Funeral held for Most Venerable Thich Tri Tinh

Most Venerable Thich Tri Tinh.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) on March 29 held a solemn memorial service at Van Duc pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc district for the Most Venerable Thich Tri Tinh, who passed away the day before at the age of 98.

Born in 1917 in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, Most Venerable Thich Tri Tinh took positions as First Deputy Patriarch and Chairman of the VBS Executive Council, and Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee during his lifetime.

He made significant contributions to gathering Buddhist followers in and out of the country to jointly build a strong Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

He was conferred with a number of noble distinctions of the Party and State, including the Ho Chi Minh Order, Independence Order (first class), and Great National Unity Order.

The funeral, which will run until April 2, has received a lot of attention from mourners nationwide.

Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung have sent floral tributes to the deceased.-

Blaze rips through 3000sq.m of wood

A fire broke out yesterday afternoon at a wood-producing company in Trang Bom District of Dong Nai Province, destroying nearly 3,000sq.m.

No injuries were reported. The workers said they were able to escape the fire but unable to control it.

More than 50 firefighters were deployed to the site and the fire was stopped after more than an hour.

Damages have not been assessed. The investigation is ongoing.

Nam Dinh children get ear check-ups

Around 11,000 hearing-impaired children in the northern city of Nam Dinh received free health check-ups yesterday.

The activity was co-organised by the local children's hospital and the city's Department of Education and Training.

Doctor Nguyen Tuyet Xuong, head of the hospital's ear, nose and throat department, said Viet Nam had an average of 1.7 million newborns each year, 7,000 of whom are at risk of congenital deafness.

Viet Nam has more than 1 million hearing impaired people, including more than 400,000 children of school age. The country houses 70 schools or centres that cater for people with hearing problems.

58 passengers saved from stranded boat

Border guards in the northern port city of Hai Phong saved a stranded boat with 58 passengers on board off the coast on Saturday.

The ship, captained by To Quang Trung of the city's Cat Hai Town, was adrift after its engine broke down in the sea while sailing to Cat Ba island on the same day.

The passengers also included five French tourists.

Heat wave spreads across the north

The northern and north-central regions are suffering a developing heat wave before experiencing a cold spell in a couple of days, according to central weather experts.

The heat wave, which is moving from west to east, caused weekend temperatures in several northern and north-central mountainous localities to increase to 35-38 degrees Celsius.

On March 30, the temperature reached a high of 40 degrees Celsius in Tuong Duong (central Nghe An province), and 38.2 degrees Celsius in Huong Khe (central HaTinh province).

In the capital city of Hanoi, daily temperatures also rose to 29-31 degrees Celsius, with a high humidity level of 97%.

However, a cold spell will strike the north on April 1, causing regional temperatures to fall considerably.

Meanwhile, a heat wave has baked the southern region for the past few days, with daily temperatures ranging between 33 and 38 degrees Celsius.  

Bomb left over from war found in garden

The Binh Phuoc Military Headquarter yesterday successfully decommissioned a 250-kilogramme bomb and a five-kilogramme cannon warhead found in a resident's garden.

Tran Minh Canh, who lives in Village 6 in Loc Hoa Commune in Loc Ninh District, came across the explosives while gardening last Saturday.

The bomb, which still had its detonator in tact, and the warhead were traced back to US troops who were in Viet Nam during the war.

The bomb and the warhead have been transported to a safe location.

UN expands aid to ensure social welfare in Vietnam

The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will expand its aid to support Vietnam’s efforts in enhancing social welfare and justice, a UN official said at a policy dialogue in Hanoi on March 31.

The function, held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and UN Women, drew about 150 representatives of managerial agencies, international organisations, and Vietnamese and foreign experts.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka underlined the importance of social welfare to the development of each country and the realisation of the eight Millennium Development Goals, which includes promoting gender equality and empowering women.

The official, who is also a UN Under Secretary General, added that UN Women has worked with the Vietnamese Government to foster equality and raise society’s awareness of ensuring women’s rights.

Meanwhile, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated developing the social welfare system is among the top priorities of Vietnam’s socio-economic development strategy along with promoting gender equality.

At the dialogue, participants shared opinions on gender policies and laws, the employment of women, and the building and implementation of social welfare policies, among others.-

Oxfam starts poverty reduction project

Oxfam International in Viet Nam launched a new project analysing the country's poverty reduction policies yesterday.

From now until 2016, monitoring work will be carried out in 10 provinces and cities nationwide, with the implementation of policies at the local level under particular scrutiny. In-depth consideration of poverty in urban areas and among ethnic groups will also take place.

NGO to build kindergartens

The non-government organisation Saigon Children's Charity (SCC) will raise about $750,000 for the building of kindergartens in two poor districts in the southern province of Kien Giang.

A co-operation agreement to this effect was signed between SCC and the provincial Union of Friendship Organisations (UFO) in Rach Gia City on March 28.

Under the programme, 10 classrooms will be built each year, equipped with full teaching equipment and outdoor toys in order to create the best conditions for young learners.

Vietnam provides free medical check-ups in Cambodia

More than 1,000 patients in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province have been provided with free medical check-ups and treatment along with free medicine by a delegation of more than 40 voluntary nurses and doctors from Ho Chi Minh City.

During its stay from March 29-30, the delegation examined and distributed drugs to patients- mostly overseas Vietnamese and poor people- with diseases related to ophthalmology, reproductive health and bone & joint disorders.

Koh Kong Deputy Governor Pen Bun Chhuoi hailed the Vietnamese businesses and philanthropists for their coordination with the provincial Overseas Vietnamese Association to take care of local people’s health.

“Charitable activities run by Vietnamese philanthropists in Koh Kong have made practical contributions to the Cambodian Government’s poverty reduction policy which is a testament to the longstanding friendship between the two nations”, he noted.

Hanoi students learn about legislature

Over 200 university students across Hanoi gathered at a conference in the capital on March 29 to learn about the National Assembly and its operations.

Vice Chairman of the NA Office Nguyen Sy Dung described it as an open forum where lawmakers could introduce basic information about legislature, thereby improving social and political awareness among students via discussions.

Andrew Holt from the British Embassy expressed his hope that the Vietnamese NA will further encourage students to pay attention to issues regarding politics and policy.

He made it clear that the embassy will help more students meet and talk with NA deputies.

Many students voiced wish that the legislative body launch a forum exclusively designed for students, offering young generations a chance to exchange and improve interpersonal skills.

Int’l training centre of trade lawyers inaugurated

A centre to train international trade lawyers, the first of its kind in Vietnam, made its debut in Hanoi on March 29.

The centre was established under the Prime Minister’s decision on approving a project to develop a staff of lawyers to serve the international economic integration for 2001-2020

Nguyen Thai Phuc, Director of the Academy of Justice, said that the centre will help train qualified lawyers who have a good command of English and profound knowledge of international trade.

To prepare for its first training course by the end of this year, the centre has selected qualified and prestigious partners to assist with developing the training programme and staffing it with experienced Vietnamese and international lecturers.

In addition, it will cooperate with English training centres from around the world to organize training courses as soon as practical.

In the first four years, the entire funding for the centre will come from the state budget. From 2018, the centre will create funding sources from tuition, funds or projects.

IFAD’s US$34 mil for Vietnam’s climate change response

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on March 28 signed a funding agreement in its headquarter in Rome,to provide US$34 million to help Vietnam cope with climate change.

The signatories to the agreement were Vietnamese ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long and IFAD President, Kanayo F.Nwanze.

The aid will be funded under the most preferential conditions to carry out a project to develop rural areas sustainably and cope with climate change in the Mekong River Delta, especially in Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces.

More than 30,000 households, mostly women and ethnic minority groups will benefit directy from the project which focuses on raising awareness and strengthening capacity to respond to climate change.

IFAD President, Kanayo F. Nwanze praised Vietnam’s agricultural and rural development achievements and poverty reduction efforts as well as its effective use of IFDA’s funding over the past 20 years.

He affirmed that his organization has pledged to continue supporting the implementation of cooperative projects with Vietnam.

For his part, ambassador Long thanked IFAD’s support for Vietnam over the years and spoke highly of the shift of IFAD’s cooperation in helping Vietnam to cope with climate change – a difficult issue which Vietnam need to resolve.

The Vietnamese diplomat said that Vietnam needs international cooperation to improve the quality of development. He also assured that Vietnam will use the funding effectively and expressed hope that IFAD will greatly assist Vietnam’s programs on sustainable development of rural areas, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction.

Ho Chi Minh memorial complex in Thailand gets underway

A ceremonial ground-breaking for the President Ho Chi Minh memorial complex in Nakhon Phanom province, about 800km north-eastern of Bangkok, was held on March 28.

The complex, located on a site where President Ho once lived near the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Village in Noongyath commune, is expected to be completed and open to the public by September 2015.

Addressing the ceremony, Chargé d’affaires of Vietnam in Thailand Pham Thanh Nam expressed his high appreciation for the strong support from local authorities and the overseas Vietnamese community for their support for the endeavour.

“Together with the Friendship Village, the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Complex is one of the largest overseas memorials to honour the beloved Vietnamese leader. This is a reflection of the fine development in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Thailand,” he noted.

Nakhon Phanom Governor Adisak Thepart praised the positive contributions of Vietnamese nationals in Thailand and their important role in boosting socio-economic development and pushing up the integration process in Nakhon Phanom province as well as Thailand in general.

Thepart described the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Complex as a symbol of fruitful bilateral relations which shows the good sentiments of Nakhon Phanom people towards Vietnamese friends.

During his visit to Thailand in 2013, Vietnamese Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong visited the Friendship Village in Nakhon Phanom province and presented a gift package of VND30 billion to help construct it.

Experts from Seoul and HCM City on March 28 shared experience in addressing challenges arising from urban development.

Nguyen Trong Hoa, Director of the HCM City Development Research Institute, said in the development process, big cities in the world including HCM City and Seoul have faced challenges in urban planning, transport infrastructure development, environmental pollution and effects of climate change.

“It is necessary to strengthen cooperation among cities and research institutes to solve these problems in the most effective and efficient manner,” he said.

Chang Huyn Lee, Director of the Institute of Seoul Studies, recalled 20 years ago, Seoul also encountered similar difficulties in environmental pollution and urban planning, and his institute provided consultancy for the local authorities to tackle these matters.

He added that urban planning, environmental pollution and climate change are global issues, so a city can benefit and receive much needed support from cooperation with other cities in the world to resolve them.

Delegates also proposed participating in the Megacity network which was launched by the Institute of Seoul Studies and discussed opportunities for future cooperation in the related field.

Standard stamp required for imported condoms

A senior population official has suggested stamping all condoms imported into Vietnam to ensure they are safe with users.

All imported condoms that have passed rigorous quality standards should be stamped, said Duong Quoc Trong, Director of the General Office for Population and Family Planning (GOPFP), at a seminar in Hanoi on March 28.

Trong made the recommendation after a GOPFP survey reveals that there are roughly 30 types of condoms in Vietnam imported from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, and Indonesia, and some others are of unknown origin.

Japanese condoms have the highest price while those imported from China are sold at the lowest.

Delegates heard speakers dwell on the importance of establishing quality control standards for condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

They suggested the Health Ministry to publish a circular on national standards of contraceptive devices, including condoms, to ensure protection and safety for all.

The event was jointly held by the General Office for Population and Family Planning and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam.

Thanh Hoa mobilises int’l aid from NGOs

The central province of Thanh Hoa held a conference on March 28 seeking to solicit  financial aid from more than 50 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in attendance.

Speaking at the event, Vice President, Nguyen Dinh Xung, said that during the 2005-2013 period, the province had received substantial support from NGOs.

It was reported that in 2013, 64 NGO-funded programs and projects were implemented in Thanh Hoa with total funding reaching US$9 billion. They focused on such fields as agriculture, rural development, health, education, natural disaster mitigation, and climate change adaptation, helping improve local livelihoods, reduce poverty and protect the environment.

Some effective models which have been replicated include a microfinance fund for women sponsored by Save the Children US, a mangrove forest plantation and management by CARE, and a livelihood programme for children by World Vision.

Nguyen Song Hoan, director of the provincial Foreign Affairs Department, said that Thanh Hoa attaches importance to expanding cooperation with NGOs, considering this an important task.

The province will continue to strengthen the mobilization of support from NGOs, oversee the use of aid, and facilitate NGO operation in the locality.

Hoang Van Hoang, President of the Thanh Hoa provincial Union of Friendship Organizations, called on NGOs and international development partners to further assist vulnerable groups in society to escape poverty.

Photo exhibition in support of endangered species

A week-long photography exhibition is underway in central Danang city to raise public awareness of the importance of conserving endangered species and their habitats.

The event, which opened on March 27, is part of a bio-diversity conservation project launched by the GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Center.

The exhibition showcases 100 photos, with four of them portraying the beautiful red-shanked douc langur (leaf eating monkey).

Posters and slogans calling for public support for the preservation of this rare Indochinese species are also displayed at the exhibition.

Son Tra peninsular is the habitat for around 300 red-shanked douc langurs, which are listed in Vietnam Red Book as endangered species, urgently in need of protection.

Denmark increases support in food safety, clean technologies

The Danish embassy on March 28 pledged to increase financial support to underwrite small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam with a focus on food safety and clean technologies.

The support will be provided under the auspices of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) Business Partnerships programme which has provided over US$74 million in aid for 300 pilot projects and over 150 long-term partners in Vietnam since 1997.

Danish ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen expressed hope the DANIDA Business Partnerships (DBP) programme, along with DANIDA’s business tools, will contribute to reducing poverty and maintaining sustainable development in Vietnam.

Denmark and its partners have shared with Vietnamese companies their knowledge and tactics in the field of food safety and clean technologies, he said.

In the context of Vietnam’s stable economic growth in recent years, DANIDA’s future cooperative programs will focus on maintaining sustainable economic growth, transferring green technologies, generating jobs and improving the environment, he concluded.  

Doctor awarded French Legion of Honour Order

French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean - Noël Poirier on March 27 presented France’s Legion of Honour Order to Doctor Nguyen Thi Hoi, recognising her significant contributions to medical cooperation between the two countries.

Associate Professor Hoi was former deputy head of the HCM City Pasteur Institute, and vice president of the Vietnam Red Cross. Currently, she is Vice President of the HCM City-based Vietnam-France Friendship Association.

The 81-year-old woman has spared no effort to develop the medical sector in Vietnam and joined humanitarian work run by French organisations for 27 years.

She has lobbied government and non-governmental organisations of France to raise nearly EUR2 million for 312 projects in 53 provinces and cities across the country.

Hoi is the fifth Vietnamese woman receiving the French honour. Other recipients were former Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly‘s External Relations Committee Ton Nu Thi Ninh (1997 & 2013), former headmaster of the Marie Curie High School (2004), Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien (2009), and former war correspondent Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong (2011).

Bird flu awareness campaign unveiled

A communication campaign against the spread of AH5N1 and AH7N9 strains of bird flu to humans was opened by the Ministry of Health in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on Saturday.

The campaign aims to raise awareness among government agencies and people to prevent the disease from spreading to humans.

It encourages people to ensure food safety, detect and inform about bird flu outbreaks to health and agricultural authorities, co-operate with market watch officials to keep out smuggled poultry and poultry products, and ensure personal hygiene and hygiene in poultry farming and slaughter.

It urges government to strengthen oversight of measures to prevent the flu from spreading to humans.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, since the beginning of last year China recorded 394 human cases of people flu, of whom 121 died.

After a period when the disease seemed to be in retreat, it reared up sharply early this year in China, with 247 infections reported in the first three months, 1.6 times up from the same period last year.

The H7N9 strain has also been reported in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

As of March 25, some 400 cases have been reported from around Asia, including 121 deaths.

H7N9 bird flu has been reported in 15 Chinese provinces and cities, including in Guangxi and Guangdong, the provinces bordering Viet Nam and having tourism and trading exchanges with it.

In Viet Nam, the Government and provincial authorities have taken strong measures and so no cases have been reported in the last one year.

This has come in for great appreciation from the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

The H5N1 strain is also under control and the disease has not occurred for a long time.

The campaign, organised by the ministry with support from the Unilever Viet Nam Foundation and Lifebuoy, will see the ministry and other agencies further boost activities to prevent the disease.

On the same day Can Tho City leaders and representatives of the ministry and 20 southern provinces and cities oversaw measures to combat the disease in Tan Thoi commune in Can Tho.

UN official calls for preventing violence against women, children

An official from the United Nations (UN) has called for people to work together to prevent violence against children and women.

UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka made the appeal while working with the Ministry of Education and Training in Hanoi on March 29.

She warned that 1.2 billion women worldwide are suffering from violence and inequality. Hence, the community should take responsibility to prevent this situation, Phumzile said.

The UN organisations are also actively carrying out a number of programmes enhancing public awareness of the issue, she added.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Nghia highlighted the role of women and said Vietnam is leading Asian nations in the gender equality index as a result of the Party and State’s laws and policies.

The ministry has also integrated gender equality and domestic violence prevention programmes into the teaching curriculum at schools nationwide, which has received support from many international organisations and already sparked success, Nghia noted.

She said such a move should be spread wider in the capital and the country in the coming time.

Hanoi is piloting a programme on building safe schools and promoting the youth’s role in anti-violence against children and women with the participation of around 30,000 students. Around 500,000 are expected to take part in the future.

Handbook helps nurses better support hearing impaired

A handbook providing tips for nurses to better communicate with people unable to hear and help them integrate into the community made its debut on March 29 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The booklet, along with a Vietnamese-subtitled DVD on life skills and sign language, was issued by the Centre for Research and Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CED), the only social organisation for the deaf in Vietnam .

It shapes part of a project enriching teaching and learning documents for people who have problems with hearing, sponsored by the non-governmental Education for Development (EFD).

The brochure provides information on ways of communication used by hearing-impaired people and a number of steps to assist them in studying and protecting their ears.

Additional documents should be made available for the hearing impaired to support their future social integration and independent life-leading, said Director of the centre Duong Phuong Hanh, who is also Secretary General of International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of the Hard of Hearing and Deafened (APFHD).

Vietnam has more than 1 million hearing impaired people, including over 400,000 children of school age. The country houses 70 schools or centres that cater for people with hearing problems, and these are mainly found in big cities.-