Social News 8/12 Poor students to have university fees waived   Ethnic minority students. All poor and near-poor students studying in universities, colleges and vocational schools will have fees waived and get other financial assistance under a recent decision approved by the Prime Minister. The decision will take effect in the new year and benefit students whose families live below or close to the poverty. High school graduates who lived in boarding schools for ethnic minorities, disabled students and those who live in ethnic minority, disadvantaged, border, or island regions are also eligible for the benefits. The beneficiaries will also get financial assistance, including VND1 million (US$45) a year for buying essential things, VND200,000-300,000 for travelling, and VND150,000 for Tet (Lunar New Year). Fire destroys HCM City warehouse A major blaze broke out at a helmet warehouse of the Á Châu Trade and Production Ltd Co in HCM City's Binh Chánh District at 9pm yesterday. Goods worth an estimated VNÐ5 billion (US$226,000) were destroyed in the fire. The warehouse, spread over more than 500sq.m and filled with glue, sponge and plastic goods, collapsed. All helmets produced for T?t (Lunar New Year) sales were destroyed. Hundreds of firefighters and 20 fire engines were mobilised and the fire was extinguished after three hours, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reported. No persons were injured. Mai Van Thun, the warehouse owner, said the fire broke out during the weekend when the workers had taken the day off. The three security men on duty could not prevent the fire from spreading. He said the fire was probably caused by electrical problems. The blaze broke out in the office where several computers had been installed. The staff possibly forgot to turn off the electric devices when they left the office, he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. HCM City adjusts reservoir to deal with drought HCM City plans to cope with the 2015-16 dry season as well as the effects of El Nino by transforming crop and breeding models and rotating the release of water from the Dau Tieng reservoir. The city has also asked government agencies to take steps to save water. HCM City is one of the localities hardest hit by the drought, according to the Southern Hydro-meteorological Station. The Dau Tieng reservoir supplies water to dozens of hectares of rice and other farm produce fields. It also provides fresh water for households and helps wash away saline water affecting HCM City and the southern province of Tay Ninh. However, this year the reservoir's water level has been much lower than in previous years. Recently, the One Member Ltd Company, which manages the irrigation activities at the Dau Tieng - Phuoc Hoa reservoirs, has suspended the release of water for irrigation in order to reserve water. The water flow from the Phuoc Hoa reservoir is now only 40-50 cubic metres per second, as there has been reduced water flow from the upper river to the reservoir. Nguyen Tien Lanh, deputy head of the One Member Ltd Company that manages irrigation activities at the Dau Tieng - Phuoc Hoa reservoirs, said the Dau Tieng reservoir would resume releasing water for irrigation for Tay Ninh Province and HCM City (for 30,000ha) in a few days. However, given the lack of rain, the company will discuss with agencies in Tay Ninh Province and HCM City a plan to rotate the release of water for irrigation to save water for other purposes, including household use. For instance, the reservoir will release water for irrigation for Tay Ninh Province for three days, and then release it for HCM City for household use for four days, instead of releasing water for seven consecutive days for either Tay Ninh or HCM City as it did before. Bui Thanh Giang, deputy director of Sai Gon Water Corporation (Sawaco), said water supply companies and other agencies under Sawaco had developed plans to cope with the water shortage. Lanh urged businesses and residents to reduce their use of water as much as possible to ensure a sufficient supply of fresh water when needed. According to Lanh, to save water, residents should not engage in aquaculture at this time because one hectare of aquaculture consumes 10 times the amount of water needed for plants. The southern region will face a more serious drought in the 2015-16 dry season than in previous years, according to Le Thi Xuan Lan of the Southern Hydro-meteorological Station. Dang Van Dung, deputy director of the station, blamed the predicted drought on the ongoing El Nino phenomenon, which refers to the warming of the central to eastern tropical Pacific that occurs on average every two to seven years. Because of El Nino, the upper Mekong River in Laos and Cambodia has received little rain, reducing the downstream flow of water to southern Viet Nam. In addition, rainfall in many regional provinces has also been lower than the annual average, the expert said. Of the rainfall volume recorded at 30 observation stations, only six were equal to the annual average rate of the past few years. The low rainfall has caused low tides on many rivers, including 2.51 metres in An Giang Province's Tan Chau Town in September, which was significantly lower than the 2.82 metres recorded in 1997, the lowest level ever observed. Along with the coming drought, saltwater is predicted to enter many rivers in the southern region, including the Mekong, Dong Nai and Sai Gon rivers. Dung said that all southern localities should store fresh water now and take measures to cope with the possible impact of the coming drought and salinity. Farmers engaged in aquaculture and agricultural production should closely follow weather developments to make changes when required, especially for the coming winter-spring crop, Dung said. Ha Noi Run for Children raises funds The Ha Noi Run for Children this year has raised more than VND1.5 billion (US$66,700) for cancer research and assisted treatment of underprivileged children with cancer and congenital heart disease. More than 1,000 people from the capital and neighbouring areas participated in the run, which was organised yesterday in Thong Nhat Park. The 15th edition of the event, which started in 2000 is an annual social, charity and humanitarian activity hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Viet Nam, the Ha Noi Union of Friendship Organisations and the Viet Nam-Canada Friendship Organisation. Vice-President of the Hanoi Chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Thi Hai said Run for Children 2015 was well organised and had a strong influence over the community for its charity and humanitarian aspects. Canadian Ambassador in Viet Nam David Devine said the event proved that the community could work together towards a common goal. It also represents the sustainable friendship between Viet Nam and Canada and the citizens of both nations. The Ha Noi Run for Children was originally known as Terry Fox Run during the 2000-2009 period. However, in order to target underprivileged children with cancer and congenital heart disease, then Canadian Ambassador in Vi?t Nam Deanna Horton suggested changing of the event's name to Ha Noi Run for Children in 2009. The run has attracted 80,000 supporters and raised more than VNÐ8 billion ($355,000) so far. About 345 child patients have benefited from this fund in the last four years. Viet Nam needs to improve mental healthcare resources Viet Nam faces several difficulties in mental healthcare due to shortage of medical facilities, and human and financial resources. Vice-Director of the health ministry's Medical Services Administration Tran Quy Tuong said at a consultative workshop on the National Strategy on Mental Health today in Ha Noi that the country's human resources in mental healthcare was weak, both in terms of quality and quantity, with only 650 doctors working in 63 provinces and cities. Insufficient mental healthcare services and lack of comprehensive legal corridors were also challenges for the development of mental healthcare in Viet Nam, Tuong said. "Building a national strategy on mental health is a very important task for the health sector in efforts to propose long-term targets, key actions and intervention measures for the government, provinces and cities in the coming years," Tuong said at the workshop. UNICEF Deputy Representative Jesper Moller said many challenges still remained in the lives of people with mental illness, especially children and adolescents. Similar to other children and adolescents with disabilities, they face stigma, discrimination and even violence every day. Moller said the development of the National Strategy on Mental Health would provide a strong and clear framework for the development and implementation of appropriate policies and programmes that protect the rights of children and adults with mental illness. Moller said the strategy should provide solutions for addressing the mental healthcare needs of all population groups, especially children. The mental healthcare service system needs to be comprehensive and moving toward community-based services. He said there should be more investment to improve human resources for mental healthcare and priority should be given to addressing stigma and discrimination as well as to end violence against children and adults with mental illness. A survey of the health sector showed that about 15 per cent of Viet Nam's population, or 13 million people, have mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy and mental disorders after brain injuries. Doctor La Duc Cuong from the National Psychiatric Hospital 1 said normal people would have at least one or many symptoms of mental disorder during their life. Women need better access to justice: experts Women's access to justice can be enhanced by addressing gaps in the framework for legal aid. Experts agreed on this point at a workshop organised by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the justice ministry today in Ha Noi. The workshop was attended by more than 60 people such as lawmakers, government leaders and representatives from the justice ministry, provincial government officers, as well as representatives from the United Nations, development partners and civil society organisations. Tran Nguyen Tu, an expert from the department of legal aid under the justice ministry, said women's access to justice was limited in Viet Nam, and that there was a growing need for legal aid to protect their fundamental rights. An assessment of the situation of women in the criminal justice system of UNODC in 2011 found that not many survivors of domestic violence applied for legal aid, and that 77 per cent of the cases were not brought to the attention of legal aid providers. Tu said under the Legal Aid Law, groups of women needing legal support were not being able to get it. The current policy overlooked gender inequality as not all women were able to access family income, while the eligibility for legal aid merely took the family income into account, he said. Shoko Ishikawa, UN Women country representative, said, "The amendment of the Legal Aid Law, which was adopted in 2006, provides opportunities for addressing gaps in the legal framework for legal aid, thus enhancing women's access to justice in Viet Nam." Many countries, including Viet Nam, use the ‘means' test as one way to determine eligibility for legal aid services. However, in some cases such as of domestic violence or where the woman did not have equal access to family income, calculating the means on the basis of the household income of a family would in effect hinder women's access to legal aid to pursue justice, she said. Dao Le Thu, an expert from the Ha Noi Law University, suggested allowing more people to receive legal aid such as people living near the poverty line and female victims of gender violence. More training should be given to legal workers, especially about gender responsibility, she said. Many other representatives agreed that a legal aid system that fulfilled Viet Nam's international human rights obligations must assure that all people, no matter what their gender or economic status was, were in a position to access the courts for protection of all rights such as civil, political, economic and social, besides cultural rights, including the right to housing, subsistence and other necessities for all people, including women, men, children and minorities, besides indigenous people. Israel ready to help Vietnam care for disabled, elderly: diplomat Israel is willing to discuss and share its experience with Vietnam in caring for persons with disabilities and the elderly, Israeli Ambassador Meirav Elion Shahar said at a conference in Hanoi on December 7. The conference on social innovation for the inclusion of the elderly and people with disabilities was held by the Israeli Embassy; the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA); and the Vietnam office of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). MoLISA Deputy Minister Pham Minh Huan said Vietnam has paid attention to caring for people with disabilities and the elderly, as illustrated in measures to ensure their rights, rehabilitation and living standards. It also issued the Law on the Elderly and the Law on Persons with Disabilities, and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he added. Ambassador Meirav Elion Shahar said the number of people with disabilities and elderly in the world is expected to hit 2 billion within the next five decades, and many of them will be unable to support themselves. Therefore, countries and social organisations should join hands in assisting the disabled and elderly. They should create opportunities for them to rehabilitate and utilise their own abilities. Meanwhile, UNFPA Deputy Representative in Vietnam Ritsu Nacken spoke about the country’s rapidly aging population, stressing that care for the elderly is becoming a critical problem facing the Government. Vietnam needs to properly evaluate the capacity of people with disabilities and the elderly so it can provide them with equal opportunities and support, she noted. At the conference, participants looked into facts about the targeted groups in Vietnam, their social inclusion and access to employment, and early diagnosis and intervention for children with disabilities. Huoi Quang hydropower plant ready this month Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) is completing final preparations to commission the first generator of Huoi Quang hydropower plant at the end of this month and the second generator in April 2016. Located in the northern provinces of Son La and Lai Chau, Huoi Quang with a capacity of 520MW will be the first underground hydropower plant designed by Vietnam, EVN said in a statement. The station has two underground 4.2-kilometer-long tunnels used to supply water to its turbines. Huoi Quang is one of the major hydropower plants built on the Da River. The others are Son La with 2,400 MW, Hoa Binh with 1,920 MW, and Lai Chau with 1,200 MW. Huoi Quang hydropower plant project worth VND11 trillion aims to regulate water for the downstream area of the Red River in addition to providing 1.9 billion kWh annually to the national grid. The country now has 74 hydropower plants with a total capacity of 14,033 MW. EVN said climate change has seriously impacted hydropower plants this year. Due to the El Nino phenomenon since late 2014, the hydropower plants can generate a total of 55.3 billion kWh this year, 4.5 billion kWh lower than last year. Many hydropower dams are forecast to have less water than designed this year, particularly those in the southern and Central Highlands regions. They include Quang Tri, A Vuong, Song Tranh 2, Dak Min 4, Kanak, and Dai Ninh. US Church vows to protect environment in Vietnam Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Le Ba Trinh received a delegation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by President of the Church’s Asia Area Gerrit W. Gong in Hanoi on December 7. Elder Gong spoke about the outcomes of a recent national conference promoting the role of religions in environmental protection and climate change response held by the VFF. He affirmed that the Church will carry out specific activities to realise the joint commitment made by religions at the conference as a joint effort to protect the environment and adapt to climate change. Over the past time, the Church has implemented several projects to support vulnerable groups, including providing wheelchairs for disadvantaged people, and helping build clean water facilities and toilets in Vietnam. The host said he appreciates the Church’s contributions to the success of the conference, as well as its signing of the joint commitment with other religions. He expressed his hope that the Church will maintain its support for environmental protection, climate change adaptation and humanitarian activities in Vietnam. New decree aims to elevate living standards of female workers A conference was held in Da Nang on December 7 to provide guidance on the implementation of Decree 85/2015/ND-CP, which regulates policies toward female workers. Participants discussed regulations related to building kindergartens around major working areas. According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam has close to 26 million female workers, which accounts for 48.6 percent of the local workforce. The rate of women at the bearing ages or having children is growing rapidly in the private sector and across industrial zones. Nguyen Thi Hieu, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)’s Early Childhood Education Department, said 60 percent of female workers at industrial zones have kids under 5 years old. Most of these women are migrants and live on pensions. Therefore, they have a high demand for nearby preschools, which are currently scarce. Moving forward, the MoET and relevant sectors will set out to vet the scarcity of kindergartens near industrial parks, Hieu said. The work is meant to provide practical proposals for the Government’s nursery education development project from 2016 to 2020, she added. Pham Thanh Hong from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour highlighted that her agency will devise specific programmes to build more kindergartens and closely monitor the implementation of the decree. The decree was issued on October 30. Vietnam achieves remarkable outcomes in child protection Vietnam has made important achievements in child care and protection through its special policies and priorities, National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu said at a workshop in the northern province of Bac Giang on December 7. According to Luu, children protection is a common concern of humankind and the UN includes it in its millennium development goals. Vietnam is honoured to be one of the first countries in Asia to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), he stressed, adding that the country has always given priority to protecting, caring for and educating children. It has made substantial progress in this area over the last 25 years. The NA issued the 2013 Constitution and many important laws, which define that the State respects, ensures and protects human and civil rights, including children’s rights. The Constitution strictly prohibits injuring, mistreating, abandoning and abusing children; child labour; and any acts that violate children’s rights. It also stipulates children’s rights to participate in child-related issues, he said. Children’s rights and child-related issues are included in lawmaking, while the NA and agencies in localities pay more attention to supervising the implementation of the law on children’s rights, he noted. However, Vietnam is meeting difficulties and limitations, as it still sees abused, mistreated and exploited children – especially girls, and those living in rural and disadvantaged areas, Luu said. Improving these situations requires more proper interest from the political system. He underlined the need for Vietnam to make more efforts to assure the legitimate and inherent rights of its children. Vietnam wishes to receive support to enhance people-elected agencies’ ability to build and supervise policies, promote campaigns to raise public awareness of children’s rights and assure that the country’s lawmaking adheres closely to the CRC, he said. At the event, held by the NA Standing Committee’s Legislative Research Institute, representatives from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF in Vietnam, foreign embassies and organisations in Vietnam shared experience in supervising the implementation of children’s rights. Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, Chief Representative of UNICEF in Vietnam, said his agency is honoured to work with the Vietnamese NA to organise workshops on building an independent mechanism for supervising children’s rights in Vietnam. He promised that UNICEF will help Vietnam complete the work. Can Tho partners with RoK to build smart city The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Korea’s Soon Chun Hyang University to build a smart city. At a meeting with local leaders on December 7, Soon Chun Hyang University Vice President Kim Myoung Cheol said the model saves energy and is business-friendly, with modern infrastructure. The smart system will include transport monitoring, natural disaster warnings, and management of public communication networks. Vehicles joining the traffic stream will be controlled by cameras and all traffic law violations will be sent to the integrated management centre, he said, adding that drivers themselves will also be supported with safety equipment. The smart transport system aims to reduce the number of traffic police who have to deal directly with dangerous situations, and ease traffic accidents. The construction of the smart city prioritises green, clean energy. Solar and wind energy will be utilised in manufacturing machines and equipment, while coal and mineral energy sources will be gradually reduced to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to countering climate change. Businesses are expected to receive full support from infrastructure to policies and legal procedures. Vice Chairwoman of the Municipal People’s Committee Vo Thi Hong Anh pledged to facilitate the implementation of the project as soon as possible. The city will send experts to the RoK to study smart city models in the host country. Son La: 313 villages yet to be provided grid access Approximately 36,400 ethnic minority people living in 313 remote villages in the mountainous northwestern province of Son La do not yet have access to the national power grid, Son La Power Company said. The provincial People’s Committee asked the local power company and the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to allocate funds for the construction of electricity networks in off-grid villages in Thuan Chau, Muong La, Bac Yen and Phu Yen districts alongside upgrades to villages’ self-built power networks. The Son La Power Company plans to provide electricity to 72 out of the 313 off-grid villages by the end of 2016. Son La province aims to bring national power access to 98 percent of its total ethnic minority villages, or 97.5 percent of ethnic minority households, by 2020. The locality is home to the Son La Hydropower Plant, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia; the Huoi Quang Hydropower Plant; and the Nam Chien Hydropower Plant. There are also 48 small-scale plants which have capacities of 3 to 30 megawatts. The Son La Hydropower Plant has a designed capacity of 2,400 megawatts and is capable of generating nearly 10.25 trillion kWh per year. Corporate scholarships support disadvantaged children FPT Joint Stock Company has granted 100 scholarships to students suffering from disabilities as consequence of Agent Orange/dioxin in central Quang Tri province. The scholarships worth 1.2 million VND (53 USD) each were presented on December 5 alongside ten long-term scholarships worth 5 million VND (222.5 USD) each from the National Fund for Vietnamese Children. Quang Tri is one of provinces hit hardest by war aftermath with 2,200 children suffering from after-effects of dioxin-containing Agent Orange herbicide sprayed by US troops during the war. In the past seven years, FPT has given out 840 million VND (37,383 VND) worth of scholarships to assist local disadvantaged youth. Recently, POSCO E&C Vietnam also donated scholarships and bikes to needy students living in central Quang Ngai province. Most recently, 100 scholarships and 100 bikes worth 215 million VND (9,568 USD) in total were presented. On the occasion, the company in collaboration with the Republic of Korea’s natural disaster aid relief association visited and provided 500 impoverished households in local Son Tay district with clothes, footwear and other necessities valued at 1.8 billion VND (80,106 USD). Vietnam has long way to go to 90-90-90 targets Vietnam is far from achieving the 90-90-90 targets set by the United Nations (UN) to end HIV/AIDS by 2020, said Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, head of the Ministry of Health’s Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. The UN’s 90-90-90 plan sets three targets: 90 percent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV will receive sustained antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and 90 percent of all people on ARV treatment will have durable viral suppression by 2020. About 78 percent of HIV carriers in Vietnam know their status. Meanwhile, only 45 percent of HIV-positive people are currently receiving ARV therapy and the number of people on ARV treatment with durable suppression remains unknown due to the country’s inability to perform large-scale testing. Statistics by the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control show that Vietnam had more than 12,000 new infections and 2,000-3,000 AIDS-related deaths annually, and is home to 227,000 people who have been diagnosed with HIV to date. However, services for HIV/AIDS prevention and control still lag behind demand. Supplies of condoms and syringes only met 40 to 50 percent of demand, while methadone treatment reached merely 40 percent of targeted 80,000 drug addicts. Though the country has seen an overall fall in the number of new cases found every year, new infections are increasing in remote and mountainous areas where coverage of HIV treatment and care services remains low, and there is lack of access to information about HIV. According to Dam Van Huong, Director of the Son La Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, HIV/AIDS communication campaigns and services in the mountainous, northern Son La province are yet to be efficient due to discrimination against people living with HIV, low education levels among residents, poor transportation systems and the lack of local healthcare workers. It is estimated that the province has about 600 new HIV infections annually. New infections in women and children are on the rise, he noted. To remove these challenges, Long stressed the need to increase State funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and control, and prioritise efforts for HIV prevention and care in high-risk areas. Vietnam must also scale up HIV testing programmes in community settings and expand its network of the clinics that perform HIV confirmatory tests at the district level, he added. Firefighting police caught demanding bribes in exchange for corporate fire safety document Two firefighting policemen in Ho Chi Minh City have been found going corrupt as they threatened a local company to spend money making a fire prevention document that is compulsory and to give them “tips” in return for their safety check. They have been identified as Le Thanh Binh and Nguyen Huy Khang from the Firefighting Police Department of Binh Tan District, according to a recent Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper investigation. They were discovered using threats to demand VND3 million (US$133) from a firm for having its obligatory fire prevention document prepared and approved, and extorting VND1 million ($44) as fees to periodically train the company’s staff in fire prevention. In Vietnam, each company and state agency is required to prepare their own fire prevention document every year to submit to local firefighting police departments and to provide training for their staffers in terms of fire safety. Any of the entities failing to fulfill one of the two requirements will be fined by the firefighting police with pecuniary penalties reaching over VND10 million ($444) each case. T., the owner of a company, said his firm has ten employees and began operating in Binh Tan District in early 2014. By the end of the year, firefighter Binh had come to inspect the fire prevention work at his company. “Binh told me that the fire prevention document for 2014 was about to expire and asked me to prepare a new profile for the following year,” T. recounted. “He added that it would cost a certain amount of money as there had been some changes to the document as per the latest regulations. “So he requested me to give a ‘tip’ of VND500,000 [$22] to each of the two firefighters to provide guidance at my company and another sum of VND2 million [$90] in financial support for his agency.” On November 9, T. phoned Binh to re-check the price and the latter confirmed, “I need VND3 million. Your document has already been approved and what you have to do is just come here to sign it so as to make it valid.” T. made an excuse that he was short of money and Binh replied, “It’s all done! Stop whining!” On November 18, Binh gave T. a call and informed him that he had been required to join a training course and another firefighter named Khang would take over from him. “You can ask your staff to pay the cost to Khang,” Binh told T. When T. asked to delay it till the end of this year, Binh shouted at him, “Why at the end of this year? Your fire prevention will be inspected very soon and if you fail to meet all requirements, you will be fined VND7 million [$311].” “You should have been fined when I contacted you the first time,” he added. “You can pay it to Khang now. I don’t want to repeat this anymore. Are we all clear?” When T. said he had no money then, Binh almost went nuts and shouted, “I’m telling you, your document is nothing and we can scrap it anytime. Don’t you ever think that we need your bucks. We don’t like to play the tug of war game with you!” Pausing for a while, Binh threatened, “The last quarter of the year ends on November 15. They will check your document and you will be fined. “I’ve called you four times. I’d throw away your document.” On November 25, Binh and Khang came to T.’s company to carry out a check on its fire prevention. Talking about training for the staff in fire prevention and fighting, Binh said, “It’s gonna cost much. We’ll need to deploy six units and you have to pay each of them two [VND2 million or $90].” Binh added that training and practice were both compulsory at any company. “You pay a ‘tip’ of VND500,000 [$22] to each of the two firefighters providing the training at your company,” he insisted. “And you should support the firefighting police unit with VND2 million [$90]. “The document for fire prevention is VND3 million.” Hesitant for a while, T. decided not to pay the expenses and Binh pulled out a document from his bag and threatened, “Now, I fine you VND11.5 million [$511] for failing to present the required documents for fire prevention.” In a later interview with Tuoi Tre about his demand for money, Binh admitted, “It was my mistake.” Mentioning the “tips,” Binh confessed, “My bad to demand them from him. “Such ‘tips’ are not compulsory. “But fire safety training at companies needs the participation of officials from different firefighting units and businesspeople know that they should give a ‘tip.’ “It’s called coffee money.” Procuracy head in central Vietnam suspended for causing hit-and-run The People’s Procuracy in a Central Highlands province has suspended one of its senior officials pending investigation into his hit-and-run, drunk-driving road accident, which injured six motorcyclists this week. Hoang Van Phuoc, chief of the People’s Procuracy of Kon Tum Province, on Saturday decided to halt Tran Quang Hung, 53, head of the People’s Procuracy of Tu Mo Rong District, which is a poor district, from his position. Hung had been in the post for almost five years. The suspension was imposed on him, pending a probe into Hung’s involvement in four crashes on Friday afternoon, which wounded six motorbike riders. As of Saturday afternoon, four victims had still received treatment at local hospitals. Two critically injured people have been in intensive care at Military Hospital 211, located in the neighboring province of Gia Lai. According to traffic police officers, they spotted Hung driving a state-owned Toyota Fortuner car with a license plate numbered 82A - 000.84 on a section of National Highway 14 in Dak Ha District around 3:35 pm on Friday.       The dashing automobile was unsteadily swerving before slamming into two motorbikes, knocking down their drivers. Hung, however, would not stop his car and sped off, prompting the police officers to instantly give chase. The pursuit went on through several streets spanning a total of more than 20 kilometers, with the ‘maniac car’ almost hitting several motorcyclists in the process. After causing another two crashes, he stubbornly refused to stop and defied the police’s attempts to wave him down. The pursuit was also joined by other motorcyclists. Hung’s car drew to an abrupt stop in front of his own home on Phan Dinh Phung Street in Kon Tum City, the namesake province’s capital. The driver staggered into the house, staying put and locking its doors tight from inside. Hung would not turn himself in to the police until 7:00 pm the same day. Colonel Tran Thanh Nha, deputy chief of the provincial police department, said breath alcohol tests during police interrogations on Friday evening confirmed that Hung’s alcohol concentration exceeded the allowed limit. Colonel Nguyen Hong Ngoc, the department chief, told Tuoi Tre(Youth) newspaper that Hung is not in custody for now. Phuoc, chief of the Kon Tum Province People’s Procuracy, added that Hung was driving the state-owned car at his own will at the time of the accident. Hung had violated the ban on civil servants’ drinking during office hours issued by the provincial administration, Phuoc added. Vulnerable groups cared in climate change response Vulnerable groups including women and low-income earners should be taken better care of during climate change response initiatives, experts said. Nguyen Thi Yen from CARE Vietnam suggested poverty reduction and gender equality be among key targets in all strategies and investment projects on climate change. The vulnerable groups, especially women, need to be involved in implementing climate change-related projects and making socio-economic development plans at all levels, she said. A majority of the poor, including women, mainly come from ethnic minorities, coastal areas in the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta. They suffer from more severe climate change damage due to a lack of resources for recovery, according to Yen. Increasing natural disasters and sea level rise also pose serious threats to agricultural production and the ecosystem, threatening the livelihoods of women who live on the land, Yen elaborated. Meanwhile, Ky Quang Vinh, a local environmental official from Can Tho, highlighted achievements in developing relevant methods of cultivation and animal farming in the context of climate change, thus ensuring the livelihoods of impoverished communities. Sharing Vinh’s view, Tran Van The from the Institute for Agricultural Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development called for incentives for the poor in the response to climate change. He stressed the need to strengthen communication work in a bid to raise awareness about climate change adaption. Non-profit organisations and localities should also provide financial and technical assistance for farmers in the Mekong Delta region who are vulnerable to climate change, The said. According to Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Southwestern Region Nguyen Quoc Viet, a number of programmes on climate change have been implemented to ensure sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region and the nation. A climate change scenario shows that some 35 percent of the Mekong Delta region’s population, or nearly 6.3 million people, are expected to suffer from direct damage due to climate change. Of these, women, children, the elderly, those with disabilities and the poor are the most vulnerable. Northwest localities prepare for National Tourism Year 2017 Authorities and tourism officials of Northwest localities have discussed preparations for the National Tourism Year 2017 in Lao Cai province on December 5-6. Addressing the conference, Dang Xuan Phong, Vice Secretary of the Lao Cai Party’s Committee expressed his hope that the event will promote the beauty of the Northwest’s landscapes, culture and people and bring more value to its tourism. He stressed the need for developing a master plan for celebrative activities and events to be held throughout the National Tourism Year 2017. Lao Cai was chosen to play the key role in designing the master plan for the National Tourism Year, which is labelled as the most prestigious tourism event in the country, as well as organising the implementation of related activities. For his part, General Director of the Vietnam Tourism Administration under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan said the National Tourism Year 2017 should unveil the hidden charm of distinctive cultures preserved by ethnic minorities. He suggested finances should be mobilised from various sources to ensure the practice of thrift and the environmental protection must be given due attention. The Northwest has huge potential for tourism, but it has yet to be effectively exploited in a sustainable manner, experts said. The region is home to more than 30 ethnic groups, a slew of tangible and intangible cultural heritages and famous historical sites and imposing landscapes. Yet tourism accounts for an insignificant part of the region's economy due to poor infrastructure and lack of sophisticated products and professional tourism operators. Last year the region received 8.7 million tourists, including 1.5 million foreign nationals, while the country received 7.8 million international arrivals, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The region has 12 areas earmarked for development under the national strategy on tourism development in the period through 2020, including the Dong Van Karst Plateau, Ban Gioc Falls, Mau Son, Ba Be Lake, Tan Trao, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh Reservoir. Four national tourist attractions that feature in the strategy are Lao Cai city (Lao Cai province), Pac Po historical site (Cao Bang province), Lang Son city (Lang Son province), and Mai Chau district (Hoa Binh province). Food safety in Hanoi on the improve Over the last three years Hanoi had identified and handled 4,543 cases of food safety and quality measurement violations, according to the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, imposing fines of nearly VND4 billion ($178,600) and seizing and destroying goods worth VND33.5 billion ($1.5 million). Head of the Industry Division at the Department, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Van, told local media that after three years of implementing Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP from the government detailing a number of articles in the Law on Food Safety, food safety and hygiene in the capital has seen many positive changes from State administration, the business community, and consumers. The Department, she said, has actively coordinated with the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to certify establishments that meet food safety standards, remove obstacles, and avoid any overlapping of responsibilities. Basic knowledge about food safety among individuals and organizations has also increased significantly, which indicates greater efficiency in management, advocacy, education, and legislation on food safety. Inspections still contain many limitations, however, such as a lack of experts in the field of food safety and inspection equipment. The provisions of existing laws are also inadequate and do not clearly define management responsibilities between ministries and departments in certifying eligible establishments on food safety. Legal documents overlap, with no sanctions available for serious violations of food safety. AmCham offers scholarships to VNese students The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City presented 50 scholarships to brilliant university students and 77 other scholarships to runner-up named at the award presentation ceremony on December 5 for satisfactorily passing the four intensive assessment rounds of AmCham Scholarship 2015. The grants given in 2015 is over VND1.6 billion ($69,991) including 50 scholarships valued at VND10 million (U$437) each, while 27 other scholarships worth of VND4 million (US$176) and one hundred and eighty-one scholarships, valued at 5.5 million (US$242) each, which were offered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. During 15 year development in Vietnam, all AmCham scholarship recipients are Vietnamese undergraduates of seven member universities of the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City including University of Technology, University of Science, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Economics and Law, University of Information Technology, International University, School of Medicine, Foreign Trade University, Banking University, Hoa Sen University, University of Law, and University of Technical Education. Vietnam Social Insurance issues spokesperson regulations The Vietnam Social Insurance (VSI) has issued a new regulation under which the VSI General Director will be its spokesperson or can assign an official to do the task in his place. The spokesperson will regularly provide information for the press. The regulation also requires leaders of units under the VSI and social insurance agencies in cities and provinces to inform the press about the progress of implementation of assigned tasks in line with the law. At the same time, social insurance workers have the right to provide information for the press in line with the law but they cannot speak on behalf of the Vietnam Social Insurance or agencies and units for which they are working. As part of its efforts to reform administrative procedures, the VSI launched its e-portal at http://kekhai.baohiemxahoi.gov.vn last May, aiming to enable individuals and entities to make online social, unemployment and health insurance transactions. The VSI has so far cut 263 procedures down to 115, saving nearly 3.67 trillion VND (174 million USD) in the State budget, surpassing the goal set by the government. It also applied the “one-stop shop” mechanism and ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards at 63 provincial and 700 district offices to better serve nearly 65 million health insurance and 12 million social insurance cardholders. Together with taxation and customs, the VSI is improving administrative overhaul at the direction of the government to improve the business climate and national competitiveness. Hung Yen focuses on climate change adaptation, mitigation The measures and solutions for adapting to climate change and mitigating the weather’s impacts in northern Hung Yen province were brought up for discussion in a workshop held in the province on December 3. The workshop also popularised information and knowledge of basic aspects of climate change and its impact on various sectors and strategies responding to climate change and preventing flood and storm disasters. Participants agreed that climate change has been altering traditional agriculture in Hung Yen and the Red River Delta at large, gradually reducing the output of subtropical products in the winter crop as short-day plants often suffer from storms and floods. Experts put forwards many solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in industry, energy, agricultural production such as energy conservation in office and administrative buildings, and households, the use of energy-saving materials and the supervision of solid waste dumps and industrial wastewater treatment plants. They also introduced solutions for agriculture, including the creation of specialised large-scale fields, modern agricultural ecological models, GAP-standard production models, integrated pest management and the use of bio-pesticide. Hung Yen is one of the provinces in the delta suffering most from extreme climate change, experiencing four storms and two bitter cold spells in 2014, causing severe damages to local agriculture. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri