thanh Phu commune, Vinh Cuu district will be built with a combined investment of 1.4 billion VND (65,000 USD).

PC Dong Nai Deputy Director Do Xuan Tam said thanks to the special loans, the company is able to help improve local infrastructure towards the National Target Programme on building new-style rural areas in the locality by 2020.

Nam Dinh has another 54 new rural communes

The northern province of Nam Dinh is set to recognise 54 communes as new-style rural areas for 2014, boosting it to be one of the five highest achievers during the campaign.

Of the 96 communes joining the initiative, 65 have met the 19 stipulated criteria for new rural areas from 2010-2015.

Over the past four years, Nam Dinh has dedicated over 8.6 trillion VND (409.5 million USD) for new rural development, upgraded around 4,300 kilometres of roads, and grown 257 large-scale model rice fields covering a total of 12,468 hectares.

The province boasts nearly 4,000 farms, 129 traditional craft villages and nearly 2 trillion VND (95.2 million USD) worth of goods. The local economy is gradually shifting towards industry and services.

Hai Hau, Truc Ninh, Nam Truc, Y Yen and Vu Ban districts have attracted investment inflows, generating jobs for tens of thousands of locals.

The national programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, includes 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.

The criteria includes developing infrastructure, improving production capacities, environmental protection, and promoting cultural values.

Tree planting project launched in Thanh Hoa

The tree planting programme “For a green Vietnam” 2015 was launched on March 22 in the Ben En national park, Nhu Thanh district in the central province of Thanh Hoa, by the Canon Vietnam Company and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

This is the fifth year the programme has been implemented in the Ben En national park with 100 hectares of special purpose forest.

Addressing the event, General Director of Canon Vietnam Soma Katsuyoshi said he hopes the programme will encourage young Vietnamese to raise their awareness of environmental protection.

Inaugurated in 2010, "For a green Vietnam" has thus far developed and planted 140 hectares of protective forest across the country.

Gifts, scholarships presented to poor women and students

As many as 80 students from disadvantaged background in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum received scholarships from the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund on March 23.

Of the scholarships, 35 gifts, each worth 800,000 VND (38.1 USD) were sent to primary students and the remaining, each worth 1,000,000 VND (47.6 USD) were sent to secondary students.

Fifty gifts, each worth 500,000 VND (23.81 USD), were also given to 50 disadvantaged women in Kon Plong district.

Another 50 gifts were awarded to poor women in Kon Tum city.

At the awards ceremony, Former State Vice President and Chairwoman of the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund Truong My Hoa lauded the efforts of local women and children and expressed her hope that they will promote self-reliance to develop the economy and tackle difficulties.

Established in 1999, the fund has aided in the construction of eight schools, 10 bridges and 35 houses for the poor. It also raised money for two elementary schools on Truong Sa Lon and Sinh Ton islands in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Vietnamese exhibition held in Berlin

A charity exhibition raising funds for impoverished Vietnamese children was opened at the Viethaus in the German capital, Berlin, on March 21.

Named “Sac Tam” (Colours of the Soul) the collection displayed 45 creative collage pieces by Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thi Phi Loan. The display pays tribute to the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Germany.

Addressing at the event, Vietnamese Minister Counsellor in Germany, Pham Viet Chien, said the artwork reflects the culture, country and people of Vietnam and can inspire ties between people in the two countries.

Various cultural performances were also held, including music from UK-based pianist Nguyen Bich Tra and violist Do Minh Thuan from Spain.

The exhibition remains open to the public until March 23.

Construction commences on Hue mega mall

The Vingroup on March 22 officially started constructing the Vincom Hung Vuong Mega Mall and Vinpearl Hue five-star hotel in the central city of Hue.

The complex, built on a total area of 4,500 square metres, has received investment of 700 billion VND (32.5 million USD).

The four-floor mall will include international-standard high-end stores, hypermarkets, a food court, a modern leisure centre and a cinema to meet the demands of local customers.

The hotel will be ten storey’s high, with around 240 luxury rooms and a number of modern spa facilities.

The project, the first that Vingroup has launched in the North Central region of Vietnam, is expected to be up and running by March 2016.

Vietnamese students organise ASEAN-China Cultural day in UK

The essence of Vietnamese culture was presented at an ASEAN-China Cultural Day recently held in the British city of Glasgow by the local Vietnamese Student Association (Vietsoc).

The event was part of a special diversity week hosted by Strathclyde University to celebrate cultural differences, said Luong Thi Thuy Linh from the organisation board.

Traditional costumes, cultural performances, cuisine and handicrafts were featured at the occasion, drawing particular attention, said Hoang Ngoc Tram, Vietsoc Glasgow President.

According to Linh, Naseem Anwar, the university’s Equality and Diversity Manager, expressed his pleasure with the Vietnamese delegation’s performance, and said that the university is willing to help organise another cultural day for Vietnamese students in the future.

The event was attended by the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK, Nguyen Van Thao, and delegations from four other participating regional Asian countries; China, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

UK introduces health surcharge

From April 6, all nationals from outside of Europe, including Vietnam, coming to live in the UK for longer than six months will be required to pay a ‘health surcharge’ in order to gain access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Currently non-European nationals coming to work, study or join family members receive free medical treatment under the UK’s NHS in the same way as a permanent resident.

These changes will ensure that those coming to live in the UK make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their healthcare.

The health surcharge will be £200 per year and £150 per year for students and will be payable at the same time that an individual submits their visa application on-line. Visa applicants will need to pay up-front for the total period of their UK visa.

British Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever said, “The UK is hugely proud of its National Health Service, which provides world class care to all residents. It is only fair that those coming to live or study in the UK make a financial contribution to the public services they are entitled to access, which is why we are introducing this change.

“We, of course, recognise the very valuable contribution those coming to the UK to study and work make to the wider economy and so have deliberately kept the surcharge at a competitive level - lower than most private health insurance policies.”

The changes will not affect visitors coming to the UK on a visit visa and visitors will continue to have to pay for any treatment they receive from the NHS at the point they receive it.

The surcharge levels are lower than the cost of medical insurance required in some of our competitor nations and, for overseas students, the surcharge represents only 1% of the total cost of studying in the UK for a three-year undergraduate course.

Having paid the surcharge, migrants will have the same access to the NHS as a UK permanent resident for the duration of their visa. The money generated by the health surcharge will go directly to funding the NHS.

Moscow fair promotes Vietnam’s tourism potential

Vietnam National Administration of tourism (VNAT) deputy director Nguyen Quoc Hung recently led a large delegation to an international tourism fair in Moscow, Russia.

The four-day fair aimed to create the opportunities for national tourism organizations to promote, advertise destinations and for Russian and international travel operators to exchange experience and cooperate.

The delegation also organised many art activities with the aim of attracting more foreign travellers to visit the Vietnamese booth, keep them updated with the country’s tourism information.

Additionally, a tourism promotion road show hosted by the VNAT drew the participation of 100 guests.

Sugarcane farmers bitter as yields, prices crash

For sugarcane farmers in the central and southern regions it has been a double whammy as bad weather and diseases first hit their crop and then low prices reduced their incomes.

Nguyen Tan Nhan, who grew sugarcane on two hectares in Ninh Hoa town in the central province of Khanh Hoa, said this year his yield had almost halved to 55 tonnes and he only managed to get VND875,000 (US$41) per tonne compared to VND900,000 last year.

After costs there was no profit left, he said.

"This has been the worst sugarcane season for my family."

The fall in cane prices is attributed to large stocks of sugar produced from the previous crop.

Bui Van Hoi, a neighbour who grew 10ha of sugarcane, said this year the crop had been hit by prolonged warm weather and a toy beetle larvae infestation.

"My yield is 42 tonnes per hectare this year, 20 tonnes down from last year."

He plans to switch partially from sugarcane to keo lai (hybrid acacia) next time.

"In recent years income from sugarcane has been unstable."

Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, chairman of a local farmers association, said this year both quality and quantity had declined, leaving farmers with little profit and even causing losses for some.

Farmers in Ninh Xuan, Ninh Tay and Ninh Sim communes in Ninh Hoa town all reported poor yields this year.

Local farmers had planted sugarcane on around 11,800ha in the 2014-15 crop and expected to complete the harvest by May end, the town Economic Bureau said.

In the south-eastern province of Tay Ninh, some 7,000ha of sugarcane has been affected by stem borers.

The situation is alarming and can develop into a province-wide disease outbreak, according to the Tay Ninh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It is working with scientists and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department to find ways to combat the infestation.

Stem borers, which have a life span of around 50 days, can cause the quality of sugarcane to decline by 20-30 per cent.

In the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta and south-eastern regions, sugarcane does not provide as much income as some other industrial crops, but farmers continue to grow the crop sugarcane because they are contracted to sugar mills who have invested in seedlings and fertilisers.

But the significant decline in profits has made many farmers switch to other crops.

Tran Van Do of Vinh Cuu District in the south-eastern province of Dong Nai said: "Previously I grew 2ha of sugarcane. In recent years I grow other crops on 1ha."

He made no profit from the 2013-14 sugarcane crop.

"If the sugarcane price does not improve when I harvest the 2014-15 crop, I will stop growing sugarcane," he added.

Many farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Long An, Hau Giang and Tra Vinh have switched to other crops because of the low sugarcane prices.

In Hau Giang, the area under sugarcane has shrunk from 15,000ha three years ago to 12,000ha now after the price fell for three straight years, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

This year the department plans to reduce the area further to 10,000ha.

Disabled people urge Metro upgrades

People with disabilities in HCM City have called for making the city's metro trains disabled-friendly when they become operational in a few years' time.

Most of the 15 people with disabilities who were taken to see a model of a metro coach at an upcoming depot in District 9's Binh Long Ward yesterday by the Disability Resource and Development Centre (DRD) agreed that it needed modifications to improve access for disabled people.

They feared that the metro would be similar to the current bus system, which is hardly disabled-friendly.

Lieu Thi Ngoc Hieu, who has used the metro in Japan and found it very disabled-friendly, said she was surprised the coach was not since it had been supplied by a Japanese company.

"I appreciate the city government for collecting opinions from the public. However, the metro in Japan is very accessible and friendly to disabled people. I think the metro in Viet Nam should be the same.

"I don't see seat belts and a wheelchair locking system for disabled persons like me.

"Beside the facilities, I saw that the metro staff in Japan were very helpful to disabled passengers. I think the HCM City metro staff should be trained like that."

Phan Thi Rat, 25, concurred with Hieu about the need for seat belts and wheelchair locks, and said there should be some signal to inform the driver and other passengers that there was a disabled person in the coach.

Dinh Cong Luat, 25, who is blind, said there were no raised indications on the coach floor and other places to show blind people the way.

There should also be signs for hearing-impaired passengers, he said.

The disabled visitors were also worried about access to the 14 stations on the first metro line between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien in District 9.

Disabled people in HCM City have very little chance to use the existing public transport system. Hieu, who works for the centre, claimed that only two of the city's 3, 250 buses are accessible by wheelchair.

The centre will continue to gather opinions from the disabled people and send them to the city administration and metro management.

Duong Huu Hoa, deputy director of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Project Management Unit, said access for disabled people would be a mandatory feature of the metro.

"Because this is only a model. The actual coaches will be accessible to disabled people like in Japan."

The 19.7km metro line will undergo trials in 2019 and become operational in 2020.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri