


By Quynh Yen, Mai An – Translated by Kim Khanh
Update latest news from Vietnam
By Quynh Yen, Mai An – Translated by Kim Khanh
Addressing the launch, Deputy Minister of Information and Telecommunications Hoang Vinh Bao said this marks a start of a series of events of this year’s Vietnam Book Day, a day to celebrate the reading culture nationwide.
Via the events, the organisers want to inspire a love for books among people around the country, encourage them to read more and make reading their habit, he said, adding that it will help spread the reading culture among the community.
A host of events, including a display of books about Ho Chi Minh City, a launch of books on digital transformation, and talks with renowned writers and poets, are scheduled on the Book Street from April 18 – 22.
Meanwhile, an online book fair is underway at book365.vn, featuring more than 70 domestic publishers and over 20,000 book titles. An online festival on book copyright will also take place from April 19 – 26, attracting around 50 domestic and international publishing houses.
Then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Decision No 284/QD-TTg on February 24, 2014, designating April 21 as Vietnam Book Day, in order to encourage a reading culture among the public.
by vov.vn
Located at No.18 Hoang Quoc Viet street in Hanoi, the Vietnam National Museum of Nature covers 300 square meters. On display are 1,400 items describing the life cycles of mammals, retiles, amphibians, insects, and plants which were present in Vietnam millions of years ago and recently discovered.
Opened in 2014, the museum is a great source of information on Vietnam’s flora and fauna. Nguyen Thi Ha of Tran Hung Dao high school in Hanoi said, “I’m learning a lot during my trip to the museum. I can see the diagrams and fossils with my own eyes. I’m really impressed by the specimens on display.”
The Vietnam National Museum of Nature takes visitors on trip back to ancient times, of which the species are categorized.
Visitor Nguyen Van Nam of Hanoi elaborated that “The exhibition is lively and thrilling. The exhibits demonstrate the knowledge that pupils learn at school so that they remember easily.”
The exhibition of the history of life features warm light and colors, very pleasing to the eyes. On display are fossils of the four geological development periods on Earth: the pre-Cambrian period (4,500 – 541 million years ago), the Mesozoic (541 – 252 million years ago), the Mesozoic (252 – 66 million years ago) and the Great Neoplasm (66 million years to present day).
The exhibition of animals features bone specimens of frogs, carp, king cobras, tigers, ostrichs, and pig-tailed monkeys, precise to the smallest details. The collection of insect exhibits at the Vietnam National Museum is the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, grouped into beetles, dragonflies, cicadas, mantis, and stick insects, some of them lived 400 million years ago.
Nguyen Thanh Tuan of Cau Giay Secondary School in Hanoi said, “I have never seen such butterflies in real life. They are incredibly colorful and totally different from what I can imagine. My visit to the museum today is really helping enrich my knowledge.”
The exhibition of marine creatures features corals, shellfish, amphibians, and reptiles that are extinct. A panel is erected at each exhibition providing a short description.
Visitors to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature can learn to create specimens, paint the animals, and watch 3D movies about the evolution of humans, fish, dinosaurs, and insects and how the universe and the ocean have changed.
Vu Van Lien, Vice Director of the Vietnam National Museum of Nature, said, “Visitors are introduced to the formation of life. Here we teach them about the nature and infuse their love for nature. Everyone is responsible for protecting the environment.”
Entrance to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature is free from Thursday to Sunday.
It was a weekend morning when anime fan Minh Trang traveled to Ho Chi Chi Minh City from neighboring Binh Duong Province to attend the seventh Japan Vietnam Festival.
“I learned about the festival from a friend,” Trang told Tuoi Tre News .
“I love Japanese culture so I decided to come here.”
Trang was accompanied by her friend, Khang, who freestyled his anime-inspired outfit.
The duo has drawn the attention of the event goers, with several jumping to ask for photos with them.
Besides Trang and Khang, a number of cosplay fans also showed up with their favorite characters’ outfits at the fest jointly held by Japan and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.
The festival taking place at 23/9 Park in District 1 on April 17 and 18 gathered around 100 booths, aming to introduce the two countries’ tourism, local specialties, cuisine, culture, education, and technology.
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Grilled foods are seen at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
One of the crowded booths was the baseball area where visitors could try playing the sport which is popular in Japan with the instruction from Japanese coaches, as well as buying baseball-inspired souvenirs.
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A woman tries playing baseball while others stand around to watch at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
Another highlight of the event was the main stage which showcased performances of Vietnamese and Japanese artists, from traditional folk music to modern pop songs.
The seventh Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi MinH City had been postponed for several times before being able to take place in April due to COVID-19.
Speaking through a livestreamed video, Takebe Tsutomu, representative for the festival’s organizing board from the Japanese side, expressed his gratitude to see the event happen thanks to the constant effort of the Vietnamese and Japanese governments as well as relevant agencies.
He also expressed his hope that the fest would create a better future for the two countries of Vietnam and Japan.
Meanwhile, Vo Van Hoan, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, took the stage to affirm the strong bond between Japan and Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, referring to Japan as “one of the close and sustainable partners” of the southern metropolis.
“People in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have always cherished Japan,” he stated.
“Following the success of previous festivals, this year’s event will continue to promote Japanese cultural specialties so that Vietnamese and foreigners living in Ho Chi Minh City could experience them as if they were in Japan.”
The first Japan Vietnam festival was organized in Ho Chi Minh City in 2013.
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Staff pose for a photo at a booth selling Hello Kitty products at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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A young woman dons Japanese yukata and poses for a photo at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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People line up to do a survey by the Japan National Tourism Organization and exchange gifts at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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A paper flower displays a wish for ‘everyone to feel peace, happiness, and joy, as well as for the COVID-19 epidemic to be over’ hung on a wishing tree in front of a booth at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Paper craft products are displayed at a booth at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Japan’s famous snack ‘takoyaki,’ or octopus balls, are shown at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Booths showcase foods and other types of product at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Vietnamese ao dai (traditional long gowns) are displayed at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Festival goers visit a booth selling products made from lotus at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News |
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Red-crowned cranes, an endangered bird species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species, were spotted at the Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap Province, located in southern Vietnam, after one year of disappearing from the area.
Three red-crowned cranes were seen perching at Tram Chim on Friday afternoon, confirmed Le Thanh Cu, deputy director of the nature reserve.
Do Minh Chanh, a guard at the Tram Chim National Park, said the family of three were sighted in this area from 2017 to 2019.
However, no red-crowned crane was seen at Tram Chim, as well as other locations in Vietnam, in 2020.
The cranes usually descend on the park from December to May, which is southern Vietnam’s dry season, to forage and mate prior to the onset of rainy weather, according to news site VnExpress .
The birds may only stay in Tram Chim for a few days this year, as it has already been April, said Nguyen Hoai Bao, deputy director of the Center for Forest and Wetland Research.
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Red-crowned cranes are spotted flying above Phu My Lepironia articulate grass fields in Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Hoang Tuan |
“As it has started raining in the dipterocarp forest in Cambodia, the grass foliage there began to prosper, bringing in insects and frogs,” Bao explained.
“Hence, the [red-crowned cranes] tend to return there to hunt and save energy for the mating season.”
The consistently high water level in the forest during past months, which did not fully recede until April, had hampered the normal hunting activity of the red-crowned cranes and deterred the birds from revisiting the national park in 2020, he pointed out.
“It’s still too early to celebrate,” Bao said.
“We are working to change the way the local system is managed so that the habitat for the cranes is recovered, but it may take years.”
The red-crowned cranes have returned to the area for about half a month, according to Lam Hong Tuan, deputy head of the wildlife conservation management authority at Phu My Lepironia articulate grass fields in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.
This year, they have abandoned the regular Lepironia articulate grass fields and retreated to more remote areas, Tuan added.
“They head to Phu My during the day, then go to Anlung Pring in Cambodia in the afternoon,” Tuan said.
“They will leave when they see humans.”
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The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has asked all localities to make necessary preparations for the potential effect of Super Typhoon Surigae as it is lurking near the East Vietnam Sea.
Surigae was 420 kilometers east of the central Philippines as of 7:00 am on Sunday, packing winds at 200-220km per hour, according to the National Center for Hydro-metrological Forecasting.
In the next 24 hours, the super typhoon is forecast to travel northwest at five to ten kilometers per hour.
By 7:00 am on Monday, Surigae will have been 300 kilometers east of the central Philippines.
By 7:00 am on Tuesday, it will have been 300 kilometers southeast of Luzon Island, with wind speed slightly decreasing to between 185 and 200km per hour.
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The expected route of Super Typhoon Surigae from April 18 to 23, 2021. Photo: National Center for Hydro-metrological Forecasting |
The typhoon is extremely powerful and dangerous, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control warned, adding that it may change course and directly affect the East Vietnam Sea, where many fishing boats are operating.
The committee asked authorities in the coastal localities from northern Quang Ninh Province to southern Ca Mau Province to closely monitor the development of Surigae.
Corresponding measures must be taken to ensure safety for local residents and production activities.
Rescue units and vehicles must be ready to promptly deal with any situation.
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