Student faces Facebook page probe

Ha Noi's Police High-tech Crime Prevention Faculty summoned Nguyen Van Tien to investigate his behaviour of smearing Vingroup Joint Stock Company on social network Facebook.

Tien, born in 1991, in the northern province of Ha Nam, is now in his last year at the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology.

Earlier, Vingroup submitted a document to the police to report a fan page on Facebook titled "Vingroup lua tien khach hang" (roughly translated as "Vingroup cheated customers").

The investigating agency then discovered that in late August 2013, Tien used his Facebook account to start a fan page that he named Vingroup and also took the company's logo as an avatar.

14 year old girl infected with bizarre skin disease

A 14 year old girl in Ba Nam Commune is discovered to have the unidentified skin disease plaguing Ba To District in the central province of Quang Ngai.

Le Han Phong, chairman of People’s Committee in Ba To District confirmed this on April 14 that a 14 year old girl in Dut Village 1 in Ba Nam Commune had the bizarre skin disease. Ba Nam Commune has not recorded any case of the strange skin disease before

The girl was hospitalized on April 9 when she was in critical condition; accordingly the local hospital has transferred her to the province hospital. Currently she is being treated in Children Hospital No.2 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Department of Health and Preventive Medicine Center soon sent a mission delegation to provide treatment and restorative medicines and vitamins to local people in Ba Nam Commune and enhance environmental hygiene there.

Before, a case of the bizarre skin disease had been discovered in Ba Dien Commune which is center of the disease.

Rise in measles diagnoses not yet called epidemic

While the number of cases of children who have been diagnosed with measles was higher than expected, a health ministry official says it is not unusually high for this time of year.

Some 2,490 children have been diagnosed with the disease so far this year, leading to 25 fatalities.

Head of the ministry's Health Preventive Department Tran Dac Phu said that localities were gradually gaining control of the situation.

Phu said that under a decision signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2010, an epidemic was only proclaimed when national health agencies failed to control a disease.

The ministry also reported that the number of cases this year was lower than in 2009-10, when over 8,200 children were diagnosed with measles.

"Measles is a cyclical disease," Phu said.

Phu said that the outbreak would be brought under control in the next few months.

Statistics from the Viet Nam National Hospital of Paediatrics showed that up to 1,000 children were admitted to the hospital over the past four months.

Do Thien Hai, deputy head of the ministry's Infectious Disease Department, told Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer) newspaper usually only 30 to 40 children on average were admitted to the hospital with measles each year.

"I am surprised at the number of children who have been admitted with measles in the last four months," he said.

He said that in the past, it took only five to seven days to treat a child with measles, but now it was taking from two to three weeks.

The Viet Nam National Hospital of Paediatrics was also concerned about overcrowding, reported Nguoi Lao Dong.

So far this year, 83 children have been admitted with measles to Bach Mai Hospital, and 15 have contracted severe pneumonia.

In a related move, the ministry plans to provide 30 ventilators to four hospitals to help treat children with measles.

Unsealed container blamed for deadly kiln explosion

Local police have confirmed melted scraps overflowing from an uncapped container were the main cause leading to a kiln explosion at the Pomina 3 Steel Plant in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau last Friday.

The blast happened at at around 7pm at the facility in Phu My Industrial Park No 1 in Tan Thanh District.

Examining the scene yesterday, local police in collaboration with police from the Ministry of Public Security's Criminal Science Institute found melted scraps had overflowed from the uncapped container when the container was moving. The melted scraps, heated to more than 1,500 degrees Celsius, exploded after coming into contact with colder surrounding materials and equipment.

Police also found that workers had forgotten to seal the container with the cap, which has an estimated weight of 6 tonnes. According to workers at the plant, the kiln has a capacity to melt more than 100 tonnes of steel and heats to over 1,000 degrees Celsius.

The plant's authorities also blamed the accident on workers failing to comply with regulations in the production process.

The melted scraps from the blast injured ten workers who were sent to Cho Ray hospital in HCM City for further treatment after receiving first aid at local general hospitals.

Of the victims, two had suffered minor burns and had been discharged.

Three other workers, who were seriously burned in the accident, were no longer critical, according to the steel plant's General Director Do Tien Sy.

Three workers, Hoang Thanh Thinh,19; Nguyen Van Thai, 23; and Doan Le Phuong, 23, had received burns to between 61 to 85 per cent of their body.

The remaining workers were gradually recovering, he said.

He added that the company would cover all the victims' medical costs and would provide care for Thinh's children in case he was unable to continue working. Thinh received the most extreme burns from the incident.

Plastic surgery death to be re-investigated

Ha Noi People's Court has decided to send the case of Nguyen Manh Tuong, who was alleged to have thrown a patient's body into the river after she died on his operating table back to city police for further investigation.

The decision was announced at the hearing into the case yesterday. The doctor, Nguyen Manh Tuong, 40, was accused of violating regulations on examination and treatment and infringing procedures governing human remains.

Tuong was said to have been working at his own at Cat Tuong cosmetic surgery centre when the patient died on the operating table from complications during breast -enhancement surgery.

Tuong allegedly carried the woman's body to his car, before disposing of it at midnight. He then went to work at Bach Mai hospital on the following day as normal.

According to the indictment, 30 minutes after surgery began, Le Thi Thanh Huyen, the patient, had difficulty breathing and began foaming at the mouth. Tuong gave her an injection and she appeared to recover.

But at 5:45 pm, Huyen's body suddenly turned blue and her blood pressure could not be measured. Tuong put her on a respirator and gave her a cardiotonic but could not revive her.

Speaking at the hearing, Tuong said he decided to take Huyen to Buu Dien (Post) Hospital, but when they reached it, too many people were at the hospital's entrance.

At that time, Khanh, the salon guard, who helped Tuong put the body to his car, suggested to Tuong that they should dump the body into the Hong River instead of leaving it at the hospital and he agreed.

The Jury Committee decided that there were several problems relating to the medical profession that needed to be made clear, and returned documents on the case to local police for more investigation.

More methadone treatment centres to open in HCM City

Two more methadone treatment centres will open in HCM City's Tan Phu and Binh Tan districts this year, increasing the total number to eight.

Methadone is used as a pain reliever in drug-addiction detoxification and maintenance programmes.

Speaking at a conference on HIV/AIDS prevention, Hua Ngoc Thuan, vice chairman of the city's People's Committee, said the methadone distribution points would be located in all wards and communes.

Nguyen Hoang Long, head of the Viet Nam Administration of HIV/AIDS, said the city's methadone coverage rate among addicts was too low.

According to a report from the HCM City AIDS Prevention Committee, at least 1,461 addicts out of 16,000 addicts were treated with methadone between 2011 and 2013.

The existing methadone treatment centres are located in the districts of 4,6, 8, Binh Thanh, Go Vap, and Thu Duc.

Long asked the city to open more centres so that he could increase the number of addicts to 5,000 by 2015.

Long said that methadone treatment was a highly effective method to prevent drug relapse. The treatment has been carried out since 2008, and with a total of 94 methadone treatment centres serving 16,500 users in the country.

By 2015, the centre expects to treat 80,000 drug addicts with methadone.

Regional forum tackles mental health

The Asia-Pacific International Research and Education Network began its first meeting at a two-day forum on mental health in Ha Noi yesterday.

Organised by the universities of Rochester, Melbourne and Oslo with the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health, the event is aimed at creating a regional collaboration network for services, research and education to improve the lives of people with mental disorders.

Ministry statistics show that nearly 15 per cent of the country's population have suffered from mental disorders at some time, such as depression, epilepsy, alcohol-use and dementia.

A WHO report in 2008 said that more than 150 million people worldwide suffered from depression, 125 million were affected by alcohol-use disorders and 50 million had epilepsy.

Blast victims are no longer in critical condition

Three workers who were seriously burned in an accident at the Pomina 3 Steel Plant in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau last Friday are no longer critical.

The plant's general director Do Tien Sy said that of the 10 workers who had been admitted to Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City after an alleged explosion in a kiln of the plant, two had been discharged.

Three workers, namely Hoang Thanh Thinh,19; Nguyen Van Thai, 23; and Doan Le Phuong, 23, had received between 61 to 85 per cent burns.

Sy stated that the company would cover all medical costs of the victims and would take care of the children of Thinh, who received the maximum burn injuries, till they reach adulthood in case he loses his ability to work.

He added that the initial report about the melted scraps, which had injured the workers, was not completely correct.

Solar energy system lights up flagpole on Ly Son island

The Hanoi chapter of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) on April 14 handed over to Ly Son island, central Quang Ngai province a solar power system to light up the flagpole on Ly Son’s highest mountain.

Thanks to the 200 million VND (9,400 USD) system, the flag flying high on Thoi Loi Peak is now visible at night to fishermen at sea.

Deputy Secretary of the HCMCYU’s Quang Ngai chapter Nguyen Hoang Hiep said the work aims to raise the youth’s awareness of their responsibility for national construction and sovereignty protection.

The same day, the Quang Ngai chapter in coordination with a group of doctors from the Ho Chi Minh City Central Odonto-Maxillo-Facial Surgery (OMS) Hospital and the Cho Ray Hospital provided free check-ups and medicines for 800 local patients and donated dentist equipment worth 150 million VND (around 7,000 USD) to the Ly Son health care centre.

On the occasion, the HCMCYU’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter granted 200 gifts to the poor on the island while the Quang Ngai chapter presented two houses worth 60 million VND (around 2,800 USD) to local people.-

Northeastern locals optimistic about public administration

The Provincial Governance and Public Administration Index (PAPI) in northeastern localities has shown positive improvements in recent years, heard a conference in northern Thai Nguyen province on April 14.

PAPI is a policy tool that aims to measure the administration and governance efficiency of the State administration system in all 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

The index is based on a philosophy considering citizens as the customers of public administration agencies, capable of overseeing and assessing the effectiveness of local governance and public administration.

According to a report carried out in Vietnam by the United Nations Development Programme since 2009, nearly 50,000 Vietnamese citizens have so far taken part in a survey to deliver their comments on governance and public administration at all levels.

In the northeastern provinces, the attitude, responsibility and levels of administrative officials when solving relevant issues have drawn the most public attention.

The northeastern region is comprised of Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Thai Nguyen provinces.-

Tuyen Quang finances home building

The northern province of Tuyen Quang is offering financial assistance to help locals build and upgrade stilt houses in its Tan Lap cultural village, as part of efforts to meet national criteria for rural development.

Chairman of the Tan Trao commune People’s Committee – which manages the village - Nguyen Van Hoa said locals will receive a maximum funding of 200 million VND (9,500 USD) to build new houses while 100 million VND (4,700 USD) will be used for repair work.

The communal authorities will closely watch over the disbursement to ensure that the package will reach the hands of families in need.

According to the committee, proceeds raised from the public for the endeavour has amounted to 2 billion VND (90,000 USD). Eleven households have been chosen to benefit from the scheme.

Recognised as a special national relic in 2012, Tan Trao was once a revolutionary base and the capital of liberated zone during the resistance war against the French colonialists.

Many historical decisions were made at the site, leading to the success of the 1945 August Revolution.

Online bridge management system urged to be used nationwide

The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) has been asked to soon complete and apply the online bridge management system in all localities nationwide by the third quarter of 2014.

The Vietnamese Bridge Management System (VBMS) software is part of the transport sector’s credit project on improving the national road network, which uses the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s fund for the bridge management system from 2005.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong said that the software will help road managers monitor conditions of each bridge so that they can promptly put forth maintenance plans.

More than 4,000 bridges across the nation will be kept a close watch by the system.

Widespread effort needed to provide jobs for disabled workers

Providing vocational training and creating jobs for persons with disabilities (PWDs) requires collaboration among authorities at all levels and the whole society, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Nguyen Trong Dam has noted.

At present, there are some 6.7 million disabled people in Vietnam, 60 percent of who are of working age.

In 2013, about 80,000 PWDs gained vocational skills in jobs suitable for their health, such as spa servces, animal husbandry, mushroom cultivation, carpentry, and making clothes and bamboo products.

Over the period, chapters of the Vietnam Association for the Support of Disabled People and Orphans gave training to 2,900 PWDs and provided jobs for 1,100 of them.

The association opened 33 training courses in 16 provinces such as southern Binh Duong, central Ha Tinh and northern Bac Giang.

Nearly 800 PWDs in Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Binh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces and the capital Hanoi benefited from a Spanish Red Cross-funded project giving socio-economic integration and employment support to the target group.

Meanwhile, many organisations and businesses have employed PWDs. For example, the Customs Sub-Department of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has recruited more than 40 disabled staff. Meanwhile, some 30 others have found jobs at the Vietnam Protect safety equipment company, which has built PWD-friendly production lines.

According to MOLISA’s General Department of Vocational Training, around 1.5 million people in Vietnam are taught with vocational skills every year, yet only 6,000 of them PWDs (0.4 percent).

Tran Quang Dung, Chairman of the Association of PWDs in the northern province of Ha Nam, said disadvantaged circumstances and poor capacity make it hard for PWDs to afford training fees.

Additionally, they are mostly equipped with handicraft-making skills, while those with more advanced capacity struggle to find workplaces with suitable facilities.

A prejudiced attitude of businesses towards the group is also deemed as a barrier to PWDs’ access to vocational training, Dung added.

Chairman of the Vietnam Association for the Support of Disabled People and Orphans Nguyen Dinh Lieu said that by now society should know well that PWDs are as capable of working as well as able-bodied people can.

He added that providing the group with professional skills is an important mission for managerial agencies and social organisations.

Da Nang pupils show great interest in East Sea history

Many of Da Nang’s senior high schools have organised meaningful activities to help their pupils to thoroughly understand issues relating to the East Sea, especially to Viet n am’s sacred sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos , a local newspaper reported.

According to the Da Nang Today online, a large number of the pupils have visited exhibitions at the Museum of Da Nang which feature historical documents proving Viet nam’s sovereignty.

Some staff members from the museum’s Division of Foreign Relations said that they were very surprised by the local pupils’ excellent knowledge of the historical, economic and geopolitical values of these archipelagos.

At a recent exhibition, a female pupil from the Tran Phu Senior High School introduced 200 other schoolmates to the important role of the archipelagos in the Asia-Pacific region.

It was assumed that this student must have read many documents about the current situation of Viet n am’s sea and islands in the context of the increasing number of landlocked and sea-locked countries around the world paying special attention to sea-related issues.

Clubs “I Love History” have been opened at many local senior high schools. One hundred members of the Thai Phien Senior High School’s club visited the “Towards Viet n am’s Sea and Islands” exhibition at the museum. The school’s teachers said that some of their pupils gave impressive presentations about the significant role of the country’s sea and islands due to their extensive research into the topic.

T hanks to the numerous exhibitions and talks, local pupils now understand more about the sea-related issues. This will encourage a deep sense of love for the country’s sea and islands, as well as the national territorial integrity.

Egypt event honours Ho Chi Minh as a diplomat

World-famous diplomats, including late President Ho Chi Minh, who led Vietnam to victory in its national liberation, were honoured at a conference held in Cairo, Egypt on April 14 by the Organisation of Egypt and the World.

The event saw the participation of representatives from the embassies of Asian, African and Mideast nations along with Egyptian scholars and international students in the country.

In his opening speech at the conference, Vietnamese Charge d’Affaires a.i. to Egypt Nguyen Hong Son briefed participants on the stages of the Vietnamese revolution, including the event when President Ho Chi Minh delivered the Declaration of Independence 69 years ago, to establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - the first people’s democratic state in Southeast Asia, which is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam .

Son, one of the five key speakers, highlighted the major points of Ho Chi Minh’s diplomacy, which is built upon several principles such as steadfastness in goal, a flexible strategy, good understanding of the other side, establishing alliance to isolate the main rival, and pursuing the policy of national independence in connection with international solidarity and cooperation.

The President of the Organisation of Egypt and the World, Magdy Morgan and key speakers from China, Iraq and Morocco praised the late Vietnamese leader for his great contributions to Vietnam’s revolutionary cause and the national liberation movement of oppressed nations in the world.

Int’l ophthalmology seminar in Hue

More than 200 domestic and foreign ophthalmologists are attending a symposium on ophthalmology in the central Thua Thien-Hue province’s Hue Central Hospital from April 14-17.

The biennial event, the fifth of its kind in the imperial Hue city, is one of activities marking the 120th founding anniversary of the hospital - the first Western-styled hospital in Vietnam, and part of the ongoing Hue Festival 2014.

The hospital’s Director Bui Duc Phu said the symposium was first held in the hospital during the Hue Festival in 2006 with the assistance from the US’ Hawaii ophthalmology organisation and it has now become a regular event of the Hue Festival.

The seminar covers a number of thematic issues such as glaucoma, eye treatment and surgery, giving ophthalmologists a chance to get updated on eye diseases and treatments.

According to the Vietnam Ophthalmological Society (VOS) and the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology, the number of Vietnamese people suffering from blindness now accounts for 3.1% of the total population, while 15-40% of the population including about 3 million children, have refractive eye disorders.

The ophthalmological sector is intent on reducing the rate of blind people aged over 50 to 2.35% by 2019 and establish eye care centres for children.

Local doctors get diabetes training

As many as 1,500 doctors nationwide are benefiting from an international diabetes training programme which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on April 14.

Under the 2014-2016 programme, 30 local doctors have been sent to the US in 2014 to be updated on the latest treatment for the condition, which has been growing rapidly more common both domestically and globally in recent years as a main result of unhealthy lifestyles and lack of physical activities.

According to Deputy Health Minister Le Thi Xuyen, the proportion of diabetes in the 30-69 age range accounts for nearly 5.7 percent of the total national population, while the rate of people suffering from blood sugar disorders was estimated at 12.8 percent.

The Health Ministry has submitted to the Government an anti-diabetes project which is expected to be added to the national health target. The project has provided free health check-ups and consultation for people who are prone to the disease and nutrition care for the patients. Medical staffare also being trained to better treat the disease.

Statistics by the International Diabetes Federation have shown that about 371 million people around the world are suffering from diabetes and another 280 million are in risk of getting the condition.

The number of patients killed by diabetes is estimated to double by 2030 if no adequate solutions are applied, the association warned.

Education Minister in Singapore to discuss bilateral cooperation

Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan on April 14 met his Singaporean counterpart HengSweeKeat to discuss the operations of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO), as well as ways to foster bilateral cooperation in education.

Luan, who is President of the SEAMEO Council for the 2013-2015 tenure, is visiting Singapore from April 13-15 for the first time since he took office as education minister.

During the meeting, the two ministers talked of a number of SEAMEO’s multilateral operations, such as a post-2015 education agenda for Southeast Asia, activities in 2014 and 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the organisation and the group’s affiliation with other education groups in other regions.

Minister Luan highly valued the support of the Singaporean Government and its Ministry for Education in facilitating the operational efficiency of the SEAMEO Regional Language Centre (SEAMEO REL) in Singapore, contributing to training English teachers for SEAMEO member countries, including Vietnam.

Within the framework of the education agreement between the Vietnamese and Singaporean Ministries of Education signed on April 25, 2007, the Singaporean side has assisted Vietnam in upgrading English teaching methods for high school teachers at the SEAMEO RELC.

By the end of 2011, as many as 10 training course has been organised for 300 Vietnamese teachers.

The Minister proposed that Singapore continue helping train English teachers for Vietnam, and holding more conferences to share the country’s experience with Vietnamese experts and lecturers in the fields of biotechnology, logistics, e-commerce and university and college management.

Vietnam is keen on learning Singapore’s experience in applying information technology in teaching, he said, adding that more joint activities and student exchange programmes should be conducted.

Minister Luan also affirmed that Vietnam is eager to study the education model of Singapore, as it is working towards comprehensive education reform.

HengSweeKeat said he believes that the Vietnam-Singapore close education partnership will continue playing an important role in the development of bilateral ties between the two countries.

The same day, the Vietnamese Minister also visited the Crescent Girls’ School, one of the 13 excellent-rated schools in Singapore.

SEAMEO, a trans-governmental organisation in Southeast Asia, was established in 1965. Its members consist of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

SEAMEO has 20 regional centres and a network to conduct its research and training programmes in different areas including education, science and culture. 

Russia, Vietnam intensify anti-corruption cooperation

A Government inspection delegation led by General Inspector Huynh Phong Tranh began a working visit to relevant Russian agencies on April 14.

The visit aims to share anti-corruption experience and seek coordination with relevant Russian agencies in preventing, detecting and handling corrupt acts.

The delegation will also negotiate with the Russian Presidential Office’s Anti-Corruption Bureau on the signing of a cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two agencies.

On the morning of April 14, Vietnamese inspectors met with representatives from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office headed by the first deputy prosecutor, Aleksander Buksman.

Buksman highlighted the delegation’s visit as a contribution to enhancing Vietnam-Russian cooperative relations, while General Inspector Phong Tranh briefed his Russian host about the functions and anti-corruption tasks of Vietnamese government inspectors.

Both sides also discussed measures to strengthen anti-corruption cooperation in the future.

As scheduled, the delegation will meet for talks with representatives from Russian audit agencies, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Russian Presidential Office’s Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Hanoi hosts forum for mental health

The Asia-Pacific Research and training network forum on mental health opened in Hanoi on April 14, attended by 45 delegates from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Thailand and China.

Health Deputy Minister Nguyen Viet Tien introduced the organisation of the forum and emphasized that the event lays foundations to establish a network of regional cooperation in service and research and training, to improve living conditions of people with mental illness.

Tien said that a lack of scientific research and information on mental health is a hurdle in establishing and implementing policies, laws and plans on mental health.

In order to fulfill targets in the global action plan on mental health in the 2013-2020 period, it is extremely necessary to improve research and provide evidence on mental health.

Tien stressed that strengthening mental health is a long-term strategic task which requires the full commitment, support and determination from both local and worldwide governments and organisations.

With technical assistance from the Universities of Rochester and Melbourne, the World Health Organization (WHO) and University of Oslo, delegates shared experiences in the related field and identified priorities in research on mental health to develop a healthcare network in the region.

According to the WHO, in 2008, there were over 150 million people diagnosed with depression, over 125 million affected by the use of alcohol, 40 million suffering with epilepsy and 24 million classified as mentally ill.

Around 14.9% of Vietnamese population has demonstrated signs of mental illness.  

Belgium backs Vietnam’s planning reform

Belgium has committed more than 4 million euros of non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) to help Vietnam strengthen its capacity in the planning reform.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Angelet Bruno have signed a specific agreement for the project “Capacity Development for the Planning Reform (CDPR)”, with a total budget of 4.3 million euros.

The project aims to improve the preparation and implementation of a socio-economic development plan through improved planning and budgeting for pro-poor and pro-growth policies and interventions.

It will focus on strengthening the capacity of central level, provincial and selected local authorities and, monitoring and evaluating plans and budget estimation through an improved legal framework and training of trainers.

Under the project, selected central ministries and key planning staff at provincial level will have the opportunity to learn and share information on international planning experiences and best practices, as well as more in depth capacity building activities for selected sub provincial authorities.

The project will last four years and the Ministry of Planning and Investment will be responsible for the implementation and management of the project.

Course improves rhino horn awareness

A training course to raise awareness of women and business people of the threat to rhino’s existence posed by the demand for the animal’s horn has been held recently in Hanoi.

Organised by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) management agency in Vietnam, the municipal Women’s Union and the Business and Integration Magazine, the event saw the participation of more than 500 women’s union activists and representatives from over 50 businesses in the city.

Participants were provided with information on the situation of rhino population in Vietnam and legal regulations related to the animal.

Like in many other countries in Asia, Vietnamese traditionally believe that rhino horn can treat a range of diseases, including cancer, hence the demand for the horn.

However, scientific studies show that the rhino horn has no medical properties because it is composed of mainly keratine substance, which is similar to human nail’s composition.

According to the Wildlife Department under the Humane Society International, since the beginning of 2013, at least 746 rhinos have been killed for their horns in South Africa, which has the highest concentration of rhinos in the world. Many of the horns were smuggled to Asia, including Vietnam.

The last rhino in Vietnam was killed in 2010, which is a tragic lesson in protecting wild species on the verge of extinction.

Villagers up in arms over cement plant pollution

Hundreds of households in Quang Binh Province have complained that the noise and dust from a local factory has been making life difficult there for seven years.

Noise and dust from the Ang Son II Cement Plant have prompted many locals in Ang Son Village to seek help from various agencies. Investigation teams came and took measurements of the pollution, yet nothing has been done to improve the situation.

"My husband died from cancer, all four of my grandchildren are also sick all the time and one died from cancer when he was five," a local said.

On April 2 about 100 people gathered and tried to block the way to the plant. The trucks that carry materials to the plant have also been blamed for ruining the road. A street maintenance worker said that even though they are 20-tonne cargo trucks, they regularly take loads of 30 to 40 tonnes. The villagers complain about the constant rumbling and honking of the trucks during the night.

A representative of the Ang Son II Cement Plant said they signed a contract with transport company and so were not directly responsible for damaged roads or air pollution from the trucks. Recently, the company held a talk and promised to fix the pollution problem.

"We have asked the transport company to cover their cargo and refrain from honking at lunchtime and at night," said Bui Quang Huy, head of Office for Organisation and Administration.

Pham Ngoc Vu, Deputy Director of the plant, said they did everything they could to prevent pollution, such as using water trucks, planting trees and deploying street cleaning teams. "The factory does not emit smoke or dust. We're also a victim in this case, we have proposed many times that local authorities build a new resettlement area for community."

In response, the households said they have pictures showing the plant emitting smoke and dust. They said the water trucks are just for show and that trucks operate from 10pm to 5am, violating their agreement.

Currently, due to a limited budget, the authorities still cannot provide a new resettlement area. The Quang Binh Province People's Committee admitted that there is severe pollution; they have not yet implemented any solutions but have promised to try to relocate the households.

Wild swallows hunted for food

Thousands of swallows are trapped and killed daily by residents in a coastal village in the central province of Ha Tinh.

This is the season in which swallows migrate to places like Thach Hai Village to avoid the cold and find new sources of food. These natural migratory patterns, however, quite literally leads them right into a trap.

Many bird hunters in the village have set up traps in the bamboo and trees where the swallows fly. Swallow hunters range from the young to the old, men to women.

These birds, known in Vietnam as “ambassadors of spring", are killed right on the spot before being transported by traders to major cities where they are served as a special dish at many restaurants.

A swallow trap made with dried bamboo

Many swallow hunters have chosen a strip of sand inside the Thach Khe iron mining project to set up traps.

Some swallow trappers said they have seen an increased number of swallows this year due to warm weather and an abundance of insects in the coastal areas.

On average, thousands of swallows are caught and killed each day in the village.

The practice is also popular in several other localities in the central region of Vietnam.

Lax management allows for illegal online games

Lax management in the online game business in Vietnam has created a situation in which many local firms cooperate with foreign partners for illegal game distribution in the country.

In March 2014, inspectors from the Ministry of Information and Communications and the police became aware of certain cases in which a number of companies in Hanoi and HCM City worked with foreign partners to release illegal video games domestically.

The HCM City-based Afoo Ltd. Co. allegedly issued illegal games for a Chinese firm called Lemon Game Company.

Between September 2012 and May 2013, Afoo’s director was a Vietnamese national named Le Ngoc Anh Tue. The current the director is named Yang Zhuo and is Chinese. Yang is also a representative of Lemon Game Company.

Tue said that Afoo Ltd. Co. was really managed by Yang and that he is just a puppet.

In Hanoi, local agencies believe they discovered a Chinese company named Koramgame that helped a Vietnamese man, Nguyen Nam Tien, to set up three companies to issue illegal games. Tien directly signed contacts to hire servers from Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC) and FPT.

Chinese companies normally pay their Vietnamese partners 22%-22% of their total revenues for the game in the local market.

In 2010, following public pressure over social evils caused by online games, the Ministry of Information and Communications halted the licenses for this business.

This has caused difficulties for local game companies such as FPT, VDC and VNG-Vinagame, but has given plenty of opportunities to foreign companies and those who sell illegal games.

At a meeting on online games held last year, experts and managers proposed the re-licensing local game companies, which they hoped would restrict the illegal games.

The government issued regulations saying that online games are expected to have some kind of legal framework under which to work so that the domestic industry could survive. However, to date, a guiding circular to that end has not been issued.

As a result, local game providers have not yet been allowed to issue games.