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Social
News 27/10
VFF signs
MoU on cooperation with Singaporean partner
The Vietnam
Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) and the People’s Association of
Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation for the
2014-2016 period in
The MoU was signed
by VFFCC Vice President and General Secretary Vu Trong Kim and Chief
Executive Officer of the Singaporean association Ang Hak Seng. The signing
followed talks between VFFCC President Nguyen Thien Nhan and the Singaporean
guest, during which the two sides updated each other on socio-economic
development in their respective countries during the first nine months of
2014.
During their visit
to
An advisory board
comprising 11 members was officially established in
The consultative
body will conduct opinion polls to gain an in-depth understanding of
At the inauguration
ceremony, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Le
Ba Trinh said
Public
security sector calls for international donors
By the end of 2013,
the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) had implemented 29 official
development assistance (ODA) projects worth US$156.7 million funded by donors
from
The MoPS revealed
the figure at a conference held in
ODA-funded projects
and programmes have helped the public security sector modernise the
firefighting and fire prevention, and search and rescue equipment, develop
the medical system, civil registration management and ensure traffic safety.
The MoPS needs an
estimated US$3.8 billion from now to 2020 to implement its development
strategy and plans. It expects to mobilise around US$200 million worth of ODA
fund to acquire advanced equipment, facilities and technologies.
Lieutenant General
Bui Xuan Son, Deputy Head of the MoPS’s General Department of Logistics and
Technology said in the coming period, the ministry will make a needs
assessment before proposing a plan for foreign investment attraction in line
with international law.
Riot-affected
businesses get VND116 billion insurance
Insurance companies
paid nearly VND116 billion (US$5.45 million) for businesses that were
affected in incidents sparked by workers’ rallies protesting against
Of the figure, over
VND88 billion (US$4.13 million) was compensated for 51 enterprises, while
over VND27 billion (US$1.26 million) was advanced to 23 others. About VND11
billion (US$517,000) will be paid for 34 enterprises after they accomplish
required documents.
These figures were
unveiled by Mai Van Nhon, deputy head of Dong Nai’s industrial zone
management board during a working session between the provincial People’s
Committee, insurance companies and the affected businesses on October 23.
At the August 20
meeting with the provincial People’s Committee to review the assistance to
the affected enterprises, it was reported that among the 205 businesses hit
by the disturbances, 114 have reported total property losses of nearly VND377
billion (US$17.7 million), while 82 declined any assistance.
As many as 451
suspects involved in the disturbances have been detained so far for their
involvement in the riots. Authorised offices have taken legal proceedings
against 164 suspects and 28 cases.
The UNESCO Centre
for Culture and Education in
Each phase of the
project focuses on the ugly behaviour of the Vietnamese people such as
looting, litter, crowds lined up.
And each stage is a
propaganda campaign to increase awareness and call for change in creative
ways, which combines online and offline activities.
The project sets a
target of developing Vietnamese people to live better, said Nguyen Thi My
Hanh, UNESCO Centre for Culture and Education Director.
Nanotechnology
purification could help access clean water
A water filtration
system that uses nanotechnology was introduced at a workshop in the Mekong
Delta City of Can Tho last week.
Experts said the
technology from the
Duong Quoc Xuan,
deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, said even
though the Mekong Delta is traversed by more than 28,000km of rivers and
canals, there is still a shortage of clean water.
Up to 75% of the
region’s 18 million inhabitants live in rural areas, and most of them use
water from rivers on a daily basis. Meanwhile, water resources are
increasingly polluted due to agricultural and industrial production and
urbanisation, which is causing an increase in the prevalence of infectious
diseases in the community, he noted.
The official said a
water filtration system that uses nanotechnology could be an appropriate
solution to the problem.
Prof. Dr Hong Sik
Byun, President of the Membranes Society of the RoK, gave a presentation on
the water filtration system Vikowa, which is able to remove all impurities,
heavy metals, arsenic and harmful organic chemicals.
The product is
powered by latent energy and can therefore be used in areas that lack access
to electricity, he said, adding that first tests on
Building
climate change response capacity in four GMS cities
The statement was
made by Kenneth MacClune, Director of the Mekong-Building Resilience to
Climate Change in Asian Cities (M-BRACE) programme, at a seminar to review
the M-BRACE programme in Thua Thien-Hue province last week.
The programme is
being implemented in four of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cities:
MacClune said
results and lessons drawn from the implementation of the project will help
local authorities devise future orientations and proper plans to cope with
climate change.
Phan Ngoc Tho, Vice
Chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue province People’s Committee said
It is essential for
the local authorities and people to identify the impact of natural disasters
in relationship with climate change in order to devise proper measures to
restrain its influence.
The experts from
the programme have provided significant assistance for the city and the
province in making climate change response plans, Tho said.
Based on obtained
results, the province will continue to carry out the second phase of the
programme to improve its capacity to deal with climate change, Tho affirmed.
US to
provide information security training
The Vietnam Posts
and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) and the US University
of Arizona on October 24 signed a memorandum of understanding on Information
Security Technology (IST) training and research.
According to the
MoU, the two sides will hold international conferences on IST in
The
Particularly, PTIT
and
Youth
Federation sixth congress opens in Hanoi
The sixth National
Congress of the Hanoi Youth Federation (HYF) for the 2014-2019 term running
from October 25-26 kicked off in
The photo
exhibition entitled “October youth” displays 200 photographs on the youth
movement highlighting the voluntary spirit of the young people across the
capital in socio-economic activities.
Hundreds of young
people lined up to donate more than 300 units of blood at three locations at
the
A youth creativity
festival also opened. On display at 24 pavilions of universities, institutes
and units of the HYF are special products such as machines, hand-made embroidery
paintings, garment and textile, art and handicraft items.
Int’l
seminar discusses building international skills partnership
Around 190
participants from 16 countries from all over world gathered at a “Bringing
the Learning Home” international seminar in
Bringing the
Learning Home brings together major industry representatives, including
Microsoft, Rolls-Royce
In addition,
national and international vocational training institutions and policy makers
shared new ideas for skills development and share perspectives on global
skills development.
Cherry Gough, Country
Director of the British Council Vietnam, said the development of the skills
needed for young people to succeed in a highly competitive employment market
is a vitally important factor in ensuring national prosperity and security in
the 21st century. This seminar brings together employers, educators and
experts in international education, from a diverse range of countries
including
They shared
experiences of international partnerships in the UK and other countries, and
have the opportunity to plan new, exciting international collaborations
designed to improve the employment prospects of young people in vocational
education and training in Vietnam, the UK and worldwide.
Duong Duc Lan, Head
of Vocational Training General Division, said the world economy is now facing
an imbalance in supply and demand of skilled labour force. In
Skills training and
education, assessment and recognition are priority objectives in the national
strategy for workforce, educational and vocational development towards 2020.
In this context, the seminar brings opportunities for partners and
stakeholders to meet and discusses effective and sustainable cooperation of
vocational training and skills development, Lan said.
As part of Bringing
the Learning Home, the General Department of Vocational Training, British Council
in
VN nurses
to benefit from year in Japan
The Department for
Overseas Labour Management announced on Monday that it was recruiting 180
nurses and orderlies to work in
Selected candidates
will take part in a one-year Japanese-language course starting mid-December
this year.
All expenses for
tuition and accommodation will be covered, while the cost of health checks
and passport applications need to be borne by the successful candidates.
Department deputy
head Tong Hai
He warned
prospective employees to be aware that no human resource enterprise or
individual is authorised to carry out this programme, and advised them to do
their research and only apply to the government-approved programme.
Those applying to
work as orderlies need to hold a university degree, while candidates for
nurses must have at least two years' professional experience and a
certificate of practice issued by the Ministry of Health.
Successful
candidates will be able to take examinations for national certificates in
For more information,
prospective applicants can contact the department at No.41B, Ly Thai To
Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi, or online at www.dolab.gov.vn.
In 2012, 138
candidates were selected to participate in a similar programme to worked in
Japanese hospitals and sanatoriums.
Driver
charged for traffic violations
Police in Ha Noi's
Cau Giay District plan to prosecute a driver for violating road traffic
regulations, causing serious consequences.
Phan Khanh Hoa, 42,
was driving a truck at high speed when it collided with a car and three
motorbikes last week. The accident killed a woman and injured two others.
Hoa gave himself up
to the police immediately.
Under the Penal
Code, those violating road traffic regulations and causing serious
consequences face between six months and fifteen years in prison.
Ha Noi
nurse suspended for serious negligence
Ha Noi-based
The patient died
after being diagnosed with meningitis. Her family had suggested moving her to
a higher-level hospital the previous day, but doctors did not consider doing
so until she developed acute symptoms.
The hospital
ordered all doctors and medical staff who treated the patient to write
reports.
The nurse, Nguyen
Phu Trung, admitted in his report that during his shift on Monday, the
patient's relatives had suggested moving her to a higher-level hospital for
better treatment. He should have reported their suggestion to the doctor on
duty, but didn't. He told the patient's relatives that the case merely needed
extra monitoring.
On Tuesday morning,
the patient's relatives surrounded the hospital's board of directors'
offices, insisting they clearly identify the cause of the patient's death.
The Ha Noi People's
Committee assigned health department officials to quickly find out and report
back.
The girl was
admitted to hospital on Sunday with abdominal pain, according to the Health
Department's report. Doctors diagnosed a digestive disorder, not ruling out
appendicitis. They gave her fluids and antibiotics.
On Monday, she
developed a fever and cough and the abdominal pain around her navel
continued.
Around 4.15am on
Tuesday, she appeared drowsy. Doctors provided first aid and then held a
consultation, diagnosing meningitis. She was treated, but died about three
hours later.
Vu Danh Tan, the
hospital's deputy director, said that when doctors observed unusual symptoms,
they began preparing to move her to a higher-level hospital. But the patient
died before being moved.
Health department
deputy director Luu Thi Lien said the department would send leading medical
experts to help the hospital discover the cause of the girl's death.
Fertiliser
manufacturers face increased scrutiny
Fertiliser
manufacturers must meet 14 criteria in order to get permission to operate,
said Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the Department of Chemicals under the
Ministry of Industry and Trade.
After an explosion
at Dang Huynh fertiliser company killed three people last Friday in
The lack of control
over fertiliser manufacturing was alarming, Nguyen Kim Lien, deputy director
of the department, told the Nong thon ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper.
Nguyen Loc An,
deputy director of the Department of Domestic Market, said that there were
not enough regulations governing fertiliser manufacture and trading.
The country has
more than 500 fertiliser manufacturing enterprises and thousands of trading
enterprises, both large and small. However, the lack of detailed regulations
made it difficult for state agencies to manage them.
To address this
problem, the Government issued Decree 202 about managing fertiliser. The
Ministry of Industry and Trade also issued Circular 29, which provides
guidance about implementing the decree.
Nguyen Van Thanh,
director of the Department of Chemicals, said that the circular would provide
a legal means to crack down on fake fertiliser manufacturing and trading.
Fertiliser quality and manufacturing conditions should be inspected
thoroughly, he added.
Some enterprises
put substandard fertiliser in containers bearing the logos of prestigious
firms, a trick that could cause losses of US$2 billion per year, said deputy
chairman of the Fertiliser Association of Viet Nam Nguyen Hac Thuy.
The
The company
reportedly stored 320kg of potassium nitrate, 25kg of potassium chlorate and
some drums containing calcium, sulfur and magnesium solutions at the workshop
before the explosion took place.
The city's Fire
Prevention Department has blamed the poor management of chemical companies
for four major fires that occurred in
The most recent
fire, in which three people died, occurred in the city's District 12 at the
Dang Huynh Production and Trade Limited Company, which trades in chemicals.
Le Hoang Quan,
chairman of
Tran Thanh Chau,
deputy director of the department, said that 140 chemical companies were
located in residential areas. Of that number, 51 stores are in the Kim Bien
chemical market in District 5.
Some of the
companies in Kim Bien market sell chemicals used in dynamite, which are on
the list of prohibited chemicals in the country.
Phan Anh Minh,
deputy director of HCM City Public Security, said the management of the
chemical trade had been poor.
Statistics released
from HCM City Public Security said over the past two years the city police
had inspected 74 enterprises, and of that number, 53 were fined for
committing violations.
Total losses of the
four fires were estimated at VND34 billion (US$1.6 million).
Urbanisation
turns villages into ‘slums'
Many wards and
villages in suburban and developing urban areas required renovation, Deputy
Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said at a conference in Ha Noi
yesterday.
Ha Noi and
About 50 officials,
architects and international urban planning experts discussed this problem at
the conference, which was organised by VFCEA.
Originally
villages, these areas became part of the city map as wards and districts as a
result of urbanisation. However, little thought was given to infrastructure.
"People have
to live in a maze of small lanes and alleys built house by house that block
all the sunshine. Flooding happens frequently and fire trucks or ambulances
cannot approach the place because the roads can only fit two
motorbikes," Hung said.
In Ha Noi, several
old villages exist like Cuu Lau and Tu Thap in Hoan Kiem District, Ngoc Ha in
Ba Dinh District, Xuan Dinh in Bac Tu Liem District and Vong in Cau Giay
District. Some were merged into the urban area even before the French
colonial period while others did not join the city until the past decade.
In addition to
enduring harsh living conditions, residents in the newly urbanised villages
were forced to give up most of their farming land so the city could build
modern urban areas and industrial parks.
After urbanisation,
many farmers could not earn enough from their remaining land and were already
too old to work in the factories, said Michael DiGregorio, the Asia
Foundation's country representative in
"That left
them with no choice but to sell the rest of the land for some money and hope
that their children could take care of them later," he said. "The
farmers were scared thinking of their future."
VFCEA Vice
President Pham Sy Liem said the main reason for the existence of slum areas
in cities was the Government's bias in urban planning.
"We only focus
on developing new and modern areas while leaving the village-born urban areas
on their own and wait for a chance to demolish and renovate the whole area
once and for all," he said. "Yet that chance never comes and the
residents have to continue living in inconvenience."
The Ministry of
Health launched
At the event,
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that Vietnam, as the first country
in Asia-Pacific to respond to the UNAIDS’ call, will undertake maximum
efforts to achieve the goals.
The Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched the goals this July, under
which by 2020, 90 percent of all people living with HIV are to be aware of
their HIV status, 90 percent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection are
to receive sustained antiretroviral treatment, and 90 percent of all people
receiving antiretroviral treatment will have viral suppression. Hence
HIV/AIDS would be eliminated by 2030.
Meanwhile, UN
Under-Secretary-General Michel Sidibe spoke highly of
For the past five
years,
According to the
Ministry of Health,
By June 2014, as
many as 86,771 patients of all ages were under antiretroviral (ARV)
treatment, accounting for 32 percent of the infected number, far from the
UN’s goal.
New flyover
to ease Nghe An traffic
The People's
Committee of this central province and the Ministry of Transport yesterday
opened a railway flyover bridge in
The VND373-billion
(US$17.7-million) bridge, which was partly funded with State bonds, is
expected to help reduce congestion and traffic accidents on
The bridge is 324m
long and 20.5m wide and has four lanes for motorised vehicles and two lanes
for non-motorised vehicles.
At the opening
ceremony, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said the construction of the
bridge played an important role in the development of the province and the
entire country.
The opening of the
bridge will shorten travelling time for vehicles running on
Meanwhile, Thang
has released guidelines detailing punishments for organisations and
individuals who failed to ensure the quality of construction to upgrade or
expand National Highway 1 in central
The move came
following the discovery of faulty construction on highway upgrading and
expansion projects in
The Son Hai
Construction Company Ltd., the project contractor, and the Viet Nam Institute
for Building Science and Technology, the supervisor, were found to have paved
asphalt on the roadbed in rainy conditions, and this reportedly failed to
meet quality requirements as the faulty construction may affect project
quality.
The Ministry of
Transport has asked the contractor and supervisor to take the layer out and
pave the road again following the correct process.
The provincial
transport department, the project investor, was asked to inspect the
construction and impose appropriate punishments on concerned organisations
and individuals. All reports on the case are to be submitted to the ministry
before October 31.
The project
contractor and supervisor may have to pay from VND30 million to VND60 million
($1,400 to $2,800) in fines.
Seminar
promotes int'l skills exchange
The British Council
held its annual international seminar on building international skills
partnerships last week in Ha Noi.
This was the first
time that
The International
Skills Partnership Seminar was held alongside the 10th ASEAN Skills
Competition in Ha Noi, with participation of 300 contestants from ASEAN
countries.
International
partnerships fill the gaps between industry demands and current skills
provision, and can help developing countries speed up procedures to reform
curricula, programmes and skills development, a British Council press release
said.
At the opening
ceremony, Cherry Gough, country director of the British Council Viet Nam,
said: "This seminar brings together employers, educators and experts in
international education, from a diverse range of countries including
Dr Duong Duc Lan,
head of the Vocational Training General Division at the Ministry of Labour,
Invalids and Social Affairs, said: "The world economy is now facing an
imbalance in supply and demand of skilled labour force. In
"Skills
training and education, assessment and recognition are priority objectives in
the national strategy for workforce, educational and vocational development
towards 2020."
Bringing the
Learning Home represented the biggest-ever International Skills Partnership
global call.
The fund will open
up opportunities with 14 new partners in
Fishing
boats ignore safe anchorage site in Ben Tre
During storms, only
a few dozen fishing boats shelter in a safe-anchorage site designed for 1,000
in southern
The commune has a
total of nearly 600 deep-sea fishing vessels.
The safe anchorage
site was opened in 2012 at a cost of VND47 billion (US$2.2 million).
Do Van Thuan, owner
of two deep-sea fishing vessels, said once when fishing boats tried to enter
the canal leading to the site, they were prevented by fishing nets spread
across it.
In addition, he
said two roads leading to the site were small, narrow and dirt covered,
making it inconvenient to access.
He said another
problem was that fishermen preferred to anchor their boats near their homes
so they could more easily maintain their fishing equipment.
Then there was the
problem of alluvium sedimentation at the river mouth, according to Nguyen
Minh Tri, vice chairman of the communal People's Committee.
Statistics showed
that the propellers of six fishing vessels were broken when trying to cross
the sediment last year, he said.
It cost about
VND200 million ($9,400) to repair each vessel.
Tri said that the
committee had asked the provincial authority to find ways to resolve the
situation, but nothing had changed.
A representative
from the provincial Agricultural and Rural Development Department said that
it would cost VND10 billion to build the roads and that the department would
consider this in the future.
Wildlife
released in Binh Dinh Province
Forest management
officers from Tuy Phuoc District in the central
Forest rangers
rescued the animals from a local in the district.
The animals
included a Javan mouse-deer, king cobras, an Indian rat snake and a small
Indian civet, and are all listed as endangered or critically endangered
species in
Illegal
gold miners given marching orders in Kon Tum
Illegal gold mining
activities in
Dang Thanh Nam,
Deputy Chairman of the district's People's Committee, also informed the press
that a team headed by the Hieu Commune Deputy Chairman has been set up to
prevent future gold mining in the area.
The team will also
raise public awareness among residents about the inadvisability of selling
agricultural land to illegal miners,
The actions follow
reports in the media last month about illegal gold mining activities
happening for a long time right under the authorities' noses in the two towns
of Kon Plinh and Kon Pieng in Hieu Commune.
The reports
highlighted the failure of authorities in curbing the illegal gold mining
that was severely damaging the local environment.
According to the
Kon Plong District administration, illegal mining has created large holes in
a 12.4ha area. The biggest holes have diameters of around 70sq.m and are
three to five metres deep.
Dam Van Ngan, one
of the illegal gold miners in the area, has admitted that he hired three
diggers in June and brought them to the commune.
He hired machines
from different sources and paid around VND125 million (US$6,000) per month to
rent them.
Media reports have
said the mining activities had caused soil erosion and also rendered areas
"beyond recovery."
The illegal miners
had also tricked local residents into selling their farming land to them for
a meagre sums of VND5-10 million (US$240-480).
Vietnamese
in Belgium enjoy Family Day
Overseas Vietnamese
families living in
Addressing the
event, Vietnamese Ambassador to
According to Huynh
Cong My, Chairman of the General Association of Overseas Vietnamese in
The event entailed
various cultural activities including cooking contest, singing and dancing
competitions as well as a fun game to win a return flight ticket to
The festival was
jointly hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy and the General Association of
Overseas Vietnamese in
Khmer
ethnic group in Can Tho enjoys better life
The Khmer community
in the Mekong Delta city of
Compared to 2013,
the annual income per capita is up 1.4 times to 70.5 million VND (3,300 USD)
and the rate of poor households falls to 11.7 percent from 14.5 percent,
according to Luong Van Tru, head of the city’s Ethnic Affairs Committee.
All Khmer children
of elementary school age go to school while the rate of enrolment in
secondary and high school is 95 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
The official also
reported that 95 percent of Khmer households have access to electricity and
98 percent use safe water.
Since 2013, Can Tho
has dished out 55 billion VND in aid and 121 billion VND worth of
preferential lending to Khmer people to expand agriculture.
Over 6,000 farmers
have received training in cultivation and breeding techniques.
The city also
helped over 200 Khmer residents move into new houses and offered vocational
training to more than 1,000 workers.
As many as 4,244
copies of Khmer-language newspapers are distributed free each month.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 10, 2014
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