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Social Headlines December 21
Cold
spell continues to chill northern region
A cold
spell will continue to blanket the north of
The
ongoing cold spell began five days ago.
The
temperature was recorded at minus 0.9 degree Celsius in Lai Chau province’s
Sin Ho district and minus 1.1 degree Celsius on Mau Son peak in Lang Son
province, a rare phenomenon in the tropical country.
However,
the centre said that the weather will be better during the Christmas holiday.
The
temperature is forecast at 18-20 degree Celsius in the day time, and 11-13
degree Celsius at night.-
Agribank
employee arrested for using fake gold as collateral
An
employee of Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) has
been arrested for being involved in using fake gold as collateral to withdraw
VND19 billion (USD904,761) from the bank.
Fake
gold used as collateral to withdraw VND19 billion (USD904,761) from the bank
Before
his arrest on December 18, Duong Thanh Tuan worked at the Dam Cam transaction
office, under Agribank’s Cai Nuoc branch in Ca Mau Province. Tuan was
detained along with his younger brother, Duong Van Gioi and Gioi’s friend,
Phan Van Hai.
Gioi
and Hai are close friends. According to the initial investigation, due to his
debts, Hai told Gioi to ask for Tuan's help in using the collateral to get
loan from the bank. Tuan agreed to help Hai.
Since
2009, Gioi and Hai have been buying fake gold and hired a number of farmers
and students to bring the gold to the banking office where Tuan worked to get
loans.
Since
2009, as many as 60 people brought this gold to the bank and received a total
of more than VND19 billion. With the support by Tuan, the gold was verified
as real.
After
the investigation started, Tuan, Gioi and Hai turned themselves in and
confessed on December 17.
The
economic police board of Ca Mau Province determined that all the gold used as
the collateral is fake.
Personal
vehicle restriction not yet workable, say experts
A
scheme to restrict personal vehicles to ease congestion in big cities just
submitted by the Ministry of Transport to the Government will not work unless
public transport can meet 30% of commuter demand, experts said.
Speaking
to the Daily, many experts explained that at the moment the commuter bus was
the only means of transport that could replace personal vehicles as metro
would not be ready until 2018.
In the
scheme, the Ministry of Transport expresses concerns that the number of
personal vehicles will rise staggeringly in the next couple of years when
tariffs are brought down under Vietnam’s commitments to the ASEAN Free Trade
Area (AFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
According
to the ministry, the growth of personal vehicles in big cities was rapid in
the 2002-2012 period.
Under-seven-seat
cars and motorcycles in
Undeveloped
transport infrastructure fails to meet the demand, leading to regular traffic
congestion. Therefore, the need to control personal vehicles in certain hours
in downtown areas and in streets where there is a high traffic volume in rush
hours is urgent.
To
control personal vehicles effectively, the ministry proposes increasing the
frequency of bus services and offering reduced bus fares during hours when
personal vehicles are banned as well as setting up more parking lots to meet
the parking demand of those using public transport.
Besides,
the services of leasing motorcycles and electrical bicycles for riding in
downtown areas and in places where cars and motorcycles are limited should be
encouraged.
Talking
about the feasibility of the scheme, Associate Professor Pham Xuan Mai from
HCMC University of Technology said that the ideas given were good but
impractical.
Foreign
countries only limit the use of personal vehicles when they have developed
metros and buses. Meanwhile, the only means of public transport in
“The
restriction on personal vehicles can only work once public transport can meet
30-40% of commuter demand,” Mai said.
Seconding
the opinion, Nguyen Huu Nguyen from the Southern Vietnam Economic Center
(SVEC) said that if vehicles were banned at this place, congestion would
happen at another place as the number of vehicles was unchanged.
Even the
solutions to increase bus services and build parking lots in suburban areas
to encourage the people to take public transport are also practical, he said.
According
to Nguyen, it is not easy to have land sites to develop parking lots and
there is a likelihood that traffic congestion will happen near parking lots.
Besides,
operating more buses may not be a solution as such big vehicles are also one
of the causes of traffic congestion.
Illegal
fireworks seized in Ha Noi
Police
in Ha Noi City seized 23 kilograms of illegal fireworks in the Dong Anh
District yesterday.
Nguyen
Thi Kim Hoa, 42, a resident of the district's Dong Hoi Commune, was arrested
while carrying fireworks on her motorbike. Hoa allegedly admitted that she
spent VND6 million (US$285) to purchase the fireworks to resell for a profit
of VND2 million ($95).
The
case is under further investigation. Earlier on Sunday police caught another
woman from the city's Gia Lam District carrying 28 kilograms of illegal
fireworks.
Firm
fined for storing smuggled sugar
The
People's Committee of southern
The
firm, Men Khen in Hoa Thanh district, was found to be storing 5,000kg of Thai
sugar. The firm's owner admitted that the sugar had been smuggled from
The
local market watch department has confiscated Men Khen's sugar.
Last
month, the department unearthed several similar cases of smuggled goods being
stored, and seized over 2,000 packs of cigarettes and 100 bottles of wine.
Construction
of new
Construction
of a new
Addressing
the groundbreaking ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the
current
The
new hospital will resolve the problem and improve treatment quality for
contagious and tropical diseases.
The
minister called for improving hospital staff quality and quantity once the
move to the new location takes place.
The
first phase of the new hospital’s construction will be implemented in the
2013-2015 period to provide 500 beds for the sick.
The
new hospital will cover 58,000 square metres and will include a main
building, a nutrition faculty, anti-infection houses, and other auxiliary
works.-
Expressway
section gets ready
A 20km
section of the
Mai
Tuan Anh, director of the Viet Nam Expressway Company (VEC), said the section
of the expressway from the Eastern Ring Road (also called the Second Ring
Road) in HCM City's District 9 to National Highway No 51 in neighbouring Dong
Nai Province is scheduled to begin temporary operation on December 30.
This
section will shorten the distance from
The
It
requires total investment of about VND20.630 billion (nearly US$978.3
million). Capital will come from loans provided by the Asian Development
Bank, official development assistance (ODA) loans from the Japanese
Government and counter-capital from the Vietnamese Government.
Anh
said the new expressway would help ease traffic congestion on
According
to VEC, during the temporary operation, vehicles allowed to travel include
motorbikes operating at under 70km per hour, three-wheeled taxis, tractors,
vehicles carrying toxic and inflammable goods, trailers, tank trucks, 10-tonne
and over trucks, and 20 - 40 feet-long trucks.
They
will be allowed to travel between 60 and 100 km per hour on the expressway
during the time, said Anh.
He
said a toll-collection station would be placed at km11 in Long Phuoc Commune
in
During
the first stage, the new expressway will have eight toll lanes (four lanes on
each side) and will be enlarged to 14 lanes when completed.
Vehicles
under 12 seats and buses under two-tonnes will have to pay VND2,000 per km.
Twelve-
to 30-seat and two- to four-tonne trucks will pay VND3,000 per km, and
31-seat buses and four-10 tonne vehicles VND4,000 per km.
The
builders of the expressway are a consortium of the Construction Engineering
Co. No 6 (Cienco 6), Construction Engineering Co, No 8 (Cienco 8) and the
Korean construction and engineering company POSCO.
The
Viet Nam Expressway Company is the investor of the
The
city's Department of Education and Training has launched an occupational
counselling project for high school students that will help them better
choose a field of study.
Carried
out by the department with the Green House Joint Stock Company, the programme
includes a website and a newly opened centre for students.
The
centre aims to link enterprises and schools in
Students
will be able to visit factories, trade villages, areas of aquatic breeding
and sapling cultivation, and have talks with businesspeople and
professionals.
More
than 100 companies have signed an agreement with the centre to take part in
these activities.
In
addition, the centre will help students with soft skills such as
communication and time management.
The
website provides curricula and videos on occupations that can be viewed by
students, teachers and parents.
Do
Quoc Anh, head of the Ministry of Education and Training's southern
representative office, said that money and time had been wasted in the past
because students did not have sufficient guidance about potential career
paths.
The
counselling provided by the centre would help students choose the right path,
Anh said.
Pham
Ngoc Thanh, head of the Department of Education and Training, said that high
school students had often felt confused about which occupation to choose, and
many of them depended on their parents.
Improving
care for the vision-impaired
The
southern
A
collaboration between the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provincial Eye Care Centre and
World
Health Organisation (WHO) statistics indicate the number of people with some
form of vision impairment is three times higher than those suffering
blindness.
Seminar
participants highlighted the importance of ensuring the vision-impaired are
aware of treatment options. They called for more political and charitable
assistance to help these patients access appropriate healthcare services.
Ba
Ria-Vung Tau Provincial Eye Care Centre Director Doctor Nguyen Viet Giap,
thanked the Brien Holden Vision Institute for helping to establish the
provincial eye care unit, greatly improving the chances local residents
receive regular consultations and better healthcare services.
Law
building a key task for State management of religions
The
Government Committee for Religious Affairs and relevant State management
agencies will focus their efforts on completing the legal framework for
religious affairs in 2014, particularly revising the Ordinance on Belief and
Religion.
In
addition, the committee will strengthen external relations, consolidate
State-level cooperation and combat hostile forces in terms of religion and human
rights.
These
are among the tasks set at a conference to review the performance of State
management regarding religious affairs in 2013 and implementing 2014 duties,
held in
In the
following year, the agencies will also give guidance to religious
organisations in how to organise conferences, national and international
meetings in accordance with the law and the organisations’ charters.
According
to the committee, in 2013, State management of religious affairs was
strengthened and made more effective, making positive changes in religious
life.
Major
religious festivals and rituals were held solemnly, attracting a large number
of followers and other people, thus building their trust in the State and
Party’s consistent policy on religious affairs.
During
the year, religious-related external relations were promoted, creating
conditions for the religions to join international activities, thus enriching
The
committee and State management agencies spent time dealing with arising
religious affairs and putting forth recommendations to the Government on the
issue.
Christmas
greetings extended to Catholics
Vice
President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Vu Trong Kim has extended
season’s greetings to Catholic dignitaries and followers in Phat Diem
diocese, Kim Son district, northern Ninh Binh province.
While
visiting the diocese on December 19, the VFF Vice President wished local
priests, clergymen and Catholic followers a peaceful and merry Christmas and
a happy New Year.
He
affirmed the significant contributions of Kim Son’s Catholic followers to the
achievements made by Ninh Binh province over the past time.
Kim
voiced his hope that they will overcome all difficulties to join compatriots
of other faiths to carry out the Party's policies and follow State laws in
consolidating national unity and making more contributions to national
development.
Bishop
Joseph Nguyen Nang thanked Party and State leaders for their festive well
wishes and promised to continue supporting dignitaries, clergymen and
Catholic followers to "be good in both life and religion" and "live
the Gospel in the heart of the nation".
***
Also on December 19, officials from the Central Steering Committee for the
Central Highlands visited Catholic and Protestant followers in provinces in
the Central Highlands to wish them a merry Christmas.
The
delegation led by the committee’s deputy head H’Ngam Nie Kdam called at the
Office of the Bishop of Da Lat diocese and the Catholic Solidarity Committee
of Lam Dong province.
H’Ngam
Nie Kdam thanked the bishop and priests for assisting the State in efforts to
improve the living conditions of local people. She asked them to continue
guiding the followers in leading good secular and religious lives,
contributing to building a prosperous country.
Earlier,
the delegation also met and extended season’s greetings to Catholics and
Protestants in Dak Nong province.
Protestant
dignitaries thanked the local authorities for taking measures to improve both
the spiritual and material lives of religious people and for allowing the
building of many places of worship as well as the operation of various
Protestant groups.
Another
delegation of the committee joined leaders of Kon Tum province in
well-wishing trips to churches and religious communities.
Social
workers need professional training
Less
than 10 per cent of social workers are adequately trained, according to a
nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social
Affairs (MOLISA) across 41 cities and provinces.
The
survey, which collected information from over 60,000 people engaged in social
work, also revealed that nearly half of them were trained workers, of which
19 per cent had received professional training in related areas such as
sociology or psychology.
The
survey comes as demand for social workers has surged with a dramatic shortage
of workers in the field.
Nguyen
Van Hoi, deputy head of the Department for Social Protection told Giao duc va
Thoi dai (Education and Times) newspaper that approximately 40 per cent of
the Vietnamese population needed social work services.
These
people include 7.5 million elderly people, 5.4 million disabled people, 1.4
million underprivileged children, 180,000 people living with HIV and nearly
200,000 drug addicts, he said.
According
to MOLISA, only 32 out of 63 provinces and cities had social work centres,
with the country planning to roll out more centres in remaining localities by
2015.
According
to Pham Thi Thanh Tam, director of REACH centre, a local non-government
organisation specialising in development activities, none of the centre's
staff had professional qualifications in social work.
She
said the centre had had to organise internal training programmes for their
employees, realising the lack of prior knowledge among its staff.
Tam
said that a lack of understanding of professional qualifications in specific
fields made it difficult to recruit qualified social workers.
Tam
urged that more schools specialising in social work training be set up, and
said that more educational institutes needed to establish programmes to fill
the skills shortage, adding that social workers could develop valuable
knowledge on community development and project management skills.
Despite
the fact the demand for social workers has remained high, students trained in
social services have shown little interest in actually pursuing careers in
the field.
One of
the reasons, according to Do Bich Thao, lecturer of the Faculty of Social
Work at Ha Noi National University of Education, is that students whose
majors are related to social situations are taught to attain general
knowledge about social work rather than to really apply what they learn to
practical situations.
"There
are still some shortcomings in social work training created by
theory-oriented curriculums, a shortage of lecturers with practical experience
and limited opportunities for applying knowledge," she added.
Additionally,
students with relevant majors deliberately chose other careers with higher
levels of perceived prestige. Experts say that this can be traced back to the
lack of community understanding towards social work.
"Many
people still do not know that social workers do. Some even think they do
charity work," said Vu Thi Kim Dung, head of the Social Work Faculty at
Ha Noi National University of Education.
Presently,
there is no specific agency responsible for issuing certificates and
organising certificate tests for social workers.
Le Chi
An, a lecturer from the HCM City Open University suggested an association for
social workers was needed to provide practical experience for those who
wanted to devote their career to social work.
Conference
promotes mathematics application in practice
How to
apply effectively mathematics in socio-economic development is the main major
subject discussed at the Vietnam International Applied Mathematics Conference
which began in
Jointly
organised by the Vietnam Society for Application of Mathematics (VSAM) and
Speaking
at the opening, Dr. Tong Dinh Quy, Vice President and General Secretary of
VSAM underlined the significance of applied mathematics to production,
business and service fields, saying that it is considered as an important
tool to raise the competitiveness of the economy.
He
therefore called on enterprises to make investment in and support research
projects in the field.
The
conference received nearly 50 research papers, introducing the latest
advances in applying maths and information technology in managing economics,
finance and risk.
Participants
also gave opinions on what must be done to further develop mathematics in
Workshop
reviews breastfeeding support programme
The
VGCL
Vice President Nguyen Thi Thu Hong said the confederation’s researches show
that about 83 percent of female employees cannot breastfeed exclusively in
the first six months after giving births.
This
year, the VGCL has coordinated with the Alive and Thrive (A&T) to carry
out the programme.
It has
compiled 16,000 leaflets to provide breastfeeding knowledge for female
workers in 25 businesses in where 25 breastfeeding rooms have been set up to
support over 4,000 workers who raise infants, she said.
Trade
unions at all levels have worked with businesses to popularise policies on
female workers and maternity leave, and breastfeeding information to some
5,000 targeted workers, she added.
To
promote the programme’s effectiveness, participants at the event urged trade
unions to further disseminate breastfeeding practices and labour policy among
female workers as well as persuade enterprises to set up more breastfeeding
rooms.-
French
Ambassador to Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier made the affirmation at the new
school year opening ceremony in
The
USTH, established under a bilateral cooperation agreement between the
Vietnamese and French Governments, is one of
At the
event, Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan hailed outstanding
achievements reaped by the university’s teachers and students over the past
academic year.
He
said he hopes that the university will become a silver lining in the cause of
basic and comprehensive education renovation.
According
to USTH Rector Prof. Pierre Sebaab, active cooperation between Vietnamese and
French working groups in training, scientific research and management is
vital to effective collaboration between the two nations in knowledge and
technology.
A
balanced bilateral cooperation will ensure the long-term success of this
cooperation project, he stressed.
Set up
in 2009, the university boasts a staff of professors and doctors from leading
universities in
Also
at the ceremony, the USTH presented degrees to its graduated students and
scholarships to students with outstanding performances.-
Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/Nhandan/SGGP
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Thứ Sáu, 20 tháng 12, 2013
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