Readers donate VND17b to islands

Readers across the country have donated VND17 billion (US$83,000) to a fund run by Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper since May to support Vietnamese people on the Truong Sa (Sparty) archipelago.

A representative from the newspaper reported that they also received money and goods that would be spent to upgrade a medical centre, wind power station and other facilities in the Truong Sa island district.

The newspaper also organised activities on Saturday for readers, including young people, to meet and find out more about the life of soldiers on the islands.

One dead in bridge collapse in An Giang

A motorbike driver fell down to a river in Tri Ton District, southern An Giang Province and died when Bridge No. 15 spanning the river collapsed under the weight of an overloaded truck Saturday afternoon.

The scene of the collapsed bridge in An Giang Province, which killed a people on Saturday.  (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Besides the truck, a motorbike and two bicycles were also traveling on the bridge at that time. The four vehicles fell down to the river when the bride collapsed and the driver of the motorbike was stuck under the truck and could not survive.

The truck driver and two students who had been riding their bicycles were rescued in time by local residents and taken to hospital for emergency treatment.

Nguyen Thanh Tam, director of the provincial Transport Department, said rescuers were finding way to get the body of motorbike driver out of under the truck in the river bed.

The bridge collapse cut off the route between Tri Ton District and Long Xuyen City and thousands of people had to cross the river by hiring motorboats of local residents.

The local police are investigating the accident.

Recently, overloaded trucks also caused the collapse of two other bridges: Muong Lo in southern Tien Giang Province and Binh Cach that linked Tien Giang and Long An Province.

Gia Lai leaders receive Vatican non-resident representative

The Vatican’s non-resident representative to Vietnam, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, was received by leaders of the Gia Lai provincial People’s Committee on September 10 along with the Archbishop of the Kon Tum Archdiocese, Hoang Duc Oanh.

At the reception, Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai provincial People’s Committee, Dao Xuan Lien, said that over the years, the local administration has created the best possible conditions for parishioners to practice their religion according to the law.

The central highland province of Gia Lai has maintained close relations with dignitaries to help religious followers enjoy a stable life.

The Vice Chairman said he hopes all local parishioners will continue living according to the Gospel serving God, the fatherland, and the nation, and participating in social welfare programs to build Gia Lai into a prosperous province.

Archbishop Girelli thanked the Gia Lai authorities for facilitating local religious activities while affirming that he, together with the other priests, will encourage Catholics to make greater contributions to the province.

“My presence represents the good relations between Catholics, non-Catholics and the local authorities, offering the local administration a chance to develop a good relationship with the Catholic Church,” said Archbishop Girelli.

Floods claim 4 lives in south

Over the past few days, prolonged downpours have caused flooding in several central and southern provinces, affecting local people's lives and near-harvested farm produce.

Flood-waters from upstream An Phu District in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang has claimed at least four lives, damaged some residential property and over 117ha of rice and subsidiary crops, according to the provincial storm and flood control department.

A district emergency meeting was held yesterday to draw up measures to mitigate further loss.

Binh Thuan Province, in the southern central region, reported that heavy rain had inundated 175 houses, nearly 1,200ha of rice and nearly 500ha of crops such as dragon fruit, rubber and cashew trees as of yesterday afternoon.

Some riverside areas in Ham Thuan Nam and Ham Tan districts, were still submerged.

Rainfall, gauged at up to 500m in central Thanh Hoa Province, caused the flooding of over 5,000ha of rice crops, with Tinh Gia District being the hardest hit.

Chief Officer of the provincial storm and flood control department Nguyen Trong Hai said that water levels at some reservoirs had risen alarmingly high, necessitating discharge.

In northern Lao Cai Province, due to heavy rains, four farmers from Duong Quy Commune, Van Ban District, though struck by lightening while sleeping in a cardamom field on Saturday morning, narrowly escaped death despite injuries.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Metorological Forecasting, rainfall in central provinces was measured at 100-250m on average, requiring precautions against flash and heavy flooding.

The water levels of rivers in Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh were forecast to rise today.

In another development, authorities in central Quang Ngai Province yesterday rejected a rumour saying that a tsunami had hit the Ly Son Island District on Saturday night, causing local residents to seek shelter on the mountain.

The district administration had to use local radio to call people back home.

Highway project makes headway

Good progress has been made in construction work on the HCM City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay highway after nearly two years, according to the project management board.

Work has been underway on six of seven construction bidding packages of the 55-kilometre highway, the board said.

Le Cao Hien, deputy head of the board, said the highway would be completed by 2013, shortening the distance between HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and other south-eastern provinces. The US$932 million project will shorten the journey from HCM City to Ba Ria – Vung Tau by 20 kilometres.

The highway will also link with the Long Thanh International Airport scheduled to be built in Dong Nai by 2015.

The highway is part of the Sai Gon – Tay Nguyen – Ha Noi route.

Deputy Minister of Transport Ngo Thinh Duc said the completion of the HCM City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay highway was an urgent requirement to meet the rapidly increasing demand for transportation in the region.

The new highway would link three major economic centres in southern region – HCM City, Dong Nai and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. It would help HCM City's East – West Highway and Phu My Bridge become more effective, Duc said.

The HCM City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay highway project is part of the North-South highway system, passing through HCM City's districts 2 and 9 and Dong Nai Province's Long Thanh, Nhon Trach, Cam My, Thong Nhat districts.

The highway's starting point is the intersection of Luong Dinh Cua Street and the East-West Highway in HCM City's District 2. It ends at about 2.7 kilometres from the Dau Giay T-junction in Dong Nai Province.

The highway will allow vehicles to travel at 120 kilometres per hour. After the first phase is completed, the four-lane road will be opened to traffic next year.

In the second phase, its width will be expanded to 42.5 metres with eight lanes.

The project receives funding through loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency ($516 million), Asian Development Bank ($410 million) and the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation ($5.7 million ).

Can Tho property developers grumble about red tape

Acceptance for the completion of the project on a residential area in Can Tho required 3,000 official stamps and signatures each, executives from the affected company complained at a seminar held in the city last Saturday.

They had to go to a dozen agencies for approval for the completion of Hung Phu Residential Project, they said at the seminar titled “Impediments to investors in real estate projects” held by the Can Tho City Real Estate Association and attended by senior city officials.

Another property developer said land had to be handed over to an investor within 10 days after the land allocation decision is made by local authorities, but in some cases it had taken four years.

Some developers complained about the constant changes in policies that caused a lot of difficulties in implementing their projects, the complicated regulations on land rental and use fees, and cumbersome administrative procedures.

Many wanted bank lending interest rates lowered.

They urged the city authorities to address all these issues, taking them up with the central government if required.

The seminar was also attended by officials from the Vietnam Real Estate Association and delegates from around the Mekong Delta.

Tsunami rumor again in Quang Ngai, people flee

For the second time this year Saturday, residents in Quang Ngai Province – this time on Ly Son Island – fled their homes and sought refuge in high places following a rumor that a tsunami was imminent.

Thousands went up a mountain and buildings until Sunday when local authorities assured them it was just a rumor.

“We confirmed through the radio and loudspeaker system that the tsunami information was just a groundless rumor and advised all of them to return home,” Vo Xuan Huyen, secretary of the island district party committee, said.

Local authorities had also sent staff to many areas to personally talk to people, but it was not until 4 am Sunday that they agreed to return, he said.

The police have launched an investigation to identify the source of the rumor.

Residents told the police that at around 8 pm Saturday, fishermen working in the sea off Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spartly) Islands informed their families in the island’s An Hai Commune that a tsunami might hit Ly Son soon.

At the same time, some others also claimed to have seen a warning on television and the Internet.

The rumor raged through the island and people believed it easily since at the same time the sky began darkening and heavy rain and strong winds lashed the island.

Thousands rushed to buy food before heading upward.

In March 6,000 families in Binh Son District fled to the top of the Dong Tranh Mountain following a tsunami rumor.

Province water supply upgrade to cost $7.5m

Safe water supplies and sanitation are to be improved for 60,000 people in northern mountainous Ha Giang Province at a cost of VND150 billion (US$7.5 million), the Government has announced.

The funds would come from the Government budget as part of the rural safe water supply and sanitation programme, provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development deputy director Hoang Van Đế saidá.

More than 300 water supplies and sanitation works would be built or upgraded, raising the rate of safe water users in rural areas to 75.7 per cent by 2015.

Traffic officers suspended in Da Nang, Quang Binh

Following Tuoi Tre’s articles about extortion cases among traffic policemen in central provinces, the police departments of Da Nang City and Quang Binh Province have suspended 15 officers for the offense.

These policemen were found demanding and receiving fees from truck drivers who violated traffic rules such as overloading, speeding, and driving on the wrong lanes.

In Da Nang, 5 policemen of the Hoa Phuoc traffic police station, including the head and deputy head of the station, were suspended yesterday for their extortion acts on July 31, said the Da Nang Traffic Police Division.

These officers have been requested to submit reports about their offenses and would be disciplined by the city’s Police Department.

In Quang Binh, 10 traffic officers of two patrol teams have also been suspended after Tuoi Tre exposed the widespread acts, said Colonel Nguyen Quoc Tuong, head of the Traffic Police Division of the provincial Police Department.

In its articles, Tuoi Tre reported that a number of traffic police officers in several central provinces and cities, including Da Nang and Quang Binh, had demanded fees ranging from hundreds of thousands of dongs to VND12 million (US$576) from truck drivers who violated traffic rules.

On September 6, the Ministry of Public Security ordered the police departments of Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang to investigate these extortion cases and report to the ministry before September 12.

New rule requires organ donors to have HIV tests

The Ministry of Health has for the first time requested the compulsory application of HIV tests, to take effect on October 30.

The new regulation will follow the Law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control issued in 2007.

"Being a delicate issue, it took some time to draw up efficient application procedures," said Hoang Dinh Canh, deputy head of HIV/AIDS Supervision under the Ministry of Health's Viet Nam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control.

The new regulation additionally focuses on viscera donation, donors and recipients of tissue and organs, sperm, ovule and embryo as well as patients who had received clinical examinations, but showed no signs of illness or HIV contraction, he added.

Test fees are set to be covered by either recipients or medical insurance schemes in cases of donation.

By March this year, more than 235,500 people have been identified as living with HIV in Viet Nam, some 94,600 of which had already contracted AIDS while nearly 50,000 had died, according to the Viet Nam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control.

At present, Vietnamese people living with HIV/AIDS are still widely stigmatised.

AIDS orphan children receive mid-autumn gifts

More than 200 AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children from Hai Phong City were handed presents by the Centre for Community Health and Development and Standard Chartered Bank during the mid-autumn festival yesterday, Sep 11.

Amidst festive performances, each child was presented with a gift of VND250,000 ($12), out of a total of US$2,500, throughout city districts.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre