US offers $34m to clear Agent Orange at Da Nang Airport

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has told the Da Nang People's Committee that it plans to spend US$34 million to rid the city's airport of Agent Orange.

The two-year project is intended to ensure that plants can again grow in contaminated earth.

Former military airports in central Binh Dinh Province's Phu Cat District and southern Dong Nai Province's Bien Hoa District will be next on the list for detoxification, says USAID.

During the past three years, with funding provided by various American non-governmental organisations, the agency has approved spending of US$21 million to deal with dioxin contamination in the country, according to Da Nang City's Department of Foreign Affairs.

The $21 million total includes $16 million to be spent on dioxin clean-up of the area and $2 million to be spent on assessing environmental impacts as well as exploring technical solutions to the problem.

The remaining $3 million have been earmarked to help improve the lives of the city's Agent Orange victims and disadvantaged people.

Dioxin-contaminated earth will be scooped up and burned in tubes at temperatures of more than 350 Celsius degrees, according to the agency.

From 72 to 80 million litres or defoliants were sprayed over Vietnamese forests during the war, including the highly toxic Agent Orange, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat airports are home to some of the highest dioxin concentrations in the country. Agent Orange was once stored in Da Nang Airport for defoliation missions during the war. Spillage caused contamination of the environment.

Today, dioxin levels at the airport are up to 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels.

The affected zone has been sealed off from the public.

Seminar discusses Intelligent Transport System and its prospects

A seminar was held in Hanoi on November 19 to study the creation of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and to plan the operation of the system on a trial basis in Vietnam.

15 government officials disciplined

Hong Dan District's Party Committee in southern Bac Lieu Province warned 15 district officials against buying and using fake high-school-graduation certificates on Wednesday.

Previously, 14 other district officials had also received the warning.

Earlier this month, local police discovered a ring that allegedly made the fake certificates. Police are continuing their investigation into the matter.

Singaporean volunteer schoolgirls to work in Dong Thap

More than 30 teachers and school girls from Nanyang, Singapore have arrived in Cao Lanh District of Dong Thap Province to join in volunteer activities for community from November 19-27.

Capital roads to be widened to reduce jams

The Ha Noi People's Committee has issued an official document to allow roads to be widened to reduce traffic jams across the city.

The roads to be widened include a stretch of Hoang Cau-Voi Phuc on Belt Road No 1, a stretch of Minh Khai-Vong Intersection on Belt Road No 2 and an intersection between National Highway No 5 and Vinh Tuy Bridge.

The committee also approved a proposal from the city's Transport Department to remove a barrier to broaden Pham Hung-Khuat Duy Tien roads.

The committee has employed the Ha Noi Urban Development Management Board, the Ta Ngan Infrastructure Management Board and the Ha Noi Building and Planning Institute to carry out the work.

Slaughterhouses moved to meet hygiene laws

Fourteen of 26 slaughterhouses owned by the Dong Thinh Agricultural Service Co-operative in Ha Noi have been moved to Minh Hien Co's slaughter house grounds in Thanh Oai suburban district.

The resettlement was aimed to ensure the slaughterhouses met hygiene standards, said the Ha Noi Industry and Trade Department. Ha Noi authorities had previously decided to close down all of the Dong Thinh Co-operative's slaughterhouses because of poor hygiene.

No doctors on duty at some commune clinics

The city's Department of Health has expressed concerns over the lack of doctors on duty at many of the 332 medical clinics located in communes.

Many of the medical clinics often have no doctor on duty. Even in District 1, in the heart of the city, only 50 per cent of the clinics have doctors. Their regular staff consists of a group of medical orderlies and nurses.

Although equipment and facilities at district level clinics have improved in recent years, medical orderlies and nurses do not have the skills to provide specialised treatment such as obstetric and paediatric services.

Elephants terrorise commune

Residents in Ea Sup District's Ia RVe Commune in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak live in fear of being attacked by a herd of 20-22 elephants, as traditional methods to drive them away seem ineffective, officials say.

Le Thanh Hai, chairman of the commune's People's Committee, said the animals had destroyed nearly 40ha of crops worth VND1 billion (US$50,000) during the last two weeks.

Since March, the herd has appeared in the commune five times, but previously, they used to head for the commune in groups of just five to seven members and return to the forest after roaming around for a while at night, Hai said.

"We lit fires and beat saucepans and pots to drive them away, but now they show no fear and keep moving forward towards the noise," said Ngo Van Lom, a resident in the commune.

Nguyen Dinh Toan, deputy chairman of the district's People's Committee has asked relevant departments and agencies to take swift action to resettle the elephants elsewhere for the safety of local residents.

The district committee has earmarked VND80 million (US$4,000) from the budget to assist affected farmers and proposed that the provincial administration provides funds to compensate losses suffered by farmers.

Vietnam competes at ASEAN skills contest

More than 30 Vietnamese contestants and nearly 200 others from ASEAN countries are competing at the 8^th ASEAN Skill Contest, which opened in Thailand on November 18.

Japan aids Quang Binh’s disabled children

The Japanese Government will fund US$95,476 to a project on boarding-house construction for Dong Hoi disabled children home in the central province of Quang Binh.

The aid agreement was signed between Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yasuaki Tanizaki and the director of Dong Hoi disabled children home Nguyen Xuan Trien in Hanoi on November 18.

Under the agreement, the money will be used to build a two-storey house with six rooms, helping to improve living conditions of the children living at the facility.

Dong Hoi’s disabled children home was established in 1990 aiming to shelter disabled children and give them general education and vocational training. More than 100 children are attending training courses at the home, but the facility can only provide accommodation for some of them due to limited housing space.

Binh Phuoc gives breeding chickens to Cambodia

The Agricultural and Fishery Promotion Centre in the southern province of Binh Phuoc has donated 60,000 cassava saplings and 30 breeding chickens for the Cambodian province of Kratie.

VNN/VOV/VNS