Social News 11/10 Hanoi honours outstanding locals Hanoi leaders present certificate to nine outstanding locals Hanoi honoured nine outstanding locals together with 961 role models in various fields in 2016 at a ceremony on October 10 on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the city’s liberation day.  Addressing the event, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that this year marks the 24 th anniversary of Hanoi’s “good people, good deeds” movement, which has been responded by a large number of locals.  Those with creative minds came up with effective solutions in various fields, including production, science and technology, business and administrative reform, he noted. There were also those who bravely fought the bad, Chung said, adding that a number of movements in charity, economic development, poverty reduction and protecting security have been spread to all districts.  Among the honoured people was Ta Thi Ngoc Thanh, Vice President of the Study Encouragement Association of Dich Vong Hau ward in Cau Giay district who donates about 20 million VND each year to help poor students though her family has been living in difficult conditions and her husband is disabled.  Currently, she is sponsoring 14 orphans and helping two others whose fathers are working in islands. She has also registered to donate her cornea to blind children after she passes away.  During the rest of the year and 2017, Hanoi will focus on promoting the “good people, good deeds” movement and fulfilling all socio-economic targets. Nearly 500 people recruited at job fair Close to 500 job seekers found their jobs at a career fair co-organised by the Southeast Job Service Centre and the Dong Nai provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs on October 10.  About 70 units including enterprises and vocational schools and thousands of workers, most of them were fresh graduates of universities and colleges, took part in the fair. The attended firms offered about 4,000 at vacancies, including positions for bachelors, engineers and technical workers, said Pham Van Cong, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. The fair created links between schools, enterprises and labourers, helping them understand recruitment demands, job requirements and schools’ curriculums in order to have training programmes and career guidance in line with businesses’ demands, he added. Fields with high recruited demand were garment, leather footwear, food, transportation, electronic fibre production, according to the job centre’s representative.  Some enterprises such as Bosch Vietnam, Hyosung Vietnam, Ajonomoto and CP Vietnam recruited a large number of employees at the event. Tran Thi Thanh Huong, a candidate participating at the event, said the fair was a good environment providing many job opportunities for workers, especially fresh graduates. HCM City rejects waste treat plant refusal to take rubbish Authorities in HCM City have just rejected the proposal by the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex to refuse accepting more rubbish from the city.  Vo Van Hoan, chief of office at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, confirmed on October 7 that the complex should still accept all the rubbish from the city as agreed in their contract before they can find a new solution. "We've passed on a report on the environment problems in the area to the prime minister," Hoan said. "There are some shortcomings in the waste treatment technologies of the complex and they need to try to fix it. And we will work with agencies and experts to discuss the best measures to treat the waste so it does not affect the environment." The Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex has recently informed the municipal authorities that they would not accept an additional 2,000 tonnes of waste per day in response to the resident complaints of a foul odour emanating from the plant. The additional garbage, which has been received since late 2014, will no longer be handled, beginning October 10 until the expansion of the wastewater plant at the complex is completed, scheduled for next February, according to the Vietnam Waste Solutions, the investor of the complex. The complex, which cost over USD100 million, was treating around 5,400 tonnes of waste a day. There have been complaints about the bad smell from people living in District 7, Nha Be and Binh Chanh districts since August 30. Local people already suspected that the smell came from Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex. Hoan said that after monitoring Da Phuoc's operation, it looks like the wastewater tank and the rubbish pit were the causes of the problem. However, Hoan said this was not an environmental disaster because the smell appeared at different times and depended on the wind direction. "This is a technical and management problem," he said. Official refutes Hanoi air pollution claims An official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment claims that while Hanoi faces air pollution, he couldn’t imagine it could be the second worst in the world.   Hoang Duong Tung, Head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Environment Department, said Hanoi was experiencing a photochemical smog phenomenon caused by straw burning in the city's suburban areas. However, environmental monitoring stations showed that the city's air quality remained within permitted levels. Tung made the statement following the widely spread news that the US Embassy in Hanoi had reported record-breaking air pollution. The monitoring station at the embassy at No. 7 Lang Ha Street, Dong Da District, indicated that the Real-time Air Quality Index in Hanoi was at an alarming level of 245 on the morning of October 5. With the figure, Hanoi posted the second highest of all cities recorded the same morning and just behind India's Ardhali Bazar with 471. According to Tung, Hanoi had the high dust content in the air, but couldn't be the second worst in the world. The embassy's monitoring station could only measure the city's air quality in a specific area within a short time; so it was impossible to use the figure of 245 as the conclusion for the whole city's pollution. Work begins on capital water treatment project The ground-breaking ceremony for the Yen Xa water treatment project was held on October 7. The project is intended to help restore some of the capital’s polluted rivers.  The Department of Construction said this was the capital's biggest waste treatment project to date. The 13 hectare treatment complex has the capacity of 270,000 cubic metres a day and will serve 900,000 residents and improve heavily-polluted rivers including To Lich, Lu and Nhue rivers. The underground drilling technology will help limit the affected land size, infrastructure and the daily activities of the locals. Waste in Hanoi is often thrown into sewers and canals and washed into the rivers, leading to severe pollution. The project will deal with waste from seven districts including Ba Dinh, Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, Hoang Mai, Ha Dong and Thanh Tri. The total investment is USD800m including ODA from Japan International Co-operation Agency and Hanoi's own funding. Hanoi's Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said Yen Xa water treatment project was a vital environmental improvement project, and would clean up the city and go some way towards the city’s sustainable development objectives. Cancer kills 200 in Vietnam every day Around 200 Vietnamese die daily from cancer, while 130,000 new patients are diagnosed annually with the disease, a hospital head said at a conference in Hanoi on Thursday. According to the data, cancer results in 70,000 deaths in Vietnam per year, Dr. Tran Van Thuan, director of Hanoi-based K Hospital, said at the conference on cancer prevention. Nguyen Chan Hung, chairman of the hospital's Vietnam Cancer Society, said that lung cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease in Vietnam and the world as a whole. “One third of the patients in Vietnam are women, and passive smoking is one of the main causes,” Hung added. More than 70 percent Vietnamese with cancer seek treatment in hospital at late stages, which has dramatic negative effects on their recovery ability and survival rates, according to Dr. Thuan. “The proportion of patients internationally who fully recover from cancer is 80 percent, but in Vietnam the rate is only 33 percent for men and 40 percent for women,” he added. Thuan said that most types of cancer in the Southeast Asian country are on the rise, except cervical cancer, thanks to the rise in prevention awareness amongst Vietnamese women. Vietnam cancer rates are ranked at 78 out of 172 countries and territories, according to a 2014 survey by the WHO Global Cancer Countries. Speaking at the conference, French experts noted that there will be around 189,000 new patients diagnosed with cancer in Vietnam in 2020, nearly triple the 70,000 cases recorded in 2000. Pundits suggested that Vietnam aim to cure treatable cancer types, including breast cancer, and cervical cancer, while providing higher living standards and medical treatment quality for those who suffer from cancer types that are more difficult to cure, like lung cancer. They added that Vietnam should follow developed countries to focus on early cancer detection. Dr. Thuan said that Vietnam only conducts regular medical investigations in Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong City, Can Tho City, and Ho Chi Minh City. “We will increase the number of localities where new cancer cases and deaths are tracked to nine in the near future,” Dr. Thuan said. Former Deputy PM Vu Khoan issues diplomatic book The National Political Publishing House yesterday launched the book ‘Diplomatic Art’  of author Vu Khoan, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam. The book reflects wisdom and enthusiasm in his diplomatic career over the past 60 years. The author shared the diplomatic skills based on different books and document sources inside and outside the country. Besides that, his colleagues also contributed their experiences and observation share for success of the book.  Mr. Vu Khoan analyzed basic and important skills of the diplomatic sector in the book such as doing research, negotiation and situation handling.  HCM City to host Young Magic Festival 2016 Ho Chi Minh City Young Magic Festival will be held on October 29-30 by the HCM City Cultural Center. The event will attract the participation of magic and circus troupes in the city and neighboring provinces, such as Tien Giang, Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and others. The festival will be a chance for artists to exchange their experiences and performing skills together as well as present interesting items to audience. Participants can register with the organization board from known until October 20. Husband of Zika infected expectant mother experiences symptoms similar with disease The husband of a pregnant woman, who is the first case infected with Zika virus in the southern province of Binh Duong, has showed similar symptoms of the disease two days after she was tested positive for the virus.  That was announced by doctor Huynh Thi Phuong Nguyet, director of the health clinic in Thuan An town, Binh Duong on October 10. Local medical workers have not been able to determine if the man has caught the virus because he is a truck driver and regularly missing from home. The 27 year old pregnant woman is a grocery owner whose fetus is six month old. She was admitted to the HCMC Hospital of Tropical Diseases on October 2 in the state of fever, rash, muscle and join paints and eyestrain. After the woman was tested positive for Zika on October 6; the hospital, Pasteur Institute and Tu Du Hospital have worked with the Preventive Medicine Center of Binh Duong province to localize areas where she lives and works and implement measures to prevent Zika. At present, the expectant mother’s health has been stable and doctors are still keeping a close eye on her health.   Czech newspaper highlights Vietnam’s religious policy Parlamentnilisty.cz, an e-newspaper of the Czech Republic, has recently run an article saying Vietnam pursues consistent guidelines and policies of respecting and ensuring the right to freedom of religions and beliefs, as well as non-religious freedom of ethnic groups. Different religions and beliefs have coexisted in Vietnam’s history, said the article, titled “Philosophy and religion in Vietnam”. It added that Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Catholicism have contributed to the development of Vietnamese culture. The Marxism-Leninism then made its presence in the country in the 20s and 30s of the 20 th century, together with the patriotism, to drive the country on the path towards independence, democracy and socialism. The article cited Ho Chi Minh, a national hero, a thinker and the world’s man of culture, as a typical representative of the country’s modern history. Pavel Herman, the article’s author, noted that Vietnam is home to about 24 million believers, making up about 27 percent of its population. Some 95 percent of Vietnamese lead their lives with beliefs and religions. He dubbed the Southeast Asian nation, with around 8,000 festivals each year, as the world’s museum of religions that helps enrich the country’s culture. Such religions and beliefs, despite their differences in origins and practice mottos, have existed harmoniously, reflecting the rich spiritual life owned by Vietnamese as well as the great national unity bloc they built up, the article said. Ca Mau deals with drought, saltwater intrusion The southernmost province of Ca Mau will implement 10 emergency projects to prevent and surmount the consequences of drought and saline intrusion, according to the provincial People’s Committee.  The Ministry of Planning and Investment has decided to provide 80 billion VND (3.6 million USD) for the province to carry out these projects, added the committee.  The projects will focus on repairing, upgrading and expanding water networks, building reservoirs on Hon Khoai Island and irrigational works to keep fresh water, and dredging canals. Ca Mau has a 254 km long coastline with thousands of rivers and canals. Due to impacts of climate change, natural disasters such as drought, landslide and saltwater intrusion, happen regularly in the locality, resulting in economic losses worth tens of billions of VND each year. Therefore, these projects are expected to help local people affected by natural disasters develop production and stabilise their lives. Art programmes celebrate Hanoi’s Liberation Day Various art programmes are being taken place across Hanoi on the night of October 10 to mark the 62th anniversary of the Liberation Day of the capital city.  At the The Huc bridge and Ngoc Son temple by the Hoan Kiem Lake, a fashion show themed “Huong Sac Thang Muoi” (Fragrance and Colour of October) is performed by the Hanoi Traditional Opera Theatre. Within 60 minutes, a programme introduces three collections of ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress), intervened by singing and dancing performances.  According to Trinh Thuy Mui, Director of the Theatre, the programme is meticulously staged to honour Hanoi cultural values as well as Vietnamese culture in the capital’s major event.  An art performance is also held at the Octagon House nearby.  At the My Dinh Stadium’s square, the Thang Long music, dance and song troupe stages an art performance with best songs about Hanoi.  Earlier on October 8-9, art programmes took place at districts and town.  According to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the city set to organise around 20 art programmes featuring traditional opera, quan ho singing, cai luong (renovated opera) across the city on this occasion. Autumn Keo pagoda festival kicks off The Keo Pagoda festival began in Vu Thu district in the northern province of Thai Binh on October 10 or the 10th day of 9th month in lunar calendar.  The autumn festival is held annually to honour Zen Master Khong Lo (1016-94) – founder of the Keo Pagoda. It features a wide range of religious rituals and communal activities, including palanquin parades, cockfighting and love duet singing on boats.  The festival lasts until October 15.  The Keo pagoda, where the event is taking place, was founded in 1061. After it was swept away by a terrible flood in 1611, the pagoda was rebuilt in 1632 and most of its architectural features, including 17 structures with 128 rooms, remain until today. In 2012, it was recognised as a national special relic site.  In addition to the autumn festival, another spring festival takes place here annually on the 4th day of the first lunar month.  The pagoda attracts more than 2,500 visitors to Thai Binh every year. HCM City, Binh Duong urged to take measures against Zika virus HCM City and Binh Duong, where the two latest Zika infection cases were detected, have been urged to take urgent measures to prevent the virus from spreading among the community.  On October 8, it was confirmed that a 28-year-old woman in Ho Chi Minh City and a 27-year-old pregnant woman in neighbouring Binh Duong province, tested positive to Zika virus.  T he Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health (MoH) said on October 10 that it has instructed the two localities’ Departments of Health to investigate the source of the infections, including vectors, in the areas where the two patients live and work as well as surrounding areas.  The departments were also asked to decontaminate areas where infections were found and monitor the pregnant patient in order to provide timely consultation for her.  Earlier, Vietnam recorded three infections in HCM City, Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen. The Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through Aedes aegypty mosquito bites and sexual intercourse.  The symptoms of Zika infection include fever, conjunctivitis, headaches and muscle pains. Zika infection during pregnancy may lead to microcephaly in children, which is responsible for incomplete brain development and an unusually small head.  A vaccine for the Zika virus has yet to be discovered. Hải Phòng eases ban on National Highway No 5 The transport department in Hải Phòng City has decided to ease regulations on banning vehicles travelling on National Highway No 5. Accordingly, trucks weighing over 13 tonnes (including goods) and trailer-trucks will not be allowed to travel on the highway from 5am to 11pm. The adjustment was made following feedback from enterprises and the media about the difficulties they faced due to the complete ban. Vehicles in car parks and loading goods stations in the prohibited area will be guided to go in and out by the local transport police, according to the department’s announcement. “We have listened to comments from enterprises and the shortcoming has been addressed. The department also reported the situation to the Ministry of Transport and the Viet Nam Road Administration,” Hoàng Triệu Hùng, the department’s deputy director, said.  There may be further adjustments if required, he added. Sections of the highway that are blocked for construction work are from the junction of Nguyễn Văn Linh-Hồ Sen-Cầu Rào 2 to Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm-Lê Thánh Tông. Hà Nội introduces new suburban bus routes Hà Nội Transport Corporation (Transerco) this morning began operations of two new bus routes linking downtown Hà Nội with suburban districts. They include bus route No. 87 starting from Mỹ Đình Coach Station in Cầu Giấy District, through Quốc Oai District, to Xuân Mai Town in Chương Mỹ District, and bus route No. 88 from Mỹ Đình station, through Hòa Lạc District, to Xuân Mai Town. This is part of the city’s plan to extend bus services to suburban districts in the west and southwestern parts of Hà Nội, which still lack access to buses, with the aim of boosting socio-economic development in these rural areas while reducing traffic jams in the centre of the capital city. Tickets cost VNĐ9,000 (40 US cents) per leg and the buses are scheduled to travel from 5am to 7.45pm every day. Passengers can access free wi-fi on these buses. Transerco Deputy Director General Nguyễn Công Nhật said the new bus routes will help locals in rural areas have better access to bus services with high quality and low price. Until now, they primarily travelled by coaches. As planned, the capital’s bus network will be extended to a large number of suburban districts, including Ba Vì, Quốc Oai, Mỹ Đức and Thạch Thất, between now and 2020. Transerco will overhaul service quality, with some 2,000 bus stations being upgraded. Room for bus service expansion in Hà Nội remains extensive, as it currently caters to only 15 per cent of local demand, which could increase to 50 per cent in the future. Hồng wins special prize at Cano Marathon contest Nguyễn Thị Phượng Hồng, has topped 3,000 entrants to win the special prize of Canon Marathon contest 2016 for her photo Hà Nội Autumn Smile. Her photo shows a villager making Cốm (sticky rice ), a traditional job of Vòng Village and special dish of Hà Nội in Autumn. She won a trip to Japan worth US$5,000, a Canon camera and printer. Meanwhile, Nguyễn Hoàng Nam, Nguyễn Phương Nghi and Vũ Minh Đức won first prize for different themes while Nguyễn Quang Minh, Nguyễn Kim Hiền and Nguyễn Trọng Chuyên bagged second prize and Lê Việt Khánh, Hồ Anh Tài and Hồ Anh Đức won third prize. Jurywoman Hà Kin said “ I was very impressed with the photos, mostly taken by amateur photographers.” University of Medicine students win short-film contest on traffic Chờ (Waiting), a short film by students at the Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine, has won the top prize at the S-Shortfilm contest designed to raise student awareness about traffic behavior. The awards ceremony for the contest, organised by the Trẻ (Youth) Film Studio, was held at District 1’s Galaxy Nguyễn Du cinema on October 8. Chờ is a four-minute film featuring a young man who witnesses a traffic accident between two men. One of them who runs a red light and hits the other is unconscious, but no one stops to help him except the witness. Nguyễn Minh Quang, leader of the winning team, said: “My team and I want to send a message to people about driving carefully and slowly to avoid accidents. We hope people can be kind and stop to help the victims.” The second and third prizes were given to Thông Điệp Giao Thông (Traffic Messages) and Cuộc Đời Là Những Chuyến Đi (Life is a Trip). Both of them were produced by two student groups at the University of Agriculture and Forestry. The S-Shortfilm contest began in September with workshops on video clips and short filmmaking at eight universities across the city. After the workshops, the participants developed and made their own films. The jury, consisting of directors Luk Vân and Xuân Trung, and the director of the Youth Film Studio, Phan Văn An, selected the 20 best productions for the finale early this month. Photos of Spratly Archipelago on display in Germany Three photos featuring the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago by artist Nguyễn Thu Thủy are among more than 1,200 pictures on display at the ongoing fourth Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Berlin, Germany. Thủy is the only Vietnamese representative of 445 contemporary artists from 41 countries to attend the event, which runs till October 30, held by the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards. Thủy’s three photos, entitled “Trường Sa ahead of the Storm’,”“Boys in Trường Sa” and “Peaceful Lotus on Trường Sa” were taken during her trips to the archipelago. Earlier, the pictures were selected for the final round of the seventh edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Female Photographers. Two other photos of Thủy’s are also on display at the Berlin exhibition, featuring a a ceramic mosaic mural in Hà Nội and a lotus mosaic in the central province of Thanh Hóa, both community art projects. Under the theme “Emotions and Commotions across Cultures”, the exhibition represents different photography styles from diverse cultures on various topics. The event honours talented photographers and helps them further their careers. Mai Châu to get 1m visitors by 2030 The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the People’s Committee of Mai Châu District for an event held last weekend announcing the Mai Châu Destination Planning Decision. The decision will be a legal base to manage and urge domestic and international investors to conduct research, invest and exploit resources to develop Mai Châu destination. Under the Mai Châu destination development planning decision in the 2014-2020 period with vision to 2030, Mai Châu District will play an important role in Hòa Bình Province’s tourism development. The destination will cover a total size of some 700ha by 2030. By 2020, Mai Châu District expects to have 530,000 tourists, 30 per cent of whom will be foreigners. It is expected that the number will reach more than one million by 2030, with revenue of more than VNĐ1,300 billion (US$58million). Mai Châu District covers some 60,000ha and has a population of more than 54,000, comprising seven ethnic groups, including Thái, Tày, Mông, Kinh, Dao, Mường and Hoa. Mai Châu is a small town in the northern mountainous province of Hòa Bình. The district had nearly 100 homestays and 300,000 tourists with revenue of more than VNĐ90 billion ($4 million) in 2015. Landslides threaten Thừa Thiên-Huế households More than 500 households living along the banks of the Bồ River in central Thừa Thiên-Huế have been threatened by serious landslides. A severe landslide suddenly occurred on the banks of the Bồ River in Hương Xuân Ward’s Thanh Lương Village last Friday, sweeping away large bamboo plants and tens of cubic metres of land. The slide mass was nearly 50 metres long and about 5 metres wide. Local authorities have installed warning signs in the area. Nguyễn Công, head of residential area number eight in Thanh Lương Village, said there were three landslide hot spots in the village. A landslide measuring more than 20 metres occurred right in front of Thanh Lương Kindergarten last year. Landslides also threaten the main road of the village. Local residents are very worried about the situation. “I’m afraid the situation will worsen quickly. Landslides will sweep away our houses and gardens if we don’t build a dyke along the riverbank,” Công said. Công said illegal sand exploitation on the river contributed to the landslides. In the past two years, local residents and local authorities have strengthened inspection of, and reporting on, illegal sand exploitation cases to avoid landslides. But the danger still persists during rainy seasons. Residents reported the situation and asked authorised agencies to invest in a dyke system along the riverbank passing through the village but had not received replies, Công said. Ngô Quang Thảo, chairman of Hương Xuân Ward’s People’s Committee, said the committee proposed that authorised agencies assure the safety of people along the key road of Thanh Lương Village and the safety of more than 500 households living along the riverbank. Nguyễn Văn Công, deputy head of Office of Finance and Planning under the People’s Committee of Hương Trà Town, said the committee had mobilised people to put bags of sand on the riverbank to minimise danger. The committee also plans to survey high risk zones and require households in danger to move promptly to other places which are safer. Phan Thanh Hùng, an official of the provincial Steering Committee of Flooding and Storm Prevention and Control, said the committee has asked the provincial People’s Committee to allocate money from the State budget to build a temporary dyke of bags of sand and stones along 150 metres of riverbank as a stopgap measure during the current storm season. The Flooding and Storm committee would work with the provincial committee to set up plans to build a 1-kilometre dyke protecting the landslide-prone spots to assure the safety of residents, Hùng said. Respiratory infections on the rise among kids The number of hospitalised child patients with respiratory infections has risen to a record high at two paediatric hospitals in HCM City as the diseases reached a seasonal peak from late September through December. Between 400 and 510 children have been admitted to Paediatric Hospital No.1 each day in the last few days, according to Trần Anh Tuấn, head of the hospital’s Respiratory Department. Five to six patients have had to share one bed as the department has only 100 beds. Many parents have to stay with their children in the corridors of the hospital. Nearly 60 per cent of in-patients live in other cities and provinces where local residents do not trust the quality of health services and rush to HCM City for treatment of respiratory diseases. Paediatric Hospital No. 2 is also overloaded with 500-600 hospitalised patients with respiratory infections, according to Trịnh Hữu Tùng, deputy director of the hospital. The rise in the number of children with respiratory diseases would continue until December, doctors said. Around 3,000 children each day had health examinations at the National Paediatric Hospital in Hà Nội recently, with respiratory diseases accounting for 35 per cent, said Lê Thị Hồng Hạnh, deputy head of the hospital’s Respiratory Department. “The large differences in temperature between day and night has badly affected the health resistance of children,” Hạnh said. Bạch Mai Hospital’s Paediatric Department also reported a surge in the number of hospitalised children with respiratory infections in the past few days. Two-thirds of children having health check-ups at the department were diagnosed with respiratory diseases. Job broker arrested for suspected fraud Police in central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province said yesterday that they arrested a woman who worked as job broker for allegedly misappropriating more than VNĐ 700 million (US$31,500) According to police, from 2014, the broker Phan Thị Thùy Trang, 36, of Huế City, portrayed herself as having relationships with staff in hospitals and schools and promised to help graduates find jobs. Each client paid her from VNĐ 80 million ($3,600) to VNĐ 100 million ($4,500) but none of them found work. Her clients eventually reported her to police. Black box for HCM City garbage trucks Black boxes will be installed on all garbage trucks in HCM City next month so the city can supervise trash management. The HCM City Urban Environment Ltd Company, Districts’ public services Ltd Company and Agriculture-Industry Transport Co-operative will pay for the installment. The city will also open bidding to select providers for services like street solid waste collecting or carrying waste from residential areas to waste treatment plants, said vice chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Lê Văn Khoa. More than 7,000 tonnes of waste are discharged daily in the city. However, the waste collecting system has failed to keep pace with the increased volume of waste. Truck accident kills one, injures one A truck plunged off the Bó Củng Bridge in northern Lạng Sơn Province early yesterday morning, killing one person and injuring another. The truck broke into two pieces after colliding with the bridge’s central divide. The driver escaped with injuries while his assistant died trapped in the vehicle. Police are investigating the cause of the accident. Ha Noi’s railway a step closer to reality The final railway beams of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway were inserted on Saturday, finishing the basic infrastructure of the skytrain project. Completing this part of the project will create a viaduct system for the entire project and allow contractors to begin constructing railways, stations and trains. According to the Ministry of Transport, funding for the project is fully prepared, so contractors can focus on speeding up construction. It is expected that by the end of this year the project will complete construction, including all concrete work, stations, and paths. Equipment will be installed from January next year, taking about 6 months. The railway will be open for use next September. The elevated railway project began in 2011 with investment of US$552 million, of which US$169 million came from Chinese official development assistance.  However, in November 2014, it was announced the project would need a total of US$868 million, US$300 million more than initial estimates. The line, constructed by the China Railway Sixth Group Co, Ltd starts at Cát Linh Street in Đống Đa District and ends at Yên Nghĩa station in Hà Đông District. In total, the project includes 12 stations and a depot at Phú Lương Ward in Hà Đông District. From Hoàng Cầu Lake, the railway runs along the streets to the Yên Lãng intersection.  The elevated project has a length of 13 km. The depot at Ha Dong spans 19.6 hectares. It has a capacity to operate 13 trains with carrier frequency of every two minutes with a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour, but will most likely operate at 35 kilometres per hour. VN set to tackle smuggled tobacco More efforts will be made to prevent smuggling of tobacco into the country, a seminar on safety and efficiency in the fight against contraband heard in HCM City yesterday. “The fight against tobacco smuggling has been robust and efficient, and it will be stepped up,” Đàm Văn Thế, office manager of the National Steering Committee for fighting against smuggling commercial frauds, counterfeit goods. The efforts would focus on both border regions and cities and provinces, including retail shops, he said. If there is proper surveillance, smugglers cannot succeed either in border areas or inside the country, he said. The seminar heard that tobacco is smuggled in from all borders that Việt Nam neighbouring. A Việt Nam Tobacco Association report said last year over one billion packs of cigarettes were smuggled into the country, accounting for 25 per cent of the market. Smuggled cigarettes were sold all over the country and included all the big brands like Hero, Jet, League, Luxury, Cambo, Ram, and Golden Deer. Smuggling is rampant in the border provinces of Cao Bằng, Quảng Ninh, Lào Cai, Tây Ninh, Long An, Đồng Tháp, An Giang, and Kiên Giang. Phạm Văn Miên, editor in chief of Công An Nhân Dân newspaper, said contraband tobacco was having a very adverse impact on the economy. In the last two years it caused the Government tax losses of VNĐ10 trillion and loss of jobs for five million farmers and 600,000 other workers each year, he said. Participants said local people need to be educated about their rights and responsibilities in preventing the smuggling. Programmes to improve the lives of people living in border provinces are also key to wean them away from smuggling, they said. Đồng Đại Lộc, deputy director of the General Police Directorate, said the police should co-operate with other forces like market watch and border troops, exchanging information and surveilling border regions. More modern equipment and funds are required to strengthen the fight against smuggling. A Đồng Tháp Province official said cigarette makers should offer higher quality, cheaper products price to take on smuggled tobacco. In the last two years police have investigated nearly 4,000 cases, filing cases in 327 of them, and seized nine million packs of cigarettes. Competition for happy families The final round of the Family Club Competition, themed ‘Happy Family’, will take place from today to Friday in the central province of Quảng Nam. Forty-four clubs from various cities and provinces will perform plays on family values, equality and the fight against domestic violence. Judges will also ask participants to solve common domestic problems. The competition, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, aims to build happy families and civility. The qualifying round was held on the occasion of the National Family Day (June 28) to find 44 clubs for the final. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE