PM Dung promotes national maths strategy

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has spoken highly of Professor Ngo Bao Chau's achievement and the professor's commitment to mathematics and the country.

Speaking with Chau at a meeting yesterday, Nov 8, the Prime Minister said the professor's success would have a great impact on renewing the teaching and learning of mathematics.

He said he believed that Viet Nam would be able to achieve great success in maths.

Dung affirmed that the Party and Government had considered mathematics as a fundamental basis to industrialise and modernise the country.

Professor Chau was also told that the Government had approved a 2010-20 strategy for mathematic skills development and the establishment of a higher mathematics institute.

Prime Minister Dung said he hoped Chau would work with the Ministry of Education and Training to rapidly put the institute into operation, while renovating and improving the teaching quality of maths countrywide.

Chau asserted that he would try his best to establish the institute and be willing to spend as much time as he could to implement the strategy with the Ministry of Education and Training.

Vietnam aims for sustainable development

Vietnam has always placed importance on sustainable development and will organise a national conference on sustainable development in December, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

The Vietnamese leader received the Managing Director of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Marcel Engel, in Hanoi on November 8.

Deputy PM Nhan expressed his hope that the WBCSD will continue to work with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and assist Vietnam in its efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Marcel Engel said he is pleased to see VCCI actively preparing for the establishment of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, which will become the WBCSD’s 61st member.

He introduced to the Deputy PM a number of sustainable development-related solutions, regarding waste treatment and energy-saving buildings, and pledged to share experiences with Vietnam in the field.

Seventh National Physics Conference opens in Hanoi

The seventh National Physics Conference opened in Hanoi on November 8 with attendance by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Delegates worked out a strategy for Vietnam’s development of physics for the 2011-2020 period with a vision for 2030, focusing on applying modern physics methods and equipment. This was for the medical sector, research and application of radio-active isotopes in healthcare and production, manufacturing and using sensors to install automatic water-pollution warning systems to develop green energy resources.

Deputy PM Nhan praised the physics sector’s achievements over the past few years and underlined the need to ensure the sustainable development of the physics sector in the future by launching new training programmes and devising investment plans to contribute to the country’s socio-economic development.

Mr Nhan also asked the sector to provide incentives for students to develop physics skills for the nation and boost international cooperation to share experience in research and training.

Fund to protect Vietnamese abroad approved

A newly-issued Finance Ministry circular will allow the director of a fund to protect Vietnamese nationals and legal entities abroad to approve payments of up to US$10,000.

The Foreign-Affairs-Ministry-managed fund will received VND20 billion (US$1 million) from the State budget each year.

Vietnamese diplomatic officers and authorised agencies will have access to it.

The fund will also be used to support Vietnamese nationals in difficult circumstances.

Fishing boats seized by border guards

Thanh Hoa Province's Border Guard seized four fishing boats for using electrical impulse equipment to catch fish near Me and Ne islands last Saturday.

They also confiscated the equipment on each boat for stunning fish with electric shocks and nearly 200 metres of electric wires.

A soldier was reported to have been pushed down to the sea and injured by one fisherman while he was performing his duty.

New form of driving licence to be issued

The Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam plans to issue a new form of driving licence in the first quarter of next year.

The licence will be the size of an ATM card and printed Vietnamese and English.

Personal information on the cards will be easy-to-check via a mobile-phone SMS.

The licences will have a high data-security level and be difficult to counterfeit.

The Road Traffic Police Department now controls about 30 million vehicles, including 1.5 million cars.

Conference discusses climate change impact on hydrological regime

The 5th Conference of the Asia Pacific Association of Hydrology and Water Resources (APHW) under the theme “Hydrological Regime and Water Resources Management in the Context of Climate Change” took place in Hanoi on November 8.

The conference provided a good opportunity for environmentalists from Vietnam, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Australia and India to share knowledge, information, technologies and scientific research on hydrology and water resources in the global context of climate change.

The event also aimed to boost scientific cooperation in hydrology and water resources and contribute opinions on the major topics for the 2008-2013 period, put forward by the International Hydrological Programme.

In his speech, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Nguyen Thai Lai, said that as host country, Vietnam will take initiatives and contribute to the APHW’s joint efforts to cope with climate change.

Participants discussed issues on climate change and hydrology, the impact of climate change on water sources and adaptation measures, integrated water resources management, disaster risk reduction and climate change.

The two-day conference was held by the Scientific Institute of Hydrometeorology and the Environment in collaboration with the National Committee for the International Hydrological Programme and the APHW.

90 tonnes of rice and essential commodities for Ly Son Island

Three ships carrying 80 tonnes of rice and 10 tonnes of essential products docked at Ly Son Island, central Vietnam, on November 8.

On November 7, big capacity vehicles with nearly 200 passengers, 70 tonnes of essential commodities, 25 tonnes of petroleum and hundreds of tanks of gas landed on the island, just off the coast of Quang Ngai province.

The goods helped lessen people’s hardships on island after 15 days of supply interruptions due to rough seas. However, officials said the provisions do not meet people’s demand as rough seas are likely to continue.

Rice agents and retail traders are gearing for transporting essential commodities to Ly Son Island.

VNN/VOV/VNS