Social News 10/12 Project helps improving maternal and newborn care   A Save the Children project helped improve knowledge on maternal and newborn care for thousands of mothers and health workers in Yen Bai Dak Lak and Ca Mau provinces from mid 2012 to December 2016. The project helped build three newborn units for hospitals of Yen Bai Province including those in Tram Tau and Luc Yen districts. Following several training courses, surgeons of the Tram Tau District hospital performed three surgeries with the support of colleagues from the provincial hospital, although no surgery was undertaken at the hospital over the past eight years. Maternal fatality rate has reduced, while many premature newborns have been saved thanks to the facilities and human resource support from the project, according to a health worker at Dak Lak General Hospital’s Obstetrics Unit. Project experiences also contributed to development of the National Master Plan for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health for 2016-2020 and the National Guidelines for Reproductive Health services. With a fund of 3.5 million USD from the Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation, the project titled “Scale up of the model of Household to hospital Continuum of Maternal and Newborn Care" in Vietnam, was implemented by the Ministry of Health and the Hue Medicine and Pharmacy University. The project aims to improve access to quality maternal and newborn health services, to increase demand for and utilisation of those services by mothers and newborns and to strengthen the ongoing management and policy environment to ensure sustained reductions in maternal and newborn death and disability. VNA seeks to improve quality of publications on ethnic minorities The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) held a conference on December 9 with leaders from 16 northern mountainous provinces on ways to improve the quality of VNA’s specialized pictorial newspaper on ethnic minorities and mountainous region. Addressing the conference in Tuyen Quang province, VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi stressed that the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial is the only bilingual newspaper serving ethnic minority communities across 45 provinces in the country.  Given the importance of the publication, the General Director said the VNA always pays particular attention to its quality from the format to content, as well as the distribution of the newspaper to readers.  He added that the VNA has signed agreements on information sharing and dissemination with the Steering Committees of the Northwest, Central Highlands and Southeast regions, and the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial is an important channel to implement the agreements. Since July, 2012, the VNA has published 11 bilingual versions of the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial in Vietnamese and 11 ethnic languages, with 68,000 copies each edition. In the northern region, the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial is published in Vietnamese-Mong and Vietnamese-Tay with 25,000 copies each edition in 16 provinces. Since January, 2017, the VNA will publish the newspaper’s Vietnamese-Chinese version. Nguyen Hong Thang, Vice Secretary of Tuyen Quang provincial Party Committee, said the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial gradually meet ethnic minorities’ demand for information in Tuyen Quang. Delegates to the conference recommended that the newspaper should try to ensure the accuracy when translating from Vietnamese to ethnic languages, improve distribution network and introduce the newspaper to local schools. Embassy in China unveils statue of President Ho Chi Minh A bronze statue of President Ho Chi Minh was unveiled at the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing, China, on December 9 as a gift from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security. The statue features President Ho Chi Minh working in the Presidential Palace’s garden in Hanoi.  It is the fifth and also the last edition cast in a mould created by Mexican sculptor Pedzo Remizes Ponzanilli, who was inspired by a photo taken by photographer Dinh Dang Dinh that depicts the late leader reading newspapers at the Presidential Palace’s garden in 1960.  Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi said President Ho Chi Minh spent the longest time in China during the years he went abroad to do revolutionary activities. He was a close friend of many Chinese revolutionaries and also treasured the neighbourliness and friendship between the two countries. President Ho Chi Minh, his Chinese counterpart Mao Zedong, and other leaders of the countries worked hard to nurture bilateral unity and amity. The Party, State and people of China also respect the late Vietnamese leader, Khoi said, noting that there remain many relics of his activities in China. The late President visited the Vietnamese Embassy. Four other editions of this statue are positioned at a park in Mexico City, the Presidential Palace relic site and the headquarters of the Vietnam News Agency and Hanoi’s administration in the Vietnamese capital city. President lauds role models in anti-drug fight President Tran Dai Quang lauded individuals and collectives who stood out in the fight against drug during a meeting held in Hanoi on December 9.  Over the past years, the Party and State have issued a number of policies and measures to combat the trafficking of addictive substances and drug-related crimes.  Since 1997, the anti-drug police have uncovered 172,000 cases, arrested more than 283,000 offenders, and confiscated over 3,179kg of heroin, 4,558 kg of opium, 30,000kg of dried marijuana, 87kg of cocaine, 1,044kg and about 1.7 million methamphetamine pills, together with weapons and assets worth thousands of billion VND.  They also busted and eradicated 7,872 drug hot-spots.  A number of effective anti-drug models in residential areas have been duplicated nationwide. Speaking at the meeting, President Quang described the anti-drug campaign as a crucial, urgent and long-term task of the world and Vietnam in particular.  He asked the Party committees and authorities at all levels to direct the campaign, considering it a regular political task, while mobilising collective power to realise the national strategy on drug prevention and control until 2020 with orientations towards 2030.  The State leader urged the anti-drug police to work closely with border and coast guards, local customs and police, and concerned agencies to fight trans-national drug rings, eradicate drug manufacture and storage areas, and prevent the re-plantation of plants containing addictive substances.  Relevant agencies were requested to improve the efficiency of collaboration with their foreign counterparts, especially those in neighbouring countries, as well as effectively combat the smuggling of drugs into Vietnam and raise public awareness of drug danger and complicated tricks of drug dealers. The outstanding people will also later gather at a ceremony, which will also commemorate 22 officers and people who laid down their lives for the anti-drug effort.  It forms activities celebrating the 20th anniversary of traditional day of Anti-Drug Police (March 12). Vietnamese, Lao youths called to nurture special relations General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith has called on Vietnamese and Lao youngsters to join hands to nurture the special rapports between the two countries. He made the appeal at a meeting with 20 outstanding Vietnamese children led by Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) Central Committee Nguyen Long Hai in Vientiane on December 9. The friendly exchange between young generations is the most vivid demonstration of the bilateral traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation, he said. Hai said during the visit to Laos from December 4-10, Vietnamese children engaged in numerous activities, which helped them understand better about the close-knit and time-honoured relations between the two countries’ Parties, States and peoples. Such exchanges created excellent opportunities for the youngsters to understand the mutual understanding, trust, and faithful relationship between Vietnam and Laos, he added. Earlier, Vietnamese children joined art and sports exchanges with their peers from Bolikhamxay province and Vientiane. On the occasion, the HCMCYU department for children and its counterpart from the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding on implementing friendship activities in 2016-2017. International Kite Festival opens in Vung Tau   The International Kite Festival, themed “Dance of Peace”, was opened in Vung Tau city, the coastal province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on December 9. The annual festival, the seventh of its kind, attracts 94 artisans, including 64 international ones from 23 nations and territories, including the US, the UK. Taiwan (China), Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Ukraine, Scotland, New Zealand, Italy, Brazil, Holland, France, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, and South Africa. The rest are from the kite clubs across the nation. This year event features the first-time-attending kites, such as the Hoa Huong Duong (Sun Flower) Kite from Brazil, the big-sized kites from New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland, or Ngu Hanh Giao Tranh (the Fight of five basic elements), con Rong chau Tien (Dragon’s and Fairy’s descendants) from Vietnam. During the three-day festival, international artisans will teach students how to make kites at several secondary schools in the province. Thousand farmers join environment protection campaign Nearly 1,000 farmers in Can Tho City are joining a campaign to collect empty pesticide containers discarded on their farms. The campaign is part of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho’s environmental protection program launched on Tuesday. An official of the department said farmers did not properly dispose of used pesticide bottles and packaging. Nguyen Thi Kieu, vice director of the department, said local farmers use tons of pesticides for their crops and they often throw away empty pesticide containers on the farms, polluting the environment. The program is expected to raise awareness of environmental protection among farmers. Statistics of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed farmers nationwide use 35,000-100,000 tons of pesticides a year. In the program, 4-5 tons of used pesticide containers can be collected. The department is also organizing some workshops to educate farmers to use pesticides in a safe and environmentally friendly way, with support from nearly 100 staff of Syngenta, and 50 officials of the department and other agencies. Healthcare insurance fees likely unchanged next year Healthcare insurance fees are expected to remain unchanged next year, at 4.5% of salaries of those working in the public sector or those having labor contracts valid for over three months, according to the Ministry of Health. The ministry said around 80% of the population has health insurance coverage after two years of implementing the amended Law on Health Insurance. The result is 130 million insured patients have been treated at public hospitals and other medical facilities. The health insurance fund has become the main financial source for operations of many healthcare facilities, according to the ministry. It is predicted that 91% of the population would be covered by health insurance by 2020, said Pham Luong Son, deputy director of Vietnam Social Insurance. Deputy Minister of Health Pham Le Tuan said the implementation of the Health Insurance Law and other legal documents in the field has exposed many inadequacies in the past. Some regulations are not adequate and clear, so they need to be reviewed to identify and fix problems in order to match the reality. The Health Ministry noted that while the health insurance fund is still in good balance, there should be plans to gradually raise health insurance fees after 2018. Therefore, it is necessary to study fee hikes from now on. In particular, healthcare fees should be hiked gradually by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage point a year, starting from 2019, the ministry suggested. Mobile carriers asked to prioritize postpaid subscribers The Ministry of Information and Communications has suggested that local telcos offer preferential policies for subscribers to postpaid phone services, heard a meeting on Tuesday. Nguyen Duc Trung, head of the Department of Telecommunications, said mobile carriers should adopt policies to increase customers of postpaid services, instead of attending too much to prepaid users. Statistics of the ministry showed that by the end of August, the total number of domestic mobile subscribers had surpassed 128 million, 90% of them prepaid subscribers. Earlier, the ministry launched an extensive campaign aimed at blocking improperly registered simcards, targeting unidentified prepaid subscribers accused as the key source of spam texts. Accordingly, holders of 12 million simcards not properly registered were notified for re-registration. However, only 600,000 subscribers have met the requirement. Therefore, more than 11 million simcards would be deactivated. Of this total, Vinaphone accounted for 3.8 million, and Viettel and Mobiphone with 3.7 million and 3.3 million respectively. Motorbike import ban, car restriction suggested For fear traffic congestion would worsen in the city in the not too distant future, a deputy of the HCMC People’s Council suggested that the municipal government forbid the import of motorcycles, restrict the number of cars and promote the use of electric bicycles. The HCMC People’s Council on December 7 discussed the socio-economic development of the city in 2016 and the targets for 2017 during their third session. A prominent issue causing concerns among many citizens is the discrepancy between traffic infrastructure development and the growth of vehicles, deputy Tran Quang Thang remarked. There are now 8.5 million motorbikes and about 660,000 cars in HCMC, deemed as too many for the city’s infrastructure and causing severe traffic congestion. “As infrastructure development is not fast enough, we may prohibit the import of motorcycles and limit the number of cars. There may be caps on the numbers of taxicabs, motorbikes and cars, since the downward trend of automobile import tariffs is encouraging people to purchase cars for individual use,” Thang proposed. He also suggested the city develop electric cars, pay attention to electric bicycles and those using gas, and plan more car parks. Meanwhile, deputy Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy said a challenge for HCMC in 2017 and thereafter was how to foster sources of revenue and cut down on spending. A short-term solution for expense reduction is to review bus subsidization, which is exerting a great burden on the city budget and giving no motivation for bus operators to cut spending and boost revenue. Thuy believed the subsidization of a number of bus lines had created unhealthy competition, where subsidy recipients did not improve their service quality and outsiders did not dare to join the market. As a result, the number of passengers has fallen over the years. Therefore, she suggested subsidies should be directly given to bus commuters as a solution to increase the number of passengers since operators would have to compete in terms of service quality, with greater investment in advertising and bus stops. At the meeting on December 7, the HCMC People’s Council deliberated budget revenue in 2017. Since the biggest contributors to the city budget this year are domestic revenue, crude oil and import-export duties, HCMC may focus on these three pillars in 2017 to boost budget revenue. For domestic revenue, the city government expected the share of FIEs to grow more than 35% next year, while the local private sector and personal income tax will also make greater contributions. On the target of 50,000 startups in 2017, deputy Cao Anh Minh deemed it as essential to carefully calculate the number of active enterprises and of the inactive ones to accurately reflect the reality. The city should encourage the establishment of businesses in supporting industries, production of high added-value items, and spearhead industries. HCMC wants elevated road to Tan Son Nhat Authorities of HCMC are seeking approval from the Government to select investors for an VND18-trillion (US$794 million) elevated road designed to ease heavy traffic near the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. According to a petition sent to the Government on Tuesday, the city plans to build five elevated roads with a combined length of 70.7 kilometers. Under the city’s transport zoning plan, local authorities expect to build one or two elevated roads after 2020 but no projects have been deployed so far. Early completion of relevant procedures to kick off construction of the first elevated road will help ease traffic congestion in Tan Son Nhat airport area, the city government said. The highway is designed to stretch 9.5 kilometers from Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District to the Phu An Bridge in Binh Thanh District. Local government plans to spend VND15 trillion on construction and VND3 trillion on site clearance and compensation. Earlier, the city assigned South Korea’s GS E&C Company to study and invest in the elevated road under build-operate-transfer (BOT) format but the firm later withdrew from the project. 620 Chau Thoi Concrete Corporation was the second investor to suggest building the road but it also pulled out of the plan. The investors failed to go ahead because the large-scale project requires huge capital. Meanwhile, other steps such as studying, site clearance and compensation are time consuming, making capital recovery infeasible. Therefore, the city government has asked for permission to select investors for the project as per the Bidding Law. Technological solutions in response to climate change introduced in Mekong Delta   Technological solutions to help cope with climate change in the Mekong Delta and the South-western regions were introduced at a seminar held in Can Tho City on December 8. Co-organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in collaboration with 13 Departments of Science and Technology in the Mekong Delta region, the event aimed to bring into force techniques and materials that could help locals deal with the negative effects resulting from climate change to their production and daily activities. Vuong Duc Tuan, deputy head of the National Agency in the Southern Region under the MOST, stressed that the Mekong Delta is the world’s second most affected region in regards to the extent of damages caused by climate change. Its consequences are not only losses of land due to erosion and flooding, but also unpredictable economic losses to crops due to drought and saltwater intrusion. At the same time, the Mekong Delta is also a region with a high level of technological application with 134 technology solutions to cope with climate change in 2016. The urgent demand has pushed up the need for technological intervention to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Experts and inventors came up with a range of new feasible technological solutions for the Mekong Delta region, such as non-metallic fiber reinforced concrete, road construction technology with soil stabiliser derived from enzyme or sulfonate compounds and non-burnt brick making technology. In addition to solutions for construction materials, the workshop also looked at initiatives on genetically modified crops to adapt to climate change, of which citrus fruit varieties are used for salt tolerance by the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI). Dr. Vo Huu Thoai from the institute said that soil salinity had great influence on the growth and development of citrus varieties and hybrids, reducing chlorophyll, starch and total sugar content while increasing potassium, sodium and chlorine in leaves. Experts at SOFRI have developed five salt tolerant green-skin grapefruits which have been cultivated in Tan Phu Dong District (Tien Giang province) and Mo Cay Nam District (Ben Tre province) with salinity resistant level up to 8‰. Ship detained for illegally transporting petrol Authorities have detained a Dominican vessel for illegally transporting petrol offshore central Phú Yên Province. The SWIFT ship, with 18 crewmembers onboard, was arrested while it was transporting more than 4,300 tonnes of RON 92 petrol from the South to the North on Monday. The ship’s captain, Theinmin from Myanmar, failed to present legal documents proving the origin of the petrol. The ship is presently anchored at the province’s Xuân Đài Bay, pending further investigation. Four critically injured after house fire in HCM City The condition of four people who were rescued from a house fire in HCM City’s Phú Nhuận District on Tuesday continues to be critical. One of the victims is unlikely to survive, doctors at Chợ Rẫy Hospital said on Wednesday. Dr Ngô Đức Hiệp, head of the hospital’s Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, said the four victims had suffered gas burns. Hiệp said the four victims were in critical condition as the burns blocked the respiratory tract and lobes of the lung, leading to respiratory failure, which meant a high risk of fatality. HCM City’s Police of Fire Prevention and Fighting Department, in cooperation with Phú Nhuận District’s police were on Wednesday inspecting the five-storey house on 126D Trần Kế Xương Street. At 11am on Tuesday, an explosion was heard from the house, following which the fire spread quickly. Locals used fire extinguishers to stamp out the blaze and managed to rescue the four men trapped inside. The explosion occurred on the fourth floor. Initial investigation showed that the victims used gasoline while smoking. 27 projects develop human resources at grass-root level Twenty seven small-scale projects focusing on developing human resources at the grass-root level have been run in localities in the north, central and south regions. The projects, conducted by Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in Việt Nam, are targeted at improving the living conditions and livelihood of residents. Funds will depend on the specific scale and the length of each project, ranging from JPY10 million (US$87,500) to JYP100 million ($875,000). The maximum length of a project is five years. Masuda Chikahiro, deputy chief of JICA Việt Nam, told local media at a press conference this morning that residents would directly benefit from projects implemented at a grass-root level. Developing human resources was believed to be a sustainable way to develop a locality, he said. Under the projects, Japanese non-governmental organisations and Japanese localities would cooperate with JICA to provide technical support to localities in Việt Nam, he said. Models from Japan would be adjusted to fit with the current conditions in Việt Nam before being applied, he said. According to data from JICA Việt Nam, Japan’s Kasama City has helped mountainous Sơn La Province cultivate clean farm produce, Sapporo City has provided technical support to develop human resources for the information technology sector in Hà Nội, Seki City has provided training to raise the capability of nurses in giving care to the elderly in Đà Nẵng City and Fukushima Province has assisted in developing human resources for the healthcare sector in HCM City. Masuda also said connections between Japanese and Vietnamese people would be enhanced via the projects. VND300 mln provided for scientific project in agriculture The Department of Science and Technology in Ho Chi Minh City announced to support maximum of VND300 million or 70 percent of a scientific project in agriculture. The amount is part of the program to support science-tech application in agriculture. A farmer household, a cooperative, an enterprise or start-up group having a project to apply scientific or technological achievement into agriculture in HCMC’s Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, Can Gio, Nha Be and Hoc Mon outlying districts and districts 9, 12, Binh Tan, Thu Duc and Go Vap will receive a sum for production re-structure and development, export, productivity improvement. The projects aim to raise income and offer employment to locals. Projects should be sent to the Department at 244 Dien Bien Phu Street District 3 or email qlcoso.skhcn@tphcm.gov.vn before March 10, June 10, September 10 and December 10 annually. Ma River dying from pollution Waste water from households and forest product facilities are destroying the Ma River in Thanh Hoa Province and threatening the livelihoods of local people. There are dozens of forest product facilities along the Ma River but only one or two facilities are legally-recognised companies. According to the locals, despite the fact that small facilities don't have licenses, they have operated and discharged waste into the river for years. Even bigger, licensed facilities are also discharging waste water into the river. The Duyet Cuong Company was recently fined VND414.2m because its waste water didn't meet the standards. The discharge pipeline under Highway 15C, belong to Bao Yen Construction Services Tourism Company, dumps waste water directly into Ma Ham Stream. The polluted water then flows into Ma River. A local said many old people had died because of cancer while children were suffering from sinusitis, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. They don't dare to start any fish farms on the river. In August, tens of tonnes of farmed fish from Ba Thuoc District to Vinh Loc District died. Cam Thuy District saw 41.5 tonnes of dead fish and Vinh Loc District had 13 tonnes. Trinh Duc Du, head of Quan Hoa District Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said Bao Yen did discharge waste water into the stream. "This company has been fined many times. However, we also have difficulties as their land use right was issued by Hoa Binh Province while the business license was issued by Thanh Hoa Province," he said. Last year, asides from the VND414.2m fine of Duyet Cuong Company, other fines are small. Bao Yen was fined VND2.5m and Song Ma Co-operative was fined VND7m. The Ma River is also being destroyed by households waste and pesticide farmers used before planting from the mountainous areas to the delta. Nguyen Van Son, a local in Cam Thuy District, said they couldn't raise farmed fish anymore and there's hardly any agriculture land left. Many people have left home to find jobs in other provinces. Duong Van Chan, chairman of Cam Ngoc Commune, Cam Thuy District, said, "The farmers haven't been compensated after the mass fish deaths. If this continues, many people will fall into poverty again." No Vietnamese killed, injured in Indonesia earthquake There have so far been no reports of any Vietnamese citizens being affected by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Indonesia’s western province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra on December 7, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta. The embassy said there are very few Vietnamese living in the area, and it is coordinating with Indonesian agencies to keep updated. As of the afternoon of December 7, quake fatalities climbed to almost 100 and more than 600 others were injured. Search and rescue operations are underway involving large numbers of military, police and disaster management forces as well as volunteers. Indonesia often experiences earthquakes and volcanoes because it lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. Aceh was also hit by a 9.2 magnitude quake followed by a tsunami in 2004, which killed 120,000 people and severely devastated the province. Disadvantaged youth to get vocational training Starbucks Vietnam and The Asia Foundation, an international nonprofit development organization, on Monday announced a one-year vocational training program in Hanoi to prepare young people from disadvantaged backgrounds for careers in Vietnam’s fast-growing food and beverage industry. The Starbucks vocational training program will engage 50 youth aged between 18 and 24, including those who have been affected by family violence, human trafficking and poverty, in a training program to achieve job and life skills to be succeed in the retail sector. As part of the program, youth will receive both classroom instruction focused on subjects such as customer service, English language learning, financial literacy and work readiness, as well as on-the-job training. Starbucks partners and employees will actively engage in the program by providing seminars and in-store experience. Upon completion of the program, learners will receive six months of follow-up assistance to help them secure full-time employment. Mark Ring, president of Starbucks Asia Pacific, said in a statement that as Starbucks continues to grow in Vietnam and across Asia, they wish to do their aspiration to build a different kind of company – one committed to performance that is driven through the lens of humanity – and being a positive force in building the future success of young people. Together with its partners The Asia Foundation and REACH, a local non-governmental organization specializing in providing vocational training, career advice, and job placement to some of Vietnam’s most disadvantaged youth, Starbucks Vietnam aims to provide lifelong experiences and skills for disadvantaged young people in the nation as they represent a huge pool of talents. However, there are also challenges for many young people to gain access to work. “We have created this project to build confidence, self-esteem and training which will help them to succeed in the economy,” said Patricia Marques, general manager of Starbucks Vietnam, in a statement. According to a report from the General Statistics Office, in 2015 the unemployment rate among youth is more than triple the overall unemployment rate, standing at 6.75%. While well-educated workers are able to access expanding opportunities in the private sector, for less educated workers, and particularly those from rural areas, it is much more challenging due to their lack of education, skills and business connections. This leaves them with fewer options and makes them more vulnerable to exploitation. Hour of Code 2016 programme launched in HCM City The HCM City Department of Education and Training and Microsoft Vietnam has co-hosted the Hour of Code 2016 event for primary and high school students. hour of code 2016 programme launched in hcm city hinh 0 The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 nations around the globe with the aim of increasing access to computer science education for all students worldwide.   It helps improve students’ logical thinking, ignite their passion for computer science, and enhance their creativity to develop problem-solving skills. The annual event is part of the ongoing Computer Science Education Week from December 5-11 and gives valuable prizes to both students and teachers. Quảng Trị gets seeds from governmental flood relief Quảng Trị has received 340 tonnes of seeds as part of flood relief from the government, the central province People’s Committee announced yesterday. The seeds include rice, sweet corn and vegetables and they will be sowed for the upcoming winter-spring crop. The governmental relief supply is a move to assist farmers in the province to grow new crop after their previous produce was destroyed by the repeated floods in October and November. Quảng Trị is among the four provinces in the northern part of the central region of Việt Nam hit by the floods. The others are Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình and Thừa Thiên- Huế. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc decided to supply 2,016 tonnes of rice seeds, 325 tonnes of sweet corn seeds, and 58 tonnes of vegetable seeds to the provinces hit by floods, storms and cold weather. They are Vĩnh Phúc, Hà Giang, Lào Cai and Yên Bái, as well as Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên-Huế and Ninh Thuận. Hà Tĩnh and Ninh Thuận get the maximum quantity – 540 and 410 tonnes of seeds, respectively – due to their wide cultivation area. The PM assigned the ministry of agriculture and rural development to coordinate the relief job and authorities in those localities to deliver the seeds to farmers on time. HCM City increases over 1,000 buses on New Year holidays The Ho Chi Minh City Public Transport Management Center will increase about 1,048 buses for 17 its routes to meet travel demand during New Year holidays. If the number of passengers suddenly increase on the routes, the transport center will add more buses at the Eastern and Western Bus Stations on December 30 and 31. It is estimated that the number of passengers will increase during New Year holidays as state employees, workers and students get three-day off, from December 31, 2016 to January 2, 2017. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE