Quang Ninh: work accident kills two coal miners

An accident occurred at a coal mine in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 5 afternoon, killing two workers and injuring two others. 

The incident happened at 1:30pm at a work site of the Ha Long Coal Company. A cable snapped while the four workers were transporting mining tools down a 67 metre pit. 

The injured are being treated at the province’s general hospital. 

The Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Corporation offered 20 million VND (897 USD) for the family of each dead person.

Flood leaves 13 dead, missing, thousands of visitors stranded in Lao Cai

Heavy-rain triggered flooding in the wake of tropical storm Nida caused at least 13 people dead and missing and thousands of visitors stranded due to landslide and flooding in Highway 4D in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on August 5. 

According to the National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center, storm Nida rendering widespread heavy rains, flash flood and landslides in the northwestern region where locals were struggling to overcome consequences in the aftermath of the first storm hitting the country this year.

The Central Steering Center of Natural Disaster Prevention reported that Lao Cai province was the worst hit with 13 people dead and missing. Of these, a couple lost three children who were three, 11 years and five months old in the flood. A mother was swept away with two children of the age of 4-8 years old.

Traffic on Highway 4D was disrupted from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa district, power blackout occurred in the entire Bat Xat district. Hundreds of houses were submerged under one meter of floodwater.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Xuan Phong said that the province suffered a total damage of VND200 billion (US$8.97 million).

Mr. Nong Van Hung, director of the Lao Cai Department of Transport said that the flood occurred at the weekend when tourists flocked to Sa Pa district and got stranded along the highway from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa district and vice versa. The visitors reached the city safely by the afternoon.

The department has mobilized all human resources and machines to remove the debris of soil and repair the road. These works are expected to complete on August 6.

In addition, it has proposed the Ministry of Transport and Vietnam Expressway Corporation to instruct toll stations in Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway to stop toll charge on vehicles on the way to Sa Pa.

The National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center said that floodwater from the upper reaches has swollen the Red River. Mountainous areas are still vulnerable to flash floods and landslides in Lai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien, Lao Cai and Yen Bai.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung was present in the province yesterday to visit local citizens including relatives of the dead and missing victims.

He instructed authorized agencies and rescue forces to repair landslide and eroded spots in the highway as soon as possible to resume traffic of passenger and tourist buses, seek the missing ones, visit and assist affected households and remove those vulnerable to landslide and flooding to safety.

63 civets saved from cruel fate in Vietnam

Sixty-three civets, a protected species in Vietnam, have been saved by police in northern Vietnam when they were being smuggled to restaurants and slaughterhouses.

The animals, known as Large Indian civet, were transported on two cars which were stopped by the police in Uong Bi town of Quang Ninh Province early on August 6.

The drivers, Dinh Nhu Hoe, 30, and Chu Van Thinh, 22, told the police they were hired to bring the civets to customers in Hanoi.

The police of Uong Bi are investigating further.

Large Indian civet is listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2008.

Exchange program on Vietnam’s sea and islands

An exchange program featuring Vietnam’s sea and islands opened in the northern mountainous Dien Bien province on August 6.

The program was organized by the Youth Club for National Sea and Islands, the Youth Union and Dien Bien province.  

Attending the program, Tran Hoang Tao, a member of the Youth Union of Dien Bien province’s Department of Construction, said, “I’m very excited about the program and learn more about Vietnam’s sea and islands."

I will disseminate the information to other young people in the province to help them better understand hardships of island soldiers”.

Red Cross launches charity drive for AO victims

The Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross Society on August 6 launched the 2016 Action Month for Agent Orange (AO) victims with a charity walk to raise money to help victims of the crippling defoliant.

red cross launches charity drive for ao victims  hinh 0 At the march, upwards of 10,000 people, some in wheelchairs, paraded through the Dam Sen Cultural Park in support of AO victims and needy people with disabilities, multiple news sources have reported.

Red Cross representatives announced they hoped to raise over US$3 million during the month-long drive for items such as wheel chairs, shelters, education grants and scholarships, and vocational training through a wide array of fundraising activities.

Vietnam fishermen team up to secure fishing grounds from Chinese attackers

Vietnam’s fishing crews are joining forces at sea to ensure safety from Chinese assaults and resist violations of Vietnamese sovereign waters.

Fishing boats operating near the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago have begun operating in large groups, hoping that a ‘power in numbers’ approach will deter Chinese ships from pursuing Vietnamese fishing boats.

Despite growing safety concerns, fishermen operating in the area refuse to abandon their livelihood and retreat from Vietnam’s valid and legal claim of authority over the archipelago and its surrounding seas.

Local fishing boat captains hope that operating in cooperation with other Vietnamese fishermen will protect both their crews and equipment from assaults similar to the dozens of Chinese attacks that have been reported over the last few years.

Nguyen Van Phu, captain and owner of fishing ship QNg 90657 from the central province of Quang Ngai, reported that four instances of harassment from Chinese vessels during a recent weeklong journey forced his crew to limit their fishing operations to only two nights over the course of their seven days at sea.

According to the captain, he spent most of the time steering his boat away from Chinese perpetrators.

“We leant quickly to hide from the vessels after spotting them from a distance. We wouldn’t be able to escape,” Phu said.

Phu still considers himself lucky, noting that in June last year his boat was assaulted by four Chinese ships while operating in the maritime area.

The attackers stole Phu’s catch and destroyed his fishing equipment, causing VND750 million (US$33,637) in total damages.

According to Nguyen Chi Thanh, another local fisher, Chinese vessels often head into Vietnam’s waters between May and September each year, the primary fishing season for Vietnamese fishermen.

Despite repeated encounters with the Chinese, many ending in harassment and robbery, Thanh remains persistent in carrying out his operations at sea.

The fisher recalled an incident last year when his boat was rammed and had its property plundered by two Chinese vessels.

“I’ve encountered them up to 20 times since the beginning of this year but was able to escape before they could approach us,” Thanh said.

Vo Van Luu, 50, whose boat was sunk by a Chinese vessel on July 9 near Hoang Sa, expressed his resentment, asserting that he would sue the culprits and demand compensation.

“I have fallen victim to such violence every year for the past three years. They often form a fleet of two vessels and a speedboat to pursue Vietnamese targets,” Luu stated.

Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in Vietnam’s waters are often accompanied by a coast guard vessel, said Vo Sy Toan, a 55-year-old fisherman from Quang Ngai.

“They usually anchor five to seven nautical miles away from fishing ships to offer protection when necessary,” Toan elaborated.  

Vietnam Airlines assures customers online booking is safe a week after hack

The online booking and payment services on the Vietnam Airlines website are operating in normal state and with assured security, the national flag carrier said August 4, one week after it was allegedly compromised by Chinese hackers.

In a joint statement released with Vietcombank, one of the country’s top lenders, Vietnam Airlines reassured customers that they can book tickets online without fear of their privacy data or bank information being breached.

The carrier said users of its online booking system conduct transactions such as seat choosing and payment “directly with the Internet booking engine and payment gateway of [its] partners, which are hosted overseas rather than in Vietnam Airlines’ ICT system.”

This means that even if the Vietnam Airlines system is compromised, users should not be worried as transactions are done on safe and secured servers.

On Friday last week, hackers compromised the Vietnam Airlines website, defaced the homepage of its VIP membership section, and later leaked data for more than 410,000 loyal flyers online.

The attackers left a message on the defaced website, saying they are members of 1937cn, a prominent Chinese hacker group, which later denied responsibility.

Vietnam Airlines said it has been closely working with partners to ensure its system and database are safe and can operate normally.

“We ensure safety and security for the booking and payment information of customers, and will never store your credit card security codes in any of our databases,” the statement, only available in Vietnamese, reads.

In the wake of the July 29 attack, two local lenders, VietinBank and Techcombank, have temporarily disabled the online payment feature for cardholders involved in the data breach.

However, Vietcombank deputy CEO Dao Minh Tuan said in the Vietnam Airlines statement that “any payment information customers provide during the online booking process with Vietnam Airlines is secured.”

Vietnam Airlines deputy general director Trinh Ngoc Thanh also asserted that the online booking system is in normal and stable service after a week of recovering from the attack.

“We are sorry and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and worry that arose from the incident,” he said.

Vietnam photo fair 2016 opens in Hanoi

Hundreds of photos by professional and amateur photographers are on display at the Vietnam Photo Fair 2016, which opened on August 5 in Hanoi.

The photos feature different aspects of life including like portrait, nature, street life, abstract, landscape, and many more.  

The event created a playground for the authors and the viewers. At the event, cultural values, copyrights, and personal characteristics are respected.

A seminar on copyrights took place on August 6 take place on Sunday. 

The fair will run until August 14th.

Dolly adds touch of sparkle to Miss Vietnam pageant

Dolly, a proud sponsor of Miss Vietnam 2016 has unveiled elaborately designed high heels that will be awarded to the winner of the pageant.

The heels are decorated with two angel wings and 3,000 Austria-imported Swarovski crystals.

Everything is attached carefully to make sure the crystals ‘shine’ to create a true goddess of light.

It takes artisans 93 days to assemble the heels.

More assistance for storm-affected northern provinces

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to grant nearly 1,000 tonnes of rice, maize and vegetable seeds from the national reserves to the northern provinces heavily impacted by the first storm this year. 

Accordingly, the ministry will deliver 620 tonnes of rice seed, 230 tonnes of maize seed and 24 tonnes of vegetable seed to Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Thai Binh.

Typhoon Mirinae, the first to hit Vietnam this year, swept through the northern region in the midnight of July 27, causing huge human and property damages with the four aforesaid provinces being the hardest hit. 

Meanwhile, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Northwest Region Hau A Lenh on August 5 visited Lao Cai province which was battered by flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in the wake of typhoon Nida in early August. 

He urged authorities of Lao Cai province to provide support for local residents to overcome the consequences of flash floods. 

He inspected the situation in the hardest-hit communes of Coc San and Tong Sanh in Bat Xat district in the northern mountainous province, and presented an aid of 3 million VND (135 USD) to the families of two dead victims of the flash flood.

Three people have been confirmed dead, while seven are missing in the province.

Many houses and facilities have been swept away and damaged.

Prime Minister urges Ha Nam to promote hi-tech agriculture

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the northern province of Ha Nam to promote hi-tech agriculture and accelerate the building of new-style rural areas.

At a meeting with Ha Nam’s key leaders on August 6, the Government leader commended the province for recording one of the highest growth rates among localities in the Red River Delta and for effective investment attraction.

Ha Nam should optimise its geographical location as a gateway to the capital city to spur its development, he said, asking the provincial leaders to pay more heed to local planning.

The PM reminded the province that sustainable development should be paired with environmental protection, suggesting Ha Nam increase its investments in tourism services to conserve the ecological system.

For their part, the provincial leaders proposed the Government and the PM create mechanisms to help universities and central-level hospitals in Hanoi relocate to or build branches in Ha Nam.

They asked the Government to support Ha Nam in attracting projects in processing, manufacturing and high-tech and create optimal conditions for the locality to access financial resources of the State budget, Government bonds and ODA loans.

Earlier, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited a 20ha farm run by An Phu Hung Company, one of the typical high-tech farming models in Ha Nam that produces organic vegetables using Japanese technologies.

He also toured construction sites of branches of the Bach Mai Hospital and the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, which have been built to ease overloading at their existing facilities in the capital city.

The leaders suggested Ha Nam encourage private investment in the satellite hospitals and service supply to big hospitals in the province.

Ho Chi Minh City to improve growth quality

Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam urged the municipal People’s Committee act immediately to implement resolutions passed by the council and improve growth quality.

She made the remarks in her closing speech at the second session of the municipal People’s Council, ninth tenure, on August 5.

After three days of sitting, the session passed several resolutions addressing issues of importance, including tuition fees for schools in the public general education system and additional preferences for a project invested by Samsung Group at the city’s High-Tech Park.

On tasks for the remaining months of the year, the council requested the municipal government to focus on achieving a GRDP growth of 8 percent in 2016 and carrying out the set seven breakthrough programmes.

The city will also continue to improve its investment climate and competitiveness, support the business circle’s development, encourage research activities and scientific-technological applications, and complete a programme on supporting SMEs and raising economic integration capacity during the 2016-2020 period.

Conference highlights female roles in various scientific disciplines

A leadership conference opened yesterday at the University of Đà Nẵng focussing on the female role models in Việt Nam in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The conference which also has an exhibition, encourages the exchange of knowledge and paths to entrepreneurship and offers networking opportunities among professionals.

The event is part of the Women in STEM (WiSTEM) Leadership Programme under the Building University-Industry Learning and Development through Innovation and Technology (BUILD-IT) Alliance, an initiative supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and announced by United States President Barack Obama during his trip to Việt Nam in June.

The project is implemented by Arizona State University and runs through 2020.

“Leaders in STEM career fields will be exploring some of the most exciting realms of discovery and technological innovation and will occupy the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future,” USAID Vietnam Mission Director Michael Greene said.

“As a result, increasing opportunities for women in these fields are critically important in realising greater economic success and equality for women across the board,” Greene added.

“We want to connect women in the STEM community,” Kathy Wigal, Ed. D., BUILD-IT Project Director and Associate Director for Curricular Innovation at Arizona State University explained.

“The forum will convene both men and women working in STEM for open discussion on the role of women in the high demand professions of mathematics, engineering, technology and science,” Wigal said.

WiSTEM, in addition to hosting an annual conference, is establishing university campus-based clubs and associated academic programmes that provide female mentors and offer scholarships for women earning engineering and technical degrees.

With technology and science advancing at such a rapid rate, and with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the ASEAN Economic Community launch, many public and private universities in Viet Nam are encouraging women to seek an education that will prepare them for a career in STEM. It is more important than ever to inspire and educate women and girls to challenge the status quo and be a part of this global revolution.

Police to take action in house collapse case

Ba Đình District Police last night proposed initiation of legal proceedings in the case of a house collapse that claimed two lives on Cửa Bắc Street yesterday.

The proposed legal action will be for violation of construction regulations, leading to serious consequences.

House No 43, which collapsed, was owned by Trần Anh Tuấn, 52, a resident of No 63, Hàm Long St, Hoàn Kiếm District in Hà Nội.

The house collapsed before dawn yesterday, killing two people and injuring seven.

A neighbour, Nguyễn Thị Vân, living in house No 41, was re-building her old house and had got its foundation dug up.

Investigation police said the house No 43 collapsed because a water pipe broke while workers were digging up the foundation of house No 41.

House No 43 was built in the 1980s and had a weak structure.

Computer programmers by day, charity cooks for cancer on the weekend

The Bình An Charity Club, a group of Vietnamese who work in the IT sector, usually spend all day staring at a computer. On Saturdays, though, they make bowls of porridge for patients at the HCM City Cancer Hospital.

At a house in Phú Nhuận District, the club members rinse rice, peel fruit and wash vegetables. Everyone’s in a hurry, but they look happy and peaceful.

Member Lâm Thị Bé Vàng, 26, says she joined the club after seeing the pain suffered by cancer patients.

She says the club initially had 100 members but now has 200, including relatives, people they meet through social media, and just kind-hearted people.

Đào Minh Vũ, 27, also a programmer, says the activity is as enjoyable as creating a new software product.

Another programmer, Trần Mạnh, 24, agrees, saying that it helps to relieve his stress at his job.

Member Hồng Cẩm, who takes care of a patient at the Cancer Hospital, says he is proud of being part of “a significant act that helps disadvantaged people”.

A patient at the hospital, Nguyễn Văn Thương, who has visited the house where the members cook, says the “meat porridge is very delicious”.

The goal of the club is promotion of psychological health, according to Nguyễn Thị Lệ, 32, one of the club’s founders.

“Through contacts with cancer patients, I saw that they needed not just a bowl of porridge but also encouragement and joy.”

Vietnam kick-starts campaign to boost green tourism on Phu Quoc Island

A months-long campaign is poised to begin this weekend with a number of activities seeking to develop sustainable and eco-friendly tourism on the world renowned island of Phu Quoc off the coast of southern Vietnam.

The 'Phu Quoc Green Tourism' campaign, jointly held by Tuoi Tre(Youth) newspaper and the Kien Giang Province administration, will kick off on August 6 and run until the end of this year.

Phu Quoc, dubbed a ‘pearl island,’ is a district administered by Kien Giang, and is Vietnam’s largest island.

The campaign is intended to support a master plan by local authorities to turn Phu Quoc into “an international-level hub of ecotourism,” said Mai Van Huynh, deputy chairman of Kien Giang.

“To this end, environmental protection must be a top priority and green tourism is the key solution for sustainable tourism development on Phu Quoc,” Huynh told Tuoi Tre.

Huynh said the green tourism model chosen for Phu Quoc is being embraced by many countries and tourists from all over the world.

“Green tourism brings in many benefits, such as contributing to natural conservation, protecting biodiversity and local culture, generating jobs, and increasing income for locals,” he explained.

The official underlined that such resources as primitive forests, white sands, and paradise-like beaches are “priceless gifts given by Nature” that earns Phu Quoc the 'pearl island' fame.

“This is why local authorities, businesses and residents are all interested in developing eco-friendly tourism on the island,” he said.

“The island is now home to resorts with orchards developed along the streams, enabling tourists to stay as close as possible to the nature. Facilities such as Safari Vinpearl have created a habit of developing properties without affecting the natural environment.”

Huynh, however, admitted that tourism development on the island has also brought about issues.

“The tourism sector has been developing too aggressively in recent years,” he said.

In 2010 there were only 1,766 rooms for accommodation on Phu Quoc. That number had quickly risen to 6,000 by the end of last year, according to the official.

Last year Phu Quoc received more than one million visitors, compared to 328,800 in 2010. In 2016, tourist numbers are expected to top 1.4 million.

“The rapid development has resulted in environmental pollution - one of the biggest challenges we are facing and a situation to which we are actively seeking solutions,” he admitted.

Huynh said Kien Giang will prioritize tourism projects that use environment-friendly materials and equipment, and will offer incentive policies to attract investors for the island wastewater and garbage treatment facilities.

“We will also encourage local residents and tourists to keep the environment clean, and ask businesses to protect the natural resources,” he said.

RoK ambassador thanks Vietnam Airlines for transporting injured RoK citizen

Republic of Korea (RoK) Ambassador to Vietnam Lee Hyuk has extended his thanks to Vietnam Airlines (VNA), the national flag carrier of Vietnam, for having transported a RoK citizen, who had been injured in a traffic accident in Myanmar, to Hanoi and then to the RoK for safe operation.

On his working visit to the Hanoi-based headquarter of Vietnam Airlines on August 5, the RoK ambassador said he was very touched by the VNA’s humanitarian act, which worked to save the life of the RoK victim.

Earlier on June 29, the VNA had to delay flight VN956 departing from Yangon, Myanmar for Hanoi by 80 minutes to transport a seriously-injured RoK passenger to Hanoi and then safely to the RoK. 

Because the flight was full from Hanoi to Yangon, the VNA sent two technicians to Yangon to remove six seats on the VN956 flight to make room for the ambulance stretcher carrying the victims.

At the working session, Chairman of VNA Board of Directors Pham Ngoc Minh affirmed that Vietnam Airlines always does its best to serve passengers, which, he said, is a top priority of the airline in any situations. 

Ambassador Lee Hyuk expressed his wish that both sides would discuss to further the co-operative relations between the two countries, particularly in the field of aviation.

The RoK is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, he said, adding that 1.5 million people travel to each other’s country each year and the figure is expected to increase in the years ahead.

Firms urged to beware of security risks amid recent hacker attacks

The Vietnam Information Security Association (Vnisa) has called on enterprises to stay vigilant against possible hacking threats after the country’s two biggest airports and national carrier Vietnam Airlines were hacked.

The disruptive incidents caused great concern as hackers, reportedly from China, took brief control of the computer systems which manage flight information at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports and defaced the website of Vietnam Airlines.

Vnisa said more cyber attacks might happen, so businesses and organizations should shore up data security as a top priority.

Enterprises and organizations should have their own specialists or hire a professional team to take charge of information security, it suggested.

Information systems should be developed and managed in a way that makes detecting vulnerabilities easy.

Vnisa recommended that important information should be copied and kept at a safe and different place to prepare for the worst-case scenario in which all data is lost.

Passwords of privilege accounts, which are allowed to access key information, should be changed regularly. Enterprises are also advised to check their information security regularly to find timely solutions to potential problems.

According to Vnisa, when companies and organizations detect any signs of hacker attacks on their information systems, they need to immediately take some steps such as capturing the computer screen, collecting and sending log files to specialists, isolating the system and switching to a backup server.

They also need to change passwords, copy data to external storage and contact Vnisa, the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT), or the Network Security Department under the Ministry of Public Security for support.

Dengue fever prevention in Gia Lai province inspected

A team from the Ministry of Health on August 5 inspected dengue fever prevention efforts in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, which is a hotbed of the mosquito-borne disease at present. 

The team examined prevention activities in a number of local communes and wards, including Tra Ba ward which has posted the highest dengue fever incidence in the province’s Pleiku city. 

They also paid a fact-finding tour to the general hospitals of Pleiku city and Gia Lai province and had a working session with the province’s steering board for epidemic prevention and control. 

Since the outset of this year, 3,791 dengue fever cases have been reported across Gia Lai, and most of them were recorded in June and July, according to the provincial Department of Health. 

The sudden outbreak this year is partly attributable to the acute drought, which forced local residents to increase water storage that provides the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to develop. 

Meanwhile, more than 45 percent of the population is ethnic minority people whose awareness of the disease is still low. Gia Lai has also seen new types of dengue fever that it has not record in the past, due to more transport and connection with other localities. 

The shortage of medical staff and prevention experience has also led to the ineffective quelling of dengue fever hotbeds, local officials said. 

The provincial People’s Committee said it has ordered local departments and administrations to ramp up epidemic prevention efforts such as spraying anti-mosquito chemicals and giving intensive training to medical workers. 

The health ministry’s team asked the authorities to first focus resources on thoroughly dealing with existing hotbeds, augment communications to raise public awareness and conduct regular examination of prevention activities.

The Prime Minister has urged comprehensive measures to address the flood and storm consequences in the districts of Sa Pa and Bat Xat in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. 

Tropical storm Nida, the second hitting Vietnam in 2016, brought heavy rains that caused floods and landslide in the locality on August 4, killing three, injuring seven others and sweeping away many houses and facilities, according to the provincial People’s Committee. 

In dispatch No.1386/CD-TTg, the PM requested Lao Cai authorities to undertake maximum efforts to search for the missing and provide support to the affected residents. 

He also highlighted the need for monitoring in the flooded and landslide-hit areas to ensure traffic safety while evacuating residents from high-risk areas. 

The National Committee for Search and Rescue, Ministries of National Defence and Public Security are to assist with search and rescue work and coordinate with localities to help local residents overcome the natural disaster. 

The Ministry of Health is to provide free treatment services for the injured and instruct local people to clean the environment after the flooding subsides. 

Ministries and sectors are to ensure services, such as traffic flow on main roads, electricity, and communication. 

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung visited affected families in Coc San commune in Bat Xat district and Trung Chai commune in Sa Pa district. 

The Deputy PM also urged local authorities to accelerate search and rescue work while stepping up educational campaigns to improve the awareness of the consequences of flash floods among local residents. 

According to the provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and search, the total damage caused by the flood exceeds 200 billion VND (9 million USD). 

Hundreds of houses have been inundated, while hundreds of cattle and poultry. 

The flood also submerged over 10,000 hectares of crops, many roads and dozens of communal and irrigational facilities in the two districts. 

According to latest reports, 46 households in Phin Ngan and Quang Kim Communes, Bat Xat district are still being isolated.

Pyramid scheme firm leader arrested for fraud

Phúc Gia Bảo 868’s vice director-general was arrested yesterday for his involvement in the company’s fraudulent appropriation of VNĐ300 billion (US$13.3 million) from its customers.

Police said Nguyễn Văn Thông, charged with fraud for appropriation of assets, had helped Nguyễn Thế Anh, the Phúc Gia Bảo 868 director-general, to steal money from hundreds of customers using the high-interest loan trick.

Thông and Anh co-founded the Hà Nội-based multi-level marketing firm Phúc Gia Bảo 868 Commercial and Investment JSC in 2015, and later opened various branches in HCM City, Nha Trang and Nghệ An to raise capital via the pyramid scheme.

The two introduced their company to potential customers as the official partner in Việt Nam of an American group, saying they were looking for business co-operation in building networks selling coffee or ganoderma lucidum fungus.

The police said Thông directly signed 168 contracts, raising nearly VNĐ13 billion ($577,700) from the company’s customers.

Anh was also arrested in early April this year for fraud.

USAID Vietnam mission announces new director, deputy director

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Vietnam on August 3 announced the arrival of new leadership, the US Embassy in Hanoi said in a press release the same day.

usaid vietnam mission announces new director, deputy director hinh 0 Michael Greene and Craig Hart, career members of the Senior Foreign Service, assumed the positions of mission director and deputy mission director for USAID Vietnam respectively in July this year.

Before this post, Greene was the director of the USAID Mission in the Kyrgyz Republic beginning in 2013, and the mission director for USAID/Azerbaijan from 2011 to 2013.

Before Azerbaijan, he served as director of the Regional Platform for Western Afghanistan starting in 2009, where he oversaw all USAID stabilization and development field staff, programs, and operations.

Greene also served in many other USAID posts since 1985, including Ecuador, Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Armenia, Croatia, and Peru.  

He holds an MBA in international finance from George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Meanwhile, Hart has worked with USAID since 2005 in Washington D.C., Georgia, Afghanistan, and Tanzania.

Prior to USAID, he served as a Peace Corps country director, staff member, and volunteer in Russia, Turkmenistan, Macedonia, Poland, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Armenia.

Hart has an M.S. in national security strategy from the National War College and an M.Ed. from the University of Vermont.

As leads for USAID Vietnam and primary development advisers for the U.S. Embassy, the two oversee development activities related to governance for broader-based and more inclusive growth, higher education, HIV/AIDS and avian influenza and other emerging pandemic threats, dioxin remediation at the Da Nang airport, climate change, and support for people with disabilities.

2 Jamaican strikers suspended for bowing to referee in V.League match

Hai Phong will play without its two Jamaican strikers in the next three matches in Vietnam’s top flight V.League as part of punitive measures handed down by the Vietnam Football Federation on August 4.

Diego Fagan and Anthony Stevens, the team's only foreign players, were also fined VND10 million (US$450) each.

In the 68th minute of Hai Phong's match against Quang Ninh on Sunday, referee Vo Minh Tri issued a second yellow card to Stevens for faking a fall in the box. 

Before leaving, Stevens, in an act apparently meant to protest the decision, turned toward the referee and bowed down. His teammate Fagan did the same thing. 

On his Facebook, Stevens said he was angry because he was unfairly punished. 

“I know referees are only human and anyone can make mistakes. I will forgive you for your mistakes as I hope you forgive me for mine. I normally joke with my teammate that way in training. I had no clear idea what it meant in Vietnamese traditions,” he wrote.

The Vietnam Football Federation said the players' behavior was inappropriate. 

Bowing and praying are important in Vietnamese culture and sacred rituals. 

Hai Phong lost 1-3 to Quang Ninh and dropped to the second place. Da Nang took the lead after beating Becamex Binh Duong 1-0.

VFF also fined Hai Phong’s communication manager Nguyen Trung Chien VND10 million and suspended him for three matches. After the match, Chien reportedly went to the field to insult and threaten the referees and supervisors.

Also in round 18, Becamex Binh Duong’s coach assistant Truong Van Loi was suspended for two matches and fined VND5 million for opposing the referee in a match against Da Nang.

V.League organizer Vietnam Professional Football has also decided that it will not hire referee Phung Dinh Dung for the rest of the season, following a match between Khanh Hoa and Quang Nam

The FIFA-approved referee has admitted he was wrong to disallow a goal by Khanh Hoa’s Nigerian striker Iheroume Uche in the dying minutes.

Dung said he made the decision because Khanh Hoa did not play nicely. Two Quang Nam players were injured and a teammate kicked the ball out. But Khanh Hoa did not return the ball to Quang Nam and began an attack instead.

Nguyen Van Mui, head of the national soccer referees board, said Dung should have allowed the goal anyway.

Five people rushed to hospital for being poisoned by puffer fish

The General Hospital in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau yesterday said that medical workers are providing intensive treatment to five people who ate poisonous puffer fish.

Before, at the night of August 3, patients were hospitalized when they suffered the tingling in the tongue and giddiness and weakness of their limb. Among them,  46 year old Chau Soc Phol from the Mekong delta province of An Giang is the most serious as he fell unconsciousness and breathing problem.

Patients’ relatives said that on August 3, while Phol and his 11 year old daughter bathed in Long Hai sea in Long Hai Town, they accidentally caught a big puffer fish; therefore, they brought it to home and cook for the dinner.

At 4 PM, Phol and his two children Chau Nhuol and Chau Bav and two nieces 16 year old Chau Thach and 8 year old Chau Rak ate dinner with puffer fish. Phol even ate the fish liver.

After two hours, Phol’s children realized their father was giddy and suffered convulsion fits while the children and nieces had the tingling in the mouth and giddiness in the limbs. They all were taken to the hospital for emergency by neighbors. Doctors had to empty victims’ stomach and transfused.

Puffer fish are the world's most toxic group of fish and their livers, ovaries and skin contain tetrodotoxin, 100 times more lethal than cyanide.

Thousands walk for AO/Dioxin victims

Around 3,000 people joined a walk in the central city of Danang this morning, August 5, to commemorate 55 years of Agent Orange Dioxin disaster in Vietnam.

Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Vo Cong Tri and Vice Chairman of the city people's committee, Ho Ky Minh, were among some officials at the event.

Speaking at a meeting held before the walk, Nguyen Thi Hien, Chairwoman of the Danang Association for victims of Agent Orange said that they are providing regular support for over 5,000 AO victims and raising 150 dioxin-infected children at three care centres. Hien also expressed thanks to many individuals and organisations who have been donating to their programmes over the past 10 years.

"This is a special occasion for us to look back at our activities over the past ten years," Hien said. "We now have 2,946 members including 60 foreign members. And we have raised nearly VND100 billion in donations over that time." 

From August 10, 1961, US forces sprayed over 80 million litres of toxic chemicals throughout parts of Vietnam, including AO. Around 4.8 million people were exposed to AO/Dioxin, 3 million of whom are victims.

Exhibition on ASEAN Community kicks off in Hanoi

An exhibition on the ASEAN Community kicked off at the National Library of Vietnam, No.31 Trang Thi Street, Hanoi on August 5, as part of ongoing activities to celebrate the 49th anniversary of ASEAN (August 8, 1967-2016).

Addressing the opening ceremony, the Minister of Information and Communication Truong Minh Tuan stressed that the ASEAN Community's establishment is a historic milestone in Southeast Asian connectivity.

The exhibition is showcasing a stamp collection on the ASEAN Community; art photos, documentary films and reportages selected from three contests by the Ministry of Information and Communication over the past years with the themes ‘ASEAN – Landscape – People’, ‘Climate Change in ASEAN’ and ‘Ethnic Groups in ASEAN’.

The event is also presenting a 27-painting collection by children from ASEAN countries and books on ASEAN.

Through the display, visitors have an opportunity to learn more about the culture, people and environment of ASEAN member countries and tighten cultural solidarity in the ASEAN Community.

The event, organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication as part of programme of the ASEAN Information and Communications Steering Committee marking 49 years of cooperation - in which Vietnam is considered a key factor in assuring ASEAN solidarity and unification - runs until August 7.

Water tanks provided to ethnic minority households in Binh Phuoc

One hundred impoverished ethnic minority households in the southern province of Binh Phuoc were presented with water tanks following the recent prolonged drought in this year’s dry season.

The water tanks were delivered on August 3 by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) chapters of Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh provinces in collaboration with the People’s Committees of Bu Gia Map and Bu Dang districts.

The programme had a total cost of 230 million VND (10,400 USD) which was mobilised from the two VFF chapters’ “Ho tro han han” (drought support) fund.

The initiative was a significant activity to help drought-affected ethnic minorities in far-flung and remote areas to stabilise their lives.

Sea pollution-affected fishermen in Thua Thien-Hue get support

The Government will provide 2,000 tonnes of rice from the national rice reserve to the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to support local fishermen whose livelihoods have been seriously affected by the recent sea environment incident caused by Formosa Ha Tinh.

Beneficiaries, including fishing boat owners, households with members woking in fishing boats under 90CV, and household living on fish breeding and fishery logistic services, each will receive 15kg of rice every month for a maximum duration of six months. 

Besides this latest distribution of rice, the province has so far already been supported with 800 tonnes of rice and 15.5 billion VND to help locals in accordance to the Government’s decision 772/QD-TTg issued on May 9, 2016.

The provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front chapter has also collected 8.55 trillion VND and 25 tonnes of rice and handed it over to locals.

A number of critical measures have also been rolled out to deal with consequences of the incident.

According to the initial evaluation, the incident, which caused mass fish deaths along the coasts of four central provinces, affected 2,939 boats supporting 6,212 households and 30,450 people.

Together with disrupted fishing activities, local fishermen also lost the contents of 1,240 farmed fish pens containing 136,608kg of fish. Meanwhile, the long-term environment damage has yet been fully evaluated.

Currently, 195 fish pens belonging to 97 households in Thua Thien-Hue are being maintained that contain dozens of tonnes of live fish. However, traders have all refuse to buy the fish fearing they might be contaminated.

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