Vietnamese ‘eaten alive’ by crocodile in Australian outback

Hai Phong City Authorities confirmed that 57-year old Tran Van Hoang was killed on August 22 by a crocodile in Australia.

Hoang is a native of Dang Hai village, Hai An district, Haiphong.

According to relatives of the victim, Hoang and his wife settled in Australia in late April 2014. While fishing he waded in the river to free a snag in his fishing line and was attacked by the crocodile.

Australian authorities euthanized the crocodile to remove the victim’s body.

Police uncover largest drug trafficking case

Police of the northern province of Thai Nguyen on early August 22 caught two men red-handed trafficking 100 bricks of heroin (some 350 grammes each) and 179 methamphetamine pills in their car.

The two detained men were Nguyen Van Khoa, born in 1973, and Ngo Van Thanh, born 1974, both from Thai Nguyen province.

This is the largest drug case that has been uncovered in the locality so far.

Authorised agencies are further investigating into the case.

Government requests probe into child sponsoring centres

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked the Ministry of Public Security to investigate centres taking care of children and strictly punish any violators.

Orphan children play at a sponsoring centre in Ninh Thuan Province. The Government has asked the Ministry of Public Security to investigate centres taking care of children and strictly punish any violators. - VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Thuy

The move came after the Ha Noi Police recently seized Nguyen Thi Thanh Trang, 36, a worker at Bo De Pagoda in Ha Noi's Long Bien District, for alleged child trafficking.

Trang was charged with selling a child to another woman, Pham Thi Nguyet, 35, for VND35 million (US$1,650). Nguyet was also taken into custody.

Dam also asked the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to work with other organisations and offices to inspect such centres and ensure that they were conforming to the law.

The Ministry of Public Security was directed to step up inspections of the number of inhabitants in social sponsoring centres, while the Ministry of Justice was assigned to check the implementation of adoption laws and ensure that abandoned children had birth certificates.

Long Bien authorities announced on Tuesday that Bo De Pagoda did not obey regulations when caring for abandoned children and the elderly. Dozens of children lacked birth certificates, many did not attend school and management of those leaving and entering was loose.

Hanoi shuts down 33 illegal drugstores

Hanoi's Health Department and its district subdivisions have shut down 33 illegal drugstores in the city since the beginning of this year.

Chief Inspector of the Health Department Nguyen Viet Cuong said that a majority of the violations at the drugstores included the absence of pharmacists, sale of unlabelled medicines, substandard facilities and displaying medicines along with food supplements.

Inspectors also found that the law was being violated in 24 health clinics where foreign doctors were registered to work.

However, most of these foreign doctors had reportedly returned to their countries.

Haiphong ex-police official to face trial for power abuse

Former Deputy Director of the northern port city of Haiphong' s Police Department Duong Tu Trong will face a trial on August 28 on charge of abusing position and power while on duty.

Trong, 53, was already sentenced to 16 years in prison on May 23 for helping his brother Duong Chi Dung, ex-chairman of the State-owned shipping corporation Vinalines, flee from Vietnam.

The verdict read that as from 2001-2002, Trong was on good terms with Dong Xuan Phong, an official from the Hai Phong City Customs Department.

On August 18, 2009, the Ho Chi Minh City police issued an arrest warrant for Phong on smuggling charge. Phong fled and was put on the nationwide wanted list.

On April 22, 2011, the Hai Phong police submitted a list of the wanted criminals in the city, including Phong, to Trong in the capacity as Deputy Director of the Police Department, but he ignored the case.

After learning that his brother Dung was being hunted by the police, Trong asked him to hide at his girlfriend’s home.

A day later, Trong requested Phong and Vu Tien Son, then deputy head of the Social Crime Investigation Police Section of Hai Phong Police Department, to help Dung flee abroad.

Lao Cai detects H5N6 virus in domestic fowls

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has detected A/H5N6 virus in a local red pheasant farm for the first time, reported the provincial Department of Veterinary under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The farm owner and the department culled a flock of 558 red pheasants after they were tested positive for the virus.

They have also disinfected the affected area and its vicinity twice per day.

At the same time, the department takes more samples to virus test and intensifies measures against poultry smuggling.

All steps are in place to ward off other outbreaks of avian flu.

French philanthropist funds scholarship programme

Over 400 scholarships worth VND 8 million each were awarded to high school students in the northern region on August 24 by the French scientific organization, Rencontres du Vietnam (Meetings of Vietnam).

Pro. Odon Vallet and Pro.Tran Thanh Van who initially formed the Meetings of Vietnam organisation presented the scholarships, which are part of a planned award of a total of 2,250 scholarships worth nearly VND20 billion this year.

French philanthropist, Pro. Odon Vallet said he is providing the funding for the scholarships because he would like to see each Vietnamese high school student have the opportunity to get a good education.

Vietnam’s development will rest on the young generation’s shoulders, Prof. Vallet said. Their scientific initiatives will help develop the nation strongly on par with global powers.

Pro. Odon Vallet and Pro. Van are conducting a trans-Vietnam tour from Hanoi to HCM City from August 23 to September 7 to present scholarships to undergraduates and post graduates.

Since 2001, the Odon Vallet Scholarship Fund in Vietnam has granted over 22,000 scholarships worth VND120 billion to outstanding students nationwide.

Ly Son receives submarine power cables

Central Power Corporation (EVN CPC) on August 23 received underwater cables serving a project to provide power from national grid for Ly Son island in central Quang Ngai province.

The VND652 billion project is a joint venture of Italian Prysmian Group and the Thai Duong Power Construction Ltd. It provides for an 8km medium voltage line on the mainland and the 26 km submarine cable.

Currently, EVN CPC is also upgrading the power transmission lines on Ly Son island as part of a project worth some VND28.9 billion sourced by German bank KFW.

Once completed, the project will supply power to the whole island as the way to boost local socio-economic development and ensure security, national defence and sovereignty.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Deputy General Director Nguyen Tan Loc said that the group and Quang Ngai also held a number of meetings to discuss detailed plans, asking contractors to speed up the progress before the upcoming rainy season comes.

NGOs pledge over 6.1 million USD for Quang Tri

Five foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have committed more than 6.1 million USD in support of the central province of Quang Tri for the 2014-2017 period.

The Mine Advisory Group (MAG), World Vision, Plan, Zhi-Shan Foundation, and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) pledged the aid under agreements inked with the provincial People’s Committee at a conference on August 21.

Vice Chairman of the committee Nguyen Duc Chinh spoke highly of the effectiveness of projects funded by foreign NGOs, saying they have helped his locality reduce poverty, clear unexploded ordnance, and prevent and mitigate disasters.

From 2011 to 2013, foreign organisations and individuals donated over 26 million USD to humanitarian projects in Quang Tri.

Such assistance has helped give a facelift to rural and ethnic minority-inhabited areas across the province. Notably, the rate of household poverty fell from 16.41 percent to 11.56 percent over the period.

During the conference, representatives from NGOs shared their experience in solving such matters as unexploded ordnance and regional cooperation.

The provincial People’s Committee also took this occasion to present certificates of merit to four organisations and four individuals with great contributions to local development.-

Vietnam-Slovakia friendship association established

The Vietnam-Slovakia Friendship Association in HCM City convened its first congress on August 23 with the participation of 125 members.

The congress elected the association’s a 25 member executive board headed by Bui Quang Hai.

The association set its tasks for the 2014-2019, including setting up an information gateway to connect members and update information about Slovakia to help seek business partners, scholarships and tourism opportunities.

In addition, it will organise at least one trip per year to exchange with the Slovakia-Vietnam Friendship Association and invite Slovakian businesses to visit Vietnam.

The association pledged full support for cooperation on human resource training and scientific research, aiming to strengthen friendly relations and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Outstanding students awarded Odon Vallet scholarships

156 Vietnamese students and young researchers, who excelled in their studies, were presented Odon Vallet scholarships worth VND2 billion at an awards ceremony in Hanoi on August 23.

The scholarships are part of a larger VND20 billion scholarship programme for 2,250 outstanding individuals from select countries in the world. Each is worth VND8 million each per student and VND13 million per researcher.

The scholarships have been awarded biannually for the past 14 years with the aim of encouraging young Vietnamese students to overcome all challenges and achieve scholastic success.

Odon Vallet is reported to have inherited a large fortune from his father and he used a portion of it to establish a scholarship fund to support poor students in France, Vietnam and a number of African countries.

Danang expects broader cooperation with Yaroslavl

A Danang delegation led by Chairman of the People’s Committee Van Huu Chien recently returned from a visit to Yaroslavl Russia, where they explored measures to boost bilateral cooperation with the Eurasian nation.

At recent talks with Yaroslavl Vice Governor, Dmitry Sekretarev the two sides discusses various measures to boost cooperation.

Sebretarev highlighted the close relations between the two provinces since they established ties 14 years ago. He proposed supplying Vietnam with high-tech and inorganic products which are Yaroslavl’s strength and showed his willingness to cooperate with Danang in tourism and education.

For his part, Chien introduced Danang’s strength and potential and noting that investment and trade ties are still far from matching both sides’ potential due to long geographical distance and businesses’ limited mutual understanding.

Yaroslavl introduced the Vietnamese delegation its leading businesses in gas turbine, security system, electric generators and diesel engine equipment.

 Meeting with Yaroslavl region Duma State leaders, the two sides exchanged experience in investment attraction and encouragement and signed an agreement on legal cooperation.

Hoi An signs sister city agreement with Szentendre

As part of its global economic development programme, Vietnam’s Hoi An ancient town has signed an agreement to establish sister city and friendship cooperation relations with Hungary’s Szentendre city.

Speaking at the recent signing ceremony in Szentendre, leaders from the two cities said sister city programmes increase tourism, encourage cities to send delegations and private citizens to visit, and provide reliable business contacts.

They are a better way to understand cultural differences and the international markets in which they hope to compete, they said

Szentendre Governor Dietz Ferenc said Szentendre is famous for its cultural and tourism sites and is very pleased to create a close link with Hoi An an acient town that is listed among world cultural heritage sites recognized by UNESCO.

Around 21km far from capital Budapest, Szentendre is considered a gateway of Dunakanyar. Being endowed with beautiful landscape, it is an attractive destination for many international visitors.

1,391 Vietnamese labourers return home safely from Libya

As of August 22, a total of 1,391 Vietnamese workers have been safely evacuated to the homeland from war-torn Libya, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

MoLISA Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) also reports that six out of the eleven labour companies employing workers in Libya have brought all of their workers home.

The evacuation faced a number of obstacles due to the fact the workers were divided into small bands spread out throughout Libya. However, with the active support of Vietnamese authorities and Libyan employers, the evacuation has, thus far, been successful.

Currently, there are 40 workers remaining in Tunisia waiting for flights back home. They are expected to fly home sometime from August 23-26.

The mission should be completed by the end of August.

Quang Nam exhibition confirms Vietnam’s sovereignty

A collection of documents and maps, considered as legal evidence proving Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes belong to Vietnam, are on display in the central province of Quang Nam.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said that the exhibition aims to raise public awareness and responsibility of safeguarding the country’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.

The exhibits include copies of ancient maps and atlases, and documents in traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and French languages issued by Vietnamese feudal states and the French colonial empire in Indochina from the 17th to the early 20th century. All declare Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.

It also features copies of official documents issued by the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (from 1975 to now), showing Vietnam exploited, managed and exercised its sovereignty over the islands.

Notably, the exhibition showcases photos and objects depicting the law enforcement process of Vietnam ’s coast guard and fisheries surveillance forces following China ’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s waters in early May.

The event will remain open to visitors till August 28.

FAO funds forestry project in Vietnam

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has agreed to provide funding of US$500,000 to the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) for the 2014-2017 period.

The aid was announced at a conference organized by the Vietnam Farmers’ Association (VFA) held in Hanoi on August 22.

The FFF programme will benefit northern mountainous and central localities, aiming to reduce poverty. Contingent upon the programme’s success, the FAO will continue to help Vietnam expand the programme into other areas.

Nguyen Duy Luong, Standing Vice President of the VFA said that most of households’ in mountainous areas depend on forestation but are badly in need of financial assistance to fund sustainable development.

In April 2014, the VFA proposed the FAO should support farmers in eradicating poverty and protecting the environment. The FAO chose Vietnam one of the ten countries to be included in the FFF programme.

Closely monitoring travellers from Ebola stricken nations

Eighty-three individuals have entered Vietnam in recent weeks from Ebola-affected nations, and they are now under scrutiny by local health authorities, according to the Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control.

At a Ministry of Health meeting in Hanoi on August 22, the committee said of the travellers, mostly Nigerian and Vietnamese people, 79 entered via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the south and four via Noi Bai International Airport in the north.

The names of the individuals have been forwarded to localities where they are staying so local officials can effectively monitor their health, officials said.

To prevent a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the committee said it is vigilantly scrutinizing all travellers from the affected nations, requiring them to complete a health declaration at the airport prior to entering the country.

The MoH is also sending SMS messages and emails instructing these individuals on how best to prevent the spread of the virus, precautionary measures that should be undertaken by them and steps to take in the event any symptoms of the deadly disease appear.

So far, none of these individuals have shown any signs of Ebola.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long asked the Centre for International Health Quarantine to continue to keep a watchful eye on all travellers entering the country through airports.  He also asked local health departments to stringently monitor these travellers.

Le Quynh Mai, Head of the Virology Department under the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that the institute is cooperating closely with the World Health Organisation in Vietnam to follow the situation.

They are also cooperating with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the University of Nagasaki to ensure early diagnosis of Ebola-infected cases.

 At present, all of the necessary biological products and procedures to detect the Ebola virus are available and have been fully mobilised.

The steering committee said that should any Ebola-infected people be discovered in our nation, they will be provided treatment free of charge.

Oil tanker fire kills two, injures three

A vessel carrying oil caught fire in the central province of Thanh Hoa's Tinh Gia District on Saturday morning, leaving two dead and three injured.

The vessel, carrying 5,000 litres of oil, caught alight passing through the Lach Bang estuary off Hai Binh Commune. One of the vessel's crew, Pham Van Tuan, 33, died on the spot while another, Hoang Van Huynh, 37, died in hospital after sustaining serious burns. Three others are in critical condition.

Local border guards and firefighters managed to tame the fire after one and a half hours. Initial investigation showed that the crew was conducting oxyacetylene welding and encountered an electrical leakage which caused the fire.

The local authorities and provincial Red Cross are supporting the families of victims with VND10 million (US$470) grants for the dead and VND4.5 million ($210) for each injured.

Hoi An to build beach erosion barrier

The central province of Quang Nam will build a VND15 billion (US$714,000) concrete beach dyke in September.

The 137 metre dyke will be the first stage of a 1.5km, VND115 billion ($5.5 million) embankment along Cua Dai beach, which is expected to be completed before the rainy season starting in October.

Water levels have edged closer to the main section of the 1.5km road connecting the beach with Hoi An, threatening dozens of resorts. Rising sea levels have already washed away a 20-hectare section of Cua Dai beach.

New bridge to be built in Kien Giang

A groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the construction of the Kenh Xang 2 Bridge was held last Saturday in U Minh Thuong District in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) province of Kien Giang.

Expected to be completed in October, the bridge will bring better traffic conditions to more than 1,200 local people in An Minh Bac Commune. It will replace an old bridge built in 1993, which is now in poor condition and unsafe for transportation. The province received total capital of nearly VND290 million (US$13,800) to build the bridge. Of that, VND37 million ($1,800) came from locally raised funds, and VND250 million ($12,000) from Bayer Viet Nam Ltd.

General director of Bayer Viet Nam Ltd, David Champion, said that the donations for the new bridge would support the need for the safe mobility of local people, with the hope that they could have more opportunities to have a better life.

Vinaphone grants 2,000 sim cards to fishermen in Phu Yen

Vinaphone has decided to donate 2,000 exclusive sim cards for fishermen in the central southern coastal province of Phu Yen .

These sim cards, worth 400,000 VND each, will be delivered to sea fishermen under a joint programme between Phu Yen Telecom and Vinaphone from August 24 to 27.

Using these exclusive sim cards, fishermen can make domestic calls at half price, receive free sea weather forecast or other useful information such as sea fishing experience.

Vinaphone has designed these sim cards uniquely for sea fishermen in an effort to reduce difficulties that sea fishermen have been facing with while taking their sea voyages.

Scholarships granted to fishermen’s children

As many as 120 scholarships, worth 3 million VND each, were presented to children of coast guard and fisheries surveillance officers and fishermen in central Da Nang city and Quang Nam province on August 23.

The beneficiaries are those who made outstanding efforts to achieve good academic results, many of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The scholarships were part of a programme entitled “Joining efforts to protect sovereignty over waters in the East Sea ”.

The programme is expected to grant scholarships worth nearly 800 million VND (38,000 USD) in total to 265 students in the central region this year.

Launched by the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in May 2014, the programme has received nearly 42 billion VND (2 million USD) from readers at home and abroad.-

Activities in Russia, Malaysia mark Vietnam’s National Day

A delegation of 13 Russian ex-servicemen and experts, on August 23 visited Hanoi as part of a programme sponsored by the Vietnamese Association in Russia’s St Petersburg city on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2).

According to the association’s president Nguyen Duc Toan, his organisation has been raising funds for the programme over the past three years with a hope of offering an opportunity to ex-servicemen and experts of the Soviet Union to see with their eyes the changes in Vietnam and Vietnamese people’s sentiment for their country.

The Vietnamese communities in many countries are also holding various activities to mark Vietnam’s National Day.

In Malaysia, the liaison board for the Vietnamese community in the country hosted an art exchange on August 23 to celebrate the anniversary.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao briefed participants on the development of the Vietnam-Malaysia relations, and called on Vietnamese people living in the country to make more active contributions to the bilateral friendship and partnership.

On the occasion, the board launched a campaign to raise funds for activities of sea and island sovereignty protection in the homeland.

Remaining guest workers in Libya to go home next month

All of remaining workers in war-torn Libya will be bound for home between late August and early September, a senior official has confirmed.

As of August 22, over 340 workers were still there, mostly in the north-western city of Misrata and Ghadamis oasis town, said deputy head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ Department for Overseas Labour Management Pham Viet Huong, adding that their employers offered them airline tickets.

Between August 23 and 26, around 40 workers in Libya, in two groups, will travel home from Tunis airport, Tunisia.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador Dao Duy Tien, 94 out of 103 working under a contract between Sona company and Greek contractor Tageco in the south-western city of Sabha were evacuated to Tunisia.

The first group with 63 came to Hanoi on a commercial flight departing from Tunis airport on August 22. The remaining will land in the capital in the afternoon a day later.

A special working mission led by Huong will continue offering relief to workers at a border gate between Libya and Tunisia, and assisting others in procedures to go home.

Another working group from the ministry is helping with evacuation in Tripoli, Libya.

Conference discusses ways to implement decree on fishing development

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh on August 22 chaired a national conference in the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, discussing measures to implement a Government’s new decree on off-shore fishing development policies.

At the event, which drew the participation of more than 300 delegates from ministries, sectors, 28 coastal localities nationwide and fishermen communities, officials from the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Finance presented a number of draft circulars guiding the implementation of Decree 67/2014/ND-CP.

The circulars consist of regulations on various issues, including technical requirements on fishing vessels as well as preferential tax and insurance policies for fishermen.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, five commercial banks have pledged about 14 trillion VND (658 million USD) in loans for organisations and individuals wishing to build new or upgrade their fishing vessels under Decree 67, which will become effective on August 25.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided that as many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics ships will be built under the Decree.

Many of the participants at the event proposed that more attention should be paid to the comprehensive development of infrastructure for fisheries, including aquaculture areas at sea and breeding facilities, as well as fishery logistic services and storm shelters for fishing vessels.

Representatives of many localities said the number of fishing vessels as set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not meet the demand of fishermen.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat explained that the number of ships was decided based on surveys on marine reserves and the capacity of the nation’s fishing fleets.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, the decree provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic policies to encourage fishermen build high-capacity, iron-covered ships capable of fishing offshore, a practice that could earn fishermen higher incomes, and at the same time contribute to protecting the country’s territorial waters.

It also gives priority to the building of fishery logistics vessels, which are considered a basic factor for the effective operation of offshore catching fleets.

The Deputy PM said Decree 67 has been built carefully basing on fishermen’s opinions, field surveys, and lessons drawn from the implementation of previous decrees.

He added that the Government will review the implementation of the decree in late 2016 to draw experience for the next years.-

ExxonMobil funds surgeries for children with cleft lip, palate

The oil and gas company Exxon Mobil Vietnam on August 21 donated 75,000 USD to Operation Smile Vietnam to provide free surgeries on cleft lip and cleft palate of about 300 children across the country.

According to Nguyen Viet Phuong, Vice President of Operation Smile Asia-Pacific and Chief Representative in Vietnam, from now to the end of the year, the organisation plans to bring smile back to more than 5,000 Vietnamese children.

A 25-day programme to realise the objective is expected to see the participation of 1,000 volunteers, he said.

According to statistics, one of every 500 children is born with a facial deformity. In as little as 45 minutes and for approximately 250 USD, one cleft lip surgery can change a child’s life forever.

Operation Smile Vietnam has provided free surgeries to about 12,000 children since 1989.

School education on climate change adaptation promoted

An online conference was held in Hanoi and Vinh city, central Nghe An province, on August 21 to promote communication and education on climate change response and natural disaster prevention at school.

Experts warned that Vietnam sits in the region dominated by monsoon tropical climate and near one of the world’s storm hotspots.

Over the past 15 years, natural disasters, including storms, floods, droughts and landslides, have killed and injured more than 10,700 people, while causing economic losses of about 1.5 percent of GDP each year, according to the Hydrometeorology and Climate Change Department.

The education sector is particularly vulnerable to the impact of environmental changes so the Ministry of Education and Training has issued an action plan to realise the national strategy on disaster prevention and mitigation between 2011 and 2020.

It has also enhanced cooperation with international and non-governmental partners in disaster risk management as well as set up a coordinating group in the field with the engagement of over 20 foreign organisations.

From now to 2015, the ministry plans to design PowerPoint lessons to equip teachers and students – who make up 25 percent of the national population, with necessary skills for climate change adaptation.

It will build schools that can resist natural disasters in vulnerable areas and concentrate on human resources training.

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