How urgent do you need it

Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas holds an umbrella at the Mercedes area after the practice session was cancelled due to bad weather conditions at the Nuerburgring circuit in Nuerburg, western Germany, on October 9, 2020, ahead of the German Formula One Eifel Grand Prix.(WOLFGANG RATTAY / POOL / AFP)

Talking to reporters at the Eifel Grand Prix Wolff said both drivers were confined to their rooms after rain and fog forced the cancellation of opening practice.

“They are the most restricted of the whole group, of the whole team,” said Wolff, who confirmed that Mercedes had flown six replacement staff to Germany on Thursday after the team was re-tested, resulting in six team members going into isolation.

“It’s certainly not a great situation for them because you need almost to live like a hermit – and that is what they are doing.

“They are at home, they are not going out for dinners and they are not meeting other people. When we do de-briefs, by Zoom or Microsoft Teams, they are not sitting their engineers in the room.

“They are in their own rooms and we are all avoiding as much as possible any personal contact. It’s just literally stepping into the car and then driving the car and keeping distance.”

Wolff said he believed Mercedes had the outbreak under control.

“Every loss of an important member in the garage affects the race, but I think we’ve got it under control,” he said.

The team had announced on Thursday that one person from their travelling race team had record a positive test ahead of this weekend’s race at Nurburgring.

As a result, the team re-tested everyone at the circuit, an exercise that resulted in another positive test and one that was inconclusive.

Both of those team members were immediately put into isolation along with four others.

The team flew six reserve staff to Germany on Thursday, a decision that maintained the numbers at the track, but has thrown the champions’ race preparations into difficulty.

Six-time world champion Hamilton who is making a second attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix victories, described the events as “a concern”.

Speaking on Thursday, he said: “It’s sad to hear, for the guys that work so hard. We obviously had this week in between [races] and those guys work so hard to stay safe and be here on the weekends.”

Mercedes said they are following strictly all of the protocols laid down by the sport’s ruling body the International Motoring Federation (FIA), adding that they are not releasing any further information.

Rice loaded for export. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

In order to take advantage of FTAs ​​and increase the Vietnamese rice export market share at more competitive prices, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to co-ordinate with ministries, branches and the Viet Nam Food Association to help businesses effectively implement the deals and make the most of markets such as South Korea and the EU.

The ministry would implement solutions on mechanisms and policies to remove technical and trade barriers, internalise international commitments, customs procedures, logistics and credit as well as building and developing brands to create a premise for rice export enterprises to exploit the markets, said Tran Quoc Toan, deputy director of the Import and Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

For rice exporters as well as farmers, Toan noted the need to be more proactive in improving the competitiveness of products through quality and price as well as building and protecting trade to diversify markets towards sustainable exports.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported the volume of rice exported reached 450,000 tonnes with a value of US$246 million last month.

The cumulative amount of rice exported in the first three months of this year rose 1.1 million tonnes, while the value hit $606 million, down 30.4 per cent in volume and 17.4 per cent in value over the same period last year.

Nguyen Van Don, director of Viet Hung Co., Ltd in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tien Giang, said that the reason for the decline in rice exports was partly as the first quarter of this year coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday.

In addition, the first two months of the year were between-crop periods when the rice supply was limited while the price was high, so it was difficult for businesses to negotiate export contracts.

Although the company’s rice export volume declined by more than 30 per cent over the same period for the first three months of the year, the export rice price rose by about 20 per cent. The two largest import markets are still the Philippines and China.

Meanwhile, Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An High-Tech Farming JSC in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho, said that the first quarter’s rice export dropped significantly in volume due to a shortage of empty containers and soaring freight rates.

“Customers still need to import, but enterprises cannot order containers to pack their goods, the shortage of empty containers has pushed freight rates up 600-700 per cent, from $1,000 to $6,000-7,000 per container. With this rate, not only rice exporters but also other firms are facing difficulties. This situation means the importer had to consider delaying the time of receiving the goods or looking for closer sources to reduce costs,” said Binh.

Commenting on this issue, Toan said that although the amount of rice exported in the first quarter of this year declined compared to the same period last year, the price of rice for export grew due to high demand for food reserves around the world, which has pushed up the general level of world rice prices.

Thai and Indian rice prices have also hit record highs in recent years.

Viet Nam’s rice price continued to remain at a high level of $547 per tonne by the end of the first quarter of this year, up 18.6 per cent, equivalent to an increase of $86 per ton compared to the same period last year. The current price of rice has been and is benefiting the rice farmers.

Vietnamese rice was being purchased by importers at high prices due to the improved quality of Vietnamese rice, said Toan.

Vietnamese rice exporters were increasingly focusing on improving quality and traceability to meet the strict standards of export markets such as the EU, South Korea, and the US, Toan said.

In addition, Viet Nam has entered into many trade agreements with many strategic countries and regions such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and more recently the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). — VNS

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue chaired a meeting with the NA Standing Committee’s working commission for deputies’ affairs in Hanoi on April 19.

At the session, the commission suggested policies are needed to recruit a specific number of experts as full-time deputies when building personnel options and conducting the process of nominating candidates for the election of deputies to the NA.

The NA Chairman highlighted a large number of works to be done in preparation for the upcoming elections of deputies to the 15th legislature and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021 – 2026 tenure.

He asked the commission to work with the office of the National Election Council (NEC) to direct and provide guidance on the works.

Underscoring the preparation for the elections as the foremost task, Hue requested the commission collect results of provincial-level third consultative conferences to soon make a report to the NEC.

After the elections, the commission will have to conduct a series of works, including preparation for the summarisation of the elections and developing a training programme for elected deputies, among others.

Hue also asked the body to begin building a project on enhancing deputies’ working capacity right from now./.

The directive was sent to the ministries of public securities, transport, information and communications, the National Committee for Traffic Safety, news agencies and provincial and municipal people’s committees.

Under the directive, the PM said efforts are needed to improve the capacity of public transport services to meet increasing demand for travel during the holidays.

Transport companies, stations, airports, railway stations, terminals and inland waterways were required to strictly comply with the traffic safety regulations; promote the application of electronic ticket sales; improve service quality; reduce traffic jams, delays and illegal price hikes and at the same time, strictly comply with regulations on prevention and control of the pandemic.

The PM asked the ministries and agencies to strengthen security and order at the major traffic routes, shopping centres, entertainment venues and major tourist and festival destinations. Illegal bus stations, vehicles that fail to meet technical safety standards and carry more than the prescribed number of people will be punished, the PM said.

Traffic infrastructure will be checked, including signals, warning signs and warning equipment in places that have a high risk of traffic accidents. Tollbooths will assign more workers to collect fees quickly to reduce traffic jams.

Drivers must ensure passenger safety by driving more carefully on steep roads and through level crossings, he added.

Increased inspections should be used to strictly punish traffic regulation violators, especially those who cause traffic accidents.

Public order disturbances, illegal racing and violations against public servants on duty should be strictly dealt with, at the same safety of COVID-19 prevention for enforcement forces and people need to be ensured.

Local departments of transport were also asked to remind people of the importance of wearing helmets and obeying regulations to minimise accidents and strictly comply with anti-virus protocols.

Hotlines to receive traffic complaints should be widely publicised, he added.

The PM also requested news agencies to regularly update traffic accidents, traffic jams, information to support travel guidance during the holidays and encourage citizens to strictly comply with traffic safety regulations.

Reports on these efforts will be sent to the National Committee for Traffic Safety before 3pm on May 3 to submit to the Prime Minister.

Source: VNA