Strong cold spell to hit northern region


A strong cold spell is moving southward and will hit the northern and central provinces of Viet Nam tomorrow morning, according to National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The cold spell will bring rain and thunderstorms. Winds will increase to Level 4 in inland areas, Level 5 in coastal areas and Level 7-8 in the north and central of East Sea including Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.

The wind power ranges from Level 0 ( less than 1km per hour on sea) to Level 12 (118-132km per hour).


Over 5,100 sets of volunteers’ remains repatriated from Cambodia


Photo: VNA
Over 5,100 sets of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts have been repatriated from Cambodia during the 2001-2011 period.

The figure was released at a meeting in Phnom Penh on March 12 to review 10 years of the search for remains of fallen Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts who laid down their lives during the war in Cambodia.

During the 10-year period, search teams have completed a large volume of work thanks to their active cooperation and coordination with Cambodian localities under an agreement signed between the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments on August 28, 2000.

Vietnam’s Military Zone 9 said it is in charge of searching for the remains of some 8,500 fallen Vietnamese soldiers in 10 Cambodian provinces. In 2011, the zone will continue the work, especially in such provinces as Kandal, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Cham.

Between 2012 and 2015, the zone’s search teams will search and gather remains of Vietnamese martyrs in all remaining areas.


Swine flu cases up, no epidemic threat: official


There is no threat of a swine flu outbreak although several A/H1N1 infections have been reported recently, a senior HCM City health official has said.

Le Truong Giang, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health, said at a meeting of health officials last Friday that the city would initiate a series of activities to prevent A/H1N1 infections following the recent surge, with one death being confirmed last week.

The measures aimed to enhance the capacity of health officials as well as public awareness of prevention and control measures for various kinds of flu, including that caused by the A/H1N1 virus, he said.

The department would work with the city's Department of Education and Training to inspect prevention and control measures being implemented at schools, particularly boarding schools, he added.

Meanwhile, incidence of the hand, foot and mouth disease among children has increased since the beginning of this month, with around 40 cases reported in the first week, according to Nguyen Dac Tho, deputy director of the municipal Preventive Medicine Centre.

The upward trend looked set to continue in the coming weeks, he added.

The city also recorded more than 2,300 cases of dengue fever infection over the first two months of the year, a two-fold increase over the same period last year. In February alone, 838 cases were recorded compared to 420 reported in the same period last year, Tho said.


Vietnam, Slovakia bolster friendship


The Vietnam-Slovakia Friendship Association (VSFA) on March 12 convened its second national congress for the 2011-2015 term.

Addressing the congress, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Tran Dac Loi applauded the achievements and efforts VSFA and its member organisations have recorded over the years.

He expressed his hope that the organisation will proactively seek new partners and friends and boost the exchange of culture, economics and education.

The congress elected a new 25-member executive board headed by Doan Duy Khuong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

During the 2005-2010 term, VSFA had organised seminars and many other activities to strengthen on economic cooperation and traditional friendship between the two countries’ people.


Last flight carrying Vietnamese labourers back home


A Vietnam Airline flight carrying 292 Vietnamese labourers from Algeria arrived in Vietnam on March 13, bringing the total number of labourers returned home to 9,087.

These labourers were working near the Libya-Algeria border, far from Algerian capital city and the Vietnamese embassy could not hire a plane from there. Therefore, Vietnam Airlines, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, sent a special plane to the country to bring them all home.

After a long journey, Vu Duc Trieu from Nam Dinh said while sheltering in Algeria, the Vietnamese workers received assistance from their employers and especially the Vietnamese embassy in the country.

More than 1,000 labourers are also being brought home by sea.


Conference hopes to promote Buddhist teachings to youth


A four-day conference to discuss ways to promote Buddhist teachings held in the southern province of Binh Duong wrapped up yesterday.

Buddhist clergy nationwide agreed to focus on promoting Buddhist values to young Buddhists and young people, promoting Buddhism among overseas Vietnamese communities, disseminating Buddhist teachings in remote and ethnic areas and more effectively undertaking charitable activities.

The conference, entitled "Buddhism with the People", organised by the Buddhist Sangha, also discussed issues relating to the involvement of Buddhists in environmental protection, Buddhism development in the integration period, and charitable work.

Organisers presented 100 houses to needy people and donated bicycles to poor school children worth more than VND10 billion (US$455,000). Fifteen poor children also benefited from heart surgery with funding provided by Buddhists.

A requiem and a prayer for happiness and a street procession to promote Buddhist solutions to environmental threats were also elements of the conference.

The Viet Nam Guinness Book of Records (Vietbooks) recognised the conference as the largest meeting of religious believers in the country.

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Volunteer scientists aid workers


Eighty young scientists from HCM City's universities and research centres yesterday, March 13, began a volunteer campaign to help farmers and workers apply modern technology in daily life and production.

The new volunteer programme is expected to provide science and technology support to 4,000 people by early next month. The scientists will kick off a second programme in summer.

The volunteers will organise courses and consulting programmes in several areas including psychology, agriculture, information technology and law.

Doan Kim Thanh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union's Youth Science and Technology Development Centre, said: "After this campaign, I hope young scientists who are studying and researching abroad will return and join this programme."

"This is a practical programme which should be popularised among the youth. The union should be more active and work to develop more playground and entertainment options for youngsters," said Ly Quoc Bao, a third year student of Ton Duc Thang University.

Nguyen Cong Tinh, director of the centre, said this was the second time the union was organising the programme, hoping to apply knowledge and skills of the youth in real life and contribute to the city's development.

He hoped that during their volunteer work, the young scientists would discover more research topics involving real-life issues that city residents face.


Waste land in Da Nang cleaned


The central city of Da Nang began a campaign yesterday to clear waste ground being used as rubbish dumps.

At present, some 3,000 empty lots remain unused, mainly in the districts of Hai Chau and Thanh Khe.

The municipal People's Committee asked local authorities and land owners to clean the abandoned lots but few had complied.

About 230 workers food poisoned


Nearly 230 Hong Fu Shoe Company workers in the central province of Thanh Hoa were hospitalised on Saturday afternoon suffering from food poisoning after lunch, said the provincial Health Department director Hoang Sy Binh.

Some workers had complained about the quality of the food to the company manager, but their warnings had been ignored.

The meals were supplied through a local caterer in nearby Tao Xuyen Town, Hoang Hoa District.


Food samples are currently under analysis.

Truck collides with coach, killing 2


Two people died and 20 others were injured after their coach collided with a 40-feet container truck early yesterday morning on HCM City's East-West Boulevard in District 5.

The truck reportedly veered across several lanes and crashed into the coach that was carrying 29 people on a religious trip from the southern province of Long An to Dong Nai Province.

All the passengers were hospitalised, including three children, eight people suffering from head injuries, and nine with broken limbs.


Viet Nam to face fresh water shortages by 2050


As many as 8.4 million Vietnamese people would suffer from clean water shortages by 2050 because of climate change, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Viet Nam is one of the five countries most seriously affected by climate change. Millions of hectares of land would be flooded and dozens of millions of residents would lose their houses as sea water rises, said experts from the bank.

The effects of climate change has been affecting water levels in both rural and urban areas. In recent years, water levels in the Mekong River have risen by 41 per cent in the rainy season, but dropped by 24 per cent in the dry season.

More than 70 per cent of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is saline, with concentration levels of more than four grammes of salt per litre of water.

Due to rising sea levels, up to 0.3-0.5 million hectares of land in the Red River Delta, 0.4 million hectares in Central areas and 1.5-2 million hectares of land in the Mekong Delta would be flooded, the bank warned.


Three die as motorbike collides with coach


Three people from the central province of Ninh Thuan's Thuan Nam District died after their motorbike was crushed by a coach on National Highway No1 on Saturday night.

The coach, carrying over 50 passengers, hit the motorbike head-on.

Local authorities are investigating the case.

HCM City architecture students win scholarships


The US-based Kohler Co and the local Sai Gon Rita Co last Friday gave away scholarships worth VND5 million (US$250) each, equivalent to a year's tuition fee, to 60 students of the HCM City University of Architecture.

The beneficiaries were chosen based on their academic results, achievements in scientific research, or prizes they have got from school or the Ministry of Education and Training.


VNN/VOV/VNS