245kg-bomb found buried in North Vietnam

While digging up to build a house on Friday, Ha Minh Quy and his family members living in Ham Yen district in the northern province of Tuyen Quang stumbled on a 245kg bomb being buried 50cm deep, police said.

The bomb is believed to come from the Vietnam War.

According to Nguoi Lao Dong, local sappers later evacuated residents who were living within a 4 km radius to assure their safety.

By 18:00 pm the same day, the bomb had been deactivated.

According to Vietnam News Agency, many bombs from the wars have been found in Ham Yen but they are often small shrapnel bombs and grenades.

This is the first time such a large bomb has been discovered in the locality.

3 forest fires raze central Vietnam

A forest caught fire at 12 am yesterday in Da Nang City’s Hoa Vang district, just one day after a major fire rampaged through the Hai Van Pass, also in Da Nang.

The fire in Phu Thuong hamlet, Hoa Son commune incinerated many forest hectares where valuable and rare woods from acacia and gum trees are grown.

Two specialized fire trucks and 15 firefighters were mobilized to extinguish the fire.

Just on July 7, the Hai Van special-use forest flared up in Da Nang city’s Lien Chieu district and consumed over 20 hectares. Nearly 500 officers and three fire trucks were deployed.

The burning heat these days also ignited yet another fire on the Mang Tang Mountain in Pho Phong commune, Quang Ngai province’s Duc Pho district yesterday.

The blaze traveled formidably at high speeds and spread out very quickly.

Nguyen Van Han, director of the local Department of Forest Protection, said that no fire fighting forces could intervene in this area as it is far away from the highway and Ba To district.

The area on fire is estimated at 2 square kilometers.

Over 300 border guards, police officers and other forces had to extinguish the fire manually, i.e resorting to knives, bush-hooks and twigs.

According to initial investigation, the fire could have come from a farmer burning straws.

Tornado hits northern Vietnam

A tornado, accompanied by heavy rains and strong winds, swept through Ha Tinh and Yen Bai provinces yesterday in northern Vietnam, causing a combined damage put at VND1.6 billion.

The whirlwind blew away many houses, electricity poles, uprooted trees and unroofed houses in Ha Tinh’s Hong Linh town.

The cyclone also caused serious damage to many schools, clinics, and local agencies and triggered outage in this area for long hours, especially in Thuan Loc and Nam Hong wards in Ha Tinh.

Similar catastrophes also occurred to Bac Hong and Dau Lieu wards.

After the damage, the Hong Linh town government immediately assisted the citizens in overcoming the obstacles and difficulties.

Damage was estimated approximately at VND1 billion in Ha Tinh.

The tornado also wreaked havoc in Van Yen, Van Chan districts in Yen Bai province and collapsed 3 houses, unroofed 197 houses and schools in Dong Cuong, Tan Hop, Yen Hop communes in Van Yen districts and An Luong commune in Van Chan district.

In addition, it knocked down electric poles, trees, and damaged a large area of crops.

Damage in Yen Bai was put at VND600 million.

Buffalo injures 5 at Do Son fighting festival

One buffalo charged into the spectators at the annual buffalo fighting festival in northern Hai Phong City’s Do Son District yesterday morning, injuring 5 people.

The buffalo managed to escape from its owner’s control and then attacked viewers, witnessed said.

All the victims were taken to the Do Son District Hospital for emergency treatment but two of them, with severe wounds, were later transferred to the Viet - Tiep Friendship Hospital for surgery.

Le Van Lien, 47, had some muscles and ligaments in the legs fractured while Bui Van Dong, 33, suffered serious injuries in the bladder, unitary tract, and anus.

The three other victims were discharged from the hospital in the afternoon.

The Vietnam Coal and Minerals Group, which paid insurance for the viewers, have given compensations to the victims, said Hoang Trung Hieu, deputy chairman of the district People’s Committee and head of the organizing board of the event.

Nearly 10,000 people from across the country flocked to Do Son yesterday to enjoy the attractive face-off fights between 32 buffaloes in the qualifying round, Hieu said.

Sixteen winners in the round will enter their final round on September 6, he added.

New allowance for low-income state employees

A minimum allowance of VND250,000 (US$12.1) per month will be granted to employees at state-owned enterprises who have a monthly salary of VND2.2 million ($109) or less.

The allowance is stipulated in Circular 92 recently issued by the Ministry of Finance to guide the implementation of Decision 471 of March 30, 2011 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung concerning the grant of allowances to low-income people.

Accordingly, enterprises are allowed to use their legal financial funds sourced from their after-tax profits to pay for the allowance.

Depending on their financial funds, enterprises can give different allowance levels for their employees but such an allowance must not be less than VND250,000.

The allowance must not be treated as a basis for the calculation of social insurance payments, unemployment and health insurance payments, or trade union fees.

The circular will take effect on August 10, 2011.

Bike thief’s whistleblower faces revenge again

A crime fighter in Binh Duong province who was last week attacked for his whistle-blowing and who was just discharged from hospital Wednesday is now facing a fresh threat from the gang.

Tien told police that some gang members of Tuan ‘dog’ who attacked earlier him had been wandering around in front of his house in An Binh Ward, Di An Town and threatened to exact revenge.

On June 27, Le Tang Tien – an unofficial crime fighter and a motorbike taxi driver by profession - was admitted to hospital after being slashed ruthlessly by Tuan ‘dog’, who wanted to revenge for one of his gang members who had been previously captured by Tien.

Tuan ‘dog’ was arrested after the attack.

Tuan ‘dog’ was yesterday remanded in three-month custody for “intentionally causing injury” to Tien.

Nguyen Hong Truong, head of An Binh police, said he had sent police officers to Tien’s location to protect him from the vengeance.

Earlier, Tien had faced the same threat after he and his fellows informed the police about some alleged motorbike thieves.

But the thieves were immediately set free after their arrest, and Tien was attacked the following day.

Tien is a member of an unofficial crime fighting group in Di An Town, which is formed by some local xe om drivers to help local police bust criminals.

Town vice leader fired over extramarital affair

The vice leader of the Cai Tac town government in Hau Giang province was dismissed from his post yesterday after being busted to have an affair with a married teacher.

Nguyen Thanh Trung, vice chairman of Cai Tac town People’s Committee in Chau Thanh A district also had his probational Communist Party membership delisted.

Trung’s affair with a teacher named M was exposed after M’s husband found out about the adultery.

The decision to dismiss Trung was confirmed by Nguyen Van Be, secretary of the district Party Committee.

30 indicted for robbing doctors after patient’s death

Police yesterday filed charges against 30 people who last week vandalized, looted, and robbed two doctors who - due to their negligence - indirectly caused a rape victim to die in Ca Mau province.

Police said the mob had no family relation with Duong Thi Thu Huyen, the 17-year-old patient who died on June 29 at Nam Can Hospital in Ca Mau.

They only took advantage of the situation to destroy and loot the houses of doctor Nguyen Duy Tu and doctor Tran Thien Thanh - Nam Can hospital’s director - and destroyed their properties on June 30.

Tu was on duty the night Huyen was admitted in an unconscious state, apparently from being brutally raped.

Tu only did a cursory check and announced Huyen was in no danger though she was suffering from a brain trauma. After Huyen died, her relatives put her in a cart and wheeled her body around the hospital in protest.

Investigation found out that the mob was incited by Nguyen Hoang Long, 30, who later confessed he initially called on some residents to bring Huyen’s corpse to the hospital and the doctors’ houses to simply demand compensations.

After damaging the houses, Long attempted to bring Huyen’s body to Ca Mau City to continue the vandalizing but was stopped by river traffic police.

However, the indicted claimed that their acts were to protest against Huyen’s death.

Meanwhile, police have arrest Le Quoc Lo for allegedly raping Huyen on June 27. On July 5, they filed charges against him.
 
CEO seized in million-dollar Galatic land scam

Hanoi police yesterday arrested the chairman and CEO of Hanoi-based Galaxy BSG Vietnam International Trading JSC for setting up a bogus real estate project to sell lands it did not own.

Nguyen Huu Trong, of the Galaxy BSG Vietnam International Trading JSC, in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, was arrested for swindling at least VND29 billion (US$1.41 million).

Besides Trong, 30, the police also arrested Bui Thi Hoa, 44, manager of the ‘project’, and Nguyen Nha Trang, 29, who is Trong’s co-founder of Galaxy BSG and the project designer.

Trang, from Hanoi’s Dong Da District, was indicted in October 2008, but has since been let on bail as she is having a baby under 36 months old.

In addition, Luu Thi Huong, a Galaxy BSG employee, was also detained.

All the four have been indicted, police said.

According to initial investigation, Trong and Trang set up the fake project called “Galatic BSG Upscale Residential Quarter” in the Nam Trung Yen Urban Area and then offered to sell the land for VND80 million ($3,900) per square meter.

To lure buyers, Hoa showed them many counterfeit documents that proved the company owned 5,000 m2 of land in Nam Trung Yen.

Trong even had his staff take potential buyers to the ‘project site’ in Nam Trung Yen.
One of Trong’s victims is Tran D., 55, from Hai Ba Trung District, who paid VND23 billion ($1.12 million) for 4 land plots.

Another victim from Tay Hoa District also paid Trong VND6 billion.

City to build 4,700 social houses by 2015  

The HCM City administration plans to build 4,695 social houses or apartments for Government officials, military officers and soldiers by 2015, a news report has shown.

Under a plan to build social houses and apartment buildings until 2015, the city would clear and hand over land plots to property companies for housing development.

After construction is completed, the city will buy the property at a price equal to the value of the land based on the market price of land plots, according to the VnExpress online newspaper.

The value of the housing on the land will be based on the expense of construction, including costs for site clearance, if any, and the bank interest rate.

When the city buys the completed housing from the companies, it will pay the estimated value of the housing as well as a sum equal to 10 per cent of the total expenses and interest rate.

After the land is allocated, contractors, such as Sai Gon Construction General company and the Sai Gon Real Estate general company, will handle construction.

Businesses investing in social housing projects will be exempted from paying business income tax for four years.

After that, businesses will pay only half of income tax for the next nine years.

According to VnExpress, the city will complete four projects for social houses or apartment buildings this year on a total area of 1,746 ha with construction area of 69,300 sq. metres, equivalent to 800 apartments.

As of the end of last year, the city developed six projects with 2,800 apartments in Districts 8, 10 and Tan Binh, Thu Duc and Binh Tan Districts, all of which have not been completed.

Seventeen projects for social apartments with a total of 6,100 apartments (50-square metre-large) have been approved and are about to be developed.

These projects are located in districts 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 and Thu Duc, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and Binh Chanh districts.

The biggest challenge of the plan to build social houses or apartments is a lack of capital, according to the city's Department of Construction.

Many businesses are not interested in investing in the projects as the possibility to recover capital is not high. It takes some projects about 40 years to recover the capital, said VnExpress.

Foreign airline rule on passengers postponed

The implementation of Decree 27/2011/ND-CP, requiring foreign airlines to provide information regarding passengers and crew before flying to Viet Nam, was postponed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday.

The postponement followed a proposal by the Ministry of Public Security to first develop efficient data systems in order to deal with information effectively.

Similar regulations have been in operation in various foreign countries for some time already.

Intellectual property cases prosecuted

More than 260 intellectual property cases have been handled in the central city of Da Nang with total fines amounting to about VND1 billion (US$48,000) over the past five years, according to deputy director of the provincial Department of Science and Technology Huynh Van Ngo. Violations relating to trademarks and industrial designs constituted the majority of cases, involving clothes, electric household devices, cosmetics and wines, Ngo added.

The city has enhanced the protection of intellectual property rights and raised awareness locally, said vice chairman of the city's People's Committee Phung

Uprooted tree injures 2 people

A tree at the intersection of Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street and Mai Thi Luu Street in HCM City's District 1 was suddently uprooted early Thursday morning, falling onto an electricity pole standing opposite, which collapsed in turn and injured two people. The accident happened at 5am when many people do their morning exercises in the area. Traffic congestion occurred for hours afterward.

Relevant authorities came to remove the tree and the pole.

Training for fishermen

Fishermen in the coastal Binh Thuan Province will be provided with training, aimed at enhancing their capacity to deal with risks when going to sea, according to Huynh Quang Huy, director of the Department of Aquaculture.

The training will explain new policies of the Government as well as natural disaster prevention and how to contact the mainland in case of an emergency.

The department planned to hold about 50 training classes this year, Huynh said.

There are about 9,000 fishing boats in the province.

Construction of quay on West Lake halted

Construction of a quay the West Lake area of Ha Noi has been postponed in order to reconsider the quay's scale and complete the legal procedures, according to the Tay Ho District People's Committee.

The quay was designed to be 2 ha in area, but experts agreed that there was no need to build such a big quay of 2 ha in the lake.

Two men choke to death at pub fire

Two men choked to death in a fire that destroyed the EZ Bar on Ma May Street in the Hoan Kiem District' of Ha Noi on Thursday afternoon. The blaze was reported to start on the third floor of the bar, where workers were welding an iron frame, and it then destroyed the whole pub of 200 sq.m.

Six fire engines were mobilised and it took fire-fighters nearly three hours to stamp out the blaze.

US businesses help community projects

Representatives from eight organisations in HCM City and neighbouring provinces whose projects benefit the community and disadvantaged children received a donation of US$30,520 from the American business community during a ceremony yesterday.

The annual donation made by the American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam is to support projects on education, improve health and wellness, and develop living skills and working capabilities for the disadvantaged.
 
Uphold ban on offices in apartments, Ministry told

The HCM City Department of Construction has urged the Ministry of Construction not to lift a ban on using flats as offices, saying it is infeasible, inappropriate, and impacts buildings.

It said that the permitted load for apartments is 200 kilos per square metre while for offices it is 300-400 kilos.

Therefore, lifting the ban and allowing flats to be used as offices would increase the load on buildings, jeopardising their safety.

It would also have an effect on fire prevention and control, the life span of buildings, and parking space, it said.

The ministry is drafting a circular stipulating conditions to be fulfilled for setting up offices in apartments.

One of the procedures will be getting approval from two-thirds of other tenants in the block and all tenants on the floor.

Food colouring risks to be publicised

The Ministry of Health must declare the use of tartrazine, a bright orange-yellow powder used in food colouring, a risk to consumers in Viet Nam, health experts said.

The statement followed a local press report on the chemical popularly used in instant noodles, beverages, dried fruits and some other foods. The chemical was found to lead to hyperactive disorders in children and adverse effects on male potency.

Ph D Le Duc Manh, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Food Industry Research Institute said that tartrazine, also known as E102, has been used in food colouring, cosmetics and medications in Viet Nam.

Additionally, local press reported that the chemical has been popular in many types of instant noodles. The Euromonitor International Market Research Group showed in April that about 5 billion of packs of instant noodles were consumed in 2010 in Viet Nam. The market growth of the noodles has been rising between 15 and 20 per cent annually, which would raise the consumption to 10 billion packs by 2015.

"There is a high risk to consumer health if information about the chemical is withheld," he said.

According to Manh, once the UK's University of Southampton proved the chemical's bad effects on children, European countries and the US recommended the labelling of tartrazine levels on all products. Japan even banned the chemical in instant noodle production.

Do Huu Tuan, head of the Viet Nam Food Administration's management and testing unit under the Ministry of Health, said that the World Health Organisation and EU Scientific Committee for Food agreed the acceptable daily intake of tartrazine was under 7.5mg per kilo of weight per day.

In Viet Nam, he said, tartrazine has been allowed in 26 different kinds of food. Many enterprises preferred the chemical to natural food colourants due to lower cost.

An enterprise can save about VND100 ($0.005) per pack of instant noodle if using tartrazine.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Dietary Supplements Tran Dang said tartrazine can cause allergies in those sensitive to aspirin. In America, about 10,000 patients were reportedly sensitive to aspirin on average, but there has been no such study in Viet Nam.

Health experts suggested that the Ministry of Health should study and give specific information about the chemical to consumers, including the levels of tartrazine in each kind of food.

Consumers who doubted the quality of their food can send samples to the Food Industries Research Institute for further tests, they said.

The Viet Nam Standard-Measurement and Consumer Protection Association will send legal documents to propose that the ministry take tartrazine out of food colorants in Viet Nam in the future.

Pilot plan tackles beggar problem, child exploitation

In an aim to rid the streets of beggars in HCM City by 2015, the city's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is continuing to work with authorities to implement several measures.

More police monitoring is occurring at several areas, including Hang Xanh Crossroads in Binh Thanh District, roads to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Tan Binh District, and 23/9 Park in District 1.

If beggars are found in these areas, they are picked up and taken to social protection centres.

There, they learn about residential laws and labour and children rights, and are given help to return to their hometown if they came from other provinces.

The social sponsorship office said the centres had taken in 7,316 beggars in the last two years, with 7,017 coming from other provinces.

The department often co-operates with People's Committees in city's districts to impose heavy fines on people who use children to beg for them.

The city police also should plan to publicly render judgments about violations on the street to give a clear warning to other residents about the exploitation of children as beggars.

This year, the department has been implementing a pilot programme that will help stem the flow of beggars from other provinces to HCM City.

The programme is being implemented by the departments of labour, invalids and social affairs in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien-Hue, Phu Yen, An Giang and Long An.

Under the programme, the city-based Viet Nam Women's Union will also create or find stable jobs for members of poor families and prevent their children from begging on streets.

Overseas Vietnamese visit homeland
 
While it will not be the first time that Jimie Luong has travelled to Viet Nam, it will certainly be his longest and most special trip to date.

Born and bred in London as part of a Vietnamese immigrant family, Luong has set off on a three-week long trip to Viet Nam along with 150 other young overseas Vietnamese.

"I feel very lucky to have been chosen for this trip. It's a unique opportunity to meet other overseas Vietnamese. We can learn a lot from each other," Luong said in fluent Vietnamese.

During the trip, annually organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese since 2003, Luong and his fellow travellers will be visiting both scenic and historic sites including the Hung King Palace in northern Phu Tho Province, Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province, the historic Dong Loc Cross-road in Ha Tinh and Son My in Quang Ngai Province.

Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, said that this year's event would include more opportunities for overseas Vietnamese participants to interact with local youth.

"During their trip, participants will experience a fast changing Viet Nam while meeting people who have greatly contributed to the country's development and independence," Son said.

The trip, entitled "Following the example of Ly Tu Trong" after the young revolutionary activist born to a Viet kieu family in Thailand in 1914, will end on July 27 in southern Dong Nai Province.

Hong Dang, 16, said that before leaving her home in Moscow to join the trip, she had never heard of Ly Tu Trong, including most of the historic places the group would be visiting.

"I personally think overseas Vietnamese like us need to learn more about our culture, language and people in order to appreciate our roots," Dang said.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, an official from the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, said that those who are interested in participating in the annual summer trip, could apply to the foreign ministry's overseas representatives for eligibility, adding that they could also email traihevietnam.ubnv@gmail.com for more information.

President proud of resolute AO victims
 
Taking care of Agent Orange victims, particularly children, is the responsibility of the Party and Government, President Nguyen Minh Triet told residents staying at the Hoa Binh Village under Tu Du hospital in HCM City yesterday.

Triet was deeply moved and very proud of the young dioxin victims' self esteem and high motivation in overcoming their poor health, achieving good marks in school and integrating into society.

"What you have been doing is a demonstration of the will, talent and strength of the Vietnamese nation," Triet said.

He reiterated the nation's resolve to bring justice to the dioxin victims.

"Our struggle has, step by step, received support internationally from progressive people, including Americans," he added.

During his stay in the village, the president was full of praise for the great efforts of the care-takers of village residents, including doctors and nurses and teachers.

"You have done a great job, not only in providing health care to victims, but also enriching their lives. The village is the children's cosy home, in which they have enjoyed the love and happiness of a big family," said Triet.

The Hoa Binh Village-Tu Du hospital is one of the 13 Hoa Binh villages in Viet Nam established in 1989 with the Oberhausen International Peace Village's fund from the Federal Republic of Germany.

Presently, there are 60 dioxin victims from new born to 30 years old staying in the village. The village is additionally educating and treating 100 non-resident children.

Since its establishment, quite a few of the village's former residents have experienced great success. Some have gained medals at national and international sports tournaments, while many are university graduates with stable jobs.

During his visit, President Nguyen Minh Triet went to the Tu Du Obsterics & Gynecology hospital. Its quality performance, particularly the use of technology in treatment, impressed him.

Tu Du hospital is one of the pioneer hospitals in the country to successfully use in vitro fertilisation for couples unable to naturally have children.

To acknowledge the great contributions to public health, the Vietnamese Government twice awarded the hospital the title "Hero Unit".

The Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin received the Labour Medal, Second Class in recognition of its achievements in disseminating information and mobilising, caring for and supporting Agent Orange/dioxin victims over the past years.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien presented the award to the association at its 2nd national meeting in Ha Noi yesterday.

The event formed part of a series of activities held in commemoration of the 50th year since Agent Orange/dioxin was first sprayed in southern Viet Nam.

Speaking at the ceremony, Kien said that the pain of Agent Orange victims was shared by the whole nation. The Party and Government were currently drawing up policies to care for, support and improve the health and lives of those affected, he stressed.

President Nguyen Minh Triet sent flowers and a letter to the association as part of well wishes. In his letter, the President praised Agent Orange victims for their strong will in overcoming difficulties and hardships in integrating back into their communities.

To date the association has been able to mobilise more than VND223 billion (US$10.6 million) from donors in and outside of the country in support of victims.

Earlier, the Prime Minister awarded certificates of merit in recognition of the efforts of victims, organisations and individuals in dealing with the aftermath of Agent Orange.

Support needed to bring green shopping campaign into life  

The trend of green consumption promoted at a Ho Chi Minh City major retailer has gained results but it needs better support from multiple forces to really change the public’s shopping habit, a retailer leader said.

The green consumption campaign, initiated by Saigon Co.op supermarket chain, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the city Department of Industry and Trade and the Saigon Giai Phong newspaper in 2010, has attracted a large number of participants.

It promotes products from businesses that have committed to protecting the environment, including Co.opMart, P&G, Unilever, Vinamilk, Colgate, Palmolive, Colusa, Miliket and FrieslandCampina. Their products would be labeled “green.”

Many programs have been carried out in this year one-month campaign that ended July 3, including discounts on fresh foods and 300,000 free consumption tickets worth VND10,000 each every day.

The campaign was joined by more than 7,000 volunteers, raising the sales of green products at the supermarket by more than 50 percent from days outside the campaign, the supermarket said.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op supermarket, told Saigon Giai Phong during a recent interview that “[the sale increase] proves that the environment protection awareness has been aroused from the public.”

Nhan said the campaign encourages people to choose products that is better for their health and the environment.

The campaign has been successful with the support of the city government, media agencies and the volunteers, he said.

“But the key factor making the success is the support of the consumers.

“Through the campaign, the residents have performed their right: using green products,” Nhan said.

Yet he said the government, media agencies, businesses and distributors should cooperate more to make using green products a daily habit of people.

Nhan recommended the establishment of some “green ambassadors” to better develop the campaign in various forms.

According to the Saigon Co.op representative, the green consumption tendency requires businesses to invest in sustainable development, and be responsible of protecting the environment.

“If they turn their back to the community, they will get the consequences,” Nhan said.

He said the supermarket will continue to help the green consumption campaign have more and better impacts on people’s shopping habit, making them think more of the environment.

The supermarket will create more opportunities for green businesses to develop, including promoting their images, offering discounts on their products and giving more space for them.

Fishermen shy away from insurance
 
Few fishermen in the central coastal provinces have shown interest in buying insurance for their lives or their vessels, largely due to the lack of a completed payment system.

Department of Aquatic Resources Protection deputy director Phung Dinh Toan told Viet Nam News that only 20 per cent of fishing boat owners in central Quang Ngai Province - one of five localities with the highest number of fishing vessels - have purchased insurance so far this year.

Complicated procedures to receive compensation from insurance agencies when fishermen were in distress at sea have been blamed for their lack of interest, said Toan.

"Normally, fishermen don't buy insurance unless they are forced to do so," said Toan.

It is estimated that the province now has 5,600 fishing vessels, one-third of which are for offshore fishing.

The Government to committed to subsidise gasoline for fishermen if they bought insurance, which had a small effect, but even in 2008, the year with the highest reported number of fishermen to buy insurance, only 20,000 fishermen and 40 per cent of vessels were guaranteed.

Despite this move, the numbers have continued to decline steadily for the past two years, with only 5,000 fishermen and 600 vessels buying insurance last year.

The same situation has also occurred in central Da Nang City.

It costs a maximum of VND10 million (US$487) to buy insurance for a fishing vessel and VND80,000 ($4) to buy life insurance for a fisherman each year.

If accidents occur, insurance agencies will pay 50 per cent of value of the vessels and at least VND10 million ($487) for each fishermen.

Though local fishermen acknowledged that buying insurance would secure them from suffering serious losses at sea, they find it problematic to receive compensation.

"The fishermen normally have to wait for a long time before insurance agencies confirm accidents' locations, and so payment is always late," said director of the Da Nang City Department of Aquatic Resources Protection Nguyen Do Tam.

Ho Van Tinh, a local fisherman of Son Tra District said the insurance agency promised to pay him next year because they could not confirm the exact location where he recently got in an accident catching cuttlefish near Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

General Secretary of the Viet Nam Insurance Association Phung Dac Loc said not only do fishermen shy away from buying insurance but insurance agencies also fear paying insurance relating to fishermen.

Insurance agencies fail to manage the fishing vessels that buy insurance from them, and they don't know the quality of the vessels or how much they are worth, Loc said.

In addition, insurance agencies find it difficult to confirm places where fishing vessels were in distress at sea because the fishermen catch fish in large areas, he said.

To effectively solve this problem, it is necessary for authorities at the local level to participate, he said.

A detailed programme for offshore fishing vessels needs to be set up and fishermen are expected to catch fish in groups for insurance agencies to easily manage them in the future, Loc said.

Japan to receive more Vietnamese skilled workers

The Japan International Manpower Development Organisation (IMM Japan) plans to loosen their requirements for receiving Vietnamese skilled workers for their refresher course in the country, said the Jiji Press on July 7.

Between 2006-2010 IMM Japan each year chose 100-200 Vietnamese trainees who are under 25 years old, but as of July 2011 the organisation will lift the eligible age to 30 and select 300 trainees, following the proposal from the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

IMM Japan will train human resources for the first Vietnamese nuclear power plant, scheduled to be built in the southern province of Ninh Thuan.

The organisation also wants to receive around 1,000 workers from the province annually.

Hanoi to build first 1,000-bed general hospital

The Hanoi City People’s Committee is carrying out procedures for speeding up the construction of the first 1,000-bed general hospital in the outlying district of Me Linh to reduce pressure on the city’s major hospitals.

At a meeting in Hanoi on July 6, Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Khoi asked the Department of Construction to quickly establish a working group in charge of bidding with representatives from relevant departments and agencies.

Covering an area of 17 hectares, the project is divided into two phases at an estimated cost of US$159 million, with 500 beds in the first phase to be ready in three years. The second phase will start in 2015.

Vietnam, Japan localities cooperate in environment

Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and Osaka city of Japan have agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in economics, environment and water management following their memorandum of understanding for the 2011-2015 period.

Under the MoU, signed in HCM City on July 7 by Deputy Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai and Osaka Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu, the two sides will share experiences and seek cooperation opportunities for projects on environment protection, water supply, flood mitigation, liquid waste treatment and solid waste management, as well as cooperation in human resources.

Deputy Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai spoke highly of cooperation between Vietnam and Japan as well as between localities of the two countries.

He stressed the city’s need to cooperate with foreign partners, including those from Japan, to address issues it is facing such as traffic congestion, flooding and environmental pollution.

Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu affirmed Osaka’s willingness to cooperate and help HCM City with flooding issues and environment protection.

He said he believes in further development in cooperation between the two cities, saying that they should promote cooperation in other fields apart from flood mitigation, water supply, environment and transport.

Central Pediatrics Hospital upgraded

A ground-breaking ceremony for the project to upgrade the Central Pediatrics Hospital was held in Hanoi on July 9.

The new hospital will be a 15-storey building with a basement and space for 700 beds. The total investment for the hospital is more than VND1,500 billion. At the same time, the hospital is also purchasing modern equipment to meet the requirements for accurate health check-ups.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu emphasized that when the project is completed, the Central Pediatrics Hospital will be a specialized hospital with modern, state of heart synchronized facilities.

The quality of patient check-ups and treatment will meet the strict standards of countries in the region and help develop a spearhead health industry that will save more lives.

Mr Trieu also asked leaders from the hospital and the project management board to implement the construction so it will not disrupt the on-going current patient treatment.

He added that in addition to purchasing new equipment, it is necessary to further train health workers to improve the quality of check-ups once the hospital is put into operation.

Vietsovpetro’s founding anniversary marked in Russia

A ceremony to mark the 30th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Russia Oil and Gas Joint Stock Company (Vietsovpetro) was held in Moscow on July 7.

Attending the ceremony were Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Pham Xuan Son, Chief Representative of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (SNG) Tran Ngoc Son, Deputy General Director of Russia ’s Zarubezhneft oil and gas group A. P. Kovalenko and President of the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association Vladimir Buiyanov.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Son and the Russian delegates highlighted the traditional friendship and long-lasting and effective strategic partnership-cooperation between Vietnam and Russia, the typical examples of which are the Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro, a joint venture between Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam.

They expressed wish that the relations between the two countries will further develop in the future.

Earlier, the delegates laid flowers at the Statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Moscow.