Hanoi authorities clamp down on illegal bars

Hanoi municipal authorities are seeking to temporarily close a bar in for a number of violations after complaints from local residents.

Le Dai Hanh Ward authorities conducted an inspection of Ibiza Bar after receiving a series of late night noise complaints. Pham Mai Trang, vice chairwoman of Le Dai Hanh Ward, said the building was registered to Quang Minh Company, but the company was only registered to operate restaurants, not nightclubs.

Ibiza Bar had already been fined twice for a total of VND27 million (USD1,300) for violations of regulations on closing times, not having a license to sell alcohol and tobacco and fire safety violations. After the most recent round of complaints, Ibiza Bar underwent a name change to Lucky Bar, an apparent attempt by the owners to get around the laws. But provincial authorities, along with relevant agencies, proposed a halting of operations.

Over the last year, police have cracked down on a number of late-night bars for various reasons, including improper business licenses and "side entertainment" such as prostitution or drugs. In February, more than 100 officers descended on two bars in HCM City in a surprise raid in which uncovered an array of violations, including drug use.

Fire prevention also became a hot button issue in the wake of bar fires in the capital. On September 13, a fore at Luxury Bar left 13 people with burns. Also, the chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee ordered the closure of the popular Zone 9 entertainment area, after six people died in a bar fire.

Police admit that they are having difficulties in enforcing closing hours. According to current regulation, all business must halt operations between 12am and 5am. However, most late-night businesses in Hanoi only start picking up around 10pm and some stay open as late as 3am.

Vu Quoc Toan, head of police force in Dong Xuan Ward, said Hanoi did not have specific sanctions against such violations so police can only cite them for noise in residential and public areas. These penalties are small, ranging from VND100,000 to VND300,000.

Six farmers drown as fishing boat overturns

Six farmers were drowned when their boat suddenly overturned this morning in Nam Thinh Commune of the northern Thai Binh Province's Tien Hai District.

The accident occurred when the farmers were on their way to catch clams.

According to the local people, the farmers were in a small boat. The accident was blamed on strong winds and the fact that the small boat was overcrowded.

The local rescue team has salvaged the boat after retrieving the victims' bodies.

The People's Committee of the district visited the victims' families and gave each VND3 million (US$140) as aid.

Court starts hearing former VietinBank execs’ appeals

agement department at the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), and other defendants.

On January 27, 2014, Nhu was sentenced to life in jail by the HCMC People’s Court for swindling nearly VND4 trillion out of three banks, nine companies, and three individuals. To steal the deposits of customers placed at VietinBank, Nhu counterfeited eight seals and materials of the bank and seven enterprises. Nhu approached depositors with strong financial capabilities, promised to pay high interest rates for them and then used the fake seals to withdraw the deposits.

Chief judge Quang Duc Tuyen said 34 lawyers were joining the appeals hearing to defend Nhu and 22 other defendants. Tens of individuals and organizations will show up at the court hearing, which will last until December 31, to answer questions and protect their interests.

According to the indictment, Nhu, as a credit officer of VietinBank, borrowed more than VND200 billion from different banks, organizations, and individuals at high interest rates to invest in real estate in 2007.

In 2010, Nhu became insolvent due to her own loss-making business deals and investments. From March 2010 until September 2011, under the fake pretext of mobilizing capital for two VietinBank branches of Nha Be and HCMC, she obtained a combined amount of over VND4.9 billion from three individuals, nine companies, and three banks.

Nhu expropriated VND718 billion from Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), VND200 billion from Nam Viet Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Navibank), and VND180 billion from Vietnam International Bank (VIB).

In May 2011, she mobilized an additional VND2.5 trillion from three more companies for the HCMC branch of VietinBank and then forged 127 documents and signatures of those firms’ leaders to withdraw their deposits to pay her debt.

Nhu still had expropriated nearly VND4 billion before her swindling case was brought to light.

Doctors fear an outbreak of meningitis among children, especially meningitis caused by Pneumococcus.

Doctors of Children Hospital No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City said yesterday that there is an upward trend of meningitis cases in children. Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, head of the Hospital’s Neurology Division said that the cases of meningitis increased by 20-30 children more than previous months

The disease caused by bacteria can lead to glue ear; accordingly, children can suffer dulled hearing, lung inflammation and brain abscess and blood poisoning. To protect children from the disease, medical experts advised parents to take their children to hospitals for vaccination as scheduled.

Belgium helps Vietnam improve manpower quality

The Belgian Government will provide EUR6.2 million for Vietnam to improve the quality of its human resources.

An agreement for the project was recently signed by Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga and Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Angelet Bruno.

The project aims to contribute to the growth and sustainable development of Vietnam by helping it to become a knowledge-based country by 2020.

The four-and-a-half-year project will focus on enhancing the management and innovation capacity of chosen organisations and individuals.

The Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for the implementation and management of the project.

Cold spell hits northern region

Localities in northern mountainous provinces have instructed farmers to protect their cattle from the ongoing cold spell, which is forecast to last until late this week.

The instruction came from Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat in an attempt to minimise damage caused by the cold weather.

In the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan, the People's Committee of Cho Don District said local farmers had been told to put straw on the floor to keep their cattle warm.

Vice chairman of the committee Ha Sy Huan said that local farmers had been asked not to graze their cattle when temperatures dropped below 10 degrees Celsius.

Veterinary staff had also been assigned to check for diseases among cattle and poultry, he said.

Tuyen Quang Province lost over 2,600 cattle due to cold weather in the winter of 2011, and local breeders there have been instructed to cover their cattle cages when severe cold hits.

In a related movement, the ministry's Department of Livestock Protection has issued guidelines to show farmers how to keep their cattle warm during the winter.

The department said that cattle sheds should protect cows and buffalos from rain and wind, and be airy in the summer and warm during winter. Breeders should put a 15cm layer of straw on shed floors, and more when the weather turns cold and wet. Heaters were also advised along with enough feed and water for the cattle.

Deputy Minister Vu Duc Tam has ordered localities to draw from local budgets to help poor farmers reinforce sheds to protect cattle from the winter.

A cold spell hit the northern region yesterday morning, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

During the next three days, the lowest temperatures in Ha Noi are expected to drop to 9 degrees Celsius, with highs of 19C. Severe cold weather is also predicted to blanket delta provinces, and the temperature is forecast to drop to zero in several mountainous areas with frost likely.

World Bank’s Fund for the Poorest allocates $55m to Ha Nam province

Ha Nam province now has access to the financial means it needs to improve the lives of local people thanks to funds provided by the World Bank.

Ha Nam successfully held the Vietnam Inclusive Innovation Project (VIIP) conference last week on the topic of improving quality of life for the poor by providing affordable technological solutions in the context of traditional herbal medicine, information and communication technology, and agriculture and aquaculture technologies.

According to Vu Dai Thang, deputy chairman of Ha Nam, the province has prospered in recent years and with funds now available to support local businesses, Ha Nam looks to become an important gateway to the capital city of Hanoi.

The World Bank’s fund of $55 million, which run in 5 years from 2013 to 2018, will benefit the poor in Ha Nam by being invested into developing high performance products and technological solutions, which in turn will benefit the local community and improve quality of life for the poor.

The fund aims to strengthen local capacity towards inclusive innovation. It will include financing development, adaptation, adoption, scaling-up and commercializing inclusive technologies. It will also go into improving research and development institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises’ technological and innovative capabilities. Lastly, it will help in capacity development for programmes, coordinating policies, implementing programmes, and monitoring and evaluating related policy-making entities.

The fund supports the dual objectives of strengthening productivity through greater use of technology and continuing to reduce poverty.

Ha Nam, and Vietnam in general, have a strong tradition for and capacity and strategic interest in the preferential areas of traditional herbal medicine, information and communication technology applications, and agriculture and aquaculture technologies. By focusing on these three areas it can yield a quick and significant impact on the poor.

Several businesses in traditional herbal medicine, farming and agriculture and food processing that joined the conference showed great interest in the project, including Ha Nam Pharmaceutical Company, which is well known for its traditional herbal medicines both at home and abroad. Another local business, Nhan Binh agricultural processing facility, also shared its optimism with the project, saying that this support will enhance the facility’s technology and machinery to improve production, hygiene and competitiveness of its agricultural product and boost the number of employment in the province.

The project will be conducted in partnership with the Enterprise Development Agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) as the primary executing agency, and with selected participating banks – Vietinbank and Vietcombank – with the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) as the implementing agency.

The credit comes from the World Bank’s International Development Assocation, also known as the bank’s Fund for the Poorest.

Firms instructed to replant forests

Businesses that deliberately delayed the replanting of forests would have their operating licences revoked, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said yesterday.

He made the statement yesterday in Ha Noi during an online conference on replanting forests to replace those destroyed for other purposes.

Reviewing afforestation efforts in recent years, Phat said that progress in many localities remained slow.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry Nguyen Ba Ngai said that as of December, only 28 out of 55 cities and provinces had managed to replant forests.

The area of afforestation was about 4,650 hectares, accounting for 35 per cent of this year's target, and a number of localities had not planted alternative forests, such as Lai Chau, Thanh Hoa, Gia Lai, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa, Binh Phuoc and Tra Vinh.

Some localities had started afforestation, but the results remained weak such as Nghe An, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Quang Nam, Phu Yen and Lang Son.

At the conference, Phat asked all levels, sectors and localities to continue to strictly implement the replanting of alternative forests, saying this was an important task.

He said that afforestation must be completed in 2015, and businesses that did not replant alternative forests must pay for local forest protection and development.

Master scheme to develop height of Vietnamese people

Viet Nam will invest VND 6,000 billion (US$ 291 million) to raise the average height of Vietnamese people from 2.5 to 3.5 cm in the next 20 years.

This is part of a Master plan to develop physical strength and stature of Vietnamese people in the 2011-2030 period, said Deputy Chief of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The master plan consists of small-scale programs and will be conducted nationwide, mainly benefiting pupils and students.

Specially, it targets to raise the average height of Vietnamese men at 1.68 or 1.69 meters by 2030. The target heights for women are 1.55 meters by 2030.

Memorial stele for war victims inaugurated in Thua Thien-Hue

A stele commemorating 87 civilians who were killed by the US troops during war was inaugurated in Phong Dien district, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue , on December 16.

The black granite stele was built on a 204sq.m site at a cost of VND300 million (US$14,150).

At the ceremony, local authorities and families of the victims offered incense in remembrance of heroic martyrs and local people who laid down their lives for the cause of national liberation and reunification.

The ill-fated victims were savagely killed during an uprising against the US invaders in 1968.

Wanted Chinese swindler arrested in Ho Chi Minh City

The police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested a Chinese national who is being wanted by the police in China’s Guangdong province for swindling.

According to the Criminal Hunting Police Department (C52B) under the Public Security Ministry, Zhang Bing Zhao, 37, residing in Guangdong, swindled a bank out of 98 million RMB (over 15 million USD).

On December 30, 2013, the Guangdong police issued an arrest warrant against Zhang, who then escaped to Vietnam.

Zhang was found hiding in a house in An Duong Vuong street in ward 3, district 5, Ho Chi Minh City, when arrested.

He will be handed over to the Chinese police on December 17.

Coach accident leaves six dead, eight injured

Six people died and eight others were injured in a coach accident on a section of National Highway 18 that crosses the northern province of Quang Ninh’s Tien Yen district on December 16.

The coach was traveling from the province’s Mong Cai city to Ha Long city when it crashed into a container truck.

Those injured are being treated at general hospitals in Tien Yen and Dam Ha districts.

The case is under investigation.-

IFC awards first resource efficiency certifications in Vietnam

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, awarded its first EDGE resource efficiency certifications in Vietnam, at a ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 16.

The Nam Long Investment Corp and FPT City Da Nang JSC are the first companies to receive the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification for the Bridge View apartment and the FPT office building projects.

Adopting improved features such as a low embodied-energy facade, energy-efficient lighting and low-flow faucets, the Bridge View Apartment is expected to achieve reductions of 20.02 percent in energy, 21.7 percent in water and 26.8 percent in materials.

Meanwhile, the FPT’s office building is a top-end office complex in Da Nang city with resource-efficient solutions such as the utilisation of sewage treatment, rain collection, and cooling systems.

The building designed to accommodate 10,000 employees in the next two years is expected to reduce energy, water and construction material consumption by 20.7 percent, 31.8 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively.

Head of the Department of Sciences, Technology and Environment under the Ministry of Construction Nguyen Trung Hoa said the ministry encourages investors to build environmentally-friendly projects for the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions.

To qualify for the design certification, companies must prove their building design will reduce energy, water, and embodied energy in building materials by at least 20 percent compared to conventional buildings.

Sixty Khmer ethnic students in the southern province of Soc Trang received scholarships from the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund on December 16.

The recipients are from disadvantaged background and record outstanding academic performance.

Speaking at the granting ceremony, former Vice President Truong My Hoa, who is President of the fund, said the fund has given over 50,000 scholarships to students from poor ethnic minorities over the past 15 years.

Since 2010, Soc Trang students have received over 150 scholarships, each worth 1 million VND.

Established in 1999, the fund has helped build eight schools, 10 bridges, and 35 houses for the poor. It also has raised money for the construction of two elementary schools on Truong Sa Lon and Sinh Ton islands in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Xmas congratulations to southern parishioners

Officials from the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region wished a Merry Christmas to Protestants and Catholics in the southern province of Vinh Long on December 16.

Deputy head of the committee Duong Quoc Xuan recognised the contributions made by Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers to the locality’s economic development and social welfare, as well as charitable activities.

He said he hopes that the priests will continue encouraging religious followers to actively response to patriotic emulation movements in a joint effort to enhance the national solidarity.

Pastor Nguyen Thanh Kinh, head of the Vinh Long chapter of the Vietnam Protestant Association in southern region, pledged to call on parishioners to follow the policies of the Party and the law of the State and make more contributions to the local socio-economic development and security maintenance.

Catholicism and Protestantism are two major religions in Vietnam, with nearly 7 million and over 1 million followers, respectively.

Peach and Kumquat growers optimistic for New Year season

As Tet nears, peach and kumquat trees growers in Hanoi look forward to bountiful crops and good business after a year of favourable growing weather, according to an article published on the English language news portal dtinews.vn.

According to many garden owners, this year's sunny weather helped their flower buds to bloom in time.

Besides well-known traditional flower villages such as Nhat Tan, Quang Ba and Nghi Tam, Hanoi also has new flower growing places like La Ca village in Ha Dong district. La Ca village is known for the quality and diversity of its flowers, and is becoming the largest flower growing area in Hanoi.

Dang Van Manh, owner of a flower garden in Nhat Tan village, said last year, he was only able to rent out a few dozen peach trees. However, this time, he's already had more than 100 customers. "Last year, the weather was unpredictable and the frost prevented flower buds from blooming. On the other hand, some trees bloomed too soon, forcing the owners to sell fast," Manh was quoted as saying.

Last year was also a harsh year for kumquat growers. Long and heavy rains killed off a large number of kumquat trees and caused huge losses to owners.

Dong Nai aims for breakthrough in infrastructure next year

The southern province of Dong Nai has made improving road infrastructure the top priority in its list of measures to achieve its economic goals for next year, including an economic growth rate from 11.5 to 12.5 percent.

According to Dinh Quoc Thai, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, a complete transport infrastructure system will create a breakthrough for the province’s development besides boosting production and business activities as well as accelerating the restructure of economic sectors.

The province will improve transport links between urban areas, industrial zones and highways together with expanding rural roads, Thai said, adding that Dong Nai will work closely with neighbouring provinces and cities to accelerate the construction of key regional routes such as the HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay and Ben Luc-Long Thanh highways.

At the same time, the province will undertake a series of measures to stimulate and facilitate production and business activities.

The provincial leader noted that in the industrial sector, the province will strongly shift to green industries, giving priority to attracting high-tech, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly projects as well as investment in the support industry.

To boost export, one of the province’s strengths, Dong Nai will expand investment and trade promotion activities while exerting efforts to consolidate its foothold in traditional markets.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, in 2014, the province completed 16 out of 17 economic and environmental goals. The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) rose by 11.5 percent to 168 trillion VND (8 billion USD) and GRDP per capita reached 59.5 million VND (2,800 USD).

Dong Nai attracted 1.6 billion USD in FDI this year and collected nearly 36.4 trillion VND for the State budget.

Khanh Hoa sees sharp rise of RoK visitors

Approximately 60,000 holiday-makers from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have so far this year visited the central province of Khanh Hoa’s Nha Trang city, doubling that of 2013, reported the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to travel agencies, RoK visitors stay at three-five star hotels and resorts, and use high-class services and products such as playing golf and taking mud-bath.

Cam Ranh International Airport said from November, there are two direct flights a week from Seoul to Khanh Hoa, bringing about 120-130 visitors each.

This is a good signal for the local tourism sector, especially in the context that the number of Russian tourists shows a sign of decline.-

OVs in Angola support local community

The Association of Overseas Vietnamese in Angola’s western Benguela province has presented 25 tonnes of rice to the poor in the province.

The association’s representatives and Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola Do Ba Khoa handed over the donated rice worth over US$25,000 to the province’s authorities on December 14.

Benguela’s Governor Isaac Maria dos Anjos praised the meaningful deed of the Vietnamese expatriates towards the province’s needy people. He said the rice will be delivered to 2,500 disadvantaged households of Angolan refugees, who just recently returned home, before Christmas.

This is the second time the Vietnamese living in Angola have donated to help the disadvantaged in the host country.

Early next year, the Overseas Vietnamese Association in nearby Huambo province also plans to give 20 tonnes of rice to local needy people.

VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND