Charity walk raises 1.7 billion VDN for AO victims

More than 1.7 billion USD (100,000 USD) was collected at a charity walk in Ho Chi Minh City on August 10 to support Agent Orange victims.

Close to 10,000 locals joined the event held by the city’s Red Cross society to mark Vietnam’s Day for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (Aug. 11).

Part of the sum will be doled out as regular allowances for 600 victims of the toxic chemical who have no stable jobs.

As many as 200 1-million-VND scholarships will be granted to children of AO victims, while 500 others will be provided with between 5-15 million VND to attend vocational training courses.

The Red Cross also plans to build 100 houses each worth 15 million VND and give capital for poor families of AO victims to start household business.-

One in ten patients mentally ill: study

One in ten patients across the country suffer mental health problems, according to research by Bach Mai hospital in Hanoi, which also found that depression was the most problems among patients.

The recent study, tabled at a recent workshop in Hanoi , was aimed at investigating mental health in a period of transition, as Vietnam modernises and integrates into the global economy.

The research on the mental health of Vietnamese people during the market-oriented economy also highlighted 10 categories relates to jobs that were more strongly correlated to those who suffered mental health problems. These high-stress jobs were mechanics and metal workers (20.6 percent of cases), workers in the garments and textiles sectors (11.8 percent) and those in the footwear sector (11.5 percent). Depression accounts for the highest rate among disorders relating to mental health (4.6 percent), followed by sleep disorders (4.07 percent) and anxiety (1.27 percent).

“The first reason causing vocational stress is unfavourable working conditions such as high levels of noise, dust and exposure to harmful chemical substances,” said PhD Tran Viet Nghi, chairman of the Vietnam Psychiatry Association.

He also attributed the nature of different jobs as reasons leading to disorders, including prolonged working periods, jobs with highly repetitive tasks, those having to produce a large quantity of work in a short time and jobs relating to the security of human life and national assets.

The workshop was organised to appraise the mental status of Vietnamese labourers and treatment methods.-

Floods claim 100 lives in northern mountainous provinces

At least 100 people were dead and 37 went missing while 27 other were wounded in northern mountainous provinces by late August 10 after heavy rains brought by tropical storm Kammuri triggered historic flash floods in decades.

The floods also damaged tens of thousands of homes, swept away thousands of cattle and submerged thousands of hectares of rice and industrial crops.

The flood levels in the three worst-hit provinces, namely Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Phu Tho, are still rising.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, more rains are expected from August 11, increasing the threat of widespread flash floods and landslides in the region.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chairman of the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Control Cao Duc Phat has been in the flooded areas to monitor anti-flooded efforts.

The Ministry of Public Security and Transport and Communications instructed their agencies to mobilise all forces and resources to cope with the floods.

The border guards from Son La to Quang Ninh provinces have also joined search and rescue activities.

Relief work in Lao Cai province is facing difficulties due to blocked roads.-

Japan provides aid to build school in Nam Dinh

The Japanese embassy in Vietnam on August 11 decided to provide nearly 86,000 USD as nonrefundable aid to help build a school in Y Yen district of northern Nam Dinh province.

The aid will be beneficial to more than 800 local children.

The Japanese government has so far provided aid to build roads, electric networks, safe water systems and schools in the province.-

Condolences to families of Texas bus crash’s victims

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung expressed deepest condolences to families of victims of a recent bus crash in northern Texas , the US , which killed and injured many people of Vietnamese descent.

“We are so sorry to hear about the accident,” the spokesman said on August 11 while responding correspondents’ question regarding the crash.

The bus, with 55 Vietnamese on board, went off a bridge and flipped into a creek around midnight when it was on its way from Houston to Missouri.-

Activities in France to support AO victims

Paris (VNA) – Representatives of Vietnamese community’s associations in France on August 10 held a talk on how to raise the effectiveness of activities aimed at supporting Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin victims.

The meeting, initiated by the Collectif Vietnam Dioxine – an association in France supporting the Vietnamese AO victims, also drew the participation of the US-based Global Exchange, a NGO which is interested in protecting victims of the Vietnam War.

The attendants praised efforts made by associations in Vietnam in protecting and assisting the Vietnamese AO victims over the time, especially the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA).

The associations were also successful in drawing the attention of a huge number of people in the world, they added.

In order to make the work more successful, the VAVA and foreign NGOs should make a close coordination in implementing campaigns across the world, especially in Europe, the delegates said.

Meanwhile, representative of the Collectif Vietnam Dioxine, Vo Dinh Kim, said that one of difficulties facing the associations is how to seek financial sponsorship.

There are 15 associations in France which are working for the Vietnamese AO victims, including “Vietnam, les Enfants de la Dioxine,” “Collectif Vietnam Dioxine,” “Van Canh Friendship Village,” and “Agent Orange, flowers of hope.” –

President Triet meets with Austrian, Latvian leaders

President Nguyen Minh Triet met Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Latvia ’s President Valdis Zatlaers on separate occasions in Beijing on Aug. 9.

Noting the fine development of Vietnam-Australia relations over the recent past, President Triet expressed his hope that the Australian Government under the leadership of the Labour Party and PM Rudd would further promote their country’s multifaceted relations with Vietnam.

Vietnam hoped that Australia would continue providing official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam and consider a project to help Vietnam build a bridge in southern Dong Thap province, President Triet said.

He also suggested the Australian government to continue with the training of a high-quality workforce for Vietnam’s national industrialisation and modernisation.

The Australian PM affirmed that his country always considers Vietnam an important partner in Asian and is ready to continue providing ODA for Vietnam, focusing on remote areas.

Besides, Australia will boost investment cooperation and trade with Vietnam, he added.

The Australian PM agreed with President Triet about the need to provide the Vietnamese community in Australia with more information of their home country to increase their awareness about Vietnam’s current situation.

The two leaders also affirmed need to increase cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.

Meeting with his Latvian counterpart, President Triet affirmed Vietnam’s wish to strengthen cooperation with Latvia , one of its traditional partners.

He suggested Latvia to support Vietnam’s cooperation with the European Union, particularly the EU’s removal of trade barriers to Vietnam’s exports to the market.

President Valdis Zatlaers wanted Vietnamese businesses to invest in his country, which he said is a gate for Vietnamese goods to enter the Russian and European markets.

He said a delegation of Latvia’s Charmer of Commerce and Industry will visit Vietnam late this year to explore opportunities for cooperation, adding that it would pave the way for Vietnamese leaders to visit Latvia to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

President Triet agreed with President Zatlaers’ suggestion for Vietnam’s facilitation of entry visa granting to Latvian tourists and said he supported Latvia to open soon its embassy in Hanoi.-

Party delegation attends Bangladeshi Communist Party congress

A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) attended the 9th Congress of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) that was held in the capital city of Dhaka from August 7-9.

The delegation, headed by Vice Chairman of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Pham Xuan Son, conveyed a message of greetings from the CPV Central Committee and delivered a welcome speech at the congress.

The Vietnamese guests worked with the CPB’s International Department and were received by the newly re-elected CPB President Manjurul Ahsan Khan.

Khan praised the CPV’s role, prestige and leadership experiences, and described Vietnam ’s renewal achievements as a great encouragement to nations in their struggles for a prosperous and happy society.

He spoke of his desire to further develop friendly and cooperative ties between the two parties and people of Bangladesh and Vietnam .

During their trip, the Vietnamese delegates also paid a courtesy visit to the Bangladeshi Workers Party President, Rashed Khan Menon, and met with international delegations attending the event.

The congress, which saw the attendance of more than 400 local and foreign delegates and guests, re-elected Mujahidul Islam Selim as General Secretary of the CPB.

It also elected a 42-member Central Committee and a Political Bureau with eight members.-

Uruguay considers Vietnam strategic partner

A senior Uruguayan government official said his country considers Vietnam a strategic partner and will make further efforts to expand bilateral trade between the two countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Pedro Vaz Ramela made the statement during a meeting jointly held in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on August 10 by the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Argentina and Uruguay to mark the 15 th anniversary of the Vietnam-Uruguay diplomatic ties.

The Deputy Foreign Minister spotlighted Uruguay’s policy to further coordination with Vietnam at international forums after it supported Vietnam’s bids to joint the World Trade Organisation and gain a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Ambassador Thai Van Lung said political, economic-trade and cultural relations between the two countries have entered a new development stage after the visit to Vietnam by President Tabare Vazquez late last year.

During the visit, the first ever by a Uruguayan President, the two countries reached a framework agreement on cooperation and a memorandum of understanding on consultation between the two ministries of foreign affairs, laying a legal foundation for both sides to increase friendship and cooperation.

To mark the day 15 years ago when the two countries set up their diplomatic ties (August 11, 1993-2008), the Vietnamese Embassy published a special bulletin on the Vietnam-Uruguay relations and organised an exhibition of Vietnamese fine art articles and industrial products at the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Statistics released by the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce and Services showed that the South American country earned close to 23 million USD from exports to Vietnam while importing from it 4 million USD worth of products, representing an year-on-year increase of 83 percent and 76 percent, respectively.-

Laos pledges favourable conditions for Vietnamese investors

Vientiane (VNA) – Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh has pledged favourable conditions for Vietnamese investors to foster investment cooperation between the two countries.

Meeting with Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc in Vientiane on August 11, the Lao PM spoke highly of Vietnam ’s approval for the establishment of the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Investment Encouragement Association.

He said he hoped that the association will provide consultancy to the ministries of planning and investment of the three countries to boost Vietnam ’s investment into two neighbourering countries.

Minister Phuc said Vietnamese investors are eyeing investment in power, mining and industrial tree plantation projects in Laos , especially projects in border areas and some hydro power plants in northern Laos .
During a four-day visit to Laos starting from August 10, the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s delegation and the Laos side planned to discuss measures to boost Vietnam-Laos investment cooperation in the future and find out solutions to remove barriers.-