Social News Headlines 17/2
Annual blood donation event held in
Hanoi
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan beat a
ceremonial drum to officially launch an annual blood donation drive, known as
the Red Spring Festival, in Ha Noi yesterday.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy
Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen highlighted the remarkable achievements of
the blood donation movement in
According to Dr Nguyen Anh Tri, head
of the festival's organising board, in addition to easing blood shortages
after the Lunar New Year holiday, the event, with its message of
"Sharing red blood, giving hope," will help raise public awareness
about the need to donate blood.
This year's drive is expected to
collect between 6,000 and 7,000 units of blood from 10,000 donors.
It is being held in almost all
localities nationwide until March 15.
Fog, rain disrupt normal life in Ha
Giang
The Northeast monsoon showers have
brought the temperatures down in the
According to the centre, several
border communes in Dong Van, Meo Vac, Xin Man Districts saw both fog and
frost with very low temperatures that might go down further to minus 1 degree
Celsius.
Such harsh weather conditions have
reportedly affected the lives of the ethnic people there.
Low temperatures of one degree
Celsius were recorded yesterday in Lung Cu and Pho Bang communes in Dong Van
District, and LungPu, Xin Cai and Thuong Phung communes in Meo Vac District.
These areas also witnessed heavy fog and rain, worsening the cold weather.
To tackle the bad weather, the Ha
Giang Province authorities have asked its ethnic people to take protective
measures during the cold weather and to ensure the well-being of people,
livestock and other animals and plants.
Rabid dogs kill two persons in Thanh
Hoa
Two persons have died after being
bitten by rabid dogs in the northern
Eight others who were also bitten by
rabid dogs are being treated in local hospitals.
Le Hong Son from the epidemic
department of the centre said that nearly 1,800 dogs which could carry the
risk of rabies were vaccinated immediately in a bid to prevent the disease
from spreading in the province.
Meanwhile, a bird flu outbreak has
been reported in Tinh Gia District. It has reportedly killed nearly 200
poultry in a farm in Anh Son Commune.
15 people injured in truck-coach
crash
Fifteen people were injured when a
coach and a truck collided early yesterday morning on National Highway 1 in
Cam Tan Commune, central
The victims were hospitalised with
injuries to their heads, necks, arms and legs, according to the province's
The accident also blocked traffic for
four hours. The drivers have yet to be identified.
DNST team beats tough competition to
win SIC contest
Vietnamese university students of
DNST team from Queen Mary University, London School of Commerce and the
University of East Anglia came first in the third ever Student Investment
Challenge (SIC) in London.
The event was co-organised by
VietPro President Nguyen Huu Phuong
Thao said that the third SIC was competed by 59 teams from 35
The SIC is the only virtual stock
investment competition for Vietnamese students living in the
Le Quoc Tri, a member of DNST said
that all DNST members want to learn and share experiences at the contest to
help improve their knowledge and it is a great honour for DNST to achieve
such excellent results.
Tran Quang Thach, a financial expert
from Barclays Bank and a SIC jury member said he was impressed by the five
teams’ knowledge and efforts.
He was particularly pleased to see
that the younger generation have ambition and the desire to experiment,
especially in the fields of banking and finance.
Representatives of the Vietnam
People’s Navy (VPN) and
Byrne said potential Asia-Pacific
customers were informed of the platform, and
The S-100 on display at
Byrne described the S-100 as having a
200 km operational radius, within which the sensor range was 40 km at an altitude
of 2,000 m. It is also fitted with a C-band datalink.
If purchased, the S-100 would be
deployed from the VPN's two new Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS)
Sigma-class (Type 9814) corvettes, Byrne said.
DSNS said in August 2013 it had
agreed to sell the ships to
New bridge to mark Hanoi Liberation
Day
The
The 8.95-km long bridge, which has an
investment of VND1.3 trillion (US$63.4 million), has five A-shaped concrete
pylons, representing five gates that enter
The bridge will be the longest
cable-stayed bridge in
The bridge, one of seven to span the
Mekong Delta authorities will start
creating jobs for 371,000 workers this year, including 110,000 from rural
areas and ethnic minority groups.
The Steering Committee for
Southwestern Region said that to achieve the target, regional provinces would
focus on building educational infrastructures and facilities to raise the
number of vocational schools throughout the region.
By the end of 2014, it expects that
the region will have 21 vocational colleges and schools and 119
district-level training centres.
Regional vocational schools will
offer training in new fields such as agricultural food processing, seafood
farming, rural water supply and drainage, plant protection and motorbike
maintenance. The Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region said highly
skilled engineers and artisans would be mobilised for training, while
connections between businesses and trade villages would be enhanced.
Boosting job placement and
consultation services to expand the labour-export market, restoring trade
villages and developing agricultural services in rural areas to create more
jobs for rural workers will be among the main measures taken.
Viet kieu integral to development
Overseas Vietnamese are an important
component and a source of internal strength for the nation, Chairman of the
Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan confirmed.
Meeting a group of over 400
expatriates, many of whom are living in
He hailed the expatriates for acting
as cultural ambassadors in their host countries and bridging economic,
scientific and technological ties with the fatherland.
According to the State Committee for
Overseas Vietnamese, more than 4.5 million Vietnamese live in over 100
countries and territories worldwide.
Evicted land users need higher
compensation
Compensation for evicted land users
must be increased, said Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen
Minh Quang.
Speaking at a conference last week,
Quang said that increasing evictions of farmers to develop industrial zones
had resulted in many complaints, 70 per cent of which were about inadequate
compensation.
"The compensation amount, which
is determined by State and Government bodies, must be closer to the market
land price," Quang said.
Nguyen Duy Thang, an expert from the
Asian Development Bank, said that people evicted from their land needed to
buy new property and build houses, so the compensation they received should
be sufficient to allow them to do so. He suggested that those determining the
amount consult the public.
Nguyen Cong Hong, vice general
director of the Ha Noi-based Viet Hung Urban Development and Investment Joint
Stocks Company, agreed that when province and city People's Committees
developed their land price frame, they should consult land users to ensure
transparency.
Chairman of the northern Lao Cai
Province People's Committee Doan Van Huong said that farmers should receive a
different amount of compensation than other types of land users.
The current Land Law was approved
last November and will take effect in July.
PM urges action against avian flu
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on
February 14 sent a dispatch to ministries, top-level agencies and localities,
asking them to make every effort in the fight against avian influenza.
In the dispatch, the Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development who is also the head of the National
Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control was requested to offer
guidance to localities throughout the struggle.
There is an urgent need to establish
inspection teams to promote anti-bird flu efforts at localities, especially
those vulnerable to the disease in the northern region, the dispatch said.
PM Dung also requested the Health
Ministry to closely check the implementation of preventive measures against
A/H7N9 bird flu and other types of flu viruses.
Ministries, branches and localities
were asked to promptly devise plans in preparation for the outbreak of new
strains of avian flu viruses while spreading information about the danger.
Poultry breeders and traders should
be well aware of hygiene requirements, disinfection procedures and safety
breeding models in order to lessen the risks of infection and virus
outbreaks.
The leader urged competent agencies
to take samples of poultry at markets to detect avian influenza in a swift manner,
while also closely inspecting poultry trading in each locality.
He further noted that the
transportation and marketing of untreated poultry and poultry products of
Chinese origin are prohibited.
Meanwhile, it is a must for media
agencies to inform the population about the development of the disease in a
timely and accurate manner, he said.
According to the World Health
Organisation, A/H7N9 avian influenza struck 147 people in mainly
In
The Food and Agriculture Organisation
of the United Nations has warned there is a high risk that A/H7N9 would
penetrate
Famous physician duo commemorated
The southernmost
The event offered a chance for local
physicians to remember the great contributions made by the duo to founding
and developing
Tue Tinh (14 th century) is
considered the saint of Vietnamese herbs and the progenitor of Vietnamese
traditional medicine. He wrote many famous books including ‘The Miracle
Vietnamese Pharmacy’ and ‘Great Morality in the Art of Medicine’.
Following Tue Tinh, Le Huu Trac
(1720-1791) - a colourful character who nicknamed himself ‘Hai Thuong Lan
Ong’ (lazy old man in Hai Thuong) - wrote a 66-volume encyclopedia of
Vietnamese traditional medicine titled “Medical origins with morality and
skill.”
He dedicated his life to documenting
and passing on the precious heritage of Vietnamese traditional medicine. He
also set a fine example for medical ethics and is considered the most famous
physician in
On the occasion of 250th anniversary
of his birthday in 1970, UNESCO recognised him as a world cultural celebrity
for his contribution to both Vietnamese and world medicine.
Vietnam attends Global Health
Security Agenda
The agenda was drafted to encourage the
early detection of and response to infectious disease outbreaks before such
outbreaks escalate to pandemic levels.
Over 2013–2014, the US Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) have helped Vietnam’s Ministry of
Health improve dangerous disease testing capacity at Hanoi’s National
Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and Ho Chi Minh City’s Pasteur
Institute.
Both institutes can now test for
viruses including the A/H7N9 avian flu and the
The USCDC also helped
The USCDC’s Ugandan pilot project
focused on improving testing for cholera, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis,
and dengue fever.
The USCDC and the US Department of
Defence plan to invest US$40 million in similar projects in 10 other
countries. Assuming congressional approval, total investment will rise to
US$45 million in 2015. .
The countries participating in the
Global Health Security Agenda are
First A/H1N1 death in Khanh Hoa
province
Doctors at Khanh Hoa’s
The patient, Huynh Thanh Tuan, 30,
living in Vinh Thanh commune, Nha Trang city, was hospitalised on February 5,
with flu-like symptoms such as coughing, breathing difficultly, seriously
respiratory inefficiency and viscera failure.
He was given continuous dialysis
treatment at a quarantined intensive care room.
The Oxford University Clinical
Research Unit in Vietnam (OUCRU), based at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases
in Ho Chi Minh City, reported on February 11 Tuan’s blood samples tested
positive for the deadly flu strain A/H1N1.
The Nha Trang Pasteur Institute and
HCM City Pasteur Institute also produced similar testing results.
The provincial
Int’l seminar discusses developing
low-carbon cities
Leading Vietnamese and Japanese
scientists gathered at a February 14 seminar in
The seminar is part of a cooperation
program linking
The low-carbon city development
programme between HCM City and Osaka has already resulted in a memorandum of
understanding covering energy efficiency, public transport, sustainable water
management, solid waste treatment, urban and industrial waste treatment,
urban planning, clean water supply, irrigation, flood prevention, and
applying information technology (IT) managing harmful waste.
The two cities have also collaborated
on research into recycling energy via solid waste treatment.
Dao Anh Kiet, Director of the HCM
City Department of Natural Resources and Environment, noted the programme is
helping
Seminar delegates used the lens of
low carbon emissions to consider issues in water, waste water, transport,
energy, and food.
They also discussed innovations in
fuel, public transportation infrastructure upgrades, promoting electric
motorbikes, powering electricity using waste, and environmentally friendly
industrial waste water treatment in
A Japanese Ministry of Environment
representative introduced
German charity funds school in Quang
Nam
Batschka Stiftung, the German
Children's Future Fund, has donated more than VND8 billion to fund the
construction of a school in Duy Xuyen district, Quang
District and provincial budgets
provided the rest of the school’s VND20 billion construction bill.
The two-storey building contains 14
classrooms and a multi-function block. It will serve more than 650 pupils and
become especially useful during annual flood seasons.
The project is expected to begin
operation in August 2014.
Duy Chau village lies in lowlands of
Duy Xuyen district. Around 60% of the village is regularly submerged each wet
season, badly disrupting daily life, production, and study.
The project was designed to fulfill
local education demands, as well as to function as a safety shelter for local
residents against floods.
Construction ministry unveils
energy-saving plan
The Ministry of Construction has
issued a draft circular to provide guidance on management, saving and
efficient use of energy in buildings.
The draft is expected to be an
important step towards improving standards and reducing energy consumption
for public and private buildings, such as offices, hotels, hospitals, schools
with more than 2,500 square metres of total floor space.
The number of buildings such as
houses, shopping centres and hotels has increased rapidly in recent years. In
these buildings, poor energy efficiency measures have led to huge energy
waste.
"The building sector is one of
the large energy users, accounting for 25% of total national energy
consumption. Therefore, applying energy efficiency solutions for buildings is
so important," said Nguyen Trung Hoa, Head of the Ministry's Department
of Science, Technology and Environment.
To encourage energy saving, the
ministry will grant the Building Energy Efficiency Certificates to buildings
that successfully meet QCVN 09:2013/BXD standards.
The compulsory technical requirements
will be applied to building components such as building envelopes, lighting,
ventilation systems and air conditioning, lift and escalator, and heating.
The potential of energy efficiency in
constructions including both old and new buildings is very high, experts
said.
"Application of energy efficient
technologies and materials, architectural designs can save around 30-40% of
energy consumption for new buildings," said Tran Dinh Thai, from the
construction ministry.
"For renovated buildings, if
energy audits and energy saving solutions are applied, about 15-25% of energy
consumption will be saved," he added.
However, the amount of energy
consumption in buildings remains high because
"The consultant units which have
capacity in building energy efficiency are still few in number. The most
advanced design technology is energy use simulation software for buildings
which have are not yet," said Tran Thanh Vu, Energy Efficiency
Consulting experts at the World Bank Group's International Finance
Corporation (IFC).
The Ministry of Construction will
also provide training courses for energy managers and energy auditors to
improve the knowledge of energy conservation. In the future, this work should
be strongly promoted to meet the needs of human resources of the units
engaged in energy efficiency.
Korean counsellor honoured with
environment insignia
Counsellor of the
The insignia is in recognition of
Woo’s important contributions to developing and promoting natural resources
and environment protection in
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources
and Environment Nguyen Manh Hien praised Woo for his role in fostering
bilateral relations especially in the field of land management.
Starting his work in
He also served as stint as in
bringing about a cooperation MoU between the Land Polity Bureau under
the RoK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Research
Institute for Human Settlements and the Korea Association of Property
Appraisers and the General Department of Land Administration of Vietnam.
The counsellor pledged his best
efforts to further strengthen cooperation between the two nations.
Book exploring East-West Economic
Corridor published
Danang Publishing House has released
a book of travel reportage by Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper journalist Truong
Dien Thang.
The book recounts his 2006 journey
along the East-West Economic Corridor connecting
Dien Thang’s writing explores
regional similarities and differences in economics, tourism, culture,
lifestyle, and religion.
He visits pepper plantations,
Buddhist heritage sites, the Golden Triangle, and the land of gilded pagodas.
The book can serve as a travel guide
and how-to for readers interested in studying and exploring the East-West
Economic Corridor themselves.
UNICEF supports Ninh Thuan’s
disadvantaged children
Chief UNICEF Representative in
Vietnam Lotta Sylwander has promised Ninh Thuan leaders the UN Children’s
Fund will dedicate greater attention to helping the southern province’s
disadvantaged children.
At a February 13 working session with
provincial leaders, Ms Sylwander said UNICEF intends to focus on bilingual
education, safe water supplies, nutrition, and maternal and child healthcare.
Ms Sylwander praised NinhThuan’s
socio-economic development and modern child and maternal healthcare.
She asked the province to support the
development of clean water infrastructure and the provision of bilingual
education to Cham and Raglai people.
Provincial People’s Committee Vice
President Vo Dai expressed gratitude for UNICEF’s assistance and Ms
Sylwander’s personal efforts.
Ninh Thuan recently approved support
for localities running bilingual Cham-Vietnamese and English-Vietnamese
classes. Estimates suggest 85 percent of local residents have adequate access
to safe water.
NinhThuan is one of the eight
provinces included in the Prime Minister’s 2012–2016 parent and child care
project. UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund provided US$4 million
of the project’s US$5 million budget.
Wastewater treatment brings enormous
benefits
A recent study has revealed the
economic benefits of wastewater collection and treatment systems far surpass
their investment costs.
The German-Vietnamese Development
Cooperation’s Wastewater Management Programme (WMP) conducted the study in
collaboration with partners in Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Nghe An, Bac
Ninh, Hai Duong, Lang Son, Hoa Binh, and Son La.
Wastewater treatment in Can Tho
It shows the cumulative benefits of
investing in wastewater and drainage infrastructure exceed economic costs by
at least 15%.
The study assessed the economic
performance of upgraded wastewater management (WWM) in nine provincial towns
and cities, weighed their costs and benefits, and formulated recommendations
for the future development of WWM.
A detailed report was prepared for
each province considered and the main results summarised. It provides
national and provincial leaders with the data-based evidence and analysis
they need to set the levels of investment in urban wastewater infrastructure
given specific socio-economic conditions.
The study included WWM’s positive
impacts on tourism, public health, land prices, and the environment.
Programme Manager Hanns-Bernd Kuchta, Programme Manager said: “Our research
clearly indicates that investments in wastewater and drainage infrastructure
promote tourism, boost land values, and protect the environment.”
“Improved hygiene dramatically
reduces water-borne disease infection and mortality rates. Every three
dollars of investment in wastewater and drainage infrastructure returns at
least four dollars in benefits, so national and provincial leaders can rest assured
increasing the wastewater sector’s annual budget allocation will enhance
socio-economic development,” he added.
The Germany Government funds the WMP
through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
GIZ conducts the programme.
Its long-term objective is to promote
sustainable wastewater and solid waste management in
Measles cases on the rise, 3 dead
More than 240 people have tested
positive for measles in 24 provinces since the beginning of the year,
including three child fatalities, according to statistics from the Ministry
of Health (MoH).
Most of the patients were from Lai
Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces in the north.
Among the deaths, one was from
More than 1,000 people were diagnosed
with the disease last year.
MoH's Preventive Medicine Department
Director Tran Dac Phu said the situation in the nation's big cities, such as
"The epidemic of scarlet fever,
suspected to be measles, has spread across
Phu said vaccinations in remote
provinces had encountered difficulties due to geographical challenges
limiting access, with a recent survey of the department in
MoH is planning a nationwide
vaccination campaign in August this year for under-two-year-olds who did not
receive the vaccine against measles. Provincial health departments are
currently compiling the list of children for the campaign.
Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the
Hanoi Preventive Medicine Department, said that the city had about 700,000
under-five-year-old children and around 35,000-40,000 facing a high risk of
contracting the disease.
The figures came as the number of
children hospitalised in
Associate Professor Nguyen Tien Dung,
head of the
The
Liquid heroin seized by
Officers of the Ho Chi Minh City
Customs Department on February 11 seized 4.22 kg of heroin, worth some VND15
billion (US$714,300), being smuggled to
The contraband was liquid heroin contained
in 40 out of 140 tubes, hidden in a box weighing 16.5 kg.
Since the beginning of January, the
Express Delivery Customs Sub-department of Ho Chi Minh City has seized more
than 8kg of narcotics and drug precursors totalling over VND20 billion
(nearly US$1 million) in street value.
Meanwhile, on February 10, border
guards at the Mong Cai border gate in the northern coastal province of Quang
Ninh, arrested Tran Duy Yen from the northern province of Bac Ninh for
trafficking 194.92 grams of methamphetamine from China into Vietnam.
Earlier this year, the officers
seized 361.5 grams of heroin and 2,778 synthetic drug pills at the same gate.
Poverty reduction policies prove
effective
Poverty reduction efforts during the
2005-2012 period produced positive outcomes across
A MARD report to an inspection team
from the National Assembly said from 2009 to June 2013, the country generated
jobs for nearly 5 million rural workers with a majority of 96% working at
home.
More than 1.4 million people
benefited from the Government’s scheme to provide vocational training for
rural workers. Nearly 80% of the beneficiaries secured new jobs or maintained
their current ones with higher income and productivity.
Many poor households in rural areas
have been equipped with farming techniques and a better understanding of the
importance of forest protection, the ministry told the inspection team of the
National Assembly Standing Committee at a February 12 working session in
Latest statistics showed the poverty
rate, under national poverty line, dropped from 58.1% in 1993 down to 14.8%
in 2007 and 7.8% in 2013.
Due to its achievements in poverty
reduction,
Ethnic minority students return to
school after Tet
Most ethnic minority students have
returned to school following the prolonged Tet holiday in the provinces of
Dien Bien, Yen Bai and Khanh Hoa.
This was due to the efforts of school
management boards and local authorities.
In the northern mountainous
The department set up two teams
before the holiday to monitor the situation, and teachers were also sent to
absentee students' houses to encourage them to return to class.
In the northern mountainous
To encourage students to go back to
school, free lunches and warm clothes for students had been provided in the
districts of Muong Cha and Dien Bien, he said.
In the central
The local education sector had
implemented five methods to lure ethnic-minority students back to school,
having nearly 8,000 primary students each provided with VND200,000 (US$10)
per month for school lunches, he said.
The department had also opened
Vietnamese classes for around 1,500 ethnic minority pre-school students, and
granted scholarships for outstanding students of all ages, he said.
The province has invested VND56
billion (US$2.6 million) to improve the facilities in two primary schools in
the mountainous districts of Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh.
Southern area develops service
centres
The per capita gross domestic product
(GDP) income of the Southern Economic Zone will reach US$5,000 by 2020, and
the region is to be developed with a focus on high quality and sustainable
growth, according to the regional master plan for socio–economic development.
Under the scheme approved by Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on 13 February 2014, the Southern Economic Zone will
be developed at 8.5–9 per cent annually.
Avian flu breaks out in border
province
The mountainous northern border
The disease was spotted at a farming
house in
Bao Yen, Bac Ha, Bat Xat, Van Ban,
Hepza establishes job placement
centre
The HCM City Export Processing Zones
and Industrial Parks Authority (Hepza) has set up a job placement and
assistance centre for companies operating in the export processing zones,
according to a source from Hepza.
Ho Xuan Lam, Hepza office manager
said the centre will provide labour for companies as well as organise
training courses for labourers. It will also conduct surveys and provide
information on the labour market for the businesses.
Many garment enterprises in
Nguyen Vo Minh Thu, head of Hepza's
Labour Management Division, said garment and packaging companies in the
export processing zones are now seeking to employ around 8,000 labourers.
Railway sector urged to tighten
operations
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has
asked the State-owned Viet Nam Railway Corporation, the country's largest
railway operator, to improve its railway infrastructure and operations and
improve management of State funds.
Speaking on Thursday at a meeting on
the company's restructuring plan, Ninh asked the corporation to identify key
investment areas and offer incentives to attract private investors to
contribute to infrastructure development.
According to the Ministry of Planning
and Investment, rail transport possesses unique advantages in carrying goods
compared with other means of transport, in addition to easing congestion on
roads.
"If trillions of Vietnamese dong
are invested in building roads only, they would be degraded in five or seven
years because of overloading. However develping railways will help prevent
money being wasted on constantly fixing roads or building new ones,"
said deputy minister Dang Huy Dong.
Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Ngoc
Dong said that it was necessary to develop railways because of the leading
role it played in transporting goods.
Improving the nation's railway system
would require huge investments at a time when the country is tightening spending
and imposing strict limitations on State funds. It is estimated that each
kilometre of railway would cost more than US$20 million, said deputy PM Ninh.
"So, the sector has to determine
its development strategy carefully to step by step modernise it," he
said.
The corporation has made plans to
wind down State contributions at 13 of its subsidiaries, in addition to
selling its stake in 13 joint stock companies in the next quarter. The move
is expected to help the entity focus on core activities.
Under its restructuring plan during
2013-15, approved by the Prime Minister last year, the corporation also
developed a human resource plan and established a steering committee to
oversee the restructuring process.
The corporation intends to cater to
at least 1-2 per cent of the country's passengers and 3-4 per cent of the
goods transport market by 2020.
Source: VNA/VOV/VNS
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Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 2, 2014
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