The blooming of cherry blossoms is attracting visitors to Da Lat city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong even after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays have ended.

The colourful flowers can be seen on many streets along the centre of the city like Tran Hung Dao, Hung Vuong and Tran Quoc Toan, offering tourists great photo opportunities.

Many people, especially youngsters, are continuing to visit Da Lat just to see them.

Phan Nghi Tuyen, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said he and his close friends are visiting after Tet to see the blossoms rather than during the holidays.

They are travelling around Da Lat on motorbikes, especially with the weather being great, he said.

According to city Office of Culture and Information, the number of visitors has been rising even after the holidays, reaching 21,000 daily.

The city welcomed around 323,000 visitors between February 8 and 18, including 25,200 foreign visitors.

Cherry blossoms are widely grown in the city and Lac Duong district. They bloom only once a year around Tet.

Thai Binh determined to remove IUU "yellow card"

Authorities in the northern province of Thai Binh have freshly issued a plan for a peak period in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities within its territory.

The plan calls for heightened responsibility among the provincial leaders of Party Committees, authorities at all levels, and enforcement agencies, with a stress on taking firm actions against organisations and individuals failing to fulfill their assigned duties.

In the document, the province identifies five key tasks, including the monitoring of fishing vessels staying uncontacted to the tracking systems at sea, addressing vessels trespassing into prohibited areas or zones, and recording and monitoring fishing logs for source traceability. The plan also highlights strict management and control of vessels without painted registration numbers according to regulations or those involved in IUU fishing.

Meanwhile, the provincial border guards are set to lead inspections and controls over all fishing vessels entering and leaving ports and river mouths, ensuring that they meet the required conditions for departure as stipulated. Unqualified vessels are not allowed to depart.

Having over 50km of coastline, Thai Binh now faces the task of increasing its fishing vessel registration rate which currently stands at 88.56%. According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, its rate of fishing vessels with licenses for seafood exploitation and with monitoring systems already installed stands at 93.37% and 98.85%, respectively.

The fifth IUU-related inspection in Vietnam by the European Commission (EC) is scheduled for April. This presents an opportunity for the local fisheries sector to reclaim its position, while demonstrating the nation’s commitment to fulfilling international agreements and obligations to protect the environment and marine ecosystem and to integrate sustainable economic development with the assurance of maritime sovereignty and security.

An Giang road cycling showcases strength

An Giang road cycling has firmly established itself as one of the strongest teams nationwide. This year, the An Giang team is determined to achieve high rankings in major tournaments.

In the previous National Road Cycling Championship, An Giang riders demonstrated their prowess. Nguyễn Thị Thật and Nguyễn Thị Thi claimed first and third place, respectively, in the women's category. Trịnh Đức Tâm also secured third place in the men's category.

An Giang boasts national team cyclists such as Thật, Lâm Thị Kim Ngân, Thi, and Nguyễn Thị Thu Mai. Notably, Thật has earned a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, thanks to her gold medal triumph at the 2023 Asian Road Cycling Championships held in Thailand last June.

Trần Hải Triều, general secretary of the Bicycle and Motorcycle Sports Federation of An Giang Province, stated that immediately after the Lunar New Year holidays, the An Giang men's and women's road cycling teams held a send-off ceremony. They are now embarking on extensive training trips with the goal of achieving high rankings in major tournaments this year.

The women's team will train in Đà Lạt City, Lâm Đồng Province, in preparation for the Bình Dương International Women's Cycling Tournament – Biwase Cup. Meanwhile, the men's team will also train in Đà Lạt to participate in the nation's largest cycling tournament, the HCM City Television (HTV) Cup.

Huỳnh Văn Chánh, coach of the An Giang women's cycling team, said that the upcoming Bình Dương International Women's Cycling Tournament is a prestigious event that promotes the growth of women's cycling. It aims to provide an opportunity for cyclists to compete and enhance their professional skills.

According to Chánh, Thật will not participate in the Bình Dương event as she will be training abroad for the Paris Olympics. However, there are several promising contenders for the tournament's titles, including Trần Thị Thùy Trang, Thi, Ngân and Mai.

"My teammates and I are actively training, determined to perform well in major tournaments this year. In the immediate future, our focus is on achieving outstanding results at the international event in Bình Dương, which will set the stage for upcoming tournaments," Mai stated.

Currently, the An Giang men's team also possesses talented riders like Lê Ngọc Sơn, Nguyễn Hoàng Giang, Nguyễn Huỳnh Đăng Khoa and Nguyễn Tấn Hoài, who are eagerly anticipating the upcoming events.

"Spectators can expect fierce competition in each race at the HCM City Television Cup, as most teams will field their top riders, including foreign talents. Therefore, my teammates and I are actively training and striving to achieve the best possible results," Sơn remarked.

Gymnasts set high goals at World Cup in Germany

Vietnamese gymnasts are ready for the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Germany where they will hunt for points to qualify for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

The team of four athletes did not have good results at the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Cairo, Egypt. Only Trịnh Hải Khang qualified for the final of the men's vaults and he finished sixth in the overall ranking.

They flew five hours and landed in Berlin on February 20 and will have three days training ahead of the four-day event at the Cottbus City from February 23-26.

"The highest goal of the team to reach the all finals in Germany," said coach Trương Minh Sang.

"Even just being in final top eight, our athletes could earn many points for their world ranking and they will have better opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

"In Cairo, my players tried their best, but did not achieve the desired results. However, some of their errors can be fixed for better results. We reviewed their performances together and made some changes so that athletes will do well in Germany."

Sang added that each athlete had his own training programme so that they could reach their peak in different tournaments. He believed that his players would make the finals before shining in Cottbus.

Nguyễn Văn Khánh Phong is the most potential athlete of the team after he earned an Asian Games silver medal in the men's rings last October in China.

He said although he failed to advance to the final in Cairo he scored points for the Race to Paris campaign. He hoped that he would get higher points in Germany and secure his place in Paris.

He said the Olympic spot was a strong motivation for him to practise and compete with the best.

Meanwhile Khang shared that his personal target was to earn the most points in both floor and vaults categories. His gold medal in team's all-around and bronze in vault in the 32nd SEA Games were motivations for him. He would bring into play his strong points and show the best of himself to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As planned, after Germany, the team will move to Azerbaijan for the next World Cup stop in Baku from March 7-10. They then return home before flying to Qatar for the Doha World Cup on April 17-20.

Over 15,000 visitors attend Tay Yen Tu Spring Festival

Despite the foggy and rainy weather, over 15,000 visitors flocked to the Tay Yen Tu spiritual and ecological tourism complex on the opening day of the 2024 Tay Yen Tu (West Yen Tu) Spring Festival.

The Tay Yen Tu (West Yen Tu) Spring Festival and the Culture - Tourism Week 2024 of northern Bac Giang Province officially opened in Son Dong District on February 21(the 12th day of the first month of the lunar calendar).

On this occasion, the 2024 Bac Giang Culture - Tourism Week officially kicked off featuring a series of cultural activities, including a tree planting festival which was jointly held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the People’s Committee of Bac Giang Province.

In addition, the Spring Press Festival featuring exhibits on the socioeconomic development of Bac Giang Province was also co-organized by the Bac Ninh Province’s Journalist Association, the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Department of Information and Communications of the province.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Giang Province, Le Anh Duong, stated that over the past 5 years, the Tay Yen Tu Spring Festival has become a pride of the province, contributing to positioning Bac Giang's tourism brand.

Consecutive forest fires break out in Northern region causing great damage

Forest fires have consecutively broken out in the Northern provinces causing great damage this week, especially a huge wildfire in Hoang Lien National Park in Lao Cai Province on February 19.

On February 21, Secretary of the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee Dang Xuan Phong was present at the fire scene in sub-zone 286 in Ta Van Commune, Sa Pa Town where the flame was found initially.

Here, Colonel Nguyen Van Do, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Military Command of Lao Cai Province said that from February 20 to February 21, more than 2,000 people including security and armed forces, forest rangers, militia, forest protection teams and residents were mobilized to the fire site to participate in the firefighting.

Previously, on the night of February 20, Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong was present at the scene to direct firefighting and forest rescue work in the Hoang Lien National Park.

 Secretary of the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee Dang Xuan Phong and the working group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Public Security are present at the Hoang Lien National Park to supervise and direct works of fire fighting on February 21.

Reporting to the Secretary of the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong said that giving an update on Wednesday afternoon, the sub-fires have been basically under control and were prevented from spreading into other natural forests and ancient forests in the core area of the Hoang Lien National Park.

Currently, there is only one small fire spot in a terrain with vertical cliffs and difficult conditions to access the fire scene.

As for the extinguished fire spots, police and military forces, militia and residents have been on duty to closely monitor and prevent the flame from breaking out again.

As of about 9 a.m. on February 21, the perimeters of fire had been narrowed down gradually to few spots without smoke and embers.

According to preliminary reports from the Hoang Lien National Park, by February 21, the wildfire burned down at least 30 hectares of forest land.

Previously, the national park had a similar huge forest fire in 2012.

Information from Lao Cai Province said that two forest fire spots occurred in Phan Xi Pang Ward and Ta Phin Commune, Sa Pa Town at the same time from February 20 to the morning of February 21, burning one hectare of forest land, amid the severe heat and drought climate and persistent strong winds.

One more fire broke out in a hill area bordering three communes of Pa Cheo, Ban Qua and Phin Ngan in Bat Xat District at around 2 p.m. on February 20.

By 2 a.m. on the following day, the flame was extinguished thanks to the great efforts of the local authorities, people and rescue forces.

According to information from Son La Province, the forest fire in Chim Van Commune, Bac Yen District on February 19 damaged more than 50 hectares of forest land.

The People's Committee of Bac Yen District directed agencies, departments and forest rangers to investigate and verify the cause of the fire

Amid the complicated situation of the forest fire in Hoang Lien National Park, Head of the Division of Culture and Sports of Sa Pa Town Hoang Thi Vuong signed an urgent dispatch announcing the adjustment of the scale of the organization of the Roong Pooc festival, the biggest annual festival of the Giay people in Ta Van Commune to mobilize human resources to participate in fighting forest fires.

According to the plan, the Roong Pooc festival takes place on February 22 (the 13th day of the first lunar month of the lunar new year) including only the rituals according to folk beliefs.

The entire activities of the festival are stopped.

Tet drives up foreign tourist arrivals in HCMC in Feb

HCMC has seen a 52.3% surge in international tourist arrivals in February, compared to the same period last year.

The city has attracted a total of 486,000 foreign travelers thanks to the vibrant Lunar New Year (Tet) celebrations, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

The number of domestic visitors to the city has also edged up by 8.2% year-on-year to 2.84 million. The rise in Tet revelers has contributed to a 21.2% increase in tourism revenue, at VND15 trillion.

Data of the department showed that overall visitor numbers to HCMC have grown by 10.2% year-on-year. The increase in tourism activity has translated into total revenue of VND28 trillion during the reporting period, up by 35.3% year-on-year.

Vung Tau-Con Dao express ferry service to resume early next month

After a seven-month hiatus induced by rough seas and a sharp decline in passengers, express ferry service between Vung Tau City and Con Dao Island will restart from March 2.

According to Phu Quoc Express, the high-speed ferry service will resume operations five days after the first trip, with a frequency of three weekly trips.

Passengers can board ferries to travel from Vung Tau to Con Dao on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while return trips will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The Vung Tau-Con Dao ferry service, launched five years ago, covers a distance of 185 kilometers from Cau Da port in Vung Tau City to Ben Dam port on Con Dao Island. The ferry can transport 600 passengers at a time.

To get to Con Dao, tourists can choose to fly or travel by express ferry from Vung Tau City, Tran De District in Soc Trang Province, or Can Tho City.

Tourist buses cause congestion in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Tourist buses are causing serious congestion in many streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Mostly 29-seater vehicles, these buses start gathering at local hotels from 7 am. They often remain parked for extended periods while waiting for tourists in the narrow streets, leading to constant traffic jams, particularly during rush hours.

Many locals have voiced their concerns to the city government, calling for actions to address this issue.

At a recent meeting, the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee instructed authorities in 18 wards to focus on public transport development in the Old Quarter and to restrict the operation of large tourist buses in the area.

The Hoan Kiem Traffic Police Department reports that they have issued fines to 152 tourist bus drivers for illegal parking in the last six months.

Hoi An sees tourist surge during Tet

The central province of Quang Nam’s Hoi An City saw a 35 percent increase in visitor numbers during the 2024 Tet Lunar New Year holiday, with around 300,000 tourists, including approximately 37,000 foreigners.

The city achieved a hotel occupancy rate of about 60-65 percent during this period. Tourists particularly enjoyed the trip to 400-year-old Tra Que vegetable village, with many cycling around the vegetable fields. 

Hoi An organised numerous activities to entertain tourists during the Lunar New Year. Le Quoc Viet, the owner of Santa Sea Villa Hoi An, noted the surge in visitors as a positive indicator of the city's tourism revival. Since Tet, his hotel has been fully booked, with many reservations already made for the next three months.

In the previous year, Hoi An attracted four million tourists, generating revenues of VND4.14 trillion (USD163.26 million), which doubled the figures from 2022.

To further boost tourism, Quang Nam's authorities have unveiled a promotional plan. Starting in March, they will conduct various activities to promote the local tourism sector.

Golf tournament raises funds for disadvantaged children

As much as AUD25,000 (US$16,381) was raised for disadvantaged children in Vietnam’s central region at the “Tet Cup 2024” golf tournament held by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Australia on February 21.

The event, the third of its kind so far, received enthusiastic response from the overseas Vietnamese (OV) in the country.

This year, it drew the participation of 70 golfers who also engaged in an auction and made bids for used golf clubs of legend Tiger Woods and lacquer paintings to raise money to build computer labs for schools in the central localities.  

General Consul Nguyen Dang Thang said that the fundraising aimed at building two-four computer labs, each with 10-15 computers, for the schools, helping local kids fully access informatics – the subject with an important role in the era of the Fourth Industry Revolution.

Nguyen Hiep, an OV in Australia, called this a practical event to promote solidarity among the OVs while contributing to building the homeland.

Joining in the “Tet Cup 2024”, Hiep said he hopes that his contributions could support children with difficulties to pursue their aspiration and become good citizens.

Some US$18,330 was raised at last year tournament, which was used to promote the teaching of the Vietnamese language in Australia.

Vietnam aims to qualify for 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup

2024 will mark a busy year for the national futsal team as they have set a goal of winning a place in the final round of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup for the third time.      

The National Futsal HDBank Championships 2024 kicked off on February 22, with the competition providing a chance for coach Diego Raul to scout talents for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024.

Local footballers are set to gather in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-March as they take part in an international futsal tournament organised by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) from March 28 to March 31.

The Vietnamese team will take on Iran, Asia’s leading team and seventh place in the world, Morocco, eighth in the world, and New Zealand, 49th in the global rankings, in the event.

Vietnam will continue to play two friendly matches against Kuwait on April 9 and April 14 in Ho Chi Minh City before then traveling to Thailand on April 13 to compete in the Asian tournament.

The final round of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 is scheduled to take place in Thailand from April 17 to April 28.

Vietnam have been drawn in Group A and will face hosts Thailand, Myanmar, and China. The 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup will involve the participation of a total of 16 teams.

The top four finishers at the event will then qualify for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan which will take place between September 14 and October 6.

The Vietnamese team have played in two FIFA Futsal World Cups before, in 2016 and 2020, reaching the knockout-stage in both tournaments.

At the most recent World Cup, they ended their campaign in the round of 16.

Vietnam highlights UN Charter’s values and principles

Le Thi Minh Thoa, deputy permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN and minister counselor, affirmed that the values, purposes, and principles of the UN Charter represent an important foundation of international law.

Her affirmation was made at the annual meeting of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations which is getting underway from February 20 to February 28, at the UN headquarters in New York, featuring the participation of nearly 90 representatives from member states and many international organisations.

This year's session primarily discussed the role of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security, resolving disputes by peaceful means, as well as the practice of using mediation in dispute resolution.

Regarding sanctions, the representative of Vietnam emphasised that these measures would not help to promote friendly relations and ties, therefore they should only be a last resort and must be done in accordance with the UN Charter and principles of international law.

Thoa called on the Sanctions Committees and experts to consider and assess the impacts on economic activities and livelihoods of people, especially vulnerable population groups.

With regards to settling disputes by peaceful means, the minister counselor affirmed that the country always upholds this fundamental principle of international law and supports the measures stated in Article 33 of the UN Charter, as well as any other peaceful means chosen by the parties.

Thoa believes that with the support of a neutral third party acting as a broker, which could be an individual, a country or group of countries, or international organisation, the disputing parties can begin direct negotiations or seek other settlement methods.

This measure thereby brings many benefits to international disputes because it has the ability to be resolved more quickly through judicial mechanisms, while also giving autonomy to the parties whilst minimising intervention by a third party.

The Special Committee on the Charter of the UN was established in 1975 to help countries discuss the implementation of the Charter.

Every year, the Special Committee holds meetings for countries aimed at discussing and considering related proposals.

Since its adoption in 1945, the UN Charter has been amended three times in 1963, 1965, and 1973.

Fifth Book Fair promotes reading habit held in Hanoi

The fifth book fair promoting reading habit among people will take place at the Hanoi Book Street on February 22-25
 
According to the book show’s organizers, Thai Ha Books and Thai Ha Book Club, the fair with the participation of 22 display booths is expected to create a book shopping space for book lovers.

The book fair will be divided into three areas, including Tram Tri Thuc (Knowledge Station), Tram Thien Nhien (Nature Station) and Tram Nghi Chan (Rest stop).

Participating stalls will donate 20 percent of their book sales to the Vietnam Fund for Reading Promotion which is operated by the Book Club and the Book ATM project to offer books and build book shelves in provinces and cities nationwide.

The event will include activities, such as exchanges on reading culture, the introduction of new books, and providing books to disadvantaged children in mountainous areas.

Quang Tri expressway reports dozens of accidents

The Cam Lo-La Son Expressway in the central province of Quang Tri has seen 36 accidents, killing six people and injuring 20 others in the first year it has been open. 

The government has raised the safety concerns on this expressway, experts, and the public following the latest accident which killed three people on February 18.

The VND7.70 trillion project spans over 98 kilometres of hilly terrain, connecting Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri provinces.

Despite being home to many dangerous curves, the expressway has just two lanes just 12 metres wide and a maximum speed limit of 60 kph.

Only some 15 km of the road has four lanes allowing a maximum speed of 80 kph.

The hilly terrain and narrow lanes have been highlighted as the main reasons for the large number of traffic accidents.

Despite a ban on overtaking on the two-lane overpass, violations still occur. The expressway still lacks surveillance cameras to monitor and penalise offending drivers.

Following the latest accident, PM Pham Minh Chinh sent a dispatch on February 21 to urge concerned ministries and localities to upgrade expressways that have been put into use in the country.

He asked the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to coordinate with related localities to quickly work out upgrade plans so that those roads fully meet expressway standards. In particular, investment in the two-lane routes must be made soon.

The government leader also requested equipping expressways with sufficient facilities like smart transport systems and rest areas.

In addition, the MoT was asked to quickly work with the Ministry of Science and Technology to issue national technical standards for expressways in the first quarter of 2024 to serve as the basis for planning, designing, managing, building, and safely and efficiently operating those roads.

Vietnam calls for promoting security, safety, women’s role in peacekeeping operations

Vietnam emphasised the need for ensuring security and safety for the forces and bases of peacekeeping missions and enhancing women’s role in peacekeeping operations, at a recent plenum of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34).

Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, stressed the requirement, especially amid risks of increased hostilities and intentional attacks on UN personnel.

He called on the missions to enhance their health capacity to protect the physical and mental health of peacekeeping forces.

As Vietnam’s experience shows, increasing interactions and trust building with local administrations and communities is important to helping reduce risks and create a safer and more favourable environment for peacekeeping forces in the field, Nguyen continued.
         
The diplomat also recommended the UN continue enhancing peacekeeping partnerships with regional organisations, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

As one of the four Southeast Asian countries housing UN-designated international training centres for the Triangular Partnership Programme, Vietnam is ready to cooperate with international partners to improve the quality of peacekeepers, especially in the stage of pre-deployment, he stated.

Nguyen added that the country also wishes to receive support and assistance from partners during the preparation for deploying its first peacekeeping police unit in the coming time.

Underlining the importance of promoting women’s role in peacekeeping operations, the diplomat appealed to the UN and the missions to create a safer and more favourable work environment for women’s engagement in peacekeeping forces.

Vietnam pledges efforts to maintain its female participation rate in peacekeeping forces higher than the UN’s set target of 15% and strive to raise the rate to 20% by 2025, he remarked.

In his opening address, President of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis affirmed that peacekeeping is an important tool of the UN to maintain peace and security and protect civilians. He highlighted the contributions and sacrifice by UN peacekeeping forces over the last 76 years, noting 4,345 peacekeepers have died.

Amid the increasingly complicated international political and security situations, C34 needs feasible and durable solutions to improve the efficiency of peacekeeping missions, Francis said.

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