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Social Headlines December 27
Harsh
sentences for human trafficking criminals
The
People’s Court of southern Tay Ninh province on December 25 handed jail terms
totalling 48 years to nine persons for trafficking of women to China.
The
harshest, 10 years, was given to the head of the ring Nguyen Thi Binh, born
in 1961 in northern Bac Giang province.
The
court also ordered them to pay more than 50 million VND to the State fund.
According
to the indictment from the local People’s Procuracy, Binh and her accomplices
were caught red-handed on July 12 trying to bring two girls to
They
told the police that since the ring was established in 2012, they had successfully
lured 18 women and sent them to the neighbouring country illegally.
The
same day, the People’s Court of central Quang Nam province also ordered
Nguyen Sa Ry, born in 1957 in An Giang province, to spend 20 years in jail
for trafficking women and children.-
Woman
dies in Ha Noi house fire
A
woman was killed in a fire that broke out in a house on
Officials
said the fire started on the second floor and then spread rapidly to the rest
of the house. The fire was brought under control after nearly 30 minutes.
Fortunately, the neighbouring houses were not affected.
A
neighbour on the scene said the victim, 60, had suffered a stroke that had
left her paralysed for many years.
The
fire's cause is being investigated.
Former
forest rangers, deforesters jailed
The
People's Court in the
The
defendants, including two forest rangers, were prosecuted for trading more
than 22,100 chopping-boards and 75 boxes, equivalent to more than 136 cubic
metres of the endangered nghien (Burretiodendron hsienmu) wood, between late
2012 and early 2013.
The
court also ordered the confiscation of nearly 6,700 chopping boards and 75
boxes, seized by the police - and directed the defendants to pay VND52
million (US$2,400) to the State budget.
Illegal
ads just won't go away, officials rue
Whether
it is getting rid of termites, drilling concrete, renting a house or a motel,
or plumbing work, all you need to do is to call the number on the notice
stuck on the wall of your house, the lamp post or many other public spaces in
the capital city.
The
easy access to this useful information, however is not appreciated by many
residents and city authorities, who see it as a problem that has defied
repeated efforts at finding a solution.
The
mushrooming of illegal advertisements is resented by those who feel they give
the city a dirty, tattered look, as also pose health threats when they are
stuck in hazardous areas like transformer stations and even hung on
electrical wires in order to make their removal difficult.
"We
frequently remove the ads but it means nothing. New ones will be stuck again
soon, especially at night or during the weekend at times when few people are
around," a resident of
Several
crackdowns and measures by authorities have not been effective, at least not
for long, officials admit.
The
municipal Department of Communications & Information has asked telecom
companies to recall mobile numbers feaured in the illegal advertisements, and
this has been done, but almost all such numbers are unregistered, so
difficult to trace.
The
department said that while these measures have reduced the presence of the
illegal hoardings and notices on main streets in the city, smaller streets
and alleys continue to bear the brunt.
"While
we want to solve the problem completely, what we can do right now is just a
temporary solution," Tran Viet Hai, who heads a team of inspectors in
Hai Ba Trung District, told the Kinh te & Dau tu (Economics and
Investment) newspaper.
Under
current regulations, each illegal notice can be fined VND100,000 - 300,000
(US$4.7 – 9.4), and this goes up to VND200,000 - 500,000 ($4.7 – 23) for
banners.
Advertisements
carrying mobile numbers or addresses of service providers that are stuck on
walls or electric posts will be fined VND3-5 million ($141-235). For repeated
offences, the fine will go up to VND10 - 20 million ($470 – 940).
But it
is not easy to collect evidence and identify the guilty parties because the
illegal advertisers deploy many tricks, said Pham Duc Hoa, an official in Ha
Dong District.
People's
Committees in northern mountainous provinces have been urged to take prompt
action to save crops and livestock from a cold snap that is forecast to hit
the region tonight.
The
National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting said the cold spell would
last at least four days, bringing frost to northern mountainous provinces.
Temperatures
were also forecast to drop to 8 degrees Celsius in Ha Noi, the centre said.
According
to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat, frost, heavy
snow and cold weather had hit the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai,
Lang Son and Cao Bang already this winter.
This
weather was expected to continue to batter the area, he said, instructing
farmers to use nylon bags to cover seedlings and protect them from the cold
weather.
Vegetable
farmers had also been advised to harvest while they can and replant when the
cold snap abates, he said.
Cattle
farmers should provide enough food for their livestock and not graze them
when the temperature dropped below 12 degrees Celsius, he said.
Around
200 cows and buffaloes were killed and 800ha of crop were damaged due to icy
weather in early December in Lao Cai, and around 200 cows and buffaloes died
during the cold weather in Lai Chau.
Ha
Noi to revoke 948ha of land
The Ha
Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed that the
municipal People's Committee revokes nearly 948ha of land from 12
institutions for violating land use regulations.
Department
director Nguyen Trong Dong said inspections found that the project investors
and organisations had failed to abide by relevant laws, particularly those
related to timely implementation.
They
key reasons cited for delayed projects include waiting for revised plans
after the capital city's administrative boundary was expanded and lack of
financial capital for implementing several projects as a result of the frozen
real estate market, he said.
In
order to use public land more effectively, the municipal People's Committee
has asked investors and relevant agencies to exercise greater care and be
more strict in inspecting and handling land law violations.
It
said land that is revoked because of violations should be used for
construction of public projects like schools.
In
2012, the city confiscated more than 8 million sq.m of land, according to
official figures.
Young
Vietnamese, Cambodian people step up exchanges
The
affirmation was made at a meeting between Nguyen Dac Vinh, First Secretary of
the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and Hun Many,
President of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, in
Vinh
affirmed that one of the Union’s key tasks is to develop the friendship and
cooperation with international and regional youth organistions, with focus on
neighbouring countries, including
He
spoke highly of the visit by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia,
saying that it will make contributions to enhancing the understanding and
collaboration between youth organisations of the two countries.
Hun
Many said great efforts have been made to strengthen the relations between
the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia and the Vietnam Youth Federation
On the
same day, Hun Many held talks with Phan Van Mai, President of the Vietnam
Youth Federation.
They
signed a cooperation agreement between the two sides for the 2013-2017
period.
Ho
Chi Minh Memorial Complex to take shape in Thailand
Vietnamese
and Thai official recently attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial
complex dedicated to late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in a
Local
authorities invited six senior Buddhist monks from a nearby pagoda where
president Ho stopped over during his stay in
The
memorial is being built on an area of nearly 8,000 square metres donated by
local residents.
The
project is expected to be completed in 2015 to mark President Ho’s 125th
birth anniversary.
In
1928 Ho Chi Minh, alias Nam Son, left
He
stayed there for a month before moving to north-eastern provinces to continue
with his national salvation drive.
Better
care for senior citizens
At a
meeting held on December 25 to mark
Welfare
workers and volunteers in districts would be trained in counselling and
caring skills, she said.
Plans
for a community-based elderly people's counselling and care project would be
submitted to the Department of Health for approval, she said.
According
to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Vietnamese population is
ageing rapidly with the number of people over 60 accounting for 10 per cent
of the entire due to the rising life expectancy and declining death and birth
rates.
It
forecast the population to start ageing in 2017 and be aged by 2035.
In
The
actual number of elderly people is actually rising every year, and it is time
for such programmes, she said.
The
programmes would direct the community's attention to the issue of an ageing
population, she said.
The
division would work with television channels and Radio the Voice of HCM City
to disseminate information about them, she added.
Besides
providing care for seniors, the programmes would also help rectify the gender
imbalance, strengthen prenatal and neonatal screening, and improve
contraception, pre-marriage health care, and reproductive health by 2015.
The
division will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health to
inspect foetal ultrasound services in public and private health facilities to
prevent sex selection.
Nguyen
Tan Binh, the department's head, said the city this year hit the targets of
reducing the crude birth rate by 0.01 per thousand, reducing the birth of
third babies to less than 4%, and screening 32% of pregnant women and 64% of
newborns.
The
sex ratio for children born this year is 106 boys to 100 girls.
Boosting
int’l cooperation in dealing with toxin chemicals
The
office of the national steering board on the consequences of toxic chemicals
during the war in
Deputy
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen was speaking at
a meeting in
The
office should also make more efforts to treat dioxin contaminated land area
in Bien Hoa airport, Dong Nai province, while having access to methods using
advanced technologies to deal with the toxic chemical consequences, Tuyen
said.
A
database identifying the contaminated areas is also needed, he added.
In
2013, the office’s assistance, the steering board directed and coordinated
with the relevant ministries, agencies and localities to conduct activities
to clean the toxic chemicals effectively.
The
Management
units proposed for urban clusters
Minister
of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung has proposed provinces and cities nationwide
to consider establishing management units for groups of urban areas so as to
avoid fragmented urban development and slow-moving projects.
At the
online meeting on 2014 socioeconomic development between the Government and
localities on Tuesday, Dung said that urban management should be closely
associated with the property market development.
Such a
new way of management is aimed to ensure the healthy and sustainable
development of the property market as the housing development over the past
time has caused a lot of troubles for management agencies.
Each
unit will not manage any single project but all projects in an area. This is
a model applied successfully in many countries, according to Dung.
At the
meeting, the minister also gave a brief overview on the construction industry
in 2013.
The
business value of the construction industry is estimated at VND191.2 trillion
this year and contributes 5.3% to the nation’s GDP, building materials
excluded.
This year’s
property price, according to Dung, has dropped strongly by an average of
10-20% and even up to 50% in certain areas. Enterprises lower the price to
increase liquidity.
The
inventory value of the property market fell to some VND96.805 trillion last month,
down 24.6% from the first quarter. Besides,
The
Ministry of Construction and localities have also inspected over 3,000
construction works of the State having a total investment of VND27 trillion.
The
inspection has helped reduce the investment of each work by an average of
8.4% and reduce State capital losses.
Gov’t
says will close natural forests in 2014
The
Government will next year close all natural forests to prevent the natural
resource from being depleted and exhausted, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung in his closing remarks at an online meeting on Tuesday.
There
is now 10.5 million hectares of natural forest in the country, including two
million hectares of special-use forest and four million hectares of
preventive forest that are closed to exploitation. However, there is also
four million hectares of natural forest that is still opened for measured
exploitation.
However,
all such forests will be closed from 2014, said PM Dung.
According
to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the area of primitive
forests in the country is being depleted, with small areas scattered in
protective forests and in conservation parks.
Even
forests in areas of brackish water are also shrinking, having been logged
down by a half in previous decades, which is an alarming situation now that
climate change is having adverse impacts on the economy.
According
to the Ministry of Public Security, up to 43% of deforestation cases are related
to mining, hydropower development, illegal logging, and farming.
The
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in its scheme to cope with
climate change has targeted to raise the forest coverage in the country to
45% by 2020 compared to 39.7%.
Increase
in farmers annual income in last few years: Minister
The
average income of farmers has continued to grow in the last few years to now
touch an annual income of nearly VND20 million (US$952), said Cao Duc Phat,
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Minister
Phat announced this at a meeting on December 25 in
The
Minister stated that the growth of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture
between 2009 and 2013 saw an annual average increase of 2.9 per cent.
For
the last five years, the Party Central Committee plan as per Resolution 7 has
helped revamp the face of rural districts and farmers’ living conditions.
In the
agriculture sector, production has soared with higher quality and increased
exports. Farmers’ average annual income has hit nearly VND20 million ($952),
2.18 times higher than in 2008. Poverty has also slumped by 12.6 percent
compared to 2008.
However,
the Minister acknowledged that there have been shortcomings in the
agriculture sector such as not applying advanced technology in production,
low competitiveness, a stagnant restructuring process, and a widening income
gap between the rural and urban areas, and between the lowland and
mountainous regions.
Speaking
at the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stressed that the
governments, ministries, and concerned agencies should realize the role of
agriculture and farmers in the nation’s growth.
Scientific,
Technological Awards granted to young talents
A
ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Golden Globe Awards, Scientific
and Technological Awards of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central
Committee, and honoring of 10 young talents will be held in
The
2013 Golden Globe Awards were given to excellent individuals in field of
Information Technology and Telecommunication; Medical Technology; Biological
Technology and Environmental Technology.
Dr. Ta
Hai Tung, Director of International Collaboration Center for Research and
Development on Satellite Navigation Technology in South East Asia (NAVIS
Center) under the Hanoi Polytechnic University; Dr. Phan Xuan Hieu, teacher
of the University of Technology under Vietnam National University in Hanoi;
Le Yen Thanh, student of Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Sciences; MA
Le Viet Hung, doctor and teacher of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine
and Pharmacy; Doctor Huynh Van Binh Gia Dinh of People's Hospital in Ho Chi
Minh City; MA Tran Thi Thu Ha of Hanoi Obstetric and Gynecology Hospital;
Engineer Vo Khanh Hung, teacher of Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture
and Forestry; MA Dam Thi Lan, teacher of Hanoi University of Construction; MA
Tran Dai Nghia of Lam Thao Fertilizers and Chemicals Join Stock Company
(formerly known as Super Phosphate Plant Lam Thao); and Dr. Le Van Canh,
teacher of Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City were the
recipients of the awards.
Childcare
becomes an issue in industrial zones
The
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia discussed
solutions to private kindergartens after the most recent child abuse case.
During
her meeting with HCMC Department of Education and Training, Nghia said that
the child abuse case at Phuong Anh Kindergarten should be taken as a warning
sign. When making plans, investors of industrial zones never thought about
child care problems for the workers.
Because
of poverty, female workers often choose to go to work as early as four months
after birth, so they desperately need someone to look after their children
for them. Nghia suggested to issue a new decree that force investors to
include childcare centres into their plans and the authorities must carry out
inspections at private childcare centres frequently.
She
said, "Even the existing industrial zones would have to build childcare
centres. Currently, only 6 out of 13 industrial zones in HCMC have plans for
schools. In the near future, the ministry will also make suitable adjustments
to the management over childcare centres."
Previously,
the local authorities announced that they may ban all private kindergartens
after the Phuong Anh Kindergarten incident. However, Nghia said it is an
impossible task because of high demand.
On
December 23, head of HCMC Le Hoang Quan also ordered the local authorities to
make clear the individual responsibilities of those involved in child care,
and strictly punish offenders in the Phuong Anh Kindergarten child abuse
case. He also ordered collaboration betweem all agencies to tighten
management over kindergartens in the city.
Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGGP/Dantri/SGT
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Thứ Năm, 26 tháng 12, 2013
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