Vietnam life 15

Hanoi -- A married couple from Vietnam each won individual gold in chess at almost the same time on Tuesday as the SEA Games hosts closed on 100 gold medals overall. Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, 32, and his wife Pham Le Thao Nguyen, 34, won the men's and women's rapid chess titles in Hanoi. Each saw off opponents from Singapore with just minutes between their victories. Thao Nguyen finished a bit earlier and then quietly waited for her husband to seal his win. "During the game we were worried for each other," Thao Nguyen said, according to Vietnam News Agency. "This was our first experience like this." Truong Son, the world number 128 in the International Chess Federation rankings, is the youngest Vietnamese to have earned the title of grandmaster and had already won gold earlier in the regional Games. "We were always together in training. We supported and shared difficulties together," he said. "Now is the time for us to celebrate together." Their wins boosted Vietnam’s … [Read more...] about Vietnam close on 100 gold as couple win just minutes apart

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has set a goal to build at least 10 hectares of public parks across the metropolis in 2022, the Vietnam News Agency reported. The city will add at least 10 hectares of public parks and two hectares of green space, as well as plant and renovate 6,000 trees, this year, according to a plan recently issued by the municipal People’s Committee. Authorities in every district and Thu Duc City were tasked with making a list of land plots originally zoned for building public parks. If these land lots are currently leased for other purposes, the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment will suggest a road map to reclaim them to prepare for the park construction. The city administration also highlighted the addition of parks and green trees to housing development projects, as well as the expansion of land banks for public parks across the metropolis. District-level authorities will also be in charge of completing the database of … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City to add at least 10ha of public parks this year

National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ (right) receives the Lao Minister of Science and Technology, who is also President of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association, in Vientiane on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo VIENTIANE — National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ commended the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association for its contributions to the friendship and special solidarity between the two countries during a reception for its President Boviengkham Vongdara in Vientiane on Tuesday. Huệ described people-to-people diplomacy as an important diplomatic channel between Việt Nam and Laos, in which associations played a significant role. The top legislator noted that the two sides should further educate their people, especially young generations, about the relations and the need to preserve and promote the rare relationship. He asked Boviengkham Vongdara, the Lao Minister of Science and Technology, to continue supporting the Vietnamese community in Laos and more than 200 Vietnamese … [Read more...] about People-to-people diplomacy important to Vietnam-Laos relations

Vietnam makes effort to deter people from poaching wild, migratory birds Vietnam is considered one of the most important areas in the network of migratory and endemic bird routes, with 63 globally important bird regions and 7 endemic bird regions. Of more than 900 species of birds that have been recorded in the Southeast Asian country, 99 of them need conservation attention, 10 are critically endangered, 17 are endangered, 24 are endangered and 48 are about to be threatened. The areas of wild birds and migratory birds have created important natural values, contributing to nature conservation, biodiversity conservation, tourism development, and building the image of Vietnam. Although the Party, State, and sectors and levels have been making great efforts in protecting biodiversity, including wild and migratory birds as well as important bird areas, hunting and consuming wild birds, especially migratory birds, is still rampant in many localities, negatively affecting … [Read more...] about Vietnam makes effort to deter people from poaching wild, migratory birds

At a meeting with U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in New York on May 16 (local time), the PM stressed that the year 2022 is of great significance as it marks the 45th anniversary of Vietnam’s U.N. membership. Appreciating the U.N.’s valuable contributions and support to Vietnam over the past more than four decades, the PM asked Amina to convey his invitation to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other U.N. leaders to visit Vietnam this year to foster multi-faceted cooperation between the two sides. Chinh reiterated Vietnam’s strong commitments to multilateralism and a world order based on international law and the U.N. Charter, as well as the country’s support for the U.N.’s central role in the global administration system, saying it needs global, all-people, and comprehensive approaches to tackle common challenges like epidemics and climate change. Vietnam backs enhancing relations between the U.N., parliaments of its member countries and the … [Read more...] about Vietnam to play more active role at U.N.: PM

The Vietnamese Women’s Museum held a ceremony on May 17 in Hanoi to receive roughly 500 artifacts donated by Mark Rapoport, a doctor from the United States, and his family. US doctor Mark Rapoport (C) offers 500 artifacts to Vietnamese Women's Museum. (Photo: Phunuvietnam.vn) In 1969, Rapoport first visited Vietnam as a medical student. He was sent by the American Medical Association to work as a medical volunteer in hospitals across Da Nang City, as well as in ethnic people inhabited villages in Quang Ngai province. Since then he has been collecting Vietnamese cultural artifacts. He then returned to work in New York for 25 years. In 2001, he and his family moved to Hanoi in order to conduct research on the impact of Agent Orange/dioxin, with a specific focus on the rate of birth defects among infants. Rapoport continued to collect Vietnamese artifacts, particularly items relating to ethnic minority groups and Vietnamese ancestors. Over the past 20 years, … [Read more...] about US doctor offers 500 artifacts to Vietnam Women’s Museum