The United Nations Secretary-General congratulated Viet Nam on wining a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term during his reception for Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN in New York on October 13.

He told the diplomat that he would pay an official visit to Viet Nam on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam's accession to the UN later this year.

The visit aims to deliver a strong message of the importance the UN attaches to the Viet Nam-UN partnership over the past 45 years, Antonio Guterres.

Viet Nam is one of the indispensable members of the UN, and has been making significant contributions to the UN's common work in solving global challenges, for peace and development in the world, he noted.

PM chairs Gov’t Steering Committee for Administrative Reform’s 2nd meeting

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 19 chaired the second meeting of the Government Steering Committee for Administrative Reform to assess the results of its operations in the first nine months of 2022, and discuss measures to carry out tasks for the remaining months.

In his opening remarks, the PM said that administrative reform has always been identified by the Vietnamese Party and State as an important component in a strategic breakthrough in institutional improvement.

This is an important step to build and perfect a socialist rule-of-law state serving the people and for the development of the country, he said and asked committee members to clearly define their role in administrative reform of the country and their respective ministries and sectors.

In the first nine months of this year, 657 business regulations in 73 documents were cut or simplified, plans to cut down and simplify 187 regulations in 19 legal documents approved.

Meanwhile, the digital transformation and the building of e-government saw great progress, with the information of nearly 100 million people updated on the national database system on the population, and over 73 million chip-based citizen identification cards provided.

HCM City to face 1.70 metre-high tide in coming days

A new high tide is forecasted to hit HCM City in the coming days, peaking above 1.70 metres on October 25-27.

According to the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Centre, the city has seen heavy rains over the past few days in some areas including Nha Be District and Thu Duc City. Low-lying and riverside areas have been warned to prepare for possible flooding, especially as a new tide is expected.

"This will be a very high tide and it is set to hit between October 25-27," the centre warned. "The water level may reach 1.60-1.65 metres at Phu An and Nha Be water-level monitoring stations, and up to 1.70-1.75 metres at Thu Dau Mot station."

The rising tide is forecasted to reach its highest level between 5-7 am and 5-7 pm.

Tides reaching approximately 1.70 metres high also affected the city on October 11-12, causing serious flooding.

UNDP pledges to help Vietnam in human rights-based approach to climate action

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) held policy discussion on the human rights and climate change nexus in Hanoi on October 18, focusing on how to achieve a just, green and sustainable environmental development with principles of equity and human rights at the centre.

This is a follow-up to an international workshop co-hosted by UNDP and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July on the climate change impacts on the human rights enjoyment of the most vulnerable.

With the support by the Embassy of Norway, UNDP introduced a new policy paper on impacts of climate change on human rights and how to address the impacts.

The study provides an overview of human rights impacts and roles and responsibilities of stakeholders based on UN normative instruments on Human Rights and Climate Change.

UNDP recommended policy makers and government authorities at all levels to ensure that climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and measures, including the Just Energy Transition, are effectively grounded on a human rights-based approach that put people’s rights at the centre.

Sailing Ship 286-Le Quy Don completes military diplomatic mission

Sailing Ship 286-Le Quy Don of the Vietnam Naval Academy docked at Nha Trang port in the central province of Khanh Hoa on October 18, successfully completing its military diplomatic mission in connection with long-distance seafaring training trip for final-year naval students. 

Commanded by Colonel Huynh Vinh Tuyen, deputy director of the academy, the ship paid a courtesy visit to the Malaysian Royal Navy from October 4-5.

The trip’s success has contributed to further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the Vietnamese and Malaysian navies, and marked a new development in terms of training of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

According to Tuyen, the trip affirms the efforts of the academy in renewing its training, as well as its performance of military diplomatic missions. 

The highlight of the trip were exchange activities with the Malaysian Navy, which have contributed to enhancing mutual understanding and trust and  promoting practical cooperation between the two navies, especially in the field of training, he said.

Fourth body recovered from Binh Thuan titanium mine collapse

Rescue forces on Tuesday afternoon found the fourth body at the site of the Nam Suoi Nhum titanium mine collapse in the southern central province of Binh Thuan.

The body of Nguyen Van Nam, 31, was found at 2 pm on October 18. He was among four workers buried after the mine abruptly collapsed while they were working at the waste dump on the afternoon of October 15. The victims were buried under tonnes of sand.

An urgent search for the victims was launched immediately using excavators and other specialised equipment and rescuers found one corpse lying about one metre down the same evening. He was identified as Bui Quang Trinh, 36.

The bodies of Nguyen Van Tung, 30, and Huynh Tan Phuoc, 48, were found on October 17.

The mine, which occupies over 515 hectares, has been operated by a local firm since 2015 as per a permit granted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for a mining period of 23 years.

It was suspended for three months in 2016 after one of its pits collapsed down, pushing a large volume of sand and mud to nearby residential areas and roads.

Binh Thuan authorities have asked the investors of all local mines to strictly comply with mining safety regulations, to avoid similar incidents.

ASEAN, EU sign world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement

The ASEAN, European Union (EU) and their member states signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) at the 28th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia on October 17.

The ASEAN-EU CATA is the world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement and reflects the latest policy thinking in air transport regulation. Negotiations on the agreement commenced in 2016 and concluded on June 2, 2021.

Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of Transportation of Indonesia, said the signing of the agreement will create more harmonious synergies to accelerate economic recovery, especially air connectivity between ASEAN and Europe, and will re-invigorate the global economy, in particular in the ASEAN and EU regions.

Adina Vălean, the European Commissioner for Transport, said the signing of the first-ever region-to-region air transport agreement between the EU and ASEAN brings bilateral aviation partnership to a new level. The agreement will help to support the aviation sector’s recovery post-COVID-19, and restore much-needed connectivity between the two regions, to the benefit of some 1.1 billion people.

ASEAN-EU CATA also provides a foundation for closer cooperation between ASEAN and the EU in areas such as aviation safety, air traffic management, consumer protection, and environmental and social matters.

Sports minister meets leader of International Olympic Committee in Seoul

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung met with President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on October 18.

The meeting took place within the framework of the 26th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

Highly valuing Vietnam’s efforts to develop sports in the country, he expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Government will give more attention to and investment in boosting sports, especially Olympic ones, so that the country can secure a higher stature at continental and international sport arenas.

He affirmed the IOC’s attention to Vietnam and noted he hopes to have a chance for in-depth discussion with Minister Hung to learn more about sports in the country so as to provide appropriate assistance.

The official proposed the IOC increase training courses for athletes of such Olympic sports as football, swimming, shooting, and weightlifting, which Vietnam wishes to foster. He also called on the IOC to carry out a project on building the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee of Vietnam early.

Macleod said the IOC is delighted at Vietnam’s successes, especially in developing sports with the engagement of women, which is meaningful to not only sports but also society.

He underlined that the IOC is always ready to work with Vietnam in the issues Hung mentioned, noting aside from organising training courses, providing technical assistance, and granting scholarships for sport talents, there remain many areas in which the two sides can cooperate.

K-Concert launches Vietnam-RoK cultural exchange

The first K-Concert, as part of the K-Expo Vietnam 2022, that is underway in Hanoi, kick-started a series of cultural exchanges between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam.

The first part of the event took place at the National Convention Centre and JW Marriott hotel from October 15-18, showcasing Korean food, agro-fisheries and national trademarks. The second part is scheduled for October 27-28 at the Hanoi International Exhibition Centre with consumer goods and services.

The event has attracted about 250 Korean firms and 605 others from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand with import-export consultancies, B2B matching and a networking seminar.

It also affords the RoK a chance to introduce its plan to host World Expo Busan 2030 and Korea Sale FESTA 2022.

Sideline events include exhibitions, virtual reality demonstrations, culinary offerings, and a dance competition.

The second K-Concert is slated for October 27 in Hanoi with Winner, singer Kim Se-jeong and BLANK2Y taking part.

PMs of Vietnam, Australia discuss measures to advance relations

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held phone talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on October 18 to discuss advancing their countries’ relations, especially in economy, trade and investment.

Congratulating Australia on its prominent achievements, PM Chinh thanked the country for donating over 26.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam and maintaining its provision of official development assistance (ODA).

PM Albanese congratulated Vietnam on its election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2023-2025, and affirmed that relations with Vietnam are always important to Australia, which hopes to strengthen and develop their strategic partnership to a new height.

The two leaders valued the maintenance of high-level delegation exchanges and meetings, including the upcoming official visit to Australia by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

They noted economic and trade ties have been flourishing, with bilateral trade reaching 12.4 billion USD in 2021 (up by nearly 50%) and 12 billion USD in the first nine months of 2022 (up by over 30%), making Australia the country’s seventh largest trade partner and Vietnam the 10th largest of Australia. Meanwhile, partnerships in security-defence, labour, education-training, agriculture, science-technology, tourism, aviation, locality-to-locality cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges have also been growing.

They shared the view that connections in economy, trade and investment are thriving, but there remains potential as both countries have high demand during the post-pandemic economic recovery.

PM Chinh asked Australia to continue providing technical support and further open its market to fresh fruit and fishery products from Vietnam, stop anti-dumping investigations into certain Vietnamese goods, and accelerate customs clearance at its ports of entry. 

He called on Australia to encourage its enterprises to increase investment in Vietnam, particularly in renewable energy, hi-tech agriculture, telecommunications, infrastructure development, and supply chains. He also recommended it facilitate large financial investment funds and financial service firms to explore chances in Vietnam, and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses and people in the country.

For his part, PM Albanese asked the two sides to press on with implementing the Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) and also agreed with Chinh’s proposals, including on increasing Australian investment in Vietnam, strengthening ties in education and training, granting more scholarships for Vietnamese students, boosting the implementation of Australia’s agriculture visa programme, and opening more direct air routes.

The two PMs agreed to continue seeking opportunities and enhancing ties in potential fields like climate change response, digital transformation, energy transition, hi-tech agriculture, infrastructure development, and supply chains.

The Vietnamese leader called on Australia to continue assisting ASEAN to improve healthcare capacity and train high-quality human resources while supporting the bloc’s efforts to narrow the development gap, including in the Mekong sub-region.

With regard to the East Sea issue, Albanese expressed his support for ASEAN and Vietnam’s stance and viewpoint, sharing the view on the need to resolve disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); guarantee security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region with respect for countries’ interests; fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and build a substantive, effective, and efficient code of conduct (COC) in the waters.

On this occasion, PM Chinh invited his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese to pay an official visit Vietnam. The Australian PM accepted the invitation and said the trip will be organised when the two countries mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2023.

Vietnamese chess masters shine at Asian youth championships

Vietnam has dominated the Asian Youth Chess Championships 2022 with five titles after four days of competition in Bali, Indonesia.

All gold medals have been in the rapid chess category by Vo Pham Thien Phuc (boys' U16), Pham Tran Gia Phuc (boys' U14), Dau Khuong Duy (boys' U12), Nguyen Hong Nhung (girls' U16) and Tong Thai Hoang An (girls' U10).

The team has also secured four silvers and four bronzes in this category to temporally lead the medal tally of the tournament.

Vietnam sent 98 competitors to Bali in 12 groups ranging from U8 to U18 for both boys and girls against nearly 450 masters from 20 countries and territories.

They are currently playing in the standard chess discipline, which will wrap up on October 20, while blitz chess will be held on October 21.

Organisers will present awards for both individual and team winners on October 22.

EC team to inspect Kien Giang’s efforts to prevent IUU fishing

Inspectors from the European Commission will visit the southern coastal province of Kien Giang from October 20-25 to check its efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and undocumented (IUU) fishing.

They will look into the province’s political efforts and drastic actions to ensure responsible fishing management and sustainable development, as well as its response to the EC’s suggestions related to IUU fishing.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Quoc Anh said the team will inspect the surveillance of fishing vessels, the tracing of seafood origins, and legal enforcement.

Later, they will take field trips to several coastal districts to inspect their management of fishing vessels, legal enforcement over IUU fishing, and several enterprises specialising in seafood processing for export.

Provincial departments, agencies and businesses have prepared full reports and documents regarding their implementation of the EC’s recommendations with the expectation the EC will consider lifting its “yellow card” warning on Vietnam’s aquatic products.

Hanoi centre rescues over 770 wild animals

The Hanoi Wild Animal Rescue Centre reported on October 17 that it has received 774 wild animals and 33.4kg of snakes so far this year.

The centre said it had released 357 animals and 40kg of snakes in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, the Cuc Phuong National Park and Huong Son special-use forest in My Duc, Hanoi.

The centre also protects rare, endangered and critically endangered wildlife species such as the big-headed turtle, white-naped crane,  great hornbill, Indochinese tiger, and Tibetan bear.  

The centre is now caring for 398 animals and 35.2kg of snakes.

Vietnam wins two silver medals at World Skills Competition 2022 Special Edition

The Vietnamese team to the World Skills Competition 2022 Special Edition returned home on October 18 with two silver medals.

Nguyen Thanh Tung and Nguyen Xuan Thai, both 23 years old from DENSO Vocational Skills Training Institute (Hanoi), won the medals in CNC milling and CNC turning.

Up to now, this is the best achievement of the Vietnamese delegation participating in the World Skills Competition. Before that, Vietnam once won a silver medal in 2019, also with CNC milling.

This year, the exam attracted more than 1,000 contestants from 63 countries and territories in 62 occupations.

The Vietnamese delegation has 11 candidates participating in 10 occupations, including mechatronics, cloud computing, information network cable installation, engineering water technology, electrical installation, CNC milling, CNC turning, CAD mechanical engineering design, information technology software solutions, and hair design.

As the World Skills Competition is still going on until the end of November and with Vietnamese contestants yet to compete in three occupations, Vietnam still has hope of winning more medals, especially in the electrical installation profession, according to Nguyen Thi Viet Huong, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Vocational Training.

UNDP project to help Vietnam further corruption fight

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on October 18 launched a new project to improve Vietnam’s implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

The project is supported by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under the US Department of State, and the UNDP’s Anti-Corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies (ACPIS) Global Programme. It is partly sponsored by the Norwegian Government through the ACPIS programme, with an aim to improving anti-corruption and transparency in the health sector in Vietnam.

The 27-month project is expected to help enhance capacities of anti-corruption agencies in effective measurement and monitoring of SDG anticorruption targets, and increase participation of the society in anti-corruption fight;  strengthen anti-corruption legal framework and law enforcement in the implementation of UNCAC commitments and recommendations on preventive measures and asset recovery; and improve capacity in good governance, transparency, and integrity in public health procurement in Vietnam.

Vietnam prepares to include rotavirus vaccine in expanded immunisation programme

Vietnam is expected to receive over 100,000 doses of rotavirus vaccine next year for pilot use before making them available in its expanded programme on immunisation (EPI) that offers free vaccination to under-1 children.

According to the Ministry of Health, its competent agencies are seeking permission for the reception of the vaccine supported by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

As planned, related training will be held in late 2022, with the doses arriving in the country in February 2023. They will first be used in vaccination programmes, particularly in disadvantaged areas, before becoming part of the EPI.

To date, the number of vaccines under the EPI has amounted to about 10.

In the long run, the Government has issued a resolution on the roadmap to increase the diversity of the vaccines in the programme, which plans the use of those against Rotavirus from 2022-2023, pneumococcal disease from 2025, cervical cancer from 2026, and seasonal flu from 2030.

Over 11,000 ethnic minority women gain access to micro-finance services

More than 11,000 ethnic minority women in 18 provinces have gained access to micro-finance services under a four-year project.

The project, “Reach to Excel”, was implemented by CARE International in Vietnam, the Vietnam Women’s Union and Procter & Gamble (P&G), a leading corporation in fast consumer goods whose key clients are women.

It utilised CARE’s long-term experience in enabling Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities to better access micro-finance services, using CARE’s signature tool developed in 1990s – Village Savings and Loan Association, or VSLA.

Between January 2018 and December 2019, the project provided support for 5,196 ethnic minority women in the four northern mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, and Bac Kan.

In the second phase, from December 2020 to December 2021, 2,427 women gained access to the loans. Meanwhile, the number of beneficiaries stood at 1,416.

Nesat downgraded, heading for central Vietnam

Tropical storm Nesat has further weakened due to interaction with a strong cold air wave from the North, and is currently heading for the central coast of Vietnam from Nghe An to Quang Binh.
nesat downgraded, heading for central vietnam picture 1

At 7am on October 19, Nesat was swirling across the northern part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, with winds gusting up to 102kph near its centre.

In the next 24 hours, the storm, the sixth of its kind to hit the East Sea this year, is forecast to continue losing its strength into a tropical low depression, packing winds of approximately 74kph.

It is anticipated to further weaken and make landfall on October 21, dumping heavy rain on coastal localities from Nghe An to Quang Binh.

Rain is expected to fall on October 19 afternoon in the northern delta and north-central provinces stretching from Thanh Hoa to Binh Dinh.

A number of central provinces such as Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh have issued a sea ban as of 7am on October 19.

Hoang Nam continues to fly high in ATP rankings

The nation’s leading tennis player Ly Hoang Nam rose to No.239 in the world according to the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, marking a new milestone in his career.

This climb can be attributed to his victory in the men’s singles of the M25 Tay Ninh tournament in which he gained an additional 25 points, accumulating a total of 220 points in the ATP rankings.

This year represents the most successful period of Nam's career so far after rising to No.239 from No.589 since March. This represents the highest ranking ever achieved by a player from Southeast Asia (SEA) and Vietnam.

Becamex Binh Duong FC to play friendly with Japanese leading football club

Becamex Binh Duong FC are scheduled to face Kawasaki Frontale FC of Japan in a friendly scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. on November 20 at Go Dau Stadium in Binh Duong province.

The match has been jointly organised by the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), and the Binh Duong provincial People’s Committee. The purpose of the fixture is to celebrate the 50-year anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan in 2023.

At a press conference held to announce the game on October 18 in Binh Duong province, Ho Hong Thach, president of Becamex Binh Duong FC, said the match will be held in the final period of the V.League 1 season, with the club bringing their best footballers to compete in the friendly.

Vietnamese senior team arrange friendly tie with Borussia Dortmund FC

The Vietnamese national men’s football team will play German football club Borussia Dortmund on November 30 in a friendly match held at the My Dinh National Stadium.

The purpose of the fixture is to help the senior team prepare its best possible line-up for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2022 which will run from December 20, 2022, to January 16, 2023.

Cao Van Chong, vice president of the VFF said the Dortmund side would send experts to Vietnam as a means of preparing for the organisation of the tie.

The match will therefore provide a prime opportunity for Vietnamese football to get a close look at the professionalism of one of the leading club teams in world football, he noted.

The three sides also hoped for further co-operation to promote youth training and the development of women’s football in the future, Chong added.

Moving forward, 80% of match tickets will be available for online sale, while the remaining 20% will be sold via the VFF’s ticket counters.

Flooding kills tonnes of Thua Thien-Hue fish

As many as six tonnes of fish in a commune of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue have died due to severe inundation.

Quang Phu Commune Vice Chairman Phan Thanh Phong admitted today, October 18 that the locality had suffered a huge amount of fish deaths.

The torrential rain caused the water level on Bo River to sharply increase, damaging many red tilapia cages in Quang Phu Commune. The majority of the fish were mature.

Initial losses were estimated at around VND300 million (USD12,000).

The rain has caused high levels of mud and silt which reduced oxygen levels in the water, which has been blamed for the fish deaths.

National Assembly’s 4th session will last 21 days

The 4th session of the 15th National Assembly will take place in 21 days, shorter than the usual year-end meetings which normally last about 30 days, Phạm Thái Hà, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Office said at a press conference in Hà Nội on Monday. 

He said that the session will open on October 20 and is scheduled to close on November 15 during which legislators will scrutinise and adopt seven bills and three draft resolutions, and opine on seven other draft laws.

The NA will mull reports on the socio-economic situation and state budget in 2022 as well as decide on the socio-economic development plan, state budget estimate and central budget allocation plan in 2023, Hà said.

There will be a question-answer session and thematic supervision, he said, adding that the legislators will make decisions on personnel and other important matters.

Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival underway in RoK

The 2022 Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival is taking place in Seoul and Gwangju in the Republic of Korea (RoK) to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. 

It is one of two large-scale festivals organised abroad annually by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote the country, people and tourism of Việt Nam to South Koreans.

The main event of the festival was held in Seoul with a wide range of cultural activities and art performances.

The festival also saw the presence of Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng and his RoK counterpart, Park Bo-gyoon. The two ministers held talks on bilateral cooperation in the fields they are in charge of.

Minister Hùng proposed the RoK continue its support for bilateral exchanges in culture, sports and tourism and share experience related to the development of cultural industries - a strength of the RoK.

The 2022 Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival concludes on October 19.

Painting exhibition celebrates Vietnamese Women’s Day

Paintings on canvas featuring women, flowers and love by painter Văn Thạnh will be displayed at the HCM City Youth Cultural House tomorrow (October 20). 

The exhibition called Câu Hò Sông Hậu (The Folk Song of the Hậu River) is part of the house’s cultural and arts activities to celebrate Vietnamese Women’s Day on October 20. 

It introduces 50 vivid works featuring Vietnamese women in daily life. 

They were selected from different collections by artist Thạch, a member of the Việt Nam Fine Arts’ Association and HCM City Fine Arts’ Association. 

Highlighted paintings feature the beauty of women living in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta region. 

Southern culture and lifestyle are also featured.

Thạnh, born in Sóc Trăng Provinc, is a professional in oil and lacquer arts. He finds himself while painting the beauty of rural areas and farmers, and his works introduce the history and culture of the Southern region to viewers. He has organised seven solo exhibitions at leading galleries and museums in HCM City. 

The event Câu Hò Sông Hậu will close on October 26 at 4 Phạm Ngọc Thạch Street, District 1. 

Endangered turtles, tortoises found in Thanh Hoa nature reserve

Some 15 big-headed turtles and 10 impressed tortoises have been found at the Pu Hu Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hoa under a two-year project starting in 2020.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 11:09

The Management Board of the Pu Hu Nature Reserve analysed morphological and phylogeographic identities of the two endangered species, scientifically known as platysternon megacephalum and manouria impressa, towards building a species density map, said Deputy Director of the board Dam Duy Dong.

As part of the project, the board will also organise conferences and training courses for officials, hand out leaflets to raise public awareness of the conservation work, and develop management software, he added.

The big-headed turtle is an evolutionary distinct and globally endangered freshwater turtle species. The primary threat to the species is illegal hunting and trade.

Impressed tortoises are native to mountainous forest areas in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Usually living on land in crevices and valleys, they are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam, considered a rare and endangered forest animal that needs to be protected.

Ha Giang launches new tourism product "Happiness Road"

On October 17, the Ha Giang Tourism Association organised a ceremony to open the tourist club's office and launch the tourism product "Happiness Road - the road of blood and flowers".
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 11:05

In 2022, Ha Giang tourism has had a strong recovery after a long time affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. The number of tourists in the first nine months of 2022 reached nearly 1.6 million people.

Many new and attractive tourism products and services based on in-depth exploitation of cultural, historical and natural landscape values were launched.

The tourism product "Happiness Road - the road of blood and flowers" is a journey spanning 180km across four districts of the Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark.

On the journey, visitors will pass through places marking the extraordinary efforts of young volunteers and people of eight provinces, who have made great efforts to create a road named "Happiness".

Train tickets for Lunar New Year holiday available next week

Train tickets for the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday will be offered for sale from October 25 to cater to the strong demand of passengers during this peak travel season.

Passengers traveling in groups can book tickets in advance from October 11 to October 20. From October 25, tickets will be made available for both groups and individuals.

Passengers can buy tickets at local train stations and authorized ticket agents or book online through websites and mobile apps.

The train tickets will be at a discount of 5-10% on the first 10 days of sale for the route from HCMC to Hanoi before Tet and the opposite direction after Tet, according to the Saigon Railway Transport JSC.

Tickets for the routes longer than 1,000 kilometers starting from Saigon Railway Station on October 1 will be 3% off.

The railway sector also offers a discount of 5% for return tickets.

Students and tour guides will receive a respective discount of 20% and 90% for train tickets from January 9, 2023, to February 28, 2023.

The Vietnam Railways Corporation will operate trains for the Tet holidays from January 9 to February 5, 2023.

Low salary for voluntary social insurance results in low pension

The average monthly salary as the basis for paying voluntary social insurance contributions in 2021 is only VND1,282,521, down nearly 40 percent compared to 2016. Experts in the sector fretted that the salary paid for voluntary social insurance is too low, the pension will be lower than the average living standard.

According to the report on the results of thematic monitoring on the implementation of social insurance policies and laws in the 2016-2021 period conducted by the National Assembly's Committee of Social Affairs, the number of participants in social insurance reached nearly 16,547,000 people including 15,097,007 compulsory social insurance buyers, accounting for about 33.8 percent of the labor force in the age group.

Besides, the number of people participating in unemployment insurance is 13,394,943 people; thus, the workforce of working age participating in unemployment insurance only reached 29.76 percent.

The Committee of Social Affairs’ results have shown that the social insurance revenue in 2021 reached more than VND 269,100 billion. In comparison to 2016, the figure revealed an increase in social insurance buyers of 26.74 percent and an increase in revenue of 53.26 percent.

Furthermore, the average monthly salary as a basis for payment of compulsory social insurance in 2021 is VND 5,698,469, an increase of 32 percent compared to 2016; however, the annual increase is only about 6 percent ( except in 2021 when there was no salary increase). The Committee of Social Affairs emphasized that the increase thus only corresponds to the regional minimum wage increase.

Notably, the average monthly salary as the basis for paying voluntary social insurance contributions in 2021 is VND 1,282,521, down nearly 40 percent compared to 2016.

The group of participants in compulsory social insurance was seen an increase of 17.47 percent and the rate of the revenue increase was 51 percent, nearly 3 times higher than the rate of increase of buyers compared to 2016.

However, although there is a tendency to increase in the group participating in voluntary social insurance both in terms of the number of buyers and revenue compared to 2016, the rate of participants and revenue growth is contradicted.

The increase rate of participants reaches 611.15 percent but the revenue growth rate is only 412.2 percent.

Worse, the monthly salary as the basis for paying voluntary social insurance contributions in 2021 is lower than the poverty line and tends to decrease.

The Committee of Social Affairs reported that participants in voluntary social insurance after being eligible for retirement benefits are likely to continue to need support from the government because their pension will be lower than the average living standard of the locality.

The Committee also noted that according to a report by Vietnam Social Insurance, the amount of late payment of social insurance contributions in 2021 is up to VND7,700 billion, an increase of more than VND2,500 billion compared to 2016 and has increased rapidly since the Covid-19 epidemic. According to the Committee’s statistics, more than VND9,200 billion was the amount of late payment of social insurance contributions in 2020, an increase of VND1,800 billion while it was VND7,400 billion in 2019.

Early withdrawal of insurance once is also a concern. In 2016, the number of people entitled to one-time social insurance benefits was just over 500,000 people; however, this number has increased to 863,446 people in 2021. Moreover, 98.8 percent of those who are entitled to one-time social insurance benefits according to regulations did not pay social insurance for one year.

Especially in 2020 and 2021, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people receiving one-time social insurance benefits was much higher than the number of new social insurance buyers. In addition, the number of people re-entering social insurance according to preliminary statistics is only about 140,000 people, accounting for 3.5 percent of the total number of people who have enjoyed the one-time social insurance regime. More importantly, there is currently no effective solution for the matter.

DNA samples of bodies drifting in Phu Quoc seaside handed over to China

The Department of Foreign Affairs of Kien Giang Province has just handed over DNA samples of seven bodies drifting at Phu Quoc seaside along with nine citizens who had been saved offshore to the Chinese side.

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Foreign Affairs of Kien Giang Nguyen Viet Thong said that under the commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and approval of the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Province, the agency has completed the procedures of handing over DNA samples of seven bodies drifting at Phu Quoc seaside on September 29.

Currently, the functional forces are performing the procedures of verifying those bodies identification to confirm whether they were Chinese. However, some personal documents and papers from one of the bodies show that that person had Chinese nationality so the province decided to hand over the DNA samples to the Chinese side for further verification. These seven bodies have been buried at Phu Quoc cemetery.

Previously, on September 23, the An Thoi Port Border Guard Station had received nine people saved by a local fishing vessel while they were drifting into the seaside. 
 
According to the functional agencies, the bodies related to the ship carrying Chinese people traveling from Fujian Province to Cambodia which was sunk in the bordering waters between Vietnam and Cambodia in the period from September 22 to 24. At that time, the fishing boat from Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc discovered and rescued 9 Chinese people while they were drifting at sea. 

Singaporean President visits HCMC

Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and her spouse along with a high-ranking delegation of the Republic of Singapore arrived in HCMC in the evening on October 18, continuing their official three-day state-level visit to Vietnam from October 16-20 at the invitation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan and leaders of the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed the delegation at the airport.

President of Singapore Halimah Yacob will attend Singapore Business Forum and meet leaders of HCMC on October 19.

The relationship between HCMC and Singapore has been further expanded and developed in various sectors. Singapore is the largest foreign investor in the city and ranked 2nd among the largest trade partners for several years.

Since 1988, Singapore has had more than 1,487 projects in HCMC with their investment capital reaching US411.9 billion. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade between HCMC and Singapore was worth nearly US$8 billion in 2021.

In addition, the cooperation between the two sides in the fields of education and training, cadres and civil servants training, urban planning, tourism, and culture has been constantly maintained

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia NAs work hard to boost cooperation

A consultation meeting between the committees for external relations of the National Assemblies (NAs) of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (CLV) took place in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on October 18. 

Chairmen of the Vietnamese NA’s Foreign Affairs Committee; the Lao NA’s Foreign Affairs Committee; and the Cambodian NA’s Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Propaganda and Information Vu Hai Ha, Sanya Praseuth, and Sous Yara co-chaired the event. 

This is the first cooperation activity between the three committees to prepare for the NA chairmen’s meeting of the CLV countries, which is slated for 2023. 

Vietnamese teacher join SE Asian colleagues for educational development

Ha Anh Phuong, recognised by the Thai Princess' award for outstanding achievements in education, joined her fellow Southeast Asian educators in a forum on October 18 to exchange best practices to recover from the COVID-19 education crisis.

Phuong is known for her teaching model, in which she connects her students, most of whom are of ethnic minorities, to their peers worldwide via video call.

This method allows her students to access different cultures and modern education models from where they live in Vietnam's northern mountainous area.

Phuong also received numerous accolades for her work in education from the Varkey Foundation, Microsoft, and Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).

She is among the four educators from Vietnam who receive Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Award (PMCA) for their significant educational contributions.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes