USAID grants US$1.5 mil to HCM City’s metro project

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways signed a grant agreement on September 18 for a feasibility study on fully integrated information solutions for the central control of a metro system in HCM City.

This is the third time USTDA has provided non-refundable aid to help the city implement an urban railway system.

Bui Xuan Cuong, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways said the project has a total projected cost of US$1.5 million, of which US$900,000 is sourced from USTDA, US$600, 000 from Cisco Systems and the remaining from the city’s budget.

When the study is completed, it should help the management board outline a long-term vision, connect information system in the urban railway system and improve the efficiency of business and management capacity.

Addressing the ceremony, US embassy Chargé d'Affaire Claire Pierangelo said the US technology plays an important role in supporting HCM City’s infrastructure development while hoping that cooperative relations between the US and Vietnam will further develop in the future.

Prime Minister instructs new measles vaccination drive

The Prime Minister has issued a directive requiring authorities of all provinces and centrally-run cities to ensure at least 95% of children aged 1-14 in their localities receive measles and Rubella vaccination in a national drive from now to early next year.

The Ministry of Health is instructed to work with relevant agencies and provincial and municipal People’s Committees to build detailed plans for the vaccination drive.

At the same time, the ministry must ensure sufficient supply of vaccines and other necessary materials for all localities.

The Ministry of Education and Training is tasked with raising the awareness of teachers, children and parents about the importance of vaccination.

The Prime Minister also requests the Ministry of National Defence to assist vaccination efforts in remote areas.

Many localities across the country have launched their own plans on giving measles and Rubella shots to children.

A measles epidemic erupted in the country in the first quarter of this year with outbreaks reported in 61 out of 63 cities and provinces. As many as 5,031 cases of measles were recorded in Vietnam in the first half of 2014. The disease was put under control in May.

LG offers scholarships and internship programme

LG Electronics Vietnam on September 18 announced the establishment of a five year scholarship and internship programme with Vietnam National University Students aiming to develop high-quality human resources in field of science and technology.

Pursuant to the agreement the company will offer five scholarships worth US$1,700 each annually to final-year students of Vietnam National University in Hanoi, which may also lead to working opportunities for the students in Vietnam or the Southeast Asian region.

Earlier, the company had signed similar agreements with Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Vietnam Maritime University.

Last 175 Vietnamese workers in Libya evacuated

The last group of 175 Vietnamese workers in Libya left the northern African country for Tunisia by road on September 17.

This is the last evacuation of Vietnamese workers jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Libya, a working team from the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and labour export companies, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Libya Dao Duy Tien.  

The last group comprises 103 people working in the coastal city of Misrata and 72 others in Ghadamis oasis town under labour contracts between SONA Co.Ltd. and the Vitech company and local contractors ANC and Misrata General Construction Company (GCCM).

The workers travelled by bus to the Ras Adjir border gate between Libya and Tunisia before taking flights back to Vietnam at Tunis international airport, said Nguyen Duc Nam, head of the working team in Tripoli.

However, there are two workers remaining in Ghadamis despite persuasions from their families, labour export companies and Ambassador Tien.

Regarding to three workers reported missing from late July, the Vietnamese Embassy has made contacts for many times with local authorities and relevant agencies and employers, asking for help in a search for them, but yet to locate whereabouts of the three workers.

First congress of Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association opens

The establishment of the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association (VSFA) aims to serve as a bridge promoting cooperation in politics, economics, culture, trade, tourism as well as strengthening mutual understanding between the two peoples.

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), Vu Xuan Hong made the remark at the first congress of the VSFA held in Hanoi on September 18.

The VUFO President congratulated the VFSFA on its establishment and becoming the 109th member of VUFO.

The Party and the State have attached great importance to enhancing relations with nations in the South East Asia including Singapore, adding the establishment of the association is a new advancement in the two countries’ friendship relations and people-to-people exchange, Hong said

VUFO PresidentVu Xuan Hong and Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh expressed hope that the VSFA will conduct practical and effective activities to deepen mutual understanding among peoples of Vietnam, Singapore and ASEAN member states, helping to build an ASEAN community by 2015.

Hong also asked the Singaporean embassy to support the establishment of the association to further increase people-to-people exchange to match the full potential of both nations’ friendship relations.

The congress elected a 29 member-executive committee and appointed National Finance Supervisory Commission Chairman Vu Viet Ngoan as Chairman of the association in the 2014-2019 period.

VSFA President Vu Viet Ngoan said the association’s objectives are to organise diverse activities to accelerate trade and economic ties, seminars on culture and arts and co-ordinate with relevant agencies to boost tourism, environment and educational activities.

Raymond Chow, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Singaporean embassy in Hanoi affirmed the embassy targets assisting the association carry out activities to promote friendship and people-to-people exchange.

Singapore is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner, ranking third among over 90 nations and territories investing in Vietnam.

Vietnam makes progress in social health insurance coverage

Vietnam has made great strides in expanding social health insurance coverage, now covering more than half of its population, the World Bank (WB) said in its report launched in Hanoi on September 17.

“Vietnam has made significant progress toward achieving universal coverage for its population, and the government has made ambitious plans toward reaching that goal.” said Victoria Kwakwa, the WB Country Director for Vietnam.

“This study shows us how Vietnam can speed up this process in order to ensure a healthy Vietnamese population while reducing the health financial burden on the poor,” she added.

The report “Moving toward universal Health coverage of Social health insurance in Vietnam: Assessment and Options” offers a comprehensive assessment of Vietnam’s implementation of its social health insurance programme, as well as recommendations on key reforms to achieve universal coverage.

According to the report, thanks to higher government spending in health care services, the insurance programme, which was piloted in 1989, has greatly boosted the number of people with health insurance. In 2010, 60 percent of the population got covered, up from 10 percent in the early 1990s.

The report proposed reforms in several areas, including further increasing insurance coverage through premium subsidies, encouraging family enrollment and enforcing enrollment compliance, and improving equity and financial protection by cutting down on extra charges outside of policy and introducing catastrophic cost coverage.

It also suggests s strengthening health financing arrangements by ensuring money is spent more effectively and efficiently on drugs, and increasing accountability by intensifying the organisation, management and governance of social health insurance.

Agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 5.7 million tonnes by 2020, approximately 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

To realise this goal, the sector will apply environmentally-friendly farming techniques, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said in a forum in Hanoi on September 17.

The forum was jointly held by the ministry, the International Support Group (ISG), the Environment and Development Foundation (EDF), and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.

The ministry’s Department of Cultivation will examine measures for treating and reducing waste in rural areas to reduce CO2 emissions and increase economic efficiency.

Rice cultivation models in the Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang and KienGiang have shown initial successes, with an average annual reduction of CO2 emissions of 7.7 tonnes and 45 tonnes per hectare, respectively.

They also helped protect water resources and ecosystems, in addition to yielding high quality produce, project director Tran Thu Ha said.

Agriculture produces approximately 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the National Strategy on Green Growth, Vietnam aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 8-10 percent during the 2011-2020 period.

A&T hands over Little Sun

The international initiative Alive & Thrive (A&T) handed over its “Little Sun” childcare trademark to Vietnam’s National Institute of Nutrition on September 17.

Vietnam’s nutritional institute now has control of the Little Sun branding and marketing tools, including its website, online forum, Facebook page and mobile application, which are used by millions of Vietnamese.

The centre is now also in charge of managing the trademark’s counselling-room service in the run up to A&T ending its project activities in Vietnam in late November.

Vietnam was the first country to offer the Little Sun social franchise’s model of providing high-quality counselling services and advice on child-rearing in a bid to prevent malnutrition, a representative of A&T said.

Le DanhTuyen, Director of the institute, said the guiding documents required to maintain and expand A&T’s parenting model were almost completed.

Across 15 Vietnamese provinces, A&T established a network of 781 counselling rooms, which is expected to grow to 1,031 rooms by November 2014. Estimates reckon that more than 100,000 people benefit from the service each month.

A&T has been running the initiative since 2009 in a bid to improve infant and child nutrition through the promotion of breastfeeding and the enhancement of complementary feeding practices in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

HCM City invests US$23 million to upgrade embankment system

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has decided to invest VND492 billion (US$23 million) in upgrading the city’s embankment and drainage systems in 2014 and 2015.

The plan is to prevent flooding and river bank landslides caused by rising tides in the city.

Accordingly, 45 works will be carried out in 2014 while 17 others in 2015. The projects focus on reinforcing dyke sections vulnerable to landslides in Thu Duc, BinhThanh and Cu Chi districts, and District 12.

The municipal People’s Committee urged districts to intensify the inspection to ensure the progress and effectiveness of the projects.

According to the city’s flood control programme’s management centre, there are 52 road sections vulnerable to flooding, mainly in Thu Duc and Tan Binh district, and District 12, during this year’s rainy season, which starts from May and runs through November.

Vietnam to host EROPA 2014

The 60th meeting and conference of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) will be held in Hanoi from October 19-24 on the theme of “Public Administration and Governance in the Context of Regional and Global Integration”.

The Prime Minister has authorised the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate with relevant agencies to organise the event.

The conference will create a forum for scholars, policymakers and practitioners to share and learn innovative approaches and best practices, challenges and opportunities as well as creative and transformative solutions for public administration and governance in the era of regional and global integration.

It also expects to expand the scope of research and knowledge sharing in the field of comparative and international public administration, facilitate theory development, influence policy formation and reforms, and raise awareness of the implications and expectations of the evolving and dynamic processes related to regional and global integration.

EROPA was officially set up in 1960 to meet the desire of developing countries to accelerate their socio-economic development through cooperation in researching and improving public administration.

It is a forum for exchanging information and initiatives on approaching renovation towards an effective and transparent administration.

EROPA comprises 10 countries, organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region.

Hanoi priotises investment in science- technology activities

Hanoi has became the first locality to deploy a range of investment projects and new policies to promote the role of science and technology for the city’s socio-economic development, the Vietnam Economic News reported.

According to Hanoi’s People’s Committee, the city has many advantages for the development of science and technology including a capable scientific workforce accounting for 70 percent of the country’s scientific staff. Hanoi is also home to a large number of research institutes and universities with high-quality human resources. During the 2008-2014 period, it has deployed 616 science and technology research projects and 56 pilot production projects.

According to Director of Hanoi’s Department of Science and Technology Le Xuan Rao, Hanoi decided to maintain a two percent of the its budget for science and technology activities and aims to increase the rate to 2.5 percent by 2020 as part of the efforts to promote the local scientific and technological development.

Researches have focused on the study of varieties of plants and animals, new farming technologies; high tech lines for industrial and agricultural services; engineering technology, automation, information technology, biotechnology, and processing.

To date, 192 organisations and businesses across the city have received guidance and consultancy for establishment of industrial property and branding such as Ba Vi Milk and Chuong Village’s Conical Hats.

The city has also conducted technology evaluation for 187 investment projects in areas of waste treatment and slaughter lines including North Thang Long-Van Tri and Yen So wastewater treatment plants and Dong Ke Waste Treatment Plant (Chuong My district).

Hanoi has organised conferences to promote links between managers, scientists and manufacturers and facilitate technological transfers, with the positive participation of lots of experts. The city has been implementing a series of projects including a technology research, appraisal and transfer centre, a regular technology exchange centre, and a biotechnology and food technology centre.

Hanoi’s People’s Committee recently decided to establish the Hanoi Foundation for Science and Technology Development, operating as an a non-profit affiliate of Hanoi’s Department of Science and Technology with legal personality and its own seal.

The fund will grant a loan up to 30 percent of the total investment project at zero percent interest during the implementation term as for applied research projects and experimental development, and up to 80 percent of total investment project with preferential interest rates as for organisations and businesses involving in technology development and transfer of scientific research results.-

Japanese firm provides funds for water purifier

The Halvo Ltd company of Japan has successfully tested its technology in Viet Nam that will be used to purify water and treat waste water.

The company's technology, which uses condensed organic substances, will be used to supply clean water in a sustainable manner in the central province of Ha Tinh and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Vinh Long. Later, the company will expand its activities to HCM City and other provinces.

The main component of the organic substance is volcanic ash sourced from Japan.

Over the last three years, Halvo has given funds to 29 localities in Ha Tinh and Vinh Long provinces to buy its products, Kiyomarukun and HOH, which treat wastewater and purify water.

The products are used at preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, hospitals, municipal offices and dormitories.

The water treatment technique can be easily installed, and saves time and money.

"At first, the price of the product will be the same as other treatment techniques, but it will fall later, depending on the market. However, it is environmentally friendly and takes much less treatment time, five times less, compared with other methods," Yoshiharu Yagyu, director of Halvo Viet Nam Ltd Company, told Viet Nam News.

The company established Halvo Viet Nam One Member Ltd. in April in Long An Province's Phuc Long Industrial Zone.

Its activities are part of a project to support developing countries that use technologies invented by small- and medium-sized enterprises from Japan.

Halva is funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

Rapid development, industrialisation and modernisation in Viet Nam have caused industrial wastewater, pesticides and other pollutants to affect lakes and underground water.

Water pollution has become an urgent national issue, as water treatment facilities, particularly in poor rural areas, are limited.

The lack of such treatment facilities has led to increased cases of diarrhea and skin and eye diseases among the public.

Household water in many rural areas, as well as in some areas in Ha Noi and other large cities, does not meet safety standards, a Halvo company press release said.

Labour export companies live off middlemen

Labour exporting companies in the central province of Nghe An are having problems competing with individual recruiters, called co in Vietnamese.

Some companies even have to rely on co, who will play as go-between for the company and labourers, to conduct their business effectively.

Nguyen Truong Giang, director of Nhat Minh International JSC specialising in labour export in the province, said that co helped recruit half the company's labourers.

"We spent a lot of money and effort to go to rural communes to recruit workers but we were only able to recruit one. Meanwhile, a single co was somehow able to send us eight," said Giang.

Other companies, such as the Viet International Labour JSC (Vilaco), set up a network of local recruiters to save costs.

"We don't recruit every month, only when our overseas partners request workers. To maintain a team of recruiters in rural areas is very expensive. That's why we choose to employ co, who are mostly locals," said Vilaco's Director Luu Thi Ngoc Tuy.

Yen Thanh District in the central province of Nghe An has 15 labour export companies, yet their recruiting methods have not proven effective.

Pham Xuan Tuyet, head of Yen Thanh District's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said many companies came but were unable to recruit many workers.

"They just came and announced they wanted to recruit some workers, then left. None of them tried to explain the advantages and benefits of going to work overseas," Tuyet said.

Many labour exporters did not even make the effort to go to rural communes to recruit. Instead, they just stationed one person to answer the phone and set up their recruiting network of co.

Vu Thi Linh, a Yen Thanh social worker who works in employment for the district, said she had not seen any recruiter from labour exporters show up at the local committee in more than ten years.

"We could provide them with a lot of support and information, but they completely bypass and ignore the local committee," she said.

Explaining the practice of employing local recruiters, Le Van Thuy of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said that while many companies were licensed to export labour, it was not really their core business.

"Lacking a long-term strategy and effective recruiting networks, they have no choice but to rely on co," he said.

This has led to many problems. Workers recruited by co rarely receive language and cultural orientations before going to work in other countries; many are unaware of the type of work they will be doing. As a result, they struggle to adapt to the new environment.

Nghe An sends 11,000-12,000 workers overseas annually and currently has 55,000 workers abroad who send home about $US110 million in cash per year.

Erosion puts dyke network at risk in northern province

Serious erosion has affected riverbanks in the northern province of Phu Tho, endangering local dyke systems.

In Phu Ninh District, erosion of the Tien Du drain gate area was nearing the foot of the Lo dyke.

"Heavy rains last month together with water runoff have eroded the riverbanks in the Tien Du drain gate area," said Tien Du commune People's Committee Deputy President Le Duc The.

He added that apart from the Lo dyke, the road running along the river was also being threatened with erosion getting closer to the road's base.

Another drain gate in the district, Cau Den, could not function at normal capacity due to four sewers collapsing from erosion.

Meanwhile, some 30 metres of the riverbank in the neighbouring district of Thanh Thuy were in need of urgent repairs after being battered during the rain season, said Yen Mao commune People's Committee President Dinh Thanh Hung.

He said that erosion would not only threaten the dike, but also pose a danger to households in the area. It would also endanger the road connecting the district to Hoa Binh province.

"We have reported the situation to the province's leaders but there is not yet any plan to solve this," Hung said.

The two communes have put up signs warning residents to stay away from dangerous areas while awaiting orders from higher authorities.

Some eroded parts of other communes including Tam Nong, Lam Thao and Doan Hung were also on the waiting list of those urgently needing repairs.

Hygienic latrines on offer to rural poor

About 17,000 families living below or near the poverty line from 60 communes in four provinces, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Binh Dinh and Ben Tre will be helped to build hygienic latrines under a project aimed at fighting disease carried by water.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Output-based Aid project, with total funds of more than VND15.7 billion (US$750,900), was implemented by East Meets West , a US-based international development organisation, and the Viet Nam Health Environment Management Agency under the Ministry of Health.

The project has been running since last November and will end in November next year.

Poor families that purchase latrines will receive a rebate. Rural communes that reach good sanitation coverage will receive a financial award.

Phu Quoc becomes second-tier city

The Prime Minister has recognised Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang province as meeting the criteria of a second-tier city.

The rating system classifies cities into tiers based on political, economic and demographic factors signifying their current stage of development.

The island's promotion follows progress made in becoming an economic and political hub, a crucial frontier in national defence and security and a crucial transit point for international travellers.

The local government has also made strides in urban planning, consolidating more than 70 per cent of urban housing, constructing a 60.72-kilometre transport network and developing a 67.5-hectare urban area. It is also developing regulations to guide the management of the island's architecture.

Illegally logged timber haul discovered

Quang Nam's Forest Ranger have recovered a large stack of illegally sawn timber logs in Que Lam commune of Nong Son district.

Chief Officer of Quang Nam's Forest Ranger, Phan Tuan said that 257 sawn timber logs measuring a total volume of 51 cubic metres had been found. The haul ranged from samples of first class (highest quality) timber to seventh class (second lowest quality) timber.

The illegal timbers were pending at sector 640 and 642 of the commune for a Thu Bon River transfer to the delta region for sale.

Quang Nam's Forest Ranger and the local authority have preserved the crime scene to prevent criminals from removing the timber.

More than 100 timber logs have been removed from the forest. Quang Nam's Forest Ranger is investigating the case.

Programme improves hospital quality

Doctors at Can Gio Hospital in HCM City's outlying district earlier this year performed an emergency surgery to deliver the baby for a 25-year-old patient with ectopic pregnancy.

A surgery to deliver a child growing outside the uterus had never been done at the hospital before.

In performing the operation they were helped by doctors from the city's Hung Vuong Obstetrics and Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospitals, though only over the telephone.

Tran Ninh Bao Nhi, head of Can Gio Hospital's obstetrics ward, said in the past such cases had to be transferred to city hospitals like Hung Vuong and Tu Du.

But this time they decided to operate on her since there was not enough time to safely transfer her, she said.

She called doctors at Hung Vuong and Nguyen Tri Phuong to seek help with anaesthesia and the surgery. Every major hospital in HCM City – and other main cities — has a room dedicated for communicating with grassroots medical facilities in case of emergencies.

The surgery turned out successful, a happy Nhi said.

Besides, the hospital doctors' skills had received a boost as had that of other specialists who had to do procedures like spinal and endotracheal anaesthesia, she added.

The process of upgrading skills has in fact been going on since the Ministry of Health and the city started programmes in 2008 to send doctors from speciality hospitals in cities to lower-level hospitals to improve the quality of treatment at these places.

This has resulted in improving people's trust in hospitals like Can Gio, which now refers less than 10 per cent of its patients to city hospitals for treatment.

It set up a paediatrics ward with assistance from the city-based Paediatrics Hospital No 2 last December, and it receives 90 children every day and sometimes as many as 120.

Tran Thi Hoa of the district's Long Hoa Commune, who took her year-old grandchild to the hospital for treatment, said the new ward save the cost of travelling to the city for treatment.

"It is very convenient for me and others with young children," she said, adding that the doctors there are solicitous.

Ly Van Hang, deputy head of another public hospital in an outlying district, Cu Chi, said the programme has helped improve doctors at his hospital.

Under the programme, a doctor in a city hospital is sent to district hospitals for a period of at least one year.

According to the city Department of Health, more than 50 specialists have been sent to district hospitals since December. They have trained 130 doctors and themselves treated 37,000 outpatients and 445 inpatients, performing 141 surgeries, it said.

Nhi admitted however that the programme cannot resolve the shortage of specialists at district hospitals.

For instance, though her hospital set up the paediatrics ward, it does not have a specialist yet and its doctors are all from the Paediatrics Hospital No 2, who return to the city during weekends, she said.

"It is very important to resolve the shortage of specialised doctors at district hospitals."

Dr Nguyen Thanh Tue of the Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, who has been sent to Can Gio Hospital, also said that complicated surgeries cannot be performed at the hospital because of the shortage of equipment.

He rued the fact that his and other doctors' skills are not being taken advantage of despite being sent to lower-level hospitals.

Dr Phan Van Nghiem, deputy head of Nguyen Tri Phuong, lamented that the hospitals that second their specialists end up facing a shortage of doctors.

His hospital has been asked to send eight doctors, and the burden of their absence has to be shared by the ones remaining.

"Patients wait longer for treatment because the number of doctors is lower."

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tho of Hung Vuong Obstetrics Hospital who has been seconded to the Can Gio Hospital complained that working at district hospitals is disrupting her personal life.

"My three-year-old child has to be sent to my parents' when I work at Can Gio during the week. I return to the city only during weekends."

Water drainage service fee mulled in HCMC

The HCMC Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) is working on a plan to charge citizens for water drainage service and wastewater treatment fees to ease burdens on the city budget.

A fee of VND1,400 is planned for every cubic meter of clean water that citizens use, the institute said at a meeting held in the city last week to gather comments from relevant agencies on a project of raising funds for building and operating water drainage and wastewater treatment systems.

The charge is equivalent to 25% of the current water prices for households in the city to consume within allowable volumes. This drainage service fee is similar to that of Danang City and lower than Soc Trang City, according to the institute.

Early last month, the Government issued Decree 80/2014/ND-CP on water drainage and wastewater treatment, and the decree will take effect next year. For the households using clean water from the public water supply system, the amount of wastewater used to calculate for the fee is equal to the clean water they consume monthly.

Running water in HCMC is now mostly provided by Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco), and the city currently collects an environmental protection fee equivalent to 10% of water bills for wastewater treatment.

However, that collection is only half of the cost of operating the water drainage and wastewater treatment systems, and the rest is financed by the city budget.

According to the institute if the drainage service fee is applied, it will help the city recover the money spent on operating and maintaining the systems in the initial time. In the next stage, the fee may be increased to offset expenses for operation, maintenance and depreciation of all fixed assets of the systems.

The institute is expected to submit the plan to the city government for approval in November.

The institute said the city needs to develop 198 projects worth combined capital of more than VND133.5 trillion (around US$6.3 billion) for wastewater treatment, drainage and flood tide control.

Fire destroys printing-ink facility in Binh Duong Province

A fire that broke out at about 4 pm on Thursday destroyed the facilities of a Japanese-invested printing-ink plant in the southern province of Binh Duong. The fire was finally contained at 1:30 am today.

The manufacturer of the products is Sakata Inx Vietnam Ltd, located at 33 Tu Do Street in Thuan An Town, according to the Viet Nam – Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) authority.

Some 20 fire engines were sent to the site. Firefighters were able to prevent the spread of the fire to the fuel section of the plant.

Robert Ng, a representative of Sakata Inx Vietnam Ltd., said the blaze might have started in a storage section containing solvents for ink manufacturing. The area had been exposed to bright sunlight.

He said the solvents could burst into flames at temperatures of 37o - 38 o Celsius.

According to a company representative, hundreds of tonnes of chemicals were being used as solvents for manufacturing printing-ink. He said the damages could be rather high.

Tran Van Nam, deputy chairman of Binh Duong People's Committee, said efforts taken by fire-fighting forces had helped to contain the fire and minimise damages.

Relevant authorities said Sakata Inx Vietnam Ltd. had invested US$14.5 million in the plant, which is located on 2ha in Thuan An Town.

Two injured in train-truck collision

Two train drivers were injured when a Ha Noi-bound train, carrying 315 passengers, collided with a container truck in the central province of Nam Dinh early this morning.

The truck, being driven by 41-year-old Chu Van Thang from the northern Hai Phong city and carrying 25 tonnes of rice, was crossing a railway line when it was hit by the train.

The crash derailed the train's head which fell onto the adjacent Highway No 10. None of the train passengers were reported to be injured.

The crash is being investigated further.

Two foreigners in HCM City arrested for bank card fraud

Police officials in HCM City recently arrested two Malaysian nationals for using fake bank cards to withdraw money and purchase high value goods.

According to the HCM City Police Department, the card service centre of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) discovered people using counterfeit cards to withdraw money at an ATM machine in Dong Khoi street in HCM city.

Shortly after receiving notification from Viecombank, police in district 1 and HCM City’s police force were at the scene and arrested Cheng Pusing and Wong Siew Wah, seizing a total of 32 fake credit cards.

The two 19 year-old foreigners admitted they had used fake ATM cards to withdraw money at Vietcombank’s ATM machine and were caught red-handed by the police.

Additionally, they admitted purchasing a bottle of Louis XII wine worth VND106 million in a five-star hotel in district 1 on September 14.

The case is still under investigation.

Germany helps train Vietnamese nurses

A total of 125 Vietnamese young people will participate in a three-year training course in Germany to become instrumental in taking care of the elderly.

This second part of a vocational training programme  was jointly conducted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy , the Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Federal Public Employment Agency (BA) and the International Placement Services (ZAV).

A preparatory course for these trainees recently opened at the ASEAN College, providing them with German language training by July 2015, said the German Embassy in Vietnam.

As many as 100 Vietnamese were recruited last year following the first phase of the programme.

Village helps youngsters in career path

A ceremony was held on September 19 to kick off construction of a start-up village for youths in Bac Ai mountainous district, central Ninh Thuan province.

Covering over 1,000 ha in Phuoc Dai commune, the village is designed to have a cultural house, a sports ground, a kindergarten, and other necessary facilities.

The project, worth 54 billion VND (2.53 million USD), is expected to be completed by 2018. It is one of the 15 youth start-up villages approved by the Government for the 2013-2020 period.

Once operational, the village will benefit 150 youth households with 540 people who will receive technical assistance in cultivation for sustainable household economic development.

It will also encourage youngsters to take an active part in building new-style rural areas in order to bring a new facelift for the locality, according to Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s provincial chapter Chau Thanh Hai.

On the occasion, the chapter presented 20 scholarships, each worth 500,000 VND, to disadvantaged students in Bac Ai district.

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