As of late 2023, Viet Nam had 46 localities free from malaria. The country is steady on the path to materialize the goal of eliminating malaria by 2030, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong.

The official made the announcement at a ceremony marking Vietnamese Doctors' Day (February 27) and presenting awards of a competition on the life and scientific career of late Professor Dang Van Ngu.

The professor made significant contributions not only to the healthcare system in Viet Nam but also to global healthcare. 

He discovered new mosquito species such as Anopheles tonkinensis, identified the reverse cycle of the liver fluke, and isolated a type of Penicillium with high antibiotic properties.

The event was held by the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE) in Ha Noi on February 22.

Viet Nam emerged as a beacon in the regional and global fight against malaria.

The success was a dramatic turnaround from 1991 when over 1 million cases and 4,646 deaths were reported annually.

In 2022, only 455 cases and one death were recorded, with no major outbreaks.

Ms. Huong called upon NIMPE leaders and staff to build on their past achievements, uphold solidarity, and fulfill assigned tasks to combat insect-borne and parasitic diseases, ultimately striving for their elimination.

Top leaders of Vietnamese, Lao Parties meet in Hanoi

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith co-chaired a high-level meeting between the two Parties in Hanoi on February 26.

This was an important event helping to strengthen and deepen the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and people of Vietnam and Laos.

The leaders informed each other about the situation of their respective Party and country, including Party building and socio-economic development; exchanged views on the world and regional situation and contents of mutual interest; assessed the results of bilateral cooperation in recent times; and agreed on major orientations for the coming time.

They expressed their delight at the development of the bilateral relations in all fields, with the political ties continuing to be strengthened, defence-security promoted efficiently, and cooperation in economy, culture, education and science and technology seeing positive changes.

The Vietnam - Laos relationship is an invaluable asset of the two peoples, an objective necessity, a historical rule and the greatest source of strength of the two Parties and countries that needs to be promoted and passed on to future generations, they affirmed.

Trong affirmed that the relationship always plays a particularly important role and is a top priority in Vietnam's foreign policy, while Thongloun Sisoulith highlighted the strategic importance and significance of the bilateral ties in the security and growth of each country, and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone highly appreciated the results of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, culture, education, science-technology, and defence-security; and proposed specific directions for bilateral collaboration in the coming time.

The two sides agreed that in the context of the current situation, the two Parties and countries need to continue promoting good traditions and strengthening solidarity, close coordination and mutual support; developing political relations; promoting the pillars of cooperation in defence, security and foreign affairs; creating breakthroughs in economic collaboration; and intensifying partnership in education, culture, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges on the basis of promoting the potential and strengths of each country.

They stressed the need to promote the effectiveness of existing mechanisms, continue innovating and improving the efficiency of cooperation in all fields, and build new appropriate mechanisms to further intensify the Vietnam-Laos special solidarity for the practical benefits of each country’s people, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

6 disabled students rescued from drowning at sea in Bình Định

Six students with developmental disabilities who were swept away by strong waves on a beach in Bình Định Province on Sunday were fortunately rescued.

Trần Đình Trực, chairman of the Cát Tiến Town People's Committee, said on Monday that authorities and local people managed to rescue the six, all students at a local school for the disabled.

At 2.30pm on Sunday, they were swimming in Trung Lương Beach in Cát Tiến, when they were swept away.

Some fishermen spotted them and informed the Border Guard and police, who arrived swiftly.

Two of the students, who were in critical condition, were given first aid by the rescue team before being taken to the town medical centre, Trực said. 

One of them had fluid in the lungs, and so the medical staff contacted the SOS Bình Định rescue team, who took the student to the provincial capital, Qui Nhơn City, for treatment, he said.

Dr Võ Thành Nam Bình, deputy director of the Bình Định Province General Hospital, said after being treated promptly, the patient's condition has stabilised.

The others are all fine.

Nguyễn Văn Hưng, chairman of Phù Cát District, said the children, whose ages are not known, went to the beach unsupervised.

The sea off Trung Lương is currently rough with strong waves and winds, he said.

There is a warning in place from local authorities against swimming in the area.

In Việt Nam, drowning is one of the top 10 causes of death of children aged five to 14.

While fatalities have been decreasing, nearly 2,000 children still drown each year, and remains one of authorities’ top priorities.  

Thai King highly values Vietnam-Thailand friendship

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida have recently hosted a reception for outgoing Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh.

The King spoke highly of the friendship and comprehensive, fruitful cooperation between the two countries, as well as Ambassador Thanh’s contributions to the relationship during his tenure in Thailand.

Recalling his Vietnam visit in his capacity as Crown Prince, the King noted with pleasure the country’s rapid development at present, and expressed his wish that the bilateral relationship will be consolidated and enhanced in the time ahead, and the ambassador will make more contributions to the friendship.

For his part, Thanh thanked the King for his attention to and support for the bilateral relations, as well as the operation of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand.

He especially thanked the royal couple for their support to the Vietnamese community in Thailand over the past years.  

The Vietnamese government will continue creating favourable conditions for Thai businesses to invest and operate in Vietnam, and encouraging Thais to visit the country, he said.

The diplomat repeated the Vietnamese President’s invitation to the King and the Queen to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.

Vietnam an example of dangerous epidemic containment

Vietnam has established itself as one of the leading countries in the fight against emerging diseases in the context of a number of dangerous and fast-spreading epidemics in the world over the past years like COVID-19 and earlier, SARS or MERS-CoV.

During over 30 years since the launch of the national Expanded Immunisation Programme, Vietnam has developed the capacity of monitoring, detecting, diagnosing, and responding to disease outbreaks in a swift and effective manner. Despite socio-economic challenges, improvements have been recorded in the prevention and control of dangerous and emerging diseases, reception and treatment of patients, as well as the preparedness to respond to dangerous epidemics.

As a result, many deadly contagious diseases have been brought under control and eradicated such as smallpox eliminated in 1978, polio in 2000, and neonatal tetanus in 2005 while no new cases of bubonic plague have been reported since 2002.

Infections of other epidemics like diphtheria, whooping cough and measles have also been reduced by hundreds or even thousands of times compared to the time prior to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. Many other endemic diseases that can break out into epidemics such as dengue fever, viral encephalitis, tuberculosis, typhoid, and cholera have been curbed with both infections and fatalities minimised with no major breakouts. 

Vietnam was one of the first countries to succeed in containing the SARS, A/H5N1, and A/H1N1 outbreaks. It also successfully prevented some dangerous and emerging diseases like A/H7N9, Ebola, and MERS-CoV from entering the country.

In particular, after more than three years, Vietnam has managed to contain the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that spread around the globe, thus greatly helping with its socio-economic recovery and development.
         
Monitoring and testing capacity has also been promoted when it comes to emerging communicable diseases, from MERS-CoV, Ebola to A/H7N9 and COVID-19. The communicable disease surveillance system, including surveillance in the community, at border gates and at laboratories, along with surveillance in areas with abnormal epidemiological factors has proved effective.
         
The achievements of Vietnam have earned worldwide recognition. The country’s good performance has enhanced people’s trust and won admiration from the international community.

Pointing out complex developments of communicable diseases in the world, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said the tropical monsoon climate and growing trade and tourism make Vietnam highly vulnerable to different epidemics.

To prevent diseases from becoming epidemics and gearing up for future pandemics or health emergencies, the Ministry of Health (MoH) will push ahead with implementing tasks and solutions as assigned by the Party Central Committee, National Assembly, Government, and Prime Minister, she noted.
         
It will step up access to global health security in disease prevention and control to share information and experience via bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, thereby showing its sense of responsibility towards international cooperation in epidemic response, according to the official.

At a ceremony held on December 27, 2023 in response to the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, the MoH asked provinces and centrally-run cities to enhance disease prevention and control; ready response plans in case of pandemics or health emergencies; improve the capacity of anti-epidemic systems at all levels, especially in disadvantaged, remote, mountainous, border, maritime, and ethnic minority areas; and engage all sides, including authorities, sectors, and socio-political organisations, in the work.

The MoH also called on the entire people and community to better disease awareness, improve their health, and actively join in disease prevention efforts.

Oft-congested intersection near Tan Son Nhat airport set for overhaul

The intersection of Pham Van Dong and Le Quang Dinh streets in Go Vap District, serving as a crucial entry point to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, is set for overhaul in March, according to the HCMC Department of Transport.

The decision to overhaul the intersection comes due to concerns over safety risks, said Hoang Quoc Dung, deputy head of the Road Transport Management Division, at a press conference on February 22.

Residents have voiced worries regarding the absence of left-turn signals on the street sections from Pham Van Dong to Le Quang Dinh, posing risks for motorists and exacerbating congestion around the narrow roundabout.

The overhaul plan entails dismantling the roundabout, resizing the median strip, and upgrading traffic lights from two phases to three phases. Specific signals will be installed for left-turning vehicles.

The HCMC Road Infrastructure Management Center will work with other relevant agencies to relocate technical infrastructure systems within the intersection area.

Despite its significance in connecting the northeast to the city center and facilitating airport access, the 12-kilometer Pham Van Dong Avenue with 12 lanes has been plagued by congestion since it was opened to traffic in 2013.

Tractor-trailer violates speed limit more than 1,000 times in one month

A tractor-trailer in Hà Nội has been reported to have violated the speed limit 1,063 times within a month, according to the municipal Department of Transport (DoT).

This information was disclosed following a review conducted by the Hà Nội DoT, examining speed violation data obtained from the trip monitoring device system managed by the Department for Roads of Việt Nam.

Data from the system revealed that in Hà Nội, a total of 1,149 vehicles exceeded the speed limit more than five times per 1,000 kilometers.

Among these vehicles, a tractor-trailer belonging to the B.S. Trading and Service Cooperative stood out for violating the speed limit over 1,000 times.

Consequently, this vehicle has been found to exceed the speed limit an average of 34 times per day.

Several other vehicles also registered significant numbers of violations. For instance, a truck from the T.H. Transport Service Cooperative committed 976 offenses, a tractor from the same cooperative breached the speed limit 901 times, a contract vehicle operated by the I.B.L. Joint Stock Company transgressed 845 times, and a container owned by the X.D.N. Transport Service Cooperative violated the speed limit 842 times.

In order to rigorously enforce regulations pertaining to passenger transport trading by automobile, the Hà Nội DoT is mandating automobile transport enterprises to meticulously review and verify the data regarding speed violations published by the DoT.

In the event of suspected data irregularities, enterprises are instructed to report to the Hà Nội DoT before Monday.

Enterprises must adhere to existing regulations and laws, ensuring proper driver management and traffic safety conditions.

They are obligated to oversee, inspect, and promptly address driver violations through the utilization of monitoring devices and cameras installed on their vehicles.

Additionally, the DoT stipulates that enterprises must issue sufficient identification cards and mandate drivers to swipe their identification cards when controlling vehicles, as prescribed in Clause 6, Article 12, Decree 10/2020 /NĐ-CP. 

Over 21,000 ha of forest in Ca Mau Province at high risk of wildfire

On February 24, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ca Mau Province Huynh Quoc Viet sent a working team to check the work of firefighting in the U Minh Ha National Park as temperatures rise along with gusty winds, the climate becomes dryer.

The U Minh Ha National Park and the surrounding area currently have 45,679 hectares of forest in a dry state. Of which, there are more than 21,000 hectares of forest with a high risk of fire.

In order to ensure safety during the dry season, the entire U Minh Ha forest and forests in islands set up 64 wildlife observation huts, repaired and built nine huts; equipped 115 firefighting pumps, 57,470 meters of fire hoses, boats, specialized pickup trucks, ICOM machines, which have been regularly tested, already prepared for any rescue situation ahead.

As for the U Minh Ha National Park, a camera system was installed in its forest areas to increase pro-activeness and prompt response to forest management and protection during the dry season.

Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Huynh Quoc Viet required local authorities and forest owners to regularly propagate and call on people not to cause any impact on the forest amid the current severe dry season.

Besides, the units involved in forest management and protection, especially forces on duty at fire observation posts need to further enhance their roles and responsibilities, absolutely not to allow people to go to the forest to exploit wild honey or catch fish, especially in areas of the U Minh Ha National Park.

HCMC applies digital transformation in fighting crime

The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just issued a plan to implement crime prevention, and human trafficking prevention and build a movement of all people to protect national security in the city in 2024.

According to the plan, the southern metropolis will enhance the application of scientific and technical achievements as well as digital transformation; in other words, the city is determined to transform from traditional to modern methods in preventing and effectively fighting crime.

At the same time, the city will continue to use the software of the national population database, the Government’s Project 06 on developing population data applications, orientation, and electronic authentication for the national digital transformation in the period 2022-2025 with a vision to 2030.

Vietnam - one of Asia’s fastest growing cinema markets: US news site

Deadline.com, a US premier news source covering the business of entertainment, including movies, television, online, digital and related areas, has described Vietnam as one of Asia’s fastest-growing cinema markets.

In an  article entitled “How Vietnam Has Become One Of Asia’s Fastest Growing Markets With New Multiplexes, A Movie-Hungry Audience & Vibrant Local Film Biz” published on February 23, Liz Shackleton wrote that some Vietnamese film-makers shared their views to draw a positive bright outlook for Vietnam’s film industry.

According to the article, although the previously state-run industry only opened its doors 10-15 years ago, box office was growing at a steady clip of 10% annually before the pandemic, overtaking Thailand, which has a much more developed and longer-established film industry.

The Lunar New Year is a key box office period in several Asian territories, but nowhere was it more hotly contested this year than in Vietnam, where several local, Japanese and Hollywood movies were slugging it over the week-long holidays (February 9-15), it said.

Tran Thanh‘s Mai, a romantic drama that delves into the psychology of its female protagonist, was the clear winner — at the time of writing it was topping the box office with a haul of 400 billion VND (16.4 million USD). Produced by Tran Thanh Town and CJ HK Entertainment, a joint venture between the Republic of Korea’s CJ ENM and local outfit HKFilm, the film has the potential to break the record set by Tran Thanh’s own The House of No Man, released this time last year, which is Vietnam’s highest ever grossing film with 476 billion VND (19.4 million USD).

Last year, Vietnam’s box office reached 150 million USD, or around 90% of pre-pandemic levels, from a total of 1,100 screens. Not bad for a market that in 2010 only had 90 screens and annual revenue of less than 15 million USD.

The growth is due to a few factors, but one of the biggest is the multiplex building programmes undertaken by Korean exhibitors CJ CGV and Lotte Cinema, along with local studios Galaxy Cinema and BHD Star Cineplex, the site said. 

Recently, Vietnam has also seen the emergence of hip new cinema chains, such as Beta Cinemas and Cinestar, which offer lower ticket prices aimed at students and middle-income cinema-goers.

Also driving the market is a lively local production sector that is experimenting with new genres and making a wider range of films - again an achievement considering that private companies were only allowed to start producing in the mid-2000s. 

The RoK’s CJ ENM and Lotte are also active in financing and producing Vietnamese-language movies - CJ with films such as Mai and The House Of No Man and Lotte with titles including Le Van Kiet’s 2019 action film Furie and Victor Vu’s recent period drama The Last Wife.

“It’s a very young audience - we estimate that up to 80% are under the age of 29,” said CJ HK Distribution Supervisor Nguyen Tuan Linh.

“So that age group is dictating the tastes of the market: Local romance, comedy and horror as well as movies from the RoK, Thailand and Indonesia.” 

Justin Kim, CJ ENM’s Head of International Film Production, added that it’s also a demanding and unforgiving audience: “They’re very active on social media, especially TikTok and Instagram, and will react quickly if they think the quality of a movie is not so good.”

Đắk Lắk Province farm exports boom

Đắk Lắk Province has shipped large volumes of agricultural produce this year to many markets around the world, a positive sign for its exports.

They were officially exported to China and to Korea.

On January 3 Nutri Soil Import – Export Joint Stock Company in Buôn Ma Thuột held an event to celebrate the first ever export of Đắk Lắk macadamia, when over 10 tonnes were shipped to Korea.

Officials from both countries inspected the consignment for food safety and hygiene, packaging and traceability. The product is expected to be sold through major supermarket chains.

Lê Thị Trang, director of Nutri Soil Import – Export Joint Stock Company, said the company tied up with farmers, researched, invested in processing equipment, and looked for markets for over eight years.

She said the first shipment to Korea was a success.

The province has suitable land and weather for growing macadamia, she added.

On January 20 the Krông Pắc District People’s Committee organised an event to celebrate the export of the first consignment of bird’s nest by the Thành Dung Bird’s Nest Import – Export Joint Stock Company to China.

The event was an important milestone for the bird's-nest farming industry in Đắk Lắk Province since China is the world’s biggest market for the product.

According to Y Djoang Niê, vice chairman of the district People’s Committee, 200 households harvest bird’s nests.

Official exports create opportunities to access large markets, and the product fetches high profits for enterprises and farmers.

On February 15 Banana Brother Farm Joint Stock Company celebrated the shipment of bananas through official export quotas to China and to Korea.

Its fresh products met the stringent quality standards in those markets and Japan.

According to Daklak September 2nd Import – Export Company Limited, on the first day after the Tết holidays ended it exported 572 tonnes of coffee and 56 tonnes of pepper.

The province targets exports of $1.6 billion this year and increasing them by 4.3 per cent a year.

One of its strengths is that many of its key agricultural products are exported through official channels, and its markets are expanding.

Huỳnh Ngọc Dương, deputy director of its Department of Industry and Trade, said, thanks to their proactive efforts in 2023, businesses got new orders right at the start of the new year.

Coffee prices are currently at a high VNĐ80,000 per kilogramme, which would help increase export value.

Đắk Lắk grows 13 out of 14 agricultural products that are officially exported to China, including highly processed items such as bird’s nest and macadamia, according to Dương.

These are positive signs for its exports. Exporters have been facing difficulties such as international conflicts and high shipping costs.

Dương said the department needed to work with enterprises to help them retain traditional customers and markets, develop new products and access new markets, thus increasing the number of exporters.

There should be conferences and seminars to acquaint enterprises with bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that they could take advantage of, he added.

The province has tied up with other provinces and cities to facilitate exports.

In 2024 its agricultural sector will continue to study the 16 free trade agreements that Việt Nam has signed to make use of them and thoroughly research markets that have demand for Vietnamese goods.

It will restructure production towards concentrated farming and focus on origin traceability, certification and branding to raise the value of products.

Stadium shortage hinders formation of sports economy

The Vietnamese sports industry is facing a shortage of stadiums on the way to the formation of the sports economy.

Director Dang Ha Viet of the Department of Sports and Physical Training said that Vietnam's sports economy still faces many barriers, of which the biggest bottleneck is the mechanisms and policies related to facilities. If professional clubs do not have their own stadium or facilities that are not good enough, they will never be able to develop their sports business, because the revenue from the stadium is huge. Currently, there has been no policy to hand over stadiums to clubs so they can be proactive in their business and create more revenue.

Many macro-to-micro factors relate to the formation of the sports economy and the lack of stadiums - a typical hiccup of Vietnam’s sports industry.

Typically, the three football clubs in the V-League including Hanoi, The Cong - Viettel, and Hanoi Police Club are sharing the same stadium, Hang Day. Therefore, if Hanoi has a fourth team in the V-League, it will be very difficult for organizers to schedule matches. Similarly, many years ago, Saigon Port, and Ho Chi Minh City Police and Customs shared Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.

In Thanh Long Sports Center’s campus, a hotel, swimming pool, training ground system and supporting activities, and a football field are qualified to host low-level international tournaments and the national first division tournament. When a match is organized in the center, football lovers will spend time using a series of entertainment services before and after entering the stadium to watch football matches.

When Thanh Long Sports Center received the Ho Chi Minh City first-class team, the center owner also sold services to other teams which registered to compete in the center’s facility. This center's revenue will more or less have to be paid in taxes to the locality after the investment incentive period. In a certain framework, this model is sports economics.

However, almost only one football stadium in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City at present is qualified for organizing top football competitions, but the field is public property. Clubs have to rent stadiums and almost only collect money from ticket sales at each match. They will not be able to have revenue sources from placing fixed advertising signs, renting business premises or offices within the stadium grounds, or even parking fees to watch football, let alone rents collected from hiring locations to hold events like fairs, or musical performances.

The stadium is not assigned to the club, but even the stadium management board, which represents the state to exploit the facilities, is quite difficult to generate revenue due to the mechanism related to business cooperation with private investors. Therefore, although football stadiums in Vietnam are located in good locations in big cities’ central districts, they have not produced any significant revenue for the country with an orientation toward the sports economy. In the opposite case, illegal leasing at My Dinh Sports Complex causes a loss of tax money.

Even if individual investors want to pour money to jointly exploit such stadiums, they have been facing the mechanism bottlenecks of public-private cooperation; for instance, the Ho Chi Minh City Club with the football field in District 7 is an example. Therefore, sports investors find it impossible to be autonomous in owning a private stadium not to mention sports economics.

Egyptian locality looks to expand cooperation with Vietnam

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Nguyen Huy Dung had a working session with Governor of Luxor Mustafa Mohamed Alham Khaled on March 25 to discuss measures to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

According to the ambassador, Vietnam and Egypt have great potential for cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths, such as agriculture, industry, garment and textile, logistics, aquaculture, tourism, and maritime economy. The two countries are striving to lift bilateral trade turnover to 1 billion USD in the coming time.

The two sides agreed that Luxor and Ninh Binh should review and add more content of cooperation in the friendship and cooperative agreement between the two localities, and soon renew this document.

Ambassador Dung suggested the Egyptian locality strengthen cooperation with not only Ninh Binh but also other localities of Vietnam.

Alham Khaled said he hopes that Luxor and Ninh Binh will enhance cooperation in agriculture, education, and tourism. He also called on Vietnamese businesses to increase investment in industrial parks of Luxor.

The two suggested that the countries create favourable conditions for travel firms from both sides to open representative offices and promote tourism promotion activities in each other's territories.

 Participants at the workshop to further promote cooperative relations between the two countries. (Photo: VNA)
The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and the Chamber of Commerce in Luxor jointly held a workshop to further promote cooperative relations in areas of economics, trade, investment, tourism, culture, agriculture, and education between the two countries, and their localities.

Ambassador Dung introduced Vietnam's economic situation and investment attraction policies, while calling on businesses from both countries to expand connections to better understand the market and seek opportunities for business cooperation.

For his part, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Luxor Muhammad Yehia proposed the two countries further strengthen cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. He expressed his hope that Vietnamese businesses will consider investing in industrial parks in Luxor.

Tien Giang’s border guard force takes action to combat IUU fishing

The border guard force of Tien Giang province is one of the core forces in conducting information dissemination and persuading fishermen to strictly comply with regulations on seafood exploitation at sea and not infringing foreign waters as the province intensifies measures to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to Colonel Truong Cong Sau, Deputy Commander of the provincial Border Guard, border guard stations require vessels owners to make commitment to not violating foreign waters before going to sea and strictly check vessel monitoring equipment on vessels.

Border guard unit also organise communication campaigns on mass media and distributes leaflets on IUU fishing prevention and control in association with the implementation of Law on Fisheries, thus contributing to raising compliance with regulations on seafood exploitation at sea. As a result, Tien Giang province didn’t record any of its fishing vessels violating foreign waters or engaging in IUU over the past two years.

Captain Le Van Vinh, head of Kieng Phuoc Border Guard Station said the unit has performed well anti-IUU fishing tasks, adding that to date, 100% of local fishing vessels have installed vessel monitoring equipment and kept them in operation.

Tien Giang is home to 1,275 fishing vessels, 60% of which have capacity to reach fishing grounds as far away as Con Dao and Truong Sa.

In the coming time, the provincial Border Guard will continue to work with competent agencies to organise communication work and training sessions on Vietnamese and international regulations relating to fisheries in key fishing areas and closely monitor fishing vessels at high risk of violating IUU fishing, Sau said.

Cold air arrives in Northern region on Feb 26 night

This morning, February 26, Hanoi continued to experience drizzle, along with fog at higher altitudes, shrouding high-rise apartment buildings and skyscrapers.

The temperature in the early morning in Hanoi was 14 degrees Celsius, forecasted to rise to 19 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. However, it is forecasted to drop back to 13-14 degrees Celsius at night due to the intrusion of cold air.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting continues to issue warnings, indicating that a portion of cold air from the Northern part of the Asian continent is still moving southward, soon to affect the weather in the Northern region of Vietnam.

This evening and tonight, this cold air mass is expected to first impact the Northeastern region before reaching some areas in the Northwestern region.

During February 24 and 25, as a result of the cold air mass arriving on the 23rd, numerous locations in the Northern region experienced severe and damaging cold spells (except for Dien Bien and Lai Chau). Temperatures in Hanoi and provinces like Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, and Thai Nguyen fell lower than previously predicted.

In particular, temperatures in Hanoi have sharply dropped to between 13 and 15 degrees Celsius, while in the Northeastern mountainous regions, they've plummeted to 8-10 degrees Celsius (meteorological agencies had forecasted temperatures in the Northern plains to be between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius, and in the Northern mountainous areas, between 15 and 17 degrees Celsius).

With the impending reinforcement of the cold air mass, meteorological agencies predict that from February 27 onwards, the Northeastern regions will experience severe cold, with some mountainous areas facing potentially damaging cold spells. During this cold spell, temperatures in the Northeastern region are expected to range from 11 to 14 degrees Celsius, while in the Northern mountainous areas, temperatures may dip to 8-11 degrees Celsius and fall below 8 degrees Celsius in highland areas.

From the night of February 26 to 27, the region spanning from Quang Binh to Khanh Hoa experienced rain, scattered showers, and thunderstorms in some areas.

Monkeys wreak mayhem in residential quarters in Phu Yen 

Monkeys of unknown origin appeared in residential quarters, entering homes and wreaking havoc on people's lives in Tuy Hoa City of Phu Yen Province.

Director Nguyen Vinh Thanh of the Forest Ranger force in Tuy Hoa City yesterday said he would send a force to check the information about monkeys causing mayhem in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province. The forest rangers will find solutions to catch the animal.

According to Mr. Thanh, it is likely that these strange monkeys come from Ngoc Lang village in Binh Ngoc Commune of Tuy Hoa City.

Some households in Ward 5 of Tuy Hoa City reported that over the past several days, some monkeys of unknown origin suddenly appeared and looked for food while others wreaked havoc in local inhabitants’ houses. Many monkeys blatantly entered houses causing damage then stayed around people's houses, making many people quite scared and worried. Some people tried to chase them away, but these strange monkeys still refused to leave.

From mid-2023 to the present, the Forest Ranger force in Tuy Hoa City has kept three strange monkeys handed in by people in Tuy Hoa City. This unit has released two of them into Deo Ca forest in Dong Hoa town of Phu Yen Province while a monkey will be released in the upcoming time after formalities are complete.
 
Previously, a group of monkeys appeared in Ngoc Lang village, forest ranger staff went to check and counted more than 20 large and small animals, causing havoc to the people in this area, Mr. Thanh informed the press.

According to the Head of the Tuy Hoa City Forest Ranger Division, the unit has not yet clearly determined the origin of these monkeys and has not taken any thorough measures to handle them. In addition, in some localities such as Phu Lam Ward and Ward 9, people also reported the appearance of strange monkeys.

Mr. Thanh said that most monkeys belong to rare and endangered species (group 2B), so when people discover them, they need to report this to local authorities. He advised people not to arbitrarily arrest them or keep the animal in captivity which is against the law.

HCMC’s urban railway system development project to be summited to NA

HCMC will complete the city’s urban railway system development project in March to submit to the National Assembly (NA).

According to the Office of the HCMC People’s Committee, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai assigned the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) to coordinate with the relevant units to build the HCMC urban railway system development project in accordance with the Politburo's Conclusion No 49-KL/TW on the development orientation of Vietnam's railway transport to 2030 with a vision towards 2045.

The special task group will also collect opinions from experts to finish the city’s urban railway system development project in March to submit to the National Assembly.

In addition, the HCMC Department of Transport will complete the construction project of the Can Gio International Transshipment Port and propose the People’s Committee of the city to send to the Prime Minister before March 5.

Vietnamese families adopt over 100 Laotian, Cambodian students in HCMC in 2023

A conference reviewing the fostering program ‘Vietnamese families with Laotian and Cambodian students studying in HCMC” in 2023 was held in HCMC last week.

According to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in HCMC coordinated with relevant units to match 67 Vietnamese families with 91 Lao and 14 Cambodian students.

The program also aims to offer a deep understanding of the country, Vietnamese history, culture, tradition, and people to Laotian and Cambodian students and strengthen traditional friendship, solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the two countries.

In addition, the HCMC Youth Union organized the Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia family festival to strengthen family relationships and give an opportunity to Laotian and Cambodian students to experience Vietnamese culture and the daily life of Vietnamese people.

Speaking at the event, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in HCMC said that the people-to-people diplomacy between the overseas Vietnamese and all social classes at home gained many positive achievements.

She called on overseas Vietnamese to continuously contribute to the development of HCMC in particular and the country in general.

Woman found illegally growing 600 poppy plants

Na Cô Sa Border Guard Station apprehended Hờ Thị La, a 47-year-old resident of Huổi Po Village, Na Cô Sa Commune, located in the northern mountainous province of Điện Biên, for illicitly cultivating poppy plants within a green vegetable field.

Preliminary investigations revealed that approximately 600 poppy plants were in the blooming stage, interspersed among green vegetables, occupying an area of about 30 square meters within the village.

Upon uncovering the situation, the border guard station collaborated with local authorities to eradicate and remove all poppy plants, and initiated the necessary paperwork for submission to the competent authorities for further legal proceedings. 

Carriers to intercept new subscribers for 2G Only phones from March

Telecommunication carriers set to intercept new mobile subscribers with 2G Only phones which are not on the list of conformity certificates issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC).

This is a new annoucement from the Authority of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Users can search for models of 2G phones via https://tqc.gov.vn/2g-only.

The move comes in line with the policy and orientation of terminating 2G mobile technology and popularizing smartphones.

The termination of 2G signal aimed at taking advantage of frequency resources for modern telecommunication technologies in accordance with the development targets of the carriers and the country, thereby, improving the quality of the 4G mobile technology system, optimizing operation and exploitation costs for better services.

Telecommunication enterprises are responsible for popularizing the solution implementation of controlling and preventing users from connection to 2G mobile technology and announcing contact points to handle arising complaints from customers.