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After a year of not raising tuition fees due to the impacts of Covid-19, the Hanoi people's council passed a resolution on May 20 to hike public preschool and high school tuition fees for the 2022-23 academic year. The fees would double at first and subsequently increase by 20-40 percent every year. Sen, 43, lives in Hanoi’s Ha Dong District with her husband and two daughters, the other in 10th grade. She cleans houses for hourly wages while her husband is a laborer. They pay the highest tuition rate since their household registration is in Region 1, which comprises the capital’s inner districts. In addition, she may be required to pay VND300,000 ($12.93) per child per month for the following academic year, which is 1.4-2 times the current fee. Tuition fees for middle and high schools in Region 1 will gradually rise over the next three years to VND410,000, VND530,000, and VND650,000, respectively. Meanwhile, Sen and her husband's incomes fluctuate every month: Sometimes … [Read more...] about Hanoi parents brace for tuition hikes

S&P forecast Vietnam’s GDP will grow 6.9% in 2022 before settling closer to its long-term trend of growing 6.5%-7% from 2023 onward. S&P Global Ratings on May 26 raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Vietnam to 'BB+' from 'BB'. S&P expects Vietnam's economy to continue its upward trend. Source: S&P The rating agency also affirmed the country’s short-term rating at ‘B’ with a stable outlook. “The stable outlook reflects our expectations that over the next 12-24 months, Vietnam's economy will continue to recover from the challenges posed by the pandemic over the past two years. This will support the external position and rein in fiscal deficits,” it noted. S&P added it could raise the ratings if Vietnam's institutional settings improve considerably, in ways that augment policy predictability and transparency. Such favorable changes in the policy environment could bolster investor confidence in the … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s long-term credit rating upgraded to “BB+”: S&P

That is the statement of Le Quoc Thinh, Director of Cuc Phuong Tourism Services Joint Stock Company (Vedana Resort) when introducing events aiming at promoting Cuc Phuong and Ninh Binh tourism after a long period of shutdown due to COVID-19. According to Chairman of Nho Quan district People’s Committee Hoang Khac Tiep, “Nho Quan is endowed with many historical relics and landmarks such as Van Trinh cave, Yen Quang lake, Dong Chuong lake, Cuc Phuong hot mineral water.” In particular, with the natural reserve area and new-stone-age cultural relics, Cuc Phuong National Park has received the title of Asia's leading national park for two consecutive years (2019, 2020) rated by World Travel Awards. It is worth mentioning that Nho Quan has nearly 30,000 ethnic people living in Muong villages. The strategy set by the district is to exploit existing indigenous cultural elements to combine with the trend of ecotourism, which is thriving in Ninh Binh province. Tourists have opportunities to … [Read more...] about Green Tourism – An ideal way to spread Muong ethnic culture

The conference was held via videoconference on May 26 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet and Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Political Director Alon Bar co-chaired the fourth political consultation conference between the two ministries via videoconference on May 26. Viet and Bar briefed each other on the political and socio-economic situation in their respective countries, and highly valued the positive progresses in the all-round cooperation between Vietnam and Israel over the years, especially in politics, diplomacy, economy, science-technology, and startup. Viet welcomed the organisation of the fourth consultation conference, describing it as an effective mechanism for reviewing and enhancing the effectiveness of the cooperation between the two countries. He affirmed that Vietnam highly values and hopes to promote multifaceted ties with Israel , and thanked the Israeli Government and businesses for assisting … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Israel convene fourth political consultation

US stocks rally again as China premier warns on Covid-hit economy, illustration photo source: freepik.com After a positive session in Europe, the S&P 500 finished Thursday's session up two percent, positioning the broad-based US index to potentially snap a seven-week losing streak depending on Friday's session. "The market was very oversold, and way overdue to bounce," Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment said shortly before the market closed. "And what's happening now, the market is bouncing pretty strong." Stock markets have taken a beating this year as central banks have begun to raise interest rates in order to curb the highest consumer price rises in decades. But US stocks pushed higher on Wednesday after investors took a positive view of the Federal Reserve minutes, which raised hopes that while the central bank would move aggressively to lift interest rates, it might be able to halt additional rate hikes as soon as this summer if inflation recedes. Wall Street kept … [Read more...] about US stocks rally again as China premier warns on Covid-hit economy

Twelfth graders of the Việt Đức High School are pictured with their teacher on the graduation day. VNA/VNS Photos Thanh Tùng The special school year of 2021-2022 has just ended, leaving many emotions among students, particularly the 12th graders. They are both happy to be about to embark on a new journey of life but also sad to say farewell to their beloved school, teachers and friends with whom they have not unfortunately had much time to share due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I will desperately miss the short time my classmates and I spent studying together. Though we had three years of high school, we only had about a year and a half being together, due to the prolonged pandemic," said Thanh Uyên from Phan Đình Phùng High School. Another student, Nhật Minh, added: "We feel very sad when we have to say goodbye after such a short period of time. We hope we will always remember the good times studying together." This photo essay introduce to readers such … [Read more...] about Students say farewell to their high school years