Social News 2/7 Teachers to train on new curriculum   More than 600,000 teachers and principals nationwide will train on the new curriculum and pedagogical approaches to help adapt teaching practices to the needs of every student and to improve teaching quality. This is the key target of the programme to enhance teacher education in Việt Nam approved by the World Bank yesterday. The programme is worth US$95 million. It will benefit more than 600,000 general education teachers and principals, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of their total number in the country. Teachers and principals will receive customised and just-in-time training and support via enhanced school-based training and an internet-based distance learning and support network. They will access a learning management system which facilitates distance learning and serves as a portal to a large resource library and a social media platform for teachers and principals. The programme will also support the establishment of a training assessment system to help adapt services to teachers’ needs. About 28,000 teachers will be choosen to become key teachers and principal advisors. They will work at schools to support and train school staff. Ethnic minority and female teachers and principals will be given priority for these positions. The programme will select a number of leading teachers at certain schools to conduct research on teachers’ needs and to implement professional development measures. “Việt Nam has achieved universal primary education, created better learning conditions in schools, and made considerable progress in expanding the education network,” said Achim Fock, Acting Country Director for the World Bank in Việt Nam. “The country is now positioning its education system to provide the population with skills and competencies needed for greater value in tomorrow’s economy. With this programme, we are proud to support Việt Nam with addressing this next frontier of education development.” The programme is financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s concessional lending source for low-income countries. Ha Tinh offers temporary support to residents hit by mass fish deaths Authorities of the central province of Ha Tinh issued on July 1 temporary policies supporting coastal residents affected by the recent mass fish deaths, only one day after the incident’s cause was announced. The beneficiaries are people directly impacted by the environmental incident, comprising salt farmers, maritime workers, and members of the families that live off fishing and related logistics services and own boats with capacity of under 90 CV. The temporary policies, approved by Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Quoc Khanh, cover Ky Anh township and the districts of Ky Anh, Cam Xuyen, Thach Ha, Loc Ha and Nghi Xuan. Accordingly, the beneficiaries will be assisted with all health insurance premiums if they haven’t bought one. The provincial administration will pay 100 percent of loan interest for poor and near-poor families when they borrow money to change their jobs. The households working on fishing and fishery logistics services will be supported with 200 million – 600 million VND (over 8,900 – 26,900 USD) when they build a new boat. Fishermen will also be helped to buy communication devices, ship body insurance and fishing equipment. The new support also covers training expenses for fishing boats’ crewmembers. The temporary aid is to help the targeted groups stabilise their lives and will be adjusted once the Government’s support policies are issued, according to provincial officials. The mass fish deaths in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue were found to be the result of flawed waste and wastewater treatment of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company. This company accepted responsibility for the incident and promised a total compensation of 11.5 trillion VND (500 million USD) to support local fishermen to switch to other jobs and recover the polluted maritime environment. HCM City police arrest men carrying 13.5 kg of synthetic drugs The Ho Chi Minh City police’s drug criminal investigation department ( PC47 ) said it caught on the scene two men carrying 13.5 kilograms of synthetic drugs on the night of June 29. The police also seized one AK gun and 85 bullets. Initial information revealed the men belonged to a major ring that stores, transports and trades synthetic drugs from China to Vietnam. Further investigation into the case is underway. In June, PC47 busted many cases of trafficking drugs into the city, confiscating a total amount of 50 kilograms of drugs, one AK gun with 85 bullets, 267 million VND (11,700 USD), 665 USD and 50 Australian dollars. Over 300 detained during police raid on northern Vietnam karaoke bar Over 300 people at a karaoke bar in the northern Vietnamese city of Haiphong have been taken into custody after police held a crack-down the venue. On June 29, officers carried out the sudden raid on Ruby karaoke bar on Ho Sen Street, Le Chan District, at around 1:00 am. The facility is owned by 44-year-old Nguyen Thi Thuy and has become a favorite spot for ‘party-goers’ from Haiphong and other neighboring provinces during its four years of operation. About 300 officers and a drug-sniffing k-9 unit dispatched to the venue discovered crystal meth, ecstasy, and several other types of drugs and drug paraphernalia. It took the law enforcement 10 hours to complete the inspection and over 15 vehicles to escort the suspects, many of whom tested positive for drugs, to the police station. Suspects pictured inside a room at the karaoke shop at the time of the police raid on June 29, 2016. According to the municipal Department of Police, officers were still gathering statements from detainees in the evening of the same day. The karaoke shop had been on the local police radar for awhile for drugs and, more recently, prostitution. Australia helps Vietnam promote gender equality The Australian Government pledges to continue providing aid programmes to bolster gender equality in Vietnam. The statement was made by Alison Keys, First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, at a conference on gender issues in Hanoi on June 30, with the participation of experts and representatives from press agencies. The diplomat said several aid programmes of Australia in Vietnam have helped increase the voice of women, empower women in terms of economy, and eliminate violence against women and girls. Khuat Thu Hong, Director of the Institute for Social Development Studies, said Vietnam has been facing challenges from gender inequality, including domestic violence and the tendency for gender imbalance, especially in rural areas. Press agencies need to understand clearly about gender issues and then have an impartial view of gender equality, she said. Emerging gender challenges in Vietnam and the inclusion of gender issues in the Australian Government’s development projects in the country were also discussed at the event.- Hung Yen: 70 pct of new-style rural investment donated by locals About 70 percent of 28 trillion VND (1.26 billion USD) in investment for the new-style rural area programme in the northern province of Hung Yen over the past five years has been contributed by local residents. The locals have volunteered to donate 320 billion VND in cash and more than 3.3 trillion VND in land and work hours to construct roads and upgrade public spaces. Communes with the most land donations included Bao Khe and Hong Nam of Hung Yen city, Phu Ung of An Thi district, Dinh Cao of Phu Cu district, Nhan Hoa of My Hao district and Yen Phu of Yen My district. People in Bao Khe commune have donated more than 25,000 sq. m of land, worth nearly 20 billion VND, to expand its roads while residents of Lo Xa hamlet in Nhan Hoa commune have contributed about 2 billion VND in cash to concrete inter-hamlet roads and upgrade its electricity networks. The province has mobilised approximately 1.4 trillion VND from different sources to build and renovate over 860 kilometres of local rural roads. It has also scaled up the “residential quarters with three Nos” model that promotes no social evils, no pollution, and no wasteful and superstitious practices of weddings and funerals. In addition, farmers have been encouraged to shift to more effective production models, for example, farm and commercial farming models. The locality is now home to more than 700 farms and many areas specialising in a certain agricultural product, such as ornamental plant-growing areas in Van Giang, Khoai Chau and Van Lam districts and fruit-farming areas in Hung Yen city, Phu Cu, Khoai Chau, Van Giang, Yen My, Kim Dong and Tien Lu districts. Thanks to the efforts of both public and private sectors, 35 of its communes have been recognised as new-style rural areas. On average, each commune has fulfilled about 15 out of 19 new-style rural area criteria. Valuable antiques donated to Nam Dinh museum The museum of northern Nam Dinh province on June 30 received 77 valuable antiques. The antiques include 55 objects donated by Nguyen Thanh Nam, a cultural official in Hanoi’s Thanh Tri district. Among them, two were made of wood from the Le (1418-1789) and Nguyen (1802-1945) dynasties. The remaining are ceramic products, including those of China dating back from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Pham Quoc Quan, former director of the National Museum of History, presented 22 antiques to the museum, including five bronze items of the Dong Son, a Bronze Age archaeological culture (700 B.C. – 100 AD). Nguyen Van Thu, Director of the Nam Dinh museum, said that the antiques will be assessed and then introduced to the public. In the past decade, the museum has received nearly 1,000 antiques donated by organisations and individuals.- HCM City police gear up for thief hunting with new motorcycles Police in Ho Chi Minh City have been gifted 100 motorcycles to bolster crime fighting abilities. The vehicles, sponsored by city-based Nova Bac Nam 79 JSC, were handed over in a ceremony at the municipal police’s headquarters on June 29. “Theft is one of the crimes that police in the city aim to mitigate in order to keep life peaceful and contribute to safety and living standards in the community,” Lieutenant General Le Dong Phong, the city’s police chief,  said at the ceremony. Huynh Cach Mang, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, emphasized though the city is the country’s southern economic and cultural hub, it is being faced with more convoluted criminal schemes and an influx of criminals moving from other provinces to the metropolis. “The new motorcycles will serve as significant support for police to effectively purge criminal acts, especially bag snatching and robbery,” Phong said.   Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh, Deputy Minister of Public Security, told the municipal police to utilize the vehicles for rightful purposes to effectively curb crime. Vietnamese tourists to RoK up 40% In the first half of this year, the number of Vietnamese tourists to the Republic of Korea (RoK) jumped 40.4% to 112,746 people. The figure was released at a seminar on Korean tourism held in Hanoi on June 30 by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam and Department of the Incheon Tourism Organization. KTO provided the seminar participants with useful information about medical tourism products in the RoK, incentives for partners to carry out the services in Vietnam and introduce the website on medical tourism services at www.visitmedicalkorea.com. In 2004, more than 3,000 Vietnamese people went to the RoK as medical tourists. KTO also introduced participants to attractive destinations in Incheon like Songdo new urban area, China Town, Wolmi island and special entertainment like KPOP Concert, and Pentaport Rock Concert. Five hospitals to be supported in capital construction The Prime Minister has approved the VND 5, 310 billion project from the Support Fund for Enterprise Arrangement and Development to implement construction and investment in five hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City this year. Accordingly, Bach Mai Hospital and Vietnam- Germany Hospital will be advanced VND 875 billion; the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s hospital and the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital will be paid in advance VND 1, 430 billion. Besides that, VND 1, 000 billion will be used for Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City and Army Hospital. In case of construction progress and disbursement of the projects exceed the expectation of the capital, the Prime Minister will hand over Ministry of Finance to chair and collaborate with Ministry of Science and Investment and Health Ministry in supplementing additional capital in line with the regulation. Vietnam strives to be one of world’s biggest exporters Vietnam strives to be one of the world’s biggest exporters on the back of signed free trade agreements, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told Director of Harvard Centre for International Development Ricardo Hausmann during a reception in Hanoi on June 30.   Professor Hausmann said Vietnam is among a few developing countries which recorded a rapid and impressive export growth, and suggested diversifying exports and increasing products’ added value if the country wants sustainable growth. The host hailed Hausmann’s correct and insightful awareness about Vietnam. He said the government will adopt the scholar’s proposal to attract more investors and technological advances to Vietnam to achieve the goal.- Debt of rural development projects high Debt owed by construction projects under the national target program for new rural development in 52 provinces and cities had surpassed VND15.2 trillion (US$682.1 million) by the end of January. The debt is unveiled in a report released by the steering committee for the program at a review conference on the implementation of the program in this year’s first half and plans for the remaining months of the year in Hanoi on Tuesday. By end-May, Vietnam had had 1,965 communes meeting new rural requirements, accounting for 22% of the total and up 4.9% against the end of last year. Twenty-three districts nationwide also met the requirements approved by the Prime Minister.   Over VND263 trillion has been disbursed for the program, with some VND7.4 trillion sourced from the central State budget. However, high debt of the program has become a major concern in many provinces and cities. Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the steering committee for the program, ascribed the high debt to localities’ attempts to meet the target. The program aims to support 20% of communes in Vietnam to meet requirements for new rural development by 2015, which spurred localities to hurriedly mobilize capital from enterprises.   Meanwhile, the Government has yet to allocate capital for the program in the medium term and private investments have not met expectations. Hue told ministries, agencies and localities to take measures to deal with high debt in the coming time. Three joint working groups headed by deputy ministers of planning-investment, finance and agriculture-rural development have been set up to deal with the situation. They will carry out field trips to a number of localities, especially those with high debt in the Red River Delta, northern mountainous and north-central regions to report to the Prime Minister and find coping solutions. Road upgrade to disrupt water supply in four districts Supply of running water in many parts of Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap, and Tan Binh districts will be stopped for up to 22 hours starting 10 p.m. Friday to allow for the upgrade of Phan Van Tri Street in Binh Thanh District, Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) said. To facilitate work on the road upgrade project, Urban Management Area No. 3 under the Department of Transport has requested Sawaco to relocate a water pipeline section with a diameter of 1.5 meters from Hang Trong Bridge to Tan Son Nhat and Binh Loi streets. The road upgrade will lead to a stoppage of water supply in wards 11, 12 and 13 of Binh Thanh District, wards 4 and 9 of Phu Nhuan District, wards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 17 of Go Vap District, wards 2 and 4 of Tan Binh District, and Tan Son Nhat airport and surrounding areas. Sawaco said residents in the four districts may suffer weak and turbid water flows during and after the time of displacing the water pipeline due to a fall in water pressure. To minimize impact on residents, Sawaco plans to arrange water distribution and use water tank trucks to supply water for the affected areas. Routine expenses make up 72% of budget spending Routine expenditures have climbed to nearly 72% of total State budget spending in the first half of this year, showed data of the General Statistics Office (GSO). A GSO report indicated budget spending on socio-economic, national defense and security, state management, Party and organizations had amounted to VND363.4 trillion as of June 15, representing almost 72% of VND508.5 trillion spent in the period. Development investment has reached only VND74.5 trillion (15%) of the total budget spending while repayments of debts have amounted to VND68 trillion (13%). According to the report, total budget collections in the period are put at VND425.6 trillion, 42% of the full-year year’s estimate. The report said that while spending on development investment is shrinking, big debt owed by State-funded construction projects remain a headache. A Government report sent recently to the National Assembly Standing Committee indicated debt owed by construction projects as of mid-2015 had neared VND87 trillion, and no repayment plans over VND57 trillion of it are available. Provinces and cities with huge such debts are Ha Giang with VND2.4 trillion, Ninh Binh VND3.24 trillion and Danang VND1.39 trillion. Delay of Penal Code execution to affect relevant laws If the implementation of the 2015 Penal Code enforcement is delayed, it would lead to a postponement of the amended Code on Criminal Proceedings, the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Agencies and the Law on Custody and Detention Enforcement. The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Monday met with heads of the delegations of deputies of the 13th NA in Hanoi to discuss the possibility of delaying enforcement of the 2015 Penal Code, which is scheduled to go into force on July 1. Nearly 500 deputies of the 13th NA are expected to vote to delay the execution of the Penal Code. Their ballots were collected on June 29 and transferred to the NA Office. If the NA agrees to put on hold the Penal Code’s enforcement as suggested by the NA Standing Committee, the State President Office will organize a press conference to officially announce the result on June 30. The amended Code on Criminal Proceedings, the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Agencies and the Law on Custody and Detention Enforcement are set to take effect on July 1. However, if the 2015 Penal Code is delayed, enforcement of these three laws would also be put off. If that is the case, flaws of these laws would be amended at the second meeting of the 14th NA, which is scheduled to open in May next year. The meeting held to discuss the possible delay of the 2015 Penal Code enforcement was seen as a timely action by the NA as many as 95 problematic points have been found in the Penal Code. Earlier, the NA suspended enforcement of Article 60 of the Law on Social Insurance as it did not match the reality. Article 48 of the Law on the NA Organization regulates that in case of need, the NA Chair can invite heads of the delegations of deputies, heads of the NA’s committees and other relevant units to discuss issues before submission to the legislature for consideration. Article 90 of the Law on the NA Organization specifies that the NA can hold an extraordinary meeting if the State President, the NA Standing Committee and the Prime Minister or at least a third of the total number of deputies request it. Conference assesses Vietnam’s readiness to realise REDD+ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organised a conference in Hanoi on June 30 to assess Vietnam’s readiness to actualise the Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the project on Support for the REDD+ Readiness Preparation in Vietnam, said the event aims to scrutinise REDD+ Readiness Assessment (R-Package), which records the process of REDD+ readiness of Vietnam and lessons learnt, evaluates the gaps and identifies the activities to move to performance based payments. The report is one of the conditions providing the basis for member countries of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to decide their eligibility for participating in the Carbon Fund, gearing towards the implementation of REDD+. It demonstrates participating countries’ transparency during the preparation for the initiative and their assurance that domestic environmental and social risks have been settled, while helping them lure more international financial resources for forest protection and development, she noted. Vietnam is scheduled to submit the report to the FCPF in this July and deliver a presentation to defend it at the FCPF’s 22nd Participants Committee Meeting slated for September this year. According to Thuy, since late December 2015, the project conducted public consultations in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the central province of Quang Binh and Ca Mau province in the south in order to evaluate their readiness for REDD+. The project also consulted REDD+ Vietnam technical experts and domestic and international non-governmental organisations about the issue, she added. By the end of 2015, there have been 44 REDD+-related projects carried out in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$84 million. Most of them aiming to prepare for the realisation of REDD+ in the country. Woman dies after thieves snatched her bag in HCM City A young woman died of head injuries in hospital on June 30 after she fell from a motorbike while attempting to stop thieves from snatching her bag three days ago. Le Thi Bich Tuyen, 24, was in a coma when she was admitted to Gia Dinh Hospital early on June 27. She was diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injury. Two thieves on motorbikes grabbed Tuyen's bag as she was riding pillion on a motorbike taxi on Vo Thi Sau St., Dist. 1, at 5 a.m. that day, the taxi driver, Nguyen Hong Nam, said.   A section of Vo Thi Sau St. where a bag-snatching took place on Jun. 27, resulting in the death of a young woman After the first thief failed to snatch it, the second one made another attempt that resulted in Tuyen losing her balance and falling to the ground, Nam said. The thieves fled without the bag. Nam and some passers-by brought Tuyen to the hospital. Local police are working on the case. Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong on June 30 asked the police to hunt down the snatchers. Tuyen's relatives said she worked in Ho Chi Minh City to support her family in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. She was going to the bus station to return to her hometown for her father's anniversary when she was robbed, they said. Korean cooking contest takes place in Hanoi The Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam held the second Korean Cooking Contest 2016 on the afternoon of June 30 in Hanoi. The event was open to all Vietnamese people as well as cooks and students from cooking schools and who are interested in cuisine from the RoK. The contest attracted ten competitors, each of them had to create a famous traditional dish from the RoK including such dishes as Bibimbap (mixed rice), Japchae (mixed noodles), Gulgogi (grilled beef) and Tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cake). After cooking their selected dish, each contestant will have five minutes to introduce it to audience members. Nguyen Dang An has been selected as the most outstanding competitor, who will have the chance to join a training course teaching cooking methods of RoK cuisine, then attend the final round of the 2015 Korean cooking contest in the RoK along with contestants from 19 other countries around the world. The first prize winner will receive US$10,000. The winner will also be accredited as the official Ambassador of Korean food. Four relics in Hanoi recognised as national architectural relics Hanoi has had an additional four relics recognised as national architectural relics, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). The recognised relics include Trang Temple in Lien Bat commune, Ung Hoa district; Nguyen Ngoc Tri Temple in Hat Mon commune, Phuc Tho district; Doan Xa Communal House in Dong Tien commune, Ung Hoa district; and Thap Pagoda in Ha Bang commune, Thach That district. In addition, the MCST classified Phu Lam Communal House in Phu Lam ward, Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province and as a national architectural relic while Mai Bang Temple in Nghi Thuy ward, Cua Lo town and Dien Co Temple in Nghi Truong commune, Nghi Loc district in Nghe An province were also recognised as national historical relics. The ministry asked the People’s Committees in localities where the recognised relics are located to enhance State management over the relics in accordance with legal regulations on cultural heritages as authorised. Third Vietnam Japan Exchange Program set for August The third Vietnam Japan Exchange Program (VJYE) designed to connect students from the two countries will take place in HCMC and Dalat in August. Inspired from hidden treasures of a modern city, VJYE 2016 will lead participants who are aged between 18 and 25 to the traditional values and beauty of Vietnam through a series of cultural, social and educational activities, team-building games and workshops in the two cities. The organizer, Asia Association of Education and Exchange (AAEE), is seeking Vietnamese students for the program from now until July 17. The event is followed by a meet-and-greet event with Japanese students from August 15 to 17, featuring city tours and team-building games in HCMC. Then the participants will head for Dalat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong from August 18 to 23 for sightseeing tours, exchanges with ethnic minority people, a festive day with local educational institutions, and homestay experience with locals. The program will wrap up with a cultural festival with universities and people in HCMC from August 24 to 26. AAEE was established in 2008 to encourage exchanges between students via diversified activities, do research on contemporary education issues in Asia and support individuals and organizations who are active in education and exchange programs in Asia. The previous two editions of the Vietnam Japan Youth Exchange occurred in 2013 and 2014. HCMC to host week-long TEDx event next month TEDx (Technology.Entertainment.Design), an annual international conference for youths in the U.S. and the UK with a message of “Ideas worth spreading”, will be held in HCMC from July 10 to 17. TEDx in HCMC, which is organized by TeamX, a community of young people living and working in Hanoi to share ambitions on creativity for a better life, will have a theme of connection which is a journey to link and spread out a message of creating active impacts for a better future. A free-entrance opening ceremony  will take place at Soul Live Project at 214-216 Pasteur Street in HCMC’s District 3 at 6:30 p.m., featuring contemporary art performances and discussions with invited guests about thoughts and lifestyles of people in Saigon. There are two exclusive TEDx talks between ten speakers and 100 guests about innovations and ideas for future. These 100 guests are selected from those who register in advance at http://bit.ly/TEDxWeekHCMc and they have to pay to attend the talks which take place at 6:30 p.m. on July 16 and 17 at Soul Live Project in District 3. A networking event, featuring 100 audiences and speakers and invited guests, will look into enterprises and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) via innovative activities and sustainable development at 6:30 p.m. on July 12 at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint at 59-61 Pasteur Street in District 1. A popular A O show will be held at the Opera House at 7 p.m. on July 14 to bring audiences a chance to admire contemporary and traditional values and beauty of Vietnam. Around 5,000 visitors are expected to attend an experimental exhibition entitled “Saigon – Here – Now” and a flea market co-organized by ZeroStation and Saigon Artbook at ZeroStation, No 12 Road 43, Lam Van Ben in District 7 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 17. The event also features workshops, acoustic performances, and film screenings. Registrations are open until Saturday at http://tedxcommunityofhanoi.com/tedxnguyenhuest. For further information, call Ms. Anh Tuyet on 0903 735 177 or Ms. Phung Tien on 0122 619 907 or visit http://bit.ly/TEDxNguyenHueStreet. Hanoi youth do charity work in Vientiane Due to large numbers of Lao children being affected by poverty, many of them are often malnourished and have little or no access to the education and healthcare they need, says the Hanoi Youth Union (HYU). To help alleviate the situation the HYU has organized a Summer Youth Volunteer campaign and on July 1 sent a group comprised of 42 doctors, nurses, pre-med students and others experienced in healthcare and agriculture to Vientiane. As part of the campaign the group will provide Laotians medical check-ups and other care including medicines free of charge as well as much needed guidance on accident prevention and disease control. In addition, they will share knowledge and experience in agricultural production and get involved in a number of livelihood projects such as helping develop and equip a library at the Nakhuoai Primary School in Saysettha. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who have an interest or skills in medical rehabilitation, such as orthopaedics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, musculoskeletal therapy, psychology and social work, said Tran Anh Tuan, vice secretary of the HYU. This is the ninth consecutive year the HYU has carried out the program in Vientiane, said Tuan, and each year our team has reported back that the people in Laos are wonderful and such a pleasure to be around. Public policy tackles risks for rural mountainous people Public policies to develop infrastructure systems in the northern mountainous regions should be paid due attention to address the vulnerabilities facing small-scale famers and the rural poor, as a result of analysis from the project: “Pro-Poor Policy Approach to Address Risk and Vulberability at the Country Level.” Tran Van The, Deputy Director of the Institute for Agriculture Environment, made the statement at a workshop held in Hanoi on June 30. From the project’s evaluation of climate change impacts, irrigation facilities, fresh water supply systems and rural traffic should be branched out in the region, he said, noting that they will ensure food security and improve livelihoods for local people. Regarding farm produce market development, he underscored that mountainous localities should receive support to re-arrange their consumption markets to increase profits for the farmers. Participants at the workshop also presented studies on Public-Private Partnerships for Vietnam’s sustainable agriculture development while sharing information and experience learnt from the projects with relevant agencies and partners. According to Nguyen Song Ha, a representative from FAO Vietnam, the project’s result will have significant contributions to building long-term policies in Vietnam. The project, implemented in four countries – Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Nepal, aims to improve the institutional capacity of government agencies and assist the formation of policies that reduce risks for farmers and strengthen agricultural productivity and income. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) funded the project from 2012 with a total estimated budget of 1.96 million USD. Another 200,000 USD has been contributed by the four participating countries. Foot-hand-mouth disease cases rise in Đồng Nai The southern province of Đồng Nai has reported a remarked high of cases contracting foot-hand-mouth disease in June alone, with over 50 cases every week, Vietnam News Agency reported. The number of children suffering from the illness in the province has increased compared with the previous months, the provincial Preventive Medicines Centre said. The increase was 20 per cent against the same period last year, it added. More than 200 children were affected by the disease in June. Cao Trọng Ngưỡng, director of the centre, said the children were off from school for their summer holidays and their parents sent them to private daycare houses where not much attention was paid to hygiene. Inspection by the centre showed that most of the sick children were the ones staying at home or sent to private daycare places. Before 2014, Đồng Nai was one of the country’s hot spots of the disease. Last year, the number of patients decreased and no casualties were reported. Foot-hand-mouth disease, which is infectious, often occurs in children between the ages of one and three. The province has witnessed more than 1,000 cases of the disease since the beginning of this year in all 11 districts in the province. Biên Hòa City led the list with more than 300 cases. Last body from boating accident retrieved The body of the last missing person involved in a boating accident in this Central Highlands province was found yesterday afternoon. The victim, Nguyễn Sanh Hướng, 39, from central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province and a resident of Lâm Đồng Province, was thrown overboard when his boat capsized, leading to his death by drowning. His body was found some 60m away from the spot where the boat sank. As Việt Nam News reported earlier, three people on a trip to collect durians went missing last Saturday while riding a boat in the Đại Ninh hydropower reservoir in Đức Trọng District. All three men were reportedly not wearing life jackets when the accident occurred. As many as 17 boats with 150 people from the fire, rescue and prevention departments as well as locals immediately commenced a search and rescue operation for the men. On Tuesday, the bodies of two men from the boat were found. The victims were identified as Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, 27, and Nguyễn Văn Đạo, 44, both from Lâm Đồng Province. Đức Trọng District’s local authorities presented VNĐ5 million (US$223) to the family of each victim. Lâm Đồng Province’s People’s Committee said the local authorities would review waterway vehicles to better ensure traffic safety following the accident. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE