Huge fire destroys workshop in Ha Dong district

A fire broke out at a wood workshop in Duong Noi Ward's Quyet Tien hamlet in Ha Dong district yesterday, destroying 500sq.m of the workshop.

An explosion occurred at 6.15pm, which shook the area and dozens of people near the workshop, and a blaze rapidly spread to the whole workshop.

The cause of the fire was initially said to be an electrical leak in a charcoal factory.

The fire was uncontrollable at first due to the hot weather and inflammable material stored there.

A witness said he was walking in the street when he saw flames rise suddenly from the workshop, spreading smoke and dust everywhere. Residents tried to extinguish the fire, but could not reach the scene because of the huge blaze.

The local police, firefighters and soldiers of the capital High Command mobilised more than four fire engines and two water tankers of the Urban Environment Company to stamp out the blaze. The fire was brought under control after more than two hours.

All products and equipment of the workshop were destroyed in the fire, but no injuries were reported.

The case is being investigated further.

Cultural week raises fund for Ha Giang school

A cultural and art week raising fund for the building of a 100-student school in Yen Minh district, the northern province of Ha Giang is underway in Hanoi from June 1-7.

The school project costs an estimated 400 million VND (19,000 USD), with three fourths of which have been contributed by over 170 philanthropists nationwide.

The week, as part of the “Art from the heart” programme, features a range of activities from live music, a handcraft leather do-it-yourself workshop, a Bellydance and Bollywood dance class, and a vegetarian feast.

It is initiated by a community charity group that was established in 2013 with a mission to cultivate child education in remote areas via school construction and equipment donation.

One year after its launch, 260 million VND (12,380 USD) has been raised in support of building a pre-school in Moc Chau district, the northern mountainous province of Son La.-

Training helps staff shortages

Cooperation programmes among localities in the Mekong Delta region and universities in and outside the region have helped reduce staff shortages, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region's cultural and social division.

The region's 12 provinces and only central-level city, Can Tho, have identified high school graduates with good learning records and sent them to university for training, according to Vo Trong Huu, the committee's head.

The healthcare field in the region, for example, faces a large shortage of doctors and nurses.

To reduce shortages, the region has worked with Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy and HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy to provide training.

Selected students must make a commitment to return to their locality for work after graduation.

"With these programmes, students feel secure about getting a job after graduating. And the locality has trained human resources," Huu said.

In the upcoming academic year, 324 students will be selected for university study in tuberculosis, mental health, surgery and forensic medicine.

Pham Van Linh, Rector of the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said the university had trained 3,031 doctors, 1,193 pharmacists and 797 bachelor's degree graduates since 2008.

Linh spoke at a conference held last Saturday to review three years of training in the Southwestern region.

However, the number of trainees each year had met only 50 percent of demand, he added.

Linh said that the Ministry of Education and Training should allocate training quotas in advance to localities and universities so they can take the initiative to identify promising students.

Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan has said that under the new tertiary education law, universities would be given autonomy to make enrollment decisions.

But they have to ensure fairness in enrollment, and ensure the quality of graduates.

The minister said he would report and petition the Prime Minister to continue the co-operation programmes after 2016.

Luan said that nurses and other health staff should receive more training.-

Vietnam takes precaution against MERS-CoV

The Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department has urged caution in travelling to the Middle East where the Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus (MERS-CoV) is raging in.

On May 30, the Republic of Korea informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) that it has recorded 12 cases of the virus. China, meanwhile, also confirmed the first case.

According to the department, MERS-CoV is a viral respiratory illness that is caused by Corona virus and has high fatality rate. The disease was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has so far spread to 26 countries with 1,148 patients, 431 of them are dead.

To prevent the disease, the department has recommended regular hand-washing by soap, using mouth wash liquid, covering nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing, and avoiding direct contact with acute respiratory patients or sick animals.

Those returning from the Middle East who develop fever, cough or breathing trouble within 14 days of return should consult doctors for test.

The WHO said those having weak immune system or chronic diseases such as diabetes are vulnerable to MERS-CoV.

It also urged countries to continue monitoring acute and abnormal respiratory infectious cases associated with travelling from affected countries in the Middle East, while, at the same time, launching standard precautionary measures.

They were also asked to complete the evaluation of MERS-CoV infection and risk, and raise public awareness of the epidemic and its danger.

Vietjet Thailand to open more routes to Vietnam

Vietjet Thailand, the first air transport joint venture between Vietnam and Thailand, has said that it would open more new routes to Vietnam.

The statement came after the airline successfully operated a number of flights from Bangkok to Vietnam’s central region.

The airline made many flights from Bangkok to the Imperial City of Hue from May 31 to June 1 to bring tourists from Thailand and other countries to the well-known destination in central Vietnam.

Previously, during Thailand’s Songkran Festival in mid-April, the airline organised flights for Thai tourists to visit interesting places in the region.-

Higher toll proposed for NH1A diversion

Car drivers will have to pay VND35,000-200,000 (US$1.5-9) from January 1, 2016, to use a 16-km diverted road from National Highway No. 1A in central Ha Tinh Province.

The toll will vary according to the loading capacity of vehicles; vehicles under 2 tonnes will pay the lowest toll and those above 18 tonnes will pay the highest.

The toll, which has been proposed by Song Da Corporation to the Ministry of Transport, is 1.75 times higher than the existing rate of VND20,000-160,000 ($0.9-7).

The diverted road, constructed on the Build-Operate-Transfer model, has been under repair on a total investment of VND 807 billion ($36.9 million) since December 2014. It is expected to be reopened before September 13.

Juvenile lobsters rescued, released into the ocean

The province's seafood resource protection department released 24kg of juvenile lobsters into the ocean yesterday afternoon, in an attempt to save the crustaceans from illegal traders.

Earlier, the department in collaboration with the local traffic police stopped a truck, travelling on National Highway 1A from the southern central province of Ninh Thuan, and found 24kg or about 1,400 lobsters being illegally transported.

There's a ban on young lobster fishing to protect the species. All lobsters seized from the truck were in good condition when they were released into the ocean.

VN to decrease adult smokers from 47.4 percent to 39 percent by 2020

Vietnam target to decrease the number of adult smokers from 47.4 percent to 39 percent by 2020, said Head of the Medical Examination and Treatment Department under the Ministry of Health Luong Ngoc Khue at a march on May 30 in Ho Chi Minh City to mark the World No Tobacco Day and the National Non-tobacco Week from May 25 to 31.

In addition to banning advertisement on tobacco the country has also planned to increase the tax rate on tobacco from the current 65 percent to 70 percent as of January 1, 2016.

Mr. Khue said that the government tried to have a healthy living environment without tobacco in schools, hospitals, offices and public places.

Vietnam is currently one of 15 nations with highest number of smokers in the world. One in two adults in the country currently smokes cigarettes.

According to a global study of Vietnamese adult smokers, the rate of male smokers is 47.4 percent and female is 1.4 percent. Two-third of women and children usually inhale smoke at homes.

Moreover, 33 million Vietnamese non-smokers must inhale smoke in public places such as bus stations.

Understanding the importance of tobacco prevention, the Vietnamese government decided to join the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) among adult smokers in 2004. After 10 year of implementation of the Framework, the Southeast Asian has achieved encouraging results including reduced rate of smokers, issuance of tobacco prevention regulation, issuance of the National Anti-Tobacco Strategy by 2020 as well as non-smoking environment models.

According to the World Health Organization, 90 percent of lung cancer patients and 75 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary patients are caused by smoking.

HCMC finds tough to handle polluting businesses

The shortage of land, capital and assistance policies has caused difficulties for dealing with polluting or possibly polluting production establishments from residential areas in Ho Chi Minh City.

1,316 establishments have been forced to remove from urban areas or change their production methods into environmentally friendly technologies. This has in fact reduced pollution for the center area but raised new polluted spots in the suburb areas where these establishments relocate.

Many of the polluting establishments are positioned in Binh Chanh, Thu Duc and Binh Tan districts. Most have small scales with limited land and capital and been unable to repair their environmental consequences despite being reminded many times by authorized agencies.

They are short of capital to invest in wastewater treatment systems and new production technologies to reduce pollution, according to Deputy Chairman of Binh Tan District People’s Committee Nguyen Gia Thai Binh.

Deputy Chairman of Binh Chanh District People’s Committee Nguyen Van Truong said that local authorities had been confusing to handle the issue while authorized agencies lacked of sanctions for the violators as well as assistance policies to help them remove and renovate their technologies.

Besides, the city has not done planning on industrial parks and clusters for these businesses to move in making it difficult to tackle the issue, he added.

Therefore he proposed the city authorities to provide the establishments with loan interest rate assistances to relocate, reform technologies and invest in wastewater treatment.

HCM City student wins 2015 National Dynamic Competition

Nguyen Mau Hoang, a student of the Ho Chi Minh University of Economics won the first prize at the 12th National Dynamic Competition for Students - The Future Entrepreneurs 2015 which ended at the Ho Chi Minh University of Economics on May 30.

The winner received a cash prize of VND30 million and a scholarship for an MBA Degree worth VND300 million awarded by the University of Western Sydney.

Student Dinh Thi Nho of the National Economics University took the second prize. Two third places belonged to Dang Ngoc Huong of DaNang University of Economics and Le Huy Hoang of the Foreign Trade University.

They will receive full scholarship of Master of Business (ISB.MBus) program of University of Economic Ho Chi Minh City valued VND105 million each.

The winners will also have a trip to Japan for visiting Suntory factory and take part in social activities; and receive a scholarship of the English for Professionals Program worth VND84 million each from the English Language Institute (ELI) of Victoria University.

Launched in 1996, the competition has attracted more than 30,000 students from universities across the country. The annual event is a useful playing field for students.

The competition is co-organized by the Ho Chi Minh University of Economics and PepsiCo Viet Nam.

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