Social News 29/9 Troubled boat rescued off Truong Sa Archipelago The Viet Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre's (Viet Nam MRCC) SAR 413 boat today towed a troubled trawler to Nha Trang Port in the central Khanh Hoa Province. The captain of the QNa 90956-TS trawler was Ho Tuan Kha, a resident of Nui Thanh District's Tam Hai Commune in the central Quang Nam Province. The trawler had 38 sailors on board. Engine failure had forced the trawler to go adrift in the waters off the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago, following bad weather. On receiving the news, the Viet Nam MRCC dispatched the SAR 413 boat to rescue the trawler and its men. It reached the troubled trawler on Saturday morning. The rescue boat personnel provided medical aid to the fishermen who were exhausted and in panic after facing strong waves and winds, and safely towed the trawler to shore. Transport Minister Dinh La Thang sent a letter, praising the Viet Nam MRCC's rescue forces for fulfilling their responsibility and saving the lives as well as property of fishermen.  Two dead in five-vehicle Long An pile-up A pile-up involving five vehicles early today on Trung Luong Highway in the southern Long An Province, Thu Thua District, has left two people dead and several injured. A passenger bus travelling to HCM City reportedly hit a truck that was parked on the roadside. The collision caused three other cars behind them to crash into each other.  Water price to lift in Hanoi Hanoi authorities have approved a plan to increase clean water prices by an average of 20% from October 1 to fund new projects to meet address shortages.  Prices will rise to VND5,973 a cubic metre for first ten cubic metres and VND15,929 after that, excluding VAT and environmental protection fees.  The Hanoi Clean Water Company estimates that in 2015 underground water resources will decline between 1 and 3%, while summer demand this year has risen by between 7 and 10% on-year.  Available water supply is 40,000-60,000 cubic metres less than demand. Waste treatment must improve Ninety per cent of waste in Viet Nam is buried by an outdated, environmentally ineffective method that is costly and requires large plots of land, delegates heard at a conference held last week in the central province of Binh Thuan. HCM City leads with 7,000 tonnes of waste per day, most of it buried. "Burial of waste is the easiest and cheapest method, but it needs a huge area, at least 10 – 15 hectares," Chu Van Hai, director of HCM City's Testing and Analysis Service Centre, was quoted as saying in the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper. The costs, which are also high, cover waste classification and treatment, water drainage systems, fence and microbiological agents to reduce odors. Even after burial, rats and insects can spread the waste, which is then absorbed into the land and pollutes water resources. "Waste after burial can also be dug up by people who are looking for scrap iron," he said. New technologies, including incineration and compression, and methods that would create microbiological fertiliser or construction materials from waste, are being used around the country, but only for testing at this time. Many experts have agreed that incinerator technology, which would cost several million US dollars, would be environmentally friendly. But Viet Nam must first train human resources, and begin to classify waste (for example, whether to burn it or use for fertiliser production). The Cao Nguyen Da Lat Green Environment Limited Company has invested in an incinerator made with German technology, located in the Central Highlands province of Da Lat's Bao Loc town. It has a capacity of 70 – 80 tonnes of waste per day, and does not emit exhaust or odors. Its limited size also saves land that can be used for other purposes. "Daily waste can become something useful if the local government can recycle, reuse and regenerate, and avoid the burial of waste," said Ngo Xuan Tiec, general director of Tam Sinh Nghia Limited company, which has seven incinerators with capacity of 130 tonnes of waste a day. New policies are needed, according to Huynh Minh Nhut, director of the HCM City Urban – Environment Limited Company. "To increase the quality of environmental protection, the Government should develop policies to encourage investment from different economic groups," he said.  Building taller than law allows The Ha Noi People's Committee issued an urgent message to the city's Planning and Architecture Department and the People's Committee of Ba Dinh District to inspect a construction site at 67 Tran Phu Street to ensure the building is no higher than the allowable 11 storeys. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered the city administration last Friday to submit a report by Wednesday detailing the height of the building, which previously had an address of 8B Le Truc Street. His action was in response to a September 15 article in the Nang Luong Moi (Petrotimes) newspaper, which reported that the 17-storey building was found to be higher than both the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the National Assembly building in Ba Dinh District. According to a decision signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2013, which gave the green light to a master-plan adjustment of Ba Dinh Administrative and Political Centre by 2020, the maximum height of buildings in the district was only allowed to be 11 storeys. The building at 67 Tran Phu Street is about 60 metres in height with five storeys used as a trade centre and 12 storeys used for offices and apartments, while the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is only 21.6 metres in height. The construction of the building started in 2014, and although it was scheduled to be finished in the second quarter of this year, it has yet to be completed. The building, covering 5,600 square metres, is financed by the Kinh Do TCI Group and is being offered for sale and rent. Nguyen Quoc Hung, vice chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee, was assigned director of the planning and architecture department to lead the inspection team in checking the regulations related to planning and architecture at the construction site. Ministries declare new vision standards for motorbike drivers  People whose have less than 4/10 vision, even with glasses, will not be allowed to ride 50cc to 175cc motorcycles in Vietnam. This is part of a new circular on drivers' medical standards, issued by the health and transport ministries, which will take effect from October 10 this year. Accordingly, drivers must not have less than 5/10 vision with glasses to be eligible for driving vehicles with less than nine seats and lorries weighing less than 3.5 tonnes. Bikers and car drivers will not be issued driving licences if they suffer from colour blindness and cannot distinguish red, yellow and green colours, and have mental and physical disabilities. The new regulation also bans people who use drugs and exceed the legal alcohol intake limit from driving. The criteria on weight, height and chest size, included in a decision issued in 2008, have been removed and replaced with nine standards that cover the mental state, nerves, eyes and ears-nose-throat, besides the respiratory system and muscle-bone articulation. Drivers must provide correct information about their state of health and previous diseases as well as follow the medical staff's instructions during health check-ups, the circular says. The Ministry of Health has also ordered relevant agencies to inspect and detect fake health certificates to ensure effective implementation of the circular. Ba Ria- Vung Tau’s largest fishing port inaugurated The Hung Thai Marine Offshore Service Company on September 28 opened the Hung Thai logistic service - the largest and most modern fishing port in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau. The 30,000-square-metre port, built at a total cost of 150 billion VND (6.7 million USD), is able to receive 12 fishing vessels at one time, welcome boats with capacity of 500 HP and serve as a storm-shelter for up to 500 ships. The port is comprised of a seafood loading and unloading zone, 19 assorting and trading stations and 39 kiosks. It also provides other services such as the provision of materials, equipment and petrol. The Hung Thai fishing port will help ease the burden on the fishing port in Phuoc Tinh commune, which houses the biggest offshore fishing fleet in the province.-VNA CLV foster collaboration in security, defence along border Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) agreed to maintain their close coordination to ensure security, order and safety at their shared border during the second joint conference of their Defence and Security Committees in Laos’ Champasak province on September 28.  The three countries pledged to support their local authorities in cooperating and exchanging information and experience in order to prevent crimes related to terrorism, human and drug trafficking, goods smuggling and child labour at border areas.  They were unanimous in intensifying experience sharing in checking and controlling border gates in the development triangle area to facilitate trade exchanges between them and improve the living standards of residents in the region.  The nations also vowed to address issues related to security and order along the border through diplomatic ways to protect and maintain their solidarity and ensure respect for sovereignty and independence of each nation.  The conference also affirmed the three countries’ parliamentarians back cooperation in sharing information and experience in this issue as well as the implementation of the joint statement of the eighth CLV Summit signed in Vientiane on November 25, 2014.  The third joint conference was agreed to be organised in Vietnam in 2016, chaired by the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee. Lao Ambassador receives Ho Chi Minh City insignia Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan granted the city’s badge to outgoing Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Somphone Sichaleune during a reception on September 28 .  Speaking highly of the diplomat’s working tenure in Vietnam, Quan said that the insignia is in recognition of his contributions to boosting cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Laos as well as the friendship and solidarity between the two nations.  The city’s leaders and people continue to foster mutual cooperation between the city and Lao localities, contributing to the solidarity between the two nations, Quan added.  For his part, the ambassador expressed his appreciation for the support the city’s authorities and its people have provided to him and the people of Laos over the past few years.  He also called for promoting communication campaigns and education to raise awareness across Vietnamese and Lao youths of the special relations between the two nations as well as between the city and Lao localities, including Vientiane and Champasak.  Previously, he was received by Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Thanh Hai. Vietnam steps up implementation of Nagoya Protocol The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources access and benefit-sharing in Vietnam was reviewed at a seminar held in Hanoi on September 28.  As a part of the multilateral treaty since March 17, 2014, Vietnam has set and followed a blueprint to achieve its sustainable goals by 2020. As such, the country is scheduled to issue sufficient legal frameworks for accessing genetic resources and fairly and equitably sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation (ABS) by 2017, establish an ABS model in 2018, and complete a national data system on genetic resources in 2020.  At the seminar, Erie Tamale from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity highlighted that under the agreement, involved nations can offer access to their genetic resources and obtain benefit-sharing contracts in return.  Local residents providing usable knowledge also benefit.   Dr Tran Thi Huong Giang from the Centre for Law and Policy of Sustainable Development said Vietnam issued the Law on Bio-Diversity in 2008 and a relevant guidance decree in 2010.  She proposed devising another decree guiding ABS moving forward.  In recent years, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has focused on information summation and international cooperation exchanges on the matter. NA Vice Chairwoman meets OVs in Germany Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly Tong Thi Phong met with the Vietnamese Embassy’s staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Germany following her attendance at the first Asia-European Women’s Forum in Moscow.  Phong informed the Vietnamese embassy’s staff that her meetings with high-ranking leaders of the State of Duma and the Russian Federation Council at the sidelines of the forum have contributed to consolidating the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.  Vietnam’s proposals and initiatives presented at the forum were also included in its joint statement, she noted.  She heard the embassy’s report on its work, and urged the embassy to better its performance in consular work and citizen protection.  Meeting with the Vietnamese community in Berlin, the legislator briefed them on the home country’s socio-economic development in 2014 and the first half of this year, as well as strong developments in the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Germany.  During her stay in Germany, the NA Vice Chairwoman cut the ribbon to launch a film week featuring Vietnam on its path of integration and development. The event is being held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communication. Vietnam, Laos continue joint work in ethnic affairs Vietnam and Laos have agreed to continue personnel training in ethnic affairs and experience sharing for 2016.  During their talks in Vientiane on September 28, Deputy Minister and deputy head of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs Phan Van Hung and Vice President of the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) Central Committee Vongchan Phomsavat reviewed the outcomes of bilateral cooperation for 2011-2015, saying that Vietnam opened a number of personnel training courses for the LFNC.  During the period, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement for 2012-2020, under which they committed to raising public awareness of ethnic-related laws and policies, building and implementing ethnic policies, continuing scientific research, cultural exchanges, education-training and personnel training.  They also aligned socio-economic development schemes with ethnic affairs, especially poverty reduction in ethnic groups in border areas.  Next year, the two sides will promote policymaking for socio-economic development along the 2.000km borderline.  As crimes involving human trafficking, drug and free migration along border areas have spawned in recent years, they consented to carrying on with educational campaigns in ethnic groups.  The Vietnamese side pledged to direct localities bordering Laos devise suitable socio-economic development plans. Vietnam-Japan university rectors’ conference opens The third Vietnam-Japan University Rectors’ Conference opened in the central city of Da Nang on September 28 with more than 200 delegates representing managers of 30 Japanese universities and their 40 Vietnamese counterparts taking part.  Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said Vietnam-Japan education and training has been brought to a greater height through a strategic cooperative agreement on education signed in Tokyo in March 2013.  Japan has assisted Vietnam’s education sector in technical cooperation projects, improving the training capacity of Vietnamese universities and enhancing personnel training for the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant and nuclear science for peaceful purposes.  He believed new relevant projects and bilateral education-training ties would develop in quantity and quality.  Participants discussed involving training students in Japanese firms working in Vietnam, assigning professional Japanese professors and lecturers to Vietnam and increasing scientific research and joint studies partly by seeking Government and business funding.  As Vietnam’s significant strategic partner and the largest donor of official development assistance in various fields including education and training, Japan also provides scholarships for more than 100 Vietnamese students and trainees studying in Japan.  Jun Yanagi from the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam believed that the two countries would further their relationship comprehensively but particularly in education and training for the sake of the bilateral friendship.  On the occasion, a cooperation agreement between the University of Da Nang and Yokohama National University was signed.  The two-way event is being co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Book on Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange honoured The book “ Viet Nam va Nhat Ban: Giao luu van hoa” ( Vietnam and Japan: Cultural Exchange) was honoured as the best research book at an award ceremony for the Good Book Awards 2015 on September 27.  The book was one of the 13 by writers and translators nationwide to receive the award, which was jointly organised by the Institute for Research of Education Development and the Phan Chau Trinh Fund.  The pieces belonged to seven categories of research, education, economics, management, literature, children’s and new discovery.  Meanwhile, the organising board selected 40 outstanding works to introduce and recommend to readers for the first time.  Launched in 2011, the annual Good Book Awards aim to honour outstanding works by writers and translators and encourage reading in society. HCM City urged to expedite poverty reduction effort Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has asked Ho Chi Minh authorities to creatively apply measures and policies approved by the Government to realise the city’s poverty reduction targets.  The Deputy PM hailed efforts by the municipal authorities to eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty during a recent conference held in the city to review the implementation of a 23-year poverty reduction programme.  He expressed his belief that Ho Chi Minh City will continue to be a flagship in all fields, especially in the fight against poverty, contributing to promoting the city’s economic growth. The City’s poverty reduction programme was carried out in four phases from 1992-2015, lifting its poverty line seven times on the basis of the average income.  The number of impoverished households in the city fell to only 19,484 as of May 2015 from 121,722 in 1992. The city is striving to pull the rate of poor and near-poor households down to less than 1 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, by the end of this year.  With over 7.1 trillion VND (nearly 314 billion USD) mobilised over the last 23 years, the programme has helped millions of local impoverished households access low-interest loans.  As many as 33,323 labourers received fee exemptions for vocational training and over 510,000 labourers found stable jobs.  Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Hua Ngoc Thuan stressed that the programme contributed to reducing the equality gap in society, especially between rich and poor households.  From 2016-2020, the city will continue to speed up poverty reduction efforts, creating favourable conditions for impoverished and nearly-impoverished families to access basic education-training, healthcare, employment, social insurance and housing services.  It will also focus on improving policies towards realising sustainable poverty reduction goals. On the occasion, the city’s 15 organisations were presented with Labour Order, the third class and 21 organisations and four individuals received Certificates of Merit from the Prime Minister in recognition of their significant contributions to the programme. Mountain marathon proceeds go to good cause The organising board of the 2015 Vietnam Mountain Marathon, which ended in Sa Pa, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on September 27, handed over 200 million VND (9,100 USD) to Operation Smile, a non-profit organisation.  The money will be used to financially assist surgeries for children with harelips and cleft palates living in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.  Sapa district also received some funds to help disadvantaged families.  From September 26-27, in Sapa, more than 1,000 athletes from 45 countries participated in the mountain marathon, with 24 top-finishing runners in four events (70km, 42km, 21km and 10km).  Dang Xuan Phong, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the race is one of the activities to celebrate World Tourism Day on September 27, themed ‘One billion tourists, one billion opportunities,’ and its success contributed to Lao Cai’s tourism promotion. Cat Ba urged to develop new tourism services Delegates at a recent conference called on Hai Phong city officials to turn the Cat Ba islands in its Cat Hai district into a green and high-class tourism destination.  At the conference, titled ‘A Green Cat Ba’ and held in Hai Phong on September 27, Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said Cat Ba has been one of the country’s most popular tourism destinations for decades but there has been little change in its services over the past 10 years.  According to Tuan, the islands need to attract strategic investors to develop unique, outstanding and striking tourism products and that only big investors will produce high-quality and appealing products to shift from seasonal tourism to year-round options.  With the completion of the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway and the Cat Bi Airport going into operation in the near future, Cat Ba is certainly capable of attracting more local and international tourists, said Tuan.  He also urged Cat Hai district and Hai Phong authorities to design tourism development strategies with an emphasis on quality and effectiveness to take advantage of infrastructure improvements.  Trinh Dang Thanh, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said as a national park with peak conditions, Cat Ba’s tourism potential is much vaster than Quang Ninh’s.  Thanh recommended connecting Hai Phong – Quang Ninh tourism by encouraging travel firms to develop new joint tours and original tourism products based on advantages of the two localities.  The Cat Ba islands, home to 3,800 animal and plant species with 81 rare species in danger of extinction, were declared a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Area in 2004. The archipelago has also been designated a national park and a marine reserve. Binh Thuan: Needy kids receive free heart checks Nearly 200 under-16 children with disadvantaged backgrounds in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan received free heart check-ups on September 26.  The event, part of the “Heartbeat Vietnam”, a humanitarian programme targeting children of heart diseases, was held by the VinaCapital Foundation in association with the Tam Duc Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and the Children Protection Association of Binh Thuan.  The screening found 30 children with inborn heart defects who will need surgery. Their parents were provided guidance on how to apply for assistance from the programme for their children’s treatment.  Launched in 2006, “Heartbeat Vietnam” has conducted free health screenings across the country, detecting more than 5,000 children with heart diseases and sponsoring heart surgeries for 4,223 poor child patients in 50 provinces and cities nationwide. Japanese love colours to be screened in Vietnam The 2015 Japan Film Festival, themed the colours of love, is scheduled to run in Vietnam from October 9 – November 14, reported the Ha Noi Moi newspaper.  Romantic films on family and school are expected to dominate big screens in Hanoi, central Da Nang city and Ho Chi Minh City.  Ho Chi Minh City’s movie lovers are first to enjoy the festival from October 9-17, ahead of Da Nang’s audience who can immerse themselves in Japan’s culture through motion pictures from October 23 -25.  Hanoi is last to catch the wave in early November from the 6-14. HCM City says long-term goals key to erase poverty HCM City authorities have altered their poverty-reduction strategy by focusing on long-term, sustainable results, following 23 years of success in reducing the poverty rate. "While celebrating these achievements, we have to admit that it was unsustainable. Households escaping poverty face risks of falling into poverty again," said Le Thanh Hai, secretary of the city's Party Committee. Speaking at a conference held last Saturday in HCM City, Hai asked city authorities to take measures "to ensure a means of livelihood" for the poor to attain sustainable results. In recognition of this goal, Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the People's Committee, said the programme would be renamed the Sustainable Poverty Reduction Programme for the 2016-2020 period. Under the new programme, the city will create favourable conditions for the poor to approach basic social services such as education, health, employment, insurance and housing. The programme aims to raise per capita income of the poorest residents to VND27 million (US$1,200) per year, a 3.5-fold increase compared with 2011. HCM City now has about 17,000 households, or 0.89 per cent of all households, living under the poverty line (VND16 million per capita income per year). As part of the effort, the city has provided poor households with preferential loans to create job opportunities. More than 60 per cent of poor households and 48 per cent of near-poor families have received preferential loans and escaped poverty. Nguyen Van Hung, 58, of Qui Duc Commune in Binh Chanh District, for example, received a loan of VND7million ($310) from the commune's Poverty Reduction Fund after he retired. In 2009, Hung turned to orchid growing, which helped his family escape poverty a year later. Last year, he borrowed a preferential loan of VND500 million ($22,200) to promote his business, and travelled with other delegates to South Korea to learn about the latest research in agricultural production. Hung's 2,000 sq.m farm cultivates over 40,000 baskets of orchids, earning more than VND200 million annually. The preferential loans and scholarships from the funds have helped Nguyen Thi Thu Dung and her younger brother and sister, residents of Binh Thanh District's Ward 2, start businesses. The profits also helped them pay for university and college. Loans from the poverty reduction fund have also helped Doan Thi Trieu, of District 5's Ward 13, to create favourable conditions for her children to go to school. With scholarships from the funds, Trieu's daughter graduated from a university in HCM City and now has a job, while her son attended vocational school and works for a company in District 5. Truong Van Luong, head of the administrative division of the Poverty Reduction Programme, said the results from the programme over the past 23 years had shown the city's strong support of the poor. "We don't provide poor families with food, but rather teach them how to create a job and how to earn their daily bread," Luong said. According to figures released by the Poverty Reduction Programme during a ceremony last week, the programme has mobilised total capital of over VND7.1 trillion ($317.1 million), including VND3.7 trillion from the State and VND3.4 trillion from other sources. It has also given free (or reduced) school and training fees to 33,000 people to attend vocational courses, and provided jobs at enterprises or factories to 13,000 labourers. The programme has also reduced school and training fees by VND665,000 per person on average for 954,000 poor students. According to figures released at the conference, the city's poverty reduction progamme has progressed through four phases. The first phase from 1992 to 2003 focused on poor households living in 12 inner districts with VND3 million per capita income per year and in five suburban districts with VND2.5 million per capita income per year. The second phase from 2004 to 2010 included poor households in all districts with VND6 million per capita income per year. The targets of the third phase for 2009–2015 were poor households in all districts with VND12 million per capita income per year. This goal was fulfilled two years ahead of schedule. The fourth phase from 2014–2015 focuses on poor households in all districts earning VND16 million to VND21 million per capita income per year. This was also reached one year ahead of schedule. National reserves aids poor households  The General Department of National Reserves (GDNR), under the Ministry of Finance, has so far this year allocated nearly 77,200 tonnes of rice to poor households and disaster victims nationwide.  This move, following the government's instruction, aimed to ensure a quick response to help people deal with the unexpected, urgent requirements of emergencies such as natural disasters, fires and epidemics.  In addition, another aid package of nearly 138,300 tonnes of rice is planned to be provided to students in provinces that are suffering from extremely difficult socio-economic conditions. The plan comes in response to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 36/2013/QD-TTg, dated June 18, 2013, which aims to provide aid to poor students over three academic years, from 2013 to 2016. In 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, some 124,100 tonnes of rice were distributed to students listed as policy beneficiaries. Of the remaining 14,200 tonnes of rice planned to be allocated in the 2015-2016 academic year, 7,000 tonnes have been distributed in advance. The remaining 7,200 tonnes will be received by September 30, 2015. "The distribution of such a large amount of rice to a wide range of beneficiaries scattered over an extensive area was a challenging job," Deputy Director of the General Department of National Reserves Le Van Thoi said.  Ly Son struggles with solid waste problem A solid waste treatment plant was launched in Ly Son Island in the central Quang Ngai Province three months ago to control environment pollution in the area. However, local residents still discharge domestic waste directly into the environment because the VND30-billion (US$1.4 million) plant can burn only about 1.2 tonnes of solid waste daily, just 10 per cent of its designed capacity. Solid waste piling up in heaps on land or floating in the sea threatens the lives of residents living along the 7km sea wall that runs around the island from Tay Hamlet in Vinh Commune to Dong hamlet in An Hai Commune. There is a similar situation at the 2ha plant where waste has piled up like a mountain, extending from the plant's entrance to the incinerators. Workers have to separate waste by hand and carry it to the incinerators using a few trolleys. The island is flooded with solid waste everywhere due to the ineffective operation of the plant," An Vinh People's Committee Council Vice-Chairman Phan Thi Loi said. "Despite having a capacity to burn 12 tonnes of solid waste daily, it burns just 1.2 tonnes. Workers even have to carry waste to a temporary waste ground in the commune to burn it," Loi said. Deputy head of the plant's waste management department Vo Phuong Thach said the plant currently collected solid waste from An Vinh Commune, one of the island district's three communes. That's why in some residential areas, the local people still discharge waste into the sea, causing environment pollution. Quang Ngai People's Committee Vice-Chairman Pham Truong Tho said the plant was still being operated on a trial basis that revealed several shortcomings such as solid waste not being separated by households and the incinerator not being able to meet the demand as the amount of waste was increasing rapidly, compared with the period when it was designed. Tho said the province would ask the environment department of the natural resource and environment ministry to invest in more incinerators and facilities to reduce the number of manual wokers and increase the capacity of burning of waste. The plant is the first pilot solid waste treatment project in the island district, launched by the natural resources and environment ministry. It aims to treat solid waste of the whole island, provide microbiological fertilisers for agriculture, improve hygiene and the environment and boost tourism.  2,000 youth partake in campaign “Youth with traffic culture”  Nearly 2,000 young people partook in a ceremony “Young People with traffic culture 2015” and a meeting in response to media campaign to wear WHO-standard helmets held by the Ho Chi Minh City Young Communist Union and the city steering aboard of traffic safety yesterday. The campaign aims to increase traffic regulation and improve people’s awareness especially amongst young people, students. The organization board set up 5 teams comprising of 1,000 young people to take part in activities such as giving 1,000 standard helmets to motorbike taxies, parading through streets, giving new helmets in exchange for old ones for residents living along bus stations and providing training for traffic safety; partaking in a competition about road traffic regulation, opening a hypothetical court to increase knowledge of traffic law to people; distributing life-jackets to people at ferries as well as taking care of children from families who have relatives dying traffic accidents. Art program towards Vietnam's border, sea, islands sovereignty An art program on the Front, national sea and islands will be held at Ho Chi Minh City TV Theater on October 4.  The event called “For the Front of the country, for the national sea and islands” aims to honor the Coast Guard, fisheries surveillance force and fishermen who are working day and night around islands to protect the country’s sovereignty. The concert is also to raise fund and call for contribution from organizations and individuals to support soldiers. All supports will be via the Vietcombank account number, 102010000851910. The program with the participation of singers Anh Bang, Vo Ha Tram; cai luong actress Que Tran, cai luong actor Vo Minh Luan and more will be broadcast live on HTV9 channel. Bac Ninh invests US$800,000 to restore But Thap pagoda The Bac Ninh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a ceremony to start the restoration of the locality’s But Thap pagoda on September 28. The project has a total investment of VND 18 billion (US$ 800,000) sourced from the local budget. The money will be used to restore and upgrade the pagoda’s facilities including the worshiping place, gates, house of steles and corridor in line with their original structure and architecture. According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Van Anh, the project aims to preserve and uphold the cultural and architectural values of the pagoda, thus contributing to boosting tourism in Bac Ninh province. Located in Dinh To commune, Thuan Thanh district, But Thap pagoda was built under the Tran dynasty (1226-1400). It is one of a few ancient pagodas in Vietnam with the unique architecture of the Le-Nguyen dynasties that still exist. The temple houses unique statues and carvings in wood and stone. The most notable one is an Avalokitesvara statue with one thousand eyes and one thousand arms, which was recognised as a national treasure in 2012. Hanoi responds to Vietnam recycling festival The Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment launched the Vietnam Recycling Programme on September 26 to encourage local residents to recycle electronic waste. The event, which is part of activities in response to the ‘Clean up the World’ Campaign, provided people with free recycling services for electronic products. The programme is being implemented in five wards including Nghia Tan, Yen Hoa, Thanh Cong, Doi Can and Quan Thanh in Ba Dinh and Cau Giay districts. The event aims to call on local people to work together for a green environment via the collection, treatment and recycling of electronic waste in a safe manner. It was also expected to raise awareness of the community about the management of e-waste, reduce the amount of electronic waste as well as promote the recycling of e-waste in order to protect the environment and people’s health. National plan launched to protect environment Protecting the environment, including the maritime environment, is a vital and urgent task of human beings as the environment holds long-term and deep impacts for the development of every country. Deputy Head of Vietnam Environmental Administration, Doctor Hoang Duong Tung made the statement at the launching of a national action plan calling for a green, clean environment, held in Da Nang city on September 26. He stressed the need to safeguard the maritime environment in a bid to make maritime economy a leading sector in the national target for sustainable development. Under the theme ‘Tourism growth in line with maritime environment protection’, he stated that the event aimed to raise public awareness for protecting natural resources and the environment as well as for safeguarding national sovereignty over sea and islands. Participants at the event worked together to put up propaganda posters at public areas, collect rubbish along My Khe beach, and take part in a parade calling on people to protect the environment. Earlier, the same programme was launched in Cat Ba island district in the northern port city of Hai Phong on June 7 and in Hoi An city in the central province of Quang Nam on August 29, attracting thousands of participants at each venue. The action plan will also be deployed in the coastal provinces of Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien – Hue, Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan in 2016 with a hope to call on joint efforts to clean the maritime environment and gain commitments from ministries, sectors, businesses and residential areas to develop a green, clean and beautiful country. Major beer festival set for November in city PiEntertainment of Square Communication Group will put on a five-day beer festival starting from November 11 on the rooftop of SC VivoCity shopping mall in HCMC’s District 7. The company said in a statement that the “exBEERience Fest” will feature products of 55 international beer brands as well as music shows and games with a lot of prizes. Vo Tan Si, chairman of the Saigon Bartender Sommeliers’ Guild Association, will join the fest and share his know-how about beer. He is expected to show the process of producing beer; how to distinguish different beer types, choose glasses for each kind of beer, pour beer into glasses and combine food with beer; and especially call for people to drink beer in a responsible manner. Beer lovers can buy tickets at www.exbeerience.vn or at the company at 54-56 Hoa Dao street, Ward 2, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC or call 093 897 1090. Tickets for the festival start from VND155,000 (US$6.89). Those who buy deluxe and VIP tickets before October 15 will be offered a 20% discount plus other incentives. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri