Domestic news highlights last week

(Baonghean.vn) - The General Secretary chaired the Central Military Commission Conference; Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO); the Government's national conference on the development of Vietnamese medicinal herbs;... were outstanding domestic events last week.

1. General Secretary chairs Central Military Commission Conference

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, speaks at the conference. Photo: VNA

On the morning of April 10, the Central Military Commission held a conference to evaluate work results and give guidelines on some key contents of military and defense work in the coming time. General Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Military Commission Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the conference.

After evaluating the outstanding results of military and defense work in recent times, the Central Military Commission has agreed on policies and implemented a number of key contents of military and defense work in the coming time to focus on leadership and direction to improve the overall strength and combat readiness of the Army, meeting the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

2.Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO)

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Ms. Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

On the morning of April 10, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan on the occasion of her visit and work in Vietnam.

On behalf of the Government, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc sincerely thanked WHO for its efforts for a healthier world; over the years, WHO has regularly paid attention to and closely cooperated with the Vietnamese health sector, bringing Vietnam valuable lessons in this field.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always pays attention to the work of caring for and protecting people's health. As a developing country, Vietnam hopes that WHO will continue to pay attention and support Vietnam in the fields of technology and medical expertise, especially preventive medicine, contributing to the successful implementation of the goal of building a modern and complete Vietnamese health system, reducing morbidity and mortality rates, and increasing people's life expectancy.

3. National Assembly Chairman pays official visit to the Czech Republic

Mr. Ivo Barek, Vice President of the Czech Senate, welcomed National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation at Vaclav Havel International Airport, Prague.

At the invitation of President of the Senate of the Czech Republic Milan Stech, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly paid an official visit to the Czech Republic from April 11-14. Mr. Ivo Barek, Vice President of the Czech Senate, welcomed Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam at Vaclav Havel International Airport, Prague.

The visit and activities of National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation aim to promote and deepen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with the Czech Republic in general and with the Czech National Assembly in particular.

4.National Conference of the Government on the Development of Vietnamese Medicinal Materials

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the Government's national conference on the development of Vietnamese medicinal herbs.

On the morning of April 2, 2017, the Government Office held a national online conference on the development of Vietnamese medicinal herbs. The conference was chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

At the conference, the conference participants focused on discussing a number of issues such as the orientation of medicinal plant development in Quang Ninh and Quang Nam provinces, the potential for medicinal plant development in Kon Tum province, along with a number of development orientations and solutions, orientations for exploitation and conservation of natural medicinal plants in Ha Giang and Bac Kan provinces, etc.

In addition, pharmaceutical companies participated in discussions on the management, use and development status of medicinal plant cultivation, and pointed out the difficulties and problems that still exist in the process of developing medicinal plant resources.

Concluding the Conference, the Prime Minister once again emphasized that "Vietnam's treasure of medicinal herbs is priceless" and said that developing the production and processing of medicinal ingredients from Vietnamese medicinal herbs "not only eliminates hunger and reduces poverty but can also make people rich".

5. The Central Inspection Committee proposed to discipline Mr. Vo Kim Cu and Nguyen Minh Quang.

Mr. Vo Kim Cu and Mr. Nguyen Minh Quang.

The Central Inspection Committee officially proposed that the Secretariat consider and take disciplinary action against former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang and former Secretary of Ha Tinh Vo Kim Cu... for their involvement in the Formosa project, which resulted in serious consequences.

Mr. Vo Kim Cu must bear primary responsibility for the violations and shortcomings of the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee and the Provincial People's Committee in the period 2008-2016 and the Management Board of the Ha Tinh Economic Zone in the period from 2008 to 2010.

He directly signed many documents against regulations, such as: granting investment certificates, leasing sea surface outside the Economic Zone; agreeing to the policy of allowing Formosa Company to self-clear the land to build a wastewater discharge pipeline...; lacking responsibility in directing, inspecting, and supervising the project implementation process.

6. Former Director of Long An Department of Health banned from leaving the country

Mr. Le Thanh Liem, former Director of Long An Department of Health, went to Tan Son Nhat airport to travel to Japan on the evening of April 8. However, when completing exit procedures, he was stopped by the border police from boarding the plane, citing a request from Long An Provincial Police.

At the regular press conference organized by the Long An Provincial People's Committee on the morning of April 14, Colonel Pham Huu Chau - Deputy Director of Long An Provincial Police, affirmed: "The police have acted in accordance with the law and regulations of the industry".

According to Colonel Chau, at the end of 2016, Long An Provincial Police received 2 cases with inspection conclusions related to the Department of Health: the drug bidding case in 2010 - 2011 and the case of providing a bidding package to install security surveillance cameras at 4 agencies under the Department of Health, directed by the Chairman of Long An Provincial People's Committee to transfer the files, requesting verification and clarification.

7. Big explosion at night, 3 people dead, 1 injured

Scene of the explosion.

The big explosion happened at around 20:44 on April 13, in Thanh Minh village, Truc Phu commune, Truc Ninh district, Nam Dinh province. At that time, Thanh Minh villagers suddenly heard a big explosion at the house of Mr. Nguyen Van Thu (born in 1948). People ran to see 4 people lying motionless on the floor, of which 3 were dead, 1 was seriously injured.

According to initial assessment of authorities, the cause of the explosion was related to explosives.

8. Why is “Joining Hands” not performed in Hue?

Singers sang the song “Joining Hands” in unison at the concert commemorating the 15th anniversary of musician Trinh Cong Son’s death in Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of April 22, 2016. (Photo: Quang Dinh/Tuoi Tre)

The program “Joining Hands in a Big Circle” was organized by Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy in collaboration with musician Trinh Cong Son’s family on April 21 in Thua Thien Hue. However, there were 4 songs in the program including “Joining Hands in a Big Circle”, “Hue - Saigon - Hanoi”, “Ca dao me” and “Dem thay ta la thac do” that were not allowed to be performed.

According to the Department of Performing Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), these four songs are not on the list of songs licensed for distribution before 1975. Up to now, people have sung these songs without asking for permission. As for musician Trinh Cong Son's family, they have not yet applied for permission, so the Department of Performing Arts cannot freely circulate these songs.

However, on the afternoon of April 11, a representative of musician Trinh Cong Son's family confirmed that they would not make any application for permission. Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy also issued a request to withdraw permission.

However, for each show, the family has to apply for permission to perform. The total number of songs allowed by local Departments of Culture is also up to 200. The family also expressed their wish that the Department of Performing Arts update the list of songs that Departments of Culture nationwide allow to perform, instead of the family having to apply for permission again./.

Peace

(Synthetic)