Canadian man arrested for drug

Customs officials at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City January 28 released that they arrested a Canadian man for drug trafficking.

He was found hiding nearly 50,000 tablets of methamphetamine at the bottom of his suitcases when he was checked upon arriving in the country.

The drug is estimated to sell for over VND20 billion (US$952,000) in the Vietnamese market.

Project launched to support high-quality vocational training in Vietnam

The British Council will co-ordinate with the General Directorate of Vocational Training (GDVT) to implement a programme starting this March to improve the quality of vocational training at nine high-quality vocational training colleges across Vietnam.

The above goal is part of the content of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two sides in Hanoi on January 28, aiming to develop vocational training quality assurance in vocational training facilities in Vietnam that are being intensely invested in to become high-quality schools.

Accordingly, the two sides will promote active co-operation between the UK and Vietnam’s vocational schools, focusing on building a vocational training quality assurance framework at nine vocational colleges across the nation, consistent with Vietnam’s conditions with reference to the UK’s model and experience.

Activities from the MoU are expected to be completed within year, from March 2015 to April 2016.

Evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness will be carried out by the Vocational Training Accreditation Department under the GDVT in collaboration with the UK's school partners. Evaluation results will be used to continue to improve the principles, tools and processes of vocational training quality assurance to disseminate and replicate at the national scale.

The British Council will also support capacity building for Vietnamese vocational colleges’ staff. Teachers at vocational training colleges will be offered training courses in the UK in the field of vocational training quality assurance.

The pilot programme costs a total of GBP567,300, of which the British Council is contributing GBP429,000 and the rest is being covered by the GDVT and nine Vietnamese vocational training colleges.

HCMC taxi firms say to cut fares

A number of taxi firms in HCMC have promised to lower fares from late this month, more than a week after the latest round of steep fuel price reductions, as authorities are ramming up rhetoric to inspect those transport firms delaying fee cuts.

Ho Huy, chairman of Mai Linh Group, told the Daily on January 27 that his firm would cut taxi fares nationwide from this Saturday.

The fares for Mai Linh cabs will fall by VND500 per kilometer in the south on January 30, and VND600-1,000 (2.8-4.6 U.S. cents) per kilometer in the north and VND300-500 per kilometer in the central region, with effect from early next month.

Vinasun Corporation said its taxi fares would slide by VND500 per kilometer for its HCMC operations on February 2. Other taxi firms are considering adjusting down their fares as well.

Tran Dinh Ton, general director of Hoang Long Saigon Taxi Co. Ltd., said the company would revise down its fares but declined to elaborate.

Explaining the delays in taxi fare cuts after the 15 rounds of fuel retail price reductions since July last year, Ta Long Hy, chairman of the HCMC Taxi Association, said when fuel prices were down or up, enterprises would need time to register new fares and price lists with the departments of finance, transport and tax in the city. They could not lower fares immediately after each time of fuel price falls.

Taxi firms in HCMC have reduced fares three times by a total of VND1,500 per kilometer since last year.

Bach Dang Wharf to close in April

Bach Dang Wharf will stop its operations for revamp of the city starting on April 30, announced the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on January 27.

Accordingly, tourism enterprises will move their boats, including floating restaurants, tourism boats and hydrofoils to a new place.

The municipal authorities have delegated Saigontourist Holding Company to build the quay into an amusement park to boost tourism.

Ha Noi opens rehab centres for drug addicts

Two rehabilitation centres offering the methadone treatment method for drug addicts were opened at the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Centre and Hospital 09 in Ha Noi yesterday.

The new centres are part of the city's plan to launch 11 treatment facilities to accommodate 8,500 people by February this year, said Nguyen Khac Hien, director of the municipal department of health.

Infrastructure facilities, equipment procurement and staff training are also part of the programme's priorities, Hien added.

In 2014, as many as 2,300 drug addicts were treated with the methadone method in six local centres, helping them to reintegrate with the community.

Currently, Hospital 09 cares for nearly 400 HIV/AIDS patients who are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Roughly 70 to 80 per cent of the patients are former drug addicts and are struggling to follow the strict treatment schedule.

The new facilities will help ensure the effectiveness of the treatment, while easing the financial burden on HIV patients and their families.

Emergency ambulance and first aid service apologises over the death of pregnant woman

Alleged negligence by emergency workers concerning the death of a pregnant women in a traffic accident is being investigated by Haiphong City authorities.

On January 26, a motorbike collided with a passenger bus on Ton Duc Thang Street. Witnesses said that when a woman was pulled from under the bus, there was a lot of blood pouring out from her stomach. The woman stopped breathing minutes later, and bystanders covered her body with a mat and called for an ambulance.

Some 15 minutes later, an ambulance of the "115" emergency service arrived, but left the scene after seeing the woman was dead. Her husband then arrived and pleaded for help. Only then did emergency workers learn the woman was seven month's pregnant.

The 115 service in Haiphong City has been criticised for ignoring the victim and not determining that she was pregnant.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, with the National Traffic Safety Committee asking Haiphong Police and the city's Department of Health to examine the cause of the death of the mother and unborn child, and the action of the 115 service. The city's Traffic Safety Committee was asked to visit, and offer support to, the victim's family.

Nguyen Thi Hai, chief of the shift on January 26, said the ambulance was unable reach the accident scene quicker because a market had blocked the street. "I was about to uncover the mat to check on the victim, but people nearby stopped me and said that she was dead. I didn't see police at the scene. We then returned to the centre," Hai said.

Director of 115 Service Centre Bui Huy Son said the staff were careless for not following protocol to check the body for vital signs. Even if a victim is deceased, and there are no police at the scene, they must check the body and officially pronounce death. Only if police are at the scene can the emergency crew return to base.

Nguyen Thi Hai has been suspended and the centre is considering punishment for all staff on shift at that time.

Residents suffer alum-water supply

Residents of Ea Sin Commune in Dak Lak Province's Krong Buk District were struggling to live on scarce stream water as the water supplied by the local system contained too much alum, said Y Ro K'Bua, chairman of the Ea Sin Commune People's Committee.

He said that the water supply system was built in four ethnic minority hamlets: Ea Sin, Ea Bong, Cu Kanh and Cu M'tao. However, after a month, residents had to switch to stream water as the water supplied by the system smelled bad and contained too much alum.

He said that the alum-heavy water had forced about 300 households in these hamlets to travel 1-2km to other areas, such as Ea Truol dam, to get water during the dry season since stream water was only available during the wet season.

Local residents had found plants and animals dying from the lack of clean water and tried to drill wells but could not break through the underground rock, according to Ea Sin hamlet head Y Dinh Nie.

Y Tuyen Nie, deputy head of Krong Buk District's Division of Ethnic Minority Affairs, said that the water supply system stopped working because it produced high-alum water, which was useless for production and daily life. The system originally cost Krong Buk District VND1.7 billion (US$81,000), he added.

In 2012, Dak Lak Province People's Committee had approved the Krong Buk District People's Committee's proposal to invest VND7.3 billion ($347,600) in improving the system, he said, but a lack of funding had prevented both district and province authorities from carrying out the work.

Health Ministry to invest more in Central Highlands

The Ministry of Health will invest more for medical sector in the Central Highlands where there is short of personnel and medical equipment severely.

At a meeting in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on January 27 held by the ministry and the Steering Committee for Affairs in the Central Highlands, participants said that there have been limitation in healthcare in the region.

As per the Ministry’s figure, population in the region has decreased from 2.35 percent in 2000 to 1.7 percent in 2010 and 1.64 percent in 2013 but it is also higher than the country’s. Most of healthcare index is lower than the country’s average figure.

By statistics in 2013, the average life expectancy of inhabitants in the region is 69.5 while it is 73.1 in the whole country; the rate of under five year old children’s malnutrition is 33 percent while the country’s is 26 percent; the rate of mortality of children below one year old over 1,000 children is 39.8 percent while it is 21.1 percent in the country.

Furthermore, clean water supply and environment hygiene is worse than the other regions. The medical services are weaker; serious shortage of personnel and equipment in medical sector have seen meanwhile investment in the sector is limited than other regions across the country.

Accordingly, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that the government has asked to strengthen grass-root medical units and develop medical clinics in communes and districts in the region. The sector must implement synchronous measures to promote medical growth and healthcare services to improve residents’ health condition by calling for social contributions. The government plans that most of medical clinics in communes will have doctors.

The Ministry and authorities in the region petitioned  the government to pay more attention to the medical sector by investing in hospital projects in the period 2011-2016.

HCMC marks 20th aniversary of establishment of Vietnam National University

Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City celebrated an anniversary ceremony yesterday, aiming to highlight it’s the 20th aniversary of establishment and development.

The event was attended by State President Truong Tan Sang, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan, Deputy Standing Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Vo Van Thuong and representatives of ministries, departments.

During past 20 years, Vietnam National University has always received supports of Party and Government. Presently, National University became a multi-disciplinary university with six member universities, research institutes, faculties and a number of science and technology centers.

5, 600 staffs including  3, 400 lectures and 60, 000 graduates, postgraduate students and masters  have studied and worked at the university.

In addition to training and education, there have been 20 student groups conducting researches in the fields of designing robots, chips, polymer- composite and researching original cell as international standards.

At the ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang stressed that National University in Ho Chi Minh City is one of the two largest national universities in Vietnam. Thus, it needs to lead in creating and implementing educational solutions and policies, which were released by Central Committee of the Party.

On this occasion, President Truong Tan Sang offered a painting with the President’s handwriting “Tri” (Knowledge) to National University in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the same day, the President visited an exhibition on science and technology achievements, and inaugurated a small museum which depicts Vietnam National University’s history.

Support for poor, war veterans for upcoming New Year

Localities across the country have set aside billions of Vietnamese dong for gifts to the poor and war heroes to help them enjoy a happy Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Authorities in the Mekong Delta province Dong Thap recently decided to offer 200,000 VND (9.5 USD) to every household living under poverty line and 100,000 VND (5 USD) to those covered by social security, leading to a total spending of over 10 billion VND (500,000 USD).

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) in Tan Khanh Dong commune and the local Red Cross Society donated 100 gifts worth a combined 25 million VND (1,100 USD) to the needy, with each gift including 10 kilograms of rice, sugar, soya sauce and 100,000 VND in cash (5 USD).

In Tan Hong district, the VFF raised roughly 5 billion VND (250,000 USD) to be used to build 95 new houses.

War veteran associations in Tam Nong and Lap Vo districts donated 6 houses, each worth 40-75 million VND (1,900-3,500 USD) to local war veterans, adding to the existing 14 houses costing over 310 million VND (14,500 USD) in the Hong Ngu township.

The “spring tree” fund-raising campaign, run by the provincial Child Protection Fund, is also raising money for underprivileged children.

In the southern province of Hau Giang, over 30 billion VND (1.4 million USD) will be dedicated to providing Tet bonuses for more than 10,000 State officials.

Meanwhile, the central province of Quang Nam is spending approximately 38.9 billion VND (1.8 million USD) on gifts for tens of thousands of war heroes, their families and those contributing to local development.

Kien Giang requires significant investment to upgrade sea dykes

The southern province of Kien Giang will require 2.54 trillion VND (121 million USD) between 2015 and 2020 and 2.8 trillion VND (133 million USD) after 2020 to build a drainage system and upgrade damaged sea dykes.

The province has 200km of coastline with a 212-km sea dyke system stretching from Mui Nai (Ha Tien town) to Tieu Dua (An Minh district) which has experienced significant erosion over the years.

The most serious damage is seen in the Mui Ranh-Thu Nhat and Tieu Dua-Rach Ong sections, mandating 200 billion VND (9.4 million USD) and 900 billion VND (42.3 million USD) respectively for repairs and modifications, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Additionally, the province will also need substantial investments to recover the coastal mangrove forests and increase the coverage of protective forests, calling for further support and supplementation of capital resources from the Government.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Anh Nhin said the sea level is increasing by an average of 1 centimetre every year; if the water level rises by 0.5 metre, more than half the plain areas in the province will be submerged.

In addition, many coastal areas have been eroded seriously since 2010, particularly in Hon Dat, An Bien and An Minh districts, affecting more than 360 households.

Therefore, proper and immediate measures to cope with this issue should be enacted, as the agro-forestry-fishery sector accounts for nearly 38 percent of the provincial gross domestic production (GDP), he said.

Local authorities have asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assist them in studying rising sea level prevention, improving sea dykes around populous areas, and building effective protective forest models.

Kien Giang has around 8,770 hectares of land dedicated to coastal protective forests. However, only 2,950 hectares are currently covered in trees.

A number of investment projects, such as upgrades to the 71 kilometre Xeo Ro-Tieu Dua sea dyke and 67 kilometre Hon Dat-Kien Luong sea dyke as well as the construction of 21 of the 27 drainage systems at the An Bien-An Minh dyke section are awaiting funding.

Hanoi increases treatment for mental health patients

Hanoi treated nearly 20,000 patients with mental illnesses last year, an increase of 2,000 over 2013, said Ly Tran Tinh, Director of Hanoi Mental Hospital.

In previous years, some medical stations even did not have any doctors specialising in mental health. Now medical stations have independent wards for mental illness patients. Each ward has between one and three doctors, and between one and five nurses, according to Tinh.

Medical stations across the city also organised monthly health examinations and distributed medicine to patients. Some stations also had monthly meetings where they discussed patients' conditions.

Mental illnesses treated include schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy and those caused by heroin addiction.

"Schizophrenia is one of the most difficult diseases to deal with, but it can be treated if it is discovered early," Tinh said.

Last year more than 8,000 schizophrenia patients received treatment.

The city distributed more than 40,000 leaflets to spread knowledge of mental illnesses. It also organised training courses for social workers, schools and families on recognising early signs of mental illness.

This year, the city's mental health sector will focus on three main goals, Tinh said. It will improve medical stations' capacities, improve the quality of treatment for patients who don't stay in the hospital to prevent them from discontinuing their treatment and give mental health workers more training, Tinh added.

HIV project targets at-risk population

A project that seeks to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam by linking people most at risk with needed services was launched in Ha Noi yesterday.

The "USAID Community HIV Link - Northern Coast" project will be carried out in the provinces of Nghe An and Quang Ninh as well as the port city of Hai Phong.

The main implementer of the three-year project that closes in July 2017 will be the Centre for Community Health and Development (COHED).

A press-release from the project sponsor, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), says that "to contain current prevention and treatment activities, local civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) must increase their contributions to the national HIV programme."

As such, it will mobilise and train a network of CBSs to reach out to at-risk populations and facilitate the latter's access to services like HIV testing and ARV treatment.

The project identifies key populations into four categories: those who have not been HIV tested for the last six months or do not report their HIV status; those who inject drugs and have not had a HIV test during the last six months; those who have never enrolled in an out-patient clinic for ARV treatment or enrolled but dropped out or not properly followed the treatment protocol; and primary sexual partners of the first two categories.

To build the capacity of CSOs and CBOs, the project will conduct capacity assessments, provide training and mentoring, and advocate provinces to involve the organisations in the process of formulating and issuing relevant policies for the localities.

The project will also support CSOs and CBOs in joining the existing national network by participating in events, meetings and other activities.

Dao Thi Mai Hoa, director of COHED, said that the project aims to help CBOs and CSOs reach about 6,700 at-risk people and refer over 6,000 to HIV Testing and Counseling.

It aims to find over 600 new HIV cases and provide care and support services to more than 900 people living with HIV outside of the health facility.

It also targets "strengthening the capacity of at least 30 old and new CSOs and CBOs in the three project localities".

Dao said that the project would also help people living with HIV/AIDS by providing services in their own living environments.

Tran Viet Hung, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), said that the project offered a significant opportunity to continue national efforts to reach those most at risk and linking them with available resources.

Illegal quarry harrasses village

Residents in Duyen Trang Village in Ha Noi's Phu Xuyen District have been complaining for a year about an illegal sand quarry that produces endless dust and visual pollution.

One of them, Nguyen Thi Dao, said that trucks loaded with sand ran continuously from 10pm to 3am every day.

She said the trucks also destroyed village roads in the village and dropped sand along many village roads.

She said that despite many protests to village leaders, nothing had been done.

Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper said the building yard beside the Hong (Red) River covered a large area of land. It said it was full of excavators and bulldozers which continually shifted and levelled sand.

Phung Van Thach, head of the Phu Xuyen Dyke Management Unit, said the offending yard was divided into two.

One yard was managed by Ngo Chi Cuong who lives in Duyen Yet Village and the other by Dong Van Son in Duyen Trang Village.

Thach said that apart from pollution, the sand quarry violated regulations on protecting dykes and irrigation works according to Government Decree 139 issued in 2013.

He said that last April, the unit had asked Hong Thai Commune to punish the yard managers, but nothing was done.

Deputy chairman of the commune's People's Committee Nguyen Van Tan told Ha Noi Moi newspaper that the two yard managers had signed land hiring contracts with the village authorities.

In a meeting with the Phu Xuyen District Division of Natural Resources and Environment held in November last year, Dong Van Son, produced a land hire contract signed by the Duyen Trang Village leader. The contract ran for five years, from October 2013 to October 2018.

But head of the division, Nguyen Cong Hoa, said that, according to proper procedure, the land hiring contract must be signed by district authorities.

He claimed Son violated the regulations when he signed a contract with village leader.

Hoa asked Son to temporarily close down the yards and seek clarification from district authorities.

HCM City asked to set up food control and ensure safety

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has instructed HCM City authorities to tighten management of food products at wholesale markets and supermarkets to ensure food safety and hygiene.

Food-testing points were set up at the three biggest wholesale markets in the city to make sure food products meet hygiene standards before entering the market, he said yesterday at a working session with municipal authorities.

The city should also build a roadmap to protect consumers, and assure that food products from other localities meet hygiene standards before being transported into the city, he said.

These regulations would not cause difficulties for farmers, they would help them become familiar with new production standards that would improve their products' values, Dam said. He also pointed to the need for relevant ministries and agencies to build a more effective information dissemination plan to raise farmers' and businesses' awareness about food hygiene and safety.

"If we didn't put in place strict measures now to ensure food safety and hygiene, it would cost more later to provide health check-ups and treatment for people who got sick from dangerous food products," he said.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said city authorities should increase inspections all year round, not just during Tet when people's demand for food products increased.

Le Thanh Liem, the vice chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said the city had more than 20,000 street food establishments. In 2014, a city inspection found food safety violations at nearly 2,700 of them. Inspectors took more than 27,000 samples for testing and found that about 24,000 of them met hygiene standards.

City authorities organised free training courses on food safety and hygiene for more than 10,400 members of the food industry. Also, the city signed agreements with 22 localities on providing local consumers safe, hygienic food products, he said.

Several vegetables on display at two BigC and Metro supermarkets in Ha Noi were found to have unclear origins, a recent surprise inspection revealed.

A food safety and hygiene inspection team consisting of officials from the city Department of Industrial and Trade and the Department of Health (DoH) reported that the vegetable labels at BigC supermarket on Tran Duy Hung Street failed to specify the products' origins.

Some pumpkins were even found to have expiration dates in 2014, which were then removed from the racks by the supermarket with an explanation of "an error of the printer".

This was not the first time BigC violated food origin regulations. In March last year, the supermarket chain was fined VND10 million (US$476) for not publicly displaying the origins of their products.

The hygienic condition at the supermarket was another problem, said Ha Noi DoH Chief Inspector Mai Thi Hong Hanh.

"The bakery section's hygienic condition is substandard. That section is even placed right next to the fish area without proper measures to ensure hygienic safety," she said.

Meanwhile, the Metro supermarket on Hoang Mai Street failed to provide documents proving the origins of their vegetables while a number of imported frozen products lacked stamps indicating their origins.

Ha Noi health department Director Nguyen Khac Hien asked the two supermarkets to abide by food safety regulations and review whether their vegetable providers satisfied the necessary qualifications.

The inspection raised alarm about the quality of the supermarkets' products, especially after a scandal last week over the origins of the vegetables delivered by Ba Chu Safe Vegetables Co., Ltd. to three big supermarkets in the city (BigC, Metro and Lotte Mart). Those vegetables were allegedly bought from a wholesale market, stamped with fake safe vegetable stickers and put on the supermarkets' display racks.

Ba Chu and the supermarket chains involved are under investigation over food safety violations.

HCMC speeds up metro route construction

Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board said that the construction progress of Metro Routes No.1, 2 and 5 was being sped up at a news conference hosted on Monday.

Constructors are working 24/7 on the construction site of the first metro route Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien. They are building pillars for constructing the route’s flyover section along Saigon Bridge and Hanoi Highway.

Similar condition is seen at the underground section in front of HCMC People’s Committee headquarters. It will be built before February 5 to hand over the space for Nguyen Hue Street upgrading project, which must be done on schedule to mark the 40th anniversary of the country’s Reunification Day.

Director of the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board Bui Xuan Cuong said that the Prime Minister had agreed to change the project’s progress, which would be built in 2019 and put into operation in the following year.

This year the board will sign contracts with domestic consultant companies to establish investment projects for Metro Routes No.2 and 5, from which it will call for investors and register Official Development Assistance fund.

Metro Route No.2 or Ben Thanh-Tham Luong is under design and technical infrastructure works have been removed from the project’s site.

Authorized agencies are assessing an initial design and environmental impact report of Metro Route No.5 stretching from Saigon Bridge to Bay Hien Crossroads. This project’s capital source has been arranged at about EUR1.31 billion (US$1.47 billion).

Each station of the metro routes will be connected with other public transport types via bus stations and parking lots, said Mr. Cuong.

According to the HCMC transport development plan by 2020, the city will have eight metro lines and three monorail routes.

Indian solidarity committee president awarded with Friendship Order

Vietnam’s Order of Friendship was presented to President of the West Bengal state’s India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee (IVSC) Geetesh Sharma in recognition of his contributions to relations between the two countries in Kolkata on January 27.

The ceremony was attended by former Speaker of the Indian state’s Legislative Assembly H.A Halim and representatives from the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation and the India-Vietnam Friendship Association.

At the function, Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh lauded Sharma’s tireless efforts in fostering friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. He expressed his hope that Sharma and the IVSC will continue to consolidate bilateral ties.

The diplomat also took this chance to encourage Indian nationals to take part in a contest on Vietnam and its President Ho Chi Minh on the occasion of the late leader’s 125th birthday (May 19, 1890-2015).

Sharma told Vietnam News Agency correspondents that it was his honour to receive the Vietnamese Government’s noble order, saying he and his committee will continue contributing to the amity and collaboration of the two nations.

As a member of the IVSC since the early 70’s, Geetesh Sharma joined in protests supporting the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national liberation.

He also wrote a number of books on Vietnam and its relationship with India, including Indian cultural vestiges in Vietnam, a Ho Chi Minh biography, and the liberation wars in Vietnam and Kolkata.

The IVSC also organised two photo exhibitions featuring the Cham towers and Hindi idols in Vietnam and took part in the major annual Kolkata Book Fair to introduce publications on the Southeast Asian nation.

Sharman said the committee will hold various 2015 activities to mark Ho Chi Minh’s 125th birthday, organise workshops on the Cham culture in New Delhi and Kolkata, and exhibit Vietnamese books and photos at the Kolkata Book Fair from January 27-February 8.

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