New education plan signed between Vietnam and Cambodia

Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan and Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia Im Sethy on August 28 signed a cooperation plan on education and human resources training.

Accordingly, in 2012, Vietnam will receive 120 Cambodian students and post-graduates who take courses in science and technology, Vietnamese language and other fields while Cambodia will admit 15 Vietnamese students to have regular lessons at Cambodia’s universities. It will also receive 20 Vietnamese officials to learn Khmer language over a two year period. Beside scholarship programmes, the two sides will hold delegation exchanges.

Minister Im Sethy said he hopes the two countries’ educational cooperation will grow further, especially in technical training.

Minister Luan affirmed the Ministry of Education and Training’s determination to strengthen ties with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

Vietnam will continue boosting cooperation in human resources training, especially in border areas, and exchanging experiences in vocational training with Cambodia, he added.

Earlier, Luan and Im Sethy held talks and discussions on educational cooperation between the two countries.

Fire-struck households move to resettlement area

As many as 19 out of 35 households that suffered damages after a fire burned their apartments in a two-storey wooden building last Sunday in Hoan Kiem's Chuong Duong Ward have temporarily moved to a resettlement area in Tay Ho District's Phu Thuong Commune.

Hanoi’s old apartment block burnt to ashes, one died

After a fire burned their homes last Sunday, 19 families in Chuong Duong ward

in Hoan Kiem District have been moved to a resettlement area in Tay Ho District.

Do Thi Uoc, a resident of the burned wooden building said that her relatives had to provide clothes for her and her husband because when the fire occurred, they were only able to save their motorbike and house ownership certificate.

Everything else they owned was burned, she said.

"We hope to quickly resettle soon in a safe place so we can get our life back to normal," she said.

In the short term, they have a temporary place to stay and assistance money.

Ha Noi Fatherland Front Committee yesterday has decided to support VND395 million (US$ 18,800) for the households who own burned apartments.

The district authority has also supportedVND6 million ($288) for each of them and VND1 million ($48) each for two households who rented burned apartments.

Lam Quoc Hung, chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, said that the burned apartment building will be not rebuilt, and the city plans to use the land to build public works.

A long-term policy for the households to move to resettlement areas will be submitted for approval by the city, he said.

Up to eight wooden buildings still exist although the city assigned the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee and the city's Project Management Unit to remove all 17 wooden buildings in the ward in 2006.

Nguyen Quoc Tuan, deputy director of the city's Construction Department, said that the wooden buildings would be removed as soon as possible because the Red River flood corridor programming has been announced.

The previous plan to remove the wooden buildings failed because at that time, programmes were not set up, he said.

Under the Red River flood corridor programming, around 15,000 households will be evacuated including the people living in Chuong Duong Ward.

Fire burns down communal market

A fire burnt down an entire communal market in the central province of Quang Binh this morning, causing damages of VND3 billion (US$143,000). 

A fire burnt down an entire communal market in the central province of Quang Binh

this morning, causing damages of US$143,000. — File Photo

The blaze started at a clothing shop at Quang Son Commune Market before spreading to about 20 other shops inside the market and dozens of booths outside.

The communal People's Committee deputy chairman Tran Dinh Suu said a trader discovered the fire at 5am when arriving to open his shop.

Although firefighters arrived 30 minutes after and put out the fire in one hour, the entire market and its goods could not be saved.

Initial investigation indicate that the fire may have been caused by the market's electrical system.

Diplomat's 100th birthday marked

A meeting to mark the 100th birthday of the late Minister of Foreign Affairs Xuan Thuy was held in the capital city yesterday, Aug 28.

"Today is an occation for us to review the lessons learned from his diplomatic manoeuvres, particularly in three main areas – external relations of the Party, State diplomacy and the people's diplomacy," said current Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who was also full of praise for Thuy's contributions to the Vietnamese revolution.

Thuy's name is closely linked to the Paris Peace Talks held during the American war, when he headed the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. His personality and acute arguments during the negotiations won admiration even from the rival.

"In whatever position he was assigned, Thuy always exhibited his leadership capacity and strategic vision, greatly contributing to the common victory of our nation," Minh said.

Acknowledging his contributions to the homeland, Thuy was presented during his lifetime with many noble awards by the Party and State, including the Gold Star Order, the Ho Chi Minh Order, the Independence Order (First Class), and the War of Resistance Order (First Class).

Central region toddler dies from bee stings

A two-year-old boy in central Quang Tri Province's Huong Hoa District died in hospital from bee stings two days ago. Three other children in same village remain in hospital after treatment.

The four children were running behind a lorry carrying manioc which dropped into a hole in road, disturbing a nest of bees. The children received multiple stings. Local residents took them to hospital.

Oil tank on sunken ship locked to prevent spill

The fuel tank on the Toan Thang 36, a cargo ship that sank off central Binh Dinh Province three days ago, has been locked to prevent 1,000 litres of oil from flowing into the sea.

The chief mechanic of the ship said that the ship, carrying 1,700 tonnes of coal from northern Quang Ninh province to Vinh Long Province, lost balance and sank. Ten crew members escaped.

Huynh Huu Toan, deputy director of the Quy Nhon Port Authority, has asked agencies to verify the location of the ship so that it can be salvaged.

UN promotes legal access for poor

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Viet Nam Lawyers' Association yesterday launched a three-year project to promote legal empowerment for poor and vulnerable groups in Viet Nam.

The project will be funded with US$1.2 million by the UNDP.

It will support the association and its associated Legal Consultancy Network and civil society organisations in raising people's legal consciousness.

It is also intended to help them participate in the country's legal and judicial reform progress.

The project is expected to increase the partnership between social organisations and the lawyers' association in addressing social injustices.

Since 2007, UNDP has assisted the association in strengthening the capacity and participation of its members in providing access to justice for the poor.

Woman catches strange bloodsucking bug

The central Quy Nhon City's Institute for Malaria-Parasitology-Entomology on Monday received an unidentified blood sucking bug for investigation.

The bug, caught in a woman's house in Hai Cang Ward, will be used a specimen for research.

The woman said the bug was caught on Sunday. She also found a similar bug in her house two years ago.

The bugs have appeared in many localities, including Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hai Phong and HCM City.

Experts said they may cause Chagas disease, a potentially fatal ailment and advised people to go for medical check-ups if bitten.

US university assists HIV treatment in Vietnam

Washington University and Hanoi Medical University are jointly developing an online training course on HIV treatment for Vietnamese doctors.

The process is being assisted by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The course, known as Continuing Medical Education (CME), will enable Vietnamese doctors to catch up with latest treatments for HIV carriers in the world to provide better services in the field.

Audio and visual lectures will be provided throughout the course.

VNN/VOV/VNS