Forest fire in Ca Mau at alarming level

There is an imminent risk that the entire U Minh Ha indigo forest may erupt in flames, said southernmost Ca Mau province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department Director Le Van Su.

About 12,000 ha of the indigo forest are facing severe drought, raising the  level of alert  to 4 for forest fires.

Nearly 3,000ha of nearby national forests are also suffering from a similar situation, Su reported.

More than 500ha forest in Hon Khoai Island in Ca Mau is likely to catch fire soon if the prolonged drought is not eased.

Once a fire forest breaks out,, the whole forest area of nearly 3,000 primary forest area could be destroyed as Hon Khoai Island is located about 35km from the mainland, Su concluded.

Local authorities are closely coordinating with border guards and relevant agencies to intensify fire preventative measures on Hon Khoai Island.

Rescue forces are also mobilising to cope with forest fires, should they occur, while hundreds of forest rangers are on standby round the clock to timely respond.

Seminar boosts Int’l media training cooperation

Participants at a seminar in Hanoi on March 11 heard speakers extol the benefits and increased opportunities international cooperation in media training provides for colleges and universities involved in this field.

The seminar was the result of a joint effort by the Vietnam Academy of Journalism and Communication (AJC) and Middlesex University of the UK (MDX).

Participants highlighted the strong development of local media agencies, in both scope and scale, in recent years.

As of March 2012, Vietnam had 786 media agencies with 1,016 publications, including 67 TV and radio stations, 61 online newspapers, 191 social networks, and more than 1,000 e-portals.

Media has enriched people’s spiritual life and contributed greatly to socio-economic development, speakers at the event underscored.

However, they elucidated that the rapid development of media requires intensive training and development of professional skills and a deep understanding of journalistic ethics

Media training cooperation has become an inevitable trend in the current international integration process, they said, adding this will result media workers gaining more experience and contribute to the promotion of cultural exchange, as well as increase prestige of media training agencies.

Ass.Prof. Dr. Tuong Duy Kien, Head of the International Relation Department under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy for Politics and Public Administration, stressed the need to boost external relations and scientific research, which he said, is an orientation and strategic solution to increase the quality of media and communication.

Ass.Prof. Dr. Truong Ngoc Nam, AJC Director said Vietnam is paying due attention to promoting media cooperation.

A number of Vietnamese universities have been effectively cooperating with foreign partners in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes which provide young people with numerous chances to study overseas, he added.

Prof. Michael Driscoll, Rector of Middlesex University, said his university will cooperate with AJC and other local media training agencies in capacity building for both lecturers and media workers in Vietnam.

Spread of bird flu brought under control

The outbreak of avian influenza has been brought under control as the number of H5N1 hotbeds has declined by 33 across Vietnam, the National Steering Committee on Bird Flu Prevention and Control said on March 11.

At present, there remain 39 bird flu hotbeds in 13 provinces. However, anti-flu efforts in some localities are still loose, said Pham Van Dong, head of the Animal Health Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

He cited the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh as a case in point. It is short of animal health staff, thus making the detection and treatment of flu outbreaks ineffective.

According to the Ministry of Health, there have been no new H5N1 patients recorded since February.

Luxury liner docks at Chan May port

Royal Caribbean Cruise’ Celebrity Millennium cruise ship carrying more than 2,000 foreign tourists and 1,000 crew members docked at Chan May port in Thua Thien Hue province on March 11.

It is one of the world’s leading luxury cruise ships, equipped with modern facilities including dining rooms, bedrooms, a casino, basket ball and tennis courts, swimming pool, spa, shopping mall and a ballroom.

 After docking at Chan May port, tourists will have the opportunity to leave the ship to sightsee, visit cultural heritage sites and enjoy culinary arts in Hue, Hoi An, My Son and Da nang city.

Since the beginning of the year, Chan May port has welcomed 16 international cruisers and approximately 10,000 tourists to Hue.

Celebrity Millennium has docked at Chan May twice and brought more than 5.200 visitors and crew members to the city.

As planned, Celebrity Millennium will arrive at the port eight times in total this year.

Make honest citizens of nation's youth, media urged

The nation's mass media organisations have to play a major role in encouraging the youth to adopt an active, healthy and moral lifestyle, sociologists, psychologists and other experts said at a forum yesterday.

The forum was a collaboration between the Vietnam News Agency, Viet Nam Television, Thanh Nien News and the Hoa Sen Group.

"If press reports news in a truthful, accurate and impartial way, we will live in a society with honest and responsible citizens", said Le Duy Truyen, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam News Agency.

Journalist Bui Thu Thuy of the Viet Nam Television also said how the media reported news is very significant. For instance, robberies and murders should be reported in a constructive way that deters others from similar actions, she said.

"It should be done in a way that makes people detest evil instead of making them think that these are normal happenings in society," she explained.

Citing another example, she said that in reporting a traffic accident where a car driver has fled the scene of the accident, there should be information for the reader or the viewer on what she/he can do in a similar situation.

Thuy also said the media should come up with creative and interesting programming that encourages the youth to lead honest, responsible and energetic lives. This can be done by highlighting examples of lives worthy of emulation, she said.

Nguyen Tung Lam, President of the Ha Noi Association of Psychology and Education, said the media can play a decisive role in promoting self-awareness among young people. This would improve their life skills and encourage them to make positive contributions to society, he said. —

Van Lang University student wins furniture design contest

Nguyen Thi Huong Linh of Van Lang University won first prize in the furniture design competition Apricot Blossom 2013-14, which was organized by the HCMC Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA).

Tran Le Duy Khanh, a student from Saigon Technology University and Le Van Giang from HCM City-based Viet Tin Company, took the first and second runners –up prizes respectively.

In addition, the organiser also presented five consolation prizes for having best application, most creative, most environmentally-friendly, most commercial and most aesthetic designs.

Winning works are on display at the Viet Nam International Furniture and Home Accessories Fair 2014 (VIFA EXPO 2014) at the Sai Gon Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Launched in September last year, the competition, which aims to discover Vietnamese young talent that can generate new ideas to boost development of the domestic furniture industry, attracted 152 contestants from design schools and employees of furniture companies nationwide.

Dong Nai shifts floating villages in pollution fight

Bien Hoa City People's Committee in southern Dong Nai Province asked local agencies on Monday to carry out a planned relocation of households living in floating villages on the Dong Nai River as soon as possible.

"The relocation project aims to tackle worsening pollution in the river, which causes fish to die en masse. It's a problem that has occurred on and off for years," said Deputy Chairman Pham Anh Dung.

There are over 800 floating houses on the Dong Nai River, mostly in Thong Nhat, Tan Mai, Long Binh Tan and An Binh wards and Hiep Hoa Commune. Nearly half will be relocated under the project.

As many as 126 of the 247 local households have agreed to implement the project, according to the latest report from the Economic Department of the city People's Committee.

"Local households with floating rafts who refuse to implement the project will be forced to relocate by April," Dung said.

Since local residents began breeding fish in floating rafts tens of years ago, they often died en masse due to untreated wastewater from millions of households and thousands of factories. The amount of organic substances, iron and bacteria in the river exceeds permitted levels, according to the province's Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The pollution was exacerbated by bags of poultry internal organs used as fish food and a rapid increase in the number of fish cages—there are up to 800, despite the limit of 200—which reduced the oxygen concentration in the water.

Local authorities have tried to reduce the number of fish cages in the area for years. Yet the planned relocation has still not been implemented, although its deadline was the end of last August.

Many local households with floating rafts in the river refused to relocate because they thought the small amount of compensation, worth VND900,000 (US$42), would not be sufficient for them to breed fish.

Winners of writing contest on agriculture honoured

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung honoured winners of a writing contest on agriculture, farmers and rural areas at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 11.

The contest ran between April 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014 under the theme “Building new-style rural areas”. It received over 900 entries from reporters, academicians and writers across the country, with many coming up with concepts and models helpful to agricultural production.

As many as 20 best contestants received the accolades, including one first and three second prizes.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said the event provides a platform for the Government to publicise and adjust related policies.

The organising board also took the occasion to launch a similar one for this year.

The contest was a joint effort between the Nhan dan (People) newspaper, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Farmers’ Association and the PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals Group.

Ha Nam plans to teach Japanese language for workers

The northern province of Ha Nam is developing a plan to train Japanese language for workers at Japanese enterprises based in the locality.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Tien Dung revealed the plan during his March 11 meeting with a visiting business delegation from Japan’s Hyogo prefecture.

The Japanese language training will benefit not only Japanese businesses but also Vietnamese workers, especially technicians, he said.

At present, the province is striving to train high-quality human resources in order to meet increasing demands of more than 120 foreign businesses, including 40 Japanese companies, he stated.

However, foreign language training remains a weak point, Dung admitted, adding that the province has for many times proposed cooperation in training this language with visiting Japanese delegations.

Director of the Hyogo Centre for Economic Development Muramoto Shiro said that visiting Hyogo businesses operate in various fields such as mechanical engineering, construction, trade and education.

In addition to boosting economic and investment ties with the province, they also hope to cooperate with local universities and colleges in vocational training and Japanese language teaching, he said.

He also spoke highly of Ha Nam’s investment attraction policy with 10 commitments to foreign investors.

At the working session, the provincial leader informed the guests of a decision to open the third industrial park in Dong Van town, offering more opportunities for Japanese investors.

Hanoi hopes for Bangkok’s tourism support

Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council Ngo Thi Doan Thanh has voiced her hope that with much experience in developing tourism, the Thai capital Bangkok will promote its assistance to and cooperation with Hanoi in this field.

At a working session with Chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council Pipat Larpprathana in Hanoi on March 11, Thanh cited the fact that although Hanoi owns numerous tourism advantages and attracts more than 2 million tourist arrivals a year, it falls short of its potential.

She said the Vietnamese capital has recorded considerable developments in recent years, yet Hanoi still needs foreign support and investment in such fields as tourism, transport, culture and education.

For his part, the Thai official said the increasing number of projects in Hanoi is a magnet for foreign businesses.

He pledged to call on Bangkok enterprises to invest in Hanoi, particularly in tourism.-

Hanoi keeps human diseases under control: official

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh on March 11 said the capital is keeping human diseases under control.

So far this year, Hanoi has recorded a soar in the number of measles patients with 347 cases, but there have not been any hotbeds.

Hanh said 95 percent of the children in the locality have been vaccinated against measles, and the spread of this disease will be contained in April if the immunisation programme is well implemented.

There remain 26 dengue fever cases, down 10.3 percent from the same period last year, while the number of hand-foot-mouth patients has also been brought down by 86.7 percent to 11, he added.

However, Hanoi has seen a slight increase of chickenpox patients with 188 cases so far this year.

The official also warned there is a probability that influenza strains A/H7N9 and A/H10N8 make their way to Hanoi, break out and become an epidemic.

Prime Minister instructs no heavy interest rate to fishermen

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered banks to curb heavy interest rates to fisherman at a meeting with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor on March 11.

The Government will help fishermen build large iron boats (Photo: SGGP)

Specific preferential policies are needed to assist more than one million Vietnamese fishermen working at sea everyday, said Prime Minister Dung. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development helps fishermen build large iron boats to replace wooden to venture further out to sea.

He also instructed relevant sides to have a suitable insurance policy to support fishermen and continue to install positioning devices for all fishing boats.

A total of 2,300 boats have been installed with positioning devices, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam. The ministry is striving to set up the devices for all fishing boats as soon as possible.

Lack of kindergartens in industrial zones was another issue mentioned at the meeting by Deputy Chairwoman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Nguyen Thi Thu Hong.

Construction of nursery schools should be joined hand by the society because the state budget is unable to afford the projects, said Prime Minister Dung.

He asked the Ministry of Education and Training to work with relevant ministries and departments to tackle the issue.

100 scholarships awarded to medical students in 2014

The Nguyen Van Huong Scholarship Management Board will be awarding 100 scholarships to medical students at Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City.

The scholarship has encouraged students in medical schools to study harder, said Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the city’s Department of Health.

The scholarship will also allocate VND30 million (US$1,423) in scholarships for ethnic midwives in remote villages who pursue studying in HCMC.

Dr. Truong Thi Xuan Lieu, deputy chairwoman of the Medical Association of HCMC, is the new chairperson of the scholarship fund, replacing Dr. Duong Quang Trung who passed away.

The scholarship ceremony is scheduled to take place in Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University in April 2014.

Ministry’s ban on teaching English in preschools sparks controversy

The Ministry of Education and Training’s regulation banning English in preschool curriculum has received much backlash from local parents.

School principals have expressed much embarrassment for the new regulation and empathy for the children who wish to learn a foreign language. The ministry will issue penalties for any school that continues to teach English.

Now we must send our children to additional evening school to learn a foreign language, said Vo Minh Khang, father of a three-year-old child in District 1.

He would like to see English taught at the public school to save transportation time. If the child studies at multiple schools, there will be conflicting textbooks which will disrupt studies.

Many developed countries teach foreign languages in public preschools to maximize language acquisition. Parents have long advocated for the development of English as a preschool requirement in Vietnam.

Most school are not equipped enough with skilled teachers to teach English, according to the ministry.

The reasoning behind the regulation is the belief that sub-standard teachers will actually hinder the students’ pronunciation which is nearly impossible to correct later.

ADB supports lower secondary education

The PM recently passed the second phase of the “Lower Secondary Education for the Most Disadvantaged Regions Project” funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The project aimed at improving the net enrollment rate in lower secondary education, particularly for ethnic minorities and girls, in 103 of the most disadvantaged districts in 17 target provinces – Ca Mau, Cao Bang, Dac Lac, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ninh Thuan, Son La, Tra Vinh, Yen Bai, Bac Kan, and Soc Trang.

It targets to strengthen access to lower secondary education in disadvantaged and ethnic minority regions by building classrooms, toilets, apply appropriate textbooks, and provide vocational guidance.

The project also aims to improve competence of educational managers; set up networks of teachers; perfect operation of libraries; and improve educational quality.

The US$ 93 million project would be implemented in the 2015-2021 period./. The ADB provided US$ 80 million of preferential loan. Viet Nam offered the rest of US$13 million corresponding capital.