Another baby dies from measles

Measles claimed the life of another infant on Wednesday at Ha Noi's Bach Mai hospital, according to the health ministry's Preventive Medicine Department.

The death brings this year's tally of nationwide measles fatalities to 136. The department recorded another 49 cases of the disease on the same day. —

Vietnamese students win physics prizes

Three outstanding Vietnamese students were yesterday awarded prizes for winning an Olympia Physical Competition titled Nuclear Education in Russia.

Dang Quoc Anh from the Ha Noi University of Natural Science won first prize, with Nguyen Minh Nhan from the Luong Van Chanh secondary school in Nha Trang coming in second. Bui Thi Hang from Bac Giang Province's Lang Giang 2 secondary school received third prize.

The contest, organised by the Russian National Nuclear and Energy Group (Rosatom), aimed to promote nuclear physics among students from different countries, including Bangladesh and Turkey.

Nearly 900 students from Viet Nam's 17 provinces and cities joined the contest this year.

Two die in motorbike accident

Two people died in a motorbike accident in Hai Ha District of the northern province of Quang Ninh yesterday.

The accident occurred when a container truck collided with a motorbike at an intersection in Quang Chinh commune. The case is under investigation.

Black boxes note rampant speeding

The Directorate for Road of Viet Nam detected more than 19,800 vehicles exceeding the speed limit last month via black boxes installed on the automobiles.

The figure shows an increase of 7,000 vehicles violating the nation's speeding limits compared with statistics compiled in March, when the black boxes were initially deployed for use.

All work, no play for factory workers

After 10 hours of hard work on the production line, Tran Van Nam and his two flat mates go to dinner. The residents of Ho Nai 3 Commune in Trang Bom District in the southern province of Dong Nai, said they had no television or computers, even though they are in their early twenties and are all single.

"The other workers living in this rental block are not much different," Nam said. "There are 30 flats here, but only two have television or computer." He added that workers in the area often finished work at about 5pm, but did not know what to do to pass the time.

Finding ways to entertain themselves is a challenge for many workers as it seems all kinds of entertainment come with a cost. "I used to read news from websites with my mobile phone, but I stopped because of the increasing fees for internet use," Nam said.

He said that he could not afford to buy books with the low salary of a blue-collared worker. He could not even play football as it meant renting a court for more than VND200,000 (US$9.50) per hour. With a lack of places to go, male workers often gather together to drink wine and play cards.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, a young, unmarried worker who lives in Long Binh ward, Bien Hoa City, said she liked to take part in music performances and cultural activities, yet there were no venues in her area. "I cannot afford the expensive tickets to music shows held here, and my company has never organised any cultural or sport activities for workers," she said.

Married workers couples who live in the same block as Thanh also find it difficult to find places to take their children to during weekends, as there are no cultural centres, libraries or playgrounds within the ward.

Nguyen Thi Lan, another resident of Long Binh Ward, said parks and playgrounds for children were hard to find in Bien Hoa. "Many children have no place to go to for entertainment when their parents are at work, so they frequent internet cafes to play computer games or watch movies."

Tang Quoc Lap, vice chairman of the Dong Nai Province's Labour Federation, said the federation and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently conducted a survey into the infrastructures for cultural and sports activities in eight wards and communes with a large concentration of workers.

The survey found that most local cultural centres were limited in space, had few facilities and were only used for public meetings. Twenty-six cultural centres met the standards for space but they did not offer books or newspapers or audio-visual tools.

In 2011, the Government issued a plan promoting the construction of cultural and entertainment facilities for workers in industrial areas and processing zones. At that time, Dong Nai Province planned to construct a cultural centre for workers in Bien Hoa City. After three years, however, work has not started and the land has not even been cleared.

So far, Dong Nai Province has 31 industrial zones, but not one has a cultural centre. Seventy per cent of nearly 750,000 workers working in local enterprises in Dong Nai Province are within the 18-35 age group, according to the provincial Labour Federation. Sixty per cent of the workers are from other areas.

Lap said the local labour federation planned to build three workers service spots in Bien Hoa City and the districts of Trang Bom and Nhon Trach.

They will provide books, newspapers and televisions for workers and also offer consultation on the law and labour policies.

In addition, for the first time in the province, a Cultural Week for Worker will be organised this month, offering many sports and service activities for workers.

Lap said some large companies had built facilities and playgrounds for workers, but the number was limited. He added that companies that paid attention to the quality of life for workers created a happier and more loyal workforce.

Pharmacist admits to medicine theft

A pharmacist at the Ha Noi's Emergency Aid Centre, locally known as 115, has confessed to misusing her position and stealing medicines for personal use, the municipal Health Department announced on Wednesday.

It said the woman had illegally used codes of heath insurance cards of up to 49 people to get medicines for private use over a period of six months.

The medicines, including some used to treat diabetes, were taken in the name of several health insurance policy holders who'd never visited the centre for medicines.

The pharmacist said that the medicines, which were worth about US$750, were given to her mother.

The Health Department said it was releasing its findings after a 10-month investigation. Deputy Chief Inspector of the department, Nguyen Viet Cuong, said the violations were committed during the first six months of last year.

The department had begun investigating the case last July, Cuong said.

The investigation found seven doctors at the centre were requested by the pharmacist to sign medical invoices without verification.

He said the pharmacist had admitted her violations and returned the money to the centre, which has moved her to another position, Cuong said, adding that the seven doctors have been reprimanded for their wrongdoing, he said.

Tran Van Nam, director of the centre, has owned up to management lapses that allowed the violations to happen, said Tran Ngoc Tu, head of the department's Personnel Organisation Office.

Youth Union to honor 72 talented young workers

The centre has since tightened oversight over issue of medicines to health insurance policy holders.

The fifth national ‘Young Talented Worker’ awards will be given away in Bac Ninh Province on May 10-11, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has said.

From more than 196 candidates across the country, the Union has chosen 72 outstanding workers for the award.

They are chosen from the four million Union members working for companies and factories and two million vocational students for outstanding achievements at work and contributions to social activities.

The Youth Union said it hoped the award would help youths to continue to acquire the skills needed to industrialize and modernize the country.

Ha Noi, Bac Ninh tackle deadly fires

Ha Noi and the neighbouring province of Bac Ninh have announced inspections and crackdowns on establishments not complying with fire-fighting and prevention regulations after two major fires last weekend.

The Ha Noi Fire Fighting and Prevention Department announced yesterday that it will conduct a massive inspection of compliance by karaoke bars in the capital city.

The move came after a fire last Saturday killed five people, including two women and the owner, at the Nhat Thuc Karaoke Bar on Giang Vo Street.

A short circuit on the first floor of the five-storey building is believed to have started the fire.

Deputy Director of the firefighting department, Nguyen Van Son, said most karaoke bars were running without verification of their compliance with fire fighting and prevention regulations.

This has happened because owners of the karaoke bars often leased residential houses or offices, and converted them later into karaoke bars, he said, without explaining how these establishments received licences without the required verification.

Regulations require that each karaoke room has at least two emergency exits, Son said, adding that most establishments do not follow this rule.

He said that after the current inspection drive, all karaoke bars found violating regulations will either be closed down or have their operations suspended until they make the needed changes.

Meanwhile, Bac Ninh authorities have said they will suspend operations of any factory or company that does not comply with the regulations.

The province's People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Nhan Chien issued the order visiting the site of a big blaze on Sunday night that destroyed a 6,000sq. m workshop of a paper factory in Bac Ninh City's Phong Khe Industrial Park.

About 4,000 tonnes of paper were destroyed by the fire, which inflicted losses estimated at several dozen billion dong. The cause of the blaze has not been ascertained.

Chien asked local police to expedite their investigation into the fire and advised Bac Ninh City authorities to co-operate with relevant agencies in dealing with the blaze's consequences.

Economic slowdown prolongs substandard work conditions

Workers of enterprises and factories in Ha Noi are struggling with low incomes and dangerous working environments as the economic downturn continues to hurt, a senior labour official says.

Tran Van Thuc, President of the Ha Noi Confederation of Labour, was cited in a recent Viet Nam News Agency report as saying the economic slump that began several years ago is still exerting strong impacts on workers in the city.

He noted that in 2013, almost 11,000 enterprises closed down, resulting in 24,000 people losing their jobs.

Despite the Government's annual adjustments, the average wage was VND3 million per month (US$145) at present, which can only meet 76 per cent of the minimum spending standard, and is not commensurate with the workers' efforts and time spent on their job, Thuc said.

There are enterprises where the pay is so low that workers have no motivation to do their job better, he said.

Meanwhile, enterprises have been very slow in improving the working conditions for those who are directly involved in production. The use of outdated and backward technology and equipment, heavy-duty work and unhealthy environments are still common in the city.

Workplace accidents, occupational hazards and work-related ailments continue to happen in a "complicated" manner, Thuc said.

"A more pressing issue is that labour violations, especially by private enterprises, are rampant. These have to do with working hours, timely payment of wages, collective rights, social insurance and unemployment insurance."

Workers in the capital city also face of serious lack of housing, with municipal policies only meeting a fraction of the demand, Thuc said.

While there are more than 1.2 million workers in the capital city, just 15,000 stay in houses or apartments provided by the city and enterprises. The majority have to rent their accommodation – which is often below minimum standards.

There is still an acute shortage of kindergartens, health clinics and entertainment centres for workers and their children.

Thuc said the city's trade unions are working with relevant agencies to resolve the situation so that by 2020, 90 to 95 per cent of the city's workers will have stable accommodation, as well as kindergartens and schools for their children.

"Trade unions at different levels will also help workers become better aware of their legal rights," Thuc said.

Vietnam, Italy strengthen tertiary education cooperation

Vietnamese universities will have the chance to share experience and strengthen cooperation in tertiary education with their Italian counterparts at a seminar in Hanoi on May 9 and another in HCM City on May 12.

Representatives from 20 leading Italian universities will provide information about Italy’s education system and training programmes including scholarships and other financial assistance available for Vietnamese students to study abroad.

This is the first time the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Italian Embassy in Hanoi have jointly hosted the seminar.

The two co-organisers will also launch an Italian education exhibition at the Italian House at 18 Le Phung Hieu St in Hanoi on May 9-10 and at University of Social Science and Humanities in HCM City on May 11-12.

Epidemics more complicated this summer

Vietnam has confirmed its first fatalities from hand-foot-mouth disease (HFM), dengue fever, rabies, and encephalitis earlier this year.

As summer approaches, health authorities are stepping up their warnings that these diseases are likely to break out and develop into full fledged epidemics.

At a press briefing in Hanoi on May 8, the Ministry of Health (MoH) listed 11 diseases which often spread out in summer and warned that these diseases are getting more complicated during this time of year.

Since early this year, 191 cases of encephalitis have been reported, including three fatalities, up 9% compared to the same period last year.

In addition, 15 people died of rabies, three of dengue fever and 2 of HFM disease.

HFM disease is spreading across several provinces with more than 17,000 cases confirmed, including 2 deaths in Long An and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

Despite an overall decline in number of patients, the disease remains an imminent and deadly threat this year, the MoH warned.

Dengue fever is in a similar predicament. It is very extremely difficult to cope with the disease as there is no vaccine against the disease, said Director of the Preventive Medicine Department Tran Dac Phu, under the MoH.

Meanwhile, other diseases, such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), flu type A/H7N9 in China and wild-virus poliomyelitis, are likely to enter Vietnam.

Phu said Vietnamese people who are studying and working in the Middle East can readily introduce MERS-CoV into Vietnam unless drastic preventative measures are undertaken.

Similarly, flu type A/H7N9 in China is yet to be brought under control, while flu type 1/H5N1 in Cambodia is very aggressive with an ever increasing number of infected cases being reported.

Meanwhile, daily travel between the two countries poses a high risk of the disease crossing over into Vietnam.

Phu said the healthcare sector is implementing a series of measures to prevent summer epidemics, especially HFM disease and dengue fever.

The MoH has set up 8 working groups to inspect epidemic preventive measures in localities across the country.  

Remains of fallen soldiers repatriated from Cambodia

Dak Lak province on May 9 returned the remains of 16 Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their life in Cambodia during the past war to their homeland.

The remains were discovered following more than 6 months of arduous and painstaking work by Vietnamese military personnel during the 2013-2014 dry season.

Mai Hoan Nie Kdam, Vice Chairman of Dak Lak provincial People’s Committee, said seeking and repatriating fallen soldiers to their homeland aims to pay tribute to the soldiers for their noble sacrifice.

It meets the desires and sentiment of the families and Vietnamese people as well.

Experts call for anaemia action

Health experts have called for more action to prevent and treat thalassaemia, a potentially fatal genetic disorder.

They were speaking at a meeting held by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion yesterday to mark World Thalassaemia Day.

Thalassemia can result in anaemia and stunted growth. It can also damage the liver, heart and other major organs.

Severe thalassaemia, which is prevalent in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, leads to the body making an abnormal form of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. This produces anaemia. Viet Nam has more than 5.3 million people with the thalassaemia gene - and 2,000 babies with the disorder are born yearly. About 20,000 patients need regular treatment.

"Patients require lifetime treatment that causes a burden to their families and society," said institute director Nguyen Anh Tri.

"We try to lower the number of babies born with the disease through screening measures during pregnancy," said Tri.

Robocon Vietnam 2014 finals gather 32 teams

The final round of the 2014 Robocon Vietnam kicked off in Nha Trang city, central Khanh Hoa province on May 6, featuring the 32 best teams of the qualifying rounds held for the northern, central and southern regions last month.

This year’s contest is themed ‘Robot Family’, with the message of paying tribute to parents for bringing up their children to become good, responsible and useful citizens.

The teams, divided into eight groups of four, are tasked to design and make a robot family including a hand-controlled parent robot and an automatic child robot.

The competition floor is set up like playground, with two seesaw zones, a swing zone, a pole walk zone and a jungle gym zone. The parent robot has to carry the child robot up to the play zone and the child robot plays game activities.

The winner from the finals will represent Vietnam in the 2014 Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon), which is scheduled for August in India.

The 2014 Robocon Techshow will also take place under the framework of the final round, aiming to encourage students to apply the knowledge accumulated from Robocon competitions to studying and manufacturing high-tech products.

The awards and closing ceremony for the 2014 Robocon Vietnam will be held on May 11.

Public encouraged to help with housing

Persons and households providing affordable housing for low income earners can benefit from Government incentives regardless of which sector they operate in, said Construction Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.

He said that although persons and households providing housing for rent only accounted for a modest portion compared to real-estate firms, smaller providers had helped to meet demand from workers, particular in major cities like HCM City.

Dung made the statement when visiting State-funded and enterprise-built rental housing for workers in Thu Duc District's Linh Trung Ward and Tan Thuan Processing Zone in HCM City on Wednesday.

The Construction Department reports that the city has nearly 1.5 million square metres of affordable housing, equating to 473,800 parcels of accommodation for workers and labourers.

Housing built by the State and enterprises reportedly accounts for 40,400 units of accommodation, while the remainder is being supplied by households and individuals.

"The Government should recognise and promote the role of the public in developing affordable housing," Dung said.

He urged authorised agencies to raise awareness of housing development planning and offered help with administrative procedures, preferential loan access and designs to meet regulatory requirements for affordable housing.

"When investors develop housing that meets regulated standards, they are eligible to receive Government incentives, such as preferential loan access and reduced personal income tax," he said.

About 80-90 per cent of workers in the city's industrial and processing zones were living in accommodation built by individuals or households, he said, adding that a majority of rental houses had failed to meet hygiene and living standards.

Landlord Huynh Thi Thanh in Linh Trung Ward said her family had 21 available 12sq.m rooms for VND700,000 (US$33) per month.

"Many people want to rent my rooms," she said, adding that access to preferential loans would encourage her to expand the business.

Pham Thi Hang, who works at the Tan Thuan Processing Zone, said she pays VND250,000-290,000 ($12-14) per month to share a rental apartment at a workers' residence zone built by the Sai Gon Development Joint Stocks Company.

"I have lived here for four years and I will stay because it is safe and clean," she said.

Estuary reopens to fishing boats after dredging work

Boats can now travel freely through the Da Dien estuary in Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City following months of dredging the waterway, the city's People's Committee said on Tuesday.

Silt buildup from 2009 to 2013 in the estuary, which is at the mouth of the Da Rang River in the central province, had left many boats stranded.

About 75 per cent of the dredging has been completed, according to Bao Chau Private Enterprise, the project's contractor.

To solve the problem of silt buildup, the provincial People's Committee last year gave the Tuy Hoa People's Committee the go-ahead to dredge the canal.

Under the project, the estuary was dredged at a length of 700 metres, a width of 100-140 metres and a depth of 3.5 metres to ensure travel of boats with an engine capacity of 200-400 horsepower.

Cao Van Loc, an official of the Ward 6's Fish Port in Tuy Hoa City, said that in the last four months, few boats had sunk or had been stranded.

"Fishermen are glad," he said.

Bao Chau is also continuing to dredge a vessel line 1,300 metres long and 60 metres wide that runs from the estuary to Dong Tac Fish Port in Tuy Hoa City's Phu Dong Ward.

The enterprise, which paid for the dredging, was allowed by authorities to sell the sand to cover the cost of nearly VND12 billion (US$570,000), said Ho Duc Hung, deputy chairman of the Tuy Hoa People's Committee.

The dredging will ensure the safe travel of fishing boats with an engine capacity of up to 300 horsepower from the estuary to the Dong Tac Fish Port.

The Da Dien estuary is a mouth of the Da Rang River which runs through the Central Highland provinces of Kon Tum and Gia Lai and the central province of Phu Yen.

The river is called Ba, Ea Pa and Ia Pa in its upstream areas.

Vocational training for farmers remains limited

Vocational training for farmers has yet to be effectively integrated with the national target programme on building new-style rural areas and restructuring the agriculture sector.

So far, this work has only concentrated on publicising farming knowledge and techniques to growers and breeders, a conference in Hanoi heard on May 7.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat acknowledged the restrictions in the field, citing the fact that nearly 25 million rural people are working in agriculture, while another 600,000 young people become old enough to take part in the sector every year. However, vocational training facilities are currently able to provide their services for only five million people, Phat said.

He suggested focusing training on high-tech professions such as intensive cultivation, animal husbandry and agro-forestry-seafood processing.

More than 662,000 rural workers nationwide received vocational training between 2010 and 2013.

Over 88 percent of the trainees took new jobs or continued with their current ones at a higher income.

The "Vocational training for rural workers until 2020” project, which was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in November 2009, targets providing vocational training to about one million rural workers a year on average.

Project helps improve life of ethnic women in Quang Nam

Ethnic minority women in the central province of Quang Nam are enjoying a better life thanks to a project co-funded by the Luxembourg Government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The 1.3 million USD project began in June 2011, with the aim at strengthening the participation of ethnic women in tourism activities.

In three years of implementation, it has helped develop the traditional brocade craft in Quang Nam’s remote districts. Now local brocade products not only serve visitors to the province but are also sold at many tourist sites in other localities, including Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang.

National coordinator of the project Nguyen Thi Huyen said that from now till the end of 2015, the project will focus on training human resources in tourism services, developing product value chains and enhancing the role of women in promoting the community-based tourism.

Aurelie Klein, Development Cooperation Attaché at the Luxembourg Embassy in Vietnam, pledged to continue collaboration with UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation in helping women there diversify their traditional products, thus contributing to improving their living conditions and maintaining their cultural values.

Universities desperately seeking doctors

Many universities in Vietnam are trying by all means to attract lecturers with doctorate degrees to meet the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)’s quotas to open new departments or reopen closed ones.

Under the MoET’s requirements, to open a new faculty, a university must have full-time lecturers to cover at least 70% of training programmes. In addition, the faculty must have at least one lecturer who holds a doctorate and three that hold masters in the field corresponding to their department.

Over 200 university departments nationwide have been closed because they failed to meet these regulations. Recently, 126 out of them received permission to reopen thanks to their recruitment efforts.

The Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema had 15 of its departments suspended. Now, however, 14 have been reopened. It has also gained approval to open two new departments: photography and television technology.

Nonetheless, many universities are still struggling to meet ministry standards, including Hai Phong University, Quy Nhon University and Quang Nam University.

Quang Nam University in particular has been facing difficulties. Being located in a poor province, it does not have access to many of the advantages of other universities and is unattractive to many lecturers. Although the recruitment was announced in early March, to date Quang Nam University has not found a lecturer with doctorate degree.

The Central University of Construction has also been actively seeking lecturers with a doctorate degrees by offering attractive employment packages. A lecturer with doctorate degree can earn a VND200 million (USD9,520) training fee along with a two-month bonus and other benefits, including higher pay than the minimum required.  

Quang Ngai supports offshore fishing

The central province of Quang Ngai will provide nearly 31.5 billion VND (1.5 million USD) for fishermen to conduct offshore activities in the first phase of 2014.

Accordingly, 325 fishing vessels in Quang Ngai city, Binh Son, Mo Duc and Duc Pho districts will receive over 30.7 billion VND to cover fuel costs while 97 million VND will be used for insurance for 32 ships and their crew members.

About 616 million VND will be invested in installing contact systems for another 22 vessels.

The funding aims to encourage Quang Ngai fishermen to catch seafood in remote waters, such as those around Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, contributing to protecting national sea and island sovereignty.

In addition, the provincial People’s Committee has also urged relevant agencies to take necessary measures to ensure the safety for offshore fishing vessels and fishermen.

Vietnam posts high rural electrification rate

Vietnam has achieved the highest rural electrification rate in the world as a developing country, the Vietnam Economic News quoted the World Bank's assessment as saying on May 7.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang when addressing an online conference reviewing 15 years of rural electrification on April 26 said “Vietnam’s rural electrification has significantly grown over the last 15 years.”

Only 2.5 percent of households used electricity in 1975 while its figure increased to more than 98 percent in 2013. In particular, nearly 97 percent of rural households used electricity.

The power grid has been strongly invested and renovated. As a matter of fact, it has helped changing the appearances of rural and remote areas, creating favourable conditions for the development of agricultural production, processing industry and agricultural services. Agricultural production index increased by 6.6 times in the 1998-2013 period and average individual income increased by 8 times in the same period.

The rural electrification programme has been strongly developed. Together with investment capital from the state budget, donors have also actively contributed to bringing power to remote areas and improving the quality of rural low-tension power grid.

According to incomplete statistics, a total investment capital for the development and improvement of the rural power grid in the last 15 years reached 48.291 trillion VND. In particular, Red River Delta and north central coast provinces (excluding Hanoi) invested 17.169 trillion VND, followed by northern mountainous provinces, central provinces, Mekong Delta provinces, southeastern provinces, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

With the goal of bringing power to provinces in the Central Highlands, the Prime Minister asked the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to implement the 1.3 trillion VND project on bringing power to remote villages in the Central Highlands in the 2006-2009 period. The EVN also implemented a number of projects such as bringing power to households in Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Son La, Bac Kan and Lai Chau provinces.

Together with the goal of ensuring security and safety for islands and seas, a series of undersea power cable projects are being implemented to bring power to Co To Island, Phu Quoc Island and Ly Son Island.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said that the rural electrification programme has contributed 30-40 percent to socioeconomic development in rural areas, creating favourable conditions to change the structure of the rural economy and improve people’s living conditions.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai also said that challenges for the electricity sector in the implementation of the rural electrification programme in the time to come remain huge. As many as 91 communes throughout the country have not yet get access to electricity. With the goals of 98 percent and 100 percent of rural households having electricity by 2015 and 2020 respectively, the electricity sector needs to make greater efforts. In the near future, ministries, departments and local governments need to meet their objectives. In particular, a focus on ensuring technical conditions and improving quality of the rural power grid is needed.

To fulfill these objectives, Vietnam has urged international partners to take part in these projects in terms of capital, technology and management work.

The World Bank has closely cooperated with the Vietnamese government and EVN since 1995 and provided more than 4 billion USD in loans for power projects. In the 1998-2013 period, the World Bank funded about 12 projects related to the development of rural electrification with a total investment capital of more than 2 billion USD.

World Bank’s Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said that Vietnam's rural electrification programme was one of their most sucessful projects in Vietnam.-

Dien Bien Phu victory marked in Germany, Egypt

The Federal Union of Vietnamese in Germany (BVD) and the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association have jointly organised a conference aimed to review the glorious feats of arms of Vietnamese soldiers and people involved in the Dien Bien Phu campaign.

Highlighting the meaning and values of the victory, both BVD Deputy Chairman Vu Quoc Nam and Siegfried Sommer, President of the association, stressed that the May 7 conference in Berlin helped German friends better their understanding of the victory, enabling them to continue aiding Vietnam in national construction and protection.

As a milestone in the history of the Vietnamese military in the struggle against French colonialists, the victory was a bright example for oppressed nations facing their own struggles for national liberation, other delegates asserted.

The participants had a chance to enjoy films exploring the victory and some video clips of activities held in the northwestern province of Dien Bien to mark the 60th anniversary of the event.

The same day, the overseas Vietnamese community in Cairo, Egypt held a meeting to mark the victory.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Dao Thanh Chung reiterated that the triumph shocked the world and led to France signing the 1954 Geneva Accord and the end of French colonialism in Vietnam, bringing freedom to the three Indochinese countries.

The ambassador called on Vietnamese students and staff currently working in Egypt to spare no effort to further boosting the friendship and partnership between the two countries.-

Vietnamese students have trouble finding career paths

A recent survey showed that thousands of students do not know what to do or how to find jobs after failing high school graduation exams and university entrance exams.

According to the survey, around 350,000 students drop out of high school or fail the graduation exams each year. In the 2010-2011 school year, around 185,000 students passed the high school graduation exams but failed to get into universities or vocational schools. This number in the next school year was 290,000.

Spokespersons from the Professional Education Bureau under the Ministry of Education and Training said the reason is that people prefer university degrees, have little information about vocational education and the job market as well as a lack of jobs due to a slow economy. They also admitted that there is a lack of career consultancy services and support for vocational schools.

Pham Van Khanh, from Psychological and Educational Scientific Association in Tien Giang Province, said a survey at four provinces in the northern Mekong Delta showed that most students wanted easy, high-ranking jobs rather than ones more appropriate to their abilities and 98% decided to take university entrance exams and ignore vocational schools.

Le Dong Phuong from the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences also said students have been choosing universities without considering their abilities. He said, "About two-thirds of 10th grade students applied to study in the fields of math, physics and chemistry even though I think many of them will have had better chances in other directions."

Representatives from the Can Tho Department of Education and Training said that they were in need of a master plan for training and human resources. Students must be aware that no matter what field of work they are in, if they have experience, skills and devotion then they will be respected, they emphasised. Many have proposed financial support for students who choose vocational schools, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas.

Adjusted master plan for Hue City ratified

The PM has approved adjustments to the master plan for Hue City, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, till 2030, with a vision to 2050.

By 2050, Hue City will become one of six national –level cities and among three heritage cities of the Indochina.

The city is expected to have a population of 615,000 by 2020 and 674,000 by 2030.

It will include one central area and four support areas of Huong Thuy, Thuan An, Huong Tra and Binh Dien.

The industrial parks and zones in the city will cover a total area of 1,200 ha with Phu Bai Industrial Park (820 ha), Tu Ha Industrial Park (250 ha), Thuy Phuong Industrial Park (50 ha), Huong So trade village (50 ha) and Binh Dien Industrial Park (30 ha).

Drought looms in central region

Drought is forecast to strike many parts of central Vietnam this year, leaving negative impacts on locals and water resources in the region.

Water shortages in the region may last until August. According to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, rainfalls from Nghe An to Ninh Thuan provinces would be much lower than the average of previous years.

Drought would cause river water levels to fall by 10-40% compared to previous years and lead saltwater to make its way into inland areas from next month till August, according to the center.

In contrast, the rainy season is forecast to begin this month in the south and the Central Highlands region and rainfalls are predicted to intensify from August.   

Actually, rains occurred in HCMC late last month, submerging Hong Bang, An Duong Vuong, Tan Hoa, Luy Ban Bich and other streets in districts 6 and Binh Tan for hours.

Explaining heavy flooding after early rains, the HCMC Steering Center of the Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC) said an ongoing project to dredge Tan Hoa-Lo Gom Canal in District 6 and upgrade nearby streets slowed drainage.

HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan told a seminar in March that flooding in HCMC had not been resolved effectively.

SCFC plans to report to the HCMC People’s Committee a project to build more than 30 large lakes in suburban areas and hundreds of smaller lakes in inner-city areas to hold rainwater and thus mitigate flooding.

Quan said that HCMC spent nearly VND1.58 trillion (US$74.8 million) dealing with flooding in 2011-2013.

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