No Vietnamese citizens onboard crashed Indonesian plane

No Vietnamese citizens were marked as onboard the Lion Air passenger plane of Indonesia, which crashed into the sea on the morning of October 29, the country’s Vietnamese embassy confirmed.

Indonesia’s Tribunsemsel.com and several other local websites have announced a list of the passengers aboard the plane, on which there are no Vietnamese nationals. 

The plane lost contact with air traffic control just 13 minutes after takeoff. The jet, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was en route from Jakarta to Pangkakpinang in Bangka Belitung province off Sumatra island.

The plane had requested the air traffic control to return to base before disappearing from radar, stated Bambang Ervan, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Transport.

According to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the total number of people on the plane was 189, including two pilots and six flight attendants.

Indonesia has opened a search and rescue campaign for the plane, said Muhammad Syaugi, head of Basarnas.

He said one of the focuses of the mission was to dive into the waters with an average depth of between 30-35m to reach the main wreckage of the plane.

“We are now attempting a dive to retrieve the main wreckage of the plane. When we saw it from air, we were able to confirm its location. We have also discovered life buoys, mobile phones, and several other objects,” Syaugi said.

Basarnas also revealed that it had detected the location of Lion Air flight JT 610’s black boxes in the area of Tanjung Karawang, West Java.

According to Lion Air, the plane itself had only been put into operation in August, and the two pilots were both experienced professionals. 

Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait said that the plane had undergone a technical problem on a previous flight, but it had been resolved according to procedure. He said Lion has operated 11 aircraft of the same model, the Boeing 737 Max 8, and the other planes did not have the same technical problem. Sirait said there was no plan to ground the rest of its Boeing 737 Max 8 fleet.

Lion Air is Indonesia’s largest low-cost carrier, dominating more than 40 percent of the market.

Israel introduces new farming and water techs to Ha Noi     

The Israeli embassy has introduced new technology in Ha Noi aiming to improve the quality of the city’s agricultural sector.

The new technology, known as “vertical rice field”, was developed by the Israel-based Vertical Field that pioneers in designing and building modular, lush green vertical gardens and fields.

The technology was introduced at the “Exposition of Futuristic Agro and Water Israeli Technologies and Cultural Performance” on Saturday night.

The event served as part of a series of activities that will be held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Viet Nam-Israel diplomatic relations.

The activities would promote the friendship and partnership between the two nations in general and between the capital of Ha Noi and Israel in particular, the embassy said in a statement.

Featuring at the ceremony, a vertical rice field covering 100 square metres combined the deployment of soil-based technology for water conservation and plant nutrition.

Also exposed on Saturday night was a cutting-edge and patented Israeli technology developed by Watergen that provides a low-cost, abundant and renewable source of fresh and clean drinking water by extracting it directly from the atmosphere.

The machine could produce around 700 litres of water per day and could serve Hanoians and visitors to the city, according to Israeli Ambassador Nadav Eshcar.

The event also featured some cultural exchange activities, including dancing and music.

“We celebrate our great friendship with the Vietnamese People by displaying unique and cutting edge technologies in the centre of Ha Noi, as they represent the ties between our two nations most of all: It is all about innovation, creativity and vision; co-operation in education, advanced technology, agriculture and science,” said Eshcar.

“I strongly believe that there is enormous potential to our relations with Viet Nam. Together – there is nothing we cannot accomplish,” he said.

Diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Israel had “steadily developed, especially over the last decade” and “are more flourishing and thriving more than ever,” he added. 

Power supplier keeps lights on

Đà Nẵng Power Company will continue providing electricity to operate Hải Vân Tunnel despite the tunnel manager’s failure to pay power bills since last month, the power company’s director Ngô Tân Cư confirmed on Monday.—Photo zing.vn

Đà Nẵng Power Company will continue providing electricity to operate Hải Vân Tunnel despite the tunnel manager’s failure to pay power bills since last month, the power company’s director Ngô Tân Cư confirmed on Monday.

Cư said the Hải Vân Tunnel Management and Operation Company, HAMADECO, did not pay its power bill of nearly VNĐ2.7 billion (US$116,000).

The power supplier asked for payment three times but HAMADECO delayed paying, Cư said. He added that HAMADECO’s delay violated the Law on Electricity and their contract and negatively affected the power company’s business.

“However, as Hải Vân Tunnel plays a key role in the country’s traffic from the north to the south, Đà Nẵng Power Company will not stop providing service,” Cư said.

Meanwhile, the delay is said to be down to HAMADECO’s main contractor – the Đèo Cả Investment Joint Stock Company – failing to pay HAMADECO for months.

On August 30, HAMADECO director general Nguyễn Xuân Hưởng sent a written payment request to Đèo Cả company but the problem was not resolved.

Đèo Cả company has paid HAMADECO its operation fee for the first quarter of this year.

Phạm Minh Đức, deputy director general of Đèo Cả company, told online newspaper vietnamnet.vn that the company paid HAMADECO about VNĐ100 billion yearly for management and operation, but now “it is impossible to pay.”

Đức said under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract signed between his company and the Ministry of Transport, the company will collect toll fees at two stations – Nam Hải Vân starting in 2017 and La Sơn-Túy Loan starting in 2019 – to get back its investment.

However, Đức said the investor was previously not allowed to collect tolls at Nam Hải Vân Station because there was another toll station at the other end of Hải Vân Tunnel, about 12 kilometres away.

He added the transport ministry asked the Government to not open La Sơn-Túy Loan Toll Station, meaning that Đèo Cả company struggled to pay HAMADECO.

All relevant parties are asking transport ministry for solutions.

Hải Vân Tunnel, which is 6.28 kilometres long and runs between Thừa Thiên-Huế Province and Đà Nẵng City, was opened in 2005 after five years of construction. In 2016, Đèo Cả company started upgrading Hải Vân Tunnel and expanding its rescue tunnel under a BOT contract worth VNĐ7.3 trillion (US$323 million). 

National culture, sports, tourism festival opens in Ninh Binh

The music show at the festival's opening ceremony

A national culture, sports and tourism festival has been opened in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

The opening ceremony held in Ninh Binh City on the evening of October 28 saw the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Duc Dam. 

Speaking at the event, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said that the festival was among activities to mark 1,050 years since the foundation of Dai Co Viet, the first centralised feudal state of Vietnam. 

It is also aimed to popularise the cultural, sports and tourism potential of the province and improve authorities and the public’s awareness of the need to develop a Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.

Many activities, including exhibitions of environmental protection-themed posters, photos and paintings on heritage lands and Ninh Binh’s landscapes and people, and old documents and antiquities will be also organised at the festival.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy PM Dam granted the prime minister’s decision to recognise a royal bed, inside the temple worshipping King Dinh Tien Hoang, as a national treasure to the authorities of Ninh Binh Province. The antique, dating from the 17th century, is being preserved at the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital historical site in Ninh Binh.

14th Vietnamese students' festival held in RoK

At the event 

The Vietnamese Students’ Association in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Hanshin Co.,Ltd held the 14th Vietnamese Students’ Festival at Soongsil University, Seoul on October 28. 

The annual cultural-art event saw the presence of Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu and representatives from sponsors and universities. 

Folk games were also held while outstanding students were honoured for their academic performance and social activities. 

A highlight of the event was a cookery competition which aimed to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to friends in the RoK and foreign countries.

Vietnam sent nearly 15,000 students to the RoK last year, three times higher than the number in 2015, making it the fastest-growing market for international education in the Northeast Asian country.

Golf tournament promotes Vietnam-Germany friendship

The second Vietnam-Germany Friendship Golf Tournament was organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany on October 28 at the Golf Gross Kienitz on the outskirts of Berlin.

The event drew the participation of nearly 70 golfers, who are German politicians and friends, staff at the Vietnamese Embassy, and the Vietnamese community in the host nation.

After five hours of competition, Truong Van Chinh was awarded as the best golfer of the tournament. 

The organising board presented awards to excellent golfers at the event, comprising two Vietnam Airlines round-trip tickets from Frankfurt to Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Doan Xuan Hung said the golf tournament offered an opportunity to enhance friendship and solidarity between politicians and diplomats as well as German and Vietnamese businesspeople in the European country.

Jurgen Klemann, former Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs of Berlin, said that the event helped bolster mutual understanding between the two countries’ people.

At the awarding gala, golfers and guests were treated to art performances and traditional dishes of both countries.

Vietnam, Iran exchange cinema development experience

A seminar on Iranian cinema achievements in international film festival takes place in Hanoi as part of the fifth Hanoi International Film Festival. 

A seminar on Iranian cinema achievements in international film festivals took place in the Vietnamese capital city on October 29, as part of the fifth Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF).

Iran is known for its successful low-budget films which have won more than 3,600 awards at different cinematic events worldwide since the 1979 revolution. The seminar was an opportunity for Vietnamese filmmakers to see how their Iranian peers sought out different approaches, ideas, and angles to overcome difficulties and successfully introduce their movies to the world. 

Participating film critic Mohammad Attebbai said it took Iran five years just to be able to enter its works into international film festivals.

According to him, there are two types of films in their domestic industry: Government-funded and independent films. Most young filmmakers are wanting to produce projects independently and are working to tackle financial difficulties and make further creative works.

Film director Kazem Mollaie said some of the tight regulations have hindered the development of the cinema industry in Iran, but local filmmakers and artists have been determined in pursuing their creative endeavours to form well-renowned, high-quality works.

The fifth HANIFF, themed “Cinema: Integration and Sustainable Development”, features 147 outstanding films from nearly 50 countries and territories, including more than 40 Vietnamese films. Many of them have never been screened at other Asian film festivals.

Participating Iranian films consist of The Home, Kupal, The Salesman, Reza, Taste of Cherry, A Special Day, The White Balloon, and Invasion. 

The festival will last through until October 31. 

Seminar discusses drug abuse awareness campaign

A seminar was held in Hanoi on October 29 to discuss an awareness campaign on the dangers of drug abuse under the Drug Prevention and Control Programme till 2020. 

Co-organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Press Authority, the government e-portal and the Vietnam National University Hanoi’s School of Social Sciences and Humanity, the event aimed to share experience in raising public awareness of drug abuse prevention based on scientific evidence. 

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Hoang Vinh Bao suggested that social resources should be pooled in communications efforts, while ministries, agencies, and localities should work closely together to create jobs for former drug users, especially those reintegrating into society after rehabilitation. 

Units concerned should adopt IT application in awareness campaigns and prevent the spread of drug use popularity on social media platforms, he said.

According to the National Committee on AIDS, Drugs, and Prostitution Prevention and Control, the number of articles, photos, and documentaries about the fight against HIV/AIDS, drugs, and prostitution has increased by 10-15 percent from 2014-2017. The awareness campaign has spread nationwide, especially in particular hotspots. 

Deputy General Director of the Government e-portal Le Viet Dong stressed the need to improve the campaign’s impact on and relevance to young people, especially targeting social media. 

Nguyen Cao Duc from the Government Office’s Department of Science and Education urged relevant units to increase coverage on drug prevention, offer international-standard training, and adopt international experience in the field.

Obstetricians, pediatricians need to co-operate to reduce mortality: conference

An infant being treated at HCM City’s Paediatrics Hospital 2. 

Forty nine infants with congenital defects have been saved by the HCM City Children’s Hospital this year thanks to close co-operation between obstetricians and pediatricians, experts told the 13th National Paediatric Surgery Conference that opened on October 25.

Dr Hồ Tấn Thanh Bình, head of the hospital’s neo-natal intensive care department, said premature birth and congenital defects are the main causes of infant mortality.  

If they are provided timely intervention, the rate of mortality could be reduced, he said.

This is why his hospital collaborates with Từ Dũ and Hùng Vương obstetrics hospitals, according to the doctor.

In July, for instance, a baby girl born at 24 weeks and weighting only 600 grammes had a heart defect, but the hospital managed to save her.

But Dr Trần Công Bảo Phụng of the hospital’s cardiology department said the co-operation between obstetrics and paediatrics hospitals remained inadequate.

They even lacked a common data base and obstetrics hospitals did not provide information about defects diagnosed during pregnancy and after delivery to paediatricians, leading to difficulties in treatment.

Many babies transferred after delivery to paediatrics hospitals became worse and even died because of unsafe transfer procedures.

"Obstetricians and paediatricians need to co-operate comprehensively for diagnosis, guidance before birth and emergency aid after birth and transferring infants between hospitals to reduce the mortality rate," he added.

"Such co-operation is vital and can be found in developed and even other developing countries," Dr Hoàng Thị Diễm Tuyết, head of Hùng Vương Hospital, said .

"In some countries, paediatricians come to operation theatres at obstetrics hospitals or pregnant women are taken to paediatrics hospitals for early intervention for their baby.

"But this is not possible in Việt Nam because operation theatres at obstetrics hospitals are overcrowded or lack the facilities for heart surgeries," she said.

The two–day conference has attracted more than 600 foreign and Vietnamese doctors who will make more than 40 presentations in obstetrics and paediatrics.

Two arrested for drug smuggling

Two drug smugglers were detained by border guards in central Hà Tĩnh Province. 

Border guards in central Hà Tĩnh Province have detained two men for smuggling 32kg of ecstasy and ten bricks of heroin, equivalent to 3.5kg of heroin, from Laos to Việt Nam.

Trần Xuân Thanh, 31, from Vientiane, and Võ Quốc Dương, 41, from central Nghệ An Province’s Diễn Xuân Commune were caught with 30kg of ecstasy at a hotel in Cầm Xuyên District.

The rest of the drugs were found in Thanh’s car.

The two admitted they worked together to transport the narcotics from Laos to Viet Nam.

The case is under investigation. 

Vĩnh Phúc Province gets Helmets for Kids programme

The Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and its partners donated helmets to 500 students of Bá Hiến B Primary School in Vĩnh Phúc Province under its Helmets for Kids programme to teach road safety to and raise awareness of helmet usage among teachers and students.

Uông Việt Dũng, deputy chief of the National Traffic Safety Committee secretariat, said Helmets for Kids has led to an increase in the use of standard helmets for children across the country.

“When provided with both resources and education, children are able to influence those around them and remind each other of the importance of helmets, contributing to the formation of a safe traffic culture.”

With the support of the Vietnam Garment Manufacturing Company - TAL Apparel, a workshop to train teachers in traffic safety was also held.

A pre-implementation survey by the AIP Foundation found that only 2 per cent of students at the school wear helmets regularly, which, combined with the traffic situation around the school, put them at high risk. 

HCM City allocates funds to upgrade health stations under national project

A patient receives treatment at the Bình Chiểu Ward Health Station in HCM City’s Thủ Đức District. Photo sggp.org.vn

Twenty four health stations in HCM City will receive funds for upgrading their infrastructure and IT system and buying essential medical equipment and sufficient stocks of medicine, according to the Department of Health.

One health station in each of the city’s 24 districts has been chosen in the pilot phase of the national project on grassroots healthcare, Tăng Chí Thượng, deputy director of the department, said.

They would be helped with improving primary healthcare in keeping with family medicine principles and managing the personal health records of local residents, he told a meeting yesterday.

Each will receive funds worth more than VNĐ1.7 billion (US$73,000), according to the department.

They will have at least two examination rooms with doctors being deputed from district-level hospitals and health centres.

Experts in various specialities at city-level hospitals will provide them with consultation and examination support.

The department has instructed district-level hospitals and health centres to submit the plans for deputing their doctors to the health stations and supporting health stations with transferring patients and medical tests to them by next month. 

One dead and eight wounded by bees in Nghệ An

A patient is treated for numerous bee stings at a Nghệ An Province hospital. – Illustration Photo

One person died and eight others were injured in two bee attacks in Hữu Kiểm Commune, local authorities in Kỳ Sơn District, the central province of Nghệ An reported.

Early on Wednesday afternoon, a group of villagers were attacked by bees as they approached the forest. Six seriously injured victims were moved to Kỳ Sơn District’s health centre while two others were treated at home. By that evening, all six patients at the health centre had showed signs of gradual recovery.

At 11am on Monday, local villager Kha Van Hang, 33, was also attacked by bees while cutting bamboo in the forest.

The victim was rushed to the health centre, but died of serious wounds.

Due to the climate, many areas in Nghe An Province have had bees nesting in forests, gardens, home and even offices. The province has seen many hospitalisations due to bee stings.

Local authorities have warned people to be cautious and protect themselves from bee attacks. 

HAGL sign contract with midfielder Lâm

Midfielder Phạm Hoàng Lâm (right) and HAGL’s manager Nguyễn Tấn Anh. — Photo catscdn.vn

V.League 1 side Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) have signed midfielder Phạm Hoàng Lâm from the V.League 2’s Long An ahead of the new season.

Signed on a two-year deal, Lâm, 25, formerly played for the Việt Nam U23 team alongside many of his new teammates.

The signing may so some way to improving HAGL’s putrid defence, which shipped the most goals in the league last season at 53. The side finished 10th out of 14 teams with 31 points.

Lâm, who was born in HCM City, has played for Long An since 2013. Long An dropped into the national first division football tournament last year after finishing bottom of the top division.

“It is the first time I left Long An to compete for the mountainous football team HAGL who receive supports of fans nationwide so I am new to the surroundings and I have a little bit of pressure,” said Lâm.

“However, I will try my best in my return the national top flight league. I also try to fall in line with my new squad to compete better,” Lâm added.

HAGL’s manager Nguyễn Tấn Anh expressed confidence Lâm will help bolster his side’s defence.

Anh also revealed that HAGL are seeking one more midfielder to pair with Lâm.

Lâm will join HAGL on November 20, before HAGL’s upcoming friendly with Bình Dương. 

Smart screen table launched at National Economics Unversity     

Synary Smart Hub provides a large screen built into the table. 

Students often gather around a table to discuss lessons or work on an assignment together. Now instead of using personal laptops, they can share a smart screen while enjoying drinks.

Synary Smart Hub which opened on Friday at the National Economics University, provided a modern space for students and lecturers to feel free to create and research, said Tran Tho Dat, head of the university.

“I often see students working together in libraries or coffee shops, and each one has their own laptop,” he said.

“Having five laptops on a table is quite inconvenient, so Synary Smart Hub provides a large screen built into the table which they can work together on one assignment.”

“The smart screen can be divided into different sections for personal work.”

The smart hub will also provide training and exchange programmes for students.

Le Thi Loan and Nguyen Thi Thu are the co-founders of the hub. They learned from many smart cities like Dubai and have brought the technology to Viet Nam with a desire to apply this model at universities across the country.

Ethnic minorities in Gia Lai get access to electricity

Local households in Bui village got access to electricity 

As many as 18 disadvantaged ethnic minority households in Bui village, Ia Ka commune of Chu Pah district, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai recently got access to electricity.

The village, 15 km of the Ialy hydropower plant, was the last area of Chu Pah district to be connected to the national grid.

The connection is a result of a project which started this June. With investment worth more than 1 billion VND (about 43,000 USD), the project installed some 1.2 km of electric lines and a transformer station.

Upon the completion of the project, local authorities have worked to raise public awareness of safe and efficient electricity utilisation, said Tang Van Dung, Deputy Director of Power Chu Pah.

To date, 99.8 percent of residents in Gia Lai province have access to electricity.

English training centres poorly managed in Nghe An

An inspection by Nghe An Provincial People's Council has showed various problems in the operation of foreign languages teaching centres in the area. 

According to the inspection team, there are 76 training facilities in the central province with 616 teachers and 78,768 students who are mostly teaching and learning English.

However, many facilities are operating without licenses or expired licenses like the Scots English Australia, Happy Kids DT, and Kids Today, the inspection report said.

Besides some training centres do not have proper classrooms and teaching and learning equipment. Local homes, warehouses, libraries are being transformed into temporary classrooms which lack of proper teaching equipment and do not ensure fire safety.

The inspection also revealed lax management from local education authorities in monitoring the operation of foreign languages teaching centres in the area. The provincial Department of Education and Training reported that there are 35 centres in Vinh City, while the report from the city's education and training department said the number was 39.

The provincial Department of Education and Training reported that there are 35 foreign teachers at local centres, while the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said that 61 foreign teachers have registered to teach English in the area.

An official said that this explains why the province's department knows nothing about some centres that are operating without licenses. And the quality of English training here has also been increasingly complained about.

In 2017, Nghe An Education and Training Department suspended two centres including the Olympia Enghlish and the Blue Sky and gave warnings and required some other centres to upgrade facilities.