Social News 29/1 Exhibition praises victory of 1968 Tet Offensive Commando Ba Mu (whose real name is Do Van Can) disguised himself as a rubber latex collector to fool the enemy. He used a tricycle to transport weapons to serve the South Vietnam liberation forces during the 1968 Tet Offensive. The tricycle is on display at exhibition that has opened in Hanoi. Entitled The Epic of the 1968 Tet Offensive, the exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the victory of the campaign. The exhibition displays more than 300 images, documents and objects. Ba Mu’s tricycle is one among many objects showcased to the public for the first time. The exhibition is divided into three parts: devotion for the battlefield, the historical turning point and echoes of the epic. They depict the determination of Vietnamese people and soldiers in fighting for peace and liberation. “The Military History Museum of Vietnam organised the exhibition with the aim of asserting the historical magnitude and significance of the general offensive and uprising in 1968,” said Nguyen Xuan Nang, director of the museum. “During nearly two months of attack and insurrection, the Tet Offensive 1968 marked a strategic turning point for the resistance war against the US and its allies. It caused the US a ‘sudden shock’, disrupting their strategic plan, shaking the White House, the Pentagon and all of the US and forced President Johnson to deescalate the war and agree to sign the historic Paris Peace Accord. The victory also helped lead to the liberation of southern Vietnam and the unity of the country in 1975.” “The 1968 Tet Offensive affirmed the outstanding, visionary leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh,” said Nang. “It promoted patriotism, national pride and the will to overcome all difficulties to fulfill the task of building and protecting the country.” The exhibition will run until the end of February at the Military History Museum of Vietnam, 28A Dien Bien Phu Street, Hanoi. Vietnam’s U23 squad foster national camaraderie: Nikkei Asian Review Mass celebrations for U23 Vietnam's success.  The Vietnam national football team’s appearance in the finals of the Asian Football Confederation U23 championship triggered a sense of national camaraderie, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The Japanese media gave the comment right after the mass celebrations across the country to welcome the excellent home, despite a close defeat on January 27. The finals were held on a ground covered with snow in China’s Changzhou city. Vietnamese hearts were “broken” in the final minutes of overtime when Uzbekistan scored the game winner from a corner kick. Hundreds of fans watching a huge screen in front of Hanoi Opera House were seen grabbing their head in their hands and letting out painful groans, it wrote. Although the team lost 2-1 to the central Asian nation, football fans have taken great pride in the young football players. Vietnamese fans joined in the celebrations coloured in red until 3 a.m. Winning the runner-up title, Vietnamese football rose to 77th place from 112th in the FIFA rankings, Nikkei noted. Football is Vietnam’s biggest sport. The response was similarly riotous when the national team won the ASEAN Football Federation’s Suzuki Cup in 2008. Other prestigious newspaper, press agencies and social network forum in Japan like Mainichi, Yomiuri, Kyodo and Jiji also gave comments on Vietnam’s extraordinary achievements in the tournament. 11 billion VND to help poor farmers enjoy Tet    The “Tet lam dieu hay” (Good things for Tet) programme in Ho Chi Minh City has raised more than 11 billion VND (482,900 USD) to support needy people ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet). The programme, coordinated by HCM City Television and the local Farmers’ Union, took place on January 28. It planned to offer 2,000 Tet gifts, 1,000 saving accounts and 1,500 Luong Dinh Cua scholarships, as well as support the purchase of 300 farming tools and the building of 50 charity houses. Speaking at the event, Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem said supporting disadvantaged residents is a consistent part of municipal policy, with initiatives to reduce development gaps between urban and rural areas and build new-style rural localities. In the past 10 years, the programme has mobilised 80 billion VND (3.51 million USD) in total, handed over more than 950 charity houses, and presented Tet gifts to more than 12,300 members of the municipal Farmers’ Union, and 5,300 Luong Dinh Cua scholarships. Association vows to foster Vietnam-Cambodia friendship The Association of Vietnamese Cambodians will continue promoting ties with Cambodian agencies to get more legal assistance to Vietnamese expatriates. Speaking at a ceremony on January 28 to review the association’s work in 2017 and map out plans for 2018, Chairman of the association Chau Van Chi said most Vietnamese Cambodians are living under the poverty line.  Over the years, the association has helped many Vietnamese organisations and associations provide free health check-ups and medicine and present gifts to poor Vietnamese and Cambodian people. In 2018, the association will promote the role of the Association of Doctors and Association of Women in community activities while rebuilding the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Cambodia in order to better carry out its role as a bridge for Vietnam-Cambodia cooperation. It will also raise funds for charitable activities and the construction of community facilities, including Vietnamese and Khmer language schools for overseas Vietnamese. Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh noted the sound ties between Vietnam and Cambodia and affirmed that the embassy will work with the association to protect the rights of Vietnamese expatriates, improve their knowledge about the host’s culture and history and raise their awareness of the preservation of the mother tongue. On the occasion, the executive board of the association presented certificates of merit to collectives and individuals in recognition of their contributions to community activities. HCM City ensures clean water supply for residents Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities are taking measures to ensure residents’ access to clean water during the dry season and upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. The State-owned Saigon Water Corporation (SAWACO), the city’s largest tap water supplier, said it would ensure a sufficient supply of clean water for the city’s residents during the period. The demand for water during the dry season is expected to be especially high in districts with fast-paced urbanisation, such as districts 9, 12, Binh Tan, Nha Be, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh.       SAWACO has asked water companies in the city to work with the electricity sector to ensure smooth operations during the holiday and dry season. The companies and government agencies will ensure water quality, especially at the Hoa Phu pumping station (at Tan Hiep Water Company) and Hoa An pumping station (at Thu Duc Water Company).   The companies have been asked to monitor water contamination and saline intrusion, and control water volume at the sources to increase water pressure, especially in areas far from the sources. In addition, the supply of water from stored tanks and mobile tanks like tank trucks must be ready at any time to ensure sufficient supply. The companies have also been told to work with fire-fighting police to ensure there is sufficient supply of water in case of fire. Water supply staff will be available 24/7 during the holiday to resolve any problems of water supply and weak water pressure.        All water companies such as Thu Duc, Tan Hiep and Tan Phu must be ready to operate at a designated capacity requested by SAWACO. To comply with the policy to limit exploitation of underground water sources, SAWACO has shifted to other sources. Most water samples from drilled wells in the city are contaminated, affecting people’s health in the long run, said a city official. To cope with climate change, which affects the city’s water resources, SAWACO has adjusted the water supply master plan, incorporating provisions to build more pumping stations as well as lakes and tanks to store treated and untreated water. Last year, SAWACO asked the city authority to build five reservoirs in the next eight years to ensure clean water supply for residents. The quality of the water supply has worsened due to pollution and effects of climate change, according to SAWACO. The five reservoirs, which will be able to store up to 373,000 cu.m of water, will be located in Go Vap and Binh Chanh districts and in the central, southern and western parts of the city. By 2025, SAWACO expects the total capacity of the city’s reservoirs and water towers to be upgraded to 1.2 million cubic metres, or about 48 percent of the total water consumed on a daily basis. VFF ensures warm Tet for disadvantaged people President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Tran Thanh Man has visited and presented Tet gifts to disadvantaged people and policy beneficiaries in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang. In a working session with the provincial leaders the same day, Man highlighted that the Party and Government always pay due attention to taking care of the poor and the policy beneficiaries. He asked local authorities to continue its efforts to take care of the ethnic people and poor households with special circumstances and support them to develop socio-economy, alleviate poverty and improve livelihoods. On the occasion, he presented 3 billion VND (132,000 USD) from the Central Emergency Response Fund to the provincial leaders. The money will be used to build houses for families affected by natural disasters. The following day, VFF Vice President Bui Thi Thanh visited and extended warm Tet greetings to households in the Ta Nen resettlement area in Dong Nghe commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province. Sixty four Tet gifts, each worth 1 million VND (44 USD), were given to families in the zone.  The Ta Nen resettlement zone houses 64 families whose houses were collapsed in the historic flood in October, 2017.- Additional 1.8 billion VND to support mountainous children in Tuyen Quang The National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) recently received 1.8 billion VND (79,200 USD) raised from the Singapore-Vietnam friendship charity run to build facilities at Sinh Long primary school’s establishment in La village, Na Hang district, the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang. The information was announced by the NFVC on January 28. The friendship run is the first event organised by the Singaporean Embassy in Vietnam to kick off an array of activities in 2018 to mark 45th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries. In the past years, both sides have enjoyed sound cooperation in the fields of politics, economy and culture. HCM City’s district achieves target of no poor households Ho Chi Minh City’s District 6 is the first in the city to no longer have households under the poverty line, achieving the target three years ahead of schedule. According to the city standard, a poor household has an average income below 21 million VND (925 USD) per year per person, and a near-poor household has an average income of 21 million-28 million VND (1,233 USD) per year per person. Early last year, District 6 had 660 poor households with 3,541 people, accounting for 1.13 percent of total households in the district, and 2,700 near-poor households. Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy chairwoman of the People’s Committee of HCM City, praised the district’s achievements in poverty reduction. The district’s fund for poverty reduction provided a loans totalling 35 billion VND (1,541 USD) to more than 1,200 poor and near-poor households last year. It awarded 5,200 scholarships worth over 5.1 billion VND (224,591 USD) to students, including more than 3,600 who live in difficult circumstances, and provided vocational training to 116 children living in poor and near-poor households. Thu urged the district to continue to support policies for people living under difficult circumstances and ensure that poverty reduction is sustainable. Scholarships, gifts given to people in need ahead of Tet Scholarships and gifts have been presented to impoverished and ethnic people across the country to bring them a warm Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) holiday. The Vietnam Red Cross Society on January 26 allocated 6.57 billion VND (289,000 USD) for its chapters cross the country to aid poor families and Agent Orange/Dioxin victims ahead of Tet holiday. The Red Cross Society plans to present at least two millions gift packages to help the disadvantaged households enjoy Tet. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee presented scholarships and gifts, including clothes and blankets, to impoverished ethnic students and families in the border districts of Trung Khanh and Ha Lang in northern Cao Bang province in a programme entitled “Spring at border 2018.” They also brought a warm spring to border guards at Thi Hoa Border Guard Station with gifts and art performances. “Spring at border 2018” continued to take place in Ha Quang district of northern Cao Bang province on January 27. Also, the Vietnam Youth Federation’s chapter in Hung Yen province provided free medical examinations for 200 policy beneficiaries in Da Loc commune, An Thi district. Twenty gifts, each worth 1 million VND (44 USD), were given to disadvantaged families in the locality. Top legislator pays Tet visit to border guards in Ha Giang Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan presented gifts and extended warm Tet greetings to officers and soldiers at the Lung Cu Border Guard Station in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang on January 27. Lauding efforts made by the soldiers, the top legislator said that they have overcome challenges to fulfil assigned political tasks as well as promote people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to building a borderline of peace, friendship and cooperation for mutual development. They also have participated in developing local socio-economy and maintaining political security and social order in the border area, she added.  Ngan asked the station to further its work to safeguard border security and national sovereignty, while taking care of ethnic minority people, policy beneficiaries and impoverished households to ensure that they will have a warm Tet holiday. The same day, she delivered Tet gifts to soldiers of the border guard station at the Thanh Thuy border gate and five border communes in Vi Xuyen district, including Thanh Thuy, Thanh Duc, Lao Chai, Xin Chai and Minh Tan. Managing over 32 kilometres of border lines with 50 border markers, soldiers and officers at Thanh Thuy border guard station have successfully fulfilled their missions, Ngan said, adding that as the border area houses many disadvantaged families, the soldiers should join hands with local authorities to give timely support to them. In 2017, the border guards forces spent 12.5 billion VND (550,000 USD) on presenting 10,000 gifts and building 35 houses valued at 2.5 billion VND (USD) as well as providing medical check-ups for the needy. This year, the guards plan to offer 20,000 gifts, 40 houses and 100 breeding cows to disadvantaged people. Later the same day, Chairwoman Ngan attended an art performance programme called “Xuan bien phong am long dan ban” (warm spring in border areas for ethnic people) at the Thanh Thuy Border Guard Station.  On the occasion, she wished Ha Giang people a new year of happiness, health and prosperity while expressing her delights that such art performances will bring joyfulness to people in 44 border provinces across the country.  Field widens in photo contest Amateur and professional photographers have been invited to submit photos for a heritage contest launched in Hanoi on January 26. With the title of Heritage Itinerary, the contest aims to feature the richness and diversity of Vietnam’s cultural heritage and people. Participants can send their entries from March 1 to August 31. Vietnam Heritage Magazine is hosting the contest for the sixth time. It is seeking photos featuring the beauty of Vietnam’s nature, culture and people, according to Le Truong Giang, editor-in-chief of the magazine. As entrants taking part in two categories, Photo Album and Cover Photo, the best photos will be published in the magazine. As the magazine is run by Vietnam Airlines, this year photographers can also submit photos taken in countries the airline visits. The jury board includes Vu Quoc Khanh, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA); Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition; Nguyen Thai Thien, vice chairman of the Authority of Press (Ministry of Information and Communications); Dinh Thi Cam Ly, editor of the Vietnam Heritage Magazine; and Nguyen Viet Thanh, Viet Nam News photojournalist. “We encourage young photographers to discover new angles,” Thanh said. “We also welcome participants in the Photo Album category (10-15 photos) because we believe it requires much creativity, effort and intelligence.”   Photo tours will be organised to the north-eastern region, the southern border region bounded by Laos and the south-western region with support from Ford Vietnam and Leica Boutique. Leica Boutique will co-operate with the organising board to organise photo workshops during the contest. Hue targets 42 million foreign tourists in 2018 Former imperial capital city of Hue received 1.5 million foreign tourists last year, increasing by 42.5 percent in 2016. Foreign tourists comprised half of the total visitors to Hue, a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for its imperial architecture and culture. The highest number of foreign tourists – 26 percent of the total – was from the Republic of Korea. Visitors from France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Thailand had the second to sixth highest percentages, respectively. Total revenue from tourism last year was 155 million USD. According to the local Tourism Department, the tourism sector made attempts to diversify its products by adding tour programmes to lagoons and rural areas and introducing destinations outside the UNESCO heritage system. The sector expects to receive 42 million visitors this year, half of them foreign tourists. To achieve this target, the department called for private investment to develop standard restaurants that could accommodate up to 2,000 customers at the same time. It also requested local authorities to introduce direct flights from Hue to countries with the highest proportion of tourists to the city, including Japan, the RoK and Thailand. It also suggested local authorities to improve the service quality and behaviour of both public agencies and civil facilities towards tourists. Hue is considered a top tourism hub in the country. But tourism in the city has not witnessed consistent development in the past few years, mainly due to the narrow mindset towards tourism management by local authorities. It was only last year that local authorities formed a separate tourism department with qualified personnel to aid growth in the sector. Tangerine farms in Dong Thap ready for visitors during Tet Visitors to the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap should take a trip to the farms in the Lai Vung area where farmers earn a living growing pink tangerine. Throngs of holiday-makers from Ho Chi Minh City are flocking to the gardens in Lai Vung to witness the ripening season and take photos while spending a day picking fruit. Travellers are advised to drop by the orchards by the 20th of the 12th lunar month, which falls on February 5 this year, as local farmers will start picking fruit for sale during the peak Tet (Lunar New Year) season. From HCM City, travellers can take a bus to Dong Thap province at tour operators’ offices on Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham and Bui Vien streets in district 1 or at a bus station on Le Hong Phong street in district 10. Vietnamese expats in Canada gather for Tet celebration Hundreds of Vietnamese expatriates, officials from the Vietnamese representative offices in Canada and international friends gathered to welcome Vietnam’s traditional Tet holiday at a celebration held in Toronto, the capital of Canada’s Ontario province, on January 27. Earlier, Vietnamese people in Ottawa and Montreal and cities also met on the threshold of Lunar New Year 2018. Delivering Tet greetings to the participants, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Nguyen Duc Hoa underlined significant events for the two countries in 2017. Both sides have enjoyed important breakthroughs in their relations, which were illustrated through the official visits to Vietnam made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and various visits of officials and local authorities from the two countries, Hoa said. The diplomat affirmed the overseas Vietnamese community is an inseparable part of the nation. The country will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese expatriates, including those in Cadana, to return home and invest, contributing to national development. This was the second time the Vietnamese people in Ottwa, Montreal and Toronto enjoyed art performances staged by artists from the Youth (Tuoi tre) Theatre. District 1 mulls expanding food stalls model The People’s Committee of HCM City’s District 1 on Thursday proposed expanding the current model for pavement food stalls at a meeting with the city’s People Committee on the district’s development for 2018. Trần Thế Thuận, chairman of the District 1 People’s Committee, said that a four-month trial run of food stalls for poor vendors on Nguyễn Văn Chiêm Street and in Bách Tùng Diệp Park had received positive feedback from the vendors as well as locals and tourists. Thuận asked the city’s People’s Committee to allow District 1 to expand the food stall model on more streets in District 1 this year. He also asked the city to approve pedestrian use of Bùi Viện Street yesterday instead of only on the weekends. In another matter, District 1 is working on a plan to minimise pavement misuse, consulting different authorities. HCM City has commended District 1’s effort of restoring order to its pavements in 2017, in which District 1 dealt with 17,000 cases of pavement misuse and restored order to 86 per cent of the pavements. However, the city noted that pavement misuse was still a big problem and more work needed to be done. Police start investigation into death of taxi passenger Police in northern Ninh Bình Province said they had summoned the landlord and construction workers who were responsible for the death of a taxi passenger to record their statement. Colonel Tống Mạnh Hùng, head of the provincial Police Department, told zing.vn that police had started investigating the accident that took place in Hoa Lư District’s Trường Yên Commune. At 4.10pm on January 24, a taxi carrying a couple and their child was crossing a junction of Hải Thượng Lãn Ông and Trần Phú streets when a steel beam fell from a construction site. The husband, Nguyễn Văn Bắc, 39, was killed on the spot, while his wife, child and the taxi driver were safe. The couple was on their way to a hospital for the health checkup of their child. Hùng said the police had started collecting testimony in the case. Witnesses said the steel beam fell from the third floor of a construction site and went through the taxi’s roof straight into the man’s head, killing him instantly. Four killed, injured in quarry explosion in Đắk Nông Nguyễn Ngọc Minh, head of the People’s Committee of Tuy Đức District in Đắk Nông Province said that an explosion at a local quarry led to four casualities. At about 6am, Vượng Phát Co Ltd conducted an explosion to exploit rocks at a quarry in sub-zone 1469 in Tuy Đức District’s Quảng Trực Commune. Phan Văn Hoán, 31, in Đắk Mil District, and another man, only known as Trung, were killed. Two other men were seriously injured and were admitted to Bù Gia Mập General Hospital in Bình Phước Province for treatment. Dương Danh Quế, head of Tuy Đức District’s Police Department, said the police asked the provincial authority to examine the quarry to make sure there was no mine left. Vượng Phát Co Ltd was granted a licence for mine exploitation five months ago. The case is under investigation. VNĐ2 billion sugarcane area destroyed in Đắk Lắk More than 35ha of ready-to-harvest sugarcane was burnt in Ea Sup District, the Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) province of Đắk Lắk, causing severe damage.  Talking with vov.vn online newspaper, Nguyễn Bảo Lộc, deputy general director of Đắk Lắk Sugarcane Joint-Stock Company, on Friday, said the burnt sugarcane area was the material source for his company, adding that the damage of the fire was estimated at some VNĐ2 billion (US$88,000).    Currently, sugarcane growers in the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk are entering the peak of the 2017-2018 sugarcane harvesting crop season.  However, at this time, the weather in the Central Highlands region is very dry, so the agricultural department warned farmers to raise vigilance and be careful with fire. Farmers need to push through the crop and harvest time to reach high yields, and sell the crop at the best prices.  Among the sugarcane area burnt, 18ha belonged to a farmer household in Ea Bung Commune, and 17ha to four other households in Ya Tờ Mốt Commune.  The sugarcane area was jointly planted by Đắk Lắk Sugarcane Joint-Stock Company with households in the border communes of Ea Sup District.  During the 2017-18 period, the company co-operated with Ea Sup District’s people to grow 7,000ha of sugarcane.  On December 20, 2017, more than 100ha of sugarcane, also the material region of Đắk Lắk Sugarcane Joint-Stock Company in Ea Sup District, was burned completely, with total damage up to VNĐ10 billion. HCMC needs IT system for natural resources      With mega cities like HCM City facing rapid urbanisation, economic constraints and sustainability issues, promoting the use of information technology and ensuring network security are key tasks, a seminar heard in HCM City on Friday. Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment, told the seminar: “The ability to improve city infrastructure management through IT application and network security is crucial to defining and achieving social, environmental and economic success.” According to the department’s report on IT general architecture, “Information and data on natural resources and environment in HCM City should be easily accessible and efficiently exploited. This would be the foundation for creating a development environment serving the city’s socio-economic growth. “The IT general architecture will meet the People’s Committee and natural resource and environment department’s strategic vision, plan and decisions and the Smart City project’s vision and goals and be in line with international trends like Big Data, IoT, Cloud.” The information technology system to manage the natural resources and environmental database will be created based on the department’s digitised documents, and integrated with the information system for urban management comprising land, construction, master planning, environment, climate change, transport, and underground works. The database will be linked with the geographic information system and global positioning system to ensure smooth integration, connection, sharing and online information provision, it said.  Nuclear disaster drill conducted in Da Lat A nuclear disaster drill has been conducted on Friday in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat to improve local authorities’ ability to respond to future mishaps such as a radiation leak in Vietnam’s largest nuclear research hub. Thirteen units were involved in the large-scale drill headed by the administration of Lam Dong Province where Da Lat is located. The hypothetical emergency was a traffic accident between a passenger bus and a specialized vehicle transporting two sealed radioactive sources of Iridium-192. Prolonged leakage of Iridum-192 could pose severe health risks to local residents, who could develop cancer or even die from overexposure to the radioactive material, according to the drill’s script. Lam Dong’s emergency nuclear response team, which is composed of experts from Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, the local fire department, and the local traffic police force, took part in taking exposed victims to hospital and relocating the radioactive source to an isolated area. Emergency responders take part in a nuclear disaster drill in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province January 26, 2018. Decontamination works were carried out afterwards to make sure no residues of the harmful radioactive isotope remains exposed. Da Lat is home to Vietnam’s largest hub of scientific research in the fields of biotechnology and nuclear physics, with as many as 23 units dealing with equipments containing radioactive sources. A nuclear reactor with a capacity of 500 kW is located inside Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, where up to 900 radioactive sources are in use. HCM City traffic police praised for rejecting bribes A large number of traffic police officers in Ho Chi Minh City have received compliments for refraining from taking bribes in 2017. The officers were praised during a meeting on the review of traffic safety last year held by the municipal department of road and railway traffic (PC67) on January 25. The body commended 143 groups of traffic police and 3,649 fellow officers who exhibited exemplary performance and behavior.  Amongst the latter, 514 officers demonstrated integrity, refusing to receive bribes which otherwise amounted to nearly VND142 million (US$6,250), and 110 others bravely fought back crime, PC67 head Huynh Trung Phong said at the meeting. No information was given about the rest of the force regarding the misconduct. A multitude of traffic law violations was reported in 2017, with more than 500,000 offences recorded which corresponded to a total fine of VND260 billion (US$11.45 million), and in 80,000 cases where driving licenses were confiscated. As a progressive step, cameras have been installed over streets or used by police in major cities during the past few years to detect illegal traffic acts and provide retrospective proof in case the law-breaker claims the contrary. Nearly 44.000 offences were detected with the help of this technology, resulting in the payment of over VND17 billion (US$748,800). At the meeting, the police said they also plan to step up their activity to guarantee traffic safety in the coming Vietnamese Lunar New Year, or Tet, in mid-February. WB Country Director, Swiss Ambassador visit Can Tho World Bank Country Director to Vietnam, Ousmane Dione, and Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam, Beatrice Maser Mallor has stressed the importance of improving urban resilience as the city addresses the challenges of rapid urbanization and the impacts of climate change during their recent visit to Can Tho City. “Vietnam has made strong progress in economic growth and poverty reduction, and continues to undergo transformation from a rural to urban economy. Like other cities, Can Tho is facing challenges of urbanization, and partnership between development partners and local authorities can help address those issues", said WB Country Director Ousmane Dione on January 26. The World Bank Country Director and the Swiss Ambassador visited project sites along the Can Tho river where embankment works will be improved as result of the collaboration between the World Bank and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).  Support from SECO has been crucial in addressing the multiple aspects of flood management in the city. “Switzerland is committed to enable sustainable and climate resilient urban development in Vietnam. It is important that the City leadership will allocate enough resources to operate and sustain this new urban planning and flood risk management system", the Swiss Ambassador Beatrice Maser Mallor said. During meetings with city leadership, the World Bank Country Director expressed appreciation of the partnership with both Can Tho city and SECO, in piloting innovative solutions to address Vietnam’s urban challenges, and discussed ongoing and potential areas of collaboration. The World Bank is committed to work with other partners to help develop urban centers’ resilience to address critical priorities, such as planning and managing population growth, land use, infrastructure development, environmental sustainability and disaster management, in an efficient and effective manner. The World Bank Director and the Swiss Ambassador stressed that a successful implementation of the Can Tho Urban Development and Resilience Project will require strong institutional coordination and technical capacities.  They expressed their interest in seeing replication of successful models from this project in the future. This will make the ongoing project beneficial to other cities in the Mekong Delta Region as well as other regions and countries.   Happy Tet Fair to kick off in HCM City Happy Tet Fair 2018, an event consisting of promotion, food and entertainment programs to usher in the Lunar New Year (Tet) season, will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in District 7, HCM City from January 31 to February 4 (from the 15th to the 19th of the 12th lunar month). The five-day event features 300 booths of local and foreign producers and offers discounts of up to 50%, gifts and a lucky draw for customers. Moreover, scores of entertainment activities and food booths will be featured at the fair to serve revelers during the nation’s biggest holiday. Known as the traditional Vietnamese Tet fair, the upcoming event will have new features like the bazaars of neighboring countries and territories such as Thailand, Taiwan (China), Japan and the Republic of Korea, whose cultures have many similarities with Vietnam’s. Guests to the fair can find numerous products ranging from confectionery, jams, dried food, handmade products, Tet decorative items and local specialties by Vietnamese brands to cosmetics, perfume, household items, and home décor from foreign producers. The launch of the Tet fair is meant to create an entertainment and shopping venue for city dwellers and the expat community in the run up to Tet holiday when numerous traditional activities such as fashion shows, photo booths, food corners and Goc ong do (corner of calligraphers) are made available.     In addition, a range of Tet tour programs, designed by Saigontourist Travel Service Co., an arm of Saigontourist Holding Company, for domestic and foreign tourists can be found at the event. The fair is expected to lure more than 40,000 visitors and among the highlight events for Vietnamese families, foreigners and international tourists to gain hands-on experience in Vietnam’s Tet culture as there are around three weeks left until the week-long Tet holiday. Located in the heart of Phu My Hung new urban area and just a 10-minute drive from the downtown and 30 minutes from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, SECC is known as one of the largest and most modern facilities in the southern region. SECC is a joint effort between Saigontourist Holding Company, the country’s leading tourism services provider, with a 60% stake, and Phu My Hung Development Corporation. Spring Festival 2018 to fascinate visitors with diverse activities The Spring Festival 2018 will take place from February 2-8, 2018 at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts in Hanoi prior to the traditional New Year (Tet) festival. The event will demonstrate traditional practices of Vietnamese people during Tet, including arranging fruits, making “Chung” cakes and writing parallel sentences. A flower fair will also be held. Artisans from various traditional trade villages will perform at the event. The event also includes an exhibit of more than 100 pictures themed “travelling through heritages”, introducing world heritage in Vietnam, beautiful landscapes across the nation, trade villages and traditional festivals. Notably, there will be a corner to showcase Tet before 1975. To celebrate the year of the dog, the organisation board will highlight famous celebrities in the country’s history who were born in years of the dog, along with major historical events in the years of the dog. Visitors to the festival can enjoy typical traditional foods in the northern region.  Various art performances, street art and circus shows will be held, drawing famous artists.  Additionally, safe goods and agricultural products will be introduced and sold throughout the event. Over 1,000 students donate blood in Hue city Nearly 1,100 volunteers from affiliated universities and faculties of the Hue University and colleges in Hue city yesterday donated 800 units of blood to save people during the Lunar New Year 2018. The Hue University currently has nine clubs with total of hundreds of students  to voluntarily donate blood, contributing to save patients' lives for many years. On the occasion, the university offered certificates for 19 students with their active contributions and achievements in mobilizing and joining blood donation campaigns for several times a year. Farmers in Da Lat busy preparing for Tet holiday As Tet holiday (the Lunar New Year) is approaching, vegetable and flower farmers in the central highlands town of Da Lat are lately seen to be busy taking care of their products in gardens. Meanwhile farmers in other provinces are in despair because terrible weather hit vegetable and flower harvest, their peers in Da Lat are busy growing and harvesting veggies and flower for Tet holiday market. This year, farmers in Da Lat and its neighboring areas are growing different kinds of flowers in 3,100 hectare, an increase of 150 hectare compared to 2017. Favorite flowers on Tet holiday like daisy, canartion, roses, gerbera are grown mostly. According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection in the central highlands province of Lam Dong in 2017, importers bought seeds of lily flower from foreign countries to plant in 147 hectare in localities. Since the middle of September of the lunar calendar, farmers in Da Lat and neighboring areas such as Duc Trong, Lac Duong, Don Duong have started to sow lily flower for Tet holiday market. In addition to 150 hectare of growing Gladioli in neighboring areas, farmers in Hiep An commune in Duc Trong District reserve 350 hectare for planting Gladioli; this year, over 100 million Gladioli flower branches will be for sales in markets on the special holiday. Companies said that this year, consumption of potted flower is expected to go up. Deputy Head of Dalat Hasfarm Nguyen Van Bao said since the beginning of 2017, the company has cultivated potted flowers with 60 different colors for market in the special occasion. The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection in Lam Dogn Province predicted terrible weather resulted in poor harvest and high price of flower and veggies. For years, Da Lat has supplied hundred tons of high quality vegetables. Director of GAP Dalat Company Le Van Cuong said per month, the company supplies around 100 tons of produces averagely with 32 verious kinds of vegetables for retailers; however, the company and farmers will increase 15 percent of all produces at fix price. Giant cooperatives in Da Lat namely Anh Dao, Tan Tien and Xuan Huong plans to surge 10-30 percent of produce supply in the country’s holiday. Head of the Crop Production and Plant Protection Department Nguyen Van Danh said farmers plant vegetables in 21,530 hectare this year, a year-on-year soar of 659 hectare expecting to harvest 715,000 tons of vegetables. At present, thanks to favorable weather, farmers and cooperative members take heeds to adopt high-technology in growing produce; therefore, good vegetables output is expected more than the same period to satisfy consumers’ demand. VNN