Social News 21/8 HCM City runs summer camps for children   The HCM City People’s Committee spent VNĐ52.5 billion (US$2.34 million) on activities for children and teenagers over two months this summer. A programme titled “Proud of children in HCM City” that ended last week featured a wide range of entertainment, sports, arts, music, health care and communications for children and teenagers from across the city. Teenagers and children who are respectively members of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union and Union of Vietnamese Children were sent to camps in Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of Long An, Bến Tre, Trà Vinh, and Vĩnh Long, the northern provinces of Tuyên Quang and Cao Bằng and Hà Nội. Many activities were held to improve their awareness of environmental protection, including tree planting at schools, parks and historical relics as well as forest camps. Museums in the city, including Hồ Chí Minh Museum, Việt Nam History Museum, War Remnants Museum and Southern Việt Nam Women Museum, allowed them free entry tickets. District-level children’s houses also organised various music and art performances, traditional games and contests for them. Dong Nai: 3-mln-USD kindergarten launched for workers’ children A kindergarten, which was built for children of workers working at Dona Standards company in Xuan Loc district, the southern province of Dong Nai, was inaugurated on August 19. The Dona Standards Nursery School was invested by Phong Thai Group in the Xuan Loc industrial park with a total sum of 3 million USD. Covering an area of 2.4 ha, the school, equipped with modern facilities, is able to provide care for about 1,000 children. According to representatives from Phong Thai Group, the company will pay tuition fees and insurance premium for their workers’ children and the employees will have only to pay 430,000 VND per month for meals of their children. The school will receive children from 6.30 am and return them back to their parents before 8 pm every day. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Bui Van Cuong hailed the Phong Thai Group for its initiative, saying that the facility will contribute to creating a good learning environment for workers’ children. He called on enterprises in Dong Nai and those across the country to learn from the model, towards expanding it nationwide. Phong Thai Group is specialising in producing leather shoes for export to the US and Europe. In 2006, it spent 14 million USD to build dormitories and kindergartens to service its workers in Trang Bom district. The nursery schools in Trang Bom and Xuan Loc districts are looking after over 2,600 children. Argentine media spotlights Vietnam’s August Revolution Several Argentine websites on August 19 ran news stories highlighting the significance of the 1945 August Revolution of Vietnam on the occasion of the 71 st anniversary of the event (August 19, 1945-2016). With the title “Vietnam, a peaceful nation”, AcercandoNaciones’s article affirmed the August Revolution paved the way for the national liberation movement across the world. It said the revolution was the ingenious combination between political struggle and armed fight, which had supplemented each other and were applied flexibly in various circumstances. The article, penned by journalist Jorge Tuero, who is director of the AcercandoNaciones magazine, praised the sound leadership and right strategy taken by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Careful preparations related to politics and military along with the national unity and strength of the alliance of workers and peasants contributed to making the great victory and the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, it added. The journalist also appreciated Vietnam’s strong development, modernisation and the country’s integration efforts at present. Meanwhile, the website of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CIEYS) article by Professor Oscar Natalich reviewed periods of Vietnam’s resistance war against the French colonists. It highlighted the establishment of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association in 1925, which gathered patriotic youths to promote national liberation movements nationwide, and the establishment of the CPV in 1930, which worked to expel the French colonialism, feudalism and reactionary bourgeoisies, ensure human right and gender equality, and promote education. The article also recalled the event when late President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945 at Ba Dinh Square. On ArgenPress, journalist Oscar Amado published chronicles of Vietnam’s history in 1954-1975, reviewing the important milestones in the country’s anti-American resistance war from 1954-1975. Northern provinces recover from tropical storm Northern provinces are striving to recover from storm Dianmu, the third so far this year. In the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, the provincial authorities established inspection groups and directed evacuating residents from areas prone to landslides and flooding. Over 1,000ha of rice and vegetables were damaged while tens of heads of cattle were killed. The loss is estimated at nearly 30 billion VND (136,000 USD). In Lao Cai, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Van Ban district Do Van Duy, who is also head of the local steering committee for disaster control and search and rescue, requested restoring construction works suffering minor damages. As of 10:30am on August 20, road from Lao Cai to Sa Pa district opened to traffic. In Bac Giang, 238 machines were used to pump water out of paddy fields. Local dyke management units of Bac Giang city and Lang Giang, Yen Dung, Tan Yen, Luc Nam and Luc Ngan districts assigned staff to work on duty. According to the Electricity of Vietnam, power supply in several areas of Lang Son, Quang Ninh and Bac Giang will be restored soon. Storm Dianmu landed the mainland from the northern port city of Hai Phong to the northern province of Bac Ninh on August 19 and brought heavy rains to the northern and northern central regions. It killed one in northern Son La province, left three in Hanoi injured and another one in northern Bac Giang province missing. It triggered the collapse of 13 houses, unroofed 297 houses, and inundated 117 houses, and nearly 5,800ha of rice and vegetables. Financial incentives for devastated farmers The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has suggested the State Bank of Việt Nam clear, reschedule or put off debts for farmers who have been affected by the worst drought and saltwater intrusion in Việt Nam in almost a century. This is a part of the ministry’s recommendations to the Government and nine other ministries on actions to boost the country’s exports in the second half of this year. For the first time in 10 years, Việt Nam has seen negative growth in agriculture when the agriculture growth rate dropped 0.18 per cent in the first half of this year. According to the ministry, the serious drought and saltwater intrusion occurred from the middle of March until May in the southern part of the central regions, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta region. The Department of Agricultural Economy under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which conducted an assessment of the drought, said the historic natural disaster had taken a heavy toll on agricultural production. Thousands of hectares of fruit, rice and sugar crops have been destroyed. It is estimated that nearly 250,000 hectares of paddy fields have dried up, and Việt Nam’s rice output is likely to fall this year for the first time since 2005. The Mekong Delta’s winter-spring output fell 10.2 per cent from last year, but total production could fall by just 1.5 per cent to 44.5 million tonnes this year. In the Central Highland region and south-eastern provinces, 16,000ha and 28,000ha, respectively, of industrial crops like rubber, coffee and pepper suffered water shortages. The drought and saltwater intrusion has cost Việt Nam an estimated VNĐ15 trillion (US$670 million) so far this year in agricultural losses, according to a government report in late May. The MoIT also brought up the massive fish death environmental incident in the four coastal central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế, that froze almost all fishing activities, aquaculture trade and tourism. The ministry said that financial incentives for disaster-hit farmers were urgent at this time. About 60 per cent of Việt Nam’s workforce and households work in agriculture and face major difficulties including small production size, low productivity and being vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. In particular, the ministry proposed that the State Bank offer lower interest loans for farmers to re-cultivate coffee. Simplified procedures are also needed so that borrowers can access bank loans more easily. Central Highlands vocational training urged to improve quality Vocational training schools in the Central Highlands have been asked to improve the quality of training in order to provide the region with a capable work force, meeting the demand for social-economic development.  From now to 2020, provinces in the region plan to train 1.27 million labourers serving key economic sectors in the region such as hydroelectricity, mining, the processing industry and commercial forestry. Developing high-quality work forces in the fields of finance, banking and eco-tourism is another task set for vocational schools in the region.  According to the planning on vocational training schools in the Central Highlands, each province will have at least one college with at least two to three ASEAN-level professions and three to five national-level professions.  Each district will have at least one vocational training centre, one intermediate school or one branch of a college to train local labourers.  Provinces in the region will also be equipped with facilities and equipment for vocational training and strengthened with extra teachers.  According to the standing board of the Central Highlands’ Steering Committee, the region currently has 108 vocational training establishments, six of which are colleges, 12 vocational intermediate schools and 90 vocational training centres.  From 2010 to now, the vocational training establishments in the region have trained nearly 200,000 students. Vietnam leaves impression at int’l folk festival in Czech Republic Vietnamese art performances have left a deep impression to foreign audience at the 22 nd Pisek international folk festival which is underway from August 18-20 in the Czech Republic. The annual folk art festival is organised for foreign communities in Pisek. This year is the first time a Vietnamese troupe has attended the event. Director of the Pisek International Folk Art Festival, Pavel Bruzek lauded the participation of the Vietnamese artists and said he was excited by the sublime dances and songs performed by non-professional Vietnamese artists. Notably, the “Que Huong” (Homeland) dance group which was only established a year ago with the participation of amateur female dancers who are running business in the locality, received a warm response from audiences at the event. Chairman of the Vietnamese association in Pisek Nguyen Van Bien said, there are about 300 Vietnamese nationals living in the city and vicinities, mainly living by trading in apparel, food, beauty services and work in factories. Cultural exchange marks Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic ties The Union of Friendship Organisations in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau organised a Vietnam-Thailand cultural exchange programme on August 19 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.  Speaking at the event, Thai Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Ureerat Ratanaprukse said that Ba Ria-Vung Tau has important effects on the Thailand-Vietnam relations in socio-economic aspects.  At present, Thailand ranks third in terms of the number of investors in the southern province. Also, there are a lot of Vietnamese people who used to live in Thailand in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, contributing to tightening the connectivity between the two countries’ people, she stated.  She expressed her belief that the diplomatic ties between Thailand and Vietnam and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province will grow further.  At the event, cultural exchange performances, including traditional dances and singing, and a traditional costume show, were organised. Young man starts business with two cows and passion From a start-up with two cows, and after several serious economic losses, Đặng Ngọc Phong, from a poor farming family in the Mekong delta province of Đồng Tháp, now owns a large cow farming business. The 35-year-old owner said he inherited his parents’ love of labour and hard work. During his childhood, the family’s economy was miserable as it was based mostly on small-sized farming and pig breeding with poor technology in Tân Phú Đông Commune, Sa Đéc City. When he grew up, Phong had a dream to develop a business to fully look after his parents. Taking guidance from a friend, he borrowed money from his parents to buy two traditionally breed Vietnamese cows, but the venture failed. He then went on to buy six cows of different breeds from an An Giang neighbour’s farm. He recognised that the cows were growing slowly due to a lack of natural forage. He decided to grow grass on his family-owned 2,500sq.m of farmland, aiming to ensure a supply of cattle feed throughout the year. “It really is a process of difficulties and hardships. Sometimes I fail and totally collapse.“ Phong said. “However, I continue standing up for my family and because of my passion for cattle breeding.” Phong learned about the technology from books, newspapers, a local agriculture department-organised training course, and especially through trial and error himself. In 2011, Phong developed his own farm by breeding new cows from Vĩnh Long Province’s Ba Tri District and HCM City’s Củ Chi District. He said the beef from two cow breeds was of high-quality and had less diseases, so met the demands of domestic consumption. And he also provided young cows to local farms at a cost of VNĐ15-20 million (US$650-900) each, all of which has brought a good stable income for Phong over the last five years. In 2015, Phong was awarded an excellent farmer certificate by the Đồng Tháp Province’s Youth Union. At present, Phong’s farm has a 70sq.m ox breeding area with 20 different-breed cows. Good technology, a source of feed, and disease prevention measures, he said, were supporting the cow herd to grow well. A fully grown cow can expect to weigh 1-1.3 tonnes. He said the farm used to have 80 cows during the rush period in late 2015. High quality cattle feed, good hygiene in the cow house and know-how is the source of Phong’s business success. Grass, fodder, maize and bran are used as cattle feed throughout the year. A drainage system was built separately to remove animal waste, requiring much investment. He also actively utilised the feed from his 9,000sq.m of grass growing area. Phong joined in Tân Phú Đông Commune’s cow breeding co-operative in 2013 in order to have a professional business environment, share experiences and create more jobs for local labourers. All of Phong’s 10 employees are local young people who are qualified for grassing, cattle feed processing, feeding and taking care of the cow herd. Lương Ngọc Nam, deputy secretary of the local Youth Union praised the cow breeder, saying Phong was a successful example of a job start-up in the province. Besides his individual business, Phong also participates in supporting other social activities, Nam said.  Management in hospitals important: minister Hospitals quality management plays a very important role and if it’s not done in a proper way, incidents can happen and repeat, Health minister Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến said at a two-day conference on hospitals quality in Hà Nội. Improving a hospital doesn’t happen in a day but requires determination and effort, she said. Speaking at the conference organised by the Ministry of Health and the European Union delegation to Việt Nam, Tiến said unwanted incidents had caused huge damage to the reputation of hospitals in the country and to the health sector. She noted some of the weaknesses of the health sector, including a lack of hospitality towards patients and medical errors. “Medical errors can happen anywhere, but a good quality management system would help limit these errors,” Tiến said. She also touched upon the importance of managers of hospitals, who she said “must be able to act like a CEO”. “We don’t need to focus too much on professional skills when appointing people to the position of a hospital’s director, but it’s important that that person must have good management skills,” she said. “He or she must be able to manage the hospital well – from administrative matters, to human resources, financial issues, and unite the hospital’s staff,” she added. Tiến said that if excellent doctors are appointed as hospital managers, they wouldn’t be able to focus on their profession. “We must utilise the talents of these doctors by letting them do their jobs, which include treating patients, teaching, and doing research,” the minister said. Speaking about improving hospitals, head of the ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, Lương Ngọc Khuê said after three years of applying the tool kit for hospitals quality assessment, many hospitals have improved. “Patients are better taken care off, working conditions for hospitals staff are improved,” he said. “However, hospitals in southern areas have made better progress than those in the north and central regions,” he added. Nguyễn Huy Quang, head of the ministry’s legal department said there were hospitals which were really determined to improve their services. “In hospitals where the boards are determined, services improve considerably,” he said. Central Highlands music album The generous and liberal spirit of the Central Highlands region has been depicted vividly in a recently released music album. Entitled Gió Bay Về Ngàn (Wind Flows to the Wood), the album is a collection of 12 songs about the region. The album features ethnic singers Y Zắc, Siu Black and Y Garia, who are all natives of the region. Veteran songwriter Nguyễn Cường, who is famous for his songs about the Central Highlands, was invited to be the album’s artistic director. Together with female composer Giáng Son, the duo selected the album’s repertoire from nearly 100 songs. "It’s was not easy for us to decide the repertoire. Each song on the album is a colour that goes into creating the whole painting of the Central Highlands’ nature and people," songwriter Cường said. While the songs Mưa Cao Nguyên (Central Highlands’ Rain) and Nghiêng Nghiêng Rừng Chiều (Evening Forest) praise the region’s imposing nature, Đôi Chân Trần (The Bare Foot) and the lullaby tune Thênh Thênh Oh Ơi are about the people. The rich culture of the land is presented through unique traditional customs somehow depicted in the songs Giấc Mơ Chapi (Chapi Dream), and Đi Tìm Lời Ru Mặt Trời (Seeking the Sun’s Lullaby). The album also consists of songs about love such as K’Bing Ơi, Và Ta Lại Thấy Mặt Trời (And I See the Sun Again) and Mùa Nhớ (Season of Nostalgia). The album marks the come back of Siu Black, who has been dubbed the "Nightingale of the Central Highlands’ Mountains and Jungle", after a few years away from showbiz. A Ba Na ethnic from the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, Siu Black has conquered the hearts of audiences with her beautiful voice as well as her enthusiastic rock style performances. Alongside the two veteran singers Siu Black and Y Zắc, the album Wind Flows to the Wood also features the vocals of two younger singers, Y Garia and Mai Trang, who were also born and grew up in the Central Highlands. The four singers of different generations also performed together for the song Mưa Cao Nguyên. Divo Tùng Dương, with a special love for this region, sang the song Bến Giằng (Giằng Wharf) by composer Nguyễn Cường on the album. This is the first time the song has been unveiled to the public. A high-end quality album, the Wind Flows to the Wood is a non-profit art project by Việt Nam’s telecommunication group MobiFone, dedicated to the Central Highlands region. A limited number of 5,000 albums will be presented to music lovers in this region. Cần Thơ hosts exhibition on Mekong Delta A photo and book exhibition on the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta in ancient times has opened in the southern city of Cần Thơ. More than 200 photos of local life, taken mainly under the French regime (1958-1945), are among the exhibits, along with 300 documents and maps featuring the establishment of the Cửu Long Delta and 13 local provinces. The documents cover local geology, history, economy and culture. They have been collected by the city library from various sources, but mainly from Hồ Chí Minh City’s General Science Library. The exhibition will run at Cần Thơ Museum till September 5. Climate change could drown Vietnam's beaches: experts A one meter rise in sea levels could cost Vietnam US$17 billion a year. Rising sea levels are eating into Vietnam's sandy beaches, and are threatening to engulf them completely, according to a report released at a recent conference on developing sustainable tourism in Vietnam in the era of climate change. At the conference, Peter Burns, an international expert in tourism, cited images taken from Google Earth, showing that since 2004, the coast of Hoi An, a popular tourist town in the central region, has witnessed significant change.   Sea water has encroached into the mainland about 10 meters each year, causing sand banks to shrink and damaging resorts. The same problem has been seen in southern provinces like Vung Tau and Kien Giang. Experts emphasized that saltwater intrusion could damage heritage sites and tourism facilities, increasing costs for renovation and maintenance. Vietnam is likely to be one of the top five countries most adversely affected by climate change, according to Vietnam’s Institute of Strategy and Policy. Over the last 50 years, Vietnam’s average annual surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.5 -0.7 degree Celsius, while the sea level has risen by approximately 20 centimeters. The United Nations warns that if sea levels rise by one meter, Vietnam will face a loss of US$17 billion each year; one fifth of the population or some 18 million will be homeless and 12.3% of farmland will disappear. Climate change has also resulted in severe natural disasters. Since the end of last year, the worst drought and salinity in almost a century has taken its toll on the Mekong Delta, driving 1.5 million people to live without clean water and ruining more than 400,000 hectares of crops. Thousands of tours canceled as Typhoon Dianmu batters Vietnam Trips out to sea and mountain treks would be a death wish in the north of the country. Thousands of tours to popular destinations in Vietnam have been re-routed or canceled due to prolonged extreme weather. Since August 17, tours to Halong Bay have been forced to return to Hanoi due to Quang Ninh Province’s ban on boats and ships going out to sea, said Pham Ha, sales manager at Bhaya Cruises. The company also stopped taking new bookings on August 18. “We have 19 ships in our fleet that were fully booked for these days. However, about 750 clients have canceled in just three days, costing the company US$75,000 - US$80,000,” said Ha. “On the first day of the typhoon, when clients were unable to set out, we had to help them return to Hanoi. Since then, the fleet has stayed at anchor and we've stopped taking bookings,” said Le Phuong Nhi, sales and marketing director at Indochina Sails, adding that they'd received 500 cancelations due to Dianmu, the third typhoon to hit Vietnam this year. Halong Bay, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of Hanoi, is one of Vietnam's top tourist attractions, drawing tens of thousands of domestic and overseas visitors each year, many of whom take overnight boat tours. Many tour agencies have been forced to change their itineraries, cut short tours or reschedule. Tours to Halong have been re-routed to the mountainous province of Ninh Binh, the Perfume Pagoda, the central province of Thanh Hoa or city tours of Hanoi, said Pham Hong Ha, director of APT Travel. However, since August 18, heavy rainfall has also canceled these alternative tours. “Today alone, all of the tours we had re-routed to Sa Pa, Cat Ba and Ninh Binh were canceled, and we lost 600-700 clients,” said the head of domestic tourism at APT Travel. Some travel agencies have been forced to cancel up to 100 tours to Halong every day. Many trans-Vietnam tours have also been reversed, starting in the south instead of the north as scheduled. Beside road tours, domestic and outbound flights have been delayed by the typhoon. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines canceled all flights to and from Cat Bi Airport in Haiphong City, Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa Province and Lien Khuong Airport in the Central Highland resort town of Da Lat on August 19. Budget airline Vietjet Air also rescheduled eight flights to and from Cat Bi Airport and Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, and canceled several others. Typhoon Dianmu arrived in northern Vietnam at noon on August 19, bringing gusts of wind up to 90km/h. The typhoon is expected to reduce to a low air pressure system at 1 p.m. on August 20. Vietnam is hit by on average eight to 10 tropical storms formed in the Pacific Ocean between July and October every year, which often cause heavy material and human losses. On July 26, Typhoon Mirinae formed in the East Sea and made landfall in northern Vietnam, triggering heavy rains accompanied by gale-force winds. Though not regarded as a strong typhoon, Mirinae caused significant damage in Vietnam, leaving a trail of destruction in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Nam Dinh,Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh. In early August, Typhoon Nida swept through Hong Kong, shutting down most of the financial hub with gale-force winds and disrupting hundreds of flights before churning through China and weakening to a low pressure system. Semi-finalists announced in US Entrepreneurship Challenge The US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has announced the five semi-finalists in a youth entrepreneurship contest aimed at fostering the entrepreneurial mindset and ecosystem in Vietnam. A total of eighteen teams partook in the contest that began on August 4. After presenting their ideas, five teams were selected to join the finale in Hanoi on August 31. The Ambassador’s Entrepreneurship Challenge is an initiative by US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius. The semi-finalist teams include L.I.M, SportHub, Algala, Jamme, and EM. Each team provided solutions aimed at tackling societal problems in the realms of diet, traffic congestion, or personal clothing style. Prizes will be awarded at US$1,000 for 1st place, US$750 for 2nd place, and US$500 for 3rd place. The 1st place team’s leader will be given a US$5,000 scholarship for the University of Hawaii (Vietnam) Executive MBA Program. They will also receive a fully-funded trip to attend the GIST Startup Camps, an event dedicated to Vietnamese entrepreneurs. This year’s GIST Startup Camp is set to take place from September 27 to 30 in Ho Chi Minh City and will host businessmen and top instructors from a number of US universities. Craftsmen honoured with ‘People’s Artisan’ title for first time Outstanding craftsmen will be honoured with ‘People’s Artisan’ and ‘Meritorious Artisan’ titles for the first time at a ceremony held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in Hanoi on August 26. Speaking at a press conference on August 19, Ngo Quang Trung, Head of the Agency for Regional Industry Development under the MoIT revealed that 16 craftsmen will be presented with the ‘People’s Artisan’ titles and 84 others will receive ‘Meritorious Artisan’ titles. The artisans, coming from 21 cities and provinces nationwide, have worked for a long time in many traditional crafts, including embroidery, pottery, silk flower making, wood and stone sculpture, silver carving, Dong Ho folk painting making, and bamboo and rattan product making. The titles are given to honour craftspeople who have made significant contributions to safeguarding and promoting their ancestors’ traditional crafts and handing down the practices to younger generations. They are also acknowledged for developing a brand for Vietnamese traditional handicraft products and making it more popular to the world. A handicraft exhibition will be held on August 26-29 at the Thang Long Hanoi Heritage Preservation Centre on the occasion, featuring 200 booths of 100% made-in-Vietnam traditional handicraft products such as rattan, embroidery, silk and porcelain items. HCMC suspends collection of road fee from motorbike users The Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee has just postponed Decision 20 about the collection of the road maintenance fee from motorbike users in the city because it not is in line with the current law regulation. Earlier, the management council of the city road maintenance fund sent its suggestion to the city’s Justice Department to postpond Decision 20. On April 21, 2015 the city’s People’s Committee inaugurated Decision 20 to implement the collection of the road maintenance fee from motorbike users in the city. The fee was applied to two wheel motorbikes (not including electric motorbikes) which registered in the city. Arts programme promotes RoK tourism to Vietnamese An arts programme themed ‘Travelling the Republic of Korea (RoK) through arts programmes in Vietnam’ officially opened at the Star Galaxy Theatre and Convention Complex Centre in Hanoi on August 19. Hanoi audiences will be delighted by professional and unique arts performances featuring both traditional and modern arts forms from the ‘land of Kim chi (fermented cabbage)’. The performances introduce the unique cultural identities as well as the land and people of the RoK, bringing a new perspective on the RoK’s tourism to Vietnamese visitors and audiences. The event features the participation of eight famous arts troupes from the RoK including Bibab, Jump, Sachum, Drumcat, Kung Festival, Fire Man, Pang Show and Fantastic, performing from August 19-21. On the sidelines of the programme, a wide variety of interesting activities, including cooking and enjoying the RoK food, make up show, wearing hanbok (the RoK’s traditional clothes), will also be held to help Vietnamese visitors know more aboutthe culture, tourism and cuisine of the RoK. A number of promotional booths were set-up by Vietnamese travel companies at the Star Galaxy centre to promote and give free advice on travelling to the RoK. The programme, organised by the RoK's General Department of Tourism in Vietnam, is expected to contribute to enhancing tourism exchanges between Vietnam and the RoK, contributing to the development of the relations between the two countries. The number of Vietnamese tourists to the RoK reached 137,000 in the first seven months of 2016, an increase of 53% over the same period last year. National Day celebration at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Some F&B outlets of the Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel are holding special programs for revelers during National Day holiday on September 2. The Central restaurant on level 3 will put on a feast of lobster, shrimp, snail, scallop, crab and all kinds of sashimi prepared by a seasoned culinary team. Diners can admire a fireworks display and enjoy finger food and a free flow of drinks at the Above Sky Bar on level 19 of the hotel. The seafood buffet party costing VND699,000++ per person will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. while the price of the fireworks party at the  Above Sky Bar is VND500,000 per person. Inaugurated last month at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel, Above Sky is one of the newest bars in town. It has an outdoor area where guests can see bustling activity in the center of the city. Guests may relax in a stylish ambience and enjoy premium wines and cocktails. What’s more, they can please their taste buds with the unique canapé menu. According to some frequent visitors, “pho” is one of the must-try cocktails at Above Sky Bar. Be it a special occasion or an intimate meeting, Above Sky Bar, which can accommodate 100 diners at a time, allows guests to experience fine wines and great cuisine. Customers can also have fun and relax with modern and diverse music genres played by DJs.  Above Sky Bar has a unique open space designed by the Kaze team that has won international awards. The bar’s comfortable interior coupled with a special lighting system creates a relaxing atmosphere. Above Sky Bar's Happy Hour program runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a 50% discount for draft beer and cocktails. On Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., female guests are entitled to free Strawberry Daquiri cocktail. Managed by Odyssea Hospitality, the four-star Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel can give guests a comfortable and convenient experience thanks to its modern and luxury rooms, restaurants, entertainment area and cinema. Located on Le Loi Boulevard in the commercial business district, the hotel is just a half-an-hour drive from Tan San Nhat International Airport. Interesting entertainment centers are just within walking distances. Odyssea Hospitality, a unit of Que Huong Corporation, is a hotel management company headquartered in HCMC. Under its management are three- and four-star hotels. Odyssea Hospitality is among Vietnam’s leading hotel management companies. The hotels managed by Odyssea Hospitality include Liberty Central Saigon Centre, Liberty Central Saigon Riverside, Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint, Liberty Central Nha Trang and Liberty Saigon South. Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel: 59-61 Pasteur Street, District 1, HCMC. Tel: (08) 3822 5678, email: frontdesk.lcp@libertyhotels.com.vn. InterContinental Hotels Group announces new regional general manager InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced Michael Hoe-Knudsen as general manager of InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel and Residences and regional general manager of IHG Vietnam and Cambodia. Hoe-Knudsen will be based at InterContinental Asiana Saigon in HCMC. He formerly served as regional vice president of operations, IHG Latin America & Caribbean, and interim director for IHG Hotels in New York. He joined IHG in 1996 and since then has successfully moved within the organization assuming different roles in North and South America and Caribbean. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis and spending time exploring the local lifestyle and destinations with his family. Rehabilitation treatment gains success in first half 53 out of 63 localities have ratified the Decision 2596/QD-TTg dated December 27, 2013 approving the Scheme for innovation in drug rehabilitation in Viet Nam to 2020, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. As many as 132 drug rehabilitation centers are operating nationwide, including 110 public ones and 22 non-public ones.    As of the end of 2016, 24,123 drug addicts have been treated, including 18,893 in public rehabilitation centers and 5,230 in private ones.  Up to 25,397 drug users got rehabilitation at households, community and community-based treatment after release.  58 our of 63 provinces and cities have launched Methadone treatment at 251 centers for 46,443 ones, according to the Ministry of Health.  Fire guts Vietnamese owned repair shop in Berlin A fire that broke out on August 19 has completely gutted a building in Berlin that housed an auto repair shop owned by Vietnamese national Nguyen Pha, according to German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost. The repair shop and all its contents along with a nearby warehouse were completely destroyed. Fire officials said the fire was reported in the early morning hours and was contained quickly.   About 70 firefighters were dispatched to stamp out the inferno. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but police said there were no initial signs of foul play. Police said several eyewitnesses reported hearing several large explosions just prior to smelling smoke and seeing flames billowing into the sky. No injuries have been reported. President visits Air Defence – Air Force Service President Tran Dai Quang asked the Air Defence – Air Force Service to continue promoting its core role in intensifying national defence and safeguarding the country while visiting the unit on August 19 on the occasion of the 71st August Revolution and National Day (September 2).  He requested the unit to effectively implement resolutions and instructions of the Party, State, Central Military Commission and Defence Ministry in order to build a comprehensively strong armed service.  It is required to consider political building as a foundation to increase combating strength, and coordinate closely with other forces to protect the air, border, sea and islands of the nation.  The Air Defence – Air Force Service should apply scientific and technological advances in combat training, use existing weapons effectively, and pay more attention to protecting national secrets in the context of increasing cyber crimes, he suggested.  The State leader required the armed force to intensify its relationship with people and actively participate in social welfare programmes and search and rescue activities.  He also showed his hope that the unit will increase its vigilance and military readiness and overcome all challenges to gain further achievements, thus contributing to the nation’s construction and safeguarding. Computerised lottery to be launched in 11 localities The Finance Ministry held a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on August 19 to launch a computerised lottery for 11 cities and provinces nationwide. Participating localities include Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, An Giang, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh. Speaking at the event, Deputy Finance Ministry Tran Van Hieu said the Prime Minister has allowed the establishment of the Vietnam lottery limited company, which will sell lottery tickets and prized games across the country. The company struck a business deal with Malaysia’s Berjaya Corporation which provided the advanced technical system for its operation. After a month-long successful pilot run which ended on July 18 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietlott is now embarking on doing business in the above 11 localities. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE