Vietnam 3 month multiple entry visa

There will be a total of 500 seats in the 15th National Assembly at both central and local levels, according to a new resolution adopted by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

Minister promises greatest efforts to ensure safety in COVID-19 vaccinations

The Ministry of Health will mobilise all resources to carry out COVID-19 vaccinations, the largest-ever vaccination programme, so as to ensure absolute safety for people, Minister Nguyen Thanh Long has said.

Long chaired a teleconference which was organised on March 6 and connected with 700 places across Vietnam to launch the vaccination plan and provide related training for medical workers nationwide in the use and storage of the vaccine, as well as the treatment of post-injection complications.

He informed the teleconference that the vaccination programme will start on March 8, although the first batch of vaccine arrived in Vietnam on February 24.

“As the vaccine is new, we need to carry out thoroughly,” Long said, adding that Vietnam has to obtain an accreditation certificate from the producer and reassess the safety index of the batch of vaccine.

Because of the limited number of vaccine, the ministry cannot allocate for all 63 provinces and cities, but for 13 pandemic-hit localities, with priority given to Hai Duong province – Vietnam’s largest outbreak at present, he added.

The minister asked localities which have yet to receive the vaccine to prepare and make training programmes as the ministry will allocate vaccines to them when more are transported to Vietnam in March.

COVAC and AstraZeneca have agreed to provide 30 million doses each for Vietnam this year, the minister said, adding the ministry asked the producers to hand over the vaccines to Vietnam before September and is negotiating with Pfizer to buy an additional 30 million doses from this producer.

The ministry has assigned three deputy ministers to be responsible for directing the vaccinations as this kind of vaccine is injected for the first time and injected for adults.

Vietnam will conduct screening check-ups before infections to ensure safety, although the process takes more time. The first injections, he went on, will be given to people working on the front line of the fight against COVID-19, including health, army, police, customs and immigration personnel.

People getting the shots will be monitored via digital health records and receive e-certificates for their completion of inoculation./.

FPT Telecom to screen Russian animated films in Vietnam

Russian animation studio Soyuzmultfilm on March 5 said it has sealed a deal with a Vietnamese partner – FPT Telecom – on licensing the screening of its five new animated series in Vietnam.

The deal is the first of its kind between the two sides.

Accordingly, the series, namely The Secrets of Honey Hills, The Adventures of Peter and Wolf, Prostokvashino, Mr Theo, Cat & Dog, Captain Kraken and his Crew, and Pirates’ School, will be broadcasted in the Vietnamese language via FPT’s television services.

FPT Telecom is a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, one of the biggest telecommunications service providers in Vietnam./.

HCM City has 900 medical workers to get first COVID-19 vaccine shots

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health announced on March 6 that 900 staff members of the municipal Hospital for Tropical Diseases will be the first in the southern region to be injected with AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 8.

The selected medical personnel are those directly contacting with, treating, or caring for people classified as risky sources of COVID-19 transmission.

The hospital is chosen as it performs inoculations for people against communicable diseases on a daily basis, thus having experienced human resources for the work. Meanwhile, since the beginning of pandemic, the hospital has been a core establishment for treating severe cases and sent staff to support other COVID-19 treatment facilities in the city and the central region.

On March 5, the municipal Department of Health submitted to the Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine a list of the southern economic hub’s nine prioritised groups for the first COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccinations using the recently imported AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to begin in Vietnam on March 8, according to the Ministry of Health./.

Campaign “For Women’s Smiles” launched

The Vietnam Women’s Union, the Institute for Development & Community Health (LIGHT), and the UN Women in Vietnam jointly organised an virtual programme to celebrate the International Women’s Day (March 8) and launch the campaign “For Women’s Smiles” in Hanoi, central Thua Thien-Hue province, and Ho Chi Minh City on March 6.

The campaign “For Women’s Smiles” aims to honour unyielding efforts of Vietnamese women to overcome difficulties and challenges, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, to contribute to the nation’s development and prosperity.

With the companionship of scientists, artists and social activists, it hopes to encourage the aspirations to rise up, the will to overcome difficulties, the desire to learn and the creativity of women.

The campaign also creates a space for women to expand the use of information technology, exchange information towards women’s happiness and promote gender equality./.

Facebook launches #SheForVietnam programme to empower Vietnamese women

Facebook will launch #SheForVietnam – a programme for Vietnamese women who are creating miracles every day on social networks on March 6 in efforts to affirm its commitment to supporting Vietnamese women in the digital era.

#SheForVietnam is designed to connect and inspire women’s communities, encourage and empower them to dream big and live life to the fullest.

The programme’s first pillar – #SheInspires is an online roundtable to honour and inspire women that stand up to help others and spread positive energy. There will be some popular faces in the event, those represent millions of other Vietnamese women creating magic every day thanks to the power of social networks: singer Thủy Tiên, Miss Universe Vietnam H’Hen Niê, actress Sam, social activist Chung Vũ Thanh Uyên – Mina Chung, CEO of Ru9 Company Limited Đặng Thùy Trang, Founder – CEO of the Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) Từ Thu Hiền and Nam Nguyễn, Entertainment Partnership Lead, Vietnam, Facebook.

“In Việt Nam, women contributed 62 per cent of the total amount fundraised on Facebook in 2020. We have seen the positive impact that women have been able to create in their communities by sharing their voices across our platform, which becomes our motivation to continue our commitment to support women in Việt Nam. We hope #SheForVietnam can empower Vietnamese women to pursue their dreams and improve their life’s value, making more impact for the community,” said Nam Nguyen, Entertainment Partnership Lead, Vietnam, Facebook.

Hosted by Actress Sam, the event will unveil stories about how those successful women leverage the power of a social network to inspire people, especially the women’s community. The live roundtable #SheInspires will take place at 20:00 on March 6, 2021 on Facebook app Vietnam and Yeah1’s page system as well as a series of other popular pages from Đất Việt, Điền Quân, MCV, YAN, Multimedia, Orion Media, BHD, Unimedia, BH Media and POPs.

“I am very honoured to be a part of Facebook’s #SheInspires programme. Through this talk show, I had a chance to listen to the stories of women who could be both successful entrepreneurs and loving housewives, and an opportunity to bring my own stories to inspire women all over Việt Nam. I believe that if all of us join hands together with the support of social networks, our efforts will help spread women’s voices to the community,” said H’Hen Niê.

Women’s development and gender equality have always been Facebook’s top priorities for the past few years. In Việt Nam, Facebook has implemented many initiatives to support women in economic development, especially #SheMeansBusiness programme. This year celebrates the 5th anniversary of this programme, with more than 20,700 businesswomen in more than 50 cities trained through the programme’s online and offline workshops. #SheMeansBusiness has helped equip aspiring and established women entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, connections and technology required to build and grow businesses in the digital age.

Master plans built to promote efficient use of marine space, resources

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment hosted an online conference on March 4 discussing the building of a national marine space plan and a master plan on the exploitation and sustainable use of coastal resources in 2021-2030 and vision to 2045.

According to General Director of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) Ta Dinh Thi, the multidisciplinary plans are being developed under an integrated and ecosystem-based approach, serving the orientation and establishment of plans for using marine space and resolving inadequacies in marine use, thereby balancing economic development, national defence and security, and marine ecosystem protection.

The master plans are prepared on the basis of integrating national master plans relating to the sea, with adjustments made to address conflicting and overlapping issues in the maritime space. They cover coastal areas, islands, archipelagos, territorial waters, and airspace under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.

The national marine space plan aims to ensure the efficient exploitation and sustainable use of marine resources and islands on the basis of a harmonious combination of socio-economic development and environmental protection, defence and security, and foreign affairs and international cooperation in coastal areas, islands, archipelagos, territorial waters, and airspace under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the master plan on the exploitation and sustainable use of coastal resources in 2021-2030 with a vision to 2045 covers coastal waters to an outer boundary of about 6 nautical miles from the coast and the coastal areas of communes, wards, and towns in 28 coastal provinces and centrally-run cities. However, to ensure the integrity of important ecosystems and habitats, and to pay due attention to strong interaction between the mainland and seas, the reach of the coastal space in some areas may be extended further towards both the mainland and the sea.

This plan aims at the overall goal of managing, exploiting, and efficiently using natural resources, serving sustainable socio-economic development, climate change adaptation, and the safeguarding of national defence and security along the coast.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Minh Ngan spoke highly of VASI’s efforts in preparing these master plans.

The plans cover a number of new issues to be mentioned for the first time, he stressed, and so require the coordination of relevant ministries, sectors, and localities.

He also emphasised the importance of selecting consultation units and consulting ministries, sectors, localities, and experts and scientists on these plans./.

French artist to host exhibition at Vin Gallery

French artist Frederic Dialynas Sanchez will show his work at an art exhibition titled “La Mémoire Dans la Peau” (The Memory in the Skin) at Vin Gallery on March 12.

The exhibition will showcase his new works reflecting his personal journey to explore Vietnamese heritage, and the people’s memories and life decades after war.

Sanchez, 38, graduated from the Lyon National School Fine Arts. He has worked in Asia and Europe.

He hosted his first solo exhibition in Hà Nội in 2006. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the US, China and Japan.

The exhibition will close on April 29. The gallery is at 11 Street 55 in District 2.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau looking to have all communes recognised as new-style rural areas

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has set a goal of having all of its communes recognised as new-style rural areas this year.

Under the National Target Programme on New Rural Development 2021, the province will pool together over 4.48 trillion VND (194 million USD), more than 1.47 trillion VND of which will come from the State budget, over 1.75 trillion VND from credit sources, more than 450.4 billion VND from businesses, and the remainder from the public.

Six more communes are expected to meet the criteria for new rural development, bringing the total to 45, or 100 percent.

The province will also strive to see that Phu My township, Chau Duc district and also Xuyen Moc district meet the criteria.

All 45 of its communes have recorded a rate of poor households below 0.09 percent and an employment rate of above 90 percent. They have also met the criteria in terms of clean water supply, culture, and education.

Localities have focused on high-tech agricultural production in tandem with food safety, and a number of linkage models between farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises have proven effective.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau has also targeted becoming a new-style rural province by 2025, with Long Dien and Dat Do districts together with 35 of its 45 communes achieving the enhanced criteria for such a status and 14 communes being recognised as model new-style rural areas./.

Tien Giang stepping up administrative reform to foster socio-economic development

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is making efforts to speed up administrative reform, which has so far proven effective in boosting its socio-economic development.

The comment was made at an online conference reviewing the intensification of administrative reform and the application of information technology (IT) in Tien Giang’s State offices during 2020, which was chaired by Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Vinh on March 4.

According to assessments from the committee, administrative reform has been carried out effectively by all local departments and sectors, and administrative discipline gradually put in order.

The province has focused on building e-government and posted positive results.

2020 was the fourth year Tien Giang implemented the “Application of information technology in State offices” emulation movement. All local offices have used software to receive and handle documents, and applied the province’s “single window” software to receive, handle, and return documents.

Vinh asked leaders of units and localities to continue stepping up administrative reform and IT application at State offices, as such reform is a key task set out in the resolution from the provincial Party Committee’s 11th Congress.

To make activities effective, heads of offices and units should raise their sense of responsibility and improve workplace culture to create a civilised environment, he stressed./.

Saigon Outcast to host Mediterranean food fest

The outdoor bar Saigon Outcast will host the first Mediterranean Food Festival in HCM City on March 27.

The festival will offer a wide range of Mediterranean and Middle East food such as falafel (chickpea fritter), lamb, baba ganoush (roasted eggplant dip), kebabs and more.

The event will include a live band, belly dancers, games, local vendors, kid’s zone, climbing, and skate bowl.

The festival will take place from 12pm – 11pm at 188/1 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng Street in District 2. Admission fee is VNĐ30,000.

Mekong Delta intensifies measures to prevent forest fires

Authorities in the Mekong Delta have stepped up measures to prevent forest fires as the region enters the peak dry season.

Earlier, at the beginning of the ongoing dry season, provinces took various measures to protect forests like dredging canals to store more water and mobilising human resources and facilities to monitor fires.

They undertook advocacy activities to raise public awareness of forest protection and prevention of fires.

In Cà Mau Provinice, the provincial People’s Committee is ordering relevant departments and agencies to have in place sufficient personnel and facilities to promptly discover fires and extinguish them.

The province has 110,000ha of forests, including 66,539ha of saltwater mangrove forests, 43,195ha of brackish – water mangrove forests (U Minh Hạ forests) and 716ha on islands.

The U Minh Hạ forests and those on islands usually face a high fire risk in the dry season, according to the province’s Forest Protection Sub-department.

Rangers are thus tightening checks to prevent the illegal entry of people to harvest honey and poach since their activities can cause forest fires.

Some 8,500ha of forests in the U Minh Hạ National Park face fire risk level 1.

Huỳnh Minh Nguyên, director of the park, said a part of the forests would face risk level 2 in the next two weeks.

After Tết (the Lunar New Year), which fell on February 12 this year, canals in the park have been dredged to store water for firefighting, he said.

“The national park has sufficient human resources to monitor forests to promptly cope with fires.”

In the 8,535ha U Minh Thượng National Park in Kiên Giang Province’s U Minh Thượng District, 1,115ha face a severe threat of fire.

Trần Văn Thắng, its deputy director, said the park has built a digital map showing water resources, transport and access to areas that face fire risk.

Some 1.4 million cubic metres of water have been pumped into key areas and high ground for firefighting.

The park has cleared obstacles from 72km of canals and 25 roads in high-risk forests to improve access.

It has set up four groups with 6 – 10 people each to monitor high-risk areas around the clock.

It has strengthened advocacy activities to raise awareness among people living close to forests about protection and fire prevention.

In Hậu Giang Province’s Phụng Hiệp District, Lung Ngọc Hoàng Nature Reserve has upgraded sluices and dams, dredged canals and mobilised personnel to fight possible fires in 2,805ha of forests.

Lư Xuân Hội, director of the reserve, said cameras have been installed in three watch towers for monitoring fires.

The reserve is working closely with other relevant agencies at the provincial and district levels to monitor forests. It has had no fires in the last 18 years.

In An Giang Province, mountainous districts like Tri Tôn and Thoại Sơn have taken measures to mitigate the risk of fires.

Tri Tôn has more than 8,400ha of forests of which, 4,406ha, including 2,550ha in mountainous areas, face a severe threat of fire, according to relevant authorities.

The district has stepped up propaganda about forest protection regulations and the monitoring of forests and the task of preventing fires.

People managing forest have created fire breaks in forests, set up watch towers and stored water for firefighting.

The delta has 347,000ha of forests, mostly mangrove and cajuput.

Ao Dai – Vietnamese cultural heritage

Every country in the world has traditional outfits that contain its unique cultural essence. In Vietnam, though there are no official documents indicating that the ao dai (traditional long dress) is the national outfit, in the minds of many, especially international friends, it is considered a symbol of Vietnamese culture.

It is also because of her love for the ao dai that designer Minh Hanh devoted all of her fashion career to honouring the traditional dress. Promoting, introducing, and acting as general director of ao dai festivals, Hanh also considers it is her responsibility, together with researchers and other designers, to make the ao dai an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Miss Vietnam 2010 Ngoc Han also identified her role in preserving and promoting national culture when choosing to research and design an ao dai for her career development. As a young designer, Ngoc Han puts her soul into her ao dai, using traditional natural materials and contributing to a woman’s beauty.

Vietnamese women do not need to spend much time putting on an ao dai to show off their charm and elegance. The ao dai has found a place in the daily lives of Vietnamese women, becoming part of the country’s spirit and identity./.

Art exhibition inspired from poems by late poet Đặng Đình Hưng

Painter Lê Thiết Cương will open his newest exhibition on March 12 at L’Espace, 24 Tràng Tiền Street.

Entitled Một Bến Lạ (An Unknown River) after the poetry collection by late poet Đặng Đình Hưng, the exhibition will present Cương’s work made from 2007 to the present inspired by the poems.

More than 30 artworks created on different materials such as pastel on poonah paper, oil on canvas and pottery will be on display.

Earlier, in January, the launch of the poetry collection An Unknown River was hosted by the French Cultural Centre (L’Espace) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of the poet (1924-1990) who was central to the country’s poetry development. The book comprises six poems, as well as 20 small paintings and writings, about the poet and his poems by poets and researchers Hoàng Cầm, Hoàng Hưng and Đỗ Lai Thúy.

The exhibition will open to the public from 6pm, March 12 until April 4.

Localities ordered to work harder on child education, protection

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has issued a document on implementing child care, education and protection in 2021, requesting localities to raise responsibilities and take more comprehensive and drastic measures to protect children.

The document states that 2021 is the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and many socio-economic development plans in various fields, including the national action programme for children for 2021 – 2030.

The MoLISA asked the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to build, promulgate, and organise the implementation of resolutions, programmes, schemes and plans of all sectors and localities, aiming to well perform the child care, education and protection in line with the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress; the Law on Children; resolutions, directives and decisions of the National Assembly (NA) and the Government; and programmes and projects on children in the 2021 – 2025 period, with a vision to 2030.

Accordingly, Party committees and local authorities at all levels were ordered to raise awareness and responsibility, especially of heads, in directing, managing and implementing the Party’s guidelines, and the State’s policies and laws on children’s rights; solving issues related to children, child right violations; and preventing and minimising children’s vulnerability to risks of harm and injury.

Localities need to ensure State management on children, human resources for the work, and allocate local budgets for implementing targets and solutions of the national action programme for children for 2021 – 2030, and local programmes and plans for children.

The People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities were asked to focus on improving and developing child protection service systems, maintaining and expanding models of child protection and care, regularly supervising the implementation of laws, policies, programmes, schemes and plans on children, developing database on children, collecting information and statistics on children, and connecting child database with relevant data systems.

Attention will be paid to promoting interdisciplinary coordination in implementing the child work, and solutions to ensure safe living environment, prevent child sexual abuse, exploitation and violence, and injury accidents, especially drowning.

New playground set up in Đong Anh Town

A playground for children will open in Đông Anh Town today with support of the European Union and the British Council (BC).

The project, Sân Chơi Nỏ Thần, or Magic CrossBow Playground, is implemented by the BC and the Việt Nam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.

The playground is built 5km from the ancient Cổ Loa Citadel with the magic crossbow legend that has been woven into the history of Vietnamese people.

“Ruins, history, legends of kings and his men, prince and princess, trust and betrayal, the rich history of Đông Anh is the source of  limitless inspiration,” said artist Trần Nguyễn Ưu Đàm who came up with the project’s artistic concept.

“We play to live a richer and more fulfilled life. The combination of those two ideas is the realisation of this Magic CrossBow playground.

“Life is a big playground where we are constantly moving in and out of history, living with, playing in, hiding and seeking in those ruins and myths,” said the artist.

The image of a giant Magic CrossBow in four parts scattered around like a ruin reflects the reality of Cổ Loa Citadel, parts hidden and parts visible at different places in the area.

When climbing in and out of the Magic Crossbow, the creators hope the history of the Âu Lạc Kingdom and its lessons will be kept alive.

This playground was created with the collaboration of Think Playgrounds Social Enterprise, artist Ưu Đàm,  the Đông Anh Women’s Union and the community of Neighbourhood 3 in Đông Anh Town.

During the design and construction process, local residents contributed their ideas.

They have also contributed financial resources and will manage the playground going forward.

Think Playgrounds builds playgrounds, community gardens and improving public spaces that are friendly and safe with communities throughout Việt Nam.

Since 2014, Think Playgrounds has built nearly 200 public playgrounds and community gardens and organised more than 30 campaign events to raise awareness of the community about the role of play for the comprehensive development of children.

HCMC preparing for construction of Metro Line 2: Ben Thanh – Tham Luong

Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh – Tham Luong) is one of the longest, with the length of 48km. The first phase, which is 11.2km long is to answer the traveling needs of residents in HCMC from the downtown to the Northwest area and vice versa. It is also the foundation for other similar modern urban railways built in the future.

Head of Division No.2 in the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) Le Van khoa reported that premise clearance for Metro Line 2 construction project has reached over 75 percent, with nearly 100 percent of legal procedure completed.

The districts of Tan Phu, 10, and 12 basically finish their premise clearance task, while the People’s Committee of districts 1, 3, and Tan Binh keep mobilizing related residents to clear the site for this important project.

In 2021, MAUR is going to prepare necessary building facilities for the project and reestablish residential infrastructure (water supply, sewage system, electric grid, green space, street lighting, traffic signs) for the public needs.

At the moment, MAUR is promoting the bidding process for construction and monitoring packages in the period of 2021-2022, followed by the building of the main parts in the project from 2022. In particular, the two packages of CP3a and CP3b (tunnels and underground stations) are to be started then.

From 2023-2024, the design, digging and construction of station walls will be kicked off, with the priority for Station 7 at Bay Hien Intersection and Station 10 on Pham Van Bach Street. Premises will be cleared to have sufficient space to site 4 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). These machines will be used from 2024 to dig from Station 7 to Station 1 (Ben Thanh) and Station 5 (Le Thi Rieng).

From 2025-2026, work will be done to complete all underground stations. Simultaneously, the digging and foundation treatment at Tham Luong Depot will be carried out, along with the construction of the transition structure from the underground to elevated section, the viaduct, elevated Station 11 (Tan Binh), the infrastructure at Tham Luong Depot.

The detailed design of the electromechanical items in the system like cars, signal information, 110kV power stations, depot devices, and the control center will be introduced in 2026 as well, followed by a technical test at the end of that year.

For the project to smoothly launch, MAUR is working with sponsors to use the technical support capital by Asian Development Bank (ADB) to hire professional consultants for the bidding of CS2B package since the Credit Institute for Reconstruction (or Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau – KFW) is not able to prepare this amount.

At present, MAUR is discussing with IC Consultation certain conditions before formally negotiating the main content of the Appendix for Contract No.13.

At the same time, after receiving instruction from the Ministry of Construction about applying transition regulations in updating the package’s estimated cost, MAUR requested the appraisal board to adjust corresponding guidelines to become the foundation for next steps.

MAUR also suggested the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment should help HCMC People’s Committee to prepare the response to the Ministry of Planning and Investment about the status of using capital from KFW, ADB, and European Investment Bank (EIB); and to ask for an extension of loans from KFW.

The HCMC Department of Finance stated that there is no ground for HCMC People’s Committee to allocate the state regular disposable budget to MAUR in order to hire legal consultation for urban railway projects.

Therefore, MAUR asked that HCMC People’s Committee at least allow MAUR to hire legal consultation service for contract negotiation and management regarding construction packages of Metro Line 2, with fee taken from the reciprocal capital of the project.

The design appraisal and approval procedure will be delivered soon by the HCMC Department of Construction.

HCMC continues running pilot project in solving administrative cases online

Ho Chi Minh City will continue running the pilot project of online dialogues in solving administrative cases.

Additionally, the municipal People’s Committee directed related agencies and departments, the chairman of Thu Duc City and local administrations in coordination with people’s courts at two levels to implement the project effectively.

Before, the Supreme People’s Court in HCMC in September approved the pilot project of people’s courts at two levels from January 1, 2021 till January 1, 2022.

The municipal People’s Committee also assigned the Department of Information and Communications in cooperation with the Department of Justice, police force and related competent agencies to research on the regulations of administrative judiciary and the Law on Cybersecurity proposing punishments on those participating in litigation relating to recording and filming to post on social network and media.

Hanoi to cleanse polluted rivers

Hanoi authorities will flush the polluted To Lich and Nhue rivers with the water from the Red River in an attempt to improve the water quality.

On March 4, Hoang Cao Thang, deputy head of the Department of Construction confirmed at a meeting that they were planning to flush the To Lich and Nhue rivers.

“The water will be taken from the Red River. We’ll set up eight pump stations for this,” he said.

According to Thang, the project is in accordance with the city’s urban planning and there is no need to build a separate plan for this. This will be added to the sewage plan for the area on the left bank of Nhue River.

Also at the meeting, Colonel Pham Duc Thang, deputy head of the environmental police force in Hanoi said Hanoi Party Committee Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue had directed them to open an investigation into rubbish collecting and treatment violations after public concerns were raised. They have tightened monitoring over the rubbish collecting, transporting and treatment at Nam Son and Xuan Son dumping sites.

“The investigation is still on-going. We’ll make a public announcement if there is any result,” he said.

Ethnic-minority students benefit from STEM education

Lùng Thị Hoài, a Nùng ethnic minority student of Nàn Sán Secondary School, uses equipment to show off electric fireworks she and her peers made to celebrate the 2021 STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) festival in Si Ma Cai District, the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai.

STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Students are expected to develop their skills through STEM education including problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, decision making and acceptance of failure.

Hundreds of students in the district have benefited from STEM education.

This was the first year the STEM festival had been held in the district – one of the poorest districts of the country after the provincial Department of Education and Training Department issued a document to instruct the implementation of STEM education in secondary schools in September 2020.

Nguyễn Thị Kiều Oanh, head of the district’s Education and Training Office, said officials of the department had visited many localities to plan the festival.

The festival was not only a chance for the students to show off the electric firework device but also run toy cars on race tracks using kinetic energy, Khoa học và Phát Triển (Science and Development) online newspaper reported.

Also at the festival, the office invited two students in Lý Tự Trọng Secondary School in the province’s Lào Cai City to operate a robot, programmed by them, Oanh said.

The two students won the first prize in the robotics competition in the north, held by the Central Youth Union in November 2020, she added.

Oanh said the office wanted students in Nàn Sán Secondary School to do more in the next festivals, such as programming robots like the students in Lý Tự Trọng Secondary School in Lào Cai City did.

To do that, the office plans to hold a training course for programming robots for both teachers and students in a total of eight schools in the district this month, she said.

The training course will be organised with the support of teachers in Lào Cai City and the STEM Alliance, she said.

Established in 2015, the STEM Alliance – an organisation dedicated to connecting volunteers participating in STEM promotion activities – has trained some 10,000 general teachers about STEM education and helped establish more than 500 STEM clubs across the country, especially in rural areas.

The alliance also plays an important role in organising six National STEM Festivals and five Open Math Festivals.

The district administration issued Project No 04- DA/HU on July 31, 2020, on improving the quality of education and training for 2020-25. The project aims to promote STEM education at all schools in the district.

The move came under the goal of STEM universal education of the provincial education sector.

Over the past five years, the provincial education sector has conducted many STEM education training programmes for thousands of teachers.

The education sector has also set up STEM advisory groups for all levels of the education sector to build a formal system of STEM education.

To do that, the provincial education sector has received support from experienced STEM educators such as Đặng Văn Sơn of Hà Nội National University, Hoàng Vân Đông of Electricity University, Dương Tuấn Hưng of Việt Nam Academy of Science and Technology, Lê Chí Ngọc and Hàn Huy Dũng of Hà Nội University of Technology.

Children group helps keep Danang clean

A group of children in Danang City are collecting scrap metal as a way to protect the environment.

The children in the environment club often gather together on Sundays. Their leader is Pham Cong Luong, born in 1956, party secretary of Binh Phuoc 1 Residential Area.

According to Luong, he has always been concerned about environmental problems where he was living and tried to set an example by collecting rubbish on the street when he did morning exercises or when he was going out. Then in 2018, a rubbish collecting movement was initiated by Luong to raise funds for the children and poor families in Binh Phuoc. It received a positive response from the locals.

The children rubbish collecting club was set up in early 2019. The club includes several children age between 6 to 12 who want to raise awareness about environmental protection and raise funds for disadvantaged families. As of now, the club has a total of 34 members and many contributors.

“We have to teach the children because they will be the pioneers who lead others,” Luong said.

Ever since the club was set up, the local families have been actively classified their rubbish and placed them in front of their house for the children to collect. The rubbish was brought to the gathering location and classified again by volunteers.

9-year-old Cao Hoang Phuc Thinh said, “I think our club is meaningful and help make our area cleaner so I felt good to come there every weekend.”

12-year-old Le Anh Thu said, “It’s not just the weekends, now, whenever I saw litter on the street, I’ll always pick it up and put it in the bin.”

The club has earned nearly VND100m (USD4,300) up until now. The money was used as rewards for children with good academic results and to organise sports events for the children. After Covid-19 broke out, the club sent 290kg of rice to 29 disadvantaged cases. They also used the money to buy gifts for disabled and orphan children on Tet Holiday and other special occasions.

Royal sisters movie gets release date after pandemic delay

The fifth edition in a series of chick-flick movies will be released in cinemas nationwide next week, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 resurgence earlier this year.

Gái Già Lắm Chiêu V – Những Cuộc Đời Vương Giả (Camellia Sisters – Living Like Royalty) will premiere on March 12, a month after the original date of February 12, the first lunar day of the Year of the Ox.

With the pandemic controlled in much of Viet Nam, the producer MAR6 Pictures feels ready to release the movie in cinemas safely.

“Changing the film release date was a difficult decision because it disturbed the original plan, but we want to keep the audience safe and decide to delay until the viewers can safely go to the theatre to enjoy the movie,” said director Bảo Nhân.

Gái Già Lắm Chiêu V – Những Cuộc Đời Vương Giả is the fifth edition of the chick-flick series called Gái Già Lắm Chiêu (The Tricky Ladies) that was launched in 2016 by young directors Bảo Nhân and Nam Cito.

The third edition on the relationship between a woman and her mother-in-law, played by Lê Khanh and Lan Ngọc, recorded revenue of VND165 billion (US$7 million) and is one of the top 10 highest-grossing Vietnamese films of all time.

The fifth edition features late actor Hoàng Dũng in the role of wealthy Vĩnh Nghị. The film was the last he took part in before dying on February 14 from blood cancer.

Director Bảo Nhân said during the filming period, Dũng endured pain to complete the scenes. His first segment in the film was on Thiên An Hill, requiring Hoàng Dũng to ride a bicycle for many hours at night. After the filming was done, he gasped due to exhaustion.

The main filming location was a white tea garden within an ancient villa and cost more than VND2 billion ($87,000) to set up the European-style garden.

The movie was also filmed in many famous destinations in Huế in an effort to promote the beauty of local culture, tourism as well as the history of the city.

Lan Ngọc, the main actress of the previous editions, will make a come back in the fifth edition. Photo Facebook Gái Già Lắm Chiêu

Camellia Sisters – Living Like Royalty focuses on the three Lý sisters belonging to the Huế aristocracy. Three famous actresses, Lê Khanh, Hồng Vân and Kaity Nguyễn, play the three sisters.

People’s Artist Lê Khanh plays Lý Lệ Hà – the scheming eldest sister in the family with a long history of collecting antiques. To look different from her role as the mother-in-law Thái Tuyết Mai in the third edition, she cut her long hair that she had grown for more than 20 years.

People’s Artist Hồng Vân, as the second eldest sister Lý Lệ Hồng is talkative, seemingly carefree but knows a lot of family secrets. She also starred in the third edition.

Kaity Nguyễn, after the big success of Tiệc Trăng Máu (Blood Moon Party) is the youngest sister, Lý Linh.

With such a lineup of big names on the silver screen, the movie is anticipated to be a bit hit and possibly surpass the success of the third edition.

Argentinean press updated on Vietnam’s political situation, socio-economic affairs

The Vietnamese Embassy in Argentina on March 5 held a meeting with local press agencies to inform them about Vietnam’s political situation and socio-economic development as well as culture and tourism potential.

Among media outlets attended the event were major and mainstream press agencies like TV Publica, national news agency Telam, and newspapers Clarin, Ambito Internacional, Resumen Latinoamericano, Acercando Naciones and IP Noticias.

Participating reporters were given an insight into Vietnam’s recent affairs, particularly the country’s successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and the outstanding outcomes of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam which outlined the country’s development goals and orientations for the coming time.

Reporters said they were impressed by the country’s encouraging progress in recent years and hope to further contribute to the enhancement of the Vietnam-Argentina comprehensive cooperation in the future.

The event also featured a presentation on Vietnam’s tourism potential and a screening of video clips on its economic outlook this year./.

Book on 70-year Vietnam-Russia relations debuts

A book featuring 70-year Vietnam-Russia relations compiled by Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh was publicly introduced at a ceremony held by the embassy in Moscow on March 5.

Attending the ceremony were representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federation Council, State Duma, administrations of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other localities, as well as local scholars, people and Vietnamese expatriates.

Speaking at the event, Manh said the book is a gift of gratitude for leaders, people, and readers of the two countries, which, he said, shared a traditional friendship of closeness, trust, mutual understanding and support during the war time and in the current national construction cause.

Consisting of five parts, the book gives an overview of the Vietnam-Russia ties and introduces late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh’s activities in Russia, who set the foundation for the bilateral relations.

It features more than 700 images and documents classified into diplomatic events and cooperation activities in politics, economy, defence-security, culture, education, science, and people-to-people diplomacy.

In the book’s introduction, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affair Pham Binh Minh wrote today’s Vietnam-Russia relations have inherited from the Vietnam-Soviet Union relationship with the precious assets of sincere affection, and mutual support and assistance, forging a strong and loyal friendship between the two nations. Russia was the first country that Vietnam established a strategic partnership in 2001 and a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012.

Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council V. Matviyenko stated the friendship, formed when Vietnam was fighting to safeguard its independence years ago, have been fortified over the past years and become a common asset of both nations./.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

When his roommates turn the lights off to go to bed at 10 p.m., Hoang Minh is just starting his eight-hour shift at work.

Sitting with a laptop on his bunk bed, the 21-year-old enters information about overseas orders his company has received into the system.

“This job just needs hands and eyes,” he says.

Because of the Covid-19 outbreak, Minh was allowed to work from his room in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District.

But within two days the company required him to return to office since his output had been lower than normal.

His salary has remained at VND6 million ($260) a month since he began working here since 2019.

Hoang Minh doing his data entry work in his room in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District. Photo courtesy of Minh.

After dropping out of college, the young man from central Vietnam had been dreaming of working in the technology field, a job he perceived as “computer-related.”

But instead he ended up with a data entry job.

After two months of working through the night and going home to sleep in the morning, he quit just after the 2020 Lunar New Year ( Tet ) just as Covid-19 first appeared in Vietnam.

He began to apply for all sorts of jobs.

However, the pandemic was causing a huge number of layoffs. According to the General Statistics Office, the employment rate in the first quarter of 2020 was the lowest in 10 years.

Minh got a job as a bank credit officer, who had to persuade individuals and businesses to borrow. But there was no salary and instead employees got paid based on performance. This time he quit after just one month.

He then worked as a real estate agent and quit again when he could not find a single client in three months.

During that time he had to borrow money just to eat.

Around this time a former colleague and friend also wanted to quit his data entry job, and Minh texted him saying: “Don’t be foolish to quit your job at this critical time. I really regret my action now.”

Luckily for him, his old company again recruited people for data entry, and Minh immediately applied and got it.

“I have not paid off my debts yet,” he says.

Minh opted to stay and work through Tet this year. He took a few minutes off on Lunar New Year’s Eve, a time when the whole country celebrates, and sat with his roommates to eat instant noodles.

“The noodles tasted bitter.”

His parents have urged him to return home and learn vocational skills or become a blue-collar worker, but Minh wants to decide “his own fate.”

Feeling depressed on the second day of the new year, he called his father to say he would go visit home for two days. But his boss warned him saying if he failed to fulfill his contract the company would not accept him back when he returned.

Being unemployed for four months in 2020 had taught Minh to be patient, and he decided to stay.

“As a 21-year-old, I don’t have time to date or hang out with friends since everyone goes to school or work during the day.”

But he does not dare quit his current job, knowing that Covid-19 has put paid to employment opportunities.

A woman filling for unemployment benefits at the Hanoi Center for Employee Service in Cau Giay District. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

But people can be dissatisfied with their current jobs but dare not quit amid a global pandemic or not.

Pham Manh Ha, an associate professor of psychology at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, said this is most common in the 30-45 age group.

“These people are frustrated with their current jobs, have no opportunities for advancement, are not interested in a career, and have difficulty finding new jobs. They fall into a state of internal frustration and constant stress, resulting in poor performance and unexpected outcomes.”

Minh Huong, 32, of Saigon’s District 1 identifies herself as one such person. For several months now she has been crying every day on the 5km trip from her rented room to office.

The admissions officer at an English language center says: “I am shy and have an inferiority complex. I dare not speak up when I have a grievance. I do not dare express myself, and so I am locked in a vicious circle.”

Huong was an excellent employee in 2019, but got a Tet bonus of just VND500,000 ($21.68), just like her roommate. Since reward was based on collective performance, just one team member performing poorly could affect everyone’s year-end bonus.

Her labor contract said, unless she violated rules, she was entitled to a salary increase every six months. But it took her a year to get a raise of just VND450,000 ($19.52).

Feeling unhappy, she resigned.

“But since our center lacked manpower and there was no one to fill my position, my boss asked me to stay for another two months. And then the pandemic broke out.”

She continued to work there because she had applied to five language centers but either received no response or canceled her scheduled interview due to the outbreak.

The fact she had resigned but decided stay on because of the pandemic did not endear her to her boss or colleagues.

“I emailed my boss to suggest adding a few designs in the classroom to attract students. But my boss dismissed it saying it would be approved if a teacher suggested it. But the next day a colleague in the room suggested it again and got approval.”

The office has more than 10 employees who eat lunch together, but no one wants to sit next to her. Her boss only gives her minor work.

Huong is terribly depressed, and does not know how she can carry on much longer.

“I plan to find a new job around mid-June; I hope the outbreak will be completely under control by then.”

Vu Quang Thanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Employee Service, said there are more job opportunities now than in the early part of last year, with enterprises’ demand for workers increasing by around 5 percent.

At his center, 207 enterprises in the telephone components, machinery, textile and other sectors have registered to recruit more than 5,000 workers.

But he said people who want to find new jobs should assess their capabilities, recruitment demand in their field, salary, and other factors.

The pandemic has made it difficult for many businesses and so salaries are down, he said.

So, instead of worrying about their income, people should try to stay back and share the difficulty with their employers instead of jumping to other jobs, he said.

Besides, people need to accurately assess the cause of their current situation. If the problems are caused by technology changes or a mismatch between their abilities and job requirements, they need to improve their personal skills, he added.

>>> Activities held in response to Youth Month 2021

>>> Youngsters join social activities to celebrate Youth Month 2021

On March 6, at the Special National Historic Site of Cai Chanh Base in Ninh Thanh Loi Commune, Hong Dan District, the Bac Lieu Provincial Youth Union held a launching ceremony for Youth Month 2021, featuring specific objectives calling for creative ideas from Youth Union members and practical activities in building a civilised society and cultural lifestyle while maintaining cultural identity.

On the same day, in Hanoi, Hoan Kiem District Youth Union organised a blood donation drive with three online-connected venues in order to proactively prevent COVID-19. The event collected nearly 1,000 blood units, exceeding the set target.

In this year’s Youth Month, Hoan Kiem’s youths are determined to fulfil their set targets on finishing youth works and projects, as well as to provide career counselling, job placement and start-up support for 1,500 Youth Union members.

On March 5, at the College of Agricultural Mechanics in Vinh Phuc Province, Binh Xuyen District Youth Union coordinated with related units to commence the construction of the Truong Sa Archipelago Milestone, aimed at propagating and educating the youth on the nation’s sacred sovereignty over its sea and islands, as well as inspiring patriotism among officials, lecturers and students at the school.

On the occasion, Binh Xuyen Youth Union launched a political learning programme about the glorious history over the past 90 years of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, while stepping up revolutionary movements and promoting the volunteering and creativity of the youth.

The Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh City Police has mobilised young officers and the union members to donate more than VND41 million to a joint programme to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for the community. The union have actively joined and supported those at the front lines to fight against the epidemic.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26) and respond to Youth Month 2021, the Management Board of Hoa Lo Prison Relic in Hanoi has launched a writing contest themed “Exciting Youth”. Contestants must choose a photo to record a moment of “vibrant youth” with an article sharing their experiences and feelings in in the form of an essay, short story or poem. The organisers will receive the entries via email [email protected] until March 23. Winners are expected to be announced on March 26 and will be provided with tickets to take a tour of the monument at night and enjoy theatrical plays about Hoa Lo Prison.

Despite participating in the labor market at a remarkably high rate, women in Vietnam still face multiple and persistent labor market inequalities, plus the double-pronged burden of work and family responsibilities, a new research brief by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam shows.

More than 70 percent of Vietnam’s working-age women are in the labor force, compared to the global level of 47.2 percent and the average of 43.9 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, according to the research ‘Gender and the Labor Market in Vietnam: An Analysis Based on the Labor Force Survey.’

However, the research indicated that the high labor force participation of women in Vietnam should not be interpreted as an indicator of equal opportunity.

Although recent progress on gender equality in the labor force has been seen in the country, men’s participation rate still stood at 9.5 percent higher than women’s, the study suggested.

Uneven distribution of family responsibilities in Vietnam’s society remains a huge hindrance for Vietnamese women in the workforce, as the 2018 Labor Force Survey showed nearly half of the women polled were not economically active because of “personal or family-related reasons,” compared to only 18.9 percent of inactive men.

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, both women and men had relatively easy access to jobs, but the quality of such jobs was on average lower among women than among men,” said Valentina Barcucci, ILO Vietnam labor economist, who is lead author of the research.

The report also found women earning less than men by 13.7 percent on monthly wages in 2019, despite comparable working hours and the progressive elimination of gender gaps in educational attainment.

Women spent an average of 20.2 hours per week cleaning the house, washing clothes, cooking and shopping for the family, family care and childcare, whereas men spent only 10.7 hours. Close to one-fifth of men did not spend any time on these activities at all.

Women were also underrepresented in decision-making jobs. They accounted for nearly half of the labor force, but less than one-fourth of overall management roles.

COVID-19 impacts

As a result of the pandemic, total working hours dropped significantly in the second quarter of 2020, and recovered through the second half of the year. Women faced the most severe losses.

The total weekly hours worked by women in the second quarter of 2020 were only 88.8 per cent of the total for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 91.2 percent for men.

However, women’s working hours recovered faster.

In the last three months of 2020, women worked 0.8 percent more hours than in the same period of 2019, whereas men worked 0.6 percent more.

“Those employed women who worked longer hours than usual in the second half of 2020 possibly wanted to make up for the income losses in the second quarter,” said Barcucci.

“Such additional hours made the double burden heavier to carry, as the time spent by women on household chores remained disproportionately high.”

The impact of COVID-19 on Vietnam’s labor market has not only widened existing inequalities, but also created new ones.

Before the pandemic, there was no difference between male and female unemployment rates, but a gap appeared from the third quarter of last year.

“Gender inequality in the labor market is traced back to the traditional roles that women are expected to play, supported by the social norms,” said ILO Vietnam director Chang-Hee Lee.

Lee commended the progressive amendments, namely the retirement age or removing the ban on female employment in certain occupations, that have been introduced in Vietnam’s 2019 Labor Code.

However, he also reminds Vietnam of its most challenging work to do to approach gender equality in the workforce, which is changing the mindsets of the Vietnamese men and women themselves.

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“We are pleased that US and Republic of Korea negotiators have reached consensus on a proposed text of a Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that will strengthen our Alliance and our shared defense,” said a State Department spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that the proposed agreement contained “a negotiated meaningful increase in host nation support contributions from the Republic of Korea,” without providing further details.

The two sides are pursuing the final steps needed to conclude the agreement for signature and entry into force, according to the spokesperson.

The 10th SMA reached in March 2019 expired at the end of that year. The United States and the Republic of Korea held multiple rounds of negotiations on the 11th SMA, but they failed to reach an agreement following the former US administration demanded a sharp increase in Seoul’s contribution.

Since 1991, the ROK has shared the upkeep cost for US soldiers, including costs for the ROK civilians hired by the US Forces Korea (USFK), construction of military installations, and logistics support.

Currently, about 28,500 US troops are stationed in the ROK.