Easter 2017 easter

Secretary of the Party Committee of Vinh Long province’s Vinh Long city Dang Van Chinh (centre) presents a gift to congratulate Bishop Huynh Van Hai of the Diocese of Vinh Long on April 1 (Photo: VNA)

Vinh Long (VNA) – Officials of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long visited the palace of the Catholic Diocese of Vinh Long and the local representative board of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) on April 1 to offer Easter greetings.

Wishing Catholics and Protestants a happy Easter, Standing Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Bui Van Nghiem informed about the province’s socio-economic development, attributing common achievements partly to contributions by local Catholics and Protestants.

He expressed his hope that with their positions, role, and prestige, the Catholic and Protestant dignitaries will continue joining local authorities to encourage followers to continue complying with the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws and taking part in emulation campaigns, thus helping with the fast and sustainable development of Vinh Long.

In particular, as the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021 – 2026 tenure are on the horizon, he called for the active participation of local religious followers so as to ensure the success of the elections.

Standing Vice Secretary of the Vinh Long provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Bui Van Nghiem (R) presents flowers to Pastor Nguyen Hoang Phuc, head of the Vinh Long representative board of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), on April 1 (Photo: VNA)

On behalf of Catholics, Bishop Huynh Van Hai of the Diocese of Vinh Long highlighted the significance of the Easter and thanked the provincial authorities’ sentiment towards local Catholic followers.

Meanwhile, Pastor Nguyen Hoang Phuc, head of the Vinh Long representative board of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), appreciated the provincial leaders’ attention to and support for the Church, especially in religious practices.

Protestants are always aware of their responsibilities towards local socio-economic development, he affirmed, adding that dignitaries have been encouraging followers to fulfill citizens’ obligations and actively participate in the coming elections./.

The Easter celebration was a fund raising event with free entry. Traditional festival activities like painting and hunting Easter eggs, making cookies and meeting the Easter bunny were enjoyed by both kids and adults. Those attending the celebrations were also able to buy delicious sweets and other treats like cookies, black forest cakes, chocolate and ice cream, not to mention beautiful handicraft products. They also had a chance to win amazing prices at the Easter Charity Raffle.

Dr. Jose Wallat, German Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, introduced guests to Easter traditions in Germany as well as activities that would be held in Ho Chi Minh City. Those attending the Easter celebrations were able to learn about German traditions and experience a German cultural holiday atmosphere.

The Easter celebration was organized in collaboration with German Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Quilts.

My Phung

Demonstrators from the Zero-Covid movement, which advocates strict self-isolation and repeated testing, display a banner reading: “Healthcare instead of Wealth care” in front of the chancellery in Berlin on March 22, 2021, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel conducts talks with Germany’s regional leaders to determin the country’s policies amid a Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.(John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered the harsh nationwide measures after marathon talks with regional leaders, warning a potent strain of coronavirus was raging through the EU’s most populous country.

“The situation is serious,” Merkel said. “Case numbers are rising exponentially and intensive care beds are filling up again.”

A variant first identified in the United Kingdom has become the dominant strain circulating in Germany, the under-pressure leader said, adding that “we are in a new pandemic”.

“Essentially, we have a new virus… it is much deadlier, much more infectious and infectious for much longer.”

Cultural, leisure and sporting facilities will stay shuttered through to April 18, and a lockdown will come into force between April 1 and 5, as Christians celebrate Easter.

Almost all shops will be closed across the five days, and religious services will be moved online.

– AstraZeneca ‘problem’ –

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Monday that US trials showed its drug was 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease.

However, a spat is simmering between Britain and the EU over much-needed supplies of the jab, which is cheaper and easier to store than many of its rivals.

European officials are furious that the Anglo-Swedish heavyweight has been able to deliver its UK contract in full while falling short on its supplies to the EU.

Merkel on Tuesday threw her weight behind the bloc, which has threatened to ban AstraZeneca vaccines produced in the bloc from being exported unless it delivers more of the 90 million doses it agreed to supply in the first quarter of 2021.

“I support Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,” said Merkel.

“We have a problem with AstraZeneca,” she added.

On top of the quarrel over exports, public confidence in the company’s jab has tumbled after several countries suspended its rollout because of isolated cases of blood clots.

A survey by British pollsters YouGov showed that a majority of people in the biggest EU states view the vaccine as unsafe.

The EU’s medicines regulator and the WHO insist there is no evidence linking the drug to blood clots, and none was found in the large-scale trials in the US.

– ‘Grotesque’ vaccine gap –

Globally, the coronavirus crisis that first emerged in China in December 2019 has killed more than 2.7 million people and infected over 123 million, according to official data collated by AFP.

Vaccination drives are seen as crucial to overcoming the pandemic and navigating countries out of brutal restrictions that continue to paralyse economies around the world.

More than 430 million jabs have now been administered globally, mostly in wealthier nations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday slammed the “grotesque” vaccine gap, calling it a “moral outrage”.

“Countries that are now vaccinating younger, healthy people at low risk of disease are doing so at the cost of the lives of health workers, older people and other at-risk groups in other countries,” he said.

– Banksy fundraiser –

Britain on Tuesday marks the anniversary of its first coronavirus lockdown with a “National Day of Reflection”, which will see parliament hold a minute’s silence in tribute to the more than 126,000 people who have died.

The country ranks fifth in the world for both virus cases and deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the last year has “taken a huge toll” and called the anniversary “an opportunity to reflect on the past year — one of the most difficult in our country’s history”.

The country’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) has been under huge strain, and on Tuesday a painting by UK street artist Banksy is expected to raise millions of pounds for health workers.

The artist left a note with the painting thanking hospital staff for their work battling the pandemic.

“Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens up the place a bit, even if it’s only in black and white,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, a study released on Monday showed children who are 10 and younger produce more antibodies in response to coronavirus infection than adolescents and adults.

The authors of the paper, which appeared in JAMA Network Open, said the finding helped illuminate why children are less susceptible to severe Covid-19 than adults — though this is still an area of very active research and many factors are believed to be at play.

AFP

HÀ NỘI — Tây Tựu Village in Bắc Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội is dubbed the “capital” of a variety of flowers in the city, including Easter lilies.

The flowers are watered to retain their freshness before being cut for sale. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

In recent days, farmers in the village have been seen busy harvesting Easter lilies, which are called “the flower of April” as they bloom in the month every year.

However, the crop this year bloomed about a month earlier than usual. Easter lilies started to bloom and be ready to be harvested at the beginning of March.

The aerial view of the fields of Easter Lilies. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

According to Nguyễn Thị Sâu, a 38-year-old farmer in Tây Tựu Village, Easter lilies are normally planted in August and September but it takes from three to four years to harvest the flowers.

Easter lilies are tied in bunches and taken to the local markets for sale. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

They are favoured by local people because they are easy to take care of, demand low investment and can be replanted. With proper care, a single stalk can produce up to three to four flowers.

“The price this year is more reasonable than last year. My family started to harvest the flowers in early March. The price is higher on the first and 15th day of the lunar months,” Sâu said.

A farmer in Tây Tựu Village harvests Easter lilies to sell to traders and at the local market. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

The wholesale price is about VNĐ160,000 – 180,000 (US$7-8) per bundle of 100 flowers while the retail price is about VNĐ200,000 ($9) per bundle of 100 flowers.

“Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has been under control so the price of Easter lilies has not declined as much as the period before Tết (Lunar New Year)”, she added. VNS

A Hanoi young woman in áo dài (Vietnamese traditional dress) takes photo with a bouquet of Easter lilies by the Sword Lake. VNS Photo Trương Vị

Mau Thuy at a training session (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – Growing up in her mother’s small food shop, Mau Thuy proudly takes the limelight at domestic and international catwalks, becoming an outstanding representative for Vietnam’s beauty following her title of a runner-up of the 2017 Miss Universe Vietnam .

Thuy is not only a model, but also takes on various roles such as a member of a jury of the Vietnam’s Next Top Model, a fashion designer of The Golden Women collection, and currently a model trainer at a academy in Vietnam.

A beautiful model and runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam, she at the same time is very talented.

Career concerns

Thuy fulfilled criteria and model skills as the winner of the 2013 Vietnam’s Next Top Model . The success quickly catapulted her to renowned catwalks and covers of prestigious fashion magazines at home and abroad.

In 2016, Thuy travelled to New York and became an exclusive model for Wilhelmina Models management firm. At the time, she faced plenty of challenges to stand firmly in one of the four largest fashion capitals of the world.

Each time the model attended an audition, she had to stand several hours straight to wait for her turn, and competed with hundred of models from all over the world in a bid to perform in a show. The number of her rivals was even larger in auditions for major brands.

Catwalk training (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Luckily, the 179-cm-tall model was able to sign numerous contracts, including those with Carlisle Collections, Jamesallen, Shu Uemura, and Maybelline New York – a world’s famous cosmetics brand along with Victoria’s Secret supermodel Gigi Hadid.

Her vibe and facial expressions are among her outstanding advantages. The 28-year-old model is also aware of those strengths to make full use of them in her photos.

However, aside from the glamorous limelight, proud walks on the stage and fashionable outfits, unbeknownst to many, Thuy was helping her mother running business to earn their living.

In whichever jobs, she always feels happy, regardless whether they are manual or sophisticated. She sets her mind to do everything properly.

Thuy was really concerned about how to make the public better understand and sympathise more with hardships and ups and downs of models, as well as recognise modelling as a normal job like others.

Thuy shows her enthusiasm in all her jobs (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A multicolour gemstone

Not only a model and runner-up of a beauty pageant , Thuy also challenged herself in a new role of scouting and training future models. She is said to have a creative and new style of teaching.

This time, she teamed up with the beU model academy which has trained various professional models of the Vietnamese fashion industry.

At the course titled “Be Professional Model”, with her experiences of more than 10 years in modelling, instead of talking about basic knowledge on the catwalk, Thuy challenged trainees through an audition for the beU Academy.

Thuy directly shows a trainee how to pose (Photo: VietnamPlus)

At the audition, the trainees have to show off their catwalk skills and take part in a photo shoot. Thuy directly gave assessment and guidance on catwalk skills and how to pose in front of the camera, while offering chances for the trainees to share their expectations for attending the audition.

As a trainer, Thuy said she gives special attention to practice rather than theory, so that the future generation of models could adapt to all circumstances and satisfy higher demands of professional catwalks at home and world’s fashion capitals. She was very excited for this new job.

With her efforts over the time, Thuy has shown the public that she is a multicolour gemstone with talents./.