Vietnam life ho chi minh city court sentences man to death for murdering

Con Dao affirms Vietnam’s sea and islands beauty

April 16, 2021 by en.nhandan.org.vn

Travel+Leisure writes: “With distinct golden sand, soft swells, and shady groves of bamboo and evergreen trees, it’s the kind of place to spend the day gently swinging in a hammock with a beach read, or walking in the surf with a freshly hacked coconut”.

The site added that, due to its location close to the airport, “commercial flights fly thrillingly close,” giving swimmers a chance to watch planes take off and land.

Located around 230 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Con Dao is an emerging tourist destination in Vietnam.

Eariler, the New York Times included southern Vietnam’s 16-island archipelago, Con Dao, in its list of “52 places to love in 2021”.

In 2017, CNN praised it as one 12 paradise islands in Asia, while the US magazine Time included Con Dao in its list of 13 places around the world that amaze travelers with their clear blue water.

Vietnam’s biggest airport jammed by crowds, leaving many queuing for hours

April 16, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

On Friday, a Vietnam Airlines flight was scheduled to depart from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi at 10 a.m. But at 9:40 a.m. Nguyen Thanh, her husband and three-year-old daughter had yet to pass the security checkpoint, prompting airline staff to “rescue” the family ahead of departure.

Arriving at the airport at 8 a.m., they completed check-in and medical declaration procedures, then queued up for an hour waiting to pass the security checkpoint.

Another Vietnam Airlines flight was scheduled to leave HCMC for Cam Ranh at 10:10 a.m., about 30 minutes before departure, many passengers were still at the security checkpoint.

“My family was about to go on a weekend trip – I was surprised the airport was so crowded. I’ve only witnessed such scenes during the Tet holiday,” a passenger named Nguyen Sy commented.

A representative of Tan Son Nhat airport, Vietnam’s largest, said overcrowding got worse closer to the weekends.

On Wednesday, 64,000 passengers passed through the airport, but the number rose to 77.000 a day later.

In 2019, the airport received 40 million passengers, up 4.5 percent from the previous year but the figure was down 47 percent last year to 22 million due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tan Son Nhat airport has served 36 million passengers a year since 2017, well above its capacity. Construction of a third terminal will begin in October this year.

With Vietnam having contained its Covid-19 outbreaks, domestic air travel has returned to normal.

The latest Covid-19 outbreak in late January came just a few weeks before Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, forcing many people to cancel travel plans.

Vietnam shows best corruption control in public sector in 10 years

April 16, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

The launch of the 2020 PAPI report in Hanoi on April 14 (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The control of corruption in the public sector last year showed the best performance in a decade, since the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) survey was first conducted.

The 2020 PAPI report, released on April 14, indicated that in 2020, the percentages of respondents seeing bribes as necessary for jobs in state agencies, health-care services at district-level public hospitals, land use right certificates, fair treatment by primary school teachers, and the granting of construction permits continued declining since 2016, the first year of the 2016-2021 government term.

As many as 18 provinces and cities made significant progress in the control of corruption in the public sector last year compared to 2019. Out of the 16 best performers, seven are from the south, four from the central region, and three from the north. As in previous years, Ben Tre performed well overall in this dimension. Six provinces experienced significant setbacks in 2020, with Ninh Thuan and Ninh Binh had the largest declines.

Nine out of the top 10 performers in controlling corrupt behaviours in local administrations and public services are central and southern provinces. Quang Ninh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Quang Tri, and Quang Nam are the top five performers in this indicator.

Compared to the 2016 findings, personal relationships have become less important in all provinces and cities, implying that local administrations may have paid greater attention to a fair recruitment of state employees. However, personal relationships remain very important for five public office positions at the commune level, even among the top performers.

The control of corruption in the public sector is one of the eight dimensions in the PAPI survey. The others are the participation at local levels, transparency in local decision making, vertical accountability towards citizens, public administrative procedures, public service delivery, environmental governance, and e-governance.

PAPI is a flagship governance programme initiated by the UN Development Programmes in Vietnam since 2009. It measures and benchmarks citizens’ experiences and perception on the performance and quality of policy implementation and services delivery of all 63 provincial administrations in Vietnam to advocate for effective and responsive governance.

Over 14,700 citizens were interviewed for the 2020 PAPI Report. This is the largest number of citizens to participate since the survey was first conducted nationwide in 2011. For the first time, the survey also gathered responses from citizens with temporary residence registration status. Nearly 300 migrants were surveyed in six provinces and centrally governed municipalities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong)./.

VNA

Youth federation members exchange with Vietnamese peacekeepers

April 16, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Attending the event hosted by the chapter were Senior Colonel Mac Duc Trong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VNDPKO), Phan Thi Thanh Huong, Secretary of the Vietnam Youth Union’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter, and Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Department of Politics of Military Hospital 175 under the Ministry of National Defense.

During the exchange, the participants recalled stories highlighting the role of Uncle Ho’s soldiers and the contributions of the military medical force of the Vietnam People’s Army to the UN peacekeeping operations. These contributions help realize the Party and State’s foreign policies, and raise the prestige and position of Vietnam in general and of the Vietnam People’s Army in particular in the international arena.

The Vietnamese peacekeepers also recalled their unforgettable memories and impressions when they performed their tasks as ambassadors of peace in people-to-people diplomacy.

An exhibition showcasing Vietnamese peacekeepers’ activities in South Sudan, a presentation of 200 national flags, 200 bandannas, and 200 “I love my Fatherland” badges from the chapter to the Level 2 Field Hospital (L2FH) Rotation 3 also took place on this occasion as part of the exchange.

The chapter and the L2FH Rotation 3 virtually signed a cooperation agreement under which they will periodically organize exchanges and dialogues, host a virtual exchange program themed “Youth and aspirations to rise”, and build a green space at the L2FH Rotation 3 in South Sudan.

They will also coordinate to implement international voluntary projects in South Sudan related to healthcare, social skills, cultural exchanges, online refresher courses on international youth affairs, and launch a painting contest under the theme “Love for peace”.

The exchange aroused municipal youths’ patriotism and pride of Vietnamese troops and military doctors and featured the role of Vietnamese youth in participating in UN peacekeeping operations.

Translated by Mai Huong