The Ministry of Public Security is planning to organise the 2022 Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) plus police music gala in July, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the Vietnam People’s Police (July 20).

The two-day event, which gathers police music groups from the ASEAN members as well as Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, will include performances and parades on pedestrian streets around the Hoan Kiem lake in the very heart of the capital city.

It aims to strengthen cultural and musical exchanges and improve mutual understanding of national identity, country, and people; the work of the Vietnam People's Police in particular as well as the forces of the ASEAN and its partners in general. It is also an opportunity to promote the image of the country and the people of Vietnam to international friends.

The event is expected to help disseminate information among cadres, soldiers, and people about the glorious tradition of the People's Police; affirming the leadership of the Party and State in international cooperation and integration, contributing to the protection of social security and order and building the revolutionary, regular, elite and modern People's Police.

Domestic labour market bouncing back: GSO

The domestic labour market is bouncing back, with 50 million people getting jobs in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Private business establishments attracted the most labourers returning to work after COVID-19 (55.4 percent), he said, stressing that the average income of labourers has also increased from the last quarter of 2021.

Thanks to the Government’s resolve to speed up socio-economic recovery and development, the unemployment rate was 2.46 percent, down 1.1 percentage point from the previous quarter. However, the market remained unstable as the workforce rise was mainly seen in the informal sector and the jobless rate still stayed high.

Given this, the GSO suggested concertedly rolling out solutions to improve the business environment, supporting employees and employers, and accelerating the economic recovery and development programme.

The Government should implement suitable training policies and programmes to improve labour force quality and the competitiveness of the national economy, the agency said.

10th-grade entrance exams to be held in June: HCM City education department

The 10th-grade entrance exam for public schools will be held on June 11 and 12, the HCM City Department of Education and Training has informed the People’s Committee.  

Candidates will take tests in Vietnamese, mathematics and a foreign language, with those seeking admission to high schools for gifted students taking a test in one more subject of their choice. 

Those failing to achieve qualifying scores have other options such as private schools, international high schools, centres for continuing education, and the kind.

But students and parents prefer public high schools due to their affordable tuition fees. 

According to the department, students lost out due to learning from home during the pandemic as compared to learning in classrooms, and so the tests will be based completely on the secondary curriculum.

Football clubs ready for AFC Champions League

Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) will face clubs from Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Australia in Group H of AFC Champions League 2022.

The matches are scheduled to take place from April 16 to May 1 at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said on April 11.

Two of the clubs, Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan and Jeonbuk Huyndai Motors FC of the RoK, are expected to arrive at Tan Son Nhat airport on April 12.

Meanwhile, Sydney FC of Australia will come to HCM City for the tournament on April 13. Host Hoang Anh Gia Lai will be there on April 12 noon.

The first match between Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Yokohama F. Marinos will begin at 18:00 on April 16. Tickets for the matches will be available from 8:30 on April 16 to 18:00 on May 1 at Thong Nhat Stadium.

Numerous activities promote Vietnamese ethnic groups’ culture

A series of activities marking Vietnamese Ethnic Groups’ Culture Day are taking place at the Việt Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hà Nội’s suburban of Sơn Tây until May 3.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the highlight of the cultural event will be a traditional market from the northern province of Sơn La, scheduled for the upcoming National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holidays.

It will feature ten stalls of Sơn La introducing local farm products and food and 20 others displaying specialities from other northern localities – Điện Biên, Hà Giang, Hòa Bình and Thái Nguyên Provinces, and Hà Nội’s Ba Vì District, along with two tourism stalls.

Visitors will also be treated to a photo exhibition, a musical programme, folk games, and performances of the art of khèn (panpipe) of the Mông ethnic group in Sơn La’s Mộc Châu District.

Two ethnic festivals will be re-enacted in the national village during April, which are the dance festival – the biggest traditional one of the Dao ethnic group; and a festival praying for rain of the Thái ethnic group.

Vietnamese Ethnic Groups’ Culture Day is celebrated on April 19 annually to honour the cultural values of ethnic groups and Việt Nam's cultural diversity.

Dien Bien flights cancelled due to bad weather

Bamboo Airways has announced a halt to flights to and from Dien Bien Phu Airport in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien due to low visibility.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported that between April 10 and 17, the northwestern region of Vietnam would be hit by smog caused by the burning of straw stubble in Laos. This has reduced the visibility at Dien Bien Phu Airport area to just some 2,000 metres against the standard level of 4,200 metres, badly affecting the landing and takeoff of flights to and from Dien Bien Phu Airport.

Bamboo Airways has decided to halt its flights to and from Dien Phu Airport during this time to ensure safety until the weather condition gets better.

According to Bamboo Airways, the carrier will support passengers affected by the suspension of flights.

A project to expand Dien Bien Phu Airport worth more than VND1.46 billion (USD64.7 million) is underway, aiming to help the airport to handle A320 and A321 planes.

Two more nations recognize Vietnam’s vaccine passport

Two more countries, Iran and Malaysia, have recognized Vietnam’s Covid vaccine passport, taking the total number to 19 so far, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The 17 others are the United States, Britain, Japan, Australia, Belarus, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Singapore, Saint Lucia and South Korea, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told a press briefing on April 7.

The ministry and the Vietnamese representative offices in other countries and territories are accelerating the mutual recognition of vaccine passports, the local media reported, citing the representative of the ministry.

The Ministry of Health on April 4 announced that the ministry would begin issuing Covid vaccine passports to local residents from April 15.

Tan Son Nhat airport asks to increase number of taxis on national holiday

The domestic and international terminals are expected to receive about 42,000 people during the peak season of Reunification Day (April 30) and Labor Day (May 1). About 15 percent of passengers arriving at Tan Son Nhat airport will take a taxi to go home. Around 6,300 taxis are expected to pick up passengers.

There are currently 7,850 taxis of all kinds serving passengers at Tan Son Nhat Airport, including 1,600 cars operated by Vinataxi, 1,250 taxis of Mai Linh Group, more than 3,000 app-based vehicles, and 1,250 cars of taxi companies of Sasco, Avi and Song Viet. Thus, it needs 1,100 additional taxis to transport passengers on the upcoming national holidays.

Passengers are encouraged to actively book a ride on apps or take a bus. In addition, the airport has opened new lanes of D1 and D2 for picking up and dropping off travelers.

31st SEA Games’ opening ceremony to last two hours

According to the plan, an opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games will take place in two hours at My Dinh National Stadium in the capital city of Hanoi comprising three segments themed “Friendly Vietnam”, “Strong Southeast Asia” and “Shining Southeast Asia”.

The main stage area is designed and equipped with high-tech projectors to showcase 3D and AR images to cover the entire grass surface throughout the performance.

Pursuant to the script of the opening ceremony, the 31st SEA Games’ torch will be lighted by eight athletes representing Vietnam's sports. The list of those athletes will be unveiled at the opening ceremony.

According to the layout, the stand B of My Dinh National Stadium shall be dedicated for the opening ceremony. The middle of stand A will be served for State leaders and international guests while the two sides of stands A, C and D are the seating positions of the audience.

WHO Representative in Vietnam praises Vietnam’s high vaccination coverage rate

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Representative in Vietnam, highly appreciated the results Vietnam has achieved in implementing the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, becoming a bright spot in vaccination and being one of the six countries with a high vaccination coverage rate.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long yesterday had a phone conversation with Dr. Takeshi Kasai, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Western Pacific region.

At the phone call, Dr. Takeshi Kasai expressed his impression of Vietnam's efforts and achievements in general in the care and protection of people's health. Minister Nguyen Thanh Long and Dr. Takeshi Kasai also discussed the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic, with special priority given to children's vaccinations, focusing on providing information and strengthening propaganda about the vaccination benefits.

On the same day, a signing ceremony was held on Friday to mark the completion of the delivery of 3.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and 3.85 million single-use syringes. The signing ceremony took place virtually between the Ministry of Health of Vietnam – represented by Vice Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan, and the Ministry of Commerce of China – represented by Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming.

Children aged 14 up use chip-based citizen ID cards for medical examination

On April 8, the Vietnam Social Security announced that the National Children's Hospital was one of the first hospitals at the central level to accept chip-based citizen identification cards for medical examination and treatment covered by health insurance at the hospital.

Accordingly, children aged 14 and older who have been issued citizen identification with a chip, when going to a medical facility or doing administrative procedures, only use their citizen identification cards without carrying a health insurance card.

The patient's health insurance information is checked on the data portal of the health insurance system. When the patient comes for examination, the hospital staff will check the chip-based citizen identification cards by scanning QR code or the VNEID app.

HCMC proposes to adjust health declaration submission for int’l visitors

HCMC has proposed that the Government and Health Ministry consider an adjustment of health declaration that has been required to be submitted upon arrival.

The proposal was launched at the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control’s 14th teleconference with leaders of 63 provinces and cities chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 9 by Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong Anh Duc.

Accordingly, the medical declaration should be applied for people with symptoms of Covid-19 while the asymptomatic persons without contact tracing could complete a health declaration within 24 hours after arriving in the city in order to reduce pressure on the PC-Covid app in receiving travelers at Tan Son Nhat Airport and other border gates of the city. Many foreign tourists are confused about completing health declarations because they have not yet installed PC-Covid app, he said.

HCMC has reported no coronavirus deaths in the last two weeks. The city’s economy gradually has recovered to 100-percent capacity. The southern economic hub fully reopened for international tourism since March 15. Tourism is one of the important industries of the city that has contributed 10-12 percent to its GDP. Strengthening the development speed of tourism is one of the key missions in the city, he said.

HCM City needs up to 65,500 workers in Q2

Ho Chi Minh City will need 59,000-65,500 employees in the second of this year, down 8 percent compared with the same period last year, if the COVID-19 pandemic is kept under control, the city’s Human Resources Forecast and Labour Market Information (FALMI) Centre said on April 11.

Surveys by FALMI showed that recruitment demand in non-State enterprises made up 89.66 percent while that of State-owned and foreign-invested enterprises accounted for 1.17 percent and 9.17 percent, respectively.

The highest demand for labour was seen in the trade and services sector with 65.41 percent of the total vacant jobs, followed by industry-construction (33.63 percent) and agro-forestry-fisheries (0.96 percent).

Demand for human resources in nine major service industries accounted for 51.26 percent.

The surveys also pointed out that the demand for trained human resources made up 86.28 percent, of which those with elementary qualifications accounted for 22.52 percent, intermediate qualifications 24.43 percent, college degrees 18.59 percent, and university degrees or higher 20.74 percent.

Three major cities to host ASEAN Film Week 2022

ASEAN Film Week 2022 is set to get underway in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City in the second quarter of the year to mark ASEAN’s 55th founding anniversary.

The opening ceremony of the six-day event will take place at the National Cinema Centre in the capital, Le Do Cinema in Da Nang and cinemas throughout Ho Chi Minh City.

This year's festival is set to continue to screen special films from various regional countries which will help to introduce the cultural and natural beauty of each nation.

The regional event will be organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with tickets distributed for free at screening locations. Film lovers are required to follow COVID-19 prevention and control measures. 

Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City previously hosted the ASEAN Film Week from July 18 to July 26 in 2020, during which nine movies from Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam premiered during the event.

Vietnamese film Hạnh Phúc Của Mẹ (Mother’s happiness) which won the Golden Kite Award in 2019 was screened at the opening ceremony.

New virtual project for Hung Kings' celebration

The project 'Road to Hùng Kings’ Kingdom' in VR (virtual reality) has kicked off to spread the UNESCO-recognised practice of worshipping Hùng Kings Day and Vietnamese traditional culture in general.

The Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha, the Cyberspace for Community Health (CCH) and the Laicity Club Joint Stock Company signed an MoU to implement this project, with the support of the UNESCO Office in Việt Nam and the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA).

This is a special cultural activity to mark the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition of "Hùng Kings worship in Phú Thọ" as the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity (2012- 2022).

Accordingly, during this year, the parties will organise many activities to popularise Hùng Kings' culture, including Buddhism in the Hùng Kings period.

The programme "Road to the Kingdom of the Hung Kings" will be broadcast on An Vien Television, the social networking platforms Butta, Laicity and other media channels of the Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha. It surrounds the history, culture and rituals of Hùng Kings' worship.

Next, the project will also gradually deploy the map of Vietnamese pagodas on the cyber platform; build a profile to honour zen master-herbalist Tuệ Tĩnh as a world cultural celebrity; launching the “Pandemic home physical and mental health nourishment programme."

Lai Chau culture and tourism week to open

A culture and tourism week is scheduled in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu from April 14 -17.

The event features a series of activities, including a sponsored trip programme, a seminar to promote tourism development and a photo exhibition.

The third Putaleng international paragliding tournament will be held in Tam Đường District, with the participation of 100 domestic and foreign pilots, as part of the event.

The programme includes sightseeing activities at several tourist attractions in the province, such as Ô Quy Hồ tourist spot; Rông Mây glass bridge; the villages of Sì Thâu Chải, Lao Chải 1, Lao Chải 2, Sin Suối Hồ, and Vàng Pheo; Pu Sam Cap cave; San Thàng night market; and Vàng Pó hot mineral spring resort.

Many performances and folk games will be organised to promote tourism and introduce the culture of ethnic groups in Lai Châu at the event.

Visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy different types of tea and the art of tea-making at the “Hương sắc trà Xuâ” (Spring Flavors of Tea) event on April 15.

Viet Nam Art Photo Contest and Exhibition 2022 launched

The Việt Nam Art Photo Contest and Exhibition 2022, seeking the best photographic works across the country, has just been launched by the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition.

The contest encourages artists to create quality photos, contributing to introducing and promoting the image of Việt Nam at home and abroad.

It is open to professional and non-professional photographers who are Vietnamese citizens, including those living or working abroad, aged 18 years or older. The entries required to be created from July 2020 to July 2022 will compete in two categories: realistic and conceptual photos. 

Their content must reflect on life, people, culture, landscape, nature, nation-building, the fight against natural disasters and pandemics, thoughts, opinions, ideas about life, and other content-oriented towards the values ​​truth, goodness and beauty.

The organising board will award two sets of prizes for two photo categories with 30 winners, including two gold medals, four silver medals, eight bronze medals, and 16 consolation prizes.

The contest is open for entries online until July.

Bình Thuận's Katê Festival, traditional gardening in Hội An recognised as national intangible cultural heritage

Katê Festival, the largest traditional festival of the Chăm people in Bình Thuận Province, has been recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as an intangible cultural heritage.

The province’s People’s Committee is in charge of protecting, preserving and managing the heritage.

The Katê festival is celebrated annually for three days in the seventh lunar month by the Chăm, who follow the Balamon religion in the province.

It is an opportunity for them to show their gratitude to kings, mandarins and ancestors and pray for good harvests, health and prosperity.

The festival is held annually at Pô Sah Inư Chăm Towers in Phan Thiết City’s Phú Hài District with traditional rituals like offering costumes to Po Sah Inư Goddess, bathing Linga - Yoni statues, and performance of a ‘thanksgiving’ ceremony.

People and artists in traditional clothes will join and perform in ritual and cultural shows, folk dances and music performances with traditional instruments, and folk games.

Ninh Binh province accelerates preparation for SEA Games 31

As the 31st Southeast Asia (SEA) Games approaches, the northern province of Ninh Binh is speeding up preparations for the region's biggest sporting event.

Pham Tuan Anh, director of the Sports Training and Competition Centre, said that about 80 percent of the upgrade work to the Ninh Binh Gymnasium – the venue of Karate of the Games has been completed.

Tong Quang Thin, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, affirmed that SEA Games 31 is not only a sporting event but also helps promote culture and tourism between countries in the region. The hosting of Karate is a good opportunity to promote the image and people of Ninh Binh to delegates and tourists from many countries in Southeast Asia. Therefore, departments, agencies, and localities are asked to work closely for safe and successful competition, he said.

Thin, who is also head of the provincial organising committee for the Games, said vehicles have been arranged for transporting athletes, referees and officials, adding that the committee has also strengthened the dissemination of the event on the mass media and LED screens in Ninh Binh city.

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