Flood death toll reaches 48

Thai Thi Duong, 82, is rescued by a soldier in Quang Binh's Minh Hoa District. More than 3,400 homes in the district are still deep under water. — VNA/VNS Photo Duy Hung-Manh Thanh

HA NOI — The number of deaths caused by the recent floods and landslides in the central region has increased to 48, reports the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

In this region, 19 people were injured and 18 are still missing. Quang Binh Province is the hardest hit area with 33 deaths, 11 missing and 11 injured.

The river water levels from Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces continue to subside but 35 communes in six districts of Ha Tinh, 106 communes in six districts of Quang Binh and 1,450 houses in Thua Thien-Hue remain flooded.

As many as 41 ships with 260 fishermen aboard sank or were damaged.

Border guards at these localities informed more than 45,100 vessels and rafts with 203,414 people aboard, but failed to contact 29 boats with 204 fishermen aboard in Quang Binh province.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai (first left) visits flood victims in Ha Tinh Province's Phuong My Commune and hands out relief aid. — VNA/VNS Photo Cong Tuong

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat visited Ha Tinh Province yesterday to guide works to ease flood damage after visiting Quang Binh Province on Wednesday.

They urged local authorities to mobilise all available resources to aid the victims and ensure that no one was without food.

The province should focus on providing food and water for people in affected areas and take measures to clean the environment and treat diseases brought on by the floods, Hai said.

Around 900 houses in mountainous areas and valleys in Minh Hoa and Tuyen Hoa districts of Quang Binh remained submerged with thousands of people calling for help from their rooftops, said head of Air Force Division No 372's Regiment No C54 Nguyen Viet Hung.

So far 9,000 households in Ha Tinh, 5,000 in Quang Tri and 550 in Thua Thien-Hue have been relocated to safer areas.

A range of emergency aid measures are being undertaken. The Government has provided Ha Tinh with VND100 billion (US$5.1 million) in aid and 1,000 tonnes of rice.

The Ministry of National Defence sent seven helicopters carrying tonnes of goods, including instant noodles and clean water, for people in isolated areas in Quang Binh and transported people out of flooded areas. The ministry also sent two naval boats to search for missing vessels.

The Ministry of Health supplied provinces from Nghe An to Thua Thien-Hue with medicine and life-jackets. The Viet Nam Fatherland Front planned to provide VND1.5 billion ($76,500) in aid for the provinces from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue. The National Centre for Clean Water and Rural Sanitation has provided chemicals to help affected provinces treat contaminated water.

The Ministry of Transport quickly repaired damaged roads and National Highway 1A was completely cleared, leaving only two areas of the Ho Chi Minh Road that crosses Quang Binh blocked.

Yesterday, Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, former Party General Secretaries Do Muoi and Le Kha Phieu and leaders and officials of the Party Central Committee Office raised funds to help flood victims.

President Nguyen Minh Triet, former President Tran Duc Luong, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and former Vice President Truong My Hoa and leaders and officers of the President's Office also worked to raise funds on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Sinh Hung, Truong Vinh Trong and Pham Gia Khiem and leaders and officers of the Government Office did the same yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan attended the launch of a fundraising campaign held by the Ministry of Education and Training yesterday.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union raised VND116 million for flood victims. — VNS

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Deputy PM Hai inspects flood-hit province

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai stopped over in Quang Binh province on October 7 as part of his field trip to the flood-hit central region.

Hai went straight to the worst-flooded district of Quang Trach to work with local administration on rescue measures and to share sympathy with victims at their homes.

The disaster killed 33 locals in Quang Binh, injured 11 others and left 22 missing from September 30-October 5.

The flood inundated almost 103,640 homes, causing damages of over 1.27 trillion VND (roughly 87.72 million USD).

In a working session with local authorities, the Deputy Prime Minister asked for greater efforts in the search and rescue work.

“The province should take initiative in allocating local budgets and Government aid to bring supplies to the flood-hit areas to help victims recover,” said Hai.

Up to October 7, a fundraising campaign on a national scale has collected over 20.8 billion VND, of which over 15.4 billion VND has been sent straight to flood-stricken central region provinces.

The Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front was the biggest donor with 6.9 billion VND. The capital city of Hanoi donated 5 billion VND, Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), 4 billion VND, and the northern province of Vinh Phuc, 2 billion VND./.

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Vinh Tuy bridge opens to traffic

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on September 26 cut the ribbon to put into operation the first phase of the Vinh Tuy bridge, which is connected with the National Highway No.5 and spans over the Red (Hong) River.

The first phase of the 5.8 km bridge with a 3.7 km-river-spanning section and a cross-cut of 19.25 m was constructed at a cost of 3,600 billion VND (roughly 183.6 million USD).

In September 2009, the bridge partly opened to traffic after the construction of key parts completed, helping ease traffic jam in Chuong Duong bridge and other relating roads.

As one of the seven bridges spanning over the Red River in the master plan of the capital city by 2020, Vinh Tuy bridge has been recognised as a high-quality project to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai underlined the significance of the project in boosting socio-economic development, industrialisation and modernisation in Hanoi as well as the Red River Delta region.

This is also a project marking the development of the construction sector of Vietnam in general and the capital city in particular, he said./.

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Voice of Viet Nam is still going strong at 65

HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has asked the national radio station the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) to uphold its role as a bridge connecting the Party and the State with the people.

Hung made the request at the VOV's 65th founding anniversary celebration in Ha Noi yesterday.

The Deputy Prime Minister commended the VOV on its timely provision of information regarding Party and State's policies and its encouragement of the people and the armed forces during the wars against French colonialists and US aggressors.

As the country launched renewal efforts, the national radio station has also constantly reformed itself and maintained its key role in Viet Nam's revolutionary press system, he said.

VOV General Director Vu Van Hien said the radio station now broadcasts on five channels to cater to the needs and interests of different target listeners.

Every day, the VOV airs 200 different programmes during its 200 hours of total broadcast time.

Its VOV5 channel is dedicated to international broadcasting with programmes in 11 languages and one programme in Vietnamese for overseas Vietnamese listeners. It also broadcasts in 12 ethnic minority languages.

With its up-to-date technology, VOV's coverage reaches 99 per cent of the country and it can be heard in the East Sea up to 3,500-4,000 km from shore.

In addition to radio broadcasting, the VOV has expanded its activities to television as well as printing and electronic press.

On this occasion, the VOV was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Order for the second time. — VNS

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Vietnam’s National Day celebrated far and wide

Vietnamese embassies worldwide hosted receptions on September 2 to mark the country’s 65 th National Day.

In Phnom Penh , the event saw the presence of Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly Heng Samrin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam Hong.

Addressing the reception, Ambassador Ngo Anh Dung spoke of the historical significance of September 2, 1945 – the day President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence to give the birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

He recalled enormous achievements the Vietnamese Party, State and people have made in the past 65 years during which they fought for national liberation and reunification together with building and developing the country.

On behalf of the Cambodian Royal Government, Deputy Prime Minister Hor Nam Hong spoke highly of the time-honoured friendship and the growing cooperation between the two countries. He expressed his pleasure to see a surge in Vietnam ’s investment in Cambodia and the two countries’ trade over the past years.

The same day, the Vietnamese embassy’s staff laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the Cambodian people’s freedom.

In Jakarta , the Vietnamese embassy and the Vietnamese Permanent Delegation to ASEAN co-hosted a function marking both Vietnam ’s 65 th National Day and the 55 th anniversary of Vietnam-Indonesia diplomatic ties.

Ambassador Nguyen Huu Dung, in his opening speech, laid stress on Vietnam ’s image and position and its deeper integration into the region and the world at large.

This year, Vietnam is working hard in the role of ASEAN Chair and has made important contributions to the group’s development to realise the building of the ASEAN Community in 2015, the ambassador said.

He affirmed that Vietnam , as a UN member, has enforced its international commitments and has enthusiastically taken part in concerted efforts to deal with global issues, such as climate change and food and energy security.

Speaking at the event, Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo warmly congratulated Vietnam on its 65 th National Day and underlined developments and the vast benefits of multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries over the past 55 years.

In anticipation of the event, Vietnamese representative agencies in Indonesia organised an exhibition of photo and paintings to promote the beauty of Vietnam ’s land and people and feature a dynamic and active Vietnam in ASEAN.

The same day, activities to mark National Day were held in several European countries.

In London , the Vietnamese embassy in the UK and the North Ireland held a reception attended by representatives of Buckingham palace, parliament, ministries, UK organisations, the UK-Vietnam Society, the Overseas Vietnamese Association, the Business Society, Vietnamese representative agencies and Vietnamese expatriates in London .

The event in Moscow saw the presence of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, representatives of Russian and Moscow governments, President of the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association Vladimir Buiyanov, ambassadors of countries of the former Soviet Union and ASEAN member countries, and representatives of international organisations.

In Paris , Vietnam ’s National Day was celebrated with an event attended by 600 guests, including President of the French-Vietnamese Friendship Group to the House of Representatives Michel Voisin.

National Day celebrations were also held in Algeria , Argentina , Italy , South Africa , Mexico , Malaysia and other countries, and Guangzhou , China .

At these functions, the Vietnamese ambassadors all emphasised that this year’s National Day is being marked at a time when the entire country is looking forward to the 1,000 th anniversary of the capital city of Hanoi , where the Thang Long Royal Citadel has been recognised by the UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.

The ambassadors also took this occasion to reiterate Vietnam ’s consistent foreign policy of openness and friendliness towards all countries around the world.

They thanked international friends for their valuable assistance to Vietnam in its past struggle for national liberation and current construction and expressed their belief that Vietnam ’s relationship with other countries will be elevated to a new height in the future./.

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Amnesty indicates nation's leniency

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Central Advisory Committee on Amnesty Truong Vinh Trong hands out amnesties to rehabilitated prisoners at Thanh Xuan prison outside Ha Noi. — VNA Files Photo

HA NOI — This year's amnesty affirmed the Party and Government's tolerance of rehabilitated prisoners, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong.

Speaking at a ceremony where the 2010 decision on amnesty was announced at the Thanh Xuan Prison outside Ha Noi yesterday, Trong said amnesty was congruent with the nation's humanity and affirmed Viet Nam's strict and clear criminal laws.

Vietnamese prisoners and 21 foreign nationals kept at the prison will be released in honour of the country's national day.

The Deputy Prime Minister told attendees that amnesty was merely an initial step in promoting progress. Although it might be difficult for prisoners to improve their conduct, each prisoner would be able to do so if they were determined to reform and ready to re-integrate into the community, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Trong, who is also Chairman of the Central Advisory Committee on Amnesty, said the President had given amnesty to more than 100,000 prisoners since 2000.

He said the country's amnesty policy was fair, democratic and congruent with the law.

Amnesty encouraged prisoners to reform and enjoy the Party and Government's lenient policy that allows them to re-integrate into the community, said Trong.

The Ministry of Public Security has instructed relevant authorities to create a Government decree concerning the re-integration of amnestied people, which would provide them with a legal foundation to stabilise their lives and prevent recidivism. — VNS

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Helping prisoners return to society

A fund supporting former inmates reintegrate into mainstream society was launched in HCM City last Saturday.

The HCM City Ex-inmate Welfare Fund was established by former deputy director of HCM City Police Department Tran Van Tao along with former prisoners Lien Khui Thin and Le Minh Hai.

Speaking at the inauguration, Tao said the fund was a non-profit organisation that would help ex-inmates reintegrate into the community, and help them make valuable contributions to society.

Tao said the fund would open branches in districts 3, 5 and Phu Nhuan.

The fund will provide vocational training courses and organise employment fairs for ex-inmates so that they can find jobs to support themselves and their families.

It will also launch a programme providing soft loans, and build plants and farms to create jobs for former prisoners.

The fund will organise meetings to discuss experiences and find ways to improve their programmes.

It will offer legal guidance as well as healthcare support for ex-inmates.

The larger community will be encouraged to better understand and empathise with ex-inmates and help them integrate into the society.

At the inauguration ceremony, several local enterprises, legal firms and vocational schools expressed their commitment to support the fund and its programmes.

Those willing to support the fund can contact them at 27 Ky Dong in District 3 or through their website at www.quyhoanluong.com. — VNS

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