Measures to promote transport infrastructure development in rural areas and the use of official development assistance (ODA) for the work was the focus of a seminar held by the Dai bieu nhan dan (People's Deputy) newspaper in Hanoi on June 26.

The event aimed to gather opinions of NA deputies, experts, scientists, and managers on the current rural transport development and issues in the coming time. 

Participants said transport has significantly contributed to promoting socio-economic development in general and serving agricultural production and rural development in particular. 

In recent years, capital sources for developing rural transport infrastructure have been increasing, including ODA. The Government has spent a remarkable amount of ODA capital for rural transport projects.

In the last five years, about 48 trillion VND (2.1 billion USD) was poured into rural transport, up over 10 trillion VND from those for the 2005-2010 period. The ODA capital for rural transport accounted for between 10 percent and 15 percent of the total source for transport construction. 

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong underlined the importance of stepping up transport development, which he described as a foundation for developing other sectors.

While highlighting the role of rural transport in poverty reduction, deputy head of the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs Bui Si Loi affirmed the NA and Government need to continue prioritising investment for transport development, and consider the work as part of activities to promote sustainable poverty reduction. 

Deputy head of the NA Council of Ethnic Affairs Nguyen Lam Thanh emphasised the involvement of local people and authorities in rural transport development.-

Hai Phong asked to turn private sector into momentum of development

The northern port city of Hai Phong should make greater efforts to turn the private sector an important motivation of its economic development, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

At a working session with the municipal Party Committee’s Standing Board on June 26, PM Phuc said that, despite its strong performance in the first half of 2017, Hai Phong has yet to meet requirements as the major industrial hub of the country and the driving force for socio-economic development of the northern coastal region.

The government leader asked Hai Phong to mull over development orientations to deserve its position as the third largest city of the country and develop itself into a green, modern port city, and a big centre of services and industries with high competitiveness edge.

To contribute to the country’s economic growth of 6.7 percent this year, Hai Phong must strive to achieve a 14 percent GDP growth rate in 2017, he said.

The PM suggested that Hai Phong coordinate with domestic and foreign agencies in completing its development planning to make it a leading seaport centre of the country and the region.

At the same time, Hai Phong should continue improving its investment environment, enhancing its competitiveness through speeding up administrative reform, and complete its infrastructure system for tourism, turning tourism an important economic sector of the city, he said.

Statistics released at the working session showed that in the first half of 2017, Hai Phong saw the highest gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth in the past 10 years.

The total volume of goods handed by Hai Phong port reached 43 million tonnes, up almost 13.8 percent, while total social investment was 23.9 trillion VND, an increase of 22.56 percent. The city’s budget collection topped 35 trillion VND, a rise of 10.7 percent.

Hai Phong remained one of the top 10 most attractive investment destinations with 24 foreign-invested projects licenced in the first six months of this year, while 20 existing projects permitted to increase their investment, with a combined capital of 617 million USD.

The city also disbursed over 3.7 trillion VND as public investment, equivalent to 40.8 percent of the annual plan. The number of newly-established firms in the first six months of 2017 was 1,598, 23.7 percent higher than the same period last year, with a combined capital of over 7.4 trillion VND.

Vietnamese in India, Nepal look towards homeland’s sea, islands

The Vietnamese Embassy in India on June 26 launched a campaign themed “Looking towards the homeland’s sea and islands.”

The programme aims to promote solidarity among Vietnamese in India and Nepal to protect sea and islands of the homeland. 

At the launching ceremony, the participants, including the embassy staff and officials of other Vietnamese agencies, donated their one day’s salary to support forces who are protecting national sovereignty at sea. 

The campaign will last until September, 2017.

More martyrs’ remains repatriated from Cambodia in dry season

The team for searching and repatriating martyrs’ remains of the southern province of Long An brought home 21 sets of remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers and experts from Cambodia during the 2016-2017 dry season.

At a conference to review the work on June 26, the team also revealed that it helped move and rebury 38 sets of remains of martyrs who laid down their lives in domestic battlefields.

On this occasion, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Can presented certificates of merit to five collectives and ten individuals who made important contributions to the search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese martyrs who died in Cambodia.

Also during the 2016-2017 dry season, two teams for searching and repatriating martyrs’ remains in Tay Ninh province collected 263 sets of remains of Vietnamese martyrs in Cambodia.

From the 2001-2002 dry season until now, the two teams discovered and repatriated 4,131 sets of remains of martyrs from Cambodia.-

PM pledges actions to build facilitating Government to voters

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that not only the central government but also grassroots administrations must take actions to build a transparent and facilitating Government while meeting with voters in the northern port city of Hai Phong on June 26.

“The construction of a transparent and facilitating Government must be carried out with actions, not just through words”, he said.

The PM also spoke about the government’s measures to address a number of socio-economic issues of great public concern.  

Answering a question on the settlement of 12 prolonged loss-making projects, PM Phuc reiterated the Government’s viewpoint of quickly recover the lost property.

The investigating bodies have launched criminal proceedings against and detained some stakeholders who will be strictly punished according to law, he added.

Regarding numerous violations of the order to close natural forests in the Central Highlands, the PM stressed that the responsibility of local authorities will be clarified in implementing the Government leader’s directions while resolutely preventing violations from re-occurring.

Regarding the fight against corruption, Phuc said positive changes have been recorded in the detection and handling of corruption cases, adding that many corruption cases will be drastically addressed in the coming time. 

Talking about the East Sea issue, the PM stated that Vietnam pursues the policy of building peace, friendship, and freedom of aviation and navigation in the sea, on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while well implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

“Vietnam protects her legitimate interests via implementing international law on the East Sea issue”, he affirmed.

At the meeting, the PM also explained policies for persons who made contributions to the nation and the revolution, the implementation of policies on high tech agriculture development and education reform.

He also briefed the outcomes of the third session of the 14th National Assembly and his official visits to the US and Japan.

GCF funds project to increase Vietnam’s climate change resilience

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on June 26 announced a GCF-funded project to increase the resilience to climate change for coastal residents in Vietnam.

The 29.5 million USD project, approved by the GCF in 2016, has been developed as a partnership between the UNDP, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Construction, the MPI and coastal provinces.

It will focus on supporting communities vulnerable to natural disasters to protect themselves from the impacts of frequent typhoons and floods and improve their livelihoods.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong said that Vietnam has an urgent need for investment to mitigate climate change impacts, reduce risks and develop the low-carbon economy.

This project is the first step in the long-term strategic partnership between Vietnam and the GCF, he stated, adding that the country also wants to contribute to the fund and share its experience with other GCF-supported countries.

Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, said that UNDP is working with the Vietnamese Government on initiatives to strengthen the resilience to extreme climate phenomena for poor people in rural areas, many of whom are women and ethnic minorities.

Vietnam is one of the 30 countries rated as at “extreme risk” of climate change by Maplecroft, a global risk and strategic consulting firm based in the UK, in its Climate Change Vulnerability Index within the next 30 years via 42 socio-economic and environmental factors.

During 1992-2012, natural disasters claimed the lives of 457 people, destroying over 96,000 houses, and caused losses equivalent to 1.3 percent of GDP each year. 

The rate of poor households accounts for 23 percent in coastal areas, two times higher than the average rate of the country, which is partly caused by natural disaster-related losses.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of the central coastal province of Thanh Hoa, Nguyen Duc Quyen said to cope with climate change, it is necessary to mobilize resources from the private sector in the forms of public-private partnership, official development assistance (ODA) and aid of non-Governmental organisations.

He also stressed the need for the Government to upgrade sea and river dykes, improve the early disaster warning system, support poor households in production and build livelihood models adaptive to climate change.

At the event, delegates also discussed Vietnam’s strategy to access the GCF with focus on the country’s strong commitments to climate change, investment in climate change adaptation and green growth and strengthening strategic cooperation between Vietnam and the fund.

Vietnamese students in Belgium convene third congress

The Vietnamese Students Association in Belgium (SIVIBI) on June 25 convened its third congress to review activities during 2014-2017 and set out orientations for the next three years.

Attending the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vuong Thua Phong encouraged Vietnamese students to further participate in external activities of the embassy and affirmed that the embassy would continue support for the students in the host nation.

He suggested that the association should enhance connections with the General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium to popularise Vietnam’s culture and cuisine to international friends.

In its 2014-2017 tenure, the association gained significant achievements, including sharing learning experience, supporting new students with learning materials, accommodation, travel and other necessary procedures.

The congress elected a new executive board for the 2017-2020 tenure with seven members led by Trinh Hoang Khai.

There are some 300 Vietnamese students living and studying in Belgium’s big cities like Brussels, Gent, Louvain, Liege and Antwerp.

Social investment in Central Highlands increases

Social investment in the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands has increased in recent years thanks to the improvement of the business environment.

According to the regional Steering Committee, total social investment in the region reached 267.6 trillion VND (11.77 billion USD) in 2011-2015 from 40 trillion VND (1.76 billion USD) in 2001-2005.

The proportion of non-State capital poured into the region rose from 38.37 percent in 2006 to nearly 70 percent in 2015, with Gia Lai the most attractive destination.

Central Highland provinces focused investment on developing the transport system and building irrigation facilities in Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Lam Dong.

In 2016, total gross regional domestic product exceeded 151 trillion VND (6.64 billion USD), a year-on-year rise of 7.47 percent, and per capita GRDP was estimated at 39.56 million VND (1,740 USD), up 8.57 percent.

The Central Highlands comprises Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong provinces, with total population of about 5.64 million people and 47 ethnic groups.

1 dead, 1 injured after motorbike crash in southern Vietnam

A province of Dong Nai motorbike driver is dead and his passenger left clinging to life in a hospital bed after a crash this morning (June 26) in the southern Vietnam city of Bien Hoa.

The motorbike was travelling at a high rate of speed on National Highway 51 in the city of Bien Hoa when it lost control and collided head on with an oncoming truck, according to police officials investigating the accident.

Police officials said their preliminary investigation revealed that the driver, Nguyen Van Giau, 58, of the motorbike was travelling to fast for road conditions and was killed upon impact with the truck.

The female passenger of the motorbike was transported to the hospital with serious life-threatening injuries.

The name of the woman has not been released pending notification of the family.

Quảng Ninh coal mining sector to protect environment

The People’s Committee of northern Quảng Ninh Province has ordered the coal mining sector to implement urgent solutions to protect the environment.
Accordingly, the committee has asked for lowering the height of coal dumps, planting trees to cover the dumps and stepping up monitoring of the environment.
Việt Nam Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) and Đông Bắc Corporation under the Ministry of Defence have proposed solutions under six groups.
The proposals include solutions to avoid landslides and rocks floating to protect the environment; dredging and improving water drainage system; relocating inhabitants out of risky areas; treating waste water, water on the surface, toxic waste and solid waste; and reducing level of dust, noise and emissions. Vinacomin also proposed recovering environment of some 190ha of land with dumps at Chính Bắc Núi Béo, Đông Cao Sơn and Hà Ráng areas within this year.
In addition, the corporation aims to stop dumping of coal at dumps exposed to Highway 18A during the 2018-20 period and construct conveyor belts to transport coal from and to ports and power plants by 2020.
To effectively implement the proposals, deputy chairman of Quảng Ninh Province’s People’s Committee Đặng Huy Hậu asked the two corporations to share the conveyor belt system to avoid waste, reduce released dust while using the mistorising system and launch projects to dredge rivers and streams.
The companies were also urged to build automatic environmental monitoring stations following standards.
Earlier, households living in Mông Dương Ward, Cẩm Phả City, submitted a petition to local authorities detailing the risks they face from coal mining activities of the Thăng Long One Member Ltd Company, located nearby.
Within this month alone, three downpours have washed mud from the company’s dumps towards houses in the area, causing floods and landslides. Some families have been forced to leave their homes for temporary shelters.
Hoàng Ngọc Chí, a local, said the company started coal mining activities in July 2015, dumping piles of soil and rock 30 to 70m high without any safety measures. The dumps are less than 50m from the houses of locals.
The company often drills the ground for mine explosions without informing the public. 

Drop in traffic accidents, deaths

More than 9,500 traffic accidents occurred across the country in the first six months of this year, killing more than 4,100 people and injuring more than 7,900, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

The numbers represent a drop of 636 in the number of accidents, 229 in the number of dead and 1,004 in the number of injured compared with the same period last year.

The dealiest accident occurred in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai at the beginning of May when a coach crash into a lorry killing 13 people and injuring dozens of others.

In June, more than 1,500 traffic accidents were recorded with more than 600 dead and more than 1,300 injured.

Teen survives being stabbed in heart

Doctors at the Định Quán Town General Hospital in the southern province of Đồng Nai successfully operated on a 16-year-old after he was stabbed in the heart.

Nguyễn Minh Sang was hospitalised on Thursday in a serious condition with the wound about two centimetres deep.

Doctors conducted surgery within two hours.

Tạ Quang Trí, deputy director of the hospital, said that Sang might have died if he hadn’t undergone the timely surgery.

Sang is now stable and should be discharged from the hospital in 7-10 days.

Eight weak bridges in dire need of repairs

Hà Nội Urban Traffic Works Investment Management Board has proposed the city allocate fund to upgrade eight weak bridges.

In 2011, the municipal People’s Committee was approved to appoint contractors to build or upgrade 34 bridges in the city. The projects were deemed urgent to ensure traffic flow and safety, yet not all the bridges have received upgrades.

After six years of implementation, 16 bridges have been reported as downgraded. Of those, eight were seriously weak, including Chiếc Bridge in Thường Tín District, Suối Hai 1 in Ba Vì District, Phú Tiên Bridge in Hà Nam District, Hạ Dục in Chương Mỹ District, Gốm in Chương Mỹ District, Hồng Phú in Thanh Oai District, Phú Thứ in Thạch Thất District and Ái Mỗ in Sơn Tây Town.

These bridges have a high usage rate, causing traffic congestion and danger, especially during stormy season. Management units have installed warning signals on trucks’ weight and mobilised staff to be on duty during peak hours to monitor the bridges.

Chiếc Bridge was built in 1999 with maximum capacity of 10 tonnes. In 2010, the bridge was reinforced with steel plates on its surface and a barrier was installed to prevent trucks taller than 2.1 metres getting through.

However, since the Giáp Bát-Kim Bài bus route was set up, the barrier has become useless.

A resident in Hiền Giang Commune’s Nhân Hiền Commune said that the bridge was slippery in the rain and traffic jams struck everyday.

Other bridges are in the same situation. Ái Mỗ Bridge even lacks a pedestrian path, forcing them to walk under the bridge on the road for vehicles.

Phùng Tuấn Minh, director of Hà Tây Road Management No1 Company said that among these eight bridges, some were built in the previous century with outdated technical criteria and low capacity, which failed to ensure traffic flow.

Head of Thạch Thất District’s People’s Committee’s Urban Management Unit Phí Đình Phùng said these bridges had not been upgraded due to a shortage of funds.

He cited Hạ Dục, Gốm, Hồng Phú bridges as examples. The bridges were approved for upgrades in 2012, but these have not been carried out.

Capital investment for these bridges was about VNĐ10-115 billion (US$440,000-5.06 million) depending on the repair levels.

Phùng said that upgrading the bridges was necessary and should be done promptly to ensure socio-economic development in the city.

Fishermen resuced at sea

The Việt Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre (VMRCC) and the Nghệ An Border Guards yesterday rescued 17 seamen from a floundering fishing ship.

At about 3pm on Friday the VMRCC received signals asking for help from the fishing ship, owned by Hoàng Văn Hoa, from Cửa Lò Town, the central province of Nghệ An. The ship’s enginge stopped working, water was going to flood the ship and the seamen had ran out of food and water. At that time the ship was about 110 nautical miles off the province’s Lạch Quèn seaport.

The VMRCC reached the vessel at 9am on Saturday, with the crew having been battered by strong waves.

The ship and its crew were taken to the Cửa Lò seaport.

Programme honours Raglai ethnic people’s culture

An arts programme, introducing the unique cultural identities of the Raglai ethnic minority people from Ninh Thuan province, will take place at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Dong Mo, Son Tay district, Hanoi, on June 24-25. 

Themed ‘Giac mo Chapi’ (Chapi dream), the programme will offer visitors an opportunity to enjoy the performances with the Chapi, a traditional musical instrument of the Raglai people.

In addition, visitors will have the chance to learn about the origin of the instrument, as well as the way to make the Chapi.

During the programme, the ‘bo ma’ ritual, an important and traditional ceremonial ritual in which the Raglai ethnic group pays tribute to the dead, will also be reproduced. Raglai people believe that two separate worlds exist at the same time – one for the living and one for the dead. The ritual is believed to help the dead unite with their ancestors and become reborn into a new life.

The programme will also honour the cuisine of the Raglai people in Ninh Thuan province, including traditional food and offerings in their spiritual rituals.

Notably, the relationship between Raglai and Cham ethnic group will be introduced at the programme.

As many as 20 photos on the beauty of Ninh Thuan province, as well as activities in the daily life of local Raglai people, will be on display during the two days of the programme, which is expected to attract a large number of visitors.

Number of visitors soars 50% during Da Nang firework festival

The number of visitors to the Da Nang International Firework Festival (DIFF) 2017 has surged by 50% in the two months of festival.

The information was announced on June 22, by the organising board of the 2017 DIFF, at a press conference outlining the programme during the festival’s final round and the result of the 2017 Firework Display on Computer Competition.

Themed “Shining Marble Mountains”, the 2017 DIFF has offered a lot of activities to entertain visitors, in addition to the eight nights of fireworks on display from April 30 to June 24.

The festival featured the participation of eight teams from different eight countries – Switzerland, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Austria and Vietnam.

Over 6,000 artists and actors have also participated in the event. Up to now, the investment cost for the event stands at nearly VND130 billion, with nearly 100,000 tickets being issued. In particular, the amount of funding from donors (including artifacts) is around VND37.5 billion.

According to General Director Le Quy Duong, the final round of the fireworks festival promises to bring spectacular performances combining harmony and light. During the final round, three fireworks teams from the UK, Australia and Italy, who are considered as the "players" in the world of fireworks, will showcase their most modern techniques.

The winners of the 2017 DIFF Championship will be awarded a US$ 10,000 prize after the final round.

As part of the press conference, the organising board honoured the three most outstanding works in the 2017 Firework Display on Computer Competition.

HCMC says to cut tourism services checks

Tourism services providers in HCMC will not have to meet as many inspection teams of authorities as before, said city vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen.

The city government told relevant agencies to strictly implement Decree 103/2009/ND-CP of the Government governing cultural activities and services.

The city has fetched VND451 trillion (US$19.8 billion) from retail and tourism in the first six months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 10.3%.

The city has welcomed about 2.8 million visitors in the year to date, up 14.7% year-on-year and accounting for 51.5% of the year’s plan. Tourism revenue rose 12% to VND53.6 trillion, representing 47.9% of the full-year plan.

Switzerland assists Vietnam to develop natural ingredients

Hanoi last week saw the launch of a Switzerland-funded project designed to conserve biodiversity through sustainable trade of natural ingredients following the BioTrade principles in Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

The BioTrade project is financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, a Swiss government agency, and carried out by Helvetas Vietnam, a Swiss-based international non-government organization.

Total capital of the project for Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar is US$4.9 million, with US$2.7 million for Vietnam by 2020, according to a statement issued by Helvetas Vietnam.

The natural ingredient sector has been facing a slew of challenges. For instance, the overexploitation of biodiversity-based resources from natural forests for exporting to low-quality markets like China is threatening the environment and livelihoods of upland farmers, and limiting export opportunities for local companies, said Nguyen Que Anh, director of Vietnam Star Anise Processing and Exporting Co Ltd.

The project pays special attention to enhancing the competitiveness of local exporters and producers, and the livelihoods of rural residents, and encouraging them to apply BioTrade principles, according to Miroslav Delaporte, head of cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam.

“Over the next three years, we will work to increase the competitiveness of local exporters and enable them access high-end markets, while providing better income and job opportunities for harvesters and producers. By incorporating the principles of BioTrade, we will ensure that, biodiversity is protected and encouraged during this process,” said Andrew Wilson, regional project manager of Helvetas Vietnam.

BioTrade refers to the collection, production, transformation and commercialization of goods and services derived from the native biodiversity in line with the criteria of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Natural ingredients are products processed from plants, animals and microorganisms collected and cultivated in the wild or domesticated and produced in an ecological way, without the use of petrochemicals. They are used in many ways in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics or food industries for commercial purposes.

In Vietnam, regional museums are a state budget black hole

While museums in Ho Chi Minh City lack the exhibition space to display prized artifacts and national treasures, counterparts elsewhere crave both the funding and technology to protect their exhibits from permanent damage.

Several lack the essential infrastructure to operate or exhibit their valuable artifacts publicly, and receive scarce visitors, let alone appeal to tourists.
Some are unable to employ qualified staff and have made basic mistakes in identifying their own artifacts.

During a recent visit to the Museum of Vietnamese History, near the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, at 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1, Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the municipal Department of Tourism, made the observation that local museums should create more compelling ‘narratives’ in order to make them regular destinations for tourists instead of attempting to cram such a large number of items into a limited space.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, Hoang Anh Tuan, the museums director, acknowledged the shortcomings.

“While the museum space remains unchanged, its number of artifacts has surged eightfold since 1975 to 40,000 individual pieces, with the majority covered in dust inside a warehouse,” he added.

The institution has become desperate for space to properly showcase and preserve its collection of national treasures.

One of these is the museum’s collection of more than 100 age-old Buddha statues. Currently, only 20 are on public display.  

An appropriate area to exhibit more antiques from Vietnam’s Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the country’s last monarchy, remains Tuan and his predecessors’ burning desire, as they can now only display around one-sixth of their total assortment.

The Museum of Southern Vietnamese Women, at 202 Vo Thi Sau, District 3, does not fare much better.

Its valued collection includes wartime banknotes, 200 ao dai (a traditional Vietnamese gown) worn by celebrities, and approximately 15,000 war mementos still awaiting their first public showing.

Unbeknownst to most, eight years ago the municipal People’s Committee granted the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, at 65 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, VND3 billion (US$ 130,793) to purchase a collection of 220 gold and silver coins and bars used as bonuses during the Nguyen Dynasty.

Luu Tuyet Trinh, the museum’s deputy director, said they had so far only been able to put a portion of the collection on view due to a lack of proper exhibition space.

The situation is equally grim and even worse in other parts of the country.

A worrying number of artifacts, including some designated as national treasures, have suffered from years of neglect.

Among them are two of the three Uy Phuc cannons, both named Bao Quoc An Dan Dai Tuong Quan (High-ranking General who fights to safeguard his country and people), which were recognized by the government as national treasures in late 2013.  

The otherwise cherished items are currently lying neglected in an aisle at Ha Tinh Museum in the namesake province in north-central Vietnam.

Nguyen Tri Son, the museum’s director, acknowledged the risk of extensive damage, adding they had no other choice, other than spending millions of dong (VND1 million = $44) saving the items from further decay.

The cultural facility is currently home to more than 8,000 prized artifacts which fill four warehouses to capacity.

“Our ‘cutting-edge’ equipment includes electric fans and vacuum cleaners. It really makes our hearts ache to see the items wasting away, but our hands are tied,” Son noted.

Nghe An Museum in the namesake province in the north-central region, which prides itself on 25,000 pieces, is in a similar state.

Its centuries-old collectibles from Vac Village, representing the peak of the Dong Son culture that flourished between 700 and 100 BC, lie dormant and at the mercy of the elements.

Several of these priceless cultural exhibits, including exquisitely adorned daggers and iconic bronze drums, currently fetch thousands of U.S. dollars on the open market.

According to Nguyen Duc Kiem, the museum’s acting director, the institution can do little to prevent the collection, as well as others crafted from paper, leather, fabric or herbs, from further deterioration.

Meanwhile, Hue Cultural Museum, located in Hue City, the country’s former imperial capital, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, remains ‘an empty institution.'

Established in 1989, the facility did not settle into its current home, two French villas, until 2012, after its directorate had sought an official premise for years.

With a mere 752 artifacts and 12 staff members, only two of whom are qualified, the museum’s regular activities so far include leasing space for exhibitions, and ca Hue (traditional Hue music) performances.

Nguyen Hong Hoa Tranh, its director, admitted that they were yet to hold any exhibitions given the paltry number of items, and are yet to receive sufficient funding to make purchases, which is also a time-consuming process.

Experts, however, have pointed out that even if museums manage to recruit qualified personnel, most of the staff are not knowledgeable about the artifacts, particularly how to tell fakes from the genuine articles.

Commune officials take high school graduation exam

The recent National High School Graduation Exam saw some special candidates, one of whom was Hoang Thi Dong (46), a member of the Women's Union of Hong Tien commune, Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province. 

Ms. Dong took her 2017 national high school exams at Kim Dong Primary School (A Luoi town, A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province).

According to Ms. Dong, she had failed nine high school graduation exams.

Ms. Dong taking her 2017 national high school exams at Kim Dong Primary School (A Luoi town, A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province).

Although not being confident in her answers, she still hoped to pass the exam at her 10th attempt.

"I have become a grandmother this year. However, to better serve career, I still have to try my best to study and get a high-school certificate. Learning is a lifetime job and I want to set an example for my children, showing thema lesson: never be discouraged", she said.

Mr. Huynh Truong Than, Chairman of the Examination Board of Kim Dong Primary School, said that 200 candidates from 3 high-schools in the area participated in the exams. There were some aged examinees.

The oldest examinee was Nguyen Van Quy (47), a resident of Hong Tien commune, Huong Tra town while a number of others were communal-level officers.

New Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has appointed Mr. Trinh Thi Thuy as Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ms. Thuy was former Director-General of Grassroots Cultural Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Noi Bai airport tells airlines to reduce delays

The Nội Bài International Airport has asked all domestic airlines to improve operations so as to cut down on the increasing number of flight delays recorded recently.

Airlines that have been asked to get their act together includes national carrier Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air and Jetstar Pacific.

Figures from June 1 to 15 show that VietJet Air led the list, with 435 of its total 1,094 flights being delayed, or 39.8 per cent.

Vietnam Airlines had 191 delayed flights of its 1,489 flights, or 12.8 per cent. Its subsidiary Jetstar Pacific operated a total of 244 flights, of which 26.2 per cent was delayed.

The Nội Bài airport has instructed the airlines to strengthen their flight operations control to minimise the number of delays, and to improve the experience for passengers. 

Houses on farmland in HCMC can be reconstructed

Existing houses on farmland that had been in use prior to July 1, 2006 can be repaired, upgraded or reconstructed with a height limit of three storeys, according to a new decision on construction licensing issued Tuesday by the HCMC government. 

In particular, houses built before the planning scheme of scale 1/2,000 was approved by government agencies can be repaired, upgraded or reconstructed but not exceeding three storeys.

Houses that were built after the planning scheme of scale 1/2,000 was approved by government agencies can be repaired (raising the floor, raising the roof, upgrading the floor and roof by using light materials and repairing the walls) but changes to the houses’ structure and functions are disallowed.

For houses inside safety corridors for bridges, their owners are allowed to do simple repairs that do not affect or change the houses’ structure, scale and functions, such as raising the floor and the roof, repairing the walls, and upgrading the floor and roof by using light materials.

Besides, the municipal government allows the management boards of the Saigon South New Urban Area, Thu Thiem New Urban Area and Tay Bac Urban Area as well as the management boards of Saigon Hi-Tech Park and other industrial zones and export processing zones to grant construction permits to buildings within their assigned precincts, except individual houses, special buildings like historic or cultural monuments and statues.