Tragic traffic accident kills 1, injures 9 in Lam Dong

The Lam Dong General Hospital gathered all its human resources to give emergency aid to accident victims. 

An horrific traffic accident happened yesterday,  killing 1, injured 9 people in Highland province of Lam Dong.

The tragic traffic accident happened at around 6:15am of May 2 when a bus from Da Lat city to Ho Chi Minh City  directly collided with a truck at the section through  Lien Nghia Town of Duc Trong District.

The Vietnam Administration of Medical Services (VAMS) under the Ministry of Health sent an urgent official dispatch in the evening of May 2 to the Department of Health of Lam Dong Province about the treatment of victims of the accident.

Accordingly, VAMS praised the Lam Dong Department of Health for its timely guidance to the Lam Dong General Hospital in the task of promptly providing emergency aid to victims.

VAMS also suggested that the Lam Dong Department of Health should continue its good job of focusing medicines, medical equipment, and human resources for the medical treatment while preparing a report so that VAMS was able to assign other central hospitals to aid in the task.

The accident killed 23-year-old Pham Thi Thuy Linh from Da Huoai District of Lam Dong Province. The other nine victims in both vehicles were badly injured, two of whom suffered from severe concussion. All seriously injured victims were immediately operated by doctors of the Lam Dong General Hospital.

Kien Giang’s islands charm tourists on holiday

Tourists at a hotel in Kien Giang province 

Islands of southern Kien Giang province became magnets for tourists during the National Reunification (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday starting on April 28, contributing to a sharp rise of visitors to this Mekong Delta locality in the first four months of 2018.

Kien Giang welcomed over 270,000 tourist arrivals during the four-day holiday, up nearly 40 percent from the same period last year. They included more than 5,400 foreigners, rising by some 34 percent year on year, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

Most of the vacationers chose such islands as Phu Quoc, Lai Son, An Son, Nam Du, Hon Nghe and Hai Tac as their destinations. Notably, Phu Quoc Island attracted nearly 100,000 visitors during the holiday, compared to the previously estimated 40,000.

Vice Chairman of the Phu Quoc district People’s Committee Huynh Quang Hung said despite a surge in the tourist number, local accommodation facilities were still able to provide the best services at stable prices.

To serve the soaring travel demand, Phu Quoc International Airport increased domestic flights while Superdong Phu Quoc, a speedboat service provider, also offered more trips linking Rach Gia city and Ha Tien township in the mainland to this island during the holiday.

As a result of its efforts, the province attracted more than 2.5 million tourists in the first four months of this year, up 18 percent from a year earlier.

Doi Son pagoda in Ha Nam gets special national relic status

At the ceremony 

The People’s Committee of Ha Nam province hosted a ceremony on May 3 to receive a certificate recognizing Doi Son (or Long Doi Son) pagoda as a special national relic site and to kick off Doi Son pagoda festival 2018.

The Doi Son pagoda is located in Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district, the Red River Delta province of Ha Nam.

The pagoda was built in 1054 under the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong. It was expanded from 1118-1121 under the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong along with the construction of Sung Thien Dien Linh tower.

In the early 15th century, both Doi Son pagoda and Sung Thien Dien Linh tower were completely destroyed when the Ming aggressors invaded the country. Under the Later Le, Mac and Nguyen dynasties, the pagoda was rebuilt and its architecture was gradually restored.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dang Thi Bich Lien asked Ha Nam province to work out an overall planning scheme for the long-term preservation of the relic site.

The relic site management board should plant landmarks surrounding the pagoda, promote the dissemination of information about its historical, cultural, scientific and artistic values, build plans for restoration and upgrading and maintain traditional festive rituals, she said.

The official also suggested the provincial authorities to uphold the values of local typical festivals in a bid to further foster its tourism development.

President presents orders to HCM City’s firefighters

Three firefighters from the Firefighter Police Division in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City have been awarded the orders of the State President for their bravery in a fire in 2017.

Corporals Bui Van Dung and Phan Tan Quoc and Captain Vo Thanh Nam were honoured at a conference in the city on May 3, which aimed to review the implementation of a movement calling on the people’s police force to follow teachings of late President Ho Chi Minh in the 2013-2018 period. 

Previously, on September 7, 2017, a fire occurred at a house in the quarter 3, Binh Hung Hoa B ward, Binh Tan district, HCM City. 

When firefighting teams were performing their tasks, a block of concrete floor of the house suddenly collapsed and weighed upon the firefighters. Captain Pham Phi Long died. Corporals Phan Tan Quoc and Bui Van Dung were seriously wounded while captain Vo Thanh Nam luckily escaped.

Recognising the courageous action of the firefighters, the President decided to present the orders to them. Captain Pham Phi Long will be awarded posthumously the order of the same kind after being declared as a martyr.

Over the last five years, the movement was seriously implemented in HCM City in various forms in close connection with the movement “Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and lifestyle”, and the campaign “Building the People's Public Security Force style of “bravery, humanity and for the people to serve”. 

It has contributed to creating changes in the awareness and action of officers and soldiers of the municipal firefighter force.

Marxism-Leninism’s role in Vietnam’s development highlighted

An overview of the seminar (Source: qdnd.vn)

Contributions of Marxism-Leninism to Vietnam’s nation building and safeguarding cause have been spotlighted at a seminar held in Hanoi on May 3 on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of German philosopher Karl Marx (May 5).

Seventy reports delivered at the event showed the enthusiasm and responsibility of scientists for the research, protection and development of Marxism-Leninism.

The reports focused on the historical values and significance of Marxism-Leninism, the role of Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam’s nation building and safeguarding cause, and the role of the army in protecting and promoting Marxism-Leninism.

Scientists agreed that the Marxism-Leninism’s values remain at present.

The Marxism-Leninism served as the beacon for Vietnam’s revolution for national liberation, and building of socialism.

World Intellectual Property Day 2018 honoring women’s role

The female scientist who created radioactive substance for cancer treatment in Cho Ray Hospital. 

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has chosen the theme ‘Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity’ for the World Intellectual Property Day (IP Day) 2018, which was held on April 26. 

This year’s IP Day celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courages of the women who are driving change in our world and shaping our common future. Vietnam organized various meaningful activities to celebrate this event.

Since the first IP Day in 2000, this day had become the day when people all over the world celebrate the contribution of intellectual property rights to the development of culture and arts, technology and innovation for the sake of humans’ life.

The message of the WIPO 2018 is that innovation and creativity are manifested through various forms, from the very common to the very extra-ordinary things. For example, a billboard in Peru harvests water from the air, supplying the local community with clean drinking water; a 3D-printer at an American university regenerates damaged human tissue; money can be transferred via mobile phones and minor financial services in Kenya; or renewable energy is used to power refrigerators in rural areas of India.

As a result, IP Day is an important occasion to connect people on the earth in order to consider and evaluate contributions of intellectual property rights to the development of culture and arts as well as impetus behind technology innovation to form our world.

In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the HCMC Department of Science and Technology cooperated with the representative body of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (under the Ministry of Science and Technology), HCMC University of Science, and the Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) to host many practical activities, aiming to appreciate creativity, ingenuity, and bravery of women and to display how intellectual property rights can support the inventions of females in particular and people in general so that these inventions can be successfully launched onto the market.

Among the activities in the nation is the talk ‘Managing intellectual assets in innovative startups’. This talk emphasizes the growing importance of intellectual property rights in the economic development and the globalization as well as innovative startup process. Therefore, one of the major responsibilities of local authorities is to raise awareness of the public in this matter via media.

The talk presented valuable lessons of businesswomen and scientists in the startup process. It also showed how the intellectual property rights system could aid startup people in introducing their innovative ideas to the market or how these people are able to protect their artworks, creative products, new ideas, and long-timed researched technologies.

In Hanoi, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam collaborated with the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Association for Intellectual Women, the Committee of Young Employees and Urban Citizens (under the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union) to organize many national activities.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac stated at one of the celebration events that the property of a nation could be a city, a harbor, an airport, the gas. Yet, human beings possess not only tangible but also intangible intellectual assets sharing that until now, although the contribution of women in the nation is not as prominent as their international counterparts, changes have happened in the last few decades.

There have been more and more ideas coming from female inventors. Vietnamese women, along with the females in the world, will continue to have great influence to innovation and creativity.

The WIPO announced that it received nearly double the number of registration forms for invention of females in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in the period from 2007 – 2016. The rate of PCT registration forms increased from 23 percent in 2007 to 30.5 percent in 2016. 

In Vietnam, there are more and more successful female scientists. 31 members of the Vietnam Association for Intellectual Women possess patents and solutions which have already been commercialized.

US$3.4 mil invested to build the HCM City's Preventive Medicine Center

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh - Director of HCMC Health Department at the groundbreaking ceremony

In the morning of May 3, HCM City Department of Health held the groundbreaking ceremony of the Preventive Medicine Center at 125/61 Au Duong Lan street, Ward 3, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City.

The Preventive Medicine Center of HCMC is built with 5 floors with 8 functional sections and 283 staff members. Levels 1 and 2 are expected to be a consultative office and a preventive care clinic. The third floor is the section of Disease Control, Faculty of Environmental Health section and Public Health section. Workrooms and technology rooms will be located on floors 4 and 5.

It is expected that the Center will be built in 600 days from May 3, 2018, with total investment cost of over VND79 billion (US$ 3.4 million).

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Health Department, said that the building of new Preventive Medicine Center will meet the requirement of modern facilities for public epidemic prevention, vaccination, treatment of non-contagious diseases, water quality monitoring and other medical services.

In addition, the center also manages disease data of the whole HCMC and all district health centers in the city.

Nghe An: 5 households moved due to landslide

Deputy Chairman of the central province of Nghe An People’s Committee Le Xuan Dai has signed urgent decision 1603/QD-UBND about checking possible landslides at Muong Xen town, Ky Son district in the province.

Earlier, in March, 2018, local people at Muong Xen town were threaten because several abnormal cracks appeared in the mountain.

Local authorities said the cracks, some 200m long, 1m to 5m deep occurred in the mountain, 100m far from the resident area, threating dozens of households, national highway No.7…

Five households locating nearby the mountain have been moved to safer places because landslides could occur suddenly. Related agencies rechecked the situation and proposed measures to prevent landslides.

Total estimated capital is around VND 12billion.

National Radio Broadcasting Festival commences

The 13th National Radio Broadcasting Festival 2018 opened on May 3 in Vinh city, Nghe An province.

The event was attended by Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister, Vuong Dinh Hue; and members of the Party Central Committee: VOV General Director Nguyen The Ky, who is Head of the Festival Steering Committee; and Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh; as well as leaders of various boards, ministries and branches.

This year’s works reflect the comprehensive reform of the country in all fields, including politics, economics, society, culture, and national security protection, as well as communicating ethnic and foreign policies, and the integration of the country in the new period.

From the submissions, 216 works were selected from 257 entries to progress to the final round, including 31 ethnic language programmes, 33 radio stories, 65 reports, 53 mixed programmes, and 34 live programmes.

17 gold, 47 silver, and 84 bronze prizes, as well as 87 consolation prizes, will be presented to the best works. For the first time, this year’s festival will also honour the programmes’ directors.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue emphasised that the opening of the National Radio Broadcasting Festival on the occasion of the 128th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh is of great significance, whilst the event reaffirms the role and responsibilities of journalists towards the development of the country.

The festival offers an opportunity for radio journalists to meet, share professional experiences, and enhance co-operation, as well as further studying the modern communication technologies of Vietnam and the world.

On this occasion, the VOV handed over a system of sound transmission to the Kim Lien Relic Site in Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province.

Khanh Hoa set for bustle of Ponagar Temple Festival

A performance at the Ponagar Temple Festival 2017 (Photo: ditichkhanhhoa.org.vn) 

The traditional Ponagar Temple Festival of Cham ethnic people will take place at the Ponagar Temple Relic Site in the coastal province of Khanh Hoa from May 5 to 8.

The festival is observed annually from the 20th day to the 23rd day of the third lunar month to commemorate Goddess Yang Po Inu Nagar - the Holy Mother of the Cham community in the Southern Central region.

The event draws the participation of the Cham ethnic community in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces as well as pilgrims from central and Central Highlands regions.

This year’s festival will include traditional rites such as clothes changing for Holy Mother, a lantern release on the Cai River, a palanquin procession, a ceremony to pray for peace and prosperity, and an incense offering.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to take part in cultural and sporting events, enjoy arts performances, and explore the traditional weaving techniques and pottery making of Cham people.

Charity Ride raises US$40,000 for disadvantaged children

Twenty foreign riders taking part in the ninth H2H (Hanoi to HCMC) Charity Ride finished their 28-day charitable bicycle ride last Friday, April 27 and raised around US$40,000 for disadvantaged children in Vietnam.

British Consul General Ian Gibbon, representatives from charity partners, sponsors and supporters applauded the triumphant return of the H2H cycling team at HCMC Central Post Office.

Ian Gibbon said he felt great when welcoming the cyclists back from the epic journey from Hanoi.

Donations can still be made via JustGiving.com (https://www.justgiving.com/teams/H2H2018) until the end of May. All funds raised will be shared between five charities across Vietnam, including Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC), The ILA Community Network, Live and Give, Know One Teach One (KOTO), and the Blue Dragon Foundation.

Founded in 2009 by three ILA Vietnam teachers including James Ortmann, Rob Wilson and Sophie Lewis, the H2H ride has to date raised US$283,000 to lend a helping hand to underprivileged children in the country and give them a chance to gain access to sufficient education.

Defense ministry prosecutes two colonels

The Ministry of National Defense has pressed charges against four persons, including two military colonels, for alleged involvement in violations at a company under its management, according to the local media.

The ministry has conducted an investigation into an economic case that involved Dinh Ngoc He, alias bald Ut, former deputy general director of Thai Son Development and Investment JSC, and found violations of Colonel Bui Van Tiep, former commander of the Air and Air Defense Force’s 367 Division. Tiep has been put under house arrest for abuse of position and power while on duty.

Charges have been also filed against Colonel Phung Danh Tham, general director of Thai Son JSC, for his negligence of duty resulting in serious consequences.

In addition, investigators have detained Tran Xuan Son, director of a branch of Thai Son JSC in Binh Duong Province, and Tran Van Lam, managing director of Thai Son JSC.

On December 3 last year, He was taken into custody for abuse of power while performing official duty. He was also found to use a fake university degree in his official profile, infringing the 2015 Criminal Law.

The ministry is carrying out further investigation to promptly send the case to court in line with prevailing regulations.

Drivers’ protest brings Ninh Loc tollgate to standstill

Ninh Loc BOT (build-operate-transfer) toll station in Khanh Hoa Province has ground to a standstill in the past three days due to violent protests by drivers and has had to lift the barriers to allow vehicles to go through at no charge to avoid traffic congestion, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reports.

Many drivers at the tollgate have refused to move in the last three days and caused a traffic snarl, so the station has had to repeatedly stop collecting fees to solve the problem, said one representative of Ninh Loc BOT Tollgate under Deo Ca BOT Co.

Around 11:20 a.m. on May 2, a security guard when shutting the door to prevent a group of drivers from entering the BOT office was attacked.

On May 1, the station stopped its operation up to 11 times when drivers broke window glasses of a toll booth, then one woman even snatched two packs of tickets from the booth.

The situation was escalating as once the station resumed normal operation, drivers would gather around, forcing it to open up all traffic lanes again. Thus the station has not been able to collect toll fees as regulated by law, but it has not received any support from authorities, the representative added.

Most drivers at the tollgate are living in Ninh Hoa Town. The drivers said that the tollgate collects unreasonable fees from local people.

As shared by one driver, they feel they are fooled by the company as it claimed to offer fee reduction or exemption for residents in 16 wards and communes of the town since the beginning of this year, but now the number of wards and communes benefiting from the policy is cut down to eight. In addition, a 50% discount applied to type 1 vehicles instead of total exemption as promised.

Meanwhile, the tollgate operator said it has offered incentives for local cars passing through it since May 1 in accordance with regulations of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam, said Vu Hai Long, deputy director of Deo Ca BOT JS Company.

Residents registered in such eight wards and communes as Ninh Loc, Ninh Quang, Ninh Ha, Ninh Ich, Ninh Hung, Ninh Binh, and Ninh Hiep will get 50% discount for their non-commercial vehicles having less than 30 seats or weighing less than four tons. The vehicles will receive a 40% reduction if used for business purposes, Long explained.

The firm has created as many favorable conditions as possible for local drivers but failed to implement the scheme due to the objection of the Ministry of Transport, said Long.

Danang attracts many tourists on holiday

The central coastal city of Danang welcomed 356,000 tourists during the four-day holiday between April 28 and May 1, up over 14% year-on-year, according to a report issued on May 2 by the Danang Tourism Department.

International arrivals surged a whopping 20% to some 102,000, partly owing to easier air services to and from the city. According to the report, the number of international visitors on direct flights to the central coastal city of Danang reached 27,450 during the holiday, up 77.7% year-on-year.

The Tourism Department report, reviewing tourism activities there, shows that up to 183 international flights were available during the four-day holiday, up 76 flights against the holiday last year, mainly between Danang and Osaka, Bangkok, Incheon and Busan.

Despite the robust growth, Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the department, said the number of tourists to Danang City this year was not as high as expected.

Cuong attributed the small increase to the Danang fireworks festival not coinciding with the holiday, while Festival Hue staged between April 27 and May 2 in the neighboring province also lured a huge number of visitors away from Danang.

In addition, some other localities during this time sought to attract tourists with many festive activities, affecting arrivals in Danang City on this occasion.