Japan helps Vietnam deal with cassava diseases

Vietnamese farmers will have the chance to access advanced technologies in cassava pest management and disease-free cassava cultivation through a Japanese supported project, which kicked off in Hanoi on May 4.

According to director general of the Agricultural Genetics Institute Le Huy Ham, who is also the project director, the project will focus on detecting cassava pathogens, seeking suitable technical measures to diagnosing cassava diseases, developing disease-free cassava varieties and providing knowledge for the farmers.

A laboratory to develop disease-free varieties to meet domestic as well as Asian demands is included in the project, Ham said.

Cassava diseases, especially the witches’ broom disease, are posing great threats to yields, President of the Vietnam Cassava Association Nguyen Van Lang highlighted.

Vietnam’s cassava productivity only reaches 18.7 tonnes per hectare, much lower than Thailand and India, he stated, adding that the project will help improve cassava quality as it offers good disease management.

Meanwhile, Keiji Takasu from Japanese Kyushu University, leading consultant of the project, highlighted that under the project resistant varieties will be deployed to fight against cassava diseases while less-chemical cultivating measures will be encouraged for sustainable cassava development.

The project, being implemented from 2016-2020, received an official development assistance fund worth 125 billion VND (5.6 million USD) from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Experts from Cambodia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, will participate in the project.

Safe meals require greater efforts

The entire political system is working together with people nationwide to ensure their daily meals are nutritious and with safe ingredients as alarm bells have recently been ringing for unhygienic food.

As many unhygienic food cases have been exposed by the media, sparking grave concerns among people, the new Cabinet, which was formed at the 11 th meeting of the 13 th National Assembly, discussed the issue with authorities of all 63 cities and provinces via a teleconference.

Chairing the event, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc admitted State management agencies’ failure in tracking unhygienic food, pledging the Government will act for people’s safe meals.

For their part, State management agencies blamed many localities for negligence in promptly dealing with unhygienic food.

They also referred to the high risks of more unhygienic food coming from household-based food producers and traders which number millions across the country.

Many such producers and traders have failed to meet hygiene standards required for material inputs, breeding and planting processes, and even processing lines, they said.

Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, who heads the Ministry of Health – the Government’s food safety watchdog, however, raised the fact that when an unsafe food-related case is brought to light, only the doer is punished, not the monitoring agency or on-duty officials.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Party Committee Dinh La Thang frankly pointed to the possible conspiring between the State management agencies and traders due to giant profits coming from the trade of unsafe food.

For their part, localities named a lack of a funding source and a sufficient and qualified staff to aid the regular monitoring of food safety.

They stressed that social-political mass organisations and locals have yet to be given a chance to play a role in monitoring unhygienic food, especially right at production sites.

Trinh Van Chien, Secretary of the Party Committee of north-central Thanh Hoa province, which is one of the most populous localities in the country, asked central agencies to display their responsibility for managing substances and antibiotics which are banned for use in breeding and planting, and also imported food.

“We cannot let such a huge issue that directly affects people’s meals go with no one being held responsible,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated.

Quảng Ngãi accident: Traffic committee orders prosecution

National Traffic Safety Committee vice chairman Khuất Việt Hùng has ordered prosecution of the coach driver responsible for the accident that killed four people and seriously injured five others in the central province of Quảng Ngãi yesterday.

At around 8am yesterday, on a section of the National Highway in Tịnh Phong Commune, 8km south of Quảng Ngãi City, a 16-seater coach with a Đà Nẵng number plate, travelling north to south, reportedly rammed into a truck carrying wood travelling in the same direction and a truck carrying soil on the opposite side of the road.

Three people were killed on the spot while one person died in hospital.

Initial investigation by the provincial traffic safety committee revealed speeding by the coach driver and encroachments onto the road led to the accident.

The families of the injured and the deceased were given VNĐ2 million (US$89) and VNĐ5 million ($223) each respectively.

Hùng appreciated the efforts of the local authorities in dealing with the accident aftermath and emphasised all efforts must be focused on the treatment of the injured.

Hùng also said he would direct relevant localities to support Quảng Ngãi Province in determining if the coach reportedly managed by the operator Sơn Lâm was being operated legally.

The Transport Department of Đà Nẵng City has been tasked with inspecting Sơn Lâm bus operator, who owned several vehicles but was unable to manage them effectively, Hùng said.

At the working session with the National Traffic Safety Committee vice chairman yesterday, Lê Quang Thích, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Quảng Ngãi Province, also proposed to the committee the expansion of a narrow road from Tịnh Phong Commune of Quảng Ngãi City to central Quảng Nam Province, the stretch where accidents usually occur.

An Giang Police seize fake plant pesticides

The An Giang Police have seized more than 2,000 different plant pesticides, which are not in the list of being manufactured and sold in Việt Nam.

The products were discovered in a house on Võ Văn Hoài Road, Bình Khánh Commune in Long Xuyên City.

The pesticides were contained in boxes, bottles and bags.

The police also confiscated more than 20kg of labels and tools used for making the pesticides.

Initial investigation revealed 34-year-old Cao Quốc Tuấn, who lives in HCM City, rented the house to store and produce the fake products.

Tuấn employed Lê Huỳnh Trung Kiến, 35, who lives in Long Xuyên City, to transport the raw material. The pesticides were sold to agents in An Giang and Đồng Tháp cities.

Quảng Bình proposes to increase fee collection period

People’s Committee of the central Quảng Bình Province has proposed to reduce fees collected whilst increase the fee collection period at the tollbooth at km604+700 and at the Quán Hàu tollbooth on Highway 1 that passes through this province.

Nguyễn Hữu Hoài, chairman of the People’s Committee, said the province had twice proposed to the finance and transport ministries to reduce the fees collected at these tollbooths by 40-50 per cent for the under nine-seater automobiles and the under two-tonne lorries with Quảng Bình number plates.

After receiving guidance from the Ministry of Transport, the Trường Thịnh Group, which manages the Quán Hàu tollbooth, and the Tasco Joint-Stock Company, which manages the tollbooth at km604+700 in Quảng Trạch District, said during the past few months they had received proposals from different organisations and individuals in the province to reduce the fees. But if the fees were reduced in accordance with the proposal, the companies would not recover the cost of investment.

The Quảng Bình People’s Committee then asked the province’s Department of Transport to count the number of vehicles passing through the tollbooths. It was revealed some 105 automobiles passed the tollbooth managed by the Tasco Company each day. If the proposal to reduce the toll by VNĐ15,000 (70 US cents) per vehicle was introduced, fee collection would reduce by VNĐ570 million ($25,300) per year.

Some 425 automobiles also passed the Quán Hàu tollbooth each day. If the proposal to reduce the toll by VNĐ15,000 per vehicle was accepted, fee collection would be reduced by VNĐ2.3 billion ($102,200) per year.

The time duration for collecting fees should, therefore, be increased to make up for the difference when fees at the two tollbooths were slashed, Hoài said.

Hoài said tollbooths had been put up at the gates of Quảng Ninh and Quảng Trạch districts. As a result, several personal vehicles belonging to local residents that passed the booths each day had to pay the fees even though they travelled only a short stretch.

Since the beginning of this year, the fee charged on each vehicle had increased 3.5 times higher than the normal level (around VNĐ35,000 or $1.5 per vehicle), which was very high when compared with residents’ income, he said.

Some local residents had blocked the Quán Hàu tollbooth twice to protest, causing traffic jams on Highway 1.

Khanh Hoa development yet to equal potential: Party chief

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong appreciated Khanh Hoa province’s development but urged the province’s leaders and people to continue developing fresh initiatives to unlock its full potential.

At a working session with key officials of the south central coastal province on May 4, the Party leader said Khanh Hoa has achieved a creditable economic growth in recent years but it has not matched local potential and advantages and urged the province not to be complacent.

He asked Khanh Hoa to focus efforts on effectively implementing its four social-economic programmes, and developing three key economic areas with more attention paid to the western side of the province.

Besides developing the economy, Trong also called on provincial leaders and people to determinedly protect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially the Truong Sa islands district.

He also reminded the province to successfully organise the elections of deputies to the National Assembly and all-level people’s councils for the 2016-2021 term.

At the working session, representatives of ministries and sectors all agreed that with 385 kilometres of coastline and its proximity to international maritime routes, Khanh Hoa has all favourable conditions to develop a modern economy.

The delegates advised the province to focus on the development of Bac Van Phong and Cam Ranh areas and create plans to turn Khanh Hoa into an international tourism city and a driving force for the development of the south central region.

Early poll held for drilling-platform workers

Hundreds of engineers and workers casted their votes for the deputies to the 14th NA and the People’s Councils at different levels for the 2016 – 2021 tenure on May 4, just before setting sail to work on drilling platforms at sea.

The poll has been held in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Vung Tau city prior to the general election slated for May 22.

The municipal election council and Vietsopetro – a joint venture between Vietnam and Russia – have arranged two polling stations at Vung Tau airport and on a Vietsopetro barge that is docked at the company’s port.

The stations will open until Election Day, allowing approximately 2,000 people to vote perform their citizen rights.

On May 2, two naval ships left the wharf of Brigade 171 in Vung Tau city and sailed for the southern continental shelf to help forces and fishermen working there cast their votes.

With the support of the navy, early elections will be organised at 47 locations from the waters off the coast of central Binh Thuan province to those of southernmost Ca Mau province.

Technical support for green transport development project approved

The Prime Minister has approved the portfolio of the technical support section of the Ho Chi Minh City Green Transport Development Project funded by the World Bank (WB) to improve the performance and efficiency of public transport along a high priority corridor in the city.

The section will be carried out from 2016-2020 at a total cost of 10.77 million USD, 10.5 million USD of which comes from non-refundable aid by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) entrusted to the WB.

It will zone off districts along the corridor, adjust urban designs in line with the transit oriented development (TOD) and build a mechanism to encourage the private sector to get involved in the public transport construction. A legal framework and regulations for the city’s sustainable development are also included in the technical support package.

Coastal water monitored in central region in wake of mass fish death

The Vietnam Environment Administration’s Centre for Environmental Monitoring has issued a dispatch to guide four central coastal provinces affected by the mass fish deaths in April in how to take, preserve and transport water samples for regular testing.

Samples will be taken within a distance of 1.5km from the beaches, at 0.3-0.5m below the water surface, for testing twice a day.

The samples will be taken at 6 sites in Ha Tinh, four sites in Quang Binh, three in Quang Tri and nine in Thua Thien-Hue.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also requested authorities of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue to keep close watch on the handling of issues related to the unusual mass fish deaths, regularly sum up and assess results on investigations into the incident, monitor water quality near the coast and environmental hygiene.

The authorities should send reports to the ministry before 9am and 4pm every day starting from May 2.

Vietnam-funded military school headquarters inaugurated in Cambodia

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces inaugurated the officer training school’s headquarters in Kampong Speu province, which was funded by the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence.

Attending the inauguration ceremony held on May 4 were Commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces General Pon Saruon, Vietnamese military attaché to Cambodia Colonel Nguyen Anh Dung as well as officers and students from the officer training school.

General Pon Saruon expressed his gratitude towards the Vietnamese army’s years of support for the Cambodian Government and people in national protection and construction.

He underscored that the support will make contributions to building a strong Cambodian army.

The two-storey building, covering an area of 600 square metres, was built at a total cost of 240,000 USD from the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence aid funding in 2015.

The facility can serve up to 450 lecturers and students.

According to a protocol signed between Vietnam and Cambodia on military cooperation, the Vietnamese army helped the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces with 4 million USD in basic construction activities in 2015.

Vietnamese expats in Thailand pay tribute to late President

A group of teachers and students who are Vietnamese expats living in Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom province visited late President Ho Chi Minh’s hometown in Nam Dan district, central Nghe An province on May 4.

They are currently working and studying at the Nakhon Phanom – Hanoi Friendship Centre.

The teachers and students paid a floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the Kim Lien relic site. Being told stories about the late President and his family, they expressed their respect towards his contribution to the nation.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Som, a member of the Executive Board of the Vietnamese Association in Nakhon Phanom, said the visit was supported by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It has provided overseas Vietnamese an opportunity to learn about their homeland’s history, culture and tradition as well as strengthen the link between Vietnamese people in Vietnam and Thailand as well as the relations between the two countries.

Hà Nội begins construction of medical high-tech centre

Work has started on the construction of a medical high-tech centre that specialises in endoscopic surgery and digestion treatment at the Saint Paul General Hospital in Hà Nội.

The 2,800sq.m centre will have 10 consulting rooms, 15 patient rooms, four endoscopic diagnostic rooms and three surgery rooms. It will be equipped with modern medical facilities, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CT scanner systems for early detection of cancers related to the digestive system, such as stomach and rectum cancers.

“The centre will be built following European standards and will become the country’s leading endoscopic surgery facility that satisfies the increasing demand for examination and treatment of people in Hà Nội,” Nguyễn Khắc Hiền, the city’s health department director, said.

It will provide training in endoscopy skills to the city’s doctors who will be trained in advanced techniques by international experts, Hiền said.

With an investment of VNĐ150 billion (US$6.7 million) by the Hà Nội People’s Committee, the centre will be managed by the Saint Paul General Hospital after construction is completed by the end of this year.

Rare sea turtles released in Quang Ngai

Six rare sea turtles listed in the Red Book of Vietnam, were released in the central province of Quang Ngai on May 4.

Earlier that day, soldiers from the Binh Hai Border Guard Station spotted a suspect group of people on Chau Thuan beach. The group ran away and left the six turtles on the beach.

The soldiers gave the turtles to the Quang Ngai Sub-department for Aquatic Resources Exploitation and Protection.

The turtles were tagged before being released into their natural habitat.

This is the biggest batch of sea turtles released in the locality.

Vietnam, Italy honour women’s roles in war, peace

The roles of women during war and peace were highlighted at a recent chain of conferences held by the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association’s Liguria and Veneto branches and the National Association of the Italian Partisans in north Italy.

The seven-day event was organised to mark Italy’s 71st anniversary of liberation (April 25, 1945), Vietnam’s National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975) and International Labour Day (May 1).

In attendance were Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Peace Committee Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Cuban guests, members of Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association as well as locals.

In his address on April 26, Ambassador Thien said that the event was significant as both countries were celebrating historical victories in April, adding that this was an opportunity to honour women who contributed to national development.

President of the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association’s Liguria chapter Mauro Cotogno said that Vietnam’s April 30 victory had become a symbol of triumph for Italian labourers, and workers at Genoa port in particular.

The event also included an exhibition encapsulating Italian support for Vietnam during the struggle against the US, forums and film screenings on women during war.

On April 30, the Vietnamese Embassy, the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Italy and the Vietnamese Students Association in Italy held a student football tournament and a gala dinner to celebrate 41st anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day.

Vietnam attends int’l charity bazaar to support Syrian refugees

Representatives from the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN) on May 4 attended an international charity bazaar held at the UN headquarters in New York to raise funds for Syrian refugees.

The event, organised by the UN Women’s Guild (UNWG), drew the participation of more than 70 permanent diplomatic missions.

It featured cuisine from around the world as well as fine arts and handicrafts.

Addressing the bazaar, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon stressed the importance of the event. He said the bazaar, the fourth of its kind, allowed nations to come together to build a sustainable world.

The bazaar is one of the major fundraising activities for people in difficult circumstances of the UNWG, a non-profit UN organisation.

Tollgates told to allow free passage in case of traffic jams

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has told road developers to allow free passage of vehicles across tollgates, especially at the gateways to Hanoi and HCMC, if vehicles queue in long lines to pay toll fees.

Binh, who is also chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, made the request after long lines of vehicles were seen at a number of toll stations on the roads leading to HCMC.   

Traffic police are required to manage traffic in front of coach and railway stations, airports, and on beltways to prevent traffic congestion. Meanwhile, the ministries of public security and transport as well as the heads of local traffic safety committees are told to get tough on traffic violators, particularly those committing drink driving and speeding.

Heavy traffic jams were seen at the gateways to Hanoi and HCMC during the holiday of Reunification Day and International Labor Day that ended on May 3. Traffic congestion occurred on the roads leading to HCMC-Trung Luong and HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressways.

The Ministry of Transport asked toll stations to let vehicles pass without paying fees during the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) earlier this year to deal with congestion.

To tackle traffic congestion at tollgates on holidays, the ministry is deploying a plan to install e-toll devices at toll stations on National Highway 1A and the Ho Chi Minh Road section running through the Central Highlands region. E-toll collection will be expanded to other roads nationwide by 2020.

Hue Festival bids farewell to visitors

A musical concert and firework performance rounded off the 9th Hue Festival on May 4, which attracted thousands of revellers.

The 6-day annual festival gathered nearly 1,200 Vietnamese and international performers who entertained the crowd with 53 consecutive shows.

Visitors were treated to a series of mini-festivals on food, hot air balloons, fashion, kite-flying, poetry and dancing, among other activities.

During the festival, the central province of Thua Thien – Hue welcomed 250,000 tourist arrivals, up 23 percent from the previous festival. Of the total, 68,200 were foreign visitors.

With the theme “Cultural heritage with integration and development,” the festival aims to honour the 710th anniversary of the region, Thua Thien-Hue (formerly known as Thuan Hoa, and then Phu Xuan).

Mystery fish kill taints Vietnam beaches

Thousands of dead fish have washed ashore, providing an odious distraction since April 6 from otherwise hospitable beach conditions, dotting roughly 200 km (124 miles) of coastline in four Vietnam provinces.

“Meanwhile, fish farmers in the impacted areas have also been reporting inexplicable deaths of untold numbers,” said officials at the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

“We’ve taken water samples but haven’t got the full results back yet,” said a spokesman for the MoST.  All of the results to date have focused on biology and chemicals and are inconclusive.

Now we are taking the next logical step and proceeding to establish a special council chaired by Professor Chau Van Minh, president of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology to get to the root cause of the issue.

Until the investigation headed up by Professor Minh is complete, the official said, people in the affected areas should avoid contact with the fish, stay away from it, don't touch it and most certainly don't eat it.

Employee arrested for stealing $123,500 from Ho Chi Minh City electronics store

An attendant of an electronics store in Ho Chi Minh City was caught red handed as he attempted to steal US$123,500 (VND2.75 billion) from the shop he worked for.

Nguyen Van Thanh, 22, worked for a Dien May Xanh outlet in Tan Phu District, and knew exactly where his employer keeps the money.

At midnight on Monday, Thanh snuck into the store and took over VND2.75 billion (US$123,500) from the safe, according to a police report.

However, he was caught in the act by store security guards, and is now being detained by police in charge of “stealing assets,” Tan Phu police said on Tuesday.

Dien May Xanh is the electronics chain owned by Vietnam's top mobile phone retailer Mobile World, which also runs the The Gioi Di Dong chain.

HN police opens campaign to combat crime

Police in Ha Noi on May 1 launched a month-long campaign to crack down on crime in an effort to enhance the protection of social order, safety, and security.

The campaign also aims to protect the elections of deputies to the National Assembly (14th tenure), and the People’s Councils at all levels for the 2016-2021 tenure.

During the campaign, police units will strengthen patrol, inspection and examination and inspection to bust criminal gangs and combat all social evils.

Urgent measures promoted to deal with mass fish deaths

Ministries, branches, agencies and localities have promoted numerous urgent measures to deal with mass fish deaths in the central coastal region as well as support fishermen who were severely affected by the incident.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) has issued official letter No. 3441/BNN-TCTS, providing guidance of urgent measures to deal with the mass fish deaths.

Accordingly, MoARD urged Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien – Hue provinces to direct local departments and authorities to collect and treat dead fish, ban food processing of the dead fish, and ensure measures to prevent the pollution of sea water, fresh water resources, residential areas, urban areas, schools, beaches and tourism areas.

The Ministry asked cage fish farming facilities to temporarily stop breeding fish until determining the cause and daily monitoring and examination of environmental factors has taken place in order to timely detect unusual fish deaths and ensure appropriate treatment is made as well as moving fish cages to deeper waters.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has announced that over the recent days, its leaders worked with domestic scientists as well as those from Germany, the US and Israel who have extensive experience in oceanography, coastal geology, coastal engineering and sustainable environment.

During the working sessions, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha emphasised that the ministry would create favourable conditions for foreign scientists to be involved in the evaluation of operations of plants directly discharging waste into the Vung Ang Sea as well as monitoring seawater quality in this area.

MoNRE has also issued an Official Letter requiring the four provinces to recapitulate and report the evaluations of activities related to mass fish deaths and the results in determining the causes of the incident and assessing coastal water quality as well as estimated economic and environmental losses. The Ministry urged the localities to promptly inspect and report fish deaths and relevant emerging issues on a daily basis as well as provide recommendations and proposals.

The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) has said that it will waive interest on outstanding loans for fishermen affected by the mass fish deaths as well as restructure loan repayment periods for them. In addition, Agribank has resolved to support VND20 billion and 100 tonnes of rice for fishermen in four provinces.

The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) will adjust the interest rate for medium and long term outstanding balance for its customers who have been affected by the recent mass fish deaths to 9% per year.

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee has presented VND1 billion to Quang Binh province to support fishermen in Bao Ninh commune, Dong Hoi city and Duc Trach commune in Bo Trach district.

On May 3, Ha Tinh province finished allocation of nearly 600 tonnes of rice to more than 6,300 households with over 26,000 fishermen in Ky Anh town and district.

Quang Binh provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has co-ordinated with Dong Hoi city People’s Committee to launch points of sale for clean fish at Dong Hoi, Cong Doan and Railway Station markets.

Adjustments made to Da Nang sustainable development project

The Prime Minister has approved adjustments concerning the project on sustainable development for Da Nang city funded by World Bank loans.

According to the modified project, 78.8 million USD will be added to construction costs, of which 49.89 million USD will be used for improving the rain water and wastewater drainage system, increasing capacity of the Hoa Xuan wastewater treatment plant and rain water and wastewater collection system for the eastern part of the city.

The budget for building a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network will receive an additional 8.54 million USD to make changes to system architecture, ticket-pricing systems and intelligent transport systems (ITS) with the aim to integrate the city’s whole public transportation system. The increased capital will also be used to improve infrastructure, expand ticket outlets and ITS system for 5 urban bus routes and reorganise traffic at key intersections along the BRT corridor.

The increase of 20.42 million USD in the capital for strategic urban roads will be invested in the DH 2 road that acts as a collecting road, connecting the road network in the city’s western part and the North-South Highway.

Other expenses and reserved capital increased 7.34 million USD.

The total investment of the project went up by 86.185 million USD, of which 72.52 million USD will be sourced by loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), while corresponding capital rises 13.665 million USD, to be paid by Da Nang city .

The project’s total investment after adjustment is 358.32 million USD

WB project to tackle climate change in Mekong Delta approved

The Prime Minister has approved the “Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project” using the World Bank’s loan.

The project, with a total investment of nearly 385 million USD, will be implemented in six years.

It aims to enhance the capacity to adapt to climate change by improving planning, promoting resilient rural livelihoods, and constructing climate smart infrastructure in select Mekong Delta provinces.

The project will be implemented through several components, namely data monitoring and analysing, managing floods in the upper Delta, adapting to salinity transitions in the Delta estuary areas, protecting coastal areas in the peninsula area, and project management and implementation support.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate the project, which also involves the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, BenTre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, and Bac Lieu.

Naval ships help Truong Sa district join General Election

Two naval ships set sail for the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos on May 5, carrying equipment for the upcoming election of the 14th National Assembly (NA) and People’s Councils.

The vessels of the Naval Region 4 High Command left the Cam Ranh military port in the central province of Khanh Hoa in the morning.

Truong Sa district has organised six voting units and 24 polling stations, with three units and 21 polling stations on the islands.

While voters on land will go to the poll on the General Election Day slated for May 22, residents on islands will cast their vote on May 15.

Constituents in Truong Sa district will select 30 out of 48 candidates to become deputies to the district People’s Council for the 2016 – 2021 tenure.

Medicinal herbs with unclear origins seized

The provincial police and Market Watch Department yesterday confiscated 9.7 tonnes of medicinal herbs with unknown origins used to make Chinese traditional medicine.

The herbs were reportedly discovered while a truck driver name Hưng, 40, was unloading the goods in Hồng Nam Commune of Hưng Yên City.

The herbs were stored in sacks and cartons with Chinese titles on their covers.

The owner of the cartons, Nguyễn Thị Thắm, failed to provide legal documents to prove the origin of the goods, saying that she bought the herbs from two women whose address she did not know.

According to the local inhabitants, Thắm, a trader in HCM City, usually buys herbs smuggled from China and sells them to traditional medicine stores in her hometown in Hưng Yên Province.

The herbs are being kept by the police for further investigation.

According to authorised agencies, smuggling low quality medicinal herbs to make Chinese traditional medicine between Việt Nam and China border has increased recently. Traders smuggle medicinal herbs with unclear origins from China to Hà Nội and southern provinces for consumption.

Those who consume medication made from these smuggled ingredients could face health risks, the agencies warned.

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