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Social Headlines January 24
As
many as 230 prisoners who are serving sentences at three prisons in
Of the
total, 57 prisoners will be allowed to end their sentence ahead of schedule
and 173 other sentences will be shortened by 1-8 months.
At a
ceremony to announce the decision, Major General Dinh Van Toan, Deputy
Director of the Hanoi Police, congratulated the prisoners who have been given
reduced sentences due to good behaviour.
On
behalf of the prisoners who have benefitted from the decision, Vu Thi Loan
expressed her gratitude to the Party and State for their clemency policy and
thanked prison officials for creating conditions for them to rehabilitate
successfully.-
Former
CEOs in jail for tax evasion
Police
in Ha Noi arrested three people on Monday on charges of tax fraud relating to
the Ha Noi Liquor Joint Stock Co (Halico) .
According
to Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper, Ho Van Hai, former director of Halico,
together with Hoang Van Xuong and his wife Dinh Thi Minh Hoa and officers of
Hoang Lan Co Ltd, were found to have falsified 26 customs documents to export
Vodka to
Nguyen
Thi Quynh Trang, a Halico employee who also involved in the case, made bail
to nurse her newborn infant.
The tax
evasion amount is estimated at more than VND10 billion (US$480,000).
Halico
is the largest vodka manufacturer in
Pet
care services booming Tet
As Tet
nears, Hanoian families are paying to have their pets taken care of when they
leave for their hometowns.
These
services are fairly new to the country and have developed in recent years. In
Mrs.
Phuong, the owner of a centre on
At the
centres, the pets are normally given baths, have their nails cut and walked
daily. Prices depend both on the level of service and the pets weight.
Some
of these business have increased their prices by as much as 25% this year,
running the owners around VND200,000 per day more than normal.. At some
places, prices can reach VND300,000 per day for the first three days of
the new year.
On
VND400,000.
On
Ms.
Hong Hanh, on
Two
killed in truck-train collision
Two
people were killed in a collision involving a truck and a train in the
central
The
truck reportedly continued into the path of the oncoming train, despite
warning signals, when the train travelling from Ha Noi to Vinh, collided with
the truck in Dai Loc Commune.
Reports
indicated there was no barrier at the intersection. The case is under
investigation.
As of
March, the HCM City People's Committee will require soft copies or electronic
versions for the submission of administrative documents.
According
to the committee's office, the committee will cease dealing in paperwork,
with announcements and meeting schemes to be sent via e-mail.
The
move aims to help all City-based departments and State-owned companies to
transition to electronic procedures to reduce administration costs.
The
use of e-documents will also be added as a criteria by the municipal
committee and its Home Affairs Department to rate performance among departments
and authorities at lower levels.
At
present, the city has 137 administration units including departments,
districts and State-owned companies.
HCMC
continues to raise poverty standards
After
seven adjustments since 1992, the official poverty level in HCMC is now three
times higher than the national standards.
In
2011, the government announced new standards for households to be considered
poor for the period between 2011 and 2015, which indicated that the the
national poverty line for households in cities would be VND6 million(USD285)
per person per year.
However,
authorities in HCMC had lifted the poverty line from VND6 million to VND12
million for the period of 2009 to 2015.
The
rate of poor households in HCMC decreased from 8.4% to 0.17%, and the city
has announced it has nearly accomplished its goal of erasing poverty.
According to the city People's Committee, even with the yearly average income
level exceeding the mark of VND12 million, many households still struggle and
are in danger of falling back below the line.
Representative
from the city People's Committee said, "As a matter of fact, adjusted
for inflation, VND12 million in 2013 is equal to VND7.2 million in 2009. We
had to adjust the poverty line in accordance with inflation and economic development."
For
the period of 2014 to 2015, city authorities increased the poverty line to
VND16 million per person per year. The near-poverty standard was also raised
to VND21 million. After the raise, HCMC now has 130,000 poor households,
accounting for 7.12% of the city’s total population.
Even
though its poverty standards are three times higher than national standards,
authorities in HCMC said that poor households must continue to be entitled to
receive social welfare benefits such as preferential bank loans and taxes.
Vice
President of the
Hai
made the affirmation at a meeting with DPRK Ambassador Kim Chang Il on
January 21, during which he suggested the two countries make more efforts for
peace, independence, democracy and social progress.
Expressing
his pleasure to receive the diplomat on the threshold of the 64th anniversary
of Vietnam-DPRK diplomatic ties (January 31), Hai briefed his guest on the
country’s socio-economic situation, labour affairs and the operation of the
Vietnamese trade union over the past time.
The
DPRK ambassador spoke highly of cooperation between the two countries and the
two trade unions in particular, voicing his hopes that the comprehensive
relationship will further develop into the future.
The
diplomat invited Hai to visit his country to tighten relations between the
two countries and comprehensive cooperation between the two trade unions.
HCM City hosts
New Year celebration for OVs
More
than 700 overseas Vietnamese from 30 countries and territories met in
Chairman
of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan briefed them on the city’s
development achievements last year, partly attributing the success to OV
contributions.
As a
locality with the largest number of OVs,
More
than 1.2 million Vietnamese nationals returned to
The
city has attracted more than US$33 billion in Vietnamese remittances for the
past 10 years. In 2003 alone, it received US$4.8 billion, accounting for
nearly half the country’s total.
In
particular, more and more scientists and experts have returned to invest,
conduct research and teach in the city.
In the
future, Quan said the city will keep OVs up to date on local and national
information, remove residence and business difficulties, protect their
legitimate rights and encourage more OV resources to the city’s construction
and development in all fields.
At the
ceremony, a number of Vietnamese individuals were awarded the Prime
Minister’s certificate of merit in recognition of their contributions to
national development.
Participants
also learnt about the city’s socio-economic development through a
photographic exhibition and enjoyed art performances from well-known singers
and artists.
People
with disabilities take a stand
For
years, Phuong Que Chi rarely visited tourism sites or parks as it was
difficult for her to get there by public transport.
For
Chi and others with physical disabilities, gaining access to parks, tourism
sites, cinemas and theatres, and even public government buildings, seemed to
be an impossibility.
But a
few months ago, she and about 20 others were given the opportunity to visit
the
Carried
out by
"This
was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life," she added.
"I hope we have more trips like this."
Two
other women on the trip, Nguyen Thi Bui, 24, of
Although
the gravel roads made it difficult for those in wheelchairs to get around,
they were able to view the interior of the Rong houses with the help of
volunteers.
The
group had previously visited the Giang Dien Waterfall in
The
head of
"They
realise they have rights, too," she said.
Even
though the country has a Law on People with Disabilities, wheelchair
accessibility for people with disabilities in
Because
the country has no entertainment centres for people with disabilities, the
But
these do not meet the real need and more programmes should be created at
cultural houses, she said.
In
addition, many cinemas, theatres, parks and tourism sites have neglected to
meet the accessibility standards set out by the Ministry of Construction.
According
to a survey conducted by the city's disabilities centre, only 78 of 1,800
civil architectural works in HCM City's districts 1 and 3 are accessible for
wheelchair users.
One of
the women on the trip to the
To
stop such discrimination, Yen said the Government should strictly enforce the
accessibility standards set by the Ministry of Construction and the Law on
People with Disabilities.
In
addition, new construction projects that violate these standards should be
penalised.
The
largest barrier, however, for people with disabilities was the lack of
wheelchair-accessible buses.
Last
year, a report released by the National Coordinating Council on Disability in
The
suspension of hydrofoil service between
"Transporters
can meet the increasing demand," Tat Thanh Cang, the department's
director, said on Tuesday shortly after the suspension was announced.
With a
20km section of the
The
ban by the HCM City People's Committee followed a blaze aboard a hydrofoil
that had been carrying 85 passengers to Vung Tau on Tuesday.
A
joint team with officials from the transport department, police, the
The
team will submit its report to the People's Committee and the Ministry of
Transport.
"Vessels
in good condition will be allowed to continue their operations while those
not in good condition will face a permanent suspension," Cang said.
Meanwhile,
efforts are on to prevent a possible oil spill in the
Flyover
linking city and Dong Nai opened to traffic
A
steel overpass at Vung Tau Intersection linking HCMC with
The
construction is 558 meters long and 16 meters wide and designed with four
lanes and is invested by Construction Corporation No. 1. The total investment
amounts to some VND200 billion.
It is
part of a project to construct the new
As
thousands of vehicles are heading to HCMC from central and
The
overpass will significantly reduce congestion at the intersection, and
facilitate vehicles transporting commodities and passengers from and to HCMC.
Besides, given the first 20 kilometers of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway
has opened to traffic, the traffic volume switching to using the expressway
to go to Vung Tau has also decreased overloads on the intersection
remarkably.
Also
on the same day, a branch of the Hoa An Bridge linking Dong Nai and Binh
Duong provinces was put into operation with an aim to tackle traffic overload
on the old Hoa An Bridge.
With
the Hoa An bridge connecting Dong Nai’s Bien Hoa and Binh Duong, HCMC and Tay
Ninh, vehicles are able to go straight to Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc through
* In
related news, the first section of a project to expand National Highway 1A
spanning 36 kilometers from the southern side of the Ben Thuy Bridge in the
north-central province of Nghe An to Ha Tinh was completed and opened to
traffic on Sunday.
This
is the first
According
to Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4 (Cienco 4) as the project
owner, the project was completed nine months ahead of schedule thanks to the
handover of 70% cleared site at the time of starting construction.
Furthermore, as this is the first project that Cienco 4 has applied the
closed model involving four parties – the lender, the investor, the supplier
and the contractor – the whole process ranging from capital and material
supply to construction activity has run smoothly.
The
cost of the project was earlier estimated at around VND2.4 trillion,
including site-clearance cost and other expenses. However, completion nine
months prior to schedule has helped save nearly VND500 billion compared to
the initial estimate needed for the project due for completion in August.
The
project running through the central region is set to accelerate the speed of
traffic flow on
The
transport ministry plans to have the entire national highway expansion to
four lanes opened to traffic in 2016.
Education
Ministry Orders Strict Education on Explosives
The
Ministry of Education and Training ordered its subdivisions to focus
education on explosives and firecracker laws after two incidents involving
students recently.
Students
are banned from selling, transporting, and possessing firecrackers and
explosives. Schools are ordered to work closely with administrators and
parents to comply with the strict regulations.
Four
students in
Over
30 students in the Central Highlands of Dak Nong were hospitalized after
playing with Chinese grenade toys on January 18.
Students
Receive Microsoft International Certification
The
Microsoft Office Specialist Challenge in
The
ceremony was held by the Department of Education and Training.
The
three most outstanding students, Tran Phuc Duy from Dinh Thien Ly High
School, Mai Duy Dung from
The
event attracted 464 participants from 57 secondary and high schools in the
city.
Contestants
achieving score 700 out of 1,000 or higher receive a Microsoft International
Certificate endorsed by Microsoft.
Certiport
Group from the
Teachers
undertake cross-country cycling journey for charity
A
group of ILA teachers have figured out how to combine travel, sports and
charity work into a meaningful journey.
H2H is
an annual charity cycle event that was founded by two expat teachers who
worked at ILA. In 27 days, a group of teachers cycles from
“Each
rider has to raise a minimum of US$1,000 and our donations are given to 5
charity’s in Vietnam that support children’s educations, development, and
healthcare,” said team leader Andrea Towne. “Our main partner charity is
Saigon Children’s Charity.
“We
then also share the rest of the donations with the ILA Community Network,
KOTO
Towne
decided to take on this year’s role to be the team leader after enjoying last
year’s ride and combining her interest in traveling and sports.
“It’s
such a great experience and you’re rewarded with lifelong friendships,” she
said. “It is a great opportunity to see parts of
“All
of the riders live and work here, so it allows you to develop a better
connection with the country that we’re living in. I’ve never been part of an
organization that I truly believe is so great, and I feel honored to take on
the role as team leader.”
Firms
owe huge debts to social insurance
Many
employees have complained that their employers have yet to pay for social,
health and unemployment insurance for them. In several cases, employees have
been out
of
work for a long time without receiving unemployment benefits.
Several
female staff members of Ben Nghe Biro and Stationery Co., Ltd did not receive
benefits for maternal leave because their company was late in their insurance
payments.
The company’s human resource manager suggested that they lodge a complaint
against the company to claim these benefits.
Many
employees at Mai Linh Mineral Water Co., Ltd said they have yet to receive
unemployment after nearly a year.
The
municipal Social Insurance Agency said the Mai Linh Group owes the most to
their workers, a figure estimated to be over VND80 billion (USD3.78 million).
Nguyen
Thi Hong Bach, head of Binh Tan District Department of Labour, Invalid and
Social Affairs, said, “Most of disputes between employees and employers
result from
debts
to social insurance. Currently, 831 companies in the district owe a total of
VND52.2 billion (USD2.47 million) in social insurance payments."
Nguyen
Thi Hong Hanh, from the municipal Social Insurance Agency, said that it was
difficult to retrieve insurance arrears.
“The
major problem is a lack of punishments timely and strict enough to act as an
effective deterrent,” Do Quang Khanh, Deputy Director of the municipal Social
Insurance
Agency
said.
The
agency said they must finish procedures before suing more than 700
enterprises for owing back insurance payments.
Key waterway
projects start in Mekong Delta
The
Ministry of Transport has launched a 6,600 billion VND (314 million USD)
canal project to allow ships of up to 10,000 tonnes to access all ports along
the Hau river.
When
completed, the Quan Chanh Bo canal will become an important part of the
waterway network in the Mekong Delta, helping reduce transport costs for
exports,
particularly
farm produces and aquatic products from the region.
The
Mekong Delta region is actively developing water-based transport as well as
seaports in a bid to lower transport costs and ease pressure on land routes
linking it with
Work
is well underway on a waterway connecting
of
completing it in 2015.
Just
one month ago, the transport ministry started construction of another route
using the Cho Gao canal in Tien Giang province, while land clearance is being
implemented
for
another route connecting Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces with
The
three waterway routes together with the Quan Chanh Bo canal are expected to
become operation in the next two or three years, forming an efficient
transport network for
the
Furthermore,
from now until 2016, the transport ministry will continue with its projects
to upgrade Can Tho river port so that it can handle 650,000 tonnes of cargo
each year
and
receive vessels of up to 10,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile,
construction work on four more wharves in Cai Cui river port, which are
designed to handle 2.5 million tonnes of cargo every year, is well underway.
The
Mekong Delta region comprises of 12 provinces and one centrally-run city with
a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and a population of 18 million. It
is the largest
granary
and the major aquaculture development region of the country.-
Festival
supports disadvantaged children
Nearly
1,000 children from 24 care centres across
The
biennial event’s objective is to call for support from organisations and
individuals for the disadvantaged children, therefore bringing them a better
life.
Through
music, songs and plays, the children expressed their thoughts, sentiments and
dreams about a brighter future. They also built camps to introduce their
self-made
products
while participating in an array of games.
According
to Director of the Hanoi Children’s Palace Duong Viet Ha, all gifts mobilised
at the event will be channelled to children in difficulty.
First
held in 1994, the festival has affirmed its humanitarian values and received
a warm response from the community. Particularly, many music talents such as
Thanh Tung
and
Duy Cuong had been nurtured from such programmes.-
Voluntary
Youth Year starts in Dien Bien
The
2014 Voluntary Youth Year kicked off in the
The
year will focus on the construction of new-style rural and urban areas so as
to bring about better social well-being.
Over
the past 15 years, the voluntary youth campaign has spread widely with tens
of millions of students taking part, during which they have raised their
sense of responsibility for national construction and defence.
Following
the launch ceremony, the provincial youngsters visited and presented gifts to
needy students, the poor and those who rendered services to the nation.
They
also voluntarily donated blood, offered free health check-ups and medicine to
the locals and launched construction of a new cultural village house.
Sa
Dec horticulture village busy preparing for Tet
During
the days ahead of the lunar New Year (Tet) which this year falls on January
31, Sa Dec horticulture village in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap is
resplendent with a wide variety of flowers in full bloom.
Located
4 km from Sa Dec town, Sa Dec horticulture village, the largest supplier of
flowers in the southwestern region, is colorful with large fields of flowers.
Flowers in Sa
Dec
are not planted in beds but on trellises with canals running under them.
Growers have to row a boat to tend and harvest the flowers, according to
radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV).
Prior
to the traditional lunar New Year, flower gardens in Sa Dec are full of
marigolds, chrysanthemums and roses of all kinds. There are also exotic
flowers like lisianthus,
Salvia
and petunia. In Tan Khanh Dong commune, chrysanthemums cover 25 hectares with
nearly 200,000 baskets planted in Khanh Nghia, Khanh Nhon and Dong Hue
hamlets.
The increasing popularity of chrysanthemums has improved the incomes of local
growers.
“At
this time of the year, we only need to water the flowers. The weather now is
favourable for growing chrysanthemums. This year we have received more orders
for
chrysanthemums
because there are more Spring festivals,” aIS Nguyen Thi Hang, a grower in Sa
Dec.
At any
time of the year, the village is flowery and fragrant. Flowers are everywhere:
dahlias, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums ... , but roses of different kinds are
the most popular. As many as 50 species of roses including red roses,
Granda roses, Cleopatra roses, and
According
to local growers, they still grow traditional flowers like chrysanthemums and
roses and their business is quite good this year as the demand is increasing.
Horticulture
has improved the incomes of more than a thousand families in the village.
Chrysanthemum, cockscombs and lotuses are most popular during Tet, said Tran
Thi
"We
have received orders from
A few
weeks prior to Tet, the village is already in full swing. Every day, it is
crowded with trucks queuing for flowers and plants. Sa Dec flowers are
helping local people increase their incomes. Dong Thap province aims to
develop Sa Dec into a flower city in the future.
This
village attracts many tourists, especially on the occasion of Tet who come to
enjoy the fresh air, the fragrance and the colorful activity of harvesting
flowers.-
World
Bank reports
task
in recent years, according to a report released by the World Bank (WB) on
January 20.
The
“Vietnam Urban Wastewater Review” report shows that Vietnam is facing
challenges with environmental pollution on the rise due to the country’s
rapid urbanisation.
However,
to keep pollution levels under control, Vietnam is estimated to need 8.3
billion USD to improve wastewater treatment services between now and 2025,
notes the report.
The
paper also puts forth several useful recommendations for national
policymakers. The suggestions are related to establishing a national strategy
and general principles to
be
applied in water resource management, as well as policies to encourage the
private sector’s involvement in the public-private-partnership model.
The
report also gives suggestions to local authorities and service providers of
sanitation services to develop and sustain healthy and clean cities.
The
same day, another report themed “East Asia Pacific Region Urban Sanitation
Review: Actions Needed”, issued by the bank, mentioned thorough researches on
urban sanitation in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The
second paper proposes measures to help countries in the region expand and
upgrade environmental sanitation services in a comprehensive and sustainable
manner.
According
to the paper, about 2.5 billion people all over the world lack adequate
sanitation and more than 25 percent of them live in East Asia and the Pacific
Region.
Although
inadequate sanitation takes a tremendous toll on the quality of peoples’
lives, environment, and the economy, investments in the field yield high
returns.
VNA/VNS/VOV/SGGP/Nhandan/Dantri
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Thứ Năm, 23 tháng 1, 2014
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