Social News 11/8 Ha Noi may pave more streets with natural stone The People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District has proposed to the Ha Noi People's Committee that all road surface in 11 walking streets in the Old Quarter be paved with natural stone instead of cement bricks. The streets include Hang Ngang, Hang Dao , Hang Duong, Dong Xuan, Hang Giay, Hang Buom, Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hang Giay, Da Duy Tu, Ta Hien and Ma May. The district committee said that the 11 walking streets were attracting many foreign visitors. Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Dong Xuan and Hang Duong were opened as walking zones every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening in 2008. The others opened last year. The proposal aims to improve the streets, making them easier to navigate so they could serve tourists and locals better, the district committee said. If the capital People's Committee gives the green light, the district committee will implement and finish the task by next year. After receiving the proposal, vice-chairman of the capital's People's Committee, Nguyen Quoc Hung, ordered the city's transport department, the construction department and the district People's Committee to assess the proposal's feasibility. In 2011, a stretch of Ta Hien Street was paved with natural stone. There was no guttering, just drainage holes. Le Thu Thuy, a resident in Ta Hien Street, said the natural stones seemed to be okay on sunny or dry days, but added that they were slippery when it rained. Another resident in Ta Hien Street said that the stretch often flooded during heavy rain because there was not enough street drainage. Pham Sy Liem, deputy president of the Viet Nam Federation of Civil Engineering Association, told VTV1 that the proposal was unsuitable unless better drainage was provided. Street paving project met with criticism The public has voiced concerns over traffic safety after Hoan Kiem district authorities in Hanoi began to seek approval for a plan to pave 11 streets in the Old Quarter with flagstones. A Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association spokesperson said regulations only allow preservation and repair work done in the Old Quarter, which apparently meant paving the streets with stones was not appropriate. Vu Duc Chinh, deputy head of the Institute of Transport Science and Technology said the streets had to serve vehicles most of the time and were only pedestrianised at the weekend so the asphalt was much safer for traffic. Ta Hien is the only street in Hanoi that was paved with stone in 2010. However, while attractive, a slippery stone was used rather than a more sensible rough surfaced alternative. According to the locals, the street often absorbs more heat and proves far more dangerous when wet. Tran Mien, chief of the local residential unit in Hang Buom Ward, confirmed the shortcomings and said, "If vehicles brake suddenly or try to overtake each other accidents can occur." He went on to say that since many accidents occurred because of the rain, the locals had put up warning signs for drivers. Nguyen Xuan Tan, deputy head of Hanoi Department of Transport said they will research and evaluate the proposal from Hoan Kiem District. Third suspect in massacre of six people in Vietnam arrested, one month on A man identified as the third suspect in the killing of six people in a family in the southern province of Binh Phuoc early July was arrested late Sunday, one month after the capture of the other two alleged murderers. Tran Dinh Thoai, 27, was nabbed by Binh Phuoc police in an outlying area of Ho Chi Minh City following an arrest warrant by the provincial People's Procurary, officers confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday. Thoai, hailing from the southern province of Vinh Long but temporarily residing in Ho Chi Minh City, is now under investigation on charges of murder and robbery, according to police. The man is considered a suspect in the murder on July 7, when wood magnet Le Van My, his wife, son, daughter and two other relatives were allegedly killed by Nguyen Hai Duong and Vu Van Tien, even though he was not at the scene when the bloodbath took place. These two suspects, both 24, were arrested on July 11 and later admitted to committing the crime to steal the family’s assets and wreak vengeance on his ex Le Thi My Linh, who was My’s daughter, after she separated from him. Binh Phuoc police said the arrest of Thoai is the result of the interrogation of Duong and Tien, who were subject to four months in custody on charges of murder and robbery on July 13. Thoai is considered a suspect because he agreed to be Duong’s accomplice, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre with knowledge of the matter. But the suspect eventually could not join Duong in carrying out the murder plot due to some unexpected, objective reasons. He is thus facing charges of murder and robbery instead of “failing to report criminals,” the source said. After failing to have Thoai as an accomplice, Duong purportedly asked Tien to replace him, and the two allegedly carried out the crime that sent shock waves across the country. Binh Phuoc police said Thoai will be in custody for four months, pending their investigation. Mekong Delta need for trained workers A Khmer language lesson in southern Vinh Long Province. The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has not been able to meet its demand for high-quality human resources to achieve socio-economic development despite some improvement. — VNA/VNS Photo Pham Minh Tuan The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has not been able to meet its demand for high-quality human resources to achieve socio-economic development despite some improvement, according to experts. The rate of students graduating from high school in the delta has been equal to the national average, but the number of tertiary students here is 175 per 10,000 people compared with the country's rate of 277, according to the Southwest Region Steering Committee. The delta has 5.1 doctors per 10,000 people while the national average is 7.5. Even in rice, fruit and aquatic farming, the region, the country's main producer, suffers from small scale and limited use of technology. Speaking at a seminar in Can Tho last Friday, Mai Thi Anh Tuyet, director of the An Giang Province Department of Industry and Trade, said to improve the quality of human resources, delta provinces should draft education plans and speed up work on education and training infrastructure. Educational concepts and tertiary education and vocational training mechanisms should be remodelled, she said. The region should encourage the establishment of private vocational schools, she added. Duong Quoc Xuan, deputy head of the Southwest Region Steering Committee, said local authorities should closely work with provincial authorities and have detailed roadmaps to develop skilled human resources. Participants said poor infrastructure and facilities for education and training, modest quality of teachers and officials and low awareness among people about improving education and job skills are the major reasons for the low quality of human resources in the delta. They called on universities in HCM City to provide more training in the delta, especially for officials in jobs requiring high levels of professional skills. Nguyen Dong Phong, rector of the University of Economics HCM City, said students studying outside their provinces should be attracted back home to work after graduation with incentives, he said. Greater efforts needed to tackle thermal power plant waste Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked relevant ministries and agencies to take more drastic measures to handle waste discharged from coal-fired power plants. He said new thermal power station projects can only go ahead when there are specific plans on how to handle ash. Speaking at a meeting on August 10, the Deputy PM requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction popularise effective ash treatment methods currently employed by some thermal power plants. He also asked the two ministries to perfect quality standards and regulations on ash treatment, and promote recycling ash for producing cement and other building materials. Vietnam currently has 19 thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 14,480 megawatts, discharging around 15 million tonnes of ash each year, of which three fourths are fly ash and the rest bottom ash. It is projected that after 2020 the total number of coal-fired plants in Vietnam will rise to 43, discharging more than 30 million tonnes of ash annually. Currently most bottom ash is used in producing building materials while only a small amount of fly ash, estimated at 500,000-1,000,000 tonnes each year, is recycled. Armed thief nabbed after hiding on mountain in central Vietnam A motorcycle thief, who left a stolen SH scooter behind and rushed to a mountain in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to hide from police on Thursday, was finally arrested on Friday, officers said. Nguyen Van Nghia was caught when he was begging for food and drinking water at an eatery on National Highway 1 in Phu Loc District, according to local police. Prior to his arrest, the 20-year-old, hailing from the north-central province of Nghe An, had been hiding on Mu Nhan Mountain, after stealing a SH scooter from a local man on Thursday afternoon. Nghia finally appeared after hiding for more than a day, Le Binh, said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Viet Hoang, chief of the district police. Nghia had used a home-made gun, which police later identified as only using plastic bullets, to shoot people chasing after him when running away with the SH stolen from Le Binh, who parked the scooter on the sidewalk to enter a market. The thief managed to run away for 20km before reaching Mu Nhan Mountain. No one was harmed by his shooting, according to police. Nghia had to leave the gun, the motorcycle, and a backpack, behind to run to the mountain for hiding. More than 100 police officers, supported by police dogs, besieged the mountain since Thursday afternoon to search for Nghia. The backpack was later found containing a fake ID card, a tear gas canister and an electric baton. Colonel Vo Thanh Ky, chief police officer of Huong Thuy Town, said police had faced difficulties in hunting for Nghia because of the darkness and the complicated terrain in the mountain area. Project helps Vietnamese deaf children access education A project to provide pre-school education for deaf Vietnamese children has proven effective, helping hundreds of deaf children use sign language and become better prepared for school and life, heard a workshop in Hanoi on August 10. The 2011-2015 project is funded by the Japanese Social Development Fund via the World Bank (WB). It has been implemented by the World Concern Development Organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Quang Binh and Ho Chi Minh City. Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia stressed that this is the first project in Vietnam that has targeted preschool-aged deaf children. She underlined the significance of the project, saying that its success contributes significantly to the national strategy for education development from 2011-2020. Victoria Kwakwa, WB Country Director for Vietnam, said interventions from the project are expected to improve the communication capacity of deaf children and enable them to access primary education programmes by using sign language as a primary method of communication. The project also assists deaf children to communicate in order to develop their cognitive abilities and social awareness, she added. According to Kwakwa, the combined family-school method designed for the project will encourage families’ involvement in their children’s study process. Family members are trained to use sign language, helping them to communicate directly with their children, and deaf adults are being trained as educators and mentors. Thanks to project, as many as 255 deaf children below six had access to the training and 50 hearing-impaired adults were trained as teachers. Nearly 200 teachers joined training courses to serve the project. Vietnam has more than 1 million hearing-impaired people, including over 400,000 school-aged children. Germany helps Vietnam protect forests, coastal ecology The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) recently signed two technical cooperation programmes on forest conservation and coastal ecology protection, reported the Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper. Accordingly, the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services programme will be implemented from 2015 to 2018 with a budget of 4.5 million EUR (4.95 million USD) Meanwhile, phase II of the integrated coastal management programme (ICMP) aims to enhance institutional, financial and planning capacities to boost the development of the Mekong Delta region to be able to adapt to climate change. The ICMP phase II, managed with a budget of up to 8.8 million EUR (9.7 million USD), will be carried out through 2017 with the participation of GIZ and the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang and Soc Trang provinces.- Vietinbank sends support to Quang Ninh flood victims Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank of Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) donated five ambulances and nearly 19 billion VND (871,000 USD) on August 10 to northern Quang Ninh province, which recently suffered heavy rainfall. The five ambulances will be handed over to five local healthcare establishments, including the Quang Ninh General Hospital , Bai Chay Hospital and Cam Pha General Hospital , to better serve rescue missions. The historic downpour, the heaviest in 40 years, battered Quang Ninh province from July 25 to early August, claiming 17 lives. Economic losses were estimated up to 2.7 trillion VND (123.77 million USD), including 1.2 trillion VND (55 million USD) in the coal industry alone. The Secretary of the Quang Ninh provincial Party Committee called for national relief efforts on July 29 to help flood victims overcome difficulties and return to normalcy. Poor households benefit from RoK project Poor people in Tan Thanh district, southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province now live in spacious houses thanks to a project sponsored by Posco Vietnam Co. Ltd, a wholly invested company by the Republic of Korea’s Posco Group, and Habitat for Humanity Vietnam (HFH Vietnam). After eight months of construction, the Vietnam Posco village project handed over 45 houses to those in need in Tan Hoa commune. With a total investment of nearly 8.1 billion VND (386,000 USD), the project targets the building of 85 houses, each worth 95 million VND (4,523 USD) and covering an area of 53.6 sq.m. The first phase, costing 2.5 billion VND (119,000 USD), commenced in November 2014 and finished in June 2015, providing 26 houses to poor families. As many as 19 houses were built in the second phase from July to August 7, 2015. The remaining 44 houses will be constructed late this year. Tan Hoa is the poorest commune in Tan Thanh district, with the highest poverty and unemployment rates.- Ca Mau boosts clean breeding shrimp production The southernmost province of Ca Mau aims to develop 300 additional clean shrimp breeding facilities, bringing the total number to 800 across the province by 2020. The expansion is part of the programme to develop clean breeding shrimp from 2015-2020 towards supplying 20 billion shrimp fry for farmers in the province, meeting 80 percent of the local demand. The province will offer a number of incentives for firms capable to join the programme. Start-up businesses in the field will also receive financial and technical assistance. The connection between shrimp breeding producers and shrimp growing farmers will also be strengthened under the programme to ensure effective production processes. General Secretary of the Ca Mau Seafood Processing Association Ly Van Thuan praised the incentives, saying the programme will help ensure a supply of clean young shrimps for local farmers. Phan Thong Minh, an experienced local farmer from Ngoc Hien district, said the high-quality young shrimp will contribute to successes in shrimp farming. Since 2000, the province has expanded its land area for aquaculture development. As many as 290,000 hectares are currently zoned off for shrimp growing, producing 200,000 tonnes of shrimp per year. RoK foundation improves local life in Thai Nguyen The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Nonghuyp Foundation and authorities of the northern province of Thai Nguyen committed to improving local livelihoods via voluntary activities and information sharing. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Thai Nguyen on August 10. The Nonghuyp Foundation and Nonghuyp Bank are part of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation which has a prominent track record of improving well-being in several Vietnamese provinces. In the morning on the same day, two communal houses funded by the Nonghuyp Foundation were inaugurated in Vo Nhai district. They were built in June over 340 square metres, costing more than 1.6 billion VND (73,700 USD). KOICA funds construction of Ninh Thuan water pipeline The construction of a water pipeline to improve the living conditions of 189 households began today in Lam Son Commune in the southern Ninh Thuan Province's Ninh Son District. The pipeline's construction is an important part of a project to develop the agricultural value chain in Ninh Thuan Province. It is being built with a non-refundable US$2-million fund from the Republic of Korea. "We expect to improve the living conditions and increase the incomes of the local people in efforts to reduce the poverty rate to below 20 per cent in the region," Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) representative Shin Eui Chul said. The project aims to improve the environment, promote agricultural self-reliance and increase the sources of agricultural income for local farmers. Under the framework of the project, the CJ Group will support local farmers in planting and buying chillies in Ninh Thuan Province. The project has been set up under a public and private partnership model between the government of Korea and the CJ Group through the Korea International Co-operation Agency. ‘Green' buildings can be far more energy efficient Buildings account for more than 30 per cent of total energy use in fast-growing economies like Viet Nam, which means making new buildings energy efficient is a crucial task. Construction experts said at a workshop held yesterday in Ha Noi aimed to promote energy efficiency and green buildings to reduce energy costs and harmful gas emissions. It was hosted by the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and Ministry of Construction. According to the World Bank, energy consumption quadrupled in the Viet Nam in the past 10 years, leading to an annual 12 per cent increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Improving energy efficiency in the construction sector would help the Government accomplish its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 to 10 per cent between 2011 and 2020, according to the World Bank. The Ministry of Construction has paid special attention to making more projects resource-efficient, said Nguyen Cong Thinh, deputy director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the ministry. The ministry also appreciated IFC's efforts to improve awareness, and provide tools and technical measures for investors and architects to develop more green buildings. In 2003, energy consumption in the civil sector accounted for 22.4 per cent of the total. It is estimated to have increased 37 or 38 per cent last year. Energy consumption in buildings increased due to increasing fuel prices and living standards, urbanization and the increasing number of buildings, Thinh said. Autif Sayyed, a green building specialist for East Asia and Pacific in IFC, said construction demand was growing in emerging markets. Such markets had enormous potential for saving energy, but it hadn't been tapped yet due to a false belief that green buildings cost much more than conventional ones. At the workshop, the IFC announced a new green building certification system that empowers developers to reduce the amount of energy and water their buildings use by 20 per cent. It's called Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE). EDGE offers free software that allows designers to choose technical solutions while showing the extra costs to build green and the payback period. Steven Du, Managing director of SGS Viet Nam, said EDGE offers cost-efficient ways to bring green features into commercial and residential buildings. As the unit checking and granting EDGE certifications, SGS Viet Nam is expected to award the certifications to 20 per cent of new constructions projects in the country, equivalent to about 70,000 housing units. This will cut 19,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year and save 43,500 megawatt-hours of energy use, equivalent to US$8 billion a year by 2021. While emphasising the need to adopt green building tools like EDGE in Viet Nam, participants at the workshop discussed obstacles to making environmentally friendly buildings. Nguyen Cong Thinh mentioned a lack of preferential mechanisms. Taking action would depend on the developers' willingness. Vu Linh Quang of Ardor Architect, the consultant for developer Nam Long Investment Corp, said it was necessary to create more concrete instructions for implementing relevant national regulations, as many were not popular with builders. Data on saving energy, water and materials is limited and equipment used in green building is still expensive. Nam Long is among the first corporations to receive an EDGE certification in Viet Nam for its Bridge View Apartment. The design will cut energy use by 20 per cent, water use by 22 per cent and construction materials by 27 per cent while only adding 2 per cent to construction costs. Children see brighter future with better eyesight The Prudential Life Insurance Company signed a sponsorship agreement worth 1.6 billion VND (73,732 USD) with the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) on August 10 as part of the NFVC’s programme for children’s eyes. Under the pact, about 320 children will receive eye surgeries free-of-charge from July through December 2015, each worth approximately 3.5 million VND (161.3 USD). The company will also spend 450 million VND (20,737 USD) on eyesight tests and eye-care communications campaigns for 3,200 children residing in Binh Dinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Can Tho, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Yen Bai and Bac Giang. A seminar on basic care for children’s eyes is set to take place within the year. The NFVC have coordinated the programme since 1998, helping nearly 30,000 children across the country recover their eyesight at a cost of approximately 31 billion VND (1.42 million USD). Between 2012 and 2014, as many as 700 children with eye defects received free treatment thanks to donations from Prudential Vietnam worth 1.6 billion VND (74,732 USD). Prudential to provide 320 children free eye surgery On August 10th, Prudential Vietnam Assurance Private Ltd and the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) signed a funding agreement for the fourth edition of the ‘Vi anh mat tre tho’ (For Children’s Eyes) project. Under the agreement, in 2015, Prudential will fund VND3.5 million for each of 320 eye surgeries to be given to the nation’s vision-impaired children at the Central Eye Hospital and local hospitals. In addition, Prudential will pay the cost of eye check-ups for 3,200 children in eight provinces and cities including Binh Dinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Can Tho, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Yen Bai and Bac Giang. This year the NFVC and Prudential will also organise seminars to discuss fundamental issues in taking care of children’s eyes and agree on solutions to help children prevent eye-related diseases, especially for those living in the remote areas. Transport Ministry proposes to remove only two BOT tollgates The Ministry of Transport has proposed the Prime Minister to remove two BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) toll stations in highways nationwide and adjust the distance of four others for not abiding by minimum distance regulation. The proposal has been made after the Prime Minister instructed the ministry to halt toll collection at BOT projects with minimum distance between two tollgates shorter than 70 kilometers. The PM also asked the ministry to outline a BOT toll station plan in highways and submit it to him for approval. After reviewing BOT stations, the ministry reported to the PM that there are a total of 86 BOT tollgates in highways. Of these, 53 stations ensure the minimum distance of 70 kilometers, nine are located 60-70 kilometers from each others, and 24 are positioned less than 60 kilometers. The ministry has proposed to keep the distance of the 53 and nine stations unchanged. Of the 24 stations, the ministry suggested unmoved locations to 18 stations and remove two tollgates, comprising one at Ngang Mountain Pass and another south of Hai Van Mountain Pass in the National Highway 1A, because their remaining time of toll collection is not long. The position of the rest four stations would be changed to ensure the minimum distance regulation, they include three in the National Highway 1A and one in Highway 20. The media has reflected public opinions that BOT toll station positions do not abide by plans and regulations. Many have been built nearer than the regulated minimum distance of 70 kilometers. Ministry orders to keep traffic order in national holiday The Ministry of Transport August 10 sent its direction to related agencies asking to enhance measures for traffic order in the upcoming National Day holiday on September 2. According to the direction, road management agencies must check hot spots of traffic accidents and congestion as well roads which are under construction and in poor repair due to flooding. The Ministry also instructed its departments in localities to increase supervision and tighten control over speed of vehicles to prevent traffic accidents. In addition, the Ministry asked constructors to adjust their time in rush hours to avoid traffic jams. The Vietnam Register Department was asked to re-check these vehicles which have been used for long time and expiry for registration to police and media so that people can easily supervise them together. Prudential will fund VND1.6 billion for these activities. Since 1998 the project ‘For Children’s eyes’ has supplied free surgeries for nearly 30,000 children in 63 provinces and cities nationwide with total funding of nearly VND31 billion from Prudential. Patients to be paid health insurrance on holidays One of the most important of the inter-ministerial circular is that patients will enjoy health insurance when they go to medical facilities for examination and treatment on holidays or Saturdays, Sundays. The ministries of Health and Finance have just issued the circular which patients will be paid by health insurance company when they go to hospitals for examination and treatment on holidays or Saturdays, Sundays. Only big hospitals are allowed to open for examination and treatment activities on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Also as per the circular, the medical facilities which open for examination and treatment activities on holidays and Saturdays, Sundays must report to the social insurance company to benefit the patients. Medical facilities must ensure enough personnel for these activities on holidays as well as publicize the charges which patients must pay in addition to the payment the insurance company pays. The circular takes effect from the upcoming first of September. Two further vaccines added into national immunization program The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that as per schedule, from May, 2016, inactivated vaccines against poliomyelitis and diarrhea will be included in the National Expanded Immunization Program. Concerning to the shortage of six-in-one Quinvaxem vaccine and five-in-one Pentaxim vaccine, representatives from the Drug Administration of Vietnam said that as the manufacturers changed its production procedures; consequently, the supply was  short of the demand in many nations in the world not only the Southeast Asian country. Around 200,000 vaccine dozes of five-in-one Pentaxim vaccine will be imported in Vietnam in the end of this year and six-in-one Quinvaxem vaccine will be short until 2016, he added. However, parents should not be worried as there are many other vaccines to replace the two vaccines to prevent diphtheria (D), tetanus (T), pertussis (P, whooping cough), hepatitis B (HepB), and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), he said. Central Highlands: 23,500 ethnic-minority families unsettled The Central Highlands provinces still have 23,500 migrant ethnic-minority households who have not settled in zoned areas, according to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands region. Some of these families live in tents in deep forests under poor living and transport conditions. Deforestation and social problems have occurred in these areas and the rate of impoverished households is as high as 75-80 percent. Since 2005, Central Highlands provinces have invested about 506 billion VND (23.5 million USD) in setting up and implementing 40 projects to settle about 14,080 ethnic families. However, budget capital still has not met the expected need for up to 2.1 trillion VND (97 million USD). The Steering Committee has petitioned the Government to promulgate and develop new migration policies at the national level and provide additional capital for projects to settle migrant households. The committee also asked northern mountainous provinces to draw up policies to improve living conditions and restrict the migration of ethnic minorities to Tay Nguyen province. Meanwhile, Central Highlands provinces have been asked to arrange basic conditions for migrants as well as increase migrant management in the localities. The Central Highlands, comprising Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Kon Tum and Gia Lai provinces, is home to 5.5 million people, 36.85 percent of which are from 53 ethnic minority groups. Nghe An develops healthcare facilities The central province of Nghe An plans to invest in developing Vinh City into a hi-tech medical centre for the North Central region. By 2017, local hospitals will be equipped with advanced technologies in a bid to provide complicated surgeries and treatments. The Vinh Medical University will conduct training programmes to ensure qualified human resources while the Nghe An General Friendship Hospital will be expanded to meet the demand for treatment in the province and neighbouring areas. The locality will accelerate the implementation of other health care projects, including The Cancer Hospital, The Hospital of Trauma and Orthopaedics and the Eye Hospital. The province is calling for social resources and has devised incentives to lure foreign investment for developing healthcare infrastructure facilities. Priority is being given to developing preventive medicine and enhancing the health insurance coverage among local residents. The province currently has 38 hospitals with 6,491 beds, nearly tripling the 2007 figures, according to the provincial People’s Committee. Bac Lieu province expedites fishery logistics Some 50 fishery logistics teams with over 100 vessels have been established in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu in addition to investments in 520 high-capacity fishing boats, promoting efficiency of the provincial fisheries sector, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said. The logistics vessels—equipped with refrigerated tanks—purchase seafood and transport the products to the mainland while providing food and fuel for boats on long-term offshore fishing trips. Furthermore, local authorities have organised rescue trainings for the logistics fleets and are providing information on weather reports and fishing ground, helping to minimise loss of lives and property damage and contributing to maintaining marine security. In a bid to enhance local livelihoods, the agricultural sector is studying and evaluating marine resources, establishing seafood exploitation maps and building fish markets and additional logistics vessels. In the first seven months of the year, provincial seafood catches met 63 percent of the yearly plan, rising 5 percent against the same period last year. Shrimp alone stood at over 8,800 tonnes, accounting for 62 percent of the annual plan, easing the shortage of raw materials to process for exports. Southwest region cares for impoverished patients The Association for the Sponsorship of Impoverished Patients founded by the Steering Committee for the Southwest Region has committed to increasing support for the vulnerable community. The pledge was made by Vice President of the association Nguyen Thanh Hai on August 9 during a ceremony to commence construction on its headquarters in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. According to Hai, 5.8 percent of the regional population are currently living below the poverty line and 6.24 percent are hovering close to the line. Established in July 2015, Hai’s charity has thus far raised 64 billion VND (2.95 million USD), 500 million VND (23,041 USD) of which was spent on five heart operations and 100 million VND (4,608 USD) to care for disadvantaged children. The association has also organised free medical check-ups and treatment for more than 1,000 residents. At the ceremony, it handed over 50 charitable houses worth over 5 billion VND (230,414 USD) to impoverished locals in Tra Vinh and Hau Giang and dioxin victims in the region, among others, while presenting 50 scholarships, each worth 1 million VND, to poor students. Binh Dinh installs 3,600 biogas systems The central province of Binh Dinh has installed 3,600 biogas units since 2013, when the low-carbon agricultural support project sponsored by the Asian Development Bank was launched. According to Dao Van Hung, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has installed 1,740 new biogas miniplants since the beginning of this year. Of which, 842 plants have been technically inspected and disbursement has exceeded 4 billion VND (184,000 USD). Hoai Nhon district had the highest number of plants at 384 followed by Hoai An district with 242 and An Nhon town with 100. Binh Dinh currently has 79 animal livestock facilities, 74 of which are pig farms and the remaining are poultry farms. The installation of biogas systems contributes to reducing environmental pollution and improving living standards in rural areas. The low-carbon agricultural support project has a total investment capital of 1.9 million USD (39.3 billion VND) and is scheduled to be carried out from 2013-2018 to help Binh Dinh build sustainable, effective and environmentally-friendly agriculture.- Facebookers’ offline fight challenge cause for concern Monday night the pedestrian street of Nguyen Hue in downtown HCMC turned into chaos with hundreds of curious people gathering in the area. The reason for the huge chaotic gathering, however, turned out to be much less negligible than it should be: two 18-year-old girls challenging an offline fight following their exchange of words on Facebook. The problem was quickly defused by police and the two young Facebookers, identified as Doan Thanh Thuy Vy and Vo Huynh Thanh Van, with tens of thousands of followers, were fined VND750,000 (US$34.3) each after they were taken to a police station even before the fight happened, according to local media. Although the chaos lasted several hours, the incident underwent public scrutiny, with most adults expressing concern about the young generation and disagreement over the financial sanctions against the two teenagers. As reported by Tuoi Tre and Thanh Nien, the conflict emerged after Van, who lives in Binh Duong Province, made “irritating comments” on the look of Vy from HCMC’s Tan Phu District. Their online feud quickly led to an offline fight challenge on Nguyen Hue at 7 p.m. on Monday to get it solved once and for all. They were accompanied by a mob of more than a dozen teenagers each, whom was fined VND150,000 each for causing public disorder, said Nguyen Nhat Thanh, deputy police chief of HCMC’s District 1. The behavior of Vy and Van was encouraged by huge crowds of followers on Facebook who also showed up at the scene, thus attracting many curious pedestrians and causing severe traffic congestion on nearby streets. While at the police station, Van took a selfie and posted it on her Facebook to prove that she had shown up as promised and been detained by the police while Vy posted video footage showing herself and her followers who came to support her. A person ­­­identified as An Nhien said in Tuoi Tre newspaper that it was time to sound alarms since such meaningless photo and video of the two Facebookers got thousands of likes and comments, many of which encouraged the duo to meet in Nguyen Hue Boulevard area. A woman named Mai from HCMC’s District 4 told the newspaper she could not understand what is going on with the young generation, while Thao Nguyen from Binh Thanh District wondered why hundreds of young people followed this “ridiculous” challenge. “These people [the two young women and their followers] had done something which few people could do: attracting huge crowds to Nguyen Hue Boulevard. But sadly, what they did was complete nonsense,” a man identified as Tuan Anh from District 7 said. Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, chairman of the Hanoi Education Psychology Association, said two main factors leading to the incident are youth’s inclination to express themselves in public, and their lack of kindness and respect for others. An American man named Michael Tatarski said youth’s using Facebook to make them famous and smear others is not new, and that many parents in the U.S. have also had a hard time finding ways to reduce the rising influence of social media on their children. In addition, most people are of the opinion that imposing fines is not a suitable approach toward such inappropriate behaviors of the two lasses. They said the two should have been ordered to do community services instead, such as cleaning public places and trimming grass at public parks, to educate other young people how to behave appropriately in public spheres. Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri