Social News 31/5 HCM City boosts cooperation with RoK’s province The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Gyeongsangbuk province opened its representative office in Vietnam’s southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City on May 30 to promote the bilateral comprehensive relations. Deputy governor of the RoK province Kim Jang-joo said the establishment of the office in HCM City will make active contributions to increasing economic and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the RoK in general and between the two localities in particular. HCM City and Gyeongsangbuk have carried out a number of cooperation activities in politics, economy, culture, and education in recent years. In 2016, the two sides signed an agreement on co-organising the HCM City-Gyeongju world cultural festival 2017, featuring a range of traditional and modern Korean cultural activities. Gyeongsangbuk authorities affirmed to work with HCM City to successfully hold the event, which is expected to become a new economic festival where all are partners. Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Huynh Cach Mang said the launch of the Gyeongsangbuk’s representative office in the city is an important highlight in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties. This will help reinforce the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership as well as the sound relations between HCM City and other Korean localities, he added. The office is hoped to serve as a bridge for expanding the cultural and economic collaboration between the two localities, he said. The HCM City-Gyeongju world cultural festival 2017 is scheduled to take place in HCM City in November, featuring the prosperity of the Asian community via cultural exchanges. As the largest national-level cultural programme of the RoK held abroad in 2017, the festival will include traditional Korean culture and art performances as well as exhibitions of high-quality products of the RoK and participating countries. Orbis flying hospital launches ophthalmic training in Binh Dinh    The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital on May 30 began a training course for medical staff of the General Hospital and Eye Hospital of central Binh Dinh province. Running until June 9, the training course is part of a cooperation programme between Orbis International and Binh Dinh, with a view to turning the province into an eye disease treatment centre of the south central and Central Highlands regions, whose the blindness rates stand at 5.5 and 3.1 percent, respectively. According to Orbis Global Medical Director Jonathan Lord, the ophthalmic course focuses on hand-on practices from basic to advanced levels regarding the prevention and treatment of eye diseases. The training course is tailored for local ophthalmologists, nurses, anaesthesiologists, biomedical engineers and technicians through lectures, case discussions, observation, workshops and symposiums. Orbis will also train the Binh Dinh General Hospital’s medical staff screening retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) – a disease in premature babies that can lead to permanent blindness and is on the rise in middle-income countries like Vietnam. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is the world's only airborne ophthalmic surgical and training facility, which Orbis uses to support developing countries in preventing blindness and protecting people’s eyesight. In Vietnam, Orbis has implemented long-term projects since 2000. It helped form paediatric eye care centres in Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, Can Tho and Binh Dinh. Judicial reform committee reviews operation The Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform convened the third meeting in Hanoi on May 30 to discuss a draft report on the organisation and operation model of the committee so far and in the future. Addressing the event, President Tran Dai Quang, head of the committee, stressed that judicial reform is a significant work in the Party and State’s policy on building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam. He pointed to a number of lessons withdrawn from the implementation process, including the need for the proper recognition of the goal, viewpoint, orientation and task in the work as well as close coordination. Judicial reform should be conducted in parallel with the renovation of the political system, legislative and administrative reform, he said, emphasising the significance of a suitable roadmap, specific plans matching the country’s socio-economic development, the unity in direction and strong judicial human resources. Since 2002, the committee has showed good performance in advising the Politburo on measures to realise major policies and orientations of the Party in judicial reform as well as Resolution 49-NQ/TW on judicial reform strategy to 2020, noted the President. At the same time, the committee also directed the amendments, supplements and completion of legal framework on the organisation of judicial agencies, while contributing to developing personnel for the sector. President Tran Dai Quang said that in the future, the committee will continue focusing on giving consultations to the Politburo on leading, directing and monitoring the implementation of the Party’s policies on judicial reform and judicial reform strategy to 2020. He clarified that the committee will inspect the judicial reform process of all cities, provinces as well as agencies of the judicial system at provincial level from the third quarter of 2017 to November 30, 2017. A working group for the inspection will gather representatives from the Supreme People’s Court, the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs, the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, he added. Vietnam steps up Lao National Assembly building project A ground-breaking ceremony for a building of the Lao parliament, a gift from Vietnam to Laos, will be held on July 18, 2017, which is also the day the two countries signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1977. The information was unveiled by an inter-sectoral delegation of the Vietnamese Government which is in Laos to prepare for the construction of the building while they met Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly Pany Yathotou. Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung said the project, a gift from the Party, Government and people of Vietnam, is very important and attracts great attention from the Vietnamese Party and Government. The Government assigned the Ministry of Construction as the investor and Army Corps 11 of the Defence Ministry as the constructor. He said the headquarters is set to be put into trial operation in the first quarter of 2020 and officially handed over to Laos in the fourth quarter of the year. He pledged the Vietnamese side will coordinate with Laos to soon finalise the design and construct the house as scheduled so that the building will deserve a symbol of the two countries’ special solidarity and friendship as expected by their leaders and peoples. Chairwoman Yathotou said the delegation’s visit to discuss and survey the construction site illustrates the Vietnamese Party, State and Government’s great attention to the project. She stressed that the building is not only meaningful in terms of politics but also a symbol of the special Laos-Vietnam relationship for future generations. She asked both sides to work closely to be unanimous in every issue to ensure the project’s schedule and quality. In an official visit to Laos by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in November 2016, the Party, State and people of Vietnam decided to present their Lao counterpart with a parliament building worth 100 million USD in That Luang Square of Vientiane capital. Harmonious tourism, environment protection urged in Son Tra Peninsula The development of tourism in Son Tra Peninsula of central Da Nang city must be in harmony with environmental and biodiversity protection and sustainable development, according to many participants in a seminar in Hanoi on May 30. The seminar, which sought sustainable tourism development in the Son Tra national tourism site, drew representatives of many ministries, sectors and the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), and specialists in environment, construction and tourism. Deputy Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai said in the strategy for and master plan on Vietnam’s tourism development until 2020, Son Tra Peninsula is named one of the 47 potential places to be developed into national tourism sites. A master plan for developing the Son Tra national tourism site was publicised in early 2017 by the ministry and Da Nang city. However, the Da Nang Tourism Association and some relevant organisations and agencies asked the Prime Minister to review this plan in fear that it might influence biodiversity preservation and security-defence. They also called for maintaining the status quo of Son Tra without any new accommodation facilities allowed to be built, he noted. The issue is complex and controversial and requires thorough consideration, particularly when it comes to the handling of the projects that were already approved on the site, Ai added. VITA Vice Chairman Vu The Binh said strict regulations, especially those on the environment, must be issued to ensure the sustainable development of tourism. He asked all the licensed projects to be reviewed so as to make appropriate adjustments. “We should not be too persistent in keeping the status quo of Son Tra but make harmonious development and construction so that (Son Tra) deserves the status of a national tourism site,” he noted. He added close supervision is needed for stages of a project, to ensure it won’t affect the environment. Any investors who violate environmental protection rules must be stringently handled and their projects must be stopped. Deputy Minister Ai said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam recently ordered a three-month suspension of the implementation of the master plan for developing the Son Tra national tourism site so that Da Nang can settle related requests. Another seminar on the issue will be held in Da Nang to collect opinions of experts and officials. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Da Nang People’s Committee will review the adjustment of the number of accommodation rooms in Son Tra. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will work on data about local forests and biodiversity preservation, Ai noted. Top military officer receives Myanmar army delegation Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Lt. Gen. Pham Hong Huong welcomed a delegation of the Directorate of Signals of Myanmar army in Hanoi on May 30. Lt. Gen. Pham Hong Huong underlined the importance of communication to the armed forces’ operation and affirmed that Vietnam intends to promote international cooperation in the field. The Deputy Chief of the General Staff appreciated the collaboration between the armies of Vietnam and Myanmar in the past time on the basis of the agreement on defence cooperation signed in 2011. The two sides have exchanged delegations, supported each other at multi-lateral forums and helped each other in language training. Head of the Myanmar delegation, Director of the Directorate of Signals Maj. Gen. Thaw Lwin expressed his hope that the armies of the two countries will strengthen their partnership, particularly in the field of military communication. Fatherland Front urges environment protection The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) will join hands with State environmental agencies to organise activities to promote environment protection, the front’s leader said at a meeting held Hanoi on May 30 in response to the World Environment Day (June 5). Speaking at the event, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Le Ba Trinh stated that the World Environment Day 2017, themed “Connecting People to Nature”, encourages people to get outdoors and into nature to appreciate its beauty and its importance and take forward the call to protect the Earth. Grassroots VFF chapters will engage in activities to popularise law and regulations on the environment in order to enhance public supervising and consulting capacity in the field.  Advanced models on protecting natural resources and the environment will be introduced to the public to encourage the community to get involved in the work. A national month of action for environment protection will be launched by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Women’s Union and Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee in Ba Ria-Vung Tau city on June 4. Vietnam Airlines not affected in British Airways incident   The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said that its flights and check-in system in the UK were not affected by a massive global IT failure of British Airways. Accordingly, all flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to London, the UK have been operated normally. The incident caused delays and cancellations of many flights from the two largest UK airports of Heathrow and Gatwick from May 27-29. Meanwhile, on May 29, a severe storm landed in Moscow, Russia. There was no flight of Vietnam Airlines from/to Moscow on that day, the carrier said. Japan’s Democratic Party talks labour with Vietnam confederation Representatives of Japan’s Democratic Party and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) discussed labour issues during a working session on May 30, Lao dong (Labour) daily reported. VGCL Vice President Mai Duc Chinh informed the Japanese guests about the business situation and industrial relations at Japanese enterprises in Vietnam, along with working conditions, income and aspirations of Vietnamese workers at the companies. He also briefed them about Vietnam’s interns and students in Japan, the VGCL’s viewpoint on the increase of regional-based minimum wage, and the job-seeking efforts of interns after they returned from Japan. Representatives of the Democratic Party, led by Deputy Secretary-General Yukio Edano – a member of Japan’s House of Representatives, shared information about their country’s labour laws, including on foreign interns in Japan. The Democratic Party is the second biggest party in Japan, after the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Its delegation’s working visit to Vietnam from May 28-31 is part of an agreement between the Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam. Int’l community hails Vietnam’s contributions to UN International friends at a ceremony to mark Vietnam’s 40 years of joining the United Nations have acknowledged the country’s active contributions to the organization and its responsibility for the international community. Talking with Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the anniversary, almost guests agreed that Vietnam’s contributions have constituted the country a reliable and responsible friend and partner of the international community. Participants heard that Vietnam, as a member of the UN, always strives to well perform its responsibility, as well as proactively take practical initiatives. It has been recognised as one of the countries leading in realising millennium development goals (MDGs) set by the UN. According to President of the friendship association of international organisations in New York, Kenneth G. Welborn, Vietnam made active contributions to the UN in many fields, especially its initiatives to promote peace in the world, and efforts to implement sustainable development goals. Meanwhile, Ambassador Jerry Matjila, Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the UN said Vietnam is a model for other UN member nations to learn from its experience, especially in social development, education, food security, anti-racial discrimination. Vietnam’s national liberation efforts and democracy building inspired the Republic of South Africa, he noted. At the event, participants from Southeast Asian nations highlighted Vietnam’s contributions to the UN in the position as an ASEAN member nation. Regional diplomats said Vietnam regularly represents the bloc at UN forums on issues relating to peace, stability and cooperation in the Southeast Asian region. President of the Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development, Sally Kader, said as a member of the UN and a country rising from the war, Vietnam made amazing achievements. Vietnam has been truly an example to all countries worldwide, helping them realise the importance of promoting cooperation for development regardless of what happened in the past, she stressed. Vietnam, US enhance comprehensive partnership The activities during the Pacific Partnership 2017 (PP17) were examples of the development of a comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the US, according to US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius. The 10-day programme wrapped up in the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on May 30. Osius said PP17 members worked with Khanh Hoa agencies to improve the ability of local medical staff, enhance capacity for humanitarian assistance and climate change adaptation and expand cooperation in the region. This year marks the fourth consecutive year Vietnam has hosted the event. Vietnam and the US established diplomatic ties in July 1995, and later set up a comprehensive partnership in July 2013. Over the years, the US has become one of the leading trade partners of Vietnam.Bilateral trade has grown by about 20 percent each year. Despite a trade deficit with Vietnam, the US has enjoyed rapid export growth rate of 77 percent annually, four times higher than the growth of Vietnam’s shipments to the US. With 815 projects with total registered capital of 10.07 billion USD, the US ranks eighth among 112 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. In March 2017, the two countries restarted meetings of the Council on Bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. Both sides have also intensified cooperation in other fields such as security, defence, science, technology, information technology, bio-technology, oceanography and space technology. Vietnam international visitor figures down for May Following month-to-month reports in 2017 in which the travel trade showed steady, increases in the number of international visitors for January-April, the numbers took a dramatic dive in May. According to data provided by the General Statistics Office, the number of international arrivals dropped significantly by 9% tallying in at 972,000 for May, the first month this year the numbers fell below one million. There were 1.2 million more inbound travellers this year through May versus the same period in 2016 for a cumulative total of 5.2 million, according to the GSO, substantially all of which is attributable to a surge in the number of Chinese visitors. Hanoi police seize 7,500 meth pills during drug bust Hanoi police were showing off the fruits of their labour on May 30, in the form of a big drug seizure. Police officials said officers raided a residence last week and seized about 7,500 methamphetamine tablets, worth more than $15,000. Officers also seized an undisclosed amount of cash and other drug paraphernalia. The Hanoi police said the department is making progress in the ongoing battle against serious drugs into the capital city. Pham Van Hung, a resident of Binh Phuoc now faces charges of possession illegal narcotic substances with intent to traffic and possession of property obtained by crime, said police officials. Chinese passengers accuse Vietnam's customs officers of soliciting bribes: report Police at Cam Ranh International Airport in central Vietnam are following up on allegations made by three Chinese passengers who claimed that customs officers at the airport had tried to extort money from them. The passengers said the incident took place while they were finishing procedures to board a flight back to China from Khanh Hoa Province on the May 29 night, the official paper of the province reported May 30. However, camera footage captured at the airport tells another story, a senior police officer was quoted as saying in the report. In the video, the Chinese family was with customs officers for just 12 seconds before they suddenly turned around and walked away, later accusing the officers of corruption, he said. The reported cited the police as saying that the group refused to cooperate with customs officials, and the incident caused them to miss their direct flight to China. Airport authorities arranged for them to take the next flight to China on early Tuesday morning, but they insisted on staying in Vietnam saying that they will only talk with the Chinese Consulate-General in the country, according to the report. Cam Ranh Airport police said they would make arrangements for the group to talk with the consulate via phone, and that they have already reported the incident to higher authorities. The airport has been a hub of Chinese passengers in recent years, from where they would travel to the popular resort town of Nha Trang. At present, there are between seven and 10 flights between China and Khanh Hoa Province per day. Each flight can carry between 150 and 180 passengers. Last year, a security guard at the airport was fined US$450 for punching a Chinese passenger in the back after this man shouted in anger for waiting too long for his flight, which was delayed due to air traffic issues. More than 284,000 Chinese visitors arrived in Khanh Hoa in the first three months this year, an increase of 260 percent against the same period last year, official data of Khanh Hoa showed. Hanoi plans four-month cleanup operation to revive legendary lake The emerald waters that enchant locals and visitors are slowly fading as Hoan Kiem Lake suffocates. The state-owned Hanoi Sewerage and Drainage Limited Company is assessing the environmental impacts of a project to clean up Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of the capital. If approved, the 120-day operation to save the iconic lake would start in late July or early August. Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Returned Sword Lake, is severely polluted and has lost its ability to clean itself, said Vo Tien Hung, the company's director. The quality of the lake's water is declining with a high algae density and a high pH level. The concentration of suspended sediment is above the permitted levels in all five locations where it is monitored, while the concentration of organic pollutants is twice the normal standard. In some places the water has even lost its iconic green color. Another source of the pollution is the thick layer of mud at the bottom of the lake, according to Hung. In some places, the mud is over 1-meter thick, lowering the water level to only 0.5-0.8 meters. The project would therefore include dredging in addition to water treatment. “While dredging, we need to preserve the lake's green algae so we have asked scientists to collect the algae so we can put it back later,” said Hung. Hoan Kiem Lake is one of Vietnam's national heritage sites and a top tourist destination with great historical value, so the cleanup project will need approval from the culture ministry before it can go ahead. A recent study by the Institute for Environmental Science and Development found that all of Hanoi’s urban lakes and waterways are heavily polluted. Last October, 200 tons of fish washed up dead due to pollution in West Lake, the city's largest body of water. 37 Nghe An fishermen rescued from sea   Thirty-seven fishermen have been rescued from sea by the central Nghệ An Province’s navy police force and other fishermen in the past few days. On Monday, Quỳnh Thuận District’s border guards, in co-ordination with the navy police, brought 19 fishermen from fishing vessel NA95688TS to shore after they were rescued from sea. The latest incident took place around 6pm on Sunday, when the fishing vessel owned by Bùi Ngọc Kiên, a resident of Nghệ An Province’s Quỳnh Lưu District, broke down suddenly in sea and started drifting away. The fishermen on board sent out an emergency signal following which the navy police received an order from the Command to go on a rescue operation. The navy police ship caught up with the drifting vessel a few hours later, around 00.30am on Monday. Earlier, on the afternoon of May 21, a local fishing vessel, captained by Nguyễn Bá Thảo, a resident of Quỳnh Lưu District, with 17 other seamen, broke down and went adrift in sea. On receiving their distress signal, two fishing vessels owned by local fishermen that were close by caught up with the drifting vessel. After two days the broken down vessel was brought to safety at Lạch Quèn Port. HCM City wants to raise rail section above ground The HCM City People’s Committee has sought clearance from the Ministry of Transport to invest in new transport works to smoothen traffic on its roads. It plans to raise above ground the section of rail from Sài Gòn Railway Station to Bình Triệu Station in Bình Thạnh District and build a new rail route from Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area in District 2 to Long Thành International Airport in neighbouring Đồng Nai Province. The section between Bình Triệu and Sài Gòn Railway Station, around 9.5km long, intersects many roads, creating traffic jams whenever a train passes since level crossing gates have to be shut. These are also scenes of frequent accidents. The city also wants to move the inland container depot system from inside the city to along the Đồng Nai River. Free cooking school opens in Hà Nội A free cooking school has opened at Artemis building, No 3 Lê Trọng Tấn Street, Thanh Xuân District in Hà Nội. “The Ajinomoto Cooking Studio has been opened to encourage people’s passion for cooking, through which one can enhance the nutritional intake and health of one’s family and stay happy,” said Hiroharu Motohashi, general director of the centre. The dishes cooked at the centre have been newly designed, and are divided into four groups: dishes for people who love cooking; dishes for mothers with small babies (under five years); dishes for couples (newly weds and nearly weds); and dishes for families with children from 6 to 11 years. All cooking ingredients will be supplied by the centre, and each class will have a maximum of 12 to 14 students. The centre is calling for registrations for various courses to be held in June and July. For details, call 04 3 640 6688. National dance sport event to kick off The 2017 National Junior Dance Sport Championships and Open Dance Sport Cup will take place on June 3-4 at the Trịnh Hoài Đức Gymnasium in Hà Nội. The tournament will feature 540 dancers from 52 teams nationwide. International-level dancers such as Nguyễn Tuấn Đạt and Phan Nguyễn Quỳnh Hương (standard), Hoàng Đức Tuấn and Đặng Thu Hương (Latin) will take part in the  event. The event is held by the Việt Nam Sports Federation and the National Sports Administration. Vinschool to host World Scholar's Cup 2017 More than 3,000 top-performing students from over 60 countries in Asia and Europe will participate in the global round of the World Scholar's Cup 2017 in Hà Nội next month. The competition, which will last from June 26, 2017 to July 1, 2017, will be organised at the Việt Nam National Convention Centre. The World Scholar's Cup has been held annually since 2006 and is considered “a celebration of the joy of learning,” created for students worldwide, aiming to enrich students with knowledge in the fields of politics, society, science, technology, history, literature, music and arts, as well as motivate them to discover new strengths and practise their English-speaking skills. The contest has four parts: The Bowl (choosing the right answers); The Challenge (multiple-choice); Collaborative Writing (essay writing) and Debate. Participants have to go through three rounds at the regional level and mini-global rounds that take place around the world throughout the year. The global round is usually held at the end of June, and the Tournament of Champion is held at Yale University in the United States in November. Themed 'An Unlikely World', this year, the global round of the contest will be hosted by Việt Nam-based Vinschool for the first time in Hà Nội by Vinschool, which is now one of the region's top-performing schools with 17 championships and 30 teams taking part in the global round. Two mini-global rounds will be held in Athens in Greece and Cape Town in South Africa. Nguyễn Minh Diệp and Nguyễn Vũ Huyền Trang (right-to-left), the -two Vinschool students who won individual gold medal in the Tournament of Champion held in Yale University in 2016. They are taking pictures with Daniel Berdichevsky, the founder and initiator of the competition. "Vinschool became the exclusive partner in Việt Nam of the World Scholar's Cup, as we have the common goal of equipping students with a comprehensive knowledge base, focussing on developing their English proficiency and stimulating their learning passion. Vinschool is also the only school in Hà Nội to meet the facility requirements for the contest," said Daniel Berdichevsky, founder and initiator of the contest. In 2016, two students from Vinschool won the gold medal, a personal achievement in the Tournament of Champion. Australian Federal Police holds workshops with Vietnamese counterparts The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has worked with Australia's Attorney General's Department (AGD) and Vietnamese law enforcement officials over the past week, convening a series of workshops in Vietnam on extradition, informal cooperation, and “MLAT”, the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between both countries. Representatives from AGD and Vietnam's Public Security Ministry and Supreme People’s Procuracy attended “International Cooperation Workshops” in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Hai Phong, where proceeds of crime cases, among other matters, were reviewed. In Hanoi, AFP Coordinator, Criminal Assets Litigation Melbourne, Mr. Andrew Hanger, shared his law enforcement experience with the Supreme People’s Procuracy. Overall, the workshops were received well by participants, who reinforced their knowledge on the important formal and informal processes between Australia and Vietnam in relation to criminal matters. AGD Assistant Secretary Mr. Stephen Bouwhuis said the workshops build on recent cooperation between Australia and Vietnam and focused on international crime cooperation to combat money laundering and recover proceeds of crime. “We had the opportunity to learn from one another and to further strengthen links between our agencies, thereby increasing our ability to effectively cooperate to combat transnational crime,” he said. Next on the AFP’s agenda is the 43rd Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program (ARLEMP) meeting from June 5-23 in Ho Chi Minh City. It will focus on human trafficking and people smuggling, bringing together Vietnamese police officers from relevant agencies. Two police officers from Laos and Cambodia have also been invited to attend. The major focus will be on developing leadership skills, sharing experiences and developing peer-to-peer networks to assist the fight against human trafficking and people smuggling in the region. Free film screening for children launched The Goethe Institute in Ho Chi Minh City and Kim Dong Publishing House will jointly organize a film screening of the Frog Prince based on the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales in June 1.  The screening is part of cultural program being held to celebrate International Children Day (June 1). It will take place at 9am at Kim Dong Book Center (248 Cong Quynh Street, District 1, HCMC). The organizers offer free entrance tickets. Book festival for children in suburb districts opens   The 2017 “Books for Children in Suburban Areas” festival opened at the Cultural Center in the suburban district of Hoc Mon in Ho Chi Minh City on May 30.  This year’s event will be organized in Hoc Mon District from May 30-June 4; and in Cu Chi District on June 7-11. Launched in 2005, the book festival for children in suburb districts has become a annual large-scale book fair, offering more than 30,000 copies in various fields, such as comics, literature, text and reference books and others. Readers will enjoy 10-50 percent discounts on books and stationery. The book show’s organizer, HCM City Books Distribution Co (Fahasa) will have also activities supporting disadvantaged students at 19 bookstores in cities and provinces nationwide. Project boosts local engagement for Ha Long Bay’s sustainable development A project promoting local engagement for sustainable development of Ha Long Bay has borne fruit after three years of implementation, heard a meeting in northern Quang Ninh province on May 30. The event reviewing the Ha Long – Cat Ba Alliance: Local Engagement for Sustainable Development project was held by the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee and the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD). MCD Director Nguyen Thu Hue said Ha Long – Cat Ba Alliance is a public-private cooperation initiative funded by the US. The project aims to build a partnership between the Government, businesses and local authorities to promote the conservation and protection of Ha Long Bay and nearby Cat Ba archipelago of Hai Phong city, thus ensuring sustainable development. Beginning in 2014, the project has supported the aquaculture association in Ha Long Bay with heritage preservation activities while building sustainable aquaculture. It has also stepped up communications to encourage inter-sectoral cooperation and relevant parties’ participation, and enhanced their capacity in project implementation and supervision, she added. Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee Dang Huy Hau, head of the project coordinating board, said the conservation and sustainable development of Ha Long Bay is a continuous, long-term process that requires multilateral cooperation. This type of cooperation will ensure better decision making since it gathers multiple viewpoints, builds trust through respecting each member’s contribution, ensures benefits for all sides and forms partnerships to create unanimity among them. It will create a foundation for improved management of natural heritage sites like Ha Long Bay, he added. Ha Long Bay was recognised as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 1994 (for landscape values) and 2000 (for geological and geomorphological values). Quang Ninh is preparing to submit a dossier to UNESCO to seek a third recognition of Ha Long Bay, associated with Cat Ba, as a world natural heritage site in terms of archeological values. HCMC proposes social houses for teachers in distant areas People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Chanh District proposed to provide social houses for teachers in distant communes to attract more teachers to work in these areas. In a meeting with the municipal People’s Committee yesterday on the education policies, People’s Committee voiced the proposal. Because the district is in the city’s gate with many industrial parks to attract immigrants from corners of the country; the number of students increase 8,500 a year; consequently, there is not enough schools for all of them. The district is building eight facilities for the new academic year including five preschools to meet increased demand of workers in Le Minh Xuan Industrial Park and locals. For the school year 2016-2017, the district recruited additional 414  teachers yet it just meets half of demand. There is a lack of teachers of music, drawing, English in distant communes Le Minh Xuan, Pham Van Hai. To solve the matter, local authorities proposed to give social houses to teachers in disadvantaged communes. Festival for children with disabilities held in HCM City The 21st festival for children with disabilities was held on May 31 at the Culture and Labour Palace of Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate the International Children’s Day. Over 580 children from 16 schools for children with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong delta Can Tho city as well as the provinces of Dong Nai, An Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau participated in the event. The festival created a playground for children with disabilities to attend various activities from sports, art performances to games challenges, helping enhance their life-skills and community integration. An art performance took place under the programme to raise fund for disadvantaged children. On June 1 evening, a programme, which introduces a project supporting surgery for children with cleft palate, will be held at the same venue.  VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE