VND160 mil given to disabled women

Ho Chi Minh City Women Union yesterday gave VND160 million ($7,057) to 26 disabled women to help them do business at their households.

The union held a meeting themed “Ve dep vang trang khuyet” (Beauty of crescent moon) for disabled women in response to Vietnam’s Disabled Day aiming to encourage these special women to overcome their difficulties in life and have a happy family. 

In the meeting, disabled women from all districts had chance to meet and exchange each other. The meeting also honored those who overcome their disability in daily life as well as introduced products made by these women. The organizer presented 20 prizes to most beautiful exhibit booths.

Additionally, the union also presented 100 gifts to female as supports and certificates of merit to 28 others.

Landslides threaten 11 households in Đồng Tháp

Cả Lách Canal in Bình Thành Commune, Thanh Bình District, southern Đồng Tháp Province, was hit by landslides during the past week, threatening 11 houses.

This was stated by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

The landslide section is 150m in length, encroaching upon some 15-20m area. It occurred 15-30m from Highway 30.

The department said the situation was getting worse.

Nguyễn Văn Khảm, a local, said that his family had temporarily shifted residence to a school. Earlier, he had more than 600m of land, which was some 40m away from the Tiền River, but it was now destroyed by the landslide.

Leaders of the provincial departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Irrigation,  and Natural Resources and Environment, and Thanh Bình District People’s Committee are monitoring the situation and supporting locals to move to safer places.

The district People’s Committee has reported the case to the provincial People’s Committee to ensure timely measures.

The district has proposed to build an embankment to prevent landslides along the Tiền River, especially the area that affects Highway 30. —

Building contractor dead, one builder hurt in work accident

A building contractor was killed and another seriously injured Saturday while working at their construction site in Khánh Hòa Province.

The chairman of the Phước Đồng Commune People’s Committee in Nha Trang City, Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, said yesterday that local authorities imposed an administrative fine and suspended construction on the house of Nguyễn Sơn Quế.

A concrete board, five metres in length and one metre in width, fell on Trương Văn Chín, the contractor, killing him immediately. Trần Quang Cường, a builder, fell from a height and sustained serious injuries, especially to his lungs.

Chairman Hưởng said that the construction work was illegal. The owner was fined VNĐ2 million (US$90).

VFF President congratulates Khmer people on Chol Chnam Thmay

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Font (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan has congratulated Khmer people on their traditional New Year festival Chol Chnam Thmay during his working visit to southern province of Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

Meeting with leaders of the Party’s Committee and People’s Committee of Soc Trang on April 8, VFF President Nhan asked for greater support for local people, especially the Khmer ethnic community.

The provincial authority should work to help improve living standards of the Khmer people and restructure crop and livestock farming towards more effective and sustainable production in response to climate change, Nhan said.

Local cow breeding and intensive shrimp farming should be developed with large scale farms that use advanced technology, he noted, adding focus on developing cooperatives in agriculture, aquaculture and breeding.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Chuyen said the province has exerted more active effort against drought and saltwater intrusion this year. It has been working to improve local irrigation systems, restructure crop production schedules and guide farmers to shift to climate change-resistant plants and livestock, he added.

It now grows a herd of more than 44,000 cows, including over 10,000 dairy cattle; and plans to have 100,000 beef cows by 2020 and double the number by 2025, Chuyen said. 

VFF President Nhan visited the Association for Solidarity of Patriotic Buddhist Bonzes of Soc Trang to wish them a warm and joyful Chol Chnam Thmay. He also expressed his delight at the association’s achievements in the past and the improvement of local life.

Nhan later offered incense at the martyr cemetery of Soc Trang and visit the 80-year-old People’s Teacher Lam Es who has spent more than five decades to compile and publish dozens of Khmer language textbooks for Khmer children.

On April 9, the VFF President also visited the Association for Solidarity of Patriotic Buddhist Bonzes of Tra Vinh to convey his wishes for a happy Chol Chnam Thmay. 

In the meeting, he spoke highly of contributions by Khmer monks and people in nation building and hoped that they will continue keeping up the good work.

Chol Chnam Thmay is one of the most important festivals of the year for the Khmer people. It usually lasts three days and is celebrated mostly in pagodas.                

One of the most important practices in Chol Chnam Thmay is the Buddha bathing ceremony. Khmer people also bathe to pray for forgiveness for mistakes made in the previous year.           

Various traditional activities such as folk games, dances and singing are also held during the festival.

Phu Yen provides free heart defect screenings for needy kids

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of central Phu Yen province teamed up with Tam Duc Heart Hospital to provide free screening tests on congenital heart defects for local needy children on April 9.

About 500 poor children under 16 were offered examination. The children’s families will be guided to apply for support from the Fund for Vietnamese Children of Phu Yen, HCM City’s Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients, the Children Action or the Government as they cannot afford surgery.

Phu Yen has financially supported heart surgeries for underprivileged children since 2003.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Minh Hien, the province offers free screening tests for about 500 poor children every year.

Quang Tri: Con Co Island greets first visitors

The People’s Committee of the island district of Con Co, central Quang Tri province, has welcomed first visitors to the island on the pilot Cua Viet-Con Co route.

High-speed boat Greenlines DP C5 carrying a group of 50 tourists docked at Con Co island on April 8. The tour includes sightseeing to relics, primeval forests and recreational activities on the island. 

Speaking at a welcome ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Thuc asked Con Co island district’s authority to coordinate with relevant agencies and sectors to ensure safety of the tour. 

The district needs to increase investment in infrastructure development, enabling it to meet visitors’ demand, thus promoting tourism development of the province and the district in particular, he stressed.

As scheduled, the route will be piloted for two weeks with a boat trip a day and visitors will enjoy ticket at zero price during the period. 

Boat Greenlines DP C5 is capable of transporting 50 passengers per trip. It takes about 1 hour to the island from the mainland. 

So far, nearly 1,000 visitors have registered to visit Con Co island.

Located 30 km from the mainland, Con Co island, which crosses the 17th parallel, is considered an “outpost watch” due to its location. 

Covering 2.3 square kilometres, it is one of the most magnificent islands of the central region with its diverse ecosystem. 

Popular activities on the island include swimming, scuba-diving, canoeing, fishing and marine sports.

Tourists to Con Co can also visit the hall of tradition which houses items reflecting the history of the island district’s army and people over the past 55 years, pay tribute to Hill 37 Monument and visit Ben Nghe – Mom Ho beach.

Boosting Hanoi’s tourism development

Hanoi hopes to welcome 23 million tourists including 4.3 million foreigners this year. The city has implemented a number of measures to achieve this target.

In the first quarter of this year, Hanoi received more than 6.1 million tourists, 7% more than last year. The number of foreign arrivals increased dramatically. 

They mainly came from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the US, France, and Australia. 

Tran Duc Hai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, said, “Hanoi has designed a variety of products, gifts, and publications to promote its tourism. The city has upgraded its IT system and websites on tourism, developed free-wifi posts, cooperated with overseas diplomatic representative offices to attract more foreign visitors, and organized and participated in tourism promotion events at home and abroad.”

The municipal Department of Tourism has cooperated with 21 districts and townships to improve tourism services. 

Mr Hai said “We are reviewing the city’s tourism plan until 2020 and vision to 2030. We intend to develop Ba Vi and Suoi Hai into national tourist spots by 2030. We have worked with local authorities of Gia Lam, Long Bien, and Son Tay to promote tourism and develop of traditional craft villages like Bat Trang ceramic village, Van Phuc silk village, and Duong Lam ancient village.”

Hanoi plans to expand international cooperation to promote its tourists products overseas and has spent US$2 million to promote its image on CNN.

Ben Thanh bus station to be relocated next week

If you travel by bus in Ho Chi Minh City this weekend it will be your last chance to hop off at the main station fronting Ben Thanh Market in District 1.

The Ben Thanh bus terminal is scheduled for relocation to nearby Ham Nghi Street on April 10 to free-up space for the construction of the city’s first metro line.

Currently, 36 different bus routes operating 4,700 daily trips pass through Ben Thanh station, accounting for 30% of the city’s total bus traffic, according to the terminal’s management center.

The relocation, however, is not expected to affect bus operations, considering the new terminal is only 200 meters away.

Ham Nghi is a wide two-way avenue with three car lanes in each direction, running from the Saigon River to Quach Thi Trang Square.

The new bus station will be built on two of the car lanes and feature six bus stops and a public restroom. Temporary installments will be placed on the site to meet the April 10 deadline before official amenities are constructed in June.

The Ben Thanh bus station was built in 1956 and has since remained one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most important, and iconic, transportation hubs.

The terminal management center has tasked bus drivers and attendants with informing passengers of the relocation.

A subway terminal and 515 meter underground tunnel is zoned for construction underneath the area where Ben Thanh market and the bus station currently sit.

The concrete Quach Thi Trang roundabout was removed earlier this year to serve the subway project.

Foreign tourist hurt by ‘sidewalk traps’ in Ho Chi Minh City to receive apology

A foreign visitor who was hurt after stumbling on a street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City after her foot caught a U-shaped iron hook buried onto the sidewalk earlier this week will receive apology and compensate from the company responsible for those ‘traps.’

Doan Ngoc Hai, District 1 deputy chairman and leader of a campaign to clear the district-wide sidewalks, made the order on April 7, after learning of the April 4’s incident of the female foreigner.

On April 4, Nguyen Tuyet An, a local journalist, posted on her Facebook several photos showing a woman with bleeding nose, saying she had fallen after getting stuck in the iron hooks on the sidewalk near the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Le Loi intersection.

The U-shaped hooks were scattered on the street surface and was not really visible to pedestrians. An said many people had fallen victims to such a ‘trap’.

The hooks have been identified as being placed there to catch hold of ropes used in the artistic lighting installations in the city in the Lunar New Year celebrations late January.

The constructor, Vien Dong Import Export Investmen Co. Ltd., should have removed those hooks after finishing the installation.

On April 7, Hai ordered that Vien Dong Co. publicly apologize to the victim and cover all the medial expenses for her injuries.

The company should find and remove all similar hooks left on the streets to ensure safety for pedestrians.

Shortly after the accident on April 4, local residents have put some bricks next to the hooks to help pedestrians avoid falling victim to the ‘traps,’ whereas Ben Thanh Ward sent workers to remove those hooks on April 6.

Residents in high-grade Saigon condo hit by water shortage

Hundreds of residents at the Thanh Da View Apartment Complex in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City have been cut off from water supply for nearly a fortnight despite the condo being classified as of the high-grade segment.

With no water for cooking or bathing for more than ten days, the apartment owners have had to eat out and go to their friends’ or relatives’ places to fill these needs.

The water was completely shut off most of the time and occasionally dripped out.

On April 7, Doan Thi Tuyet, a condo resident, showed Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter a few small buckets of water which she had managed to ‘collect’ in two days.

Tuyet said this amount of water is insufficient for cooking, so she and her family have to eat out.

Many of the residents have had to go up to the top floor to get water from the swimming pool there to flush their toilets, while others have no choice but ‘seeking refuge’ in their relatives’ houses.

Thanh Da View Apartment Complex is a high-grade condominium with 20 floors and more than 130 apartments, 100 of which are currently occupied.

Surprisingly, the pumps and pipes transporting water to the underground reservoir are of small sizes, normally used for a single household, leading to the water shortage.

Representatives of the condo’s management board have contacted the complex developer, Thanh Yen JSC, for a solution but the problem has not been resolved yet.

Thanh Yen director Vo Van De told Tuoi Tre that they had installed the water pump and pipes for the condo in accordance with the guidelines from the Gia Dinh Water Supply JSC.

De suggested that the management board of the apartment complex should work directly with the water supply company to seek out a solution, such as replacing the current pump and pipes with more suitable ones.

In the meantime, Nguyen Ngoc Hung, director of the Gia Dinh Water Supply, confirmed to Tuoi Tre that Thanh Yen JSC had asked his company to install proper equipment before. but the request was not fulfilled as digging was then not allowed on the street in front of the complex.

Thanh Yen thus had to install the small equipment instead, according to the director.

According to Hung, if the condo’s management board requests their firm to upgrade to larger pump and pipes, the company will be able to complete that within ten days, excluding the time spent on obtaining necessary permits.

Consequently, the Gia Dinh water supplier currently has to provide 10-15 cubic meters of water per day by tank trucks to the apartment complex as a temporary solution.

Learning Vietnamese to link RoK and Vietnam

The group “Korean men” (Korea Oppa), Choi Sung Rak, Choi Jong Rak, and Kim Dong Rin, makes video clips learning Vietnamese and providing their experiences of the Vietnamese culture.

Their dynamism, youthfulness, and friendliness together with interesting stories have attracted the attention of many Vietnamese. They are becoming a link between the Vietnamese and Korean cultures.

The trio “Korean men” has become familiar to Vietnamese young people, especially those who love Korean culture.

The three men are also well known to Koreans who love to learn Vietnamese thanks to their video clips about Vietnam, learning Vietnamese, and singing Vietnamese songs in Korean.

Last August the trio began to learn Vietnamese with the hope of being able to talk with Vietnamese friends and make more attractive videos. But Sung Rak admits that it’s quite hard to learn Vietnamese in Korea.

“Vietnamese has 6 tones; many letters of the alphabet are difficult to pronounce. For foreigners like me, listening and speaking are the two hardest skills. There is almost no way to practice these two most difficult skills in Korea causing obstacles to my study,” said Sung.

Foreigners obviously find Vietnamese a difficult language and it’s quite common for them to get tired and abandon their study.

Sung Rak reveals how the group has taught themselves Vietnamese: “It will be useful if you can combine your hobbies and the study of Vietnamese. Making video clips is a good example. Because we like to make clips, we have created learning Vietnamese clips and have written Korean lyrics for our favorite Vietnamese songs. We can learn and practice Vietnamese while making these video clips. Sharing them on social networks is our attempt to make our study more interesting. In that way, the three of us find the study joyful and improvement day by day.”

The more they learn, the more they love Vietnamese. Early this year, they decided to come to Vietnam to learn the language professionally.

“Now we are beginning to have a real life experience of the Vietnamese culture and really learn Vietnamese.”

“Though our Vietnamese isn’t yet excellent and our knowledge of Vietnamese culture remains limited, we hope to share our love for Vietnam as it comes from our hearts. Thank you.”

“If you type ‘Korea Oppa’ on the Internet, you will find our video clips. Please love and support us a lot!!”

“This is ’Korea Oppa’, thank you.”

Promoting community’s reading culture

April 21 is observed as Reading Day in Vietnam. Recently, book streets and festivals have been opened, promoting the community’s reading culture.

The Vietnamese government intends to mobilize social resources to develop a reading habit and reading skills for people, especially young, rural, and disadvantaged people. Vietnam targets four books person and 300 million total library visits to a library each year. 

Vu Duong Thuy Nga, Head of the Library Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said “We have defined specific measures to boost the reading, beyond advocacy campaigns. Awards are given to individuals and organizations who help boost the community’s reading.”

The Youth Publisher, the Women’s Publishing House, and the Kim Dong Publishing House host a spring book festival in March and an autumn book festival in October to introduce new, interesting publications. Reading Day is observed in many places. 

Nguyen Kiem, Vice President of the Vietnam Publishers’ Association, said “The more book festivals, the better for us because the thirst for books is nurtured. The spring and autumn book festivals at the Hanoi Women’s Museum is an excellent initiative, and there are other book events hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communications.”

Hanoi resident Nguyen Quoc Bao said he was pleased with the book festivals, where authors talk to the audience and autograph their books. Such a book space is very useful, helping people find what they are looking for.

Family bookshelves have been established in some localities. Advanced technology helps the community more easily access information. 

Khuc Thi Hoa Phuong, Director of the Women’s Publishing House, said “We use social media effectively in addition to traditional broadcasting and print newspapers to attract more readers. This is one useful measure to promote a reading culture within a community.”

Homestay – the highlight of Hoi An tourism

From a business model, homestay service has become an identity of Hoi An, the tourist town in central Vietnam that mesmerizes visitors with its charming quarters and slow-paced lifestyle.

At the 2017 ASEAN Tourism Forum in Singapore in January, the collective homestay services on Thanh Nam Street in Cam Chau Ward, Hoi An City, located in Quang Nam Province, were honored with the Homestay ASEAN Award, dedicated to outstanding homestay service in Southeast Asian countries.

The service has actually been popular with foreign tourists for a long time, as hundreds of households in Hoi An have long offered visitors a taste of the city’s vibe through their hospitality and friendliness.

Though it was not the peak tourist season, all four rooms at Ly Phuc Homestay on Thanh Nam Street were fully booked.

Le Thi Thu Ly, the owner, was chatting exaltedly with her foreign guests Camille Burgeot, 27, and Benoit Courbé, 31, who went on and on about the beauty of Hoi An and the professionalism of its homestay owners.

“Everything here is just amazing,” Burgeot said. “We had a beautiful and cozy room with professional service and friendly staff.”

Ly’s work ethics are as simple as treating her guests as if they were her family members.

“My husband and I always try to invite our guests to join us at the dining table,” Ly said. “That is when we open up about our family, the education of our kids or Vietnamese culture and customs.”

At Trang Que, another homestay on Thanh Nam Street, 68-year-old Peter Bourke from Australia said he had been to Vietnam three times, and he had chosen to stay at the facility on two of the occasions.

The last time he stayed in Hoi An, Bourke said he had spent more than nine months at the homestay.

Bourke gave particular compliments to the street food and local lifestyle, which he described as “refreshing and wonderful,” and said he would love to extend his stay despite his health problems.

According to Nguyen Dung, 45, the owner of Trang Que Homestay, one of the secrets to keeping visitors coming back to his place is maintaining a fixed price policy and treating them with sincerity.

“Apart from the basic commodities, guests at our homestay are also treated to free Vietnamese-style breakfasts,” Dung said. “They can also join us at daily meals if they want to.”

According to Dinh Hai, director of Quang Nam Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there are currently 225 households in Hoi An City that offer homestay services.

The business model has grown in popularity in recent years, he said, adding that it has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from foreign tourists.

“The 2017 Homestay ASEAN is proof of our homestay service’s quality and serves as a promotional material for the city’s tourist industry,” Hai said.

National Tài Tử Music Festival opens in Bình Dương

More than 5,000 local people and visitors joined a traditional musical performance to open the second National Tài Tử Music Festival in the Bình Dương Province’s Bình Dương New City on Saturday night.

Directed by veteran composer Đinh Trung Cẩn, the performance featured tài tử music, the prototype for vọng cổ (traditional tunes) and cải lương (reformed opera) of southern Việt Nam. It is a part of the region’s traditional music that began about 100 years ago.

Vọng cổ and cải lương were also presented in the opening ceremony in front of the Bình Dương Administration Central Building.

The show included hundreds of performers from arts troupes in 21 provinces in the southeast and Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta regions.

During the night, organisers Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Bình Dương Province honoured 70 performers and researchers who have made great contributions to preserving and promoting tài tử music.

Speaking at the ceremony, Trần Thanh Liêm, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said "The festival aims to honour tài tử music, which was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013, and to call for the community to preserve and promote the art form as well."

Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện, minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said "The festival will contribute to raise people’s awareness in the need to preserve a national cultural heritage. It is also a chance to promote the country’s culture and tourism."

The five-day festival includes stalls to introduce activities promoting tài tử music in 21 provinces and tourism products related to the art form.

Performers will tour around Bình Dương Province, offering free performances for local residents.

An exhibition showcasing 500 photos about tài tử music in the daily lives of people in southern Việt Nam is opening at the Bỉnh Dương Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A workshop, singing contest and song-composing contest will also be held during the festival.

The second National Tài Tử Music Festival will close on April 12 with a special performance and fireworks display. 

Hà Nội draw, Long An lose 10th match at V.League

Hà Nội FC failed to regain their top place after their draw match, while Long An suffered their 10th defeat in a row yesterday in V.League action.

Hà Nội was tied 1-1 in a match where they visited Sanna Khánh Hòa in Nha Trang City.

Despite the visiting side, Hà Nội scored the first goal in the 68th minute after both sides spent the first half testing each other.

Midfielder Alvaro Linares Silva received the ball and his strong header easily found the net.

The Hanoian team continued dominating the match, but failed to double the result.

They did suffered a goal in the next-to-last minute.

Nguyễn Tấn Điền had a close-range shoot-out when the ball touched a defender from the Hà Nội side and changed its direction to enter the net.

The draw result pushes Hà Nội into second place with 20 points in the ranking, behind FLC Thanh Hóa (22), who earned a controversial win of 3-2 over Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, and Hải Phòng (21), who beat Cần Thơ 3-1 on Saturday.

The match between two former champions, SHB Đà Nẵng and Becamex Bình Dương, also ended with a 1-1 result.

Nguyễn Thanh Hải opened the score for the hosts Đà Nẵng at the 78th mark, while Nguyễn Anh Đức netted an equaliser six minutes later. It was Đức’s sixth goal of the tournament, making him one of three best scorers after 12 rounds.

Long An is close to reaching the First Division after their 1-2 loss to Quảng Ninh Coal yesterday.

All goals were made in the first half, with Long An surprisingly pocketing the first goal by Vũ Em just 17 minutes into the game.

However, it was all that they could do before allowing two goals by the visiting side.

Tambwe Patiyo leveled with a tap-in, converting a smart pass from the left wing to the net.

Midfielder Xuân Tú then made a straight shot. Long An’s defender Thanh Cường, in an attempt to stop the ball, scored a goal in the last second of the first half, with the final score of the match.

New coach Nguyễn Minh Phương had tried his best, but under his reign Long An lost six matches.

They have only four points and have become a top candidate for a relegation slot this season.

Quảng Ninh, on the other hand, jumped from No 8 to No 5 with 19 points.

Hanoian Vũ earns two golds at Shooting Cup

Trần Hoàng Vũ of Hà Nội won two goal medals yesterday at the ongoing National Shooting Cup.

Vũ triumphed in the men’s 10m air rifle running target, with a score of 373 points.

He was followed by teammate Ngô Hữu Vượng and Đỗ Đức Hùng of the Army team.

Vũ, Vượng and Nguyễn Công Dậu then topped the team event with 1,108 points.

Army came in second and Hải Phòng placed third.

The rest of the day went to Army’s team members, who earned three titles.

Nguyễn Thị Phương won in the women’s 50m rifle 3x20, while trio Phương, Lê Thu Hằng and Nguyễn Phương Thảo topped the women’s team category. Later, Đậu Văn Đông was successful in the men’s 25m standard pistol competition.

The last gold of the day went to HCM City in the men’s team 25m standard pistol.

After seven days, the Army squad dominated the Cup with 16 titles and two records. Hà Nội came in second with six gold medals and Hải Dương was third with five medals.

The tournament will wrap up on Wednesday. 

Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng wins over experience Sanna Khánh Hòa in nat’l champs

Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng beat Sanna Khánh Hòa 1-0 in the second day of the National Futsal (indoor football) Championship yesterday in HCM City.

Sanna Khánh Hòa was considered a strong team due to their better experience in both local and regional tournaments.

They showed their power right after the whistle. However, their players, Nguyễn Nhớ, Thành Đạt, Minh Hiếu, and Khắc Chí, failed to score a goal throughout the match.

Just two minutes before the end, Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng’s Trần Văn Trung converted a corner kick by teammate Ngọc Hào into the only goal. National team keeper Nguyễn Đình Ý Hòa was startled and let the ball go through his hands into the net.

Sanna Khánh Hòa tried the power-play tactic to score a goal, but two minutes were not enough.

It was Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng’s second win in a row, while it was Sanna Khánh Hòa’s second loss.

“It is the rule of football. If you attack a lot but could not score, you would be a loser. Sanna Khánh Hòa still has a chance to fix the problem in the next matches,” said coach Đặng Đình Khang.

On Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng’s side, coach assistant Bùi Ngọc Tú said the win resulted from his team’s hard work and strong determination. His team then won over Sanna Khánh Hòa, a veteran team in national futsal with remarkable success.

In the other matches, Sài Gòn FC was defeated 3-4 by Hải Phương Nam Phú Nhuận, in a match that saw teams taking turns in scoring goals.

Earlier, Cao Bằng won 2-0 over Sanest Tourist Khánh Hòa; and Thái Sơn Bắc beat Sanatech Khánh Hòa 2-1.

Tân Rai complex exonerated by report

The Việt Nam Environment Administration has announced that indicators of water, air quality and odour from the Tân Rai bauxite-alumina complex in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng have been within allowed limits.  

However, many residents living near the complex disagreed with the results, and asked authorised agencies to be relocated.

The administration’s environmental monitoring centre said this week it had worked with Lâm Đồng Alumina Company, the operator of the project, to take samples of wastewater, surface water, underground water and air for analysis between January 9 and 13.

The monitoring work was implemented under the supervision of locals in Bảo Lâm District’s Lộc Thắng Town. The monitoring points as well as the monitoring times were selected by locals and the centre.

Results showed that the quality of wastewater taken from the water drainage pipe No 3 was within allowed standards of national technical regulations on industrial wastewater.

Both the samples of surface water, which were taken at the red mud reservoir and spillway nearby showed that they were safe. Indicators of nutrients or toxic were within allowed levels of national regulations on water quality.

In terms of underground water, the centre took a sample from the well of Nguyễn Viết Động in the town. The test showed that the quality was good. Another sample of well water in the red mud reservoir smelled due to iron, which was 2.5 times higher than allowed levels.

The test also revealed that the amount of noise in the complex met the requirement of national regulations on noise.

In terms of air quality, at the time of monitoring, the air quality at three different points of the complex was good with indicators of dust and substance odour within allowed levels of the national technical regulation on air quality.

However, most residents in the town are not satisfied with the results of the monitoring work. They asked the agencies to quickly relocate 30 households living near the red mud reservoir. These households had reportedly suffered losses in crops and polluted water when red mud spread in 2014.

They also asked the company to implement measures to reduce the stink of the reservoir and help affected households whose land was revoked to serve the project.

Vũ Minh Thành, head of the Lâm Đồng Alumina Company admitted that the production activities impacted the environment and the lives of people in some ways although most of indicators were within allowed levels.

He suggested measures to reduce the impact on the environment. The company aims to plant trees around its complex to improve the situation.

The company was currently in the process of renovating production technology, which would be more eco-friendly.

The Tân Rai bauxite-alumina complex, which has extracted the soft clay-like substance to produce aluminium, has total investment value of US$460 million. The complex was invested by Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group and went into operation in late 2013.

Huynh wins title at PTSC Marine Cup

Lại Lý Huynh triumphed at the PTSC Marine Cup, the Chinese Chess tournament that ended in Vũng Tàu City on Sunday.

Huynh, who missed the 2016 event, defeated veteran Trần Văn Ninh in the two-leg final of the fifth competition.

He is the only master to have topped the tournament twice. He walked away with a VNĐ25 million (US$1,100) bonus in cash.

Ninh has also finished second twice.

Master Võ Minh Nhất claimed the bronze medal.

Basketball tournament to be held in Nha Trang

The National Basketball Championship will be organised on April 10-18 in Nha Trang City, Khánh Hòa Province.

The annual tournament has attracted seven women and seven men teams.

They will compete in a round robin format to find the winners.

On the opening day, Yên Bái will meet Sóc Trăng in the women’s event, while Bình Thuận faces Cần Thơ in the men’s pool.

Last year, HCM City won both titles.