Social News 6/12 HCMC court sentences gambling ring   The People’s Court in HCM City yesterday sentenced dozens of defendants linked to a vast gambling ring. Tô Công Hưng, 34, head of the ring and former director of Người Dệt Mộng (Dream Weaver) Online Joint Stock Company, was sentenced to four years in prison. Sixty-two remaining accused received suspended sentences or two years imprisonment. According to the verdict, under Hưng’s direction, the ring members carried out transactions worth VNĐ640 billion (US$28.7 million) through 56 bank accounts. From February 2012 to January 2015, Hưng colluded with foreigners and then brought in his older sister, Tô Thị Thu Nhi, and acquaintances into the ring. These accused opened accounts at some banks to serve their website 12bet.com to help gamblers transfer money for football, basketball, tennis betting and online card games. In this case, Hưng benefited by some VNĐ4.3 billion (over $192,000) and other members received more than VNĐ260 million ($11,650) . Hanoi police banned from chasing down traffic violators Hanoi's Traffic Police Department has ordered its officers to stop running after suspected traffic violators on the street. The department has not provided an official reason for the ban, which will not be applied in situations where the suspect may pose threats to traffic safety and must be stopped. The ban was unveiled as part of the department’s new action plan for the upcoming New Year and Lunar New Year holidays. The latter falls on January 28. Hanoi's no-pursuit policy came after several incidents of policemen holding onto speeding vehicles and risking their lives to stop runaway violators. Last month, Uber driver Ha Duc Anh, 28, was fined VND4.2 million (US$182) for refusing to pull over in Hoan Kiem District. The driver reportedly drove straight into an officer, forcing the latter to jump on the car’s hood. Anh had his license suspended for two months. In a similar case in February last year, a policeman ordered taxi driver Nguyen Thanh Luan to stop after he was caught driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street. Luan tried to escape, and the officer also jumped onto the hood in a bid to stop him. The cab kept speeding for around 200 meters, until locals and travelers gathered to block the street. President: People must be at centre of preventive medicine The preventive medicine sector must put human being at the centre of its activities to control diseases and manage the health of people, said President Tran Dai Quang. The President on December 5 met with health officials and workers who are presented with the biennial Dang Van Ngu award by the Ministry of Health in recognition of their outstanding contributions and achievements in preventive medicine. In 2016, as many as 119 collectives and individuals are honoured with the award. President Quang said the sector has made efforts, well coordinated with other sectors and localities and mobilised every resource to achieve the targets set in the national goal programmes, thus helping Vietnam complete the UN Millennium Goals in reducing malnutrition and malaria, eradicating dangerous diseases and controlling new diseases. The State leader recommended the sector to work harder so that it could detect emerging and dangerous diseases to recommend advice and solutions as well as take necessary measures to help people protect their health. He also urged the sector to boost scientific research, develop vaccine-production technologies and increase international cooperation and exchanges of information to enhance Vietnam’s position on the international arena. In the past 60 years, the preventive medicine has developed comprehensively and achieved great achievements like eradicating smallpox and polio, cutting infectious diseases by thousands or hundreds times, providing vaccination for over 90 percent of children aged under 12 months and increasing the rate of people accessing clean water and sanitation. The sector is able to produce 10 out of 12 vaccines in the expanded immunisation programme and is capable of taking tests on new diseases. Bilingual photo book about Hue debuts in France   A French-English photo book capturing the charms of the central city of Hue debuted in Paris on December 3.  Titled “Hue, the city of crying stones” in English and “Hue, la ville des pierres qui pleurent” in French, the book is a collection of black-and-while and coloured photos featuring the landscapes and people of Hue. Author Philippe Bouler has produced many exhibitions and events worldwide, including the Hue festival in 2000. He wrote the introduction text for the book, describing Hue as an ageless, romantic and poetic city.  Sebastian Laval, the other author, is a photographer, who previously exhibited photos of 54 ethnic minorities of Vietnam on Trang Tien bridge in 2014. Since his first Vietnam visit in 1995, he has been enchanted by the country.  Speaking with a Vietnam News Agency reporter, Bouler said the book introduces Hue to the public and invites them to visit the city.  On the occasion, some photos from the book were chosen for an exhibition which opened the same day. Vietnam, Sweden share modern journalism, communication skills Vietnam and Sweden are sharing modern journalism and communication skills at a two-day workshop that opened in Hanoi on December 5. Opening the event, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Pereric Hogberg said the workshop is held on the occasion of 250 years since the issuance of his country’s press law – one of the first of its kind in the world. The 21st century has opened up a new era for science and information technology (IT), and Vietnam has taken the lead in Southeast Asia in internet connection. Therefore, Sweden wants both sides to share experience and discuss opportunities and challenges facing journalism in the digital era, he noted. Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Hoang Vinh Bao said print newspapers are shrinking as a result of the development of IT, which has fuelled online newspapers and social networks. A multimedia news office is needed for a media outlet to survive and develop at present. To meet requirements of such multimedia news offices, each journalist must master new skills and the latest technologies, he added.  During the workshop, participants will share Swedish press’ experience and discuss how media outlets can contribute to socio-economic development in Vietnam. The event also aims to provide Vietnamese journalists with necessary skills in the digital era. It is held by the Swedish Embassy, Sweden’s Lund University and Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications. Ticket scalpers win big ahead of Vietnam-Indonesia football match Prices for tickets to the much-anticipated Vietnam-Indonesia football match have been surging in Hanoi's black market in recent days. The match, the second leg of the semifinal at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup is scheduled to take place at My Dinh Stadium at 7 p.m. on December 7. The Vietnam Football Federation set official prices at between VND150,000 (US$6.50)-VND400,000 (US$17.40) per ticket. Scalpers then hiked prices by up to four times, to as high as VND1.5 million (US$65). Football, better known as soccer in some parts of the world, is by far the most popular sport in Vietnam. Vietnam’s national football team lost 1-2 to host Indonesia in the first leg in Bogor, Indonesia last weekend. In the other semifinal, Thailand beat host Myanmar by 2-0 in the first leg. The two teams will play again in Bangkok on December 8. Voters in Military Region 9 raise development petitions Voters who are members of the armed forces in Military Region 9 put forth a range of opinions about the socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta while meeting with National Assembly (NA) deputies on December 5. On behalf of NA deputies of Can Tho city, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan informed the local constituents about the outcomes of the 14th parliament’s second session. Applauding those outcomes, the voters said although the Mekong Delta is an agricultural hub, there remains many implicit risks to its agriculture, aquaculture and fishing. There are also problems in health care, education-training, human resource development, employment, and social welfares. Colonel Doan Thanh Xuan, of the Military Region 9’s Political Department said the State should have more policies focusing on the Mekong Delta such as those on promoting hi-tech agriculture, bio-technology and post-harvest technology so as to produce high-quality products able to compete in global markets. Other voters voiced concerns about environmental protection, climate change response, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion. They also called for the acceleration of the demarcation of land border and border marker planting. Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hai from the Staff of Military Region 9 said the Party and State should enhance the effectiveness of border roads, forest protection and job provision for ethnic minority people living along the border. Having applauded the voters’ opinions, Chairwoman Ngan said the State has earmarked budget to build border roads in the next five years to boost border economy and ensure national defence and security. She admitted that despite its significant contributions to Vietnam’s economic growth, the Mekong Delta is still lagging behind other regions in terms of health care, education, and infrastructure. Aside from the development planning for the whole region, each locality in the Mekong Delta has also had its own development strategy. They need to optimise their advantages and connect with each another to fuel socio-economic development of the entire Delta, which consists of Can Tho city and 12 provinces, she said. Hanoi to host “One village one product” exhibition An exhibition called “One village one product” (OVOP) displaying Vietnamese high-quality handicraft products will open in Hanoi on December 9 as part of efforts to attract more tourists to the capital and promote traditional craft villages.  As the first event of its kind in Hanoi, the four-day exhibition will feature 30-40 booths from traditional handicraft villages nationwide.  The OVOP aims to raise awareness of developing handicrafts among enterprises, trade villages and the community and create a change of their thinking in designing products,  thus preserving and developing traditional trade villages. Speaking at a press conference to announce the event, Vice Director of the Hanoi Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centre Nguyen Thi Mai Anh said the event will feature decorative lights made from bamboo, wood, silk, paper and ceramics, making the displayed products look more beautiful. Vietnam boasts a huge number of craft villages, which have consolidated their foothold in the country’s socio-economic structure.  The country’s craft products have been sold in domestic and international markets, creating stable incomes for over one million craftspeople, which are much higher income than from rice farming.  Craft villages often attract many idle labourers of different ages and help alleviate poverty, especially for disabled people. Deputy PM urges more security at HCM City airport    Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh has urged Tan Son Nhat international airport in HCM City to step up efforts to tackle airport overload, cyber-attacks and laser beam incidents to ensure the security of the southern region’s busiest airport. Binh, who is also Chairman of the Civil Aviation Security Committee, made the request during a visit last week to inspect the airport’s security measures.    The deputy PM urged the airport authority to regularly check runways, ensure IT network security and prevent smuggling of illegal goods via the airport. Dang Tuan Tu, Director of the airport, said that 52 airlines were operating at the airport, including three domestic and 47 international airlines.    The airport is facing many challenges, especially an airport overload, he said. The airport welcomed more than 26.5 million passengers last year, a rise of 13.52 percent over the year’s plan and an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to 2014, Tu said. Tan Son Nhat airport had by the end of October welcomed nearly 27 million passengers, of which international passengers were 9.8 million. The figure is expected to reach 32 million by the end of the year, worsening the overload of the airport designed to handle only 25 million passengers a year, according to Tu. The airport has two runways and 52 aprons (aircraft parking positions), which are insufficient to serve all landings and take-offs during peak hour, from 5:30am to 7:30am and from 10:30pm to 12:30am. Tu said the airport security teams this year had managed to ensure the safety of all departures and arrivals, including 106 special flights that transport State officials and high-ranking officials of other countries.    In addition, airport security forces discovered 55,716 cases in which passengers brought prohibited items onboard; 90 cases in which passengers illegally transported weapons; eight cases in which passengers falsely announced that bombs were on the aircraft; and 48 cases in which passengers caused public chaos at the airport. All of the cases were managed well and had no serious consequences, according to Tu.     Airport security forces have also caught four thieves onboard and discovered seven cases in which airport staff were carrying items onboard without declaration, in violation of regulations.   The airport authority has also worked with the HCM City Police to raise public awareness about powerful lasers being used at night for entertainment purposes by local residents, usually young people. In recent months, pilots have complained about incidents in which laser beams were directed at the cockpits of aircraft as they took off and landed. The airport has operated a campaign to raise people’s awareness about aviation safety and security. It has also organised fire and rescue drills and improved the task of keeping birds away from the airport area. Tan Son Nhat airport’s security teams consist of 981 staff operating 65 security scanners, 67 portable metal detectors, and two explosive detection devices, according to Tu. To enhance security, the Tan Son Nhat Airport Authority has recommended establishing a police station at the airport, providing more advanced scanning devices and offering training for its staff, he said. Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh praised all the achievements by the airport authority, saying that the local aviation had achieved the highest growth in the world. The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has significantly improved its fleet with an increasing number of state-of-the-art aircraft like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. In addition, the civil aviation sector has not had any serious accidents during the last 18 years, Binh said. Binh urged the airport authority to continue to ensure the safety and security of the airport with a focus on human resources, including improving the quality of airport staff and air traffic controllers as well as fighting cyber-attacks at the airport. In July, a Chinese hacker group carried out several cyber-attacks at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai international airports. The hackers also took control of the speaker systems at the airports. The airline’s official website was also hacked by another Chinese hacker group at the same time. E-scooters for public use launched in Binh Duong Eighteen eco-friendly electric scooters (eScooters) have been put into operation at the Vietnam-Germany University in Thu Dau Mot city in the southern province of Binh Duong on December 5. The vehicles are part of a project jointly implemented by Bosch Vietnam and the HCM City University of Science and Technology, Da Nang University of Science and Technology, and the Vietnam-Germany University. In this project, students of the three universities won the the 2015 Green Challenge contest jointly organised by Bosch Vietnam and the three universities. The German company has provided more than 4 billion VND (182,000 USD) for this pilot project. This is the second batch of eScooters launched for public use in Vietnam, following the first at the HCM City University of Science and Technology. The third one is also expected to make debut at Da Nang University of Science and Technology this month. The project aims to promote research and development of environmental-friendly vehicles among enterprises and universities, thus contributing to tackling traffic and environment challenges to develop smart cities. Students of the university, who have motorbike-driving licenses can use the eScooters for free within their campuses by registering online at http://bosch-green-challenge.com.vn. A fully-charged vehicle can travel up to 80km at a maximum speed of 45km per hour. Seeds given to provinces hard hit by natural disasters Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to allocate 2,016 tonnes of rice seeds, 325 tonnes of corn seeds and 58 tonnes of vegetable seeds to nine provinces which were severely affected by natural disasters.  Accordingly, Vinh Phuc will receive 200 tonnes of rice seeds, 50 tonnes of corn seeds and eight tonnes of vegetable seeds; Ha Giang will get 16 tonnes, 50 tonnes and five tonnes of the seeds; Lao Cai - 100 tonnes, 60 tonnes and 10 tonnes; Yen Bai - 100 tonnes, 60 tonnes and eight tonnes; and Ha Tinh – 500 tonnes, 30 tonnes, and 10 tonnes. Four other provinces, Quang Binh will be provided with 200 tonnes, 30 tonnes, and two tonnes; Quang Tri – 300 tones, 30 tonnes, and 10 tonnes; Thua Thien – Hue – 200 tonnes, five tonnes, and five tonnes, respectively; and Ninh Thuan – 400 tonnes of rice seed, and 10 tonnes of corn seeds. The Prime Minister requested the People’s Committees of the nine provinces to receive, manage and allocate the seeds effectively.  Czech-Vietnam Association condemns distortions against Vietnam Chairman of the Czech-Vietnam Association Marcel Winter has vehemently condemned a Czech official for slandering the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic.  On the association’s website and in letters sent to Czech newspapers on December 4, Winter refuted biased views of Josef Stredula, President of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS), who told CT24 TV Channel that Vietnamese people who came to work in the Czech Republic from 2007-2009 were involved in illegal activities. Winter also pointed out the unfounded evidence in Stredula’s statements that said those people harmed the Czech Republic’s interests. He stressed that the CMKOS President’s opinions slandered and offended more than 15,000 Vietnamese people legally living and working in the Czech Republic during that period. Additionally, Stredula’s viewpoint may also hurt the Czech Republic’s economy since it can hamper the admission of foreign workers into this country, leading to a manpower shortage in local businesses, he added. According to Winter, many Vietnamese people working overseas have affirmed their role in famous universities in the US, Europe, Japan and the Republic of Korea, or even at the US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Industrious and skillful Vietnamese workers are always respected at their workplaces, including factories in the Czech Republic. He emphasised his viewpoint of protecting the honour of Vietnamese workers, as well as Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic, adding that CMKOS President Stredula must apologise the Vietnamese people and Government for those distortions. Winter told Vietnam News Agency correspondents that the Czech Republic’s labour market lacks about 140,000 workers, and this has seriously affected production activities. Czech factories need skillful Vietnamese workers. Workshop seeks ways to save energy in buildings Measures to save energy in designing, constructing and operating buildings were the focus of discussion at a workshop organised by the Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the Ministry of Construction in Ho Chi Minh City on December 5.   Statistics showed that there are about 1,500 buildings each covering 2,500 square metres upwards in five big cities across the nation. They consume a large amount of energy and make up a majority of green-house gas emissions. It is crucial for the buildings to apply modern technologies and management methods to reduce energy consumption, thus contributing to ensuring energy security and the environmental protection. Deputy Director of the Department Nguyen Cong Thinh highlighted the active application of energy-saving technologies, especially in the private sector. Most of the 30 green buildings in Vietnam are owned by foreign investors or private companies, which help reduce energy costs while improving their competitiveness. The industry and construction are among the sectors consuming the most energy, up to 54 percent of the total energy consumption in Vietnam, particularly by office buildings, mall centres and hotels. Ly Thi Thuy Huong from the HCM City Energy Conservation Centre underlined weather-unfriendly designs of buildings in Vietnam, saying that most of them use glass-wall and fixed windows, consuming a large amount of energy for air conditioners. She suggested new works follow the Ministry’s Regulation QCVN 09:2013/BXD on energy efficiency in buildings, targeting to reduce their total use of energy by 14-36 percent. She also called for energy-efficient designs for buildings, such as openable windows and heat-proof construction materials to reduce the demand for energy. To accelerate the application of technologies in saving energy, the Ministry of Construction is carrying out a 3.2-million-USD project “Energy efficiency improvement in commercial and high-rise residential buildings in Vietnam” from 2016-2019. The project, funded by the United Nations Development Programme, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in construction, and improve energy use in Vietnam. Its targeted works include hotels, schools, office buildings and residential buildings. Salt aid delivered to flood-hit people in Ha Tinh As many as 1,500 tonnes of salt will be provided for the central province of Ha Tinh to support people affected by recent heavy rains and floods, according to a decision signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on December 5. The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to give the assistance to the province. The provincial People’s Committee is responsible for receiving and allocating salt effectively to local residents. Ha Tinh was the most severely-affected by heavy rains and floods in October and November this year. According to the provincial Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, 93 communes with more than 24,000 households were flooded. Floods damaged 723 hectares of rice fields, 1,415 hectares of crops, 400 hectares of fruit trees and peach trees, and over a dozen of tonnes of foodstuff. Hundreds of thousands of livestock were killed or swept away, including more than 99,000 poultries, 869 buffaloes and cows, and 399 pigs. A combined of 337 hectares of aquaculture areas were submerged. UNICEF vows to help Vietnam with child protection   The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has pledged to assist Vietnam in realising sustainable development goals, including the protection, care and education of children. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi made the promise at a meeting with Vice State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh in Hanoi on December 5. He recognised Vietnam’s achievements in implementing the rights of children, citing the reduction in the rate of under-five-year-old child mortality over the past 10-15 years. Vietnam was also the first Asian nation to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), he noted. The UNICEF official welcomed the Vietnamese National Assembly’s approval of the Child Law in April 2016, which is expected to come into force in the coming time. For her part, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh spoke highly of UNICEF’s role in caring and protecting children, especially children infected with HIV/AIDS and migrant children. The UNICEF constitutes a significant development partner of Vietnam with a lot of practical contributions to the country’s development and child protection, she said. Vietnam will enhance cooperation with UNICEF and other UN organisations in implementing the sustainable development goals, including child care, protection and education, she affirmed. The Vice President referred to a number of events that opened up new opportunities for stronger collaboration between Vietnam and UNICEF such as the international approval of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015; Vietnam’s adoption of Child Law in April 2016; and the recent ratification of the bilateral cooperation programme for the 2017-2021 period. She said Vietnam hopes to receive more support from UNICEF to fulfill the UN sustainable development goals and the millennium development goals in the time ahead.- Nestle debuts culinary programme in Vietnam Nestle Professional, a business unit of Nestle Vietnam, partnered with the Saigon Professional Chefs’ Guild to launch a programme called Vietnam Young Culinary Talent in Ho Chi Minh City recently. The programme, which seeks to contribute to the development of the Vietnam Culinary industry and support passionate culinary talents by enhancing their employment prospects, comprises two modules. The first module is to equip young chefs with basic knowledge on nutrition and health, train them the skills for job interviews and consult with professional chefs. The second module is to enable them to participate in a professional training course at vocational training institutes, in which the institute and Nestle Professional will subsidise a part of the school fees for these young chefs. The programme starts with the first module and will be expanded in the coming years. The target is to double the number of young chefs participating in the programme in 2017. The “Young Culinary Talent” is a global initiative of Nestle Group’s Nestle Professional, which has been launched this year in many countries around the world. PM: Organic agriculture, spiritual tourism key to Phu Tho economy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has advised the northern province of Phu Tho to focus on developing organic agriculture and spiritual tourism as the province has great potential in the two sectors thanks to its natural conditions and cultural heritage. In his meeting with Phu Tho province’s leaders on December 4 on local social-economic development, the PM said there is plenty of room for Phu Tho’s economy to grow. He highlighted the province’s advantages as the converging place of three big rivers (Da, Lo and Red rivers), its location on the Hanoi – Kunming railway route and the trans-Asia highway connecting China, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries. Phu Tho is also home to the worship of the Hung Kings, who were the founders of ancient Vietnam, and the Xoan singing, both of which have been recognised as part of the world intangible cultural heritage.  The province should improve its investment and business environment to double the number of enterprises and improve the effectiveness of public investment as well as diversify investment resources, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. Phu Tho leaders asked the government to assist the province in implementing the project of building Viet Tri into a city of festival based on the Hung King’s Temple festival that celebrates the founders of ancient Vietnam. Despite the average economic growth of nine percent in the past years, Phu Tho remains a poor locality with underdeveloped infrastructure and limited resources. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Finance, Phu Tho ranks 33rd out of 63 provinces and cities in term of budget revenue. Earlier, the PM visited the provincial General Hospital, a typical example of mobilising investment from other economic sectors for infrastructure. The hospital has 1,500 beds. VFF organises training course for Lao front officials The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee launched a short training course for officials from the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) in Hanoi on December 5. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice President and Secretary General of the VFF Central Committee and Tran Thanh Man highlighted the growing traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos. The Front organisations of Vietnam and Laos have built on the tradition, making their joint efforts to promote their cooperation, particularly in organising training courses on Front affairs, thus contributing to nursing the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations, Man said. During this training course, participants will hear seven reports on Front affairs and two off-course reports. They will also have a chance to engage in out-door activities, such as a visit to the Ho Chi Minh President Mausoleum and fact-finding trips to localities. US – major importer of Vietnam bamboo products Vietnam’s bamboo products export inched 1% to US$212.1 million in 10 months leading up to November 2016 against the same period last year, according to Vietnam Customs. us – major importer of vietnam bamboo products hinh 0 Vietnamese products were shipped to 19 countries in the world, of which the US topped export markets with US$51.2 million, accounting for 27% of market shares (up 3,03%).Japan ranked second with US$34.4 million, making up 18% of the total bamboo products export value (down 3.42%) and Germany came third with US$25.1 million (down 2.54%). In the reviewed period, 63% of bamboo products export markets enjoyed positive growth and exports to China obtained the highest growth of 36.49%. Meanwhile 37% of export markets saw decline and Russia suffered the deepest decrease of 39.39%. Other export markets achieved robust growth including Taiwan (up 25.24%), Spain (up 16.17%) and Denmark (up 17.93%). Festival boosts Vietnam-India friendship   A festival was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to tighten friendship between Vietnamese and Indian people. The event, the eighth of its kind, was co-organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-India People Friendship Festival. Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Van Tam said the two countries’ relations have been developed and expanded across the fields since they established diplomatic ties in 1972, particularly in agriculture, science-technology, education and human resources training. Both nations always support each other at regional and international forums, he said, noting that two-way trade have increased continuously through years and is expected to hit 5 billion USD in 2016 and 15 billion USD by 2020. Tam added that his city will step up cooperation with India in agriculture, information technology, and human resources training through scientific research programmes between the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, Can Tho University, and Indian research centres. Meanwhile, Vice President of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation Lakshminarayanan Kannan said the festival creates an opportunity for India to introduce its multi-coloured culture and art to local residents and vice versa, thus strengthening the friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding between the two peoples. Vietnamese and Indian artists devoted the audience with special traditional dances from the respective countries.-VNA Vietnamese melodies resound in Paris Nearly 1,000 Vietnamese and French people gathered in Paris on December 5 to enjoy a night music show of Vietnamese classical choruses. The performance was delivered by a choir of over 30 singers from the Que Huong (The Homeland Choir) and the Rouen symphony orchestra. Children from the Europe-Vietnam group in France also got engaged in the event. French conductor Claude Brendel said the show had been much awaited and he felt very satisfied and happy. Meanwhile violinist Juliette said she felt very lucky to perform in Paris to share the two countries’ cultural interaction.  Nguyen Thanh Hang, an overseas Vietnamese in France, said “The performance was a big success. The orchestra devoted to the audience melodies praising Vietnam’s land and culture.” Hop Ca Que Huong of the Vietnamese community in France was established in 2009 with over 30 members. The choir has performed in various localities in France, including Choisy Le Roy – the twinning city with Vietnam. Last July, it coordinated with the French Rouen symphony orchestra to produce a high-quality CD featuring Vietnamese epics. On the sidelines of the event, the organising board displayed some photos and maps highlighting Vietnam’s sea and island sovereignty. 119 health workers honoured Dang Van Ngu Awards, a distinctive honor to Vietnamese health workers have been bestowed on 119 outstanding individuals and groups. Addressing the awards ceremony on December 5, State President Tran Dai Quang stressed Vietnam’s policy of attaching special importance to the health service. “The health sector should promptly detect emerging epidemics to develop appropriate countermeasures. Preventive medicine plays a key role in this endeavor”, the Vietnamese State leader said. Named after a famous Vietnamese doctor and researcher in the 20th century, the Dang Van Ngu Awards are presented every 2 years to brilliant health workers in preventive medicine. Vietnam punishes editors over fish sauce story scandal Vietnam on December 5 punished two editors of a major newspaper which had earlier been fined for publishing what authorities said were false reports on toxic fish sauce. Deputy chief editor of Thanh Nien newspaper Dang Ngoc Hoa, and senior executive Vo Van Khoi had their press cards revoked, Vietnam's information and communication ministry said. This comes after Thanh Nien was fined for reporting on a food scare that received widespread coverage mid-October. The ministry said the cards were withdrawn because the two had been punished by the newspaper following the fish sauce scandal. Hoa was warned while Khoi was relieved of his position. In Vietnam, fish sauce is consumed daily by most of the country's population of 93 million -- as a dipping sauce, marinade or in soups. A total of 50 news organisations were fined in November for running reports about high arsenic levels found in fish sauce, causing widespread panic. Thanh Nien newspaper received the highest fine. Authorities said the reports were misleading or incorrect because they failed to differentiate between highly toxic inorganic arsenic, and the less dangerous organic variety found commonly in seafood. Food scares have been a regular source of anxiety in Vietnam, often leading to public anger. American Chamber of Commerce awards scholarships The  American  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Việt Nam last Saturday (December 3) awarded 50 scholarships worth a total of VNĐ 620 million (US$27,300) to university students in HCM City. The 50 awardees received scholarships worth VNĐ10 million each and will attend a soft skills training programme costing VNĐ120 million. After 16 years the AmCham Scholarship is given to students of 13 leading universities in the city. The three-month long assessment process for this year’s scholarships included four  rounds: application form screening, English test (Axcela Test format), ability test (SHL Test) and an interview in English by human resources specialists. More than 320 applications, distributed evenly among all majors like economics, business, social sciences, and science and technology, were received.  Starting with 10 scholarships and three university partners in 2001, AmCham has so far given away 755 scholarships.  VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE