Vietnam to step up drug-trafficking fightVietNamNet Bridge – Drug-trafficking at Vietnam’s borders continues to be a major issue, causing law enforcement officers to grow increasingly concerned. — VNA/VNS Photo Dang Thai ThuanNearly 21,471 drug-trafficking cases were reported in 2017, up 14.5 per cent from 2016, according to a report on collaboration between agencies including the Police General Department, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDC), Vietnam Border Guard High Command and Vietnam Coast Guard. Statistics from Vietnam Border Guard showed that the amount of synthetic drugs and marijuana seized last year through the border of Vietnam and Laos respectively increased seven times and twice compared with 2016. To improve the efficiency of drug prevention and anti-smuggling efforts, Quang suggested strengthening collaboration between the Police General Department and General Department of Vietnam Customs. Quang also proposed the Police General Department include a regulation on protecting national security in collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security.

5 categories of registration plates to be auctionedVietNamNet Bridge – Five categories of automobile registration plates are expected to be auctioned online soon to serve people who desire to have their own unique registration plate as well as enrich the State budget. A car with the same-five-digit registration plate.— Photo doisongphapluat.comThe types of automobile registration plates proposed for auction include the same five digits, the same four last digits, the same three last digits, steadily increasing digits (for example, 56789), and people’s favourite. Duc said according to the regulation on vehicle registration, each registration plate was only granted to one vehicle. But if the car was sold to a new owner in another locality, the registration plate would need to be changed, Duc said. It is estimated that the State could earn VND5 trillion (US$222.2 million) every year from the auction of vehicle registration plates.

Wave of rail workers leave struggling sectorVietNamNet Bridge – An ordinary shift for a train guard at Hanoi’s Giap Bat level crossing will last for 12 hours non-stop, starting either from the early hours or through the night. Railway workers prepare to pick up passengers at Ha Noi Railway Station. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy HungSuch low wages are prompting a wave of workers to leave the railway industry. Wage riseAccording to Vietnam Railways (VR), 508 train workers in the rail infrastructure management sector, including the train guards, dropped out of work over the first nine months of 2017. In a recent plan proposed to the Ministry of Transport last year, VR asked to increase the salary of the rail workers.

Xuyen A becomes 1st private hospital in HCM City to do kidney transplantVietNamNet Bridge – Doctors from Xuyen A Hospital have successfully performed the first kidney transplant done at a private medical facility in HCM City. Xuyen A Hospital successfully performed the first kidney transplant by any hospital in HCM City on a 37-year-old man on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy of Xuyen A HospitalOn Tuesday a 37-year-old man from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province received a kidney donated by his mother. The man had been suffering from late-stage kidney failure, and faced a high risk of fatality, since last October. Dr Nguyen Van Chau, general director of Xuyen A Hospital, said the successful surgery was conducted with support from doctors from Cho Ray Hospital in the city.

Second Bulgaria rose fest to open in Hanoi next weekA Bugarian rose festival – the second of its kind – will kick off next week in Hanoi’s Water Park near the West Lake, organisers have said. A variety of rose products including rose fragrances will be displayed at the ‘Bulgaria Rose Festival with Friends 2018’. There will also be Queen of Rose beauty contest, a contest for the most beautiful rose, rose dancing, an atmosphere of nostalgia for Bulgaria for those who have worked, studied and lived in the country, street music and magic performances. Bulgaria has been famous for rose festivals in the Rose Valley for centuries. They said the participation of Vietnamese rose gardens’ owners and rose trading companies to exhibit their products is one of the improvements.

Heritage Space concert series presents experimental musiciansHeritage Space continues its monthly concert series Beyond Sound on Friday night, featuring the “hottest” generation of Vietnamese experimental musicians and international guests. Experimental: Austrian-Vietnamese duo Siedl Cao performs Zicla at Casa Mario, Montevideo, Uruguay. The duo will present their new work Parallel Asteroid at tomorrow night’s concert at Heritage Space. The programme is curated and organised by Heritage Space and Dom Dom – the Hub for Experimental Art and Music. Heritage Space is on 1st floor, Dolphin Plaza, 28 Tran Binh Street, My Dinh District.

1,500 people die from traffic accident in first two monthsMore than 1,500 people have been killed in traffic accidents in the first two months of 2018 in Vietnam, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety. Photo by VietnamnetThe latest report from the committee shows that over the past two months, there were 3,345 traffic accidents nationwide, killing more than 1,500 people and injuring over 2,500 others. Like last year, the Lunar New Year or Tet Holiday saw a sharp increase in traffic accidents. Some provinces saw a high number of traffic accident fatalities including Dak Lak (14), Tien Giang and Ha Tinh (11), and Ba Ria-Vung Tau (10). Most of the accidents occurred on roads and were caused by drunk driving and breaking traffic rules, the committee said.

Woman's housework burden shocks modern societyA young woman's sharing of her huge load of housework during Tet on social media has stirred controversy over the hard life of Vietnamese women. Dan Tam is a young director of a company in Hanoi. Some of the comments from staff at Dan Tam's company said that they were shocked when seeing her boss in the pictures. Some people said if they were in Dan Tam's situation, they would call for help from others and would not do anything if there was no help. The woman, Nguyen Dan Tam, 34, shared with DTiNews that was not a rare scene in her parents-in-law hometown in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Quy Nhon to sell damaged foreign shipsQuy Nhon Maritime Administration in the central province of Binh Dinh approved a plan on Tuesday to fish out two foreign ships that sank and broke in Quy Nhon Bay. The Fei Yeu 9 ship stuck in the Ghenh Rang mountain in Quy Nhon City. It had 15 crew members and was pushed by strong waves and wind towards the Ghenh Rang mountain in Quy Nhon City. Officials from Quy Nhon Maritime Administration said the two ships were damaged beyond repair. The decision was taken late as it took a long time to complete the legal procedures, given they were foreign ships that sank in Vietnamese waters.

Hanoi's plan to recruit 1,000 public servants turned downThe chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee has asked the municipal Department of Home Affairs to abort a plan of recruiting 1,000 public servants. A public servant in Van Mieu Ward of Dong Da District has an appointment with a citizen. — Photo vov.vnAccording to the department’s deputy director, Nguyen Thi Lieu, the plan was to recruit public servants for commune- and ward-level administrative units replacing the ones who were retired or changed their jobs. So recruting another 1,000 public servants is not necessary”. This is a way to evaluate the effectiveness of public servants.

Ho Chi Minh City to kick off annual Ao Dai festivalAn Ao Dai festival, the fifth of its kind, will take place in multiple locations across Ho Chi Minh City from March 3 to 25. The organising board said the festival gathers 22 top designers and introduces more than 1,200 designs to the public. As part of the festival, a forum on the charm of ao dai is scheduled for March 8 to help international friends understand the culture and history behind the dress. Spaces for local tourism promotion on Nguyen Hue Street, an ao dai exhibition and a conference on the history of ao dai are among other features of the event. On the occasion, the municipal tourism department will launch a campaign encouraging public servants, workers and students to wear ao dai.-VNA

Vietnam peacekeeping agency urged to improve training qualityThe Vietnam Peacekeeping Department needs to enhance research and improve training quality to prepare good personnel for the UN peacekeeping missions, firstly the deployment of the first level-2 field hospital in South Sudan this year. Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, said that after three years of joining UN peacekeeping operations, Vietnam has sent 20 officers to missions in the Central Africa Republic and South Sudan. Vietnamese officers have performed well their tasks and appreciated by the UN, leaders of missions, and countries’ military officers, he noted. The department is urgently preparing for the deployment of the level-2 field hospital No.1 in South Sudan, he said. Phung added that his agency has worked with relevant units to give advice to the Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry on expanding cooperation with foreign countries and international organisations in peacekeeping-related affairs.-VNA

Two spring festivals become national heritagesThe Mountain God Worshipping Festival in Hanoi and the Tro Chieng Festival in northern Thanh Hoa province have been recently listed as national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Bamboo elephants attach each other by their horns at Tro Chieng Festival. According to legend, Tan Vien, also known as Son Tinh, was the God of the Mountain and managed the land and protected the people. He taught them to grow crops, hunt animals, catch fish, practice martial arts, and organize festivals. His enemy was Thuy Tinh, the God of the Sea, who brought storms and flooding that damaged crops and killed people and animals.

The decline rate is higher than the target set by the National Assembly, 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent. Notably, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies disbursed 55.1 trillion VND (2.4 billion USD) in the year, contributing to accelerating the implementation of criteria on new-style rural area building. More than 64.2 trillion VND (2.8 billion USD) was mobilised from enterprises and individuals for social welfare activities, new rural development and building of essential infrastructure facilities in disadvantaged localities. The event gathered Cambodian doctors of Vietnamese origin, Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia and representatives of Vietnamese representative agencies in the country. Huyen Nhu took advantage of the defendants’ acts to appropriate 200 billion VND (8.7 million USD) of Navibank, the indictment read.

ONE Championship star Martin Nguyen spars in HCM CityVietNamNet Bridge – ONE Featherweight and Lightweight world champion Martin Nguyen held an open workout yesterday at the Saigon Sports Club in HCM City. Martin Nguyen (left) at open workout in HCM City. I am working extremely hard for my upcoming bout against Bibiano Fernandes, making sure that I leave no stone unturned in this camp. “You will all see a newer, faster, and more diverse Martin Nguyen. Tri Trinh, CEO and founder of Saigon Sports Club, said: “I have worked with a lot of professional athletes and Martin Nguyen is a guy the world didn’t see coming.