Social News Headlines 28/3 Nick Vujicic back to Vietnam   Vietnam’s Hoa Sen Group plans to invite limbless Australian motivator Nick Vujicic to return to Vietnam again this May. The group that specialises in steel and plastic pipes and sheets sponsored Vujicic’s May 2013 trip to Vietnam will organise a gala night in HCM City on May 21 and another similar event in Hanoi on May 24 to honour people with disabilities who overcome hardship and reap success in life. Vujicic is scheduled to attend both events. Hoa Sen Group CEO Le Phuoc Vu said he hopes the events will instil passion for work and study in the community, especially disabled people. During his visit to Vietnam last May, Vujicic addressed businesses and young people, encouraging them to be self-confident, cherish dreams, and never give up hope. Police detain nurse involved in newborn deaths case The Quang Tri Police yesterday detained the nurse involved in the case of three newborn deaths in July last year. Nurse Nguyen Thi Thuan would be detained for four months for interrogation. She had given the hepatitis B vaccine to the three newborn babies. The police also searched Thuan's house. Three women had given birth to three healthy babies, weighing between 2.8 kilograms and four kilograms, at the Huong Hoa District General Hospital on July 19 last year. The next day, 30 minutes after the babies were injected with the vaccine, they became pale and had difficulty in breathing. Doctors and nurses gave them emergency aid, but the babies died. The nurse was suspended from work on July 20. She had rejoined work on February 11 this year after being suspended for more than six months. The police have not found any evidence yet to begin legal proceedings. Traffic accidents decline in first 3 months There were more than 6,500 road traffic collisions in the first quarter of this year, resulting in 2,427 deaths and 6,462 injuries, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety. Compared to the same period in 2013, traffic accidents fell in all three categories: collisions (down 13.71%), fatalities (5.86%) and injuries (17.45%). Between February 16 to March 15 alone, the country reported 1,750 traffic collisions, killing 609 people and injuring 1,721 others, down 205 cases (10.49%), 44 fatalities (6.74%) and 309 injuries (15,22%). In the first three months of this year, transport police dealt with nearly 998,500 violations of traffic laws, fining VND577.38 billion, seizing 6,317 cars and 114,967 motorbikes, and revoking 77,441 driving licenses. At a recent review meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasised that traffic order across the country and traffic congestion prevention in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have made significant progress. Ha Noi taxis to have special colour code The Ha Noi Transport Department has proposed to the Ministry of Transport that a specific colour of taxi badges should be issued in the city. Director of the department Nguyen Quoc Hung said that the move was expected to curb taxi firms with badges registered in other provinces from operating their vehicles in Ha Noi, which has been causing management difficulties for the municipal agencies. Hung said that the department has also proposed that the validity period of the taxi badges be reduced. The validity is now 12 months. Under the proposal, the taxi firms would be required to return the old taxi badges before getting a new one, he said. However, the ministry should consider carefully how to reduce the validity period of the taxi badges to avoid causing difficulties to the taxi companies when they apply for extension of the validity, said head of the ministry's Viet Nam Road Administration Nguyen Duc Thang. Head of the ministry's Transport Department Khuat Viet Hung said that issuing a specific colour of taxi badges in big cities like Ha Noi and HCM City was a good idea. Studies by the city's transport department have shown that there are 107 taxi firms operating in the city now. HCM City faces employee shortages in second quarter Local and foreign enterprises in HCM City need to fill 75,000 jobs during the second quarter, an increase in labour demand of 10 per cent over the same period last year, according to a report from the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs. In the first quarter, 37,415 job vacancies were filled, according to a survey of 3,926 enterprises conducted by the Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information in HCM City. Recruitment demand will be 20,000 in April, 25,000 in May and 30,000 in June, the survey found. Demand for unskilled labourers stands at 35 per cent, for workers with primary and secondary education 38 per cent and for college and postgraduates 27 per cent. Industries with high recruitment demand include sales, services, IT, marketing, real estate, textiles and leather shoes. Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the centre, said that many companies were expanding operations as the economy continues to improve. As of February 28, there were 2,421 newly established enterprises in the city, and more than 500 enterprises reported that they planned to increase their charter capital, according to HCM City's Statistics Office. HCM City to host Mekong River Commission summit Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will join leaders of Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand to attend the second Mekong River Commission (MRC) summit in HCM City on April 5. Representatives from China and Myanmar - the two MRC dialogue partners, development donors, and international organizations will also attend the event. The summit aims to realize MRC commitments to trans-national cooperation on sustainable development of water resources and improved utilisation of natural resources of the Mekong River region in the context of a rising demand for water, energy and food and the impact of global climate change on the region. The event provides MRC leaders a forum to display their determination to overcome all difficulties and challenges in the MRC River Basin to achieve sustainable development. The summit will announce prioritised fields in MRC activities in the coming time, especially in ensuring water resources, energy and food security in the context of climate change. MRC leaders are expected to issue a joint declaration at the meeting. Prior to the summit, an international conference will be held on April 2-3 to discuss regional and international hot issues such as water resources, energy and food security, risk management and climate change adaptation. The first MRC summit was held in Hua Hin, Thailand, on April 5, 2010 to mark the 15th anniversary of the Agreement on the Cooperation for Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin. It approved the Hua Hin Declaration, providing the meeting will be held every four years. Haiphong aspires to be model green port city The People's Committee of Haiphong City and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on March 27 held a national seminar on green growth and green port city. The event, within the framework of the Mangroves for the Future (MFF), is an opportunity for participants to exchange opinions on green growth and green port city models, share international experience and lessons learnt in the country as well as the city. Delegates are scheduled to make policy recommendations and devise an action plan to implement the National Green Growth Strategy in Vietnam and Haiphong in particular. Haiphong is the third largest city in Vietnam and is one of the most important waterway hubs. By implementing the 2011-2020 National Green Growth Strategy, Haiphong is striving to become a green port city by 2020. Green growth is the essence of sustainable development, contributing to reducing pressure on the environment caused by rapid economic growth, meeting the economic development orientation of the country, and ensuring people's lives. In 2012, the Prime Minister approved “the National Green Growth Strategy for the period 2011-2020 with a vision to 2050”. “Although Haiphong’s economic growth rate has doubled in the past two decades, we still have considerable work to be accomplished to solve serious challenges including soil, water and air pollution,” said Dr Nguyen Van Thanh, Secretary of the Haiphong Party Committee. He said that to transform into a green port city, Haiphong needs to establish a comprehensive and detailed implementation plan, focusing on promoting people’s awareness, building mechanisms and policies, and restructuring the innovation growth model. IUCN Vietnam is currently coordinating with Haiphong to work out ​​nature-based solutions and enhance the resilience of coastal areas to address environmental challenges due to the impact of climate change. Cambodian historian leads delegation to Vietnam Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party’s Committee Nguyen Cong Soai received Deputy Head of the Historical Research Department of the Cambodian People’s Party, Keo Baphnom, in Hanoi on March 25. The visiting guest, who is also Deputy Head of the steering committee for a project compiling historical documentation on the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship in the period from 1930 to 2010, led the Cambodian delegation to the annual meeting of the project’s steering committees held in Hanoi from March 21-26. Soai informed the guest of the socio-economic situation in Hanoi, especially after the capital expanded its administrative boundary in 2008. He also highlighted the friendship and cooperative ties between the two countries and between Hanoi and Phnom Penh in particular. Baphnom said he hopes municipal authorities will share experience in building new-style rural areas and developing transport infrastructure. Vietnam-Cambodia political ties have been reinforced by the exchange of visits by the top leaders, he claimed. Bilateral trade ties have also enjoyed strong growth, with two-way trade reaching US$3.5 billion in 2013, and the figure is expected to rise to US$5 billion by 2015. Vietnam is currently running 128 investment projects worth over US$3 billion in total registered capital in Cambodia. Vietnam-Laos road construction to start in late 2014 Vietnam and Laos will hasten preparations for a road project linking their two capitals Hanoi and Vientiane to get off the ground late this year. This is the result of a working session in Hanoi on March 25 between Vietnamese Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang and his Lao counterpart Bounchanh Sinthavong. The two ministers agreed to accelerate construction of a 67km-road from Sam Tay District of Laos’ Houaphanh province to Tha Lau in the border between Vietnam and Laos. The road will link Xiengkhouang and Houaphanh provinces of Laos and Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam, and will be the shortest road from Vientiane to Hanoi. In addition, the two sides have completed the necessary procedures for approval to build a 105km road from Dien Bien province of Vietnam to Luang Prabang city of Laos. Both ministers discussed a transport cooperation project to realize the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (GMS CBTA). Vietnam will consider revising transportation fees for Lao products at Cha Lo Economic Zone in Quang Binh province to Vung Ang Port in Ha Tinh province. Ministers Thang and Sinthavong also agreed to work on a future comprehensive cooperation programme to implement the overall connectivity project between Vietnam and Laos. Wheelchairs come to the disabled in Quang Binh Japan’s charity organisation of IMAYA has presented 23 wheelchairs to people with disabilities in central Quang Binh province. The wheelchairs, worth VND120 million (US$5,640) in total, were handed over to beneficiaries in the poor districts of Quang Ninh, Quang Trach and Bo Trach on March 25. The same day, representatives from the organisation and the provincial sponsoring association for the disabled and orphans visited handicapped people in Bo Trach district. Since 2011, the Japanese organisation has provided nearly 80 wheelchairs for the disabled in Quang Binh province, which is home to 45,000 people with disabilities. Between 2006 and 2013, the province provided job consultancy to 817 people with disabilities and vocational training for 550 others. It is striving to ensure access to healthcare services for 90% of the targeted group, and health check-ups for 85 percent of under-6-year-old children to early detect congenital conditions and growth disorders. Vietnam has over 1.2 million disabled children, including those affected by the aftermaths of war, especially toxic chemicals, bombs, mines and explosive remnants. In June 2010, Vietnam passed its own Law on Persons with Disabilities, which reflects the country’s legal progress in protecting the rights of disabled children in line with the UN Convention in the field. Doctor goes extra step to tackle TB Nguyen Thi Huyen Tran was worried about the tuberculosis treatment for her 88-year-old father because he was too weak to go the local TB treatment centre every day. Nguyen Huu An, of Ward 4 in District 8, was diagnosed with pulmonary TB by doctors at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in District 5 and sent to the local clinic for treatment. But the free clinic does not admit patients, who have to go there every morning for examination and to take drugs under the supervision of doctors. Tran expressed her concern to Dr Nguyen Van Thom at the clinic, who offered to visit their house instead for treatment. "Thanks to Thom's conscientiousness, my father's health improved after three weeks of treatment," Tran said, adding that the visits were also free. Thom visits the houses of other patients too. "This is one way to attract patients with TB to the clinic for treatment," Thom said. In the densely populated district, TB could spread easily, he said, adding that the clinic's doctors adopted many ways to attract patients with TB to reduce the transmission, especially of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. If patients with TB stop treatment midway, they are likely to develop MDR TB, which is resistant to the two most powerful TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. Last year Thom's clinics treated 980 patients with TB and cured 85 per cent of them, including 63 of 79 with MDR TB. Tran Ngoc Buu, head of the National Tuberculosis Control Division's southern region, said doctors, especially Thom, had worked with dedication to combat TB, and this had contributed to the effectiveness of the city's TB prevention programme. Other districts had been encouraged to adopt the district's model of TB care at home, he said. The effectiveness of the city's programme is apparent from the large number of TB patients who are diagnosed and treated at specialised clinics and hospitals, according to Buu. Of every seven people treated for TB in the entire country, the city accounts for one. As for MDR TB, the number rises to 70 per cent. People with TB should not be worried because the rate of cure is 90 per cent if they are treated in time and follow the treatment regimen. "Do not halt the antibiotics for any reason," he warned, referring to the threat of developing MDR-TB. With drugs for MDR TB available, the recovery rate is 70 per cent, but patients have to complete the full course of treatment of 19-24 months, according to Buu. But it was not an easy task, he admitted, adding that 5 per cent of patients with MDR-TB avoided treatment because they were too busy earning a living or did not have anyone to take care of them during hospitalisation. Dr Nguyen Huy Dung, head of the city's Committee for TB Prevention Programme, said this was one of the hurdles to increasing the rate of treatment for patients with MDR-TB. Financial assistance from local authorities and donors for patients with MDR-TB would encourage them to continue treatment, he said. Buu admitted that relatives were very important to encourage people to get treatment. Buu said the city last year began a pilot treatment regimen for MDR-TB patients that shortened the treatment regimen from 19-24 months to nine months. "The regimen is likely to be better tolerated by patients." He cited the case of Bangladesh which had achieved success with the nine-month MDR-TB treatment regimen. Deputy PM inspects bird flu prevention measures Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the northern border province of Lang Son to expand measures to contain the spread of the bird flu virus. Among the steps to be taken include ending the illegal selling and transporting across borders of poultry. He announced the order during an inspection tour to view measures undertaken to prevent the spread of bird flu and to end cross-border poultry smuggling in Lang Son on Tuesday. The province had recently introduced a wide range of measures to thwart poultry smuggling, while improved management of the poultry market in the locality had also proven effective, he noted. Further, the provincial health sector has expanded its supervision to quickly detect cases, and prepared facilities and equipment to respond to outbreaks. Meanwhile, distributing information about avian influenza and its risks to the local people has been increased. A woman from central Thanh Hoa Province died of H5N1 avian flu on Sunday after being treated at the Ha Noi-based National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. This brought the number of deaths in the country attributed to the H5N1 avian flu strain to four in 2014. Engineers try to inspire new wave Partnerships between education, industry and government to innovate and build capacity in engineering and technology teaching and research, were under discussion at the second Viet Nam Engineering Education Conference, which opened on March 25 in HCM City. The two-day annual event was themed Transformative Change: Educating Engineers to Innovate the Future of Viet Nam and brought together experts and government officials from around the world. On the agenda are discussions on solutions to challenges in engineering and technical education programmes in Viet Nam. Development of cap-stone design courses, establishment of undergraduate teaching assistant prog-rammes and ways to inspire and engage the next generation of engineers were also being discussed. "With a total population of 90 million in Viet Nam, more than 24 million people are currently studying, from early childhood education through to higher education. It is a huge challenge for the country to provide access to education for all and ensure the quality of education," said Bui Van Ga, Deputy Minister of Education and Training. He said the Ministry of Education and Training was implementing a series of measures to improve the quality of education, with a focus on innovating training mechanisms, expanding university networks and promoting international integration. The conference was organised by the HCM City University of Technology in collaboration with Arizona State University under the framework of US-supported Higher Engineering Education Alliance Programme (HEEAP). HEEAP have been the architects of spectacular change in the quality of higher engineering education in Vietnamese universities, though helping create partnerships and links between universities and industries, the deputy minister added. A total of 178 professors have returned to Viet Nam after training in the United States under HEEAP, said US Consul General Rena Bitter. "They are all implementing changes in the curriculum, designing new courses, and revamping laboratories based on what they learned on this programme." "By 2018, the prog-ramme will have reached 80 per cent of the electrical and mechanical engineering undergraduates in Viet Nam," she said. HEEAP was established in 2010 through a partnership of USAID, Intel Corporation and Arizona State University's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Conference discusses key role of Army in fight against crime The army held a key role in fighting crime, said Deputy Prime Minster Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday. Phuc made the statement at a conference held by the Ministry of National Defence to review a campaign against crime, illegal drugs, smuggling and trade fraud. He said each soldier should join the fight against smuggling and preventing trade fraud. Phuc also said the ministry should work more effectively in inspecting border lines and crime hot spots so it could introduce appropriate controls. He also instructed the ministry to closely work with neighbouring countries that share borders with Viet Nam. During the three-month anti-crime campaign that began last December, authorised agencies handled 245 cases of drug smuggling involving 300 people and 120kg of heroin. The army also handled another 4,600 cases involving security, arrested 26 people for people trafficking and rescued 33 victims. The Ministry of Public Security yesterday also held a conference to review the campaign, during which police nationwide investigated more than 7,400 cases of violations and broke up more than 1,000 gangs. Police nationwide also handled more than 4,800 cases of economic violations and corruption. Ca Mau braces for forest fires Almost 34,000 hectares of forest in the southern province of Ca Mau is facing a high fire risk due to water shortages and a prolonged dry season, according to forest management officials. Local fire-fighting teams, forest rangers and round-the-clock patrols have been placed on high alert and have prepared fire-fighting equipment to prevent the outbreak of large-scale fires. Ca Mau authorities have also issued statements discouraging local residents from travelling into forest areas, many of whom do so to gather wood or hunt for wildlife. HCM City college launches engineering course The HCM City Vocational College yesterday opened the country's first LabVIEW Academy, funded by the National Instruments (NI) Company. The engineering lab aims to provide budding engineers and researchers with a practical learning environment and expose them to advance technologies. Swindler detained on forgery allegations The police of the central province of Quang Tri yesterday took custody of a person for allegedly swindling others to appropriate their assets. Man Duc Phuong from the northern Bac Ninh Province, was arrested pending further investigation for his alleged involvement in a ring that is responsible for forging remains, relics, and burial sites in Quang Tri. Earlier, in October last year, the local police temporarily detained the heads of the ring, including Nguyen Thanh Thuy and his wife, Man Thi Duyen, from the Bac Ninh Province and prosecuted them on charges of duping people to appropriate their assets. In July last year, the "telepath" Thuy, his wife, and their accomplices were caught falsifying nine sets of remains in Gio Linh district of the Quang Tri Province in order to appropriate funds set up by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for the search of fallen soldiers' remains. Safety of high-antenna structures to be checked The Construction Ministry has asked the provinces and cities to check the safety of structures having more than 100-metre-tall antenna towers and report to the ministry before April 15. Investors, managers and the owners of buildings which have such antenna towers, especially newly inaugurated projects, have been asked to check the quality of construction of the tower as well as conduct regular maintenance in accordance with regulations. The move has been initiated with an aim to minimise problems or prevent any collapse of the antenna towers during the coming storm season. The ministry's statistics showed that many antenna towers had collapsed or were damaged by heavy storms in some provinces and cities, making the people apprehensive. For instance, a 150-metre-tall broadcasting antenna tower of the Radio Voice of Viet Nam collapsed during the Wutip storm in Quang Binh Province last September, and the Nam Dinh Television's 180-metre-tall antenna tower collapsed during another storm in October 2012. Government helps eradicate illiteracy The Government has issued Decree 20/2014/ND-CP (Decree 22) on universal primary education and illiteracy eradication, according to the Vietnam Government Portal. T he State would prioritise and invest in schools in favor of universal education and illiteracy eradication. Under the newly-approved decree, international organisations, foreigners, overseas Vietnamese are encouraged to join in the mission in line with the current regulations. The State would apply preferential policies on tuition fee reduction and exemption in universal education and illiteracy eradication programmes. The new document set specific criteria on universal education at kindergarten schools, secondary education and illiteracy eradication. Decree 22 replacing Decree 88/2001/ND-CP will come into force from May 15, 2014. Germany presents office devices to Phu Yen’s Trade Union Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Institute has donated office equipment worth 120 million VND to a legal consulting office operated by the provincial trade union organisation in the central coastal province of Phu Yen. At a ceremony to hand over the equipment on March 26, chairwoman of the Phu Yen Labour Federation Nguyen Thi Thu Van said that the gift is very helpful for the office, which provides free legal consulting services to local labourers In 2013, more than 200 workers came to the office for legal assistance. According to Van, the federation plans to open several more legal consulting offices in the province’s economic zones to give workers more access to legal advices. Dak Nong: over 400 bln VND for rural electricity The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong has over the past decade invested more than 400 billion VND (18.8 million USD) in power transmission lines to serve ethnic minority people in its disadvantaged areas. According to Tran Toan, Director of the Dak Nong Electricity Company, the province prioritised the supply of power for 19 border and remote communes and upgrade of transmission networks in these areas. All districts and communes in the locality are now connected to the national grid, allowing 92 percent of their households to use the energy. In 2013, total output of commercial electricity was nearly 274 million kWh. In the time to come, the local sector will expand power lines in far-flung areas to help residents improve their living conditions. It will also coordinate with the Steering Board of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development to fulfill the goal on rural electricity.- Source: VNS/VNA/VOV/SGGP/ND