Takes its toll

He spoke at a press conference on the national online book festival, which will take place from April 17 to May 15, to celebrate the 8th Vietnam Book Day.

According to Nguyen, the national online book festival will be held on website book365 floor.vn with the theme Books for Everyone. As part of the event, the online book copyright festival will be held on April 19-26, also on book365.vn floor, with the participation of many publishers from 32 countries. The opening ceremony of the 8th Vietnam Book Day will be organized on April 18 at Ho Chi Minh City Book Road. Also, many activities will be held throughout the country to celebrate the 8th Vietnam Book Day.

Mr. Nguyen Nguyen, director of the Publishing, Printing and Publishing Department

The online book festival will attract more than 70 domestic publishers and book distributors to the book exchange floor, over 50 domestic and international publishers to the book copyright floor and more than 20,000 book titles, said Nguyen.

For the first time, the national online book festival will have a book copyright transaction floor, emphasized Nguyen. He hoped that this would be a pilot step for domestic publishers to experience this form of copyright transactions with foreign partners.

“In Vietnam, the proportion of foreign books accounts for about 30%, creating a basis for online copyright transaction. So far, publishers from 32 countries have agreed to join this transaction floor. On this floor, copyrights on three types of books – English books, children’s books, technology books – will be traded,” he said.

The organizers have made improvements in the interface as well as technology of book365.vn to enable readers to search and select books and enable connection and transactions among publishers.

Many events, such as seminars, online exchanges between authors, translators, researchers and publishers with readers; programs to encourage readers to buy books; and book discounts, free shipping and presentation of gifts to readers and book sellers and others, will be held during the book fair.

Two ministries jointly promote reading culture

The signing ceremony between representatives of the Publishing, Printing and Publishing Department (Ministry of Information and Communications) and the Vietnam National Library.

The Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on April 15 signed an agreement in the field of publishing and libraries towards the goal of promoting the reading movement and reading culture in the community.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Bao, Deputy Director of the Publishing, Printing and Publishing Department, under this agreement, the two ministries will coordinate to hold book exhibitions, promotion of books and publishing and library activities through the organization of book-related events such as conferences, seminars at home and abroad, activities to respond to the Vietnam Book Day and Reading Culture (April 21), the World Book and Copyright Day (April 23), the National Book Awards; support and transfer the application of information technology to the library system to access digital/electronic publications, and expand information connections, and data share between the two sides; inspect the publication receipt of publishers and organizations licensed to publish non-business documents to submit to the National Library of Vietnam in accordance with the law on publishing; and digitize publications for management.

Tinh Le

After a sudden downpour on April 4, Nguyen Tien Dung, 40, and his colleagues at the state-owned Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Co., Ltd (Citenco) had to spend two hectic days removing dead fish from the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, which flows through Districts 1, 3, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Tan Binh.

They collected 14 tons of fish from a three-kilometer section of the 8.5-km (5.28 miles) canal, making it one of the most serious such incidents in almost a decade since Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe was cleaned.

Dung and 20 others had rushed to the scene at 3:30 in the morning after being informed that dead fish were floating all over the canal.

He said: “Even the previous evening I had noticed a lot of dead fish in the water and its change of color. Though I’d come prepared, I was still shocked to see so many fish belly up all over the canal.”

Since 2012, after taking over the job of cleaning the canal, he has been taking out dead fish almost every year soon after the rains arrive, but what he saw that morning left him dismayed: the fish covered almost the entire water surface visible between garbage and water hyacinth plants.

Dung and his team had to work as fast as possible since the huge volume of dead fish posed a serious threat to the water environment.

The city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s fisheries division provided a clear explanation for the mass death.

It said the sudden heavy rains flushed out a large volume of wastewater lying in the drains, which then covered the canal surface and significantly reduced the oxygen in the water.

The sudden rush of wastewater also stirred the layer of sludge at the bottom, which usually contains toxic gases. The gases were released and they rose up and dissolved in the water.

“The dual impact from below and above led to a sudden change in the fish’s living environment and killed them,” the division said.

Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe was once arguably the most polluted water body in the city.

A project to dredge and clean it began in 1993 at a cost of VND1.6 trillion ($69.3 million). Embankments and roads along its two banks were built and households living along it were relocated.

Ten years later an even bigger clean-up was undertaken, this time with sewers built to ensure wastewater was no longer released into the canal, with over $300 million provided by the World Bank.

But the story of fish dying en masse in the year’s first rains has become a regular one, the worst being in 2016, when 70 tons were collected.

Jolted by this, in 2017 the Steering Center for Urban Flood Control Program proposed installing an oxygen system in the canal at a cost of VND134 billion to save the fish.

But since it costs VND99 million ($4,290) a day to operate the system, the proposal remains on paper.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the cost is unacceptable since the main function of the canal is to drain the city and not act as a fish farm.

According to the fisheries division, to avoid the annual fish deaths, the city needs to install a system to collect and treat wastewater all along the canal at a cost of VND40 trillion ($1.73 billion).

And with authorities still unable to arrive at a decision, Citenco has come up with its own temporary solution for the problem: reducing the canal’s fish population by catching them and releasing them in other rivers.

Truong Van Ho, head of the garbage collection team, said it is necessary for the company and his team to receive timely warnings so that they could shut the drains and let rainwater dilute the residual wastewater before flushing it into the canal.

The 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba opened on April 16. — ACN/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) has sent a message of greetings to the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) on the occasion of the PCC’s 8th National Congress.

The following is a translation of the message:

“Dear comrades,

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam is delighted to extend victorious greetings and the warmest congratulations to the fraternal PCC Central Committee on the occasion of the PCC’s eighth National Congress, “the Congress of the historical continuity of the Cuban Revolution” and the eternal spirit of the Sierra Maestra, Girón and President Fidel Castro.

The eighth Congress of the PCC takes place at a time when the situations in the world and regions unfold in a very complex and unpredictable way, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on all aspects of political, economic and social life of countries across the world, including Cuba and Việt Nam.

The PCC and people of Cuba have shown great efforts, will and determination to promote and step up the building of a prosperous and sustainable Socialism on the heroic island.

We warmly congratulate the Cuban brothers for the great achievements made in the implementation of the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, as part of the Process of Updating the Economic and Social Cuban Model, approved by the sixth and reaffirmed in the seventh National Congress of the PCC.

Despite innumerable difficulties and challenges, Cuba continues to be persistent, proudly upholding the flag of “winning one hundred victories in one hundred battles”, and is the symbol of revolutionary heroism, the pure international spirit and the steadfast will of struggle, actively participating in the struggle for national independence and social progress of the peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean and of the peoples over the world.

Dear comrades,

The special relationship between Việt Nam and Cuba, in which the ties between both parties are the political base and play an important guiding role in promoting the bilateral ties, has been built and fostered by the revolutionary leaders, such as José Martí, Hồ Chí Minh, Fidel Castro and different generations of leaders from Việt Nam and Cuba. This special relationship continues to be constantly cultivated and developed in all aspects with great achievements, demonstrating the sentiment and the firm and faithful revolutionary stance of the Parties, States and people of both countries, contributing to the revolutionary causes and the construction of Socialism in each nation.

The Party, State and people of Việt Nam highly appreciate and forever remember the loyal and pure fraternity and solidarity, and the great and selfless support of the Cuban Party, State and people for their Vietnamese counterparts.

The immortal words of President Fidel Castro “For Việt Nam, we are willing to give even our own blood” will forever be the noble symbol of this sacred relationship. On this occasion, we reaffirm the consistent stance of the Party, State and people of Vietnam to continue strengthening and deepening the exemplary relationship and traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, faithful solidarity between the Parties, States and peoples of Việt Nam and Cuba.

Once again, we wish the eighth National Congress of the PCC a great success and we believe that our fraternal heroic PCC, together with the State and people of Cuba, will successfully implement the resolutions approved at the important meeting, obtaining even greater victories in the cause of construction and defence of the beautiful Cuban Fatherland, towards the goal of building a prosperous and sustainable Socialism.” — VNS

People net fish onto a beach in Quang Xuong district of Thanh Hoa province (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Under Vietnam’s fisheries development strategy to 2030 and vision to 2045, the fisheries sector is applying itself to become an important sector in the country, strongly integrate into the world, develop sustainably and responsibly, and proactively adapt to climate change .

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that after continually posting rapid growth, the fisheries sector now has considerable production scale and value along with many products earning annual export turnover in excess of 1 billion USD.

Its product structure has changed strongly towards higher proportions of aquaculture and products with high added value, he noted, adding that aquatic products have been exported to about 160 countries and territories, in particular the EU, Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea, and Russia.

The presence of Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermen on the country’s seas has also greatly helped safeguard maritime sovereignty and security. The fisheries sector now provides jobs for about 3.9 million people, thus contributing to agricultural restructuring, according to Tien.

However, he acknowledged, there remain many problems facing the sector, which has yet to fully tap into its potential and advantages.

It is looking to earn 14-16 billion USD from exports and establish itself as a key national sector with sustainable development and proactive adaptation to climate change by 2030. Vietnam also targets becoming one of the three leading fisheries producers and exporters in the world by 2045.

Tran Dinh Luan, General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries, recommended localities re-organise production, exercise sound control over inputs, issue timely warnings on disease in farmed species, and boost technology transfer, which are both short and long-term tasks.

He also called on relevant agencies to immediately pay due regard to the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, noting that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has requested relevant sectors and localities soon complete steering boards on anti-IUU fishing and send members to the national steering committee so as to take uniform action to carry out recommendations from the European Commission, which has issued a “yellow card” warning on the issue to Vietnam.

Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that to achieve set targets, the fisheries sector should take concerted solutions such as reducing the number of inshore fishing vessels, increasing offshore fishing fleets, gradually downsizing exploitation, boosting aquaculture, and stepping up the conservation, recovery, and development of fisheries resources./.