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Vietnam attends 4th Asia-Europe political forum, 37th ICAPP meeting
A Vietnamese Party delegation attended the 4th Asia-Europe Political Forum (AEPF) and the 37th meeting of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), which took place in the Czech Republic from June 10-12.
The forum, founded in 2017, attracted the participation of 28 parties from 21 Asian and European nations. It discussed COVID-19-related experiences, globalisation, and future EU-Asia relations.
It passed a statement highlighting the importance of strengthening the partnership through the important role of political party cooperation towards sustainability and comprehensiveness.
On the sidelines of the event, deputy head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Relations Ngo Le Van, who led the Vietnamese delegation, had meetings with Jan Zahradil, Vice Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade; ICAPP leaders; and representatives of participating parties.
Community-based organisations play key role in nation’s HIV/AIDS fight
Flexible and effective outreach by 43 local community-based organisations (CBOs) has made significant progress possible in preventing HIV infections and providing treatment for HIV-positive people in Vietnam.
This, in turn, will enable the healthcare sector to achieve the national goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, speakers said at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10.
Representatives of CBOs from Hanoi, HCM City and eight other localities discussed with counterparts from the Centre for Promotion of Quality of Life (LIFE), local Centres for Disease Control (CDCs) and other authorised agencies the role of innovation and creativity in healthcare for HIV patients.
The eight other COBs attending the seminar were: Can Tho City and the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Tien Giang and Kien Giang.
The initiative was supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS ReliefFund (PEPFAR) in Vietnam.
Legislators to vote on draft laws, resolutions next week
Legislators will spend most of the time in the last working week of the third sitting of the 15th National Assembly (June 13-16) debating a number of draft laws.
The bills include the draft Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended), the draft Law on Inspection (amended), the draft Law on Implementation of Democracy at Grassroots Level, the draft revised Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, the draft amended Petroleum Law, and the law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Radio Frequencies.
The deputies are scheduled to vote on the draft Law on Mobile Police, the draft Law on Cinematography (amended), the draft revised Law on Emulation and Commendation, the draft law amending and supplementing some articles in the Law on Intellectual Property, and the draft Law on Insurance Business (amended).
Meeting marks World Oceans Day, Vietnam’s sea-island week in Phu Yen
A meeting took place in the south-central province of Phu Yen to celebrate World Oceans Day (June 8) and the Vietnam Sea and Island Week, which began on June 1.
Held in a hybrid format, the event attracted the participation of central and local officials, and representatives of coastal localities and international organisations in Vietnam.
In his remarks, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha believed that Vietnam will achieve more in its general natural resources management and environmental protection of seas and islands in contribution to preserve the green planet and clean ocean of mankind.
Caitlin Wiesen, Acting Interim Resident Coordinator for the United Nations (UN) and UN Development Programme Resident Representative in Vietnam, said the UN is proud to have cooperated with the Government of Vietnam in such important areas as climate change, circular economy, especially marine spatial planning for sustainable oceans growth. Wiesen hoped for the ties' further development toward an environmentally friendly future by 2050.
President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to be closed for maintenance
The Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh and the Monument to Heroic Martyrs in Hanoi will be closed to the public from June 13 to August 15 for annual maintenance this year.
Respect-paying activities for President Ho Chi Minh and heroic martyrs will resume on August 16, announced the management board of President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on June 10.
President Ho Chi Minh passed away on September 2, 1969. His body was embalmed and placed in a glass coffin inside the granite mausoleum.
The mausoleum has become an important landmark of the capital city and is integral to the political and social history of Vietnam.
Prime Minister talks with workers nationwide
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a dialogue with 4,500 workers nationwide on June 12, both online and in-person, with the main site in the northern province of Bac Giang.
Earlier, workers from across the country expressed their wish to meet and talk with the Prime Minister over issues relating to jobs, incomes and working environments. PM Chinh agreed to hold the dialogue after being reported by the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL).
At the dialogue, the workers expressed their confidence in the Party’s policies and guidelines and the State’s laws, as well as their resolve in production, contributing to national construction.
PM Chinh stressed that over the past years, the Party, the State and people have always paid special attention to workers and labourers, with various relevant policies and guidelines adopted.
Following the dialogue, the mechanisms, institutions and policies will be reviewed and amended, the leader pledged, noting his hope that employees will promote their role in the process of industrialisation and modernisation, and national construction and defence.
Regional minimum wage to increase starting in July
A new decree raising the regional minimum wage for labourers was approved on June 12 by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh.
The new regulation, coded 38/2022/ND-CP will come into effect on July 1. The 6 percent increase is equivalent to a rise of 260,000 VND (11.20 USD) in Region 1, and 240,000 VND, 210,000 VND, and 180,000 VND in Regions 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
The document also specifies that the minimum hourly wage will range from 15,600 to 22,500 VND (0.70-1 USD), which also depends on the region. The geographical classification is determined based on the employer’s place of operation.
Region 1 covers Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City's urban areas; Region 2 encompasses Hanoi and HCM City's rural areas, along with major urban areas in the country like Can Tho, Da Nang and Hai Phong; Region 3 covers provincial cities and the districts of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong provinces; and Region 4 comprises the rest of the country.
Ha Tinh: Vu Quang national park receives rare wild animals
The Vu Quang National Park in the central province of Ha Tinh on August 11 received an Assam macaque and a pangolin from the local border force.
A day earlier, border guard personnel from Huong Khe district found the rare animals inside a bag left by a suspect during his escape from them.
The 5kg macaque is injured in its left leg, while the pangolin is weighed one kg. Both of them are on the list of endangered and rare forest animals that need urgent protection.
They are now cared at the national park before being released back to the wild.
Thach Khe iron ore mining project needs careful consideration: PM
Socio-economic, environmental and social welfare impacts of the Thach Khe iron ore mining project must be taken into consideration thoroughly to soon decide whether or not to deploy it, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested.
Located in the central province of Ha Tinh, Thach Khe is currently the biggest iron ore mine in Southeast Asia with an estimated reserve of over 544 million tons, making half of the national reserve.
The Ha Tinh-based Thach Khe Iron JSC (TIC) under the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group started the exploration project in September 2009.
However, the project has been suspended since November 2011 to serve the re-evaluation of its design and impacts, with the final decision yet to be made, affecting the locality, the investor and residents in the project area.
Vietnam, Uzbekistan seek to promote multifaceted cooperation
Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia and Uzbekistan Dang Minh Khoi has held working sessions with relevant agencies of Uzbekistan to strengthen multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
During the meetings, the two sides affirmed long-standing friendship between Vietnam and Uzbekistan, saying that bilateral trade cooperation is not commensurate with the close relationship as well as the potential of the two countries. They want to further increase the two-way trade turnover, currently at 135 million USD.
At the meeting on June 8 with First Deputy Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Azim Akhmedkhadzhaev and representatives of the oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz, the two sides exchanged possibilities for cooperation in the oil and gas field. Akhmedkhadzhaev expressed his support for the collaboration ideas raised by Ambassador Khoi and his working delegation, including representatives of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), saying that both sides should quickly set up a working group to exchange in detail.
During the working session on June 10 with Deputy Minister of Transport Abdusamat Muminov, the two sides discussed enhancing cooperation in the field of transport between the two countries, particularly the possibility of opening a direct flight to Uzbekistan of Vietnam’s national flag carrier - Vietnam Airlines to promote trade and tourism, and strengthen connections with neighbouring regions. The Uzkek official affirmed his support to the proposal. The two officials also agreed to promote preliminary exchanges so that these ideas could be implemented soon.
The Vietnamese ambassador has raised the possibility of building an instant noodle factory in Uzbekistan as well as cooperation in agriculture and aquaculture at a meeting with Badriddin Abidov, Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan. Abidov expressed his wish that Vietnam will help train agricultural experts for Uzbekistan, adding that it is necessary for the two sides to establish a working group to quickly promote cooperation and investment projects.
Vietnam calls for responsibility for peace, stability at ARF SOM
The sides should show their sense of responsibility for peace and stability in the region and the world, Ambassador Vu Ho, acting head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, stressed at the ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials’ Meeting (ARF SOM).
Ambassador Ho said dialogues should be enhanced through such mechanisms as the ARF to build trust, ease differences and seek effective solutions to the current issues.
The ambassador also affirmed Vietnam’s willingness to coordinate with countries to contribute to international efforts in handling the problems.
Regarding the East Sea, Ho noted that the recent developments in the waters have harmed peace, security, stability and maritime environment, and reiterated ASEAN’s stance on the significance of peace, security, stability and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures, adherence to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), and the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) to facilitate negotiations of an effective, substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea in line with international law, including the UNCLOS.
Avian influenza H5N1 epidemic breaks out in Quang Tri
The Animal Health Department of Quang Tri province, central Vietnam, has culled 1,700 ducks and 30 chickens found to be positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The outbreak was detected at a poultry farm in Vinh Son commune of Vinh Linh district on June 2, with hundreds of 10-day old ducklings dying of unknown causes.
Local veterinarians took samples for testing and announced a week later that the ducklings had contracted with the avian influenza subtype H5N1 that causes bird flu.
Local authorities culled all the sick birds and disinfected the farm and nearby neighbourhood. They closely monitored other poultry herds and banned the transport and trading in poultry products in the affected areas.
E-waste collection at a standstill in Hà Nội
The collection of used batteries in Hà Nội is currently at a standstill due to various problems.
The Law on Environmental Protection regulates that manufacturers and importers take responsibility for collecting used batteries.
But so far, no manufacturer or importer has officially announced that they will regularly receive used batteries from the community.
Statistics from the United Nations Environment Programme show that each Vietnamese person generates an average of 1.3kg of e-waste per year. However, the amount of e-waste collected and properly treated is very small.
In addition, because the used battery has no value for recycling, this product is often dumped with household waste.
Meanwhile, articles 54 and 55 of the Law on Environmental Protection regulate that organisations and individuals that produce and import batteries must be responsible for recycling and treating their products according to the required rates and specifications or making financial contributions to the Việt Nam Environmental Protection Fund to support waste treatment.
Currently, there are several new places to collect used batteries in Hà Nội, such as Hà Nội Battery Joint Stock Company (Habaco) at 72 Phan Trọng Tuệ Street in Thanh Trì District.
This is also the only unit that collects old batteries regularly. Habaco accepts up to 70 batteries per collection from an individual or a group.
However, Habaco's collection spot is far from the city's centre, which is not convenient for most people.
There are also some other battery collection locations, which are green stores, such as the Aeon mall supermarket system in Long Biên and Hà Đông districts. However, places like these are very small.
According to experts from the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), e-waste in Việt Nam is still mainly collected by people who buy waste and electronics repair shops.
Run To Heart in HCM City to honour COVID workers
More than 700 runners will take part in "Run to Heart" programme to be organised in HCM City next month to honour frontline workers in the battle against COVID-19 over the last two years, according to the organisers.
The run will take place in Vạn Phúc City urban area in Thủ Đức City on July 3.
It will feature 10- and five-kilometre races.
Around 200 doctors, nurses, public security officials, soldiers, volunteers, and frontline workers from many cities and provinces will be invited to take part in the latter.
Beach city sets up amazing summer vacation
A series of entertainment and art performance programmes will attract tourists to the pristine beaches of Đà Nẵng for their summer vacations from June 11 to August 15.
A carnival of Electronic Dance Music on the Hàn River banks and the An Thương night tourism zone on the beach of Mỹ Khê will be held at night to resume tourism activities in the post COVID era.
Đà Nẵng also hosts the International Yoga Festival at the Biển Đông (East Sea) Park with the participation of Vietnamese yogi and Indian coaches on June 11-12. The event will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Việt Nam-India diplomatic friendship.
Đà Nẵng also hosted the Routes Asia 2022 forum, an annual event dedicated to gearing up the aviation industry’s recovery across the Asia-Pacific region on June 6-8. The city also handed the hosting of the next event to Thailand’s Chiang Mai, where they will be organising the Routes Asia 2023, in a ceremony on June 8.
Vice director of the city’s tourism department, Nguyễn Xuân Bình, said Đà Nẵng would be a regional destination hub for MICE as well as golf and sports in the coming year.
The city offered free SARS-COV-2 tests for Korean tourists through June to support Koreans returning to their country from Đà Nẵng.
VN theatre artists climb on the online bandwagon
The growing trend of broadcasting cultural and art performances on digital platforms has pushed theatre artists to adapt to this new channel.
For two consecutive years marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, theatre leaders had to work hard and find a way for artists to maintain interactions with audiences.
They created a Vietnamese performing arts channel on YouTube and Facebook to broadcast a number of professional fine arts performances.
After the pandemic was brought under control in Việt Nam, many theatres have gradually returned to live performances.
However, many cultural and art performances continue to be released on digital platforms. Theater owners and artists have recognised that digital transformation is a new trend as well as an oppotunity to maintain and develop their art.
People's Artist Việt Anh said that in order to attract viewers, drama productions and artists’ performances needs to be "re-designed" to suit digital platforms.
He is one of several people who are training fellow artists to create works of art that are suitable for digital platforms
Meritorious Artist Xuân Bắc, Director of the Vietnam Drama Theatre, said: “Building an online theatre on television and social networks is an inevitable trend for performing arts.”
According to many artists, online theatres can create equal opportunities or all audiences to enjoy performances, especially those in remote, border and island areas. In that sense, they are an egalitarian project based on the premise that everyone is equal and has the right to enjoy and appreciate art.
When the pandemic hit the country in early 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism initiated plans to organise art events virtually. This project has been launched officially.
Heavily affected by the pandemic, most theatres and stages have been operating without any revenue. The theaters’ management boards have struggled to cover essential overheads while trying to find new solutions for their artists to perform.
Online platforms can help both artists and audiences get up-to-date information about professional art competitions and festivals.
The online stage is emerging as a new channel to evaluate the talents of creative and performing artists objectively and transparently, based on the number of followers and the direct feedback of critics and audiences.
It will be also an official channel to introduce, exchange and integrate the Vietnamese stage with global counterparts in the fastest, most economical way.
HCM City orders hospitals to test visitors who travelled to endemic areas for malaria
The HCM City Department of Health has instructed medical facilities to test all visitors who have returned from malaria endemic areas for the disease.
It is easy to confuse malaria symptoms with those of other illnesses such as flu, COVID-19, dengue fever, and urinary infection.
Last week the city's Hospital for Tropical Diseases reported that it discovered and treated two imported cases of severe malaria.
One of them is a 24-year-old Vietnamese student who returned from Cameroon while the other is a 63-year-old Chinese man who came from Ivory Coast.
In Việt Nam, the disease occurs only in a few provinces in Tây Nguyên (the Central Highlands) and the south.
Last year the country had a total of 465 malaria cases, down 67 per cent from 2020, according to the HCM City Centre for Disease Control. As of last year 36 provinces and cities across the country had been recognized as malaria-free, it said.
HCM City has not recorded any domestic malaria cases since 2011 and was recognized as a malaria-free locality in 2020. It does handle a number of infections every year, but all are imported or referred from other places in the country.
HCM City police busts fake medicine ring
The police in HCM City have cracked down on a counterfeit pharmaceutical products production and trading ring.
The police have detained Pham Ngoc Bich, director of the Amtex Pharma Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, abbreviated as Amtex Pharma Company at Hamlet 1B in Long An Province’s Ben Luc District, and five others.
Around 5:30 pm on June 9, the police caught Pham Ngoc Bich and his accomplices driving a car carrying 12 cartons containing 20,000 blisters of neo-Codion-branded drug to Ho Chi Minh City for sale. This kind of medicine is used for Covid-19 treatment.
The police then raided the factories and workshops of Amtex Pharma Company in Long An as well as the firm’s facilities in HCM City, detecting 1 million phoney finished product pills. Lots of raw materials for the production of fake pharmaceutical products and blister pressing machines were also found on the scene.
Amtex Pharma Company is licensed to manufacture and trade modern medicines of all kinds. It has been operating for many years with large-scale production.
Football tournament in Russia promotes Vietnamese people’s love for sports
The Sadovod Football League 2022 recently wrapped up successfully in Moscow, contributing to promoting a love for sports among Overseas Vietnamese people in Russia.
Launched on May 10, the month-long event attracted six teams, who competed in a round-robin format.
It aimed to create a sporting venue for the Overseas Vietnamese community who are doing business at Sadovod shopping complex, which is one of the most bustling trading areas in Moscow.
Nearly 94,000 students enter 10th-grade entrance exam in Ho Chi Minh City
Nearly 94,000 students in Ho Chi Minh City entered the entrance exam for 10th-grade public schools on June 11, according to the city Department of Education and Training.
This year’s high school entrance exam will take place on June 11 and 12, including three subjects Literature, Mathematics and Foreign Language.
The Mathematics and Literature exams are 120 minutes while the time for the Foreign Language exam is 90 minutes.
The entrance exam is held at 150 exam venues including 3,953 exam rooms. The city Department of Education and Training has arranged for more than 11,800 teachers and about 1,800 security guards to observe the exam.
A new regulation in this year’s 10th-grade entrance exam is that candidates have to keep their items 25m away from the exam room.
Ho Chi Minh City has 114 public senior high schools which will enrol about 72,800 students in the 2022-2023 school year. It means that more than 13,000 students will not be admitted to public schools this year.
Artbook illustrating Nguyen Du’s poems released
An artbook illustrating poems by celebrated poet Nguyen Du (1766 –1820) has been released by Kim Dong Publishing House on the occasion of the publisher’s 65th founding anniversary.
The artbook introduces poems and several excerpts from ‘Truyen Kieu’ (The Tale of Kieu), the most famous work by Nguyen Du, through 27 paintings and drawings by young painter Niayu.
The poems were composed by Nguyen Du on the topic of dreams. The poet, through his works, featured the portraits of people in his time and conveyed his meditations on life.
Niayu, whose real name is Tran My Ngoc, was born in 1997 in An Giang province. She was a graduate of the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City.
International Yoga Festival attracts over 1,500 yoga practitioners
An International Yoga Festival kicked off in Da Nang City on June 11, attracting more than 1,500 yoga practitioners throughout the city.
The two-day event is hosted by the Da Nang city People’s Committee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam – India diplomatic ties (1952-2022) and the eighth International Yoga Day (June 21).
The festival includes yoga performances by Indian yoga masters, a mass yoga performance by members of yoga clubs in Da Nang and Quang Nam province, and booths showcasing Da Nang culture and tourism.
Hanoi CDC director arrested in Viet A test kit case
Truong Quang Viet, director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC), was detained on June 10 for his alleged violations while procuring Covid test kits from Viet A Technology Corporation.
He was charged with violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences, the local media reported.
Viet was named director of the Hanoi CDC in early February, after holding the post of deputy director of the center for nearly two years.
The Hanoi Department of Health had earlier said that the Hanoi CDC did not buy the Covid test kits from Viet A in 2021, and that in 2020, some sponsors donated Viet A’s Covid test kits to the center.
Over the past six months, more than 60 people have been prosecuted for their alleged involvement in Viet A’s price gouging of Covid-19 test kits, including former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, former Hanoi City Chairman Chu Ngoc Anh and directors of many CDCs and Departments of Health of many localities.
Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes
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