Social News 15/8 Liêm loses to host player at UAE Lê Quang Liêm lost to host chess grandmaster Salem Saleh in the seventh set of the 25th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival. — Photo i-thethao.vnecdn.net Top Vietnamese chess player Lê Quang Liêm lost to grandmaster Salem Saleh in the seventh set of the 25th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival on Tuesday (August 14). Liêm (Elo 2,727) took black but his unstable style caused him weakness in defending and he accepted the loss after 39 moves. The victory helped Salem reach the first group with six points, along with Daniil Dubov (2,691) and Anton Korobov (2,664). Young talent Nguyễn Anh Khôi caught up with Liêm after beating Dushyant Sharma from India (2,221). Liêm will meet Aryan Chopra from India (2,536) while Khôi will face Ahmed Adly of Egypt (2,634) in the eighth set on August 15.  Lê Văn Duẩn wins fourth stage of Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang Cup Lê Văn Duẩn won the fourth stage of the 27th National Cycling Open – Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang Cup. — Photo baovinhlong.com.vn Vietnamese cyclist Lê Văn Duẩn from VUS Hồ Chí Minh City won the fourth stage of the 27th National Cycling Open – Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang Cup yesterday (August 14). Duẩn triumphed in the 107km race from Bến Tre City to Cao Lãnh City of Đồng Tháp Province with a time of 2:46.03, followed by Nguyệt Minh and Đỗ Tuấn Anh from Domesco Đồng Tháp. Trịnh Đức Tâm (ranked 21) still retains the yellow jersey with an overall time of 10:21.36, followed by Mai Nguyễn Hưng, who holds the green jersey, and Nguyễn Trường Tài from VUS Hồ Chí Minh City, Sarda Perz Javier from Tập đoàn Lộc Trời and Ali Khademi from Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang. In the team rankings, VUS Hồ Chí Minh City leads with the best overall time of 31:06.38, followed by Tập đoàn Lộc Trời and Domesco Đồng Tháp. Today, cyclists will compete in the fifth stage from Cao Lãnh City to Sa Đéc City of Đồng Tháp – Vĩnh Long – Cần Thơ City, a distance of 95km.  Medical programme provides free digestion checkup and surgery in Đức Giang Hospital   Prof. Leroy (centre) trains doctors of Đức Giang General Hospital on minimally invasive surgery.  Đức Giang General Hospital launched a medical programme to provide free checkups, consultation and endoscopy surgery to patients with digestion diseases on Monday in Hà Nội. Prof. Joel Leroy, a leading French expert in digestion endoscopy, is participating in the programme. He was the first surgeon to perform colorectal surgery without scarring the patient’s abdominal wall. Prof. Leroy will examine and perform surgeries on patients with dangerous digestion cancers, with all medical service expenses supported by the Hà Nội People’s Committee and Đức Giang Hospital with technical support of medical firm Olympus Company. The Frenchman also taught the latest techniques in digestion endoscopy, especially minimally invasive surgery, to Đức Giang hospital surgeons to help the hospital master new surgery techniques and improve service quality. “I will be here to train Đức Giang Hospital’s doctors step by step and I think they will be updated with the new knowledge that I will teach,” said Prof. Leroy. “The techniques I teach are very new, even in France and the world. So, doctors here need time to master new techniques and to use new facilities, especially minimally invasive surgery,” said Leroy. Leroy said that training on endoscopic surgery, especially minimally invasive surgery, was a new surgical trend in the world. In France, 89 per cent of digestion patients have had minimally invasive surgeries.  “I witnessed many patients suffering colorectal cancer in hospitals of Việt Nam. Therefore, I think the technique is necessary especially in Việt Nam,” added Prof. Leroy. “This is the first time our doctors have performed this complicated technique of digestion endoscopy surgery. We sent doctors to the Saint Paul Hospital for training new digestion endoscopy techniques over the past two years in preparation for the surgery today,” said Đức Giang General Hospital deputy director Lê Anh Tuấn. Tuấn said his hospital received about 20 colorectal cancer cases each month. Previously, Đức Giang Hospital had to send many serious cases to higher-level hospitals for treatment due to a lack of medical facilities and human resources. "The advanced technique of digestion endoscopy means a lot for local hospital like Đức Giang. From now on, our patients will have chance to receive high-tech medical services instead of going to higher-level hospitals or oveseas medical facilities for treatment," said Tuấn.     Leroy will support the Đức Giang Hospital’s digestion examination and surgery programme for two years. Leroy currently teaches at the Civil Hospital of the University of Strasbourg, France.  He has trained more than 10,000 endoscopy surgeons in the world, including many Vietnamese doctors. Last year, he was presented the Friendship Order of the State President for his contribution to the health sector in Việt Nam.  BBQ duck never cost so much Enjoying an outdoor BBQ grilled duck in the middle of beautiful blooming yellow paddy field might be a picnic to dream of for anyone, but it turned into a nightmare for one poor farmer. Police in the Tân Thành B Commune in the southern province of Đồng Tháp last week reported a fire that burnt down the whole 25,000 sq m of rice field that was ready for harvest.  Local farmer Phạm Văn Nu was the arsonist, though unintentionally. According to the police’s investigation, Nu took a rest and started preparing his lunch after harvesting his rice field in the morning of August 3. His selected menu was a grilled duck which was cooked right in his field. The grilling was perfect, except for the fire. The flames silently spread into the paddy fields of two of his neighbours: Nguyễn Đức Huy and Nguyễn Văn Tâm. Noticing the fire, Nu called out for help in panic but it was already too late in such a windy day. Everything was reduced to black ashes. He had to pay compensation to his neighbours, and although the amount wasn’t disclosed, it was bound to be a large sum given the amount of destruction. BBQ duck can be a very nice dish, especially if it’s cooked to perfection. The problem for Nu wasn’t the food, but the bill. How to solve traffic accident in a civilised manner There are different paths people can take after a crash on the streets. Sadly the most common tend to be arguments and in some cases, fighting. Best bet is sit down there and then and sort it out during a quick chit chat. That was what happened in the central city of Đà Nẵng last week. A clip posted on Facebook shows two middle-age men sitting in the middle of the road at the Nguyễn Hữu Thọ roundabout. Next to each of them was a fallen motorbike which apparently had just been involved in a head-on collision. The men sat face-to-face, with helmets still on, and were having a small talk - possibly trying to reason who was at fault here with all the bikes and cars still flowing around them. This may have looked a little odd to those around them at the time, but facebookers seemed happy with the way the matter was resolved. The user who posted the clip said the men sat there for around 15 minutes to calmly resolve the crash, which was “way too cute”. Many netizens reacted to the clip with a laugh and said that if only everyone could handle unwanted accidents as much civilised as the two men. They should be praised for civilised manner but anyone who wants to try the same way should reconsider the place for the chit chat - perhaps on a nearby pavement - if they don’t want to appear on the newspapers because of some tragic accident caused by dangerous sitting.  Rise in number of kids suspected of having measles A doctor at E Hospital examines a child suspected of having measles. Doctors in Hà Nội has raised concerns about the high number of children hospitalised with high fevers and rashes, suspecting that measles is to blame because many kids have not been vaccinated. Trương Văn Quý, head of the Pediatric Department at Hà Nội–based E Hospital, told vietnamplus.vn online newspaper on Monday morning that the number of children recently admitted to the department suffering from high fevers and rashes was increasing. Among those hospitalised, two cases were diagnosed as having the measles virus. The cases were mainly concentrated in districts of Đống Đa, Hà Đông, Hoàng Mai and Bắc Từ Liêm. The majority of children suspected of having measles were under 5 years old. However, until now, there have been no severe complications, according to the hospital. Quý warned that most cases of measles were due to children not being vaccinated or not being vaccinated. Children who weren’t vaccinated or fully vaccinated were likely to get the disease when exposed to the source of infection, according to the doctor. “Therefore, the best preventive measure is vaccinations for children following the expanded immunisation programme,” he said The current supply of vaccines was abundant, Quý confirmed. Hospital E was organising counselling and vaccinations for children as part of the expanded vaccination programme, ensuring children were fully vaccinated in accordance with State regulations. — VNS Bình Phước Province to inspect cashew farm support Cashew nuts are attacked by stinkbugs in the southern province of Bình Phước.  Chairman of the Bình Phước Province People’s Committee Nguyễn Văn Trăm on Sunday asked for an inspection on the work of supporting cashew nut farmers who suffered losses in the period 2016-17. Under chairman Trăm’s request, inspectors will check farms in all 16 communes in Bù Đăng District, and then propose proper punishments for violators to the chairman. Earlier, farmers in Bình Phước suffered losses due to insects. The provincial People’s Committee decided to support the farmers with an amount of VNĐ2 million (US$80) per hectare. Total funding for the work reached more than VNĐ44.7 billion ($1.97 million) and was delivered to 10 districts and towns. The supporting programme started on January 30 this year. All funds were used to buy pesticide for the farmers. Bù Đăng District received the highest support, at more than VNĐ17.7 billion ($786,600) because it had the highest number of farmers suffering losses. However, dozens of households in Thống Nhất Commune sent letters to the provincial Party Committee Secretary Nguyễn Văn Lợi and other leaders saying that after they used the pesticide on their cashew nut plants, the gardens’ capacity decreased sharply and thus they suffered serious losses. They said that after spraying the pesticide over five to seven days, all of the cashew nuts dried out and small fruits turned black. Each hectare of cashew nuts brought production of about 200kg, whereas the households not using the pesticide earned about one tonne per hectare. One more problem was that the gardens which used the pesticide are unable to grow new buds with dried branches, and will suffer more on the next crop. HCM City eyes making District 2 a central district The People’s Committee of HCM City plans to make District 2 a central district of the city. The committee has asked District 2 authorities to work with Thủ Đức District and District 9 to build an innovative urban area in the eastern part of the city. Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, the city’s Party Committee Secretary, said the urban area would be based on the advantages of each of the three districts. According to the plan, District 2 would become a financial centre along with the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area, while District 9 would be responsible for the development of technology. Thủ Đức District would have many high-quality universities. The 22,000-ha innovative urban area would also be a centre for scientific research and administration, and would aim to attract domestic and foreign investment. Start-up ideas would receive support from district authorities, especially projects in the field of environment and traffic. District 2 has also been chosen as a pilot district for a smart-city project. The project includes a smart-city administration centre, synchronised lightning system, socio-economic forecasting, an intelligent educational system, and an emergency operation centre, among others. In addition, District 2 would have commercial services and financial functions.  Soc Trang province upgrades schools in Khmer communities Khmer students play traditional musical instruments at a boarding school  The Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has been upgrading infrastructure for schools in remote areas and Khmer communities as the new school year is only two weeks ahead. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Chuyen said in the 2017-2018 school year, the administration had approved funding for building and repairing nearly 940 classrooms and 150 other function rooms at local schools, and procuring new educational equipment. More than 60 percent of the finance had been provided for schools in ethnic minority areas. Notably, Soc Trang has finished the construction of the Tran De boarding school for ethnic minority students. The school, built at total cost of over 30 billion VND (1.3 million USD), will be put into use in the coming academic year. Infrastructure building and upgrade have helped improve the educational quality. This also aims to help more schools meet national standards when 244 or 44.4 percent of 549 schools in the province have been recognised as national-standard schools at present. However, Chuyen also admitted that investments in school infrastructure in ethnic minority areas are modest compared to the set target. From 2018 to 2020, Soc Trang will spend more than 72 billion VND (3.1 million USD) on building 10 classrooms and 122 dorm rooms to improve the learning and living conditions for ethnic students at boarding schools, he added. Soc Trang has the largest number of Khmer people in Vietnam with more than 400,000, making up 31 percent of local population.  The province has nine boarding schools for ethnic minorities and 159 Vietnamese-Khmer bilingual schools with nearly 146,800 students. HCM City revives Bình Qưới -Thanh Đa urban project, yet again The planning of Bình Qưới – Thanh Đa Urban Area mapped out by Bitexco.  The HCM City government has instructed its Department of Planning and Investment to invite bids for the long-delayed Bình Qưới – Thanh Đa urban area project in Bình Thạnh District. It had left thousands of households in the area uncertain of their future for the last 26 years after authorities made plans and solicited investment and investors signed up but later pulled out. The city also instructed the department to allow residents to repair their houses after the long ban on construction works has caused many of them to deteriorate. The 427-hectare Bình Quới-Thanh Đa ecological urban area project was approved by the People’s Committee in 1992. The Sài Gòn Construction Corporation was awarded the work in 2004, but the firm was unable to execute it. A joint venture comprising Bitexco and Emaar Properties PJSC, a Dubai property developer, was awarded the project in 2015 at a cost of over VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.28 billion). However, the Dubai company pulled out after a long and fruitless wait for the land to be transferred. Bitexco remains the investor of the project, which is located just five kilometres from the city centre. There are currently some 2,000 houses with 13,000 people living on the Bình Qưới - Thanh Đa Peninsula. Nguyễn Văn Hạnh, who lives on Bình Quới Street, Ward 28, Bình Thạnh District, said that local residents have waited too long. With all construction work banned since it is a designated public works site, houses have deteriorated and roads are in bad shape. Hạnh said living conditions in the area are even worse than in the countryside. Locals want reasonable land compensation rates or resettlement in that area, he said. If that is not possible, they want the project scrapped so that they can decide what to do with their land, he added.  Firms flout obligation to protect forest   Pine trees in a protected forest are illegally chopped down in Đà Lạt City, the Central Highland provinces of Lâm Đồng. The province has seen deforestation occur in dozens of projects using forest land.  Up to 1,157 ha of forest in the Central Highlands Province of Lâm Đồng was lost in the last 10 years after companies rented forest land to carry out projects, the province’s agriculture department announced early this week. According to the department, since 2008, the province leased over 57,200 ha of forest land to 321 companies to carry out 386 projects. These include 116 eco-tourism projects, 113 forestation projects, 59 rubber-growing projects, 41 agriculture-forestry projects and 13 fishery projects. Many project investors reportedly failed to protect forests despite their obligations to manage and protect them. In some cases, the investors reportedly deforested and over-exploited forestry products or delayed implementing their projects in order to wait for opportunities to transfer the allocated land and gain profits. So far, deforestation was found at 84 forest-related projects in the province. Deputy director of the province’s agriculture department Võ Danh Tuyên said seeing the negative impacts of improper forest land management and hoping to curb deforestation, the provincial People’s Committee decided to stop 189 forest-related projects with total area of over 28,200 ha. Investors had their projects withdrawn because they delayed the projects or did not have sufficient financial capacity to continue the projects, Tuyên said. He added that the provincial People’s Committee also decided such companies must pay compensation for causing damage to forest resources. The total compensation will be over VNĐ219.4 billion (US$9.4 million). For example, Hoàng Thịnh Import-Export Trade and Manufacture Ltd Company were asked to pay compensation of nearly VNĐ70 billion ($3 million) for about 111ha of lost forest. Vĩnh Tuyên Lâm Ltd Company will pay about VNĐ23 billion ($990,700) for over 49ha forest, Sài Gòn-Đại Ninh Tourism and Investment Joint Stocks Company over VNĐ6.6 billion ($284,000) for over 139 ha of lost forest. “As of now, the province has just collected about 10 per cent of the compensation as violators have delayed paying,” Tuyên said, adding that local authorities also found difficulties in removing crops and construction works that the land renters built on the forestry land. In the last few years, at least 42 State employees in the province were disciplined for involvement in deforestation cases. Since 1983, Việt Nam has been implementing a policy in which forest and forest land are allocated to organisations, households and individuals for use and management. It is expected that when the forest and forest land are managed by identified legal entities, they will be used, managed and protected effectively. However, many were found to take advantages of this policy to gain profits through developing forest-related projects, renting forest land, logging, overexploiting forest resources or trading the land.  Cát Linh – Hà Đông metro ticket to be kept affordable   The Cát Linh - Hà Đông metro line being piloted this month.  The cost of a ticket for the Cát Linh – Hà Đông elevated metro line will be subsidised. The announcement was made by Vũ Hồng Trường, director of the Metro Hà Nội Company at Friday’s online seminar on ‘How Hà Nội’s first elevated railway will operate?’ hosted by the Railway Project Management Board under the Ministry of Transport. A survey released during the seminar shows that 98 per cent of people asked knew about the project and 95 per cent wanted to try the metro. Regarding the cost of tickets, the majority of surveyed people thought it is acceptable for metro tickets to be 35 to 37 per cent higher than those for normal buses. However, most said they would prefer using a monthly pass and accept a range of 10 to 15 per cent higher than the price for a bus ticket. According to Trường, the price range will be decided by Hà Nội People’s Committee, aiming to encourage citizens to use public transportation and compete with private vehicles. However, the cost will be not too high thanks to the Government’s subsidy. Hà Nội authorities have announced a common standard for public transportation monthly passes which will allow the metro and buses to share the same technology. In the near future, these tickets are expected to be used for parking lots around the city. Chu Quang Trung, deputy head of the Transport Development and Strategy Institute said that the convenient connection between the metro and other transportation could sufficiently satisfy people’s demands. There are 34 bus routes along the Cát Linh – Hà Đông metro line, accounting for 30 per cent of Hà Nội’s bus network. When the metro line comes into operation, those bus routes will help transport metro passengers to and from other areas of the city. All metro stations will connect with the city bus system. Moreover, according to Nguyễn Hoàng Hải, director of Hà Nội Public Transport Management and Operation Centre, the metro system will be accessible for pedestrians and riders of other private vehicles as parking spaces will be offered near metro stations. Taxis and buses are not “rivals”, experts confirmed at the seminar. Hồ Quốc Phi, deputy head of Hà Nội Taxi Association, stressed the significance of connections with other means of transportation to attract more passengers to the metro. “Hà Nội is preparing for its first metro line. Once eight metro lines come into operation, traffic congestion in Hà Nội will be eased,” he said. Nguyễn Công Nhật, deputy director of Hà Nội Transportation Service Corporation (Transerco) said that metro passengers could use public buses as a mean of transiting. Approving the idea, Ngô Mạnh Tuấn, deputy director of Hà Nội Department of Transport, said that minibuses would help to gather passenger for other bus routes and the metro system. “To reduce the number of private vehicles, it is essential to have more minibuses. We are working on this plan,” he added. Ninety-six per cent of the Cát Linh – Hà Đông elevated railway project is completed, the rest is being adjusted. Since August 1, the railway has been connected to the national power grid for its trial operation this month. Vũ Hồng Phương, deputy director of the Railway Project Management Board, said that 681 workers participated in on-site training courses in order to manage and operate the project in the future. The elevated railway line will stretch over 13km, connecting Đống Đa District’s Cát Linh Street with the Yên Nghĩa Bus Station in Hà Đông District. It includes 12 stations and a depot at Phú Lương Ward in Hà Đông District. The railway will operate 13 trains with four carriages each running every two minutes at speeds of 35 to 80kmph. The railway has been constructed using Official Development Assistance from China with a total investment of US$868 million. The China Railway Sixth Group is the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor for the project.  More than 100 battle fire at Quy Nhon woodchip factory   A huge fire broke out on August 13 at a woodchip factory of Truong Phat Company in Phu Tai Industrial Park, Quy Nhon city in the south central province of Binh Dinh. The local authorities mobilized 13 fire engines and more than 100 people to extinguish the blaze after the alarm was raised by local residents. Witnesses said the fire spread rapidly to the office area of Truong Phat Company at Phu Tai IP in Quy Nhon city, with plumes of smoke filling the sky. After a two hour effort, the fire was brought under control. The blaze completely destroyed the 2-hectare outdoor woodchip facility and the office area of Truong Phat Company. The cause of the incident is still under investigation. Helping hands landed to Agent Orange/Dioxin victims Activities all over Vietnam have marked the Day for AO/Dioxin Victims on August 10. Since the US army first sprayed the defoliant during the war in southern Vietnam 57 years ago, the lives of those directly exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin have been tragically affected. Support has poured in to ease the pain of the victims. Agent Orange, which contains the poisonous chemical dioxin, was used by the US military forces during the war in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971, causing one of the most horrifying tragedies in human history. Over the course of 10 years, the US Army sprayed 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 60% of which were Agent Orange/Dioxin, on a large area of southern Vietnam. The defoliant has had long-lasting effects on the environment, the ecosystem, and people’s health. 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin and more than 3 million people were victims of the chemical. Agent Orange/Dioxin’s lingering effects have poisoned 4 generations. Nguyen Tan Dau, a resident of Quang Tri, suffers from Agent Orange/Dioxin effects. He said, “I fought in the central highlands and coastal regions from 1968 to 1971. I was directly exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin and later contracted many diseases. I cannot function like a man. I have 10 children, 5 of them died prematurely and 1 was born with defects.” The Vietnamese Ministry of Health says 17 diseases are recognized internationally as related to Agent Orange/Dioxin. Dioxin affects the circulation, respiration, and excretion, and causes Immune Deficiency. The Vietnamese Party and State have paid special attention to addressing the consequences of Agent Orange/Dioxin. Since 1998, the National Assembly has approved 3 amendments to the Ordinance on policies for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims. Each year, the State earmarks more than US$430 million for allowances, rehabilitation, and healthcare for victims and for decontamination efforts. A campaign to hold the US government and chemical companies accountable for Vietnamese Agent Orange/Dioxin victims is making progress. In 2011, the US Congress approved the Da Nang Airport Remediation Project and health care services for Vietnamese living near dioxin hot spots. Several US NGOs have carried out environmental clean-up and healthcare projects in Vietnam. More resources are needed to ease the tragic pain of Agent Orange/Dioxin. The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin has raised funds and mobilized resources inside and outside Vietnam. Pham Van Toi, Chairman of the National Charity Club, said, “I have delivered gifts to unfortunate families and children. Many of them cannot walk and feed themselves. I think we should work harder to help the families of Agent Orange/Dioxin victims. I call on the entire community to help Vietnamese victims of the defoliant.” 100 foreign organizations have provided aid to Vietnamese Agent Orange/Dioxin victims through socio-economic development projects. But Vietnam needs more help to achieve its goal of overcoming the toxic chemical’s effects on the environment, human health, and social welfare by 2020.  VNN