UNICEF emphasises investment in youth


UNICEF-Vietnam Representative Lotta Sylwander has emphasised the urgent need to invest in young people to help them overcome numerous challenges. 

There are some 26.7 million children, and young people aged from 10 to 24 years old in Vietnam, who account for one-third of the national population and are facing numerous challenges coming from economic insecurity, HIV/AIDS, climate change, mass immigration and rapid urbanisation, the UN Children’s Fund representative told reporters on February 28. 

Photo: VOV
She said further investment is needed to speed up the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS and to narrow the socio-economic gap and reduce gender inequality. 

Children and youths should be given access to higher-quality health care and education, and be equipped with strong life skills to overcome challenges and fully engage in social development, she added. 

The UNICEF residential representative also pledged close cooperation and strong assistance for Vietnam in materialising UN millennium goals, especially in providing best possible care and development conditions for young people. 

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Nguyen Vu Ha Anh called on the entire community to give the youth the best of what they have to make their dream come true. 

Residential Representatives from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) also supported recommendations for investment in children and youths. They include providing information and advice on policy making, implementing the rights of children and youths to access social services and pushing up the fight against poverty and inequality.


Bird flu prevention to cost $14.9 million


The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved a project to prevent bird flu with total capital of more than VND310 billion (US$14.9 million) by 2012.

Of that, more than VND176 billion ($8.4 million) is from the central budget.

Vaccines will be purchased for households with under 2,000 poultry and for military units.

Households with more than 2,000 poultry will have to pay for the vaccines. If the authorities discover that these households do not vaccinate their animals, funds for culling poultry in the case of a flu outbreak will be withheld.


Coach collides with motorbikes, kills four


Four people died and two others were injured when a coach collided with three motorbikes on National Highway 1A in central Ha Tinh Province's Ky Anh District yesterday, March 1.

The motorcyclists were driving south at the time of the accident.

Local police are investigating the case.


Rescue teams to help evacuate Vietnamese workers


Three dedicated rescue teams are scheduled to leave on February 28 evening to Tunisia, Egypt and Malta to help evacuate Vietnamese workers from Libya, said a top labour official.

At a working session with the teams on the afternoon of February 28, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that the three rescue teams will help representative agencies and embassies in the evacuation. 

The team to Tunisia is led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Doan Xuan Hung, to Egypt by Deputy Minister of MoLISA Nguyen Thanh Hoa and to Malta by Head of MoLISA’s Overseas Labour Management Department Nguyen Ba Hai.

Earlier, the team to Turkey arrived and the team to Greece was expected to depart on March 2.

An additional 40 Vietnamese workers in Libya arrived home safely at 19:20pm on February 28, said Deputy Head of MoLISA’s Overseas Labour Management Department Nguyen Xuan Tao.

This has helped bring the number of workers returning home from Libya to 985, he added. An additional 270 Vietnamese workers were expected to return home by air on March 1 and 900 others the next day.

As many as 5,200 Vietnamese workers have been evacuated to neighbouring Libya countries, Tao added.

A Boeing 777 carrying eight tonnes of food for relief was scheduled to leave Egypt for home with 300 Vietnamese workers on board on the night of February 28.

Kovalevskaya prize to mark Int’l Women’s Day


Two women with outstanding achievements in natural sciences will be presented with the Kovaleskaya Prize on March 8 as one of Vietnam’s practical celebrations of International Women’s Day. 

The Deputy President of the Vietnam Women’s Union, Hoang Thi Ai Nhien, released the information at a press briefing in Hanoi on February 28. She named Dr. Luong Chi Mai, Deputy Rector of the Institute of Information Technology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, and Dr Nguyen Thi Loc, Head of the Insect Ecology and Biological Prevention Section under the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, as prize recipients. 

Named after Russia’s great mathematician and advocate of women’s rights, Sofia Kovalevskaya, the prize aims to boost Vietnamese women’s advancement and encourage them to contribute to the cause of national industrialisation and modernisation. 

Also on this occasion, the Yellow Rose Prize award ceremony will be held to honour successful businesswomen, involved in the process of socio-economic development. 

During Vietnam Women’s Week, from March 1-8, there will be several major events, including the presentation of the project, “Single women in Tan Minh” and a mass meeting to mark International Women’s Day where participants will share experiences in combating domestic violence after four years of implementing the relevant law.

The Vietnam Women’s Union Central Committee will work with Vietnam Television in producing a film on Vietnamese women and their organisation. The union is busy preparing for the first congress of the Intellectual Women Association while raising funds to build houses for poor, single and disadvantaged women.


Illegal timber found after lorry overturns


More than four cubic metres of timber were discovered being illegally transported when the lorry carrying them overturned in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak on Sunday.
An initial investigation showed the incident happened because the lorry was overloaded and travelling at a high speed.

The driver of the severely damaged vehicle fled from the scene, according to district authorities.


E-learning contest hands out awards


Three winners of the E-learning design contest each received awards worth VND20 million (US$953) last Saturday.

Five first runner-ups and 24 second runner-ups were also given awards worth VND15 million and VND10 million each.

The VND812 million (US$39,000) contest aimed to enhance the application of information technology to teaching methodologies.

The competition was launched in December 2009 by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Lawrence S Ting Fund and the Phu My Hung Corporation.


Drizzle covers northern provinces


A cold spell is forecast to cause drizzle over northern provinces and central Thanh Hoa Province beginning today, reported the National Hydro-Meteorology Forecast Centre.

Temperatures will drop to as low as 17 degrees Celsius in Ha Noi.

The cold spell is expected to last for two or three days.


Three dead after car collides with truck


Three people died and four others were injured when a car collided with a truck on Sunday on a stretch of National Highway 45 in central Thanh Hoa Province's Dong Son District when the driver allegedly lost control of the car.

Traffic was left at a standstill for many hours.

Local police continue to investigate the incident.


Health fund covers traffic accidents


Medical expenses for victims of traffic accidents would be paid for by the health insurance fund, said director of the Health Ministry's Health Insurance Department, Tong Thi Song Huong.

The move comes as part of a draft circular on health insurance jointly drafted by the ministries of Health and Finance.

The two ministries agreed that people with health insurance should be entitled to claim on their insurance for any medical expenses incurred due to a traffic accident, without having to wait for the results of any police investigations.

At present, insurance companies are only obliged to pay out following confirmation from the police that the claimant had not violated any traffic laws.

"The draft circular will have clearer regulations," Huong said.

Regardless of whether traffic accident victims violated traffic laws, their hospital fees would be paid for by their health insurance fund. Within 24 hours of a person being hospitalised from a traffic accident, it would be the responsibility of the insurance office to contact police and ask them to investigate the cause of the accident.

Inconclusive investigations would mean victims would still be eligible for insurance payments. However, if victims were found to be at fault for the accident, they would have to return the hospital fees to their health insurance fund, Huong said.

Also included in the draft, insurance companies would pay medical expenses for children aged under 16 and the elderly over 80, regardless of whether they violated traffic laws or not.

The draft is expected to be completed next month.


Police clampdown on petrol stations


Authorities in the southern province of Tay Ninh on Sunday ordered a petrol station closed for three months after catching it filling customers' plastic cans and bags for the second time within a few days.

Hoang Hau filling station in the border district of Chau Thanh District had been found committing a similar offence just four days earlier by the Market Management Agency, and had been fined.

It was the second petrol station in the province to face the authorities' wrath. Last week the market agency closed a pump operated by the Sai Gon Equipment and Accessories JVC in Loi Thuan Commune, Ben Cau District.

They have fined eight others for the same violation.

Provincial authorities recently ordered filling stations along the border with Cambodia not to sell fuel to customers in plastic bags and cans to prevent cross-border smuggling.

Despite a fuel price hike announced by the Vietnamese Government on February 24, prices in Viet Nam remain much lower than in neighbouring countries.

Dam Ba Van, director of a fuel trading company in the another border province, Long An, said petrol prices in Cambodia are VND3,000 per litre higher.

The popular A92 petrol costs VND19,300 in Viet Nam after the latest hike.


Meeting examines plan to build Red River tunnel


A four-lane tunnel may be built under the Red River, linking Hoan Kiem District of Ha Noi with Long Bien District.

Delegates discussed the project during a meeting last weekend hosted by the municipal People's Committee. The tunnel aims to reduce traffic congestion in the capital.

The tunnel would start at the end of Tran Hung Dao Street and would be 1.5km long and 18-20m wide.

Delegates said the tunnel would serve the developing urban area across the Red River.

Head of Ha Noi Construction Planning Institute La Thi Kim Ngan said the city should build a tunnel instead of new bridges, which are costly due to land clearance.

Director of the municipal Transport Department Nguyen Quoc Hung said the city should use different technologies to build the tunnel than what was used to build Thu Thiem Tunnel in HCM City.

Hung added that the tunnel would lead to more traffic jams on Tran Hung Dao Street during the construction of the structure.

The People's Committee has also received proposals from VinGroup Joint-stock Company and the Ministry of National Defence's Truong An Company to build the tunnel.

The People's Committee's vice chairman Phi Thai Binh asked the institute to provide more details about the necessity and effectiveness of building a tunnel instead of a bridge.

The committee will consider the proposals and submit a recommendation to the Prime Minister for approval.


Students with flu symptoms to get care


More than 100 primary students who were suspected of being infected with the A/H1N1 flu virus in southern Ben Tre Province have had seven days off from school for home care and treatment, said Nguyen Van Thang, deputy director of the provincial Health Department on Feb 28.

The students all study at Giao Thanh Primary School in Thanh Phu District. Seven students were confirmed to be suffering from virus by HCM City's Pasteur Institute last weekend.


VNN/VOV/VNS