Social News 29/6 Police officer refuses debt of hundreds of millions of VND On June 28, Dak Lak Police department informed that they had proposed the Ministry of Public Security to fire off police officer Le Duy Tan who works at the Traffic Police Department of Dak Lak province.   Le Duy Tan's People's Police Certificate ID card Tan was discovered that he had leveraged his police ID card  for hundreds of millions of VND. Earlier, Ngo Thi Ngoc, a resident of Ea Dang Town, Ea H'leo District, filed a lawsuit against Le Duy Tan over fraudulent misappropriation of property. Accordingly, on April 11, Tan borrowed Ms. Ngoc the amount of VND 330 million to pay the bank debt and mortgaged with the People's Police Certificate ID card No. 389-477. When borrowing money, Tan wrote a loan paper, promising that on April 30, 2018 he will return the money to Ms. Ngoc. On the date of the appointment, Ms. Ngoc has repeatedly reclaimed the money but this police officer gave many excuses and reasons, refused to reimburse. Therefore, Ms. Ngoc made a denunciation to the authorities to denounce the behavior of the police officer. According to the a high-ranking official of the police department of Dak Lak province, the department will strictly handle police or army officers and soldiers who are in the public security sector but lose police or military ID cards, or use those papers in any terms contrary to regulations. Even officers and soldiers who are out of the public security organs all are required to return their career cards or papers issued by the military or police authorities, he said. "The police have guided Ms. Ngoc to bring the case to court. If officer Tan escapes, Ms. Ngoc should send the petition to the provincial police to investigate the case of deceptive behavior and appropriation of property”, he added. Thanh Hoa: Flood-proof houses to be built for more than 780 poor families   A project to build houses resilient to storms and floods for 782 poor households in coastal area of the north central province of Thanh Hoa will be carried out from 2018 to 2022  A project to build houses resilient to storms and floods for 782 poor households in coastal area of the north central province of Thanh Hoa will be carried out from 2018 to 2022. The houses will be built for disadvantaged families in the province’s four coastal districts of Nga Son, with 170 houses, Hau Loc (136), Hoang Hoa (210) and Tinh Gia (266), at a cost of more than 4 billion VND (about 174,800 USD).  The province is among five coastal localities of Vietnam benefitting from the project funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through the United Nations Development Programme. About 200-340 houses will be completed in the first part of the project in Thanh Hoa, as constructions of some houses began earlier in June. GCF Director in Thanh Hoa Le Cong Cuong said the organisation has worked with local authorities to provide safe and stable houses for disadvantaged households which are vulnerable to storms and floods, thus improving their lives and contributing to poverty reduction. The project will support the construction of 4,000 houses in Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces. It will run until 2022 with non-refundable assistance totalling about 29.5 million USD. Major drug trafficking ring busted in Son La   Ly A Chong Police of Song Ma district in the northern province of Son La have cracked a major drug trafficking ring, seizing nearly 24,000 pills of synthetic drug and 7kg of opium latex. Ly A Chong, 54, residing in Song Ma district, Son La province, was apprehended at 4pm on June 27 while in the process of smuggling a large volume of synthetic drug and opium latex. Police also confiscated a motorbike, a mobile phone and other related evidence. The suspect confessed to having bought the drugs from an unknown man and that he intended to profit from the sale and distribution of the drugs. Further investigations are underway. Winners of theory and criticism of literature and arts awards honoured   At the awards presentation ceremony (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)  A ceremony was held in Hanoi on June 25 by the Central Council for the Theory and Criticism of Literature and the Arts to honour the winners of the Literature and Arts Awards in 2016 and 2017. The ceremony was attended by Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and head of the PCC’s Communication and Education Commission, Vo Van Thuong; and Secretary of the PCC and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Nguyen Xuan Thang. The winners include 28 of the most outstanding works as voted for by the Council. Ten B, 13 C and five consolation prizes were presented to artists from local literature and arts associations. The entries sent to this year’s awards received praise for being of higher quality than previous years. In addition, many works covered important issues facing the country. In addition, nine press agencies and publishing houses were also praised during the event for their contributionsto popularising works of literature and art. Drug users fret over expiry date of Suboxone pilot program    After two-year implementation project of Suboxone for injecting drug users in the Preventive Medicine center in Go Vap District in Ho CHi Minh City under the support of the French Governmental Agency ESTHER and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, many drug addicts succeeded in undergoing detoxification to start a new life; however, many of them fretted because of drug shortage and expiry date of the pilot program. The health sector has to find effective alternative medication when Suboxone in the pilot program runs out of. One of injection drug users successful in detoxificating is Th. in Hoc Mon District who have been addicted to drug for over 13 years. His family found out the information of the pilot program; subsequently, he was taken to the Preventive Medicine center in Go Vap District to take Suboxone as per the program. He said after one-week treatment with Suboxone, he was not addicted to the drug though he spent VND300,000 - 400,000 ($13 -$17.4) buying drug. He got healthier and gained weight. "I start to help my family's business; hence, I feel happier", said Th. Director of the center in Go Vap District Dr. Nguyen Trung Hoa said that 22 drug addicts are treated with Suboxone in the center and 80 percent of them get success. In comparison of buprenorphine and methadone, Suboxone has more advantages. Drug users must take Methadone daily because it has 24-36 hour half life while Suboxone has 48-72 hoour haf life so patients can take daily or alternate day in a week. On the other side, Suboxone has no interaction with Antiretrovirals (ARV) and tuberculosis medication.Accordingly, Suboxone is used to treat drug addiction in many nations in ten past years, said Dr. Nguyen Trung Hoa. The Suboxone -treated pilot program implemented from May, 2015 with 252 patients but 22 of them are being treated this time. Sadly, the pilot program ended in August, 2017 and nearly one year, 22 drug users receive the remaining drug in stock. Scientific journals in international conferences highly spoke of the effectiveness of Suboxone in the Preventive Medicine center in Go Vap District with the aim to propose Vietnamese Ministry of Health buying the drug to treat patients, Dr. Hoa said. People's Committee in Ho Chi Minh City has implemented "The action month against drug", “World Drug Prevention”. This year, a month-long program themed " To protect young generation against drug danger" aimed to increasing information of prevention task and bad effects of drug on young people as well as encourage people to participate in keeping security order in residential quarters. Campaign on greening vocational education launched in TVET institutes    The campaign “Greening TVET – Environmental Protection in TVET Institutes” which develops skills and provides knowledge to ease transitions to green economies and societies was kicked off yesterday among technical and vocational education and training institutes in Ho Chi Minh City. The campaign was launched by the Directorate of Vocational Educationand Training, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs, the College of Technology II and the German agency of international development cooperation Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), According to Doctor Truong Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, the concept of greening TVET is quite new in Vietnam, which is aiming at strategies and policies for the sustainable development in relation with comprehensive greening. To achieve this goal, the role of education is critical, especially in training human resources that are able to meet requirements of greening the economy by effectively using energy and resources at their workplace, correctly applying environmentally friendly technologies while preventing potential environmental damages. Head of the college Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang said that the green factor is embedded into the curriculum, especially in the major of ‘Technology in draining and sewage treatment’ – a cooperative program between the college and six businesses of the field. The college campus is undergone the greening process as well. Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Lam suggested that these institutes prepare a detailed plan to gradually introduce the concept of greening to the staff as well as students. In July 2018, the department is going to organize a training workshop for leaders of colleges and vocational schools in the city about the greening of TVET. There were more than 50 vocational schools, colleges and representatives of businesses took part in the event. Vietnamese artists participate in cultural art exchange in Norway   A painting by artist Le Xuan Chieu A group of 8 painters of the Ho Chi Minh city Association of Fine Arts took part in an exhibition in the Kingdom of Norway. Artists including Le Xuan Chieu, Dang Thi Duong, Ly Khac Nhu, Hua Thanh Binh, Bui Tien Tuan, Viet Thi Kim Quyen, Nguyen Phan Nam An and Nguyen Tri Minh Tuyet brought 45 artworks in various materials, such as lacquer, oil, silk and ceramic to the “Saigon art exhibition” held in Hedmark county in Eastern Norway. At an exchange between the two sides, Norwegian artists are interested in Vietnamese artists’ activities, their trend, role and position in the modern society as well as materials used for fabric and lacquer paintings. The delegation of Vietnamese painters also visited art museums, landscapes and met Norwegian Vietnamese artist Duc Thanh Hong who is specialized in painting on ceamic in Norway. The “Saigon art exhibition” runs until August 25. Exhibition on trade union activities held in HCMC An exhibition titled “Proud to be a worker of heroic city” opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace on June 26. The event introduces to viewers workers’ achievements in working and production in Ho Chi Minh City and Ton Duc Thang award-winning products of key industries, including new technological model, high-tech products, high-tech agricultural products, health and the reform of administrative procedures. The exhibition is also to honor the results and outstanding activities of workers and trade union organizations in the city in the 2013-2018 period and to mark the 11th Trade Union Congress of the 2018 - 2023 period. Deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Confederation, Tran Doan Trung said that the last term saw significant achievements in various fields. Workers, civil servants and employees made initiatives in improving the operation of devices and machines to better working condition, save production costs, increasing working productivity and product quality. My Thuan 2 Bridge needs VND5.2 trillion   A view of the current My Thuan Bridge. When in place, My Thuan 2 Bridge will ease traffic on the My Thuan Bridge  An estimated VND5.2 trillion, or US$227 million, will be required to build My Thuan 2 Bridge connecting Tien Giang and Vinh Long provinces. Project Management Unit 7 (PMU7) under the Ministry of Transport has completed the feasibility study for the project. The bridge and approach roads will have a total length of 6.6 kilometers. Located 350 meters upstream of the existing My Thuan Bridge, My Thuan 2 will start from an intersection with Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway and end at an intersection with National Highway 80, the starting point of My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway. Besides My Thuan 2, the project will include constructing An Huu, Rach Son, Rach Gong and My Hung 2 bridges. According to the feasibility study, the technical design for the project will be made ready in the second half of the year. The project will get off the ground in the third quarter of next year and construction work is expected to take three years. According to PMU7, as Cao Lanh Bridge was opened to traffic last month and Vam Cong Bridge will be finished soon, vehicle traffic on the operational My Thuan Bridge will surge. Therefore, My Thuan 2 will play a pivotal role in easing the burden of My Thuan when large bridges in the Mekong Delta and Trung Luong-Can Tho expressway are put into use. Conference seeks NGOs’ financial assistance for Thanh Hoa    A conference to call for foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs)’ financial assistance in poor areas in the central province of Thanh Hoa took place in Hanoi on June 27.  Speaking at the event, Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Thi Thin said Thanh Hoa lies in a gateway between the north and central of Vietnam with railway, road, waterway and aviation infrastructure.  As a poor province with limited internal resources, Thanh Hoa always heeds external economic activities to attract foreign resources, focusing on calling for official development assistance and foreign NGOs’ aid, she said, adding that the province now records 84 valid foreign-invested projects with a total investment of over 13.98 million USD.  The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations has also listed Thanh Hoa among the top localities nationwide that has effectively used foreign NGOs’ aid.  Over the past decade, the total financial assistance provided by foreign NGOs has hit 78.96 million USD via more than 300 projects. Up to 7.9 million USD on average was disbursed each year. In the first half of this year, 3.5 million USD has been disbursed.  The projects are mostly in agriculture, rural development, poverty reduction, capacity improvement, health care, education, environment protection, natural disaster mitigation and climate change response.  Many projects funded by NGOs have been productive and spread to many localities such as a children-oriented education model by the World Vision in seven mountainous and disadvantaged districts, the trans-generation mutual support club by Help Age.  Thinh urged foreign NGOs in Vietnam to assist Thanh Hoa’s sustainable socio-economic development and pledged all possible support to their projects.  Phan Anh Son, head of the VUFO’s People’s Aid Coordinating Committee said in the past five years, VUFO together with ministries, agencies, localities and partners effectively carried out the national programme on foreign aid mobilisation for the 2013-2017 period. The framework programme for 2017-2022 have been devised.  Participants at the event discussed potentials and strengths of Thanh Hoa, local demand for foreign capital and aid.  On the occasion, the provincial authorities signed memoranda of understanding with foreign partners and presented decisions approving projects using NGOs’ aid. Quang Nam works to alleviate poverty rate among ethnic minorities   A festival of the Co Tu ethnic minority in Quang Nam province  The central province of Quang Nam’s efforts to reduce poverty rate among ethnic minority groups have given a new look to the rural mountainous areas as local livelihoods have been improved significantly. Guided by the Prime Minister’s Decision No.1557/QD-TTg dated September 10, 2015 approving a number of targets in realising Millennium Development Goals for ethnic minorities associate with the Sustainable Development Goal after 2015, the province has paid due attention to planning works and building residential areas for residents in mountainous areas to ensure that they have stable accommodation and land for production. Last year, nearly 106 billion VND (4.56 million USD) was arranged to help nearly 1,500 households settle down and branch out production. The mountainous districts have combined forestry development with poverty reduction programmes while encouraging the cultivation of medicinal herbs in line with local policies. During 2016-2017, the National Target Programme for Sustainable Poverty Reduction allocated over 165 billion VND (7.09 million USD) to Quang Nam to support infrastructure and production model development for six poor districts and 19 special difficult communes in coastal and island areas. Particularly, after one year implementing the provincial policy on encouraging districts and communes to try and escape poverty, nearly 4,000 households, including 2,700 families in the mountainous areas, have registered to get out deprived situation sustainably. Last year, average economic growth in the ethnic minority area reached 7.1 percent much higher than the province’s average level of 5.55 percent. Poverty rate in the nine mountainous districts tapers off 5 percent per year. Nearly 92 percent of the ethnic population have been connected to the national electricity grid while the rate of households using hygienic water is over 81 percent. The literacy rate reached nearly 98 percent among ethnic population from 15 years old. In a bid to realise the sustainable poverty reduction goal for ethnic minorities, Quang Nam province plans to prioritise more resources and carry out a set of comprehensive measures like infrastructure development, socio-economic development programme and preferential loans. Quang Nam province is currently home to 32,000 ethnic minority households with nearly 150,000 people, accounting for 10 percent of the province’s population. They reside mostly in six mountainous districts of Nam Tra My, Bac Tra My, Tay Giang, Nam Giang, Dong Giang and Phuoc Son. Flood victims to receive aids Quàng Văn Ố, a resident of Sìn Hồ district’s Noong Hẻo commune, has lost his crops and fish ponds to flash floods. Government agencies and donors have joined hands to provide urgent assistance to people who have been affected by floods in the past several days. The Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) had an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss measures to help the flood-affected people. At the meeting, VFFCC president Trần Thanh Mẫn assigned Hầu A. Lềnh, VFFCC vice president and head of the Centre Rescue Committee, to directly inspect the flood-relief work.  The VFFCC is leading the way to deliver aid worth VNĐ1 billion (US$43,000) to the two hard-hit provinces of Lai Châu and Hà Giang. So far, the VFFCC has sent aid worth VNĐ5 million ($215) to each family whose member is either dead or missing in the floods and VNĐ3 million ($129) to each family with an injured member. It has also contributed VNĐ50 million ($2,150) to build new houses for those whose homes have been swept away in the floods. With an aid movement underway across Việt Nam, Mẫn has asked the VFF in the northern mountainous provinces to provide frequent updates about the flood situation so that the Central Rescue Committee can offer proper and timely support to the needy. He said flood-hit localities should report about donations and aids from organisations and individuals to the VFF as this would help minimise the overlapping of aid in the same area and prevent shortage of aid in other areas leading to insecurity and disunity in the community. Mẫn also asked VFF in localities to re-examine the total aid under their management and report to VFFCC. Based on this, VFFCC will re-arrange and allocate aid to localities in need. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday provided aid to flood-affected people in northern Lai Châu Province. Each family of a flood victim will receive VNĐ3-5 million ($129-215).  Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường has called on cadres and staff to contribute at least one day’s salary to help flood victims. The aid will be immediately transferred to people in the affected areas. Meanwhile, the Governor of State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV), Lê Minh Hưng, on Wednesday requested SBV branches in Hà Giang, Lai Châu, Thái Nguyên, Điện Biên, Tuyên Quang, Lào Cai and Cao Bằng provinces to support the flood-affected people.  The SBV branches have also been asked to apply supportive measures, such as extending repayment deadlines and interest rate exemption and reduction for flood-affected customers. The SBV has so far raised VNĐ2.3 billion ($98,900) for flood victims. Nguyễn Khắc Chử, secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in Lai Châu, on Thursday, donated VNĐ30 million ($1,290) and daily necessities to 28 families whose houses and properties were buried due to erosion in Tả Ngảo commune on Wednesday. Traffic is still blocked in the commune. In northern Điện Biên Province’s Mường Nhé District, rescue teams have managed to supply food, clothes and provide shelter to affected people.  According to the latest report of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, flash floods have killed 23 people and left 11 missing in northern mountainous provinces, mostly in Hà Giang, Lai Châu, Lào Cai and Điện Biên. Torrential rains and floods have also swept away 161 houses, damaged 958 houses and submerged thousands of hectares of crops. Roads and irrigation works too have been damaged, causing losses of VNĐ487 billion ($20.9 million).  PVF start strong at national U17 champs   Defending champions PVF took on Bình Dương at the National U17 Football Championship’s final round on on June 27. — Photo thethaovietnam.vn Defending champions PVF had a good start in the final round of the National U17 Football Championship with a 3-0 win over Bình Dương. The game, which was held on Wednesday at the Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talent Centre (PVF) in the northern province of Hưng Yên, was PVF’s first match in Group A. PVF banked on home support to control the game from the opening minute, with Nguyên Hoàng scoring two goals in the first half. After the break, Bình Dương tried to fight back but failed to score any goals. Hoàng completed a hattrick for the hosts in extra time. The tournament features eight teams which qualified for the final round from the initial 24 teams. They will play in a round-robin format in the group stage, and the four best teams will advance to the semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-final games will play in the final to determine who wins the championship. The two teams that lose in the semi-finals will be awarded joint third prize.  VNN