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The HCMC Steering
Center of the Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC) has asked the HCMC People’s
Council to pass a dozen of major projects for implementation this year and
next at a total cost of VND1.86 trillion (some US$87.3 million) to control
flooding in the city.
SCFC made the
request at a meeting with the HCMC People’s Council on June 26. The projects
will help address flooding in districts 1, 2, Tan Binh and Thu Duc.
The spending will
go to upgrading the drainage systems on Mai Thi Luu Street in District 1; Bau
Cat, Truong Cong Dinh and Ba Van streets in Tan Binh District; Go Dua Street
in Thu Duc District; Thao Dien, Quoc Huong and Xuan Thuy streets in District
2; and building a rainwater regulation lake of 4,000 square meters in Tan
Binh District.
SCFC said to
effectively control flooding in a 108-square-kilometer river basin area in
downtown HCMC, the city has spent big on 14 projects to improve drainage in
this area and 47 out of 58 flood-prone sites have been solved.
HCMC spent nearly
VND1.58 trillion (nearly US$75 million) coping with flooding in 2011-2013.
However, the city’s chairman Le Hoang Quan told a seminar last March that
flooding in this city had not been resolved as effectively as expected.
As a consequence,
many streets in districts 6, Tan Binh and elsewhere are still submerged when
heavy rains occur. Therefore, the center plans to build over 30 large lakes
in suburban areas and hundreds of smaller lakes in inner-city areas as well
as dredge canals to mitigate flooding.
A delegation from
the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) led by Chancellor Gene Block
will visit Vietnam and work with the Vietnam National University in HCMC from
June 28 to July 1 to forge scientific ties between the two institutions.
Both schools will
ink an agreement on June 30 in biomedical science and educational science.
Moreover, the two sides will suggest to the governments of
Professor Gene
Block will host the talk “Developing a
Since 2008,
scientists from the
After that, the two
sides have jointly carried out new programs on biomedical science and
educational science.
The Health
Department of northern mountainous Cao Bang province and the Luxembourg
Agency for Development Cooperation on June 25 inaugurated a new health centre
in the Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district.
The centre, spread
over an area of 950 sq.ms, was built with an investment of more than 2.2
billion VND (104,000 USD), from
It is expected to
provide better healthcare to about 5,000 people, mostly from the
The healthcare
centre is part of
Under the project,
the construction of other 11 healthcare centres, worth 26.8 billion VND (1.25
million USD), is scheduled to finish next month in the two provinces.
Sustainable
development forum for youth opens
A forum aimed at
empowering Vietnamese youth to share initiatives and solutions on sustainable
development and environmental protection was opened in the central
In his opening
speech, Director of the British Council in Vietnam Chris Brown voiced his
hope that participants will become environment ambassadors with specific
actions, expanding spillover effects on the community.
The forum, themed “
Be Active Citizens ”, attracts 40 outstanding young people selected from 400
profiles nationwide, focusing discussions on climate change and natural
disasters, energy saving, green economy, bio-diversification, vulnerable
groups and climate change.
The five-day event
is held within the framework of the active citizen programme launched by the
British Council in 2009. The programme has been implemented successfully in
38 countries around the world, attracting the participation of 530,000
youngsters and bringing great value to 15 million people.
Conference
seeks to improve resource management in Asia
Domestic and
foreign experts discussed ways to increase the effectiveness of resource use
and management at a regional workshop hosted by the central city of
The event is part
of the ongoing Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: Urban Nexus
project implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)
with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Participants
reviewed the progress of realising urban nexus initiatives in participating
cities and the sharing of experience in the field. They also mentioned the
importance of State management to the urban nexus and discussed next steps of
the project.
Participating in
the project,
The city’s
representatives voiced hope that Asian cities will further enhance advanced
technology transfer and sharing of management experiment to heighten the
efficiency of managing and using resources towards a sustainable
Many said the
Pacific-Asia region faces rapid urbanisation which causes serious impact on
the resources, especially water, energy and food.
The majority of
regional cities are managing separately their sectors, which makes them
unable to optimise collaboration.
Ten cities in six
Asian countries, including
The restructuring
of rice farming in the Cuu Long (
Le Van Banh, head
of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, said though the rice
cultivation area and output increase every year farmers remain poor.
The main goal of
restructuring the rice sector should be to improve farmers' incomes so that
they continue to farm, he said.
Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said besides yields it was
also time to focus on improving the commercial value of the rice varieties
grown.
The country exports
the grain at around US$400 a tonne, but needs varieties that can fetch $600
and even $1,000, according to Doanh.
The delta is the
country's important rice producer, but the rate of certified rice seeds used
is only 35 per cent.
Since the rest are
uncertified, the quality of exported rice and output are adversely affected.
The ministry had
begun a research and agricultural extension programme focusing on creating
high-quality rice varieties that would improve export value and farmers'
incomes, he said.
Participants in the
seminar said the production and trade of rice faced many limitations like low
quality of exports, low competitiveness, and small scale of cultivation and
trade.
The delta's
provinces were not closely linked and there was little application of modern
technologies in rice processing, they said.
Le Duc Thinh,
deputy head of the ministry's Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural
Development, said the average land holding per household in the delta was
0.87ha.
Of the delta's
total rice area, low-quality varieties accounted for 45 per cent and
medium-quality ones for 35 per cent.
Traders bought
around 90 per cent of the rice grown in the delta, he said, meaning farmers
did not make much profit.
Nguyen Do Anh Tuan,
deputy head of the ministry's
It also sought to
usher in advanced farming techniques and technologies to increase yields and
values, attracting foreign investment in agriculture, developing new export
markets, and increasing the output of high quality rice for exports, he said.
Nguyen Quoc Viet,
deputy head of the Southwest Region Steering Committee, said the delta
planned to stabilise paddy output at 24-25 million tonnes a year from now
through 2010.
The region has
1.6-1.8 million hectares under the grain, but plans to grow higher value
crops like corn and soybean on 112,000ha of low-yield rice fields in 2014-15.
As of the end of
last month 87,000ha had been switched to corn, dragon fruit, and lime,
according to the Plant Cultivation Department.
Farmers
cash in on tiger shrimp
The model to
establish large-scale fields to breed black-tiger shrimp in the Cuu Long (
Early last year,
the Dong Hai District Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau in
Under the model,
farmers are given financial support and farming techniques under the
Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practices (VietGap) standards.
Under a new
cultivation method, farmers change the water a fewer number of times in
shrimp ponds.
Duong Minh Doan,
who owns 2.6ha of land on a large-scale shrimp field, said participating
farmers had a bumper harvest last year.
"My family
made a profit of VND180 million (US$8,600)," he said.
Farmers earned a
profit of between VND60-80 million ($2,900 – 3,800) per ha a year.
The breeding period
for each black-tiger shrimp crop lasts about three months.
Vo Ngoc Can, who
breeds 2.8ha of black-tiger shrimp under the model, said he had consolidated
pond banks to prevent water leakage, and improved water quality, including
the content of pH and salinity.
"I use
probiotic products in shrimp ponds once every 15 days to improve water
quality," Can said.
River water is
taken into the ponds when there are high tides, he said.
Water in shrimp
ponds was released into the river only when it was necessary, with the
instruction of agricultural officials, he said.
Nguyen Truong Han,
head of the Dong Hai District Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau, said
the large-scale shrimp field model had been expanded to four of Dinh Thanh
Commune's five hamlets, with a total of 200ha.
Dong Hai District
plans to develop large-scale shrimp fields on a total area of 260ha, focusing
on Dinh Thanh and Long Dien Tay communes.
"With high
profits from the model, farmers have developed large-scale shrimp fields to a
total of more than 380ha so far," Han said.
The new farming
model has also helped protect the environment as farmers have reduced the
amount of dredging of mud in shrimp ponds, which they had discharged into the
environment.
Passion
fruit switch could taint supply
More farmers in
Ha Van
"If I
replanted my coffee trees, I would have to spend about hundreds of millions
of dong and wait for a few years to have a coffee harvest," he said.
"Passion fruit vines take a shorter period to bear fruit."
It takes about six
months for passion fruit vines to produce fruit.
Mature passion
fruit vines have four major harvests a year and yield 80-100 tonnes per ha a
year.
Passion fruit has
been planted in the Tay Nguyen (
Pham Hung Vy,
deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development's Plant Cultivation Bureau, said when passion fruit was planted
for the first time in the province, the department planned to develop only
200ha of the fruit.
However, it has
contracted with Phu Thinh and Tia Sang Co-operatives to supply passion fruit
seedlings for farmers in order to control the quantity and quality of
seedlings, Vy said.
However, the price
of passion fruit has increased and passion fruit farmers have earned high
profits, he said.
The rapid increase
of passion fruit area will lead to a threat of disease outbreaks, he said.
Passion fruit vines
can become infected with powdery mildew and bacterial blight.
Many farmers
grafted passion fruit seedlings by themselves, increasing the risk of
disease, Vy said.
Most farmers who
grow passion fruit beyond the zoning area are not trained in growing
techniques.
Farmers that have
chopped down perennial trees to replant passion fruit trees have also
affected the province's cultivation structure.
The total area of
passion fruit in the province has increased to nearly 1,000ha, mainly in Dak
Glong and Dak Rlap districts, according to the department.
Meanwhile, passion
fruit processing plants in Dak Nong can buy only 200ha of passion fruit, said
the department.
Nguyen Van Xuyen,
director of the Dak Nong –based Nghia Duc One Member Co., Ltd, said his
company had bought passion fruit for at least VND20,000 ($0.95) a kilo in
previous months.
However, the supply
is abundant, and the company has reduced the purchase price, he said.
Traders are now
paying VND5,000-6,000 a kilo for the fruit.
Falling
rubber prices take their toll on local industry
Price falls and low
yields hit farmers and rubber workers in central
According to Nguyen
Duc Phong, chairman of farmer association in the province's Nong Truong Viet
Trung commune, there has been a critical collapse in the price of natural
rubber.
"One
kilogramme of fresh natural rubber cost at VND8,000, while the cost was
VND20,000 per kilogramme the same period last year," he said.
In addition to the
price falling, rubber trees in the commune, which is considered a hub for
rubber plantations in the central province, strong storms that struck
"We have a
total of 2,000ha of rubber trees and the storms ruined 80 per cent of the
total. The remaining trees are producing a very low yield," said Phong.
According to
statistics produced last year, each worker could harvest 50kg of fresh
natural rubber per day, compared with this year's maximum of 10kg per day, he
said.
Many rubber
plantation owners have said they want to get rid of the trees to use the land
to grow other industrial trees.
Tran Xuan Hau,
owner of a 120ha rubber plantation, said he had no choice but to replace the
trees as it would take another six years to harvest. He also said he could
not afford the cost of replanting the trees.
Hau is now among a
host of farmers looking to grow more profitable trees.
Phong said the
commune's authorities had organised several trips for farmers to learn about
different models in neighboring
"We found the
cultivation of dragon fruits and black pepper might be suitable for the land.
But we need to investigate the supply of water for pepper," he said.
Meanwhile, farmers
themselves are having to cut down the trees to grow cassava and watermelon
across 653ha. According to the farmers' association, watermelon has turned
out bumper crops and earnings for farmers.
At the commune,
there are 3,000ha of rubber trees managed by the local Viet Trung rubber
company. The company refused to comment on the price fall, but workers said
the collapse had created tough times.
Nguyen Thi Hong
Nhung, a worker in the Quyet Tien team of the company, said she could harvest
only 2kg of fresh natural rubber a day, much lower than an average of 60kg a
day she did last year.
"Harvesting
2kg a day equals to wage of VND600,000 (US$26) a month. Many of my colleagues
have quit to find a seasonal job as some of them were making even less than
me," she said.
The company has a
total of 17 teams of harvesters, with around 80 workers each. The majority of
workers have become redundant as a result.
In the meantime,
experts have recommended a halt to planting rubber trees in the province due
to heavy annual storms.
The upgrading of
Addressing a
ceremony on June 28 to announce the Prime Minister’s Decision on recognizing
Ninh Binh as a second-grade city under Ninh Binh province, Deputy PM Hai said
the city should make good use of its natural and historical heritage to
become a destination of choice for tourists, helping boost the comprehensive
development of Ninh Binh province.
To be recognised as
a second-grade city, the city should be a political, economic, cultural and
tourist centre as well as a transport hub of a region while meeting a number
of requirements such as a population of at least 800,000 for a centrally-run
city and 300,000 for a provincial city, fair infrastructure and at least 80
percent of urban labourers working in non-agriculture sectors.
Ninh Binh City is
the capital city of the province of the same name, which is home to such well
known tourist destinations as Bai Dinh Pagoda, the newly-recognised UNESCO
cultural and natural heritage site of Trang An, Cuc Phuong national park and
Tam Coc-Bich Dong site.-
Nearly
40,000 poor students benefit from EMW-funded programme
Close to 40,000
disadvantaged students in the central region of
Set up in 2004, the
Scholarship Programme to Enhance Literacy and Learning (SPELL) aims to
provide students with difficulties in
With its goal of
preventing students from dropping gout of school and improving learning
quality, the programme has supported children of the poorest households in
the seven central localities of Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang
Ngai, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen.
After 10 years of
operation, SPELL has gained impressive results – a decline in the dropout
rate and an impressive pass rate that meets or exceeds the national average.
Many of SPELL scholarship recipients have won municipal, provincial and
national awards for their academic achievements.
Poor students will
have a bright future if they receive support, EMW Country Director Nguyen
Minh Chau said, adding they will help their families escape from poverty and
make the society prosperous.
“Their success is a
great encouragement for us to continue our work,” she noted.
In 2010, EMW set up
a university scholarship programme namely SPELL Goes to College (SGTC), which
has helped 130 disadvantaged students access university education.-
Khmer
pagodas hold summer classes for children
Many Khmer pagodas
in the southern
At Chot Pagoda in
Hung Hoi commune, Vinh Loi district, more than 100 children of all ages are
attending four classes held at different hours throughout the day.
Monk Thach Uong,
who is in charge of the classes, said the monks want to teach the children
not only the ethnic group’s language but also traditional customs and good
behaviours.
Eleven-year-old Lam
Thi Phuong Anh said the Khmer script is very difficult, but after a long time
of practicing, she can now write in a proper way.
The pagoda classes
are hailed by Tran Thi Hoa Ry, head of the provincial Committee for Ethnic
Affairs, who said they help Khmer children become aware of their cultural
root while contributing to preserving and developing the fine traditions of
the Khmer ethnic group in the southern region.
Bac Lieu province
is home to around 65,000 Khmer people.-
Children in
Ben Tre discuss their rights with local officials
Children in the
southern
The forum, held as
part of the month of action for children, focused on the theme of preventing
violence against and abuse of children.
Students from
primary and secondary schools in nine districts and towns as well as children
from social welfare facilities presented their opinions and messages
regarding issues of their interests such as beating or exploiting children,
and discrimination against disadvantaged kids.
The forum is held
with the aim of making children better aware of their rights and role in
society, as well as creating a chance for government officials and policy
makers to understand children’s wishes and needs, thus improving the building
and implementation of policies targeting children.
Over 500
volunteers join in ‘2014 Give Strength in Exam Season’ program
More than 500
volunteers on attending a departure ceremony themed ‘the 2014 Give Strength
in Exam Season’ program was held at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on
June 28, aiming to support the provincial candidates to three cities
including Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat and Can Tho City for the 2014 University
Entrance Examination.
Over 10,000 free
accommodations and 420,840 free vegetarian meals will be supported to
candidates and their relatives at more than 120 pagodas and homes in Can Tho,
Da Lat and
520 volunteers will
be divided into three groups, including 330 volunteers in Can Tho city, 130
volunteers in Da Lat City and 60 volunteers in
In
Most volunteers are
students from colleges and universities.
The ceremony was
held by Central Buddhist Board.
Increasing
play areas being used for other purposes
At a recent forum
on held by the Department of Child Protection and Care, a student commented
that the play areas of children are being taken over by adults.
In fact, this can
be documented. The playground of building G at Nam Thanh Cong, in Dong Da
District, has been illegally occupied with houses, the rest being used as a
parking lot. Children there now play in the empty spaces of the lot, among
charcoal stoves and tea stands.
The same situation
is also seen at apartment blocks in Thai Thinh, Giang Vo and Trung Liet
streets with even smaller playgrounds.
A playground in
Ngoc Khanh Ward is built for children, but now, it has been turned into a
temporary market. Giang Vo Ward has nine playgrounds, but they have all been
taken over by tea stands and mobile restaurants.
Other playgrounds
designed for children, such as the one at
Many parents say
that they are satisfied with the playgrounds at schools, which offer large
spaces with greenery, but the schools close after lessons are finished.
Authorities have
recognised the problem. They intend to increase the area of playgrounds by
45% by 2020. However, this may be a difficult task, as allocation of funds
for such projects in municipalities faces many obstacles.
Authorities in
A number of taxi
companies, registered in other provinces, continue to operate in
In order to avoid
the laws, taxi firms register the number plates in
Ha Quang Vinh, an
inspector from the Hanoi Department of Transport, said they discovered 10
taxi companies have been using cars without the required licenses in
Deputy head of
Hanoi Department of Transport, Nguyen Hoang Linh, said in order to deal with
this problem, there are plans to make special licenses for taxis that are
allowed to operate in the city. If the project goes through, 17,000
registered taxis would be given a special badge to show their validity. The
project is expected to be implemented by the end of the year.
"The 'special
badge' will help management agencies decipher reputable cab companies from
those who are trying to get around the law by tricks. This will also make it
easier for customers to tell reliable taxi companies from bad ones,"
said Linh.
Some experts have
come out to say even this restrction is not strict enough, criticising the
inspection process and even the competency of authorities to uphold current
laws.
American professor,
Tobias B. Wolff, also a well-known lawyer, remarked that he was impressed by
the activities in
At at a meeting
with Vietnamese reporters held by the US Embassy recently, he said that
despite cultural differences, I have seen many shared experiences of the
Vietnamese and American people concerning the rights of the LGBT community
when I met Vietnamese people in
In
“Vietnamese people
who I have met all have an progressive outlook. They agree on an equal treatment
for the LGBT people.
Prof. Wolff said
that “ In spite of staying
“I am really
impressed by activities to boost the LGBT community’s rights in
The professor also
showed his regret on the National Assembly’s rejection of Article 16 on
rights of same-sex marriage of the draft Law on Marriage and Family. “If the
situation has not been changed, this will be a standstill in ensuring equal
rights for the Vietnamese LBGT community. However,
According to Prof.
Wolff, LGBT people should be brave to announce their real gender and be
patient to persuade the public for their recognisation of their rights.
More stories about
discrimination against the LGBT community should be told, including problems
each family and person faces.
He said that one of
the most difficulties for the LGBT community to announce themselves is the
fright to be discriminated and abandoned by their family.
He called on
parents to encourage their children if they belong to the LGBT community so
that they can be stronger.
Currently, 19 among
50 states in the
Ninh Binh
recognised as second-class city
A ceremony was held
on June 28 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ninh Binh city's Liberation
Day (June 30, 1954) and to announce that Ninh Binh city, Ninh Binh province,
has been recognised as a second-class city.
The event was
attended by Politburo member Dinh The Huynh, who serves as head of the Party
Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education and President
of its Theory Council, as well as Minister of Public Security Gen. Tran Dai
Quang, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and several leaders of
ministries and local branches.
Addressing the
ceremony, Deputy PM Hai praised the city’s efforts and outcomes, saying that
they have contributed to the achievements of Ninh Binh province and the
nation in general in the past.
He urged Ninh Binh
city to uphold its spirit of dynamism and creativity and to promote its
potential and advantages to accelerate economic restructuring, serving the
city’s comprehensive and sustainable economic growth. The city should be
active in international integration and tourism development, striving to
become one of the country’s key tourist centres.
The deputy PM
directed Ninh Binh city to focus on tasks on building the Party and a pure
political system and accelerating administrative and legal reform.
On the occasion,
the Ninh Binh Municipal People's Committee honoured 11 organisations and 18
individuals for outstanding achievements in the campaign on building Ninh
Binh city.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 6, 2014
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