Hà Nội have difficult task in AFC Cup

Hà Nội FC will play Felda United of Malaysia in the AFC Cup’s last Group G round match today.

The Vietnamese representative can only advance to the knock-out stage when they win the game, while Ceres Negros of the Philippines could not beat Tampines Rovers of Singapore in the other match.

In the first leg match, Felda United successfully tied Hà Nội on their home turf. In the second leg today, Hà Nội have an advantage when they play on home turf but are missing their best players.

Their key striker Hoàng Vũ Samson was sidelined for four games after his red card against Ceres two weeks ago.

Argentinean Gonzalo Damian Marronkle, scorer Trịnh Duy Long, goalkeeper Trần Anh Đức and defender Nguyễn Thành Chung may not play as they have some aches and pains.

Their young members such as Nguyễn Quang Hải, Hồ Minh Dĩ and Trương Văn Thái Quý are training with the national U-20 for the World Cup campaign.

However, coach Chu Đình Nghiêm still believes in a win although it is not an easy task.

“Felda United have no chance to progress. They will play with a free mind as they are not under any pressure in the coming match,” Nghiêm said.

“We are facing a big problem as many of our players could not play for different reasons. I hope everything will be okay before the game and we are determined to win and progress,” he said.

Coach Bhaskaran Satiananthan of Felda United said his team could not advance to the next round but players were asked to grab a positive result which would help them to push their spirits up for the local tournament.

Activities held to celebrate Buddha’s birth anniversary

The Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) held a flower parade on May 3 to mark the 2,561st birth anniversary of Lord Buddha.

Thousands of Buddhist dignitaries and followers in the City attended the parade, which is an annual event to mark one of the most important Buddhist anniversaries during a year. 

Last year, the VBS-Ho Chi Minh City chapter raised funds for the poor with total donated money of 327 billion VND (14.4 million USD).

Also the same day, a ceremony was held at Ly Trieu Quoc Su pagoda in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district to mark the anniversary. 

At the event, Buddhist monks, nuns and followers heard a message of the Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS).

Since the beginning of 2017, Buddhist dignitaries and followers in Hoan Kiem district participated in social welfare activities such as providing support for disadvantaged people, poor children and ethnic minority groups in remote areas.

Monks and nuns also encouraged others to follow the Party’s policies and the State’s laws.

Vietnam helps Laos with archive management

Fifteen Lao military officers are attending a training course on archive management held by Vietnam’s Defence Ministry Office in Hanoi.

During the course which runs from May 3 through May 31, attendees will be provided with knowledge on records collection, classification, management, document digitisation skills along with preservation and restoration.

They will also learn the structure and function of the archive sector in Vietnam’s military as well as experience in data collection and management at archive centres under Vietnam’s Ministry of Defence.

Field trips to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Vietnam Military History Museum and units of Vietnam People’s Navy and Military Zone 3 will take place during the course.

Six in hospital after two accidents on expressway near HCM City

Six people were sent to hospital on May 2 following two separate accidents on the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway.

The accidents occurred on the last day of the four-day national holiday that began on April 29, when salaried workers visiting their hometowns flocked back to the southern metropolis on May 3.

The first accident occurred between three vehicles at around 11:20 am on a stretch of the expressway that passes through Long Thanh District in Dong Nai Province, according to Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering (VEC E).

The cars, all heading towards Ho Chi Minh City, were involved in a collision, resulting in two cars being seriously damaged and the other a blown tyre.

Three people were taken to the General Hospital of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City with serious injuries, including one with a broken collarbone.

Three others who were also passengers inside the cars were unharmed, receiving only minor scratches in the incident.

Malaysia police arrest Vietnamese woman in drug raid

A Vietnamese woman has been arrested by Malaysian police for alleged drug trafficking during their five-day drug raids on multiple locations, Vietnamplus reported.

The raids, which ended on May 2 in the southern state of Johor, have resulted in the arrest of seven individuals, including the Vietnamese woman whose identity has yet to be revealed by the police.

Lukas Aket, head of Johor anti-drug department, said the raids were conducted following a one-month’s intelligence work and public tip-off. He said the police have seized various types of drugs amounting to RM490,000 (US$113,000), some cash and three cars.

Aket said five local men and the Vietnamese woman were detained in the first raid at a house in Johor Bahru, capital city of Johor State, located at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula, and will be held for seven days.

The drugs seized during the raids included ecstasy power and heroin, the police said.

Possession of drugs is a serious offence in Malaysia and punishale by death by hanging.

Military Zone 2, northern Lao provinces seek to foster defence ties

A working group from the Military Zone 2 High Command has made a visit to the High Commands of Phongsaly, Udomxay, Bokeo and Infantry Division 3 of the Lao People’s Armed Forces to discuss measures to strengthen the special solidarity between the two countries.

During the visit from April 24-30, the two sides sought ways to foster their collaboration among border guard forces of the Military Zone 2 and northern localities of Laos, thus preventing outside forces to undermine the special solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

The Vietnamese side informed the hosts on major outcomes of military external relations between the Military Zone 2 and Laos’ northern localities, while asking for their support for the Military Zone 2’s units posted in the localities to fulfill their international tasks.

During its stay, the group also inspected the operation of Vietnamese units performing international missions in Laos’ northern localities.

Giong festival attracts visitors

The Giong Festival began in Phu Dong village, Gia Lam district, Hanoi, on May 2 or the seventh day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, attracting many tourists.

The event is held annually between the seventh and ninth day of the fourth lunar month to commemorate Saint Giong, a local hero who sacrificed his life to defeat invaders.

It is celebrated with processions, rituals and performances. 

The Vietnam Culture and Art Sub-Institute said “The festival follows a format written in an ancient book called Hoi Le (Festival Regulations), which was passed down through the generations.”

The main day of the event falls on the ninth, when flags are carried from the Mother Temple to the Upper Temple and sacrifices are made. People perform ritual dances and songs, while battles against the invaders are re-enacted. 

UNESCO recognised Vietnam’s Giong festival as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Vietnam has nearly 8,000 festivals a year, of which 88.36 percent is folk festival, 6 percent is religious festival and 4 percent is historical events.

Quang Ninh: Tourism festival week welcomes summer

An art performance was held in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on May 1 as part of the Mong Cai summer tourism week, drawing a large crowd of people to enjoy flash mobs, fashion shows and music.

Other activities included street and food festivals and football competitions.

During the holidays from April 29 to May 2, Quang Ninh welcomed 420,000 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent.

The UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay attracted some 71,500 vacationers, including 26,000 foreigners.

Ha Long Bay, literally “descending dragon bay”, spans 1,553 square kilometres and includes 1,969 islands of various sizes. It was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 and 2000.

The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and islets in various shapes and sizes. 

The limestone in the bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The geo-diversity of the environment has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea biosystem.

Meanwhile, the number of tourist arrivals in Van Don, Quan Lan, Minh chau and Co To islands reached 51,000.

Ha Long Ocean Park attracted 80,000 visitors, with the peak on April 30 when it served 30,000 tourists.

Also in the period, Mong Cai border city held various culture, sport and tourism activities, drawing 50,000 visitors.

Hanoi squeezes in smart car-parking app

Hanoi launched a smart parking service on May 1 that will allow drivers to find parking spots and pay parking fares using their smartphones.

The pilot project covers Tran Hung Dao and Ly Thuong Kiet, with 17 parking lots with a capacity of 248 cars. The lots will be open seven days a week, with 16 available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and one available 24 hours a day, according to Tuoi Tre newspaper. The trial period is expected to run until August 1.

The hourly rate is VND15,000 (US$0.66) and can be paid via the iParking app with VISA or Mastercard, or by SMS. The app automatically alerts users 15 minutes before their parking times expire, and also allows users to remotely extend their parking times.

The iParking application is currently available on AppStore/CH Play for smartphone users to download, according to Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

iParking is the first mobile phone application for parking lots in Vietnam. The software aims to solve Hanoi's crowded streets.

Fees are calculated automatically to prevent operators from overcharging drivers, Pham Van Duc, deputy director of the company behind the new system, told VOV.

However, some drivers are already unhappy with the new system. Many are irritated that they can't use cash and have to waste time installing the application or typing a text message.

Another shortcoming is that only subscribers of Vinaphone, Mobifone and Viettel can pay their parking fees via SMS, according to Tuoi Tre.

According to the system's designers, iParking has already taken of in the US, France, the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, Denmark and Israel. Vietnam is the ninth country to introduce iParking.

Tay Ninh police seize 21 kilos of methamphetamine

Police in the southern province of Tay Ninh say they seized 21 kilos of methamphetamine after discovering drugs concealed in luggage at the Moc Bai International Border Gate.

During a search of a suspect vehicle at the Cambodia, Vietnam border crossing, we seized four kilos of the drug hidden in suitcases, said a police commander.
 
We then went back to a hotel in Cambodia where search warrants were executed and seized a further 17 kilos of the drug. 

All told we arrested three Vietnamese who are charged with transnational drug smuggling. I would say this is a significant disruption to this drug network, noted the commander.

Ethnic minority, experts in Vietnam work to save indigenous fowl

Ethnic minority farmers and experts in central Vietnam are working to conserve and breed a once-abundant species of indigenous fowl.

The Re or H’Re species of chicken was once a common breed in Ba To District, Quang Ngai Province, an area primarily inhabited by the H’Re people, the ethnic minority from which the fowl get their name.
Re chickens, now teetering on the brink of extinction, have a distinctively undersized torso and small legs and are known for slumbering on tree limbs. By the time they reach maturity, approximately six months to one year, the birds weigh a mere 1.2kg.

The species of chicken was recently recognized as one of Vietnam’s prized indigenous varieties by the Animal Husbandry Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Native people consider the firm, pleasant tasting meat a delicacy, often reserving it for ancestral offerings or noted visitors.

Pham Van On, a village elder, says that during his youth, Re bantams would often roam local hamlets in large flocks.

Over the course of time, however, breeders found that the bird’s small size made it economically inefficient and began crossbreeding Re with larger species to produce more lucrative hybrids. As a result, pure-bred Re bantams have become quite rare and are nearing extinction.

On referred a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter to Pham Van Rach, the owner of a pure-bred Re chicken farm at the foot of Cao Muon Mountain in Ba Vinh Commune.

Rach had been startled when village patriarchs and elders voiced concerns that Re chickens might vanish for good, and in 2000 he began scouring his commune and neighboring localities for Re chickens he could breed, though his search proved unsuccessful.

He was eventually introduced to a Re chicken breeder who sold him one parenting bird and gave him another for free.

That was the beginning of Rach’s painstaking breeding project.

Through trial and error, the H’Re ethnic minority man taught himself how to care for his fowl.

To grow his flock, avoid inbreeding, and minimize the risk of undesired inherited traits, the ‘Re Chicken King’ searches extensively for more parenting thoroughbreds, often winding up empty-handed.  

“I can easily tell purebreds from hybrids just by looking at their size, plumage, legs, and eyes. Purebreds are considerably smaller than hybrids,” Rach said.

He prides himself on his enormous flock, with hundreds of birds gathering at his whistles and pecking gently at his feet. 

In late 2016, he purchased incubators and supplied 300 of his breeding chicks to local households as part of a poverty elimination project.

Now Rach is no longer a loner on his quest for purebred Re chicks.

Researchers from the Animal Husbandry Institute and the provincial Department of Science and Technology have recently made concerted efforts to preserve the Re chicken strain and are tapping into the prized gene pool by selecting premium individuals from Rach’s flock and scouring for more thoroughbred fledglings elsewhere.

“Purebreds are very limited in numbers and locals are reluctant to sell their chicks because they prefer to keep the fowl for ancestral offerings,” Le Thi Quynh Trang, an engineer from the provincial science and technology department’s Center of Information and Scientific, Technological Application, said.    

“They only agree to sell their chicks after learning of their immense value. We sometimes have to seek help from village patriarchs to persuade locals,” she added.   

After nearly a year of hard work, the engineers’ flock is finally thriving and about 60 percent of their first batch of eggs have hatched well.   

“Our staff care for the fledglings as if they were their own babies. We will strive to conserve the gene pool and return the fledglings to the care of H’Re natives one day,” Bui Ngoc Truc, the center’s deputy director, noted.

“As more researchers and breeders become involved in the conservation and farming process, I’m convinced we will soon be able to revive the strain and that it will flourish,” Rach said optimistically.

Vietnamese sea-island charms honoured in Hungary

A show highlighting the beauty of Vietnam’s sea and islands took place at the Corvinus University in Budapest of Hungary on April 29, attracting hundreds of participants.

Co-organised by the associations of Vietnamese expatriates and students, the event displayed hundreds of photos and documents on the history of Vietnam’s sea and islands as well as the country’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

It introduced visitors to the maritime potential of the Southeast Asian country, which boasts more than 3,000 islands and a coastline spanning over 3,260 km.

Speakers of the event noted that China’s illegal construction and militarisation of artificial islands in the East Sea not only have negatively impacted security and safety of navigation and overflight in the region but also have hindered Vietnam from tapping its sea and island tourism potential. 

A number of presented studies requested China to restrain from such activities and respect international law.

The event also included a musical concert, a fashion show and a food festival.

Two brothers from Hanoi headed to chess champs in Iran

Two young chess prodigies from Hanoi have lifted off from Noi Bai International Airport and are on their way to Shiraz, Iran for the Asian Junior Under-20 Chess Champs set to transpire May 3-11.

The two brothers, Tran Tuan Minh and Tran Minh Thang are seeded Nos. one and six at the champs, respectively. The tourney draws the participation of 51 athletes from India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Iran.

Vietnamese army art troupe performs in Russia

An art troupe from the Army Music and Dance Theatre is going on a tour to Moscow from April 29 to May 7 at the invitation of the Russian Defence Ministry.

Russian audiences and Vietnamese expatriates have been able to enjoy famous dramas and songs, which praise Vietnam’s army and people during wars to safeguard the nation. 

A drama of Russia’s patriotic war was also performed by the Vietnamese artists, winning the applause of local people.

Also, to celebrate Russia’s 72nd Victory Day over Fascism (May 9), leading solo flutists and pianists of Russia will perform for free in Ho Chi Minh City on May 4 and Hanoi on May 5. 

The events will be held by the Art House St. Peterburg and the the Russia Cooperation Agency in Vietnam.

Buddhist Culture Week opens in Ho Chi Minh City

A Buddhist Culture Week began at Pho Quang pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on May 2 to celebrate the 2,561st birth anniversary of Lord Buddha.

Venerable Thich Nhat Tu, head of the Culture Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, said the event aims to promote the values of Buddhism in building, preserving and developing national culture.

Themed “Buddhist culture with the nation”, the event highlights tangible and intangible cultures, and upholds a green and clean lifestyle, he added.

At the opening ceremony, an exhibition, a fair and a vegetarian cuisine festival were also held.

The exhibition displays nearly 500 photos, calligraphy paintings, and sculptures aiming to raise public awareness of the need to preserve the traditional cultural values of Buddhism and the nation.

The Buddhist cultural fair comprises of 29 pavilions introducing Buddhist publications such as Buddhist scriptures, books and tapes and disks.

Meanwhile, with 18 booths, the cuisine festival offers various vegetarian dishes from across the nation.

Those events will open to visitors until May 10.

Within the framework of the culture week, art performances and a film screening will be held at Vietnam Quoc Tu pagoda on May 9-10.

Dak Lak: bird flu forces cull of 3,565 poultry

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and relevant authorities destroyed 3,475 ducks and 90 chickens infected with the A/H5N1 virus.

The infected animals were traced to poultry farms in Ea Rok commune, Ea Sup district and Ma D’rak town, Ma D’rak district.

Dak Lak province directed authorities and organisations to zone off and disinfect the areas where the outbreak was reported to prevent it from spreading. The province also monitored the trade and transport of poultry to and from infected localities.

Vaccines will also be given to poultry to constrain the disease.

So far, Vietnam has recorded A/H5N1 and A/H5N6 outbreaks in Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Thua Thien-Hue, Vinh Long and Dak Lak provinces and Can Tho city.

Worker safety at risk, especially in fishing

Millions of fishermen are exposed to the risk of accidents because of an unsafe work environment.

On March 16, Nguyễn Văn Sỹ in central Thanh Hóa Province and two other fishermen were pulling up a 2.5-tonne fish net. The weight of the net and the fast moving water pulled down a winch cable, which tightened around Sỹ’s ankles, cutting off his left foot and half of his right foot.

Significant Government budgets are spent on ensuring work safety, but in sectors that do not have work safety officials and rarely have access to labour health services, like agriculture and fishery, workers are constantly facing death traps while trying to make ends meet.  

Nguyễn Thành Sang, a 60-year-old fisherman from Thanh Hoá Province’s Hoằng Thanh Commune, often starts his day at 3am. Like other locals, Sang and his son fish off their communal beach on a simple raft. “We hardly ever wear life jackets, and don’t think much about work safety,” Sang said.

“There was a time when we were pulling the net and a storm came, pulling us into the sea,” he added. “We held onto the raft, climbed on it and returned home.”

The fear of having nothing to eat is bigger than that of losing his life, so he held onto his work despite the attendant risks.

Some 255 households in the commune make their living fishing, according to Lê Hữu Tư, vice chairman of the Hoằng Thanh People’s Committee. “Most of them fish inshore on a small scale, so they don’t care much about safety for their assets (boats, rafts) and labourers,” he said.

The commune itself isn’t equipped with expertise and financial ability to provide training on labour safety at sea, he added. Some organisations came to the commune in recent years to provide fishermen with fishery knowledge and to raise awareness on work safety, but not on a regular basis, he said.

Authorities visited each household in an attempt to persuade the fishermen to buy insurance for their boats and labourers, but the only result was to remind fishermen to be more vigilant about safety, he added.

Labour safety at sea is a complicated issue, not ony due to an often harsh work environment, but also  unforeseeable factors such as extreme weather that could cause fatal accidents. But most fishermen haven’t been trained to deal with these hazardous conditions, said Nguyễn Anh Thơ, deputy director of the Department of Work Safety under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Some vessel owners are ignorant of safety risks, and do not carry equipment such as life jackets and lifeboats; some do prepare but with outdated equipment, according to Thơ. “A specific strategy is obviously much needed in order to amplify the importance of work safety in this sector,” he said.

Fishermen mostly contribute capital to purchase vessels, sail and work together without contracts, so it’s difficult for the authorities to protect them if they don’t protect themselves  with work safety equipment, according to Nguyễn Việt Thắng, chairman of the Việt Nam Fisheries Association.

Authorities are often unaware of accidents, which are settled by money among fishermen.

Acknowledging that not enough attention has been paid to ensuring work safety for fishermen, farmers and freelance labour, Nguyễn Tiến Dũng, MOLISA’s chief inspector, has proposed to the ministry to conduct more inspections of this informal labour market (one without labour relations) from 2018.  

The inspectorate has also proposed that specialists in the agricultural, fishery and informal labour sectors from MOLISA’s Department of Work Safety be authorised to conduct inspections in these sectors.    

Thơ said amendments to the Law on Labour Safety enabled the informal labour sectors to receive support from the Government and localities since July 2016. Some, like  Thái Bình and Thanh Hóa provinces, saved parts of their budgets to support job training and awareness-raising activities for informal labourers.

A national programme on labour safety and hygiene in 2016-2017 also opened work safety training classes in these sectors, he said.