Fishermen sighted a whale in waters off Dau Dong, Vinh Thuc commune in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 19.

It is the second sighting by local fishermen in recent years following an encounter in Cua Dai area, according to Nguyen Duy Dong, Chairman of the communal People’s Committee.

Experts said the event shows the seas are clean thanks to the efforts of local residents and authorities.

Vietnamese fishermen worship whales as their guardians at sea.

Vietnam’s great friend passes away

Raymonde Dien, a member of the French Communist Party and a symbol of the fight against the war by the French colonialists in Vietnam, passed away on August 19. She was 93.

Born on May 13, 1929 in the western part of France, she is known by the Vietnamese and other peoples in the world for lying on the rail to block a train carrying tanks and other weapons to Indochina on February 23, 1950. Later, she joined other French communists in their support to the Vietnamese people in their fight against the French colonialists and US imperialists, for the struggle for peace for Vietnam.

On September 2, 2004, she was decorated with a Friendship Order by the Vietnamese state.

Even in her last days, she still joined various events on Vietnam, especially those in support of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

Vietnam, UK promote ties in various areas

The Vietnam – UK Friendship Association of Hanoi held the fourth Congress on August 20 and set out orientations for the 2022-2027 tenure.

The Congress elected an executive board comprising 27 members led by Secretary of Hoan Kiem district Party Committee Vu Dang Dinh.

During the new tenure, the association will continue to build itself with new partners, contributing to friendship and cooperation between the two peoples. It will also strive to have 4-6 more chapters, with priority given to businesses having partnership with the UK.

Friendship exchanges celebrating the National Day of Vietnam, anniversaries of bilateral diplomatic ties, and other political events of the two countries are also planned.

Chairwoman of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front and Chairwoman of the municipal Union of Friendship Organisations Nguyen Lan Huong suggested the association actively expand ties with mass and friendship organisations in the UK, and promote cooperation in economy, culture, education and tourism.

Exhibition on hawkers and shouting on Hanoi’s streets held in Da Nang

An exhibition entitled “Hawkers and the Shouting on the Streets of Hanoi” is underway at the Da Nang Museum of Fine Arts in the central city of Da Nang until September 11.

Launched on August 19, the exhibition is co-held by the French Institute of Vietnam in Da Nang, the French Institute for Oriental Studies (EFEO), and the Da Nang Museum of Fine Arts.

It introduces a collection of sketches, paintings, and watercolors between 1925 and 1929 made by fifteen students of the Indochina Fine Arts School and their teacher, Ferdinand de Fénis, according to Samuel Delamaziere, Acting Director of French Institute of Vietnam in Da Nang.

The artists skillfully depict the small world of hawkers walking through the streets of the capital under the first rays of sunlight of the day with a variety of fruit and vegetable stalls, confectionery, and snacks.

Body suspected of missing person in Cambodia casino case found on Binh Ghi river

A body suspected of a missing person in a case of 40 Vietnamese fleeing a casino in Cambodia to return home was found in Binh Ghi river on August 20, said an official of An Phu district, the southern province of An Giang, the same day.

Earlier on August 18 morning, a group of Vietnamese nationals were arrested by An Giang Border Guards.

They said a total of 42 people tried to escape from the casino in Sampeou Poun commune, Kaoh Thom district, Kandal province. Some have sustained minor injuries. One person is missing and another, a 16-year-old male from Kon Tum province, was caught by the casino staff in his attempt to escape.

They were previously lured to Cambodia to work at the casino.

Vietnamese, Lao NAs hold 11th exchange

The office of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Secretariat of the Lao National Assembly held theỉr 11th  annual seminar and exchange, in the central province of Quang Binh on August 20.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese NA Tran Thanh Man and Secretary Generaral of the Lao NA Pingkham Lasasimma attended the event.

The event focused its discussions on renewing work for NA meetings, especially improving the quality of the information and secretary work, using modern technology in meetings, coordination between the NA Office and Office of the NA delegations of deputies.

On the occasion, participants also had a chance to join cultural and sport exchanges, and visit tourist destinations in Quang Binh.

Vietnamese company donates 100,000 USD to Cuba after oil depot fire

Vietnam’s Thai Binh Corporation on August 19 donated 100,000 USD to help Cuba address the aftermaths of the massive blaze at an oil storage facility in Cuba’s Matanzas Industrial Park.

A cheque of the amount was presented by head representative of Thai Binh Corporation Tran Thien Minh to Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Déborah Rivas Saavedra. Minh said his company also plans to donate food and other necessities to families of victims.

Déborah, for her part, expressed deep gratitude for the Vietnamese firm’s move, saying it is very practical to Cuba at present.

She took the occasion to thank the Government and people of Vietnam for standing by the side of Cuba.

Within only a week, many Vietnamese organisations and people have raised over 40,000 USD in fund for Cuba. Among them were the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association, and the Vietnamese alumni club in Cuba, she said, noting that it once again reflects the strong solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.

Starting on August 15, the severe fire at Cuba’s largest oil storage facility has killed 16 people and injured 132 others. The blaze, the worst in Cuba’s history, was put out after five days.

Webinar marks Vietnam’s National Day in Canada

The Canada – Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFS) held a webinar on August 19 marking the 77th anniversary of August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong said Vietnam and Canada are promoting their comprehensive partnership in a practical, effective, stable and sustainable manner, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in the region and the world, for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia-Pacific and the world.

Vietnamese students in US mark 10 years of networking

The 10th edition of a networking event marking its decade, hosted by the Association of Vietnamese Students and Professionals in the US (AVSPUS), is taking place in Washington from August 19-21.

A series of activities, both online and offline, during the event are expected to attract over 35,000 Vietnamese living and studying in the US, representatives from domestic and foreign agencies, press outlets and economic groups.

They will also be livestreamed on Facebook and Youtube.

The AVSPUS was founded on June 1, 2013, and became a registered non-profit organisation in Massachusetts state on March 3, 2014.

It now groups more than 35,000 members throughout the US.

Nearly 300,000 COVID-19-hit workers receive financial aid from social security

The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) chapters have over the last week paid nearly 845 billion VND (36.1 million USD) in financial aid for more than 298,000 workers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aid was sourced from the VSS’s unemployment insurance fund.

The beneficiaries accounted for roughly 72% of those eligible to receive aid for COVID-19-hit labourers from the support package under Resolution 03/2021 of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee and Resolution 116/NQ-CP of the Government.

In Ho Chi Minh City, close to 266 billion VND from the unemployment insurance fund has been paid to 95,300 workers as of August 18. Each received 1.8 million to 3.3 million VND.

Spokeswoman: citizen protection for Vietnamese nationals going on

The Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department is working with domestic authorities to verify the identity of and provide citizen protection measures for Vietnamese nationals who recently escaped from a casino in Cambodia’s Kandal province and swam across Binh Ghi River to return home, said spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang on August 20.

Hang added that the ministry asked the Vietnamese representative agencies in Cambodia to contact the host authorities and inspect the casino in Chrey Thum hamlet, Sampeou Poun commune, Kaoh Thom district.

It also asked the Cambodian side to assist in finding the person who went missing and investigate the case.

According to her, the Foreign Ministry and Vietnamese representative agencies in Cambodia have saved and brought home over 500 citizens who were lured into working there, as well as offered support in procedures to thousands of others.

The Foreign Ministry asked concerned agencies and domestic press to raise awareness of outgoing Vietnamese guest workers, she said.

Earlier on August 18 morning, a group of Vietnamese nationals were arrested by An Giang Border Guards.

They said a total of 42 people tried to escape from the casino. Some have sustained minor injuries. One person is missing and another, a 16-year-old male from Kon Tum province, was caught by the casino staff in his attempt to escape.

Universities urged to attract more foreign students

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc has urged Vietnamese universities to improve quality of their programmes and beef up international cooperation to attract more foreign students.

Over 45,000 foreign students from 102 countries and territories enrolled in 155 Vietnamese universities between 2016 and 2021, according to a report by the Ministry of Education and Training’s International Cooperation Department. Of the total student number, 26.6% were offered scholarships under agreements between the Government of Vietnam and foreign governments.

Annually, some 4,000 – 6,000 foreign students come to Vietnam to study. The highest number was reported in 2019 with the total reaching 6,300. The figure dropped to just around 3,000 in 2020 and 2021 due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A majority of the foreign students attended undergraduate and short-term courses, while very few studied post-graduate and PhD ones. Nearly 80% of the students were from Laos and Cambodia. But as a result of growing relations with the Republic of Korea, China, France and Japan, the number of students from these countries in Vietnam is on a rise.

The Vietnam National University (VNU) Hanoi attracted the largest foreign enrollment, with more than 1,000 from 74 countries and territories. It is followed by the VNU Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi University, Hue University, Thai Nguyen University, and Da Nang University.

Vietnam discusses priorities with President of UNGA’s 77th session

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, held a working session with President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Csaba Kőrösi on August 19 to discuss UNGA’s working priorities as well as Vietnam’s issues of concern.

Giang affirmed that Vietnam will actively join and contribute to promoting the common agenda of the international community, as well as seek solutions to global challenges.

He shared Vietnam’s interest in stepping up the fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, coping with climate change, preventing and responding to epidemics, promoting gender equality and the role of women and youths, upholding and promoting respect of international law, and dealing with regional and global issues of shared concern.

Vietnam will continue contributing to the international community’s efforts regarding peace and security, promoting the UN peacekeeping activities and important processes suggested by the UN Secretary General in “Our Common Agenda” report together with other UN member states, he said.

Vietnamese Film Week celebrates national days

A series of Vietnamese films will be screened at Vietnamese Film Week nationwide as part of celebrating the 77th August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2) holidays.

The event, which began yesterday and will run until September 5, presents feature films, documentaries and animated films by talented directors from different periods.

Highlighted works include the feature film Anh Thay Ngoi Sao (My Teacher) produced by CJ HK Entertainment and HK Film, the documentary film Nguyen Tat Thanh- Nhung Dau An Lich Su (Nguyen Tat Thanh- Historical Events) by People’s Army Film Studio, and the animated film Dai Hanh Hoang De (Emperor Le Dai Hanh) by Vietnam Animation Studio.

According to the event’s organser, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the film screening is being jointly held by the Cinema Department, film studios and cinema centres nationwide.

Vietnam to send athletes to Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating

Vietnam will send five athletes to compete in the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events which will be held in the coming months in Europe.

Tran Khanh Linh, Nguyen Quang Minh and Nguyen Linh Chi will be the Vietnamese representatives at the event in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, from August 31 to September 3.

Meanwhile Le Dieu Huong and Phan Hoang Phuc will compete in the Egna event in Italy from October 12-15.

It is the second time that Vietnam has been invited to send athletes to the world's largest competition series for junior competitors.

Continued payment for COVID-19-hit workers approved

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has signed a resolution on continued payment for workers in accordance with another dated September 24, 2021, by the NA Standing Committee on the issuance of policies in support of employees and employers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NA Standing Committee suggested spending over 1.1 trillion VND (47.8 million USD) from the unemployment insurance fund as of the late 2021 on continued payment for eligible workers.

The payment must be made no later than September 10.

The NA Standing Committee assigned the Government to make timely payment and report on the implementation of those resolutions to its September meeting.

Football tournament marks Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year

The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, and the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports and the Association of Private Education on August 19 co-organised a friendship football tournament to welcome the Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022.

The six participating teams were divided into three pairs that received enthusiastic cheers of hundreds of spectators.

Within the framework of the tournament, there were art performances featuring the land and people of Vietnam and Laos, as well as their great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

Lao NA Secretary General welcomed in Vietnam

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man hosted a reception for Secretary General of the National Assembly of Laos Pingkham Lasasimma in the central province of Quang Binh on August 19.

Pingkham Lasasimma is in Vietnam to attend a workshop and exchange programme between the Vietnamese NA Office and the Lao NA Secretariat.

Naval vessel rescues Binh Dinh fishing boat in distress at sea

Naval Squadron 129 has said it took rescue measures on August 18 after receiving an SOS from a fishing boat coded BD 98172 TS of the south central province of Binh Dinh which was in distress in the area of Da Tay island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

At 10am that morning, when Naval Squadron 129's Vessel 771 was working at sea in the area of Da Tay island, it received information that a fishing boat ran aground on a shoal at sea. It immediately moved to the area and helped 15 fishermen aboard.

On August 19, the crew of Vessel 711 transferred fishing gear and the catch to another boat and provided the fishermen with food, water and medical care. Efforts are underway to salvage the ship.

Jail sentences proposed for former leaders of southern province

Former Secretary of the Party Committee of Binh Duong southern province Tran Van Nam and former Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem are facing prison sentences of 9-10 years for “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”.  

The Hanoi People’s Court opened a trial on August 15 for 28 individuals, including Nam and Liem, in a case involving land management and regulation violations in the southern province.

Eleven other former officials and leaders of the locality are also on trial. They were prosecuted by the Supreme People’s Procuracy on the same charge in line with Article 219, Clause 3 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Among the remaining 15, who once worked or are working for import-export and real estate firms in Binh Duong, three are also charged with “property embezzlement” along with the abovementioned charge.

According to the indictment, Nam, also known as Tran Quoc Tuan, who was Vice Chairman and then Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Duong from July 2010 to December 2015, and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee in the 2015-2020 tenure; Tran Thanh Liem, who was  Chairman of the People’s Committee from October 2015 to October 2020; Pham Van Canh, who was Standing Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee from December 2013 to November 2018; and Nguyen Van Minh, Chairman of the Council of Members and General Director of Binh Duong Producing and Trading Corporation (Protrade Corp) from August 2010 to June 2017,  deliberately violated regulations on capital and asset management, causing huge losses to the State.

Specifically, although Nam knew that the proposal to apply the average land price in 2006 to collect fees under land allocation regulations in 2012 and 2013 was illegal, he still issued a document on land use fee collection from Protrade Corp, causing a loss of more than 716 billion VND (30.6 million USD) to the State.

Other former provincial leaders knew that the transfer of 43 hectares of land and the State's 30% stake in Tan Phu Company to individuals known by Minh and his accomplices was unlawful. However, they still approved procedures to enable Minh to complete the transfer of State assets to a company founded by his son-in-law and sold to another private company, causing a loss of nearly 985 billion VND.

The defendants also breached the rule when failing to verify the value of a 145ha lot during the process of equitisation, enabling Minh and other accomplices to cause a loss of over 4.03 trillion VND to the State.

The indictment said Nam must bear the main responsibility for his wrong decisions and instructions that resulted in heavy damage to the State asset, while Minh is the culprit.  

Minh will spend 14-15 years behind bars for “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” and 15-16 years for “property embezzlement”.

Tran Nguyen Vu, General Director of Binh Duong Corporation, and Huynh Thanh Hai, Chairman of the Board of Members of Binh Duong Project Investment and Management Company Limited, and former member of the Board of Members and Deputy Director of Protrade Corp, were both charged with “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” and “property embezzlement.” They are expected to get combined jail terms of 24-26 years, and 21-23 years, respectively.

Prison sentences ranging from three to nine years were proposed for the other defendants.

Housing support for 100,000 poor, near-poor households

The Ministry of Construction (MOC) has announced housing support for nearly 100,000 poor and near-poor households under the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for the 2021-2025 period.

Along with that, the national target programme on socio-economic development for ethnic minorities and mountainous regions for the 2021-2030 period, with the first stage from 2021-2025 implemented by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, also aims to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide.

Meanwhile, people’s committees of centrally-run cities and provinces will consider regulations on improving housing quality in rural areas, the MOC said.

Accordingly, localities will review and devise new planning of communes, rural economic development and district-level construction in tandem with industrialisation and urbanisation.

Best universities have skyrocketing tuition fees

From 2022, tuition fees vary across schools, and tuition fees in universities increased according to Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP of the Government. Along with that, the tuition fees of high-quality programs in public and autonomous public schools have also increased very high.

There has been a difference in tuition fees of many autonomous public universities announced in 2022 compared to the mass training program. According to the announcement of Hanoi Law University, the tuition fee for full-time students will be VND572,000 a credit for the general program and VNA1,605 million a credit for high-quality programs from the academic year 2022-2023.

Currently, in addition to 23 autonomous schools under Resolution 77/NQ-CP for the period 2014-2017, autonomous public schools from 2021 to non-autonomous public schools all have high-quality training programs whose tuition fees are always 2-3 times higher than that of the mass training program.

The policy of piloting advanced training programs and high training programs started in 2006. When the tuition fee policy is too low, the newly-piloted program with high tuition fees ensures the quality of training, in the context of a competitive knowledge economy.

However, according to education experts, after a short time, the newly-piloted program is revealing many shortcomings, even the standard deviation of some training institutions has made a public opinion that the program is no longer really a good program.

Vietnamese open to learning digital skills: survey

A report commissioned by VMware and conducted by Deloitte titled “Digital Smart: Advancing digital government for citizens in the Asia-Pacific" found that 85 percent of respondents in Vietnam are willing to learn new digital skills or use a new platform and 80 percent expect to access government services at the same rate or more frequently in the next five years.

The research found that citizens of APAC member countries are more digitally engaged than ever, but governments still lag in the delivery of digital services.

The study found that the use of in-person government services halved across APAC nations in the last two years, and 77 percent of citizens now primarily use a digital platform to access government services.

However, 67 percent of respondents expected the quality of government services to be on par with those offered by the private sector, with 41 percent of people struggling to access digital services on their own given a lack of basic digital skills and shortfalls in digital infrastructure.

With 900 million new internet users expected to be added to the region that includes Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea by 2025, the need for investment in digital services by governments continues to grow.

Piracucu not allowed to trade, raise, release to natural environment in Vietnam

Director General Tran Dinh Luan of the Directorate of Fisheries (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) yesterday announced that piracucu at present is not on the list of aquatic species permitted for trading in Vietnam. When being release into the wild, this omnivorous fish might harm the existing local ecosystems.

Piracucu (under the scientific name of ‘Arapaima gigas’) is a freshwater species from South America. A mature fish weighs 200 kilos and is up to 3 meters long. It primarily feeds on small fish, shrimp, and crab.

In the domestic ornament fish market, a piracucu’s price depends on its size. A 10-to-70-centimeter fish costs from VND2-10 million (US$85.5-427). Since 2015, these fish have been imported to some Southwest provinces to sell to specialty restaurants.

Party economic commission leader visits Belgium, EU

Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, led a Party delegation to visit Belgium and the European Union (EU) from August 16-19.

During their stay, the delegation had separate meetings with First Vice President of the Belgian Senate Andries Gryffroy; Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Margrethe Vestager; Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora; and President of the Workers Party of Belgium Raoul Hedebouw.

They held working sessions with a number of Belgium agencies such as Directorate-General for Innovation (DG Innovation); Directorate-General for Marine and Fisheries Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE); and Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).

They also organised a roundtable dialogue with the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS).

The delegation also had a working session with the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium, and the Vietnamese delegation to the EU.

HCMC stores sufficient Protamin sulfat

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department Tang Chi Thuong yesterday informed that both general and specialized hospitals performing open-heart surgery in the city have confirmed all scheduled heart surgeries still take place normally.

Accordingly, the Centre Médical International (CMI), Gia Dinh People’s Hospital, 115 People’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital No.1 and No.2, HCMC Children’s Hospital still have enough Protamin sulfat to serve heart surgeries.

CMI said that it has over 3,300 tubes to use in 3 months, and its supply is stable. HCMC Children’s Hospital also has more than 400 tubes to use in 1 year.

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