Five persons fall ill after eating deadly mushrooms

Five members of a family from Quang Tri Province's Huong Hoa mountainous district were admitted to the provincial general hospital in critical condition, after they consumed poisonous mushrooms on Monday.

Two of the patients said their father had picked the mushrooms from a forest in the central province.

They fell sick after eating the cooked mushrooms.

All six family members began complaining of stomach ache, nausea, and diarrhoea. They were immediately hospitalised in the district's general hospital and then transferred to the provincial hospital for treatment.

Tran Quoc Tuan, director of the hospital, said the patients, now in stable condition, were expected to be discharged in the coming days.

Last Thursday, a couple in the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province also fell ill after consuming poisonous mushrooms.

Vaccine did not cause baby death: health department

An investigation has shown that vaccination did not cause the death of a three-month-old boy in the central Da Nang City, the health ministry's preventive medicine department said today.

The baby had died a few hours after being vaccinated at a local health clinic.

The department said the baby died as he was born prematurely and had low birth weight.

A report of the city's department of health showed that at 2pm on June 26, the baby boy was vaccinated with the 5-in-1 Quinvaxem vaccine, and was also administered the oral polio vaccine at Hoa Minh Commune's health clinic.

The baby's health was stable when he was checked 30 minutes after the vaccination. His family was advised about his care during the next 24 hours.

A representative from the baby's family said six hours after being vaccinated, the baby developed flu, turned pale and started bleeding from the nose and mouth. The baby died later, despite efforts being taken to save him.

The baby was born at 34 weeks and weighed 1.4kg at birth.

On the same day, more than 3,730 newborns were vaccinated with the same Quinvaxem vaccine and they were in stable condition.

Thousand hectares of rice crops nationwide suffer water shortage

At present, the northern and central provinces have experienced 39- 40 degree Celsius hot weather, reported the Central Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center yesterday.

By July 2, additional heat wave with the highest temperature of 40- 41 degrees Celsius is predicted to threaten to the areas.

During this month, heat waves affected directly to agricultural production in the northern and central regions.

Sellers at the biggest wholesale markets in Hanoi said that prices of many kinds of vegetables and seafood have increased around 10- 15 percents because of hot weather.

Cultivators at Tu Liem district’s Dai Mo commune said that framers had to get up early at 2- 3 am everyday to irrigate to vegetable and flower crops.

Hot weather returned in the west- northern provinces in past two days. Two mountain provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau are suffering 39, 2 degrees Celsius temperature, said Director of the National Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center of Lao Cai province Luu Minh Hai.

Statistics from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lao Cai province showed that around 15 forest fires have occurred in the province due to hot weather.

Currently, hundreds of local water reservoirs have felt into serious water shortage that affected directly to summer- autumn rice production in central provinces.

Drought and water shortage have threatened 5, 000 hectares of summer- autumn rice crops and 2, 000 hectares of maize fields in Nghe An, 1, 070 hectares of rice crops in Quang Tri, 8, 950 hectares in Binh Thuan, 8, 500 hectares, 11, 839 hectares in Khanh Hoa and 10, 229 hectares in Ninh Thuan.

Health sector advances manpower

The Health Ministry evaluated the effectiveness of a five-year manpower improvement project at a conference held in Hanoi on July 1.

Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project was implemented by the Ministry of Health’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management in 2010.

It offered training courses, workshops and regular assessments at Bach Mai, Hue and Cho Ray general hospitals and 81 other medical establishments nationwide.

As a result, a plan to improve the quality of the health system’s human resources has been devised with standardised training materials in nine major fields including hospital quality management, patient safety, first aid and comprehensive care.

Almost 3,200 medical staff members upgraded their skills domestically and 59 personnel from health authorities were trained in Japan.

At the workshop, beneficiaries of the project shared their experiences and proposed measures to maintain and expand its positive impacts moving forward.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen said the initiative boosted medical service access and quality in Vietnam.

JICA-sponsored projects generally produce sound outcomes in the countries, Xuyen declared.

Vinh Long marks 76th founding anniversary of Hoa Hao Buddhism

The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long held a ceremony on July 1 to mark the 76th founding anniversary of Hoa Hao Buddhism (1939-2015).

At the event, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha spoke highly of the contributions made by the Hoa Hao followers to the community. She expressed her belief that the religion will continue to strengthen national unity and support campaigns run by the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

She asked relevant organisations to look after resident livelihoods including Hoa Hao followers, considering it a crucial mission to build national solidarity.

Vinh Long province is currently home to 30,000 Hoa Hao followers who have carried out a raft of activities to help the impoverished.

Founded in 1939 in An Giang province, the Hoa Hao Buddhism sect now has over 2 million followers in 19 cities and provinces nationwide.

Programme to promote trade in far-flung areas

The Prime Minister has approved a trade development programme in remote mountainous or sea and island areas between 2015 and 2020.

The programme, which will be carried out across 287 disadvantaged districts, aims to narrow development gaps between regions, contributing to socio-economic development.

Its specific targets are to improve local income and ensure national defence and security in the districts while increasing sales of retail goods and services by 10-12 percent.

The project enables locals to develop businesses, exchange experience and forge relations with domestic and foreign partners.

It encourages residents to promote strong products and register for geographical indication protection and appellation of origin, all the while promoting sales via domestic distribution systems and seeking stable export outlets in foreign markets.

The programme will build a trade services system and expand goods distribution sites in mountainous and sea and island regions.

Furthermore, it will build infrastructure for local markets from the Government budget while encouraging localities to call for investment in the field.

Can Tho aims to modernise rural roads

The Mekong Delta City of Can Tho plans to upgrade its rural roads in line with standards set by the Ministry of Transport by 2020.

The target affirmed by Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Transport Le Tien Dung at a meeting on June 30 to review the implementation of the city’s rural traffic development plan from 2010-2014.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said the Department needs to consult local authorities to build appropriate policies and technical standard systems for the construction of road networks in rural areas.

Applying technology in designing and constructing roads should be promoted to improve work quality, reduce investment expenses and meet environmental protection regulations, he stressed

He also suggested the Department work closely with other relevant departments and sectors to call for community involvement in building and protecting transport infrastructure in the locality.

From 2010-2015, the city earmarked 2.4 trillion VND (111.8 million USD) for constructing and upgrading 2,791 kilometres of road and 2,153 bridges in rural areas.

Free legal advice for complainants

About 100 lawyers and jurists will provide free legal advice to those lodging complaints or denunciations with the Central Citizen Reception Committee’s Office in Hanoi.

The announcement was made at a workshop between the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam (GIV), the Vietnam Bar Federation (VBF) and the Vietnamese Lawyers Association (VLA) on July 1 in Hanoi.

In his opening remarks, Vice President of the VFF Central Committee Nguyen Van Pha said the VFF has been working with the Ministry of Justice, GIV, VBF and VLA to offer supervision in multiple fields and improve the settlement of citizen complaints and denunciations at the local level.

Lack of legal knowledge is among the key contributing factors to the lengthy and complicated state of complaints and denunciations in the country, Pha noted.

Therefore, the programme is intended to give citizens free legal advice at the Central Citizen Reception Committee’s Office, he explained, adding that Hanoi will be the first municipality to conduct the programme before it is undertaken across the country. Citizens can also seek advice from the VLA.

Nguyen Hong Diep, Head of the Central Division for Reception of Citizens under the Government Inspectorate, urged the active engagement of attending lawyers and requested the presence of these lawyers at the regular receptions of citizens of the Inspector-General and the Minister-Chairman of the Office of the Government.

Vietnam, Japan trade unions forge linkages

Representatives of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) had talks with a delegation of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC) in Hanoi on July 1, affirming their determination to foster friendship and cooperation.

VGCL Vice Standing Chairman Tran Thanh Hai highlighted the sound development of bilateral relations which were set up not long ago, as illustrated by regular meetings and workshops on trade union activities, information exchanges, and mutual support at international forums.

The All Japan Seamen’s Union has coordinated with the VGCL to implement a project on improving Vietnamese sailors’ capacity since 1997, offering 34 training courses for thousands of targeted people. Meanwhile, the JTUC has asked the Japan International Labour Foundation to carry out training programmes on labour safety and hygiene and productivity improvement for Vietnam since 2012, he added.

Hai said the VGCL hopes to receive more assistance from the JTUC in building a strong trade union movement in Vietnam.

At the talks, JTUC Assistant General Secretary Michiyo Nambu said she believes her working visit to Vietnam will contribute to the close partnership between the two sides, adding that trade unions of the two countries’ localities will bolster exchanges and collaboration in the time ahead.

She suggested both sides’ trade unions continue enhance cooperation in solving problems related to one country’s labourers working in the other, equipping labourers with a better working style, and protecting workers’ interests.

Lam Dong to design plans responding to natural, manmade incidents

The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is set to devise a series of plans responding to natural and human-caused disasters, including tunnel cave-ins and radioactive substance leaks.

The move will be under a blueprint recently issued by the provincial People’s Committee for the implementation of a master plan to respond to incidents, natural disasters and search and rescue by 2020.

In 2015 and 2016, relevant agencies will design response plans for building and tunnel collapses; radioactive substance, nuclear radiation, and toxic chemical leaks; and fires in buildings, residential areas, industrial parks, markets and trade centres.

Plans to respond to forest fires, dam and reservoir breaks, earthquakes, storms, depressions, floods and landslides will also be outlined.

Lam Dong will strengthen local steering boards and construct basic infrastructure serving disaster prevention and search and rescue activities.

It expects to spend more than 711 billion VND (nearly 33.07 million USD) on the blueprint, including about 545 billion VND (25.35 million USD) for infrastructure building and 166 billion VND (7.72 million USD) for purchasing and producing necessary equipment.

Lam Dong is a mountainous province in the southern Central Highlands, an area susceptible to natural disasters. Mining and hydropower plants are popular across the locality.

In late 2014, a tunnel of the Da Dang-Da Chomo hydropower plant in Lac Duong district caved in. The 12 workers trapped inside were luckily rescued after four days.

Meanwhile, Lam Dong’s capital city of Da Lat has been home to a nuclear reactor for more than 50 years. A 15-megawatt reactor is expected to replace the existing one within the next 10 years.

Care centre for AO kids opens in Ninh Thuan

A care centre for Agent Orange (AO) children, funded by philanthropists and organisations both at home and abroad, was inaugurated in the southern province of Ninh Thuan on July 1.

The centre plans to receive five AO kids this year in its trial period and 10-30 in subsequent years, said its Director and Vice Chairman of the provincial Association of Victims of AO/dioxin Kieu Tan Binh.

As a result of a three-year fundraising campaign, the centre was built with over 2.45 billion VND (112,000 USD) sprawling over a 450-square-metre site.

It is estimated that more than 4.8 million Vietnamese nationals were exposed to AO/dioxin. Many have died and millions of their descendants continue to suffer the effects of exposure to the chemical defoliant sprayed by US troops during the war from 1961-1971.

Quang Binh: Solar power project to benefit far-flung areas

Central Quang Binh province started work on a 13.7 million USD project in Bo Trach district on July 1 to supply solar power to far-flung areas outside the reach of the national grid.

Funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans from the Republic of Korea (RoK), the project is designed to provide solar power to nearly 1,300 families and 78 public service units in Le Thuy, Quang Ninh, Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts.

Expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016, it is hoped to help border districts reduce poverty and ensure social order and security.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Hoai hailed it as a project of humanity that greatly benefits impoverished locals and ethnic minority groups in remote areas along the Vietnam-Laos border who have been living without access to the national grid.

According to Project Manager Vo Quang Minh, rough local terrain and unfavourable weather conditions are among project challenges.

Lim Tae Seong from the RoK-based KT Corporation, project contractor, pledged to ensure project quality and keep progress on schedule.

A workshop was held in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho on July 1 to seek ways to promote the application of the Green Lotus label in tourist accommodations in Vietnam with the ultimate goal of sustainable tourism development.

The Green Lotus label was initiated by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It is granted to tourist accommodations meeting environmental and sustainable development criteria helping to preserve heritages and develop the local economy, culture and society. The number of green lotuses for a particular establishment, from one to five, indicates each accommodation’s level of effort towards environmental protection and sustainable development.

VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan underlined the limited number of accommodations registering for and certified with the Green Lotus label. Only 33 hotels nationwide have received the certification, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau city, Binh Thuan province, Khanh Hoa province, Da Nang city, Quang Nam province, Hue city, Hanoi and Bac Ninh province.

No facilities in the Mekong Delta have received the label, he stressed.

Data from the VNAT show that tourist accommodations in the region account for 8 percent of the facilities and 9 percent of the rooms in Vietnam. They concentrate in Can Tho city and the provinces of Kien Giang, Long An, An Giang, Tien Giang and Hau Giang.

Participants at the workshop said the recent proliferation of tourist accommodations in the Mekong Delta and in Vietnam as a whole have caused negative phenomena such as pollution, undermining tourism profitability and potentially damaging the national image.

They said relevant agencies should communicate to raise tourist facilities’ understanding of sustainable development and encourage them to adjust their operations and register for the Green Lotus label. Facility managers should be aware that the label will provide them with an advantage to build efficient marketing strategies.

The application of the Green Lotus label not only helps accommodations develop sustainably but also agrees with Vietnam’s tourism development orientations and meets economic integration demand, they noted.

People still need to be made aware about preventing fires in cities, Major General Doan Viet Manh, director of the Department of Fire Police under the public security ministry, said yesterday.

He cited a recent fire that killed five members of a family on a rooftop, saying that more awareness was required, despite firefighters having better equipment.

Speaking on the sidelines of an ASEAN workshop being held in Ha Noi on July 1 and 2, Manh said it was easier to control and fight fires in the newer apartment blocks as they had complete firefighting equipment, following the ratification of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting in 2001.

"Still, the owners and residents of these apartment buildings are not always aware of the fire risks, resulting in fire equipment being left unattended, including fire hydrants without water supply," he said.

Manh said although the Government had invested in purchasing smaller fire trucks and longer water hoses, which could reach up to 100m, it was still necessary to get the general public's support regarding houses and apartment buildings constructed decades ago in the older residential quarters, with zigzagging roads and narrow alleys.

"The people in this area need to listen to the fire police's advice, take pre-emptive measures and, when a fire breaks out, co-operate fully with firefighters, such as by supplying sufficient water to extinguish the fire."

Dao Duong Quang, a firefighter present at the workshop, spoke about a fire last month in Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi, in which five members of a family were killed, as an instance of the consequences of low public awareness about protective measures.

In Viet Nam's cities, a building often has several storeys built over a small area, as land is expensive. These houses have only one side facing the street or alley, while the other three sides are surrounded by other houses. More often than not, they do not have balconies.

On the terrace of the tube-like block is a structure that looks like a room with steel walls and a roof made of corrugated steel sheets. This ‘room' is meant for drying clothes and housing a small bonsai garden. The design is ubiquitous across Viet Nam.

In the above-mentioned Hoang Mai inferno, when the family discovered that a fire had broken out at night, they all ran up to the fenced-in room on the top floor and cried for help in vain. They died of asphyxiation in that cage. The fire was later found to have been caused by a short circuit.

Quang said his department had repeatedly issued warnings against this type of house design in the mass media, but it seemed to have little effect. "The consequence is often deadly," he said sadly.

Quang said while making a steel cage on top of the house, people should provide an opening for an exit door, which can be kept locked for security, but can be opened when necessary.

At the workshop, participants shared the challenges facing firefighting activities in cities. In the case of Viet Nam, these challenges are narrow streets, high-rise buildings, unavailable emergency exits and no respect for safety regulations, besides dilapidated buildings and inflammable material used for construction.

The workshop was organised by the home affairs department of the Embassy of France in Viet Nam and the public security ministry of Viet Nam.

Firefighting department officials and firefighters from 10 ASEAN countries, three French experts on civil security and eight French companies specialising in firefighting equipment participated in the workshop.

Gov't needs to spend less, stabilise budget

The Government needs to tighten spending and manage public investment more effectively to stabilise the State Budget and maintain an attractive investment climate, Deputy Finance Minister Vu Thi Mai said at a conference yesterday.

She said that global events, especially the recent economic downturn, required countries to persist with reforms.

The Government has done a lot in this regard, but numerous shortcomings and challenges persisted in public investment management, she said.

Viet Nam should aim at a system of standardized, consistent economic policies that are in accordance with market economy principles that serve to facilitate the regional and global integration process, she added.

The conference discussed various topics, including the current situation, and looked at the experiences of other developing countries, especially in Asia, in managing public investment.

The finance ministry is collaborating with other agencies in reviewing and formulating policies as well as establishing mechanisms and a legal foundation in order to clearly assign responsibilities for investors and contractors of public investment projects.

The Ministry plans to prioritise projects that will have significant impacts on the country's economic restructuring effort, thus increasing the capacity to attract additional investment sources, Mai said.

She said the use of funds, be it from State Budget, Official Development Assistance (ODA) or Government bonds, must be carefully supervised and inspected to improve public investment projects' efficiency.

Viet Nam spends roughly 17 to 20 per cent of its GDP every year on public investment projects, most of them in infrastructure development, according to the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCEIF).

Reprieve for child shelter

The central Social Welfare Department has instructed labour authorities in a HCM City district to help a children's shelter that faces closure get a licence.

Hanh Phuc House in Binh Chanh District's Binh Hung Ward is home to 32 needy children and orphans aged seven to 23, but the ward People's Committee wants it to close.

Local officials discovered in 2013 that Nguyen Van Hoang and Ngo Thi Kim Van, the couple who run it, did not have a licence and gave them a deadline to close. The deadline has been extended several times, but the department stepped in this week and told the duo to get a licence.

The department's inspectors were told on Monday by the deputy head of the district's labour division, Phan Thi Tuyet Mai, that the centre is only 100sq.m in size while a government decree stipulates a minimum area of 30sq.m per child. The centre should therefore look for another larger place to get a licence, she said.

The building is in a neighbourhood that has been handed over to a property company developing Hanh Phuc Urban project.

Van said she needed more time to find a larger place on cheap land.

"It is difficult because with the compensation from Hanh Phuc I can buy just one piece measuring a maximum of 200sq.m while under the decree I need a minimum of 500sq.m."

Pham Dai Dong, head of the department's policy division, agreed that the couple should upgrade the house because the needy children and orphans need a good facility to ensure their development. To Duc, the department's deputy head, told Dan Tri online newspaper that it was important to safeguard the children's rights. She added that city Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs should work with the district People's Committee to find a solution.

But if one could not be found, the centre should make a list of inmates whose relatives could not care for them and these children would be sent to social welfare centres run by the city or in their home provinces.

In the meantime, the city labour department should arrange counselling for the children to assure them not to be afraid of change, Duc added.

The city has 53 private social welfare centres, but only 32 have licences. In 2013 city labour officials told unlicensed ones how to get a licence.

They recommended the city People's Committee should close down those without adequate facilities.

Three centres in Districts 9, Cu Chi and Binh Chanh were then shut down.

New linking road opens for traffic

The road linking northern Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway and National Highway 1 officially opened for traffic after more than three years of construction yesterday, June 30.

The 6-km road project was built on total investment capital of VND1.5 trillion (US$69 million) in Government bonds.

The road was built by Xuan Truong Construction Company in cooperation with Bridge Construction Joint Stock Company No.75. The project that began in late 2012 was completed in June.

The road is expected to ease the traffic flow between Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway and National Highway 1 as vehicles will not have to enter Ninh Binh City's central city, which is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution there.

Yesterday, the Ho Chi Minh Highway (National Highway 14) section running through southern Binh Phuoc was officially opened for traffic.

The 117-km road project includes five sub-projects. Of which, three projects were built on Government bonds, with investment capital estimated at around VND1 trillion ($46 million), and one project was built under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, with VND980 billion ($45.08 million) investment capital. All the projects were completed in six months up to one year ahead of schedule.

Lam Van Hoang, head of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project's Management Board, said the highway was seriously downgraded. Now, it will shorten travel time and will be of more convenience to road users.

Tay Ninh digs up illegal hospital waste

Environmental police from southern Tay Ninh Province and other relevant agencies yesterday started digging up untreated medical waste illegally buried by Le Ngoc Tung Hospital – a private general hospital.

Last Thursday, two security guards at the hospital were caught red-handed by police as they were burying three packages of medical waste weighing more than 100 kilos, in Chau Thanh District's Thanh Binh Village.

The police said the packages contained used gloves, needles, bandages and other medical waste.

A sample of the soil from the site has been taken for tests, a representative of the provincial Natural Resources and Environment Department said.

Police have ordered the hospital to start using a unit specialised in collecting and treating medical waste according to regulations.

Do Trong Hieu, deputy director of the hospital, admitted that while hospital's incinerator was under construction, hospital directors had told the security guards to take all medical waste to a secluded spot and burn it.

However, the hospital did not know why the guards buried it instead, he added.

"It was our fault to provide such improper management," Hieu said.

Nguyen Dinh Xuan, director of the province's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that although medical waste from the hospital was not large, it was buried along with tonnes of household waste. All of the waste, therefore, could be considered dangerous.

The hospital opened last September, with 35 beds and the latest equipment.

Ha Noi basements to be used for parking

Buildings with basements in Hoan Kiem District are being told to allow people working or living there to park their vehicles in the basements.

The city would not allow buildings to use the basements for other purposes while people were being forced to park their vehicles on pavements around the buildings, vice chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung said at a recent meeting with the district authority.

The city transport department and the traffic police were asked to demarcate several parking lots on the pavements of Ba Trieu, Phan Boi Chau and 19/12, because these pavements were more than 3.5m in width, he said.

Red Journey Campaign to collect blood

The Red Journey Campaign aims to collect at least 17,000 units of blood this year for emergency aid and treatment of patients during summer vocation, said Nguyen Anh Tri, director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

As many as 120 youths will take part in the campaign. They'll travel to 22 provinces and cities to collect donations from July 3 to 26. The campaign will start with a ceremony in HCM City and end with a blood donation day in Ha Noi on July 25 at My Dinh Stadium. The closing event will be broadcast live by Viet Nam Television.

Liver cancer treatment prolongs life

The Bach Mai and Military 108 hospitals in Ha Noi have successfully used a new method called selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) Spheres Y-90, to treat liver tumour.

The new treatment is reportedly helping to prolong the lives of liver cancer patients in Viet Nam.

SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres are used in an interventional radiology procedure known as selective internal radiation (SIRT), or radioembolisation, which targets high doses of radiation at the liver tumour directly.

Bach Mai Hospital Deputy Director Mai Trong Khoa said the technique was safer and more effective than other radioactive therapies for liver cancer treatment that are currently being used in Viet Nam.

Ha Noi police detain car illegally transporting timber

Ha Noi police discovered a government-owned car transporting timber on national highway No. 18 early this morning.

Police said the driver of the 12-seater vehicle ignored police signals to stop and attempted to speed away.

The police immediately gave chase. After about 1km, the driver suddenly turned the vehicle around to dodge the pursuing officers.

A woman in the car jumped out to block the police, who continued to chase the vehicle.

In Soc Son District of Ha Noi, the driver finally abandoned the vehicle and ran away, police said.

On further investigation, the police uncovered 3 cubic metres of timber with unclear origins in the vehicle.

According to the preliminary police report, the registration number plate on the car is fake.

The case is currently under investigation.

Ha Noi tightens radioactive source management

Ha Noi has tightened the management of radioactive sources and stepped up emergency preparedness after a radioactive source went missing in southern Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province some months ago.

Dam Quang Minh, head of the city's department of science and technology's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Office, said the department has compiled a book entitled "Things to know for ensuring radioactive safety" and has distributed its copies to 170 facilities using radioactive sources in the city.

The department has been actively conducting drills on emergency response during radioactive incidents, he noted.

Ha Noi has become the first locality in the country to hold drills on how to cope with radioactive incidents since 2007, he added.

The department has been encouraging and monitoring junk collectors and scrap processors to bring unclaimed radioactive sources to their notice.

It has printed posters showing how to identify any equipment of radioactive sources and has distributed them to scrap processors, he pointed out.

Scrap processors have been asked to report any suspicious equipment to authorised agencies, he stressed.

Statistics from the city's Science and Technology Department show that there are 1,920 radioactive sources across 170 facilities in the city.

Tay Ninh destroys smuggled cigarettes

The southern Tay Ninh Province's authorities destroyed this morning more than 708,000 smuggled and fake cigarette packs, seized since 2004, in a dump in Tan Chau District's Tan Hung Commune.

Huynh Van Duc, deputy head of the provincial's steering committee for fighting smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, or Steering Committee 389, said the smuggling of tobacco, especially of foreign brands, was being organised in an intricate manner in the province. The smugglers took advantage of the province's long border and small roads to hire local people to smuggle the goods from Cambodia to Viet Nam at night, he said. The cigarettes were then taken to HCM City and other neighbouring cities and provinces for sale, he said.

In the first six months of this year, the Tay Ninh Province authorities seized more than 560,000 smuggled cigarettes of foreign brands. The police and border guards have initiated prosecution in 33 cases and against 77 smugglers this year.

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