Longest cake marks Francophonie Day

A 20-m long gateau in the shape of a train has been recognised as the longest cake in Vietnam by the Vietnam Guinness Book of Records.

The cake was displayed at the Hanoi University (HANU) on March 16 as part of the Festive Day marking the 43rd anniversary of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).

Representatives of the Vietnam Record Book Centre presented the record certificate to Olivier Garro, director of the Francophonie University Association (AUF) Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific.

The train-shaped gateau symbolises 20 years of the OIF Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific.

Olivier Garro, Annisa Barak, director of the OIF Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific, and Tran Quang Quy, Deputy Minister of Education and Training cut the cake, which is said to serve around 2,000 people.

Thousands of students converged on the University of Hanoi to share their understanding of French and cultures of French-speaking countries during the festive day.

The event was attended by representatives of OIF organisations and embassies in Vietnam.

This was the third consecutive year HANU and the French Embassy in Hanoi have jointly organised such event.

National labour safety week launched

A week-long campaign was launched in Bac Giang Province on March 17 to promote labour safety and prevent labour-related accidents, occupational illnesses, and explosions in the workplace.

Giving first aid to injured employees in a drill.

In her opening speech, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan acknowledged the efforts ministries, agencies, localities and enterprises have made in ensuring safety for employees and said she hopes to receive more support from international organisations to reduce the number of labour-related accidents.

She asked designated agencies to complete relevant legal documents and mobilise resources for occupational safety and health (OSH) measures, and effectively implement the national programme on OSH and fire and explosion prevention.

She underlined the need to enhance communications campaigns to raise public awareness of labour accidents, fires and explosions in the workplace, especially in high-risk careers, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and craft villages.

The legislator also called on employees to take preventive measures to protect themselves from such accidents in the workplace.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen said that 6,770 labour accidents occurred last year, an increase of 15 percent over 2011.

These accidents affected 700,000 employees, of whom 606 died (up 5.6 percent) and 1,400 were seriously injured.

Most accidents were reported in the construction, mining, mechanical and assembling sectors at big industrial centres in HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ha Tinh, Quang Ninh, and Hanoi.

Last year, more than 2 million employees were given regular medical check-ups and 27,500 cases contracted occupational illnesses, mainly silicosis and deafness.

More than 1,900 fires were also recorded in 2012, up 5 percent over 2011, killing 73 people and injuring 130 others. Eleven people were killed and 20 others were injured in 20 explosions across the country.

At the launch ceremony, Danish ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen and representatives from international social welfare organisations shared their experiences and made recommendations concerning labour safety and fire prevention.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue will host the 16th labour safety week next year.

Disadvantaged women to get job training

One thousand disadvantaged women in 30 provinces and cities will be provided vocational training and jobs this year under a programme instituted by the Viet Nam Women's Union and pharmaceutical firm Mega Lifesciences.

In the first year of the programme last year, around 300 women benefited from short-term training courses in providing room service, nail painting, hair styling, and others.

500 guest workers in S Korea overstay visas

Only 137 of 637 guest workers from the northern province of Thai Binh sent to South Korea have returned home after their labour contracts expired in 2012 and earlier this year, according to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

This has prompted the local authorites to work with the overstayers' families to encourage them to return.

The preferential policies of South Korea to workers who meet the deadline have been publicised in local broadcasts.

Vu Thi Tham, a department official, blamed the situation on the lack of penalties for violators.

Laos, Vietnam strengthen healthcare cooperation

The Health Ministries of Laos and Vietnam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Vientiane to increase bilateral cooperation in health care.

The Lao media reported on March 16 that under the MoU, the two ministries will exchange medical experts, organise short-term and long-term training courses and carry out joint research projects.

The Vietnamese side pledged to train Lao medical staff at all levels.

Both sides will boost cooperation in improving people’s health, fighting against epidemics, and increasing technical assistance to control diseases in border areas, as well as fostering international cooperation in combating HIV/AIDS.

The two ministries will continue implementing a Border Medical Quarantine agreement signed in 2001, strengthening cooperation in drug testing, food safety and traditional medicine, controlling drug quality, and preventing counterfeit drugs.

The MoU was signed during a recent visit to Laos by Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.

Free rice sought for disease sufferers

Central Quang Ngai Province has asked the Government to supply 1,000 tonnes of rice for people affected with a mysterious skin disease, according to Le Quang Thich, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People's Committee.

Meanwhile, the local committees of districts such as Ba To and Son Ha are allowed to use their budgets to supply rice for the families of the sick. The province will also support the cost of transferring patients from district to provincial hospitals.

According to the Department of Health, the disease, which causes dermatitis to hands and feet for no known reason, has affected 240 people in Ba To District, including 24 deaths, since April, 2011. After some months of waning, the disease returned last month, bringing 16 new cases.

WWF projects promote sustainable development

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has officially launched three projects which focus on promoting sustainable shrimp aquaculture, developing responsible tourism and eco-tourism, and improving low carbon development in Vietnam.

The projects, with a total budget of US$1.5 million funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), will last from 2012 to 2014. They involve the participation of policymakers, the private sector and civil societies in every stage of planning, production and trading.

The objectives of the low carbon and sustainable energy development project are to build up sustainable renewable energy sources in Vietnam through supporting the development of energy policies at national and provincial levels.

It also includes pilot and replication initiatives on low carbon and sustainable energy development in household businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises of strategic sectors in central Thua Thien-Hue province.

The responsible tourism and eco-tourism project seeks to provide a specific model of how tourism activities around the protected areas can contribute to the sustainable incomes of local people, thereby reducing the pressure to exploit natural resources in and around the protected areas.

The project will involve travel agencies, national parks and local communities in developing community-based tourism models in Cat Tien and Bidoup Nui Ba National Parks.

The success of the experimental model will be integrated into the National Guidelines on Community-based Tourism, which is currently under construction and will be applied to all protected areas in Vietnam. At the same time, the guideline will also facilitate investment in eco-tourism in protected areas.

Under the sustainable shrimp aquaculture project, WWF will provide training courses on management to ensure that production process is in accordance with the shrimp Aquaculture Stewardship Certification (ASC) standards. After that, officials from district-level Aquaculture Supporting Association will support farmers in responsible production.

Scholarships for AO victims in Dak Nong

A US charity has presented 10 scholarships to poor students who suffer from Agent Orange/dioxin after-effects in the Central Highland province of Dak Nong.

The scholarships, each worth VND5 million (about US$230), were presented on March 15 in the locality by representatives of the Ceres Charitable Foundation in coordination with the provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin.

The foundation also handed over two houses valued at VND50 million each to poor families in Cu Jut and Krong No districts.

More than 1,000 dioxin victims in Dak Nong receive monthly financial assistance, hundreds of whom are students studying inside and outside the province.

Ship carrying illegal coal seized by police

The maritime police in northern coastal Quang Ninh Province seized a ship carrying 2,000 tonnes of coal being illegally transported abroad on Saturday night, according to the Department of the Maritime Police under the Ministry of National Defence yesterday, March 17.

The ship was stopped for inspection offshore from Ha Long City. Its nine crew members could not prove the cargo's legality.

This is the second time this year a ship has been found to be carrying illegally exported coal from Quang Ninh.

VNN/VOV/VNS