Use of biofuels promoted for nation's motor vehicles

Bio-fuel, which emits 30 percent less carbon dioxide than other petrols, should be more widely used in the country to protect the environment, experts have said.

Petrol Vietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), which makes bio-fuel E5, said the petrol was harmless to vehicles.

Made from biomass, the fuel is a mixture of 95 percent of conventional non-lead gasoline and 5 percent ethanol.

Under a trial run by PV Oil, Da Nang Polytechnic University and Toyota Ben Thanh, it was found that bio-gasoline E5 had no negative effects on vehicle engines.

PV Oil also noted that bio-fuel E5 could increase engine capacity by 3.3 percent compared with other gasolines, without a change in consumption.

According to results obtained in research projects, bio-fuel E5 can be used safely for most vehicles made after 1990 and has the same functions as other kinds of petrols, according to Dr Nguyen Huu Luong of Ho Chi Minh City  Polytechnic University 's Chemistry Department.

Luong also said that not all bio-gasoline was good for the environment because it would depend on the way it was made.

Bio-fuel E5 produced by PV Oil has been on sale since the beginning of August at two gasoline stations in HCMC.

However, many residents lack information about the new petrol and were reluctant to use it.

Nguyen Thanh Nguyen, a seller at Gasoline Station 5 in Thu Duc disitrict's Hiep Binh Chanh ward, said only one or two out of 10 customers wanted to buy bio-fuel. Every day, the station sells no more than 100 litres.

He said customers bought bio-fuel because it was 500 VND per litre cheaper than other petrol.

Pham Long, Thu Duc district's Hiep Binh Chanh ward, said that he often used petrol A92 for his motorbike.

"I wouldn't dare use bio-fuel because I lack information about it."

It is estimated that 40 petrol stations will sell bio-fuel in HCM City by the end of this year, and about 4,000 stations by 2012, of all which are under PV Oil, Petec and others, said Ly Hong Duc, deputy director of PV Oil.

Some organisations like PV Oil, Polytechnic University 's Chemistry Department's Laboratory and the Dong Xanh Company in Central Quang Nam province are conducting research on producing bio-fuel with advanced technologies.

Tests show bio-fuel E5 has a higher octane rating than other conventional gasoline, allowing for better fuel economy, engine and environmental protection.

The Government has identified the production of bio-fuel as a pivotal industry to ensure energy security, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and protect the environment.
 

Related Articles

• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting
• Green cars begin world race
• PM foresees bright future for co-operation with Africa
• Teams named for play-off showdown
• Good response to reforms of People's Councils

Vietnam’s children face rising inequalities: UN

Vietnam’s growth has been relatively equitable but the country’s children are facing rising inequalities, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Ethnic minority and rural youngsters are generally the most disadvantaged, said Geetanjali Narayan, chief of planning and social policy for the UN Children’s agency UNICEF.

She spoke at the launch of a report on the social and economic conditions of the roughly 30 million children in Vietnam.

“We are seeing now a trend of increasing inequalities,” she said, despite Vietnam’s “truly outstanding” record on socio-economic growth that was achieved in a “relatively equitable” manner.

In 1986 the war-shattered, poverty-stricken country began to turn away from a planned economy to embrace the free market, a policy called “Doi Moi”, which led to growth rates that ranked among the fastest in Asia.

The UNICEF report said Vietnam is an Asia-Pacific leader in achieving almost all of the Millennium Development Goals, a set of targets on education, poverty, health and other areas to be achieved by 2015.

“Yet segments of the child and adolescent population in Vietnam continue to live in conditions of deprivation and exclusion,” said the report, which relied mainly on government data and was the most detailed study of its kind for about a decade.

“For example, quality health care, secondary education and clean water are not equally accessible to all children,” it said.

“Child poverty in Vietnam today is almost certainly more prevalent and severe than is commonly believed.”

Vietnam recently developed a new gauge of poverty based on essential needs including education, health and nutrition, rather than only relying on a monetarily-based poverty line, the report said.

“Using this approach, almost one-third of all children under the age of 16 are poor,” it said, citing data that showed 62 percent of ethnic minority children are poor compared with 22 percent of the majority Kinh and ethnic Chinese.

The data showed 34 percent of rural children are poor, against 13 percent in cities.

Related Articles

• Vietnam’s children face rising inequalities: UN
• Good response to reforms of People's Councils
• Youth unions form entrepreneurs' club
• Chau Doc’s curried fish vermicelli: Bun nuoc ken
• Poor rural children blaze education trail

Leaders commemorate HCM City’s first Archbishop

State President Nguyen Minh Triet and other senior State and Party officials sent flowers to a workshop to commemorate the late Archbishop Phaolo Nguyen Van Binh on the 100th anniversary of his birth on September 1.

Almost 400 priests, nuns, Catholics and researchers came to the event to remember the first top cleric of the Sai Gon-Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese.

Cardinal Pham Minh Man, the current HCM City church Archbishop, emphasised the need to look to the past in an effort to conserve and innovate the common house for the current and future generations.

He called on Catholics to live in the spirit of, “A good Catholic is a good citizen”, to join hands in building a home for the family of everyone, a home for the community, a home for religions and a home for society, as four strong poles of a firm foundation.

All this should be done in the service of national development and the happiness of compatriot fellows and human beings, said the cardinal.

On the same day, a mass was held at the Jesus grand seminary oratory in commemoration of the 100 th anniversary of the birth of the late Archbishop, in the presence of municipal senior officials, including municipal People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan.

Duong Quan Ha, Chairman of the city’s Fatherland Front Committee, recalled the late Archbishop as a kind-hearted and generous cleric, who had led the municipal Catholic community to develop in harmony with the city’s growth.

He also recalled the late Archbishop’s great contributions to municipal stability and development.

One day earlier, the municipal Committee for Catholic Solidarity held a mass for the same purpose and a prayer for “The national peace and people’s happiness” on the 65th National Day./.

Related Articles

• World leaders congratulate Vietnam on National Day
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Weightlifter grabs Vietnam’s first Olympic gold at Youth Games
• Gov’t determined to pursue express railway project
• Vietnam expands cooperation at G20 meeting

State President Triet receives Fields laureate

State President Nguyen Minh Triet congratulated Prof. Ngo Bao Chau for winning the top mathematics award, describing it as a national honour, during his meeting with the Fields laureate in Hanoi on Sept. 1.

The State leader took the opportunity to praise the national education service for overcoming prolonged war difficulties and post-war poverty and backwardness to foster young talents, culminating in Prof. Chau’s success.

He expressed an expectation that the Ministry of Education and Training would try harder to nurture as many as possible talents like Prof. Chau in order to put the national economy and science on a par with world standards.

Triet also expressed thanks to the professor’s parents and wife for their contributions to his success.

“Family should continue to be a momentum for Prof. Chau to win more successes in his career of scientific research in the interest of the nation and the world of mathematics,” said the national leader.

Prof. Chau said it was touching to his heart for the State President’s deep thoughtfulness to be given to him personally, as well as to his family and the entire scientific and technological community of Vietnam .

“I was very proud to be the first Vietnamese to step onto the highest platform for mathematicians in the world. The Fields medal is not only my honour but also an honour for the entire Vietnamese nation and a huge momentum for Vietnamese youths advancing on the scientific research road,” Prof. Chau confided.

He also looked happy at hearing the Government’s approval of a national programme on mathematic development up to 2020 and the project to build a high-grade mathematic research institute.

“They are very important conditions for the development of basic sciences and show the government’s renewal in this field,” said the Fields laureate./.

Related Articles

• Vietnam suspends Vinashin board members amid probe
• Economist discusses Vietnam’s economic growth
• IFC: Vietnam needs to increase PPP to support economy
• Naval forces boost global co-operation
• Widow of late Lao Party leader visits

Committee calls for clean up of capital's underpass system

The Hanoi People's Committee has instructed the municipal transport department to better manage the city's underpasses.

The department must focus on measures to ensure order and safety as well as sanitation in underpasses and report the results by the end of the month.

It is also required to upgrade lighting and traffic signals at degraded underpasses.

People's Committee deputy chairman Phi Thai Binh said a lack of management had caused many underpasses to become degraded.

Urban traffic office director Nguyen Nguyen Huy conceded that tea shops and vendors occupied some underpasses and caused disorder.

But guards were assigned around-the-clock to control them now.

"The guards help protect pedestrians from criminal gangs as well as prevent damage," he said.

"Guards are also responsible for stopping street vendors from occupying underpasses and warn them of punishment if they persist."

The department manages the Kim Lien and Nga Tu So underpasses and four others under Pham Hung road in the Cau Giay district.

Although the building of many underpasses was complete, they remain disused. For example, part of the Khuat Duy Tien street underpass in Thanh Xuan district was used to park motorbikes although it was complete.

The urban traffic office director said there were many reasons underpasses had not been put into use: Infrastructure was not complete or procedures remained outstanding.

"We have required the Thang Long project management board which is the investor to quickly complete the procedure so we can assume management of Ringroad No 3 underpass system," he said.

Each underpass costs an average of between 3-7 billion VND (153,000-357,000 USD)./.

Related Articles

• Cashew traders yet to embrace trading center system
• Workshop calls for longer-term plans to audit State entities
• Welfare system failing jobless
• Party reports come in from provinces
• Preparations for congress reviewed

Vietnam sets up wildlife crime agency

Vietnam has established a national committee for the prevention of wildlife crimes like poaching, trafficking, and captive breeding of endangered species.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, launched Tuesday the Inter-agency Executive Committee for Vietnam Wildlife Enforcement, which has members of the Vietnam Wildlife Enforcement Network (Vietnam-WEN) on it.

Vietnam-WEN is headed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi and has a committee comprising nine members.

“Vietnam-WEN is an essential requirement, which demonstrates the government’s efforts to strengthen collaboration with other countries in the region and worldwide for more effective response to wildlife crimes,” Nhi said.

Manop Lauprasert, Senior Officer of the ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit, said: “This progress demonstrates ASEAN member countries' commitment and collaboration to mutually fight the illegal wildlife trade that is robbing our region of irreplaceable flora and fauna.”

Vietnam is the sixth ASEAN member to form a national wildlife enforcement agency under the regional ASEAN-WEN after Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Related Articles

• PM sets agenda for insolvent shipbuilder
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• PM lauds police for keeping public order
• Canon Photo Marathon returns in September
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest

UN expert warns Vietnam of poverty among minorities

A UN expert has voiced concern about the high poverty levels among Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, many of whom live in remote areas and have difficulty accessing social services.

Magdalena Sepúlveda, a Chilean expert in human rights and extreme poverty, told the media in Hanoi Tuesday at the end of a nine-day visit to the country that without policy measures that recognize cultural differences and overcome barriers to the inclusion of minority groups, poverty will persist.

While hailing Vietnam’s considerable strides in reducing poverty in the last 20 years, she said efforts must be ramped up to ensure that no one is left behind as the nation continues its economic growth.

But poverty should not be understood purely as an economic issue that can be solved solely by boosting household incomes, she warned.

“Effective poverty reduction strategies must be always framed by the overall premise that everyone in Vietnam must enjoy the full range of civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights,” she said.

She welcomed the creation of a social protection program for 2011-2012, noting that to be effective, this strategy must be “comprehensive, integrated with other social policies, and well-funded.”

“Despite commendable efforts to expand the coverage of free health insurance and education subsidies, most of the benefits people receive are taken away again through user fees on health or education.”

Sepúlveda also called on those living in extreme poverty to take part in designing, implementing, and evaluating public policies affecting them to ensure they are effective and sustainable.

“Corruption has a particularly devastating impact on persons living in extreme poverty. The government must immediately strengthen and implement effective and accessible mechanisms for complaints and adopt appropriate legislation to guarantee access to information, among other mechanisms.”

During her trip, she met with government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, and visited poor communities in Bac Kan, Hanoi, and Quang Nam.

Vietnam halved its poverty rate from 60 percent between 1993 and 2002, and has reduced it further to 10 percent this year.

Sepúlveda, a lawyer, was appointed in May 2008, and reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in an unpaid capacity.

Related Articles

• Good response to reforms of People's Councils
• Chau Doc’s curried fish vermicelli: Bun nuoc ken
• Committee calls for clean up of capital's underpass system
• Most ice is unhygienic
• Opportunities for garment, footwear industries