Vietnam arrests RoK man for violence

A Republic of Korea national, wanted for acts of violence by RoK police, has been arrested in Vietnam and extradited to stand trial, said the Ministry of Public Security on November 9.

The Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation on Social Order (C14B), under the Ministry of Public Security, said that Ryou Jong Bum, the 51-year-old offender, was wanted for violating RoK law on acts of violence in June, 2009.

In August, 2009, the RoK General Consul in Ho Chi Minh city sent a diplomatic note asking the Vietnamese police to arrest Ryou Jong Bum.

Vietnamese police investigated him, and discovered that Bum had visited Vietnam on several occasions three years ago and had rented a house in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City .

On November 5, he was arrested by C14B police at a hotel in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau .

According to C14B’s records, in May, 2009, Bum blackmailed another RoK citizen and seriously injured him at a restaurant in HCM City.

MARD workshop to promote Food Hygiene Management

A seminar entitled “To ensure food and agricultural products hygiene” was held in Hanoi on November 12 by the Ministry of Rural and Agricultural Development (MARD). 

At the workshop, Nguyen Nhu Tiep, Deputy Director of the Agro, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management Department, said businesses should focus on product quality as well as hygiene and safety in producing and processing agricultural products so as to protect domestic consumers and gain access to global markets.

Development of the agricultural sector depends on penetrating global markets, where strict standards of hygiene are applied, Mr. Tiep said.

Participants called on the authorities to issue standards of food hygiene and safety, strengthen oversight of agricultural processing businesses, and help raise public awareness of food hygiene.

The MARD has established a strategy to ensure food hygiene and safety to 2015 and an orientation to 2020 according to which the ministry will focus on the solutions to existing problems concerning agro-forestry and fisheries quality management. Institutional and legal systems and state agencies to improve quality management will be established by 2015.

Denmark, Vietnam hold paediatrics conference

Some 500 professors, doctors and medical staff from Denmark, China, the US and Vietnam are attending a conference on paediatrics at Children’s Hospital No 1 in Ho Chi Minh City from November 12 to 13.

Scheduled presentations will cover paediatric surgery, hand-foot-mouth disease, dengue fever and other infectious diseases.

The conference coincides with the 30th anniversary of cooperation between Children’s Hospital No 1 and the Denmark-Vietnam Friendship Association (DVA).

Dr Tang Chi Cuong, Director of the hospital, said the DVA has assisted his hospital in terms of technology, research and management.

The most recent cooperation programme between the hospital and the DVA aims to reduce the fatality rate in infants and HIV’s impact on them, he added.

More relief aid for tropical storm victims

On November 12, the Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) received VND900 million as an emergency relief package from the Philip Morris Vietnam Company for victims of tropical storm Ketsana, which hit Vietnam’s central highlands provinces early last month.

The VNRC’s General Secretary and Vice President, Doan Van Thai praised Philip Morris Vietnam as one of the companies which have generously supported the VNRC’s humanitarian activities.

The same day, the VNRC also received 700 blankets and 6 tonnes of rice worth US$5,000 from the Singaporean Business Association in Vietnam.

VRC celebrates its 63rd anniversary

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) Society is launching various activities to assist local communities in the run-up to its 63rd anniversary celebrations.

On November 14, the society chapter in Ho Chi Minh City will work with Vietnam Television to put on a concert, which will be broadcast live on VTV1. The event aims to honour individuals and organisations that have made great contributions to humanitarian activities and have assisted flood victims in the central and central highland regions.

VRC Central Committee has so far mobilised over US$5.5 million to support poor families in localities as well as 19,000 containers of essential supplies and over 4,000 tonnes of rice. It provided over VND100 billion to victims of the recent storms and floods.     

On November 11, the French Red Cross, through the VRC, donated EUR530,000 (equivalent to VND13 billion) to flood victims in Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces. On the same day, Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology also gave VND219 million to Dak Sao commune in Tu Mo Rong district, Kon Tum province to repair schools after they were damaged by the recent storms.

USAID assists Vietnam to prevent bird flu

The Ha Nam provincial People’s Committee on November 11 signed with USAID’s Abt Associates an MoU on the implement of “initiatives to prevent bird flu and epidemics”.

The project is being carrying out in three years from October 1, 2009-September 30, 2012 to build up the capacity of State and private sectors, especially at local level, to improve the control of bird flu, epidemics and infectious diseases in animals.

Activities include a public information campaign and training courses for staff in the health and veterinary sectors.

The Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with other government agencies to support these activities.

The health and veterinary sectors will exchange their experiences in drawing up administrative documents and putting together policies for cattle breeding and management mechanisms to optimise assistance from USAID.

Cuba honoured Vietnam’s agricultural experts

Dr. Le Vinh Thao, a member of Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has received an award for “the Production of Life” from the Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians (ACTAF).

This was the first time such an honourable award was given to a foreign expert.

Earlier, the two countries had signed a protocol on capital disbursement and financial management for the rice production development programme in Cuba from 2009-2015.

At the award ceremony in Havana on November 10, Thao expressed his gratitude for the award and pledged to further contribute to the implementation of Cuba’s plan to ensure food security.

Thao graduated from Marta Abreu University in the Central Cuba in 1973. Since 2002 he has joined the Vietnam-Cuba cooperation project on wet rice cultivation cooperation in households. The project is now entering its third phase after 6 provinces finished with a yield of 8-9 tonnes/ha, three times higher than before.

Vietnamese kids come top of the class in Germany

The second-generation children of Vietnamese people overseas are exceptionally good at their studies and no other immigrant group in Germany has been more successful at school than the Vietnamese.

The assessment was made by Martin Spiewak in an article published in the Deutschland magazine last September.

He said that nearly 50 percent of Vietnamese children in Germany make it to high school. This also means that a large number of Vietnamese pupils study hard for the Abitur, the German school-leaving and university entrance exam.

About 30 percent of those selected for scholarships from the Start Foundation, an organisation that supports gifted immigrant pupils in eastern Germany, are Vietnamese, he wrote.

Spiewak quoted Karin Weiss, Brandenburg's Commissioner for Foreigners' Affairs, as saying that the grades of Vietnamese pupils are in stark contrast to the picture we otherwise have of children from an immigrant background.

This educational miracle, which has been documented in the US for years, is now being repeated in Germany, she said.

According to Weiss, Vietnamese kids study hard and their parents give them a lot of attention and these factors have helped to create the “Vietnamese Miracle” in Germany.

Despite living abroad, the majority of Vietnamese families still maintain their traditional moral values. The children have respect for their parents and have ambitions to become successful in German society, the author wrote in conclusion.

Vietnam learns of drugs policies from overseas countries

A Vietnamese delegation together with over 200 representatives from Asia-Pacific countries took part in a conference on drugs held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from November 9-12.

The conference is an important forum for policy makers, experts in detoxification and people who have managed to give up drugs to discuss and share their experiences on the detoxification progress of drug addicts.

The conference also helped to strengthen cooperation and coordination between countries in an effort to make the region a drug free zone.

By taking part in the conference, Vietnam expects to learn from anti-drug solutions adopted by Malaysia and other countries in Asia. Vietnam is planning to include an anti-drug programme in college and university curriculums.

On addressing the event, Malaysia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, said that the threat of drugs in the world is evident through the increasing number of drug addicts, people infected with HIV/AIDS and other social problems.

Every year there are about 208 million drug addicts, accounting for 4.8 percent of the global population. More alarmingly, the number of drug addicts needing treatment rose from 1 million in 2007 to 26 million in 2008.

US company supports poor women in Mekong Delta

The US-based Chevron Company will provide US$300,000 for the Save the Children Foundation to implement a project which aims to help 500,000 poor women in the Mekong Delta to develop small businesses at home.

An agreement to this effect was signed by Chevron and Save the Children representatives in Hanoi on November 9.

The initial objective of the project, entitled “Vietnamese rural women adapt to the market economy”, is to introduce new and suitable business habits to women who run small businesses and raise domesticated animals in rural areas.

The project will provide women with more opportunities to access financial services and help them get acquainted with market-oriented business models.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), Vu Xuan Hong, expressed thanks to Chevron Company and the Save the Children Foundation for their initiative to assist poor women.

He said that the VUFO’s working committee for foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is ready to create favourable conditions for NGOs to effectively implement humanitarian aid projects for Vietnamese people.

Foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Ha Tinh

Foot-and-mouth disease is spreading in the two districts of Ky Anh and Thach Ha in the central province of Ha Tinh, said Pham Thanh Binh, head of the provincial Department of Animal Health.

Mr Binh reaffirmed that the outbreak is due to local people’s lack of vigilance regarding the vaccination of cattle. Veterinarians are being blamed for their poor management of the situation.

In a short time, nearly 90 buffaloes and cows belonging to 56 families have been infected with the disease. The infected livestock had not been vaccinated. When the disease occurred, veterinarians did not act promptly to prevent it from spreading while local authorities remained indifferent.

The provincial Department of Animal Health has provided 180 liters of chemical agent and sent officials to sterilise the infected districts and set up 6 checking points to prevent the transportation of cattle in and out of the infected areas. Local authorities have also purchased five tonnes of powdered lime to scatter around farms. The Department warned people not to let cattle wander and localise near the infected areas.

GTZ helps protect Kien Giang biosphere reserve

About 2,000 people participated in the day for cleaning environment and growing mangrove trees at the Biosphere Reserve in the southern province of Kien Giang on November 8.

The activity is part of a four-year project on conservation and development of the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve implemented by the Germany Technical Cooperation Organisation (GTZ) from 2008.

The €1.7 million project, funded by Australia, aims to improve the sustainable management of the protected areas and natural resources in Kien Giang province.

The project has been implemented in U Minh Thuong national park, Phu Quoc National Park and the Kien Luong-Hon Chong Coastal Area.

The three places boast unique biodiversity characteristics and views with U Minh Thuong National Park being one of the last remaining wetlands in the Mekong Delta.

Covering nearly 150,000 ha, the park is home to several rare animals and provides fresh water and fish for people living around the park. However, biodiversity in these areas are being threatened due to unsustainable development activities.

GTZ has carried out many sustainable development activities to help Vietnam protect the natural resources and environment sustainably, since 1993.

The organisation is currently implementing 20 projects in healthcare, natural resource management and economic development in Vietnam with funding from the German Government.

The Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve is said the largest one in the Southeast Asian region. Covering nearly 1.15 million ha, the area consists of both coastal and marine ecosystems with wetlands, swamps, mangrove forests, coral reefs and tropical primeval forests and specious species of animal, including dugong, turtle, and grey douc langur.

The area was recognised the world’s biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2006, becoming the largest out of nine biosphere reserves in Vietnam receiving the title.

Vietnam promotes facial reflexology in France

A workshop to present various techniques of facial reflexology was held in Paris on November 7. 

The therapy, called “Dien Chan”, has been discovered by a Vietnamese traditional physician for 30 years to release pains through applying acupuncture without needles to special points on the patient’s face.

During the workshop, that drew a huge interest from the French and overseas Vietnamese, the author of the therapy, Prof. Bui Quoc Chau, did not only make the presentation in words but also showed its effect in action. He practised the method on several participants at the workshop to show the instant relief of pains.

“The traditional therapy has a lot of advantages, including easy practice, instant relief of pains and possible self-practice,” said Prof. Chau.

The therapy considered as the first choice for a large number of poor people in remote rural areas has been given to some 4 million patients in most humanitarian clinics.

Dien Chan is practised in 35 countries through a network of 15,000 physicians. This traditional Vietnamese therapy has been officially recognised and applied by community healthcare services in Cuba and Mexico.

More than 58,000 Vietnamese workers sent abroad

By the end of October this year, around 58,260 Vietnamese workers was sent to work abroad on time-limit contracts, meeting 64 percent of the set target, according the Overseas Labour Management Department from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Under the government’s poverty reduction programme, the Department has asked export businesses to train workers from 62 poor districts in order to send them abroad for work.

Taiwan receives the highest number of Vietnamese workers with nearly 17,800, followed by the Republic of Korea (nearly 6,500) and Japan (4,700).

PV