Vietnamese doctor receives award from US oncology society

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has granted the 2008 International Development Education Awards (IDEA) to 20 medical doctors from developing countries, including Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Van Cau, in Chicago, USA.

The awards provided the doctors with scholarships to participate in ASCO’s annual conference in early June and to receive training on professional skills, as well as establishing close relations with ASCO officials.

After the conference, ASCO assigned Mr Cau to meet and work with the Lineberger Centre under the North Carolina Hospital. Mr Cau met Prof. Richard M. Goldberg and joined in various scientific and clinical activities there.

Mr Cau, lecturer at the Cancer and Tumour Faculty of the Hue Medicine and Pharmacy College, is now a third-year research student at the Jules Bordet Cancer Institute, Brussels Liberation University, Belgium. He is also a member of ASCO.

Nihat enters Turkish football folklore

Scoring two goals in the last three minutes to turn a group-stage exit into a quarter-final berth is not usually part of an international captain’s duties. But it was no ordinary night for Nihat Kahveci in Geneva.

Vital goals

Facing the Czech Republic for second place in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A, Turkey trailed 2-0 and looked down and out. Arda Turan then pulled one back before Nihat – who had criticised his own lack of goals before the game – then had an inspired three minutes, poking in when Petr Čech dropped the ball before racing clear to slot in the winner. Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel was subsequently sent off and, like Mehmet Aurélio, will be suspended against Croatia in Vienna on Friday, but the mere fact that Turkey will play that game is a tribute to Nihat, given the Carlsberg Man of the Match award by the UEFA Technical Team.

‘Turning point’

Captaining Turkey due to Emre Belözoğlu’s injury absence, the Villarreal CF striker said: “Of course I am very happy. Up to the point we went 2-0 down we were not really performing very well but we didn’t give up. The first goal we scored was the key, the turning point, as that created concern for the Czechs. Then we took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake and then scored the third. You don’t get this sort of game in this tournament very often so the feelings were tremendous. To score that goal and know it would take us to the quarter-finals is an amazing experience. But we always believed we could make it.”

Comeback

Just as at UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Turkey have recovered from defeat in their first game – this time against Portugal – to go through thanks to last-gasp wins against Switzerland and the Czechs. “Now we’re in the quarter-finals. After the Portugal match only a few people really believed that we could make it, but we continue to make football history,” Nihat said. “We know that we have to do some things better. But if we can win a match even if we play badly, then we can beat any team if we play well. This victory is a gift to our nation. These were the most important goals I have ever scored. We played a little bit slowly in the first half but then recovered from that situation after the interval. Now it is time to have fun. We are not afraid of anyone, we can beat Croatia in the quarter-finals.”

Engel tribute

A member of the UEFA Technical Study Team, former Poland coach Jerzy Engel, paid tribute to Nihat’s display. “At the crucial moments he was always there, trying very hard for 90 minutes,” Engel said. “And at the end he gave a fantastic win to his team. This says everything about football. One team goes from heaven to hell; the other, from hell to heaven. This is the beauty of this game. Now the Czechs are crying, but on 75 minutes Turkey were crying. Those who were here in this stadium cannot believe what has happened. And this man, Nihat, changed the game completely.”

Olympic hopes pinned to new jumper Duong Thi Viet Anh

High hopes of the nation will be placed squarely on the shoulders of Duong Thi Viet Anh as she took a silver with her 1.65m jump at the Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Thailand last month.

Anh, from the southern province of Bac Lieu, and her teammates, helped Vietnam take home a total of two gold, six silver and one bronze medals.

At the championship in Singapore last year, the teen secured a gold with a 1.7.7m jump.

The 18-year-old athlete also snagged a silver medal at the National Athletics Championship last year with a 1.82m jump, just 3cm short of the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Bui Thi Nhung.

The pint sized recruit was called up to train for the national team in preparation for the 25th SEA Games in Laos to be held next December.

Vietnam athletics coach Duong Duc Thuy said Anh is the best junior athlete in the category of jumping to be called by the national team.

“Anh shows that she is worthy of being recruited by the national squad. She will be strong contender for a medal at the SEA Games along with Athens Olympian Bui Thi Nhung,” Thuy said.

Anh was sent to train at the national sports training centre No 2 in HCM City in 2005 as the province lacked a coach.

Coach Cao Thanh Van, her first trainer, said she was surprised by the rapid progress Viet Anh made in such a short span of training at camp.

“She started at 1.5m in her training debut but increased it to 1.77m in just one year. She then cleared the bar at 1.82m at the national championship in 2007.”

However, Anh needs to overcome her weakness, namely work on her upper body which is too thick.

Standing at 1.74 and weighing 64kg, Anh is at a slight disadvantage as her thick body could prevent her from clearing the bar well. But she can get greater results because she has a unique built-in power to overcome difficulties and climb new heights.

During the training at the national camp, she often crosses the bar at 1.8m through short running.

Nguyen Trong Ho, a coach from the national team also said Viet Anh will be able to make a 1.9m jump in two years if she keeps her momentum.

The Southern athlete will bring a new hope for Vietnam at the regional tournaments and higher target – the Olympic Games – just like the Asian high jump champion, Bui Thi Nhung once did.

FDI attraction booms with 23 billion USD

Although the macro economy is temporily facing difficulties, foreign investors are still flockeing to Vietnam. The country expectes to attract 23 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months this year.

2007 was seen as a successful year for FDI attraction with 20.3 billion USD, but that number has been left far behind and Vietnam is now striving to disburse FDI capital inflow of 1 billion USD per month.

“Nankang of Vietnam”

The Thu Thiem Software Park project capitalized with 1.25 billion USD by Saigon Tel, a member of Saigon Investment Group (SGI) and TA Associates International, Pte Ltd Co from Singapore, a member of Teco Group in Taiwan will be licensed by Ho Chi Minh’s People Committee. On a site of nearly 16 hectares along the east – west avenue of the Thu Thiem new urban area, the project will be built into a software processing city for export to design chips and train human resources in the hi-tech field, with an expected turnover of more than 6 billion USD per annum.

Apart from the initial 1.25 billion USD, the project is expected to attract an additional 2.95 billion USD from foreign and domestic investors.

“Our partner, Teco Group is managing the Nankang software center with total capital of 3.5 billion USD, earning annual turnover of 10 billion USD. Nankang is considered one of the three largest software projects in the world. Nankang’s successful experience and Teco’s reputation will help attract investment into the Thu Thiem Software Park,” said Mr. Dang Thanh Tam, President of SGI Group.

More “cautious” investors

Six months will draw more than 23 billion USD of FDI

Mr. Thang forecast FDI in the first six months will exceed 23 billion USD, the highest rate ever. He also said that about five large projects, including the Nghi Son Oil Refinery Plant worth 6 billion USD, will be licensed from now to the end of this month. Furthermore, FDI capital in technology is soaring.

This week, 14 US companies in many fields led by an assistant to the US trade minister will visit Vietnam to seek business and investment opportunities. This is the third big business group from the US coming to Vietnam since early this year.

“Small and medium-sized companies following big companies showed that US investors hail Vietnam’s business environment. Small companies are usually cautious and afraid of risk, thus the trip to Vietnam proved their confidence in the market,” said an expert from US Commercial Affairs.

Coming back from the Europe, Mr. Dang Thanh Tam said, “Many economic groups in Europe are keen on investing in Vietnam. A 30 – billion USD investment fund in Norway is famous for its conservative mindset but has paid much attention to Vietnam.”

According to Mr. Phan Huu Thang, Head of the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), FDI from North Africa, Europe and Japan all show positive signs in the near future.

Efforts to satisfy investors

Although FDI continued to pump into Vietnam, a recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) revealed Japanese enterprises have become less satisfied with the investment environment in Vietnam. With the approval rate dropping from 75.4 percent in 2006 to 41.7 percent last year, the country has fallen from first to fifth place among six ASEAN countries having Japanese investors. The reason was said to be Vietnam’s under-developed infrastructure and difficulties in purchasing locally-made materials and spare parts.

Moreover, after being improved significantly, administrative formalities in the South showed problems. Investors complained that the waiting time for investment license approval by the Ho Chi Minh Planning and Investment Department is longer than that in Hanoi.

Mr. Thang noted, “We listened to the concerns of investors and are coordinating with local authorities to resolve the issue. We will try to deal with the problem after surveys on project progress in cities and provinces nationwide are revealed. This year, speeding up the disbursement of FDI projects is our top priority.”

Tax preference proposed for Vietnam footwear exports

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan, President of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) said the association submitted a proposal to the Government, ministries and branches to continue negotiating with the EU for Vietnam’s footwear to enjoy the general system of preferences (GSP).

The proposal was released after the EU approved the GSP document in the 2009-2011 period, including removing GSP status for Vietnam’s footwear export.

According to Lefaso, removing GSP will affect to the development of the Vietnam footwear sector, domestic business community and national economy in general. The biggest damage is that domestic businesses will have less competitive advantage because foreign partners will move their orders to Indonesia and Bangladesh to avoid facing an additional 3.5-5 percent import tax on each pair of shoes when exporting to the EU, worth more than 100 million USD.

According to Lefaso, in 2007, the EU remained the biggest consumption market for Vietnamese shoes, bringing in the turnover of 2.6 billion USD, an increase of 33.9% over 2006.

Proposing the government continue to negotiate with the EU is very necessary because the document will be submitted to the European Commission for approval before an official decision is issued in the beginning of July 2008, said Mr. Thuan.

Houses of gratitude given to poor families in Binh Dinh

30 houses of gratitude worth VND 10 million each have been handed over to poor families in Hoai An and Phu My districts of Binh Dinh province by Ho Chi Minh City-based Rass Company through the provincial Red Cross.

Previously, the Red Cross delivered a VND 10 million house, built by Dieu Tri Cement Joint Stock Company, to Ms Ngo Thi Lan, 80, living in Tu Duong village, My Hiep commune, Phu My district.