13 dead and missing in Lao Cai flood waters

A flash flood hit Nam Nhu hamlet, Nam Luc commune, Bac Ha district in the northern province of Lao Cai on August 31, killing four people and leaving 9 others missing.   

Dang Van Khoa, an official of the Bac Ha district People’s Committee, said that all 13 victims are residents of Nam Nhu hamlet.

Rescue forces have found four dead bodies, and are searching for those still missing.

Located in a remote mountainous area, Nam Thu is home to ethnic minority groups. Rough terrain and poor telecommunications links have left it increasingly vulnerable to flash floods.

Hue gets new bridge over Perfume River

Authorities today opened a new bridge over Hue's Huong (Perfume) River.

The Bach Ho (White Tiger) Bridge is 542.5 metres long including the approach roads and 34.5 metres wide, with four lanes and sidewalks on either side.

The five-span bridge also has six viewing-towers for people to relax and enjoy the river views.

Construction of the bridge began in December 2009, and cost VND730 billion (nearly US$35 million).

Nguyen Van Cao, chairman of the Thua Thien – Hue Province People's Committee, said the bridge would significantly contribute to the province's socio-economic development, especially tourism, and also ease traffic on the Phu Xuan Bridge, which is deteriorating after decades of operation.

More than 1,000 receive citizenship

More than one thousand people received Vietnamese citizenship status at a ceremony in the border district of Dak Glei in Kon Tum province this morning.

Among those present were Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong and many high ranking officials.

A representative of Kon Tum People's Committee read out State President Truong Tan Sang's decision to give citizenship to 1066 people who had been living at Dak Glei and Ngoc Hoi districts for several decades.

All had settled down before July 1, 1989, but did not held Vietnamese citizenship status. According to a provincial representative, they all abided by Vietnamese law and wanted to become citizens. This is in accordance with Article 22 of the Citizenship Law issued in 2008.

Local authorities said the immigrants lived in 383 households and had stable lives, mingling with local inhabitant both at work and study.

“Blue Moon” coming to Vietnam soon

Vietnamese people will have the chance to see a blue moon when it graces the night sky at 20:58 on August 31 (local time).    

It is the second full moon in a month after the first one appeared on the first day of August.

However, there will be nothing particularly blue about the moon, despite its colorful name.

There will be a long wait until July 2015 to see a similar astronomical phenomenon that often occurs in a lunar leap year.

Filipino baby born on flight, being cared for in HCM City

A Filipino baby born prematurely on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to the Philippines has been cared for in Vietnam after the plane urgently landed in Ho Chi Minh City.

The baby is the first child of a Filipino couple, Angelo Josephe Violete, and his 32-year-old wife Nedris Masahud.

They were on board Emirates Airlines flight EK332 from Dubai to Manila on August 22 when Masahud gave birth to a premature 1.2-kg boy baby in her 28th week of pregnancy.

The plane’s health staff gave initial care to the newborn and the crew captain decided to make an urgent landing at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The baby and his mother were then taken to Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital at 4:50 pm that day.

The boy suffered from serious respiratory failure as his lung could not operate normally due to the premature birth, said PhD. Dr Ngo Minh Xuan, head of the hospital’s Neonatology Department.

At that time, the baby’s father intended to hire a specialized aircraft with medical equipment to take his son back to the Philippines, but after consulting with Tu Du doctors, he decided to leave the baby in the hospital.

Since being put on a respirator and given intensive care, the newborn has gradually recovered, and by August 30 he could breathe on his own, Dr Xuan said.

Flood-proof housing transforms Delta lives

Flood-proof residential clusters enable people in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap's flood-prone areas to live a normal life during the annual flood season, the chairman of the provincial People's Committee has said.

Le Minh Hoan said building flood-proof residential clusters in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has been a major programme.

Since it began in 2001, it has received a warm welcome from people and local authorities as it not only protects people from the ravages of floods but allows them to exploit the bounty the waters provide, he told Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.

He spoke about the historic floods in 2000 that caused disease outbreaks, environmental pollution, traffic disruption, property damage, and hundreds of casualties, and compared it with last year's severe flooding.

But in 2011 people's lives were not affected like in previous years, thanks to the programme, he said.

They also planted nearly 100,000ha of rice and vegetables during last year's floods, he said.

In the programme's first phase from 2001 to 2007, 204 residential clusters for 37,000 households were built in flood-prone areas.

In the second phase, expected to be completed next year, the province is building 46 more clusters to relocate 14,000 families living in flood- and erosion-prone areas.

In 32 of them, foundations have almost been fully laid; 25 have seen power connections completed; in 16, water supply systems and roads are in place.

The province has identified 7,000 households for relocation to these clusters.

Hoan said the clusters have living conditions similar to those in urban areas.

"The programme has met the target of providing safe housing for people in flood-prone areas," he said.

Training is provided to people living there in farming and making handicrafts, and they are encouraged to do trading and offer services.

The province would increase investment to set up infrastructure, schools, clinics, markets, and entertainment services in the clusters, Hoan said.

In the first phase of the programme, flood-proof clusters were also built in other places in the Mekong Delta.

A total of around 1,000 clusters to house 150,000 families on a total area of 3,000ha were built in Can Tho city and seven provinces.

Dong Thap and An Giang provinces managed to move almost all targeted households into these areas.

In the second phase, a further 178 are being built to resettle 52,000 households.

Murderer receives death sentence

The northern province of Bac Ninh's People's Court yesterday handed down the death sentence to a 34-year-old local man after he was found guilty of murder, damaging property and faking official documents.

Nguyen Duc Tiem planted explosives on his pregnant sister-in-law's motorbike that killed her and her four-year-old daughter last November.

Tiem shared a house with the family of his wife's brother, and he confessed to murdering his sister-in-law following an argument between the two couples.

In June 2010, Tiem planted explosives on the motorbike of a friend who he suspected of having an affair with his wife, causing the man to lose a leg.

Tiem was asked to pay VND187 million (US$8,900) in compensation to his wife's brother, and VND94 million ($4,500) to his friend.

Operations suspended at unlicensed hospital

Quang Ninh Province's Health Department has closed Ha Long International Hospital for operating without a licence.

The hospital was established at the end of last month as a clinic, but was later rebranded as a hospital. Evidence was also found of illegal medicine trading and the use of medical equipment that had not undergone safety checks.

Of the 24 employees, only one had a valid medical practitioner's certificate.

The clinic would be fined from VND20-30 million (US$953-1,400), said chief of the inspection department Nguyen Xuan Tinh.

Two factories shut for polluting environment

Two factories in the southern province of Tay Ninh had been shut down for polluting the environment, according to the provincial People's Committee.

Environmental health inspectors and police found a starch production factory run by Chinh Long Company in Duong Minh Chau District discharging wastewater directly into a main canal.

A motor oil recycling factory run by Van Bao Son Company in Chau Thanh District was also found to be pumping untreated waste into Vam Co Dong river.

Canada assists in training project

The Canadian Government will grant $20.4 million to the Viet Nam Skills for Employment Project following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two governments in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

The project aims to improve vocational training and technical education management, as well as provide opportunities to access skills training programmes, particularly for ethnic minorities, adolescents and rural residents .

It is intended to meet Viet Nam's requirements for a knowledgeable human resource base amid its international economic integration.

Viet Nam and Canada established a development co-operation relationship in 1990. At present, Viet Nam is among 20 nations prioritised for Canadian Government aid. Canada provided $23.5 million to Viet Nam in the 2009-2010 financial year and $27.5 million in the 2010-2011 financial year.

Canada's aid to Viet Nam mainly focuses on sustainable economic development, increasing agricultural productivity to assist with food security and facilitating training for farmers. Fighting climate change is also considered a priority for bilateral co-operation.

The MoE was signed by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh and Canadian Ambassador to Viet Nam Deborah Chatsis.

Thousands of people to be moved from landslide area

Nearly 1,500 households are in danger of landslides and need to be moved from the sides of the Tien River, says the southern Dong Thap Province Flood and Storm Steering Committee.

The committee asked the State to grant VND37 billion (US$1.8 million) to help the residents resettle as soon as possible.

The committee reported that flood encroachment and riverside erosion had occurred in 10 districts and cities of the province and was expected to worsen in September and October when rainfall peaked.

Statistics showed 50ha of land and many houses had already been inundated by floods or slipped into the river since last year, causing damage worth VNDD3 billion ($3.5 million).

One of the latest cases occurred in An Hiep Commune, where 3.4ha of land including four large ponds of fish and gardens worth more than VND2.6 billion ($125,000) were lost. No deaths or injuries were reported but six households had moved away while five remained.

Deputy director of Dong Thap Agriculture and Rural Development Dang Ngoc Loi said local authorities had zoned flood-prone areas and asked people to move but it was not easy for residents who earned money from the area around the river.

Phan Thi Lien, a Tan Binh Commune resident, said slips and erosion had occurred in front of her house.

"Local authorities have asked us to move but we want to live here because it's comfortable for us to do farming," he said.

Chairman of Tan Binh Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Phuong said new settlement areas had been arranged for people far from their production and cultivation areas and if necessary local authorities would evict them.