Centre addresses problem of unexploded bombs and mines

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has decided to establish the Viet Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) to deal with unexploded bombs and mines.

The centre, managed by the Ministry of National Defence, will work with agencies on research and policies to reduce the harm that can be caused by unexploded ordnance.

It will act as the main agency for mobilising international support for dealing with bombs and mines left over from wars.

The centre will be in charge of co-ordinating projects on bomb and mine clearance and supporting bomb and mine victims.

An estimated 15 million tonnes of bombs, mines and explosives were used during the American War in Viet Nam.

At the current pace of detecting and defusing unexploded ordinance, it is estimated that it will take Viet Nam about 300 years to completely clear all threats.

On Wednesday, a team from Mines Advisory Group detonated 25 mortar and artillery shells in Dong Ha city in Quang Tri Province.

Hoang Minh Phuong, head of the team, said local people unearthed the deadly ammunition during construction of their houses. He said the ammunition was live and would have easily exploded.

HCM City wants to borrow US$763 million for flood prevention

The HCMC government has mapped out a plan to borrow US$763 million from the World Bank to implement many components of the flood management project from 2015 to 2020.

The city government has sent a document to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, seeking the ministry’s support to ask for the World Bank’s ODA loans for the project in the 2015-2017 period.

Under the impact of climate change and rising water level, floods have hit many areas in the city when there are downpours and tides, which directly affect the livelihood and health of local people.

The flood risk management project consists of many components such as building tidal sluices, docks in the Vam Thuat River and Rach Nuoc Len; dredging and reinforcing the dykes of Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Rach Nuoc Len canal; building the drainage system in Go Vap District; and upgrading canals connecting to Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Rach Nuoc Len canal in Tan Binh and Go Vap districts.

The Prime Minister approved the city’s irrigation and flood prevention planning in August 20, 2008. However, according to the HCMC government, the planning’s scale is vast and the costs are huge while the economy is still in difficulty and capital has not been allocated.

Soai Rap dredging to be finished in April

The management unit of the Soai Rap dredging project’s phase two is accelerating the progress so that the river section of nearly 60 kilometers can handle a large vessel on April 19.

The project tempo had been stepped up since February 25 as requested by HCMC Chairman Le Hoang Quan together with the installation of the buoy and signal system in order for a 50,000-ton vessel of Japan to sail straight from the East Sea to Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT).

If so, the project will be finished nearly two months ahead of schedule. Under the plan, the Soai Rap River will be 80 meters wide and 9.5 meters deep on April 10, and the following days will be spent on finishing remaining works.

According to Tran The Ky, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Transport, during the nine days after April 10, the river bottom will be scanned along a length of 54 kilometers, maritime notifications will be given, signal buoys installed, and there will be an announcement allowing ships to use the river to enter Hiep Phuoc Port.

Over the past time, ships from Can Gio estuary has had to take the Long Tau River to enter Saigon Port, which is over 31 kilometers longer compared to the Soai Rap River which used to be narrow and shallow.

The plan to dredge the Soai Rap River was formulated a long time ago but not until October, 1993 did the HCMC government assign Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company to study the plan and implement the project.

After over 15 years, with cooperation of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the project’s first phase was finished on November 9, 2001 with a depth of 8.5 meters along a length of 59.24 kilometers and able to handle ships of 5,000-15,000 DWT.

However, the project’s second phase encountered capital difficulty and then was assigned to the management unit established in 2011. The investment amount for this phase is VND2.797 trillion, with Belgium’s ODA loans accounting for 76 million euros.

GM crops needed in developing countries

Developing countries are being put under pressure of growing more genetically-modified (GM) crops as to deal with problems related to water shortage and the increase of weeds and pests, experts said at a conference in Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday.

Representatives of countries and territories taking part in the biotechnology conference, including Thailand, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines, said that although GM crops are facing objections from farmers in their countries, such crops would prevail in the long run.

It is because problems related to weeds and pest control along with low crop yields have forced developing economies to resort to GM crops en masse to avoid dependence on imported food products, speakers said at the conference organized by Singapore-based Croplife Asia, a non-profit organization specializing in biotechnology.

Among those countries, China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines are the four that have grown GM plants on vast areas.

By the end of last year, the area of GM crops in developing countries have surpassed that in developed countries.

Of 18 million farmers in 27 countries that plant GM crops, farmers in eight developing countries have grown 81.2 million hectares of GM crops, or 46.2% of the global total. In addition, the total area for GM crops worldwide has grown 100-fold since 1996, when it was first planted, to 175.2 million hectares by the end of last year.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), GM crops have been proving values as a helpful tool for poor farmers, who are facing the pressure of water shortage, affect from climate change, and the increase of weeds and pests. ISAAA predicts that GM area will continue to expand in the next few years.

In a latest research, it finds out that almost all farmers who have grown GM crops said they would continue the cultivation in the coming time.

Women occupy 70% of HCMC traffic rule violation number

Over two-thirds of the people who broke traffic rules in Ho Chi Minh City last year were women, but most of the dead in traffic accidents were members of the opposite sex, the municipal Traffic Safety Committee announced Wednesday.

xThe committee released the statistics at a conference in the city to review its performance in 2013 and discuss new tasks for this year.

Last year city police handled more than 700,000 violators of road and railway traffic rules, of whom nearly 500,000 (71 percent) were women, according to the statistics.

Men accounted for 87.3 percent of the total 764 dead victims in traffic accidents.

More than half of these 764 victims were immigrants, said Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, deputy head of the committee.

The city’s population now tops nine million, of which more than one million people hail from other provinces, Tuong added.

Along with the 764 deaths, almost 4,600 people were injured in a total of 5,073 traffic accidents that occurred in the city last year, the committee reported.

The number of traffic accidents in 2013 decreased by 26.3 percent compared to a year ago.

The dead and injured declined by 6.3 percent and 29.2 percent, respectively, in the same manner.

Most of the traffic accident victims were aged 19-24 and the majority of the crashes happened from 7:00 pm to 12:00 am every day.

Last year 19,300 more cars and about 300,000 more motorbikes were registered in the city, taking the total number of cars and motorbikes to 487,600 and 5.9 million by year end, the committee said.

Couples in HCMC encouraged to have two children

The HCMC Population and Family Planning Division said this month it will promote the 2014 national target on population, in which it will call for all married couples in the city to have two children, instead of asking them to stop at two as it has done for years.

According to the division, the average number of children for one woman in the city is quite low, with the rate of 1.5 children per mother. Meanwhile, the national ratio is 2-2.1 children per mother.

The birth ratio of the city is now nearly 0.9%, or nine babies are born every year for a population of 1,000.

Another important issue needed to be promoted in the new population policy, said the division, is to minimize the imbalance in baby gender.

Vietnam since 1990 has been strongly asking each married couple to stop at two children, for fear of the boom in population, which was expected by experts in the field to reach 105 million by 2010.

By late last year, the country population had reached 90 million.

The country was predicted earlier by the General Statistics Office to start having population ageing in 2017, yet in 2011, it started to be in the shift with the number of people over 65 years old accounting for 7% of the population.

Ministries diverge in position of new Long Bien Bridge

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism disapproved of three solutions proposed by the Ministry of Transport to build the new Long Bien Bridge, said the ministry’s spokesman of March 6.

The ministry’s first solution is to build a new bridge at the current area and remove the old one for preservation at the Red River.

The second proposal is to construct a new bridge with a different design but the same shape to meet development guidelines. The Culture of Ministry rejected this proposal because they would like to see the original bridge preserved for national patriotism.

The third proposal is to refurbish the new bridge by rebuilding the center of the old bridge.  The Ministry of CST rejected this because it would change the shape of the bridge.

The Ministry of CST proposed the Transport Ministry to reconsider all these three methods.

Hanoi People’s Committee should file documents to list Long Bien as a national relic to have suitable preservation measures and study a project to build the new bridge separately from the current bridge, said the spokesman.

Danish ambassador to Vietnam promotes 2014 Earth Hour campaign

Danish Ambassador John Nielsen, Miss Vietnam 2008 contestant Nguyen Thuy Van, and singer Bao Tram will be representing the Earth Hour 2014.

The event will take place at the Cach Mang Thang Tam Square from 8:30-9:30 p.m. on March 29. Citizens are encouraged to turn off all lights and appliances during the hour. The aim of this event is to highlight energy conservation and climate-change issues.

The campaign will include activities such as Green Destinations, Green Schools, a painting contest and a bicycle parade.

Vietnam’s first participation for this event was in 2009. The country saved 401,000 kWh of electricity during the campaign in 2013.

Earth Hour is a global event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It takes place annually on the last Saturday of March.

Indian Buddhist Culture exhibition opens in city

An Indian Buddhist Culture exhibition opened at Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts from March 6-15.

The exhibition is part of Indian Culture Week. More than 35 photos, paintings and sculptures showcase the life of Prince Siddhartha Gautama who became known as 'the Buddha’.

The week will include a series of activities such as Indian traditional dance and singing performances, free yoga classes, and an Indian food fair.

The event is organized by the Consulate General of India in HCMC; the municipal Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism; the HCMC Union of Friendship Organizations and the Ho Chi Minh City Buddhist Sangha.

Ministry bans several contractors from bidding

Several contractors of Ho Chi Minh Highway and projects in Can Tho City and Lai Chau Province have been banned from further project due to violations in construction and investment regulations, according to the Ministry of Transport Inspectorate on March 6.

The banned contractors include large companies like COMA3, Hanoi Construction Company No.44, Thang Long Experiment and Construction Company and Mechanical Engineering Construction Company No 623.

Thanh An 119 Company  and 620 Chau Thoi Concrete Corporation have been prohibited from bidding for two years due to violations while working on projects with the Can Tho City Department of Transport.

The Transport Ministry Inspectorate ordered agencies to block accounts of the violators. They also suspended two supervisors and one engineer for negligence.

These contractors failed to ensure the work progress and were irresponsible for implementing bids. They could not present documents required.

Northwestern poverty reduction policies to face review

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for a thorough review of poverty reduction policies in the northwestern region, home to over 30 ethnic groups.

He made the suggestion during a working session held with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) in Hanoi on March 6.

The region holds an important position in terms of socio-economics, security and national defence. Its economy, however, lags far behind other localities. Over 70 percent of its workforce is focused in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

Phuc, who is also the head of the Steering Committee for the Northwestern Region, hailed MoLISA for bringing down the poverty incidence, adding that this task is also the responsibility of other ministries, departments and local administrations. He asked them to continue this to narrow the wealth gap and raise public awareness of fighting social vices.

The official requested that vocational training should go hand in hand with job creation as part of efforts to realise the Government’s strategy on vocational training for the 2011-2020 period.

Inspections of enterprises that supply guest workers abroad should be stepped up while issues of public concern such as human trafficking, child sexual abuse and creation jobs for drug addicts after rehabilitation must be addressed as soon as possible, he said.

MoLISA suggested working out regional master plans on socio-economic development, including economic sectors, hi-tech zones, and vocational training centres.

Last year, the region generated jobs for over 160,000 workers and improved income for more than 15,000. At the end of 2013, its rate of poor households was reduced to 21.5 percent, or over 454,000 households.

VietnamWorks programmes support job seekers

VietnamWorks, a leading recruitment company in Vietnam, has announced the country’s largest career programme “Boulevard to Success” to be held in HCM City and Hanoi on May 10 and May 24, respectively.

Jonah Levey, Founder and Chairman of Vietnamworks, said the events aim to meet the labour market’s needs by bringing employers and job seekers together so they can make more informed and better employment choices.

The events provide a chance for job seekers to access more information about their favourite enterprises, and learn of the required experiences and skills for jobs, he stressed.

They also provide recruiters the opportunity to meet face to face with potential candidates, which is always a definite plus for both the employer and job hunters, he added.

Vietnamworks is coordinating with YanTV and Today TV channels to organise the first Reality TV show on careers, starting on March 6.

In the show, 10 outstanding candidates were selected from thousands of job seekers to live together in a house and face 12 different career challenges in 12 weeks.

The winner will receive three awards worth nearly VND1 billion, including the 6 -month contract (VND120 million) in a leading company in Vietnam, a training course on creative thinking skills in the US and a E-home apartment in Ho Chi Minh City.

The two winners of the “Move Up” online programme on sharing career dreams and success, which were ended on February 14, were awarded a trip to Paris worth US$10,000, Jonah Levey revealed.

Evaluating the employment market in 2013, VietnamWorks said that the three provinces of Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai experienced the highest growth in demand for human resources.

Of which, top 5 attractive sectors included information technology, accounting, administration - secretary, production – processes, and customer service.

Kovalevskaia Prize honours Vietnamese scientist

Associate Prof. Dr. Le Thi Luan, who has spent 16 years studying and producing Rotavin-M1, an anti-diarrhoea vaccine for children, will be presented with the prestigious Vietnam Kovalevskaia Prize at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 8.

With Rotavin-M1, which has been sold on the market since August 2012, Vietnam has become the second country in Asia and the fourth in the world to produce the vaccine.

The 52-year-old Deputy Director of the Centre for the Reach and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals under the Ministry of Health has devoted 24 years in her life to this specific field.

The initiative to produce the vaccine was raised in 1998 when she took part in a World Health Organisation programme to prevent diarrhoea among Vietnamese children.

At that time, many Vietnamese children suffered as there were not enough vaccines to treat it.

Nearly 100,000 children in 60 cities and provinces have so far received Rotavin-M1, which costs one-third the price of imported vaccines.

According to Luan, as many as 6,800 Vietnamese children under five years old with diarrhoea will be successfully treated each year thanks to the vaccine.

Rotavin-M1 has been evaluated by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and approved for use by the National Institute for Control of Vaccines and Biologicals.

On this occasion, the Kovalevskaia Prize will also be awarded to Associate Prf. Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy from the Institute for Transport Science and Technology under the Ministry of Transport for her successful scientific research.

The prestigious prize, named after the great Russian female mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia, is awarded to female academics with excellent achievements in sciences or arts and humanities. The Vietnam Kovalevskaia was established in 1985.

Smuggled Chinese pigeons seized in Quang Ninh

The Ministry of Public Security in coordination with Quang Ninh province’s market management team has seized 2,000 pigeons that entered Vietnam over the border area in Mong Cai city.

Vu Van Thien, a driver from the northern province of Hai Duong, was caught on March 5 transporting the pigeons, weighing 1,200 kilograms. The birds were purchased from China for domestic consumption, he admitted.

The appropriate authorities are planning to cull the seized birds.

The illegal cross-border import of poultry is banned due to the rising threat of avian influenza to northern border provinces following China reporting more than 120 human H7N9 cases this year, including at least 27 deaths.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinates with relevant departments of the trade and defence ministries and the police to try and prevent the virus entering the country.

Two H5N1 deaths were reported in January in Vietnam, but no H7N9 cases have come to light so far, according to the Health Ministry.

Trade ministry launches energy-saving campaign

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) officially launched a campaign ahead of the 2014 Earth Hour on March 6, urging everyone to make changes for a greener planet.

The annual drive aims to raise public awareness of the importance of saving electricity and alleviating climate change threats.

Deputy Head of the General Department of Energy under the Ministry, Nguyen Khac Tho, called on all organisations, businesses and individuals to turn off lights and other unnecessary power sources during earth hour from 20:30 to 21:30 on March 29.

At the launch, the organising board introduced three faces representing this year’s campaign - Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen, runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2008 Thuy Van and singer Bao Tram.

Nielsen said that the Danish Government will support Vietnam’s efforts to reduce the negative impacts of climate change.

A wide range of activities including drawing competitions and cycling events will be organised during the campaign.

All Vietnamese provinces and cities took part in last year’s event, saving 401,000 kWh to the national grid, of which 219,000 kWh was saved in Hanoi.

Vietnam- Laos agrees to upgrade solidarity monuments

Vietnam and Laos have agreed to upgrade monuments to their solidarity in the provinces of Oudomxay, Xieng Khouang, Attapeu and Champasak in Laos.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between a delegation of the Vietnamese Government Special Task Committee and those from Laos in Vientiane on March 6.

Accordingly, the Vietnamese side will provide Laos with VND15 billion (about US$700,000) to implement the project.

The two sides discussed issues related to the search and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and specialists who laid down their lives in Laos.

They also planned to hold the 19th meeting in Vietnam as soon as possible.

RoK shares development knowledge with Vietnam

The Republic of Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) has proved successful, helping facilitate Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong made the remark at a March 6 seminar in Hanoi to evaluate the KSP’s final report for Vietnam.

He noted the KSP, part of Vietnam-RoK cooperation framework, will contribute to strengthening management and law-making capacity for Vietnamese officials through consultations and policy recommendation implementation.

RoK Ambassador Jun Dae Joo agreed the program has put forward recommendations to Vietnamese managers and lawmakers in order to set socio-economic development orientations.

It targets four main areas: national energy security policies – Korean experience and policy implication for Vietnam, joining the global supply chain – Korea experience and lessons for Vietnam, a social housing development plan in Vietnam, and support for Environment Protection Law drafting.

Bui Tat Thang, Director of the Development Strategy Institute, said the KSP has made a useful contribution to socio-economic development planning for the 2011-2020 period in Vietnam.

The program in the future will be focused on upgrading industry to boost growth potential, drawing up a high qualified human resource development strategy for the public sector, managing economic groups, and building an early warning system for the financial market.

The Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance began the KSP in developing countries in 2004, aiming to share its development experience and help promote socio-economic development. In addition, the program supports these countries in raising international competitiveness and finalising institutions.

Soft skills a must for Vietnamese workers

Vietnamese workers lack in soft skills, including team work, communication and adaptation to new circumstances, according to a survey jointly conducted by a Vietnamese labour institute and Manpower group.

Foreign investors reveal soft skills and professional skills are equally important in their recruitment decision.

Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) Director Nguyen Thi Lan Huong said they questioned 100 FDI businesses in six provinces and cities, focusing on three fields – consumer products, electronics and automobile assembling.

Since Vietnam integrated into the global economy FDI businesses have played an increasing role in promoting economic growth, generating jobs for workers and taking the lead in technology and human resource management.

Thus their human resource development orientations may create new trends and forecast development for the future labour market, the survey finds.

It also points out a worrying trend that some FDI businesses attract workers from their rivals, instead of training their workers.

The results of the survey indicate that FDI businesses have not been largely affected by the economic crisis as more than half of them are still going strong and only 5% have suffered from losses.

Most FDI businesses have invested in technology and more complicated production processes, but they prefer recruiting unskilled workers on low expenses. This may prevent business operations in the future.

At the March 6 seminar to launch the survey, participants discussed solutions for improving Vietnamese workers’ skills to meet foreign investors’ requirements in the future.

They proposed that universities, colleges and vocational schools should coordinate with FDI businesses to teach skills in line with their development strategies.

Work accident inspections progress slowly

The progress in inspecting work accidents, especially fatalities, is slower than expected, stated the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA)' Bureau for Safe Work's head Ha Tat Thang.

According to MOLISA, out of the total number of over 560 fatal work accidents that occurred last year, only 175 have been properly investigated and officially reported to the ministry.

Thang pointed out that many work accidents occurred during the process of mineral exploitation in projects conducted by private companies or by the people for civil use. These cases have so far not yet been investigated and included in statistics and reports.

He noted that many localities failed to submit a report analysing the figures of work accidents by the types of enterprises and the categories of professions, or failed to provide an adequate, full report as required.

The reports were also sent very late, he remarked.

Most notably, the percentage of enterprises sending reports to the local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was still low, he added.

"During 2013, only 19,818 companies, or about 5.3 per cent of the total number of companies nationwide, sent reports [on work accidents], thereby making it difficult for us to review the comprehensive situation of work accidents nationwide." Thang emphasized.

According to Thang, excluding serious accidents that are being investigated, only three cases of accidents [which occurred last year] have been submitted to the People's Procuracy for criminal prosecution. All the three cases are of fatal nature.

While shedding light on the problem, Thang claimed that the key reason was that the number of inspectors for work accidents was still very limited, which made it impossible to cover all the companies in order to ensure occupational safety.

"Just over 460 inspectors are working, while more than 700,000 companies are operating," he pointed out, sharing that except in HCM City and Ha Noi, each locality has only 2-3 labour inspectors.

In response to the slow progress, MOLISA has requested the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Procuracy to call on all the relevant underlying agencies to step up co-operation in the investigation and processing of work accidents.

The Ministry stated that stronger co-operation was necessary so that the victims of work accidents can be offered timely compensation and violations in labour safety can be dealt with appropriate punitive measures.

According to MOLISA, last year saw approximately 6,700 work accidents, an increase of 82 reported cases against 2012. Yet, over 560 cases resulted in deaths, an increase of 10 cases against the previous year.

During March 16-22, Viet Nam will organise a national week for work safety and hygiene and fire prevention campaign, where activities to raise public awareness on the issue will be conducted, while inspections will be stepped up.

Guidelines enhance key legislation

The first oversight guidelines for the Law on Senior Citizens and the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, introduced yesterday, will help prevent abuse and better protect victims, officials say.

The guidelines were launched at a ceremony held by the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs (CSA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

"The guidelines will greatly facilitate and enhance the work of (NA) deputies and authorities at different levels," said Nguyen Van Tien, deputy chairman of the CSA.

So far, implementation of the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control as well as various bylaws had not been as effective as desired, requiring the serious attention of both governmental agencies and parliamentarians, he said.

According to the National Study on Domestic Violence against Women in Viet Nam, released in 2010 by the General Statistics Office, one in three, or 34 per cent, of married women reported suffering physical, emotional or sexual violence at the hands of their husbands at some time in their lives.

However, 87 per cent of the women who have experienced such abuse do not seek help from any official services.

Most senior citizens in the country are self-employed in agricultural activities with low and unstable income and some 17 per cent of them live under the poverty line, according to the Viet Nam Ageing Survey 2011.

Women and senior citizens belonging to the ethnic minority communities are more vulnerable to poverty than their male, urban and Kinh (majority community) counterparts, the survey found.

Arthur Erken, UNFPA Representative in Viet Nam, said that for successful implementation of the oversight guidelines, the country needed the strong support of the NA deputies to ensure that the tools are used systematically and professionally at national and local levels.

The deputies should identify problems in the implementation of laws as well as limitations that render them irrelevant to the actual situation on the ground, so that changes can be made to improve the legislation, he said.

Sai Gon River bridge in danger

HCM City's Old Binh Loi Bridge, the first ever to be built across the Sai Gon River, faces a high risk of collapse as vessels sailing under it routinely flout safety norms, sailing during high tide and bump into it, authorities said.

Built in 1902, the bridge linking Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts has a train track and two lanes for two-wheel vehicles.

Over the past few years boats and barges have caused several accidents by sailing under the bridge even when the water level is high.

The latest occurred in December when an oil tanker got stuck in the bridge after its captain tried to sail underneath during high tide despite warnings from officials regulating waterway traffic.

City rescue forces had to spend around two hours to extricate the tanker.

The officials said they are unable to prevent such violations because they do not have the authority to penalise offenders, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

Nguyen Toan Man, head of the bridge's traffic regulating station, said competent agencies should install electronic boards to indicate the water level and warn vessels not to try and sail beneath the bridge.

The railways should install warning lights and reflecting paint on the bridge so that ships can clearly assess the clearance they have, he said.

It should be made mandatory for boats to follow the instructions from the Traffic Regulating Station, he added.

Vu Trung Ta, director of River Management Zone No.10, which manages the section of the river, said the waterway police and Transport Department's Inspectorate should help regulate traffic under the bridge since they have the authority to penalise violators.

The city should erect barriers to prevent boats from sailing under the bridge when the clearance is inadequate, he said.

Can Tho to improve education record

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has successfully fought illiteracy and popularised elementary-level education, declared Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hong on March 5.

All of its districts have regular education centres while its communes and towns have community-based learning centres.

For many years, the department, in coordination with the media, has raised public awareness of the importance of life-long learning and building a more knowledgeable society.

By last December, Can Tho saw all communes and towns meet criteria to popularise secondary-level education. Over 7,400 out of 9,300 students graduated from secondary and high schools, moving on to vocational colleges.

Several localities, however, still see low rate of enrolment in pre-schools.

This year, the department will work more actively to promote pre-school education while calling for more support in terms of equipment and facilities. It will strive to have all 6-year-old children start their education and minimise dropouts.

The city will also host a week promoting a life-long learning campaign.

Conference highlights application of technology in health care

A national conference on healthcare science and technology took place in Hanoi on March 6 with the participation of many Vietnamese and foreign scientists.

Attendees at the event were updated on latest technologies in the fields, including state-of-the-art equipment for liver transplants and endoscopies.

Scientists also presented their research on new pharmaceutical breakthroughs and technological advancement.

According to Prof. Nguyen Tien Binh, Director of the Military Medical Academy – the host of the conference - the academy has recorded a number of achievements in improving its medical technology.

In particular, it has been the first centre in Vietnam to successfully conduct pancreas and kidney transplants in a patient at the same time, he said.

The academy is also leading in the application of biotechnology in the treatment of some diseases, including cancer, he added.

Participants at the conference agreed that in recent years Vietnam has made effort to strengthen the application of advanced science and technology in health care.

Vietnam is also one of the four first countries to successfully produce the Rota vaccine to prevent diarrhoea in children, they noted.

Finland helps Vietnam ignite technological development

The Vietnamese and Finnish governments on March 6 signed an 11 million EUR agreement for the second phase of their joint innovation partnership programme (IPP).

The phase, which will run from 2014-2018, has been financed with 9.9 million EUR from Finland’s non-refundable aid and 1.1 million EUR from the Vietnamese Government.

It aims to enhance the capacity of Vietnam’s information technology system, allowing the country to increase activities in scientific research and technology development, thus contributing to the socio-economic development of Vietnam.

The Vietnam-Finland IPP is considered the focus point of the Nordic country’s current support to Vietnam .

Addressing the signing ceremony, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan expressed his belief that in its second phase, the programme will continue helping Vietnam to make vital progress in strengthening the connectivity among businesses and scientists from both sides.

In this phase, the programme will focus on completing legal frameworks in science and technology, enhancing creative renovation, supporting and developing products at regional level and building a strong expert team to give advice in technology innovation for businesses, he said.

The first phase of IPP was conducted from 2009-2013 at a cost of more than 7 million EUR, mostly from Finnish aid, under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Finland ’s Foreign Ministry.

The programme has covered 60 projects in institutional capacity development, creative innovation and technology renovation support.

Hanoi to have more concentrated waste treatment facility

Hanoi’s Department of Architecture Planning on March 6 announced a detail plan for the construction of a concentrated waste treatment zone, which is part of efforts to concretise the Hanoi Construction Master Plan to 2030 with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister.

Accordingly, the project will cover an area of 21.066 hectares in Dong Ke and Tran Phu communes, Chuong My district. It will be divided into two key divisions including the waste treatment area and the post-treatment zone.

The treatment facility, supported by modern equipment and advanced technologies, is set to meet international standards. It will be located near main internal roads of the zone to make waste collection and transport easier.

An array of items such as management housing, office, greenery area, park, and repair and mechanical shops, showrooms will also be constructed in these areas.

The construction of the zone is expected to meet increasing demand of rubbish dumping and treatment in the city’s western area, especially the Xuan Mai urban area and hi-tech zones.

According to Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Pham Van Khanh, the department has outlined a plan for managing solid waste in the city from now to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which was agreed by the municipal authorities and is awaiting the Government’s approval.

Hanoi also plans to set up concentrated waste water treatment systems in 16 industrial clusters during the 2014-2015 period.

Under the project, which has been recently approved by the Hanoi People’s Committee, the first seven systems are scheduled to run in 2014.

The city at present houses 47 industrial clusters, of which only seven have concentrated waste water treatment systems.-

Hau Giang sets up 14 projects against climate change

The southern province of Hau Giang has prioritised to set up 14 projects against climate change this year.

The projects will focus on building a system of sluices to prevent sea water intrusion, and upgrading embankments and roads.

The province has directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the agriculture and transportation sectors to invest in works responding to unusual weather and serving production and daily life, especially dyke and flood control projects and water reservoirs.

It has also promoted communication activities on climate change and its impacts on people.

Hau Giang, one of Mekong delta provinces, has been severely affected by the global climate change in recent years as it has experienced unusual weather developments with higher numbers of storms, prolonged drought and serious sea water intrusion.-

Two rare animals released in Da Nang

A python snake (python molurus) and an Asian palm civet (paradoxurus hermaphroditus) were released, by the Biodiversity Conservation Centre (GreenViet) in co-ordination with Da Nang city’s forest guards, into the Natural Reserve on the Son Tra Peninsula on March 5.

The python was caged by a family in Hoa Cuong Bac ward, Hai Chau district, Da Nang city and was handed over to the forest ranger force of Son Tra - Ngu Hanh Son in Da Nang on March 3.

The Asian palm civet was found illegally caged at a coffee shop in Thanh Khe district, Da Nang city on the morning of March 5.

The two animals were in good physical condition to be set free on the afternoon of March 5.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGGP/Nhandan