The Ministry of Public Security’s Police Department for Environmental Crime Prevention and Control (C49B) and local police on Thursday seized more than 150 endangered animals being kept illegally at a house in the southern province of Bình Phước.

The police found 28 king cobras, 23 pangolins, 110 long-tailed macaques and several water monitors, turtles and small Indian civets inside the house of Lê Quang Hạnh in Lộc Ninh District. 

The animals, many of which are included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, were found bound in sacks, ready to be transported.

Hạnh did not have official certificates of origin for the animals.

Hạnh buys the animals from the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and sells them to people in the northern provinces, according to authorities.

Better storm forecast needed to mitigate loss

A more specific and accurate storm forecast will help mitigate the impact of the natural disaster, according to experts.

The Linda storm, which hit the country 20 years ago, was a great lesson in storm prevention and control tasks, said head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s General Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Trần Quang Hoài, at a conference held on Wednesday.

The Linda storm made a landfall on the southern region in 1997 with a wind speed at level 9-10 (75-100km per hour) and affected 21 localities. It killed 778 people and injured over 1,200 people, while leaving 2,100 others missing.

It caused a total damage worth nearly VNĐ7.2 trillion (US$320 million).  

Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lê Huy Ngọ, said the storm left thousands of people dead and missing in areas such as the southernmost Cà Mau Province where people used to live peacefully for hundreds of years without any concept about “what a storm is.” Many people even called upon others to watch the storm, but no one believed it would turn into a landfall in Cà Mau.

Not only local people, but many local authorities also did not believe that the storm would hit the province, he said.

Their negligence meant that they did not need to take preventive measures or action, and did not guide local citizens to prepare for the storm, which resulted in catastrophic damage, Ngọ said.  

Sharing the same view, former head of the ministry’s Department of Dykes, Đặng Quang Tính, said the Linda storm caused serious consequences as a result of negligence in the mindset of natural disaster prevention and control officials.

This was also the reason for ineffective management of fishermen and fishing boats and the lack of a deep analysis on the relationship between storms and terrain conditions of each area, Tính said.

Hoài said that by learning from mistakes of previous storms, authorised agencies should have more effective and practical measures and plans.  

Accurate storm forecasting would help fishermen proactively take preventive measures such as finding storm shelters to mitigate consequences, said Vũ Xuân Thành, deputy head of the National Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

In recent years, storm forecasting has become more accurate, he said. It is now possible to forecast a storm around 72 hours in advance, before it turns into a landfall. Meanwhile, in 1997, when the Linda storm hit the country, experts could only forecast the storm 24 hours in advance, Thành said.

This will give fishermen, authorities and citizens enough time to prepare, he said.  

To cope with natural disasters more effectively, Thành pointed out the need to continue improving the quality of forecasting work, raising awareness of the public, particularly of fishermen, in abiding by local authorities’ guidelines on prevention and control tasks, investing in upgrading shelters for boats operating offshore and upgrading the dyke system.

Green Heritage Culture and Tourism Week to open in Hanoi

On October 26, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the second Green Heritage and Tourism Week will take place in Hanoi from November 21-23 as part of activities to celebrate Vietnam Culture Heritage Day (November 23).

The event draws the participation of localities and cities nationwide, aiming to promote and honour cultural and natural heritage sites, especially those recognised by UNESCO as world natural heritage sites. 

Local exhibitors at the event will advertise the cultural and touristic potential of the world’s natural heritage sites, sharing experiences of preserving natural heritage values in different regions around the country.

Diverse art and cultural activities will take place during culture and tourism week including traditional Ca Tru singing, folk songs, Don Ca Tai Tu (southern amateur singing), and Chau Van (spiritual singing). In addition, a cultural exchange program for students and a painting festival for kids will be held during the event.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said the event aims to increase responsibility, the patriotic spirit and pride of Vietnamese people, and raise public awareness about their role in preserving biodiversity, the natural environment, and preventing the impact of climate change.

HCMC continues advancing money to pay metro contractors

The HCMC People’s Committee has accepted to provide VND1.173 billion (US$51.6 million) advance to pay contractors of the first metro line Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien while waiting for the central government to supplement official development assistance funds for the project.
 
That was announced by the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board yesterday.
According to the board, the HCMC People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Finance to work with relevant agencies to arrange funds for the project.

Previously, the board has sent a document to the committee asking for the advance to pay September and October debts to contractors.

In 2017, the city needs VND5,442 billion ($239.49 million) for construction of the first metro line. Of these, it has received VND2,119 billion meeting 36 percent of the total demand and been short of the remaining amount of VND3,303 billion.

That is the third time which the board must ask for advance to pay contractors. At the end of 2016, the city spent VND600 billion in advance for contractors to pay workers’ wage and material suppliers.

In July, the city continued owing the project’s contractors VND500 billion so they proposed to extend progress and said that they might dismiss workers if the city did not make payment.

Hence HCMC continued providing VND500 billion at the end of August to pay debts.
Although the Prime Minister has issued Decision 1292 on the third capital allocation of the central budget plan in 2017, the project has not received funds.

The city’s budget advance is just a temporary solution to prevent the project from being delayed. If the situation lasts long, it will seriously affect the project’s progress because the city can not keep advancing on its budget.

In related news, the city People’s Committee has assigned District 1 to urgently implement procedures on land withdrawal to hand over premise for construction of Ba Son station to ensure the project’s progress as per commitments with the contractors.

 HCMC requires continuing of tidal flood control project

The HCMC People’s Committee has required relevant agencies to create advantageous conditions to ensure continuous implementation of the first phase of VND10 trillion ($440.4 million) tidal flood control project, said the HCMC Steering Center of Urban Flood Control Program yesterday.
 
According to the committee, that is a big and important project. So relevant agencies must work with consultant and supervisory companies to tighten the management of legal procedures and work quality.

The committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the steering center, the Department of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies to work with consulting and supervisory joint venture, the State Council for Pre-Acceptance Test for Construction Works and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development about the list of documents need be provided by the project’s investors to serve inspection and supervision operations.

The joint venture includes Meihardt Vietnam Construction Consulting Company, Construction Consultation Company for Maritime Building, Thang Long Construction Consultant And Technology Transfer Jsc 12 and Trung Nam Construction Investment Company.

They should review all legal procedures during the implementation process of the project, point out problems, propose solutions to remedy shortcomings and prove that problems spelled out by the consulting and supervisory side are not true.

The committee assigned the city Council for Compensation Assessment to work with Districts 1, 4, 7, Nha Be and Binh Chanh to clear difficulties to speed up site clearance and compensation for the project.

The standing board of the city People’s Committee will have two close meetings to listen to reports by consulting joint venture Meinhardt-CMB-Thang Long 122-Trung Nam about cooperation requirements to implement the project on schedule.

The city People’s Committee proposed the joint venture to fulfill consulting contract, send competent personnel to attend inspection and supervision process as well as meetings with authorized agencies and implement supervision contents as per regulations.

Provincial doctors save traffic victim whose heartbeat stops

Surgeons of the General Hospital of the central province of Quang Tri saved a man who is a traffic vicitm when his heartbeat stopped and the spleen was ruptured.
 
Moreover, his pancreas was separated from the abdominal wall and the liver also ruptured causing bleeding a lot inside.

Medical workers said the man was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He did not have personal document and without relative.

Team of the Emergency Department was quick to conduct tests, scan and X-ray to detect his injuries inside. Through the scan's result, medical workers discovered ruptured spleen and liver.

Dr. Truong Vinh Quy, deputy chief of the Surgery Department, and his colleagues performed an operation to remove a part of the ruptured spleen and repair the rupture in his spleen and liver with stitches. They gave him blood transfusion also.

One day later, the man recovered in intensive care unit.

Doctors perform C-section on mother in coma due to cancer

Surgeons of Gia Dinh People’s Hospital yesterday carried out a Cesarean section on a pregnant woman who was in coma due to metastasis of brain cancer.

The 32 year old pregnant woman from the highlands province of Kon Tum was hospitalized in Tumor Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after she was in coma.

According to her relatives, she was undergoing an operation to remove a bubo in the right groin.
As she is 36 week pregnant, doctors decided to transfer her to Gia Dinh People’s Hospital which will carry out C-section to end the pregnancy.

The Surgery Department and Maternity Department held a consultation meeting to reach a suitable treatment.

Brain MRI scan showed it bled in the right brain due to cancer has spread to brain.
Subsequently, the two departments decided to carry out two surgeries; after maternity team succeeded in C-section, the surgery team are ready for an operation to open the brain to remove the blood clot and tumor.

The baby girl with the weight of 2.3 kg was born safe and sound after the operation.
Deputy head of the Surgery Department Dr. Tran Hoang Ngoc caried out the operation in patient’s brain to remove blood clot and the tumor for testing. After the operation, the woman’s eye pupil got smaller.

After receiving intensive care, the woman recovered; her pulse and blood pressure are stable. Her baby will be discharged several days later.

One dead, five in critical condition after eating puffer fish

Director of the La Gi General Hospital in the central province of Binh Thuan Dr. Do Van Anh yesterday said the hospital admitted six poisoned people due to eating puffer fish. One of them was dead while five others in critical condition.
 
Five people were later transferred directly to country's leading Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in the same day.

Five other suffered same symptoms of vomiting, convulsion fits and their bodies turned blue. All hail from Phan Ri Cua Town in Tuy Phong of Binh Thuan Province.

All six are fishermen. They were catching the fish and then make it for the meal.
Puffer fish are the world's most toxic group of fish and their livers, ovaries and skin contain tetrodotoxin, 100 times more lethal than cyanide.

Vietnam – US literature exchange shows love, peace

The Vietnam Writers' Association held a workshop in Hanoi on October 28, spotlighting 30 years of exchange between Vietnamese and American literatures.

Chairman of the association Huu Thinh said the event marks three decades of cooperation between his association and the US-based William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences. 

The collaboration has contributed significantly to cultural exchanges between the two countries, he added.

William Joiner Institute Director Thomas T. Kane said literature exchange through Vietnamese and US writers’ creativity has helped deepen mutual understanding and heal war wounds. 

In the past 30 years, nearly 100 Vietnamese writers visited the US to attend conferences of William Joiner Institute, while US writers came to Vietnam for seminars and promoted Vietnamese literature to the world. The William Joiner Institute has so far published 14 Vietnamese poetry books.

Kane said his institute will continue translating and introducing Vietnamese literature works, hosting seminars on the subject, and organising exchange visits between the two establishments.

The institute is considering the making of a documentary on Vietnam – US cultural cooperation, Kane added.

On the occasion, the Vietnam Alliance of Arts and Literature Associations presented insignia for the Vietnamese art and literature cause to Thomas T. Kane, poet Kevin Bowen, and writer Nguyen Ba Chung for their contribution to the Vietnamese art and literature.

India’s Diwali festival takes place in Hanoi

 The Indian Embassy in Hanoi on October 27 held the Diwali Festival, a traditional New Year festival of the Hindu community to celebrate their new year, in Hanoi on October 27.

According to Parvathaneni Harish, Indian Ambassador in Vietnam, Diwali, known as The Festival of Lights, is a festival of joy, light and happiness. For many Indians, this is a chance to show respect to Lakshmi, the Goodness of happiness, prosperity and beauty.

He said that prior to the event, people clean up and decorate their house with lights and candles to welcome genies.

During the festival, India is always lit both day and night, while people wear their new clothes, exchange wishes, and dance and sing together. The festival is also an opportunity for people to forgive each other, said the diplomat.

The ancient Hindu festival and annually celebrated not only in India but all over the world.

In Hanoi, the festival not only displayed the beauty of light, traditional costumes of India. Participants had a chance to join various activities, while enjoying Indian food and music.

HCM City authority receives students from int’l defence officer class

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem hosted a reception for students from an international defence officer class of the Academy of Defence of Vietnam on October 27.

He said the visit contributes to prompting the friendly cooperative ties between Vietnam and countries in the Asian-Pacific region and around the world, especially in defence and security.

HCM City is one of the leading localities nationwide in implementing external affairs programmes to increase mutual understanding and solidarity among nations and look toward the building of a peaceful and prosperous world.

Lieutenant General Phan Anh Viet, Deputy Director of the Academy of Defence, said 22 students from 14 countries of the fourth international defence officer class, had visited the History Museum and the historical relic site of Cu Chi tunnels in HCM City to understand better about the culture and people of Vietnam.

The students have an opportunity to study the history of national building and safeguarding as well as defence policies of Vietnam, he added.

Flamingo art space draws top sculptors

The Flamingo – Art in the Forest 2017 is introducing to art lovers paintings and sculptures from 17 renowned Vietnamese and foreign artists.

The outdoor exhibition opened on October 28 in the Flamingo Dai Lai Resort in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, about 45km away from Hanoi.

Displayed artworks are expected to give visitors visual impression that opens up new perspectives on life and the relationship between human and nature. 

Notable sculptors at the show include Bui Hai Son and Vu Binh Minh from Vietnam, Lee Jae-hyo from the Republic of Korea, Carlos Albert Andres from Spain, and Mukai Katsumi from Japan. 

Visitors will also be treated to art tours around the resort and various cultural activities during the course of the exhibition that lasts until November 5.

New outstanding Vietnamese films screened in Russia

Vietnamese Film Days in Russia kicked off in Moscow on October 27, introducing five newly-produced outstanding films winning domestic and international prizes, and gaining high revenue in Vietnam.

Addressing the opening, Sergei Braghin from the organising board said the project is part of cultural cooperation between the two countries, aiming to develop and reinforce bilateral collaboration in movie industry.

He said that Russian audiences are excited at the event, which takes place only once in a year. Braghin also expressed his hope that they will love Vietnamese movies like those of his generation.

Lai Ngoc Doan from the Vietnamese Embassy said that over the past years, cultural cooperation between the two countries has been growing soundly with regular exchange activities.

Doan said that he believes that the Vietnamese Film Days in Russia will open up a chance for the two sides to develop collaboration in culture and art, thus strengthening mutual understanding, solidarity, friendship and traditional cooperation between the two peoples.

Meanwhile, Do Duy Anh, Vice Director of the Vietnam Department of Cinema under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that Vietnam and Russia’ cinema sectors shared a sound traditional partnership. In many decades, Russian movies were screen widely in Vietnam and become a valuable source of entertainment for many generations of Vietnamese audience, he noted.

Anh added that many Vietnamese artists and officials trained in Russia have made significant contributions to the domestic cinema sector.

Anh voiced his hope that the event will help further foster the partnership between the two countries’ movie sectors.

The Vietnamese Film Days in Russia will run until October 31. The five outstanding films introduced at the event include “Cuoc doi cua Yen” (Yen’s life), “Toi thay hoa vang tren co xanh”  (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass), and “Em chua 18” (Jailbait).-

Hanoi seeks partnership with Belarus in transportation, health care

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan had a meeting on October 27 with Belarus Deputy Minister for Industry Aleksandr Ogorodnhik on cooperation in public transportation and health care in Hanoi.

Belarus is strong in automobile manufacturing, noting that 15 Belarus-made buses are operating by the Hanoi Transportation Service Company (Transerco), Ogorodnhik said.

Belarus is scheduled to hand over another 17 buses to Transerco early this December, he said, adding that he hopes Hanoi will support Transerco in using more buses from Belarus.

Toan said that Hanoi currently has 1,400 buses for public transportation, 300 of which need replacing.

Hanoi’s authorised agencies will check the quality of 32 buses from Belarus before deciding whether to continue purchasing the vehicles from Belarus. Toan also affirmed that Hanoi will consider Belarus as a priority in its choice for long-term partner in the field.

At the same time, the Belorussian side also expressed its hope to engage in the construction and operation of metro lines and elevated trains in Hanoi.

Belarus’s capital of Minsk has operated two metro lines from 1984. The city plans to launch its third and fourth lines, Ogorodnhik said, adding his country is willing to share its experience in metro development to Hanoi. He said he hopes Hanoi will introduce Belarus investors to local partners and agencies.

Toan informed his guest about Hanoi’s plan on building nine metro lines, three of which are being constructed with assistance from Japan and France. The city is calling for investment to the rest six lines, he said.

Meanwhile, the two sides also discussed the possibility of partnering in health care sector, as Belarus is willing to exchange experience with Vietnam in improving public health care service quality.

Toan said that Hanoi has the largest health care system in Vietnam. He proposed that the two sides increase affiliation in the field on the basis of building high quality medical facilities, aiming to provide better services to locals.

Vietnam important trade partner of Argentina: Vice President

Vietnam is one of the most important economics, trade and investment partner of Argentina, Vice President of Argentina Gabriela Michetti told Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai at a meeting in Buenos Aires on October 27.

Michetti, who is also President of the Argentine Senate, stressed that Argentina is keen on developing cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, and recognised the remarkable progresses in bilateral relations in recent years.

She proposed Vietnam create opportunities for businesses to cooperate in the fields of their strengths, including garment-textile, agriculture, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

For his part, Deputy Minister Hai briefed the outcomes of the mid-term session of the Vietnam-Argentina intergovernmental committee, which took place in Buenos Aires on October 25-26, and affirmed that this mechanism has helped promote bilateral cooperation not only in economics, trade and investment but also in agriculture, science and technology.

He urged the two sides to strengthen coordination to increase bilateral trade to 3.5 billion USD in 2017 as well as speed up the roadmap to open markets for farm produce in 2017-2018 which includes facilitating procedures for Vietnamese fruits such as lychees, dragon fruits, longans and mangoes and Argentine fruits such as oranges, blueberries, pears, apples and cherries.

The official also suggested increasing delegation exchanges and hosting trade and investment promotion activities to help firms explore business environment in the respective countries.

Vietnam will serve as a gateway for Argentina to export goods to the Southeast Asian market while Argentina will help Vietnam penetrate into the Latin American market, he affirmed.

He proposed Argentina - a founding member of the South America’s Fractious Trade Bloc (Mercosur) accelerate the negotiation process and signing of a preferential trade agreement between this bloc and Vietnam.

Earlier on October 25-26, Deputy Minister Hai and Secretary for International Economic Relations of the Argentine Foreign Ministry Horacio Reyser co-chaired a meeting of the Vietnam-Argentina inter-governmental committee.

Reyser said Vietnam is not only a priority market in the strategy of diversifying and expanding exports of Argentina but also one of the most important trade partners in Asia and the third biggest importer of Argentina.

Hai cited two-way trade surpassed 3 billion USD in 2016, showing a year-on-year rise of 16.7 percent. In the first nine months of 2017, bilateral trade reached nearly 2.4 billion USD, up 15 percent against the same period last year.

Vietnam mainly exported footwear, garment-textile, rubber, electronic spare parts, and plastic products while importing soybeans, soybean oil, maze, wheat, cattle-feed, and pharmaceutical products from the market.

The two sides pledged to speed up the exchanges of views on food security and animal and plant quarantine. Argentina wants to export cherries to Vietnam while Vietnam looks to ship lychees to the South American country.

During his visit to Argentina, Deputy Minister Hai also had a working session with Argentina’s Deputy Minister of Production Miguel Braun.