Overseas Vietnamese students active in promoting Vietnamese image in Russia

A performance at the event in Russia. 

Traditional Vietnamese cultural values were introduced to international students in Russia via a range of special performances by Vietnamese students in Moscow.

During a recent Vietnam Cultural Day event held at the Moscow-based Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), overseas Vietnamese students presented a range of special cultural activities to the host imbued with the national identity.

Performances by Vietnamese students from the RUDN and various other universities in Moscow commemorated the memorable milestones stretching through the nation’s struggles to defend and build the country.

Luong Trung Kien, Head of the Overseas Vietnamese Student Unit at the RUDN, said that the event organised by his unit aimed to provide better and more accurate knowledge on the country and people of Vietnam for the international students, thus contributing to promoting Vietnamese tourism and culture to international friends. Furthermore, it also offered opportunities for the overseas Vietnamese students to tighten their solidarity.

In addition to the performances, the festival, which wrapped up yesterday, also featured roundtable discussions on themes related to Vietnam, as well as cultural exhibitions, cuisine activities and a mini football tournament, attracting great attention from international students to the unique Vietnamese culture.

Praising the Vietnamese students’ efforts in successfully organising the culture week, Andrey Mikhailovich, Head of Asian Students’ Affairs at the RUDN, said that the event offered guests a small trip to Vietnam.

Vuong Thi Ngan, a foreign language Vietnamese student, said that the event brought an opportunity for international students who want to learn more about Vietnamese culture and customs.

The event offers an opportunity for international students who want to learn more about the Vietnamese culture and customs.

Recurrence of tetanus in South Vietnam

Since the beginning of the year, the Tropical Disease Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City admitted cases of tetanus from southern provinces.

The infection cases increased double compared to same period last year. The relapse of tetanus surprised medical workers with severe cases.

One of serious case in the hospital’s Intensive care unit is 62 year old man hailing from Cu Chi District who is being put on ventilator. His wife said he had stepped on a rusty nail while working in the garden.

Though the wound was festering, he applied quick disinfection.

Two weeks later, he had a stiff painful jaw; his relatives rushed him to the local infirmary for emergency treatment where doctors diagnosed him to have tetanus. He was transferred to the Tropical Disease hospital where he fell into coma.

The hospital is treating 25 tetanus patients all in ventilators. Vice Head of the intensive care unit Dr. Duong Bich Thuy said that all patients are taken to the hospital when they are in critical condition. Most of them are elderly people.

For elderly people, those suffering diabetes, and high blood pressure, their resistance is weak; accordingly, their illness will be worse.

Statistically, the hospital admits 250 - 300 tetanus patients annually. In three first months, the number of ill people grew double to 100 inpatients.

Medical workers warned people to inject against the disease. Each vaccine shot is priced at VND200,000 - VND300,000 while treatment cost of a case is VND40 - VND100 million.

Microsoft introduces new developments on smart security

Microsoft has just officially announced new tools and technologies regarding smart security in San Francisco to help businesses protect their precious data as well as local networks from emerging cyber threats and potential risks related to Internet of Things (IoT) devices or edge devices.

These new solutions can be used to strengthen the defense of large ecosystems against cyber security hazards coming from cloud computing and edge computing.

Azure Sphere is the first general platform ever to be able to create highly secure connections between microcontroller units (MCUs) for smart edge. This new platform has MCUs that are over five times more powerful than older MCUs. These MCUs will be run by an optimized operating system to guarantee IoT security, along with cloud security to protect all Azure Sphere devices. With Azure Sphere, Microsoft has expanded the smart edge, boosted the capacity of a new generation of equipment while successfully protecting them. 

Another introduction is the smart security solution called Office 365 Security Score and Attack Simulator to not only simplify tasks but also ensure safety. Secure Score helps organizations easily identify which settings to activate to protect users, data, and devices by quickly estimating how aligned users are with best security practices. It will then assign a general security score. Attack Simulator, a part of Office 365 Threat Intelligence, allows security groups to run simulated attacks similar to ransomware and phishing to test employees’ reactions as well as optimize the configurations.

One more noticeable development is the solution to automatically detect potential threats and then erase them, which is a time relief to security groups. Accordingly, in the latest update of Windows 10, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) will work alongside with other parts of Microsoft 365 to ensure security against threats by investigating and fixing security risks in Office 365, Windows and Azure. This means that the latest update of Windows 10 will be able to take advantage of Artificial Intelligence and advanced machine learning models to quickly detect and respond to threats of any scale in terminals in a few seconds.

According to Mr. Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, all the damages caused by cyber-attacks last year signal a fact that cyber security threats are becoming larger and more serious. Therefore, we need new technological breakthroughs to stop them. The developments of Microsoft today are not only for cloud computing but also for millions of new devices which are working at the edge of international networks.

PM approves pilot project of electric cars

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has just agreed the pilot program of electric cars to serve tourists across tourism areas in the provinces Phu Yen, Lam Dong, Ben Tre and Bac Lieu.

The PM emphasized the pilot program will only be deployed to electric cars which meet the standards of technology safety, environment protection and current regulations.

The pilot will start within three years.

The PM assigned the above-mentioned provinces’ People’s Committee must check limited operation time and routes of electric cars.

Danang fines food safety violators

The Danang government has fined 88 food trading and manufacturing entities for administrative violations after some 2,599 units were inspected in quarter one, said Nguyen Tan Hai, head of the Danang Food Safety Management Board.

Hai told a review meeting on food safety and hygiene last week that of 120 food processors and traders checked, eight were fined over VND37 million. Besides, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development carried out inspections of 111 food-trading units in which 43 were fined a total of VND90 million.

Hai told the Daily that the city has no laboratories capable of testing chopped meat for Sodium Benzoate at some processors found to violate food safety regulations.

In quarter two, Hai said, 10 inspections will be carried out, especially of agro-aqua-forestry products which are often found to have residues of banned substances.

Number of visitors flying to Da Nang rockets

Visitors to the central city of Da Nang by air on the occasion of the Independence Day is estimated to number 27,450, a year-on-year increase of 77.7%, according to the province’s Department of Tourism. 

On the occasion, the total number of tourists to the city may reach 342,992, up 10.2%, including 108,930 foreigners, up 28.8% and 234,062 domestic ones, up 3.2%. 

From April 30-May 1, the number of staying guests may be 119,624 ones, up 9.3%, consisting of 53,108 foreigners, up 18.4% and 66,516 domestic visitors, up 3%. 

The increase in the number of visitors is attributed to the organization of Da Nang International Fireworks Festival 2018 (DIFF 2018), themed “The Legend of Bridges”, which will kick off on April 30 and end on June 30 with the aim of making Da Nang a unique cultural festival tourism space.  

Along with the fireworks performances, many attractive auxiliary festivals will be organized in the framework of DIFF 2017 such as a food festival, a flash mob dance performance for students, and a street carnival show.

HCMC government hires pump system to fight flooding

The HCMC government last week reviewed preliminary results of a project to use an industrial-scale pump to control flooding on Nguyen Huu Canh Street and signed an agreement on flood prevention with Quang Trung Industry Group Joint Stock Company as the pump operator.

At the meeting, Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung, deputy director of the Steering Center of the HCMC Urban Control Flood Program, said that to control flooding on Nguyen Huu Canh Street, the pumping system was deployed 13 times in 2017, out of which 10 times the operation was smooth but the street still ended up being submerged under 10 to 30 centimeters of water in the remaining three times.

According to Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the HCMC Department of Transport, the pump belonging to the Quang Trung Group not only has a huge capacity but also provides other functions like pumping mud and small garbage. During the 13 times of deployment, Cuong said, the pump achieved initial success, but it is necessary to pilot it during high tides and downpours.

Nguyen Tang Cuong, general director of Quang Trung Group, proposed the municipal government pilot such a pumping system in other flood-prone areas in the city.

Regarding fee, a representative of the Finance Department said that the hiring service fee must be based on a principle that it is cheaper than the current system being used by the center.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, vice chairman of the HCMC government, noted a criterion that the street must not be submerged over 15 centimeters of water when the pump is in use.

Numerous mechanisms proposed for developing smart city in HCMC

A photo shows a HCMC-based expressway monitoring center for southern Vietnam. Various mechanisms for developing HCMC into a smart city were proposed at a meeting here on April 18-

Associations in the information technology (IT) and telecommunications industries have suggested various policies for HCMC to transform itself into a smart city, heard a conference on April 18.

Pham Duc Long, general director of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), said in order to flesh out the city’s smart urban plan, the municipal government should set up an agency responsible for management and implementation of the plan. The aim is to employ technologies and oversee their implementation so that various segments and services of the plan can be fully integrated, said Long.

The execution of the smart urban plan would require a lengthy period of time, so the municipal government should come up with a general plan for every single project. Moreover, these projects should be classified in order of investment priority, according to the VNPT general director.

He suggested a legal framework should be made more specific to lure companies into developing technologies. Meanwhile, their applications should be piloted in district-level governments so that suitable models could be established and further invested.

Also according to Long, security solutions, especially those involving privacy, should also be taken into account.

Ngo Vi Dong, vice president of the Vietnam Information Security Association, proposed that competent agencies under the Government should set out specific criteria for information security in smart cities. In addition, they should set up an emergency response team along with a network security operation center.

Dong also emphasized that relevant agencies should set up a public-private partnership mechanism in a transparent manner. In addition, they should closely cooperate with associations and companies at home and abroad that specialize in information security and IT.

Phi Anh Tuan, vice president of the HCMC Computer Association, explained that a mechanism for guaranteeing IT companies to fill the Government’s orders is extremely necessary for facilitating technological transfers.

He suggested taxes should be directly deducted from annual IT application costs in order to reduce corporate income tax, while assets for developing IT should be primarily depreciated.

A representative of Senvi Technology Corporation proposed the municipal government establish mechanisms for ensuring business freedom and fair competition among startups in State-controlled IT segments.

The Senvi executive added there should be a mechanism in place for new companies to have equal access to all mechanisms and resources, especially investment capital. A policy for prioritizing locally-made and creative hi-tech products should be simultaneously available.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the HCMC Department of Information and Communications struck a memorandum of understanding with the HCMC Computer Association, the Vietnam Information Security Association, and the HCMC Semiconductor Industry Association.

HCMC seeks to terminate cheap land transfer deal

The HCMC Party Committee has requested negotiations to terminate a deal to transfer 30 hectares of public land in the outlying district of Nha Be at a low price.

Tan Thuan Co. under the Party Committee last year signed a deal to transfer 30 hectares of land in Nha Be District’s Phuoc Kien residential area to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Co. at VND1.29 million per square meter without reporting the transaction as required.

Noticing that the transfer violates the regulation on public asset management, the standing board of the HCMC Party Committee has told Tan Thuan Co. to negotiate with its partner over contract cancellation, said local news reports.

According to the standing board, the contract signing does not comply with Decision 1087-QD/TU dated March 31, 2009 of the HCMC Party Committee’s standing board on management and use of assets and land use rights of one-member companies under the committee.

This piece of public land is appraised to have a market price of over VND2.4 trillion but was transferred to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Co. at a mere VND419 billion, or VND1.29 million per square meter, under a contract signed on June 5, 2017.

In a document sent to the HCMC Party Committee on December 13, 2017, the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment explained that even with the lowest agricultural land price used for calculation, the 30-hectare area could not be priced at lower than VND1.77 million per square meter.

News website Dan Tri has surveyed land prices in Phuoc Kien, and discovered land prices range between VND8.5 million and VND11 million per square meter.

Family doctor clinics struggle to attract patients

Family doctor service facilities at grassroots level in HCMC are struggling with a shortage of patients as district-level hospitals or clinics are still preferred to such lower-ranking healthcare stations.

As of the end of 2017, there had been hundreds of family doctor facilities in HCMC, the municipal Department of Health reported. These included 191 ward-level health stations, eight private general clinics, 19 district-level hospitals, and 17 other private clinics. In addition, Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University also operates a modern family doctor clinic.

According to the managers of healthcare centers and heads of clinics, in spite of having professionally trained family doctors, these facilities have found it tough to attract patients.

In reality, most patients do not visit family doctor clinics, but go to district-level or city-level hospitals where they have registered for healthcare insurance. Another barrier to these clinics is that medicines at hospitals are seen better than those offered by family doctor clinics.

In addition, family doctor clinics eager to offer health checks for patients with insurance policies at district-level hospitals are required to sign agreements with such hospitals, but the latter are reluctant to share patients with such clinics.

The head of a family doctor clinic lamented that district-level hospitals do not want to work with family doctor clinics for fear that their revenue could be affected.

More than 10,000 rural workers receive agricultural training

Nearly 10,500 rural residents in outlying districts of HCM City will be trained to meet the demand for agricultural workers in the city. — Photo: sggp.org.vn

Workers from outlying rural areas of HCM City have been taking agricultural courses at vocational training centres in the city as part of a plan issued in March to meet demand for more skilled workers, according to the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The city’s People’s Committee said the project is expected to train 10,500 rural workers, including 2,556 agricultural trainees and 7,944 non-agricultural trainees.

The rate of employment after training is targeted to be 80 per cent or higher.

The committee, which has given financial support to four public vocational education institutions in new rural districts, said the total cost of vocational training for rural workers would be around VNĐ38 billion (US$ 1.6 million).

Although 78 per cent of rural workers had received training in the past, only 7 per cent had reached an intermediate level, according to the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“Red-Cross house” model helps disaster-affected locals repair dwelling

Storm resistant house build for an impoverished family in Phu Yen province

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC)’s “Red-Cross house” model has helped thousands of impoverished residents in disaster-affected localities build or repair their houses which were destroyed by floods and storms.

The VNRC at all levels have built more than 24,000 houses for those who suffer heavy loss from natural disasters at the total cost of nearly 700 trillion VND (30.8 billion USD), which was sponsored by international organisations. Over 2,000 houses of which are disaster-resistant houses.

The houses have been built to suit the lifestyle of different ethnic groups and localities across the nation. For example: stilt houses are constructed for ethnic people in the northern mountainous localities while bungalows are popular among Kinh people or those in the south western region. 

They have helped local residents stabilise their lives soon after the disasters.

Safe houses to cope with natural calamities, built by the VNRC like the flood-resistant model in Phu Yen province, have shown efficiency when they are able to accommodate 100-400 people in case of floods and storms.

However, construction expert Vu Kien Trung noted that the “Red-Cross houses” are usually built on the sites where old houses stood, without considering the sites’ vulnerability to natural calamities. He suggested devising plan to relocate disaster-prone villages and residential areas to safer places.

“Building houses in an insecure area will not be a sustainable measure”, he noted.

Regarding financial resource for constructing the houses, Trung said that the local budget should contribute to the effort, noting that many poor households struggle to repay the debt occurring from the house building. There should also be subsidies for building materials for the construction of “Red-Cross houses”, he added.

In the past years, besides the VNRC, the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Vietnam Farmer’s Union and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union have worked to mobilise resources to build houses for people in disaster-affected areas as part of the efforts to support them to have quick recovery from disasters and alleviate poverty.

Vietnam's pristine bay named among best places to visit in May

If you are struggling with travel ideas for the summer, Vietnam can offer some help.

The country's deep-water Cam Ranh Bay, with its budding beach tourism, has been named among the world’s seven best destinations for May by top travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

Cam Ranh, an hour south of its much busier sister Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa, boasts pristine and mesmerizing beaches that have yet to be marred by human hands. It's where one can find "the lifetime fascination" in the deep waters, the US-based magazine said.

Luxury facilities such as a top-tier golf course and beachfront resorts should be part of the package, it said.

Cam Ranh international airport is expected to unveil a new international terminal to bring in more overseas visitors to the country this May.

The Condé Nast list also includes Paris, Sicily and Puglia of Italy, Portugal’s remote Azores islands, Cannes and Monte Carlo, San Francisco and Louisville.

International visitor arrivals in Vietnam in the first quarter of this year jumped 30.9% from a year ago to 4.2 million.

The country expects to receive 15-17 million foreign arrivals this year.

Hotel Nikko Hanoi to observe Japanese Golden Week

In Japan, May 5 is observed as Children’s Day, or Kodomo no hi. This is an important occasion during the Japanese Golden Week – a long break lasting seven to 10 days, coinciding with many national holidays.

Since a long time, koinobori has become a symbol of Japanese Children’s Day. In the Japanese language, koi means “carp”, while nobori means “flag” or “banner”. Koinobori is made by drawing carp patterns on paper, cloth or other non-woven fabric and is usually hung on a high pole in the front yard or above the roof of the house to flutter in the wind.

Koinobori originated from an ancient legend in China, in which carps fought their way up rapidly flowing streams of the Yellow River and eventually became dragons. Because of its strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, the carp symbolises courage and the ability to attain high goals. Families hang koinobori in their homes in honour of their children for a good future, with the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.

To celebrate Japanese Golden Week and Children’s Day, from April 27 to May 6, Hotel Nikko Hanoi will host a display of a giant train model and traditional toys, sushi and cupcake cooking classes, drawing, origami lessons for children, yukata (summer kimono) try-ons and posing as well as a lucky draw and gifts for children. 

During the Golden Week, the hotel will also offer a special menu for children called Okosama (children’s lunch) at the price of VNĐ120,000 per child (under 10 years old).