Social News 7/4 Agreement on maritime transport with Myanmar ratified The Government has approved the Agreement on Maritime Transport with Myanmar, which was inked on November 5, 2015. The Government assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to carry out procedures regarding approval and circulation of international regulations and announcement of the valid date of the Agreement. The Government has also ratified the Agreement on vacation labor program with Australia. The MFA will host and cooperate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to carry out necessary related diplomatic procedures. Vacation labor program creates chances for the two countries’ citizens to combine sightseeing and working. People whose entry under this program (no more than 200 people per year) must get a new license issued by the MOLISA to enter Viet Nam and approved by Immigration management agencies. The agency of Vietnam’s representative in Australia will be notified to issue multiple entry visa for them. The multiple entry visa issued are work visas. The signing and implementing of this Agreement will create opportunities and encourage the two countries’ citizens to combine travel, work and study and mark a new development of cooperation between the two countries in the field. The YSEALI World of Food Innovation Challenge Youth in Southeast Asia can now help boost regional food security by contributing their innovative technology ideas through a new prize competition announced by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). The YSEALI World of Food Innovation Challenge will collect innovative technology solutions to some of the region’s most complex challenges in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. The competition launch follows President Barack Obama’s announcement of the YSEALI Innovation Challenge at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Sunnylands, California.   As a component of  YSEALI, the U.S. government’s flagship initiative for engaging with youth in Southeast Asia, the Innovation Challenge will help promote and strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. "Innovation is the key to economic growth.  From what I have seen of young people in the region, ASEAN has an abundance of entrepreneurial and innovative talent," said Nina Hachigian, U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN.   "Throughout my travel in the region, I have met with impressive young leaders who are engaged, passionate and motivated.  I know that the future for ASEAN will remain bright because of them, and their innovations will tackle the region's challenges." The YSEALI World of Food Innovation Challenge is being implemented by the USAID Connecting the Mekong through Education and Training program and the USAID-managed ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security project in partnership with technology giants Cisco and Intel. “By matching innovative students with leaders in industry, we set the stage for successful approaches to learning and scaling up great ideas that matter to all of us,” said Beth S. Paige, director of the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia. “Partnering with the private sector is the way to get this done, and we are looking forward to seeing this collaboration flourish.” The Innovation Challenge targets multi-disciplinary teams of students – such as students in agriculture, business, computer science, engineering, food science and other related disciplines – who are currently enrolled in post-secondary technical vocational education and training (TVET) institutions or universities. Teams of students from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are asked to pose innovative technology-based solutions that address the following issues: •    Sustainably manage and reduce waste and loss in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors over the next 10 – 20 years; •    Increase labor productivity and/or yields in the agriculture sector over the next 10-20 years. •    Increase adaptation capabilities of Southeast Asian food producers to the effects of climate change; •    Demonstrate an understanding of businesses’ needs in the selected area; and •    Are low cost, practical, can be fabricated in country and can be maintained/repaired locally. Ten semi-finalist teams will fly to Singapore to participate in a boot camp-style training hosted by Cisco and Intel Corporation to assist the teams to develop their solutions. The grand prize for the top three teams will be a study trip to technology hubs in the United States and a visit to Washington, D.C. To join the challenge, please register as a YSEALI member and apply at yseali.state.gov. For more information, contact: Challenge@MekongSkills2Work.org Communal chairman blamed for local pollution People from villages 6, 7 and 9 in Ky Tay Commune, Ha Tinh Province, have complained about the pollution caused by local cassava processing facility owned by the communal chairman Nguyen Viet Ky. "The smell is so foul that we can't eat or sleep," said a villager. Nguyen Huu My, head of Village 6 said, "The chairman didn't announce anything when he installed the machinery. Only when our surroundings were polluted did we find out that the facility had been operating for a while. The smell is unbearable especially on hot days or when the winds carry the smell across the villages." The facility has a capacity to process eight to ten tonnes of cassava per day and the cassava residues and waste water is discharged directly into the environment, creating a foul smell. More importantly, the facility still does not have business permit since it went into operation last year. Nguyen Hong Thang, vice chairman of Ky Tay Commune People's Committee, confirmed the case. "Ky started this facility because Ky Tay has huge amount of cassava so he doesn't want to waste it. He didn't think that it would affect the environment so badly. When the people reported the situation, he halted the facility's operation and we sent police to the scene." Leaders of Ky Anh District People's Committee said they would inspect the case. Investigation on as Cambodian aircraft slides off runway in southern Vietnam The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) is investigating what caused an ATR aircraft belonging to Cambodia carrier Angkor Air to slide off the runway at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport last Sunday. The agency said it launched the probe after the Southern Airports Authority (SAA) said the weather was normal and runway conditions were fine at the time of the landing. The authority rejected suggestions that the aircraft slid off due to a gust of wind, saying the incident was “serious.” The CAAV said it has told the carrier and the France-based manufacturer to send representatives to join the investigation. The aircraft’s black box has been sealed. The aircraft arriving with 26 people including the crew from Phnom Penh slid around 50 meters after landing at nearly 6 p.m. It caused minor damages to an engine fan and landing gear, and broke a runway landing light. No one was injured. The runway was put back into service after two hours. Angkor Air is jointly owned by the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines. The aircraft under probe was serviced on March 22. Vietnam's cattle breeders anxious about contaminated fodder with tough law pending Anxious cattle breeders in Vietnam must choose safe fodder brands for their herds, as a new law heavily punishing those that use banned chemicals will come into effect this July. For the past month, Duong Thi Hoa, a cattle breeder in Dong Nai Province, has stopped mixing her own pig food from such ingredients as corn, soy beans, and premixes, which are a blend of various raw materials and additives that contain vitamins, minerals, antibiotics, and other essential ingredients. Instead, Hoa is shifting toward buying ready-to-eat pig food from a local manufacturer. “It costs me over VND1,000 [US$0.04] more for each kilo of pig food, but I feel safer this way,” Hoa said. “I’ll have it this way for now, rather than risk buying ingredients on the market that may contain banned chemicals.” Hoa’s worries are understandable, as a revised law that will come into effect on July 1 this year states that those who that feed their cattle banned chemicals can face to up to 20 years in prison. According to Hoa, some households in her area were fined at the beginning of March, after excessive amounts of salbutamol, a banned chemical that boosts the growth and production of meat in cattle, were found in their pigs’ urine. Many other breeders like Hoa herself have grown wary of the hundreds of animal food brands currently circulating on the market, for fear of mistakenly buying chemically contaminated food. Tran Quang Trung, owner of a farm of over 3,000 pigs in Dong Nai Province, said there was no way a regular breeder could know which brand put banned substances into their food, when all brands advertise their products as clean and of good quality. “I only buy products by long-established manufacturers, because they use a qualified production process and have their reputation to lose if they do something illegal,” Trung explain. Nguyen Kim Doan, vice chairman of the Dong Nai Animal Husbandry Association, said the Association has advised local breeders to be careful when picking their fodder brand, and keep the proof of purchase to protect themselves on legal terms. “Pigs are currently sold at a high price while the price of fodder is dropping, so breeders are getting stricter on choosing cattle food in order to maximize their profit without putting themselves at risk of breaking the law,” Doan said. As a move to assure customers of the quality of their products, many fodder brands are now offering proofs and making solemn pledges. Late last month, Tran Minh Tien, sales director at VH Company in Dong Nai, brought his company’s fodder in for a test to prove that the food contained no banned substances. “Customers are anxious about banned substances in animal food, so we had to take the initiative to prove that we build our business on the basis of prestige and quality,” Tien said. Similarly, Lee Meng Hong, director of research and development at Anco and Proconco cattle food companies, said they had started printing “no banned substances” stamps to be stuck on their products as a proof of quality. According to Lee, apart from regular quality standard inspections, his brands also send samples of their fodders to an independent testing center appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to monitor the levels of beta-agonists such as salbutamol, ractopamine, and clenbuterol. “One hundred percent of the hundreds of samples of our products have tested negative for beta-agonists. This practice will continue to ensure that no banned substances are present in our fodders,” Lee stressed. Meanwhile, Dr. Duong Nguyen Khang, director at the Center for Research and Transfer of Technology under Nong Lam (Agriculture-Forestry) University, advised breeders to turn to technical methods to increase the productivity of their cattle. Khang said the quickest way to do this was to import foreign breeds and crossbreed them with domestic ones and create high quality breeds that adapt well to Vietnam’s climate. Rare ivory elephant protected and returned to forest An ivory elephant appeared near residential areas in Phu Ly commune, Vinh Cuu district in the southern province of Dong Nai on April 5. The Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve immediately sent forest protectors to the site to safeguard it. At 6a.m on April 6 the elephant returned to the nature reserve. According to the Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve, this Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has been included in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Vietnam’s red data book for strict protection. Earlier in December 2012, an ivory elephant was found dead by local authorities. Dong Nai police arrested a group of illegal hunters who operated in forests between Dong Nai, Lam Dong and Binh Phuoc provinces and involved in this case. Provinces launch battles against drought Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk has invested VNĐ26 billion (US$1.15 million) on drilling bore wells and building water supply projects. The move aims to provide water against drought to save dry plants and help local residents who face shortage of water for domestic use. According to Nguyễn Tuấn Hà, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, as of April 4, the province has nearly 37,000ha of dry plants, whose productivity has plunged by 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The total plant loss has been valued at more than VNĐ1.1 trillion ($49 million). Coffee, pepper and wet rice are among the crops that face the maximum devastation. As many as 188 out of 599 reservoirs in the region have run dry, that is four times higher than the number during the same period last year, statistics from the provincial People’s Committee revealed. Currently, more than 20,000 ethic households in Đắk Lắk Province face shortage of domestic water. The number is forecast to reach 30,000 households while crop losses are likely to increase to 80,000ha by the end of this month. Several measures have been initiated such as constructing water pumping stations along the riverside, exploiting underground water, in addition to dredging rivers, streams and lakes, and mobilising vehicles to carry water to densely-populated areas. Residents from ethic groups have been instructed to release water from irrigation projects with adequate supply of water to projects in need of water for watering coffee and pepper gardens. The local authorities have also warned residents to save water sources. Meanwhile, the People’s Committee in the central province of Khánh Hòa has approved a project worth US$9.4 million to upgrade and repair its reservoirs and dams. A part of the capital will be borrowed from the World Bank by the central government. The province will be responsible for paying a $3.8-million loan and its interest and the reciprocal capital of $0.5 million from its budget. From now to 2022, the province schedules to upgrade its reservoirs, which include Suối Trầu, Láng Nhớt, Đồng Bò, and Đá Mài, in addition to Cây Sung, Suối Luồng, and Suối Lớn và Bến Ghe. The project aims to ensure the safe operation of reservoirs and dams, which would contribute to protecting the socio-economic infrastructure in downstream areas. The province has 19 reservoirs at present with total designed capacity of more than 248 million cu.m. However, most of these were built long ago and downgraded. French magazine commends Vietnam’s reform achievements Francophonie Actualites, an established French magazine, devoted 40 pages in a special edition to highlighting the achievements Vietnam has recorded over the past 30 years of Doi Moi (reform). The publication’s cover had an image of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and it included various articles picturing a Vietnam of political stability, high economic growth, social progress and equality. In his article titled “30 years of reform with the targets of wealth people and a strong country,” Joseph Ahekoe, the magazine’s publishing director, said that after the 30-year reform process, which started in 1986, Vietnam has escaped from its socio-economic crisis and underdeveloped status to become a middle-income nation. The country is speeding up industrialisation, modernisation and international integration, he said, adding that its market economic institutions are nearing completion. The past three decades mark an important period, as they witnessed the growth of the Vietnamese Party, State and people, according to the article. Recalling Vietnam’s 4,000 years of construction and defence, as well as struggles against French and US forces, another article affirmed that it is the solidarity and patriotism that helped Vietnamese people fight against invaders and claim national reunification. Apart from articles on Vietnam’s Party Congresses and interviews with Vietnamese leaders, the magazine also devoted a lot of pages to introducing the evolution of major cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Hoi An. Of note, it posted documents and maps affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes. Joseph Ahekoe, who was sent to Vietnam to report on the 12 th National Party Congress earlier this year, told the Vietnam News Agency that the Southeast Asian nation set an example for other developing countries worldwide, thanks to its political stability and socio-economic achievements. The 12 th National Party Congress is of significance, as it charted Vietnam’s future development orientations, he said. The journalist added that Vietnam has proven that all countries can find their own way to develop. Workshop highlights Boloven Plateau campaign in Laos The Defence Ministry of Laos held a workshop in Champasak province on April 5, looking back the Boloven Plateau liberation campaign in 1971 and 1972, a symbol of the Vietnam-Laos solidarity. The event saw the participation of Lao military officers, representatives from the Lao Government, scientists, historical witnesses and the Vietnamese military attache in Laos. In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Defence and Director of the Lao People’s Army’s General Department of Politics Lieutenant General Vilay Lakhamphong highlighted the significance of the event, saying that it helps review the unyielding struggle of Lao ethnic groups, especially those in the south. Practices and historical lessons learned from the campaign show the crushing defeat of imperialists, he said, adding that the campaign paved the way for the struggle for national liberation. While underlining the steadfast relationship between Laos and Vietnam, Vilay Lakhamphong said he appreciated help provided by Vietnamese volunteer soldiers for Lao people during their national liberation struggles, saying that this strengthened the friendship between the two nations. From 1969 to 1972, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and Pathet Lao (Lao Nation) forces organised campaigns to liberate many regions in the country. The feat of arms contributed to educating the two countries’ young people about the revolutions of the past, the Lao official stressed. Reports presented at the workshop pointed out the ingenious leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party in campaigns in southern provinces, and highlighted the significance of the Boloven Plateau campaign. They said the campaign contributed to the signing of a ceasefire agreement (February 21, 1973) on the road to the establishment of the Lao’s People Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975. Participants also spoke about solidarity between Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, with soldiers and people of Laos working together on defence in southern Laos and other campaigns in the country. Hanoi to consume more electricity in summer Electricity consumption in Hanoi is forecast to increase 10.8 percent this summer, compared with last year. Vu Quang Hung, vice director of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), said the capital has the highest level of additional charges for household use, accounting for 55 percent of the country’s total electricity demand. EVN is committed to limiting power cuts during hot days, he noted. The agency is raising the capacity of several local transformer stations and upgrading the wire system. The construction of a transformer station near Noi Bai Airport and a new wire connecting two stations in Dong Anh and Van Tri is scheduled to be completed before May 15. Australia helps Ha Giang alleviate poverty Australia always pay heed to assisting Ha Giang in realising its socio-economic development targets, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman at his working session with authorities from the mountainous northern province on April 5. The assistance will focus on empowering women, alleviating poverty for ethnic communities, and narrowing the development gap with other localities in the region, he said. Ha Giang has received funds from the Australian Government for 12 projects, which produced sound outcomes in tackling poverty and helping ethnic children access education. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Son spoke with his guest about development goals for 2016-2020. Main tasks include developing border trade, agro-forestry, fishery and tourism. He stressed that Ha Giang will provide favourable conditions for Australian investors. Project on food security, women’s nutrition launched Thousands of poor women and children in the three northern provinces of Lào Cai, Lai Châu and Hà Giang will benefit from a project launched yesterday in Hà Nội. The 28-month project will be implemented by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and the Ryerson University of Canada with the fund of 1.1 million Canadian dollars (US$838,000) from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF). The project will promote food security by increasing the availability of fortified complementary foods for children and providing a higher and more stable source of income for small-scale women farmers. It is expected to benefit 15,000 malnourished children and 1,500 poor mothers in the three provinces. It will contribute to the building of a more sustainable food system by promoting appropriate post-harvest handling and agro-ecological practices among small-scale farmers. It will also launch an integrated food security analysis into public policy and programming at the NIN and other government institutions in Việt Nam. Lào Cai, Lai Châu and Hà Giang are three mountainous provinces with high poverty levels due to their inability to trade and poor traffic infrastructure. Malnutrition also was high in the areas, especially stunting rates, which was 35.2 per cent in Lào Cai, 36.7 per cent in Lai Châu and 35.2 per cent in Hà Giang, according to NIN’s statistics. VTV airs food safety awareness program The VTV24 News Center of the Vietnam Television (VTV) station has announced a new program called “Noi khong voi thuc pham ban” (say no to unsafe food) in a bid to raise public awareness of food safety. Launched on VTV24 Channel from April 1, the program provides information about unsafe food and substandard food producers, features consumer comments and shows how to distinguish harmful food from clean and safe one. A seven-minute episode is broadcast live from Monday to Friday on VTV1 channel at 7:30 am and 8:30 pm. The program will also be aired on VTV8 and VTV9 channels at other schedules which have not been announced yet. At the launching ceremony of the program last week, HCMC Party chief Dinh La Thang and representatives from related ministries and departments signed a commitment to support the VTV24 center to carry out the program. Le Van Khoa, the city’s vice chairman, underscored the need to launch official programs to warn the public against unsafe food. When the amended Penal Code is passed, food processors using harmful substances would face severe penalties. Le Binh, director of the VTV24 News Center, said, “Through the program, we would like to help viewers know what they eat and how to identify unsafe food and who produces it.” Luong Hoai Nam, chief executive officer of Hai Au Aviation, proposed the program also delve into the responsibility of State agencies for failure to detect makers of unsafe food. “People pay taxes, so State agencies should be responsible for ensuring the safety for people.” Vietnam holds first-ever festival to promote dew-wetted rice paper A southern province bordering Ho Chi Minh City is holding a festival to promote one of its delicacies as part of the national cultural heritage today, April 6. The first-ever Dew-Wetted Rice Paper Festival, or banh trang phoi suong in Vietnamese, is being held in Trang Bang District, Tay Ninh Province, known as the birthplace of the renowned specialty. Banh trang phoi suong is made by leaving rice papers outside overnight for them to be moistened by dew, which adds a unique flavor to the food. The dew-wetted rice paper is usually served with boiled pork, vegetables, and fish sauce. Dew-wetted rice paper was recognized as part of Vietnan’s national cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in October 2015. It was also among eight other delicacies recognized by the Asian Record Organization in 2013, and was featured on National Geographic Channel and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in August, 2007. The festival in Trang Bang is intended to introduce dew-wetted rice paper and its’ production practice to visitors during a week-long run. Some 200 booths at the festival will treat visitors to local dishes and craft making performances. There are also food courts for festival-goers to taste the famous banh trang phoi suong. The event is showcasing the biggest dew-wetted rice paper ever made, measuring 1.2 meters in diameter, and aiming to set a Vietnamese Guinness record. Duong Van Phong, director of Tay Ninh’s culture, sports and tourism department, said the festival is being held as part of a series of activities to mark 180 years of the province’s establishment and development. “This is a great chance for provincial travel agencies, restaurants, and resorts to cooperate with partners in neighboring provinces,” he added. Quick test kits to detect Salbutamol to be used by inspectors The Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced to set up inspection teams to visit slaughterhouses across the country. As plan, 4,000 quick test kits will be employed by inspectors from bureaus of animal health in cities and provinces to detect Salbutamol which can improve the meat/fat ratio in fattened animals and accelerate livestock growth. Yet inspectors will concentrate more on taking samples for tests in major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City with 600 samples; Hanoi with 300 samples, the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria Vung Tau with 300 samples, 150 samples and 100 samples respectively and the central city of Da Nang with 100 samples. In addition, animal health agencies will liaise with other department to trace back the source of the substance and handle violations if having. Reports of the inspections will be sent before June 30. In related news, the Department of Animal Health, Husbandry and Fisheries in BInh Duong Province April 5 issued a fine to two pig breeding farms which used Salbutamol to increase the meat ratio; each was fined VND20 million (US$899.8) Before, the inter-department inspection team from the Department of Animal Health, Husbandry and Fisheries and the environment police unit (PC49) paid unscheduled visit to Le Long Ho and Luong Van Dung’s pig farm in Thuan An Town in Binh Duong Province. Tests showed a detection of beta-agonist residues in nearly 400 pigs in the two farms. Beta-agonist is a lean -meat agent that helps pigs gain weight in a very short time. The inspectors gave a fine of VND10.5 million to 33 year old Tran Quoc Thai who asked workers to inject water and tranquilizer into hundred animals to make them heavier before sending them to slaughterhouse. VITM Hanoi 2016 offers low cost tourism packages Tens of thousands of low cost air fares and tourism packages will be offered at the Vietnam International Travel Mart – VITM Hanoi 2016, to be opened in Hanoi from April 14-17. Themed “ Vietnam – The paradise of sea and island tourism”, this year’s event will introduce to visitors thousands of the country’s tourism products, particularly sea and island tourism. It is expected to see the participation of 3,000 enterprises and approximately 62,000 visitors. A web portal will also be introduced during the event, aimed at helping tourism agencies promote and sell their products while facilitating tourists’ selection of the most appropriate packages for them. Key tourist destinations that will be highlighted during the exhibition are Hanoi , the Northwest Region and the Central Highlands – South Central Region. The annual fair aims to draw more international tourists to Vietnam , as well as increase the number of domestic visitors to sea and island areas. VITM Hanoi 2016 is set to boost three sectors of tourism - Inbound, Domestic & Outbound. The participating enterprises will meet, discuss and sign cooperation contracts on the first day of the event. The last three days will be open for public. With a population of over 90 million, Vietnam has become an emerging outbound market. More than 5 million Vietnamese travel overseas annually, representing a growth rate of 15%. Many countries have eyed Vietnam as their new source market. More coaches, buses to run during coming holidays The Hà Nội Transport Station Joint-stock Company will assign 700 more coaches to meet the passenger demand during holidays this month, director of the company Nguyễn Tùng Anh said. The coming holidays include the three-day death anniversary of the Hùng Kings, starting from April 16, as well as National Reunification Day on April 30 and Labour Day on May 1, which will last four days in all. Under the plan, 200 additional coaches will be assigned to Giáp Bát Terminal, 400 to Mỹ Đình Terminal and 100 to Gia Lâm Terminal. The number of passengers was expected to increase sharply on some routes, such as the routes to Phú Thọ, Quảng Ninh, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An, besides Lào Cai, Sơn La and Điện Biên provinces, Anh said. The number of passengers could be double or three times the number on normal days from the afternoon of April 29, and would start falling from the afternoon of April 30, he said. Many people will return to Hà Nội on May 3, so 400 more buses will be operated. Giáp Bát, Gia Lâm and Mỹ Đình terminals will have 150, 100 and 150 more buses, respectively. Anh said inspectors would closely watch the coaches during these days to prevent substandard ones from being operated. The company will also join hands with the local traffic police and transport inspectors to check illegal terminals. Vietnam attends Asia Pacific Ladies’ charity fair The Vietnamese Embassy in Tokyo participated in the 40th Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) Charity Bazaar held on April 6. The event drew the participation of Japanese Princess Hitachi , Japan’s first lady Akie Abe, and ambassadors and their spouses from Asian-Pacific countries. According to head of the event’s organising board Komura, the annual charity bazaar is aimed at raising funds for welfare activities and aid relief to natural disaster victims, and disadvantaged women and children in ALSF member nations. At the bazaar, Vietnam and other countries displayed and sold their traditional handicraft products and typical dishes. The two booths from the Vietnamese delegation included products featuring the unique culture and cuisine of Vietnam including silk, precious stone mosaics and silk embroidered paintings as well as “pho” (Vietnam’s signature noodle soup), “banh ran” (glutinous rice doughnut) and “che tran chau” (pearl tea). Last year, the women’s union of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan received nearly 200 million VND (8,600 USD) from the bazaar. The money was spent to build schools for Agent Orange child victims in Vietnam. Criteria set for new-style rural areas The Prime Minister on April 5 issued Decision No. 558/QD-TTg on criteria for new-style rural districts in the 2016-2020 period, as well as regulations on the recognition of provincial towns and cities that have met the standards. Aside from setting out new criteria for new-style rural districts, the decision says that in order for a district to be recognised under the designation, all communes must meet rural development standards. The district must also fulfill nine criteria under the programme, namely planning, transportation, irrigation, electricity, health care-culture-education, production, environment, security-social order, and new rural building instructions. Meanwhile, a provincial town or city must have all communes fulfill 19 criteria in order to receive the designation. The national set of criteria regulated in Decision No. 491/QD-TTg, issued in April 2009, are applied to districts that have been under consideration to be recognised as new-style rural areas from 2010 to 2015. The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, set out 19 criteria for new-style rural areas covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income, culture and others. A district must have at least 75 percent of its communes meeting all 19 criteria in order to receive the title of new-style rural district. As of February, as many as 1,761 communes across the nation had met the new-style rural area criteria, accounting for 19.7 percent. On average, each commune met 12.9 criteria, up 8.2 criteria from 2010, and 2.9 criteria from 2015. Meanwhile, 17 districts obtained the status, according to the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development. Vietnam aims to have 50 percent of all communes nationwide meet all the requirements by the end of 2020. Da Nang launches cost-cutting programme The Da Nang People’s Committee said on April 5 that it would start a programme to cut wastage of money. Under the programme, the city will cut down at least 12 percent of the expenses for conferences, dialogues, meetings and festivals, besides office stationery. The city will not propose and approve scientific research of the same content and impossible to be conducted, and will give priority to necessary and effective projects. All projects that are not part of the city’s plan and have not been approved by competent organisations will be terminated. The quality of the projects’ checks and design will be improved to reduce the project costs by 10 to 15 percent. The number and condition of automobiles in offices will be checked to avoid the purchase of an excessive number of new vehicles. The Da Nang People’s Committee has asked companies and organisations to save electricity and clean water. Sawaco to build underground water reservoirs Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) has got approval from the HCMC government to build underground water reservoirs at parks to ensure sufficient water supply for the city in case of natural disasters. Previously, Sawaco proposed building around six large underground water reservoirs and pumping stations at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden to supply water to the downtown area, at Gia Dinh Park and Go Vap Cultural Park for Go Vap, Phu Nhuan, and Binh Thanh districts, and under Nguyen Van Linh Street for Nha Be and Can Gio districts. Other parts of the city including Binh Chanh District, and western and southwestern areas of the city would get water from reservoirs at Tan Phu Underground Water Plant and Phu Lam Park. According to Sawaco, underground reservoirs at parks were proposed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve the city’s capacities for water storage and distribution. Large underground water reservoirs have been built in some countries like Japan and Thailand. The city government has permitted Sawaco to build a water reservoir with a capacity of 1.35 million cubic meters on 23 hectares in the outlying district of Cu Chi in 2016-2017. The reservoir can ensure sufficient supply of crude water for Tan Hiep water plant in one to three days when salinity and pollution affect the quality of water in the Saigon River. There are crude water reservoirs in some countries like the Netherlands and Japan, according to Sawaco. To adapt to climate change and cope with pollution and salinity, the city needs to build the reservoir to guarantee water supply for millions of citizens. Currently, the combined daily capacity of six operational water plants in the city is 2.1 million cubic meters. Four of them get crude water from the Dong Nai River and the remainder from the Saigon River. However, a report of Sawaco said that water pollution in Saigon and Dong Nai rivers has worsened. Organic, ammonium and microbial indicators have exceeded the permissible levels in the Saigon River. Besides, water shortage and salinity triggered by climate change have worsened in recent times. The El Nino phenomenon has affected the city’s water supply system since the beginning of this year and some water plants at times stopped taking crude water from the Saigon River when salinity was beyond permissible levels. To deal with the situation, Sawaco will build a water reservoir with a capacity of 100,000 cubic meters at Thu Duc Water Plant and increase clean water storage capacity at the existing plants this year. It also plans some new water plants in the future so as to ensure normal clean water flow in six to seven hours in case of supply disruption. Jetstar Pacific to launch new service to Hue this month Jetstar Pacific will fly between Hue and Cam Ranh from April 26, with two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays, chief executive officer Le Hong Ha said. The budget airline said in a statement on April 4 that it will launch the service a couple of days before the start of Hue Festival 2016 to meet air travel demand between the two cities in central Vietnam. As scheduled, Jetstar Pacific’s aircraft will take off at Cam Ranh airport at 7:25 p.m. and Phu Bai airport in Hue at 9:15 p.m., with an estimated flying time of one hour and 15 minutes. The airline will use Airbus A320 configured with 180 Economy-class seats for the new route. The Hue-Cam Ranh route will be the airline’s service linking Hue. The other two flights are from HCMC and the Central Highlands city of Dalat. Passengers can buy tickets for the new route at Jetstar Pacific’s website www.jetstar.com and ticketing offices nationwide. The airline reported a pickup of 56% in flights and 53% in passengers last year compared to 2014. It plans to increase its fleet of Airbus A320s and A321s from 12 at present to 18 later this year and 30 by 2020 to support its network expansion. H2H riders gear up for fundraising tour A team of 11 multi-national volunteer riders on Sunday started the 7th H2H (Heart to Heart) 27-day charitable cycling tour from Hanoi to HCMC to raise funds for poor children in the country. Founded in 2009, H2H has raised over US$219,000 to support disadvantaged children to go to school. This is the seventh 2,000-km-plus tour between the nation’s two biggest cities, Hanoi and HCMC. This year will see the first Vietnamese taking part in the program. During this month, the team will travel southward and meet the children they support. On April 29, they are expected to arrive in HCMC. Kate Grigg, 2016 lead rider, said in a statement, “It will be an amazing challenge and a chance for us to improve the lives of Vietnam’s most vulnerable and underprivileged children through cycling.” All the funds raised will be shared between six charities in Vietnam: Saigon Children’s Charity, The ILA Community Network, Live and Give, The Children’s Initiative, Know One Teach One (KOTO), and the Blue Dragon Foundation. H2H is run by volunteers, with organizational support from beneficiary charities and sponsors. The volunteers are mainly English teachers based in HCMC. Their lives have been enriched by living in Vietnam, so they want to give something back by helping those most in need. Tour bookings for upcoming holidays surge Travel firms forecast that bookings of tours during the upcoming holidays of Hung Kings’ death anniversary, Reunification Day, and International Labor Day would rise by 20-30% over the same period last year. Major travel firms said they have realized 50-60% of their tour targets for Reunification Day on April 30 and International Labor Day on May 1. They expect the number of tour buyers to continue increasing in the first weeks of April. Currently, travel firms including Fiditour, Vietravel, and Saigontourist are promoting tours for the Reunification Day/International Labor Day holiday as people will have more days off than the holiday of Hung King’s death anniversary on April 16. Tran Thi Bao Thu, marketing and communications director of Fiditour, said most consumers of the company choose short tours to domestic destinations and countries in Asia. Cherry blossom admiring trips to Japan and Korea have been almost sold out, Thu said, adding the company is planning to add more tours to the Northeast Asian nations to meet strong demand. Fiditour expects tour bookings for the holidays to soar around 30% year-on-year. Tran Thi Viet Huong, director of marketing at Vietravel, said the Reunification Day/International Labor Day holiday is attractive to holidaygoers as it falls on a weekend. Many travelers opt to book tours to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea. As for domestic destinations, customers prefer trips to resorts in Nha Trang and Danang cities and Phu Quoc Island as well as tours to central provinces which include visiting the Hue Festival 2016. Prices of tours range from VND4 million to VND5.3 million per person and travel firms also offer incentives to buyers of short-haul tours. For instance, Saigontourist discounts tour prices. Saigontourist and other travel firms are also promoting tours to central provinces during the Hue Festival 2016, which is set to take place from April 29 to May 4. Travel firms estimated prices of the holiday tours would inch up 5-10% compared to those on normal days. Vietravel said it will negotiate with service providers to ensure prices of the holiday tours would edge up a maximum of 10%. Vietravel looks to serve 24,000 customers during the upcoming holidays. Hundreds of thousands people in Binh Thuan suffering serious fresh water shortage Nearly 100, 000 people living in Ham Tan, Ham Thuan Bac, Bac Binh, Tuy Phong districts of Binh Thuan province has been suffering serious fresh water shortage for daily activities and production, reported the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue of Binh Thuan province on April 4. Particularly, the extreme water shortage has seriously impacted  to life of more than 40,000 local residents in Ham Tan district so they have to buy fresh water source from Ba Ria- Vung Tau province for daily activities usage and animal feeding. Coping with the bad weather condition, the People’s Committee of Binh Thuan province asked to effectively use fresh water  for local resident’s life, animal feeding and production. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri