Humane society of southern arizona

People in HCM City travel in heavy rain earlier this month. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

HCM CITY — The rainy season will begin two or three weeks earlier than usual in the south this year because of the La Nina phenomenon, the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station has forecast.

Lê Đình Quyết, its deputy head, said the rains usually start between May 10 and 15.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines La Nina as cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean impacting global weather patterns.

It occurs every three to four years and can persist for as long as two years.

The station said heavy rains would occur in the afternoons and from now until June.

In August, when La Nina’s influence will reduce, the weather will be back to a neutral state, with strong convection clouds causing thunderstorms and winds.

La Nina returns to Việt Nam after a decade, but its influence has not been serious yet, according to hydro-meteorologist Lê Thị Xuân Lan .

However, it is unpredictable so the country should take preventive measures against natural disasters.

The earlier arrival of rains will help southern provinces and cities have “comfortable” weather during summer this year.

According to experts, because of La Nina, the rainy season will also be shorter, and rainfall will be lower than normal.

Lan warned that southern provinces and cities should start storing water.

There has been heavy rain in many parts of HCM City, causing streets to flood and trees to fall, injuring several people, damaging cars and motorbikes.

Nhiêu Lộc canal was polluted with garbage after the heavy rains, causing fish to die. — VNS

Tiling of pavements in a residential neighbourhood meant for the households having to relocate to make room for the Long Thành International Airport in the southern province of Đồng Nai. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Phong

HÀ NỘI — The State-run Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV) said it is committed to start construction of Long Thành International Airport’s passenger terminal early next year.

ACV, which is the investor of the expensive and ambitious transport hub project in the southern province of Đồng Nai, told the transport ministry in a meeting held on Monday that the first component of the project – demining – is ongoing, while walls surrounding the land intended for the project (1,810ha of priority area) are being simultaneously carried out.

The whole thing is expected to be complete by September this year.

ACV asked Đồng Nai Province’s authorities to continue supporting the contractors in ensuring security and protecting the boundary markers during the entire project.

Ground levelling, water drainage, and other essential works, will then follow so that the construction of the passenger terminal of the airport can begin in early 2022.

At the meeting, ACV also requested the authorities to soon finish land acquisition for land clearance at the two roads connecting to the airport, with an “appropriate compensation scheme” for the affected households.

Cao Tiến Dũng, Chairman of Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee, said that a compensation scheme has already been approved by the Government and used in thousands of cases of affected households.

However, recently the State Audit Office of Việt Nam after review has recommended some changes to this approved scheme, but if the province is to follow through and cut down on the compensation level for the remaining households that have not moved yet would certainly lead to complaints and hinder land clearance progress.

Therefore, Đồng Nai has asked the Government to maintain the compensation scheme originally approved, to create “uniformity” in the policy.

Dũng said the province is set to hand over the entire 5,000ha allocated for the project to the investor in June, and soon finish the temporary rehousing plans to move the affected households in the priority area of the project.

3,000ha of this total area involves the land of households and individuals.

By mid-April, the compensation scheme was approved for 4,000 households and individuals (out of the total 4,800), with 2,300 already receiving a total of VNĐ5.4 trillion (US$234.8 million) for a total of 1,100ha.

Next week, Long Thành District’s authorities would pay compensation worth VNĐ1.2 trillion for 811 households with 284ha.

Deputy transport minister Lê Anh Tuấn said Long Thành is one of the breakthrough project of the national transport sector in the 2021-25 period, urging all parties to coordinate and facilitate the progress of all components of the project and disburse the allocated State capital.

ACV and Đồng Nai should work together to see which compensation level is appropriate, Anh Tuấn said.

The transport official also urged careful consideration and preparations to deal with problems arising from the airport’s surrounding walls, including potential waterlogging issues in the adjacent residential households.

Long Thành International Airport will be built in three phases over three decades, and is expected to become the country’s largest airport.

In the first phase, one runway with a length of 4,000m, taxiways, an apron, and a passenger terminal with other auxiliary works sprawling 373,000 sq.m will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The airport is designed to have four runways, four passenger terminals, and other auxiliary facilities to ensure a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2040.

It is expected to cost VNĐ336.63 trillion ($14.5 billion), with the first phase needing over VNĐ109 trillion. — VNS

Camellia Flosculora (Photo: Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park)

Dr Le Van Huong, director of the park, told Viet Nam News that reports of the new four plants – including two camellia species (Camellia Flosculora and Camellia bidoupensis) and two begonia species (begonia hongiaoensis and begonia lamdongiana) – have been recently published by Phytotaxa (a botany journal); Brittonia (a peer-reviewed botanical journal) and International Camellia Society.

Huong said the discoveries were thanks to the great efforts made by researchers and scientists during field surveys at the park.

He said the results once again prove the rich biodiversity of the park and the importance of international cooperation in research on finding new species.

The four new species were found at the park during field surveys by scientists from the Southern Institute of Ecology, the Da Lat University, the VNU University of Science, Dr Cecilia Koo Botanic Conservation Centre (KBCC), a non-governmental organisation for tropical plant conservation in Taiwan, and the park in the 2018-20 period.

Several new or newly recorded species were found in recent investigations in the park under the ‘Botanical survey in Lang Biang Plateau’, that helped increase the inventory of botanical diversity of Vietnam.

At least 90 begonia species were reported in Vietnam, and only three Begonia species had been found in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.

It is clear that this is an underestimation because over three begonias have been recorded based on field surveys. Due to the vast land area of the forest, more new begonias could be expected once more areas within the National Park are explored botanically, reports said.

The Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, which covers roughly 70,000 hectares, 91 percent of which is primary forest, is rich in flora and fauna.

About 2,075 species of flora – one-sixth of Vietnam’s total – have been found here, while 301 bird species (30 per cent of all birds in the country) have also been spotted.

Huong said the newest camellia (Polyspora huongiana), discovered in 2012 by biologists from both Vietnam and the Royal Botanic Garden Australia, was named after him for his scientific contributions to conservation.

The park has been cooperating with the World Bank (WB), the Asia Development Bank (ADB), JICA, USAID, and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) in different programmes focusing on the research and protection of flora and fauna and has supported sustainable livelihoods for ethnic groups./.

VNS

Delegates visit a poultry incubation line at the factory. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tân

TÂY NINH A high-tech poultry incubation factory was inaugurated in the southern province of Tây Ninh late last week by Bel Ga Joint Stock Company which is strongly supported by two family-owned European companies: Belgabroed and De Heus Group.

This is the second high-tech poultry incubation factory established by Bel Ga in Việt Nam, after its first one in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng.

With a total investment of VNĐ200 billion (US$8.66 million), the factory has a designed capacity to produce more than 19 million chicks per year in the first stage, and 38.4 million chicks per year in the second stage.

Kris Van Daele, General Director of Bel Ga Vietnam and Cambodia, said that the company’s day-old chicks will meet GlobalGAP standards of biological safety in husbandry and production is monitored closely.

Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyễn Thanh Ngọc said that the factory is one of Tây Ninh’s outstanding projects, contributing to realising the province’s goal of agricultural restructuring and transformation. — VNS

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vũ Tiến Lộc. — Photo qdnd.vn

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vũ Tiến Lộc talks to Quân đội Nhân dân (People’s Army) newspaper about solutions to help businesses overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the World Bank have recently announced a report on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnamese businesses. What are key points of this report?

This report was built based on a survey of more than 10,000 businesses in 63 cities and provinces in 2020, providing specific perspectives on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey showed that the year 2020 was a year full of difficulties when nearly 90 per cent of surveyed firms were adversely affected by the pandemic with many consequences such as influencing firms’ access to customers, imbalance of cash flow and interruption of supply chains. Many businesses had to reduce their workforce, stop operations or go bankrupt.

Small- and super small-size businesses and young businesses of less than three years old suffered the most. The pandemic seriously affected turnover of businesses in 2020. 65 per cent of private enterprises and 62 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) businesses said their revenue dropped in comparison with 2019. Due to COVID-19, the year 2020 witnessed a record number of businesses withdrawing from the market, exceeding 100,000 firms.

However, the year 2020 also recorded the efforts of the business community in overcoming difficulties. Many businesses have changed their strategies, carried out restructuring, retrained human resources, paid more attention to the domestic market and diversifying the consumption market and supply sources. The digital transformation process has gradually been implemented.

These are valuable lessons and experience that the COVID-19 pandemic has offered Vietnamese businesses.

How do you valuate the resilience of Vietnamese businesses in the current context?

In the serious medical crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have suffered great losses and the resilience of the business community is facing limits.

How have Government support packages helped businesses?

Businesses highly valued Government support packages, particularly fiscal policies such as relaxation or deferment of value added taxes, corporate income tax and land hiring fees.

Seventy five per cent of businesses said Government support policies are helpful.

In the current context, what support do businesses need?

If solutions about tax, fees and support relating to access to finance and credits are limited due to limited State budget, measures relating to administrative procedures are easier to implement and have been promoted in recent years but still need to be accelerated. And that is the basic foundation for the recovery and development of businesses.

But it needs to be noted that implementation is often the weakest step. I still say that the earlier policies are put into practice, the better it would support businesses. So it is necessary to give priority to improve the implementation capacity.

Relevant ministries, agencies and authorities of localities need to increase information dissemination about support policies to create conditions for businesses to get access to support packages. It requires specific, detailed and full guidance about implementation procedures and processes to make it simple and easy for businesses to implement.

It also needs policies to create favourable conditions for private enterprises to help them stand firm and able to recover after the pandemic, particularly policies relating to innovation and qualified human resources training to be ready for a new competition.

Businesses must change, so what do State management agencies need to do?

Relevant ministries and agencies need to study and give recommendations to the Government to issue support packages to help businesses recover and expand investment and operation for the new period of 2021-2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forecast to continue having adverse impacts across the globe and it could only be completely eliminated in the next four to five years. So in the future, it is essential to have long-term policies.

Finally, it needs to spread or multiple models that effectively cope with COVID-19. For ministries, agencies and localities, that is experience in effectively implementing support packages for businesses. For enterprise associations, that is the sharing of ways to cope with COVID-19 effectively from those firms that have existed and developed in the context of COVID-19, particularly lessons about choosing markets, partners, business relationship and about investing in building core internal driving force of businesses to increase their resilience to deal with shocks. — VNS

Artist Bùi Hoàng Dương. Photo courtesy of the artist

HÀ NỘI  The secrets of spiritual culture and life of the Mường ethnic minority in the north-central province of Thanh Hóa will be revealed at an exhibition titled Mo Mường to be held this week.

The exhibition will display 35 paintings and two installations by Bùi Hoàng Dương, a Mường artist from Thanh Hóa.

It features the Mo Mường – a popular ritual ceremony which has become the unique cultural heritage of the Mường ethnic community in Thanh Hóa and many other provinces in the northern mountainous region.

Mo Mường is a job and also a performance practiced at funerals, religious festivals, and life cycle rituals by the ethnic Mường sorcerers.

“Ah…. Today I clasp my hands together to pray to you here.” That is the opening words of a sorcerer in most of the praying practice that Dương had been very familiar with since he was a little child living in his native village in Thạch Thành District.

Dương said he was born in a family with generations of practicing the  Mường prayers. His great-grandfather recited the prayers but since he passed away in 1954, the practice no longer remained in the family. However, many of his followers tried to preserve it.

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An oii and canvas painting features part of the Mo Mường practice. — Photo courtesy of the artist

​The artist said his exhibition was aimed to help promote and preserve the unique cultural value of the Mường.

“About 10 years ago, many people did not understand Mường prayer, so considered it a kind of superstition due to the wrong methods of some local shamans. Actually, Mường prayers are all about morality, ethics and doctrines of humanity and life that teach people about good personality, social behaviour and filial piety. Many practitioners now understand they have a responsibility to lead the nation in the best spiritual direction, maintain and protect the cultural foundations,” said Dương.

Dương, who has travelled extensively throughout the country and abroad since 2000, has a deep and endless affection for social life, humans and animals particularly dogs which appear in many of his works displayed in this exhibition.

Commenting on his works, writer Nguyễn Đình Chính said: “It is not unusual that when people see paintings, they often ignore what is ‘right or wrong, ugly or beautiful’. If they like, they will stop to look at them but If they don’t, they will walk away.”

“It is not like that for Dương’s paintings. Even if you don’t like them, you can’t walk away,” he said.

“Be patient and wait until the colour and lines in the paintings disappear. The paintings are slowly emanating and erupting a very strange but familiar energy. It is not the energy that pushes people to drown and become corrupted in hatred, greed and confusion but a clean spirit that inspires people to slowly find the deep, pure, true dimension hidden in their souls, helping us know who we are, where we come from and where we will go. Strangely, we also understand deeply about the natural world, which we are exposed to every day by our five senses. That real world, actually is not real,” Chính said.

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A painting shows one Mo performing the Mo Mường – a spiritual activity of the Mường people in Thanh Hóa Province. — Photo courtesy of the artist

​This is Dương’s fourth solo exhibitions since 2007. His latest group exhibition was XOM, which took place in Hà Nội last August.

He chose this time to open the display as it was safer since COVID-19 impacted the whole art and culture sector. The artist said he spent almost a year preparing for it and hoped he would help preserve the Mường epic poem “Land and Water”.

Through the generations, Mường prayers have been passed down verbally in the community. When they’re collected, translated, and published in books, however, they begin to exist separately from people.

These days, most Mường prayers are called “Mo Mường”. They are a collection of verses recited at traditional Mường funerals.

Each Mường community has its own version of prayers, but they are all fairly similar. The existence of various versions of “Mo Mường” has helped expand the heritage and spiritual life of the Mường people.

The Mo Mường exhibition will open between April 24-28 at the Việt Nam National Fine Arts Museum at 66 Nguyễn Thái Học Street, Hà Nội. — VNS

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