More local students receive Australian scholarships

As many as 135 awardees will depart Vietnam from January 2013 to study in Australia as recipients of Australia Awards.

Vietnamese students in Australia. (Photo: VOV)

This year’s group is among more than 3,000 Vietnamese who have received long-term scholarships from the Australian Government since the opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973.

The awardees will undertake post-graduate (Masters and Doctorates) studies in a diverse range of key development areas such as economics, education, environment, rural development, health and disability in Australia at a university of their choice.

More than half of the awardees are women and four are from ethnic minorities, reflecting the high priority Australia places on equity in its selection of award recipients.

Many of the awardees have undertaken up to nine months English language training in Vietnam in order to meet the English language requirements for study at an Australian university.

Speaking at the awards ceremony in Hanoi on December 3, Australian Ambassador Hugh Borrowman said, “The Australia Awards were introduced in November 2009 to help build future leaders for the 21st century, strengthen regional trade and economic linkages, and foster wide-ranging people to people links between Australia and other nations”.

“These 135 Vietnamese scholars are expected to contribute to Vietnam’s development and maintain the linkages between Vietnam and Australia when they come back”, he said.

Vietnam is the second largest recipient of Australia Awards with around 400 awards on offer each year, of which 250 postgraduate awards are managed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

Marathon man funds clean water project

Australian Pat Farmer will run a marathon from the north to the south of Viet Nam from December 9 to January 16.
The journey will begin from the town of Mong Cai in northern Viet Nam then head south, running through Ha Noi and HCM City.

The run will finish in the southern province of Ca Mau. Following the run, Farmer intends to jet ski along the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta River from Ca Mau and will finish at Nha Rong Harbour in HCM City.

The main journey will cover about 80-85km a day, completing about 3,000km in 40 days.

Farmer will be accompanied by Vietnamese running partner Mai Nguyen Dinh Huy.

People are urged to support Farmer and help the Australian Red Cross raise US$275,000 for a clean water project.

Samples tested negative to H5N1

Samples taken in the boarding house zone in the southern Binh Duong Province's Thuan An Town, where a patient died suspectedly due to A/H5N1, were tested negative to H5N1 virus.

The information was confirmed by Ta Trong Khang, deputy director of the Binh Duong Department of Animal Health.
After Nguyen Van Sang, 42, from the southern province of Kien Giang and lived in the zone, hospitalised last week and then died suspectedly due to A/H5N1, local animal health experts took samples of different flocks of livestock in the zone for tests.

Previously Sang had high temperature, coughing and difficult breathe when being taken to the Binh Duong General Hospital. He died after being moved to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Hanoi supports needy people during upcoming Tet

Hanoi will present social policy beneficiaries with nearly VND230 billion (US$11,500 million) in the upcoming lunar New Year, the year of the Snake.

The city will offer a gift package worth VND500,000 to every Heroic Mother, Hero of the People’s Armed Forces, Hero of Labour during the national struggle for independence, war invalids, service people and people exposed to Agent Orange (AO) during the war, and other beneficiaries.

Children of AO victims will receive VND300,000 each. Retired officials, police and veterans will get VND200,000 each. Every poor household will be given VND300,000.

The city will donate VND5.5 million to care and treatment centres of several municipal departments, while visiting nursing homes for war invalids in seven neighbouring provinces.

In addition, 58 revolutionary families will receive a gift package worth VND1.1 million, and 49 social agencies will receive VND5.5 million each.

Public concern over spate of robberies

With the HCM City People's Council set to begin a new session today, voters in Districts 4, 6, 10, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc once again complained about the worrying spate of robberies and thefts.

"Robbers, who have become more audacious, attack people on the streets with impunity, making residents feel unsafe when going out," they said.

Despite several complaints about the drug hotspots in an alley opposite the city fire station on Phan Dang Luu Street in Binh Thanh District, they have yet to be raided, they said.

They urged the police and people's committees at ward and commune levels to increase patrols on the streets to combat crime.

Many citizens also raised the issue of traffic problems, environmental pollution, and dumping waste in public land.
They wanted authorities to bolster management of public lands and recover public land that have been illegally occupied.

Binh Chanh voters said several projects have been progressing at a snail's pace —like the 42-ha university that was coming up in Hung Long commune and the Happiness Tenement project in Binh Hung commune.

They said the projects, which had been delayed for several years, should be scrapped to make residents feel secure.

Voters in Cu Chi District called for reconsidering several delayed projects including creation of an orchid- and bonsai-growing village in Phuoc Vinh An commune and setting up of a chemical-pharmaceutical zone in the communes of Phuoc Hiep and Tan An Hoi.

"They should be revoked as soon as possible if not feasible," they said.

More than 80 petitions from voters to lawmakers relate to environmental problems.

In Tan Binh District they want the city authorities to reduce pollution in the Tham Luong Canal in Ward 15 which floods streets and homes in the rainy season.

They also want culverts built to reduce pollution by the Tan Tru and Hy Vong canals in Ward 15.

In Binh Chanh they want the district to stop pollution by factories and waste-treatment facilities in Pham Van Hai, Tan Nhut, Binh Loi, Le Minh Xuan, Quy Duc, Binh Hung, and Da Phuoc communes.

Many manufacturing facilities in District 12 discharge wastewater into canals, causing environmental problems in the district.

Hoc Mon voters said canals in the district such as An Ha and Tran Quang Co have been causing serious pollution.

In District 11 voters want the city to co-ordinate with neighbouring provinces to stop manufacturing facilities in the neighbouring provinces of Long An, Tay Ninh, and Dong Nai from discharging wastewater into HCM City.

Tan Binh District voters said a lead production facility has been discharging toxic waste, affecting residents in Ward 15.

CTBTO prioritises cooperation with Vietnam

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) is to prioritise its International Data Centre (IDC) human resource building programme with Vietnam, and will provide necessary technical assistance to help the country improve personnel capacity for national development.

The Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO, Tibor Toth, made the remarks at a reception for Vietnamese Ambassador to the CTBTO Nguyen Thiep, in Vienna, Austria, on November 29.

Toth highly valued Vietnam’s participation and approval of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), saying that it plays an important role in anti nuclear proliferation and preventing arms race in Asia and the world as well.

Thiep affirmed Vietnam’s policy of peace and comprehensive disarmament including nuclear weapons.

Vietnam hopes to receive support from the international community, including the CTBTO, to develop nuclear power applications for peace and development, he added.

The diplomat was also received by Lassina Zerbo, who was elected Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission in September and will take up his position in June next year.

The Vietnamese diplomat congratulated Zerbo and expressed his hope to closely cooperate with him during his working term.

IT programme for disabled students

More than 250 students with disabilities in central Da Nang City and other central provinces will be enrolled in the first information technology training course at the city's Dong A University, starting next year.

The VND8.8 billion (US$419,000) programme is being funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) until 2015.

Students will attend a six-month course in IT and English skills as well as working skills with businesses after the course.

Children to receive safety training

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bac Lieu gave life-jackets and information about preventing injuries to more than 600 children in two coastal communes in Hoa Binh District of Vinh Hau A and Vinh Thinh on Sunday.

Le Thu Danh, head of the department of Child Care and Protection in Bac Lieu said that from the beginning of the year the department had given 1,000 bags, life-jackets and information about injury prevention for children as well as opening courses to train thousands of children about injury prevention.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 10 children have drowned, many have been electrocuted and dozens have been sexually abused.

Ban proposed for multi-level marketing

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is planning to ban online multi-level marketing due to the risk of fraud.

Tran Huu Linh, director of MoIT's Department of E-commerce and Information Technology, said in an online conference yesterday that one of the banned activities was the supply of e-commercial services through marketing, in which customers had to pay a sum of money at the beginning, then got commission and a bonus when they drew other people into the system.

Four children die in mortar explosion

Four children were killed when a mortar shell from the war exploded in southern Vinh Long Province's Vung Liem District on Sunday.

Four others, including two children, were injured in the blast.

The mortar shell was said to have been found by a villager in 2007 when dredging a canal. He brought the shell home without reporting it to local authorities.

The children were playing near the shell when it exploded. Police are investigating.

Illegal gold mining remains rampant in northern province

Illegal gold mining in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan's Ngan Son District is spiralling out of control as local authorities are failing to curb the problem by applying strict measures, the Viet Nam News Agency report.

The situation has been recorded in Khin Heo, Pac Nan and Khuoi Ngoa communes where groups of diggers work not only at night but also in daytime. They exploit gold and refine it there on the spot.

Some groups even dig caves in land-slide prone areas, endangering the lives of the diggers themselves, particularly as there is no pillar to support the caves.

A gold miner from Thai Nguyen Province said they had mined for a long time. Some investigators had come over to fine them recently and then went away, he said.

According to local policeman Ly Tho Phung, the problem was reported to the higher levels for inspection but the authorities did not apply harsh punishments because the diggers work on a small scale.

He also shared the view that the repetition of checking, warning and fining did not help solve the problem.

As soon as the inspectors went away, the illegal miners continued their work, he added.

The illegal gold mining has affected local people's lives due to the noise generated from power generators all day and night. Meanwhile, farming land is encroached on and streams polluted.

Last month the district authorities reported to the department of natural resources and environment that they had removed three groups and fined ten others, however our correspondent report that illegal mining remains a problem.

VNN/VOV/VNS