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Social
News Headlines 27/2
10
officials face trial in blood test scandal
The trial in the
blood test replication scandal at the city-based
The Ha Noi People's
Court's Deputy Chief Judge Nguyen Huu Chinh told the media yesterday that 10
health officials involved in the replication of 1,000 blood test results for
2,000 patients between May and July last year will face trial.
Former hospital
Director Nguyen Tri Liem and Deputy Director Nguyen Thi Nhien were prosecuted
for negligence that could have had serious consequences, under Article 285 of
the Penal Code.
Vuong Thi Kim
Thanh, head of the hospital's laboratory, and seven other laboratory workers
were prosecuted on charges of abusing power while on duty, under Article 281
of the Penal Code.
The scandal about
the replication of blood tests broke last June after a senior doctor from the
hospital denounced the practice in a letter sent to a national television
station.
A police
investigation revealed that the hospital conducted nearly 25,000 blood tests
on patients from July 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013 and provided 1,149 replicated
blood test results to them.
Thanh admitted that
the aim was to squeeze money out of the hospital's insurance fund. Each blood
test result receives VND21,000 ($1) worth of social insurance.
Sua timber
causes altercations in Trooc Spring
The Trooc Spring in
Bo Trach District,
The district’s
People’s Committee mobilized police, military and forest rangers to the scene
after thousands of people, including gangsters and sua timber barons,
trampled farm fields to reach the site.
Nguyen Quang Huy
discovered the tree in a spring while he was fishing. Hundreds of people
flocked to the area destroying peanut fields after hearing about the
discovery.
The massive tree
broke the pulley used to bring it ashore. Citizens were able to claim a
30-kilogram section. It was stolen the next morning after an altercation
about ownership.
Witnesses claim
that the tree was three meters tall with a diameter of more than 1.5 meters.
The value is about VND 10 billion (US$475,000) in the black market.
Witnesses also
claim that the barons paid workers to seize the timber.
District
authorities will hire workers to remove sua timbers from the spring to
prevent additional disputes, said Phan Van Gon, chairman of the district’s
People’s Committee. He agreed to grant Huy and his friends 30 percent of the
wood’s value after auction.
The excavator
failed to pull the tree to land. Police and forest rangers will be protecting
the area overnight.
Southern
provinces meet for bird flu prevention plan
Delegates from
Coordination should
be strengthened to prevent bird flu from further spreading, said Mai Van
Hiep, deputy head of Animal Health Department under Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development.
The flu has
currently not reached HCMC, Binh Phuoc, Soc Trang, Dong Thap and An Giang
Province.
The population of
HCMC consumes about 120,000-130,000 poultry per day which 90 percent is
imported from provinces including Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Long An,
Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tien Giang and Tay Ninh, according to the city’s Animal
Health Department.
The flu has
infected and killed 63,000 poultry across 21 provinces as of February 25,
according to the Animal Health Department. In the first week of the outbreak
on February 18, it spread to 10 provinces.
Dairy
farming takes Khmer out of poverty
Lieu Van Do wakes
up 5 a.m. daily to milk his seven cows. It takes seven to ten minutes to
gather 10 kg of milk per cow where he sells to Evergrowth Co-operative.
The Co-operative
works to relieve Khmer families in
“Ten years ago, we
had nothing, but now we can be proud of saying that we have changed our life
from dairy farming,” said Mr. Do, 45. “Rice price is not stable, breeding
dairy cattles is the best way to earn money.”
A liter of milk
will produce 12.5 VND/liter, same as a hectare of rice. A cow will
produce 12 liters per day.
After 10 years of
business, Mr. Do’s farm now has 34 dairy cows. With the substantial
income, he built a home worth VND 45 million and bought three motorbikes for
his family.
The income of a
dairy household can reach VND 45 to 48 million per month, said Director of
Evergrowth Tran Hoang. This means a family can earn VND 20 to 30
million for a year.
“The families
strive to breed dairy cows. I highly appreciate the efforts of the
community and the unity in work ethics,” said Nguyen Nam Thanh, Vice Director
of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Soc Tang Province.
Evergrowth will
celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. The company now has 3,957
cows, eight times the amount they started with. It has 1,692 employees,
with 90 percent Khmer. Milk production has skyrocketed from 150 kg per
day to 16,000 kg per day. Profit has also increased from VND 500 million to
VND 16 billion since the start of the company.
The company been
listed as top dairy cattle co-operative in the Mekong Delta by The people’s
Committee of Soc Trang. Because of this, Soc Trang is now famous for dairy in
the Mekong Delta.
“Evergrowth is an
outstanding co-operative and leader in breeding dairy cattle in the
Bao Viet to
pay VND6 bil. for wool warehouse fire
Bao Viet Insurance
Corporation estimates it will pay out VND6 billion to Ha Dong Wool Company
after a fire destroyed the warehouse complex no. 1 of the enterprise one week
ago.
According to Bao
Viet, the insurer clinched an insurance contract with the wool company
effective from September 10, 2013 to September 9 this year, of which the
workshop section had the total liability limit of over VND21 billion.
The fire-hit
warehouse area was built in 1987 and upgraded in 2003 and 2011. Bao Viet
given an initial calculation has plans to compensate around VND6 billion for
the damage.
The warehouse
covers a total area of 5,000 square meters, including 13 small storehouses
leased by other enterprises to stock home appliances, stationery, machines,
confectionery and bricks.
The case is now
under investigation. The insurer has also cooperated with law enforcement
officers to update information and make the insurance payment.
In a related
development, Bao Viet has also taken responsibility for the coach explosion
in Nghe An Province on February 17, which killed two people and injured
several others.
Company
fined for illegal dredging
The People's
Committee of the central
According to Le
Minh Ngan, head of the province's department of environment and natural
resources, Duc Toan Co Ltd in Tuyen Hoa District was fined for a number of
violations including mining without approval and at an excessive capacity.
The company's
mining license has also been suspended until August 11 this year.
The license will be
revoked completely if the company fails to meet its obligations under the
penalty.
Drug
traffickers caught in Hai Phong
The police from the
waterway and drug departments, in co-ordination with the local police in the
northern port city of
One kilogramme of
methamphetamine was seized from them.
Nguyen Van Son, 52,
and Le Thanh Thuy, 30, were caught red-handed at the foot of the
The suspects
admitted that they had planned to sell the drugs in Ha Noi. The police are
investigating the case further.
Vietnamese
students honoured in Australia
Eleven Vietnamese
students were formally presented a – Certificate for Outstanding
International Student - for exemplary academic achievement in 2013 at a
February 25 ceremony in
Last year, the
Vietnamese students actively contributed to schools in
Vi Quoc Tung (born
in 1995 from Hai Phong city), a Vietnamese student attending Moorebank high
school, said he was proud when he was selected among the most outstanding
international students in New South Wales.
Tung said that an
ever-increasing number of Vietnamese students are receiving honours thanks to
their good academic achievements and involvement in extra curricular social
activities.
He won first prizes
at Moorebank’s three consecutive math contests at Moorebank. In addition, he
also actively participated in voluntary activities for
After graduating
from high school, he has ambitious plans to continue his education at the
The current number
of Vietnamese students studying in
Bridge
collapse prompts inspections
Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked for prompt inspections of all weak or old
suspension bridges nationwide, especially those in remote and mountainous
areas.
The call was made
at an online conference to review traffic safety held in Ha Noi yesterday
following the tragic bridge collapse that left eight dead and nearly 40
injured in the northern mountainous
Two helicopters
carrying surgical teams from the capital's Viet-Duc (Viet Nam-Germany) and
Bach Mai hospitals landed in the province yesterday morning to help treat the
victims in local hospitals.
Overloading has
been blamed for the collapse of the 54 metre-long bridge, which had been in
use for 14 months with a capacity of supporting 1.5 tonne vehicles.
Phuc, who is also
Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, stressed that the accident
was a serious lesson for the transport sector.
"Weak
suspension bridges pose direct threats and the transport sector must take
full responsibility," he stressed.
Phuc also asked for
transport businesses to be monitored to prevent traffic accidents following
several serious cases involving inter-provincial coaches and overloaded
trucks and container vehicles in recent weeks.
"Authorities
must also work closely to stop drink and drug driving and punish violators
with heavy fines or by permanently revoking their driving licenses," he
said
On the same day,
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent an official message to the People's
Committee of Lai Chau Province and the Ministry of Transport regarding the
incident.
In the message, the
PM asked the provincial authority to send condolences and support to the
families of those who died and were injured in the accident. He also called
on the Ministry of Transport to inspect bridges nationwide to prevent similar
incidents.
April 21 to
be “
“Vietnam Book Day”
will be celebrated on April 21 every year from this year on, as a way to
honour the value of books as well as their role and importance in social
life.
According to a
decision issued by the Prime Minister on February 25, the annual event aims
to encourage and develop reading in the community, while raising the public’s
awareness of the significance of books as not only a source of knowledge but
as a way to develop one’s thought and personality.
The event is also a
chance to appreciate the efforts of those who are involved in book
publicising such as book collectors, writers, publishers and distributors, it
said.
The day will
contribute to raising the responsibility of ministries, sectors and social
organisations towards the building and promotion of the reading culture in
The Prime Minister
also assigned the Minister of Information and Communications in collaboration
with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the local authorities of
cities and provinces nationwide to carry out the event in a practical and
effective manner.
Bird flu
hits 21 provinces nationwide
Bird flu has struck
21 provinces and cities across the country with around 64,000 infected
chickens culled, according to the latest statistics from the Animal Health
Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Notably, the number
of birds killed in the central
The outbreak was
attributed to the complicated weather in the first two months of the year,
and the increase in shipping and trading of poultry during the recently-ended
Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.
Should localities
fail to intensify scrutiny and take swift measures, bird flu could develop
into an epidemic, warned Deputy Head of the department Dam Xuan Thanh.
Participants agreed
that all localities where the disease has reoccurred or has yet to be
detected should focus on implementing the Prime Minister’s Decision 2088 on
preventing the illegal import and trading of poultry.
Local authorities
also need to tighten inspections at border gates and take prompt preventive
measures against the bird flu virus and human-transmission strains such as
H5N1 and H7N9.
The same day,
officials from
With a population
of around 10 million, Ho Chi Minh City consumes a large amount of poultry on
a daily basis, with many brought in from other localities.
The city has signed
cooperation agreements with the localities Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh
Duong, Long An and Tien Giang in monitoring and preventing epidemic diseases,
and managing food safety.
The seven provinces
are Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Long An, Tien Giang, Tay Ninh, and Ba
Ria-Vung Tau. They are the main suppliers of poultry meat and eggs to
Speaking at the
meeting organised in
"If the tests
are positive for bird flu, we will inform the provincial veterinary
sub-department," Thao said.
In addition, he
asked provinces to increase testing of poultry samples from the breeding
phase through to transporting and slaughtering, to ensure a safe supply of
poultry products.
The department of
Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau
provinces, said many poultry traders are transporting their livestock on the
HCM –Trung Luong and HCM –Long Thanh-Dau Giay express-way, to avoid going
through animal quarantine stations on the old roads, making it hard for
localities to track them.
Nguyen Phuoc Trung,
director of the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,
said the department needed the co-operation of road traffic police to help it
conduct animal quarantine at gateways to the city.
Participants at the
meeting agreed to enhance information exchange between the city and
provinces, as well as between provinces, to enable the prevention and control
of the disease more effectively.
Mai Van Hiep, deputy
head of the Veterinary Department, said that so far the H5N1 bird flu had
spread to 20 provinces with more than 60,000 poultry incinerated.
Cold weather, lack
of vaccination against the disease at many localities, as well as apathy
about the disease among the relevant local agencies and breeders, were among
the main reasons leading to the spread of the disease, he said.
In addition,
development of a new bird flu strain also reduced the effectiveness of the
vaccine, he said.
He suggested
provinces that are now free from the disease, buy vaccines to inject their
poultry.
Information on how
to deal with infected poultry was also needed to prevent breeders from
throwing dead poultry into river, he said.
If localities did
not have effective control measures, the disease might spread to all
provinces, he said.
The city will spend
some VND1.2 billion ($56,904) on contest expenses, according to the city's
people's committee.
The central
administrative centre is expected to be constructed in the downtown area
surrounded by Le Thanh Ton, Pasteur, Ly Tu Trong and Dong Khoi streets in
District 1.
Candidates must
have knowledge in architecture and are supposed to have a good sense of
conservation, according to the organiser.
In addition, the
candidates must be recommended by the Architecture Research Centre under the
The contest
consists of a preliminary round in which the panel of judges will choose
seven to nine of the best contestants to go to the final round. The best
design will be assessed and selected by the panel of judges in the final
round.
The best design
will also be reviewed by the panel of judges for improvement, if any, before
being approved by the city administration.
The first prize is
VND300 million (US$14,226) and the winning design will be copyright
protected. The winner will be eligible to make more designs for the
administrative centre under contract.
The second prize is
worth VND150 million ($7,113), third prize VND100 million ($4,742), and the
consolation prize VND50 million ($2,371).
The organiser will
also provide financial support for every candidate who fails to win any
prizes.
Earlier, the HCM
City People's Committee instructed the relevant agencies to complete the
planning for building the city's new administrative centre in District 1.
The new centre will
be located on an 18,000 square metre plot of land.
The centre is
expected to be completed by 2020 and will be the workplace for the people's
committee and some departments, including departments of Transport and
Natural Resources and Environment.
The existing
headquarters of the HCM City People's Committee and several old buildings
that have architectural value on the land will be carefully preserved, while
other buildings will be demolished for the construction of the new
administrative centre. The main entrance is to be on
Ha Noi
opens newborn-screening centre
A prenatal and
newborn-screening centre has been put into operation at the Ha Noi Obstetrics
and
The centre, built
at a cost of VND74 billion (US$3.48 million), is part of the city's project
to detect congenital disorders early through prenatal and baby screenings,
running from 2011 to 2015.
It was upgraded
from a specialised ward and boasts additional staff, infrastructure and
modern equipment.
More than 6,000
pregnant women have received ultrasound scans at the ward in its seven years
of operation, and over 50,000 newborn babies have been screened for hearing
and heart diseases.
According to the
General Office for Population and Family Planning, more than 87,000 babies
are born with congenital conditions in
Enterprises in Ho
Chi Minh city expect to recruit 20,000 employees in March, 30 percent of whom
will be unskilled workers, 40 percent intermediate standard workers, and 30
percent university graduates and postgraduates.
According to Tran
Anh Tuan, deputy director of the city's Centre for Human Resource Forecasts
and Labour Information, surveys on 1,016 enterprises in need of recruiting
employees showed that the city labour supply-demand market in March will
focus on recruiting trained workers.
Moreover, a greater
number of labourers will be employed in the business – sales, information and
technology, services, textile and garment, leather shoes, customer service,
mechanics and automation sectors.
Tuan stressed the
recruitment of experienced and trained workers in the leather sector, as
since the beginning of the year, enterprises have inked a variety of new
contracts.
However, Nguyen
Thanh Tung, director of the centre on job introduction to export processing
and industrial zones, said that among 270,000 labourers working in export
processing and industrial zones, 70-80 percent satisfied recruiters’ demand
in terms of qualifications.
Many localities in
the Mekong Delta region have devised inventive measures to summon various
resources for building new-style rural areas, according to a report revealed
on February 25.
The National
Steering Committee for the National Target Programme on Building New-Style
Rural Areas organised a conference in the Mekong Delta
The report by the
programme’s central coordination office shows that as many as 1,269 communes
in the region have joined the programme in the past three years.
During the period,
the localities have called for support from collectives and individuals to
build fundamental infrastructure facilities, especially roads and irrigation
works, to improve living conditions for rural residents.
Notably, Ca Mau
province has constructed 1,588 bridges, while Hau Giang has mobilised over
1.2 trillion VND (57.1 million USD) for building roads.
As of the end of
2013, on average the regional communes fulfilled nine out of 19 criteria for
new-style rural areas, three criteria more than the figure in 2011.
Eighteen communes
have satisfied all 19 standards, most of them in Long An, Tra Vinh and Hau
Giang provinces, the report says.
It adds that after
three years, the programme has improved local people’s well-being with a 10
percent increase in per capita income and a three percent decrease in the
household poverty rate.
By 2015, the
regional provinces will upgrade 85 percent of inter-communal roads to meet
the Transport Ministry’s standards, and 40 percent of irrigation works to
fully satisfy production and daily demand for water.
Building
infrastructure, improving production capacity, building public works,
protecting the landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and
cultural identities are among the criteria on building new-style rural areas
initiated by the Government in 2010.
The Mekong Delta
region comprises of 12 provinces - An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Dong
Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and
Vinh Long - and Can Tho city.-
Better
polices needed to end sex trade
Better policies and
more awareness campaigns on the sex trade crackdown are needed, said the
participants of a seminar in the
Prostitution in
Some suggested
revoking the licences of karaoke or lodging facilities that involve in sex
trade.
They also called
for the involvement of non-governmental and other social organisations along
the way, making it easier for prostitutes to integrate back into the
community after their rehabilitation.
For the past time,
pilot models to help sex workers better access social services have proved
successful and inter-sectoral coordination in the fight has been reinforced.
The event was
hosted by the National Committee on AIDS Prevention, Drug and Prostitution
Control.-
Prevention
of asbestos-related diseases discussed
The Health
Environment Management Agency (HEMA), under the Ministry of Health, held a
conference in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to
discuss the prevention of asbestos-related diseases on February 25 in
Asbestos is one of
the elements in the inorganic toxic dust workers are exposed to in the
manufacturing process, according to the WHO and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC).
It causes
respiratory problems, silicosis disease, pleural thickening and cancer.
WHO policy has
encouraged countries to gradually eliminate asbestos and use substitutes. As
a result, over 40 countries worldwide have put asbestos on the list of banned
substances for use or trade, such as
The prevention of
occupational diseases related to asbestos has been difficult due to its long
incubation period, up to 20-30 years, as well as lack of labour awareness on
its harmful effects, and the regulations on labour safety and hygiene in many
workplaces.
The ministry has
completed a draft on guiding diagnostic criteria and cancers related to
asbestos to supplement to the list of occupational diseases receiving
insurance.
It has continued to
improve the capacity of the health sector on monitoring working environments
and managing the health of workers exposed to asbestos, as well as proposing
a ban on the use of dangerous substances in the Draft Law of Environmental
Protection.
Number of
visitors to Con Dao surges after Tet holiday
After the Lunar New
Year (Tet) holiday, the Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) operated five or
six daily flights on the
Particularly, during
the festival that fell in the middle of the first lunar month, even seven
flights a day could not meet the travel demand to Con Dao, a renowned tourist
site offshore southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
Flights to Con Dao
were always fully booked and travellers had to book tickets days before the
trip, Trinh told Ba Ria-Vung Tau newspaper.
Domestic tourists
to Con Dao normally stay one night, in combination with visiting Hang Duong
cemetery, Con Dao temple and prisons.
Resorts such as Six
Senses Con Dao, Saigon – Con Dao and Con Dao attract a large number of
foreign tourists from Europe, the
Average room
occupancy in resorts in Con Dao reached 80-95 percent during the period.
One of Vietnam’s
tourist hot spots and described as a paradise in many international travel
magazines, the pristine nature of Con Dao appeals to visitors with beautiful
beaches and pure, blue water.
Apart from its
seaside attractions, Con Dao has a national park with rich flora and fauna.
It is home to dugongs, dolphins and sea turtles, which are under threat of
extinction.
The island also
houses a special national relic, the Con Dao Prison, where some 20,000
Vietnamese revolutionaries died during the war against the French
colonialists and American invaders.
Built in 1862 by
the French colonists, Con Dao Prison was once dubbed the largest "Hell
on Earth" in
Source: VNA/VOV/VNS
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Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 2, 2014
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