Transport Minister agrees to speed up airport expanding in Thanh Hoa

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has approved a proposal to speed up a project to broaden Tho Xuan Airport in central province of Thanh Hoa.

Minister Thang instructed Airport Corporation of Vietnam to complete the airport design before July 15 to start construction by October. It is expected to complete by the end of the next year.

Tho Xuan Airport opened in February last year has seen rapid growth rate, reaching 40 percent in the first half this year.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is exploiting HCMC-Thanh Hoa route with 12 flights per week. The company plans to increase the number to 14 in September and open new flights from Thanh Hoa to Da Nang City and Buon Ma Thuot City.

The low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific has seven flights per week between HCMC and Thanh Hoa.

Company dumps medicine in field

Ha Noi Police, on Wednesday, said that about 2,000 boxes containing medicinal drugs that were found in a vacant rice field in Thanh Tri district, had been disposed of illegally.

The boxes were found in 54 sacks scattered across the field.

Environmental Police Division Lieutenant Colonel, Pham Giang Son, said that the drugs were manufactured by Thanh Tri-based Intechpharms Co., Ltd for Sao Hoang Gia Joint Stock Commercial Company.

The drugs were found to be substandard and were returned to the manufacturer.

Instead of following the regulatory procedures to destroy the drugs, Intechpharms dumped them in a vacant field adjacent to the Phap Van highway.

The 1,970 boxes contained children's medication such as calcium, Egokids and Royal cough syrup.

The drugs then mysteriously disappeared two days after they were discovered in the field. Residents in the district said they saw sacks being loaded onto a truck.

Police identified the truck driver as Tran Dinh Kiem, 36, from Hoang Mai district's Tu Ky commune. He admitted that he was paid VND100,000 (US$ 4.7) by Intechpharms to pick up the drugs and take it to Ao En in Thanh Tri district.

The driver said that six or seven workers helped him load and unload the drugs.

Police are continuing with their investigation and have asked Intechpharms to retrieve the drugs from Ao En.

Viet Nam Health Environment Management Agency Deputy Director General, Nguyen Thanh Ha said that an administrative board should be established to monitor the disposal of drugs.

He said that drug manufacturers should submit safety disposal plans.

"Drug manufacturers should be held responsible for any violation of disposal procedures," said the Deputy Director General.

Summer to raise encephalitis risk

Despite a steady decrease in the number of encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis patients in recent years, the Ministry of Health has warned that summer temperatures could see a rebound in the number of cases, particularly in northern Viet Nam.

Tran Dac Phu, director of the Department of Preventive Medicines under the Ministry of Health, issued the warning at a conference on Wednesday.

As of last Friday, more than 350 encephalitis patients had been reported across 32 provinces and cities, a 10.8 per cent drop on the same period last year, according to the department. Six fatalities have occurred so far, with one of the dead victims, from Ha Noi's Ba Vi District, said to have been diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis.

The National Paediatrics Hospital is currently handling 69 cases of Japanese encephalitis, compared with five handled by the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Phu said the diseases were caused by different kinds of virus strains including the Japanese encephalitis virus. Patients often suffered brain damage from the disease resulting in long-term damage or fatalities, he said.

Children under 15-years-old were especially vulnerable to the disease, added Phu.

The disease appeared at the beginning of the year and has seen a steady rise in the summer months.

The vaccine against Japanese encephalitis was adopted into the National Immunisation Programme in 1997.

After an initial roll-out in some high risk provinces and cities the vaccine was gradually expanded to more localities.

Last year the vaccine was used in 60 provinces and cities and was supplied free-of-charge to children under-five-year-old in all 63 provinces and cities.

The health ministry prepared 4 million of doses of Japanese encephalitis vaccines this year, an increase of 1.7 million doses compared with the previous year.

It also assigned experts to check and advise on disease prevention in different localities. Information on the disease has also been disseminated to raise awareness.

Experts from the health ministry warned that to prevent Japanese encephalitis, residents should monitor hygiene levels at home and at work.

Livestock cages should be placed away from houses and cleaned regularly to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

Hai Ha Market vendors take a stand

Since last month, hundreds of household businesses in north-eastern Quang Ninh Province's Hai Ha Market have stayed overnight in front of the market to protest an enforced move to a modern building.

The traditional Hai Ha Market accommodates about 600 household businesses. Two years ago, the Hai Ha District People's Committee announced that they would be moved into a new building built by Duc Duong Ltd Company.

However, only half of business owners have agreed to the move. The others object that space there is too expensive. The rental fee for each square metre in the building is about VND130,000 (US$6.2), nearly six times higher than in the old market.

At a meeting between provincial leaders and representatives of household businesses on Monday, vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee Do Thong admitted that the local authority failed to properly consult households.

However, he added that those who agreed to move would not have to pay rental fees until 2017 and would also be exempted from vehicle keeping and cleaning fees.

"Those who insist on staying at the old market will be forced to move in 2017, when the site of the old market will be used to develop a square with green space," he said.

Director of the province's Industry and Trade Department Nguyen Manh Ha said that the department had not received any complaints from business.

"If we heard any concerns, the construction of the market building would have been discussed more carefully," he said.

At the meeting, representatives from business households displayed a provincial decision that mentioned only that the market would be upgraded but said nothing about a location change. They also complained that a recent power blackout prevented them from doing business.

Water stations still inactive over arsenic contamination

Ha Noi authorities have asked the My Dinh 2 water supply station to extend a halt to operations due to excessive amounts of arsenic in the water, calling for immediate action to resolve the contamination.

The station's water recorded alarmingly high levels of arsenic, four times the legal limit, during recent inspections by the health ministry. The station was temporarily suspended last week to allow for corrective action.

However, after the station took measures to remove the traces of arsenic, test results showed contamination levels were still double the required limit.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh said the station would not resume operations unless safe water could be provided.

Experts from the Ha Noi Department of Health's Preventive Medicine Centre said the excess had been caused by geological factors.

Exposure to arsenic can be damaging to the human circulatory and nervous system. Arsenic poisoning can lead to baldness, nausea, amnesia, weight loss and cancer, health experts say.

Nguyen Thanh Trung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of My Dinh 2 Ward in the Cau Giay District where the station is located, said local authorities warned local residents not to use contaminated water and asked the station to produce a temporary safe water supply to maintain people's daily activities.

The Viet Nam Water Company was temporarily supplying safe water from the Da river for local residents but could not meet demand, he said.

Nguyen Thu Ha, a local resident in the My Dinh 2 residential area, expressed concern about the station's water quality and said her family had been forced to ration their use of uncontaminated water.

She also said that she expected the city would soon implement measures to provide enough safe water for residents in the area.

Deputy Chairwoman of the Ha Noi People's Committee, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, has asked the Department of Construction to set up a plan to supply water to 5,000 households that have used water from the My Dinh 2 Station.

Future ASEAN Community needs better-trained students

New teaching methodologies and better education management are needed to prepare workers for an integrated ASEAN Community, Viet Nam's Deputy Minister of Education Nguyen Vinh Hien said at a conference held on Wednesday in HCM City.

Hien, who spoke at the Education Leaders Innovation Forum at the Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organisation (SEAMEO)'s Regional Training Centre, said that universities in the country were trying to train students to be global citizens and prepare them with skills needed for the 21st century.

Speaking at the forum, Professor Hafid Abbas of the State University of Jakarta said that schools should apply innovative learning methods that use supportive technologies, inquiry- and problem-based approaches, and higher-order thinking skills.

Community resources beyond school walls should also be included, he said.

In addition, students need to be trained to think critically, work creatively with others, solve problems, make judgments and decisions, and communicate clearly, he added.

Mastery of core subjects such as English, maths, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics is essential to student success, he said.

The three-day forum, which wraps up today, is a part of the SEAMEO College Project, which aims to strengthen the capacity of education leaders and practitioners and promote education and social development in the Southeast Asia Region for an Integrated ASEAN Community.

The forum, attended by representatives from 11 Southeast Asian countries, was financed by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction through the Asian Development Bank under the guidance of the SEAMEO Secretariat as the executing agency.

Its four modules include a strategic dialogue with education ministers; a high official country-case study; innovation forum for education leaders; and an innovation forum for youth leaders.

Binh Dinh province grapples with drought

More than 30,000 households in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh are in the grip of water shortage, while over 15,000 ha of crops are withering as a result of the ongoing drought, one of the worst for the past three decades.

In Phu Cat district, 21 out of the 22 irrigation reservoirs have run dry, forcing local farmers to drill wells or carry water from other regions to water their crops and meet daily needs, according to the district People’s Committee Vice Chairman Luong Ngoc Anh.

Phu My district is also facing the same situation with 41 out of the 44 reservoirs drying up, whilst nearly 1,000 ha of crops have died.

About 8,000 households with nearly 40,000 people are suffering from severe water shortage for their daily use, according to the district People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ha Ngoc Tan.

The provincial Party Committee has made fighting drought the most important task for the local government. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also promised to ask the Prime Minister for an aid package of more than 100 billion VND for Binh Dinh to overcome the drought.

VNA enhances ties with overseas representative offices

General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Nguyen Duc Loi has proposed that chiefs of the Vietnamese representative offices abroad create the most possible conditions for VNA correspondents’ coverage in their host countries.

He met with newly-accredited Vietnamese ambassadors and consuls-general, who are about to leave the country for their overseas missions, at the VNA headquarters in Hanoi on July 10.

He expected that the overseas representative offices will help VNA pressmen set up ties with authorities and press agencies in their host countries, as well as provide them with information from places where the agency has yet to establish its bureaus.

The VNA leader introduced his guests to main features of the national news agency, whose staff now numbers over 2,300 working in 63 local representative offices and 30 overseas ones. It has set up ties with 40 partners all over the world.

Apart from supplying text and image reports to subscribed users, the agency has 40 different publications in both Vietnamese and foreign languages, including the electronic multi-language newspaper Vietnam Plus, the English language newspaper Viet Nam News, the Tin Tuc (News) daily, the The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) daily, the French language Le Courrier du Vietnam weekly and the multi-language Vietnam Pictorial magazine. It also runs its own television channel – the VNEWS.

On behalf of the diplomats, Nguyen Van Thao, Ambassador to the UK and North Ireland, pledged close coordination with VNA representative offices abroad.

The guests asked for the VNA’s continued provision of news and photos to serve their popularisation works.

On the same day, the newly-appointed ambassador were received by Vu Xuan Hong, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, who expressed his belief that the diplomats will help further strengthen the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries.

Vietnam promises best conditions for youth’s growth: official

Vietnam pledges the best possible conditions for its adolescents and young people to enjoy their rights and fulfil their obligations in accordance with law, an official from the Ministry of Health said on July 10.

General Director of the ministry’s General Office for Population and Family Planning Duong Quoc Trong made the remark at a meeting in the central province of Khanh Hoa to mark the World Population Day (July 11), themed “Investing in young people”.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Chief Representative in Vietnam Arthur Erken said there are some 1.8 billion people in the so-called youth group (10-to-24 age range) in the world, accounting for around one quarter of the global population.

Appropriate investment and attention will help the young people fully realise their potential as citizens, leaders, and those who bring positive changes to the world, he noted, adding that UNFPA calls on all Governments to include new goals for young people in their post-2015 development programmes.

Vietnam is in a golden population period which will last until 2040 with nearly 40 percent of its population between 10 and 24 years old, an all-time high.

This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the country to push up its socio-economic growth by providing equal attention for all population groups and empowering the young to fully realise their potential, Erken added.

After the meeting, participants joined a workshop on population and family planning issues.

Ninh Thuan strengthens childcare work

The south central province of Ninh Thuan has carried out a string of activities to promote its child protection and care work as well as help local disadvantaged children integrate into community.

Dang Thi Phan, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, made the remark at a July 10 symposium aiming to raise public awareness of the work and prevent child physical and mental abuse.

She noted the number of cases of child abuse and violence remains high, attributing it to the insufficient awareness of child protection among families and the society.

The official also blamed the problem on the lack of an efficient childcare service network, adding that the dignity of a group of children is being damaged by the dark side of films and online games.

Le Thi Xua, head of the department’s Child Protection and Care Office, said relevant agencies should expand a child protection model developed by the United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) and collaborate to heighten the efficiency of the work.

Participants also underscored the need to build amusement parks for children, especially those living in remote and mountainous areas, in order to create safe playgrounds for them.

Hanoi workshop seeks to ensure finance for HIV/AIDS fight

Measures to ensure financial resources for preventing and fighting HIV/AIDS were discussed at a workshop held in Hanoi on July 10.

Organised by the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, the conference also heard international experiences in mobilising financial assistance and updated the building of finance strategies in the field.

Speaking at the workshop, Kristan Schoultz, UNAIDS Country Director in Vietnam Kristan Schoultz highly valued Vietnam’s efforts in building a project on ensuring finance for HIV/AIDS prevention activities in the period of 2013-2020, saying that this shows the country’s strong determination in looking for solutions to the issue.

Dang Thuan Phong, deputy head of the committee, said at the event that Vietnam has curbed the rate of HIV carriers to under 0.3 percent, while attempting to reduce the number of new infection cases and deaths.

He also noted that it is difficult to reach the targets as the State budget allocation and other resources for the work were cut down to only 207 billion VND (9.7 million USD) in 2013 from 245 billion VND in the previous year, and the figure is likely to be only 83 billion VND in 2014.

At the end of April, Vietnam counted 219,163 people living with HIV and 67,557 AIDS patients. The virus has led to the death of some 69,449 people across the country.

Participants said the coverage of services for preventing HIV/AIDS remains limited as the distribution of condoms and injection needles meets only about 50 percent of the need, while the treatment therapies satisfy only one-third of HIV cases.

In Vietnam, up to 80 percent of expense for preventing HIV/AIDS is from assistance resources, and many aid projects have come to an end or are on the verge of completion.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to consolidating the HIV/AIDS prevention networks from the central to local level, improving the quality of service providers, and broaden Methadone treatment for addicts in the community, said representatives from the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control.

They also underlined the necessity to hold campaigns raising public awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention measures.

In order to ensure sustainable resources for realising goals set in the field, the administration of HIV/AIDS has proposed the Government and the NA to set up a national programme for HIV/AIDS prevention for the 2016-2020 period.

The programme is being considered by the Prime Minister for approval.

UNDP-funded project targets wetland protection

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a project on the conservation of critical wetland areas and linked landscapes with the aim of establishing two more wetland preservation areas in northern Thai Binh province and central Thua Thien-Hue province.

The project, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme’s Global Environment Facility (GEF), will be carried out in four years at a total cost of over 18 million USD.

According to the Prime Minister’s Decision 1131/QD-TTg signed on July 9, the project will be implemented by the Vietnam Environment Administration and the People’s Committees of Thai Binh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

It looks to build legal frameworks for the conservation of wetlands, establish two new wetland preservation areas, enhance provincial-level capacity in protecting and exploiting wetlands and reduce threats from local livelihoods to biodiversity.

The project also aims to raise public awareness of the value of wetland ecosystem, targeting sustainable management and use of larger linked landscapes.

Vietnam is home to many world important wetland areas, including the Lang Sen Preservation Area in Mekong delta Long An province, Mui Ca Mau National Park in southernmost Ca Mau province and Tram Chim National Park in Mekong delta Dong Thap province.

Concern over high rate of delayed and canceled flights

Representatives from several airlines in Vietnam met on July 9 to look into the reasons and solutions for the increasing number of delayed and canceled flights.

Delays and cancellations are nothing new, but the number has recently been sharply increasing, mostly with the low-cost carriers. On July 9, representatives from four carriers, Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, VietJet Air and Vasco, along with other relevant units discussed the problem. The deputy director of Jetstar Pacific, Nguyen Tuan Anh said they only have six planes, so if one needs maintenance their capacity is reduced by one sixth.

Hoang Van Manh, from Vietnam Airlines, said they had to invest in human resources, equipment and back-up planes for many years. Manh pointed out that sometimes delays are unpredictable. He recounted an incident, "When a plane was set to take off, the crew wasn't able to find the luggage of a missing passenger to return it to the airport. When the luggage was found, the passenger arrived," he said.

According to VietJet Air, which has the highest number of delayed flights, during the first six months of the year, they had to cancel 32 flights because of technical issues, which caused delays to 200 flights. Bad weather and passenger errors are other causes. A representative from VietJet Air went on to say that many flights were delayed because the check-in system across the country is not synchronized, refueling and security screening services at airports are also slow.

On the other hand, the ground handling services at Tan Son Nhat Airport said that some carriers frequently change planned routes, confusing them. On June 19, VietJet Air mistakenly brought 200 passengers to Cam Ranh instead of Da Lat. Even though the route was changed, not all employees had been informed.

A representative of the Department of Flight Safety Standards, under the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that since weather forecasts at airports are not always accurate, it added to the number of sudden delays and cancelled flights.

In order to improve the situation, the carriers agreed to increase their back-up planes and staff. Moreover, the turn time of a plane will also be lengthened. The Civil Aviation Authority will inspect the ground handling services and publicise the number of delayed and cancelled flights weekly. "If carriers are unable to improve services, then we may ban them from opening new routes," said Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of Civil Aviation Authority.

In the first six months of 2014, there were 74,000 flights in Vietnam, out of which about 21% were delayed and just over 3% were cancelled. This rate represents an increase of 5.2% and 0.5% respectively compared to last year.

'Busted' online football betting ring still active

Despite the recent clamp-down by Vietnamese police, a major gambling ring which used the domain name m88.com is still openly operating.

On July 4, public concerns were raised over the news that m88.com, a huge illegal online football-betting ring, was shut down by HCM City police for allegedly taking more than 1 trillion VND (47.6 million USD) in bets on football matches. At least seven of the people allegedly involved were arrested.

Just one day later, however, a reporter successfully accessed the website. Apparently, after the police bust, M88 simply switched to other very similar domain names. There is even one website that provides assistance for gamblers to get access to the M88 system after the clampdown.

After gaining access to M88, gamblers can easily set up an account and, within a few minutes, be provided with customer service. Clients are able to chat online with staff, who will guide them through the process of how to transfer money from a Vietnamese bank account of their choice to their M88 accounts. There are a few rules, including not divulging to the bank that transfers are actually going to M88 or transferring money through a third party.

Gamblers are also reminded to check the system daily, as M88 changes their account number on a regular basis. This has stirred up concerns about how an illegal football betting ring is able to set up so many bank accounts for their transactions.

A few hours after conducting the transaction, the money goes into the gambler’s M88 account, which allows them to start illegally betting.

An investigation found that the internet was not used for major football betting rings in Vietnam before 2008. Since then, many of them, like sbobet, 188bet and M88 have launched Vietnamese websites and employed Vietnamese staff to service customers.

When asked about the recent police 'bust', an M88 staff member simply said, “We’re operating as normal," and abruptly ended the conversation.

Deputy PM affirms continued housing support for disadvantaged

The Government was determined to continue implementation of a housing support programme for disadvantaged people, though it would be difficult to balance the State budget, Deputy Prime Minister, Hoang Trung Hai has said.

While chairing a July 10 meeting on developing housing support policies for the poor in areas frequently hit by floods, Deputy PM Hai affirmed the consent of Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung and Government leaders on continuing the programme, which was widely known as the 167 Programme.

Saying that the poor and people living in flood-prone areas had faced difficulties, the Deputy PM said that long-time housing policies implemented by the Government on a national scale in past years had helped millions of poor people to have the capability to settle and strengthen their homes. They have also offered better solutions in prevention and adaptation to natural disasters, storms and floods to the Central region and Mekong Delta.

The implementation of the programme’s phase 2 has progressed immediately after phase 1 finished with more than 500,000 households supported in housing construction and renovation. However, according to recent statistics, more than 510,000 poor households are still in need of housing support.

It is estimated that the total estimated capital sourced from the State budget and preferential loans for phase 2 was at VND13 trillion (US$611 million), plus a projected VND6 trillion (US$282 million) mobilised from the community and household contribution. The difficulty in accessing financial resources has threatened the implementation of the 167 Programme in some periods.

However, at the meeting, representatives from related ministries, agencies and authorities expressed their determination to continue the meaningful programme to assist the lives of people nationwide.

In that spirit, Deputy PM Hai assigned the Ministry of Construction, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, to develop two new related projects on housing support for the poor during the 2011-2015 period and housing construction for flood-prone areas in the central region, then submit the project plans to the PM for consideration.

Along with that, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies were asked to balance medium-term capital for the two projected schemes to be implemented in 3-5 years.

Financial support levels will be calculated according to specific situations at each site. As expected, depending on the condition of each household, the State budget will allocate VND5-7 million or VND10-14 million for each household, while offering preferential loans of VND15 million per household at a maximum.

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