Social News 22/11 Over 1.8 million deprived households access preferential loans Government-enacted credit policies dedicated to impoverished families nationwide had given preferential loans worth over 38.4 trillion VND (1.71 billion USD) to more than 1.8 million needy households by the end of October, according to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy (VBSP). Under the programme, more than 1.77 million business households in disadvantaged areas received loans worth 37.4 trillion VND (1.66 billion USD). Decision No.31/2007/QD-TTg regulates that the VBSP can provide businesses and productive households with a maximum loan of 30 million VND (1,335 USD) at a lending interest rate of 0.9 percent per month. However, based on funding resources, investment demand and the borrowers’ ability to repay, the VBSP can decide the specific loan size. But it should not exceed 100 million VND (4,450 USD). Meanwhile, nearly 30,000 traders doing business in difficult areas were able to borrow over 1 trillion VND (44.5 million VND) from the VBSP. According to Decision No.92/2009/QD-TTg, individual customers with collateral can borrow up to 100 million VND (4,450 USD) while the number for business organisations is 500 million VND (22.250 USD). The implementation of the Government’s credit policies in deprived areas has helped household businesses and organisations develop their production and business, making contributions to local socio-economic development. Criminal case against suspected Peruvian ATM bandit launched Police in the southern province of Dong Nai have said they have started criminal proceedings against a Peruvian man for allegedly stealing more than VND900 million (US$40,050) from an ATM late last year, local media reported. According to news website Zing, Elmer Eduardo Nunez Correa, 42, is among six ATM bandits who stole around VND3 billion (US$133,500) in total in Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa Province and Ho Chi Minh City. His five accomplices, all Peruvian, are still at large. Dong Nai police said the gang allegedly used a cutting torch to open an unguarded ATM of Agribank in Bien Hoa, the capital town of Dong Nai, in late December 2014. Elmer Eduardo Nunez Correa in a photo released by Dong Nai police They took away more than VND900 million. Previously, Correa and five accomplices allegedly used cutting torch to open an ATM machine in Khanh Hoa’s Dien Khanh District at 1 a.m. on March 29, 2015 and stole VND1.4 billion (US$62,300). The gang fled to Ho Chi Minh City, then to Cambodia. Correa later returned to Ho Chi Minh City, allegedly to visit his girlfriend. He was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City last April in a joint operation by the city and Khanh Hoa police. After the arrest, he was transferred to Khanh Hoa and put into police custody in four months. Hau Giang: consulting model helps promote gender equality The “community consulting group” model, which was carried out in Vi Thang commune of Vi Thuy district in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang over the last three years, has proved effective, contributing to gender equality promotion in the locality. Funded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Vietnam, the model serves as a club for local residents to share experiences in maintaining happiness in their family, economic development, and other issues related to marriage and family. The model helps equip locals with knowledge about marriage and gender equality – especially women who are married to or want to marry foreigners. It also provides consulting services and legal support for women returning home after their marriage ended or those who were victims of human trafficking. According to the commune’s People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Kinh, the club attracted more than 40 members. It has worked closely with the locality’s marriage-related reconciliation organisation, bringing happiness to local families. Hack the hackers:Vietnamese group allegedly targeted Anonymous The hacktivist group Anonymous has claimed that a group of five young Vietnamese hacked its web chat. Some Anonymous Twitter accounts publicized the identities of the five Vietnamese hackers, aged 18-23, who are alleged members of a group called New Kings. They said the Vietnamese group broke down the web chat of Anonymous on November 18. The hackers seemed to be inexperienced and unaware of their action’s consequences, they said. They said they tracked down a website of the group, which posed as that of the so-called Islamic State and challenged Anonymous. In the wake of the Paris attacks, Anonymous launched what it called Operation Paris, with the aim of tracking down members of the terrorist group. In Vietnam, several Facebook pages posing as IS after the Paris attack have been detected. On November 18, Minister of Public Affairs Tran Dai Quang ordered authorities to strictly punish those who posted entries on social media to incite terrorist acts, extreme thoughts, or insult Islam. He called on the police to take measures to tighten information control and cooperate with international organizations to exchange information related to terrorism. More than 1,800 reporters cover ASEAN 27, related meetings More than 1,800 correspondents have registered to cover the ongoing ASEAN 27 Summit and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from November 18 –22, according to the Summit’s Press Secretariat. They include 750 local reporters and more than 1,000 international correspondents coming from the news agencies and newspapers in the ASEAN member countries and Reuters, AP, AFP, Kyodo, Xinhua, and CNA. A news centre, sitting on 2,600 square metres, has been equipped with computers, printers, photocopiers, and internet connection to facilitate the reporters’ coverage. A number of groups of aides to support the correspondents have also been established, including a transport group, a technical group, and a logistics group. Zaria Mohd Nasri from the Press Secretariat told Vietnam News Agency correspondents that preparations had accomplished early to ensure the most favourable conditions for the correspondents. Roughly 8,500 soldiers and policemen have been deployed to ensure security for the Summit and meetings. As many as 2,000 out of the 4,500 soldiers have been sent to strategic locations in the city and the rest are in the pending status, according to General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin. Meanwhile, more than 4,000 policemen have been stationed across the city, mostly on the Kuala Lumpur Conference Centre – the venue of the Summit. Farmers look for stable markets for their products While Vinh orange, a speciality of central province of Nghe An, is promising a bumper crop this year, farmers are worried about consumption, local authorities said. Hoang Van Thai, head of Quy Hop District's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said the district was one of the localities with the largest area of orange growing in the province and also owned the Vinh Orange brand. "Although local residents were encouraged to expand the growing area as Nghe An province has great potential for orange cultivation, it was difficult to find a stable market for the fruit," he said. Truong Thi Van, an agricultural authorities official from Minh Hop Commune said this year the commune had over 1,000 ha of orange, an increase of 100ha compared to last year. Despite the fact that the harvest season has just begun, orange productivity this year was predicted to be lower than last year, she said. Due to the effects of prolonged hot weather, the oranges this year were not as fresh and attractive as usual, Van said. Pham Thi Dung, who resides in Minh Hop Commune, said she had hoped the yield would be higher than that of last year. But her family harvested about 1.5 tonnes of orange per 1 sao (equal to 360 sq.m). She attributed the low productivity to abnormal weather. Her family earned VND450 million (US$20,000) for 10 sao of orange with the price of VND30,000 (US$0.8) per kg. According to Vo Thuy Hang, a salesperson from Vo Gia Farm, Vinh orange was favoured due to the fruit's wonderfully sweet taste and fragrance. The price of orange in her farm ranged between VND35,000 and VND55,000 (US$1.5 -2.4) per kg depending on the quality of orange. Vinh orange's main consumption market was Vinh City and some high quality products were transported to Ha Noi and other provinces, she said. Hang said despite the fact that farmers received assistance on cultivation techniques they had struggled to find an outlet for their products. Tran Trong Hoa, another grower in Minh Hop commune, agreed. The consumption of oranges in the locality depended on small traders in the district or nearby districts who purchase and then sell to street vendors or at markets, he said. He hoped that there would be an enterprise who were responsible for product's consumption. "At that time, we only have to take care of orange and we will no longer suffer from the situation that private traders put pressure on farmers to sell their products at a very low price", Hoa said. Nguyen Van Dung, chairman of Minh Hop Commune's People's Committee said it was impossible to compare the price of oranges this year with last year because the harvest season had just started. However, experience from past years had shown that orange was a profitable product. Farmers had to find an output for their products by themselves but consumption mostly relied on small traders, he said. Dung emphasised the need for the establishment of a unit who would take care of consumption for farmers' products. ILO ready to support Vietnam to fine-tune labour-related regulations The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is ready to support Vietnam to align its laws, institutions and practices with ILO standards which are referred to in free trade agreements (FTA) it has joined, the organisation affirmed in a press release on November 20. Vietnam and its partners recently concluded the negotiations on the EU-Vietnam FTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. The deals refer to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) which commits the ILO member countries to respect and comply with eight core conventions covering the key areas of freedom of association, the right to organise and collective bargaining, and elimination of forced labour, child labour and workplace discrimination. “The ILO is ready to provide full support, once requested by the ILO’s tripartite constituents, to the Government and representative organisations of workers and employers in bringing Vietnam’s laws, institutions and practices to closer compliance with the relevant ILO standards, which will promote growth, equity and harmony in Vietnam ”, ILO Vietnam Director Chang-Hee Lee said. Under the labour chapters of the TPP and EU-Vietnam FTA, the country is obliged to reform both its legal system and its institutions and practices to ensure the realisation of the fundamental principles and rights at work, if it is to reap full benefits of the favourable conditions offered under the FTAs. “An industrial relations system based on freedom of association and the recognition of the right to collective bargaining is a common feature of modern market economies,” the head of ILO Vietnam said. “International experiences show that it contributes to more equitable growth and to industrial harmony, as it helps to provide a better balance of power between workers and employers and give voice to workers in determining wages and working conditions through dialogue”, he added. He continued to say that the commitment expressed by the Vietnamese Government regarding the ILO standards on freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining shows that Vietnam is ready to comply fully with the universal principles upheld by ILO member states. “The ILO is ready to provide its full support, not only for a legislative reform but also for strengthening the capacity of the Government, workers and employer’s organisations, and for improving institutions and practices so that Vietnam can fully enjoy the benefits of the FTAs. More importantly, this will help to lay a foundation for equitable growth based on social justice,” he noted. Vietnam became a member of the ILO in 1992 and has ratified 21 ILO conventions, including five out of eight core ones. The EU and Vietnam reached an agreement in principle for an FTA in August 2015 whereas the negotiations among 12 Pacific Rim countries for the TPP concluded last October. Project helps raise national capacity of child labour prevention A project to provide technical assistance to increase national capacity for child labour prevention in Vietnam was launched in Hanoi on November 20. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan said that working at an early age will negatively affect children’s psychological development and health, as well as reduce their opportunities to go to school and have sustainable jobs in the future. Statistics from a national survey conducted by the ministry, the General Statistics Office and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2012 showed that Vietnam had around 1.75 million child and juvenile labourers. In recent years, Vietnam has made remarkable achievements in minimising child labour. It has built a firm legal framework and policies in accordance with international standards on labour, Lan said, adding that the country has also carried out several programmes and projects on this issue at both national and local levels. ILO Vietnam Country Director Chang-Hee Lee stated that child labour is a complicated problem, requiring a comprehensive solution and joint efforts of people from all walks of life to eliminate it. The project will be implemented in the garment and handicraft sectors in Ho Chi Minh City, the agricultural and aquaculture sectors in the southern province of An Giang and the handicraft sector in Hanoi between 2015 and 2019. The US Department of Labour will send 8 million USD through the ILO, while Vietnam will contribute 1.2 million USD. The project will help raise the capacity of Vietnamese offices and organisations involved in defining and addressing child labour, while increasing public awareness of child labour and its dangers. It is expected to benefit around 5,000 children who are at risk of taking up work by providing them with education services and improving working conditions for those who are of working age. Additionally, nearly 2,000 underprivileged families will also receive support to improve their living conditions. Health ministry to boost polio prevention The Ministry of Health urged parents to bring toddlers under 12 months to health facilities for oral polio vaccines (OPVs) today, as neighbouring Laos has detected cases of polio. Localities with high risk of infection are launching campaigns to provide children with supplementary vaccines. Although Viet Nam has eradicated polio since 2000 thanks to the national Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) by the government, the risk of wild viruses carried by foreign tourists or Vietnamese travelling from polio hotspots, still exist. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that countries which often have travellers from affected regions need to increase control of acute flaccid paralysis cases for early detection of virus invasion. People travelling to affected areas, should be fully immunised. On the other hand, tourists coming from those areas should take one dose of OPV or be injected with the inactivated polio vaccination (IPV) four weeks to 12 months prior to the trip. Polio, along with leukocytes, tetanus, and pertussis, in addition to Hib bacterial meningitis, and hepatitis B, have been identified as six major diseases which occur in young children. The disease can spread from person to person through the digestive tract as the polio virus mainly exists in contaminated water and waste from faeces of patients, or on people carrying the polio virus. The disease may cause severe muscle pain, stiff neck, stiff backs, and flaccid paralysis, which may lead to death or permanent disability. Vaccine Quinvaxem 5 in 1 can prevent five of the six diseases. However, it cannot prevent polio. Therefore, if children are vaccinated with Quinvaxem, they need to be supplemented with an OPV dose. The EPI allows children under one year to have free OPV with their first dose when they are in their second month, the second dose at three months and the last one when they are 4 months old. Children under five years of age in high-risk provinces also receive supplementary vaccines with coverage rate of 95 per cent. Fire breaks out at Binh Phuoc Hospital A major fire broke out at Binh Phuoc Hospital early morning today, destroying an estimated VND100 million (almost US$4,500) in medical equipment and medicines. The fire started in the Internal Medicine Department and then spread to other rooms. At 2 a.m., patients in the department heard a loud explosion in the medicine and equipment storage room. Immediately following the blast, some 60 frightened patients fled the department's wards. Binh Phuoc Police and firefighters arrived quickly and extinguished the blaze. The case is still under investigation. Education channel on air on Teacher’s Day The national education channel – VTV7 – started broadcasting for the first time on November 20 for Vietnamese Teachers’ Day. Major programmes such as Wake Up with VTV7, VTV7 English, VTV7 School, My Books and Discovery were chosen to premiere on air during the test run. The VTV7 School is considered the most important show. It supplements lessons learned in school, helping pupils learn history, mathematics and other subjects. Once it starts broadcasting officially, the channel will run from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day. HCM City opens Bata Centre Tomas Bata University in Zlin (TBU) of the Czech Republic yesterday opened Bata Centre in Ton Duc Thang University in HCM City. The President of the Senate of the Czech Republic Milan Stech, who was on his official visit to Viet Nam, attended the opening ceremony. The centre will be a bridge for fostering education ties, scientific research and technology transfer as well as culture exchange between the two countries and two universities. At a talk with lecturers and students of Ton Duc Thang University, Stech said the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic had been recognised as one of the country's ethnic minorities. The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic was below five per cent and skilled engineers and qualified workers were in high demand in the Czech Republic, he said. Vietnamese students would have huge opportunities to find jobs and be successful in the Czech Republic, he added. Hanoi high-rise building illegally constructs floors, swimming pool Ha Noi authorities fined the owner of a building in Cau Giay District's Yen Hoa Ward VND80 million (US$3,500) for illegally constructing extra floors and a pool on the roof. Inspectors from the city's Department of Construction said that the building, owned by Thang Long Co., Ltd, got an approval to construct 27 floors in October 2011. However, in March, an inspection by the Department of Planning and Architecture revealed that the building increased around 590 square metres (sq.m) on its floors, 49sq.m on its technical floors and 8sq.m on its roof. Tran Viet Ha, deputy chairman of Cau Giay District, said that the construction of the building had not followed the approved design. The construction at present consisted of two basements, 27 storeys, a mezzanine floor, a roof floor and a technical floor. This made up 30 storeys. Inspectors and Yen Hoa Ward's People's Committee have suspended construction of the building. Con Dao welcomes more tourists as people flood to island paradise More than 2,300 foreign tourists have booked rooms at hotels and resorts this month on Con Dao Islands off the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, up 35 per cent year-on-year, according to the Con Dao District tourism authorities. To attract more tourists, hotels and resorts there have invested in infrastructure and improving services and offered promotions like 30-40 per cent discounts on room rents and free spa services. Con Dao, made up of 16 mountainous islets, has been named among the top 25 remote islands that tourists should visit in their lives by Business Insider, a leading US business and entertainment website. The islands have wonderful natural sceneries, beaches, mountains, and the Con Dao National Park. The 45,000ha Con Dao National Park has a diverse eco-system with beautiful beaches, clear water, many species of corals, and tropical forests. The park is considered one of best examples of marine conservation in Viet Nam. Lao Cai begins trial run of national park expeditions The Lao Cai Province People's Committee has approved a trial run for a tour of Cat Cat village – Vung Rong – Gieng Tien – Sin Chai village in Hoang Lien Son National Park. The route also takes in the park's Muong Hoa Spring. The route from Cat Cat in Sa Pa to Vung Rong (Dragon Area) is around 8km and has plenty of wild flowers, dominantly red azalea. Dragon Area and Gieng Tien (Fairy Well), one kilometre apart, are the park's two most attractive destinations. Fairy Well has picturesque landscapes with two beautiful waterfalls that flow into a deep lake. Legends say fairies used to come to bathe in the lake. Sin Chay village in Sa Pa town is home to nearly 1,500 ethnic Mong Den people, who live by growing rice, corn, flax, and cardamom and breeding livestock. They also weave and embroider clothes to serve their own needs. Hoang Lien Son National Park, recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Park, offers several tours, including a climb up Fansipan, the roof of Indochina. Measuring 29,845ha, it is one of the country's important special-use forests with a diverse forest eco-system comprising among others 2,000 species of plants, 66 species of mammals and 347 species of bird. Campaign to check vehicle loading capacity to begin A two-month campaign held by the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Public Security to check vehicle loading capacities will begin this Saturday. Under the campaign, transport inspectors and police will check vehicles and their goods at weighing stations every day and night. The inspectors will pay special attention to automobiles with army number plates to check if they are overloaded. Inspectors from the two ministries will also conduct unannounced checks on workers at weighing stations, while strictly punishing ones who are found to be shielding violators. The Ministry of Transport will ask the Viet Nam Maritime Administration, the Viet Nam Inland Waterways Administration and the Viet Nam Railway Authority to check vehicles that illegally widen the trunk size, as well as goods being loaded at ports and railway stations. The Viet Nam Register will give guidance to provinces' and cities' register centres to strengthen their management, and thus issue penalties against transport enterprises, vehicle owners and drivers who violate regulations related to vehicle registration. The Viet Nam Expressway Corporation will join hands with concerned organisations to build a system of fixed weighing stations at toll booths. The system is expected to be put into use at the beginning of next year. The Ministry of Transport proposed that the Viet Nam Automobile Transportation Association gives instruction to its members to raise awareness on obeying regulations related to trunk sizes and vehicles' loading capacity. Hanoi: over 16,000 trade fraud cases handled Hanoi’s police has detected 54,096 smuggling and trade fraud cases, of which 16,399 cases have been addressed, so far this year. According to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, legal proceedings have started against 72 cases involving 98 people and collecting taxes and seizing goods totaling nearly VND2.17 trillion (US$95.5 million). In October and November alone, 3,077 cases were brought into light, with two thirds handled, and nearly VND380 billion collected. On the occasion of the upcoming New Year and the lunar New Year holidays, deputy head of the department Chu Xuan Kien said that to prevent trade frauds, the department will tighten management and define responsibility for the heads of each area and sector. It will also expand communications on law for businesses to facilitate the stable and healthy development of the market and ensure the interests of consumers. Vietnamese students continue to make beeline for the US Vietnam maintained its position as the top source in Southeast Asia for US university and college students with a sharp increase last year, according to the annual Open Doors report released recently by the US Department of State. The number of Vietnamese students increased by 12.9% to 18,722 in the academic year 2014-15. The number of Vietnamese choosing to pursue advanced degrees in the US has risen from under 1,000 in 1995 when the two countries normalized relations, and the US Mission to Vietnam sees this as a tremendous source of strength in the bilateral relationship. Vietnamese students being consulted at an education fair held by Education USA. Photo credit: US Consulate General “Education is the best investment any country, or any family, can make, and a natural area for cooperation between the US and Vietnam,” US Consul General Rena Bitter said at an event held on November 17 at the American Center in Ho Chi Minh City to mark the release of the report. “We are thrilled by this increase. Our goal is to keep this trend moving in the right direction.” According to the report, the number of students from Vietnam studying in the US rose for 14 straight years. Vietnam is ninth in the list of countries sending students to the US. China topped with 304,926 in 2014/15 followed by India with 132,888 and the Republic of Korea with 63,710. China arrests hitman suspected of killing Vietnamese businesswoman Chinese and Vietnamese police have arrested a man suspected of killing a Vietnamese woman during her business trip to China in September, a source told Thanh Nien. The man was arrested in Taiwan, the source said. He reportedly told police that he was hired to kill Ha Thuy Linh, 45, director of Ha Linh Ltd. Co., a tea company based in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The man then fled to Taiwan after the crime, according to the source, who added that Linh was killed due to business conflicts. Police are still investigating the mastermind behind the murder. Linh reportedly came to China on September 19. Three days later, the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City informed her company of her death. According to the source, Linh came to China to sign a contract to sell oolong tea. She was attacked and poisoned by a stranger at the airport. She thought the injuries were not serious and did not go to hospital. She came to a hotel and then reported the attack to Chinese police. Later in the evening, she died. Linh established her company in 2008. The company is known as one of the largest oolong tea exporter in Lam Dong. Her body has not been repatriated as the investigation continues. Thieves arrested after stolen bike unearthed More than a year after stealing a motorbike, Tran Van Truyen and Nguyen Van Tong, residents of the Bac Tra My District in central Quang Nam Province, were arrested last Sunday while they were trying to sell it in parts to local bike repair shops. The pair admitted that they stole the bike, which was left unattended by the side of a road near a local wood – a fairly common practice by locals in this part of the country, who would often leave their motorbikes for hours while they go foraging in the forest – in June last year. Truyen and Tong said they took the bike apart and buried the parts under the ground. After waiting for more than a year, they decided that it was finally safe to unearth the parts and try to sell them for profit. It was during a routine inspection that the local police took notice of the bike's frame, which they found to be still in too good a condition to be sold as junk parts. Their investigation led them to the unfortunate bike's owner, who only then told the police that his bike was stolen last year and provided a matching serial number with the one engraved on the frame. "He did not report his bike was stolen because he thought it was impossible for the police to find his bike," said Nguyen Thanh Tra, captain of the local police team. Guess what? It wasn't. But the writer can only imagine what a tedious and lengthy process it would be to unearth all the missing parts and put the bike together for it to be of use again. Internet Day Forum hears Vietnam's history The Internet Day 2015 Forum was held on November 19 at the Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi with the topic “Internet of Things”, introducing various information and communications activities that will contribute to Vietnam’s internet ecosystem. The Forum was attended by more than 200 leaders and representatives from the Office of the Government, the Ministries of Information and Communications, Industry and Trade, Public Security, Defense, Home Affairs, Education and Training, and Science and Technology, as well as leading domestic and international enterprises such as Google, FPT, VNG, and Qualcomm. “Eighteen years ago, on November 18, was the birth of the internet in Vietnam, but before that Vietnam had something like a social network, similar to Facebook, but we had no idea how to monetize it and it was very costly to run so we decided to stop it,” Mr. Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of FPT, said at the Forum. Over the years IT leaders have put a great deal of effort into developing the internet ecosystem in Vietnam, and the country is now one of the leaders in internet growth. “The thing we have learned is that we cannot afford to waste time,” Mr. Binh continued: “If we waste time everything will move ahead and we will not be able to catch up again.” He added that, in Vietnam, whenever a new policy is introduced Vietnam’s IT enterprises always ask “What are the negative aspects?”, while around the world enterprises ask “Will this open up any new opportunities?” The Vietnam Internet Network Information Center released its Internet Resource Report 2015 at the Forum, which provides information and analysis on the growth of internet resources this year and in previous years. Notably, it stated that “.vn” leads the way in ASEAN and is in the Top 10 in Asia. Internet Day 2015 is the launch of a movement to universalize the internet among the entire population in order to constantly improve knowledge and bring technology into daily life, so that people can help push Vietnam’s socioeconomic development. VN & EU mark 20 years of healthcare cooperation Funding of $8.85 million to be provided to Ministry of Health for clinical training courses and on-the-job training for a wide range of healthcare staff. A ceremony led by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and Mr. Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, was held on November 16 to celebrate 20 years of Vietnam-EU cooperation in improving healthcare. An agreement was also signed between the EU and the World Bank covering €8.3 million ($8.85 million) in funding the former has agreed to contribute to the latter’s Trust Fund to support the Health Professional Education and Training Project in Vietnam, which is complementary support to the second phase of the Health Sector Policy Support Program (HSPSP-2) in the period of 2015-2018. Activities will include clinical training courses and on-the-job training for a wide range of healthcare staff, curriculum development, evaluation and monitoring. According to Mr. Mimica, between 1995 and 2015 the infant mortality rate has been cut by half in Vietnam, from 31.2 to 15.3 per 1,000 live births. “The EU will broaden the scope and the magnitude of the partnership and cooperation with Vietnam, through the adoption of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the completion of negotiations over the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement,” he said. “During the last 20 years the partnership between the EU and the Ministry of Health has strengthened as we work towards a common goal: a healthcare system toward equity, efficiency, and development, improving the quality of care to meet the growing and diverse needs of all Vietnamese people,” Minister Tien told the ceremony. “Support from the EU and its member states has contributed significantly to increasing both the quality and availability of healthcare and through that to the improved health of our people.” A publication highlighting Vietnam’s health services through this cooperation since 1995 was also launched at the ceremony. Called “20 Years of Vietnam-EU Cooperation to Improve Health Care”, the book was prepared for the EU Delegation by the EU Health Facility, established by the Delegation to support stakeholders in achieving targets defined in the HSPSP-2. The book describes the activities implemented and results achieved in improving healthcare between 1995 and 2015 with support from the EU and its member states. Inspectors suspend company kitchen after poisoning cases Inter-department inspectors in the southern province of Dong Nai have uncovered violation while carrying out an inspection at kitchen of Chanh Ich Company in Long Binh Tan ward of Bien Hoa Town after a food poisoning case occured. Nguyen Van Huu, head of the province’s Department of Food Safety and Hygiene under the Department of Health November 18 said that 69 workers were hospitalized after having dinner on the day before. The inspection team took a report and suspended the activities of the company’s kitchen. Many workers claimed that they fell sick after inhaling a “strange smell” believed to emanate from rice yet they still ate the dinner served at the company with vegetable soup and eggs steamed with meat. The symptoms of food poisoning have developed 30 minutes after the dinner. Some workers suffered breathing problems, vomitted and others fainted. They were all taken to emergency rooms in the province and city General Hospitals. In related news, after testing Kokomi instant noodle following the news that the product has strange substance inside was published on social network in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, the heath authority has asserted that the product meets quality standard without nothing strange inside. Accordingly, the heath authority said that consumers should take precaution against unofficial information. APEC funds scholarships for young professionals in HCM City The Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will fund 125 scholarships worth VND425 million (US$19,125) for students and young professionals in architecture and construction fields in Ho Chi Minh City. The scholarships are for a training course in AutoCAD and SKETCHUP software at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, which will start on December 5. This is the first time APEC has provided the scholarships for Vietnam via the Japanese Government’s human resources development project, according to Saigon Giai phong newspaper. The programme aims to improve professional skills for the youngsters in developing countries, including Vietnam, to meet businesses’ recruitment demand and mitigate unemployment rate. Pollution and poor services weaken Mekong Delta tourism Serious pollution and poor services in the Mekong Delta region have discouraged many tourists. Le Minh Duc in HCM City, who recently visited Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho City, said "It is common to see people throw rubbish on the river and discharging waste from their on-board toilets. According to local authorities about a tonne of rubbish was discharged to the river every day." The same situation is also found at Kien Giang Province's Nam Du Islands which is famed for its unspoilt white sand beaches. Le Thuy Trang, a tourist, said that she saw many local people pour baskets of rubbish at Nam Du Wharf. Meanwhile, tourism services on the islands remain poor. A number of beaches at Phu Quoc Island have also suffering from rubbish. According to the Vietnam Tourism Research and Development Institute, since 2006, the Mekong Delta region's tourism products remain largely unchanged. "The region's tourism development is mostly based on natural landscapes, but there has been a lack of creativity in developing new products. Many cities and provinces have not paid due attention to tourism promotion activities," said Vo Tong Xuan, Principal of Can Tho University. Many tourists said that despite Can Tho being the largest city in the Mekong Delta region, the locality barely had enough attractions to keep tourists there longer than a day. Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Vinh Long offer almost identical tourist experiences. Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre Travel Company said, "the Nam Du Islands are attracting many travellers, however, when they’re here, they have to hire boats to explore themselves. Due to lack of hotel services, they have to stay at local people's houses." Local students join Mini COP 21 climate talk Over 50 students from 15 universities and colleges in HCMC acted as negotiators at a simulation of the upcoming Paris Climate Change Conference 2015 at Hoa Sen University in HCMC’s District 1 on Wednesday. The Mini COP 21 climate talk simulation was inspired from the Conference of Parties (COP21), also known as the Paris Climate Change Conference 2015, which will take place from November 30 to December 11 with countries around the world attending to strike a new global agreement on climate change. Mini COP 21 was organized by the project “EU-Public Diplomacy and Outreach” (PDO). The participating students chosen from hundreds of candidates played the roles of 10 representatives from the U.S., China, the EU, Vietnam, Australia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Brazil, Maldives and Russia to debate ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Although participants had just one day for the discussion, the quality of Mini COP 21 was really good,” said Nguyen Cong Toan, student of University of Economics of HCMC. Do Van Nguyet, a member of the organizing committee, said although most of the participants do not major in fields relating to the theme of Mini COP 21, they demonstrated good knowledge of environment issues. Apart from improving their negotiation skills, this was a good chance for young people to know the importance of making decisions to cope with climate change, Nguyet noted. The organizers awarded three bicycles made of bamboo to Truong Thi Thanh Tuyen, Le Thi Bich Ngoc, and Phan Thi Thuy Dung for their outstanding role-playing at Mini COP 21 negotiations. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri