Korean firm fined for mistreating workers

A South Korean company specialising in assembling electronic components in the northern province of Hai Duong has been fined more than VND490 million (US$23,300) for 14 administrative violations.

The JK Electronics Co Ltd, located in Lai Cach Town, Cam Giang District, was prosecuted for not paying enough social insurance and unemployment insurance to more than 100 workers involved in work with poisons, for not providing periodic health examinations, for making employees work beyond regulated hours, and for not paying enough salary to night-shift workers.

Chairman of the Hai Duong People's Committee Nguyen Manh Hien told the company to immediately find ways of correcting its mistakes.

HCM City police bust hi-tech crime ring

Police in HCM City have caught an alleged criminal group of people from Taiwan using high technology to defraud others, mainly Chinese.

Municipal police said it was co-ordinating with other relevant agencies to expel the 26 Taiwanese offenders.

On July 14, police raided a house in Nguyen Van Huong Road, Thao Dien Ward, District 2 and found a gang using high-tech telecom devices to swindle victims.

Police seized two computers, eight Voice IP Gateway devices, two wifi broadcast systems, two converters, two switches and 14 laptops.

The swindlers posed as customer service and bank staff to defraud the victims, guiding them to use their ATMs in China based on more than 50 scenarios they had prepared.

New bridge collapses under heavy flooding

A suspension bridge completed in Dien Bien Province in May to stop children being pulled across a stream in large plastic bags has been destroyed in floods.

The bridge collapsed after being hit by a raft floating down the swollen stream during floods caused by Typhoon Rammasun on Tuesday.

Strong flood waters from the Nam Po River then flipped the bridge over.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang asked the municipal Department of Transportation to repair the bridge as soon as possible.

The VND3.5 billion (US$167,000) bridge was opened to the public in early May after a video clip, posted online, showed local children being forced to use plastic bags to cross the stream.

An old bridge on concrete foundations had been washed away in floods.

Demand for high-level employees increasing

The number of jobs postings on the job website VietnamWorks.com increased by 23 per cent to more than 26,000 jobs in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the online recruitment company's Employment Indicator Report.

During the period, demand for employees for positions of team leader, supervisor, manager and director increased, while jobs for recent graduates and entry-level positions as well as internships fell.

Demand for team leaders and supervisors increased 24 per cent compared to the first six months of 2013.

For manager and director positions, demand grew by 28 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, positions for recent graduates fell by 19 per cent.

The labour supply saw a year-on-year drop of six per cent but is expected to grow in the next six months, the report said.

The labour supply fell from more than 1.4 million job applicants in the first six months of 2013 to more than 1.3 million applications in the first half of 2014.

Sales, IT, software and marketing were the top fields with the highest need for employees in the first half of the year.

Sales, IT/software and marketing posted 5,000, 4,000 and 3,200 jobs, respectively, for the first six months of 2014 on VietnamWorks.com.

Accounting, administrative and clerical positions attracted the most job-seekers.

Accounting and administrative/clerical positions received 214,000 and 179,000 job applications, respectively, for the same period.

Job-seekers applying for accounting faced a stiff competition ratio of 1 to 98, and those in Da Nang and Bien Hoa cities faced a competition ratio of 1 to 58 and 1 to 67 respectively. In HCM City and Ha Noi, it was 1 to 52.

HCM City commune sees diarrhea outbreak due to poor sanitation

Healthcare officials are warning of a diarrhea outbreak following the death of an infant last weekend.

A 10 month-old boy from Le Minh Xuan Commune, Binh Chanh District was brought to Children's Hospital No. 1, where he died of gastrointestinal infections caused by diarrhea, after a one-day treatment in the hospital, according to the local authorities.

His death prompted the local People's Committee on Wednesday to issue an outbreak alert for Le Minh Xuan.

Eight others from the commune have been hospitalized with diarrhea so far this month.

All patients showed positive with tests for harmful E.coli bacteria.

The city's Preventive Medicine Centre said that poor environmental hygiene was blamed for the outbreak.

One cause is communal sewage that was discharged into residents' fishponds.

Truong Van Hanh, vice chairman of the commune's People's Committee, said the VAC system of the commune was probably the culprit.

VAC in Vietnamese is vuon, ao, chuong, which means "garden/pond/livestock pen." It is a form of domestic agriculture in which food gardening, fish rearing and animal husbandry are wholly integrated.

Nguyen Tri Dung, head of the Preventive Medicine Centre, said that the commune will be at high risk of being attacked by dengue fever, hand-foot-mouth and Japanese encephalitis if authorised agencies do not take prompt preventive action.

Medical staff of the commune's health centre sprayed Chloramine B to destroy bacteria in the commune.

The city's health sector is working to bring the situation under control.

Le Hoang Phuc, a doctor from the Children's Hospital No. 1, said that parents are advised to feed their children with hygienic food, and to give them provide vitamin A as a defense against diarrhea.

Parents should take children to the nearest health clinic as soon as they are symptomatic.

AmCham VN honours World Blood Donor Day

More than 1,140 volunteers donated 1,497 units of blood in HCM City and the southern province of Binh Duong as part of a drive by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Viet Nam to celebrate the World Blood Donor Day.

The campaign, took place from July 14-23, focused on the value of donated blood to pregnant women and childbirth-related complications and severe bleeding.

Though voluntary blood donation increased nearly 20 per cent over last year, donated units of blood still only meets half of the need nationwide, according to the HCM City Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

Encephalitis cases nearly quadruple in Hanoi

Since early this year, Hanoi has reported 21 cases of Japanese encephalitis, 17 cases more than the same period last year.

Of the infection number, one died in the outlying district of Ba Vi.

The disease has occurred scatteredly in 21 wards and villages of 14 districts. Most patients were children who had not been vaccinated, or were unclear about vaccination record.

Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the Hanoi Preventive Medicine Centre, reports far too many parents are reluctant to have their children vaccinated because they are afraid the vaccines cause adverse sideeffects.

“This is unfortunate and results in pushing the number of patients up,” Cam said.  “For children aged 1-3 the disease is essentially contained with a vaccination rate of nearly 97%.”

Currently, the municipal medical sector is carrying out additional immunization campaigns for children aged 1-14 in all affected areas, he said.

The disease’s main syndromes are high fever, headache, feeling sick and vomiting. Children also often report losing sleep, crying, seizures and coma.

The Ministry of Health cautions that maintaining a sanitary environment is the key to prevention of the disease.  Houses should be cleaned regularly and livestock pens should be maintained a safe distance away from home.

Vaccination is the single most effective way to prevent the disease.

Int’l community applauds Vietnam’s HIV programmes

HIV/AIDS prevention work in Vietnam has been hailed as the epitome of enormous achievements other nations should strive to emulate at the 20th international AIDS conference (IAC) ongoing in Melbourne, Australia from July 20-25.

Reports showed that in spite of immense difficulties, Vietnam has for the fifth consecutive year made tremendous progress towards the goal of reducing numbers of new infections, full-blown AIDS cases, and deaths.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long held sidelines meetings with leaders of numerous international organisations, including Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, President of the International AIDS Society; Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFFATM), and representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The leaders expressed their admiration for Vietnam’s accomplishments in HIV/AIDS prevention and pledged continued financial and technical support for the Southeast Asian country.

Mark Dybul revealed that the GFFATM was highly impressed with Vietnam’s HIV/AIDS programmes and specifically acknowledged he would use his best efforts to support Vietnam’s application for US$158 million funding from the GFFATM.

For her part, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi pledged to finance a major Vietnamese project to improve testing capacity for early detection of HIV and pledged to wholeheartedly vote in favour of granting the country US$158 million non-refundable aid from the GFFATM.

Ireland to continue assistance to Ha Giang province

A delegation of the Irish Embassy made a fact-finding visit to Irish Government-funded projects in the northernmost mountainous province of Ha Giang from July 21 – 24, pledging the programmes to be continued in the time ahead.

At a working session with provincial authorities on July 24, Ambassador Damien Cole spoke highly of the building progress and the use of centralised water supply facilities in rural communes.

He also valued socio-economic attainments that Ha Giang has achieved over the past years despite its particular economic and transport disadvantages.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Tien acknowledged assistance provided by the Irish Government and pledged that his locality will implement cooperation projects transparently and effectively, helping raise living conditions of ethnic minority people.

From 2011 to June 2014, the Irish Government doled out more than VND36 billion (US$1.7 million) for Ha Giang to improve its infrastructure in extremely disadvantaged communes.

VAVA President inspects policies for AO victims

President of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) Nguyen Van Rinh on July 24 visited the Mekong delta province of Hau Giang to inspect the enforcement of policies designed for AO victims.

Hau Giang has 8,400 AO victims, of whom 3,200 had exposed directly to the toxic chemical, according to Thai Vu, Vice President of the provincial Association of AO/Dioxin Victims.

In the first half of this year, the province raised nearly VND5 billion to buy wheel-chairs, build houses and offer financial assistance to families of AO victims.

In the time to come, it has set to conduct more fund-raising activities that are hoped to aid house building for the victims and scholarships for their offspring, said Vu.

Rinh hailed the province for taking well care for the victims materially and physically.

He showed his support for the locality’s plan to build nursing homes for children with disabilities and contributors to the national revolutionary cause, including AO victims.

On the occasion, the delegation handed over VND150 million to Hau Giang’s authorities for the construction of five houses for AO victims.

The VAVA was established in 2003 and officially registered as the sole representative entity in coordinating and combining all the possible and varied forms of support activities for AO victims.

It set up a panel to undertake a 2011-2015 study reviewing and making all revisions needed to existing policies for AO victims.

During the war in Vietnam, the US troops sprayed nearly 80 million litres of herbicides, 61% of which was Agent Orange containing 366kg of dioxin.

An estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical, with over 3 million of them dying or painfully struggling from its serious effects.

Not only Vietnamese but people from many other countries also became victims of this mass-killing chemical.

JICA helps improve Vietnam’s food safety control

A conference was held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 24 to review a Japan-funded project on strengthening the capacity of inspection system for ensuring safety of agro-fishery food in Vietnam.

The project has been implemented between December 2011 and November 2014 with funding of US$ 4.66 USD from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Can Tho is the major destination of the project.

Speaking at the event, Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Van Quynh said the locality has completed the building of database management software in the field.

Taking food samples was carried out in 68 food business and production establishments in the city, Quynh noted, adding that 62 among them met requirements on food safety.

According to Nguyen Nhu Tiep, Director of the Department of Management of Agro-Forestry and Aquatic Quality (DMAFAQ) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, his agency has organised nine training courses in Japan for Vietnamese staff working in the field.

In the next three months, more Vietnamese will be sent to Japan to practise the management of laboratories, he said, adding that at the department will issue six standard processes on sample taking and analysis.

HCM City, Busan bolster all-embracing cooperation

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang and visiting Vice Mayor of the Republic of Korea’s Busan city Kim Jong-hae stressed their determination to boost bilateral multi-faceted cooperation during their meeting on July 24.

Cang said since their twin relationship was set up 20 years ago, HCM City and Busan have intensified their collaboration in a wide range of areas from health care, education and culture to fire prevention and fighting, helping nurture their friendship as well as the relations between Vietnam and the RoK.

He said his city is carrying out many major projects to meet local development demand and, therefore, it hopes to welcome more RoK businesses, especially to support industries and infrastructure building.

Vice Mayor Kim said the cities’ relations are growing comprehensively and expressed his belief that both sides will find out most effective measures to enhance their partnership and the two countries’ ties.

VIA, Microsoft launch mobile app contest

Vietnam Internet Association (VIA) in partnership with Microsoft Vietnam on July 24 launched a mobile application development contest.

The competition aims to provide aspiring and professional software application developers the opportunity to showcase their technical savviness by creating software applications having significance for the fields of computing, IT, business and marketing.

There are no age limitations for contestants. The organizing board will receive entries from August 1 to September 30, 2014.

There are two categories for the development of mobile apps, namely a complete product and an idea category.

The jury will award VND50 million, VND20 million and VND10 million for the first, second and third prizes respectively in the complete product category.

Another top three awards will be accorded VND15 million, VND10 million and VND5 million in the idea category.

Microsoft Vietnam, Mobogienie and Ting World will also present ancillary awards of VND20 million each for best city app, most downloaded app on Mobogienie gate and best app idea having a sense of community.

The award presentation ceremony is scheduled for December 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Intensifying search in Cambodia for fallen soldiers remains

Vietnamese and Cambodian military agencies have mapped out a plan to accelerate search activities and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers who laid down their lives in Cambodia.

At a July 24 working session, Vietnamese Defense Attaché office in Cambodia, Royal Cambodian Army representatives and provincial leaders, reviewed search operations, and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in four Cambodian provinces and agreed to intensify such activities under signed agreements between the two sides.

Cambodian Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of Military Region 5, General Ek Som On and provincial leaders pledged to facilitate search and repatriation activities.

Since 2001, 417 remains of Vietnamese soldiers in the area of Military Region 5 have been repatriated in which 193 sets of remains have been found mostly in Battambang province.

On this occasion, Colonel Nguyen Anh Dung, Vietnam's Defence Attaché in Cambodia presented Military Region 5 representatives and provincial authorities US$ 34,000 to support search and repatriation information collection.

Vietnam-Laos friendship highlighted in Australia

The Embassies of Vietnam and Laos in Canberra, Australia recently hosted a friendship exchange marking the 52nd anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (1962-2014) and the signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (1977).  

Vietnamese Ambassador Luong Thanh Nghi and his Lao counterpart Phomma Khammanichanh affirmed that the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos are invaluable assets which were cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Kaysone Phomvihan along with generations of leaders and people from both countries.

They reviewed the monumental achievements in bilateral cooperation spanning from politics, foreign affairs, defense and security to economics, culture, social affairs, education and training, as well as multilateral cooperation at regional and international forums.

“The two countries need to fully utilize their huge potential and cooperation opportunities to strengthen their cooperative relations in the time to come.” They said.

Lao Ambassador Phomma Khammanichanh reiterated the support and valuable assistance Vietnam gave to Laos’ past revolutionary cause and its current national construction. He also appreciated Vietnamese investment in Laos with more than 420 projects capitalized at nearly US$3.6 billion, making it become one of the leading investors of Laos’ 52 investment partners.

For his part, Ambassador Nghi emphasized that the ties of traditional friendship and close cooperation between the two Parties, Governments and people are an important factor behind the socio-economic development of each country.

The two diplomats noted with satisfaction with embassy staff’s efforts to maintain a close-knit relationship through diverse and practical exchange activities thereby further deepening mutual understanding and trust.

“Embassy staff should strengthen the exchange of information and diplomatic experience and support each other to fulfill tasks entrusted to by the Party, Government and the people in each country.” They said.

Also at the exchange, embassy staff gave special art performances and enjoyed traditional food from both countries.

Trade union’s labourer protection role hailed

President of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTO) ShaabanAzzuouz has spoken of efforts by the Vietnam trade union in protecting labourers’ benefits.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) plays a role in the WFTO’s development, Shaaban Azzuouz said during his talks with VGCL President Dang Ngoc Tung in Hanoi on July 23.

The host briefed the guest on the development of the VGCL in recent years with its increasing position.

The 11th VGCL Congress in 2013 adopted its action plan for the next five years, targeting 10 million members by 2018, he said.

As part of celebrations of its 85th founding anniversary, the VGCL holds a series of events, including an international workshop on the East Sea on July 27 in Ho Chi Minh City, Tung said.

For his part, Shaaban Azzouz, who is also President of Syria’s General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) briefed the host on Syria’s trade unions and challenges in protecting labourers and their interests.

The two sides expressed their hope that cooperation and mutual understanding between the two countries and their trade unions will be further developed in the coming time.

Special exchange for Vietnamese, Laos, Cambodian children

Nearly 200 children from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will participate in a special exchange programme to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from July 28 to August 1.

They are scheduled to meet HCM City leaders, and visit several tourist attractions such as Ho Chi Minh Museum, War Remnants Museum, the Independence Place, Rung Sac Special Zone in Can Gio district, Cu Chi tunnels system, and Ben Duoc Temple.

A major highlight of the programme will be a cultural and art exchange at the Municipal Youth Culture House on July 30.

The programme aims to strengthen solidarity and international friendship, as well as tightening the relationship between the three countries. Through the event, organisers want to introduce participants to the history, cultural traditions and socio-economic development of Vietnam in general and HCM City in particular.

This is the third time HCM City will host the event.

Remains of volunteer soldiers repatriated from Cambodia

The southern province of Binh Phuoc on July 23 held a ceremony to rebury remains of 58 volunteer Vietnamese soldiers repatriated from the Cambodian provinces of Kratie and Kampong Thom.

The ceremony was attended by leaders of the Command of Military Zone 7, provinces of Kratie, Kampong Thom, Binh Phuoc and local people.

The province also re-interred eight remains of Vietnamese soldiers discovered in several localities in the country.

Millions of Vietnamese soldiers laid down their lives in the battlefields during the wars of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism, as well as in joining lofty international missions in Laos and Cambodia.

Thousands of fallen soldiers have been unaccounted for across Vietnam and in the two neighbouring countries. The search, gathering, repatriation and re-interment of the soldiers are conducted every year, receiving due attention from the Party and State.

To date, as many as 2,423 sets of remains of Vietnamese soldiers have been reburied in Binh Phuoc.

*** The southern province of Long An on July 24 received and re-buried 24 remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers repatriated from Cambodia.

Solidifying int’l cooperation in natural resources, environment

Fortifying international cooperation for sustainable management of natural resources and the environment is a key task for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in the second half of the year.

At a meeting to review work in the first half of this year and devise tasks for the second half, MoNRE Minister Nguyen Minh Quang said the ministry will focus on mobilising funds for key projects, enhancing management and improving the quality and efficiency of the projects.

It is gearing up for organising the 11th conference of the Vietnam -China joint working group on meteorological cooperation and attending the 5th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit and the 20th GMS Ministerial Meeting.

MoNRE leaders will take part in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministerial Meeting, the sixth round of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) negotiations, the sixth round of negotiations on cooperation in less sensitive issues at sea between Vietnam and China, and an ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC).

The ministry has also drafted contents for attending the 11th Vietnam-the Republic of Korea Environment Ministers Meeting, the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 13), the 20th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20) and the 10th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 10).

In the first half of the year, the ministry proposed that the Prime Minister include the support programme to respond to climate change (SP-RCC) in the list of prioritised programmes and projects using ODA. It carried out a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in geology and the use of mineral resources.

In addition to signing a funding agreement between the Vietnamese and Australian Governments on examining the impact of hydropower projects on the Mekong River mainstream, the MoBRE inked an MoU on environment cooperation with the Turkey’s Environment and Urban Ministry.

About 6,000 trained workers needed for atomic energy sector

Vietnam’s atomic energy sector needs about 6,000 trained workers in order to meet national atomic energy development targets by 2020.

The figure that includes those who will work for nuclear power plants was revealed at the July 23 meeting on human resources training for the atomic energy sector under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the country currently has 1,300 officials with university degrees or higher working in ministries, sectors and localities in the area of atomic energy.

Facing such a limited number of personnel, the ministry underscored the need for employing and training an additional 5,000 people by 2020.

Dam, who heads the National Steering Committee for human resources training for the sector, said it was necessary to make preparations in human resources, technology, finance and legal mechanisms for the construction of future nuclear power plants – a scheme that was approved by the Government.

He required ministries and sectors concerned to figure out human resource demands for the atomic energy sector and to design proper training projects, saying the training in the area must be practical to avoid inefficiency and wastefulness.

High school universalisation effective in disadvantaged areas

A project on junior high school universalisation in the most disadvantaged areas has prove efficient after six years of implementation, said a senior education ministry official.

The project has promoted the development of junior high school education in disadvantaged areas, thus accelerating the universalisation at the level nationwide, Nguyen Vinh Hien, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said at a July 24 conference to review the project.

Eiko K. Izawa from the Asian Development Bank said this is the most successful project funded by the regional financial institution, adding that it is the first project that has not asked for more time for fulfilling its set targets.

According to the ADB official, the project’s success is attributed to a proper design, a close coordination between donors and the government, and efforts made by the project management board.

The project was carried out in 17 provinces across the country, offering educational opportunities for students, especially female and ethnic minority ones in disadvantaged areas, according to a report at the conference.

Under the project, 820 classrooms and 978 rooms for day boarders were built at junior high schools and 48 other classrooms at eight vocational training centres.

The project granted scholarships to 210 students from ethnic minority groups to aid their study at teachers’ training colleges.

In addition, the project helped increase the numbers of those to attend junior high school at right age and female junior high school students while reducing the rate of dropouts.

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