WENTWORTH: Sweden's Alex Noren came from seven shots off the pace in the final round to win the European PGA Championship by two shots at Wentworth on Sunday (May 28). The 34-year-old produced some stunning golf to go round in 62 - 10-under-par - for a winning total of 277, 11-under. It is the second time he has shot a 62 on tour - he managed it at the Portuguese Open - and it was his fifth win in the last 11 months following victories at the Scottish Open, European Masters, British Masters and the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2016. Italy's Francesco Molinari birdied the last two holes to take second place outright on nine-under par, after a 68, one shot ahead of Sweden's Henrik Stenson, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium and Japan's Hideto Tanihara. Noren assumed he had slipped out of contention on Saturday when he double-bogeyed the 18th and was not entertaining thoughts of victory. "I didn't even think about it," he said. "I came off the course angry on Saturday after chipping into the … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HẢI DƯƠNG - Hải Dương province drug investigators have arrested four men for supposed involvement in a drug trafficking ring. Police arrested Nguyễn Ngọc Quân, 21, living in Quảng Ninh Province's Cẩm Phả City; Phạm Văn Hưng, 29, and Đỗ Ngọc Hà, 33, both of the Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) province of Kon Tum; Nguyễn Thành Công, 29 from Nghệ An Province's Nam Đàn District. According to the police office, the arrested traffickers purchased drugs from China and then transported them to Việt Nam to be mainly sold in the Central Highlands region. Local police discovered a limousine running on Móng Cái District-Hà Nội City route at night of May 18. They ordered the car driver to stop for a search. Police seized four packages from the car containing synthetic drugs. Driver Nguyễn Ngọc Quân admitted he was hired to transport the drugs from Móng Cái of Quảng Ninh Province to Kon Tum Province. During further investigation, police arrested three others, of whom Phạm Văn Hưng … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News CẦN THƠ - The three-day Tân Lộc Fruit Garden Festival kicked off in Cần Thơ City's Thốt Nốt District on Sunday. The event, which promotes Tân Lộc fruit and the area's tourism potential, celebrates the mid-year lunar festival on May 5. The main activities are being held at the Tân Lộc Đông Temple, which received a certificate of recognition as a city-level cultural-historical relic during the opening ceremony. Activities at the festival, which ends on May 30, include sports and cultural events, cake fair, fruit display competition, "chim chọi and chim hót" (fighting bird and singing bird) contests and folk song performances. Representatives of 35 travel agencies were invited to the festival to learn about the Tân Lộc area. The festival provides an opportunity for scientists, local farmers and companies to exchange ideas about promoting local fruits, the organisers said. - VNS … [Read more...]

TBS Group Aims to Recruit 45,000 Employees As one of 10 key industries and having joined the ASEAN Economic Community, the Vietnam’s leather and footwear industry is aiming to increase its labour human resources to meet the needs of the upcoming development. After 25 years of innovation and development in the international fashion industry, TBS Group has attracted more than 36,000 employees. As TBS plans to meet the growing demand for larger orders and more complex quality requirements from fashion partners, the attraction, management, and development of high-quality human resources are a top concern of the corporation. TBS Group Aggressively Recruiting via Job Fairs The current situation of the labour market in Vietnam has been unbalanced in recent years, in both redundancy and lack of a high quality labour force. So far, it has failed to meet the recruitment criteria in the industry regarding professional knowledge, skills, foreign languages, and industrial style. By 2020, … [Read more...]

Ca Mau: Land of Opportunities for Investors As the southernmost province of the nation, Ca Mau has confronted a lot of disadvantages in investment attraction. The dynamism and creativity of provincial leaders to uphold the spirit of learning experience from others and supporting investors to overcome hardships together has brought about positive results. The number of registering investors and licensed projects in Ca Mau province have increased over the years. Particularly, the province has seen many national projects that strengthened the new stand for Ca Mau towards its 20th anniversary of re-establishment. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Mai Huu Chinh, Director of the Ca Mau Department of Planning and Investment, to learn more about these contents. Truong Thanh reports. Could you please portray the current picture of investment attraction in Ca Mau province? In 2016, Ca Mau granted investment registration certificates to 36 projects with a total registered … [Read more...]

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Health Department has declared that all provinces and cities nationwide are free of avian flu, with no new outbreak detected. However, a representative of the department also said several bird flu viruses such as A/H7N9, A/H5N2 and A/H5N8 could enter the country through transportation, business and consumption of illegally imported poultry products of unclear origin, especially in the northern border provinces. “The localities need to actively prevent and fight bird flu, while stepping up supervision to timely discover infection cases and imposing strict penalties on illegally imported poultry products,” the representative said. Further, there is no record of foot-and-mouth disease and blue-ear disease, the department confirmed. According to the ministry, risks of the disease spreading, however, are still substantial. Domestic pork price has recently declined, leading to a lack of concern on the part of … [Read more...]

The Vietnamese Embassy in Greece and Mr. Vasileios Konstantinidis, Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Thessaloniki city, solemnly held the opening ceremony of the Honorary Consulate of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Thessaloniki city on May 25th. Mr. Vasileios Konstantinidis is the first Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Greece. From now on, Vietnamese legal entities and citizens in the consular area will have more advantages in doing business, living, studying, travelling and Greek citizens, international friends in the city of Thessaloniki will be better able to get all information related to politics, economics, investment, commerce, culture, science and technology, tourism of Vietnam from the Honorary Consul to contribute to promoting the friendship and cooperative relations between Vietnam and Greece. On this occasion, Ambassador Tran Thi Ha Phuong paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Tzitzikostas Apostolos, Governor of Central Macedonia, and Mr. Boutaris Ioannis, Mayor of Thessaloni … [Read more...]

Viet Nam had to spend more than US$1.5 billion to import animal feed and raw material in the first five months of this year, up 27.5 per cent compared with 2016, despite market difficulties for meat, especially pork. Imported soybean is piled up. Viet Nam imported nearly 650,000 tonnes of soybeans worth US$280 million in the first five months of this year, increasing by eight per cent in volume and 19 per cent in value year-on-year. The information was released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Viet Nam imported nearly 650,000 tonnes of soybeans worth $280 million in the first five months of this year, increasing by 8 per cent in volume and 19 per cent in value year-on-year. Especially, corn imported from Thailand to Viet Nam in the first four months of this year increased sharply, up 48 times in volume and 4.5 times in value over the same period last year. The largest import market for Viet Nam’s animal feed was Argentina, accounting 45 per cent of … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Animal Health Department has declared that all provinces and cities nationwide are free of avian flu, with no new outbreak detected. However, a representative of the department also said several bird flu viruses such as A/H7N9, A/H5N2 and A/H5N8 could enter the country through transportation, business and consumption of illegally imported poultry products of unclear origin, especially in the northern border provinces. "The localities need to actively prevent and fight bird flu, while stepping up supervision to timely discover infection cases and imposing strict penalties on illegally imported poultry products," the representative said. Further, there is no record of foot-and-mouth disease and blue-ear disease, the department confirmed. According to the ministry, risks of the disease spreading, however, are still substantial. Domestic pork price has recently declined, leading to a lack of concern on the part … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI - Việt Nam had to spend more than US$1.5 billion to import animal feed and raw material in the first five months of this year, up 27.5 per cent compared with 2016, despite market difficulties for meat, especially pork. The information was released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Việt Nam imported nearly 650,000 tonnes of soybeans worth $280 million in the first five months of this year, increasing by 8 per cent in volume and 19 per cent in value year-on-year. Especially, corn imported from Thailand to Việt Nam in the first four months of this year increased sharply, up 48 times in volume and 4.5 times in value over the same period last year. The largest import market for Việt Nam's animal feed was Argentina, accounting 45 per cent of the market share, followed by the United States, India and China. Recently, MARD's Department of Animal Husbandry has submitted to MARD its plan to temporarily stop building new feed mills. According … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: Nguyen Phu, a former director of development with travel agency Peak Viet, explains why street food drives tourists away from Vietnam. Editor’s note: Nguyen Phu, a former director of development with travel agency Peak Viet, explains why street food drives tourists away from Vietnam. The opinions expressed below are the author’s own. When the way to a man's goodbye is through his stomach Street food is always appealing to tourists. Visitors from developed countries are captivated by food for sale on the street, as it looks unfamiliar and delicious. I can say that every single foreign tourist to Vietnam has tried eating on the street once, even though they stay in five-star hotels. Vietnamese street food is a tourism product, but is also the reason why many visitors never return. Based on the more than ten years during which I have worked in the international tourism sector, most foreign tourists are eager to experience street food. However, there … [Read more...]

VietNamNet Bridge – A summer youth volunteer campaign and a beach-cleaning activity were launched on Sunday in the central Thanh Hoa Province, to observe World Environment Day 2017 (June 5). The volunteer campaign aims to encourage the spirit and enthusiasm of the local youth in following the State’s plans to develop the province, while the beach-cleaning campaign aims to raise awareness among youngsters about the importance of the sea and push them towards protecting the environment. Through a series of events, the provincial Youth Union has persuaded 100,000-odd youngsters to promote the regulations and policies on environmental protection, union secretary Le Van Trung said at the launch of the two campaigns on Tinh Gia District’s Hai Hoa Beach. The local youth has contributed tens of thousands of hours to collecting trash, cleaning the drainage and sewage systems, and filtering water, he said. At the ceremony, 30 underprivileged students and households in the … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News BẾN TRE - Forty-two workers of JY Vina Company, who were hospitalised at two large hospitals in the Mekong Delta's Bến Tre Province over the weekend for alleged food poisoning, are recovering well. On Sunday afternoon, about half of the patients left hospital for home. A doctor of Minh Đức Hospital said these patients were first reported to experience symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, breathlessness and weakness in their legs and arms. The symptoms surfaced some 30 minutes after they ate lunch, consisting of meat-mixed sour soup, stewed pork and egg and fried green beans, at the company on Saturday. Among the patients was a pregnant woman who was under threat of premature delivery and treated at Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Hospital. Bến Tre Province's Department of Food Hygiene and Safety has taken samples of the food suspected to be poisonous from the company canteen for examination at a Hồ Chí Minh City laboratory to investigate the cause. On May 19, 39 workers … [Read more...]

LONDON: British police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man Sunday and were conducting a search of a house in connection with the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a Manchester pop concert. Officers arrested the man on terror charges in Old Trafford, to the east of the city, and were searching an address in the Moss Side area of Manchester, according to a statement from Greater Manchester Police. Manchester-born Abedi, a 22-year-old of Libyan origin, killed 22 people on Monday evening when he targeted a pop concert by US teen idol Ariana Grande. A third of the those slaughtered were children and another 116 people were injured. Asked by the BBC if some of Abedi's network were still at large, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "Potentially." "The operation is still really at full-tilt in a way and so until the operation is complete we can't be entirely sure that it's closed." Authorities in Libya have detained Abedi's brother and father, while British investigators … [Read more...]

Returning to Hanoi three years ago, US war veteran Paul Harding opened free English classes in Hanoi and also helped to clean the city’s walls. To date, the 69-year old veteran has opened six English classes in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, attracting the participation of hundreds of people aged between five and 70. He said that he is still obsessed with the war in Vietnam even today and decided to do something good for the Vietnamese people. Paul said that “Local people strongly support what my group does. Many of them voluntarily join our work, talk with us and provide water. Through the work, I have more new friends.” Another American man living in Hanoi named Scott Matt has also been repainting an alleyway in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and hopes he can paint all alleyways in the city. His action has been praised by many people on the social media. Many local residents love his work and some gave him funds to buy paint. Some people also paint with him. He … [Read more...]

With lower output and renewed overseas interest, prices are hovering at around their highest in a year. Saltwater intrusion and unseasonal rain have cut the paddy output in Vietnam's Mekong Delta by nearly 4 percent to 9.63 million tons this harvest, worse than previous official estimates, the government said on Monday. Deep salt water penetration late last year coupled with rain during the crucial production period hit yields during the biggest of Vietnam's three annual crops, mostly in key growing provinces such as Long An, Dong Thap and Kien Giang, the General Statistics Office said in its monthly report. The delta's plantations also shrunk 1 percent from 2016 to 1.54 million hectares (3.8 million acres), the report said. Smaller rice output, coupled with fresh demand from Bangladesh, could further raise export prices in Vietnam, the world's third-largest exporter of the grain after India and Thailand, with quotations having already hit multi-month highs earlier this month. … [Read more...]

Coffee exports for the 2016/2017 season have already fallen nearly 7 percent, based on government data. Vietnam, the world's largest exporter of robusta coffee, will ship an estimated 120,000 tons (2 million bags) of coffee this month, the lowest volume in six months and a drop of around a quarter from a year earlier, the government said on Monday. This figure would bring the accumulated volume since October 2016 at the start of the current 2016/2017 crop year to 1.09 million tons, down nearly 7 percent from the previous season, based on data from the General Statistics Office's monthly report. The forecast for May, which is down 25.5 percent from the same month last year, is the lowest since November 2016 when the country exported 114,600 tons. Falling shipments from Vietnam, the world's second largest coffee producer after Brazil, suggest dwindling stocks. Last month's shipments hit a five-month low of 134,800 tons, based on government data. Strong exports in the first months … [Read more...]

VietNamNet Bridge – Investment in transport infrastructure in the south falls short of the requirement, hindering the region’s growth, a seminar heard in HCM City last week. A view of HCM City. Shortage of funds and difficulties in acquiring land are the main reasons for the poor development of infrastructure in the South. — Photo ashui.com “HCM City and neighbouring provinces like Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Long An account for over 42 per cent of GDP, 40 per cent of exports and 60 per cent of Government revenues, but investment in their transport infrastructure has not been commensurate or given attention in recent years,” Nguyen Thanh Loi, deputy editor-in-chief of Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper, the seminar organiser, said. The southern region has only two expressways: HCM City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay measuring 43km and HCM City – Trung Luong measuring 42km. The total length of expressways … [Read more...]

INDIANAPOLIS: Takuma Sato won the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday (May 28), becoming the first Japanese driver to triumph in America's iconic race. Sato passed three-time winner Helio Castroneves in the waning laps and held on to triumph, laying the ghost of a heartbreaking defeat in 2012. "Unbelievable feeling!" a beaming Sato declared as he accepted a bear-hug of congratulations from Andretti Autosport team boss Michael Andretti. "He drove unbelieveable," Andretti said of Sato's performance in an eventful race that saw pole-sitter Scott Dixon of New Zealand escape serious injury in a spectacular crash and Formula One star Fernando Alonso's race ended by engine failure. Source AFP INDIANAPOLIS: Takuma Sato won the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday (May 28), becoming the first Japanese driver to triumph in America's iconic race. Sato passed three-time winner Helio Castroneves in the waning laps and held on to triumph, laying the ghost of a … [Read more...]

This is the latest blow to the project which has already been delayed by nearly five years. Hanoi's much-anticipated first sky train is covered in rust and cracks just a year before it is expected to open to the public. A government inspection team found the track and some parts of the Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated railway have become oxidized due to a lack of protective paint. Some joints on the track are either too loose or too tight and could break down or catch fire due to high temperatures caused by friction, the inspectors said. There are not enough measures to deal with weak ground along some sections, while the first station completed earlier this month lacks safety nets and ropes, they reported. Nguyen Xuan Phuong, a senior project manager from the transport ministry, said the railway is still under construction and there is still time to fix these problems. “We expect to conduct our final inspection in the second quarter of next year before the railway is put … [Read more...]