Rising odor, air pollution terrorize HCM City residents
People in Ho Chi Minh City live in an increasingly polluted environment, exposing themselves to a variety of respiratory diseases and other health risks.
Odor and air pollution in the southern hub have worsened on a daily basis, threatening the lives and well-being of local residents.
The University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City has reported a rising number of patients with respiratory illnesses arising from their regular exposure to contamination in the city.
N.C.T., 43, living in District 2, was diagnosed with edema and nasal mucosa congestion resulting from the negative effects of dust and vehicle exhaust.
According to the patient, the road in front of her house was under renovation about a month ago, creating a large volume of smoke and dust.
Another victim, 60-year-old Pham Thi Lan from Da Phuoc Commune, Binh Chanh District, said the stink released from the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex, about 150 meters from her house, has given her chronic headaches.
Lan and her son have lived with the smell for years, at times less disturbing than at others, the woman stated, saying that they had to wear gauze masks even while sleeping at night.
A large number of residents in the southern region have also reported the negative impact of the stench on their lives.
According to doctors, those who live around such levels of pollution often experience insomnia and mental stress, followed by a series of illnesses.
People breathing in a considerable amount of unpleasant odor can also become dizzy and disoriented, Phan Quoc Bao, a Vietnamese doctor, said, adding that germs and viruses within the stench also pose potential health risks.
Dr. Bao considered psychological problems the most severe impact of odor pollution.
Professor Nguyen Duy Thinh added that other symptoms brought about by a regular intake of bad odor include nausea, breathing difficulties, and impacts on the mental and respiratory system.
According to Pham Kien Huu, head of the ENT Department at the University Medical Center, odor and air pollutants can be absorbed by the human body via breathing and through the skin.
A contaminated atmosphere can cause temporary and long-term effects on the patients, with elderly people more susceptible to more serious diseases.
The shorter-term impacts include allergic reactions, nasal and throat infections, pneumonia, headaches, nausea, and others, Dr. Huu elaborated.
Permanent consequences could include chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart disease, damage to the brain, nervous system and other internal organs, the doctor continued.
Away from home: More Vietnamese leaving for richer countries
Scores of wealthy families, investors have moved overseas and the number is estimated to be nearly 100,000 people each year.
A foreign bank in Vietnam finds it increasingly difficult to hire local senior managers because there is a growing trend among highly-educated Vietnamese professionals to move their families abroad.
“More young and well-educated Vietnamese see the importance of raising their kids in a clean environment, good heathcare services and high-quality education,” said the bank’s country manager who now prefers recruiting committed employees for long terms.
According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 100,000 Vietnamese people leave the country each year to live in a more developed nation.
The trend is apparent in the growing number of Vietnamese investors moving overseas and wealthy families deciding to emigrate, despite the higher costs of living, cultural differences, language barrier and complex visa requirements.
But for those with the means to move, all it takes is between US$3 million and US$7 million of investment to apply for permanent residency in the US, according to Chris Loc Dao, chief executive of US Immigration Services company.
He said that over the past 10 years, the company has managed to advise more than 100 Vietnamese individuals on making investments worth a combined US$1 billion in the US in exchange for green cards.
Unofficial statistics suggest that affluent Vietnamese may have invested between US$10 billion and US$20 billion a year through immigration programs like the US’s EB5 Immigrant Investor Program.
The fast-growing number of Vietnamese people leaving the country is also believed to be closely linked to employment and education opportunities overseas.
The Ministry of Education and Training reported that 125,000 Vietnamese students went abroad in 2013 for studying, a 15% increase from 2012. Over 90% of international students of Vietnamese origin are self-funded and the total spending on overseas education amounted to roughly 1% of the country’s GDP in 2013.
The US, followed by Australia and the UK, is by far the favorite destination for Vietnamese students. Vietnam now ranks sixth with 28,883 students studying at US colleges and universities, spending nearly US$1 billion, according the latest quarterly update published in December 2015 by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The World Bank said in its 2016 fact book on migration and remittances that Vietnam was among the top 10 emigration countries as of 2013, just behind China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar in the East Asian and Pacific region.
As many as 26% of total five million Vietnamese overseas, equal to 1.3 million people, are living in the US, according to the World Bank.
While Vietnam is losing skilled workers to more developed countries, it is also exporting workers who are now responsible for a major source of overseas remittances.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs, Vietnam has sent about 500,000 Vietnamese to 40 countries and territories. On average, more than 90,000 Vietnamese workers, equal to 5% of the total workforce, leave the country each year, mainly for labor-intensive and low-skilled jobs overseas.
Nguyen Van Hoang, 32, from the northern province of Thai Nguyen, has been working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) for nine years.
“I can send about US$1,000 back to my family in Vietnam every month,” Hoang said. “In Vietnam, being a high school graduate, I wouldn’t be able to earn that much.” He is helping a cousin, the seventh in his family, to fly to RoK next spring to work. Vietnam’s annual average income was around US$2,100 last year, according to the World Bank.
Remittances from Vietnamese overseas remain a key source of funds for the country’s economy, equivalent to about 8%-10% of gross domestic product.
More than half of the money comes from the US Vietnamese-Americans sent back home about US$7 billion last year and are expected to remit US$8 billion this year.
Vietnam recorded roughly US$13 billion in overseas remittances last year, slightly up from US$12 billion in 2014, according to the World Bank, which ranked Vietnam as the world’s 11th largest remittance recipient country and the third in the East Asian-Pacific region, after China and the Philippines.
Risk of dengue fever spreading in Nghệ An
A delegation of the health department in the central province of Nghệ An yesterday visited Diễn Châu District to directly instruct locals to urgently control the spread of the dengue disease.
The dengue epidemic is making an appearance again in the region after 10 years and is spreading rapidly to other localities, according to the department.
Some 37 cases of dengue fever were reported in Diễn Thịnh Commune by the end of Monday.
Seven of these cases were being treated at the district’s General Hospital.
Yesterday, two more cases of dengue were also reported and were being treated at the local health centre.
Cao Đình Minh, director of the Preventive Medicine Centre of Diễn Châu District, said the centre took blood samples from two patients, who had high fever and headaches, for tests in late September.
The results were positive for dengue for the two patients in Diễn Thịnh Commune, Minh said.
More doctors from the district hospital arrived there to help local health officials provide treatment to patients, according to the official.
Nearly 200 litres of chemical had been supplied to locals to be sprayed for killing mosquitoes. Activities to clean up the environment had been also undertaken to prevent an outbreak.
Public awareness on the epidemic was also being raised in the whole region, Cao Hiếu, chairman of the district People’s Committee, said.
Fishermen earn good tuna profits
Fishermen in south central provinces enjoyed bumper catches of tuna and got handsome profits thanks to increasing prices.
According to Nguyen Trung Hieu, Head of the Management Board of the Hon Ro Fishing Port in Nha Trang city, many fishing boats returned to the port from October 10-12 with much better tuna catch than previous months, earning over VND200 million (US$8,990) on average.
Notably, a number of vessels caught 180 tunas each. Ship owners have got profits as the price of tuna reached VND105,000 (US$4.7) a kilo, up VND10,000 from previous months.
Vo Huy Hoang, a fisherman from Quang Ngai province, said his boat caught over 20 tonnes of skipjack tuna, earning a profit of over VND200 million.
The income of a worker in a fishing boat ranges from five to VND10 million per month.
An Giang develops local agricultural brand names
The Mekong Delta province of An Giang aims to develop specific agricultural products in different areas to promote local agricultural brands.
Under an action plan on agricultural development for the 2016-2020 period with a vision through 2030, the province will focus on applying technologies and connecting agricultural production with environmental protection to ensure sustainable development.
The sector is expected to reach an average growth rate of 2.71 percent from 2016-2020, and at least 3.2 percent from 2021-2025.
By 2020, average agricultural production is expected to reach 192 million VND (8,640 USD) per hectare, and annual average income per capita in rural areas is 45 million VND (2,000USD).
Incentives will be offered to facilitate stakeholders in the sector, particularly agricultural start-ups to expand markets and promote their products and brand names.
The province also plans to allocate favourable land to help investors develop the agricultural sector, particularly hi-tech agriculture.
Human resources training will be strengthened to improve capability of staff and farmers. Support will be provided to help local farmers shift to tourism and other non-agricultural sectors.
Hau Giang province redoubles anti-smuggling efforts
Authorised agencies in Hau Giang province have been ordered to ramp up efforts to fight smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting in the remaining months of the year, especially on the threshold of the Lunar New Year holiday when purchasing power will surge.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tuan, head of Hau Giang’s steering board for anti-smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting, made the request at a meeting on October 11.
He said the efforts should focus on agriculture (such as fertilisers and veterinary medicine), goods quality, and food safety.
The Mekong Delta province uncovered 1,097 smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting cases, and seized 682 million VND (over 27,200 USD) worth of illegal goods in the first nine months of 2016.
Criminal proceedings were launched against 11 cases involving 11 persons, data show.
Participants in the meeting proposed measures to promote smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting prevention from now to the year’s end.
While some officials suggested punishments be meted out basing on violations instead of the value of goods involved, others asked for stronger coordination in communications with the media so as to raise sellers’ awareness.
BIS Hanoi launches innovative music curriculum
British International School in Hanoi has become one of the first schools in the world to benefit from an innovative new collaboration between Nord Anglia Education and The Juilliard School in New York.
From September 2016, students at the school will benefit from an enhanced embedded arts curriculum developed by specialists from Juilliard, along with continued support from, and engagement with, Juilliard alumni and affiliated artists.
The collaboration between Juilliard, the world renowned performing arts conservatory, and Nord Anglia Education, the world’s leading premium schools organisation, is designed to enhance British International School Hanoi performing arts offering with its innovative structure, design and approach. The new embedded arts curriculum, which focuses first on music, was developed by curriculum and music experts at both Juilliard and Nord Anglia Education.
The music curriculum is designed for all students, not just those who are serious about learning an instrument or musical performance. It is based around a repertoire of 12 core works covering a wide range of cultures, genres and historical periods, each of which has been carefully chosen by Juilliard to open the door to categories of music and fundamentals essential for all young people to know and experience. Ultimately, the curriculum aims to nurture cultural literacy and develop key skills in students, such as discipline, creativity and confidence that will enable them to succeed anywhere in the world once they’ve left school.
Anthony Rowlands, principal of British International School Hanoi, said, “We are excited and honoured to be integrating the Juilliard programme at BIS Hanoi. It will open many doors for our students in relation to their musical development. To be associated with Juilliard, the premier music.school in the world, is a very special feeling for us all at BIS Hanoi.”
INCHAM to host Festival of Lights in November
The Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM) will put on the biggest festival for the Indian community in Vietnam, Diwali Gala 2016 (Festival of Lights), at GEM Center in HCMC’s District 1 on November 5.
INCHAM will invite a popular Bollywood Playback singer Raja Hasan and Pragya Sodhani who will sing alongside with a band to excite the gala and make it a memorable night.
Diwali will also feature authentic Indian cuisines, free flow of drinks, and raffle prizes in addition to Bollywood performances.
The event is expected to attract more than one thousand guests, including expats and Vietnamese, government officials, representatives of foreign missions and business associations in HCMC.
INCHAM said part of the money collected from the gala will be donated to charity.
Diwali or Deepavali, is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated every year. It is one of the most sacred festivals for Hindus and is widely celebrated across the country.
Besides India, the Festival of Lights is also widely celebrated in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Nepal, Malaysia, Mauritius and other countries with Hindu population.
The main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu calendar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and mid-November.
Before Diwali night, people clean and decorate their homes and offices. On Diwali night, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfits, and people light lamps and candles inside and outside their homes. They participate in family prayers typically to Goddess Lakshmi, which is known as the goddess of fertility and prosperity.
After prayers, there are usually firework displays, huge family feasts including sweets, and gifts exchanged between family members and close friends.
Diwali also marks a major shopping period in nations where it is celebrated.
Tickets of Diwali Gala 2016 can be booked at INCHAM’s office at 52 Dong Du Street, District 1, HCMC. Tel: by calling (08) 3823 8132 (Ms. Ly or Ms. Hien), email: incham@gmail.com.
GE Oil & Gas University holds first training course in Vietnam
Twenty-six young, high potential oil and gas professionals from Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) have been given an opportunity to further develop their skills through the GE Oil & Gas first-ever localized management and technical skills course in Vietnam.
According to Visal Leng, general manager for Asia-Pacific of GE Oil & Gas, this initiative is about strengthening the talent and skills base needed for the future, successful development of the oil and gas industry in Vietnam.
Launched last Monday, the four-week course for PVN focuses on leadership and management skills to develop young talent and forging future leaders for Vietnam’s oil and gas industry.
“We are working in partnership with PVN to ensure the next generation of oil and gas professionals have the skills, knowledge and insights needed to be able to succeed in an ever-changing environment,” Leng said in a statement.
Delivered through the GE Oil & Gas University over a four-week period, the course covers Leadership, Energy & Process and Equipment and is delivered by experts from GE and other leading organizations.
Since its establishment, the GE Oil & Gas University has hosted 87 national and international oil and gas companies, as well as recorded about 770 graduates of resident and localized courses from 35 countries.
HCM City’s photo exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of the Vietnam Youth Federation
A photo exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Vietnam Youth Federation opened at Ho Chi Minh City Youth’s Cultural House on October 12.
The event titled “I love my country” includes three sections, glorious tradition of the Vietnam Youth Federation, pride of HCM City youth, activities of HCM City youth.
The exhibition displays 180 pictures presenting history, tradition and establishment of the Vietnam Youth Federation; youth’s achievements in the city and nationwide; typical examples in studying and working.
The show will run until October 20.
Famous comedian marks 20-year career
A performance marking the 20-year career of famous female comedian Viet Huong will be held at the Military Zone No.7 Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Nhuan District on November 5.
The event called “Huong Show” is expected to attract around 15,000 audiences.
The dramatic actress will offer up 11,200 free tickets to students. All proceeds from selling remaining tickets will be donated to a fund supporting disadvantage people throughout the country.
Viet Huong won several prizes when she was a student of the School of Stage Art No.2 in Ho Chi Minh City, such as Silver Medal at the National Drama Festival in 1995, Gold Medal at the National Theater Festival in 1999, “Best Actress” award voted by HCM City Theater Magazine’s readers in 2004, the 2005 “Mai Vang” (Golden Apricot Blossom) Award of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, “Best comedian” at the HTV Award 2007 by the HCM City Television.
Her comic theater troupe won the title “Most favorite comic theater troupe” in the Cuoi (Smile) Gala program by Vietnam Television from 2003-2005 consecutively.
VND97 bil invested in building traditional medicine hospital
VND97 billion (US$ 4,316,866) will be spent on building a traditional medicine hospital in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Chairman of People’s Committee in Quang Ngai Province Tran Ngoc Cang yesterday approved the decision to build the hospital with 100 beds.
The hospital has rooms for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, combined east-west medical treatment to provide the best treatment for patients.
Additionally, the hospital examines, treats and carries out researches to preserve and develop traditional medicine.
On the same day, the chairman also approved investment project for the Endocrine Center in the province with investment of VND50 billion.
The center will be assigned to prevent endocrinal diseases and metabolic disorders in a bid to curb infections and deaths caused by these diseases and disordered to improve inhabitants’ health condition.
French architect proposes plan to expand Nha Trang beach
Authorities in Nha Trang on October 8 discussed a plan proposed by a French architect to expand the coastline of the resort city.
The plan, put forward by French architect Gery H. Egon, includes the expansion of the beach along Tran Phu and Pham Van Dong Boulevards to improve the appeal of the area.
According to the architect, the current beach to the east of the two boulevards would not be able to handle the potential number of tourists to the city, located in Khanh Hoa Province, in the future.
In addition, he said, it only takes tourists a few steps from the water’s edge to be neck-deep in water due to the beach’s steep slope, making it unappealing to beach-goers.
The plan therefore proposes the expansion of the beach through artificial activities or human interference to quicken the process of deposition.
Le Duc Vinh, chairman of the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee, has urged relevant bodies to put the plan into practice, stressing that any proposal to renovate Nha Trang beaches must stem from the city’s benefits from the sea as well as the nature, history, and people of the province.
Vinh said additional beach services such as sports and entertainment should also be available for the public.
The Ana Mandara resort on Tran Phu Boulevard would also be relocated to the Long Beach area in 2018 so that the cleared land could be used as public space and to improve the visibility of the coastline, the provincial chairman said.
According to the proposed plan, the public park running along Tran Phu and Pham Van Dong Boulevards would not be intercepted by permanent buildings.
Widespread pneumonia sends children to hospitals in southern Vietnam
Hospitals in southern Vietnam have recorded a surge in the number of children being admitted over respiratory diseases, most prominently pneumonia, in recent months.
According to statistics provided by Dong Nai Children’s Hospital in Dong Nai Province, there have been a rocketing number of new pneumonia admissions for the past two months.
In August and September alone, the hospital treated over 5,000 outpatients and nearly 1,700 inpatients of pneumonia, an increase of 1,632 cases compared to the same period last year.
Notably, there has been an increase in both the number of viral pneumonia patients and the severity of their conditions compared to the previous year, according to Doctor Pham Thi Thu Thuy, head of the hospital’s respiratory ward.
The hospital admits on average 30 to 40 pneumonia patients every day, with peak days reaching up to 70 patients, Dr. Thuy said.
The surge in pneumonia admissions has led to an overload in the respiratory ward of Dong Nai Children’s Hospital, where multiple minor patients can be seen sharing the same bed while others resort to resting on hammocks put up by their parents.
Doctor Nguyen Trong Nghia, head of the hospital’s intensive care and poison control unit, attributed the disease outbreak to a change in weather conditions as well as the mutation of viruses to resist medications.
Meanwhile, doctors at Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2 in Ho Chi Minh City have reported a similar rise in the number of minor patients being admitted over respiratory problems, with an average of around 500 patients being treated every day for the disease at each hospital.
The hospitals have had to transfer some of the patients to another infirmary to reduce the load on their respiratory wards, which had earlier recorded a peak of 13 patients sharing a single bed.
In Can Tho City, from 2,500 to 3,000 respiratory patients have been admitted to Can Tho Children’s Hospital each day since mid-September, an increase of 1,000 cases compared to the previous period, according to its director, Doctor Tran Van De.
The majority of patients are admitted over pneumonia, bronchitis, upper respiratory infection, and nasopharyngeal diseases.
Hanoi motorbike ban unfeasible: traffic safety official
The ban would be impossible to implement due mainly to undeveloped and insufficient public transport in Hanoi.
Hanoi’s plan to remove motorbikes from the streets of the city in the next four or five years is hardly feasible, said Nguyen Van Thach, head of the Traffic Safety Department under the Transport Ministry.
He said the ban would be impossible to implement due mainly to undeveloped and insufficient public transport in Hanoi.
“If the city manages to put four to five urban monorail routes into operation by 2020 then we can talk about reducing the use of private transport,” said Thach.
He pointed to the fact that metro projects and monorail routes have faced years of delays.
“The construction is progressing slowly so the ban [on private vehicles] is impossible,” said the senior traffic official.
Fast-economic growth has shaped Hanoi into a city of motorbikes. Currently there are more than 5 million motorized two-wheelers on Hanoi’s roads, and the number of new vehicles is on the rise, putting mounting pressure on the city’s transport infrastructure. Statistics show around 19,000 new vehicles are registered in the city each month, and it is estimated that by 2020 there will be more than 6 million motorbikes on the streets of the capital.
Motorbikes are deeply integral to all aspects of everyday life in the city. In Hanoi, nearly everyone has a motorbike to travel around the tiny streets and alleys. According to the World Bank, motorbikes play an important role in making Hanoians’ commute relatively shorter compared to other large Asian cities.
Bui Danh Lien, chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, said the only way to talk people into ditching their private vehicles is to build a well-developed public transport system.
“Everyone knows that to curb congestion, we have to develop public transport and reduce the use of private vehicles. Under the current circumstances, it would be difficult for Hanoi to introduce these measures,” said Thach, the traffic official.
He also ruled out the prospect of putting more buses into use.
With the current limited infrastructure and narrow streets, the number of public buses can only increase in certain areas and to a certain level, he said.
Thach explained that public buses are more suitable to cities with a population of 1.5 million. The populations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are now about 7 million and nearly 9 million respectively.
Experts suggested that to reduce congestion, major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City should impose a ban on private cars rather than on motorbikes from downtown areas.
Cars cause between 50% and 70% of urban traffic congestion, said Ha Huy Quang, deputy director of Hanoi Transport Department.
And 75 percent of traffic accidents are caused by cars, said Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee.
Experts said the whole system could collapse following a surge in car ownership in Hanoi. The number of cars is growing at speed, at more than 200 percent between 2005 and 2015, according to the World Bank.
Environmental destruction is a crime: Vietnamese industry minister
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh says pollution is a crime against the environment and calls on all major corporations to commit themselves towards environmental protection during their operations.
Power plant, coal mine, and mineral mine developers across Vietnam gathered on Thursday afternoon for a meeting to address environmental issues regarding their operations.
Following Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper posts on the increasing number of coal-fired power factories in the country, a matter of serious public concern in Vietnam, Minister Anh ordered that businesses resolve all matters related to the rising risk of pollution caused by these operations.
Vietnam currently operates 19 fossil-fueled power plants and plans to raise that number to 31 by the year 2020, and to 51 by 2030, placing the Red River Delta and Mekong Delta regions at serious risk of contamination.
The official ordered leaders from major corporations and enterprises to pledge against “trading the environment for their projects,” asserting that factories which violate environmental protection regulations and negatively impact the well being of local resident will be shut down.
A joint delegation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is scheduled to start a comprehensive inspection thermal power stations in the country that pose high risks of contamination.
All procedures must be carried out and existing issues resolved at all costs, Minister Anh said, reiterating that an effective exploitation of natural resources had to take environmental preservation into account.
“Environment destruction is a crime,” the official stated, “we must not lose the trust of the Vietnamese people.”
According to reports at the meeting, many businesses in the industry and trade sector don’t meet environmental protection standards, while a few others have not been permitted to continue their exploitation of resources.
Several facilities have yet to establish proper systems for wastewater treatment and dust control, creating immense threats on the surrounding atmosphere.
Construction begins on new Vĩnh Long hospital
The Xuyên Á Hospital Investment Joint-Stock Company yesterday began construction on a general hospital in the Mekong Delta province of Vĩnh Long.
The 10-storey hospital, which will cover 40,000 square metres, will have 24 specialised wards including oncology, respiratory disease and kidney disease as well as one centre for cardiac and nerve intervention under the assistance of Xuyên Á Hospital in HCM City’s Củ Chi District and central-level Chợ Rẫy Hospital in the city’s District 5.
With total capital of VNĐ850 billion (US$37.7 million), the hospital will provide high-tech, low-cost health services to residents in the province and the Mekong Delta region.
The hospital is expected to examine and treat 2,000 outpatients and 800 inpatients every day.
Too overjoyed leads to mistakes
Any couple in love wishes for a lifelong tie and would do anything to show their attachment. Many sweethearts worldwide lock a padlock to a love bridge.
Like so many others before them, two young people in Đà Nẵng City recently decided to “tie the knot” by standing on the Đà Nẵng Love Lock Bridge. After having told each other words, they put a love padlock on the romantic bridge across the Hàn River. And their final act was to throw away the padlock key into the river to demonstrate their undying love.
Ooh, ooh! Instead of throwing the padlock key in the water, the man mistook their motorbike key. The destination of the key unluckily was the deep river in front of them. So what was lost could not be retrieved. And what could they do with their locked motorbike standing nearby?
The unexpected situation ended with the lovers turning towards each other making sounds of strident gibber, rather than offering words of consolation. Things suddenly changed from what Earth and Heaven witnessed just some minutes before.
Proof that padlocks don’t always lock in love.
Close early to stay healthy or wealthy?
Hospitals and medical centres provide medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people. So they should operate 24 hours a day.
But after a recent decision by a hospital in the central province of Khánh Hòa, all of their staff members now finish work by 4pm.
The Venero-Dermatology Hospital in Vĩnh Hải District has decided to open only six hours a day, reasoning that the contaminated working environment may cause harm to the staff.
A blackboard in front of the hospital states the hospital is open from 7.30 to 11am and from 1.30 to 2pm. Sensing that their notice is not enough, the hospital even rings a bell when time is up, the Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper reported.
Head of the hospital’s Organisation – Administrative Division, Nguyễn Văn Dung, said the hospital would only receive emergency cases after closing time.
Dung said the hospital belongs to medical centres which are highly prone to communicable infections because they provide treatment for patients with skin-related diseases, such as leprosy. The hospital is therefore legally allowed to shorten daily working hours by one or two hours per day, as stipulated by the Labour Code.
According to the ministries of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and Health, only those directly providing healthcare for people with infectious diseases – and those directly in contact with related devices or who wash patients’ clothes – are eligible for special treatment and reduced daily work hours, not people working in the administrative section.
The newspaper later found out that numerous private clinics set up by the hospital’s doctors open around 4.30pm daily. Instead of staying late to help cure patients in need, they leave work early to fatten their pockets.
Following the newspaper report and local people’s complaints, the provincial Department of Health promised to check to see why the hospital staff only work six hours a day.
Small thought makes big surprise
A future bridegroom always thinks of unique ways to surprise his wife-to-be.
Instead of a traditional and comfortable four-wheeled car, Quyền, a truck and container car driver in Bắc Giang Province, decorated a red truck cab with pink and red balloons and ribbons to bring his bride from Thái Nguyên Province. Quyền chose to use just the cab, without anything attached to it, to avoid cumbersomeness when driving on traffic routes
The unique images quickly went viral and were shared by many internet users.
An experienced driver from the Bắc Trung Nam Drivers’ Association who is also a colleague of Quyền said the groom wanted to use the vehicle he drives every day to collect his bride. The colleague, Thuận, said that after the truck cab was “polished” with decorative stuff, it became really eye-catching.
Nothing is too small to cause a big surprise if one dares to try!
Central province launches compensation for victims of mass fish deaths
Authorities in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue have begun distributing compensation for residents affected by recent mass fish deaths.
A budget of 400 billion VND (18 million USD) will be distributed among people in the districts of Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Phu Vang and Phu Loc and in Huong Tra town.
All localities involved were tasked with setting up teams in charge of the distribution work. These teams will cooperate with banks to serve demand for banking services.
The management of the funds will be closely monitored to ensure efficiency and transparency.
In late June, Taiwan-invested Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company admitted responsibility for the mass fish deaths in the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, and pledged 11.5 trillion VND (500 million USD) in compensation.
On September 29, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1880/QD-TTg on the compensation levels for damage from the incident. Under the decision, seven affected sectors in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien – Hue will receive compensation, namely seafood harvesting, aquatic breeding, salt production, coastal seafood business activities, fishing logistics, coastal tourism services, and seafood stockpiling and purchasing.
Film about a female gangster wins international award
Huong Ga (Rise) has won a ‘Best Vietnamese Film’ title at the San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival in the US.
The movie about a gangster woman named Dieu in the early 2000s marks the success of actress Truong Ngoc Anh who is the main character and producer of the film.
The film festival has been approved by the US government and held three times in San Francisco. It is for filmmakers all over the world and encourages young and first-time filmmakers to show their new productions.
This year’s event attracted nearly 100 films to compete at different categories like Best Picture Award, Best Documentary Award, Best Short Native Film Award, Best Short Documentary Award, Best Commercial Award, Best MTV Award and Best Director Award.
A “Heart with the sun” film directed by Haotian Lu won the highest award at the event.
More children in Nghe An to benefit from school milk programme
The central province of Nghe An aims to roll out the school milk programme on a larger scale from the 2017-2018 academic year in an effort to prevent malnutrition among pre-school and primary school kids.
Accordingly, all children in pre-schools and primary schools across the province will receive 180ml milk packages five days per week. The malnutrition rate among under-five children in the locality is expected to drop to the country’s average in 2020.
Nghe An is working on a mechanism to provide free-of-charge milk for poor children, those with disabilities and orphans.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, the province piloted a school milk programme worth over 87.1 billion VND (3.9 million USD), of which 32.3 billion VND (1.45 million USD) came from TH Group, one of Vietnam’s leading milk suppliers.
Data from the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG) initiative shows that the rate of child malnutrition in Vietnam is declining by 1.5 percent every year. From 44 percent in 1994, the rate has dropped to under 20 percent at present.
27 students honored as Hanoi’s “Ambassadors of Reading Culture”
27 primary and secondary school students have been honored as Hanoi’s “Ambassadors of Reading Culture” at a recent ceremony as part of Hanoi Book Festival 2016.
After 3 months of launch, more than 10,000 students in Hanoi participated in the writing contest to look for ambassadors of reading culture, part of the project “Let’s Read” by the Vietnam Intellectual Cooperation Centre (VICC), aiming to promote reading culture in Vietnam.
9-grader Nguyen Van Thuy Linh from Ngo Si Lien Secondary School was conferred the title “Hanoi’s Typical Ambassador of Reading Culture 2016”.
“I have many ideas and want to share with others. For example, I want to set up several book stalls in walking streets around the Sword Lake so that everyone can read and discuss with each other. Or I think there should be a book corner for children in each residential area. Or when students learn history, geography, and science, they should take along the books that they find interesting to have more knowledge apart from what they learn in textbooks,” said Linh.
The contest will continue to be held next year and planned to expand nationwide.
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