Vietnamese doctors provides health checkup for Cambodians

Up to 60 Cambodians with diseases related to muscular, skeletal and joint system received free health check-ups and treatment by Vietnamese doctors in Phnom Penh on December 26. 

This is the third time Cho Ray – Phnom Penh hospital has organised the programme on Vietnamese doctors providing free check-ups and treatment for Cambodians. The two previous programmes aimed to those with diseases related to cardiovascular system, digestion, liver and gall.

Deputy Director General of Cho Ray – Phnom Penh hospital Sok Sokhem spoke highly of the expertise and dedication of Vietnamese doctors in the programmes.

The hospital plans to conduct monthly free health check-ups and treatment for Cambodians in the future, she said.

The programme forms part of activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam – Cambodia diplomatic ties and contribute to consolidating the traditional friendship between the two nations. 

The hospital, located in Meanchey district, about 10km from Phnom Penh downtown, put into operation in January 2014. It is the first cooperation project in the development of medical facilities between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Official: NGOs contribute to Vietnam’s development

Thanks to the lobbying efforts of relevant agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs) in Vietnam have contributed remarkably to the country’s poverty alleviation, resolving social issues and bolstering sustainable development.

Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Committee on Foreign Non-Government Organisations, made the remark at a conference held in Hanoi on December 26 to review the NGO aid mobilisation in 2016 and set out tasks for 2017.

Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Don Tuan Phong said in 2017, the committee needs to closely follow the Prime Minister’s instructions on the NGO-related affairs, ensuring transparency in financial activities.

Besides that, the committee needs to research, give advice to revising legal documents to make them clearer and consistent with the NGO affairs.

The committee was asked to effectively implement solutions put forwards in the promotion programme on mobilising NGO sponsorship during 2013-2017 period and continue studying and forecasting to build the national programme for the next period.

In 2016, NGOS have involved in over 2,000 projects with a combined financial sponsorship estimated at 300 million USD, equal to the figure in 2015.

Besides economic efficiency, NGOs continued making contributions to improving mutual understanding and expanding relationship between Vietnam and international friends.

Quang Tri: Last villages get access to national grid

The central province of Quang Tri has fulfilled its target of bringing electricity to all communes as the two last hamlets of Tria and Cat in Huong Son ward, Huong Hoa district have recently gained access to the national power grid.

The project was implemented in nine months with a total investment of approximate 14 billion VND (over 615,000 USD).

It included the construction of a 13 km medium-voltage line and more than 5 kilometres of low-voltage line as well as two transformer stations with capacity of 25KVA. 

The electricity sector and local authorities mobilised locals to facilitate the land clearance process while working units strived to finish the project before the Lunar New Year 2017.

The project is expected to boost local development and protect national sovereignty in mountainous areas while contributing to realising the target of building new-style rural area in a resolution issued by the provincial Party Committee.

Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa supports sailor

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa has provided prompt assistance for a Vietnamese sailor who was left in Cape Town city by China’s Taiwanese fishing ship.

After receiving the information on December 23, the embassy made immediate contact with the Vietnamese community in Cape Town and asked them to help the victim buy a ticket to the embassy’s headquarters in Pretoria.

In the morning of December 24, the embassy sent an official to host the man, named Nguyen Van Thanh.

The embassy also helps Thanh complete all necessary procedures and buy an air ticket to return home as soon as possible.

Thanh was born in 1977 in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh. He left Vietnam on April 21, 2015 to work on a Taiwanese ship, which harboured at Cape Town port on October 20.

After being left in the city, he had to depend on other sailors of Taiwanese and Chinese vessels.

He is scheduled to come back home on December 28 on a Kenya Airways flight.

Agent Orange victims have first cultural house

Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims have had their first cultural house for the first time after a ceremony handing the Cultural House of the Rehabilitation and Nursing Centre to AO victims took place on December 26 in Hanoi.

Nguyen Van Rinh, President of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), said the house looks to help ease the pains of AO victims and facilitate their integration into the community.

The house provides a venue for recreational activities for AO victims and their children before, during and after treatment and study at the centre.

Rinh also recommended officials and staff at the centre put the house to good use, along with the community helping taking care of victims better.

The construction of the house began in March, 2016. It has an area of 760 sq.m, featuring a 200-seat hall, a two-story exhibition building, and  a library.

The house was sponsored by the Military Bank.

O Dong Mac – Nguyen Khoai flyover opens to traffic

The O Dong Mac – Nguyen Khoai flyover in the belt road No.1 in the capital city of Hanoi was opened to traffic on December 26, expected to ease traffic jam in the eastern part of the city.

The facility, one of the eight urgent transport projects of Hanoi, was built at a cost of 166 billion VND (7.29 million USD), sourced from the municipal budget. It is over 232 metres in length and 12 metres in width, with four consecutive spans.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung stressed the O Dong Mac – Nguyen Khoai route is the most complex and overcrowded in Hanoi.

He added that the flyover will help reduce traffic congestion in the area that has been a pressing issue for many years.

Tuyen Quang: six more communes recognised as new style rural area

The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang has six more communes recognised as meeting new-style rural area standards this year, raising the province’s total to 16 communes.

Over the past five years, the province has mobilised over 7.25 trillion VND (319.2 million USD) from different resources for its new-style rural area building.

During the period, Tuyen Quang built 2,700km of concrete roads and over 140 irrigation works along with 84km of canals to facilitate socio-economic development. 

The province upgraded 70 transformer stations and hundreds of kilometres of power transmission lines.

In addition, 700 classrooms, over 200 cultural houses and 150 sport grounds have been built to improve living conditions of local people. 

The province has completed universalisation of pre-school education for five-year-old children. 

In 2017, Tuyen Quang will prioritise investment in raising income for rural residents by restructuring agricultural production towards enhancing added value and sustainable development.

The province will implement policies to assist the commercial production of several plants and animals, and encourage linkages between farmers and businesses.

Tuyen Quang strives to have additional seven communes recognised as new-style rural area next year. 

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

The criteria include infrastructure development, production capacity improvement, environmental protection and cultural value promotion.

VFF leader lauds public involvement in environment protection

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has lauded millions of people in 110,000 residential areas, religious and mass organisations for their environment protection efforts over the past years. 

Speaking to a conference in Hanoi on December 26 reviewing the cooperation between the VFF and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in the field during 2012-2016, Nhan underscored the significance of people’s role in supervising and uncovering environment violations. 

Though the legal framework on environmental protection and a number of green life and production models have been launched, it is still crucial to monitor waste-discharging businesses and units and build community-based environmental management models, he said, adding that campaign “All people stay united to build new rural areas and civilised urban areas” is the optimal solution. 

He suggested assigning specific supervision tasks to mass organisations, for example, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour could monitor enterprises’ waste discharge, the Vietnam Farmers’ Association could watch the use of materials and chemicals in agricultural production, and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union could be tasked with overseeing household waste treatment. 

The VFF Central Committee can take charge of supervising waste discharge in industrial parks and major construction projects, he proposed. 

Nhan urged the MoNRE to fund the building of self-managed environment protection models in residential areas. 

Under their coordination programme for 2012-2016, the VFF and MoNRE have launched emulation movements and campaigns to promote green growth and the proper use of natural resources in tandem with climate change response. 

From 2013-2015, the VFF’s standing board paid field trips to inspect illegal sand and pebble exploitation that led to riverside landslides, pollution in craft villages, and mining activities, among others. 

Most public petitions and complaints on pollution recorded and transferred by VFF chapters have been addressed by relevant agencies.

At the event, the VFF and MoNRE signed a cooperation agreement for 2016-2020, under which, they will work together to raise public awareness of laws and policies on environment protection and climate change response, continue spreading effective models in residential areas, oversee the implementation of relevant policies and offer personnel training in the field.

Additional 14km of sea dyke in Ca Mau upgraded

The southernmost province of Ca Mau on December 26 inaugurated a project to upgrade over 14km of its sea dyke system, with total investment of 158 billion VND (6.9 million USD).

The project was invested by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development since 2015, aiming to not only protect agricultural land and prevent natural disasters, but also facilitate socio-economic development of the coastal district of U Minh.

Along with this project, a 15km dyke in Tran Van Thoi district is also under construction, costing 149 billion VND (6.5 million USD). 

The project to upgrade 108km of sea dyke system of Ca Mau province was approved in 2013 with 1.697 trillion VND (74.5 million USD) from the State budget and the province’s capital. 

It is expected to protect 128ha agricultural land and 26,000 households living along the dyke system from the impacts of climate change while ensuring national security-defence.

Tourists to Hue monuments complex hit 2.5 million

The Complex of Hue Monuments, located in central Thua Thien-Hue province, welcomed the 2.5 millionth tourist this year on December 26.

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre presented gifts to the 2.5 millionth tourist who was from Switzerland.

The number of visitors to the Complex of Hue Monuments so far this year increased by almost 500,000 from a year earlier. That includes more than 1.4 million foreigners, rising by over 15 percent from 2015.

Ticket proceeds in 2016 are expected to total more than 260 billion VND (11.4 million USD), 31 percent higher than the year’s target.

That success is attributable to three tourism stimulus campaigns launched by the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre in 2016.

Visiting the Complex these days, tourists will have a chance to enjoy the re-enactment of royal rites such as the changing of the guard at Ngo Mon (Noon Gate), the performance of Nha Nhac (court music) at Thai Hoa (Supreme Harmony) Palace and The Mieu (Ancestral Temple), and Ca Hue singing at Truong Sanh (Longevity) Palace.

They can also visit several relics free of charge or get discounts on certain services when coming to the Complex.

In 2017, the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre plans to step up stimulus packages while diversifying tourism services to attract more tourists to the former imperial capital of Vietnam.

Vietnam Union of Friendship hits fundraising milestone

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations unveiled on December 26 at a conference in Hanoi that it has generated a record US$300 million in financial assistance in 2016.

The funds principally came from foreign non-governmental organizations, said Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at the meeting, which he noted are instrumental to the Union meeting its mission of advocating for social progress, cooperation and peace.

Don Tuan Phong, VUFO vice president in turn talked at length about the more than 2,000 projects that had been carried out during the year with the funds as well as ongoing and upcoming endeavours.

The projects have contributed significantly to the country’s poverty reduction, he noted.

He urged pertinent Union officials to diligently audit financial aid transaction systems to ensure strong internal controls are in place to guarantee it is effectively managed and properly distributed as designated.

Two patients die before surgery at Hanoi hospital

Two patients died soon after doctors administered anesthesia prior to surgery.

Hanoi health authorities have suspended the four doctors and six technicians after a pair of patients died prior to surgery on Sunday morning.

The city’s health department has suspended all surgeries at Tri Duc General Hospital while police carry out their investigation.

One patient was a 37-year-old woman scheduled to have tumors removed from her thyroid gland. The other patient, a man of 34, was to receive an endoscopic surgery to treat his sinusitis and tonsillitis.

Doctors administered the anesthesia (both as a gas and injection) at around 8:30AM. Two doctors and three technicians oversaw the procedure.

Thirty seconds after the drugs took hold, both patients went into shock. Doctors administered urgent care before transferring them to a larger hospital, where they died soon after begin admitted.

Doctors familiar with the process of administering anesthesia believed the deaths most likely had to do with the drugs or the techniques used to administer them, rather than the patients themselves.

Communications and education activities under review

The Communications and Education sector needs to strengthen the management of press and publications and define the responsibilities of press agencies in preventing “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”.

Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Dinh The Huynh made the remarks at a meeting reviewing the sector’s activities in 2016.

In his speech, Huynh urged the sector to forecast the situation in 2017 and closely follow the implementation of the 12th National Party Congress’s Resolution as well as other Party resolutions.

“The Communications and Education sector needs to promptly provide and disseminate information about Party guidelines and State policies and laws, highlight renewal achievements, and honor new role models.”

Congested Saigon airport asks domestic airlines to park fleet elsewhere

Vietnam’s biggest international airport Tan Son Nhat is no longer able to handle all the pressure from the recent travel boom.

In what appears to be a stop-gap measure, the Ho Chi Minh City airport has asked Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Jestar Pacific to move their aircraft for domestic services to Can Tho airport in the Mekong Delta and park them there overnight.

Other options include airports in Cam Ranh and Danang in the central region.

The apron at Tan Son Nhat can only accommodate 57 aircraft at a time, which means the airport is now overstretched by the increasing number of domestic and international flights.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, to meet to the growing demand of the local market, airlines are expanding their fleets, adding flights and opening more routes, which together have put mounting pressure on Tan Son Nhat's tarmac space and ground services.

This can get worse in the next four years as domestic carriers all plan to expand further, said Lai Xuan Thanh, director of the administration.

According to media reports, forcing airlines to park elsewhere can increase operational costs and eventually lead to higher airfares.

Vietnam’s airline market is growing at the third fastest pace in Asia-Pacific and the country is grappling with an acute dearth of airport capacity.

Aviation authorities estimated that the number of passengers on domestic flights would soar 35% to 28 million this year, accounting for more than half of the total air travel in the country.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, low cost carriers Jetstar Pacific and VietJet Air and the newly founded Vietstar are planning to expand their fleets to a total of 263 aircraft in the next four years. Vietstar has not even been licensed to fly yet. 

AIP to roll out community-based road safety programme

APM Terminals partners up with AIP Foundation to promote road safety in Vietnam by sponsoring the education of road users and pedestrians in the community around Cai Mep International Terminal.

A study commissioned by APM Terminals and conducted by AIP Foundation in October 2016 found that even though most students in the region commute to school by motorcycle, only 35% of the students at Tran Quoc Toan Primary School and 19% of the students at Toc Tien Primary School wore helmets, despite road dangers, such as motorised mixed-use roads and the lack of separate motorcycle lanes. 

Therefore, APM Terminals together with AIP Foundation, a road safety non-profit organisation, National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), and Vung Tau Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) are rolling out a new training programme in Vietnam to help make the port community of Cai Mep safer.

More than 45 truck drivers and other CMIT employees, along with executives from the APM Terminals operated at Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), joined 500 students, teachers, and parents at Tran Quoc Toan Primary School to address road safety issues in their community. 

The truck drivers work for CMIT, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based port operator APM Terminals. The event is the inaugural event of Lifting Safety, a proactive road safety programme developed by AIP Foundation and APM Terminals.

The Lifting Safety programme aims to identify and mitigate road safety risks in the community near the APM Terminals-operated port through a combination of targeted education, awareness, and community engagement activities. 

Both the national- and provincial-level traffic safety committees have worked closely with APM Terminals and AIP Foundation on developing and implementing the programme. 

“We wanted to use our expertise and connect with the people of the community to make their lives safer. Our research data revealed just how hazardous the local roads in the community are. Partnering with AIP Foundation and local government authorities enabled us to reach a broader audience,” stated Kevin Furniss, vice president of APM Terminals Health, Safety and Environment Department. 

“We are enthusiastic about the prospect of implementing this evidence-based programme at other port locations to help us build meaningful safety with the communities we operate in. AIP Foundation is clearly a specialist in road safety and our longstanding partnership dates back to 2008,” he added.

According to Vu Quy Phi, deputy director of the Traffic Police Department and deputy chief secretariat of National Traffic Safety Committee, the Lifting Safety programmes care for people and will prompt behavior changes in a better direction.

"Proactive participation from the local government and authorities in Tan Thanh District is the prerequisite for the initiative’s success. We also hope to expand this model beyond this partnership by replicating it at other ports in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province,” said Phi.

“Acting as a road safety ambassador gives me the opportunity to share my experiences with some of the youngest and most vulnerable road users in the communities I work in,” truck driver Le Quang Thien said. “I also hope this will help me better understand how the students and teachers at these schools feel on the roads.”

Over the next year, Lifting Safety will implement truck driver training, a mass media awareness campaign, and community-based activities in and around the CMIT port.

Hanoi police seek charges against Japanese men for gold smuggling

Hanoi police have proposed that the prosecutor’s office press charges against two Japanese citizens for attempting to smuggle US$260,000 worth of gold earlier this year.

Kitada Takayoshi, 33, was caught on August 3 at Noi Bai International Airport while allegedly trying to bring seven gold statuettes out of Vietnam on a flight to Tokyo.

Customs officers detected metal objects in his carry-on luggage and found the statuettes, weighing seven kilograms (15 lbs) in total.

The passenger later confessed that the gold statuettes were worth approximately 31 million yen (US$260,000).

Hanoi police then arrested 35-year-old Iwamura Masakazu, who was accused of assisting in the gold smuggling attempt. The second man flew to Vietnam soon after the case was busted.

Vietnam’s Giang Brothers recall journey to breaking Guinness World Record

The Giang Brothers had known smashing a Guinness World Record for head-to-head stair-climbing was within their reach, so the real goal of their jaw-dropping performance in Spain last week was to surpass their own limit.

Giang Quoc Co and his younger brother Giang Quoc Nghiep broke a Guinness record on December 22 by climbing the picturesque steps of the Cathedral of Girona with one sibling balanced atop the other using only head-to-head contact.

The cathedral is well-known for its appearances in the popular TV series Game of Thrones.

The Vietnamese, known globally as the Giang Brothers, managed to break the record by scaling 90 stairs in 52 seconds, breaking that set by Chinese duo Tang Tao and Su Zengxian, who climbed 25 consecutive stairs in a minute using the same technique in September 2014.

While they remain in Spain to continue their Europe tour, Co, 32, and Nghiep, 27, spent time talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper over the phone about the story behind the record-smashing feat that wowed fans both in Vietnam and around the world.

The brothers revealed to Tuoi Tre that they are on a France-Spain-Germany tour between November 28 and February 6 and initially had no intention of setting a Guinness record.

“We only accepted the challenge thanks to a suggestion by a Spanish circus house director, who saw us climb the stairs with that head-to-head technique,” the older brother said.

Due to a busy schedule, the Giang Brothers managed to practice on the steps of the Cathedral of Girona only once before the official performance on December 22.

“I carried Nghiep on my head and gave it a shot,” Co said. “I almost lost my breath at the 33rd step but was able to continue 20 more steps.”

At the 53rd step, Co said he could hardly move his legs anymore, “but I told myself this is the last chance so I tried to finish the last steps and we did it eventually.”

In the end, Co had to carry his older brother down the steps as Nghiep was really exhausted.

“This did not happen after the real performance as we had time to take a rest after overcoming the challenge,” Co said.

The brothers said they were confident that they could smash the record of the Chinese duo, and “the real challenge was whether we could transcend our own limit.”

“After the challenge, we were so proud to say, ‘We are Vietnamese,’ in front of the foreign press,” the older brother said.

Co noted that they had only smashed the record, and work is still being done to officially recognize them as the World Guinness Record holders.

The Giang Brothers, among Vietnam’s most renowned circus artists, are known for their internationally award-winning performance “Suc Manh Doi Tay” (The Strength of the Arms), in which they perform various technically-demanding stunts using their arms and hands.

The brothers said they are working on a new version of “Suc Manh Doi Tay,” with more challenging stunts and techniques to continue to compete at international competitions and festivals.

“We are attached to circus and The Strength of the Arms until we are completely unable to continue,” Co underlined.

Vietnam Culture Week kicks off in Iran

The Vietnam Embassy has opened a Vietnam Culture Week in Tehran, Iran with a view to helping people from the two nations get deeper insights into each other’s culture.

Chairman of House of Parties of Iran Ghodrat Ali Heshmatian highlighted his nation’s sentiment toward Vietnam since the war time to nowadays as well as the Embassy’s initiative to organize the cultural event.

 “Heaven is not far away” film project director Andrian Jelveh talked about his film crew’ impressions on Vietnam during the film-making process and explained why such a name is put on the film while describing Vietnam as a heaven of beauty spots not far away from Iran people.

Deputy PM orders faster payment of compensation for mass fish deaths

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình has asked four central provinces to speed up disbursement of compensation for mass fish deaths earlier in April so as to complete the first payment phase before the Tết (Lunar New Year) Festival.

Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế are the provinces that were affected by the toxic spill caused by Taiwanese firm Hưng Nghiêp Formosa Hà Tĩnh Steel Corporation (FHS). The spill caused millions of fish to die, imperiling the health and livelihoods of coastal residents.

In a document issued by the Government Office following a meeting of the steering committee set up to deal with the incident, the Deputy PM also instructed the People’s Committees of the four provinces to work with Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Finance to submit compensation proposals for those not included in the original list of recipients.

Under a September 29 decision, the original list of individuals and businesses eligible for assistance included fishermen, owners of fishing boats and their employees, owners of and workers at seafood cold storage facilities, fish sauce and shrimp paste makers, and fish and shrimp farms. The list was expanded later to include seafood processors, service providers in coastal areas, seafood traders and others.

Bình also asked the Ministry of Health to work with relevant agencies to assess the quality of seafood caught within 20 nautical miles of the four provinces’ seabed and submit the results to the Prime Minister.

He said provincial authorities should sort out their seafood inventories into what can and cannot be used when proposing compensation solutions to a working group led by the Ministry of Industry and Trade that will verify the results.

He also underscored the need to increase communication in seeking public consensus on the government’s compensation efforts as well as supervision of Formosa Corporation’s production processes.

The first phase of compensation disbursement to people suffering from the mass fish deaths began late October and Quảng Trị Province was the first to complete it by the end of November.

The province disbursed over VNĐ202 billion (US$8.9 million) from the Government Budget to owners of fishing boats and their employees.

Most of the compensation recipients in the province said they would use the money to buy fishing tools and invest in expanding farming and animal husbandry to revive production and restore normal lives.

The compensation for the affected will be calculated from April to September 2016, with funds sourced from the $500 million compensation paid by Formosa.

The mass fish deaths were first reported on April 6 when a large number of fish washed ashore in Hà Tĩnh Province. It soon spread to Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế provinces.

About 70 tonnes of dead fish were found in the four central provinces, with Thừa Thiên-Huế Province alone reporting the deaths of 35 tonnes of farm-raised fish.

The spill also affected the lives of over 260,000 people who depend on the sea for a living. 

Sacred commemoration in homage to fallen Trường Sa soldiers

Yesterday on the Cô Lin Reef (Collins Reef) in the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago, officers and leaders of Naval Brigade 146, under Navy Zone 4 High Command, held a commemoration to honour the heroic martyrs who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the noble cause of protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Incense and a national flag-shaped wreath were laid down to the sea by delegates to pay respect and show infinite gratitude to the souls of the fallen soldiers. – VNS Photos Đoàn Tùng.

Players miss V.League 2017 opener

Strikers Hoàng Đình Tùng of FLC Thanh Hóa and Gaston Merlo of SHB Đà Nẵng will miss their first matches when V.League 2017 kicks off next week.

Tùng suffered a knee injury in a friendly tournament match between his team and Hà Nội FC earlier this month.

He had surgery and may only be back in action by the end of January. It means that the 28-year-old player will miss at least the two first matches of the season when Thanh Hóa play former champions Sông Lam Nghệ An on home turf and Sanna Khánh Hòa on away ground.

Merlo, meanwhile, broke his toe during the Mekong Club Cup last week when Đà Nẵng drew 2-2 against Myanmar’s Yadanarbon FC.

Doctors said the Argentinean, who was top scorer last season with 24 goals, needs some six weeks to recover.

Merlo is the second key striker of his team sidelined ahead of the tournament following Võ Huy Toàn, who has a broken arm and is out of work for five months. Both players are not registered for the first half of the V.League.

Đà Nẵng will play Hoàng Anh Gia Lai in the first match and compete against Sài Gòn FC a week later. 

Southern provinces need stronger links

Provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Region should strengthen their linkages to enable the region to capitalise on its development potential, a recent seminar heard in HCM City.

The region, which consists of a city and seven provinces – HCM City, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An and Tien Giang - plays an important role in the country’s economy, accounting for more than 42 percent of GDP, 40 percent of exports and more than 60 percent of tax collections.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee and chairman of the Southern Key Economic Region Council for 2016, said the region was also the pioneer in industrial and services development, especially high-tech, electronics, oil and gas, tourism, telecom, finance and banking, commerce, and logistics.

In 2001-15 the region consistently grew at 1.5 times the national average, he said.

However, the development fell short of potential since the growth quality remains unsustainable while human resource quality is low, he said.

Beside, its infrastructure development has not kept pace with development, and there is a lack of co-operation between its component localities, he added.

Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Phuc, principal of the HCM City Open University, said regional connections have been built over the last 10 years, but the linkages between localities in the region remain poor.

He blamed this on the lack of a strong and capable coordinating board that could assess the development potential of each locality and make a master development plan for the region as a whole.

Phong said the region council chairman’s role stops with receiving feedback from member localities and submit to the Government.

The Government set up a steering committee for the development of the region with former Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai as its head.

But the committee has not convened any meeting so far while is head has moved to another position and no successor has been found.

Therefore, feedback from the region no longer reached the Government, he said.

Ngo Dong Hai, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economics, said “each locality is an independent financial body but assigned common targets such as ensuring growth in the economy, production and foreign investment, improving residents’ lives and others.”

This will mean overall development trumps local interests, he said.

Specific legal framework needed.

Prof Dr Mai Hong Quy, principal of the HCM City University of Law, said to enable the region to develop as it expects, the Government needs to have a specific legal framework for the region with specific policies related to land use and investment attraction.

She and many others urged the Government to increase localities’ share of tax and other revenues to enable them to reinvest and develop.

The Government should allow the region to establish two finance companies to mobilise funds for its development, they said.

They also said the region should focus on improving training to supply to the market qualified workers meeting international standards. 

Nguyen Dinh Trung, deputy director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department of Planning and Investment, said the member localities should jointly suggest ways to the Government and relevant agencies to complete land, waterway, railway and air travel infrastructure in the region.

Dinh La Thang, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said a regional data centre should be established to make it easy for the region to research and support foreign investors.

In the long run, the Government should have suitable policies for developing the region into an open economic zone, he said.

It should review the master zoning and other plans of each locality in the region to avoid overlaps, he said. 

It needs to adopt policies to strongly develop localities with great potential to create a momentum for others with less potential, Phong said, adding that China has such a policy.

National Tourism Year 2016 wraps up in Kien Giang

The National Tourism Year 2016 – Phu Quoc – the Mekong Delta, themed “Discovering the Southern Land”, came to an end at a ceremony held in Phu Quoc island district, Kien Giang province on December 25. 

During the year hosted by Kien Giang, a series of national and global-scale events were held in Mekong Delta cities and provinces and several localities nationwide. 

Chairman of Kien Giang provincial People’s Committee Pham Vu Hong said as a result of the year, the province has attracted 15 tourism projects and served over 5.4 million visitors, up 24 percent annually. 

Of them, over 319,200 are foreigners, a 31.4 percent increase from last year. 

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam hailed the efforts of the tourism sector, local authorities, mass organisations and local communities in improving tourism environment, contributing to the success of the National Tourism Year 2016.  

Revenues from tourism activity rose 18.6 percent while the annual number of international tourist arrivals surged over 26 percent to reach 10 million for the first time ever, he said. 

The Deputy PM expressed his hope that the National Tourism Year 2017, themed “Northwest Colours” and hosted by the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, will further propel Vietnam’s tourism forward.

Vietnamese ticketholders win US$7 million lottery jackpot

Vietlott, the operator of an American-style lottery, on December 25 announced that two ticketholders have won a total of nearly VND160 billion (US$7 million).

The winning numbers are 05 - 12 - 20 - 29 - 34 – 36 and for the first time there will be two winners to claim the much-sought prizes, according to the company's website. This means that each winner will take home around VND72 billion, or 3.2 million, after paying a 10% income tax.

Vietnam’s average annual income was US$2,100 last year, according to the World Bank.

They are the seventh and eighth winner of the Mega 6/45 since mid-October. The value of previous top prizes ranged from US$2.4 million to more than US$4 million.

Vietlott in early December officially expanded to Hanoi with 150 agents, hoping to replicate its success of the past few months in the country’s south.

In January, Vietlott signed an exclusive 18-year contract with Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya to launch computerized lottery games.

The Mega 6/45 is the company's first foray into the market. Players select six numbers from 1 to 45 and win a jackpot that starts at VND12 billion (US$538,000) by matching all six numbers from the draw. Each ticket costs VND10,000 (40 cents).

The prize will keep growing until there is a winner. The odds of winning have been estimated at around one in 8.14 million.

Vietnam generally does not allow its citizens to gamble, but lottery tickets are popular across the country.

Traditional lottery tickets in Vietnam have predetermined numbers printed on them, with the highest prize set at VND1.5 billion (US$65,900).

Facing tough competition from Vietlott’s Mega game, the companies behind these traditional tickets have decided to raise the top prize by 33% to VND2 billion, starting next year.

Hanoi police seek charges against Japanese men for gold smuggling

Hanoi police have proposed that the prosecutor’s office press charges against two Japanese citizens for attempting to smuggle US$260,000 worth of gold earlier this year.

Kitada Takayoshi, 33, was caught on August 3 at Noi Bai International Airport while allegedly trying to bring seven gold statuettes out of Vietnam on a flight to Tokyo.

Customs officers detected metal objects in his carry-on luggage and found the statuettes, weighing seven kilograms (15 lbs) in total.

The passenger later confessed that the gold statuettes were worth approximately 31 million yen (US$260,000).

Hanoi police then arrested 35-year-old Iwamura Masakazu, who was accused of assisting in the gold smuggling attempt. The second man flew to Vietnam soon after the case was busted.

Hanoi’s new attempt to improve public manners

Hanoi has started a new public campaign to improve the manners of its residents, hoping that there will be more queuing and less littering.

In a new list of dos and don’ts for public places, Hanoians are also told not to spit, urinate, use bad language or dress indecently.

Among the things that they should do are abiding the law and respecting others, especially disabled people, the elderly and pregnant women.

To Van Dong, who heads the city's culture department, said the list came after officials unveiled new etiquette rules for civil servants, ranging from office dress codes to the use of perfume.

Such efforts to alter public behavior is not a new concept in Vietnam as the idea of moral education is still very much engrained in Vietnamese thinking.

The new etiquette rules will come into effect early next year. While public order offenses such as urination and littering have already been or will soon be subjected to fines, it remains unclear how other bad manners will be policed and dealt with.

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