Seven wood poachers arrested in Vinh Phuc

Police arrested seven wood poachers on Friday for illegally chopping down thousands of trees from a one-ha area in the protected forest in northern Vinh Phuc Province's Ngoc Thanh Commune.

The poachers, aged 27-52, admitted to the police that a local man hired them to chop down the trees.

The man said he bought the forest area from vice chairman of the communal People's Committee but both were unable to present legal documents allowing them to exploit the forest.

Exhibition in France supports AO/Dioxin victims

An exhibition of paintings by the late Suzy Cohen entitled “The Love of Colour” opened at the Vietnamese House in Paris, France, on March 17 as a fundraiser for Vietnamese children with disabilities and victims of Agent Orange (AO) and Dioxin.

Suzy Cohen's artwork is an original, harmonious combination of pointillist dots and colours that express the beauty of people and landscapes.

Chairwoman of the Vietnam Association for Child Victims of AO/Dioxin in France, Vo Thi Loan, said the association has launched many charitable activities since it was established in 2001, including this exhibition, to support Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims.

Since 2008, the proceeds from the association's activities have provided 231 families in 21 provinces and cities across Vietnam with interest-free loans of VND7 million per family through the Red Cross Society and provincial and municipal chapters of the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/Dioxin (VAVA).

The association has supported 254 child victims of AO/Dioxin and families of AO/Dioxin victims living in difficult circumstances, and granted scholarships to 328 pupils.

Funds from the association have also been used to provide surgeries for 22 children with spinal cord and congenital heart disease.

Ireland assists Vietnam to treat haemophilia

The Irish Haemophilia Society will visit Vietnam from March 19-23 to offer specialized assistance in treating haemophilia.

The visit is under the framework of friendship activities between the Vietnam Society for Congenital Bleeding Disorders (founded in 2007) and the Irish Haemophilia Society.

Based on their 43 years of experience, representatives from the Irish society will train members of the Vietnamese society in organizing volunteers and fundraising activities.  

The Irish partners will also help people with haemophilia gain opportunities to exchange information, support each other in living with the disease, and become useful integrated citizens in the community.

During their stay in Vietnam, the Irish delegation will visit the Blood Transfusion and Haematology Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, and Paediatric Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and take part in opening a new branch of the Vietnam Society for Congenital Bleeding Disorders in the south.

Buffalo going wild shot down in Quang Tri

The military command in Huong Hoa District in the central province of Quang Tri last Thursday shot down a buffalo that went wild and injured several people.

According to local residents, the buffalo had escaped from Laos on the same day and butted into passers-by and vehicles near the Lao Bao border gate, injuring 3 people, one of whom suffered traumatic brain injury.

Afterwards, the buffalo ran along the National Road 9 to Quang Tri Province’s Tan Thanh Commune, butting into 2 people and 5 bikes parked on the street.

The Huong Hoa military command decided to shoot down the buffalo in the evening.

Bac Lieu Bird Garden faces high fire risk

The Bac Lieu Bird Garden is expected to face a high risk of fire due to prolonged hot weather in southern Bac Lieu Province.

Lack of fresh water and encroaching salt water have added to the situation.

The garden's management board assigned forest rangers to be on duty 24 hours per day to pump water into canals and to be sure fire-fighters and equipment were ready to fight any fires that might break out.

The 130-ha bird garden is a national-level natural reserve with the largest population of birds in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Abnormally aged woman offered free treatment

28-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai from Quang Nam Province, who has turned into an old woman overnight, has been offered free treatment at China Medical University in Taiwan.

The university invited Mai and a relative to Taiwan for free treatment for one month through the recommendation of TAITRA, a HCMC-based non-profit trade promotion organization under the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs. All costs will be covered by charity organizations in Taiwan.

However, Mai told Tuoi Tre that she didn’t know what to do because her family is poor and she herself doesn’t know Taiwanese or what procedures to go through to go to Taiwan.

Mai’s problems began when she was 12, with symptoms such as itching, hives, swelling, and weight loss.

Despite treatment, her condition didn’t improve. Some people advised her to try traditional medicine, and it seemed to work.

Her facial skin showed signs of recovering, but her condition recurred in 2008 and has since been worsening.

According to local doctors, Mai is suffering from chronic autoimmune urticaria, which is a very rare disease and may be the first manifestation of lupus which is particularly associated with the presence of auto antibodies.

French association helps poor in Thua Thien-Hue

Thirty families in Quang Phuoc commune, Quang Dien district, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, will have biogas facilities under a project funded by the Bretagne Association of France. 

The project, worth over VND277 million, will be carried out from April-August this year. It aims to help poor households in Quang Phuoc commune to make use of cattle manure to produce fuel, helping to improve the environment and developing the local household economy. 

This year, Bretagne has also committed to providing VND924 million to help build a VND1.545 billion kindergarten in Thuy Dien village, Phu Xuan commune, Phu Vang district.

The French association has cooperated with localities in the province to implement humanitarian projects worth a total of VND3 billion, including a health clinic for fishing families, a kindergarten and a primary school. 

It also plans to help 50 fishing families who are living in difficult circumstances to resettle on land.

Japan assists Lai Chau to build healthcare stations and school

The Japanese Government has decided to grant over US$300,000 in non-refundable aid to build two healthcare stations and a school in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau.

Under the agreement signed in Hanoi on March 16, the Japanese Government will help the province build a two-storey school and a 156 square-metre healthcare station in Ban Giang commune, Tam Duong district.

It will also help build a two-storey healthcare station, which covers an area of 302.4 square metres in Khun Ha commune.

Japanese ambassador to Vietnam Tanizaki Yasuaki expressed his belief that these projects will contribute to increasing the quality of life for people there and pushing local socio-economic development.

They are also expected to boost the friendship and mutual understanding between Japanese and Vietnamese people, he noted.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre