IFRC calls on int'l friends to help Vietnamese flood victims

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on October 19 called on international friends to donate nearly US$1.8 million to help flood victims in the central region of Vietnam.

Red Cross staff and volunteers in Vietnamese provinces have made great efforts to rescue victims and deliver emergency aid to people in the hardest hit areas in Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces.

The Spanish Red Cross has joined with other international organisations, including OXFAM, CARE, and PACCOM in Ha Tinh to provide urgent aid in line with local people’s needs.

The Vietnam Red Cross also took part in another delegation in Quang Binh to discover what local people need immediately.

Vietnam-China Friendship Youth Wall inaugurated

The Vietnam-China  Friendship Youth Wall was inaugurated on October 20 in the Nanning city of Quangxi province during the Vietnam-China Youth Festival. 

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son praised the activities of the Vietnam-China Youth Festival to mark the Friendship Year 2010 and the 60th anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties. 

He affirmed that the Vietnam-China Friendship Youth Wall and other activities in the festival will contribute to educating the youth of the two nations’ traditional friendship. 

Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China of Guangxi province Chen Jawa said the “Youth and Friendship Wall” makes a strong forecast for the traditional cooperation between the two countries. This is an important event to affirm youth’s role in developing Vietnam-China relationship.

Building the Vietnam-China  Friendship Youth Wall started on August 8 this year in Sports Park in Nanning city, fingerprinted by more than 5,600 leaders and people from both countries.

Vietnam attends ABU General Assembly in Japan

The 47th Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s (ABU) General Assembly on the theme “the Resilience of Broadcasting”, opened in the Japanese capital Tokyo on October 19.

The General Director of Vietnam Television (VTV), Vu Van Hien, and the Deputy General Director of Radio of Voice of Vietnam (VOV), Dao Duy Hua, are taking part in the assembly together with more than 400 delegates from 43 countries and territories worldwide.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of Japan’s Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Shigeo Fukuchi, stated that broadcasting plays an important role in safeguarding people’s lives and boosting mutual understanding between countries and regions through reliable information.
He confirmed that although the development of the Internet has created significant changes to global mass communications, the role of broadcasting remains unchanged.
In his message to the assembly, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs and Communications Yoshihiro Katayama, praised the ABU’s contributions to the development of the broadcasting sector as well as economic and cultural development in Asia-Pacific.
Japan will continue to support the regional broadcasting industry by providing training, equipment and production technologies, he stressed.
ABU Chairman and NHK Vice President in charge of external relations, Yoshinori Imai, said that Myanmar’s Radio and Television broadcasters had recently been admitted to the ABU, raising the organisation’s membership to 197.

Study reveals teen enthusiasm for online games

As many as 68.4 percent of people aged under 20 play online games, according to a survey published in Hanoi on October 19.

The survey showed that secondary school students in the age group of 16 and 20 years were the largest group of the teenage online game players.

However, general school students only ranked second in terms of daily online game players, leaving the top spot to white-collar workers. University students took the third ranking.
The survey also confirmed that the situation of online games addicts was not as serious as mass media warned, as the rate of addicts based on World Health Organisation indicators was not high.

It also exonerated online game providers and the games themselves as the sole cause of the criticised addiction, citing responsibilities of families and schools as well as basic life skills of players.

The average sum of money paid by an online game player was found to be lower than other sorts of entertainments such as newspaper reading, sports and coffee drinking.

The survey was conducted by the Institute of Social Science on 1,400 people at random in six cities and provinces representing the three main parts of the country.

VNN/VNS/VOV