Ireland helps Vietnam deal with UXO

Ireland will help Vietnam overcome the consequences of post-war bombs and mines through activities to clear unexploded ordnance (UXO) and support disabled people, including war victims.

To this effect, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Irish Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello and President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong in Hanoi on October 29.

Under the MoU, the two sides agreed to share non-governmental organisations (NGOs)’ experience in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines and express desires to boost the solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.

 At the signing ceremony, Joe Costello said that as the Minister for Trade and Development, he has approved a new aid package worth 600,000 EUR for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to conduct UXO clearance activities in the central provinces of Quang Tri and Quang Binh in the 2012-2015 period.

These activities will be then expanded to the neighbouring Quang Nam province, he added.

Also in the period, the Irish Aid will provide a maximum of two million EUR per year to increase NGOs’ participation in poverty reduction and policymaking as well as to improve the rights and role of disabled people in Vietnam, Minister Joe said.

Hong thanked the Irish Government and agencies for their assistance for Vietnam’s humanitarian and development programmes, especially in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines left from the war.

He affirmed that VUFO will continue its close coordination in order to create all favourable conditions for Irish projects to operate effectively in Vietnam and strengthen the solidarity and friendship between the two nations.

Chung Soo grants scholarships to poor students

The President of the Korean Chung-Soo fund, Philip Choi, has offered scholarships worth US$15,000 in total to poor students in Nghe An province.

Speaking at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 29, the President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), Vu Xuan Hong, thanked the fund for its scholarships to disadvantaged students in remote areas. He said this contributes to promoting the bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

Chung-Soo has presented scholarships to Vietnamese students since 2008 and plans to provide more scholarships worth US$60,000 later this year.

Established in 1962, the fund aims to support disadvantaged students in the RoK and Vietnam.

Vietnam is the sole recipient of the scholarships from the fund.

Workers lose as companies post phony job-openings

Companies in export processing and industrial parks in HCM City, as well as nearby Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces, are publicising an excessive number of job openings as a way to attract more applications, adversely affecting hundreds of workers.

Most of the companies engaged in this practice are in the textiles and garments field.

In HCM City's Tan Binh Industrial Park, for example, the T.C. Garment and Textile Company regularly announces job openings for about 500 workers, both skilled and unskilled, even when the need is only a few dozen.

The P.T. Seafood Processing Company, located in another industrial park, also regularly requests about 100 manual workers, as does the T.V. Footwear Company in Binh Duong Province's Dong An Industrial Park.

T.V. Company's head of personnel, who declined to be named, said that her company overestimated the number of job openings so that it would always have a reserve of applications in case of staff turnover.

Nguyen Tan Dinh, deputy head of HCM City's Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority, said these phony figures for job openings were damaging both companies and workers.

Companies, for example, often lose workers who apply for an advertised job requiring little experience and offering higher pay.

Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, a worker for a garment company, said her friends had not even been called for an interview after applying for jobs at another company.

Workers who shift to other jobs suffer the most, as they lose allowances or bonuses given for long-term employment or improved work skills at their current companies.

Moreover, new workers will be the first to be laid off by companies faced with financial difficulties, according to Dinh.
He advised workers to be cautious and research new job openings carefully and not quit their current jobs.

HCM City hospitals meet waste-water targets

At least 95 per cent of wastewater treated at hospitals in HCM City meets national quality standards, according to the city's Department of Health.

Members of the city's inspection team for the Economic and Budget Division last week visited three hospitals to check on the progress of the city's waste water treatment programme, which calls for all hospitals to meet national standards by the end of the year.

The Health Department's deputy director, Huynh Van Biet, reported that 30 of 34 private hospitals and 43 of 73 public hospitals now had standard wastewater treatment.

Of 21 public hospitals run by the central government, 14 of them now have standard wastewater treatment facilities, and five are in the middle of plans to upgrade existing facilities.

The Transport Hospital No. 8 and the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Centre run by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs are still without treatment facilities.

On Tuesday, the inspection team visited the HCM City Trauma and Orthopaedics Hospital, District 4 Hospital and Paediatric Hospital No.2.

Tran Thanh My, director of the Trauma and Orthopaedics Hospital, told the team that the hospital's existing wastewater treatment facility was outdated and overloaded.

He said that in August the hospital began building a new treatment facility with a capacity of 500 cu.m a day. It is expected to be completed by the end of December.

Industrial park oil spill treated

The spill of 500 litres of fuel oil from an enterprise in Ha Noi's Thang Long Industrial Park was almost completely cleaned up yesterday with help from SOS Environment Co Ltd.

When the oil spilled Sunday morning, the workers could only use soap and water to clean the area, causing the oil to enter the industrial park's sewer system. Hard rain and winds from storm Son Tinh worsened the situation.

SOS Environment, a member of the Viet Nam Association for Conversion of Nature and Environment, had to use absorbents and spill kits to collect the oil.

Prison sentence for drug trafficker

The people's court yesterday handed a 20-year prison sentence to a drug trafficker who had spent 17 years on the run in northern mountainous Cao Bang Province.

Vu Van Chinh, 40, belonged to a group moving drugs from Ha Noi to Cao Bang's Trung Khanh District. In June 1995, Chinh and four others were arrested transporting 36.7 kilos of opium. While Chinh's accomplices remained in custody, he managed to escape.

Chinh was finally captured by the police in June in Central Highlands Dak Lak province.

More reservoirs on way for Ha Giang

The northern province of Ha Giang plans to build 293 new reservoirs for residents living in the northern highlands, with total capacity of nearly 939,000 cu.m from now to 2020.

The building of reservoirs, known among locals as "lakes in the mountains," was initiated in 2007, and aims to address water shortages in four rocky highland districts. Up to 91 reservoirs have been put into use, serving over 55,600 people.

Stone embankment to counter landslips

The People's Committee of Central Highlands Dak Nong Province will spend VND655 billion (US$31 million) from the State budget to build a stone embankment along the Krong No River to protect local properties against landslips.

The embankment, 16km in length, is expected to be completed next year.

More than 20km of land along the river's banks has seen serious landslips, causing the loss of over 200ha in agricultural land and forcing hundreds of poor households to earn their living in other places.

Three killed in coach, lorry collision

At least three people have died and dozens more were injured when a coach on Sunday, Oct 28, smashed into an oncoming small lorry during heavy rain.

The accident, which took place in Hai Linh Commune, Tinh Gia District in the central province of Thanh Hoa, reportedly happened after the coach driver lost control, causing the vehicle to swerve into the lorry's path.

Meanwhile, three people died and three others were seriously injured when a seven-seat touring car crashed into a lorry in another accident in the southern province of Dong Nai yesterday.

Dong Nai Police is investigating the cause of the accident.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA