Social News 18/12 Skeet shooting tournament held in Hà Nội Nearly 100 shooters took part in the two-day Friendly Skeet Shooting Tournament that ended Saturday at the National Sports Training Centre in Hà Nội. Nguyễn Thị Nhung, head of shooting division at the National Sports Administration, the good turnout was a positive sign, helping organisers select the best shooters for the national team. The event, organized by the Việt Nam Shooting Federation, aims to develop skeet shooting nationwide. At the Southeast Asian Games two years ago, Lê Nghĩa brought home a gold medal in this sport. Fire destroys mattress warehouse in HCM City   A fire occurred late Sunday evening, destroying hundreds of square metres of a warehouse containing mattresses on Phan Anh Street, Tân Phú District, HCM City. More than 20 firefighting engines and some 100 firefighters joined in extinguishing the fire for over three hours. Many neighbouring factories and households evacuated their belongings. The blaze was dozens of metres high, caused panic among residents. Police and relevant authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. SCG grants scholarships to 114 students in 2017 Thailand’s SCG Group has handed over scholarships, worth VNĐ7 million (US$307) each, to 114 alumni who have enrolled in universities in 2017, as part of its scholarship programme. These students will study engineering, accounting, marketing and business administration at universities. SCG’s "Sharing the Dream" scholarship programme started its journey in 2007, with annual awards to some 400 high school students nationwide. The programme targets students facing hardships, with an excellent academic performance and provides them with financial support and personal development training. Since then, almost 4,000 dreams have been empowered by SCG through this programme. “SCG believes in the value of individuals and the power of education on personal development. That is why we choose to invest in SCG Sharing the Dream programme for the past 11 years,” Somchai Wangwattanapanich, vice president-operations, SCG Chemicals, said at the awards ceremony in HCM City last week. ”Through the years, we have seen more students going further in their educational path, and many of them have overcome life’s difficulties to get to their dreams. This year, the number of university students growing from our programme is another manifesto to our strong belief, as well as a motivation for further development of the platform,” he said. Besides its substantial impact in Việt Nam, SCG Sharing the Dream programme is also making changes in other ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines and Indonesia, with 5,000 scholarships awarded annually. Drug smugglers arrested Quảng Bình Province Border Guard and Laos’ Khammouan Province Public Security Department on Saturday arrested a Laos national for allegedly smuggling 32,000 tablets of synthetic drug into Việt Nam. The suspect, Vanphila Chan Thaviphon, 28 years old, from Khammouan Province, admitted that he bought the drug and was heading to the Cha Lo Border gate in the central province of Quảng Bình to sell in Việt Nam when he was caught. Last September, the border guard and Khammounan Province security force also detected five Laos nationals involved in trafficking 12,000 drug pills into Việt Nam. Meanwhile, in the northern province of Sơn La, last Saturday, police arrested two suspects for carrying 20 kilos of opium and 3,000 tablets of synthetic drug in Mai Sơn District. The suspects – Tráng A Dình, 37, and Sồng A Chính, 28, both from Yên Bái Province – admitted they bought the drug from an unknown man at the border area in Chiềng Khương Commune, Sông Mã District, in Sơn La Province. Police are investigating the cases further. A fresh look at Hindu statues in Viet Nam Việt Nam National Institute of Culture and Arts Study in Huế on Friday introduced a research book on Hindu statues found in temples in central regions of the country. The book, which has the title: ‘From Champa temples to Vietnamese religious facilities’, consists of 280 pages. It focuses on cultural conversion in the central region, conquering new land under the religious views, and the adoption of Hindu statues in Vietnamese temples. The contents have been built up by research in different locations and on existing cultural legends by researcher Nguyễn Hữu Thông and his associates in the institute. The book is illustrated with 222 photos taken from religious facilities in the provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên- Huế and Quảng Nam. According to the book’s chief author, researcher Thông, he and his associates spent almost 10 years conducting field trips to villages in the province to collect information for the book. Thông added that stories in the book lined up according to the historical process of Vietnamese migration from the north to south centuries ago. Belarus celebrates pioneer printer The Belarus Embassy will, on Tuesday, hand 21 volumes of books to the National Library of Việt Nam to mark the 500th year of Belarusian book printing. The anniversary is marked on the calendar of UNESCO’s memorable dates, indicating its international significance. The National Library of the Republic of Belarus implemented the facsimile reproduction of the books printed by Francysk Skaryna totally in 21 volumes and is handing them to the largest libraries in the world. The project is based on electronic copies of the most preserved books of the first printer, stored in libraries and museums of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Czech Republic and other countries. The hand-over ceremony will be held at 10am at the library at 31 Tràng Thi Street. It will gather representatives from various embassies in Hà Nội, including the Armenian, Azerbaijani, Czech and Italian. Francysk Skaryna or Francisk Skorina (1490–1552) was an outstanding Belarusian humanist, physician, translator and one of the first book printers in Eastern Europe. He laid the groundwork for the development of the Belarusian language. He was born into a family of wealthy merchants in Polatsk. Skaryna received his primary education in Polatsk (Belarus) and partly in Vilnius (Lithuania). In 1522, Skaryna opened the first printing house in Vilnius (Lithuania). Initially he published The Little Travel Book. Then in 1525, he publisjhed Apostol. All Skaryna’s editions are rare, especially those published in Vilnius (Lithuania). Copies are stored in libraries in Minsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Vilnius, Lviv, London, Prague, Copenhagen and Krakow. The last information about Francysk Skaryna is mentioned in the archives of 1534. He moved from Vilnius to Prague. It is thought that he probably served in the royal garden in Prague until his death. Monuments to the pioneer printer are installed in Polotsk (Belarus), Minsk (Belarus), Lida (Belarus), Kaliningrad (Russia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Prague (Czech Republic). Ninh Binh’s Tam Diep city recognised as new-style rural area Tam Diep city in the northern province of Ninh Binh has received a Prime Minister’s decision recognising that the locality has completed all criteria of the new-style rural area building programme. Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the Steering Committee for National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building handed over the decision to the city on December 17. So far, all communes in the city have been certified as new-style rural areas, four years prior to the plan. After seven years of implementing the programme, Tam Diep has made significant achievements in all fields. All local roads have been upgraded, while all degraded houses have been repaired, and nearly 95 percent of people at working age have been employed. Average per capital income of locals in 2017 is estimated at 40.8 million VND (1,791 USD), while the ratio of poor households has been reduced to 1.68 percent. Local resident donated 162 billion VND (7.11 million USD) to the programme, or 16 percent of the total cost, while businesses contributed over 104.49 billion VND (4.58 million USD). In the coming time, Tam Diep expects to have all communes meet criteria to be upgraded to urban wards, turning Tam Diep to a provincial-run level-two city. Addressing the ceremony, Secretary of Ninh Binh’s Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh congratulated the Party Organisation, government and people of Tam Diep for the success. She noted that Tam Diep is the first and only city, which is not a capital city of a province, in the Red River delta to have fulfilled all criteria of the programme. She said she hopes the locality will promote the achievements and make Tam Diep a level-two city in 2020, while attracting more investment and developing high technology agriculture. Binh Thuan’s first waste treatment complex put into operation The first phase of the first waste treatment and organic fertilizer production complex of the central province of Binh Thuan was completed and put into operation on December 16. The complex in La Gi town covers an area of nearly 30 hectares and has the capacity of treating 200 tonnes of domestic waste and 255 tonnes of industrial waste per day.  Organic matters are reproduced into biological fertilisers used in agricultural production. After the second phase is finished, the complex can also recycle plastic, nylon and rubber products and produce environmentally-friendly bricks. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Hai said that the inaugural of the complex marks a step forward in La Gi town’s bid to become a Type III urban area and contributes to the locality’s sustainable socio-economic development. According to Binh Thuan’s solid waste management planning, the province will have four provincial waste treatment complexes, 12 district-level waste treatment areas and two special ones with a total capacity of over 5,400 tonnes per day. Project targets gender-based violence A new project on preventing and responding to gender-based violence and domestic violence, and addressing sex-work related issues was signed yesterday in Hà Nội. Signed by the Labour Ministry and the United Nations Population Fund, the project will provide capacity support for government officials at national and sub-national levels in the development and implementation of evidence and human rights-based policies and programmes. Addressing the signing ceremony, Đào Hồng Lan, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Socials Affairs said, "With joint efforts of all sectors at all levels, Việt Nam has achieved remarkable achievements in gender equality. However, there are still many difficulties and challenges requiring more effective solutions and interventions.” "There is still a gap between policy and practice, with women and girls still bearing the brunt of violence," she said. “With technical and financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), we hope that this project will contribute to reducing gender disparities and to effective implementation of programmes, policies and strategies on gender equality, sex work related issues and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Việt Nam," she said. Of a total budget of US$4.1 million for five years from 2017 to 2021, $3.7 million will be funded by UNFPA. Among several objectives, the project aims to support the generation of evidence for making more effective the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control. It also aims to raise awareness and support behavioural change in policymakers and the community, especially men, on preventing and responding to domestic violence. The project will also support the development and improvement of evidence and human rights based laws, policies and programmes addressing sex work related issues. Astrid Bant, UNFPA Representative in Việt Nam, said, "I hope this project, based on evidence and outcomes achieved from the previous phase, will continue addressing the challenges ahead in the prevention and response to gender-based violence and domestic violence, towards a prosperous, sustainable and safe Việt Nam for all." According to a national survey on violence against women in Việt Nam conducted by the General Statistics Office in 2010, 58 per cent of married women aged 18-60 have experienced violence at least once in their lives. However, this is only the figure on violence against women within family settings. Of huge concern is that up to 87 per cent of women suffering from violence do not seek any support from public service providers. 4 crew members prosecuted in Hải Thành ship sinking The People’s Court in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu has reported that it has received the indictment of the provincial People’s Procuracy for prosecuting four crew members in connection with the sinking of the Hải Thành 26-BLC cargo ship. The cargo ship sank in the waters off the country’s southern coast on March 28. It is expected that the court will open the first instance hearing of the case before the Lunar New Year holiday which falls in mid-February next year, the online vietnamplus newspaper reported. The crew members of the Hải Thành cargo ship include Hoàng Tiến Khôi and Nguyễn Viết Thắng, accused of violating Circular 07/2012/TT-BGTVT. Nguyễn Xuân Sang and Trần Kiên of the Petrolimex 14 oil tanker are, meanwhile, accused of violating maritime regulations on controlling maritime vehicles as stipulated under Article 223 of the Penal Code. Earlier on June 21, Vũng Tàu Port Authority concluded that the the accident was the fault of the crew members, who did not perform their job of patrol and control well. Kiên and Sang were reported to leave their position while being on duty on Petrolimex 14 oil tanker and they also did not observe well, resulting in their ship colliding with Hải Thành ship. Kiên and Sang also did not answer the report of Hải Thành ship’s crew members when Hải Thành ship discovered that the two ships could collide. While Hoàng Tiến Khôi, a crew member of Hải Thành ship was accused of having no timely action to avoid the collision although he discovered the Petrolimex 14 tanker could hit his ship. The Hải Thành 26, with 11 crew members on board, sank some 44 nautical miles to the east of Vũng Tàu City in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province while carrying clinker from the northern city of Hải Phòng to the Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ. Two sailors were rescued, according to the Việt Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre. Nine crewmembers were killed in the accident and all the bodies were recovered. Bus hits car, injuring 22 Twenty-two people were injured yesterday morning when a bus crashed into a car at the Võ Nguyên Giáp intersection in Thanh Hóa City. The injured, including 20 people on the bus and two others in the sedan, were taken to a local hospital for treatment. According to initial reports, the accident occurred when the bus, which was carrying people to a relative’s funeral, overturned and hit the car traveling in the opposite direction. Local police are investigating the case. Livelihood options sought for CLV populations How to raise the living standards of people residing in the Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia (CLV) Development Triangle was the main theme of a conference in the southern province of Binh Phuoc on December 17. The conference was the 8th gathering of the Environment-Social Affairs Sub-Committee, held as part of the CLV Development Triangle Joint Coordination Committee’s 11th meeting, which runs from December 15 to 19. At the event, officials highlighted organic farming in connection with environmental protection as a potential path to local livelihood creation. Other solutions in the package included interregional tourism development, cultural preservation, and water resources protection, particularly proper use of water resources in the Mekong Delta River to cope with climate change impacts. These measures aimed at better environmental protection and sustainable livelihood, which would give an impetus to socio-economic growth in the CLV Development Area. As heard at the conference, thanks to close cooperation among Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, socio-environmental protection, particularly climate change adaptation, had made progress. However, socio-economic development had brought about negative influences on the environment, life and traditional customs and practices of people in the area. Continuous natural disasters required further coordination in protecting the environment and improving public awareness in this regard. The same day, the CLV Development Triangle Area’s Security – Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee also convened its 10th meeting in the province. Based on contents inked at the previous meeting, the three countries have closely worked with each other to control border security, manage borderlines and effectively fight against cross-border drug trafficking, human trafficking and other crimes. The parties also exchanged information to deal with existing shortcomings related to immigration and border division, and organised people-to-people exchanges. Also on December 17, the 10th meeting of the area’s Economic Subcommittee took place, focusing on measures to boost cooperation. These measures included information liaison and the implementation of signed agreement by parties involved, such as those on preferential policies and overall socio-economic planning in the CLV Development Triangle Area. They suggested the three countries promote trade-tourism-investment coordination and joint projects with international partners, and frequently update their joint online portal. The function scheduled the committee’s 11th meeting for 2018 in Cambodia. The CLV Development Triangle Area was established in 1999, covering 13 provinces, including four from Cambodia, four from Laos and five from Vietnam. Cambodia learns from Soc Trang’s experience in religious affairs Cambodian Secretary of State at the Ministry of Cults and Religions Touch Sarom led a delegation to visit the southern province of Soc Trang on December 17. During a meeting with the delegation, Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Lam Van Man briefed the guests on the locality’s recent remarkable achievements in ethnic and religious affairs. Over 30 percent of Soc Trang’s population is Khmer ethnics, who share many similarities in culture, belief and religion with Cambodians, he noted. Soc Trang has been implementing many policies to promote socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas, towards improving living conditions for locals and ensuring equality and solidarity among ethnic groups and religious communities, he added.  Man stressed that the visit of the Cambodian delegation contributed to enhancing mutual understanding and tightening solidarity between the two countries’ people, thus strengthening the traditional friendship relations and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia. For her part, Touch Sarom said the visit is useful for the delegation, helping them learn from Soc Trang’s experience, thus serving Cambodia’s ethnic work and socio-economic development. Previously, the Cambodian delegation visited Som Rong, Kh’ Leang and Doi pagodas in Soc Trang city. Vietnam News Agency enhances relations with European partners General Director of the State-owned Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Nguyen Duc Loi met with officials of several major press agencies in Spain and the UK during his Europe trip from December 12-18 to step up cooperative relations with European partners. During his working sessions with the executive of Spain’s EFE news agency, and the UK’s Thomson Reuters and BBC, General Director Nguyen Duc Loi, who is also a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, compared notes about the role and operation of the press in the world’s current situation. The sides shared positive assessment on their bilateral cooperation in information exchange over the past time, stressing that the sharing of information among press agencies, especially major ones, is an urgent need at present, in order to diversify sources of information and increase competitiveness of traditional press agencies given the rapid development of new communication forms, particularly social networks. They underlined the necessity to reform operational models and methods as well as promote new forms of information provision to suit the new situation and changes in the way the public access information. The sides informed each other about their operation and development in recent time while sharing experience in developing new forms of information, especially mass media products. The management of EFE, Thomson Reuters and BBC introduced their organisational structure and latest information products to the VNA delegation and said they are willing to share experience in the field. The European partners also affirmed to help the VNA with training of reporters, editors and technicians to develop new information forms. During his trip, General Director Nguyen Duc Loi also called at Vietnamese embassies in Spain and the UK. The State-owned VNA boasts a network of 63 bureaus in all the cities and provinces nationwide and 30 overseas bureaus across five continents. With more than 60 media products by more than 1,000 reporters and editors out of its 2,400-strong staff, the VNA is now the media agency with the largest number of products in the country: bulletins, photos, television programmes, dailies, weeklies, monthlies, magazines, pictorials, books, TV channel, e-newspapers and information programmes on mobile platforms. The agency also delivers news in the largest number of languages. It runs the e-newspaper Vietnamplus in five languages – Vietnamese, English, Chinese, French and Spanish at www.vietnamplus.vn along with several other print and e-newspapers in English, French, Korean, Lao, Japanese and Russian. ASEAN mayors talk urban development Leaders of more than 30 cities in ASEAN countries gathered at a conference in Huế City, the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế in the last two days to discuss sponsoring and implementing sustainable development projects for cities in Southeast Asia. The conference was organised by the International Association of French-speaking Mayors (AIMF), the European Union and Huế City. Addressing the event, Chairman of Huế City People’s Committee Nguyễn Văn Thành said the conference aimed to share experience in mobilising financial resources for urban development projects. He also highlighted Huế’s efforts to contribute to AIMF activities and the city’s determination to integrate into the French-speaking community as well as to protect and develop heritage values. Three seminars were held within the framework of the conference, dealing with calling for investment, experience in responding to climate change in the region, the role of cities in strengthening regional integration, co-operation among cities in Southeast Asia and the engagement of cities in sustainable development. AIMF Permanent Secretary Pierre Baillet said ASEAN is strongly integrating into the world economy and facing many challenges in education, population growth and climate change. Participants at the event also shared experience in defining the role played by cities in calling for investment to sustainable urban development and climate change response. Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung lauded activities of AIMF in sustainable urban development, noting that the association has created strong connectivity among member cities and Francophone organisations regionally and globally. He also expressed hope that the association will play a bigger role in stepping up regional and inter-regional co-operation for the sustainable growth of cities in Southeast Asia. Việt Nam marks tenth anniversary of national helmet law A “Fun with Traffic Safety” extracurricular day to mark the tenth anniversary of Việt Nam’s national helmet law on December 15 was held at Tiền Phong Primary School in Hà Nội. Over 1,000 students, teachers, and staff joined distinguished guests and participants with extracurricular activities such as a helmet handover, helmet sculpture painting, a helmet wearing contest, and a special performance by the National Vietnam Circus. The students participated in a flash mob dance to celebrate. Since implementing the national helmet law, Việt Nam has saved an estimated US$3.5 billion in medical costs and lost output, and an estimated 500,000 head injuries and 15,000 fatalities have been prevented, according to National Traffic Safety Committee. Attendees also marked ten years of the national helmet law by looking to the past and acknowledging those who had provided crucial support. The day was held by the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and FIA Foundation, which is an independent UK registered charity which supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility. The Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition (VHWC) received special recognition for their contributions to building support for the law and pushing it to the forefront of public discourse. The VHWC, led by AIP Foundation, provided funding and in-kind support for a landmark public awareness campaign, Wear a helmet. There are no excuses, prior to the passage of the national helmet law. “After 10 years of implementing the national helmet law, we have achieved significant success,” Dr. Khuất Việt Hùng, Vice Chairman of National Traffic Safety Committee said, adding that there is still a long journey ahead; the helmet wearing rate for children aged 6 years old and above remains low. “When we have strong enforcement programmes, the rate of children wearing helmets increases to 50-60 per cent. Without enforcement, the rate stays at 30-40 per cent. This is our challenge as well as our mission for the near future,” he said VNN