Vietnamese-funded high school inaugurated in Laos

A VND68 billion high school, using non-refundable aid from Vietnam’s Vinh Phuc province, was handed to Luang Namtha province on August 13.

The school, built on three hectares, has a four-storey building for classrooms, a multipurpose building, a two-storey administration building, a library and a car park.

At the ceremony, Vinh Phuc provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Quang Hong, reviewed mutual assistance and cooperation between the twin provinces of Vinh Phuc and Luang Namtha over the years, and said the construction of the school is a practical commemoration of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2012, he noted.

Chief of Luang Namtha province, Phimmasone, thanked the Vietnamese Party, Government and people, and Vinh Phuc province in particular for building the school, which he said provides favourable study conditions for students, and strengthens ties between Vietnam and Laos.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Lao counterpart Somsavad Lengsavath attended the ceremony. They later visited several cultural places in Luang Namtha province.

Young babies don't thrive on solid food

Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet of District 3, a mother who has been breast-feeding her baby, was so worried that her three-month-old son was not getting the proper nutrition that she began giving him solid food.

A teacher feeds her pupils at a kindergarten in northern Nam Dinh Province's Giao Thuy District.

Infants can suffer disgestive disorders if fed improperly.

She ground up potatoes and carrots following the advice of her own mother.

But one week later, Tuyet had to take the baby to Paediatric Hospital No.1 in HCM City to treat constipation.

Another mother, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy of District 5, had done the same thing, given her five-month-old daughter solid food. The baby was admitted to the hospital for diarrhoea.

Hospitals see cases such as these because many inexperienced mothers are following the advice of relatives or friends and giving their babies solid food, according to Dr Le Hoang Phuc, head of Digestive Ward.

Phuc spoke at a workshop on infant nutrition and digestive problems held last Friday in HCM City by Gia Dinh Tre (Young Family) magazine.

Many parents think that feeding their infants solid food too early helps them become strong, but their digestive systems are too immature for this, according to Phuc.

Babies are ready for solid food when they are able to keep their head in a steady and upright position, and stop using their tongue to push food out of their mouth, and take it in and swallow. Sitting well when supported is also a sign that they are ready for solid food.

According to the American Academy of Paediatrics' recommendation, babies should be breastfed for about six months.

A paper published by the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says that feeding solid foods to infants under six months of age can increase the risk of allergies.

Assistant Professor Nguyen Thi Lam, deputy head of the National Nutrition Institute, said that babies should be breastfed until they are six months old and that, after that period, they should eat powdered first and then ground-up fish, meat and vegetables.

Parents should not overfeed their babies, she said, adding that 50ml was the best amount initially, and then it can be increased slowly.

Nutritionists say to keep an eye on babies when they begin to eat solid food to see if the food is compatible with their digestive systems.

If there are signs of digestive disorders, then parents should take their babies to the hospital for counseling.

Landslides threaten Phu Quoc homes

Sea water is eroding land and causing landslides on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang.

Authorities are seeking ways of coping with the intrusion, which has even affected wells on the island, including one belonging to the Weather Forecast Bureau in Duong Dong Town.

Head of the bureau Nguyen Van Hung said that the well, which was more than 50 metres in depth, was drilled 13 years ago. Formerly, it was full of pure, clean water and supplied dozens of local households.

However, now the water is brackish and undrinkable.

Many other wells on the island are also affected, creating problems for residents, said Hung.

Landslides along some coastal areas have created dangerous obstacles for locals.

People living in residential quarters No 3, 6, 9 in Duong Dong Town are anxious about landslides during the storm season from May to October.

Phu Quoc Island authorities have no exact statistics on the number of landslides and places at high risk, but they are developing plans to move threatened villagers to safe areas.

A typical example of the problem is displayed at the house of Huynh Van Bo in residential quarter No 9.u7,k   The walls have cracked wide open due to land sinking and landslides.

Bo said that residents had invested a lot of effort and money to build embankments to limit the movement of earth.

"However, it is only a temporary measure and will not ensure safety in the long term," said Bo.

Meanwhile, Phan Van Trung who lives in Ganh Dau Commune said that in the past two years landslides had uprooted many casuarinas.

To cope with the issue, Phu Quoc authorities have called upon local residents to plant more trees and to keep the seashore clean.

The island has sped up the development of a new residential quarter to move householders from dangerous areas.

2 Chinese held in petrol smuggling case

Police in central Thanh Hoa Province have detained two Chinese nationals and eight Vietnamese people in a petrol smuggling case that occurred in the province’s sea area.

Giang Chau 1, of Cambodian nationality, (L) was caught pumping petrol to a Vietnamese boat

on July 28, 2012 . (Photo: Hai Quan newspaper)

The arrests were made after the police expanded their investigation into the smuggling of 1,650 liters of A92 petrol involving a Chinese boat and three Vietnamese vessels off the province on July 28.

The two Chinese are Chen Xing Chun, the captain of Chinese boat Giang Chau 1, and Long Guang Kun, the boat’s chief mechanic.

Six of the eight Vietnamese arrested are Hoang Bien Cuong, Nguyen Dinh Ty, Le Van Lam. Nguyen The Thanh, Nguyen Ngoc Thach, Ngo Van Chung, the captains or chief mechanics of three Vietnamese boats: Minh Chau 08, Hoang Son 09, and Hoang Son 02.

The two others are Khieu Van Anh and Nguyen Trong Dang, who are employees of the Hoang Son Company.

On July 28, anti-smuggling police and customs officers caught the Giang Chau 1, of Cambodian nationality, illegally selling petrol to the three Vietnamese boats.

As shown on a customs declaration created by the Air Petrol and Oil One-Member Co Ltd, this company exported 1,350 tons of A92 petrol to a Chinese company.

On July 27, Giang Chau 1 received the petrol at the Vung Ang Port in Ha Tinh City to transport it to China.

One day later the boat left the port, but instead of heading to China’s Fang Cheng Port as scheduled, it travelled to the waters of Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh Provinces to sell the fuel to the Vietnamese boats.

When it was caught in the act, Giang Chau 1 carried 1,650 tons of petrol, 300 tons more than in the customs declaration form, police said.

Concerned agencies are continuing their investigation into the case.

Ban on State workers drinking alcohol

All State employees in the northern province of Quang Ninh have been banned from drinking alcohol during their lunch breaks and office hours.

The request was made by Nguyen Van Doc, chairman of the provincial People's Committee.

The move is expected to improve the efficiency of State organisations and companies in the province.

HCMC bans business activities on 99 sidewalks

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has issued a new decision to reduce the number of streets whose sidewalks are allowed to be used for business activities to only 13, as compared to 112 previously.

Of the 13 streets, 11 are located in District 5, including Pham Don, Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Do Ngoc Thach, Duong Tu Giang, Ta Uyen, Phung Hung, Lao Tu, Ha Ton Quyen, Tan Thanh and Pham Huu Chi; and two in District 6, namely Tran Binh and Le Tan Ke.

The authorities also cut down the number of streets whose pavements are used for parking lots from 160 down to 119.

In addition, the number of streets whose roadways are used for parking is reduced from the current 73 to 36, but the authorities allow parking on 15 other streets.

Thus, the total number of streets whose roadways are allowed to be used for parking is now 52.

These re-arrangements are part of the authorities’ efforts to improve traffic safety and ease congestion.

This decision took effect on August 7.

Japanese infant milk to be tested for iodine

The Department of Food Hygiene and Safety has asked for tests to be carried out on two Japanese-made infant milks to check their iodine levels.

The move came after Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety found the two formula brands, Wakodo and Morinaga, had lower levels of iodine than standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission-an international food standards setting body.

Vietnam plans to build a set of regulations to ensure baby food meets Codex standards.

Woman hospitalized via helicopter, has leg amputated

A teacher in the central province of Ha Tinh has had her right leg amputated after a severe traffic accident last weekend, athough a helicopter was deployed to transfer her to the hospital.

The 34-year-old patient, T.T.T, had been transferred by helicopter from Ha Tinh to Gia Lam airport in Hanoi, before being taken to Hospital 108 via an ambulance on August 10, according to Tran Duy Anh, the hospital’s director.

The aircraft was hired with an estimated price between VND300 and 500 million (US$14,400 – 24,000), he said.

“However, the patient was admitted to the hospital 15 hours after the accident, which was too late to save her leg,” the director said.

“Had she been transferred to the hospital within six hours after the accident, we could have done something.”

T. is now in stable condition, he said, adding she is the first patient to be transferred to his hospital via a helicopter.
Wasp stings threaten toddler's life

Four-year-old boy Truong Nhat Khang was brought to Dong Nai Paediatrics Hospital yesterday in a critical condition, with at least 100 wasp stings on his head, face and back.

The boy was thought to have been attacked by a swarm of wasps while playing alone in his family's garden.

On arrival, he was in a state of lethargy and suffering from respiratory problems, liver failure, and severe swelling.

Transport Ministry urged to hasten Long Thanh airport

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Transport to urgently complete its report on financing and building Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai Province.

All parties concerned should be consulted and their opinions taken into account before the report is submitted to the Prime Minister on August 20, the Deputy PM said on Aug. 11.

He advised that ministries of Planning and Investment and Transport as well as relevant agencies petition the PM for establishing a State Assessment Council to examine the investment report.

Under an approved master plan officially made pubic last August, the airport will be built in Dong Nai Province's Long Thanh District, some 40km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

The new airport will function as an entrepot in the Southeast Asian region, able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2030.

The 5000ha airport will also have the capacity to allow massive jumbo jets like the A380-800 to land and take off.

Preparatory works for the country's biggest airport, including financial arrangements, are already underway. The Southern Airport Corporation is in charge of the project development.

Construction of the airport is scheduled to start in 2015 and completed in three phases.

The first phase, carried out between 2015 and 2020, will involve an investment of 6.74 billion USD. At the end of this phase, the airport will be able to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo every year.

At the end of the second phase the airport will have three runways and the ability to handle 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo.

When the final phase is complete, it will have four runways and four terminals with the targeted capacity of handling 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

The plan also envisages that the Long Thanh International Airport will be connected to HCM City and other neighbouring provinces by a network of highways and express railway routes, some already under construction.

Northern dykes need repairing

More than 50 weak spots in the dyke systems in northern provinces need strengthening, according to the Department of Flood, Storm Control and Dyke Management.

Vu Xuan Thanh, deputy director of the department, said landslips and fissures had appeared, apparently caused by leaks from water and sewerage pipelines – and complex water flows.

He said the provinces should be on the alert during the present rainy season, which had raised water levels in the Hong, Thai Binh, Da and Duong rivers.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, more heavy rains and storms are forecast for the north in coming weeks.

The department's job is to protect and enhance the dyke system in co-operation with local authorities and police.

The director of the Ha Noi office of the department, Do Duc Thinh, said the city has worked out ways of protecting 100km of dykes along the Hong and Duong rivers.

He said the areas worst affected by landslips and fissures were in the districts of Tu Liem, Hoang Mai, Dong Anh, Soc Son, Quoc Oai, Dan Phuong and Ba Vi.

The capital city's 469-km dyke system has been able to keep large flooding in check. However, plans are being put forward to handle a one-in-100-year flood.

Thinh said hundreds of billions of dong were being funnelled every year into improving the city's dyke system.

Drug traffickers alarm HCM City

The trafficking, sale, and use of drugs, especially by foreign-related gangs, provoked great alarm in the first six months of the year, police told a conference on combating drugs in HCM City on August 13.

The most important aspect was the use of Vietnam as a transit point by foreign gangs, especially for amphetamine.

The traffickers were mostly Vietnamese women living in Thailand and Cambodia who were hired to carry the drugs from the Middle East to Vietnam before taking them to Australia for selling on the street, Colonel Ngo Minh Chau, deputy director of the HCM City police, explained.

Most of these women were poorly educated and married to foreigners, he said.

In the first four months of this year, customs officers and policemen at Tan Son Nhat International Airport discovered five cases involving 27kg of heroin and amphetamine, he said.

The volume of amphetamine caught last year was four times as high as in 2010.

In the first half of this year, customs and police officers busted 808 cases, arresting 1,600 people and seizing 6.5kg of heroin and 27kg of amphetamine.

The drugs consumed in HCM City come mainly from the Golden Triangle-comprising Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos-through Vietnam’s northern and southern borders.

For drugs from Africa and Afghanistan, Qatar and then Vietnam are transit points.

Chau said that a number of drug trafficking and pushing gangs have been established, and some of them use military weapons to resist officers when discovered.

The anti-drug agencies have also found gangs producing amphetamine from pharmaceuticals in HCM City, he said.

HCM City plans to take a series of measures to reduce drug recidivism and make 70 percent of its communes and wards and 95 percent of schools drug-free by 2020.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre