Power usage in northern Vietnam hits record as sweltering heat wave continues

Line workers are repairing an electrical grid.

A protracted heat wave that has been sweeping northern Vietnam since the start of the month sent power consumption in the region to a new height on July 2, the national power utility EVN has reported.

The combined loads peaked at an all-time high of 16,665 megawatts, while the total consumption also hit a record 345 million kWh, up roughly 12% compared with the highest levels of 2017 and beating the previous records set on June 22.

In the capital of Hanoi, the total loads also hit a record high of 3,987 megawatts and total usage reached 79.3 million kWh.

Most of the electricity was supplied for air-conditioners and other cooling equipment, leading to overloads and power cuts in several locations.

According to the national weather service, temperatures as high as 40C and above will continue for another two to three days.

Therefore, EVN has advised its customers to use electricity economically and avoid using high-power electrical appliances, such as air-conditioners, electric cookers and water kettles, simultaneously.

The utility added that air-conditioners should not be set lower than 26C in order to save energy, reduce the risk of overloads and prevent a surge in electricity bills.

Nearly 400 outstanding artists to be honoured with People’s Artist and Meritorious Artist titles

Ca Tru (Vietnamese ceremonial singing) artisan Pho Thi Duc (known as Kim Duc) is one of 77 submissions for the People’s Artist nominees

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced a list of 77 submissions for the People’s Artist nominees, and 303 submissions for the Meritorious Artist nominees, to get opinions from the masses.

There are many popular artists on the list, such as Tran Hanh, Bui Cuong, Kim Xuan, Minh Duc, Cong Ly, Minh Hang, Trong Trinh, Minh Ngoc and Thu Ha.

In particular, there are 19 artists in the field of music, including famous artists such as Ca Tru (Vietnamese ceremonial singing) artisan Pho Thi Duc (known as Kim Duc), singers Phan Muon, To Lan Phuong, Ta Minh Tam and Ro Cham Phiang.

Meanwhile, the cinematography field has 11 artists, including actors Manh Cuong, Thuy Van, Minh Duc, Kim Xuan, and actor - director Bui Cuong.

In the dance field there are two artists Hong Phong, from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, and Thu Van, from Blue Sea Music and Ballet Theater in Binh Thuan.

In addition, there are four directors in the field of radio-television and 44 artists in the field of theater.

The list of Meritorious Artist includes 303 submissions. There are 64 artists in the field of music, 19 artists in the field of cinema, 51 artists in the field of dance, nine artists in the field of radio - television, and 160 artists in the field of stage.

This list is published on the portal of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for public opinion, www.bvhttdl.gov.vn, from July 3 to 11.

SMS campaign launched to pay tribute to war heroes, martyrs

A charity text-message campaign has been launched to raise funds for martyrs’ families and Vietnamese heroic mothers. The event aims to mark the National War Invalid and Martyrs Day (July 27).

The Vietnam Martyrs' Family Support Association (VMFSA) has coordinated with the Vietnam Red Cross Society and the National Humanitarian Portal 1400 called on organizations and individuals to support the campaign by texting TALS to 1405 from June 12 to August 10.

Each message will add VND20,000 to the fund.

Money will be donated to implement AND testing to identify war martyrs, give bank saving books to disadvantaged martyrs’ families and Vietnamese heroic mothers.

The Department of Propaganda and Training of the HCMC Party Committee on July 2 held a ceremony marking the 50th death anniversary of 32 martyrs of the Vinh Loc voluntary army service crops in Binh Chanh district.

Attending the ceremony were city's leaders together war veterans, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and Binh Chanh district’s people.

Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan expressed his deep gratitude to the volunteers who laid down on the revolutionary land of Binh Chanh district.

Speaking at the ceremony, Head of the Department of Propaganda and Training of the HCMC Party Committee Than Thi Thu honored the service, sacrifices and dedication of the Vinh Loc voluntary army service crops, showing patriotism and Vietnamese revolutionary heroism.

The city’s authorities and people will always be grateful for all the sacrifices made by young volunteers of the heroic land of Binh Chanh, she added.

The 32 volunteers were bombarded  and killed by the US troops when they were transporting wounded Vietnameses Communist soldiers to a temperary military field hospital  on the 20th day of the Fifth lunar month in 1968. All the wounded soldiers were also killed in the bombardment. 

Vietnam Airlines to drop ticket-issuance surcharge

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will start on July 5 to exempt customers who buy tickets online from a ticket-issuance surcharge, but it will collect a system administration surcharge from buyers of economy-class tickets.

A representative of the carrier noted that passengers earlier had to pay VND50 per ticket for domestic flights and US$7 each for flights from Vietnam to other countries and for flights departing from Britain, Germany, France, Singapore and Malaysia when they bought a ticket on the carrier’s website.

However, from July 5, Vietnam Airlines will stop charging for ticket issuance to encourage passengers to use its developing online services. Payment methods that can be used for the purchase of tickets on the website were approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Vietnam Airlines will collect a surcharge for system administration from those buying standard economy- and cheap economy-class tickets.

In particular, passengers will pay a surcharge of VND80,000 per trip on domestic short-haul flights under 850 kilometers and VND150,000 per trip on domestic long-haul air routes of more than 850 kilometers. Meanwhile, international flights will be subject to a surcharge of US$7 per trip. Business-, special economy- and flexible economy-class tickets are exempt from the surcharge.

When booking a ticket, customers will find that airfares include a breakdown of prices, taxes and the system administration surcharge to create transparency, according to the representative of the carrier.

Vietnam Airlines operates 90 flights to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations, with an average of 400 flights per day.

HCMC taps ODA loan to renovate aging drainage system

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has granted HCMC a non-refundable sum of US$17.5 million to execute a project to renovate a deteriorating drainage system, news website Sai Gon Giai Phong reported, citing a statement from the HCMC People’s Committee Office on June 30.

The total investment capital for the project is approximately VND467.5 billion, or US$20.6 million. Of this, the gratis aid under the form of an official development assistance (ODA) loan from Japan accounts for US$17.5 million, while the reciprocal capital makes up some VND70 billion (US$3.1 million).

The renovation of 2.7-kilometers of sewage lines, which is being implemented in downtown HCMC until 2020, will help minimize incidents or risks of road surface subsidence affecting traffic safety, ease traffic congestion, reduce environmental pollution and bolster the city’s economic growth.

By applying modern technology, the renovation work can be executed without digging up the road’s surface.

Training workshop on road safety held in Hanoi

AIP Foundation last week conducted a parent training workshop in Hanoi on the importance of child safety seats and seatbelt use in cars.

Over 200 parents joined the training, which was led by Luu Xuan Binh, deputy chief of the Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee.

This was part of AIP’s partnership with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to support the 3,500 LIVES campaign through trainings and public awareness initiatives focused on golden rules for road safety.

In particular, they work on four focus areas including Use a child safety seat, Buckle up, Don’t text and drive, and Wear a helmet.

In addition to the parent training workshop, AIP has deployed 12 billboards in strategic locations across Hanoi in support of the campaign.

According to AIP, 3,500 people are killed on the road everyday. Young people are particularly affected as road crashes are the number one cause of death of people aged from 15 to 29.

By following FIA’s golden rules, road users can save their life and the lives of others.

FIA’s survey shows that child safety seats can reduce the likelihood of a fatal crash by up to 70% for infants. To stay safe, road users should ensure children are restrained correctly and choose a safety seat based on the child’s height or weight.

Additionally, wearing seatbelts is crucial for the safety of both drivers and passengers as it reduces the risk of death among drivers and front-seat occupants by up to 50%.

For motorcyclists, wearing a motorcycle helmet correctly can reduce the risk of death by 40%.

Most notably, drivers are four times more likely to crash while on the phone. Therefore, they should keep both hands on the wheel and stay focused on the road.

Vietnam - USA Biomedical Institute opens in Nha Trang

The Khanh Hoa General Hospital in collaboration with the Khanh Hoa Aloeswood Joint Stock Company held the opening ceremony of the Vietnam - USA Biomedical Institute on July 2, with the participation of over 300 domestic and international experts. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Phan Minh Liem, Head of the Vietnam - USA Biomedical Institute said: "This is the first center in Vietnam to have the next-generation gene sequencing and genomics technology in cancer precision medicine and screening, transferred by MD Anderson Cancer Center, a member of Texas University".

With his experience in MD Anderson Cancer Center, he shared that the new technology has made MD Anderson Cancer Center become the leader in cancer treatment in USA for the past 28 years. It is expected that the new solution will allow doctors to analyze the gene map after testing in order to quickly detect troublesome genes for early treatment.

The successful transfer of the technology to quickly detect and early treat cancer in the Vietnam – USA Biomedical Institute is the first step in the long-term collaboration between Vietnam and the USA, proving that the Vietnamese medical field now has a full capacity and the resources to implement leading technologies in the world in cancer treatment.

After the opening ceremony, the workshop "Application of Next-Generation Sequencing and Genomics in Cancer Precision Medicine and Screening in Vietnam" took place in Nha Trang.

At the workshop, experts from the USA, Singapore, and Vietnam discussed the technology of testing 20,000 pairs of genes to identify cancer cells via hereditary mutation – the most state-of-the-art technology at the moment for cancer screening via gene sequencing. They explained in details the research basis and implementation experience of the technology in optimizing cancer treatments.

The result of sequencing the 20,000 pairs of patients’ genes will be analyzed and certified by doctors from the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Based on this, there will be a more precise method of cancer treatment.

Currently, with over 125,000 new cancer patients each year, 90,000 of whom end up in death, Vietnam has become the nation with the highest rate of death due to cancer on earth. The main cause of this grave situation is the late discovery of the disease and the limit in treatment methods.

Lao Cai Border Guard successfully cracks down on human trafficking ring

Major Ta Van Tuan, Head of Bat Xat Border Post under the Provincial Border Guard of Lao Cai on July 2 issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case of trafficking children under 16 years old across the border.

The persons to be prosecuted include Giang Van Thang (24, the Tu Di ethnicity, resident of Ta Thang village, Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district, Lao Cai) and Trinh Thi Thu Huyen (41, the Kinh ethnicity, resident of CauThia ward, Nghia Lo town, Yen Bai city currently living in Hekou, Yunan, China).

Earlier, the Bat Xat Border Post received denunciation report from a Yao ethnic girl named TanThị M (14, resident of Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district) saying that she had been cheated and sold by some locals, including a man named Thang, to China for prostitution.

The Border Post of Bat Xat deployed various professional tactics and arrested Giang Van Thang on June 28. As they continued the investigation into the case, the officers of the Bat Xat Border Post in coordination with their Chinese counterparts arrested Trinh Thi Thu Huyen on July 1.

Giang Van Thang confessed that since March 2018, he had teamed up with three other subjects to cheat and sell 5 women and children to China.

Particularly, Thang sold a woman from Van Ban district, Lao Cai for 16,000 Renminbi in March 2018. He also sold 3 victims living in Bao Thang district, including 2 children born in 2004, in April 2018, for 12,000 Renminbi each. In May 2018, he continued to sell a woman from Lai Chau for VND 10 million.

Meanwhile, Huyen told border officers that she is runing a prostitution business in Hekou. She colluded with Thang and other human traffickers to seek and transport Vietnamese women to China to work as prostitutes.

The victims were forced to work first for Huyen until the traffickers found a local “customer”. Particularly, 2 other victims were sold to Myanmar for prostitution.

The case is under an intensive investigation. 

Thua Thien–Hue mobilises trillions of VND for new-style rural development

A safe vegetable farm in Thua Thien–Hue (Photo: nongthonmoithuathienhue.vn)

The central province of Thua Thien – Hue plans to mobilize 7.22 trillion VND (314.4 million USD) from different sources to achieve the goal of having 61 out of its 104 communes meeting new-style rural standards by the end of 2020.

The money is set to be sourced from the national and provincial budgets (32.1 percent), loans (43.6 percent), businesses and cooperatives (14.5 percent), and local communities (9.7 percent).

In 2018 alone, to carry out its rural building programme, the province has mobilised over 1.778 trillion VND (76.45 million USD), of which 673.9 billion VND (28.97 million USD) came from the national and provincial budgets, 1 trillion (43 million USD) from credit, 30 billion VND (1.29 million USD) from the business sector and 75 billion VND (3.22 million USD) from the community.

Thua Thien – Hue is working to assist 10 more communes in different districts and towns to fulfill the standards this year, bringing the total number of new-style rural communes in the province to 41 at the end of the year.

Current shortcomings of the local rural building work include an overemphasis on infrastructure without paying sufficient attention to boosting production, raising income of local residents, reducing poverty rate, developing culture and protecting the environment.

To overcome the shortcomings and meet the target, the province has been focusing efforts on challenging criteria like those on poor household rate, income, environment & food safety, and political system & legal access.

The provincial Department for Agriculture and Rural Development is continuing its restructuring of the agriculture sector and developing the local “one commune – one product” programme in a bid to boost income and complete rural infrastructure.

Measures to achieve the target also cover mobilising resources from local communities, businesses, and attracting investment in agriculture and rural development.

Close monitoring of relevant policies’ impact on society is also important, particularly in supporting production, reducing poverty and developing cooperatives, in order to make timely adjustments, thus ensuring the policies suit reality and produce the best effects.

Mozambique asks for Vietnam’s continued help in agriculture

Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario (R) and Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Le Huy Hoang at their meeting in Maputo on July 4 

Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario has asked for continued help from Vietnam in the fields of agriculture, health care and education following fruitful outcomes of joint projects. 

Receiving Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Le Huy Hoang in Maputo on July 4, the PM appreciated the assistance of Vietnam toward his country. He urged Vietnam to send more experts to Mozambique to share their experience and support local development. 

PM Carlos Agostinho do Rosario also requested that Vietnam continue to implement the second phase of a project on joint research and development of grain and food plants in Mozambique. The 2.2 million USD project has been running effectively in Zambezia province since 2014. 

The Mozambique leader encouraged Vietnamese firms, including those from the private sector, to invest in his country, particularly in coal and natural gas mining, crop cultivation and industry. 

Lauding Vietnam’s Military Industry and Telecoms Group Viettel through the mobile operator Movitel in Mozambique, he suggested the group continue its investment in developing the 4G network here.

Movitel, the first joint venture of Viettel in Africa, started operation in May 2012. Since then, it has developed a network of more than 2,800 transmission stations and 27,650 km of cable and become Mozambique’s biggest mobile operator. 

On his part, Ambassador Le Huy Hoang stated Vietnam pays attention to reinforcing relations with Mozambique and wishes to increase engagements at regional and international forums, as well as in economic sectors, particularly in telecommunications, agriculture, trade and exchange of experts.

The diplomat expressed his hope that the Mozambican PM and Government will continue to support the Vietnamese expatriate community in their integration and business operation.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Ambassador met with General Secretary of Mozambique's ruling party FRELIMO Roque Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Higino Francisco de Marrule and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Pacheco. The meetings discussed measures to improve ties between the two parties and specific cooperative activities  in the development of agriculture, infrastructure, tourism and energy.