American ordained nun at Vietnamese pagoda

A 17-year old American girl Kayala Jaramillo has cut her hair,  taken vows of chastity and been ordained a nun at Thien Vien Chan Nguyen (Buddhist Meditation Centre) in California, the US.

Her parents, Keray Jaramillo and Armida Jaramillo, both 62, have also been recognized as Buddhist followers at the Buddhist Meditation Centre in the presence of Venerable Thich Dang Phap, monks, nuns and nearly 100 Buddhist believers.

Mr Keray Jaramillo has taken the Dharma name Nguyen dat, and his wife, Chan thanh. Their daughter Kayala Jaramillo is now nun Thich nu chan giac.

Earlier, Kayala Jaramillo was a student at an Ontario high school. She used to follow her parents to the Buddhist Meditation Centre and study Buddhism via English books and the Internet.

She confided that Buddha’s teachings have helped her find a path of liberation for herself and for other people.

Hanoi gives aids to guest workers returning from Libya

Hanoi has launched several aid packages to support its guest workers in Libya who had returned home prior to their contracts due to conflicts in the North African country.

Accordingly, each returnee will receive 1 million VND in cash sourced from the city’s budget.

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies will reschedule loans borrowed by workers for trips to Libya to 24 months.

Meanwhile, the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed loans worth a maximum of 20 million VND to those who want to be self-employed.

It will also support vocational training fees for the former guest workers who wish to learn a new occupation and advise them to seek new jobs at employment service centres and job fairs in the city.

Hanoi has 179 guest workers leaving Libya ahead of schedule.

The country’s evacuation of its 1,750 guest workers from war-torn Libya has almost completed with 1,379 already back home by August 17 and all those working in strife-hit Tripoli and Bengazhi cities moved to safer areas.-

Pig farmers targeted in chemical probe

Agencies in HCM City and Ha Noi and the provinces of Dong Nai, Vinh Long, Hung Yen and Thanh Hoa plan to conduct investigations into the pig breeders' use of banned chemicals in animal feed.

Tran Van Quang, head of the Veterinary Department of Dong Nai Province, said that six of more than 20 pig-breeding farms that were inspected in the province had been using the banned lean-meat additive Sulbutamol.

The price hike of pork had prompted breeders to use the chemical in animal feed, he told the meeting organised by the Department of Livestock Production and the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in HCM City last Friday.

Pig breeders use the chemical to feed animals to ensure that meat is leaner and the animal grows faster. The chemical also dissolves fat and builds muscle.

However, eating pork with the chemical will increase the heart rate and blood pressure.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy director of the Department of Livestock Production, said the use of banned substances in pig breeding had occurred for many years.

The Government had made efforts to control the problem, but the current sanctions were not strong enough to deter violators from repeating the offence, he said.

Duong said localities should conduct education campaigns to raise awareness among pig breeders about the adverse impact of banned substances.

If pig farms were discovered using banned substance, their herd of pigs should be destroyed, he said.

Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of the Dong Nai Animal Breeding Association, suggested authorities that they should impose strict penalties and publicise the names of violators.

Fishermen worried by anchor lock shortage

A shortage of locks used to anchor fishing vessels in the coastal areas of central Thua Thien-Hue Province worries fishermen and local authorities as the rainy season nears.

According to a report from the local Department of Seafood Resources Protection and Exploitation, the province has 2,000 vessels, consisting of offshore ships and small fishing boats. During storms, these vessels need concrete locks in which to nestle, away from the strong waves of the sea and lagoon.

The province has only 30 locks scattered among 26 areas along the 120-km coast, and these could only meet half of the vessels' demand, the report said.

Many of the locks are 10 years old and were either risky to use or could not meet the high demand for docking. On the other hand, newly-built locks have shortcomings, including unwittingly blocking ships attempting to dock.

For example, the Ngu My Thanh lock at the Quang Loi Commune of Quang Dien District could accommodate only 60 of the commune's more than 200 vessels. During storms, the vessels have to move to inland rivers to dock.

Meanwhile, fishermen in Thuan An, Phu Hai and Phu Dien communes are reluctant to use the Phu Hai lock, where shallow water levels leave vessels stuck in the sandy bed inside the lock. Built in September 2011 at a cost of VND42 billion (US$1.9 million), the Phu Hai lock was reportedly the best in the province, with a 500-ship capacity.

"The thick layer of sand on the bed inside the lock has made it difficult for vessels to move in and out, so I don't really want to use it," said Nguyen Trong Tuan, a local fisherman who owns a 90CV ship.

Authorities of the Phu Hai Commune confirmed that there were numerous cases of vessels getting stuck inside the lock, saying only small boats could anchor in there during the rainy season, a waste of the expensive lock.

Hoang Phuoc, Chairman of Thuan An Commune, said vessels in the commune needed the water to be at least three meters deep to enter the lock, but the water there was only half a meter deep. "This is not only a waste of the lock but also a big hindrance to the trade of fish from offshore ships," he added.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which built the Phu Hai lock in 2011, is dredging the bed to deepen water levels inside the lock.

Another reason for the shortage is the delay in projects for the construction of new locks. The VND58 billion ($2.8 million) project for the construction of Cau Hai lock is supposed to be completed next month, but only 33 per cent of the work has been finished, leading to an indefinite delay.

This means that 420 ships and boats in the coastal Phu Loc District will be finding it difficult to locate safe areas for harbouring in the coming rainy season.

The province is one of the most vulnerable to heavy storms in the central region, but local authorities are still struggling to find solutions to the shortage of locks even as the rainy season approaches.

Agriculture training must be more practical

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat has said the sector would speed up efforts in vocational training, which is vital to enhancing the quality of human resources in the sector and spur innovations in agriculture for the years to come.

Speaking at a meeting held on Thursday in Ha Noi, Minister Phat said in the 2015-16 period, the sector would focus on integrating more businesses into vocational training for rural areas and increase international co-operation to apply more advanced technology in the sector.

The ministry is currently overseeing about 40 institutions, including three universities, 12 colleges and 17 vocational training schools.

Phat said the ministry would provide preferential policies to support schools to enhance their curriculum that must be cater for the real need in the market and production of the sector.

Participants at the meeting agreed that in recent years, fewer students were choosing to major in agriculture-related sectors with many institutions struggling to recruit students.

Many students strayed away from jobs in the aqua-culture or fisheries sectors because they tended to be quite labour-intensive, they said.

Many institutions which focused on training in agriculture in the past reportedly had to offer more majors in finance and economics to attract more students.

Participants also agreed that students also struggled to find jobs after graduation.

Huynh Huu Linh, principal of a college that focuses on aquaculture training in HCM City, said many businesses told him that current teaching practices were outdated, and did not meet the demands of the modern market.

Minister Phat called for institutions to upgrade their curricula and revise their training methods to keep up with industry changes and add more value to local products.

Farmers to grow alternative crops

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided to shift 770,000ha of fields that exclusively grow rice to areas that combine aquaculture, rice and other crops from now to 2020.

Under the ministry's plan, 260,000ha of rice fields will be shifted in the 2014-15 period, and 510,000ha from 2016 to 2020.

The conversion is expected to improve cultivation efficiency and increase farmers' incomes, said the ministry.

Under the plan, corn will account for the largest area on converted rice fields, as 236ha of rice will be switched to grow corn by 2020.

Other crops to be planted on converted rice fields include soybeans, sesame, peanuts, vegetables and flowers. Aquaculture development will also be included.

The conversion will be based on market demand and the crops will have higher profits than rice, said the ministry.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's rice granary, will have the largest converted rice area – 112,000ha in 2014-15 and 204,000ha in 2016-20.

The delta's rice fields typically plant three rice crops a year.

However, under the plan, some converted fields will plant two rice crops and one cash crop a year, and others will plant one rice crop and two cash crops a year.

Some fields will combine one rice crop and aquaculture each year, and some will cultivate only cash crops year-round.

The ministry's Plant Cultivation Department will be responsible for giving instructions to provinces and cities and will work with departments and agencies to set up policies.

Youth speak out over lack of sexual health education

Adolescents need comprehensive sexuality education, which is currently provided by only 10 clubs in the whole country, said Duong Minh Ha, a young participant at a reproductive health forum yesterday in Ha Noi.

Nguyen Duc Vinh from the Ministry of Health's Department of Mother-Child Health agreed, saying reproductive health education should be taught in schools.

"Until now, we have mostly focused on married couples," he said. "However, unmarried young people suffer high risks of unexpected pregnancies and unsafe abortions."

Vu Thanh Liem, director of the National Youth Centre under the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, said that reproductive healthcare for young people and adolescents would play an important role in the quality of the future population.

However, young people and adolescents lacked the basic knowledge and skills to avoid unexpected pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases.

Liem also said there should be more centres providing reproductive health services for youth and the State should spend more on this area, in addition to creating mechanisms to let young people participate in creating relevant policies.

"Such centres would be a place for young people to get advice relating to reproductive health in a friendly way," Ha said.

Young people and adolescents account for nearly 30 per cent of the population.

Organised by the Viet Nam Family Planning Association, the forum aimed to help young people voice their concerns about reproductive health and assist policy-makers in contributing ideas to the National Assembly and Government.

Ancient city to build waste treatment plant

The ancient city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam will construct a waste water treatment station to improve the channel running through the Japanese Bridge, one of the most visited site in the tourism hub, this November.

Vice Chairman of the city's People's Committee, Truong Van Bay, said the project, with an investment of VND244 billion (US$11.6 million) from a non-refundable loan from Japan and Viet Nam's government, will collect and clean 2,000 cubic metres of waste water before pumping it into the Hoai River.

The city has also planned a 1.6ha tourism information reception centre on Le Hong Phong Street with a parking area and toilet stop for tourists, with investment of VND7 billion ($333,000).

He said the city would also upgrade four public toilets in the old town for tourists and local people.

Kindergarten opens in remote hamlet

A kindergarten was opened in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum's Konkloc hamlet yesterday.

The school was built at a total cost of US$52,000 funded by the Viet Nam Education Society of Canada.

The project will benefit 60 children and their teachers and more than 600 members of the community in Konkloc hamlet.

Timber farmers out of the loop

Poor and ethnic forest farmers have no say in negotiations to sell their timber because prices are negotiated by dealers, leaving the growers at a disadvantage.

Dr Nguyen Duy Luong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Central Farmers Association, revealed this at a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday.

A report at the conference, which was organised to launch a project known as the Forest and Farm Facility project in Viet Nam, revealed that during 2006-11, about 16.2 million hectares of forestry land was allotted to 1.25 million households, supposedly creating jobs for 4.65 million workers.

Viet Nam was recently chosen as one of the 10 countries to be supported by the United Nations' to participate in the project.

One third of the families involved in forest farming are poor, mostly from ethnic groups in remote and disadvantaged areas.

Their incomes are created mostly from their involvement in protecting forests and producing forestry-related, farming and acquaculture products.

Luong said the forest farmers' lack of knowledge about the market and business led to them being overlooked in the price negotiation process.

He said they were often taken advantage of by opportunistic dealers.

Jeffrey Campbell, director of the Forest and Farm Facility project, said that forest farmers needed to have a political voice.

He said this could be achieved through the establishment of organisations and associations, or businesses that offered advice to farmers, helped them gain access to the market and built up brands for their products.

Campbell said this would allow them to exchange information and get involved in the supply process. In this way, they could start doing business and creating jobs for others.

Cao Chi Cong, deputy general director of the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry (under the agricultural ministry), said that farmers were not very interested in getting involved in the planting and protection of forests because the benefits were limited.

He said a hectare of forest gave farmers an income of VND30-40 million (US$4,670-1,900) after subtracting expenses, but it took six years for forests to become ready for exploitation.

The financial profits, therefore, were much lower than those collected by planting cassava and sugar cane.

He added that to save the time, farmers sometimes began exploiting the grown forests earlier than usual, after three to four years rather than six to seven.

This meant timber was often not of high quality and sold for low prices, making it difficult to earn a living.

Experts at the conference said they were concerned that the legal regulations on forest management and forest allocation as well as wood exploitation for commercial benefits remained unclear.

They said this also helped make forestry-related activities unattractive to farmers.

Experts also voiced concerns that farmers had limited awareness of the importance of complying with the law about forest protection.

Problems also included farmers accidentally creating fires while cutting down trees, hunting animals illegally and destroying forests to grow other plants for livelihood.

Border guards seize ship carrying dynamite, detonators

Thanh Lan Border Post guards in Co To District in the northern province of Quang Ninh yesterday seized a ship that was illegally carrying 12 kilograms of dynamite and 68 detonators.

Four men, aged between 21 and 39, from the province's Hai Ha District, were operating the ship.

The men were reportedly using dynamite illegally to catch fish, and used to throw the evidence into the sea whenever they were discovered by the border guards.

Familiar with the men's tricks, the border guards prepared a detailed plan to catch them in the act.

Cement company fined for noise pollution

The Natural Resources and Environment Department of the central province of Quang Binh yesterday fined a company VND120 million (US$5,700) for causing noise pollution.

The Van Ninh Cement Company was found to be creating noise at levels 15 decibels higher than allowed noise levels, causing surrounding residents to suffer from noise pollution.

The company also did not have an available environmental protection plan, as required.

Local authorities ordered the company to take measures to reduce the noise pollution.

Remains of 109 fallen soldiers found

The Dong Nai provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said that the province’s Military Command and relevant agencies have excavated the remains of 109 fallen soldiers’ and their relics.

The remains, together with many sandals, hammocks and water cans, were found in a mass grave in Hamlet 5, Long Tho commune, Nhon Trach district.

According to relevant agencies, based on historical documents and related information, the remains are of soldiers who were killed in 1967. The remains will be buried in Nhon Trach district’s Martyr Cemetery at a ceremony on August 31.

Valedictorians honoured in Hanoi

The Hanoi Municipal Youth Union held a ceremony at Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Literature Temple) in Hanoi on August 23 to honour 132 outstanding valedictorians from universities and institutes based in the capital in 2014.

The valedictorians, who are graduates from universities and institutes with impressive academic results, are role-models for any student struggling to overcome difficulties to persuse scientific studies, initiatives, practical and effective solutions locally and internationally.

After offering incense to commemorate their predecessors, the valedictorians wrote their names in a golden book.

They offers incense to commemorate their predecessors.

The outstanding graduates then took part in an exchange themed ‘Lighting up dreams of Hanoi’s valedictorians’, which encouraged them to continue studying, working and practising their studies for their own success and to make further contributions to building the capital and the country.

Among the 132 honoured valedictorians are 7 males and 95 females; 57 of them have outstanding academic records while 75 earned excellent results, 56 of the valedictorians are Vietnam Communist Party members.

This is the 12th consecutive year Hanoi has honoured its outstanding valedictorians.

Hanoi moves to protect environment at industrial zones

The capital city of Hanoi will ban or limit investment in those economic and industrial zones which do not have concentrated wastewater treatment systems, in an effort to protect the environment.

The municipal Department of Planning and Investment is working with relevant agencies to study specific measures towards this goal in line with Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai’s instruction, to be submitted to the municipal People’s Committee.

Meanwhile, the Department of Industry and Trade and management boards of industrial and processing zones have directed the zones’ investors to promptly complete concentrated sewage treatment systems and connect them with factories operating in the zones.

Local authorities around industrial zones have been urged to speed up the inspection of environmental protection and hold more educational campaigns to raise awareness of both businesses and locals of the protection work.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, the city is building 107 industrial clusters, 48 of which have no plans for concentrated waste water treatment systems.

Among 42 operational industrial zones and clusters, only 25 have the required systems.

The department has plans to build the systems at seven industrial clusters in 2014, and at nine others in the following year.-

Hanoi rescues over 300 wild animals

The Hanoi Wild Animal Rescue Centre has said it had so far rescued and conserved 323 individuals of wildlife species and 35kg of snakes.

It has promoted disease prevention to ensure safety for animals rescued and conserved at the centre such as vaccination and worming while providing treatment for ill animals. As many as four tigers and 20 monkeys were born and nurtured at the centre.

The centre is now caring 28 tigers, 15 bears, four northern white-cheeked gibbons, eight peacocks and two great hornbills before releasing them back into wild.

In August, the Hanoi Ranger Department detected and punished 15 cases of violations to the law on forest protection and development, seizing 44 individuals of wildlife.-

WB studies climate change adaptation in Mekong Delta province

Vice President of the World Bank Rachel Kyte toured the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on August 24 to study the impact of climate change and local efforts to cope with the issue.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ben Tre is one of the most vulnerable provinces in Vietnam to the impact of environmental changes.

Floods, damaged dykes and sea level rise have posed a lot of difficulties to the local lives and manufacturing activities, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee reported at a working session with the WB Vice President the same day.

However, with the assistance of the government and the WB, Ben Tre has undertaken counter measures, including the building of a 31km long sea dyke in Ba Tri district and a water supply plant which together with an available facility can supply clean water for over 2,000 poor households.

The province has also conducted regular educational campaigns to raise public awareness of the issue while developing farming models that are adaptive to climate change.

The official asked for more assistance from the bank to carry out several major projects, particularly a 100-km sea dyke to protect residents in Binh Dai and Thanh Phu districts, a water plant to serve four districts of Cho Lach, Mo Cay Nam, Mo Cay Bac and Thanh Phu, and the planting of 831 hectares of protective forests in the coastal areas.

Recognising the necessity of climate change resilience projects, the WB Vice President said she will discuss with the government measures to continue helping the province and other localities in the delta to cope with the issue.

During her trip to Ben Tre, the WB leader also visited a model farm combining rice cultivation and shrimp raising in Ba Tri district and several islets where land erosion is occurring as a consequence of climate change.

Ministry asks to report about electronic textbook project

Concerning to a project of using electronic textbooks and Ipad tablet in schools in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Education and Training August 21 ordered the municipal Department of Education and Training to report this issue.

It must admit that the city has the advantage of carrying out the project of electronic textbooks and Ipad tablet; however, the pilot project must have agreement of parents and the Ministry’s approval, according to Pham Ngoc Dinh, the ministry's Head of Primary Education Department.

Mr. Dinh said that the city has asked scientists, educationists and parents. If the project receives positive response from the public and it is feasible, the Department of Education and Training has to ask for permission.

Otherwise, it must stop.

Health authority fines substandard-imported drug importers

The Drug Administration of Vietnam August 22 said that it has fined five pharmaceutical companies which imported several substandard medications.

The drug administration also asked five importers to recall and re-export these medicines which fail to meet the standard or destroy these drugs as per regulation.

Truong Quoc Cuong, head of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, signed the decision to fine VND 100 million (US$ 4,723) each to five companies including the branch of the Central Pharmaceutical Company No. 1 and No. 3 in Ho Chi Minh City and the central city of Da Nang’s Hai Chau District; the National Phytopharma Joint-Stock Company in HCMC's District 1;  Sohaco Trading and Pharmaceutical Group JSC in Hanoi's Ba Dinh District and the Danang Pharmaceutical Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company in Da Nang City’s Hai Chau District.

In addition to fine, the health watchdog will stop receiving registration document of these companies in one month or six months.

Most of these companies have imported Indian-made substandard drugs. For instance the Central Pharmaceutical Company No. 1 imported six low quality drugs such as Korean Dea Han New Pharm Co.’s Proexen tablet, Indian-made Norash -20 skin cream manufactured by Raptakos, Brett&Co and India’s Santa Pharma Generix Atorvastatin 10mg tablet.

Vietnam's forest growers in tough situation

Despite their important role in forest protection, Vietnamese those designated to protect and grow forests find it difficult to make a living.

During the 2006-2011 period, a total of 10 hectares of forestland was allocated to 1.25 million households, with nearly five million workers, including 485,000 poor households from ethnic minority groups.

Their incomes come from different sources, including sales of wood products from their planted forests and environmental service fees for forest protection, cultivation and husbandry. However, their incomes remain very modest.

“It takes around five to six years to grow trees and harvest them. Growers earn an average of less than VND10 million per year, much lower than families who grow to other crops,” said the deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Department of Forestry.

Many growers opt to chop down their trees early, which results lower prices and low-quality wood. Also, growers have had difficulty finding stable markets for their products and depend on traders who take advantage of them. .

“They do not have the ability to bargain and are often taken advantage of due to the lack of information and business skills,” said Nguyen Duy Luong, vice permanent chairman of Vietnam Farmers' Union (VNFU).

In order to increase their incomes and protect the environment, the VNFU proposed an initiative to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s Forest and Farm Facility (FFF). FAO has approved to accept Vietnam as one of ten countries to benefit from the FFF. A seminar to launch the programme was held on the morning of August 22 in Hanoi.

Jeffrey Y Campbell, director of FFF said, this is multi-financed programme that is funded by the governments of Sweden, Findland, Germany, the US and the Agricord organosation. It will supply USD500,000 to each participating country over three years.

“In order to provide these growers with chances to protect their interests and contribute to the process of policy making, it’s necessary to encourage them to set up groups of producers and family-based enterprises so they can participate in the market and develop their business,” Jeffrey commented.

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