ASEAN discusses training for gifted students

The seventh Roundtable Meeting of ASEAN Educational Leaders (RTM) and the fifth Southeast Asia School Principals Forum (SEASPF) opened in the central coastal city of Nha Trang on October 30.

The three-day events draw the participation of nearly 100 delegates from ASEAN member countries and experts from international organisations like SEAMEO, UNESCO and UNICEF.

Participants will introduce the latest models of training and fostering gifted students.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said Vietnam is one of high-performing countries at international contests, and it will invest more in teaching methods, curricula and research facilities for young scientists in the coming time.

On the occasion, Malaysia transferred its RTM and SEASPF chairmanship to Singapore for the next two-year tenure.

Hoa Binh starts Methadone treatment

A medical clinic using Methadone maintenance treatment was opened in northern Hoa Binh Province yesterday, said the Health Ministry's Deputy Head of HIV/AIDS Prevention Department, Pham Duc Manh.

The clinic, the first one of its kind in Hoa Binh, was funded by both the Australian and Netherlands governments through the HIV/AIDS Asia Regional Programme in Viet Nam.

Methadone therapy is claimed to be the most effective treatment for heroin dependence. It is said to keep people in treatment therapies and reduces HIV transmission, criminal behaviour, drug-related morbidity and deaths from overdosing.

The provincial clinic is expected to help 50 addicts give up heroin this year alone. A second clinic is planned to help 350 drug users in Mai Chau District from 2013-15.

Statistics show there are nearly 1,200 HIV carriers in the province. HIV/AIDS has spread to all districts and 70 per cent of communes, wards and towns.

Methadone treatment was started in northern Hai Phong City and HCM City in 2008. Clinics will be opened in 30 cities by 2015.

In Viet Nam, the average daily cost of methadone treatment is VND15,435 (US$0.74), half of which is spent on medicine. The cost is expected to fall once Viet Nam is able to produce methadone in 2015 for the nation's 80,000 or so drug users.

Joining hands to combat child sexual exploitation

Representatives of law enforcement agencies from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia gathered in HCM City on October 30 to discuss ways of combating child-sex related crimes.

Lieutenant General Phan Van Vinh, Head of the General Department of Anti-Crime Police under the Ministry of Public Security, said as Vietnam attracts millions of visitors every year, there is a sharp increase in the sexual exploitation of children in tourism services.

Most of child sexual victims are poor or street children living near tourist attractions, he said, adding that the detection and investigation of such cases is no easy task because they are too young and scared to give accurate testimony.

In addition, General Vinh said, there are no separate regulations on child sex-related while some internationally-recognised monitoring techniques are not effectively applied in Vietnam.

The Criminal Statistics Bureau under the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam reported that in the 2007-2011 period, there were more than 6,500 child sex-related cases involving nearly 6,800 defendants.

Participants in the seminar shared experience in preventing and combating child sexual exploitation by equipping the police force with information technology knowledge and new investigation methods.

They considered close coordination between the police force and related agencies as an effective way to collect information.

Infectious diseases discussed at Hanoi int’l conference

Medical experts from 13 Asian countries gathered at an international conference in Hanoi on October 30 to discuss measures against infectious diseases.

The event was organized by the Asian Network of Major Cities in the 21st Century (ANMC21), which includes Hanoi, Bangkok, New Delhi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Tomsk, Ulaanbaatar and Yangon. It aimed to build a sustainable cooperative network for improving public health and preventing the spread of communicable diseases in the region.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long, stressed the need to create close links among regional countries in order to deal with environmental pollution and newly-emerging epidemics that have already claimed many human lives.

Diseases, such as SARS, A/H5N1 influenza and hand-foot-mouth disease, have hit many countries in the region and around the world, resulting in many deaths, he added.

Delegates at the conference focused on finding effective measures to curb tropical diseases and post-calamity epidemics, as well as providing intensive treatment for TB patients and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Since the ANMC21 network was established in 2001, its members have taken turns organizing annual events to seek out solutions for tackling urgent issues in the region.

They have coordinated closely with each other to organize training courses and conferences in a bid to stamp out epidemics and contagious diseases.

Vietnam, Hungary strengthen veterinary cooperation

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan and his Hungarian counterpart Endre Kardevan signed a veterinary cooperation agreement between the two countries in Hanoi on October 30.

According to Tan, the agreement provides a sound basis for future bilateral cooperation between the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development not only in the veterinary field but also in other areas.

Under the agreement, the two sides will strengthen veterinary cooperation, including regular exchanges of information on quarantine used for pork and poultry meat import and export of Vietnam, making it easier for involved businesses.

The two sides will also seek to foster cooperation in import and export of other agricultural products.

Over the years, the agriculture sectors of Vietnam and Hungary have focused on exchanging officials and experts to learn from each other’s experience.

A joint working group of the two ministries under the Vietnam-Hungary Inter-governmental Committee met and agreed to gather biennially to forge long-term cooperation.

Endangered langur rescued in central region

An endangered douc langur found strayed in a rubber tree plantation was rescued last week in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Last Friday, residents in Thuong Long Commune, Nam Dong District caught the 1.4kg female animal and handed it over to the forest rangers, the district Forest Protection Bureau said. It was identified as as a red-shanked douc.

The langur, which was in good health, had been given to the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre in Cuc Phuong National Park.

Living mainly in northern and central Viet Nam and Laos, the red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and also protected under Vietnamese law.

Two die after drinking rice wine in Vung Tau

A drinking party of five people in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has left two men dead.

Last Wednesday in Long Son Commune after a binge with Nguyen Van Ba and Pham Quoc Phong, 49-year-old Y Cu was found unconscious and died soon after being rushed to hospital.

The next day, Ba together with Phong suffered respiratory difficulties, lost vision and fell into comas. They were hospitalised in critical condition.

Police took samples of the wine. Initial information was that the wine was produced in a distillery in the commune and police discovered the ingredients used for fermentation were from China.
The case is still under investigation.

VNN/VOV/VNS