Social News 21/12 Ministry warns of disease outbreak in floods aftermath   Due to prolonged flooding in central province, the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health yesterday issued warning of disease outbreaks and preventive ways. As per the warning, to prevent epidemic in floods aftermath due to polluted water source and unhygienic environment in flooded areas, medical clinics should ensure medications and disinfectants. Especially, the health sector in the central provinces must carry out surveillance of diseases including sending mobile teams to flood hit areas.  Additionally, the sector must provide chemicals for each household to disinfect environment and water source. Increased information of water supply is needed to spread to each household.  Moreover, the health sector has to detect and handle contagious diseases such as diarrhea, pink eye, respiratory problem, skin diseases, influenza, cholera, dysentery and typhoid. Residents in flood hit areas should eat boiled food and water, and wash hands regularly with soap and use provided chemicals to disinfect water for cooking; spraying chemicals in burying animal corpses.  Campaign launched to raise funds for flood victims The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee launched a campaign on December 20 to raise funds for local residents in flood-hit south central provinces. At the launching ceremony, the VFF Central Committee received over 8 billion VND (around 352,000 USD) and 9,800 USD donated by ministries, sectors and organisations to the affected people. The same day, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented 300 million VND to residents and another 300 million VND (13,200 USD) sourced from the National Fund for Vietnamese Children for kids in flood-affected areas in Binh Dinh province. She also visited and presented gifts to support 20 affected households and 10 million VND to a family in Phuoc Hoa commune of Tuy Phuoc district. A delegation from the Ministry of Education and Training led by Deputy Minister Pham Manh Hung also handed over 400 million VND (17,600 USD) and 2,500 sets of textbook to students in the flood-hit districts of Phu Cat, Tuy Phuoc and An Nhon in Binh Dinh province. According to the provincial People’s Committee, floods have claimed 36 lives, injured 10 others and cause total losses of 1,230 billion VND (some 54.1 million USD). The province so far has received 12,000 packages of gift, worth 11.5 billion VND to support affected residents. It also disbursed 50 billion VND (2.2 million USD) from the provincial reserve budget to aid local people. A total of 8.3 billion VND (365,200 USD), donated by organisations and individuals both in and outside the province, has been used to build 166 houses for the flood victims. The province called on the Government to allocate 500 billion VND (22,000 USD) to address the consequences of the floods. Also on December 20, a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development visited the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa to help local farmers resume agricultural production after the floods. The delegation visited land-slide Phuoc Loc village in Phuoc Dong commune, Nha Trang city, in which two were killed, six were injured and one went missing. The working team also supervised the flooded fields in Dien Dien, Dien Son, Dien Phu communes, in Dien Khanh district. Four teams have been set up to help other south central localities, namely Thua Thien – Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan overcome consequences of floods. Since early this month, floods and heavy rains have hit Khanh Hoa, causing a loss exceeding 600 billion VND (26,400 USD) and damaging 8,000 hectares of rice, 1,300 hectares of corn, 280 hectares of vegetables, irrigation works, killing thousands of livestock, and sinking dozens of ships. Floods and heavy rains have caused serious damages, worth over two trillion VND (88 million USD) to the five provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam and Khanh Hoa. 59 were reported dead and missing, 22 injured, and hundreds of thousands of houses collapsed and flooded. Vinh Long, Cambodia’s BanTeay Meanchey boost cooperation The People’s Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on December 20 met officials of the Cambodian province of BanTeay Meanchey to exchange experience in socio-economic development. At the working session, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Hoang Tuu briefed strengths of Vinh Long in a bid to seek to enhance cooperation with the Cambodian locality There are over 70,000 ha of rice and over 40,000 ha of fruit trees in Vinh Long, as well as an abundant skilled labour force, historical and eco-tourism sites, according to Tuu. Suon Bava, Governor of BanTeay Meanchey, applauded socio-economic development achievements of Vinh Long, adding that two localities should boost ties in agriculture and tourism due to similarities in those fields. The two provinces will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for 2017 – 2022, with cooperation priority suggested for the agriculture, trade and tourism sectors. New entertainment site at Saigon Zoo & Botanical Garden Rubik Zoo, a newly-launched entertainment site, was opened to the public last week at the Saigon Zoo & Botanical Garden in downtown HCMC. The venue covers 5,000 square meters with 300  shipping-container shops and stands offering food, fashion goods and games. Developed by Phu Hoang Gia Investment Corp., the entertainment area is expected to run daily until the end of 2017. The investor wants to create a green and helpful place for youth to learn about animals and environmental protection, and for startups to learn to do business in an environmentally friendly way. Young people and families can also come for leisure and relaxation on weekends. Budding businesspeople can receive financial aid to set up their booths at the venue. Rubik Zoo is inspired from a shopping center concept in France and Italy featuring restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment, studios and an outdoor stage. Phu Hoang Gia Investment Corp. is also the developer of an entertainment complex called Eco Box Container in Celadon City in Tan Phu District, HCMC. Rubik Zoo is open daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 1 Bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1, HCMC. For further information, visit www.rubikzoo.com or Facebook page of rubikzoo. People who search for business opportunities can access www.sukiensaigon.net or email to phgmarketing5@gmail.com or info@rubikzoo.com or call the hotline 0938 686 749. HCM City releases centurial literary project A collection of 25 books with 20,000 pages featuring more than 1,560 literary works written by over 400 authors who had lived and worked in Ho Chi Minh City from 1900 to 2000 has been launched on December 19 by the Department of Propaganda and Training of the HCMC Party Committee and the Research Center for National Culture.  The largest ever project of its kind themed “A century of patriotic literature, Ho Chi Minh City revolutionary” features typical literary works of the 20th century in the Southern region. The editorial board spent five years to collect and choose dozens of thousands of literary works in different types, such as fiction, long story, short story, reports, poetry, screenplay, theory and criticism and others for the project. The compositions honor patriotism, humanity, the heroism and sacrifices of the soldiers in the field of literature as well as affirming the party leadership, revolutionary heroism and great power of Vietnamese people. Head of the department of Propaganda and trainning of the HCMC Party Committee Than Thi Thu asked departments, organizations and schools to promote and present the book project to the public, especially young people. Four hi-tech centers built to meet patients’ demand The Ministry of Health has given the green light to E Hospital in Hanoi to open four hi-tech centers to satisfy patients’ demand. The four centers include heart center, digestive center, bone-muscle center, and tumor center. Heart center is expected to be the leading one in performing complicated cases of congenital heart problem in the country. The hospital yesterday broke the ground for building a treatment ward and a modern ward for outpatients as well as set up a children ward. Speaking at the ceremony, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien highly appreciated the hospital’s growth in application of advanced techniques to improve treatment service quality. Hospital Director Professor Le Ngoc Thanh said that the treatment ward and the ward for outpatients are built on an area of 13,000 meter square with total cost of VND358 billion (US$ 15.7 million). It is hoped to serve 2,000 patients a day.  It is scheduled to open the two wards in 2018. On the same day, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and her delegation called on Bach Mai Hospital and the Central Children Hospital in Hanoi to liaise with hospitals’ managers. Health Minister urged hospital leaders to improve treatment procedures, patients’ record writing in order to reduce patients’ waiting time. In related news, through patients’ complaint of medical workers’ improper behaviors to patients in Tan Trieu clinic - satellite hospital of Tumor Hospital - in Ha Dong District in Hanoi, Tumor Hospital Director Professor Tran Van Thuan said that the hospital's managing board decided to issue discipline to seven medical workers including deputy head of a ward. Fine art universities’ lectures display art works in Hanoi A fine art exhibition featuring art works of lectures of Vietnam University of Fine Arts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts opened at the Museum of Vietnam University of Fine Arts in Hanoi was organized this morning.  The event presents 65 artworks on different materials such as oil painting, silk, acrylic, lacquer, wood carving, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, stone, and wood. The exhibition describes different emotions, problems faced by people every day. Deep inside each artwork is the thoughts, feelings, passions and desires of a peaceful life with the beautiful natural scenery and human’s beauty. The display lasts until December 30. Tons of clams wash up on beach in Ha Tinh Province From December 16, tons of alive clams had washed up in the beach in Thach Hai Commune in the central province of Ha Tinh’s Thach Ha. Locals said that from September to November of Lunar Calendar annually, when there have been big waves and rough sea, the shellfish have concentrated in piles in the beach. Locals have brought them to sell in local markets or cook them as food. Prices of husked shellfish fluctuate from VND30,000 to 50,000 per kilogram and unhusked clam are VND10,000 – 20,000 a kilogram. Administrators in Thach Hai Commune said this phenomenon is popular adding that each year, masses of shellfish wash up dead on beach one or three times. Vice President tours flood-hit areas in Quang Nam Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh visited and offered sympathy to flood victims in the central province of Quang Nam on December 19. The State official encouraged residents of Dien Ban Duy Vinh communes in Duy Xuyen district to resume their production after a recent flood. She ordered local authorities to support them and prevent hunger in these localities. A total of 215 gifts were presented to the residents and 100 million VND (4,394 USD) were handed over to Duy Xuyen district in order to help recover local sources of livelihood. After the visit, Thinh and her delegation had a working session with provincial officials.  Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Van Thu reported that the December flooding is the worse since the beginning of the year, which left thousands of houses submerged, vegetable plantations damaged and transport in Cua Dai river mouth and inland main roads paralysed. The local authorities have coordinated water releases at local hydropower plants and devised measures to help affected residents resume production. He proposed the Government providing financial assistance to fix damaged main roads of the province. The Vice President stressed the Party and Government’s commitment to tackling the flood consequences, with the Fatherland Front Central Committee calling for donations in Vietnam and abroad.  She urged the local administration to submit documents asking for assistance to the government as soon as possible. At the meeting, the Vice President, who is also head of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC), presented 300 million VND (13,182 USD) from the fund to help local children continue their study. WB specialist believes in first BRT route’s effects in Hanoi   The first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route in Hanoi, scheduled to officially operate from next year, will prove effective in meeting local commuters’ demand and easing traffic congestion, said a representative of the World Bank (WB) Vietnam. Jung Eun Oh, senior transport economist at WB Vietnam, voiced on December 19 her belief in the 14.77-km route that connects Kim Ma and Yen Nghia bus terminals. She said traffic congestion is now a serious problem in Hanoi and it is not easy to be solved amid the rapid growth of personal vehicles. A solution in big cities around the world is to develop the public transport network. The first BRT route will have better effects in the next few years when it is connected with other BRT routes, overhead railways, and metro, she noted. Public support is needed for this route’s success, she added, asking relevant agencies to listen to people’s feedback to improve the service. Vu Ha – Director of the management unit of the Hanoi urban transport development project – said the rapid buses will run on bus-only lanes but still move on mixed lanes with other vehicles in some stretches. Hanoi’s Department of Transport has devised plans to limit other vehicles such as taxis, cars and trucks along the route. A one-way ticket will cost 7,000 VND (30 US cents), equivalent to the fare of normal buses. Commuters can try the rapid bus free of charge for one month, in next January. The municipal Department of Transport admitted a big challenge facing this route – heavy traffic with several congestion hotspots. This is also a big concern among city dwellers when the rapid buses operate. It is necessary to thoroughly prepare infrastructure for BRT buses to ensure their quality and travel time, the department said. The Kim Ma-Yen Nghia BRT project has a total investment of more than 1.1 trillion VND (48.3 million USD) loaned by the WB. Started in 2013, the route was initially expected to operate in Q2 of 2015 but lagged behind schedule for two years. With the first BRT buses in Hanoi running in 2017, Vietnam will be the eighth country in Southeast Asia to implement BRT. Central provinces strive to overcome flood consequences   The south central province of Binh Dinh is delivering essential supplies to flood-hit areas as part of efforts to overcome consequences of the flood from December 11. It was reported at an online meeting on December 19 that the provincial military command has received dehydrated food from the Ministry of Defence, and more than 1,300 soldiers and local defence force members have been mobilized to bring the foot to target localities, including An Nhon, Tuy Phuoc, Phu Cat districts and Quy Nhon City.  The provincial Department of Health has carried out environmental checks in areas immediately after water recedes, provided health checks for people in heavily-flooded Phu My district and gave instructions to local people on sanitary measures. Heavy rains from December 11-19 caused widespread flooding in Binh Dinh, claiming 17 lives and leaving one missing. At present, 61 schools remain closed even though water has subsided in many areas.  On December 19, flooding in Khanh Hoa, another province in the south central region, also reduced. The provincial authorities have been working with organisations and enterprises to assist flood victims. The province reported that four people died and flood-related damages amounted to 600 billion VND (27 million USD) as consequences of floods triggered by heavy rain in November and December. PM talks with religious dignitaries, followers nationwide Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 19 held a meeting with 55 representatives from religious organisations nationwide to listen to religious followers’ opinions and proposals, aiming to better implement the law on belief and religions.  According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Vietnam has recognised and granted licenses to 39 religious organisations which groups over 24 million followers, or 27 percent of the country’s population, nearly 53,000 dignitaries, and 28,000 worshiping facilities. Religious dignitaries at the event agreed that despite their differences in doctrines and orientation, all religions shared the motto of closely attaching to the nation.  The religious organisations have contributed to preserve and promote cultural and humanity values that have positive influence to the society. They have acted as important channels contributing to realising Party and State’s policies and law. Representatives from many religious organisations lauded the Law on Belief and Religions, while proposing that the Government direct central agencies and sectors to issue guiding documents as soon as possible. Speaking at the event, PM Phuc clarified that throughout the history of national construction and defence, the Party and State have maintained the consistent viewpoint of respecting and ensuring people’s right to belief and religious freedom, as well as fostering religious solidarity to build a strong national unity bloc to serve national development and defence. The Government leader noted that over the past years, religious law and policies have been seriously implemented, ensuring the observation of the right to belief and religious freedom of people in line with the Constitution and law, especially after the adoption of the Law on Belief and Religion. The PM held that outstanding models of religion in engaging in social affairs, including charity classes, health care services and sponsorships, have shown the responsibility of religions to society as well as their practical contributions to national construction and defence. At the same time, he pointed to a number of challenges and difficulties facing religious activities, including limitations in economic and environment conditions as well as shortcomings in law and policies, and incitements from hostage forces. He asked the religious dignitaries to promote their role to set example for the implementation of religious policies and law, while encouraging followers to respond to socio-economic development movements. They should coordinate closely with State agencies to deal with the difficulties on a constructive spirit and respect to the law, not allowing outside forces to take advantage of religious freedom to sow division and harming the country’s national development and international integration, he asked. The PM also directed ministries, sectors and localities to continue focus on improving the spiritual and material conditions for people, especially religious followers, while promoting cultural and moral values of beliefs and religions in the society, thus enriching the country’s culture. Optimising religious resources will also contribute to create synergy strength for the national construction and development, he added. Hanoi’s book street to open in April Hanoi’s Book Street will open on April 21 - the Vietnam Book Day on December 19 street, which links Hai Ba Trung and Ly Thuong Kiet streets in downtown Hanoi. The fixed book street will have up to 20 stalls and remain open between 8am and 10pm.  The area will offer book cafes, reading spaces, book talks and exchanges between authors and audiences. The street will also be avenue for new book release as well as activities to encourage book reading culture.  A project on the book street was officially launched on December 19. Deputy PM extends Xmas greetings to Catholics, Protestants in HCM City Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh extended his Christmas greetings to Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20. The Deputy PM had separate meetings with Archbishop of HCM City Archdiocese Bui Van Doc, Cardinal Pham Minh Man – former Archbishop, and Pastor Phan Vinh Cu, President of the General Confederation of Evangelical Churches of Vietnam (Southern). Binh took the occasion to recognise the significant contributions of Catholics and Protestants to the country’s socio-economic-cultural development. He said the Vietnamese Party and State always respect and work to ensure the right to freedom of belief and religion as well as create all favourable conditions for religious activities within the legal framework. Archbishop Bui Van Doc promised to continuously encourage parishioners to follow the State laws and policies and actively participate in patriotic emulation campaigns. Meanwhile, Cardinal Pham Minh Man wished peace and prosperity for the country. Pastor Phan Vinh Cu pledged to encourage Protestant dignitaries and followers to join production activities, charity campaigns and poverty reduction efforts. Bac Giang to design conservation plan of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has given the green light to the northern province of Bac Giang in planning the preservation of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Yen Dung district, a special national historical and architectural relic. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is tasked with examining the plan before submitting it to the Prime Minister for approval.  Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, informally called La or Duc La pagoda, is 20 km to the southeast of Bac Giang City. Built in the 11th century under the Ly Dynasty, the pagoda served as a training institution for Vietnamese Zen monks during the Tran Dynasty (13th-14th centuries). It has been considered the first Buddhism university of Vietnam and the place of origin for Truc Lam Zen Buddhism. It also houses a collection of 3,050 carved woodblocks recognised by UNESCO as a world documentary heritage. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda was rated as a national historical and cultural site in 1964 and a special national relic in 2015. Its festival, which is held annually from the 12th to 14th day of the second lunar month, was also recognised as part of the national intangible cultural heritage in 2013. Moscow Day to be held in Hanoi in 2017 Moscow Day is expected to take place in Hanoi on 2017 as proposed by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan. Tuan made the proposal at a meeting with Klychkov Anrey Evgenievic, vice chairman of the Moscow Duma’s committee for social organisations and regional organisations in Hanoi on December 19. He highlighted the sound friendship between the two cities and suggested strengthening bilateral cooperation for mutual benefit and development. The Russian official said Hanoi and Moscow share a lot of similarities, which will be a foundation for the two sides to expand collaboration and good relationship. He affirmed to submit Hanoi’s proposal to Russian authoried agencies to map out specific plans for the organisation of “Moscow Day” in the Vietnamese capital city. Singapore called to help Hanoi with trees management Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung received Chuah Hock Seong, Associate Director of Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology of Singapore National Parks Board, on December 19 during which he called on Singapore to help the capital city improve the trees management software from January 2017. He said the bilateral cooperation in trees development will be a highlight in the two countries’ economic relations. He called on Singapore to focus on human resources training partnership in the field. In turn, Chuah Hock Seong said Singapore will share experience in building structure for trees management agencies. He proposed the city increase communication campaigns encouraging people to grow and take care of trees as well as build green parks near residential areas and actively cover urban roads with trees. He promised to work with municipal agencies to reach the signing of Memorandum of Understanding in the field. CLV justice institutions attend a round-table meeting A two-day roundtable aimed at discussing how to enhance cooperation between the key justice institutions of the Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Development Triangle (CLV) has opened in Nha Trang. The roundtable aimed at better defining the respective parties’ roles and mandates was attended by the Chief Justices of the Supreme People’s Courts of the three countries and 120 representatives of their collective Ministry of Justice.  A wide range of issues were discussed on the first-day of the conference running December 20-21 including the way cross border civil and criminal cases are prosecuted and participants entertained proposals to enhance the links between their handling of them. There was a consensus for the need to offer better clarity regarding transnational drug related crimes, illegal poaching of wildlife, human trafficking, smuggling of contraband weapons and money laundering schemes, noted Vietnam Supreme Court Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh. Representatives of the various Ministries of Justice will follow up on the recommendations that flow from this roundtable, said the Chief Justice, and coordinate to give them effect to improve the overall efficiency and consistency of justice within the CLV region. Mosquitos continue to spread Zika virus in HCM City Ho Chi Minh City has 141 reported cases of Zika virus through December 20 in 23 districts, 18 of which are pregnant women who have contracted the mosquito-borne disease, reports the City Preventive Medicine Centre. The Centre noted district 8 is the only one that hasn’t reported any cases of the virus. The districts with the highest number of infections are Binh Thanh with 28, District 2 with 18, District 12 with 13, Tan Phu with 11, District 9 with 10, and Go Vap, Phu Nhuan with six. Zika disease can cause a brain defect syndrome microcephaly for babies if pregnant women contract the virus during their initial months of pregnancy. The Centre has issued a health warning advising residents to undertake comprehensive plans to exterminate mosquito larvae, which are known carriers of both dengue fever and Zika.  Free movies shows for mountainous children More than 3,000 pupils at boarding schools in mountainous provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien have had a chance to watch films for free under the framework of the ‘Cinematography for all 2016’ program launched by CJ CGV Company. The program is part of social activities that CJ CGV has conducted since 2011 with the aim of bringing high quality cinematographic works to all people. It has so far introduced many interesting films to more than 10,000 viewers across the country, especially mountainous areas. Vuong Duy Bien, deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said at the opening ceremony of the event in Lao Cai on December 19 that mountainous pupils at boarding schools will have an opportunity to watch high quality films and take part in other meaningful activities.  free movies shows for mountainous children  hinh 1 Dong Won Kwak, general director of CJ CGV Vietnam, said CGV will work closely with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Department of Cinematography to help young talents nationwide become future leaders of the cinematography industry. On the occasion, the organizing board presented 120 scholarships for disadvantaged pupils. Four arrested over armed robbery at gold shop in southern Vietnam Four suspects have been arrested for using guns and other weapons to rob a gold shop in the southern Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh last week. The alleged robbers, including Le Dang Khoa, 26, Le Van Phuong, 22, Vo Tan Quoc, 22, and Nguyen Hong Khac, 30, were apprehended for their armed robbery at the gold shop in Go Dau District, a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper affirmed on December 18. According to preliminary reports, the gang members arrived at the store at around 1:00 pm on December 16, three of whom charged into the place with their weapons while the other stayed with their motorcycles. One of the robbers pepper-sprayed the shopkeeper, before the others broke the shop windows with their baton and swords. They then stole all the gold and jewelry at the shop and escaped. According to the store owner, she could not resist the criminals after she and her young son were attacked by the pepper spray. After hearing the woman’s scream for help, her family members and neighbors tried to pursue the suspects but were unable to catch them. About 10 taels (375 grams) of 18K gold was stolen, according to the shopkeeper. Police officers later arrived at the scene to carry out an investigation and were able to identify the culprits thanks to security camera footage from the store and nearby houses. Khoa and Phuong were nabbed on December 17 while Khac and Quoc were apprehended the following day. Vietnam to welcome 10 millionth foreign visitor in 2016 The tourism sector will host the 10 millionth foreign visitor to Vietnam at the Phu Quoc international airport in the southern coastal province of Kien Giang on December 25. The same day, a ceremony will take place to round off the 2016 National Tourism Year, which was designated to draw visitors to Phu Quoc island and the Mekong Delta region. Experts said the tourism year is a key move in turning Kien Giang into a tourism hub in the Mekong Delta region with Phu Quoc island as a leading resort destination of Vietnam. In 2016, more than 5.4 million tourists visited Kien Giang, increasing 24 percent year on year and exceeding the yearly quota by 9.5 percent. Of the figure, international arrivals grew 31.4 percent annually, 14 percent higher than initial plan. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country expects to welcome over 10 million international arrivals and serve more than 62 million domestic travelers this year, with total revenue estimated at 400 trillion VND (18 billion USD).   On January 1, 2017, Vietnam will begin issuing e-visa for foreign tourists. As such, the tourism sector has set goals of 11.5 million foreign visitors and revenue of 460 trillion VND (20.24 billion USD) in 2017. HCM City airport adds more night flights for holiday travel rush Tan Son Nhat, the country’s busiest and biggest airport, will increase the number of night flights in the weeks leading to the Lunar New Year holiday in an attempt to ease congestion. The Ho Chi Minh City airport is currently operating a total of 38 passenger flights per hour between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., leaving little room to squeeze in more flights, said aviation authorities. Lai Xuan Thanh, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, suggested carriers increase the number of night flights as the Lunar New Year travel rush is about to start in less than a month. “If we can schedule a maximum of 38 nigh take-offs and landings between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.," Thanh said, "the airport will be able to handle the increased travel demand during the Tet holiday.”  Aviation authorities are expecting domestic airliners to add more than 2,000 extra flights to their schedule during the holiday season. Vietnam Airlines, the country’s biggest carrier, said the number of flights will be up 46% compared to last year's season, with an extra 900 flights added to serve more than 185,000 passengers. Tan Son Nhat, designed to handle both domestic and international passengers, has become increasingly overstretched due to lack of air space, limited ground services and traffic congestion near the airport. Dang Tuan Tu, the airport director, said it is expected to handle 31 million passengers this year, far beyond its maximum capacity of 25 million. He said more night flights will be a solution for the worsening overload at the airport during the upcoming peak season. Aid rushed to flood hit areas Governmental agencies and donors have sent emergency aid of 23 tonnes of dry provisions, 25,000 boxes of instant noodle and 10,000 bottles of water to flood affected provinces in the central region. The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions reported yesterday that over 3,400 tonnes of rice seeds and more than 18,000 tonnes of sugarcane, bean, cassava, ground nut and vegetable saplings have been delivered to worst-hit provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Ninh Thuận. More than 111,000 grafted roots of grape and apples were also sent to Ninh Thuận Province. Rescue forces transported 17,000 sand bags and 23,000 water purification tablets to the region. Seven speedboats, 70 portable tents, 500 life-jackets and 10,000 life buoys were also delivered to Bình Định Province. The centre also said nearly 6,000 households in Bình Định Province have returned to their homes safely after being evacuated last week. Water levels in rivers flowing through provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Bình Định have been under the emergency level 2 as of early morning yesterday, and receding 12 hours later. A rainfall of between 31-35mm is forecast for Bình Định Province and some provinces in the region. However, the centre still cautioned that rough seas and whirlwinds would occur in the seas of south central region, south of East Sea, and waters off  the Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelago. National utility EVN, Việt Nam Electricity Group, said 46 reservoirs out of 148 in the region were still discharging water.   Rescue and repair work has been stepped up in the affected provinces since Saturday. The latest figures are that 24 people have died, 16 of them in Bình Định. Another 16 were badly wounded and two persons still missing. Flood also damaged nearly 100km of canals and dyke sections, 400m of national roads, eroded more than 388,000 cubic metres of soil. Eighty-five bridges, spillways and sewage systems were destroyed. Exhibition on Uncle Ho relics in Van Phuc village More than 100 photos and documents on relics related to Uncle Ho are on display at an exhibition which opened at the site where Uncle Ho wrote “the Call for national resistance” in Van Phuc village, Ha Dong district on December 19, 1946. The exhibition is divided into three topics, including Hanoi in times of danger; President Ho Chi Minh lives, works and writes “the Call for national resistance” at Van Phuc village; Hanoians respond to “the Call for national resistance” of President Ho Chi Minh. The exhibition is being held by Hanoi City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Resistance Day (December 19). Those publications not only show the great value of “the Call for National Resistance” of President Ho Chi Minh, but also introduce historical experiences and lessons about patriotism and national will of independence, as well as aspirations of the Vietnamese people for peace. The exhibition will help people, the youth in particular, to learn more about national resistance and the role it has played in the nation’s history. The exhibition, themed The Grandiose Song of Winter 1946, is also expected to inspire patriotism among the youth. HCM City to launch more bus service during Tet More public buses will operate in HCM City during Tet to meet the surge in demand during the holidays, officials from the Department of Transport told a conference on December 14. According to the Public Transport Management and Operation Centre, 1,048 trips will be added on 17 routes, while 844 trips will be reduced on other routes where holiday demand is traditionally low. To prevent congestion at bus terminals, bus will be allowed to depart as soon as they are 50 percent full. The number of passengers at Mien Dong Bus Station is expected to increase by 3 percent year-on-year, with January 22 likely to be the busiest day with 56,000 passengers, Thuong Thanh Hai, deputy director of the station, said. Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Department of Transport, urged all bus stations to ensure bus parks and pick up and drop off passengers in an organised manner. His department would co-ordinate with the police to tackle the problem of unlicensed buses operating outside or near bus stations, he said. Tourism firms vow to fight illegal wildlife trade Vietnamese tourism firms signed a commitment to fighting wildlife trading and protect the species at a workshop in Hanoi on December 14. The workshop, jointly organised by the Institute for Tourism Development Research under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, drew the participation of international and domestic tourism experts and business representatives. Director of the institute Nguyen Anh Tuan said the workshop aims to encourage tourism firms and hotels to join the fight against the illegal use and trading of wildlife, including rhino horns. The event also developed a master action plan to protect and reduce wildlife consumption and include t the issue in their codes of conduct of the tourism organisations and firms. Participants heard reports on the role and importance of wild species for biodiversity and habitats; the wildlife use and trading in Vietnam and the world; and related legal documents. Blaze takes heavy toll on Vietnamese market in Australia Fire broke out at the Little Saigon Market of Vietnamese expats in Footscray, west Melbourne, Australia, on early December 13, leaving no casualty but damaging assets valued at about 12 million AUD. The fire was supposed to start from a cool room in the two-storey building, but the exact cause remains unknown. Seventy-five firefighters were deployed to the scene. The blaze was put under control at noon after destroying most of the market. The office of Les Twentyman Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged youths, was burned to the ground with over 6,000 books, clothes and Christmas gifts for homeless children inside. The market hosted 25 small businesses run by Vietnamese expatriates and was among the most popular shopping places for the community in Melbourne. There are approximately 100,000 Vietnamese living in the capital city of Victoria State. According to Tran Ba Phuc, head of the Vietnamese business association in Melbourne, two owners of the Little Saigon Market will have their rebuilding costs fully covered by insurance. However, many shop owners had stocked a large amount of goods for the upcoming holiday season, but only have insurance for a small part of their business. Their sources of livelihood have been destroyed with the flame. The association is helping them with legal consultation to receive insurance payments as soon as possible. President meets former experts to Cambodia President Tran Dai Quang hosted a reception on December 14 in Hanoi for a delegation from the Liaison Board of former Vietnamese experts who were sent to Cambodia to support the country’s revolution in 1978-1989. Together with Vietnamese volunteer soldiers to Cambodia, the former experts helped Cambodian people escape from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and revive the country. After Cambodia’s liberation, they continued assisting Cambodia in national construction in various fields from politics, economy, security and defence to culture, health care and social affairs. They successfully fulfilled their international tasks and returned home on September 26, 1989. During the meeting, President Tran Dai Quang expressed his special respect to members of the Liaison Board who regularly supported the former experts as well as their families. The board has actively given advices to the Party and State in honouring the former experts, while engaging in summarizing the history, compiling memoirs and educating younger generations about the tradition of the bilateral ties, he noted. He also lauded the board for active involving in people-to-people contact activities, especially in sponsoring Cambodian students in Vietnam and coordinating with the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association in holding activities to mark 37 years since the Vietnamese people helped the Cambodians overthrow the genocidal regime to revive the nation, thus contributing to fostering the traditional friendship and neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. The President said he hopes that the former experts continue joining in the compilation of a book on the history of Vietnamese experts’ 10-year help for the Cambodian revolution (1978-1988). Need for transgender law emphasised at Hanoi forum An official of the Justice Ministry has underlined the need to issue a law on transgender issues to ensure the right to gender re-identification, which is enshrined in the 2015 Civil Code. Nguyen Thanh Tu, Director of the ministry’s Department of Civil and Economic laws, stressed the necessity at an annual law forum in Hanoi on December 14 that focused on the 2015 Civil Code. He said that law should stipulate conditions for gender reassignment and sex confirmation surgery. It also needs to include regulations on protecting transgender people. This was the first time in law-making history gender re-identification had been recognised. A law on transgender issues is being drafted by the Ministry of Health and expected to be submitted to the National Assembly before 2020. At the law forum, participants updated information about the enforcement of the Civil Code and looked into the Code’s major amendments and supplements. They also suggested ways to overhaul legal normative documents and apply civil legal regulations. Many called for legal documents relating to personality rights, including the right to gender re-identification, to be aligned with the 2015 Civil Code so as to ensure the consistency of the legal system and law enforcement. The law forum, held by the Justice Ministry and the US Agency for International Development, has become an annual dialogue on legal and judicial reforms in Vietnam for the last 10 years.  Thanks to this forum, many programmes and projects on legal and judicial cooperation have been expanded between Government agencies and international organisations, according to Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc. In 2015, Vietnamese agencies worked with foreign organisations to implement 53 legal and judicial cooperation programmes nationwide. These programmes have helped the country fine-tune its legal system, make reforms and promote international integration. The Justice Ministry will hold more forums to encourage dialogue on legal and judicial reforms in the future, Ngoc noted. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE