Case reports in emergency medicine

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed 12 COVID-19 cases on Monday, when the nation started mass inoculation with AstraZeneca shots.

One local infection was logged in Hai Duong Province, which is the country’s current coronavirus hotbed.

The patient had been exposed to an infection and been quarantined since February 14.

The health ministry also registered 11 imported cases the same day, including one in Binh Duong Province, three in Ho Chi Minh City, and seven in Ninh Thuan Province.

The 11 patients had been sent to centralized quarantine upon arrival in Vietnam by plane, the ministry noted.

Vietnam had spent almost two months detecting zero domestic COVID-19 cases before it found the first one on January 27 and confirmed it one day later, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 893 local cases have been recorded in 13 provinces and cities since then, making it the most serious wave to have struck Vietnam after the first-ever COVID-19 patient was announced in the country on January 23, 2020.

Hai Duong alone accounts for 709 cases, while Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have registered 35 and 36 patients, respectively.

Vietnam has recorded 2,524 coronavirus cases as of Monday night, including 1,586 local infections and 35 virus-related deaths, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 1,920 patients have recovered from the respiratory disease.

The dead had suffered from comorbid medical problems, including 31 in Da Nang, three in Quang Nam Province, and one in Quang Tri Province.

Vietnam started mass immunization on Monday, with 377 medical workers and contact tracing staff already vaccinated with AstraZeneca shots, according to the health ministry.

The government has said it will inoculate people in the said 13 provinces and cities as well as other priority groups , including frontline workers, diplomats, military and police officers, and teachers.

The country received its first-ever shipment of 117,600 AstraZeneca shots on February 24 .

Vietnam says it will obtain 150 million vaccine doses for the whole population this year, including 30 million through the COVAX scheme co-led by WHO, 30 million through AstraZeneca, and the rest through negotiations with U.S. and other producers.

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Vietnam launches its COVID-19 inoculation drive on March 8 morning, administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to medical workers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Duong province – the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot at present.

The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in Hai Duong.

As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are expected to receive the shots in the morning of March 8. The hospital is allocated 450 doses among the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received.

In Hai Duong, 50 medical workers at Hai Duong city’s medical centre, and 30 others at Kim Thanh district’s medical centre will be the first in the province to be injected.

The Ministry of Health has allocated the vaccine to 13 localities, along with the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and 21 hospitals during the first phase.

Among the localities, all having reported COVID-19 cases since the latest wave of outbreaks since January 27, the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is given 8,000 doses, Hai Duong CDC 32,000, and HCM City CDC 8,000.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security each receive 30,000 doses.

At a meeting on March 6, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stressed the need to ensure equality in vaccine access as suggested by the WHO, UNICEF and COVAC.

The localities excluded in the first phase should continue to prepare for the inoculation, with training programmes, he said, adding that they would receive the vaccine after the next shipment arrives in Vietnam in March.

The ministry will roll out the vaccination in all COVID-19 treatment hospitals, prioritising those involved in frontline work, and those who participate in the pandemic combat in the community like contact tracers.

Vietnam plans to import about 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines./.

14th Red Spring Festival blood donation drive surpasses set target

The 14th Red Spring Festival, the largest blood donation drive in the country, collected more than 8,300 blood units during one week from March 1, announced the organising board on March 7.

The result is 60 percent higher than the initial target of over 5,000 units.

The drive, launched by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT), together with the Hanoi Youth Association for Blood Donation and the Hanoi Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation, aimed to address blood shortage in hospitals after Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

This year, due to the impacts of COVID-19, the festival was held at four venues, including at the NIHBT, to create optimal conditions for donors and at the same time follow preventive measures.

The pandemic triggered a steep decline in the number of donors and blood supply for treatment and emergency, said Chairman of the Hanoi Youth Association for Blood Donation Trinh Xuan Thuy.

The organising board has made thorough preparations to welcome donors so as to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control, he added.

The festival, first launched in 2008, had collected in excess of 93,000 blood units in total, and become the annual biggest blood donation event./.

HCM City wants to set up district-wise construction management teams

HCM City has sought the Government’s approval to set up a team in each district to manage urban construction comprising inspectors and urban development officials.

According to a report by the city Department of Construction, there were some 15,000 instances of violation of construction regulations between 2014 and 2019, including more than 8,500 cases of unauthorised construction.

It is difficult to completely prevent unlicensed and illegal construction works due to inconsistent regulations, Lê Minh Đức, the vice-captain of the Bình Thạnh District inspection team, admitted.

For instance, district People’s Committees are not tasked with monitoring or penalising illegal constructions, and two different agencies manage urban construction and the environment but lack clear instructions from city authorities, leading to a lack of efficiency, he explained.

The city People’s Committee has therefore sought approval to set up the team to manage urban construction directly under district administrations.

With the city gradually transforming the administration model, experts said the team’s remit is to grant construction permits, supervise construction works and plan projects but also assist in other areas like social order and sanitation.

The People’s Committee wants the team to inspect, detect, prevent, and handle construction violations that do not fall under the authority of the Department of Construction or industrial park and export processing zones management.

The Government has approved the proposal in principle, but Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has instructed HCM City to get the opinion of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pre-feasibility study for HCM City – Can Tho high-speed rail commissioned

The Ministry of Transport has instructed the Railway Project Management Board to do a pre-feasibility study for the high-speed HCMC-Cần Thơ railway by 2022.

Recently the Southern Institute of Science and Technology (PNSTI), which is in charge of the project, submitted to the HCM City People’s Committee and the Ministry of Transport recommendations for the project after seven years of studies.

It will run along the HCM City-Trung Lương and Trung Lương-Mỹ Thuận expressways instead of passing through crowded residential areas and industrial parks to reduce the difficulties related to acquiring lands and cost.

The route will be 140km long, start at Tân Kiên Station in HCM City, pass through the provinces of Long An, Tiền Giang and Vĩnh Long and end at Cái Răng Station in Cần Thơ City. It will have nine stations.

Passenger trains will run at 200km per hour and freight trains at 120km.

It will enable people to travel between Cần Thơ and HCM City in just 45 minutes while it takes three hours by road now.

It will reduce the cost of transporting goods from the Mekong Delta to ports in HCM City and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu and improve the competitiveness of the country’s exports.

According to PNSTI the project has attracted interest from more than 20 international investors in the US, Europe and elsewhere. It is expected to cost US$10 billion.

According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, by 2030 the volume of passenger and freight traffic between HCM City and Cần Thơ will increase by 4.8 and three times compared to 2008.

HCM City is the centre of the southern key economic region while Cần Thơ is its Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta counterpart.

The rail link is expected to have a positive impact on the socio-economic development of the two cities as well as provinces such as Long An, Tiền Giang and Vĩnh Long.

It is included in a master plan that comprises five high-speed rail links between HCM City and provinces to ensure smooth transport of goods and improve logistics services and links between major ports.

The others are to Tây Ninh Province, Long Thành International Airport in Đồng Nai Province, Nha Trang City in Khánh Hòa Province, and Long An Province’s international port.

HCM City releases priority list for receiving COVID-19 vaccine

Frontline health workers, non-medical personnel who are potentially exposed to Covid-19 patients and samples and police and military personnel will be the first to get vaccines in HCM City, according to its Department of Health.

On Friday it submitted to the Ministry of Health’s general department of preventive medicine its COVID-19 vaccination priority list.

More than 44,000 people will be vaccinated now, including 2,270 health workers, 388 contact tracing personnel and 1,362 people in COVID-19 surveillance groups.

The rest include 600 army personnel, 1,042 police officers, 513 personnel at government-designated quarantine facilities, 38,000 individuals in community groups for COVID-19 monitoring, prevention, and control.

The vaccination, comprising two AstraZeneca shots, is expected to begin on Monday.

The first batch of 117,600 doses arrived on February 24.

Dong Nai develops more concentrated slaughterhouses

The south-eastern province of Đồng Nai plans to increase the number of its slaughterhouse clusters to 58 in the next five years.

Under a plan approved by its People’s Committee, they will have a capacity of slaughtering 360 buffaloes and oxen, nearly 7,400 pigs and 178,000 chickens a day.

They will be located far from residential areas, schools, hospitals, rivers, and springs, meet certain sanitation standards and have facilities to treat liquid and solid wastes.

The province will encourage co-operatives and companies to set them up with advanced technologies and link up with livestock farms, and offer them tax, land rent and credit incentives.

After developing the slaughterhouse clusters, it will cancel the licences of abattoirs that are not in the plan and crack down on illegal ones.

It now has 41 clusters though most are of small capacity, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Yet they do not operate at full capacity since they cannot compete with the dozens of illegal slaughterhouses that exist around the province and offer lower prices.

The province, which has the country’s largest livestock population, has many large companies which have linked up with farming households that raise animals.

Many livestock co-operatives operate on an industrial scale but also buy livestock from non-members.

Đồng Nai had 1.9 million pigs and 26.18 million chickens, among its key agricultural products, as of last month, according to its Statistics Office.

Those injected with Covid-19 vaccines abroad allowed to enter Vietnam

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, Sports and Tourism to urgently issue guidelines to create conditions for those who have been injected with Covid-19 vaccines in other countries to enter Vietnam to ensure safety and serve the economic development and pandemic control efforts.

At a meeting of the national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control on March 5, the deputy minister, also head of the steering committee, asked the healthcare sector to research and improve the production of quick test kits.

To prevent the Covid-19 spread, Vietnam has not allowed tourists from other countries to enter the country since March 2020.

As Vietnam has announced its Covid-19 vaccine injection plan and citizens in many countries have been injected with Covid-19 vaccines, many entrepreneurs expected the local Government would allow them to welcome tourists again.

At the meeting, Deputy PM Dam also required healthcare centers, schools, lodging facilities, factories, supermarkets and coach stations to seriously employ pandemic prevention and control measures. Those failing to comply with regulations on fighting the pandemic will have their operations suspended.

Central province to develop key river route

The central province of Quảng Nam plans to upgrade the inner waterway on the Trường Giang River as a key traffic system in line to boost transport options from Quảng Nam to National Express systems and the Central Highlands region.

Chairman of the provincial people’s committee Lê Trí Thanh said construction work would be slated for 2022-27 with an estimated investment of VNĐ2 trillion (US$87 million), of which 70 per cent funded by the World Bank.

He said the project will include dredging the 67km river section from Cửa Đại to Cửa Lở estuaries winding through the districts of Duy Xuyên, Thăng Bình, Núi Thành and Tam Kỳ City.

Thanh said the two-lane river route was designed for access of 100 dead-weight tonne (DWT) ships while serving as a major flood release.

Nguyễn Thanh Tâm, director of the provincial traffic investment and construction management board, said the river traffic project would include dredging of 4 million cubic metres of sludge and mud and building an 11.5km concrete dyke and five bridges.

Tâm said the project would complete dredging works in 2025.

Earlier, the province commenced dredging the Cổ Cò River to boost tourism links between Hội An and Đà Nẵng.

According to Quảng Nam authorities, the river route will help boost smooth traffic systems including the coastal road connecting Tam Kỳ city with Chu Lai Airport and Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the linkage with Chu Lai Economic Zone, the Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Expressway and the Dung Quất Economic Zone in neighbouring Quảng Ngãi Province.

Chairman Thanh said Quảng Nam would continue to invest in traffic infrastructure to lure more investment projects.

Localities not allowed to directly buy Covid-19 vaccines

As the injection of Covid-19 vaccines is an extremely sensitive issue, the Ministry of Health will coordinate the purchase, distribution and injection of the vaccines to prevent localities from directly negotiating with enterprises to buy them, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

At a meeting of the national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control on March 5, the minister said besides the import of Covid-19 vaccines, Vietnam needs to focus on the research and production of its own vaccines. This is a long-term strategy.

It is hard to access the Covid-19 vaccines of other countries as supplies are limited, while many countries have registered to buy a large volume of vaccines.

Since May 2020, the Ministry of Health has negotiated to buy Covid-19 vaccines. However, it is impossible to ensure a sufficient supply immediately. They are newly-developed vaccines, so their quality and effectiveness have yet to be determined.

COVAX Facility will provide Vietnam with five million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine this year and 25 million doses next year.

Minister Long also warned of fraud in the local Covid-19 vaccine supply. The news that some companies had affirmed that they could supply AstraZeneca’s vaccine was inaccurate, the minister said, adding that all Covid-19 vaccines are now licensed by the Ministry of Health.

As for more than 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine which has arrived in Vietnam, the minister said on March 3, Vietnam received certificates of the quality of the batch from South Korea and other independent testing agencies.

Local residents are eligible to receive the vaccine, Minister Long said.

Those directly participating in the treatment of Covid-19 patients at 18 treatment facilities will be injected first, followed by residents in pandemic hotspots in 13 localities reporting Covid-19 patients, especially Hai Duong.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said the injection of the vaccine must be fair. Residents must be sufficiently provided with necessary information. Further, the Ministry of Health must be prepared for possible problems during the injection.

Chinese nationals entering Việt Nam illegally test negative for SARS-CoV-2 once

Thirty-five Chinese nationals who illegally entered Việt Nam and stayed at a hotel in HCM City have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 for the first time, HCM City’s healthcare centre said on Sunday.

The group were spotted by local police when they hired rooms at a hotel located on Lý Tự Trọng Street, District 1, HCM City on Saturday morning.

They have been quarantined at the Củ Chi Field Hospital and will have samples taken for further testing.

Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Triều, chairwoman of Bến Thành Ward, said after receiving the first set of results, the lockdown has been lifted at the hotel.

Authorities will continue to test people returning from social distancing areas and ask them to make health declarations at airports, coach stations, healthcare centres and industrial parks.

As of Sunday morning, the city has taken 25,853 random samples at crowded places like airports, train stations, bus stations. As many as 25,637 samples were negative and the remaining 216 samples are waiting for results.

Prosecution proposed against former HCM City Vice Chairman

Tran Vinh Tuyen, former Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee (Photo: VNA)

The Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security on March 6 said it has suggested prosecuting 16 people, including a former senior official of Ho Chi Minh City, found to play a role in a law violation case in the State-owned Saigon Agriculture Incorporated (Sagri).

Investigations unveil that the mastermind of the case is Le Tan Hung. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Members and General Director of Sagri, Hung ordered the building of 10 fake dossiers for Sagri officials and employees to visit 16 countries, aiming to appropriate more than 14 billion VND (607,120 USD).

Notably, aware of the ineligibility of a housing project in Residential Area No. 4 in Long Phuoc B Ward, District 9, HCM City, Hung still instructed his subordinates to complete procedures and signed documents proposing the municipal People’s Committee give a nod to the transfer of the project to Phong Phu JSC with a cost of 168 billion VND, causing losses worth hundreds of billions of VND to the State.

The agency found that Tran Vinh Tuyen, former Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee, signed Decision No. 6077/QD-UBND dated November 17, 2017 that gave the green light to the transfer of the project, invested by Sagri, although he knew its ineligibility./.

No COVID-19 infections logged on March 8 morning

Vietnam reported no COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on March 8, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The country documented 1,585 domestically-transmitted infections, including 892 cases since the latest outbreak hit Hai Duong province on January 27.

As many as 45,219 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 506 at hospitals, 14,266 at other quarantine sites, and 30,446 at home.

Among the patients under treatment, 65 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 57 twice, and 137 thrice.

The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,920 patients have been declared clear of the coronavirus so far.

Hanoi has gone through 20 days without new local transmission of COVID-19, while other ten cities and provinces has logged no new cases in 23 days, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam begins COVID-19 vaccination on March 8, 2021, using recently-imported AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was granted Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged from 18.

In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration)./.

New Year gathering hosted for adopted Vietnamese children in Italy

A virtual gathering was hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy on March 7 for adopted Vietnamese children on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

The event was attended by Director General of the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Adoption Nguyen Thi Hao and adoptive families of Vietnamese children from more than 70 locations across the European country.

Speaking at the gathering, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Thi Bich Hue said with over 2,000 Vietnamese children adopted by Italian couples so far, and these adoptive families have become a major part of the Vietnamese community in Italy. They have contributed to strengthening the relations between the two countries, she said.

Many adoptive families in Italy want their Vietnamese children to know more about their roots, she continued, many Italian parents have also encouraged the kids to learn and speak their mother tongue. This has motivated the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy to host the gathering, she added.

Hue also took the occasion to thank the adoptive families for not only taking care of the Vietnamese children and providing them with a real home, but also giving an opportunity to preserve their traditional culture.

Representing the adoptive Italian families of Vietnamese children, Cinzia Fabrocini said the gathering offers a good chance for the children to have a better understanding of their fatherland’s culture and for the families to meet and talk about their shared interest in helping the children experience their birth culture.

Hao, for her part, said she hopes the Embassy of Vietnam and adoptive families in Italy will come up with more initiatives and activities to bring the children closer to their homeland.

Vietnam always welcomes the children and their adoptive parents to return to the country to explore Vietnamese culture and identity, she noted./.

40 illegal immigrants found in HCM City

Ho Chi Minh City’s police have detected 40 foreigners, all Chinese, who entered Vietnam illegally on March 5-6.

Of the people, five were found staying at a hotel and confessed that they came illegally to Vietnam from China’s Fujian province via unofficial channels in Vietnam’s northern border region, and caught a bus to the city.

Thirteen others were found on a bus parked in front of another hotel where the remainders were staying in.

The local police have instructed competent forces to collect samples of the people for COVID-19 testing, and put them into quarantine in line with pandemic prevention and control regulations.

Their illegal immigration is also under further investigation./.

HCM City to expand cultural activities

The cultural sector in HCM City should focus on developing resources, infrastructure and arts activities from now to 2030, experts have said at a recent workshop held in the city.

The city’s Department of Culture and Sports is focusing on a long-term project to develop film, performing arts, fine arts, photography, exhibitions, advertising, cultural tourism and fashion.

It aims to increase gross regional domestic product (GRDP), create jobs involved in producing diverse high-quality cultural activities, and meet residents’ cultural needs.

Another goal is to burnish the city’s image by creating signature cultural products and turning HCM City into the cultural centre of the country and region.

Speaking at a workshop held recently by the department, Nguyễn Thị Hậu, general secretary of the city’s Association of Historical Sciences, said the project should target “high culture”, saying that a big city should have such activities.

“It means a high level in art quality, infrastructure and human resources. The project should focus on signature performing arts forms of HCM City and the South like tài tử music, cải lương (reformed opera) and drama,” she added.

Except for the film sector, which has private investment, other sectors have not received sufficient investment to meet the people’s cultural needs.

Trần Hoàng Ngân, director of the HCM City Development Research Institute, pointed out that many theatres are in poor condition and theatrical works are not widely advertised.

Lâm Nhân, deputy principal of the HCM City University of Culture, said: “The city should build cultural policies to promote the development of performing arts programmes.”

For the film sector, scripts highlighting national cultural identity should be encouraged, he added.

Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Liêm, director of the HCM City Conservatory of Music, said that cultural authorities should meet with artists “to learn about their needs and seek solutions and policies to help them develop their careers”.

Võ Trọng Nam, the department’s deputy director, said that after the workshop the department would work with the Development Research Institute to complete the project and then submit it to the city’s People’s Committee.

Under the project, the city targets revenue from cultural industries making up 5 per cent of its GRDP in the 2020-25 period and 6 per cent in the 2025-30 period.

Earnings from the city’s film industry will reach VNĐ10 trillion ($432 million) by 2030, with earnings from Vietnamese films making up 50 per cent.

The city plans to reach revenue of VNĐ1.7 trillion ($73.5 million) by 2030 from the performing arts sector, VNĐ550 billion ($23.8 million) from fine arts, and VNĐ3.3 trillion ($142.5 million) from photography.

The exhibition and advertising sectors are expected to earn VNĐ11 trillion ($475 million) and VNĐ57.2 trillion ($2.47 billion), respectively, by 2030.

As for cultural tourism, the city targets revenue of VNĐ8.6 trillion ($351.6 million) by 2030, while fashion sector revenue will reach VNĐ5.5 trillion ($237.7 million).

31 lawyers to protect 12 defendants involved in the Ethanol Phu Tho case

Thirty-one lawyers have registered to protect 12 defendants involved in the case of violations of regulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences, at an ethanol plant in the northern province of Phu Tho, for which a 10-day trial will be opened by the People’s Court of Hanoi on March 8.

Prominent among the 12 defendants are former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) Dinh La Thang; former Chairman of the Board of Directors and former General Director of the PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC) Trinh Xuan Thanh; and former General Director of the PetroVietnam PetroChemicals and Biofuel JSC (PVB) Vu Thanh Ha

Trinh Xuan Thanh has been charged with “violating regulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences”, under Article 224, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code 2015, and “abusing position and power while performing duties” under Article 356, Clause 3.

Thang will have three lawyers to protect him, Thanh four, and Ha six. One defendant has not asked any lawyer to defend him at the court.

The court will summon six inspectors and a number of witnesses as well as those having relevant obligations and rights.

According to the indictment, Thang signed a resolution to approve the investment in the project in October 2007. With Thanh’s support, PVC/Alfa Laval/Delta-T joint contractors, who had no previous experience in carrying out ethanol projects, were assigned to be in charge of the project.

As a result, the project was continuously behind schedule and stopped in March 2013 with no construction items done.

Wrongdoings of the defendants were said to cause a loss of more than 543 billion VND (23.49 million USD)./.

Popularising Vietnamese culture through social media

The first personally-funded YouTube channel specialising in content promoting Vietnam’s tourism and culture was the result of the enthusiasm of a culture lover. In the year since the first episode aired, Sunny Vietnam has now posted 20 high-quality videos warmly supported by viewers.

The first video debuted in December 2019, featuring ox eye daisies – a typical image of Hanoi in autumn – and received a bunch of likes from viewers.

Last September, the channel won third prize in a video clip competition called “Vietnam NOW” run by the Ministry of Tourism./.

Ukrainian President hails Vietnam socio-economic, integration achievements

Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach has presented his credentials to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who lauded Vietnam’s achievements in the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) cause as well as economic development, international and regional integration and improvement of locals’ living conditions.

At a reception for the diplomat following the presentation, the host expressed his pleasure at the positive growth of the Vietnam-Ukraine partnership, and thanked Vietnam for supporting Ukraine in the COVID-19 prevention and control.

He showed his hope that the bilateral cooperation will be further expanded in various areas, especially in vaccine production, trade and culture.

President Zelensky wished Ambassador Thach a successful office tenure, and many contributions to the acceleration of the ties between the two Governments and peoples.

He took the occasion to invite President Nguyen Phu Trong to visit Ukraine in August this year on the occasion of the 30th independence anniversary of the country.

For his part, Ambassador Thach extended regards and best wishes from Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong to President Zelensky as well as people and Government of Ukraine.

He expressed his delight to take office as an ambassador to Ukraine, a beautiful country that is rich in historical tradition and culture.

The diplomat thanked the State and people of Ukraine for supporting Vietnam during the past struggle for national independence and current national construction and defence.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to developing ties with Ukraine.

At the reception, Ambassador Thach proposed that President Zelensky and Ukrainian authorities assist him in completing his tasks and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the host country.

He also conveyed Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong’s invitation to President Zelensky and his spouse to visit Vietnam. President Zelensky accepted the invitation with pleasure./.

100 local food specialties announced

The organisation aims to discover unique and strange specialties and gifts from 63 cities and provinces nationwide in order to help promote local culture to the world.

After receiving nominations from various localities nationwide, the organisers have selected the top 100 food specialties and gifts which showcases the true diversity of Vietnamese culture.

Pho (noodle soup), Bun Cha (noodles with grilled meat), and Cha Ca La Vong (La Vong fried fish), from Hanoi, along with Mi Quang (Quang noodles), and Com Ga Hoi An (Hoi An chicken rice), from the central province of Quang Nam, are among the leading 100 Vietnamese food specialties.

Banh Com (green sticky rice cake) from the capital, and Banh Phu The (conjugal cake), of Bac Ninh province have also been named in the list of 100 Vietnamese gifts.

First COVID-19 vaccination drive to be launched in 13 pandemic-hit localities

Medical workers directly involved in treating COVID-19 patients at 18 medical facilities and prioritised categories of people in 13 pandemic-hit localities will be among the first to be vaccinated throughout March and April, with the COVID-19 epicentre of Hai Duong being given the highest priority.

The localities include Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Hoa Binh, Gia Lai, Binh Duong, Dien Bien, and Ha Giang.

The objective of the plan is that 95% of all individuals who are at risk and the community have a sufficient number of doses for the inoculation process.

Moving forward, the vaccinations will be deployed based on actual vaccine supply progress.

In addition to pandemic-hit localities, provinces and cities that have large urban areas, high population densities, industrial zones, and are important traffic hubs, will also be granted priority to be vaccinated.

Ahead in April, the country will receive a further 1.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through Covax, a global mechanism for developing, manufacturing, and procuring COVID-19 vaccines and supply for member countries.

The nation has reported a total of 885 community transmissions across 13 cities and provinces since the reccurence of the outbreak on January 27.

360 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Singapore

A total of 360 Vietnamese citizens, including minors under the age of 18, sick people and other specially difficult cases were repatriated from Singapore after touching down at Can Tho International Airport on March 7.

A range of measures on security, safety, and hygiene were strictly enforced throughout the flight as a means of protecting the health of citizens and to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

All flight crew members and passengers underwent medical check-ups and were immediately transferred to quarantine facilities in line with regulations relating to COVID-19 prevention and control.

Colonel Phan Van Chuong, deputy director of the Logistics Department of Military Zone No 9, said that there have been many flights to repatriate Vietnamese citizens based on their wishes in recent times, with the enforcement of strict anti-pandemic measures to ensure the safety of passengers and crew members.

Earlier on March 6, Can Tho International Airport also welcomed a flight to bring home  as many as 300 Vietnamese citizens from Malaysia, and all the passengers were put in quarantine in concentrated isolation facilities according to COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

Ban flowers blooming under northwestern skies

March is a nice time of year to visit Vietnam’s northwest, when the beautiful Ban (Bauhinia) flower season peaks, painting the region white.

A symbol of love between a girl named Ban and a boy named Khum in an ancient Thái ethnic minority legend, the flower signals the arrival of spring in Dien Bien with its pure white petals and gentle, sweet aroma.

Many local boys and girls take the opportunity to capture a special moment of their youth during the bloom.

Ban flowers normally bloom in mid-February and show off their best in March.

2021 was the second year the Ban Flower Festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but the ubiquitous sight of Ban flowers still provides a romantic and tranquil atmosphere to Dien Bien province./.

Overseas Vietnamese’s song expresses love for national islands

Though living far from home, many young Vietnamese people working and studying in the Republic of Korea have expressed their love for Vietnam’s sea and islands.

With musical talent and a love for Vietnam’s sea and islands, Kien composed the song “Hoang Sa, Truong Sa belong to Vietnam” in just a short period of time. The music video was viewed and shared by thousands of people in the 10 days it has been on YouTube.

Kien’s friends who heard the song after it was filmed had good things to say.

Kien said he will continue to compose songs about the country and the people of Vietnam, to spread love for the homeland among Vietnamese expats.

Contributing to the nation is a common desire for every overseas Vietnamese. For Kien and his compatriots, no matter who you are or what you do, every Vietnamese citizen has the responsibility to protect the national/.

New Year gathering hosted for adopted Vietnamese children in Italy

A virtual gathering was hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy on March 7 for adopted Vietnamese children on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

The event was attended by Director General of the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Adoption Nguyen Thi Hao and adoptive families of Vietnamese children from more than 70 locations across the European country.

Speaking at the gathering, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Thi Bich Hue said with over 2,000 Vietnamese children adopted by Italian couples so far, and these adoptive families have become a major part of the Vietnamese community in Italy. They have contributed to strengthening the relations between the two countries, she said.

Many adoptive families in Italy want their Vietnamese children to know more about their roots, she continued, many Italian parents have also encouraged the kids to learn and speak their mother tongue. This has motivated the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy to host the gathering, she added.

Hue also took the occasion to thank the adoptive families for not only taking care of the Vietnamese children and providing them with a real home, but also giving an opportunity to preserve their traditional culture.

Representing the adoptive Italian families of Vietnamese children, Cinzia Fabrocini said the gathering offers a good chance for the children to have a better understanding of their fatherland’s culture and for the families to meet and talk about their shared interest in helping the children experience their birth culture.

Hao, for her part, said she hopes the Embassy of Vietnam and adoptive families in Italy will come up with more initiatives and activities to bring the children closer to their homeland.

Vietnam always welcomes the children and their adoptive parents to return to the country to explore Vietnamese culture and identity, she noted./.

Two Filipino nationals test positive for coronavirus in Vietnam

Two Filipino people and a Vietnamese citizen have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,512, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday evening.

According to the ministry’s report, the Filipino patients are a 30-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman who arrived from the Philippines to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 22. They were both sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on March 7.

The two patients are now being treated at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,512, including 892 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. Hai Duong Province alone has recorded 708 cases.

As of 6 pm on March 7, a total of 1,920 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.

At present, 45,219 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.

HCMC lists over 44,000 people prioritized for Covid-19 vaccination

The HCMC Department of Health has sent the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health and the HCMC Pasteur Institute a list of 44,175 people prioritized for the Covid-19 vaccination.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Nguyen Huu Hung said that the priority list includes 285 medical workers who are treating Covid-19 patients at hospitals, 388 members of contact tracing teams, 1,362 employees joining the epidemiological investigation, 600 soldiers and 1,042 police officers.

Some 38,000 members of Covid-19 prevention teams, 1,710 workers who are in charge of taking samples for testing, over 500 quarantine workers and 257 staff members in charge of injecting residents with the Covid-19 vaccines have also been prioritized.

HCMC has no active coronavirus hotbeds, so the city is not identified as a prioritized locality for vaccination, the local media reported.

Vietnam is set to start the Covid-19 vaccination on March 8, using the first 117,600 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by British drugmaker AstraZeneca that arrived in the country on February 24.

Party Committee discuss key solutions to turn Thu Duc into smart city

The executive party committee of newly-established Thu Duc City discussed key tasks and solutions to turn Thu Duc City into a smart, innovative and sustainable city in 2021 in its yesterday meeting.

One of significant tasks in 2021 is the continuity of the city’s stable state machinery to ensure the effectiveness in management for the city development. When it comes to this task, the city must enhance re-structuring of the machinery and re-arranging of administrative staffs as well as grading of levels and powers along with supervision for transparency.

The party committee said that it would also focus on spreading the information of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress as well as applying these congresses’ resolutions into reality.

With regard to building up a strong party, meeting participants emphasized on the continuous implementation of Resolution No.4 on Party building and rectification adopted at the fourth plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee. They also emphasized on improvement of the managerial skills and abilities of leaders.

Speaking at the meeting, Thu Duc City Party Chief Nguyen Van Hieu ordered staffs in state organizations in the city to actively take part in the building up of the party and the government to improve residents’ living conditions.

First of all, Party Chief Hieu stressed that Thu Duc City must intensify application of IT and digitalization in management tasks which are important steps to move toward building smart city and urban administration.

Besides, each organization must set their own specific goals with the aim to benefit locals in the field of economy, culture, education and medicine.

Additionally, Mr. Hieu required state-run organizations and agencies to inform residents about governmental policies and mechanisms to get dwellers’ consensus during the building and development of Thu Duc City with orientation towards a smart and sustainable city.

Before, the People’s Committee in Thu Duc City submitted its paper in which set 26 goals for 2021 including collection of VND8,327 billion (US$359,344,016) for the city state budget, the proportion of disbursement for basic construction investment of 95 percent against the assigned plan and growing 250,000 trees.

Last but not least, the newly-established city will focus on site clearance in major projects comprising of Saigon Hi-tech Park, Thu Thiem new urban area, Ethnic Cultural History Park and urban renewal in Long Binh Ward. Especially, the city proposed specific mechanisms for its future growth.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

12 people have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,524, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday evening.

Illustrative photo

According to the ministry’s report, three of the new patients are Chinese experts who arrived from South Korea to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on March 5. They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on March 6. The three Chinese men are now being treated at the Cu Chi Fields Hospital for Covid-19 patients.

One other patient is a 44-year-old Taiwanese man who landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport on February 22. He was sent to a quarantine area in Binh Duong Province upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in his second testing on March 7. The patient is being treated at Binh Duong Provincial General Hospital.

Seven other patients are Vietnamese citizens who returned from the Philippines to Cam Ranh Airport on March 7. They are now being treated at the Ninh Thuan Provincial General Hospital.

The last patient is also a Vietnamese who is from the country’s Covid-19 hotspot of Hai Duong.

With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,524, including 893 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. Hai Duong Province alone has recorded 709 cases.

As of 6 pm on March 8, a total of 1,920 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.

At present, 45,219 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on March 9, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The country recorded 1,586 domestically-transmitted infections, including 893 cases since the latest outbreak began on January 27.

As many as 45,219 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 506 in hospitals, 14,266 in other quarantine sites, and 30,446 at home.

Among the patients under treatment, 65 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 57 twice, and 137 thrice.

The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,920 patients have been declared to be clear of the coronavirus so far.

Vietnam launched its COVID-19 vaccination programme on March 8, with healthcare workers being first in the queue. They received AstraZeneca vaccine shots, which was granted the Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged from 18.

In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration)./.

Dozens of illegal immigrants found in border provinces

Police in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang have detected tens of Chinese citizens illegally entering Vietnam.

The provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control said on March 8 that 34 illegal Chinese immigrants had been sent to concentrated quarantine facilities and tested for COVID-19. Further investigation and contact tracing are underway.

Local authorities and residents were asked to stay vigilant and follow pandemic preventive measures.

Earlier on March 4 and 7, police in Chau Doc city found automobiles carrying seven and 13 Chinese nationals, respectively, who were attempting to leave for Cambodia.

Two vehicles carrying 14 Chinese people en route from Chau Doc city to Ho Chi Minh City were detected on March 6. The passengers’ travel history is being further investigated.

Meanwhile, police of the northern border province of Cao Bang on March 8 said that 22 illegal Chinese immigrants were recently brought to quarantine centres over COVID-19 concerns.

The immigrants were caught in the province’s Trung Khanh district and failed to show legal immigration documents./.

Vietnam, Indonesia hold potential for further economic cooperation: Ambassador

Trade relations between Vietnam-Indonesia is expected to return to the upward trend from 2021 and onward, especially as the two are relatively complementary economies.

While Vietnam and Indonesia are two major partners for each other in the region and of the world, there remains huge potential for both countries to boost trade and economic cooperation.

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Vietnam Denny Abdi gave the remarks at a meeting with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh on March 8.

According to Abdi, despite the severe Covid-19 impacts, Vietnam remained the only country in the Southeast Asia with a positive economic growth, saying he is committed to further boost bilateral economic relations.

For his part, Deputy Minister Khanh stressed Indonesia is one of Vietnam’s key partners not only in the Southeast Asia, but also of the world.

“Over the years, Indonesia and Vietnam have been closely cooperating in both bilateral and multilateral channels, including major cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN, WTO or RCEP,” said Khanh.

Khanh added since the establishment of the bilateral strategic partnership in 2013, two-way trade turnover grew from US$5 billion to US$9 billion in 2019.

While the figure has slightly declined in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, Khanh expected trade relations between Vietnam-Indonesia would return to the upward trend from 2021 and onward, especially as the two are relatively complementary economies.

Defendants in Dong Tam case ask for sentence reduction

Defendants at the court (Photo: VNA)

The defendants lodging appeals consist of Le Dinh Cong, Le Dinh Chuc, Le Dinh Doanh, Bui Viet Hieu, Nguyen Quoc Tien, and Bui Thi Noi.

At the first-instance trial held in September last year, the Hanoi People’s Court handed down penalties to 29 defendants.

Found guilty of “murder”, Cong and Chuc were sentenced to death, Doanh life imprisonment, Hieu 16 years in prison, and Tien 13 years behind bars.

With the same offence, Nguyen Van Tuyen received a penalty of 12 years in jail.

Accused of “resisting on-duty officers”, 23 other defendants were given sentences of between 15 months’ probation to six years in prison. Among them, Bui Thi Noi was imprisoned for six years.

Cong, who was sentenced to death in the first-instance trial for masterminding the murder of public security officers and assigning tasks to other defendants, said that he was only guilty of resisting on-duty officers and asked the appeal court to lessen his sentence.

Meanwhile, Chuc, Doanh, Hieu and Tien also proposed the High-level People’s Court in Hanoi reduce sentences against them.

Only defendant Noi disagreed with the trial court’s six-month sentence for “resisting on-duty officers” and asked the appeal court to reconsider it.

The six defendants accused of “murder” had closely colluded with others who were key members of a so-called “group of consensus” led by Le Dinh Kinh. Kinh was shot dead while holding a grenade and calling on others to resist on-duty officers.

Cong was the leader and often incited others to kill police officers by posting video clips and livestreaming on social networks. He also threatened to bomb power stations and kill 300-500 police officers, assigned tasks to other defendants, and actively performed these acts.

He also directed and contributed money to buy petrol and grenades, guided others how to make petrol bombs and tinder, and directly threw petrol bombs and grenades toward on-duty officers./.

HCM City to focus on major, urgent transport projects

Ho Chi Minh City will focus investment on major and urgent transportation projects facilitating regional connectivity, heard a working session of the municipal People’s Committee’s working group on the 2021 plan of the municipal Department of Transport on March 8.

Tran Quang Lam, Director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that the city will speed up the preparation of investment and propose investment plans for major and urgent projects linking regional localities as well as industrial parks and clusters, as well as export processing zones and seaports.

The projects include Belt Roads No. 2 and 3, HCM City-Moc Bai Expressway, Nguyen Khoai road’s bridge, National Highways No. 50 and 22, Can Gio bridge, and overhead roads.

At the same time, the city will launch infrastructure serving the eastern interactive urban area – Thu Duc city, while applying measures to speed up the progress of important projects.

Lam said that the department will coordinate with the Department of Planning and Architecture and the People’s Committee of Thu Duc city as well as districts to adjust their transport infrastructure planning, especially for projects linking regions of the city as well as between the city and provinces in the southern key economic region.

At the session, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoa Binh asked the Department of Transport to pay greater attention to transport connectivity projects, especially those connecting with Long An, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces. Meanwhile, the department should also focus on waterway projects which serve the connection with southern localities., he said.

Hanoi to relocate polluting factories from downtown in 2021-25

Hanoi has set up a list of 90 industrial establishments that have to be moved out of the inner city.

In the period of 2021-2025, all polluting factories will be moved out of Hanoi’s downtown as planned, according to Director of the Hanoi Department of Construction Vo Nguyen Phong.

Although the municipal People’s Committee has issued guidance on the relocation of industrial facilities that are not consistent with the planning. However, the process of the relocation has been deadlocked, Phong said.

He explained that the relocation of polluting factories out of Hanoi’s downtown has been facing with many hurdles, including the laborers’ reticence to commute longer, the owners’ financial shortage and lack of funding from the central and local administrations for such purpose.

Echoing Phong, former director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Trong Dong said that the facilities owners cannot afford to relocate their workplace and production and the government has not spared a budget to support the relocation.

Dong noted that so far, Hanoi has thoroughly handled 25 polluting facilities and moved 67 factories to suburban industrial clusters or neighboring provinces.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment has also set up a list of 90 industrial establishments that have to be moved out of the inner city because they are inconsistent with the city’s construction planning, Dong added.

Director of the municipal Department of Construction Vo Nguyen Phong said that Hanoi will also aggressively develop housing and urban areas in the period of 2021-2025, with priority given to housing for workers in industrial parks and high-tech zones.

Moreover, Hanoi will continue to renovate degraded and dangerous condominiums so that they would become civilized and modern urban areas, Phong stressed.

First-ever clean-up of coral reefs in Cham Islands

The Management Board of the Cham Island Marine Protected Area in Hoi An city in central Quang Nam province finished a clean-up of the seabed to protect coral reefs in the waters of Cu Lao Cham (Cham Islands) on March 8 after a couple of days.

This was the first-ever clean-up to protect the coral reefs from natural enemies and household waste.

Volunteers cleaned up coral reefs in Bai Tra, Bai Nan, Bai Xep, and Bai Bac beaches and caught crown-of-thorns starfish, a natural enemy of coral reefs.

The board also measured the vulnerability of marine ecological systems and assessed vegetation coverage to identify specific measures to protect the reefs./.

Support given to localities to fight drought, water shortages, saltwater intrusion

Localities stricken by serious drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion will receive funding from the central budget to deal with these issues.

Under a decision signed recently by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, beneficiaries are to include organisations managing and using irrigation facilities and rural water facilities, as well as other relevant units.

People’s Committees in districts and communes facing water shortages have been directed to adopt urgent solutions in the fight.

With the financial support, localities in the central, Central Highlands, and Mekong Delta regions must extend water pipes, purchase water containers and filters, and supply water to local residents, hospitals, and schools in disadvantaged areas.

Notably, the central and Mekong Delta regions will receive funding for the building of anti-intrusion dams and water reservoirs.

Funding for mountainous and Central Highlands localities will not exceed 70 percent of their actual spending.

Funding for other localities is to not surpass 50 percent of their spending on the fight./

Hanoi to issue 10 working programs in 2021

The working programs aim at building the capital into a comprehensively developed city ensuring welfare for the residents.

Members of the Hanoi Party Committee have discussed about ten working programs, which will be carried out this year to ensure the city’s socio-economic development amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The programs target to build the municipal Party Committee and administration into apparatuses with stronger leadership capacity, high combat strength and a clean, strong and exemplary political system, as well as to quickly and sustainably build the capital city into a green, smart and modern urban area with high competitiveness in the country and the region.

It also aims at concentrating on improving cultural development and human resources, and maintaining the elegant style of Hanoians, boosting the development of science and technology and creativeness as well as improving social welfare and living standards of local residents.

At a meeting on March 6 in Hanoi, the Standing Board of the Hanoi Party Committee agreed on the basis of reviewing the draft before submitting them to the municipal Party Executive Committee for consideration and approval at the conference scheduled to take place on March 10.

The board will hand over the draft documents to delegates for studying in advance so that they can better contribute to the discussions at the conference.

Vietnamese cuisine introduced at Singapore Francophonie Festival

Vietnamese traditional dishes and products are being introduced at the Francophonie Festival 2021 that opened on March 8 in Singapore.

The festival, themed “Gender Equality,” draws the participation of 21 countries. It has 16 major activities, including film, food and fine art festivals.

Vietnam is one of the nine countries joining the food festival in the event, which has received great attention of not only the French-speaking community but also diplomatic delegations, international organisations and foreigners in Singapore.

This is a chance for Vietnam to promote a number of Vietnamese food products that have been put into the retail system in Singapore.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) comprises 88 member countries and governments from five continents. The community has a population of over 1 billion covering all five continents, with more than 300 million French-speaking people.

This is the first time that the annual festival in Singapore has been held under the sponsorship of the group of ambassadors representing 21 OIF member countries.

The event will run through March 30./.

International Women’s Day marked in Geneva

The Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva held a gathering on March 8 on the occasion of the 1981st anniversary of the Hai Ba Trung Uprising and the 111th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

Speaking at the event, head of the Vietnam’s Mission in Geneva Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai expressed pride and admiration for heroines and heroic Vietnamese mothers, female scientists, diplomats and businesswomen during the national development period.

She was also proud of Vietnam for being hailed by the international community for its achievements in gender equality and women empowerment over the past year.

In the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2020, Vietnam ranked 65th out of 162 countries and among one third of nations globally in terms of the number of female parliamentarians. The rate of female deputies in the 14th National Assembly reached 27 percent.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam attached importance to protecting women, children and vulnerable groups as well as upholding women’s role in pandemic response and post-pandemic recovery, she said.

According to the ambassador, gender equality was promoted at forums of the UN, WTO and international organisations. WTO is stepping up trade, gender equality and economic empowerment for women.

She stressed that Vietnam is ensuring women’s fair involvement in leadership positions at policymaking level, towards achieving sustainable development goals regarding gender equality and women empowerment.

Participants at the event vowed to popularise Vietnam’s policies, laws and achievements in gender equality to international friends, improve women’s fair participation in various areas, including politics and economy, as well as actively join relevant activities at Geneva forums./.

Vietnamese adopts healthier, sustainable lifestyle choices: report

Vietnam is ahead of the global average when it comes to adopting healthier and more sustainable lifestyle choices, according to a new public opinion report conducted by GlobeScan and supported by Visa.

Across the world, people have faced exceptional circumstances and have been forced to adapt to a new way of life.

In total, 27,000 people from 27 markets were asked about attitudes, opinions, and behaviors linked to enabling healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.

The report found that consumers in Vietnam were more likely to support socially responsible companies.

Some 47 percent of those surveyed in the country said they had supported a socially responsible company in the past year, against a global average of 33 percent.

People in Vietnam are much more likely to seek out information about healthy lifestyles. At least 82 percent of respondents said they had sought out information related to healthier lifestyles in the past year, well above the global average of 56 percent.

Those in Vietnam displayed a significantly higher interest in environmentally friendly lifestyle choices. At least 81 percent said they had sought out information about environmentally friendly lifestyles in the past year, versus a global average of 47 percent.

According to the survey, people in Vietnam are already taking proactive steps towards healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.

Ninety percent said they had made changes to their lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly in the past year, and 87 percent made changes to be healthier, while 84 percent were trying to become more helpful to others.

Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, said: “It is encouraging to see that consumers in Vietnam are already taking concrete steps to lead more healthy and sustainable lifestyles.”

Despite Vietnamese displaying a greater willingness to do their bit to improve their own lives, the lives of others and the environment, there is still a gap between aspiration and actual behavior.

Environmentally friendly lifestyle changes also show the same pattern. This lack of follow-through suggests there is an opportunity for guidance and solutions from key players across the world to enable healthier and more sustainable living.

This is supported by a call for greater cooperation between companies, government, NGOs and scientists to find solutions to social and environmental problems.

When asked what companies could do to help them live healthily and sustainably, people in Vietnam listed a desire for new products that are better for both people and the environment as a top priority, while affordable products and services ranked second.

With the importance of saving money, consumers rank reducing energy consumption and taking care of financial health and well-being as first and third in the list of top actions they would like to do more of in the year.

With changes to income and financial stability in the wake of the pandemic, it is likely that the priority placed on affordability will intensify.

Findings from the study also show that people are put off by actions they believe are difficult. When trying to be healthier and more sustainable, they are most likely to alter aspects of their life if they perceive it to be relatively easy to do so.

Typically, these behaviors are linked to improving personal well-being, ethical purchasing, and actions within the household (such as saving water at home, eating healthy food, choosing products with less packaging, and buying from responsible brands).

When encouraging behavior changes, evidence from this study identifies the importance of removing barriers and providing clear information./.

Domestic airlines’ on-time performance reaches 95.6 pct in two months

Vietnamese airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) reached 95.6 percent in the first two months of this year despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in several localities.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) showed that Bamboo Airways recorded the highest rate of 97.2 percent.

It was followed by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines, both with 96.7 percent; the newest carrier Vietravel Airlines, 96.5 percent; Vietjet Air 93.6 percent; and Vasco 93.3 percent.

According to experts, the average OTP was much higher than the figure of 86.2 percent recorded in the same period last year.

However, the total number of flights decreased by 36.9 percent year-on-year during the reviewed period.

The aviation sector has taken drastic measures to preventCOVID-19 as directed by the Health Ministry, the CAAV and relevant units, such as spraying disinfectant onto aircraft, offering hand sanitisers at check-in counters and free masks to passengers, and conducting regular maintenance to ensure air quality aboard./.

Diplomats commemorate fallen Algerian journalists in Vietnam

Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Vinh, along with staff from the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria and certain agencies, laid a wreath at a memorial stele on “Journalistes du Vietnam 8/3/1974” Street in the Algerian capital – Algiers – on March 7 to commemorate Algerian journalists who died in a plane crash in Vietnam in 1974.

On March 8, 1974, 15 journalists and technicians of Algerian press agencies such as El Moudjahid and APS together with nine Vietnamese journalists and three aircrew were killed in a plane crash in Hanoi’s Soc Son district while accompanying then Algerian President Houari Boumediene during an official visit to Vietnam.

To commemorate the incident, both Algeria and Vietnam erected memorial steles.

The stele in Vietnam was unveiled at the accident site in Soc Son district during a State visit by then Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in October 2000. The Algerian Government, meanwhile, built a monument and named a street “Journalistes du Vietnam (Journalists from Vietnam) 8/3/1974” in Algiers in 2013.

A wreath-laying ceremony held annually by the Vietnamese Embassy demonstrates the Vietnamese people’s tradition of expressing gratitude towards the previous generations for their contributions to the traditional friendship between the two countries and two peoples.

It is also meant to help the embassy’s staff members, especially the younger ones, and Vietnamese people in Algeria understand more about bilateral relations as well as their responsibility to unceasingly enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, which was also the task the Algerian journalists and technicians and Vietnamese journalists on the flight had been performing before the accident happened.

On March 6, Ambassador Vinh also attended a forum held by the Echaab daily to commemorate the victims of the plane crash 47 years ago./.

Science Film Festival 2021 calls for submission

The Science Film Festival 2021, organised by Germany’s Goethe Institute, is calling for submission until April 10.

The festival will take place from October 1 to December 20 with the theme “Better health through better understanding” in the context of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the crisis, physical and mental well-being are more important than ever, and this is why bringing these issues out into the open, especially at this time, is so important, and why the Science Film Festival has turned its focus to health and mental health this year.

Filmmakers, producers, distributors, and broadcasters can submit works via an online application form, with a registration deadline of April 10.

The Science Film Festival is a celebration of science communication in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. In cooperation with local partners, it promotes science literacy and facilitates awareness of contemporary scientific, technological, and environmental issues through international films with accompanying educational activities. The event has grown considerably since its first edition in 2005, becoming the largest event of its kind worldwide.

The Science Film Festival 2020 attracted over 800,000 people in 27 countries in these regions. Amid COVID-19, many films were screened online, with 200,000 views./.

Vietnamese overseas celebrate International Women’s Day

Taking place on March 7, an online charity auction in Malaysia, a meeting and musical festival in Macau (China), and a contest in Laos were among the activities held by Vietnamese overseas in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8.

The Vietnamese women’s union in Malaysia hosted the charity auction on its Facebook page, auctioning products made by female Vietnamese expatriates. In just over an hour, more than 100 different products were sold for nearly 7,500 RM (42 million VND), which was channelled into the union’s charity fund to help disadvantaged people.

The friendship association of Vietnamese in Macau, which has more than 8,000 female members, held a meeting and musical festival in a bid to cheer up participants and encourage them to overcome the difficulties amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the association of Vietnamese in Vientiane held a celebration and a contest to honour Vietnamese women in the country.

Vu Tu Oanh, a counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, lauded the female group’s contribution to the growth of the association./.

Potential insight into timeline for Vietnam to welcome back international travelers

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recently hosted a workshop aimed at discussing ways of reopening the country’s borders to international travelers providing the conditions allow.

One of the main criteria will be for inbound travelers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and have proof of inoculation before arriving in the country.

“A vaccine passport is expected to give the tourism industry a boost when it is widely applied in future,” says Pham Duy Nghia, director of Viet Foot Travel, in a recent interview with zingnews.vn.

Nghia suggests that Vietnam should strive to reopen its tourism market over the coming months when the pandemic is showing signs of abating, and citizens of various countries are already vaccinated against the virus.

In his opinion, the process of reopening the local tourism market cannot be done overnight, and this task is set to be realised only when the disease is fully kept in check and there is no longer a cause for people to worry.

Sharing the view, Dr. Luong Hoai Nam, a member of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (ATB), states that vaccinations are the only solution to keeping the virus at bay among the community, whilst they are also vital to revitalising tourism, a sector which is currently in a fragile state.

“A vaccine passport enables vaccinated citizens to travel within a country and between a country and another. Once a request for quarantine is in place, nobody wants to travel,” Dr. Nam points out.

Vietnam has been singled out internationally as a success story in the fight against COVID-19. It should press forward to seize upon this chance and utilize its competitive advantages in terms of economic development, including the recovery of the tourism industry, according to the expert.

“We cannot wait until the pandemic is completely wiped out when it comes to the reopening of the international tourism market. It’s time to think about people with a vaccine passport,” Dr. Nam stresses.

It cannot be argued that international travelers are an important part of Vietnamese tourism. When COVID-19 initially broke out, Vietnam shut its borders to prevent the spread of the virus within the community, thereby leading to domestic tourism to be priotised.

Due to this, 56 million domestic holiday-makers travelled across the country throughout 2020, an impressive figure given the fact that two COVID-19 outbreaks hit the country. Despite a 34% fall in traveler numbers, the local tourism market partly made up for the losses caused by the sharp decline in international visitors.

In contrast to the domestic tourism market, Pham Duy Nghia, director of Viet Foot Travel, believes that the arrival of international tourists plays an important role in attracting hard currency to the nation’s coffers.

“I have this simple comparison: the money 30 domestic tourists spend on services is equal to the amount spent by 10 Vietnamese guests going abroad and by three foreign tourists entering Vietnam,” says Nghia.

He anticipates that Vietnam will start to welcome the return of foreign visitors from the beginning of 2022, at a rate of approximately 30% over the same period every year. He believes that the vaccine passport will represent something of a magic wand for people looking to travel internationally.

Schools reopen in Hai Duong and Hai Phong

Schools have been reopened in the Covid-19 hot spot of Hai Duong, Hai Phong and other provinces since March 8.

Luong Van Viet, director of Hai Duong Department of Education and Training, said based on the situation, they had decided to let 12th graders and students at vocational schools in eight locations to return to school. Students living at outbreak and lockdown areas including Cam Giang Kim Thanh districts, Hai Duong city and Kinh Mon Town still are staying at home.

“Schools that fail to meet safety requirements will not be allowed to reopen. Head of the departments of education and training will take full responsibilities if cross infections are detected at schools,” the department announced.

Several schools still let students stay home for safety. Nursery, and students from first to 11th grades still stay home.

Hai Phong authorities have allowed the reopening of all schools and educational facilities from March 8.

Vu Van Tra, head of the Department of Education and Training said students would have to study harder, especially students at 9th and 12th grades in preparation for the upcoming exams. The number of subjects that students must be taken for high school entrance exams will be lowered from four to three.

Dong Thap Province is another province that reopens schools on March 8.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, schools haven’t overspent their time reserve for emergencies so the school year will end as usual.

Also on March 8, several universities and colleges in Hanoi have reopened. Some universities will extend their online courses until March 15 or 22. Hanoi Open University said they would combine both online and face-to-face courses. Hanoi University of Science & Technology will extend the online courses until March 21.

Academy of Finance announced that the university would reopen for students from March 8 to 13. FPT University will reopen for all students. Hanoi University of Industry only reopen for some students from March 8 while students on different courses will continue to study online until March 14.

Bovine skin disease continues to spread

The lumpy skin disease virus, which has been discovered in cows and buffaloes in Vietnam since mid-October, has continued spreading in Vietnam.

To date, Vietnam had hit 163 communes in 65 districts of 18 cities and provinces in Vietnam, affecting 2,200 cows and buffaloes with 300 culled.

By March 1, the disease had attacked roughly 1,000 cows and buffaloes in many districts in the central province of Ha Tinh Province and has tended to rise. The province is seeking the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the import of 5,000 doses of vaccine for the disease.

Meanwhile, the disease has also appeared in the central province of Nghe An’s Nghi Loc Commune. Initially, six cows of four households in Nghi Van Commune were diagnosed with the disease.

Lumpy skin disease virus is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is a member of the capripoxvirus genus of Poxviridae and is not infectious to humans. It is believed that arthropod vectors, direct contact, contaminated feed and water and iatrogenic means (for example, repeated use of needles on different animals) can all spread the disease.

The incubation period is between 4- and 14-days post-infection. The infection rate among cows and buffaloes is around 10-20% with 1-5% being dead.

Under the ministry’s instructions, all animals tested positive for the disease would have to be culled. Meanwhile, all cattle which have not yet been hit by the disease need to be quarantined to ensure safety.

Areas which have been affected by the disease have to set up stations for the cattle transport control.

Moc Chau’s night market, pedestrian street: a new highlight for tourists

The night market and pedestrian street in Moc Chau (Son La) are expected to come into operation in 2021, promising to become a unique space for tourists and residents.

According to the management board of Moc Chau National Tourism Zone, Moc Chau Night Market and Moc Chau Pedestrian Street will cover an area of 2.3 hectares, located in Moc Chau Farm Town, Son La province. The project takes the current Pha Luong Light Park as its core area, radiating from there in all directions.

The project is being implemented by the People’s Committee of Moc Chau district and Pha Luong Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Moc Chau pedestrian street includes a showroom introducing the Thai cultural identity, which is also a centre organisingcultural performances; a dining complex, a range of kiosks selling ethnic handicrafts; snack and fast food areas and a space for Moc Chau’s farm produce.

Each item will have its own functions, bearing the imprint of the Northwestern region. The products will showcase the cultural diversity of all ethnic groups in Moc Chau. This is not only aplace for evening entertainment but also a cultural performance space of the Moc Chau National Tourism Zone, with the cuisine, culture, arts, and traditional crafts of 12 ethnic groups.

The project is expected to be completed by September 2, 2021.

Museum receives photos and items honouring Vietnamese Ao Dai

The Vietnam Women’s Museum in Hanoi recently received photos, documents and items with the theme “Memories and Heritage” from diplomats, photojournalists, female doctors, and fashion designers.

The event was amongst the museum’s activities to honour the Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese long dress) while marking the 111th International Women’s Day on March 8, and responding to the “Week of Ao Dai” as launched by the Vietnam Women’s Union.

More than 20 Ao Dai designs and nearly 400 photos capturing the beauty of Vietnamese women were presented to the museum at the ceremony, expected to promote the cultural values of the traditional outfit.

Notably, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Deputy Foreign Minister and President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, donated two Ao Dai outfits she wore during a ceremony to receive a decision on her appointment as Ambassador and head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the UN, and a ceremony to present a Letter of Credentials from then State President Truong Tan Sang to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in 2014.

She said that the two outfits reminded her that she was representing Vietnam and the country’s women, adding that she always fell proud, honoured and confident while wearing Ao Dai at international and diplomatic events.

As Ao Dai reflects the tradition and culture of Vietnam, it garners much interest and appreciation from international friends, she revealed.

The donors included many young designers from across the country, who previously hosted a display of 1,000 Ao Dai designs at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi last year. At the event, they presented 20 designs of the exhibits to the Vietnam Women’s Museum.

Inspired from Vietnam’s UNESCO-recognised heritages such as Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, My Son Sanctuary, Ho Dynasty Citadel, Hoi An ancient town, and the cultural space of gongs in Central Highlands, designers Vu Tran Duc Hai, Trinh Bich Thuy, Ha Duy, Lan Huong and Ngoc Han vividly featured the beauty of Vietnam on the laps of the Ao Dai while honouring the elegance of the women who wear them.

Utilising the art of painting, and traditional materials, designer Dang Thi Ngoc Han, who was crowned Miss Vietnam 2010, decided to revive paintings by artist Pham Trinh into her Ao Dai designs.

Donating an Ao Dai from her collection on Hue’s royal court music to the museum, Han expressed her hope that her design will help to introduce the culture and treasured value of the art form to international friends.

Meanwhile, photojournalist Dinh Quang Thanh presented nearly 400 photos to the museum featuring the beauty of Vietnamese women in labour and life as well as craft villages and local landscapes. His photos tell the stories of Vietnamese women from across the country.

According to Director of the Vietnam Women’s Museum Nguyen Hai Van, the items and photos donated by organisations and individuals at the event will contribute to diversifying the museum’s collection while helping promote Vietnamese culture and women, thus inspiring public pride and the sense of responsibility in preserving and promoting the country’s heritage.

Ao Dai has become a symbol of Vietnamese identity, spirit and culture. It not only honours the elegance of Vietnamese women but also conveys stories about the country’s culture.

The donated photos and items at the ceremony will soon be displayed to the public, helping domestic and foreign visitors take a closer look and increase their understanding about Vietnamese Ao Dai.

Vietnam sees uptick in women’s empowerment

The number of women holding senior leadership positions in midmarket businesses in Vietnam has risen sharply over the past few years, making Vietnam one of the Asia-Pacific countries with the highest proportion of women in leadership roles.

Up to 60% of women hold positions of chief financial officers at Vietnamese firms, double the 2020 figure, taking Vietnam to the No. 1 spot in the region, according to Grant Thornton International’s annual Women in Business report.

The position of Human Resource Director ranked second with 59%, which was also a very common position in the rest of the region. Vietnam made significant strides in the number of women holding the position of chief executive officers with an increase from 7% in 2020 to 20% in 2021.

Vietnam exceeded the global average with 39% of women in senior roles and ranked No. 3 amongst the 29 countries surveyed, behind the Philippines and South Africa, an increase of 6% over 2020. Vietnam’s position was on par with Brazil and India and it ranked second in the Asia Pacific region.

The report also indicated that the number of women holding senior leadership positions in midmarket businesses globally had hit 31% despite the coronavirus pandemic affecting economies around the world. Seeing the proportion of women leaders rise to 31% is encouraging, given that the global figure remained at 29% for the previous two years (2019 and 2020).

The proportion of female CEOs rose from six percentage points to 26%, while the proportion of female CFOs also upped six percentage points to 36%.

While the number of women in leadership roles has grown, questions remain over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on women, particularly working mothers.

Data from the United Nations showed that before the pandemic, women did three times as much unpaid housework as men. Besides this, mounting evidence indicates that Covid-19 is increasing this disparity, as well as adding the extra responsibilities of childcare and home schooling while schools are closed.

Meanwhile, as for the ecommerce sector, the survey by iPrice Group showed that Vietnam had taken the lead in Southeast Asia by the proportion of women in manager-level positions at 46%, up from 37% in 2018. Thailand and the Philippines came second and third, with the respective proportions of 44% and 39%.

La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway to be opened to traffic next quarter

The La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway connecting Thua Thien-Hue Province and Danang City, part of the North-South Expressway, will be put into use at the end of the next quarter.

On March 8, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board said the La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway is 99% complete. The contractor is adding and moving some traffic signs and cleaning the road as required by the State Council for Acceptance of Construction Works.

The road was originally planned to be put into operation in 2020 but got postponed to the second quarter of 2021 due to the delayed construction of some sections in Danang and the landslides caused by devastating storms in 2020.

The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to organize traffic on the expressway, allowing cars to travel on the road.

The La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway required an investment of nearly VND11.5 trillion. In the first phase of the project, the road would have two lanes and be 77.5 kilometers long and 12 meters wide. A 66-kilometer section from La Son in Thua Thien-Hue to Hoa Lien in Danang has been developed first, while the 11.5-kilometer section from Hoa Lien to Tuy Loan is a section of the current National Highway 1, which will be completed using the State budget.

The expressway will connect with the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway to facilitate the fast and safe circulation of vehicles.

Local tourism segment reopened but with caution

Even though domestic tourism is slowly resuming while the end of Covid-19 is not in sight, the number of customers remains small and tour operators are hesitant to book services in advance.

According to local travel firms, since the end of last month, customers have been asking for information on tours. Some tours which were canceled during the Tet holiday have also been resumed.

They have organized new tours and expect the number of tourists to increase in the next two months.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, director of Marketing and Communication at Saigontourist, said tours to Phu Quoc, Dalat, Phan Thiet and Quy Nhon were the most popular among customers.

A representative of TST Tourist said the company had arranged its first tour to Phu Quoc from February 26 to 28 after the pandemic is brought under control. In March and April, the company will organize more tours to Hanoi, Danang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Nguyen Minh Man, head of the Marketing and Communications Department of TST Tourist, said tourists tend to choose destinations which are away from the center of localities, have a green and airy space and offer high-quality services.

In addition, more and more resorts have cooperated with tour operators and online tourism agents to launch tourism packages at competitive prices.

According to Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink, tourists have started to go on tours. However, the company’s main customers are small groups booking tours to Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon and Phu Yen.

Meanwhile, cities have attracted guests for events and seminars on a small and medium scale.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, CEO of the Chez Mimosa hotel chain, said the average occupancy rate of four Chez Mimosa hotels had reached 60%-70%.

The market is yet to recover completely but will be a foundation for the local tourism sector to prepare for the upcoming holidays.

Some companies have received bookings for Reunification Day, April 30, and International Labor Day, May 1, but the number of bookings remains modest due to customers’ concerns over the possible resurgence of the pandemic.

Thanh from Lien Bang Travelink said if the situation gets better, the tourism sector would recover. However, the company has not ordered as many services as it previously did, as nothing is for certain any more.

Some other companies have also ordered services for the upcoming holiday but must carefully work with hotels and air carriers to deal with possible problems in case of a resurgence of Covid-19.

The pandemic has changed customers’ habits and they no longer want to make advance payments. Travel companies, too, will not book air tickets, hotel rooms and restaurants until they know the exact number of tourists.

Hanoi nominates candidates for next term parliament

Half of the city’s parliament seats are appointed by the central bodies and the remaining proposed by the local authorities.

Hanoi has nominated 45 candidates for the 15th National Assembly (2021-2026), the country’s highest legislative body.

The city also nominated 190 candidates for the municipal People’s Council for the 2021-2026 term.

The nomination was complete at the first consultation meeting held in early February by the Vietnam Fatherland Front – Hanoi.

The nomination is aimed to select 29 lawmakers (including 14 chosen from candidates of the central bodies and the remaining proposed by the local administration) for the National Assembly (NA) and 95 representatives of the People’s Council.

Regarding nominees for the parliament, 35% of them are women and 65% are men.

Meanwhile, among candidates for the People’s Council, 11.56% are non-Party members, 36.32% are women, and 15.26% are aged below 40.

There are 2,091 candidates for 1,054 representatives of the People’s Council at district level while the figures at grassroots level are respectively 21,342 and 10,814.

Kien Giang sets aside over 750 million USD for building new-style rural areas

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang aims to have all of its 116 communes fulfil the criteria in the national target programme on building new-style rural areas in the 2021-25 period, with funding estimated at some 17.4 trillion VND (751.47 million USD).

In 2021 alone, nine communes strive to win recognition, while the districts of Vinh Thuan and Kien Luong as well as Ha Tien city are to accomplish the task of building new-style rural areas.

Local authorities also strive to fulfil targets on the rate of households with access to clean water of 99 percent and health insurance coverage of over 90 percent, and the reduction of the multidimensional poverty household rate of 1 percent while creating 35,000 jobs.

The province will bolster the transfer and application of modern technologies in agricultural production and consider models for large-scale agricultural production, supply chains, environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and agricultural cooperatives.

Due regard will be paid to the “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme, as Kien Giang aims to have up to 50 products of at least three-stars. Some 64 billion VND will be allocated for the implementation of the programme.

Kien Giang earmarked over 732 billion VND last year for building new-style rural areas, in particular infrastructure investment.

More than 6,365 km of rural roads were cemented and irrigation networks improved. The rate of poor households came down to 1.69 percent.

As of the end of January 2021, 81 communes in Kien Giang had been recognised as new-style rural areas. Eleven districts and cities had half of their localities complete necessary tasks./.

Air quality worsens as thick haze descends on Hanoi capital

The air quality in Hanoi sharply declined on the morning of March 8 to reach extremely unhealthy levels, exemplified by a thick layer of haze that is currently blanketing the capital.

Most notably, the AQI was recorded at the hazardous level of 159 on Hang Dau street, while the air quality at Hanoi Children’s Palace was measured at 156. Elsewhere in the capital, the AQI was at 154 on Cau Dien street, 153 on Thanh Cong street, and 152 on Pham Van Dong street. In addition, the air quality around the outskirts of the capital remained at low and average levels.

Worryingly, AQI levels above 100 are widely considered to be unhealthy. This means children, seniors, and others suffering from heart or lung problems should remain indoors, whilst local citizens have also been advised to don masks and protective eyewear in an effort to reduce exposure to pollutants.

According to health experts, haze and high humidity serve to limit air circulation, thereby causing air pollutants to stick at lower altitudes and slowly decreasing the air quality.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

A British man in Hanoi has set up a charity group to help homeless people overcome difficulties.

Christopher Axe

The Help Hanoi’s Homeless Club gathered on Thursday every week in front of Hanoi Railway Station to prepare food and other necessities before they spread out to the streets. The club was set up four years ago by Christopher Axe. Axe said that their presence on the streets would be some help for the homeless who are bullied, robbed and abused by other people. He hoped they could encourage other people to do the same to help homeless people.

One of the most memorable cases was when Axe met a grandmother and her grandchild. Before the club members arrived, someone poured hot water on the grandmother and scared the grandchild. Luckily, the group carried medicine with them. Axe tried to soothe the girl and asked her to make some animal noises.

Meeting at Hanoi Railway Station

As of now, the grandmother and her grandchild were admitted to a social protection centre and the girl is able to go to school and became more confident. When she met Axe occasionally, she was happy and made the animal noises they used to make. Axe said they all felt happy to be able to help them for a long time and gain their trust.

Even though the club could help homeless people with some minor health problems but they couldn’t do anything if their health turned worse.

Because of Covid-19 pandemic, the club has to travel in small groups of less than four people, wear face masks and have hand wash. They also made plans and contacted firms for help. If Hanoi is locked down again, Axe said, he would tell people in need to come to him and give them enough food, face masks, hand wash and clothes for a week. Some people had come to him for help during the previous outbreak. Not only did they receive help, but they were also told to return when things ran out.

Helping the homeless

Axe said it broke his heart when he heard stories about people being starved for days when cities were locked down for Covid-19 prevention.

Pham Phuong Mai, a club member, said, “I’ve participated in the club for two years after reading a post on social media. I felt scared at first because of all sort of people you might run into during the night but I became stronger and more active through the club’s activities.”

Upon receiving reports about homeless people in Hanoi, the club will scout out the area before preparing plans for help.

Dung, a homeless woman in Hanoi, said she set up a tent by a public toilet near Thong Nhat Park to sleep at night. “I have lived like this for years and I feel self-pity but what can I do. They often come here to help me. I’ll never forget their kindness during this hard time,” she said.