US Professor learns about AO/dioxin victims in Da Nang

Professor Fred Wilcox, a senior lecturer in the literature faculty of California University in the US is on a 3-day visit to the central city of Da Nang to interview and present gifts to AO/dioxin victims.

His fact-finding tour is to prepare for the presentation of a book on the effects of AO/dioxin to the Vietnamese public and the environment. It was written by him and his fellow-writers.

On June 18 Prof. Wilcox applied to join the Da Nang City Association of Agent Orange Victims.  

The Association now has 26 foreigners and over 1,600 Vietnamese as its official members.

Transport department wants single agency on traffic lights

The HCM City Department of Transport is seeking permission from the municipal People’s Committee for setting up a single control centre that will take over the work of operating traffic signals and surveillance cameras that are done by two agencies now.

The city has more than 590 traffic signals, of which 159 are managed by the police’s Traffic Lights Control Centre and the rest by the Transport Department’s Urban Transportation Management Zones.

The new centre, to be researched and deployed by the Urban Transportation Management Zone No 1, will also take over the surveillance cameras placed at several points around the city and electronic hoardings in the city and some places in neighbouring provinces.

Since they are operated independently by two different agencies, traffic signals in the city remain unco-ordinated, causing great difficulty in managing the traffic.

Australia funds given to test water system

Australia will provide A$940,000 (US$779,000) for testing the North Vam Nao water control system in An Giang Province and the two sides signed an agreement for the purpose on Wednesday.

Australia will help consolidate the operation of the water management system which had been built between 2002 and 2007.

The project also aims to develop the capacity of the institutions responsible for operating and maintaining the North Vam Nao system.

"It [the project] helps to reduce damage to household dwellings, infrastructure, and crops as part of its better water management approach. It has made a significant contribution to improving food security and enhancing agricultural productivity for approximately 300,000 residents of North Vam Nao Island," Kerry Groves, Australian Agency for International Development Counsellor, said at the signing ceremony.

Two students receive high exam marks

 Two 12th graders in the central province of Nghe An have passed their graduation exams with flying colours, despite being late for the biology section at the beginning of the month.

Tang Ngoc Dung and Lu Ngoc Quan, students at Do Luong 1 High School, reportedly took a woman who had been in an accident to the hospital on their way to school and were late for the exams.

The Nghe An education department decided to use their biology year-end tally as the graduation mark for the subject.

The department would also give them merit certificates for their performances, said deputy director of the department Nguyen Trong Hoan.

Awards made for delta education

Organisations and individuals who made great contributions to education in the Mekong Delta were awarded certificates of merit in a ceremony held by the Ministry of Education and Training and An Giang Province’s People’s Committee yesterday.

The 68 organisations, honoured at the provincial capital of Long Xuyen, were selected from 77 candidates nominated by delta provinces and the ministry, including provincial departments, education and training institutes, vocational schools, professors, enterprises and business executives, among others.

Some individuals were honoured for having ceded lands to building schools, donating their own money or raising funds to support school activities.

Additional 1,000 houses for poor people in border and island areas

The Border Guard High Command has worked with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the People’s Army Newspaper to implement the second phase of the campaign “houses for poor people in border and island areas”.

In the second phase, around 1,000 houses and 100 other projects for poor people in the border and island areas will be completed by December 22, this year.

The beneficiaries will be from the two poorest ethnic minority groups in the Central province of Nghe An and the north-western province of Lai Chau.

Vietnamese, Lao provinces coordinate in forest protection

The central province of Thanh Hoa and its Lao neighbouring province of Houphanh, which share 192 km of the common borderline, have signed a programme to coordinate in forest protection from now to 2012.

The programme on forest protection and fire control will be carried out at provincial, district and communal levels.

The relevant agencies of the two provinces will mobilise local people to join the fight against illegal logging and poaching to prevent wanton fires.

The programme is expected to contribute to maintaining border security and building a border of peace, friendship and development. VNA/VOVNews

Fight against drugs faces many hidden threats

The illegal trade in drug remains very complicated in the northwestern part of Vietnam, according to a report on the fight against drug-related crime in Yen Bai and other nearby provinces.

There are numerous drug rings based in foreign neighbouring areas, which have formed a trafficking network to smuggle large amounts of drugs into the country, says the report released at a recent meeting of the National Committee on Preventing AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution, with Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong in the chair.

By the end of 2008, there were more than 40,000 addicts in 13 provinces in the whole country. There has been a rise in the number of ethnic minority young people who get addicted to narcotics, especially heroin and other synthesized drugs.

Last year, the northwestern region reported over 1,400 new addicts and more than 1,833 others who relapsed to addiction, equal to over 37 percent and nearly 47 percent of the total figures recorded in the whole country.

The 2007-2008 crop saw a decline in the re-planting of opium and marijuana trees; however, this trend may be reversing.

The drug police force in the region have so far investigated nearly 3,500 drug-related cases and arrested more than 5,000 suspects, confiscating nearly 124kg of heroin, 23kg of opium, nearly 90,000 tablets of synthesized drugs, and more than 295kg of ketamin.

US company offers personnel training courses in Vietnam

Mercer College, a brand of US-based Mercer specialising in human resource (HR) training and development, has officially entered the Vietnamese market under a partnership contract with a local company signed in Ho Chi Minh City on June 12.
Mercer College and TalentNet, one of Vietnam’s leading providers of HR solutions, will design and provide training courses for Vietnamese HR experts in order to meet the country’s increasing demand for qualified personnel.

Mercer College experts from different countries will lecture on several major topics such as HR Strategy – Translating Business Strategy into HR Actions, KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Management, 3P (Pay for Position, Person and Performance) Compensation Management, Compensation Planning and Budgeting, and Maximising the Value of Remuneration Surveys.

According to TalentNet General Director Tieu Yen Trinh, trainees can acquire a strategic HR knowledge to better serve their companies’ business objectives and sustainable development orientations.

Dan Mitchell, Mercer College Regional Chief in ASEAN, affirmed that Mercer College’s presence in Vietnam shows its keen interest in promoting the country’s economic development.

Mercer is one of the world leading providers of HR solutions, labour and investment consultancy.

69 die, 37 injured on roads over last 3 days

 Fifty-two of 63 cities and provinces nationwide reported 82 traffic accidents, with 69 deaths and 37 injuries on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Three extremely serious car accidents occurred in Ha Nam, Khanh Hoa and Ha Giang, killing 13 people and wounding 37 others.

Within this three-day span, traffic police continued to ensure road safety, recording 32,800 violations, collecting VND7.5 million (about $421) in fines for the State Budget and holding 75 cars and 4,889 motorbikes.

Ha Noi Power to replace 200 switches

The Ha Noi Power Company (HAPC) is checking and replacing nearly 200 electrical switches to meet the city’s energy demands.

"Normally, Ha Noi consumes 24-26 billion KWH per day, but during the recent heat wave, it consumed up to 32 billion KWH, which overloaded transformer stations," said Nguyen Anh Tuan of HAPC.

Up to now, HAPC has replaced 90 switches and mobilised staff to deal with arising problems 24/7.

Lightning kills 2, hurts 6 in Tu My Commune

Two farmers were killed and six wounded when lightning struck them in Bai Chay field, in Tu My Commune.

Nguyen Thi Tu, 35, and Ha Van Vang, 11, were killed in the strike. The wounded were timely hospitalised. The district People’s Committee and Red Cross visited and financially supported the victims’ families.

Lightning has a tendency to strike the field, as last year one person was hit around the same time of year.

ALPHANAM violates software copyright law

 The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s investigators co-operated with high-tech criminal service PC15 to covertly test three companies under the ALPHANAM group.

Investigators found non-copyrighted software on nearly 50 computers at VINACONEX-ALPHANAM, including Windows XP, Office, LAC VIET-MTD,Vietkey and AutoCad.

City steps up safety inspections of ports

The HCM City Inland Waterway Port Authority is increasing inspections of the safety of local ports and ferry terminals for the rainy season.

Inspections started on Monday and will focus on the condition of ferries including pier systems, banisters and life buoys. Port officials will work to ensure port owners follow regulations and ensure safety standards are met to protect passengers.

The city now has 282 ferry terminals, of which 219 are officially licensed, according to latest statistics of the port authority.

PV