Diabetes affects more than 5% of Vietnam’s population: survey

As much as 5.42% of the total population, suffers from diabetes, according to a study conducted with more than 11,000 respondents between the age of 30-69 as part of the 2012 National Diabetes Prevention Project.

The non-communicable disease is prevalent in the southwestern and central coastal regions, the National Hospital of Endocrinology reported at a conference taking place in Hanoi on October 2-4.

Changing lifestyle habits and poor public awareness are major factors for the rapid and alarming increase in diabetes patients.

Experts warned that individuals who are overweight or have high blood pressure face a higher risk of developing diabetes.

If not treated early, the disease can cause long-term complications, such as blindness and kidney failure, they said.

During the conference, participants discussed scientific research and treatment options for diabetes in Vietnam.

Cuban journalists tour southern provinces

A delegation of Cuba’s news agency Prensa Latina (PL) made a tour of the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai on October 3.

At a meeting with Binh Duong provincial officials, PL President Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta said he was impressed at the rapid development in the fields of industry and foreign direct investment in Binh Duong.

He said the PL will keep close attention on the development of Binh Duong – one of the economic development models that Cuba is interested in.

Local officials reported that the province attracted over US$1.4 billion in FDI in the first nine months of this year period, bringing the total amount of foreign investment in the locality so far to more than US$20 billion.

Meanwhile, in Dong Nai, the delegation was received by Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai, who voiced his hope that the visit will open up new information channels for Vietnamese and Cuban businesses to know each other better, thus seeking more cooperation opportunities.

The Prensa Latina has already dispatched correspondents to Vietnam to inform the host’s socio-economic situation to Cuban people and those from Latin American countries.

The guests also made fact-finding tours to some industrial parks in the two localities, including the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Binh Duong and the Amata, Bien Hoa 2 in Dong Nai.

Vietnam keen to construct sustainable development cities

Vietnam seeks to apply models for healthy and happy cities in a bid to ensure a sustainable urban development strategy in the long run.

It is a main theme of a conference organised by the Vietnam Association of Architecture (VAA) and the Vietnam Institute of Architecture under the Ministry of Construction (MoC) heard in Hanoi on October 3.

Numerous international and domestic experts participated in the event, which aims to send a message to city managers and architects calling for action plans to develop sustainable cities, VAA chairman Nguyen Tan Van said.

Dr Nguyen Quang, the United Nations’ Habitat Programme Manager in Vietnam, said a number of healthy and happy cities exist around the world, where the gap between rich and poor has faded away.

Residents are treated equally and they all share the same accommodation conditions, Quang added.

Jacques Moussafir from ARIA Technologies, a French company that sells software run air pollution simulations and meteorological analyses, suggested the country develop policies to reform its traffic system, urban space design, and land use.

Construction Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said 770 cities and towns throughout Vietnam with a combined population of nearly 35 million have made substantial contributions to economic development, accounting for approximately 72% of national GDP.

At the same time, the minister highlighted the shortcomings in Vietnam’s urban systems, such as traffic jams, environmental pollution, and floods due to poor planning and supervision of urban development.

Dong Nai profits from grapefruit

Many farmers in the southeastern province of Dong Nai have switched from growing coffee, pepper and fruit to growing green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit because of high profits.

In Thong Nhat District's Hung Loc Commune, for example, Phan Van Xich, the first farmer who planted the specialty grapefruit in Hung Loc, said he knew the soil was suited to plant this kind of grapefruit.

Xich said he visited the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, the birthplace of green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit, to buy seedlings and intercropped them in his coffee and pepper orchard.

"My two-ha grapefruits have had a stable harvest for two years," he said. "My family has earned a profit of more than VND400 million ($19,000) a year."

At harvest time, traders visit his orchard, offering a price of VND35,000-40,000 (US$1.6- 1.9) a kilo. They harvest grapefruit themselves, he said.

Green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit, a speciality fruit, is delicious and sweet, and has high demand, especially during Tet (Lunar New Year) when the price normally reaches VND100,000 ($4.7) a kilo.

The fruit is in high demand in large cities like HCM City and Ha Noi.

Other farmers have also intercropped green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruits in coffee or other fruit orchards.

Dang Tuan Thanh in Hung Loc said he cut down 1ha of his 1.5ha coffee orchard to grow green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit four years ago. The coffee orchard was 25 years old and had a low yield.

Thanh decided to grow the grapefruit after he visited his friend's grapefruit orchard in Dong Nai's Dinh Quan District.

Dinh Quan's green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruits are famous nationwide and have won top prizes at the Southern Delicious and Safe Fruit Contest for many years.

Early this year, Thanh's grapefruit trees began to bear fruit, and he has earned VND20 million ($950) of profits from the first harvest.

Bui Minh Phuong, chairman of the Hung Loc Commune Farmers Association, said the price of green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit was high in recent years and many farmers planted more grapefruit trees.

"Green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit is now one of the key fruits here," he said.

More than 40 households in Hung Loc Commune have planted green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruit trees on a total area of 50ha under the model of grapefruit-specialised orchards or grapefruit-intercropped orchards, he said.

Previously, the commune had only 10ha of grapefruit.

Hung Loc authorities have encouraged farmers to set up co-operatives to plant grapefruit trees under the Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice (VietGAP) standards, he said.

In other districts, including Vinh Cuu, Tan Phu, Dinh Quan and Cam My, farmers have earned profits several times higher than profits from other fruits and trees.

Dong Nai has had 1,900ha of grapefruit as of March, up nearly 1000ha against early 2013, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Dong Nai farmers have planted several grapefruit varieties, with green-peel and pink-flesh grapefruits accounting for a large area.

Paddy output projected to increase this year

Paddy output is expected to reach 45 million tonnes this year, up 800,000 tonnes from last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The southern region has harvested 93 per cent of its summer-autumn crop, or nearly 2 million hectares, and the next crop in autumn-winter is well under way in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's main rice-growing area.

More than 625,000ha have been planted, almost the same as last year, while half of it has also been harvested.

This year the mua rice crop has been planted on nearly 1.7 million hectares, also almost the same as last year, with the northern region accounting for 1.17 million hectares. It is sowed in the rainy season and lasts from July to January.

According to the ministry, the north had favourable weather conditions and enough water and used proper techniques, and so the crop is developing well.

But Typhoon Kalmaegi on September 16 damaged 43,000ha of rice in the region, according to the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control.

Last month rains and floods in upstream Mekong also flattened paddies in the delta, making it difficult to harvest them.

Nguyen Van Can, a farmer in Long An Province's Tan Thanh District, said rains flattened and inundated his 2ha of rice which were ready for harvesting.

"I had to spend VND700,000 (US$34) for fuel to pump the water out to harvest."

The cost of renting harvesters to use in slushy fields was 50 per cent higher than normal, he said.

Can had to pay VND3 million to harvest each hectare.

Yields are down by 10-15 per cent because of the damage caused by the inundation, according to farmers.

In An Giang and Dong Thap, the worst-hit provinces in the delta, authorities have strengthened dykes to protect the rice crop.

The dykes, along with pumps to drain inundated fields, have helped protect the crop in Dong Thap, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

During the summer-autumn rice crop, coastal provinces like Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau also consolidated their dykes to keep out seawater, built dams to store fresh water, and dredged canals to help irrigate 700,000ha of rice.

The crop has yielded an average of 5.65 tonnes per hectare, according to the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute.

The bumper harvest has been enabled by planting varieties that are disease-resistant and high yielding, the institute said.

Farmers carried out planting according to schedule, which helped them avoid brown planthoppers and drought, it added.

Rice prices have increased because of an increase in Viet Nam's exports.

Farmers in the delta have harvested 20.6 million tonnes so far this year from both winter-spring and summer-autumn crops, or more than 82 per cent of the target of this year, according to the institute.

Poor in need of proper housing

A poor family by Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe canal in HCM City. A recent survey by the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities showed that most low-income people were living in makeshift houses with substandard infrastructure.

Housing for low-income people in HCM City was insufficient, and efforts by local authorities to solve the problem have often failed to work.

A recent survey on low-income households in the city by the sociology faculty at the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities showed that most low-income people were living in makeshift houses with substandard infrastructure. Others were staying with relatives.

At an international conference on the problem on Wednesday and Thursday, the rapidly increasing population was blamed for exacerbating the problem, said Nguyen Thi Hong Xoan, head of the faculty.

"Of the social groups who are in dire need of housing, poor people are the biggest," she said.

There were many low-income residential areas in newly established districts, such as Binh Tan and Tan Phu, Xoan said. But poor living conditions in houses without certificates of land use or ownership rights threatened the health and social lives of low-income residents, she said.

The faculty survey showed that 4.6 per cent of houses in HCM City were only five to 10 square metres. Another 17.8 per cent were 11 to 20 square metres.

Up to 28 per cent of households rely on clean water sources from their neighbours, while 16 per cent still use wells.

"Many have to live around polluted canals, where they release sewage directly into the streams as they do not have in-house treatment system," Xoan said. Many did not use rubbish collectors and others lived in waterlogged situations..

"The poor always suffer the most from air, noise, rubbish and sewage pollutions, so we need suitable policies to improve their living conditions," Xoan said.

A survey conducted by the Department for Urban Management Research under the HCM City Institute for Development Studies found that about 62 per cent of households in the Dong Hung 2 project in District 12, which serves low-income residents, said they could not afford the rent they were paying.

"The results of the survey show that the housing policy, which city authorities have made a great effort to accomplish, has not met its target," said Du Phuoc Tan, head of the department.

The amount of subsidised houses should be increased, said Nguyen Thi Hai Ly, deputy head of the Department of Construction's Urban Development section. The houses are worth less than US$23,800 each.

"Besides creating priority policies for enterprises to build social houses, the city should have policies to encourage the private sector to join in," she said.

The conference was jointly held by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Viet Nam National University in HCM City, and German NGO Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.

Sleeper buses to be weighed

On-road sleeper buses face being pulled over and taken to weighing stations for the next two weeks to collect technical data. The vehicles will also be given other safety tests.

General Director of the Directorate for Roads under the Ministry of Transport, Nguyen Van Huyen, said, "Overloaded sleeper buses will not be fined because the object is to collect technical figures."

Sleeper buses will be weighed when they are loaded with passengers and freight - and again when they are empty," said Huyen.

Deputy Minister of Transport, Le Dinh Tho, announced the checks and weigh-ins last month.

He said freight piled on sleeper buses could be cause bus accidents by shifting the centre of gravity, making drivers lose control.

The Directorate for Roads has ordered each local Department of Transport, including Ha Noi, Quang Ninh, Lam Dong and HCM City, to perform the measurements on 10 to 15 buses.

Last month, the transport ministry proposed banning sleeper buses from travelling on narrow and curved routes in mountainous areas. This followed the deaths of more than a dozen people when a sleeper bus left the road near Sa Pa.

Bus companies were asked to employ drivers who had three years' experience in driving 30-seat buses and to carefully monitor bus technical standards and black boxes.

Director of the motor registry office, Tran Ky Hinh, said there were more than 4,500 sleeper buses in the country.

"In the last two years, there have been 22 accidents involving sleeper buses, of which 19 occurred at night," Hinh said.

University urged to build reputation

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called on the Viet Nam National University- HCM City to make every effort to become a Vietnamese "brand name".

Speaking at the opening of the academic year yesterday, he said university officials should set a schedule for climbing up the list of leading world universities.

It should act as a link between the country's universities and research institutes to strengthen scientific research, he said.

He hailed its research successes and the initiatives taken by its research centres.

The university has 60 labs for research and training, which are also the setting for many of the country's main science and technology programmes in automation, IT, ICT, bio-technology, computer science, and telecommunications.

The number of science articles it published in foreign journals was up four times last year from 2006 at 110. In the period its articles' index of impact factor (IF) rose from 1.49 to 2.06.

In the 2014 Quacquarelli Symonds University Ranking in Asia, the two Viet Nam National Universities are in the top 200: the Viet Nam National University-Ha Noi is in the 161-170 group, and the Viet Nam National University-HCM City, in the 191-200 group.

Prof Dr Phan Thanh Binh, the university's president, said that the university aims to also become a research institute, a world-class one and a leader in the region.

In September its University of Technology became the first in Viet Nam to have two programmes — computer engineering and computer science — certified as meeting the US's Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology standards.

Dam said the university is likely to have more member universities meeting these standards, and then it would become a model for others in the country.

It should make suggestions on how to improve training quality to the education ministry and the Government, he added.

Dr Tran Hong Quan, a former education minister, said the Government should invest more in the country's main universities like the Viet Nam National University-HCM City so that they have enough money to build the facilities they require.

He also called for giving it autonomy in terms of administration, finance, and academic programmes, an urgent requirement for fixing the problems tertiary education faces.

Dam also met with and offered words of encouragement to the university's students.

"Put in a lot of effort, believe in yourselves, and set goals," he told them.

"Help the country develop quickly. You are Viet Nam's biggest strength."

Da Nang dioxin clean-up on track

Efforts to clean all the war-time dioxin waste from around Da Nang International Airport by 2016 are on schedule.

An estimated 80,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediments is targeted for removal with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The four-year project is part of a range of measures implemented to address the chemicals used to defoliate large parts of southern Viet Nam.

During the first stage, USAID contractors dug up 45,000 cubic metres of soil tainted with dioxin, the director of Da Nang City's Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Dieu told the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Bui Cach Tuyen, on Thursday.

Tuyen hailed the department for its part in the project, and called for the second stage to be started soon.

The US government is also helping Viet Nam clean-up other locations outside Da Nang airport

Using an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system, batches of contaminated soil and sediment are placed in a container and heated to a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius, which destroys 95 per cent of dioxins.

The soil is later removed from the container and tested for traces of contaminants before being put back.

Da Nang's former US air base is considered a dioxin "hot spot" due to its high levels of dioxin. Other dioxin polluted spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of Dong Nai.

Yen Bai commune at risk from landslides

Cracks have appeared in a hill near Lam Giang Commune in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai's Van Yen District, meaning a landslide could soon occur.

The cracks were first discovered last Saturday. The biggest was about 80m long and rapidly growing. By Thursday it was more than 1m wide and half of the hill had sunk by 1m, damaging four houses.

The affected households were moved to a safe place and warning signs were installed in the area.

Men arrested for causing public disorder

Thuy Nguyen District Police in the northern port city of Hai Phong seized three men for causing public disorder in the Hai Phong Social Labor and Education Center.

Nguyen Huu Dang, 27, Nguyen Van Trieu, 26, and Pham Van Trung, 28, were trainees at the centre. On September 14, they incited more than 300 former drug addicts voluntarily staying at the centre to escape, despite efforts by staff to dissuade them.

Police used loudspeakers to advise them to return to the centre and not gather in large numbers on the street.

By 7 pm, they had dispersed completely. More than 200 went back to the centre and the others returned home.

Ex-port officials face prosecution for fraud

The Phu Yen People's Procuracy has completed documents to prosecute eight managers at Vung Ro Port Co Ltd for taking advantage of their position.

Company director Nguyen Minh, 56, who was seized in August 2013, was on the list with seven others including the former deputy director, accountant and cashier of the company and Minh's private business Dai Loc Company.

From 2011 to 2013, Minh and his accomplices made illegal receipts and contracts to move money from Vung Ro Company to Dai Loc Company, causing losses of more than VND37.3 billion (US$1.7 million) for the State budget.

Deputy PM calls for faster progress on disaster centre

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has called for faster work on the building of the National Centre for Disaster Management and Operation, Research and Rescue.

Construction of the seven-storey centre, covering about 9,000 square metres, began in December. It will cost about VND200 billion (US$9.4 million).

Hai said he wanted the centre to be in operation by the end of next year because climate and weather developments were becoming more complicated.

He said the centre was expected to minimise human loss and property damage when disasters hit.

Hai required the National Committee for Research and Rescue to co-operate with relevant agencies to ensure the centre's communication system would run smoothly in any type of disaster.

The committee was told to ask the Ministry of National Defence to allocate human forces to the centre.

Hai assigned the ministries of National Defence; Planning and Investment; and Finance to work with each other to buy equipment for the centre.

The centre, located in Long Bien District's Phuc Dong Ward in Ha Noi, will be equipped with modern equipment and facilities similar to that in other disaster management centres in ASEAN nations.

14th International Agriculture Trade Fair to be launched in Hanoi

The 14th International Agriculture Trade Fair (Agro Viet 2014) will be held in Hanoi between November 14-17 to promote sustainable agriculture and high added-value products.

The fair provides a chance for agricultural businesses to advertise their products, exchange experiences and gain access to advanced technologies, Director of the Trade Promotion Centre for Agriculture Dao Van Ho said.

This year’s event will feature approximately 450 stands from 200 businesses and organisations both domestic and foreign.

As part of the fair, a conference on the use of fertilisers and chemicals in agricultural production and a seminar on the linkages between production and distribution and sustainable agricultural value chains will be organised.

A delegation of Japanese businesses will attend an exchange with local partners on this occasion.-

Japanese NGO assists Tien Giang in education development

An educational development assistance project in Vietnam funded by the Asian Community by the Asians (ACA-AQUA) of Japan proved effective in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang over the last ten years, promoting education development in the locality.

The results were presented in a meeting held in the locality on October 3, aiming to review the implementation of the project.

The project helped upgrade educational facilities and reduce the rate of dropouts caused by economic difficulties, thus increasing the public’s awareness of the importance of education, especially in remote areas.

Over the last decade, the provincial education sector has received financial assistance worth 7 billion VND (329,000 USD) from the project.

The funds were used to provide scholarships to poor students and consolidate the infrastructure of nine primary schools and three secondary schools.

Tran Thi Quy Mao, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training said the project had helped minimise the rate of dropouts at primary education level, especially in rural areas, and had improved the literacy rate in the community.

The Japanese non-governmental organisation ACA-AQUA has also been working with Japan’s Mabuchi Group to implement another project worth 923 million VND (43,381 USD) in Tien Giang in 2013-2016. Six local primary schools and three secondary schools will benefit direcntly from the project.

Nha Trang University deserves leading fisheries centre

Since her inception in 1959, the Nha Trang University in central coastal Khanh Hoa province, has made a name for herself as a leading research centre servicing the fisheries.

The year 2000 marked the educational institution’s success in building fishing boats made from composites, a materials generating high performance at economic advantage.

The event paved the way for the university to enter a partnership with Japan ’s Yanmar Company to develop large-capacity composite-hulled fishing vessels.

In early August 2014, the first 350CV composite vessels used for fishing ocean tuna were launched, promising to bring long-term, durable benefits to fishermen.

The intensive application of bio-technology for the breeding and conservation of freshwater aquatic resources was attributed to the university’s prestige.

Previously known as the Fisheries Faculty of Hanoi Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, the university has educated nearly 40,000 engineers together with those holding master’s and doctorate degree.

In 2006, the university received the Government’s Labour Hero Medal in recognition of her great contributions to the fisheries sector.

A ceremony was held on October 2 to celebrate the 55 th founding anniversary of the university and begin the 2014-2018 academic year.

New waste treatment plant operational in Hanoi

A new waste treatment plant was put into operation on October 4 in Hanoi, which can process 400 tonnes of garbage a day using advanced incineration technology.

The plant was built by the Thang Long Environmental Service Joint Stock Company, which has won several technology innovation prizes including an award by the World Intellectual Property Organisation for its research project on waste incineration with heat recovery.

Addressing the plant’s inauguration ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vu Hong Khanh emphasized the need to apply scientific-technological advances to environmental protection in general and waste treatment in particular. He hailed the Thang Long company as the first scientific enterprise operating in the field of environment, adding that the city hopes more economic sectors will become involved in this field.

More than 16,000 tonnes of solid waste, discharged from households, industrial parks, construction sites, and hospitals, need to be treated daily in the city by 2030.

To address the problem, Hanoi needs about 11 trillion VND (522.3 million USD) to implement a solid waste treatment plan to 2030 with a vision towards 2050.

Seventeen solid waste treatment facilities have therefore been zoned off, including the eight existing ones. The total area for these plants till 2030 will be 422 hectares.

Energy-saving and environmentally-friendly technology will be preferred to treat the waste.

To carry out the project efficiently, the capital will adopt policies and enhance communication campaigns to raise public awareness of environmental protection and classification of solid waste right at home.

Vietnam launches most modern coastguard vessel

Song Thu Corporation and the Vietnam Coast Guard organized a ceremony to launch most modern coastguard vessel CSB 8002, in the central city of Da Nang this morning.

The international standard versatile vessel will assist the Vietnamese coastguard force to protect the country’s sea and island sovereignty, said Major General Nguyen Van Tuong, political commissar of the Vietnam Coast Guard’s High Command.

It will also perform environment pollution prevention, seafood resource protection, and search and rescue operation, Mr. Tuong said.

Another important function of the vessel is to help fishermen feel secure to go out to sea, he added.

Dong Nai names street after General Vo Nguyen Giap

The southern province of Dong Nai held a ceremony on October 4 to unveil Vo Nguyen Giap Street, named after the legendary general who orchestrated the famous Dien Bien Phu battle in 1954.

The road measuring 12.2km long and 40m wide, runs along Binh Minh commune in Trang Bom district and Long Binh Tan commune in Bien Hoa city.

The naming of the the street shows the gratitude of local authorities and people to the beloved general on the occasion of his first death anniversary (October 4).

Since General Giap's death, many provinces and cities throughout Vietnam have named some of their most beautiful streets in honour of the revered general.

Hanoi inspectors look into corruption in the real estate market

The inspectorates of Hanoi is currently looking into an accusation that local authorities have been taking bribes for the red book issuance process for a number of real estate projects in the city.

During a Q & A session of the National Assembly Standing Committee with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on September 29, NA Deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong said he had received complains about corruption in the process of issuing home ownership certificates.

There have been rumours that local authorities asked investors and residents to pay VND8 million (USD380) per certificate or they would not be processed. This 'payment without invoice' was also said to occurred for real estate projects in Hanoi, including Me Tri Thuong and Hapulico projects.

After receiving the information, the Hanoi People's Committee asked the city inspectorates to start an investigation into the allegations and report back by October 11. The Hanoi People's Committee also informed the NA Standing Committee, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and NA Deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong of their decision.

Pham Quang Nghi, Politburo member and secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, warned all agencies involved to protect the identities of whistle blowers.

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