Everything you need know

Some 18,000 government officials will be subjected to asset surveillance with more than 10,000 alone in Hà Nội and HCM City, according to a draft law on anti-corruption by the NA Judicial Affairs Committee. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — A major shortcoming that has been, for years, hampering the country’s effort to fight corruption is the lack of a dedicated agency to monitor and investigate assets amassed by government officials, said the head of Government Inspectorate Lê Minh Khái during the National Assembly’s Judicial Affairs Committee plenary season held on Monday in Hà Nội. The government chief inspector pointed out that despite millions of asset declaration forms collected there is not yet an office charged with managing and making use of the vast amount of information in asset surveillance, a crucial part in anti-corruption efforts. To address this, the inspectorate will be entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring changes in assets … [Read more...] about Asset surveillance needs a dedicated agency

A buffet meal at the Mông Dương Coal Joint Stock Company under the Việt Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group. Many workers in different enterprises do not have access to healthy and nutritious meals. – VNA/VNS Photo Ngọc Hà Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – Many workers have not been able to access healthy and nutritious meals at their workplaces, causing massive food poisoning. In the meantime, enterprises have shown little interest in improving the situation. Figures from the Ministry of Health showed that on average, 17 food poisoning incidents occurred in the canteens of industrial and export processing zones annually since 2010, forcing thousands of workers to be hospitalised for treatment. The country is home to 256 industrial and export processing zones, creating jobs for over three million people. In the first quarter of the year, eight food poisonings have been reported. The latest case was on April 21, when more than 300 workers of Minh Hưng-Korea Industrial Park … [Read more...] about Firms need to improve meals for workers

A doctor treats a patient suffering from methanol poisoning in Bạch Mai Hospital. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Ngọc Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The number of methanol poisoning cases from bad-quality alcohol keeps rising but there are still no quality standards for traditional alcohol, making it difficult to control illegal or sub-standard alcohol, experts have warned. Methanol is a form of alcohol related to ethanol, the type in beer, wine and spirits, but is much more dangerous. Illegal producers and sellers often use methanol in liquor as it’s cheaper than ethanol, threatening consumers’ health. Methanol is converted in the body into formaldehyde and formic acid, which are extremely toxic, according to Doctor Nguyễn Trung Nguyên of Bạch Mai Hospital’s Poison Control Centre. Most cases of alcohol intoxication are caused by drinking alcohol of unknown origin. As much as 70 to 80 per cent of the alcohol sold in Việt Nam does not have a clear certificate of origin, an official … [Read more...] about Nat’l standards for moonshine needed

La Bằng Tea-a traditional Vietnamese product having trademark register, design, logo-is introduced to visitors to a workshop in Thái Nguyên Province. – VNS Photo Khánh Dương Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Phú Bình carpentry village in northern Thái Nguyên Province is well known for sophisticated woodened products made by local artisans. However, these products are rarely protected by trademarks and intellectual property rights. Nguyễn Văn Đức, a local artisan told Việt Nam News that carpentry traditions in the village had been passed down through the generations, though production capacity is still small-scale with few links between households. “We are only villagers without any knowledge of trademarks or intellectual property. Local authorities pay little attention to trademark creation,” he said. “Our markets are mainly northern provinces and cities. Everyone knows about our products through word of mouth. We don’t have a channel to promote our products” “Several years ago, … [Read more...] about Handicraft products in dire need of trademarks

HCM City needs Europe’s experience and solutions to create smart cities, a conference heard Friday. – Photo pcworldvietnam HCM City – HCM City needs Europe’s experience and solutions to create smart cities, a conference heard Friday. Speaking at the “Cyber security, Internet of Things and Connected Services towards a smart city” conference, organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (EuroCham), Võ Quang Huệ, vice chairman of EuroCham, said: “The Smart Cities subject is one of great importance for EuroCham Việt Nam. EuroCham believes its members have a lot to offer for Việt Nam’s sustainable development. “The relevant know-how developed and tested in Europe and all over the world needs no introduction and we are very keen to promote contacts between relevant companies and the Vietnamese Government for business opportunities that can produce concrete results in terms of a smart future for Việt Nam’s cities.” Philip Hung Cao, security solution … [Read more...] about VN seeks EU smart city know-how

An officer (centre) from the Protection Forest Management Board in Vân Canh District, the central province of Bình Định, talks to local residents about forest areas that they are allocated to protect. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyết Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — A Government decision with detailed mechanisms is needed for people to better practise their rights on monitoring land use and management, experts have recommended. Former deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Đặng Hùng Võ, said that in Việt Nam, citizens have the right to supervise and report wrongdoings and violations in land management and use by themselves or through representative organisations including the National Assembly, People’s Councils at all levels – commune, district and city/province, as well as the Việt Nam Fatherland Front at all levels. Speaking at a conference on the issue last week, Võ said that Việt Nam’s amended Land Law dated 2013 and taking effect in July, 2014, confirmed citizens’ … [Read more...] about People need tools to supervise land use

Nguyễn Danh Huy, general director of the transport ministry’s Public-Private Partnership Investment Project Management Department, speaks to Tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper about measures to attract investors to participate in BOT projects. Resolution 20 lays out plans for building certain sections of the North-South expressway in the east during the 2017-20 period. Why has it increased the rate of owner’s equity for investors participating in the project from 15 per cent to at least 20 per cent of the total investment capital? In principle, as the owner’s equity rate is higher, it is easier for credit institutions to provide capital for the project. But it would also lead to an increase in investment costs for the project as the benefit ratio of the owners’ equity will be higher than the interest rate of banks. In financial terms, this rate of owners’ equity of investors is called the financial leverage ratio. The 20 per cent increase takes into account the ability to mobilise … [Read more...] about Clarity needed to lure investors in BOT projects

Food items sold at many hospitals’ canteens are expensive, so locals tend to buy meals and snacks at street vendors. — Photo courtesy of sggp.org.vn Viet Nam News HCM CITY — Most canteens in hospitals cannot meet people’s demand as patients and their families often have to purchase food and necessities from street vendors. Many street vendors sell food outside the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases as early as 7am, according to the Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper. Though the vendors have been asked to leave by authorities of District 5’s Ward 1, they have continued to sell breakfast, including baguettes and sticky rice. Vendors also work outside Chợ Rẫy Hospital in District 5 where they ignore fences along main streets, causing serious traffic jams. At Chợ Rẫy, they sell food as well as towels, soap and other items. HCM City Oncology Hospital, Children Hospital 2, Nhân Dân 115 Hospital , and Hùng Vương Hospital, among others also have vendors … [Read more...] about Hospitals need to improve canteen services

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc stress the need to raise the values of the ginseng, both economically and medically, protect its purebred gene, and develop a geographical indication for the medicinal herb. — VNA/VNS Photo Viet Nam News KON TUM – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuân Phúc wants Ngọc Linh ginseng to become a national brand the country can be proud of. He was speaking yesterday in central Kon Tum Province, at a conference held on developing the country’s medical herb production. The Government leader said the ginseng, which is dubbed as a national treasure, could create jobs and contribute to the State budget. He wanted to know the best way to export the natural health products around the world and believes billions could be made in the future. Phúc believes these targets are achievable given the high growth rate forecast for the international ginseng market. Ngọc Linh ginseng is believed to be one of the best in the world. It has been approved as a national … [Read more...] about PM: Ngọc Linh ginseng needs protection as national brand

WordPress allow plugin and theme authors to display notices in the admin area to keep users informed about new features and updates. However at the speed WordPress ecosystem is growing, the admin notices can get out of control. Updating your plugins and seeing half your screen covered with admin notices is extremely annoying. However, it’s even more frustrating as plugin authors because we’re the ones that get blamed for it. Then of course there are plugins who misuse admin notices for promotional purposes. Some that you can’t even close. After seeing Jeff’s article on WPTavern and reading some of the comments, we felt compelled to write about this topic and offer a suggestion that can possibly fix the problem. If you think admin notices are getting out of control, then you should know that it’s only going to get worst (unless something is done about it). Currently there 44,000+ WordPress plugins in the official plugin directory. Not including thousands that are hosted … [Read more...] about Does WordPress Need a Notification Center? We Think So, How About You?