Workers hospitalised with food poisoning after company dinner

Nearly 200 workers from the garment manufacturer Kotop Vina Company in southern Dong Nai Province were hospitalised last night after a dinner at their work place.

The Tam Phuoc Industrial Park factory workers said they had eaten noodle with seasoned and sauted beef, vegetables, rice, and eggs an hour before suffering from head and stomach aches, vomiting and lightheadedness.

Nearly 200 workers from the garment manufacturer Kotop Vina Company in southern Dong Nai Province were hospitalised last night after a dinner at their work place.

The victims were taken to Long Thanh General Hospital where they were treated for food poisoning, a hospital spokesman said.

About 100 workers were discharged later in the evening while the rest were kept for observation, the spokesman said.

The case is under investigation.

International scientists to gather in Binh Dinh

Over 200 scientists from 30 nations, including seven Nobel Prize winners, will attend the 9th "Meeting Viet Nam" – a series of scientific workshops and physics lectures to be held from July 28 to August 17 in the central province of Binh Dinh.

The event is being organised by the ministries of Science and Technology, Education and Training and Foreign Affairs along with the Association Rencontres (meeting) du Vietnam.

Association chairman Dr Tran Thanh Van said yesterday, July 23, the association would take advantage of the meeting to open an International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education in the province's Quy Nhon City.

The association was co-founded by Van and Professor Nguyen Van Hieu in 1993 to boost the development of high-level research in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia and to create research groups which would work in co-operation with Western scientists.

Van, who lives in France, was presented with the Legion of Honour Order by the French government for his contribution to science.

Dangerous toxin found in imported chickens

Five samples of illegally imported chicken have been tested positive for forbidden substances, raising concern over the quality of poultry of unknown origin being sold in the capital.

The Ministry of Health's Food Safety Department announced the results of the testings earlier this week.

It said a highly noxious antibiotic called Chloramphenicol had been found in all five samples taken randomly from markets.

According to deputy director of the Animal Husbandry Department Nguyen Duc Trong, the antibiotic, helps animals in general and chickens in particular grow faster. It has been banned worldwide since 2001.

"It's banned for use on animal husbandry and food preservation in Viet Nam", Trong said, adding that consumption of food containing Chloramphenicol could cause bone marrow suppression, anaemia, immunodeficiency and rickets.

Last year, former laying chickens had been found to contain another toxic antibiotic called Sulfadiazin five to twenty times higher than allowed, according to Ha Noi Veterinary Department.

In the first half of this year, about 500 illegal poultry transporters were caught and 46 tonnes of poultry and hundreds of eggs confiscated, according to the Ministry of Public Security's Environmental Crime Prevention Department.

However, chicken of no clear origin has been available at many wholesale markets and attracted many consumers.

"The rejected poultry was mostly eaten at restaurants or in areas crowed with students, and low-income workers. It was priced at VND60,000 (US$2.80) a kilo, half that asked for domestic chickens," said a trader at Ha Noi-based Nguyen Cong Tru market.

Lao diplomat greets Vietnamese war veterans

Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Sounthon Saynhachac on July 23 greeted a delegation of Vietnamese war veterans from Mission 95 led by Col. Phan Ngoc Minh.

Saynhachac, who is also deputy head of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, said the LPRP, State and people of Laos are always grateful to Mission 95 veterans who have sacrificed for the Lao revolutionary cause.

They always attach great importance to fostering the Laos-Vietnam special relationship, especially by educating young generations, the Lao Deputy Foreign Minister said.

Col. Minh thanked the LPRP, State and people of Laos for helping Vietnamese soldiers fulfil their assigned tasks during the tough period, saying he was very impressed by his visit to the former battlefields where Mission 95 soldiers had fought shoulder to shoulder.

Japan backs human resources project

The Government of Japan has granted the equivalent of US$3.3 million to Viet Nam for human resource development scholarships, as part of the Japanese Development Scholarship (JDS) programme for 2014-17.

Under the programme, Viet Nam will send 30 graduates to master's courses in Japan Applications will be accepted from next month.

Implemented in 2000, the JDS programme targets young government officers with potential to play leadership roles.

They will be provided with opportunities in Viet Nam for academic research in transport and urban development, agriculture and rural development, the environment, development of legal framework, and public administration reforms in famous higher educational institutions of Japan.

Whirlwinds clatter through Ca Mau

Whirlwinds and heavy rain during the past seven days destroyed and swept the roofs off nearly 100 houses in southernmost Ca Mau Province.

Damage has been estimated to reach VND500 million (US$23,800), according to the provincial Irrigation Department Director Nguyen Long Hoai.

Authorities from provincial districts, including Dam Doi, Tran Van Thoi, Cai Nuoc, Thoi Binh, Ngoc Hien and Ca Mau City, visited the affected householders, and provided them with money and rice.

North warned of possible disasters

Residents in the northern region have been warned to prepare for flash floods and landslides, amid concerns heavy rains forecast for the early part of this week could spell disaster.

The weather in Ha Noi will be wet and windy in coming days, with temperatures ranging between 25-32 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the southern region is forecast to enjoy early sun, with showers and scattered storms expected in the afternoon and evening.

Two students drown in swollen stream

The bodies of two medical students swept away by flood waters while on a picnic in the central province of Phu Yen were found yesterday, July 23.

According to Bui Ngoc Tuan, chairman of the Xuan Lam Commune's People's Committee, 11 students from Phu Yen Medical School went to the picnic at Han Creek.

Four slipped and fell into the swollen stream while running to escape a sudden flood. Two survived.

Carpentry factory fire causes mass destruction

Fire broke out early morning on Monday at a carpentry factory in My Luong Town, Cho Moi District, An Giang Province, causing up to VND1.3 billion ($62,000) worth of damage to the property.

The entire storage room, together with wood stocks and five sawing machines were destroyed.

No injuries were reported as witnesses were able to wake the owner's family - who were sleeping next door - and lead them to safety.

Firefighters battled the fierce blaze for an hour before they could bring it under control. Their efforts prevented the fire from expanding to other nearby carpentry factories.

The cause of the fire is so far unclear and the case remains under investigation.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA