Giveaway winner announcement

The 69th edition of the prestigious pageant previously was canceled over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Nguyen Tran Khanh Van from HCMC was announced as the winner of the 2019 Miss Universe Vietnam beauty contest. Born in 1995, she is 1.76 m tall with body measurements of 83-60-91cm. The beauty has been chosen to represent Vietnam at Miss Universe 2020.

Khanh Van has recently joined a program titled “One Body Village”, aiming at rescuing, restoring, and rebuilding lives of children affected by sexual abuse in Vietnam. She was also one of the ambassadors of the HCMC Ao Dai festival 2020.

Launched in 1952, Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. This pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world.

Singer Thuy Lam won Miss Universe Vietnam which was held for the first time in 2008. Pham Thi Huong, from the northern port city of Hai Phong was winner of the Miss Universe Vietnam 2015.

H’Hen Nie, a girl of E De ethnic minority group crowned Miss Universe Vietnam 2017. She represented Vietnam made it to the Top 5 alongside, Miss Philippines, Miss Puerto Rico, Miss South Africa and Miss Venezuela at the final round of the Miss Universe 2018 concluding in Bangkok, Thailand.

Miss Universe Vietnam 2019, Khanh Van has shared her new photographs which follow her journey in preparation for the Miss Universe 2020 pageant.

The achievements of Vietnamese women “steering” large corporations have been recognized internationally.

New York (VNA) – Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy , Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, on February 24 underscored the importance of international assistance in the conflict-affected Central African Republic at an UN Security Council (UNSC) videoconference, which discussed ongoing violence in the country.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix , UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, told the conference that the Central African Republic has continued to suffer from violence despite the announcement of the official result of the presidential election in December 2020.

Citing important progress in recent weeks in combating the armed coalition group known as Coalition des Patriotes pour le Changement, he said the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is providing security to thousands of internally displaced persons, while also supporting efforts to safeguard the democratic order.

The Central African Republic has now become the most dangerous place for humanitarian work, with over 46 percent of worldwide incidents registered by international non-governmental organisations reported in the country.

In his speech, Quy said Vietnam backs the recent efforts of the UN as well as of regional and subregional organisations, including the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to support the Central African Republic.

He took the occasion to urge all concerned parties to resolve differences in a peaceful manner. This effort towards political stability and reconciliation must go hand in hand with the promotion of trust and confidence, he noted.

Calling for the sides involved to respect the election results and handle differences through dialogues, representatives from other UNSC members stressed the importance of implementing the 2019 peace agreement between the local government and armed groups to facilitate long-term political measures.

They supported the efforts made by the African Union and the MINUSCA in the matter./.

VNA

New York (VNA) – Vietnam is concerned about cases of using or threatening to use force in international relations, which go against the UN Charter and harm international peace and security, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, has said.

Quy was addressing an UN Security Council (UNSC)’s videoconference Arria-formula meeting on February 24 themed “Upholding the collective security system of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defense” with the participants of nearly 30 member countries of the UN Security Council and the UN.

He stressed that all countries are obliged to build friendship relations and form a culture of upholding the UN Charter and international law as well as abiding by principles in sovereignty and territorial integrity, not interfering into internal affairs of other states, not using or threatening to use force, and dealing with disputes peacefully.

The diplomat said that the UNSC should work to enhance the observance of international law and promote the role of international law and UN Charter as a vital tool in maintaining international peace and security, while increasing its coordination with regional organisations and international legal agencies in coping with disputes, maintaining peace and preventing conflicts.

He underlined the need to avoid the abuse and re-explanation of the UN Charter, suggesting the UNSC continue to creating favourable conditions for countries to get access to affairs and documents of the council to promote open and transparent discussions in the field.

Noting that this topic has been mostly discussed among scholars, Naz Modirzadeh, Director of the Harvard Law School Programme on International Law and Armed Conflict, said that all countries are authorised and responsible in building international law, including the responsibility in protecting the principle of not using force.

She proposed that all countries should actively engage in open discussions on the theory of the rights to self-defence and improve the capacity to get access to announcements and discussions at the UNSC in the field.

Participants at the event underlined the principle of not using or threatening to use force, which is a foundation for the collective security system in line with the UN Charter and the UNSC’s function in maintaining international peace and security.

They affirmed that the only exception is the case that is allowed by the UNSC or to implement the right to self-defence. They called for the upholding of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and stability, while exchanging ideas on the explanation and application of Article 51 of the UN Charter on the legal basis for the use of force as a means of self-defence, as well as on the situation in specific countries and regions./.

VNA

The Hanoitimes – The partnership is expected to develop a hub for LNG imported from the US.

US energy firm AES Corporation and Petrovietnam Gas JSC (PV Gas) on Wednesday signed a term sheet of the joint venture agreement for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with a US$1.4 billion investment in central Vietnam.

AES Corp. and PV Gas sign deal at IPBF at the presensence of Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink. Photo: AES Vietnam

With the agreement signed during the 3rd Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) held in Hanoi on October 28-29, the joint venture is expected to speed up Son My LNG Terminal’s financial completion which is scheduled in 2022 and commercial operations in 2025.

The Son My LNG terminal complements AES’ investment in gas infrastructure around the country, with its previously announced US$1.8 billion 2,200 megawatts (MW) combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant.

Together, the plant and terminal will play a major role in shaping Vietnam’s energy future by diversifying the energy mix with imported LNG as well as meeting the country’s increasing demand for sustainable and affordable electricity.

“This is an important milestone for the development of the Son My LNG terminal and our CCGT power plant. With these two projects, AES is fully committed to the country’s growth in cleaner energy sources and offering the most reliable and affordable electricity to support the continued economic growth of Vietnam,” said President of AES Vietnam David Stone.

As part of the signing ceremony, AES also received a Letter of Interest from the US’ Eximbank and International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support the Son My LNG Terminal and Son My 2 CCGT projects with a loan amount of US$3.2 billion.

Making comments in pre-recorded remarks to a business conference hosted both online and in person in Hanoi, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said Vietnam has approved the project and that it would “open the door to billions of dollars per year in US LNG exports to Vietnam. That’s a real win-win situation.”

Virginia-based AES Corp. and its Vietnamese partners have been gradually ramping up efforts to develop a hub for importing LNG from the US over the past several years.

Viettel brand value increasing by year (unit: billion $)

Viettel has been valued at $6.016 billion (up 3.4 per cent on-year) in the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 Ranking. This is the only Vietnamese brand in the list, ranking 325th in the world, as well as the only Southeast Asian telecommunication brand in the ranking.

According to Brand Finance, there are 34 telecommunication brands in the top 500, however, most of their brands’ value decreased at an average 2 per cent. Viettel did better than numerous well-known global brands like Nescafé (from Switzerland), Qualcomm (US), Spotify (Sweden), Lenovo (China), or Claro (Mexico).

Viettel’s brand value has doubled since transforming from a telecommunication provider to a pioneer in building digital society in 2018. In early 2021, Viettel announced repositioning its brand by forming six key platforms of a digital society including digital infrastructure, digital solutions, digital content, digital finance, cybersecurity, and high-tech research and development, which contribute to boosting Viettel’s brand value.

Additionally, the 2020 business performance of Viettel was quite good with VND264 trillion ($11.5 billion), up 4.4 per cent on-year, reaching 102.4 per cent of the yearly plan. The revenue of digital services increased by 27.7 per cent, doubling the average growth of the local IT industries (14.7 per cent). The company has also provided market-leading platforms for digital services, as well as for the government, ministries, and agencies.