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    Việt Nam saw a slight decrease in the export value of fruit and vegetables during the first 11 months this year. Photo vietnambiz.vn     HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam's fruit and vegetable exports dropped 0.6 per cent year-on-year to US$3.5 billion in the first 11 months this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The drop was attributed to falling earnings from dragon fruit, which accounted for 31 per cent of total fruit exports, (down 9 per cent), durian (down 17.4 per cent), coconut (down 35 per cent), longan (down 56 per cent) and watermelon (down 26.4 per cent). MARD’s Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development Department said the strong decrease in exports to China, which accounted for 66.8 per cent of all fruit and vegetable exports, was also a reason behind the fall. The rise in exports to the US, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea was not … [Read more...] about Việt Nam’s fruit and vegetable export value falls in 11 months

Commuters on the Paris metro faced another day of travel havoc Thursday as unions pressed their strike against a planned pension reform. (Photo: AFP/Philippe LOPEZ) Officials have said they are ready to negotiate, with Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer meeting teachers' representatives on Friday to try to stave off another day of class shutdowns. "It was an intense and frank meeting ... but we still need details, and maintain our call to strike on Tuesday," Stephane Crochet of the SE-Unsa teachers' union said. Unions are hoping for a repeat of 1995, when they forced a rightwing government to back down on pension reforms after three weeks of metro and rail strikes just before Christmas. The prospect of a protracted standoff has businesses fearing big losses during the crucial year-end festivities, and travellers worried that their holiday plans are compromised. "Right now it's a catastrophe here, but we're hoping there will be a solution before Christmas," Frederic Masse, a … [Read more...] about France braces for holiday misery as pension strike persists

Aritisant Nguyễn Hồng Quang works on a ceramic jar. — VNA/VNS Photos Hoàng Hùng Hương Canh ceramic village in Bình Xuyên District, Vĩnh Phúc Province has been famed for its products for more than 300 years. Craftsmen at the village make various ceramic products like pots, jars and food containers of various sizes. Legends have it that more than 300 years ago, after a war, mandarin Trịnh Xuân Biên of the Lê – Trịnh reign visited the site and realised how poor local people were. Customers choose products to buy at a local workshop.  He learned the local soil was suitable to making ceramics and he then taught locals how to farm and produce ceramic wares. Though the ceramic handicraft trade in Viet Nam was born later in other villages, people like the simple products from Hương Canh due to the special local green clay that doesn't need a glaze but is still … [Read more...] about Hương Canh ceramic village

Scientists from Vietnam and NASA are working on a joint project to monitor Southeast Asian land use, local media have reported from an ongoing conference attended by 60 scientists. The “Land Use Status, Change and Impacts in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos” project aims to build a quantitative database on land coverage and land use, and to create maps on the changing populations and the demography in the Southeast Asian nations. NASA would provide scientists with data retrieved from its satellites to help assess regional land use and its changes. Nghiem Van Son, a senior researcher from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology and one of the project’s founders, said that data retrieved from satellites will help create a comprehensive picture of Vietnam’s landmass so that scientists can monitor the entire area instead of having to rely on individual reports, Vietnam News Agency reported. Quantitative research, including the … [Read more...] about Vietnamese scientists look to the skies with NASA on observation project

Other News Audit regulator announces inspection plans for 2020 By Pham Nhat Saturday,  Dec 14, 2019,10:56 (GMT+7) Audit regulator announces inspection plans for 2020 By Pham Nhat The façade of the State Audit of Vietnam in Hanoi. The regulator has reduced the number of inspections for 2020 to enhance their quality – PHOTO: INFONET HCMC – The State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) will scrutinize 16 ministries and central agencies; 40 provincial-level governments; and a number of financial institutions, banks and State-owned firms next year. In a decision recently signed by SAV Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc, the number of audit checks in 2020 will be lowered by some 20% compared with this year. The move is primarily intended to enhance the quality of audit activities. The SAV noted that the agency will innovate its audit method based on risk assessment and audit materiality, speed up administrative reform … [Read more...] about Audit regulator announces inspection plans for 2020