Social News 14/10 Illegal football betting ring busted   Police in the northern province of Bắc Ninh yesterday decided to initiate criminal proceedings against seven people for their alleged involvement in a large online football betting ring. All the accused are between 26 and 53, and live in Bắc Ninh Province. The local police in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security last week arrested and searched the accommodation of Nguyễn Văn Đoàn, Phạm Ngọc Tuấn, Đặng Ngọc Hưng, Đỗ Văn Hải, Bùi Tá Tấm, Bùi Trọng Tiến and Nguyễn Quang Bắc Sơn. According to the initial investigation, Đoàn was the gang’s leader and was engaged in betting activities with more than 100 gamblers. The police said transactions worth nearly VNĐ200 billion (US$8.8 million) were conducted as part of the ring’s illegal betting activities since June. The investigation agency seized several documents and evidence which revealed the illegal activities of the ring. They also collected several records, dozens of mobile phones, iPads, laptops and CPUs, as well as a car and more than VNĐ150 million ($6,700) in cash. The accused have admitted to their gambling exploits. The police are expanding their investigation.  Hanoi proposes food safety standards Hà Nội’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has petitioned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and relevant agencies to formulate and promulgate certain food safety standards. It would be a basic condition for organisations and individuals to supply safe products in accordance with the issued standards and take legal responsibility, Chu Phú Mỹ, head of the department, said at a meeting held yesterday to review the results of a programme on development of safe vegetable and meat supply chain in Hà Nội. The food safety standards would also aim to raise awareness of people on production and consumption of safe food, as well as competitiveness of domestic agricultural products in the market, he said. Nguyễn Văn Sửu, Vice Chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the city’s agricultural production had yet to meet demand, so it had to buy farm products from other localities, posing difficulties for the city in food quality and hygiene management. "Eighty per cent of products are imported from other provinces and collected by the traders," he said. Also yesterday, the Vietnamese Safe Farm Products and Food Week fair opened on Cầu Giấy District’s Hoàng Quốc Việt Street. The event aimed to bring safe products and specialties from localities nationwide to Hanoians, while boosting trade and building consumption chains, Sửu said.  During the week, the Agriculture Trade Promotion Centre under MARD will organise activities to help customers identify safe farm products.  The event is on until October 17.  Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017 The 6th Quang Nam Heritage Festival will be held from June 9-14, 2017 as approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The festival will include various special culture and arts programmes, and sports and tourism activities such as an exchange among world heritage cities, an exhibition on Viet Nam sea and islands, Bai Choi folk games festival, a boat racing, an international windsurfing racing with the participation of racers from 30 countries, an international choir competition,and Ngoc Linh ginseng festival and others. The festival will provide an excellent chance for Quang Nam to accelerate cultural exchanges and share experiences in management and conservation of cultural heritages. In addition, the event aims to honour Viet Nam’s cultural value and Quang Nam province’s cultural identities as well as promoting Viet Nam's images to international friends. Quang Nam planned to invite 10-12 world heritage cities from Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and others to participate in the Festival. The opening ceremony is scheduled for June 9, 2017 in Tam Ky city and the closing ceremony will take place on June 14 in Hoi An city. Healthcare funds won’t run out Two senior officials pledged on Wednesday that national healthcare and social insurance funding will not run out, but cautioned that appropriate reforms and adjustments were needed. Bùi Sỹ Lợi, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs, and Phạm Lương Sơn, deputy general director of Việt Nam’s Social Insurance Organisation (SIO), delivered the promise at a seminar on “Solutions for effective management of Healthcare and Social Insurance Funds.” However, Lợi said that if the current situation is not remedied, one cannot rule out the possibility of social insurance and healthcare funds going insolvent by 2019 and 2037. The current healthcare contribution required of each card-holder is 4.5 per cent of basic salary, but this could be increased to the permitted ceiling of 6 per cent. This additional revenue would help balance the budget, Lợi said.  Sơn said that SIO has implemented a number of administrative reform measures and will review procedures further in order to cut out more superfluous steps and improve connectivity between relevant agencies. The number of inspections will be increased and IT applications in management boosted in order to prevent fraud and abuse, the two officials said. The conference heard that a medical data and healthcare information assessment portal will open nationwide on January 1, 2017, based on a pilot project launched in Hà Nội. Starting next year, medical facilities across the country will be required to join the portal and share their data, which would include the patients’ medical history, records of all check-up sessions, as well as prescriptions and invoices. Concerns that the SIO’s exclusive control over spending could lead to a lack of transparency were misguided for the most part, Lợi said at the conference. He said the SIO was not monopolising the fund. Its function was to implement the Government’s policies and social insurance regimes, and to manage insurance funds as prescribed by law. The Social Insurance Management Council – which comprises of representatives from various ministries and authorities – is the agency tasked with directing and managing the activities, including decisions on investment. The council will also propose adjustments to social insurance regimes, Lợi said. He encouraged the public to get involved by reporting suspected abuse and fraud to the authorities. They should also manage efficiently the individual social insurance card that will be issued soon, he said. In the first half of 2016, 80 per cent of the population had healthcare coverage, exceeding the Government’s set target. However, this period posted a deficit of VNĐ8.5 trillion (US$381 million) , with total expenditure surpassing last year’s same period by 40 per cent. Sơn listed a number of reasons for this deficit. He said the number of people enrolling healthcare regimes had increased by 12 per cent, accounting for additional VNĐ2.9 trillion in expenditure.   Implementing the Ministry of Health’s Circular No 37/2015/TTLT-BYT-BTC on adjusting medical service fees also resulted in an expenditure of VNĐ3.2 trillion, he said. Circular 37 aims to gradually end Government subsidies for hospitals.    Installing transfer mechanisms for patients from central-level to provincial or district-level hospitals in order to reduce overload on the former had also resulted in additional VNĐ1.4 trillion. The rest of the deficit (approximate VNĐ1 trillion) is due to an unusual hike in inpatient care and doubtable drugs prescriptions. Healthcare insurance abuse has taken place in both private and public medical facilities, the conference heard. It referred to reports in multiple media outlets which said some people have taken advantage of loopholes to have medical examinations and get prescribed drugs multiple times a day for free. These drugs were sold at lower prices or even used to feed cattle. Sơn said that such abuse accounted for 1-3 per cent of the increase in expenditure.  Both officials called for increased awareness of the social impacts of healthcare fraud.  VinGallery to host art networking event VinGallery will organise a free networking event “Bring Your Own” on October 21 for the creative community in HCM City. The event will gather artists, designers, writers and filmmakers for conversation and exchange. They have been asked to bring business cards and artworks. There will be music, food and drinks. The event will be held from 7pm – 10pm at 6 Lê Văn Miến Street in District 2. Registration is available at www.ticketbox.vn. HCM City dairy farmers encouraged to breed oxen The HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has advised dairy farmers having cows with low milk yields to switch to higher-yield cows or oxen for their meat. The city, which has the largest number of dairy cows in the country, has begun a programme to support farmers make the switch. Farmers who decide to breed oxen will get subsidies for artificially inseminating their cows to produce hybrid oxen that yield large quantities meat. The hybrids can reach weights of 380-400 kilo with 18 months. As of last July the city had more than 95,000 milch cows -- with Củ Chi, Hóc Môn and Bình Chánh districts accounting for the largest numbers -- down 2 per cent year-on-year, according to the department. The decline has been attributed to dairy companies in the city reducing their purchase of fresh milk. Vinamilk, for instance, has this year increased quality standards for the milk it buys. The company has informed farmers that next year it will only sign contracts to buy milk from those who have more than five cows, and that number will rise to more than eight in 2018. Last year the city had more than 2,700 households with less than five cows. Lê Văn Tám, a farmer in Củ Chi District’s Thông Tây Hội Commune, said: “Now farmers only increase their dairy cow herd if they have signed a contract with a dairy processing company.” In Củ Chi, around 1,200 farmers have switched from dairy cows to oxen, according to the Củ Chi District Farmers Association. Lê Thị Thanh Huyền, who has two oxen farms with more than 400 head in Củ Chi’s An Nhơn Tây and Nhuận Đức communes, said her family has been breeding hybrid oxen with high meat yields since 2007.    But the price of beef has reduced to around VNĐ64,000 a kilogramme because of the large import of oxen for meat, resulting in lower profits from raising oxen, she said. Oxen breeding has been widespread in Củ Chi for many years, but farmers have not benefited from a city programme to provide soft loans for raising economically viable livestock, which does not cover oxen. District authorities have petitioned the city that farmers switching to oxen should be provided the loans. The city plans to have around 100,000 head of dairy cattle by 2020, with each animal yielding an average of 7,700kg of milk a year (or 21kg a day), up 33 per cent from 2010, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. There will be 30,000 oxen supplying 10,000 tonnes of meat. It also expects the cows to calve 25,000 – 30,000 cows and 7,000 oxen a year. The city will apply Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) in breeding dairy cows. Trees chopped down in Hanoi, Saigon for railway, subway constructions More than 150 trees in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been trimmed, chopped down or relocated to provide space for the construction of urban railway and metro projects. In Hanoi, the municipal Department of Construction has allowed the Management Board of Hanoi Urban Railway (MRB) to remove some 109 trees along Kim Ma Street in Ba Dinh District to build a railway section. As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday, 106 trees planted were removed while two other dead trees were chopped down. A tree with little interference to the construction area was trimmed. The trees, including lagerstroemia, flamboyant, khaya, and others, are set to be brought to the Van Giang plant nursery in the northern province of Hung Yen for preservation. The railway project will be eight kilometers long, connecting the Hanoi Railway Station and several locations across the Vietnamese capital. Improved living standards for those relocated Difficult living conditions at relocation villages in Lai Châu Province have forced people who have lived there for a decade to move back to their hometown. A decade ago, 90 households in the northern province of Lai Châu left their hometown, Sìn Hồ District’s Chăn Nưa Commune, and relocated to Phong Thổ District’s Phong Thổ Town due to the construction of the Sơn La Hydropower Plant. While some households have managed to settle down at the town’s relocation villages of Pa So and Hữu Nghị, many others, after 10 years of struggling to survive, have decided to either move back to their hometown or find other places to live. Mai Ngọc Thắng’s family, head of the Civil Protection Unit of Phong Thổ Town, was one of the pioneers to relocate to Pa So Village. Three couples of the family are living altogether in a 200sq.m area, without land for agricultural production. “I plan to sell goods at the market but there are too few people living here to buy them, which makes us struggle financially,” he said. “The place is probably suitable only for old people who receive a retirement pension from the State,” he said. Thắng has put his house up for sale. His children have all got married, but none of them have found jobs. Among the 40 households that originally relocated, only 18 households currently still reside in Pa So Village, Thắng said. Phạm Quang Đông’s family, another household that was relocated, moved to the village in 2004 and has been struggling to make a living ever since. “If I was still young I would move to live somewhere else,” Đông said. “Most of my block’s residents don’t have jobs. We do not have vocational schools,” he said. “Most of the youth have either rented their houses or hired someone to look after their houses and gone to find jobs elsewhere.” When the State asked them to leave their hometown, each household received compensation of VNĐ76 million (US$3,408), Đông said. But such an amount could not last a decade, and has made it hard for the relocated villagers to settle down. The same situation has happened in the relocation village of Hữu Nghị. Half of some 40 relocated households have moved back to their hometown, most of them of working age who don’t receive an old age pension, said Cao Xuân Thưởng, a villager. Those who stayed are the ones whose houses were replaced by the Sơn La Hydropower Reservoir. Most of the households that left the relocated villages are residing in Chăn Nưa Commune’s Chiềng Chăn 3 Village. “We have the opportunity and resources to grow crops and raise cattle here,” said Đỗ Thành Chung, a relocated villager who moved again. “Life is easier here. The authorities here are also more supportive.” Based on the commune’s statistics, of some 70 households who relocated to Phong Thổ Town 10 years ago, 20 households (some 40 people) have returned. Bùi Văn Sơn, vice chairman of the commune People’s Committee, said: “Due to time constraints, no proper research was carried out about the relocation villages and living conditions there before the relocations were carried out.” “No one should be blamed, but the resettlement work did happen too fast, too soon,” he said. Speaking at a conference in the northern mountainous province of Điện Biên at the beginning of the month, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ordered officials to guarantee an improvement in living standards for people who were relocated due to the construction of the Sơn La Hydropower Plant. The PM said that the resettlement work, which has been carried out over the past 15 years, needs to ensure that those in relocated households have improved spiritual, material and cultural lives. The Sơn La Hydropower Plant is one of the key national projects to supply electricity for socio-economic development, industrialisation and modernisation. To prepare for the building of the plant, more than 20,300 households, with some 93,000 people in Sơn La, Điện Biên and Lai Châu provinces need to be relocated. Indika Saigon to host HCMC Soul concert Indika Saigon will host a Soul concert with Adrienne Mack-Davis, a classically trained singer and composer from New York, on October 15. Mack-Davis’s music is a blend of hip hop, Soul, pop, R&B and dance music with classical opera. Over the last three and a half years, she has performed in 600 shows and hosted 20 creative workshops worldwide. The concert will feature French musicians Thomas Noyer, Indy Laville and Pocky. The show will take place from 8pm –11pm at 43 Nguyễn Văn Giai Street in District 1. Tickets are priced at VNĐ50,000. Walking tour offers glimpse into the past The Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH) will host a city walking tour for visitors to discover Quán Thánh Temple on Sunday. Attendees will visit the temple – an old, important temple that is almost purely Taoist - and learn about its 3.7-tonne, 350-year-old bronze statue of Trấn Vũ, Hà Nội’s “Protector of the North”. The group will also walk along Trấn Vũ Street around Trúc Bạch Lake and learn about a number of past and modern day stories, legends and history associated with the lake before going to Ngũ Xã island on the east end of the lake to visit the Thần Quang Pagoda and Ngũ Xã communal house. Here the group will learn about the history of bronze casting, a famous craft in this area. The tour will start from 9am and end at about 11.45am. Cost: VNĐ70,000. For those who would like to stay on for lunch, they can have lunch at one of the many phở cuốn restaurant on the island for which Ngũ Xã is now famous. Registration: Stella, stellaciorra@hotmail.com (01662979605). Limit: 12 people. Yoga workshop at Zenith Yoga Studio I Zenith Yoga Vietnam and travelling yogi and adventurer Stephen Ewashkiw will hold an Adventure Yoga Workshop on October 14 to 16. The  focus of the workshop is the life-nourishing aspect of yoga practice. Join Ewashkiw for three days and get back in touch with what you want for your life. Ewashkiw will take attendees through a number of yoga genres over the course. The schedule includes: a Reflect & Restore session on Friday from 6-8pm; Form & Flow on Saturday from 10am to 12 pm and Hatha yoga from 1pm to 4pm; Vinyasa Yoga on Sunday from 10am to 12pm and a final class called The Practice from 1pm to 4pm later that day. Advance booking is required. Contact 0904356561. The workshops will take place at Zenith Yoga Studio 1 at 247 Âu Cơ Street.  Zumba dance party in aid of breast cancer Zumba Saigon and Saigon Outcast will host an event called “Party in Pink” on October 22 to raise funds for breast cancer in Việt Nam. Participants will join the two-hour dance events with nine local and expatriate instructors including Nichola Vickers and Huyền Nguyễn.  All proceeds from the event will go to the Breast Cancer Network Vietnam. Tickets are VNĐ150,000. Private donations will be accepted at the door. The event will be held at 7pm at Saigon Outcast at 188/1 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng Street in District 2. Japanese artists exhibit contemporary pottery A collection of porcelain products by 35 Japanese artists will be on display this Friday (october 14) at the Japanese Pottery: The Rising Generation from Traditional Japanese Kilns exhibit at the HCM City Exhibition House this week.  Using porcelain and clay, the artists capture the beauty of the Japanese culture and lifestyle. Deep blue, white, grey and yellow dominate their works, mostly vessels and pots. The contemporary works were made by artists who work at seven major traditional kiln sites in Japan.  The exhibition was organised by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Việt Nam and the Consulate General of Japan in HCM City. Entrance is free. The exhibit will close at the end of the month at 92 Lê Thánh Tôn Street in District 1.VNS Artist presents Central Highlands’ culture Artist Trương Công Tùng continues to present his deep-rooted fascination with the history and culture of the Gia Rai -- the largest ethnic group in Việt Nam’s Central Highlands where he comes from, through the exhibition Across the Forest which will open at 6pm today at Nhà Sàn Collective. Fusing folklore elements with his personal observations of the landscape and the lives of the modern Gia Rai people, Tùng’s video installation work paints a bleak portrait and contemplates the state of a community confronted with numerous upheavals. Born in 1986 in Đắk Lắk and currently based in HCM City, Tùng graduated from the HCM University of Fine Arts in 2010 with a degree in lacquer painting, but has since expanded his practice to video and installation. Intrigued by unexplainable occurrences, he draws a lot of his inspiration from spiritual culture, oral history and micro-history, bringing them into his works to continuously explore themes such as social change, ethnicity, religion and politics. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in Sweden, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong and Việt Nam. Across the Forest opens to the public from October 14 to November 6, from Wednesday to Sunday, 3-7pm. Nhà Sàn Collective is located on the 15th floor, Hanoi Creative City Building, 01 Lương Yên Street, Hai Bà Trưng District. Saigon Heat win, top ranking table Saigon Heat ended HCM City Wings’ winning streak and jumped to the top of the Việt Nam Basketball Association League, after they won a derby match yesterday in the City. Playing on home turf was a big advantage for the Heat, who won the game 79-69, after leading in all four sets. The Heat, however, have played one match more than their rivals, therefore their position may be changed when the second-placed Wings play bottom-ranked Danang Dragon this Sunday while the Heat rests. In another match yesterday, the Hanoi Buffaloes defeated Danang Dragon 79-68 on away grounds. The Buffaloes maintain the third position and will meet the Cantho Catfish this weekend. 144 students to enter city-level round of 2016 “Prudential-Good Essay, Good Writing” contest The organization board of the 2016 “Prudential-Good Essay, Good Writing” contest, 144 excellent secondary students were selected from nearly 1,800 students of 284 schools in 24 districts for the city-level round which will take place on October 29 in Junior High School Le Quy Don in District 3. Two districts 12 and Go Vap October 12 finished the district-level round of the contest. 69 students from 12 schools in District 12 participated in the round. Ms. Le Ngoc Le from the Education Division in district 12 said that these students completed for the school-level round from September 26 to October 6. Each school has selected 6 outstanding students having the highest scores for the district-level round. At the same time, 96 candidates of 17 secondary schools in District Go Vap took part in the contest.  Like previous years, candidates who won the first, second and third of the city-level round will receive bonus marks in the 10th grade entrance exam. Meantime, Mekong delta provinces' education departments finished the district-level round of the contest and candidates are preparing to enter the province-level round. Winners will participate in the region’s final round which takes place on November 26 in Long An Province’s Tan An District. The contest is co-organized by the Prudential Life insurance company in Vietnam and Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper with support from the education and training departments of HCM City, and the Mekong delta provinces. HCM City’s NA voters worry about bad smell, traffic jam and flooding The Ho Chi Minh City's National Assembly (NA) delegates yesterday had a working with the HCMC People’s Committee's leaders about the city’s social and economic issues in the first nine months of the year.  At a working, many NA voters expressed concerns over the flooding, traffic jam and environmental pollution. NA voter Truong Trong Nghia said that environmental pollution at the Da Phuoc waste treatment complex has caused much worries to the voters in the previous days. If the city does not quickly have the solutions, the bad smell from the complex will affect to local residents and the city’s growth.  Traffic jam, one of serious issues are focused on the meeting between the HCMC People's Committee and voters. Vice chief of the city’s National Assembly Delegation Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue summarized problems which the most of NA voters suggested concerns to traffic jam, food safety & hygiene, environment pollution and administrative procedures ...  Receiving the contributions from the voters, Deputy Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem said that the city has made efforts to solve related issues to environmental pollution, flooding and traffic jam.  In the upcoming times, the city also will suggest Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment and experts to re- evaluate related problems to the Da Phuoc and Hiep Phuoc waste treatment complex to find out the best solution. Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2017- city named President Ho Chi Minh The Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2017, an annual biggest and most anticipated event welcoming the lunar New Year in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to open from January 25-31. This year’s event themed “The city named President Ho Chi Minh- glorious inspiration” will describe Ho Chi Minh City as a dynamic, civilized, and modern city. The flower show is one of the events receiving the highest expectations of people during Tet holidays. The event is aimed to highlight Vietnamese Tet culture and has been held for 13 consecutive years, attracting more than one million visitors each year. The must-see site on Tet holidays is sponsored by the HCMC Government, Saigontourist Holding Company in partnership with other agencies and businesses in the city. SMS campaign supports the poor A text-message campaign will be activated from October 15 to November 30 to raise fund for the poor, especially those from extremely difficult areas and ethnic minority groups.  By texting VNN to number 1409, people can donate 15,000 VND to the poor, contributing to the sustainable poverty reduction in the country.  The campaign, jointly held by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, is part of activities to respond to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and the National Day for the Poor (October 17).  All information is available at website 1400.vn or through telephone centre 19001530.  According to multidimensional poverty line of Vietnam in the 2016-2020 period, Vietnam has more than 2.33 million poor households, accounting for 9.88 percent of total households nationwide, along with 1.23 million others close to the line.  A number of policies have been designed to mobilise resources to help the poor get rid of poverty, including a national target programme of sustainable poverty reduction for the 2016-2020 period that was approved by the Prime Minister in early September 2016.- Seminar discusses atomic energy application Atomic energy has been successfully applied in various sectors in Vietnam like health care, industry and agriculture, heard a seminar in Hanoi on October 13. Radiation and radioactive isotope have proven effective in disease diagnosis and treatment, head of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency Hoang Anh Tuan said, adding that Vietnam now houses 32 centres for nuclear medicine, 25 radiotherapy centres and 174 CT scanners. In the sphere of industry, gamma rays have been used in the garment-textile sector and petrochemistry, according to the official. Tuan suggested training more experts who can master radiation and radioactive isotope as Vietnam is now thirsty for experts in this field. Delegates at the event also discussed the legal system, mechanisms and policies, as well as State management in scientific and technological development and application in order to ensure safety and security of atomic energy. They stressed the need to import more technologies and organise more scientific-technological workshops with the participation of foreign partners to hasten the application of atomic energy in socio-economic development. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac said that Vietnamese management agencies, scientists, institutes and educational institutions have made every effort to develop legal documents with the aim of accelerating the research and application of the energy. Outcomes of atomic energy research studies and applications to serve national socio-economic development were also displayed on this occasion. President stresses youths’ role in international integration Young people are pioneers in national construction and defence, and one of the decisive factors in Vietnam’s industrialisation, modernisation and international integration, President Tran Dai Quang said on October 13. “The Party and State puts youths at the centre of the national human resources development strategy to ensure the country’s stability and sustainable development,” he said at a ceremony marking the 60 th anniversary of the Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF) (October 15) in Hanoi. Mentioning youths’ contributions to national liberation, construction and defence, the President said the VYF has grown in all aspects. He urged the federation to continue uniting young people, especially those in ethnic groups and from remote and disadvantaged areas. The federation should also team up with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in educating young people about patriotism and humanitarianism, he said. The leader said a voluntary spirit should be displayed by young people, calling on them to take a more active part in socio-economic development, social welfare, poverty reduction, national construction and defence. At the ceremony, the VYF Central Committee honoured 80 young people who made outstanding contributions to youth movements over the years. President asks for veterans’ active role in corruption fight War veterans will carry forward their solidarity and take a more active part in socio-economic development campaigns as well as the fight against bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, crimes and other bad deeds, President Tran Dai Quang has said. He met with 90 outstanding war veterans attending a national conference reviewing the campaign encouraging veterans to support each other in poverty reduction and economic development in Hanoi on October 13.  The leader applauded the veterans for their mutual support in eliminating poverty and boosting economic development, especially in building new-style rural areas. He also hailed the veterans’ engagement in humanitarian activities as well as their contributions to community-based defence and security.  He reminded them that their production and business facilities should be models in observing the Party’s guidelines and policies, and the State’s laws, particularly in protecting the environment and ensuring food safety.  President Quang urged the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association and its chapters to closely coordinate with relevant agencies to assist their members in production and business activities.  The association should revamp its operation methods while teaming up with relevant organisations and agencies to effectively realise the resolution adopted at the 12 th National Party Congress, the Party’s policies and guidelines and the State’s laws, especially those concerning socio-economic development, he said. Hai Phong overpass to open next year The first steel overpass in the inner northern city of Hai Phong at the most crowded intersection is expected to be put into operation in January next year. Construction of the overpass at the Le Hong Phong-Nguyen Binh Khiem intersection started in May this year. It connects two important routes - Nguyen Binh Khiem Road located on Highway 5 and Le Hong Phong Road, which leads to the Cat Bi International Airport. This intersection facilitates travel for some 50,000 vehicles per day, often leading to traffic jams and road accidents. In addition, the volume of cargo received at Hai Phong Port has seen a 12-19 percent increase in recent years, which has increased the number of vehicles travelling on Highway 5 and via the intersection. The overpass has received investment of 310 billion VND (13.95 million USD) sourced from the city’s budget. Once construction is complete, it will be 267.6m long and 16m wide, with four lanes and a maximum speed of 60km per hour. To help facilitate construction of the overpass, the city’s Transport Department made some traffic adjustment, but that led to public concern as it affected the operation of some businesses. Tran Van Tam from investor HJC Joint Stock Corporation explained that traffic difficulties for some businesses were inevitable, such as increase in expenses relating to petrol and road fee since vehicles had to take a roundabout route due to the construction of the overpass. However, if heavy vehicles were still allowed to go through this intersection, it would affect the progress of the project and the quality of the overpass, he said. From October 7, vehicles with capacity of more than 13 tonnes are required to take a roundabout route to the Hanoi-Hai Phong highway, instead of the Nguyen Binh Khiem and Le Hong Phong roads, from 5am to 11pm. France helps Can Tho improve medical services French experts are willing to assist the General Hospital of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho in applying advanced medical techniques, Jean-Patrick Lajonchere, France’s export coordinator for healthcare products and services, affirmed on October 4.  Jean-Patrick Lajonchere was inspecting the implementation of a French ODA-funded medical equipment project in the hospital.  During the inspection tour, he applauded the hospital’s effective use of the cutting-edge equipment in medical check-ups and treatment for patients in the locality and the region at large.  According to the hospital’s Director Le Quang Vo, the project has enabled the hospital’s staff to apply up-to-date techniques in health care, thus improving their medical services.  The Health Ministry on October 15 will examine the hospital’s competence in conducting several heart surgeries using the French ODA-funded equipment, he said.  The 850-billion-VND (38.3 million USD) Can Tho General Hospital was put into service on September 21, 2014. Covering a total area of 2.48 hectares, the hospital has 500 beds and a staff of nearly 600.  The French ODA-funded equipment project was implemented since 2013, with the total investment of approximately 22 million EURO (24.5 million USD), 19.5 million EURO of which came from France’s ODA.  The hospital has been equipped with over 3,000 advanced machines, including a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a computerised tomography (CT) scanner, a Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) machine, and dialysis machines. Fire breaks out at grill restaurant A fire broke out at a restaurant on Hai Bà Trưng Street in Hà Nội’s Hoàn Kiếm District last night destroying all of its facilities and a warehouse nearby.  No casualty was reported as the fire occurred when the Gogi House restaurant was closed. However, a warehouse behind the restaurant was burnt to the ground. Some people living near the area said the restaurant and the warehouse were old-structured and deteriorated.  It took firefighters 30 minutes to extinguish the fire.  The case is being investigated. Gogi House is a restaurant specialising in Korean hotpots and grilled food, under the Golden Gate Restaurant chain. Earlier, a Gogi House restaurant on Phạm Ngọc Thạch Street in Đống Đa District caught fire in June this year. Nguyễn Trường Sơn, head of the Fire Fighting and Prevention Police Office No. 2, said this restaurant once had been fined for violating fire prevention and control regulations. Another restaurant under the Golden Gate chain, Sumo BBQ restaurant on Quán Sứ Street in Hoàn Kiếm District, caught fire in 2015. Midfielder Sa lands Quảng Ninh Coal signs three-year deal Phạm Nguyên Sa has found his new home for the coming season, after signing a three-year contract with Quảng Ninh Coal FC. The value of the agreement was not released, but rumours said that it would be valued at more than VNĐ1 billion (about US$45,000) per year. Sa will unite with coach Phan Thanh Hùng, who previously coached Sa in SHB Đà Nẵng FC from 2007-09. Sa is expected to strengthen Hùng’s defence line, which was considered the weakest point of the team in the previous season. Apart from captain Sa’s departure, Đà Nẵng also said goodbye to four other players who were not included in the club’s plan in the coming years. Meanwhile, they welcomed midfielder Văn Long from Hoàng Anh Gia Lai and are expecting to win a leftback in the coming days.  HCM City to co-host cultural festival with Korean city The month-long 2017 Gyeongju World Cultural Festival is expected to take place in HCM City from November next year. HCM City and Gyeongju city in South Korea’s Gyeongsangbuk-do Province will co-host the event, which will consist of art performances, exhibitions, movie screenings and trade promotion. An MOU for organising the festival was signed during city Party secretary Đinh La Thăng’s visit to South Korea in September. The festival has been held biennially since 1998 in South Korea and foreign countries to promote their respective cinema, trade, art and culinary industries.  VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE