Fire destroys market in Quang Ninh

A fire which broke out on Wednesday night in Suoi Khoang Market, of northern Quang Ninh Province, has destroyed dozens of kiosks and caused huge losses to business owners.

The fire was fortunately put out quickly as firefighters arrived in time to the area.

There were no casualties or injuries as everyone was outside the market when the fire occurred, but the damage was estimated to be worth billions of dong.

People said the fire might have originated from a kiosk in the west corner of the market and spread to others nearby areas where there were many stalls with porous and plastic ceilings.

The blaze destroyed the entire electricity system, and the cause was still being investigated, authorities said.

The newly built Suoi Khoang was among the first private markets in Cam Pha city of Quang Ninh Province.

Petrol price down 258 VND per litre

The prices of RON 92 petrol and E5 bio-fuel were reduced by 258 VND per litre from 3 pm on December 3, the 21st adjustment so far this year.

With the reduction, the price of RON 92 petrol will not be higher than 16,769 VND (0.74 USD) per litre and that of E5 bio-petrol will not surpass 16,301 VND (0.72 USD) per litre .

The price of diesel also dropped by 283 VND, while that of kerosene and fuel oil (FO) fell by 446 VND and 384 VND, respectively.

The adjustment made the current petrol price lower than the level at the beginning of this year by around 1,000 VND per litre while the diesel price decreased by 5,300 VND.

Heavy rains damage newly upgraded reservoir

Suoi Hanh Reservoir in Cam Ranh City, central Khanh Hoa Province, has been damaged after a year of upgrade worth VND99 billion (US$4.3 million).

The investor of the upgrade project was the provincial agriculture and rural development department. After six years of construction (2009-2014), the capacity of the reservoir in Cam Phuoc Dong Commune was raised to 9.49 million cu.m from 7.9 million cu.m.

On Tuesday, construction officers from the project's main contractor started examining the areas that needed urgent repair.

Heavy rains are suspected to have made the soil soft, leading to depressions.

An official of the construction company said the concrete slab on the left of the spillway had a 20sq.m rift.

He said workers would remove the damaged concrete, and pour new concrete into the 20sq.m rift.

Deputy Chairman of Cam Phuong Dong Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Phung said local authorities knew about the depression in the newly upgraded reservoir. Officials reached the site and agreed to take remedial measures along with the construction officers.

The depression did not occur in a key spot of the reservoir, but local authorities and the construction company immediately repaired it.

Khanh Hoa Province's agriculture and rural development department Chairman Le Tan Ban asked the construction company to finish the work before December 15.—VNS

Cam Phuoc Dong Commune has seven villages with a total population of 14,000, most of the people being farmers.

Before the reservoir was upgraded in 2009, two local people had died in a spillway collapse.

Food festival kicks off in HCM City

The 10th annual food festival called ‘Taste of the World’ opened at the September 23 Park in HCM City on December 3 with the participation of more than 50 international hotels and restaurants from 22 countries.

While displaying international and Vietnamese dishes, participants are taking part in a wide range of activities and competitions during the four-day event, such as the ‘Five-star Chef’ festival, competition for ‘Watermelon Flower garlands and coloured lantern’ record, ‘Vietnamese Roll Foods’ festival, a bartender demonstration and a talk show with winners of the three latest seasons of the cooking contest Chiec Thia Vang (Golden Spoon).

Nguyen Bao Anh, vice director of the HCM City Tourism Promotion Centre, said this is part of special cultural and culinary events offered to domestic and foreign tourists.

The organising board hoped to welcome around 300,000 guests to a wide range of dishes from many countries in the world, Anh said.

Soldiers' remains found in resident's garden

The remains of six soldiers have been found buried in the garden of a resident of Khanh My Hamlet, Phong Dien Town, central Thua Thien Hue Province.

The remains were discovered when the resident dug up the soil on his property to set a foundation for a new house.The bodies were exhumed and later interred in Phong Dien District Cemetery on Wednesday.

The district's military commander dispatched 30 staff members to investigate the remains. The team found some of the soldiers' belongings, including jackets, bowls and bags.

Resident Truong Cong Cuong said Khanh My Hamlet had been the site of a fierce battle during the Spring Mau Than 1968 General Offensive and Uprising against the Americans. Other local residents have also found soldiers' remains buried on their property under similar circumstances.

Vietnamese culture and culinary delights presented in UAE

A Vietnam culture-culinary festival is taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Dubai from November 30 to December 5.

Enticing on-site cooking, music concerts and fashion shows featuring ao dai (long dress – Vietnam’s traditional costume) and ethnic costumes have become draws for thousands of local guests since the beginning of the week.

The Vietnamese art troupe is scheduled to perform in Dubai, the capital city of Abu Dahbi and Umm al-Quawain.

Vietnam’s exports to the UAE hit over 3.46 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 23.37 percent year on year.

The Middle East country has been acknowledged as one of the top ten trade partners of Vietnam.

Ca Mau wants to improve waterway safety

The southernmost Ca Mau Province plans to invest in and improve its waterway network to ensure better traffic safety, Vice-Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Duong Tien Dung has said.

Dung said the waterways played an important role in transportation because of the large number of rivers and canals there.

The province has 138 major waterways with a total length of about 1,811km, besides 7,230km of rivers that can be used to transport farm products and goods made by local residents.

About 70,000 vehicles use the province's inland waterways. However, only 56,000 waterway vehicles have been registered and their roadworthiness examined.

The province reported 58 waterway accidents that killed 46 people and injured 17 between 2011 and the middle of 2015.

Nguyen Thanh Bang, chief secretary of the province's Road Safety Committee, said poor waterway infrastructure and low public awareness threatened the safety of people and vehicles.

Fishermen left their equipment along local rivers and canals, posing danger to traffic, Bang said.

Illegal ferry stations and overcrowded boats without safety equipment were also major problems on the waterways.

Local resident Doan Van Nghiep, from the province's Ngoc Hien District, said he knew the local waterway very well, but was still afraid of obstacles such as fishing nets being left in the canals by other people.

Jobless opt out of work training

New regulations on unemployment insurance that took effect in January place emphasis on strengthening vocational training support to labourers, yet the number of vocational training participants is still limited.

This was announced in a talk "New regulations on unemployment insurance stated in Law on Employment: Challenges and Solutions" held by the online government website chinhphu.vn earlier this week.

In the last eleven months, nearly 480,000 employees have filed for unemployment compensation, more than 86 per cent of whom have received job consultations and recommendations, according to Deputy Head of Job Department, Le Quang Trung.

More than 22,000 people have received support in vocational training in the last eleven months, a 30 per cent increase compared to 2014's number, according to Trung.

The number of the insured who take vocational training support had been on the rise over the years, said Trung.

Over the last five years, about 125,000 people came to the job centre to file for unemployment allowance and vocational training support, said Director of Ha Noi Job Service Centre, Nguyen Toan Phong.

Employees have become aware of the fact that they will have more chances to have a job with a higher salary if they take vocational training, said Trung.

Commencing from January this year, unemployment insurance, which had been regulated by the Law on Social Insurance, have been stated in the Law on Employment.

The list of people required to participate in unemployment insurance includes all employers that hire or employ workers under labour contracts and expands to employees working under seasonal or job-based working contracts with a term of between three months and under 12 months, as well as under labour contracts of indefinite or definite time.

The insured will also get vocational training support for a period of no more than six months from the date he/ she receives a monthly unemployment benefit. The support amount is equivalent to the level of expense for a short term training course which may reach up to VND1 million (US$44) per month.

In HCM City Job Service Centre, among 62,000 unemployment allowance recipients, only one per cent participated in a vocational training programme since early this year, according to Director of the centre, Tran Xuan Hai.

About 80 to 90 per cent of those filing for compensation were unskilled workers who often hesitated to participate in vocational training when being unemployed, Hai said.

The vocational training programmes available had not yet matched labourers' needs and the allowance amount for vocational training was still low, which makes it hard to attract the unemployed to take a training programme, Hai said.

"To make the vocational training policy highly effective, there needs to be a balance between demand and supply of labourers. Businesses should offer job opportunities for the unemployed after they finish a vocational training course," he said.

"The allowance amount for vocational training should be raised as most of the unemployed are unskilled workers without saving and they could hardly afford a vocational training course," said former Head of Thu Duc Technology College, Nguyen Toan.

It was necessary that authorities forecast better about labour demand so that trainees can find it easier to find a job, said Toan.

One of the challenges in implementing the policy was the low awareness of employees and employers on benefits of unemployment insurance, especially those in remote areas, said Trung.

In 2015, many businesses still failed to pay insurance, which affected labourers' benefits.

In addition, labour management work was not effective and changes in labour were not well-controlled, said Trung.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will follow the implementation of the policies in localities and make amendments when necessary, said Trung.

The ministry also welcomed feedback from employers and employees on unemployment insurance policies and strengthened inspection work and will punish violators.

The ministry also suggested employers create favourable conditions to retain employees, Trung added.

A collaboration among authorities, agencies and employers was also needed to make employees better aware of the benefits brought by unemployment insurance, said Phong.

Residents keep fishing in contaminated lake in Dong Nai

Despite repeated warnings from local authorities of high dioxin levels at the lake near Bien Hoa Airport, in the southern Dong Nai province, many people continued to fish there.

On the 2m-high wall off the airport and residential area, local authorities have installed a warning board which reads: "Dioxin/ Agent Orange (AO) - contaminated lake. Don't use any foodstuff being planted or exploited here, that endangers human health".

Ignoring the warning, numerous groups comprising 2 to 10 local residents each cross the barrier to fish in the lake every morning. They snare a maximum 40kg of various varieties of fish. Some young men carry the catch on their motorcycles to the township market.

A local said that sometimes they even bring the fish home to prepare for dinner.

According to many residents, fishing has been on here for the past few years, and though local authorities have warned of the dangers involved people have continued to ignore it.

Sometimes when an inspection force lands up the people flee only to return when the inspectors leave.

Dao Nguyen, chairwoman of Dong Nai Province's Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, said local authorities need to stop fishing activities at the lake near Bien Hoa Airport.

She said the association has been increasing communication in the community, especially among residents in the area, about the contamination.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Defence reported in a study conducted between 2000 and 2004 that the level of dioxin at Bien Hoa Airport was 35,000ppt.

The ministry has also cordoned off 94,000sq.m land area near the airport which is contaminated.

Canadian-based Hatfield Consultants, that studied, and is recognised for its important work on, the residual environmental impacts of Agent Orange herbicide used during the Viet Nam war, reported that the levels of dioxin at the airport were much higher than Vietnamese and global standards.

It also suggested prompt action to clean up the area and asked locals to stop raising poultry and fish in the area.

Scientists have identified 28 dioxin hotspots in Viet Nam, including Bien Hoa Airport in Dong Nai Province, Phu Cat Airport in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh, and Da Nang Airport in the central city of the same name.

Between 1962 and 1971, 20 million gallons of defoliants were sprayed over several airports and US military bases across southern Viet Nam, destroying 5 million acres of forests and 500,000 acres of vegetation. At least 4.5 million Vietnamese were exposed to AO and other toxic herbicides.

A delegation from the Mekong Delta province of Long An gave out 300 gifts for needy people, both overseas Vietnamese and Cambodians, in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh yesterday.

Each present was worth approximately VND400,000 (US$18).

On the occasion, Vice Chairwoman of Long An People's Committee Tran Thi Nhanh took note of the overseas Vietnamese community's request for help to their children and teachers of a Vietnamese language school in Svay Rieng province.

She affirmed that Long An is ready to assist the education of overseas Vietnamese children in Cambodia in a bid to help elevate the community's position here.

In recent years, Long An's authorities have provided scholarships and free medical treatment to both the OV community in Cambodia and needy Cambodians.

Measures urged to curb smuggling of fertilisers

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday called for joint efforts by ministries, agencies, localities and the public to curb smuggling and trade fraud, particularly in agriculture.

Phuc, who is also head of the National Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Fake Commodities (or Steering Committee 389), said during its meeting in Ha Noi that violations relating to fertilisers, pesticides and animal feeding were rampant and sophisticated.

He blamed lax control, as well as the shielding and protection of anti-smuggling staff, for the circulation of fake fertilisers and substandard food in market.

He said mechanisms and punishments were not strict enough to deter violators.

Although the names of violators were publicised for consumers to boycott, the move was not as effective as expected because it received little public engagement, he said.

The Deputy PM urged relevant ministries and agencies to further co-operate in inspection and detection over violations, especially in December and during the Lunar New Year holiday when consumption typically increases.

They were also asked to concentrate on enforcing laws for fertiliser and pesticide traders.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai reported that in the last 11 months, the Market Watch under the ministry cracked down with 878 violations relating to fertiliser, 211 relating to food additives, and 593 relating to unidentified-origin pesticides, veterinary and animal feeding.

Meanwhile, inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development found that one-third of over 3,100 inspected veterinary producers and traders had violated the law.

When examining 5,900 pesticide producers and traders, the ministry's inspectors found 913 violators, most whom had made or sold fake, substandard or expired pesticide. Product labels were found to be not in line with the actual use of products.

Over one-fifth of 4,000 inspected farming households were found to use pesticide improperly, as well as the overuse or use of banned pesticides that cause environmental pollution and harm health.

The use of banned substances in breeding was found in localities, mostly in southeastern provinces like HCM City, Dong Nai, Tien Giang, Long An and Binh Duong – breeding hubs of Viet Nam.

A representative of the public security ministry said that it was difficult to detect fake products.

It took months of costly measures to test the products, and in almost all cases, violators simply paid fines.

According to the agriculture ministry, Viet Nam uses about one million tonnes of fertiliser each year. While the prevalence of fake and substandard fertiliser has become a major problem in the agriculture sector, only 0.3 per cent of violators were prosecuted in criminal courts, which failed to deter other violators.

HCM City forecasts 8% growth

HCM City plans to achieve a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth rate of 8 per cent next year.

This is one of the city's targets set at the second session of its 10th Party Congress held early this week.

The city also aims to be ranked in the top five in the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI), the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the Public Administrative Reform Index (PAR -Index).

It also plans to implement regional linkages in an aim to make the city the southern region's financial, commercial and scientific-technology centre.

Speaking at the congress, Vo Van Thuong, deputy Secretary of the city's Party Committee, said the city wanted to improve the "quality of growth and competitive capacity".

This year the city' economy has had the highest growth of the past three years, he said.

The city's exports, excluding crude oil exports, are estimated to reach US$26.6 billion this year, up 9.9 per cent against 2013.

However, the city still faces challenges, including low labour productivity and competitiveness.

Enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, have faced many problems and the quality of human resources has not met development demands.

Solutions applied to serious issues such as traffic congestion, flooding, pollution and social security have not achieved high results.

The city plans to focus on four "breakthrough" urban programmes: reducing traffic jams; reducing flooding and responding to climate change and rising levels of sea water; reducing environmental pollution; and beautifying and developing urban areas, according to the city's People's Committee.

The city also aims to solve flooding in the city centre and prevent any further flooding spots from occurring next year.

Twenty-six major roads and bridges, including Pham Van Dong Road and Rach Chieu Bridge, will also be put in use next year.

The People's Committee also targets an unemployment rate of under 4.5 per cent in the city's urban areas and 125,000 new jobs.

In addition, the city wants the number of skilled workers to comprise at least 75 per cent of the total workforce.

In a related matter, HCM City is considered a leader in implementing the government's national New Rural Area Programme. Three of the city's five outlying districts, Cu Chi, Nha Be and Hoc Mon, have met all 19 criteria required by the New Rural Area Programme.

The remaining two outlying districts are expected to fulfil all the criteria soon, according to city officials.

Adjustments to Phu Cat airport planning approved

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, central Binh Dinh provincial People’s Committee and relevant agencies on December 3 approved adjustments to the Phu Cat airport planning by 2020 with a vision to 2030.

Under the adjusted planning, an 8,500-square-metre passenger terminal, which is able to welcome 1.2 million passengers per year, will be constructed adjacent to the existing one by 2020. Meanwhile, by 2030, expansion and upgrades will be made to the current terminals, increasing its capacity to 3.4 million passengers a year.

Parking areas will house seven planes by 2020 and 10 in 2030, including two positions for code E planes-heavy transport aircraft such as B777.

A 15,000-tonne-of-good cargo terminal will be built by 2030.

Phu Cat Airport received 427,000 passengers and 1,340 tonnes of goods in 2014, an increase of 46.7 percent and 58.7 percent, respectively, compared with 2013.

The national carrier Vietnam Airlines operates a return flight from the airport to Hanoi once a day and two daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific also operate one daily flight from Phu Cat Airport to HCM City.

New domestic flights connecting Phu Cat- Hai Phong, Phu Cat- Can Tho and Phu Cat- Da Nang are expected to become operational soon.

The Phu Cat Airport holds an important position in Binh Dinh's socio-economic development strategy. After completion, it is expected to help lure more investment to the province and the central and Central Highlands regions as well.

Transportation trading floor put into operation

All information about goods and shipment prices of the transportation industry will be publicly posted on a trucking trading floor, which was officially launched on December 3.

To utilise the floor, commodities owners and service providers have to register at the websites www.vinatrucking.vn or www.sanvantaiviet.vn.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said that the sector is being restructured towards reducing costs and increasing safety.

Therefore, the launch of the trading floor is significant as it can help reduce transportation costs and prevent overload trucking, he added.

The floor is expected to help transport companies maximise their two-way transport capacity.

Transport companies registering with the floor will have their capacity and prestige checked to ensure transparency and fairness.

Teleconference on martyr remains collection to be held

A national teleconference to review the implementation of a project to search for and collect the remains of martyrs during 2013-2015 will be organised on December 7.

The information was released by Major General Tran Van Minh, Director of the Department of Policy under the Vietnam People’s Army’s General Department of Politics, at a press briefing in Hanoi on December 3

The event reaffirms the strong determination of the Party, State, army and localities to better the work so as to meet the aspirations of people and martyrs’ families, he said.

The project’s targets set for 2015 have been basically reached, he added.

Since 2013, 7,997 sets of remains of fallen soldiers have been found and reburied, with 1,347 sets repatriated from Laos, and 2,578 sets from Cambodia.

International cooperation on humanitarian activities and the settlement of war aftermaths has been also expanded, Minh noted.

BIDV helps Laos develop infrastructure

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) will fund the construction of an irrigation system in the northern Lao province of Luang Namtha.

A credit contract to this effect was signed by Lao Finance Minister Lien Thikeo and BIDV General Director Phan Duc Tu in Vientiane on December 3.

This is one of the four credit contracts totalling 230 million USD sealed by the Vietnamese bank in an effort to help the neighbouring country implement its infrastructure projects.

Located in Xinh district, Luang Namtha province, the irrigation project includes two smaller ones, invested by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Once operational, the facility is expected to supply water to over 3,100 hectares of farming land in the district, prevent drought and flooding, and help local citizens improve productivity and living standards.

It will also contribute to the Lao Government’s poverty reduction efforts through ensuring food security in northern Laos.

Apart from the irrigation system, the bank has provided financial assistance to two infrastructure projects in Houaphane province.

UNDP helps Vietnam build new growth model

The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the UN Development Programme jointly held a workshop in Hanoi on December 3 to give advice to the Vietnamese Government on the building of a new growth model.

Speaking at the consultation workshop on the draft 2015 Vietnam Human Development Report, VASS Nguyen Quang Thuan stressed the importance of people’s involvement in growth and how they benefit from it.

It is necessary to have suitable methods to secure an equitable growth and make sure that no one lags behind, he added.

The report put forward the concept of ‘inclusive growth”, which emphasises both economic growth and equal distribution to reduce poverty and help all groups develop together.

Participants also proposed increasing labour productivity and ensuring better and fairer health care and education systems.

Vietnam has made great achievements on human development over the past 35 years, however, the growth has slowed down due to the global financial crisis.

El Nino increases risk of epidemic outbreaks

Global climate change and the El-Nino phenomenon have raised the risk of epidemic outbreaks if precautious measures are not properly taken, said a health official.

Truong Dinh Bac, Deputy Director of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, told the press in Ho Chi Minh City on December 2 that approximately 62,000 cases of dengue fever and 50,000 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease have been reported throughout Vietnam since the beginning of 2015.

As dengue virus has different types, patients can contract the virus many times and later infections can be more serious, he added.

In addition, the health official warned the potential increase of influenza and bird flu, such as A(H5N1), A(H5N6) and A(H7N9) as winter has set in. Six bird flu outbreaks have been reported in five provinces across the country and are still in the 21-day quarantine period, he said.

According to the General Department of Preventive Medicine, 10 out of 82 people with streptococcal infections have died since early this year . The department advised people on safe handling and cooking of pork, especially those in Ho Chi Minh City and Tien Giang province where seven and six cases, respectively, were recorded.

Health officials urged precautious measures against epidemics among families. Mothers should strictly follow the recommended immunization schedules for their children while every one is advised to wash hand regularly, eat well cooked food and keep warm.

Vietnam, US discuss military medical cooperation

Leaders of the Military Hospital 175 under the Ministry of Defence and the US Embassy in Vietnam on December 2 held a working session to discuss issues related to military medical cooperation, reported Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper.

At the function, the two sides also exchanged views on the preparations for setting up a level-2 field hospital as part of Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

Apart from reviewing the partnership in humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness, the two sides examined joint efforts in improving efficiency of sea-island medical activities and professional cooperation between the Vietnamese hospital and US partners.

The two sides pledged to do the best in their capacity to fulfil the requirements on personnel and capacity for the deployment of the level-2 field hospital to serve the UN peacekeeping forces.

Vietnam has dispatched seven officers to join UN peacekeeping forces in South Sudan and Central Africa.

Aside from the level-2 field hospital, the country is preparing to deploy a company of engineers to engage in peacekeeping missions when required.

Vietnam needs better management of mineral resources

Vietnam needs to raise awareness of mineral resources and take measures to boost intensive processing in order to reduce losses and protect the environment, suggested experts at a seminar in Hanoi on December 3.

They recommended Vietnam make the efficient use of natural resources to serve its long-term development.

It is also necessary to develop science and technology in all stages from extracting, processing to utilising, improve capacity of technicians and managers, and fine-tune legal tools, they added.

At the seminar, jointly held by the Vietnam Mining Coalition, the People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) and the Centre for Development and Integration, participants said Vietnam approached the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2006 and the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been entrusted to implement this initiative.

However, after nearly a decade, the country has not yet committed to enforcing the EITI due to limitations in capacity and policy.

Experts held that Vietnam is now capable of implementing the initiative. As it is facing reform pressures from the international integration, Vietnam should see the EITI as an overall measure to accelerate reforms in the mining sector, thus helping better manage its non-renewable resources.

According to Director of the PanNature Trinh Le Nguyen, Vietnam was ranked 7 th in the extraction of crude oil in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing 2.3 percent to the world’s total amount of tin and 1.8 percent to cement in 2012.

Statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment indicated that Vietnam dug out 42.6 million tonnes of coal, 3 million tonnes of iron-ore, 3 million tonnes of Apatite, 193,000 tonnes of Mangan and a large amount of other minerals in 2013.

With such exploitation scale, many kinds of minerals in Vietnam could become exhausted in the near future, the ministry warned.

The Vietnam Union of Geological Sciences calculated that the remaining time for mining oil and gas is 56 years, Barit and gold 21 years, tin 19 years, lead and zinc 17 years.

Vietnamese girl has rare skin condition allegedly caused by soft drink

An 11-year-old girl in the central province of Quang Binh was diagnosed with a rare skin condition soon after consuming a bottle of soft drink, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Ho Thi Kieu Anh has been discharged from the Hue Central Hospital, and her health is now stable, the hospital said Tuesday.

Anh was admitted to the hospital last month with the top layer of her skin coming off.

Her family said she drank the soft drink bottle after school. Two hours later, her skin got swollen like being burned. She also suffered from breathing difficulties, fever and a sore mouth.

She was diagnosed with Lyell's syndrome, a rare, life-threatening skin condition that is usually caused by a reaction to drugs.

Doctors said the soft drink may be a factor that caused her condition.

Inspectors find that almost everything at Tan Son Nhat Airport needs to be improved

The Central Aviation Authority of Vietnam has ordered Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport to improve services for around 26 million passengers that it serves every year.

According to CAAV, Wi-Fi signal at the airport is too weak while toilets are not clean during peak hours.

It is also very difficult to find food courts and restaurants in the airport due to a lack of signs. The restaurants do not have many options on their menus and do not serve after 11 p.m., inspectors have found.

CAAV said the airport is operating above its annual capacity of 25 million passengers. During peak hours, the airport does not have enough runways and parking spots for aircraft.

The domestic terminal is often overloaded at check-in and security screening sections, especially at the VietJet Air area.

At the international terminal, passengers cannot exchange currency after 11 p.m. when these counters are closed.

The airport’s car parks are also under strain. CAAV said stronger action is needed to deal with parking time violations.

CAAV instructed the airport to start surveying passengers on its services for improvement.

Tan Son Nhat was ranked 8th in the annual list of the worst airports in the world compiled by travel website Sleeping in Airports that was released in October.

It took the fourth place in the regional blacklist for Asia, moving in the wrong direction from the eighth position last year.

Norway, Vietnam foster transport cooperation

A Ministry of Transport delegation led by its Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Cong has paid a visit to Norway to seek measures to boost cooperation between the two countries in transport, particularly in maritime.

According to a report from the Vietnam Embassy in Norway, the delegation worked with Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Reynir Johannesson, Deputy Minister at Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and some other officials on December 3.

During meetings, Mr Cong briefed the host on Vietnam’s transport development policies and appreciated Norway’s support in maritime training and register cooperation. He urged Norway to share experience and assist Vietnam in transport and maritime development, seaport management and development and human resource training.

The powerful maritime country of Norway has become an official partner of ASEAN and this has opened up more prospects for bilateral cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.

For their parts, Norway representatives also reported on their country’s transport, maritime and seaport development policies and asked Vietnam to create a niche for their businesses’ operation in the country.

The two sides also reviewed transport cooperation results and discussed measures to strengthen cooperation in the future.

On the occasion, Vietnam proposed that Norway should consider negotiating to sign a bilateral agreement on maritime.

Transport students win Asian design awards

Two teams of Vietnamese university students have been recognized at the – 5th Virtual Design World Cup – for their innovative architecture, bridge and city designs using BIM/CIM &VR technologies.

UTC-DIAN received the Smart Kinetics Award and INEC – UTC was presented the Civil Design Award with the prize of JPY50,000 in cash for each team, according to widely published reports.

The 5th Virtual Design World Cup is a cloud-based design competition for civil engineering and construction works with BIM/CIM and VR, which this year was themed ‘Redevelopment of Keelung Station Area in Taiwan’.

US-Vietnam Joint Committee Meeting convenes

The 9th US-Vietnam Science and Technology Joint Committee Meeting opened in HCM City on December 2, which will review cooperation in science and technology projects and discuss plans for the years to come.

Discussion topics will also include medical sciences and health, agriculture, education and research exchange, preservation and environmental sciences, hydro-meteorology, and storm warning.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan said since 2005 more than 30 joint projects have been carried out under the Vietnam-US Protocol, which contributed to promoting Vietnamese scientists’ research and training capacity and creating a good environment for scientists to share experience and expand collaboration in research and technological transfer.

Vietnam proposed new cooperation issues at the JCM-9 wit a focus on building database on the two countries’ scientists, research projects and university network; building a system to encourage starts-up in the model of the Silicon Valley, including policies and mechanisms for developing venture capital investment to support science-technology businesses; and extending the operation of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), which will end in 2018, through the new form of co-investment, he added.

The head of the US delegation to the session, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science, Space, and Health Jonathan Margolis said the US is willing to work and share experience with Vietnamese partners across a variety of fields.

A seminar on Vietnam-US cooperation in science and technology will also be planned as part of the meeting.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri