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Police in southern Dong Nai Province in co-ordination with the Market Watch Department started to conduct a one-month inspection of fire-fighting and prevention facilities, and fire safety related to petrol product services in the region.
The checks began yesterday, May 9, with authorities warning that they will strictly punish any found violations.
More remains of Vietnamese martyrs repatriated from Laos
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The remains were found in Khammouan province of Laos by search team No. 589 of Quang Binh Military Command during the 2011-2012 dry season.
The experts and soldiers who had fallen during the resistance war against French colonialists and US imperialists were brought home with the close coordination of Quang Binh and Khammouan authorities and support from Laos.
Delegates and local people attending the internment ceremony laid wreaths and offered incense to the experts and soldiers whose sacrifice has contributed to the tightening of the faithfulness, special solidarity and friendship between the two countries.
Two Chinese held for allegedly robbing taxi
Police in the central city of Da Nang have detained two Chinese nationals for allegedly attacking a taxi driver in an attempt to rob the cab.
The foreigners, a man and a woman, both young, were held yesterday evening for investigation after the 24-year-old driver, Phan Thanh Doan, reported to police that he was attacked by them.
Doan, a staff member of Tien Sa Taxi Company, told police that on 7 pm Wednesday he was called by his firm’s operator to pick up the two foreigners at a place on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street.
Doan said the Chinese pair, who could speak a little Vietnamese, asked him to drive them around the city.
When the cab reached Truong Chinh Street in Hoa An Ward, Cam Le District, both of the passengers used pointed objects to stab Doan in the head and back many times, he said.
Doan then immediately stopped the car, kicked the cab’s door open and escaped from the vehicle, shouting, “Help! Help!” At this time, the male foreigner also got out of the car and ran away.
After hearing Doan’s shouts, locals chased the foreigner and seized him. They also held the woman, who had remained in the cab.
Police of Hoa An Ward were called to the scene and they then escorted the two suspects to their office.
The police later confirmed the foreigners to be Chinese nationals.
Meanwhile, the two suspects claimed they were innocent, that they were passengers of a bus who had been left behind, so they hired the car to chase the vehicle.
Due to the language barrier, the driver did not follow their command, thinking the two were robbers, they claimed.
Foreigners seek stem cell treatments
Viet Nam's National Paediatrics Hospital in Ha Noi has received another request from a foreigner to treat epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin disease, according to the hospital's director Nguyen Thanh Liem.
The doctor said a Brazilian man asked the hospital to treat his children, who suffer from the inherited connective tissue disorder caused by anomalies in the chemicals that hold layers of skin together.
"The disease can be treated in Viet Nam using stem cell transplant technology," Liem said. However, the hospital still doesn't have a source of stem cells, and has asked the Ministry of Health for advice.
More VN women have children in South Korea
The number of children by Vietnamese mothers in South Korea has doubled from 436 in 2011 to 909 in 2012 and the figures are expected to keep rising in the future, according to the South Korean Ministry of Public Administration and Security.
The ministry said that in the next three years, the number of children by Vietnamese mothers would be the largest among children born into multicultural families, topping the number of children by Chinese mothers, currently the largest group.
Mysterious skin disease kills two more in Quang Ngai
The skin disease of unknown origins in the central province of Quang Ngai has killed two more patients, bringing the total number of fatal cases to 21, the Ministry of Health has said.
The victims are Pham Thi Ngot, 61, and Pham Van Nhot, 53, who died after treatment at Ba To District's Health Care Centre and Da Nang City's Hospital early this week.
Both of the victims are residents of Ba To District's Ba Dien Commune where the disease has affected 173 people. The total number of those affected by the disease in the district stands at 183.
Yesterday, the Heath Ministry, for the third time, sent a delegation to Ba To District to train local healthcare staff on the syndromes of the disease recently named foot and palm dermatitis.
Participating at the training session were experts in dermatology, the environment, tropical diseases, labour hygiene, haematology and more than 100 healthcare workers.
The participants learned the methods to diagnose the clinical signs and precisely identify the disease. They were also introduced to methodology to carry out field experiments; for instance how to set up questionnaires, how to collect and process data and how to take samples for study.
After the training, the ministry delegation is scheduled to conduct studies on the disease in Ba Dien Commune for five days. They will carry out research on clinical syndromes, micro-organisms, the living environment and epidemiology to identify the cause of the skin disease.
Late last month, blood tests revealed the presence of the rickettsia bacterium in 14 out of 26 patients. Though a potential candidate for the cause of the disease, the ministry has rejected it as an option, according to Viet Nam News Agency correspondent in Quang Ngai.
Vietnam welcomes Swiss and Cuban friends
The Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) met the Switzerland-Cuba Association (SCA) on May 8 in Hanoi with Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Fredesman Turo Gonzalez attending the event.
The SCA delegation led by Professor Federico Jauch is currently visiting Vietnam for the first time, from May 6-19.
Speaking at the event, the VCFA’s Permanent Vice President Nguyen Duy Cuong informed the guests about the solidarity and friendship that exist between Vietnam and progressive peoples worldwide.
Vietnam won great victories during its two struggles for national liberation thanks to the contributions and support of peace-loving peoples across the world, including the Cubans and the Swiss, said Cuong.
Professor Federico Jauch said that their visit will enable the delegation to learn more about the VCFA’s operations and strengthen relations between the two organisations.
Cuban Ambassador Fredesman Turo Gonzalez expressed his thanks to Vietnamese and Swiss friends for organising numerous events to boost friendship with the Cuban people.
He sees the visit as a chance to witness the Vietnamese people’s hospitality first hand, as well as their efforts to protect their revolutionary achievements and in socio-economic development.
ADB finances secondary school upgrade in disadvantaged areas
VND78.8 billion will be allocated to upgrading infrastructure of 19 junior secondary schools in 19 disadvantaged communes in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak.
The sum is sourced from a project to assist schools in underprivileged areas. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) contributed VND64.3 billion to the project, which aims to reduce the school dropout rate.
The project is expected to create 89 new classrooms, four libraries, 12 laboratories, and 139 boarding rooms for pupils, 59 working rooms for teachers, 19 kitchens and 39 lavatories, which will be put into operation in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The provincial department of education and training said that since 2008, Dak Lak has mobilized many resources to build and operate 1,605 classrooms for kindergartens, elementary schools, junior secondary schools, and high schools, and 670 rooms for teachers.
All these classrooms were equipped with standardized chairs, desks, and blackboards.
However, the province is still in need of more than 1,300 additional classrooms and 545 official rooms for teachers.
Australia increases ODA for Vietnam
The Australian Government will provide an estimated AUD150.4 million (VND3.2 trillion) in official development assistance to Vietnam in 2012-2013, according to a media release by the Australian embassy.
This means Vietnam will be Australia’s fifth largest bilateral recipient of development assistance, the media release says.
Vietnam will benefit from additional funding to reduce the negative impact of climate change as part of a new East Asia initiative. The 2012-2013 Budget commits AUD208.6 million over four years to countries in East Asia to increase incomes, and boost health and education services for the poor, and minimize the negative impact of climate change in Vietnam.
Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Allaster Cox said Australia is committed to assisting Vietnam to attack poverty and achieve sustainable development, as demonstrated by the AUD12.5 million increase in funding in 2012-2013.
Australian aid program in Vietnam, which is managed by the Australian Agency for International Development (Ausaid), is focused on five main areas: developing the human resource, upgrading infrastructure, reducing the negative impact of climate change, improving public health by accessing to safe water and sanitation, and reforming the economy.
In 2012-2013, Australia will continue to assist Vietnam to improve access to essential infrastructure services such as water supply and sanitation as well as transport linkages that connect poor areas to key transport and economic corridors.
Australia will provide 245 Australian Development Scholarships to Vietnam in 2012-2013. These scholarships are designed to develop the skills of the Vietnamese people so they can contribute to development in the country across government agencies, universities, business and community organizations. Additional scholarships will be provided through other government programs.
Consistent with commitments made, the Australian Government also released a new Comprehensive Aid Policy Framework on May 8, 2012, which articulates a four-year vision for Australian aid that sets out how much Australia will deliver, where and why by 2015-2016.
This will enable the Australian Government to work together with Vietnam to better plan and implement aid investment more effectively over the next four years, delivering better results for Vietnamese people.
Vietnam, India strengthen education cooperation
A seven-member delegation from the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Information and Communications have visited New Delhi to seek opportunities to boost education and training cooperation between Vietnam and India.
During working sessions on May 7 and 8, the two sides discussed issues of mutual concern, such as tertiary education development and reform particularly in the fields of information technology, nano technology, network security, biotechnology, oceanography, satellite, online teaching and special English teaching programmes.
They proposed that Vietnamese and Indian research institutes and universities develop joint training cooperation projects and arrange exchange trips for lecturers and students.
While in India, the Vietnamese delegation met with some Indian information technology training and network security businesses that want to invest in Vietnam.
Water rates may rise by 35%
Clean water prices in Ha Noi are projected to rise by 35 per cent if a proposal by the Ha Noi Water Company Ltd receives approval from the municipal People's Committee.
The present prices are VND4,000 (US$0.2) per cubic metre for the first 16cu.m, VND4,700 ($0.22)/cu.m for the next five cu.m, and VND9,400 ($0.44)/cu.m for an additional 35 cu.m.
Company director Nguyen Nhu Hai said that the current pricing, applied since the beginning of 2010, was not enough to make up losses incurred from rising production costs.
He also said that even with a 35 per cent hike, the company would still face problems as the price of electricity and chemicals continued to rise.
The company reported that in the first four months of this year, it suffered a loss of VND32 billion ($1.5 million), and consequently had to cut workers' salaries by VND800,000 ($38) per month.
Moreover, water prices in Ha Noi were much lower than in neighbouring cities and provinces, Hai said.
In Hai Duong City, about 60km from the capital city, water was being sold for VND6,500 ($0.3) per cubic metre for the first five cubic metres.
Since 2010, the company had asked to raise prices three times, but had not received approval from the municipal People's Committee, said Hai.
"Over the past two years, many other services including electricity, petrol, gas and bus fares have increased in price, but clean water – a daily necessity – has stayed the same. It's not fair," he said.
The climate was forecast to be hotter than usual this year, and combined with the economic crisis, the company would not be able to continue at the current prices, Hai added.
However, the proposal has met with complaints from economic experts and local residents.
Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Viet Nam Economics Institute, said the company's reasons were not convincing.
A few dozen dong for clean water per month was not a big issue for urban residents, but it would cause problems for rural residents, said Thien.
"The State does a lot to help rural residents access clean water, but the price hike may discourage them from using safe water and force them to turn to rain water instead," he said.
The Ha Noi Water Company Ltd is the city's sole supplier of clean water and has tried to take advantage of this by attempting to increase prices.
"The State should diversify clean water resources to abolish the monopoly mechanism," said Thien.
Vu Phuong Hanh, a resident in Dong Da District, said she could not understand why the costs of so many services were increasing.
"If this continues, our lives will become more difficult," she said.
VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre
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