Thứ Ba, 8 tháng 9, 2015

Social News 8/9


Son La invests 1.26 trillion VND in illuminating rural areas
The northern mountainous province of Son La plans to splash out 1.26 trillion VND (56 million USD) for the construction of an electricity grid in rural areas from 2016-2020 to ensure electricity access for most local households.
An additional 21,000 local households are expected to be connected to the national grid by 2020, raising the total electricity users to 246,000 families or 95 percent of the target.
Along with mobilising financial sources to provide power for residents in Bac Yen, Van Ho and Muong La districts, the province will continue projects to supply electricity to 5,300 families in Mai Son and Song Ma districts by the year’s end.
As of the end of August, some 40,000 residents still lacked access to electricity in 570 hamlets while 86 percent of the local households and 82 percent of the total hamlets have used electricity.
Vietnam Airlines launches special offer on Hanoi-Paris route
Vietnam Airlines launched a promotion on the Hanoi-Paris route on its new Airbus A350 airplane on September 7 with a special offer of only 7.599 million VND (350 USD) for a return trip.
The special offer will last from September 7-21, during which return tickets, excluding fees and charges, for seats in economy class will cost 16.9 million VND (787 USD) and 38.499 million VND (1,787 USD) for business class on flights from October 1-22.
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is currently operating 12-13 weekly flights to France, including 6-7 flights between Hanoi and Paris.
HCM City festival to promote multinational solidarity
A festival will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from September 10-13 to promote friendship and solidarity between nations.
Themed “Ho Chi Minh City – Development and Integration”, the event is expected to draw representatives from diplomatic agencies, international organisations, joint-ventures, foreign-invested businesses, overseas tourists and students.
The municipal Department of External Relations revealed at a press conference on September 7 that the festival will include a range of activities such as an exhibition on the city’s diplomatic activities, a show of traditional costumes from different regions and a gastronomy pavilion hosted by foreign communities.
It will also entail a special art performance, a Vietnamese cooking contest, a costume contest and cultural pavilions featuring unique cultural and traditional products from 16 countries.
Deputy Director of the department Doan Tuan Linh described the festival as a brilliant opportunity for the city to introduce the cultural diversity of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular to the international community.
Police shoot dead man who dipped baby into water tank
Police in the southern province of Kien Giang on Sunday shot a man to death after he attacked a woman and then sank her newborn baby into a water tank.
The attacker was Nguyen Van Huu, 26, of Duong Dong Town, Phu Quoc Island District, who died after receiving a bullet in his abdomen from a police officer early yesterday morning.
At 2:45 am on Sunday, Huu, who was drunk at that time, shouted noisily, asking his neighbors to open doors so that he could talk to them, but nobody responded.
Huu then came to the house of Truong Thi Cam Ly, 23, and Truong Viet Hung, Ly’s younger brother, opened the door.
He shouted loudly, smashed furniture, and ordered that all the doors of the house be closed or he would kill everyone.
Huu entered Ly’s bedroom and grasped her 13-day-old baby, Bui Truong Bao Ngoc, by the legs and swing her.
When Ly rushed to Huu to save her baby, he kicked her down to the floor.
He then used a piece of brick nearby to hit Ly in the head many times, causing the woman to faint.
He asked everybody in the house not to move or he would kill the baby.
Ly’s father managed to get out of the house from the back door and called police, who came and spent much time persuading Huu to release the baby but he turned them down.
At nearly 5:00 am, Huu took the baby by her legs to a water tank in front of the house, police shot into the air to warn him to stop, but he unflinchingly dipped the baby into the water.
In such an urgent circumstance, Major Le Minh Chanh, chief police officer of Duong Dong Town, shot Huu in his abdomen with his handgun.
Chanh, along with other officers, then dashed to the water tank to rescue the baby.
Police took Ly, her baby, and Huu to the Phu Quoc General Hospital for treatment.
Huu died at 8:30 am the same day.
Ly was still being treated around noon that day while her baby was in a stable health condition.
Regarding the shooting of Huu, Major Chanh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he has by far thought that he acted in the right way.
“That was an order from my heart,” he said.
Lawyer Doan Cong Thien, chairman of the Kien Giang Province Bar Association, said law enforcement officers have the right to use weapons to fight the attacker if a victim’s life is threatened.
In this case, Major Chanh was justified in gunning down Huu to save the baby, the lawyer said.
Provincial police have performed an autopsy on Huu and are further probing the case.
First low-cost airline provides Hanoi-Hong Kong service
Low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific announced on September 7 the operation of a new air route linking Hanoi and Hong Kong (China) using the 180-seat Airbus A320 plane, which is expected to boost tourism between the two sides.
So far, Jetstar Pacific is the only low-cost airline to provide the service with four weekly return flights on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
The two-hour flight will take off at 16:15 from Hanoi and 19:55 from Hong Kong.
According to Jetstar Pacific General Director Le Hong Ha, the number of customers booking tickets for the service has been rising since the tickets went on sale in April this year.
Tickets are available at www.jetstar.com with fares from 590,000 VND (28 USD) for a one-way trip.
Australian aid opens for applications
About 355,000 AUD from the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Programme (DAP) are expected to be channelled into charitable and development projects in southern and central regions through 2016.
After the news was unveiled on September 7, the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said beneficiaries of the fund will be non-governmental organisations and social groups.
Detailed information and application forms can be found at hcmc.vietnam.embassy.gov.au
Funding registration will be open through October 9.
During 2014-2015, the small grants programme aided 22 projects across the two regions in rural development, sanitation and social heath, among others.
In 2015-2016, Australia intends to provide Vietnam with approximately 89.9 million AUD in official development assistance.
Ninh Thuan requested to enhance precautions against A/H5N1
The Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department has asked the health sector in the central province of Ninh Thuan to roll out precautionary measures in order to prevent the transmission of A/H5N1 bird flu strain to humans after an outbreak was discovered in a flock of poultry in Ninh Son district on September 7.
The provincial Health Department was tasked with intensifying communication campaigns on protection measures for those living in high-risk areas.
It will also focus on management and supervision while keep ing a close watch over vulnerable residents to detect infected cases immediately.
Local hospitals were requested to prepare necessary facilities, equipment and medicine for supervising and treating suspected cases.
The Preventive Medicine Department also recommended regular hand-washing with soap, practicing personal hygiene and avoiding direct contact with A/H5N1 patients or sick poultry to effectively prevent the disease.
Vietnam recorded its first A/H5N1 cases in fowl and humans in December 2003.
The virus has since spread and ignited a number of outbreaks causing severe health and economic damage.-
HCM City works to ensure friendly tourism environment
A crowd of youth from travel agencies joined tourist support forces in Ho Chi Minh City at a ceremony in response to an action movement to build a friendly tourism environment in the city.
Speaking at the event, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Van Thi Bach Tuyet underlined the significance of the movement, saying it aims to build and maintain an attractive and friendly environment for tourism activities and ensure social security and order at the city’s tourism sites.
After the launching ceremony, youth distributed leaflets to businesses and households along key tourism streets. Meanwhile volunteer groups arranged themselves at popular tourism sites.
According to the Department, the activities will be maintained daily until the beginning of 2016 towards bringing a safe and friendly tourism environment to visitors, thus attracting more arrivals to the city.
HCM City attracted over 2 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 3 percent over the same period last year.
It has recorded an average annual tourism growth of 26 percent, accounting for 11 percent of the city’s GDP.
Facelift for Hue garden houses
The People’s Committee of central Thua Thien-Hue province and relevant units gathered at a meeting in the locality on September 7 to discuss the implementation of a project to preserve and promote the unique values of Hue garden houses.
Under the project, the province will set aside between 5-8 billion VND (220,000 – 352,000 USD) to restore 3-5 typical garden houses between 2015 and 2020, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho.
Local authorities will cover the full interest rate of preferential loans offered to owners who want to upgrade their property within five years, he said.
They will also support garden home owners to buy seedlings with 15 million VND (660 USD) each, design garden houses and create ecological landscapes for tourism services (5 million VND or 220 USD each), he added.
Participants will also receive local assistance in non-agricultural land usage with the maximum area of 5,000 square metres for five years.
The locality will offer 15 million VND (675 USD) to each garden house to train tourist guides and facilitate business operations.
According to the provincial culture and information office, 52 out of the 152 typical Hue garden houses listed in the protection project have undergone significant changes while 14 others have been rebuilt and four have asked to be removed from the list.
Thua Thien-Hue is now home to 690 traditional houses called “nha ruong”, half of which are located in the imperial city of Hue. Each house includes a garden at least 400 square metres wide.
Blossoming under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last royal monarchy in Vietnam’s history, “nha vuon” (garden houses) such as An Hien, Lac Tinh Vien, Tinh Gia Vien, Ty Ba Trang and Ngoc Son Cong Chua are prominent features of Hue.
A typical garden house in Hue has two main parts: “nha ruong” (house built with many beams [ruong] and pillars [cot]) and the surrounding garden, designed according to geomancy and their owners' spiritual life and skills.
Red River Delta boosts connectivity in climate change response
A workshop was held in the northern province of Ninh Binh on September 7 to design policies and mechanisms to strengthen regional connectivity in response to disasters and climate change in the Red River Delta.
Participants stressed the importance of building a climate change response programme in a general and sustainable manner, and thoroughly prepare for the establishment of an inter-sector database with a focus on climate, hydro-meteorology, weather and geology in the region.
They declared investing in developing the transport system as well as promoting regional connectivity in tourism development, water and forestry resources management and disaster and climate change adaptation a necessity.
They proposed setting up an office specialising in steering disaster and climate change responses and regional connectivity while intensifying the sharing of information and experience in climate change adaptation between localities in the region.
Situated in a climate monsoon zone, the Red River Delta is regularly hit by disasters, floods and drought, seriously affecting agricultural production and fisheries. Seawater intrusion is also wearing away part of cultivated lands.
Disparities remain in protection of Vietnamese children, women
Vietnam still has a lot to do to improve the well-being of children and woman and achieve its Millennium Development Goals, a new survey has found.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014, has launched in Hanoi, found continuing and glaring disparities in under-five mortality rates amongst vulnerable populations.
With every 1,000 live births, 20 children die before their fifth birthday.
In rural areas, under-five mortality is at 22 per 1,000 live births, while ethnic minority populations have the highest rates at 43 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the survey carried out by the General Statistics Office with technical and financial support from UNICEF.
Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam, said the survey is a joint contribution to the data revolution.
“It is proven that good, timely and accessible data leads to positive solutions to inequality and sustainable development," he said.
MICS 2014 data shows that the percentage of infants under six months of age who are exclusively breastfed has increased from 17% to 24% over the last five years.
Birth weight disparities are most prevalent in the Central Highlands where more than 7% of children are born with low weight under 2,500 grams compared to the 5.7% national average.
In immunization, more than 82% Vietnamese children aged 12-23 months are fully vaccinated.
However, the coverage is higher among Kinh children, 84.6%, compared to ethnic minority children, 69.4%.
According to the survey, 2% of children are out of school at primary education level across the country, with higher proportions in the Central Highlands and the northern midlands and mountainous area.
In child protection, more than 68% of children aged 1-14 years in Vietnam are subjected to at least one form of psychological or physical punishment, with more male children experiencing more punishment than female ones.
The number of young women age 15-19 years currently married has risen to more than 10% compared 8% in the previous survey. Nearly 30 percent of ethnic minority women aged 15-19 years are married.
The new survey also assessed the attitude of women aged 15-49 years towards domestic violence.
The survey results show that 50% of women feel that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in a number of situations.
In term of HIV/AIDS prevention, more than 56% of women aged 15-49 and half of women aged 15-24 years have insufficient relevant knowledge.
In addition, only 46 percent of women aged 15-49 years are aware of the three ways of mother-to-child transmission - during pregnancy, delivery and through breastfeeding.
Hai Duong to host Miss ITgo 2015
Miss Vietnam Intellectual (Miss ITgo) is scheduled to take place across the country from October 9 to November 12 through three rounds. The final round will be held in Hai Duong from November 2-12.
The organising board said at a press briefing in Hai Duong on September 6 that the event is a cultural activity to honour the inner and outer beauty of young Vietnamese women, especially female students. It also aims to promote images of Vietnam’s land and people and encourage female students to improve their knowledge and skills, and promote their creativeness in the national integration and development process.
The pageant, the fourth of its kind, is held biennially for unmarried female Vietnamese students aged 18 to 27. They are required to have a high school diploma.
Miss ITgo will be awarded VND100 million, an overseas tour and a scholarship to pursue MBA degree.
First runner-up, second runner-up, Miss Talent, Miss Hospitality, Miss Ao Dai, Miss Photo, Miss Jewellery and other titles will also be presented.
Bac Ninh gets waste treatment plant
The Tu Son Town wastewater treatment plant became operational on Sunday after its construction was completed in 18 months, six months ahead of schedule.
The plant is expected to help treat wastewater from the town's inner area of about 1,890ha, comprising six wards – Dong Ngan, Dinh Bang, Dong Nguyen and Tan Hong, besides Trang Ha and Chau Khe — that are home to about 100,000 people.
It can treat up to 33,000cu.m of wastewater per day and night during its first phase, and up to 70,000cu.m in the second phase.
The plant uses the best modern technology, using about 150sq.m to treat 1,000cu.m per day, while other plants in Viet Nam need between 450sq.m to 3,000sq.m to deal with the same amount of wastewater.
The plant is part of a project to improve the town's wastewater treatment system. The project also includes a 40km-long wastewater collection system and more than 1,000 combined sewer overflows.
The VND800 billion (US$ 35 million) project's first phase has been built under a build-transfer contract by the Phu Dien Construction, Investment and Trading Joint Stocks Company and the SFC Viet Nam Environment Investment and Development Joints Stock Company.
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said at the inauguration ceremony of the plant that environmental protection was an important criterion for rating the development of a locality.
He applauded Bac Ninh Province for developing models to attract the private sector to environment projects.
Chairman of the province's People's Committee Nguyen Tu Quynh said the wastewater project was useful to Tu Son Town, especially for urban drainage and wastewater treatment in trading villages.
Ninh Thuan: Alarm bells about possible return of H5N1 bird flu epidemic
Bird flu prevention authority in the central Ninh Thuan Province has raised an alarm about a possible return of a new epidemic after an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu was discovered last week among a flock of poultry in the province's Ninh Son District.
About 1,000 ducks owned by Dang Hung Kien, a farmer in the Ninh Son District, were immediately culled after a variety of samples were confirmed to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu.
The farmer had earlier reported to the local health preventive authority that a large number of birds in his flock had died of symptoms of H5N1, such as blindness and paralysed legs.
A series of preventive measures were undertaken to quarantine the infected areas.
Earlier in May, an outbreak of H5N1 was discovered in the same district and a total of 2,500 ducks were culled.
The Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department has asked the health sector in Ninh Thuan to roll out precautionary measures to prevent any possible transmission of A/H5N1 bird flu strain to humans.
The provincial Health Department was tasked with intensifying communication campaigns regarding protection measures for those living in high-risk areas.
It will also focus on management and supervision while keeping a close watch over vulnerable residents to detect infected cases immediately.
Local hospitals were requested to prepare necessary facilities, equipment and medicine stocks for supervising and treating suspected cases.
The Preventive Medicine Department also recommended regular washing of hands with soap, practicing personal hygiene and avoiding direct contact with A/H5N1 patients or sick poultry to effectively prevent the disease.
Vietnam recorded its first A/H5N1 cases in fowl and humans in December 2003.
The virus has since spread and triggered a number of outbreaks, causing severe health and economic damage
Plan proposes increase in pension
A new proposal to increase pension for the elderly who are receiving less than VND2.5 million (US$111) a month, has been submitted to the government for its approval.
The labour, invalids and social affairs ministry said the pension would be increased by VND250,000 ($11) per person per month for those who retired or were granted subsidy for occupational health loss prior to April 1993.
The time-frame was set so that it was compatible with the national budget's funding capacity, the ministry said.
The proposal also said the pension amount a person would receive after the adjustment would not be more than VND2.5 million ($111) a month.
It is expected that more than 270,000 elderly persons will benefit from the increase in pension, which will cost the national budget VND753.1 billion ($33.470) per year.
Erosion, salt water decimate homes
Nguyen Van Nghe, beyond any doubts, saw his house swept away by rising sea waters.
"When I woke up one morning two weeks ago, I was shocked to see the two-storey cement house disappearing," the 45-year-old fisherman, father of three, said. "Some pieces of enamel tile and a concrete-pillar remain. We are lucky that all family members survived," he smiled.
Nghe's family was among tens of households in Tan Long Commune of Go Cong Dong District, the Delta province of Tien Giang, where houses were swept away by flooding sea waters.
"It had suddenly worsened overnight, taking away our shelters," a neighbour of Nghe said.
Doan Thanh Hung, chairman of Tan Long Commune People's Committee, said 47 households need to be relocated to safer locations.
Sparse forests provide little shelter for the threatening sea-dike system that protects 50,000ha of cultivated land and 300,000 households in Go Cong Dong District.
Hung said the annual north-eastern monsoon and high sea-tide caused 3,000m-long coastal erosion at two villages in Tan Long Commune. Erosion has occurred as far as 20-30m inland.
Further, salt water has destroyed fishing ponds and houses.
Meanwhile, a local fisherman, Co Van Hoa, said poor local fishermen have to depend on coastal production, despite the dangers of sea water erosion.
"My house was damaged by saline intrusion two weeks ago. But my family is still here," Hoa said.
Deputy chairwoman of Go Cong Dong District's People's Committee Huynh Thi To said coastal erosion makes life precarious in this area.
However, there are no solutions for sea-dike erosion, she said.
Tien Giang Province's Agriculture and Rural Development Department reported shelter forests in coastal areas have been seriously eroded over the last 10 years.
Erosion has occurred as far as 8-10m inland every year at several spots.
Worse, at some locations shelter forests have been completely lost.
The sea-dike is likely to collapse at any time, especially in the rainy season, warned the deputy chairwoman.
To prevent saline intrusion and coastal erosion, the province has set up a VND600 billion (US$28 million) project to build a 18.4km-long dike and coastal protective forests.
The money has come from a French Government loan and the Vietnamese Government budget.
Tien Giang Province spends tens of billion dong every year for upgrading local dike systems.
However, the Go Cong Dong District People's Committee deputy chairwoman said the destruction of coastal protective forests was one of the major causes of the erosion of sea dikes.
"Erosion will worsen if no measures are taken to recover and develop coastal mangrove forests outside dikes," she warned. 
VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri

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