Four salvage workers die on ship

Four workers died while salvaging a Malaysian oil tanker wrecked off the coast of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on Tuesday.

The four victims, aged between 19 and 39 years old, died on the spot after reportedly breathing toxic gas in the hold of the vessel.

Four other workers overcome in the same incident were saved by in-time application of emergency aid. They are said to be in a stable condition.

All eight workers were hired to retrieve the Onnekas One tanker which was wrecked off the coast of Phu Vang District's Vinh Thanh Commune last December.

The Onnekas One tanker was hit by strong waves on its way to China's Hainan Island and broke in two. The front drifted to Quang Dien District and the rear to Phu Vang District.

Ben Luc Salvage Co Lt has been hired to retrieve the two parts.

Over 32,000 local Vietnamese working abroad

More than 32,000 Vietnamese were recruited as guest workers, mostly for Taiwan (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Libya, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first five months of this year.

The figure was released by Dao Cong Hai, Deputy Head of the Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

In the reviewed period, Hai said there was a strong demand for guest workers from Vietnam’s traditional labour markets such as Japan, Malaysia and Middle East countries. Most of them were employed to work in the fields of construction, manufacturing and agriculture or do housework.

However, the number of Vietnamese working in the Republic of Korea – a key labour market – has dropped due to violations of labour contracts or illegal residence after their visas expired.

Hai also voiced his concern over the employment of Vietnamese workers in Angola. No businesses have been licensed to send guest workers to this African market. Those Vietnamese working in Angola have been arranged by their relatives and friends or employed by Angolan firms. They are at risk of being abused and infected by diseases, he warned.

First Korean-language newspaper hits shelves

The Vietnam-Korea Times – Viet Nam's first Korean language newspaper made its debut in Ha Noi yesterday, June 18.

It is a collaboration between Vietnam Pictorial, a Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) publication, and a newspaper for the Republic of Korea's (RoK) overseas citizens.

The paper aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries by serving as a bridge for mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples.

It will provide information on Viet Nam's investment environment and co-operation opportunities, while serving as a reliable source of news for RoK policymakers, scholars, businesses and the Korean community living in Viet Nam.

The 24-page colour-printed Vietnam-Korea Times will be published every Tuesday, covering a wide range of topics including politics, the economy, culture, education, art, history, Viet Nam and its people, business activities and community information.

During the publication's launch ceremony, both VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi and Charge d'affaires at the RoK Embassy in Ha Noi Oh Nak Young expressed their delight at the growing friendship and all round co-operation between the two countries, which has developed into a strategic partnership.

They agreed both sides are laying the foundations for further and more effective bilateral ties.

Loi noted the RoK is now the second largest direct investor in Viet Nam, with registered capital totalling over US$24 billion.

He said the country is Viet Nam's second biggest ODA provider, and ranks fourth in trade and third in labour co-operation with Viet Nam, adding that over 120,000 people from the RoK live in the country and a similar number of Vietnamese live in the RoK.

The newspaper reflects the Vietnamese Government's growing interest in the RoK community in Viet Nam.

Kids with genital defects get surgery

A total of 15 poor Vietnamese children suffering from genital defects have been assigned free genital reconstruction surgery this month with the support of Italian surgeons.

The operations - of which seven are underway and eight more will be completed this week - are being conducted by two Italian doctors and American-Vietnamese surgeon Dr Tue Dinh. The surgeries are organised by the AIP Foundation under its "Thien Nhan & Friends" programme, which has provided operations for 60 Vietnamese children and examined 215 others over the past three years.

Over 1,000 Vietnamese martyrs’ remains still in Laos

Vietnam and Laos have found and repatriated more than 16,400 sets of Vietnamese martyrs’ remains over the past 20 years.

Laos Vice President Bounnhang Vorachit announced the figure at a June 18 reception for Vietnam’s Deputy National Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen.Nguyen Thanh Cung, visiting Laos as the government’s Special Mission leader from June 16–19.

Vorachit spoke highly of the improvements in coordinating both countries’ Special Missions  tasked with searching for and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese martyrs.

He thanked the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for sacrificing their citizens and children in the name of the independence, freedom, and prosperity now enjoyed by the two nations.

The recent conferment of orders, medals, and merit certificates to 473 Lao organisations and individuals only reinforced the special bilateral friendship, he said.

The Vice President said he will personally direct the Lao Government’s Special Mission, its localities, and people to ensure the search, collection, and repatriation of Vietnamese martyrs’ remains is given the best chance of success.

Inspectors to flush out school toilet charges

Deputy PM Vu Van Ninh has ordered an inspection of a 29 sq.m toilet block at central Quang Ngai Province's Long Hiep secondary school which cost nearly VND600 million (US$28,570) to build.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was asked to work with the provincial People's Committee to conduct the inspection and report findings to the Prime Minister before June 30.

According to local media reports, the extravagant toilet was built with sponsorship from the ministry's programme for clean water and hygiene, while a scarcity of school equipment and substandard classrooms remain an issue.

Tragedy strikes as Toddler chokes to death on a lychee seed

A 6-month-old boy in the northern province of Thai Binh's Kien Xuong District died after choking on a lychee seed on Monday.

Despite the problem being detected quickly, the boy died from suffocation after a few minutes, with his family unable to clear the blockage.

Doctors in the province advised parents to be more aware of potential dangers and to learn how to respond when a child is choking, as young children have a habit of putting objects in their mouths.

US NGO supports eyecare for children

Helen Keller International (HKI) will offer free eye tests and glasses to around 14,000 pupils living in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.   

It is part of a ChildSight project funded by HKI, a non-govenrmental organisation dedicated to preventing blindness and reducing malnutrition.

The project is being Implemented by HKI, the Provincial Department of Health, and the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO) in Kon Tum from April 2012 to March 2014.

It includes optometry technician training for private shots in 9 of Kon Tum’s districts and towns. This is HKI’s first Vietnamese undertaking concentrating on eyewear quality.

As many as 83 local schools have so far benefited from the project, which also helped train hundreds of teachers and medical staff and supply essential ophthalmologic equipment.

Refractive eye disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism are the main causes of poor vision and blindness in developing countries. About 3 million Vietnamese children suffer from refractive eye disorders, two-thirds of whom have yet to receive any correction.

The quality of glasses is also a big problem in Vietnam. A January 2012 survey conducted by HKI and VNIO in Kon Tum revealed 64 percent of glasses were framed incorrectly.

Lam Dong expands job training

The Central Highland province of Lam Dong plans to increase its financial support to local ethnic minority labourers so they can continue to attend vocational training schools.

Lam Dong has more than 40 ethnic minority groups, accounting for 24 per cent of the province's population.

For the past three years, the province has implemented a programme to help labourers learn new vocational skills.

Fifty-six public and private vocational training centres trained 20,000 people during that time, according to the province's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

More than 85 per cent of trainees have found jobs and increased their farming productivity, according to the department.

Members of ethnic minority groups living in areas that are economically deprived are now earning an average income of VND24 million (US$1,140) a year at local enterprises.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, deputy chairman of the Lac Duong District People's Committee, said that cows, coffee and banana trees were provided to ethnic minorities.

Vocational courses were given on how to raise the animals and cultivate the plants.

"This method produced good results," he said.

Ha Sell, head of the Dang Gia Dit B Village in Lat Duong's Lat Commune, said residents in his village had learned how to compost waste and graft coffee trees by taking vocational training classes.

Despite progress in training, the province was short of teaching facilities, he said, adding that links between local businesses and vocational training centres were weak as well.

Most residents attend training courses for jobs in the agricultural sector, as it is difficult to find work in other fields.

Under the job training master plan to 2020, Lam Dong will annually provide vocational courses for 26,000-27,000 residents who live in rural and remote areas.

The trainees will be given low-interest loans to pay for vocational classes and set up their own businesses.

Prudential donates $33,000 to build kindergarten

Saigon Children's Charity in collaboration with Prudential Co.'s Prudence Fund broke ground for construction of a kindergarten, located in one of the poorest communes in Dong Nai Province's Cam My District.

Total investment capital for the project was US$59,942. The Prudence Fund donated $33,553, with the rest coming from the local authority.

More than 500 children per year are expected to attend the new school. Construction will be completed by the end of August.

Vietnam book on cooperation in territorial waters launched

A book on cooperation for development in territorial waters in international law and reality was introduced to the public on June 18.

It is part of the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications’ efforts to build a document system guiding the media and public opinion, and popularising the management, protection and development of Vietnam’s sea and islands.

The book, compiled by Director of the Centre for the Sea and International Marine Law Nguyen Ba Dien, gives readers an overview of cooperation in jointly exploiting territorial waters as well as a scientific basis for joint exploitation at sea and in the East Sea in particular.

Joint exploitation models in the world, experience in setting up joint exploitation agreements, and the application of these models in the East Sea together with recommendations for Vietnam also feature in the book.

The book analyses the reality of demarcation and the solutions for disputes among nations in the world. It highlights not only the advantages but shortcomings of this modality.

The publication is expected to enrich the legal system and cooperation for development in international law and relations, and support Vietnam’s enforcement of sea law in order to defend national sovereignty, sovereignty rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea.

Media agencies can also refer to documents translated into English and Chinese relating to sea and island sovereignty on the Authority of Foreign Information Service’s website www.vietnam.vn.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA