One dead, four critical due to CO poisoning

A 18-month-old girl died and four other people were in critical conditions after they inhaled carbon monoxide (CO) at home, a doctor at Nghe An central province's General Hospital said.

All the patients were members of a family in the province's Nam Dan Town. The province has been experiencing extreme cold weather in the north since last week, and the family of five lit some coal inside the 15 square metre room to keep themselves warm.

The fire was operating all night, and all five family members in the room became unconscious from inhaling the smoke.

Dr. Phạm Xuân Kinh, from the hospital's department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poison, said the infant died before she could be shifted to the healthcare centre, while the others were hospitalised last Friday and were immediately moved to the anti-poison faculty.

The four patients rushed to the hospital in critical condition were Nguyễn Thị Nga, 20, Nguyễn Thị Tiến, 40 (Nga's mother-in-law), Đậu Thị Hạnh, 17 (Nga's sister-in-law), and a one-day-old son of Nga.

The dead infant was Nga's daughter.

Dr. Kinh said that after three days of intensive treatment at the department, the health of the four patients had improved. Nguyễn Thị Nga had just been moved to the obstetrical faculty.

Traffic accidents claim 735 lives in January

As many as 1,716 traffic accidents occurred across the country during a month from December 16, 2015 to January 15, 2016, killing 735 people and injuring 1,550 others.

According to the National Committee for Traffic Safety, the number of traffic accidents was downed by 455 cases or nearly 21 percent, whereas the number of fatalities was 46 less or 5.89 percent and injuries 497 or 24.28 percent down against the figures for same period last year.

During the period, traffic police forces nationwide handled 371,899 traffic law violations, including 356,753 cases in roads, 113 those in railways and 15,033 others in waterways.

They collected a total of over 267 billion VND (around 12 million USD) in fine, seized 1,902 automobiles, 47,499 motorbikes and 1,099 other vehicles, and revoked 29,487 driving licenses.

India’s 67th Republic Day celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Vietnam-India Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City organised a ceremony on January 26, to mark the 67th Republic Day of India.

Congratulating Indian people on their National Day, Vice President of the VUFO – Ho Chi Minh City branch, Huynh Minh Thien, said that with its strength in defence, strong economic potential and advanced science and technology, India is becoming a powerful country with an important position and role in Asia and the world.

According to Thien, the relationship between Vietnam and India has become closer, especially since they established diplomatic ties in 1972.

The two countries have organised the exchange of high-ranking delegations regularly, signed and implemented many cooperation agreements, and coordinated well in both regional and international forums, he added.

Sharing the same opinion, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Smita Pant stated that since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in 1972, and particularly their strategic partnership in 2007, their relations have developed strongly in all areas – from culture to trade and investment, especially in garments, pharmaceuticals, electricity, oil and natural gas.

The Indian Consulate General will continue collaborating with the VUFO and the Vietnam-India Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City in holding cultural and people-to-people diplomatic activities, as well as acting as a bridge to connect businesses, thus helping further develop bilateral ties in an intensive and sustainable manner, Smita Pant said.-

PM directs prevention against severe cold weather

The Prime Minister has sent an urgent document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the People’s Committees of northern and central localities calling for measures to cope with the severe cold which has caused damage to the localities.

The PM urged the People’s Committees to strictly follow the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development’s instructions on preventing cold and hunger for livestock during the 2015-2016 winter-spring crop.

He required relevant agencies to keep a close watch on weather developments and inform people on the weather conditions to keep them active in prevention, to ensure production and minimise losses.

The MARD was asked to direct localities, businesses and farmers on how to take preventive measures.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was requested to instruct the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecastings (NCHMF) to closely follow weather developments and give forecasts to localities, relevant agencies and people - for active prevention.

Central and local press agencies were required to update regularly on mass media any developments of the severe cold, and the strong winds at sea to facilitate prevention.

Northern and northern central localities have been facing freezing cold temperatures. Frost and snow have been seen in mountainous areas with the lowest temperatures recorded over the last four decades, causing damage to crops and cattle.

According to the NCHMF’s forecast, the severe cold may continue for several more days.

Charity events ensure warm Tet for needy people

A wide range of events were held across the country to present gifts to disadvantaged people, ethnic minority people, needy workers and people with disabilities to help ensure they have a warm Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The provincial police in the central province of Phu Yen, and the Border Guard Command in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City Police Newspaper on January 26 presented 1,500 Tet gifts to needy households in sea-border and mountainous areas.

The gift packages consisted of food and clothes, each worth 400,000 VND (17.8 USD). They were given to needy households in 27 communes, wards and towns in the province, as well as to ethnic minority people in the mountainous districts of Dong Xuan, Song Hinh and Son Hoa.

Nguyen Tuong Vy from the newspaper said more gifts have been brought to needy people in the provinces of Ninh Thuan and Ben Tre. She also called on enterprises and individuals to provide more support for the poor across the nation.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang mobilised nearly 10 billion VND (446,400 USD) to help more than 10,000 poor people and Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO) victims enjoy a warm Tet festival, each with a Tet gift package worth from 500,000 to one million VND (22 – 45 USD).

Dozens of charity houses have also been presented to AO victims, while free health check-ups and medicine worth nearly 2 billion VND (nearly 90,000 USD) have been provided for more than 5,000 low-income and ethnic minority people across the province.

The same day, the Provincial Federation of Labour in the southern province of Tay Ninh on January 26 presented Tet gifts and bus tickets, worth a total of 200 million VND (nearly 9,000 USD) to needy local workers on the occasion of upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet).

As many as 50 tickets and 300,000 VND (13.4 USD) were given to poor labourers working at local industrial parks and export processing zones to help them return home for the holiday.

A hundred gifts were presented to needy workers to help them enjoy the traditional Tet holiday far from their home.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thang pledged that the locality will help ensure a warm Tet for those who cannot afford to return home.

Tay Ninh is home to nearly 100,000 labourers working at industrial parks and export processing zones, some 1 percent of whom lead disadvantaged lives.

On the occasion, a number of enterprises were honoured for their outstanding contributions to improving the living condition of needy workers in the province.

Taiwanese organisation helps disadvantaged children in Quang Tri

The Zhishan Foundation – a Taiwanese non-governmental organisation – on January 26 granted scholarships totaling over 560 million VND (25,077 USD) to 920 poor students with good learning performance in the central province of Quang Tri.

Additionally, more than 1.3 billion VND (58,210 USD) was also donated to provide lunches for students at kindergartens in disadvantaged mountainous areas, including Huong Hiep, Son Ca, Dakrong 1, Dakrong 2, and Pa Nang.

Quang Tri is now home to more than 20,000 children living in underprivileged circumstances, 800 orphans, 6,200 children with disabilities, and 2,200 children affected by Agent Orange/dioxin.

Over the past 18 years, the Zhishan Foundation has provided a total of over 42 billion VND (1.88 million USD) to support children in the locality through scholarships, free lunches, health check-ups and treatment, and surgeries for children with deformities.

This year, the organisation committed to an additional 3.6 billion VND (161,200 USD) in funding for the province.-

Hanoi programme to act for consumer rights in March

The programme “Act for consumer rights” will be held in Hanoi throughout March with a series of activities.

The annual programme is held in response to the World Consumer Rights Day (March 15) and aims to improve businesses’ responsibility as well as consumers’ awareness of their rights and consumption activities.

At a meeting on the programme implementation on January 26, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said the campaign, first held five years ago, has attracted the interest of enterprises and consumers along with relevant agencies and organisations.

Among the highlights of the programme, throughout March, the Month for Consumer Rights, high-quality goods are to be sold at reasonable prices at more than 100 locations across the capital city.

A celebration responding to the World Consumer Rights Day is scheduled to be broadcast live on the Hanoi Radio and Television Station on March 18.

A festival will also be organised at various places on March 19 – 20 to sell quality products and provide repair and maintenance services and other customer care packages.

Meanwhile, consumers’ right to accessing accurate and sufficient information about goods and services will be the theme of a discussion to be aired on the Hanoi Radio and Television Station.

Notably, communication activities during this year’s programme will be updated on the event’s website quyennguoitieudunghanoi.vn and via social networks.

HCM City: 1.35 billion kWh of electricity saved

Over 2 million households in Ho Chi Minh City joined a family electricity saving programme from 2013 to 2015, helping save about 1.35 billion kWh of electricity, announced the city’s steering committee for power supply and savings on January 26.

In the reviewed period, the campaign helped the city save nearly 2.4 trillion VND (104 million USD) and cut an estimated 844,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the HCM City Power Corporation.

In 2015 alone, nearly 600,000 households registered to participate in the programme, resulting in a savings of 450 million kWh worth 833 billion VND (over 36 million USD).

In order to encourage more citizens to participate in the power saving activities, the steering committee has launched the family electricity saving programme for the 2016-2020 period.

Warm clothing urgently sent to hill children in need

The community, especially netizens, have joined hands in various charity activities to send help up to mountain ethnic minority groups who are struggling in the country’s record cold spell.

A fund namely “Tro ngheo vung cao” (Poor hill students) sent out an urgent message on January 24 to call for donations of winter clothing, and after 24 hours, it had raised more than 900 million VND and received about 5,000 cold-weather clothes and 4,000 pairs of boots.

The donations were dispatched to Hoang Su Phi district in northern Ha Giang province and Bat Xat district of northern Lao Cai province for children in need.

The fund plans to expand its campaign and send help to even more hill children. On January 26, a volunteer group approached a mountainous area in central Thanh Hoa province, near the border with Laos, to provide aid to children there.

Donations can be sent via Account No.0611001917137, Vietcombank or to Lot 34, Trung Yen 9 Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

Otofun, one of Vietnam’s largest social forums, has worked around the clock to invite donations in a campaign calling for urgent relief for children affected by the cold spell.

As a result, approximately 1,000 winter jackets, 1,000 pairs of boots and 1,000 pairs of socks were handed out to needy children in Bac Me district in Ha Giang province.

Many other groups of students, civil servants, youth unions and artists have also called for donations of winter clothing and books for children and teachers in mountainous areas.

Snow fell in many areas across the northern mountainous region as a severe cold spell has enveloped almost half of the country since January 23.

Snow blanketed Sa Pa resort city in the province of Lao Cai on January 24 where temperatures plunged to minus 5 degrees C on the night of January 23, the lowest for many years. The temperature at Sa Pa was measured at 0 degrees C on the morning of January 24.

Freezing temperatures were also reported in other areas, such as minus 0.4 degrees C in Tam Dao (Phu Tho province), minus 0.2 degrees C in Dong Van (Ha Giang province) and minus 4 degrees C on Mau Son Mountain (Lang Son province).

Tens of kilometres of national road 4D on the section from O Quy Ho Pass (Sa Pa district) to Tam Duong district (Lai Chau province) are covered with snow and 1cm of ice, posing a danger to traffic.

Hanoi youth to join various voluntary activities in 2016

The youth unions across Hanoi have drawn up detailed plans for a wide range of voluntary activities to support local communities and help ensure social security this year.

Keys among these are Youth Month, Summer Youth Volunteer and “Love Hanoi” campaigns.

Others include “Tiep suc mua thi” (University entrance exam support), “Tiep suc den truong” (Give strength to students), “Mua he xanh” (Green Summer), “Hoa phuong do” (Red Flamboyant), “Ky nghi hong” (Red Vacation) and “Hanh quan xanh” programmes that gather young people from high school students to workers, lecturers, civil servants and military officers.

The Youth Union of Hanoi has also scheduled various charity events in 2016 to support policy beneficiaries, people who rendered service to the nation and families of on-duty soldiers at border areas and islands, and to provide aid to schools in need.

Blood donation and free health check-up activities will also be organised.

Last year, about 200 youth volunteers provided help for patients at major hospitals in the city in a project namely “Tiep suc nguoi benh” (Give strength to patients), while local youth unions offered free medical check-ups to more than 22,000 ethnic minority people, people with disabilities, the elderly, migrant workers and disadvantaged children and teenagers.

The municipal Youth Union sent hundreds of its volunteer groups to help communities not only in the city but also in northern Vietnam and Laos during the Summer Youth Volunteer campaign.

The 2015 university entrance exam support programme attracted approximately 12,000 youth volunteers who provided assistance for nearly 200,000 examinees and their families. The volunteers assisted them in finding accommodation, while handing out 20,000 maps, 15,000 handbooks for university entrance exams, 60,000 light meals and 62,000 bottles of water.

Over 150 billion VND needed to prevent drought in Hau Giang

The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang needs over 150 billion VND (6.75 million USD) to cope with drought and salt intrusion in 2016.

The money is essential to upgrade the dyke system in order to protect some 41,000 hectares of plants, explained Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Dong on January 26.

Additionally, the province needs to seek groundwater resources in Vi Thanh city and Chau Thanh district, as a reserve to assist watering plants in periods of drought.

The provincial People’s Committee asked relevant agencies to map out a plan for the economical use of water, to serve both local daily lives and agricultural production.

The agriculture sector must define areas that are prone to water shortages, to arrange a better distribution of crops, for instance shifting rice cultivation to other more drought-resistant varieties.

Growing plants that quickly mature is suggested as a way to conserve the water supply.

It is also important to dredge canals to increase fresh water reserves and improve the drainage system to mitigate the damage caused by droughts and salt intrusion.-

More power projects approved for rural areas

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has given the nod to the feasibility studies for 22 projects to supply power for 262,500 households in rural areas and islands across the country.

The 22 projects aim at developing medium and low voltage transmission lines connecting to rural areas until 2020.

According to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the 22 projects include building 7,240 kilometers of medium voltage and over 13,640 kilometers of low voltage transmission lines, and more than 8,500 transformers for supplying electricity for rural households.

One of the 22 projects is to supply power for Bach Long Vi Island District off the northern city of Haiphong by using electricity from wind, solar, and diesel-fired power plants. The remaining projects will use power from the national power grid.

According to statistics of EVN, the percentage of households with access to power supply is only around 84% in mountainous and remote areas in the northern region, 96% in the Central Highlands region, and 97.3% in the southwestern region.

EVN will invest VND632 trillion in power infrastructure projects in the 2016-2020 period. The State utility has spent VND492 trillion on power generation and transmission projects to meet an annual increase of 11% in demand for electricity in the country in the past five years.

Tien Giang says high incomes at lottery firm normal

Both the government of Tien Giang Province and the provincial Department of Finance have said that it is normal for staff of Tien Giang Lottery Co to earn high incomes.

High incomes of the director and other staff at the company made news headlines earlier this year. However, the department’s director Ho Kinh Kha said authorities have found that wage and bonus payments at the company are in line with the existing regulations after reviews and inspections.

The director of Tien Giang Lottery Co earns over VND700 million per year.

The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs inspected the lottery company and reported the results to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The ministry’s Labor and Wage Department said over VND700 million earned a year by the company’s director is normal, Kha told a press conference on the province’s socioeconomic performance last week.

“Under the instruction of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, at a grade-one State-owned enterprise, the maximum monthly wages of the director, the deputy director and the chief accountant are VND27 million, VND23 million and VND21 million respectively,” Kha said.

In case the enterprise meets requirements for extra budget contribution and higher revenue or profit, its executives can get additional sums equipvalent to half of their maximum wages. In addition, their incomes are contributed by the bonus fund of VND200 million per year and three-month pay from the social welfare fund, he explained.

Therefore, Kha said the monthly income of VND60 million or more than VND700 million a year for the company’s director is rational.

Tran Thanh Duc, vice chairman of Tien Giang Province, said Tien Giang Lottery Co paid around VND1.3 trillion to the provincial budget last year, equivalent to the tax payments of all foreign direct investment companies operating in the province.

Tien Giang Lottery Co has 125 managers and employees, with monthly incomes of managers amounting to VND60.8 million, or nearly VND730 million per year, and other workers VND26 million, or VND312 million per year.

Hospitals in Hanoi are admitting more children and elderly patients as cold weather triggers a wave of pneumonia.

Dao Minh Tuan, of the National Pediatrics Hospital's Faculty of Respiratory Medicine, said all 100 beds were occupied. Most of the children admitted for pneumonia were under five years old.

Some 1,500 children were coming for check-ups and 180 children admitted each day, an increase of 20 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Tran Viet Luc, of the National Geriatric Hospital, said more elderly patients were being admitted during the cold weather.

Hanoi's Bach Mai Hospital has also seen a rise in elderly admissions for heart disease, high blood pressure and obstructive lung disease.

Bach Mai's Associate Professor Nguyen Tien Dung said the sudden drop in temperature, along with rain, created favourable conditions for viruses.

It is forecast that cold weather will continue until at least January 27, with international forecasts suggesting the cold front, sweeping down from Siberia and northern China, may persist into Tet.

Head of the Vietnam Registration Department Tran Ky Hinh yesterday said that the agency would seize 20,994 automobiles expire since January 1, including 2,061 passenger vehicles and 18,933 cargo vans.

The list of out of date automobiles has been posted on the agency’s website.

The move has been made in accordance with traffic law and aims to decrease traffic accidents.

The agency has asked registration centers nationwide to provide traffic police with related data, transport departments and traffic inspectorate to work with patrol forces to handle and confiscate expire automobiles along streets.

MoET, British Council, & Microsoft work on education

Ninety teachers and leaders from schools have completed preparations for a special program being conducted by the Ministry of Education and Training, the British Council, and Microsoft, which focuses on applying technologies in teaching and learning within the STEM framework (Science - Technologies - Engineering - Math).

The program provides teachers and education managers with a new perspective on technologies and methods to optimize technologies as a basis for connecting and modernizing the transfer of knowledge. This will awaken interest in students about learning. Ms. To Thuy Diem Quyen, an expert on Creative Education at Microsoft, introduced the tools supporting education, such as methods to design lectures, creating high interactivity instead of simply showing content, a solution on sharing and connecting between students and families, and combining technological tools to serve education purposes.

Another important part of the program is to build an education model to develop expert learning skills in the 21st century. It was built by the British education sector based on specialized educational methods, skills from UNESCO, and consultation from international experts on schooling.

Dr. Mark Windale, a STEM expert from Sheffield Hallam University, is in charge of the project. Based on the experience in implementing STEM in the UK and in other countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, the strategy to put STEM into education systems requires coordination among ministries, the university system, corporations, and others.

“The idea to build the program between the parties in innovating education management and activities is truly a new approach in putting the plan into reality,” said Ms. Tran Yen Dinh, Director of Education at Microsoft.

Ms. Cherry Gough, Managing Director of the British Council, said: “The British Council believes that this is the most effective way to invest in the future of Vietnam as well as the world.”

The program will be implemented in two phases. Initially, ten schools will be selected for a pilot. The program will then be expanded to more schools in the second phase.

Vietnam makes MDGs fulfillment progress in ethnic minority areas

The Vietnamese Government has prioritised resources for realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) over the last 15 years and made strides in boosting socio-economic development, especially in ethnic minority communities.

To promote minorities’ living standards, the Vietnamese Party and State have issued synchronous guidelines and policies, including the Government’s Programme 135 - which has been carried out since 1998.

This programme aims to promote socio-economic development in particularly disadvantaged ethnic minority and mountainous areas. It is one of the most important ethnic minority policies in the country.

At a recent forum on the MDGs implementation in ethnic minority communities between 2016 and 2020, the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs reported that Programme 135 was implemented in 2,331 communes and 3,059 hamlets, of 415 districts in 52 provinces, from 2011 to 2015. It received over 1 trillion VND (44.6 million USD) in non-refundable aid from Ireland and the European Union.

During the period, the target localities built over 22,000 infrastructural projects, mostly roads, irrigation works and schools, and provided local residents with seedlings, livestock, agricultural equipment and animal vaccinations.

The programme carried out 195 agricultural development projects, and 970 training courses on agriculture and forestry management. It also transferred farming techniques to more than 458,000 people.

The Government committee said Programme 135 directly enhanced socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas – the core region of poverty in Vietnam – in MDGs-related aspects.

The poverty rate in particularly disadvantaged communes and hamlets was cut down by 3.5 percent annually. The centres of all the communes are now accessible by cars while 97.5 percent of the target areas have gained access to electricity.

Speaking at the forum, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta congratulated the country on fundamental advances that it attained during a very short period of time to achieve most of the MDGs. That illustrates Vietnam’s enormous progress during the Doi Moi (Reform) period.

The committee, which is tasked with helping the Prime Minister monitor and guide the MDGs implementation in ethnic minority areas, said it has oriented Programme 135 towards better fulfilling these goals.

In September 2015, the Prime Minister issued a decision approving some MDGs implementation targets, which are associated with the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals for ethnic minority regions.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Ethnic Council Nguyen Danh Ut expressed his belief that with efforts by the Government committee, ministries, sectors and localities as well as people and foreign sponsors’ support, Programme 135 will reach its targets by 2020 and contribute to the realisation of the Millenium Development Goals in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in Vietnam.

Ceremony commemorates martyrs in Con Dao

A ceremony at Hang Duong cemetery – a Special National Monument in the southern province of Ba Ria–Vung Tau on January 25 commemorated soldiers who had laid down their lives in battle.

Deputy Head of the High Command of Naval Zone 2’s Inspection Committee, Colonel Le Dinh Viet, said the Vietnamese army is forever grateful to generations of martyrs who sacrificed themselves for national independence and freedom.

He promised that Vietnamese people and soldiers will stay united and fight to the last breath to firmly safeguard national sovereignty over seas, islands and the continental shelf.

Located in Con Dao district, Hang Duong cemetery is considered one of the biggest, most famous cemeteries in Vietnam. It is the burial place of thousands of revolutionaries and Vietnamese patriots who died at the Con Dao prison, which lasted from 1862 to 1975.

The sacred land also marks the unyielding struggle of heroes, revolutionary soldiers and Vietnamese people in two resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists.

Thanks to its historical significance, Hang Duong cemetery is one of the must-see tourist attractions in Con Dao.

Requiem for Vietnamese fallen soldiers held in Poland

The Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (SBV) in Poland held a requiem for soldiers who laid down their lives to defend the country’s national sovereignty in the East Sea on January 24.

Present at the event were representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnamese Association in Poland, and expatriates and Buddhists at Thien Phuc Pagoda in Warsaw.

Most Venerable Thich Dao Tam said the requiem aims to recognise the significant contributions fallen soldiers made to safeguarding national sovereignty in the East Sea.

The two-hour event also included incense offerings and the laying of wreaths.

Candles were arranged into the shape of Vietnam, featuring Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelagoes as indispensable parts of the country.

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