Social News In Brief 18/7 ACV plans to expand Tuy Hoa airport in Phu Yen province   The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is developing a plan to expand Tuy Hoa airport in the south central province of Phu Yen. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is developing a plan to expand Tuy Hoa airport in the south central province of Phu Yen and build a new terminal with a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year in the 2020-2025 period. Last year, more than 337,000 passengers arrived at the Tuy Hoa airport, equaling 61 percent of its present capacity. By 2020, the airport’s capacity will reach 600,000 passengers per year, and by 2030 will be 3 million per year, according to the scheme to develop airway transport by 2020, which has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The Ministry of Transport gave instructions to ACV to inspect and adjust the plan for different airports so that it is in accordance with what was approved by the PM. ACV Director Le Manh Hung said that at present, the corporation was invested in different works including ensuring flight safety, night lights and the air traffic control tower to improve the Tuy Hoa airport’s effectiveness. At present three airlines access the airport with a frequency of 25 flights per route per week on Hanoi-Tuy Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City-Tuy Hoa and vice versa. Minister outlines measures to improve primary health care services Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien announced a set of measures to enhance the quality of health care services at commune-level medical stations during an event on July 16. These include improving the capacity of medical workers; finding new operation methods; investing in human resources and facilities; applying information technology; designing special financial regimes; and enhancing communication work, said Tien at the opening of a training course on chronic disease care at commune-level medical stations held in Ho Chi Minh City. In the future, services for the treatment, control, and prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases – like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases – will be predominantly delivered by medical stations at ward and commune levels. A large network of ward- and commune-level medical stations have been set up across the country but the health sector has yet to make the most of them, she said, adding that it is a waste of resources as upper-level hospitals are becoming more overcrowded. “This is the time we have to develop primary care services to make drastic changes to the health sector,” the minister stated. Tien moved on to suggest that ward- and commune-level medical clinics need to pay more attention to developing traditional medicine in order to make it one of their special advantages. She expected that such primary care providers will win public trust with an increasing number of people visiting them over the next 10 years. Also speaking at the event, Director of the HCM City Department of Health Nguyen Tan Binh said the city is striving to have at least two doctors in each medical station, with larger ones having up to four or five doctors. The city is also the first in the country to establish satellite practices for district-level hospitals at a number of the city’s ward and communal medical stations, aiming to ease the overcrowding at higher-level health facilities and get people more confident in the primary care system, he added. According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam is aiming at having over 90 percent of the population’s health monitored, with 95 percent of the ward- and commune-level medical stations capable of providing preventative and treatment services for a selection of non-communicable diseases by 2025. To this end, the ministry has opened a number of training courses on improving the quality of family medicine-based care services for chronic diseases at ward- and commune-level medical clinics across the country. Hanoi and HCM City are the first two launching this course. The course opened in Hanoi on July 9 while others will take place in provinces, such as Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Ca Mau. Efforts to boost clean water supply A worker works at the Yên Phụ water supply factory in Hà Nội.  About three million people in Phù Đổng and Trung Mầu villages in Gia Lâm district, Hà Nội will have access to the first drinkable tap water in Việt Nam when a factory comes into operation on October 10. The factory will take water from the bottom of the Đuống River that runs next to the villages. In the first phase of the factory’s operation, clean water will be supplied to about three million people with the capacity of 150,000cu.m per day and then increase to 300,000cu.m per day. In the second phase, the capacity will hit 400,000cu.m per day. Đỗ Văn Đinh, project manager, told the Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that this factory can replace other water supply units if necessary. The clean water supply situation in Hà Nội has improved a lot. Almost 3.26 million people living in 12 inner districts have access to clean water from the city’s water factories, Lê Văn Dục, director of the Department of Construction, told the Kinh Tế Đô Thị (Urban Economy) newspaper. He also said in rural areas, the rate of people who have access to clean water increased from 37 per cent to almost 52 per cent in less than two years, from 2016 to May 2018. This number will continue to rise as by the end of 2018, the city will finish building water supply to 61,000 households with 244,000 people, raising the rate to 55 per cent. About ten years ago, people in Hà Nội still feared prolonged water cuts during summer, especially those at the end of water channels or on higher terrains. To those living on the outskirts such as Gia Lâm, Sóc Sơn, Đông Anh districts, the term ‘tap water’ seemed out of reach. Nguyễn Đức Miện, living in Hàng Bè Street in the centre of Hà Nội remembers: “We had to stay up late and wake up early to pump or catch water in our tanks and buckets to use during the day. “The reason is because the water pressure in this area is weak since we are near the dyke and the terrain is high. The water is stronger in early morning or late night.” Now, Miên says the water supply has improved considerably. Hà Nội is determined to give all people in rural areas access to clean water. The city plans to finish four water supply projects in 2018 that will increase water capacity by 335,000cu.m per day. Seven other projects are expected to finish from 2019 to 2020, increasing the capacity by 1 million cu.m per day. Currently, total water supply of all factories in Hà Nội reaches 900,000cu.m per day, while in peak periods during summer last year, people’s consumption exceeds one million cu.m per day.  Poor weather prevents plane landing safety   An Airbus plane of Jetstar Pacific. A plane of Jetstar Pacific had to land at Cam Ranh International Airport in Khánh Hòa Province after a failure for landing due to bad weather at Đà Lạt City’s Liên Khương airport on July 16. — Photo courtesy Jetstar Pacific  A Jetstar Pacific plan was forced to land at Cam Ranh International Airport in Khánh Hòa Province after failing to land due to bad weather at Đà Lạt City’s Liên Khương airport yesterday. The budget airline said the Airbus plane carrying 180 passengers from Hà Nội to Đà Lạt from 10.50am, was scheduled land at Liên Khương airport at about 12:20pm, but the pilot could not make a safe landing due to the poor weather. The plane then landed at Cam Ranh airport at 1:10pm before returning to Liên Khương airport at 2:13pm the same day. Jetstar Pacific said bad weather in Đà Lạt City also resulted in delays for flights from Đà Lạt to Hà Nội and other routes. Last week, a plane of the budget airline had a slight collision with a bird after landing at Đồng Hới Airport in Quảng Bình Province. Jetstar Pacific, a member of Jetstar Group, has grown from five aircraft in 2013 to 12 aircraft and flies on 32 domestic and international routes. Hospitals to review procedures after baby-switching incident The Health Department in Hà Nội has asked hospitals in the city to review the process of managing new-born babies including caring, bathing and handing them to parents after a case of parents receiving the wrong babies was discovered at Ba Vì District’s hospital. Hà Nội Obstetrics Hospital was asked to organise training courses and monitor the process at the obstetric departments of other city hospitals. Previously, the Ministry of Health requested the municipal Health Department to issue harsh penalties to medical workers involved with the six-year-old case of babies being switched at birth at Ba Vì Hospital. The mothers in this particular case are Phùng Thị Thu Hiền from Vân Trai Village of Tây Đằng Commune, and Vũ Thị Hương residing in Phú Mỹ Village of the district’s Phú Sơn Commune. On November 1, 2012, the two pregnant women were admitted to the hospital. The women gave birth to two healthy boys, with the second baby born 20 minutes after the first. After receiving their newborn child, Hiền and her husband were concerned they had received the wrong child. However, they were assured by hospital staff that no mistake had been made. The parents raised the child as their own, even though suspicions remained due to the child not looking like them. They eventually took the child for DNA tests at the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Science Institute. The DNA tests revealed that the baby is not their biological child, revealing the error of the maternity ward. The couple sent a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Health. Last week, the municipal Health Department asked the hospital to resolve the case and provide a report. After checking their records, the hospital admitted fault in the incident. Ba Vì Hospital’s director Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, on behalf of the hospital, said he bore the responsibility for the error, promising to help both families with completing paperwork for the two children within two weeks. Two nurses, Vũ Thị Thanh Mai and Nguyễn Thị Đức, who were in charge of the deliveries on that day were disciplined for their mistakes. The hospital paid for the DNA test and other fees and accepted to pay compensation to the two families as per the court’s decision.  Can Tho authorities vow to punish encroaching Hau River resort   Con Khuong River Side Resort Project Duong Tan Hien, chairman of Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, said they would strictly punish the local firm who encroached on the Hau River for construction of a resort project. "We had a meeting on July 16 and agreed that this case should be strictly dealt with. However, we don't have the authority and will submit a report to the city people's committee for a final decision," he said. When being asked whether the authorities will carry out a forced remove, Hien suggested letting the investor, Linh Phuong Company, fix the wrongdoings and pay administrative fines. If Linh Phuong  Company failed to fix the wrongdoings themselves, the authorities will remove the constructions. Dao Anh Dung, vice chairman of Can Tho City, said, "We've asked the Department of Construction, Department of Natural Resources and Environment to work with Ninh Kieu authorities to deal with this case  and report the results within this week. We won't cover up for anyone." While constructing Con Khuong River Side Resort Project, Linh Phuong Company encroached on hundreds of square metres of the Hau River.  Cai Khe Ward People's Committee suggested a VND110m administrative fine and ordered Linh Phuong to remove the encroaching construction. Since Cai Khe Ward People's Committee doesn't have the  authority, to deal with this case, they reported the problem to the higher agencies on March 31 but nothing has yet been done. Construction surprisingly is still being carried out as usual. Six households evacuated because of subsidence   Houses in Dong Thap Muoi have cracked walls Subsidence in the middle of the wetlands of Dong Thap Muoi in the Mekong Delta has destroyed two houses and forced six households to evacuate. Dong Thap Muoi area, which spans Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap provinces, is often submerged under water for four to five months every year. According to the locals in Truong Xuan Commune in Dong Thap Province, they heard loud noises coming from the river in April and when they went out, there were large cracks on the ground around their sinking houses. Two houses were destroyed along with many personal possessions. Total damage is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of VND. A subsidence of 270 metres long recently occurred in Thuy Tay Commune, Long An Province, which is located between Duong Van Duong Canal and the National Highway N2. A one-metre-deep hole appeared inside a house and other houses experienced cracked walls. According to the Irrigation Department of Long An, heavy rains and thunderstorms may have weakened the foundation and caused the subsidence. Six households must evacuate while dozens of others are in the alarmed state. Power pylons nearby must also be relocated for safety. Meanwhile, the banks of Duong Van Duong Canal are still intact. The local authorities asked officials to monitor the area and other vulnerable spots and keep other residents away from the area. Da Nang Fatherland Front assists poor people The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee of Da Nang city (VFF Da Nang) has carried out many activities to support local poor and ethnic minority people. Vice President of the VFF Da Nang Nguyen Dang Hai told the committee’s conference on July 16 that the organisation implemented numerous practical activities in the first half of 2018. Specifically, the committee presented 450 Tet (Lunar New Year) gifts worth VND281 million (US$12,200) to families belonging to Co Tu and Hoa ethnic minority groups and poor households in Hoa Vang district, along with 3,450 gifts worth more than VND1.7 billion (US$73,700) to the poor in the city during a New Year festival. The committee’s district, ward and commune chapters also mobilised resources to grant 50,170 presents worth VND26.5 billion (US$1.15 million) to local poor people. Additionally, the municipal front spent VND3.38 billion (US$147,000) from the “For poor people” fund on building 64 houses and repairing 45 houses for poor families. Units also intensified disseminations on food hygiene and safety, crime prevention and firefighting to raise public awareness of these issues. Dozens hospitalized after gas leak at Binh Duong ice water factory   Dozens of workers have been hospitalized after a gas leak at an ice water factory on July 16 in Hiep An ward, Thu Dau Mot city in the southern province of Binh Duong. The incident occurred at 9am as many people were working at the factory and they fled to other areas to avoid the strong smell in the factory. After ten minutes, many of the workers lost consciousness and were sent to hospital for emergency treatment. After the alarm was raised, dozens of firefighters and four fire engines were mobilised to the scene. Many ambulances and doctors were also dispatched to support the victims. Several nearby residents were evacuated to safe areas while firefighters had to wear gas masks to tackle the incident. The cause of the incident is being attributed to a gas leak at the factory. The case is still under investigation. Vietnam introduces culture, cuisine in Thailand   A Vietnamese culture and cuisine promotion week held by the Vietnamese Embassy, Thai Vietjet Air and Dusit Thani hotel kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand on the evening of July 16. Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hai Dang emphasized that cuisine is a special feature in Vietnam’s culture, which is appraised by the world. Vietnamese cuisine has been promoted in many countries, Ambassador Dang said, adding that Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand have attracted a large number of customers who show their love for Vietnamese dishes. The Ambassador said he hopes that the cultural week will help Thai and international friends gain an insight into Vietnam’s land and people through special dishes. The event drew the participation of representatives of embassies, international friends and overseas Vietnamese in Bangkok, who enjoyed special dishes cooked by Chef Bui Van Dam from Ho Chi Minh City and art performances presented by Hon Viet artists from Vietnam National Academy of Music. An exhibition of Vietnamese Thai painters was held on the sidelines of the event. Vietnam’s Cong Café to open first branch in RoK The Cong Café franchise will open its first overseas branch in the Yeonnam-dong neighborhood in Seoul on July 31. Since early this month, the café has been offering its signature drink, coconut coffee, at different locations in Seoul, signaling the establishment of its first store in the city, Korean newspaper Kookmin Ilbo reported. On July 16, the brand posted location maps showing the way to the new coffee shop on its Instagram account. Cong Café takes its name from word “Cong Hoa” (Republic) in the official nation name of Vietnam. The theme of the café chain has intrigued customers. It has a retro décor interiors, including lighting, wall color and background music. The café revisits the mood of the 80s in Vietnam, allowing customers a unique journey back in time. Cong café opened its first store in 2007 in Hanoi, and since then, the franchise has expanded to more than 50 stores in Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. Hai Phong honours brainy students   All of them are students at Tran Phu Gifted High School. The northern city of Hai Phong honoured four students who won prizes at the 59th International Mathematics Olympiad in Rumania and the 2018 Intel International Science and Technology Fair (Intel ISEF) during a ceremony on July 16. Trinh Van Hoan, a 12th grader, grabbed a silver medal and Tran Viet Hoan, at the same grade, claimed bronze at the International Mathematics Olympiad. Meanwhile, high school students Le Tuyet Quynh Anh and Pham Thi Minh Hue earned the Third Award for their biochemistry project – “Novel Bacteriophage Lysin: A Solution for Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in Vietnam” at the Intel ISEF. During the ceremony, the city presented awards and gifts worth a total of more than VND1.8 billion (US$77,400) to the winning students and their teachers at Tran Phu Gifted High School. Hoan was rewarded VND400 million (US$17,200) while the other three each received VND300 million (US$12,900). Last week, the northern port city adopted a resolution on incentives for the discovery and training of gifted students and to reward excellent teachers who educate students for national and international academic competitions. The budget for the rewards is estimated at about VND27 billion (US$1.16 million) annually. The rewarded students and teachers were the first in the city to benefit from the resolution. Speaking at the event, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee Le Van Thanh congratulated the students and teachers on their achievements which honours their school and families and brings pride to the city. He said the city’s leaders identified improving education as a top priority and the city has been heavily investing in upgrading educational facilities and enhancing the capacity of local teachers. The secretary urged the entire city, including state agencies and private sector, to work together to motivate and aid the development of talented people. The 59th International Mathematics Olympiad took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania from July 3 – 14, attracting contestants from 116 countries. All six Vietnamese students taking part in the competition brought home medals, including one gold by 12th grader Nguyen Quang Bin from Gifted High School of the Hanoi University of Natural Science at the National University of Vietnam. This year, Vietnam ranked 20th in the medal tally. The Intel ISEF is the world’s large pre-college science contest which aims to promote the development of science through education. Besides Anh and Hue from Hai Phong, Le Ha Khoa and Nguyen Phuong Nam from Nguyen Hue High School for Gifted Students in Hanoi received a Certificate of Honourable Mention for their study on concentration of urine neurotransmitters of Dopaminergic and Serotonergic system and the relationship to behavioural disorders in patients with online game addiction. This year, it was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the US from May 13 – 19, gathering nearly 1,800 students from 79 countries and territories with more than 1,400 projects. The Vietnamese delegation brought eight projects to the competition and was one of 43 countries and territories to win prizes. Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee visits Thủ Thiêm residents District 2 residents show a zoning map of the Thủ Thiêm new urban area issued on Jan 15, 1998 at a recent meeting with the authorities.  Secretary of HCM City Party Committee Nguyễn Thiện Nhân yesterday spoke with families who have been affected by the Thủ Thiêm new urban area project in HCM City’s District 2, some of whom have refused to move and others who have already resettled in Bình Khánh Ward. The households who refused to move are living at temporary shelters set up by District 2 authorities in An Phú Ward. Nhân visited the families to talk to them about why they still refuse to move, and to discover the state of their current living and working conditions. Residents in the area are still waiting for the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate about the legal status of the project, including the project’s boundary and compensation and resettlement decisions. But the conclusion, expected on July 15, has yet to be announced. Nhân said the city had set up a special task force to determine the legal status of the project. The city People’s Committee will respond to residents in writing about the conclusion within a month after the findings of the Government Inspectorate and the direction of the Prime Minister are finalised. The task force will review, examine and propose solutions for residents within 45 days after the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate. Regarding compensation and resettlement issues, the task force will review each case and suggest solutions within 60 days after the Government Inspectorate issues its findings.  Nhân said: “If the land (of a resident) is lying outside the project’s boundary, it will not be taken for the project.” At a meeting with 40 representatives of the affected residents, Nhân last month promised to find a satisfactory solution. On May 15, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ordered HCM City authorities and agencies to quickly settle the land disputes involving the Thủ Thiêm new urban area. Covering a total area of 657ha, the Thủ Thiêm new urban area is located on Thủ Thiêm peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown District 1 across the Sài Gòn River. Approved by the Government in 1996, the proposed financial district and mixed-use urban area of HCM City is set to become the largest inner-city development in Southeast Asia. To develop such a project, it has taken more than 10 years to complete site clearance of most of Thủ Thiêm peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already resettled.  More than 99 per cent of land in the proposed area has been cleared.  Search continues for missing fishermen Rescuers have saved four seamen and are searching for three others who remain missing after a fishing ship sank about 20 nautical miles from Cô Tô Island in the northern province of Quảng Ninh. The fishing ship, with seven crewmembers, sank on Sunday morning after encountering rough seas. Trần Như Long, secretary and chairman of the Cô Tô Island People’s Committee, on Monday morning, said that the fishing ship was from Thủy Nguyên District, the northern port city of Hải Phòng. Long said that although the district authorities had asked other fishing vessels for assistance. Rescue workers are facing difficulties due to strong waves and heavy rain. The island authorities called all fishing vessels operating at sea to return to harbour as the low depression was forecast to develop into a typhoon in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Cẩm Phả-Vân Đồn Port Authority of Inland Waterways on Monday morning also announced that it had temporarily stopped issuing certificates to leave port for all vessels working on the Vân Đồn-Cô Tô and Vân Đồn-Thanh Lân routes.  VNN