Money raised for eye treatment in Vietnam

Japan’s Personal Closet M&V has held a charity party in Tokyo to raise funds for Doctor Tadashi Hattori’s charitable activities in Vietnam.

The doctor has provided free eye treatment to patients in Vietnam for the last 10 years.

Photo: VOV

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung spoke highly of the event and thanked Hattori, the company and individuals who supported charitable activities to bring light to many Vietnamese cataract patients.

The Christmas Charity Party raised JPY6.5 million (US$81,250).

Hattori, a Japanese ophthalmologist who specialises in cataract surgery, is President of the Asia-Pacific Prevention of Blindness Association (APBA).

Apart from providing free treatment to underprivileged Vietnamese patients, he helped train Vietnamese eye doctors and nurses, and called for the donation of medical equipment to hospitals in Vietnam.

In recognition of his contributions, Hattori was presented with a certificate of merit from the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 2012 and a people’s health insignia by the Vietnamese Health Ministry in 2007.

Anaesthetic drug found by border guards

A large amount of a drug used in general anaesthesia has been impounded by border guards in northern Quang Ninh Province on its way to China.

The 5kg haul of the pharmaceutical Ketamin was picked up by guards at the Bac Son border with China, in Mong Cai City, making it the biggest drug trafficking discovery this year.

The alleged trafficker, Le Hiep, 36, of northern Hai Phong City, was reported to have confessed trafficking Ketamin, a drug used in human and veterinary medicine for the induction and maintenance of general anaesthesia, usually in combination with a sedative.

Hiep was reported to have said he had picked up the drug at Ha Noi's Noi Bai International Airport and was taking it to China under the orders of a man named Tung, of Hai Phong City.

Border guards said the man told them he was paid VND20 million (US$950).

He had also confessed to being a drug addict, they said.

The case will be transferred to local police for further investigation.

Vietnam shares climate change experience with Cuba

A delegation of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) led by Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan had a working visit to Cuba from December 4-8 to share experience in coping with climate change.

While working with the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT), Vietnamese Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan and ICRT President Danylo Sirio agreed that climate change is a global issue that has directly impacted on both Vietnam and Cuba.

The system of information and communications plays an important role in raising public awareness of the need to respond to climate change impact effectively, they noted.

Sirio said Cuba is listed in a group of countries at the risk of suffering a lot from climate change impacts as it is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

He insisted that Cuba and Vietnam closely cooperate in producing documentaries on climate change, to make the two peoples better aware of climate change impact on each country.

On his part, Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan confirmed that Vietnam has suffered badly from the impact of climate change, great storms and droughts in recent years have caused huge losses to human life and national development.

He expressed hope that the ICRT would share experience with Vietnam in raising public awareness of the climate change issue.

Earlier, Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan met with the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) to compare notes on the results of training human resource in the propaganda campaigns against the negative impact of climate change.

Lao Cai fines online gamblers $520

Three people gambling on the Internet in Coc Leu Ward, northern mountain Lao Cai City have been fined VND11 million (US$520) and sentenced to 24 months' probation on Saturday, according to the city People's Court.

This was the first time Internet gamblers have been prosecuted in the city.

Tran Van Thang, 33, Nguyen Thi Vinh, 50 and Nguyen Van Hung, 39 were caught red-handed on July 24. The police confiscated a set of computers and four decks of playing cards.

Vice President gives scholarships to poor

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan yesterday presented 130 scholarships, worth a total of VND390 million (US$18,570), to poor students in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

Doan asked the province to invest more in upgrading schools and devote particular attention to poor and ethnic minority students, who have some of the highest dropout rates in the nation.

Next year, Ha Giang should improve the quality of teachers, she said, adding that she hoped domestic and international organisations would give more support to poor students, both in this province and in the country as a whole.

Drought forecast for centre, south

A sharp decrease in rainfall in the central, Central Highlands and southern regions will likely lead to a huge drought during the 2012-13 dry season, warns the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The centre's Deputy Director Le Thanh Hai said that the quantity of rainfall in some areas had decreased by 70-90 per cent from the average level of previous years.

"The rainy season in these areas ended earlier than previous years and the overall quantity of rainfall is lower, leading to severe water shortages," he explained.

The rainfall in central Quang Tri Province, for example, was just 1,700mm so far this year, while the average annual rainfall in the province was 2,500mm, according to local authorities.

By the end of November, the average water level of reservoirs in most central provinces was between 20-50 per cent lower than their designed capacity. Water levels in central Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces fell even more dramatically, with a 60-80 per cent difference between actual levels and capacity.

Meanwhile, rainfall in this dry season was expected to be less than previous years, particularly in the central region, Hai said.

Salt water will also likely intrude between 40-60km inland in central and southern regions.

The dry season lasts from November to May in the Central Highlands, from November to April in the south and from January to July in the central region.

However, drought has been recorded in some areas. In the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, the drought has already caused poor harvests in eastern districts. Nearly 1,000ha of crops, mostly corn and cotton, have been destroyed by droughts in Krong Chro District.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported in May this year that nearly 50,000ha of crops nationwide were damaged by droughts during the last dry season.

Cliff road disaster kills 5

At least five people were killed and 12 others injured when a vehicle tumbled from the Keo Put mountain pass in the province's Tra Linh District.

Early yesterday afternoon, witnesses saw a truck travelling from Quang Yen District to the city of Cao Bang fall from the Keo Put pass, with the driver stuck inside.

Many passers-by stop-ped to rescue the victim. However, a container truck travelling along the higher section of the mountain pass swept them off the cliff. Four of them died immediately.

According to witnesses, some were able to escape because they managed to jump from the cliff and land safely, avoiding the container.

Girl drowns after motorbike fall

The body of a five-year-old girl was recovered yesterday morning after she fell into a canal on Saturday night in Tai Van Commune, My Xuyen District, the southern province of Soc Trang.

The drowning occurred when Lam Thi My Hang, from Truong Khanh Commune, Long Phu District, was driving home from a wedding on Saturday night with her father and older sister. When they attempted to cross a rickety wooden bridge by motorbike, all three fell into the canal.
Hang's father and sister both survived.

VNN/VOV/VNS