Social News 10/10 Firm fined for making cosmetics with dubious formula The Health Ministry fined the HCM City-based Eternal Beauty Company Ltd (Viet Nam EBC) The company was found to be using a formula in its cosmetic products that was different from the formula that had been registered and approved, said Nguyen Tat Dat, vice head of the Drug Administration of Viet Nam. ASEAN-CGMP is a quality management system for cosmetic products that has been set for the member countries of the group. The company was also ordered to recall and destroy products in 17 product lines that were manufactured using the unapproved formula and then report to the ministry. The idea of making a bath sponge from the fibre of the loofah fruit has won Phan Thi Quynh Hoa of the She beat 25 other rivals in the final of the contest held annually on Wednesday at the HCM City Open University. Hoa said she had read an article about hotels using imported loofah sponges, and knowing that the fruit grew in the country, she learnt how to make sponges from it online. Road accident caused five casualties Dakrong's Traffic Police Department has reported a motorbike accident at Dakrong commune, causing two deaths and three injures. A motorbike, driven by Ho Van Nang (born 1996) carrying Ho Van Thang and Ho Van Bui (both born 1997), collided with the other one carrying Ho Van Lieu and Ho Thi Luoi (both born 1983). Luoi and Thang died on the way to hospital, three others were heavily injured and both bikes were damaged. The local police department is investigating the case. Coffee shop fire kills one in District 1 A fire that broke out at a coffee shop on the first floor of a hotel in Thirty firefighters from the Firefighting and Fire Prevention Department extinguished the fire within 20 minutes. Eight foreigners were staying in the hotel when the fire occurred. The case is under investigation. Two die in Quang Tri bike accident Two people were killed and three injured when two motorbikes collided in Dakrong commune in the central The two died on their way to hospital. The local police department is investigating the case. POs to accept insurance premiums People can now pay for social and health insurance at post offices, the same place they go to receive pensions and welfare benefits. The Viet Nam Social Security Administration and the Viet Nam Post Corporation launched the initiative on October 1 to give rural areas more access to insurance. During a six-month trial period in 15 provinces, 5,497 voluntary social-insurance payers and 94,144 voluntary health-insurance payers registered for services, generating US$2.9 million in payments. But the number of insured in certain provinces didn't rise as much as expected. The Government hoped to attract 42,000 new payers in the Mekong Delta province this year, but it may not meet that goal, said Nguyen Thi My Phuong, vice director of Can Tho Social Security. The province only registered 7, 287 new payers before September, just 17.6 per cent of the target number. Some people in rural communities have lower incomes, and only buy insurance when they fall ill, Phuong said. "The main problem is that people are not fully aware of the benefits of having social and health insurance," she said. The Post Corporation started working on social and health insurance policies for their employees, so they could promote the benefits of being covered by social and health insurances to people who aren't covered. The northern city of Since April the Hai Phong post office has processed 782,000 pension payouts and managed 49,000 pension and welfare accounts, as well as handling an increasing number of people buying insurance. Pham Thanh Quang, director of the An Lao Post Office, said his post office had been swamped, especially on pension pay days, when it had to process so many cases it was impossible to handle insurance requests. The backup has caused long delays. Also, due to a lack of co-operation between the Post Corporation and justice departments, pension payments are often still sent to deceased people. This is because local justice departments failed to notify the social security administration of the deaths. Statistics key for VN growth: Japanese expert " He said statistics had played a key role in the economic recovery of Director of "Official statistics are an important source of information for policy makers and investors formulating policies to drive socio-economic development," Lam said. "It is the forum for the senior leaders of national statistical offices, international experts and scientists to exchange new ideas and initiatives in statistical development as well as share experiences," he said. Ethnic minority goals lack funding: workshop The millennium development goals for improving the living conditions of ethnic minority communities lack sufficient funding, workshop participants were told yesterday in Ha Noi. The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the United Nations in The goals were supposed to be completed by 2015, but several challenges have led to less than positive results, national consultant Pham Thai Hung told the gathering. Hung said that overlaps in policies and a lack of funding had slowed progress on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. Ethnic groups account for 14.6 per cent of the country's population, and half of the minority groups have significantly lower incomes than the majority Kinh (Vietnamese) group, Hung said. The second development goal, to achieve universal primary education, also faced difficulties, including a lack of funding for infrastructure and adequate teachers. Literacy and primary school enrollments remained lower than those of the Kinh group, Hung said. Information on ethnic people was lacking for another development goal, promoting gender equality and empowering women. The fourth, fifth and sixth goals, reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, also faced challenges. Hung said that although malnutrition and child mortality had declined, a gap between Kinh children and ethnic minority children persisted. Poverty and a lack of knowledge about nutrition had also contributed to malnutrition, Hung said. Also, ethnic minority areas had less access to child care. "It is imperative to issue an action plan to accelerate the achievement of the development goals," said Trinh Cong Khanh, director of the Ethnic Minority Policy Department under the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs. Khanh suggested The framework would identify problems in implementing the development goals, and help solve them. More than 50 countries have used the framework so far, Khanh said. A parade to raise awareness of breast cancer will be held next on October 18 at the Crescent Mall in Pink Parade is a part of We Care For Her, the first nation-wide community campaign aimed at raising public awareness of breast cancer. We Care For Her was launched in 2013 by the Ministry of Health's Bright Future Fund (BFF), which works on increasing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment capability to improve the survival rate and quality of life for survivors. Tickets costing VND100,000 will include a We Care For Her T-shirt and free breast cancer screening at the Weather forecast bulletin receives European awards The Vietnamese weather forecast bulletin on Super Typhoon Haiyan has been presented EMS (European Meteorological Society) TV Weather Forecast Award an Oct. 7 ceremony in Prague, the Czech Republic. The bulletin, produced by Tran Thao Linh, who is acting manager of the Meteorological Information Department, Weather and Disaster Broadcasting, Vietnam Television (VTV), and a producer of daily weather forecast programmes and disaster breaking news. Linh has successfully surpassed nine outstanding entries to receive the honourable award. According to EMS news, the entry was a good mixture of forecast details and practical information for viewers as Super Typhoon Haiyan approached Producer/editor Tran Thao Linh, who is a meteorologist with a master’s degree, did an excellent job of putting the enormity of the typhoon in context by showing a video of the storm in the The parameters of the storm and its forecast track were delivered in a calm but authoritative tone. The presentation included examples of what residents could do to prepare for the impending storm’s landfall. 1 dead, 2 injured in One Malaysian woman was confirmed dead and two other unknown people were injured in a fire at Budget Saigon Hostel in Witnesses said that at 12:40pm they discovered ferocious blaze with thick smoke coming out the first floor. Local people immediately helped guests jump to the surrounding roofs to escape. Five fire engines were called in to put out the roaring fire. The blaze was under control in half an hour. The cause of the hostel fire accident is under investigation. Concerted efforts needed to achieve MDGs in ethnic groups At a workshop in The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, Pratibha Mehta, said the action plan will act as a tool to set specific targets, identify challenges, rank priority measures and organise financial resources in order to achieve the goals effectively. The plan will also help Participants at the workshop provided feedback on the action plan, and proposed measures to address problems and accelerate the implementation of the MDGs. They suggested restructuring poverty reduction policies, investing more in education in ethnic minority communities with a focus on teaching the Vietnamese language, and enhancing vocational training for young members of ethnic minority groups. They also stressed the need to integrate gender equality into socio-economic development programmes, increase access to reproductive health services for ethnic women, and boost afforestation and environmental protection efforts in the regions populated predominantly by ethnic minorities. Memorial service for war heroes marks Hanoi Liberation Day A service to commemorate the heroic soldiers who laid down during the war was held at The service, the first of its kind in During the ceremony, nearly 100 Buddhist monks and nuns, municipal officials, Buddhist followers, and local residents laid down wreaths and offered incense in honour of the 2,070 war heroes buried at the cemetery. The ceremony was followed by a prayer for world peace, prosperity and happiness. At the service, Ngo Van Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Confederation of Labour, expressed his deep appreciation for the contributions of the fallen soldiers to the liberation of The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) on October 8 signed the implementation agreement for the programme component “Centre of Excellence for Technical and Vocational Education and Training - LILAMA 2”. Signatories were Director of the MoLISA Department of International Cooperation Le Kim Dung and GIZ Country Director Jochem Lange. The component is part of Vietnamese-German ‘Programme Reform of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in The component aims to support the development of the LILAMA 2 Technical and Under the agreement, MoLISA and GIZ will work together to implement vocational training programmes to meet the increasing demand for skilled workers in “LILAMA 2 College as a capable and highly motivated partner will serve not only as a role model for the spread of high quality TVET and further development of the Centre of Excellence Network in Vietmam and in the region but also as an example for the further commitment of German development cooperation to the support of Centres of Excellence,” said Jochem Lange. USAID helps Thanh Hoa promote green growth A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on October 7 between the the central The document aims to further tighten the cooperation between the locality’s Green Growth Task Force (GGTF) and their partner implementing the Under the MoU, the two sides will enhance the exchange of information, knowledge and technology in the field of climate change, while jointly conducting surveys and collecting data on agriculture, forestry and aquaculture; energy; industry and waste treatment. They will also work together to draft an action plan for Thanh Hoa’s green growth strategy. USAID will support the Vietnamese locality in improving institutional capacity and training human resources to be able to implement strategy successfully. The strategy is expected to improve the capacity of local agencies to develop land use plans and build a sustainable financial mechanism for forest development. It will also focus on measures to reduce green house emissions from the forestry sector. Implemented from 2013-2017 in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Nam Dinh and Long An, the It not only helps local authorities enhance forest management and reforestation, but also introduces climate change resilient livelihood strategies to the residents of areas having forests. Thanh Hoa and Nghe An were selected as pilot provinces for implementing the nation’s green growth strategy. Workshop seeks to promote environment industry Experts have underlined the need to develop the environment industry in order to better control pollution and environmental degradation in the country at a recent workshop-and-fair on environmental industrial products in A representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Science and Technology said the environment industry has taken shaped in the country five years after the Prime Minister’s approval of a project on the environment industry to 2015, with a vision to 2025. The industry has met part of the demand regarding waste treatment and protection of land and water environment, he said, stressing that the rising pressure in environmental protection requires a greater involvement of the private sector in developing environmental technologies and equipment as well as offering related services. Surveys conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment show the country’s 16 economic sectors need an estimated US$7.6 billion in investment in environmental protection. However, only a small number of businesses, mostly small-and medium-sized enterprises, have registered to supply urban and industrial waste water treatment services. Only 6 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide have waste water treatment plants, and just 105 among 283 operational industrial parks across the country have concentrated waste-water treatment plants, which are able to meet around 34% of the real demand. About 1.5 billion cu.m of untreated waste water, most from urban areas and industrial parks, are directly discharged into the environment each year, said Dr. Do Huu Hao, Chairman of the Vietnam Environment Industry Association. He added that urban areas discharge about 30,000 tonnes of solid waste every day but only 83% of which are collected and treated. The rate is just 50-60% for rural areas, which generate a combined 5,000 tonnes a day. The most common treatment method is burying in duping sites, with 85% of the total solid waste being disposed this way. The workshop also provided a venue for participating enterprises to introduce their latest products and technologies in the field. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) held a national dialogue in Speaking at the dialogue, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said the GEF has been instrumental in coordinating and financing national environmental policy in The GEF has so far poured US$130 million in 51 national and 43 regional projects involving For the GEF sixth cycle from 2014-2018, delegates agreed the agency should focus on assisting It will also seek to assist in giving effect to measures improving cooperation with the private sector, social organisations and donors in the environmental field. For her part, World Bank (WB) Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said The WB will support the UNCEF commits more support for childcare in Vietnam The United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) jointly held a seminar in MPI Deputy Minister and UNICEF Deputy Chief Representative in Vietnam Jesper Moller stressed the need to provide more investment for children, who they said, play a key role in ensuring sustainable development in All children have their own right to live, grow up and develop their capacity. The two officials also laid emphasis on the provision of necessary services for children, saying this is an urgent task to help them grow up properly. Other participants at the seminar shared experience in adding children-related issues to national development plan and proposed measures to deal with problems emerging in such areas as education and training, health care, and social welfare. They also suggested improving public financial management skills to provide better care for children. FAO applauds They made the comment during an October 8 meeting with FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva was forthright in his assertion that Graziano da Silva spoke glowingly of the efforts of the He proposed that He said he will ask FAO relevant agencies to work closely with For his part, Minister Phat lauded the Vietnam government and people for being in the vanguard of agro-forestry and fisheries technologies, pioneering new approaches to ensuring food security, reducing poverty rate, applying advanced technologies in agricultural production and protecting the environment. He noted The country has also assisted them in drawing up plans and implementing innumerable other measures to bolster the development of agro-forestry and fisheries sectors, he said. Phat thanked the FAO for its assistance with more than 400 FAO-funded agricultural projects over past years and said he avidly looks forward to their continued backing. Minister Phat’s meeting with the FAO Director General took place subsequent to the 8th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP-8), where his speech on Donors praise International donors highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to improve policy on climate change adaptation, and pledged their continued support for Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said In addition to international funds, He confirmed that the Government would earmark approximately VND3 trillion (US$135 million) for climate change adaptation, with a special focus on afforestation. He urged relevant ministries and sectors to work with international donors to accelerate the implementation of the SP-RCC programme in The SP-RCC programme has been implemented in Foreign drivers need VN permits Most foreign tourists or residents who rent motorcycles do not have Vietnamese driving licences and are unaware of Vietnamese traffic laws. A year ago, at the annual consular consultation meeting between The Russians said that if Russian tourists who drove motorcycles and cars in In August 2013, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism issued a notice on the management of motorcycle rental services for Russian and foreign tourists. The notice said that motorcycle rental shops were not allowed to rent vehicles to foreigners if they failed to present valid driving licences in accordance with There are 12 motorcycle rental shops along Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy from the HCM City Bar Association told the Nguoi lao dong (Labourer) newspaper that in many cases, foreigners caused traffic accidents, but they were only fined or expelled. There were several reasons for this, she said. The offences were usually not intentional and many foreigners were willing to pay adequate compensation if victims withdrew their complaints. However, according to the Supreme People's Court, if an accident was the fault of a driver who has been drinking, he or she would must be jailed, no matter what their nationality was, Thuy added. Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Cong, a member of the HCM City Bar Association, said that those who drove without valid Vietnamese licences faced jail for up to 12 years if they caused an accident. On January 30 last year, HCM City People's Court fined Chinese national Li Zhong Jun VND30 million (US$1,420) for causing a fatal accident in Cu Chi District. On September 27, 2012, HCM City People's Court fined Norwegian Lars Hanssen VND30 million (US$1,420) for fatally injuring a woman on his motorbike after he had been drinking. On January 19, 2011, the HCM City People's Court deported Russian national Makhov Vladimir for killing a vendor in a traffic accident in Mui Ne in the southern In the latest case, an American man died and two Vietnamese were injured in an accident at the intersection of Dien Bien Phu and Dinh Tien Hoang streets in Da Kao Ward, District 1 in The American man, Fluery Formigoni, 24, was driving a motorbike at high speed when he collided with another bike driven by a local woman and a lottery vendor. Formigoni died at the scene. Long An destroys nearly 1,000 H5N1 infected poultry The veterinary practice and epidemic station in the Mekong Delta province of Long An culled 1,000 A/H5N1 infected chickens on October 8. The infected flock was traced to a poultry farm in Long Khe commune in Can Duoc district. This is the second H5N1 bird flu case recorded in the province. Prior to the cull, district veterinarians discovered fever symptoms on poultry at the farm . The department tested the animals and concluded that the flock was infected. The 75-90 day-old flock had not been vaccinated. In order to prevent an outbreak, local authorities promptly destroyed the infected birds and sterilised the poultry farm to contain the virus. Vaccination was given to all pultry flocks in the districts of Can Duoc, Ben Luc and Can Gioc, while farmers were urged to apply bio-safety measures and vaccinate all poultry against the H5N1 bird flu virus in line with the regulations issued by the veterinary department.- Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND |
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