Two Vietnamese believed dead in Lao plane crash

The Lao News Agency (KPL) confirmed on October 16 that all 49 passengers on board were killed in a plane crash.

They were on a Lao Airlines ATR-72 flight from Vientiane to Pakse City, southern Laos. Due to the heavy rain and strong winds, the plane dived into the Mekong River when it was prepared to land at Pakse Airport.

The victims included 17 Laotians, five Thai, five Australian, three Korean, seven French, one American, two Chinese (one Taiwanese), one Canadian and two Vietnamese people who were identified as Le Hue and Vuong Thi Gan.

Nghe An dam bursts, causing severe flooding

A dam burst in the central province of Nghe An on October 16, causing flash floods and washing away local residents’ property and animals.

Powerful storm Nari that made landfall on October 15 has dumped heavy rains on the central region, triggering severe flooding.

An average rainfall of 300mm submerged large areas of rice and subsidiary crops and breached Con Den dam in Nghe An’s Thanh  Chuong district.

Reservoirs in the province are on the brink of bursting as they are now saturated with excess floodwaters.

Nghe An province has asked districts to evacuate local residents from danger areas and take prompt measures to secure dams and reservoirs.

As of October 17, nearly 750 households have moved away from the flood-prone areas.

Heavy downpours also flooded key arteries and caused landslides, blocking traffic on National Highway 1A.

Violent floodwaters killed a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Nam Dam district when she was on the way home from school.

EVN leaders use luxury items in violation of regulations

The Electricity Group of Vietnam (EVN) has been found to spend over VND3 billion (USD142,857) more than the regulated amount for use to buy luxury vehicles for leaders, according to the Government Inspectorate.

This is just one of the results given by a recent inspection of the Government Inspectorate.

EVN bought two Toyota Landcruisers, totaling VND5 billion (USD238,000), while, at the same time, it was is only allowed to buy two cars costing a maximum of VND1.04 billion (USD47,619) each.

The group explained that the cars were bought because on orders from business officials for trips to several localities. The Government Inspectorate, however, announced that it is still a violation for the overspending regulations pending the PM’s decision.

EVN added that it had to build homes along with other works, such as tennis courses, swimming pools and pre-schools in its power plant area for experts during construction. After the experts leave, the houses will be turned into guest houses or serve as accommodation for staff in charge of the management of operation and repair activities.

According to EVN, the investment for the works comes from its banking loans or their after-tax profit. The Government Inspectorate, however, said that if that is the case, the investment must have been gradually added electricity prices.

About the great disparity between the withdrawal of EVN’s violation, the Government Inspectorate said that initially they proposed seizing more than VND6.5 trillion (USD309.52 million) from EVN, but later changed the figure to just VND1.5 trillion (USD71.42 million) after working with appraising agencies over the inspection results of EVN.

The official conclusion about EVN’s case will be decided by the prime minister.

Vietnam joins convention on nuclear safety

Vietnam has become the 69th member of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.

The convention, which aims to directly address these issues on a global scale, was opened for signature on September 29, 1997 , and entered into force on June 18, 2001.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nguyen Thiep recently handed over the membership document to Director of the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs Peri Lynne Johnson in Vienna.

This is a new progress of Vietnam in the nuclear sector and the move illustrates the country’s consistent policy of joining international conventions and perfecting its legal framework in preparation for implementing its first nuclear power programme, said Thiep.

Johnson hailed Vietnam’s efforts over the past time to sign most of the basic international conventions on nuclear, standing out among nations preparing for nuclear power.

Both sides pledged to further promote the cooperation between Vietnam and the IAEA in the coming time.

UN launches essay contest to celebrate multilingualism

The United Nations launched on October 14 the contest "Many Languages, One World ", asking college and university students to write an essay in one of its six official languages on the role of multilingualism in a globalised world.

The contest, launched at UN Headquarters in New York with a signing ceremony between the UN Department of Public Information and the ELS Educational Services, supports international education and multilingualism through the continued study of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

“Our collaboration focuses on two of the priorities of the Secretary General, one being youth and the other multiculturalism, and this is a wonderful way of bringing those two together,” said Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information following today’s signing ceremony launching the contest.

The senior UN official signed on behalf of the UN Academic Impact (UNAI), which is co-organising the event as part of its commitment to multilingual education, with ELS.

“Through this event, we hope to focus a light on the role of the UN,” said Mark Harris, CEO and President of ELS. “The role of the UN is the role of every global citizen, which is to make peace and to look at ways to enhance the qualities of life, health and spiritual fulfillment of peoples around the world through common understanding and through language,” he added.

To qualify, the student’s native language has to be different from the one in which he or she writes, and different from the principal one at the school.

A panel of international judges, to be invited by the UNAI and ELS Educational Services, will select ten top winners in each language category who will be invited to New York by ELS to participate in a series of events in June 2014.

These events will include a youth forum on global citizenship and the nine other principles of UNAI at UN Headquarters on 27 June 2014, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the UN Charter. The forum will be preceded by a preparatory students’ conference at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York.

“I think it’s an excellent project,” said Lyutha Sultan Al-Mughairy, the Chairperson of the Committee on Information, a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly. The Ambassador, who represents Oman, noted that the contest is “good encouragement” for multilingual study.

Also participating in the event, Fillippe Savadogo, Ambassador of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), said the project was creating “dynamism” and was “consolidating the spirit of the world”.

China’s Premier meets with Vietnamese, Chinese students

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Vietnamese and Chinese students in Hanoi on October 15 on the occasion of his official visit to Vietnam from October 13-15.

The exchange themed “Inheriting traditional friendship, opening a bright future” took place at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan described the Vietnam–China traditional friendly neighbourliness founded and fostered by President Ho Chi Minh and President Mao Zedong as an invaluable asset shared by the two peoples.

The Party and State leaders vowed to develop bilateral ties under the motto “friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and looking towards the future” and in the spirit of “good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners”, he said.

Over the past time, the relations between the two Parties, States and peoples have come a long way, he said, adding that the Vietnamese Party, State and people will never forget the valuable assistance offered by their Chinese counterparts during the past national liberation and the current national development.

He noted that Vietnam pursues a long-term and consistent guideline of consolidating the friendly neighbourliness and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China – which is also the top priority in Vietnam ’s foreign policy.

For his part, Premier Li said his visit aims to bolster the long-term and stable relationship with Vietnam. Both sides exchanged orientations and ideas to deepen cooperation in various domains, particularly economics and trade, and discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern.

He said the Vietnamese and Chinese students inherit both nations’ friendship while contributing to developing the friendly neighbourliness and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations.

Stressing concrete ways to link the two peoples together, Premier Li said people-to-people exchange remains a basic step.

He took the occasion to present some books to the USSH.

Over the past time, the USSH has expanded partnerships with top Chinese universities like the University of Beijing , the University of Shanghai and others in Guangdong , Guangxi and Yunnan.

Currently, over 13,000 Vietnamese students and postgraduates are studying at 100 universities in 20 Chinese provinces. Nearly 3,000 Chinese students are also pursuing studies in Vietnam.

The same day, Premier Li attended a business exchange co-hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Earlier on October 14, the Chinese leader met with President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong and top officials of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association (VCFA).

During the meeting, Li expressed his deep condolences to the Vietnamese people and family of General Vo Nguyen Giap – an eminent political and military leader and a close friend of the Chinese people - who passed away on October 4.

He noted with pleasure the extensive people-to-people exchange over the past time, saying that it is an important foundation for the two sides to deepen all-sided cooperation in the coming time.

Hong said the VUFO and VCFA will keep expanding exchanges with the Chinese people as set under the 2013-2017 cooperation plan between the VUFO and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and ensure that the construction of the Vietnam–China Friendship Palace will finish as scheduled.

Forum highlights climate change coping experiences

Vietnam’s annual average temperatures have risen 0.7 degrees during the past 50 years and sea levels have risen by 20cm, has told October 15’s second annual coastal forum.

Vietnam General Department of Sea and Islands Deputy Director General Vu Sy Tuan elaborated on the significant impacts of Le Nino and La Nina weather patterns on Vietnam.

Climate change intensifies natural disasters like typhoons, floods, and droughts. The annual average temperature is likely to increase by as much as three degrees Celsius by 2100, with sea levels climbing an entire metre.

Around 40,000 kilometres along Vietnam’s coastal delta risks flooding and such a scenario would mean the inundation of 90 percent of the Mekong River Delta.

Soc Trang Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Le Thanh Tri described the particularly serious problems his province has encountered as a result of climate change and sea level rises. Useable rice cultivation and aquaculture areas have shrunk, affecting local incomes.

Tri said international organisations and their diverse economic modelling has encouraged local residents to embrace sustainable production and environmental protection.

The four-day forum with the participation of more than 200 delegates from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam is part of the “Building Resilience to Climate Change’s Impacts: Coastal Southeast Asia”  project, financed by the European Union.

Vietnam looks to promote and protect women rights

Vietnam has used an October 14 United Nations debate on the Advancement of Women (Agenda Item 28) to affirm its commitment to achieving gender equality and its recognition of its importance to equitable and sustainable development.

The UN Women’s Executive Director and Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women highlighted the integral role of women in reducing poverty and promoting peace, security, and sustainable development.

Delegates noted women still suffer socioeconomic and political inequality despite this. They argued for the inclusion of women’s rights as an explicit target in the UN’s post-2015 agenda.

Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Le Hoai Trung reiterated Vietnam’s dedication to advancing women and gender equality.

Since 2006’s enactment of the Gender Equality Law in 2006, the Vietnamese Government has continued to augment its women’s rights policies. The Law against Domestic Violence was adopted in 2007.

A 2011–2015 National Strategy and National Program on Gender Equality was endowed with a budget equivalent to US$47 million and is being implemented.

With support from the World Bank and UN Women in Vietnam, this year’s Vietnam Women’s Innovation Day was organised around the theme “Economic Empowerment and Capacity Building for Vietnamese Women”, promoting creative thinking and encouraging women who “act beyond existing predefined parameters and traditional interventions”.

This biennial program has provided some US$2.4 million in funding for 231 innovative projects run by women since its inception in 2003.

Women have always been active in Vietnamese political life. In recognition of the importance of gender sensitive leadership investment, the Centre for Women in Politics and Public Administration was launched last June. It will help leaders and civil servants promote gender equality both in their working environment and through their work itself, raising awareness regarding its indispensability to inclusive socio-economic development.

These Government efforts and the support received reaped tangible results. Seventy eight percent of all Vietnamese women are members of the labour force, representing 48 percent of Vietnamese workers, and the numbers are increasing. The literacy rate for women and girls stands at 92 percent. Female students account for more than 50 percent of total tertiary education enrolments.

In 2012, Vietnam’s gender equality index was ASEAN”s 3rd highest and 48th in the world. It was one of the five developing Asian countries with the highest percentages of female members of Parliament.

In Vietnam, a lawful certificate of land entitlement must bear the names of both the husband and the wife. Issues of gender, gender equality, and gender-based violence form part of the mainstream of all social discourse and policy-making.

The country still wrestles with challenges, including limited full time staff specifically working on gender issues, restricted budgets, and persistent gender-based income disparity. These issues are especially evident at the provincial level. Vietnam must work hard to overcome them as soon as possible.

 HCM City to host int’l two-wheel vehicle exhibition

An international two-wheel vehicle exhibition will take place in the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City from December 4-7.

The information was announced at a press conference in Hanoi on October 15, which was organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Chinese Bicycle Association, CCPIT Shanghai and the Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad).

The event aims to promote economic cooperation between Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises with countries in the Southeast Asian region, said Dao Ngoc Chuong, Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to Yao Lujie, Head of the exhibition’s organising board, the event will serve as an important occasion for China ’s two-wheel vehicle industry to take advantage of the sector’s incentives, thus directly promoting their development in the country’s target markets.

The 2,000 sq m exhibition will exhibit bicycles, electric and sports bikes, hi-tech spare parts and energy-saving and environmentally friendly vehicles from world famous brands including BH, Giant, Merida and Yadi.

Sportswear, safety gear and equipment will also be introduced at the event.

In the framework of the event, a conference will be held to discuss how to foster cooperation in the two-wheel vehicle sector.

Netherlands provides relief aid to central Vietnam

The Kingdom of the Netherlands supports Vietnam’s relief and recovery work after Typhoon Wutip with VND4,300,000,000, an equivalent of 150.000 Euro.

This amount will be donated to the Red Cross.

On 14 October the Netherlands ambassador Mr Joop Scheffers handed over a symbolical cheque with this amount to the President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, Mr Nguyen Hai Duong.

The support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will contribute to the Emergency Appeal of the Red Cross. The overall objective of the Red Cross is to deliver humanitarian assistance to 7,500 affected households (37,500 beneficiaries) over a period of 10 months. The support includes the provision of shelter materials to those who need help in rebuilding their homes, livelihoods support to families who have lost their means of income and to ensure families access to clean water, hygiene promotion and cash grants combined with the distribution of essential household items.

While handing over the cheque, Ambassador Joop Scheffers expressed the hope that this contribution will alleviate the dire needs of the affected people from this typhoon.

He added that Vietnam is regularly affected by natural disasters. He is impressed by the resilience of the Vietnamese people on how they manage to take up their lives, year after year.

Typhoon Wutip made landfall in central Vietnam on the evening of 30 September as a Category 1 typhoon. The impact of the typhoon has caused significant damage and destruction to houses, public infrastructure and livelihoods, particularly in Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

At least 12 people lost their lives and 225 were injured, more than 219,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, trees uprooted, power lines broken, crops damaged and livestock killed.

Civil verdicts must be better implemented, says deputy PM

Despite progress over the past 20 years, the implementation of verdicts and decisions in civil cases remains ineffective and needs to be improved, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told HCM City's leaders and officials yesterday.

Speaking at a conference held by the Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform, he said that achievements in this area had helped secure the rights and benefits of the State, society and civilians since 1993.

But he also noted that problems remained, affecting the public's trust in the judicial process.

He said that the task to improve implementation of verdicts in civil cases was challenging but necessary.

It would contribute to the success of administrative tasks and speeding up of international integration, he added.

Le Thi Thu Ba, deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform, said that in recent years the tasks associated with trials and verdict implementation had been separated.

During the conference, participants discussed how the system could be better organised.

Officials also stressed the role of People's Committees in implementation of criminal and civil verdicts.

Hua Ngoc Thuan, vice chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said that better coordination between local government and agencies was essential.

Thuan said a new regulation should be created to require coordination between the Ministry of Justice and city-level People's Committees, civil verdict-implementation bureaus and district-level People's Committees.

Phuc emphasised the early role and responsibility of the People's Court, People's Committees and agencies that oversee the implementation of verdicts.

Child killed in Bac Lieu blast

An explosion in Dong Hai District in the Mekong Delta's Bac Lieu Province led to the death of one child, according to Commander Phan Hoang Hon from the district's Military Command on Monday.

The blast occurred while the victim, 8-year-old Vo Van Tot, was playing in a local ditch.

Local authorities visited and supported the victim's family with VND10 million (US$476), the communal People's Committee Vice Chairman Tra Vinh Thuan said.

The case, which was allegedly caused by an underground bomb, is under further investigation.

Traffic accident black spots under repair

As many as 24 black spots, notorious for causing mayhem on the nation's highways, were repaired and upgraded by the Viet Nam Roads Administration.

The administration has spent a total of VND56 billion (US$2.6 million) tackling problem areas, including seven on National Highway 1, four on National Highway 6 and two on the Ho Chi Minh Road.

Up to 64 other black spots will be fixed at an estimated cost of VND87 billion ($4.1 million) in the fourth quarter of this year.

Bac Ninh revolutionaries to receive housing support

Nearly 2,200 households in the northern province of Bac Ninh, who contributed to the country's revolutions, will receive VND86.2 billion (US$4.1 million) in housing support.

Following a recent decision by the provincial People's Committee, some 1,400 households will receive VND48 million ($2,200) for house contruction and nearly 790 others will receive VND24 million ($1,100) to carry out house repairs.

Of the total fund, more than VND57 billion ($2.7 million) will come from the State and provincial budgets.

Works will be carried out this year and next year.

Experts urge for a fairer health system

To reduce health inequities in the country, more attention should be paid to reforming the health system, improving the quality of health care services, applying cost-effect health care interventions and conducting further research on health equity.

It was the recommendation of experts from the Viet Nam Partnership for Actions in Health Equity (PAHE) during a conference on health equity held in Ha Noi yesterday.

PAHE is a group of Vietnamese experts and researchers from non-governmental organisations, including the Institute for Social Development Studies, the Centre for Creative Initiative in Health and Population and the Ha Noi Medical University.

Experts from the group agreed that to move towards universal health coverage, the priority intervention should be focused on the expansion of health insurance targeting other disadvantaged people beyond just the poor alone, to include children, ethnic minority people, and near-poor workers and farmers.

Additionally, the country should improve the quality of health care services which are needed by every person, with particular attention given to closing the gap for disadvantaged groups such as women and those living in rural areas.

Integrated interventions should be applied with participation from different sectors, including women's empowerment, education, rural development and income generating activities.

The recommendations were revealed after PAHE completed its second Viet Nam Health Watch Report (VHWR), which provides an assessment of the patterns and magnitudes of the health equity situation in the country. The first report was completed in late 2011 providing an overview of the country's situation.

The second VHWR analyses the data from several recent national representative population-based surveys such as the Viet Nam Living Standard Survey 2008 and 2010, the Global Adult Tobacco Use Surveys 2010 and the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth 2010.

The analysis showed that there still exist socio-economic inequities in different aspects of health at different degrees, including inequity by gender, age, education, ethnicity, economic status and place of residence.

According to the research, the age of older mothers, mothers with low education levels, those from ethnic minorities and those with lower living standards and living in rural areas create a higher risk of child mortality.

Only one child died out of the more than 1,600 born by mothers aged between 15-19 years old, whereas 229 children died out of those children born by women aged between 45-49.

The research also revealed that women of these groups have less access to obstetric care.

More than 60 per cent of the women from ethnic minorities deliver their babies at medical stations, whereas the rate for women in Kinh group is nearly 99 per cent.

Fresh storm strikes Central region

The Central region has been hit by another cyclonic storm, Nari, only a fortnight after being devastated by Storm Wutip.

Five people have been reported dead, three are missing and another 39 injured.

More than a 1,000 plane passengers have been stranded at airports in the region and a similar number of foreign tourists moved to safety from coastal resorts.

Nari is the eleventh storm to reach Viet Nam this year.

The Central Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Rescue yesterday afternoon said Nari ripped across the central provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

Three people were killed in Quang Nam at the height of the storm and two children swept away by strong seas in Thua Thien Hue's Phu Loc District.

Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province received the full brunt of the winds. In Da Nang, trees, electricity poles and billboards were smashed to the ground in many streets, including Bach Dang, Ba Thang Hai, Le Duan, Dong Da, Ton Duc Thang and Nguyen Van Linh.

The storm also tore off many roofs and smashed windows in high-rise buildings.

In Quang Nam, the storm severely damaged more than 5,000 houses in Hoi An, Tam Ky, Dien Ban, Nui Thanh, Duy Xuyen and Tien Phuoc. It also sank 45 boats.

Many roadside trees were uprooted in urban areas and hundreds of hectares of rubber trees in mountain areas were destroyed.

Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri provinces, severely hit by Storm Wutip, suffered again under Nari. The roofs of about 200 houses in Phu Loc District in Thua Thien Hue were blown away.

In Quang Tri, many houses repaired after being damaged by Wutip were severely damaged again as Nari struck.

In Quang Ngai's Ly Son island district, the storm damaged 100 houses, ruined 350ha of vegetables, and sank 31 boats.

All schools in Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam shut down for two days.

Blackouts affected all of Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province. In Thua Thien Hue, only the municipal centre in Hue continued to be supplied with power. Many districts in Quang Tri also went without electricity.

Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) has mobilised resources to reconnect the region to the national power grid after a failure on the 500kV power line.

EVN said yesterday it it was able to supply only 31 per cent of the region's needs.

During the storm yesterday, all road travel was banned between Hue and Da Nang. Two trains were halted in Hue until conditions eased.

For the past two days, all flights to Da Nang Airport and Hue's Phu Bai Airport were cancelled. Vietnam Airlines postponed 44 flights from Ha Noi, Hai Phong, and HCM City to Da Nang and Hue.

VietJetAir and Jetstar Pacific also cancelled flights to Central region airports. Passengers were forced to sleep in airports until conditions improved.

The storm hit the tourism sector in Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang hard. Hoi An authorities had to excavate 1,200 guests lodged in coastal resorts to safe areas.

The old town of Hoi An was brought to a standstill by severe deep flood waters which swirled down streets, covering cars and filling shops in many streets.

Scenes of trees and plants in the hotels and resorts were all ruined because of the storm.

To reserve space for torrential rains, reservoirs in the region were directed to release water, which exacerbated flood conditions in lower regions.

Water levels in the Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers in Quang Nam Province rose to critical level three as water rushed down from Dak Mi 4 power-plant's reservoir.

In Thua Thien Hue, floods on the Huong and Bo Rivers also reached level three, lifting water height from 0.3m to 0.8m in many areas in Hue City, Phong Dien and Quang Dien districts.

Floods also isolated 100 households in Lang Co Town.

High sea levels created two new sea entrances along the Hai Duong coast in Huong Tra District.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat ordered the gradual release of further water from the reservoir to ease the situation.

EVN closed 10 power plants in the region at the height of the storms.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung directed localities and agencies yesterday to ensure the safety of reservoirs across the country.

At present, there are nearly 7,000 reservoirs, many of which belong to hydro-power plants. However, most of them, especially those located at small and mid-sized hydro-power plants, were built 30-40 years ago and are vulnerable to degradation.

The PM asked various ministries and local authorities to improve the quality of planning and developing reservoirs.

The operators and local authorities were asked to take drastic measures, including releasing water at the reservoirs and quickly informing people and authorities to avoid losses caused by flood.

Nari – the eleventh storm to hit Viet Nam this year – made landfall in the Central region yesterday morning.

The Netherlands support victims of Storm Wutip

The Netherlands donated VND4.3 billion (US$204,000) to support Wutip victims in Viet Nam's central region on Monday.

Dutch Ambassador Joop Scheffers handed over a symbolical cheque with the amount to the Viet Nam Red Cross President Nguyen Hai Duong.

Hundreds of overseas Vietnamese people in the UK donated over 18,200 GBP (US$29,000 USD) to help the storm victims.

The funds were raised at a gathering on Sunday at New Saigon restaurant in London, as well as a charitable auction held by the Vietnamese Embassy.

On Monday the northern province of Bac Ninh launched a drive to support Wutip victims and poor people.

Organisations and individuals in attendance contributed over VND418 million ($19,646) while more than 60 agencies, units and businesses committed over VND3.7 billion ($176,000).

Typhoon Wutip, the tenth storm this year, caused central provinces to suffer VND11 trillion (US$523.8 million) in losses last month. The storm killed 14 people and injured 225.

New campaign launched for nation’s poor

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee has launched a new fundraising drive for the poor, starting from October 17.

The campaign is scheduled to last until the end of this year and aims to raise money for poor families who have had their lives disrupted by destructive storms in the country this year, according to Vice President of the VFF Central Committee Ha Thi Lien.

Their last “Fund for the Poor” campaign, which ran from January to September at both grassroots and central levels, collected a total of more than 606 billion VND (28.4 million USD) while over 7.3 trillion VND has been mobilised for social welfare programmes.

The donations were used to help poor households build and upgrade their houses and assist them in production, with successful results.

Ministry proposes storm-proof houses for poor households

The Ministry of Construction has submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to support 40,000 impoverished households in the central region by building better storm-proof houses for them.

The Ministry wants the government to build better and stronger houses for the poor that can withstand the fury of a storm.

Poor and impoverished people in the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, BInh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan will receive solid houses to stay in future.

This program will stretch over a two year period from 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the ministry will build houses for 15,000 poor households with total funds of VND156 billion (US$7.4 million) and in 2015 around 25,000 disadvantaged households will have solid shelters.

Poor households will receive government financial support of VND10 million ($475) and extremely poor households will receive VND12 million ($570).

In addition, these needy households will be given loans from the Social Policy Bank for maximum amount of VND15 million to each household.

Any family who has received support on housing before can also borrow VND15million from the bank to fortify their houses.

President awards outstanding farmers for their contribution

State President Truong Tan Sang on October 15 presented the ‘Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer 2013’ awards to 62 farmers who have made significant contributions in the agricultural field.

The awards ceremony was held in Hanoi to mark the 83rd anniversary of the founding of Vietnam Farmers' Association.

The 62 farmers honored at the event were selected from districts across the country. They were selected for their active, creative and go-getting spirit in applying technology in production to achieve high quality and high yield at low costs. They helped in implementing good food safety and hygiene, and maintained a clean and healthy environment in their countryside.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Sang sent his best wishes to all farmers in the country while giving his heartiest congratulations to the outstanding farmers who were honored at the event.

The President stated that farmers play a crucial role in national reconstruction and defense, industrialization and modernization as well as international integration.

When the country faces an economic downturn, farmers still demonstrate their importance by stabilizing the country’s food basket.

The President affirmed that the Party and Government will adopt proper policies to help the agricultural sector to grow in line with more competitive industries.

Young people find harder to secure jobs in rural areas

Majority of young people in the rural are in vulnerable employment and the rural unemployment trend is on upward trend, according to a research carried by Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

Vietnam currently has 17 million young people in the rural areas, accounting one-fifth of the Vietnam ’s population. However, young people in rural areas are mainly working in low-productivity job with meager income or jobless, researchers said.

More than one-third of 663 rural respondents in a recent survey said they were jobless while 35.8 percent of respondents are underemployment.

The survey also found that more than half of employed respondents were farmers, 11.1% others were public servants, 9.5 percent of them were workers and only 1.1percent of them were businessmen. As a matter of fact, about 70 percent of employed respondents said they had earned less than 2 million VND ( nearly 90USD) per month.

One of the main reasons led to increase unemployment rate among rural young people is the rapid urbanisation process. Besides this, it was said that many agricultural land was taken for building industrial zone, processing zone and public facilities.

From 2004 to 2013, 750,000 hectare of land in 49 provinces across Vietnam was used for 29,000 investment projects. Vocational trainings for young people in the rural areas have failed to meet the demand.

Many businesses in the rural areas were not considered rural labour force as their key human resource. They did not provided financial support for young people to help them develop their own businesses meanwhile investment in agriculture was very modest.

The Government has so far set up rural and industrial development programmes to solve employment issue for rural labour force. The Government has created over 1.2 million new jobs annually and majority of them went for rural labourers.

Vietnam is expected to have an additional 9.5 million people joining the labor force in the next 10 years, and needs to create 15.3 million new jobs during the period, according to the job department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs.-

A special contest with dairy cows being the contestants was held in Moc Chau district, the northern mountainous province of Son La on October 15.

This is the ninth time the Miss Dairy Cow Pageant has been held in the locality to improve breeding methods and the quality of products.

After three qualifying rounds, 125 cows were selected from 14,000 to compete in the final. The cow with the best appearance and milk quality brought home 50 million VND.

According to Pham Van Te of Moc Chau Farm, in order for a cow to compete at the contest, it is necessary to provide it with a proper daily food ration, bathe it every day and familiarise it with noise.

The competition also offered a chance for farmers to share their experiences and update their knowledge to develop highly productive cows, and honoured those who created initiatives in dairy cow breeding in Moc Chau district.

The annual event has become an attraction for both local residents and visitors to the locality.-

UN launches essay contest to celebrate multilingualism

The United Nations launched on October 14 the contest " Many Languages, One World ", asking college and university students to write an essay in one of its six official languages on the role of multilingualism in a globalised world.

The contest, launched at UN Headquarters in New York with a signing ceremony between the UN Department of Public Information and the ELS Educational Services, supports international education and multilingualism through the continued study of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

“Our collaboration focuses on two of the priorities of the Secretary General, one being youth and the other multiculturalism, and this is a wonderful way of bringing those two together,” said Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information following today’s signing ceremony launching the contest.

The senior UN official signed on behalf of the UN Academic Impact (UNAI), which is co-organising the event as part of its commitment to multilingual education, with ELS.

“Through this event, we hope to focus a light on the role of the UN,” said Mark Harris, CEO and President of ELS. “The role of the UN is the role of every global citizen, which is to make peace and to look at ways to enhance the qualities of life, health and spiritual fulfilment of peoples around the world through common understanding and through language,” he added.

To qualify, the student’s native language has to be different from the one in which he or she writes, and different from the principal one at the school.

A panel of international judges, to be invited by the UNAI and ELS Educational Services, will select ten top winners in each language category who will be invited to New York by ELS to participate in a series of events in June 2014.

These events will include a youth forum on global citizenship and the nine other principles of UNAI at UN Headquarters on 27 June 2014, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the UN Charter. The forum will be preceded by a preparatory students’ conference at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York.

“I think it’s an excellent project,” said Lyutha Sultan Al-Mughairy, the Chairperson of the Committee on Information, a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly. The Ambassador, who represents Oman, noted that the contest is “good encouragement” for multilingual study.

Also participating in the event, Fillippe Savadogo, Ambassador of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), said the project was creating “dynamism” and was “consolidating the spirit of the world”.-

Progress in fluid mechanics reviewed

A congress to assess recent progress in the field of fluid mechanics opened in Hanoi on October 15.

The 14 th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics (ACFM) offers a chance for domestic and foreign scientists to exchange new ideas as well as update advances in fluid mechanics and related industries.

In Vietnam , the sector plays an important role in socio-economic areas such as agriculture, transportation, chemicals, energy, and climate change forecast, Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan said.

Held between October 15 and 19 in the capital city and Ha Long city in northern Quang Ninh province, the event will hear over 200 reports on specific topics by experts from 20 countries across the world.

The Congress was jointly organised by the Institute of Mechanics under the Vietnam Academy of Science of Technology and the Vietnam Fluid Mechanics Association.

The first event was held in India in 1980 with the aim to expand cooperation on fluid mechanics among Asian countries.

Ecosystem-based climate change adaptation experience exchanged

The ecosystem-based approach (EBA) in bio-diversity conservation was discussed at a regional seminar in Hanoi on October 15.

The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Swedish Embassy with the participation of representatives from regional countries such as China, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, MoNRE Deputy Minister Associate Prof. Dr. Bui Cach Tuyen said the event aims to share experience in climate change adaptation and mitigation based on the ecosystem, thus helping Vietnam build relevant policies.

Participant also discussed cooperation opportunities in this field between countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, he said.

The project was funded by the Swedish Embassy through the Partnership Development Cooperation (PDC) programme with partners including the Vietnam Environment Administration, the WWF, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Stockholm University of Sweden.

Lasting from June 2012 to November 2013, the project aims to popularise EBA to climate change into biodiversity conservation in Vietnam. Under the project, a pilot model will be established in the southern province of Ben Tre.

According to Raji Dhital from the WWF, climate change has potential impacts on biodiversity. In the Greater Mekong Sub-region, from 133 to 2,835 species of flora and from 10 to 213 species of spinal fauna are in danger of extinction.

She underlined the need to restore mangrove forests and develop forestry in a sustainable development approach to fulfil the purpose of ecosystem-based climate change adaptation.-

Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri