Social News 27/8 Vietnam Challenge for Environment launched in Hanoi The Vietnam Challenge for Environment was launched in Hanoi on August 24 as part of an ongoing campaign initiated by the US Embassy to end plastic pollution and keep Vietnam clean.  Co-launched by the US Embassy in Vietnam in partnership with Hatch and Swiss EP, the event will match researchers with entrepreneurs and encourage collaboration between universities, the startup community, and the private sector to create sustainable and long-term solutions to treating agricultural, industrial, and household wastes, as well as solving plastic, carbon, and chemical pollution problems.  Fenghua Wang, the US Department of State’s Regional Public Engagement Officer for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, said through the challenge, the US Embassy is committed to nurturing viable, sustainable, and scalable solutions to address such challenges.  She stressed the need to raise public awareness of environmental protection, which she said, requires the joint efforts of organisations, units, and the community.  The challenge will take place from August 24 to November 8, 2018, during which researchers and entrepreneurs will present their ideas and explore the open networking space to form high-performance teams.  They will have a chance to join an intensive three-day camp to help entrepreneurs discover their key customers and develop their products based on customers’ demand.  During the incubation period, teams will regularly meet their mentors and attend workshops to refine their business models to achieve fundable stages by investors.  The best six teams will receive seed funds, publicity and exposure, and be given the chance to pitch to notable investors. Foreign-funded projects support needy children in Thua Thien-Hue The central province of Thua Thien-Hue on August 25 launched a project to support local orphans and poor children with assistance from an US organisation.  The project, worth about 722 million VND (31,046 USD), covers Huong Tra town, and Quang Dien, Phu Vang, A Luoi and Nam Dong districts. The project aims to improve the quality of the living conditions of locals, contributing to developing education and health care services for poor people in benefited localities. Major activities of the project include health care and education support to locals through mobile check-ups, Hepatitis vaccine shots and free orthopedic surgeries to children with disabilities, provision of scholarships for poor children and financial assistance for the organising of existing charity classes. The project will also help locals in production by giving locals breeding cows to residents in communes of A Luoi and Nam Dong districts. Earlier, the US-based organisation The Compassion Flower also offered Thua Thien-Hue a non-refundable aid of 1.25 billion VND to support poor locals and students. The project targets the enhancement of living conditions for locals by bettering health care services, and environment and education quality. As many as 500 gifts were presented to needy families in Phu Loc, Nam Dong districts and Huong Thuy town. The organisation also built five wells to ensure fresh water to locals in Huong Thuy, Huong Tra towns and Phu Loc districts. Along with 600 gift packages including as bicycles, uniforms, blankets and raincoats to local children and students in Hong Thuy commune of A Luoi district, the project also taught 80 adults in Phu Vang district to read and write, and granted 600 other scholarships to poor students with good academic performance in the 2018-2019 school year. Within the project’s framework, 500 winter gift packages were sent to poor locals in A Dot commune of A Luoi district as well as some remote areas of the province. Four children facing extreme difficult conditions in Phu Dien commune, Phu Vang district, were sponsored, while 10 women in Huong Thuy town and Quang Dien district were supported with vocational training. On August 24, in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, the province presented Nay Der scholarship, named after the creator of the first scripts of Jrai ethnic minority group, to over 500 students with high economic performance in the 2017-2018 school year. Vietnamese versions of Russian classic literature works made public Vietnamese versions of four Russian classic literature works are made public on August 24. (Photo: VTV) The Vietnamese versions of four Russian classic literature works were made public on August 24 at the Russian Science and Culture Centre under the Russian Embassy in Hanoi.  The activity came within the framework of a Russia – Vietnam project on translating and publishing literature works. The four works made public this time are selective plays by Lev Tolstoy, poems by Sergey Esenin, story “Ivan’s daughter, Ivan’s mother” by Valentin Rasputin, and an essay on the theoretical basis of translation by Andrey Venhediktovich Fedorov. Director of the centre Natalia Shafinskaya stressed that thanks to efforts of the translators, more and more Russian literature works have been translated into Vietnamese and, as a result, more and more Vietnamese readers can access Russian classic literature. This contributes to the unceasing development of cooperation between the two countries, she highlighted. Translator Hoang Thuy Toan, head of the translators’ group, spoke highly of the members’ devotion and efforts in bringing Russian classic literature to Vietnamese readers. Since the establishment of the project in 2012 on the occasion of the visit to Vietnam by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, nearly 40 Russian and Vietnamese classic literature works have been translated and published. Smart-city development plans discussed Int’l planning experts meet to discuss smart-city development. Around 400 Vietnamese and international architects and master planners discussed smart-city strategies and solutions at the 2018 International Conference of Asian-Pacific Planning Societies which opened on August 24 in Ho Chi Minh City. Begun in 1994, the conference is an annual forum of the Asian-Pacific Planning Community, which includes Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Vietnam. “The conference’s purpose is to develop and disseminate professional knowledge, share practical experiences and increase the capability of regional and urban experts,” Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, said during his opening speech. “This year, the conference is discussing smart cities’ strategies and solutions in six categories: community, governance, urban planning, infrastructure, city education and mobility,” he added. Vietnam has 813 urban areas, with two major cities, Hanoi and HCM City. The urbanisation rate of the country is 38 percent, compared to the international rate of 50 percent, while the urban population accounts for 34 percent of Vietnam’s total population. “The sharply increasing population has exerted enormous pressure on Hanoi and HCM City’s infrastructure. Smart cities can transform urban management by applying technology that meets development demand,” Chinh said. “Building HCM City as a smart city is part of the drive for socio-economic development,” Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said at the conference. “Municipal authorities would like to hear practical experiences, knowledge and suggestions from international experts to assist the city in coping with traffic congestion, flooding and urban development,” he added. Experts from Japan’s University of Tokyo said that cities are meeting places for the creation of collective life that offers all residents a good life based on the idea of a city as a cultural, social and political product. “Other authors refer to rights of the city as a collective rather than an individual right, since city transformation depends upon the exercise of community empowerment to reshape the processes of urbanisation,” said Claudia Sakay from the University of Tokyo. Local incentives and active participation of citizens will result in smart and sustainable communities. “A smart community not only involves residents in land governance but also allows them to participate in the production and cooperation of their living environment,” she added. Other experts from the University of Tokyo described what good cross-border governance could be. They based their ideas on semi-structured interviews and surveys of the main stakeholders in “the heart of the Southwestern Amazon area”, including Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. The collected information was used to define power relations in the governance network (social network analysis), common elements for integration, and priorities for integration (mental mapping). As for smart urban planning, experts from the University of Tsukuba mentioned the impact of reconstruction planning in creating a vital urban space in central Hiroshima. “A significant task of reconstruction planning is to use the physical recovery as a catalyst for the restoration of urban vitality to damaged areas,” Kosuke Matsubara from the University of Tsukuba said. “After the staggering destruction of the city, Hiroshima was able to reclaim its vitality and reinvent itself as a symbol of world peace,” he added. Hokkaido University experts said that technologies and citizens should work side by side to form a strong base for a smart and resilient city, making citizens’ participation a top priority. “Developing training and information-sharing programmes based on age groups, using approaches that combine verbal, visual and written communication in a less formal context, and experiential training has the potential to be effective for residents,” Suguru Mori from Hokkaido University said. Photo contest highlights importance of natural conservation The winning works of the photo contest promoting natural conservation and development. (Photo:  Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment) An award ceremony was held in Hanoi on August 25 for a photo contest with the theme of natural conservation and development by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, and photo clubs. Titled “Submerged Land: Conservation and Development”, the contest came within the framework of a joint project between the ministry and the United Nations Development Programme. The sides are looking for ways to support the provinces of Thai Binh and Thua Thien – Hue in establishing two submerged land conservation areas. The nearly 400 entries by over 100 photographers to the contest convey a message on the beauty and role of submerged land in the social life of the local communities. The organizing board selected 50 works for display, and gave away one first prize, two second and three third. The contest aims to raise awareness of policymakers and local communities on the importance of submerged land in the life and the ways to earn living of locals, strengthen and diversify the communication forms in the protection of the environment and the biological diversity, as well as the submerged land ecology, organizers said. Vietnam is now home to over 10 million hectares of submerged land which occupies about 30 percent of the country’s total area and is scattered in every ecological area of Vietnam. This kind of land plays a crucial role in food security and economic activities of various sectors. However, over the recent years, the natural submerged land has been shrunk seriously as a result of the reclamation activities by locals who are trying to turn the land into farms and fields. Quang Tri restores marine resources in Con Co island A corner of Con Co Island  The central province of Quang Tri is pushing efforts to preserve and restore marine resources in the Con Co Island Marine Reserve. The province has established volunteer groups to protect sea turtle, operating in not only Con Co island but also coastal communes. Since 2017 to now, local residents have released into the sea 15 sea turtles. Under a research project on restoring coral reefs in the reserve, conducted by the reserve’s management board and the Research Institute for Marine Fisheries since 2011, scientists planted 360 coral colonies with a survival rate of 71 percent. Some colonies have grown to cover part of the seabed.  The area of newly-formed coral reefs has been zoned off for protection. Other types of coral also revived in the area. According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, other research projects have also been launched to evaluate and study ecological diversity and marine resources in the reserve. Local agencies are collecting samples to build a collection of rare and precious sea animals and plants typical of Con Co island. Con Co  Island  Marine Reserve was established under Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee Decision No. 2090 dated October 14, 2009, and became operational on April 21, 2010.     It aims to improve local residents’ awareness of biodiversity, marine resources, as well as the management, protection and sustainable development of those resources.     The reserve covers 4,532 hectares, including three subregions - namely a 534 ha protected subregion, a 1,392 ha subregion for ecological recovery and a 2,376 ha subregion for development.     In terms of biodiversity, the reserve now boasts 113 coral species, 57 species of seaweed and seagrass, 67 zoobenthos species, 19 crustacean species, 224 species of saltwater fish, 87 species of coral reef fish, 164 phytoplankton species and 68 species and groups of zooplankton. Of which, numerous species are rare and have high economic value such as lobster, sea cucumbers, Asian green mussels, mackerel, squid and sea whips. Prime Minister signs directive on strengthening management of drugs People buy medicines at a drug store in Hanoi  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a directive strengthening the management of activities related to drug supply and distribution. In recent years, Vietnam’s medicine supply and distribution system has expanded to meet the demands of the people. However, the supply of drugs has still shown inadequacies, especially the situation of buying and selling drugs of unknown origin, fake medicines and drugs of poor quality. The selling and buying of medicines without the doctor’s prescription and the use of antibiotic drugs without prescription has led to an alarming of antibiotic resistance. The main cause of the situation is the ineffective management of drug supply. The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Health to take urgent measures to unify the State management of the drug distribution system to ensure benefits for people. The ministry is required to create favourable conditions for enterprises and traders in accordance with the law and implement measures to connect medicine supplying establishments nationwide. The ministry also needs to issue regulations on the electronic medicine prescription in connection with drug-supplying establishments to ensure the control of drug prescriptions and sale of drugs for prescription. The health ministry needs to regularly update and supply information on drug products, indications, use, origins and prices through the national drug database. The People’s Committees of provinces and cities are required to enhance the management of drug-wholesale and retail establishments to ensure the purchasing of medicines follows doctors’ prescriptions. Vietnamese celebrate Buddhist Vu Lan Festival in Laos, India Vietnamese expatriates in Laos celebrate Buddhist Vu Lan festival at the Phat Tich Pagoda in Vientiane  Vietnamese expatriates in Laos and India held grand ceremonies to mark the Buddhist Vu Lan Festival on August 25. The Vu Lan festival falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. On this month’s full moon, wandering souls are believed to return to their former homes.  The festival is based on the legend that once when mediating, a Buddha’s disciple named Muc Kieu Lien saw his mother suffering hell’s tortures. Following Buddha’s advice, on the seventh full moon of the year, Lien gathered monks and devotees to pray for his mother.  Therefore, the festival is also an occasion for children to express their gratitude towards their parents (especially mothers) and help ancestors’ souls find their way back to the earth. In Vientiane, Laos, the ceremony took place at the Phat Tich Pagoda, gathering representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, associations of Vietnamese in Vientiane and Laos, and thousands of Vietnamese monks and expatriates. Speaking at the event, Head of Phat Tich Pagoda Venerable Thich Minh Quang said the annual Vu Lan ceremony promotes solidarity and mutual support among Vietnamese communities in Laos. It was estimated that approximately 100,000 Vietnamese people are residing, studying and working in Laos, most of them follow Buddhism. Many see Vietnamese pagodas in Laos as common houses not only for religious practices but also for meeting each other. Laos is now home to 13 Vietnamese Buddhist pagodas, including three pagodas and one monastery in Vientiane.  A similar ceremony took place the same day at the Buddha Vihara Pagoda in New Delhi, India. The ceremony is an annual activity of the Vietnamese community in India. Central Highlands children with cleft lip, palate get free operations Eighty-three children with cleft lip and palate in the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands will receive free health check-ups and surgeries as part of the Operation Smile Vietnam programme. Operations for the children from Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Lam Dong province will be conducted from August 27 to 31 at the Tay Nguyen General Hospital in Dak Lak. Doctors from the Ho Chi Minh Medicine and Pharmacy University Hospital, National Hospital of Odonto – Stomatology, and 108 Military Central Hospital, among other top medical facilities, will perform these surgeries.  The programme also subsidizes travel costs of the children.  Speaking at a ceremony opening the programme in Dak Lak on August 26, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee H’Yim Kdoh said the programme had provided such operations for 852 children in Dak Lak. He said it demonstrate communal support toward the well-being of disadvantaged children with disabilities. Rcom H’Mac, a Gia Rai ethnic who travelled 100 km from Gia Lai to Dak Lak for her four-year-old son’s operation, talked of the programme as a magic, helping her boy be able to speak and grow normally. Y Liem Knun from Cu Kuin district in Dak Lak said his granddaughter could not speak normally for 13 years as she was born without a uvula, adding that the programme is meaningful to her life and his family.  Some 2,000 babies are born with cleft lip and cleft palate every year in Vietnam. Since 1994, the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) has run Operation Smile to provide cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for children. To date, nearly 30,000 children have benefited from the programme. The NFVC has also mobilised resources to provide post-surgery assistance for children, thus helping them integrate into the community. Aus4Equality program on gender equality launched   A Dao ethic woman asks questions about how to engage with Aus4Equality - GREAT program at the launch ceremony  The Australian and Vietnamese governments yesterday kicked off the Aus4Equality - Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program in northwestern Vietnam in a bid to empower, create jobs and improve incomes for local women. The A$33.7 million (around VND600 billion) program will empower local women to engage in agriculture and tourism markets, and enhance women’s voices in economic decision-making. The program will partner with a diverse range of actors, including the private and non-government sectors in agriculture and tourism, to improve the policy environment and stimulate inclusive and equitable growth of the mountainous northwestern region of Vietnam. It is expected that the program will assist some 40,000 self-employed women to boost their incomes and create about 4,000 jobs for women to drive economic growth in northwestern provinces. Justin Baguley, Counselor, Economic and Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, said: “Gender equality is a priority for both Australia and Vietnam and a critical part of the Australian Government’s development cooperation in Vietnam. "The Aus4Equality - GREAT program aims to stimulate innovative solutions to enhance the lives of women, their families and local communities in northwestern Vietnam and will also contribute to higher productivity and economic growth in the region. We look forward to working closely with the provinces of Lao Cai and Son La to make the program a success”. Addressing the launch ceremony, Lo Minh Hung, vice chairman of the northwestern province of Son La, said: “Son La Province has been placing our greatest efforts on reducing poverty and improving gender equality. We highly appreciate the support of the Australian Government along with the Vietnamese Government’s investment in initiatives on poverty reduction and gender equality improvement.” A public call for proposals was also announced at the official kick-off for the Aus4Equality - GREAT program. The call is available to partners from both private and public sectors and aims to develop and implement innovative market-oriented solutions to persistent poverty and economic marginalization among women in ethnic minority communities. Successful applicants will receive financial and technical support, and in exchange, will help to enhance linkages with new markets and suppliers, improve the policy environment, and contribute to sustainable social development in northwestern Vietnam. Applications will close on September 26, 2018. Hai Hau district receives Hero of People’s Armed Forces title   Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented the title Hero of People’s Armed Forces in the period of the resistance war against French colonialism to Hai Hau district in the northern province of Nam Dinh during a ceremony marking the district’s 130th founding anniversary on August 26. Hai Hau, with its achievements during the past 130 years, can be considered an exemplary model for the entire country, the Vice President said.  During the resistance war against French colonialism, over 9,800 locals in Hai Hau joined the army or volunteer forces to serve on battle fields.  On April 26, 2018, President Tran Dai Quang decided to present the title Hero of People’s Armed Forces in the period of the resistance war against French colonialism to officials and people in Hai Hau. In 2015, Hai Hau became one of the first districts recognised as new-style rural areas in the country. The local economic growth reached 7.22 percent in 2017. The annual average per capita income was estimated at over 40 million VND (1,724 USD). The district has been selected to pilot the exemplary rural area model for sustainable development.  Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh urged the district to build on its revolutionary tradition and creativity to reap more achievements in the new period, especially when the country is stepping up modernisation and industrialisation to catch up with significant changes from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and international integration. The district should focus on implementing effectively social welfare policies for national revolutionary contributors, eliminating poor households, and strengthening the all-people solidarity to obtain sustainable development, she suggested. At the same time, the district must pay special attention to the building of the Party and political system in addition to promoting patriotic emulation campaigns and developing rural areas. Hai Hau district is located in the south-eastern coastal area of Nam Dinh province with an area of over 228 square kilometres and 35 communes and towns and a population of over 290,000. Hanoi hopes to attract Japanese tourists   Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam in Hanoi  Representatives from 65 Japanese and Hanoi firms joined a programme to promote tourism in the capital Vietnamese city on August 24.  Japanese guests enjoyed folk music performances, watched a clip introducing Hanoi’s tourism which was produced by the US’ CNN television channel, and met with local businesses and the media to learn about the city’s tourism products and destinations.  They gained an insight into Hanoi’s tangible and intangible heritages, ecological tourism and entertainment areas, shopping centres, travel agencies, lodging facilities, transportation, and tourism linkage with other localities.  Tran Duc Hai, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said foreign arrivals to Hanoi grew by 18 percent annually during the 2015-2017 period, hitting 4.95 million people last year, up 23 percent year-on-year. In the first seven months of the year, the figure rose by 21 percent year-on-year to reach 3.4 million.  Japan remained among the top three sources of tourists to Hanoi with 290,170 arrivals last year, up 22 percent annually. The seven-month figure was 166,437, marking an 8 percent year-on-year increase.  Hai committed all possible support for Japanese travel agencies, press outlets, and tourists in the near future and expressed his hope that Japanese firms will offer more tours to Vietnam and Hanoi in particular. Ara Saeko from JTB tourism company expressed wishes that Vietnam’s tourism sector would upgrade local infrastructure, relax visa procedures, adjust tour prices and better popularise destinations to attract more Japanese visitors.  Japanese guests also visited Thang Long imperial citadel, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Duong Lam ancient village, Van Phuc silk village, and Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Severe torrential rains, floods hit Son La, killing four locals   A large area of farm in Son La have been submerged by floodwater  Floods triggered by prolonged torrential rains in the past month have killed four locals and injured two others in the northern mountainous province of Son La as of August 24. According to the provincial Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, and Search and Rescue, landslides damaged a number of roads linking communes and villages, while floodwater swept away 10 houses, damaged 138 others, along with 524ha of rice and other crop farms and 23ha of fish farms. Total property losses have mounted to over 56 billion VND (2.4 million USD), reported the committee. Most recently, heavy rains occurred on wide scale on August 23 in Thuan Chau district, causing flashflood in communes along Muoi stream – including Phong Lang, Chieng Ly, Thom Mom, Tong Lanh, Tong Co, and Thuan Chau town. There were heavy losses in both human life and property. In Phong Lang commune alone, three locals went missing, two were later found alive and one dead. Chairman of the People’s Committee of the commune Phong Lang Tong said that this had been the most severe flood to hit the locality in the past 30 years. In the commune, 40ha of rice farms were submerged in floodwater, along with 12ha of fish farms and three hectares of other crops. Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thuan Chau, Nguyen Duc Thang, said that the district has made timely support for families of the deceased and injured victims, while evacuating locals residing in high-risk areas. Drug-resistant malaria a concern for Binh Phuoc   Vietnam looks to ensure full protection for people at risk of malaria with appropriate control measures.   The southern province of Binh Phuong has recorded more than 1,000 malaria cases so far this year, including one fatality, according to the provincial Department of Health.  The cases were mostly found in Dak O and Bu Gia Map communes in Bu Gia Map district, and Dak Nhau commune in Bu Dang district. Nearly 600 cases were reported in Bu Gia Map district alone, up 68.7 percent year-on-year and also the highest nationwide.  Pham Van Trieu, deputy director of Bu Gia Map district’s medical centre, explained that locals who reside in remote areas and near cashew and rubber forests are less aware of malaria prevention methods.  Dr Ngo Hoang Long, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology, and Entomology, said drug-resistant malaria has appeared in Binh Phuoc and may spread further, hindering anti-malaria efforts.  Meanwhile, up to 88 percent of residents in Binh Phuoc are living in malaria circulation areas, he said.  Vietnam has adopted a national strategy on malaria prevention and elimination for the 2011-2020 period with a vision towards 2030. It aims to ensure that everyone has better access to early diagnosis and prompt, effective treatment at public and private health facilities. The strategy also looks to ensure full protection for people at risk of malaria with appropriate control measures. Workshop exchanges experiences in developing coastal ecosystems Experiences in improving the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities were shared at a workshop in Hanoi on August 24 that reviewed the third phase of the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) initiative. Steen Christensen, coordinator of the MFF initiative, said Vietnam has carried out many mangrove forest projects well, but some are still facing difficulties in reaching local communities. To solve these problems, it is necessary to have a team of highly capable evaluation groups and to increase the connection of investors with relevant sustainable coastal management development programmes, he noted. Associate Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh Ca, head of the MFF National Coordinating Body (NCB), said marine ecosystems have a strong impact on the economy and the MFF initiative focuses on coastal ecosystems that benefit humans too.  Natural resources and environmental services should be promoted to help coastal residents earn a stable income and respond to climate change, he suggested. Ca added that in Vietnam, the NCB will assist localities in developing their coastal ecosystems, for example in utilising mangrove forests as a pioneer project because of their important ecosystem benefits. The programme will also support efforts to develop and conserve littoral and river mouth zones, as well as coastal and inshore areas; devise solutions for managing these areas; improve communities’ capacity and awareness; and integrate gender equality in relevant activities. At the workshop, participants discussed the management and conservation of coastal ecosystems with the community’s participation, coastal zone management, and ways to expand the sound practices of the MFF in Vietnam. The MFF is a continental-level initiative in Asia, co-chaired by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), boosting investment for the sustainable development of coastal ecosystems. The third phase of the initiative has been implemented since 2014 with 31 small projects, two medium projects, and two large projects, as well as activities supporting coastal area management policies with a view to increasing the resilience of communities that are reliant on ecosystems. Landslide-hit Kon Tum – Laos route reopens to traffic   A landslide site on the route  National Highway 18B, which connects the Bo Y international border gate in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum with Laos’ Attapeu province, has recently opened to traffic after being blocked due to landslides. Earlier, downpour for several days caused landslides at 12 sites along the route, with thousands of cubic metres of earth and fallen trees blocking the way. According to Nguyen Huu Hung, Director of the Kon Tum Transport Department, said serious landslide sites have been fixed. However, the work is estimated to take four to five more days to ensure smooth traffic for the whole route. Tran Thanh Van, head of the customs department at the Bo Y international border gate, said there are lightweight vehicles travelling on the route. Container carrier trucks face many difficulties. A number of trucks carrying urgent goods containers need to be pulled by other vehicles to move through. At the border gate, security has been maintained, with vehicles arranged at parking areas waiting for their turns to cross the route. VNN