Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 12 chaired a meeting with representatives from ministries, sectors and localities on prevention and combat of corruption and negative phenomena, during which he stressed the need to intensify inspection and examination.

He said that in the past year, the prevention and combat of corruption and negative phenomena was carried out continuously and drastically from the Government to the local authorities, demonstrating a high political determination and achieving remarkable results.

However, he pointed out, there remains much to be done now, including improving the quality of inspections and the capacity of those involved in this work, renewing law dissemination and education, and stepping up thematic and specialised inspections.

The Government leader requested strengthening inspections, especially on the responsibilities of the leaders, including the heads of ministries, sectors and localities; and focusing on major programmes such as COVID-19 prevention and control and socio-economic recovery and development programmes.

He proposed the internal affairs sector to speed up the investigation, verification and judgment of cases in accordance with the law, and in the spirit of no forbidden zones and no exceptions.

Hanoi prepares to serve foreign guests when conditions allow

The capital city of Hanoi is making preparations to welcome foreign visitors when conditions allow, apart from serving domestic tourists.

Director of the municipal Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang said the sector is carrying out tourism promotion programmes with members of the Council for Promotion of Tourism in Asia (CPTA), the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia-Pacific Cities (TPO), the Mekong – Lancang Tourist Cities Cooperation Alliance and other activities abroad.

The city will also launch a programme to introduce its attractions on CNN channel, focusing on the periods before, during and after the 31st Southeast Asian Games, which the city is hosting together with some other localities.

The department has also given instructions to tour agencies, lodging facilities and tourist destinations in how to meet conditions to ensure the safety and quality of tourist products, thus meeting demand of foreign guests in the future.

Arrangement made for OVs in Thailand to return home for Tet holiday by road

The Consulate General of Vietnam in Khon Kaen city of Thailand has coordinated with authorities of the host country and Laos to allow vehicles carrying Vietnamese expats from Thailand to travel to Vietnam via Laos.

On the morning of January 12, about 60 Vietnamese people with difficult circumstances living and working in the Northeastern region of Thailand returned to Vietnam by road for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival in the context that commercial flights remain limited and expensive.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been many flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home from abroad. However, passenger transport by road through a third country is unprecedented.

Hau Giang launches blood donation campaigns ahead of Lunar New Year

A ceremony was held in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang’s Nga Bay city on January 12 to kick off blood donation campaigns on the occasion of Lunar New Year and for 2022.

Via these campaigns, the steering committee plans to mobilise the participation of 3,500 donors and collect 2,640 blood units. As such, it will ensure an adequate reserve for hospitals across the province and have at least 100 donors ready to donate blood during Tet.

In 2021, Hau Giang mobilised 14,320 blood units, exceeding its target by 19.33 percent. 

Vietnam, Belarus conduct political consultation at deputy foreign ministerial level

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and his Belarusian counterpart Mikalai Barysevich co-chaired a political consultation between the two Foreign Ministries in Hanoi on January 12, during which both sides agreed on many measures to bolster bilateral cooperation in all fields.

The two Deputy FMs concurred to resume the exchange of delegations at all levels in the new normal situation and expand collaboration in defence, security, economy-trade, investment, education and culture-tourism as well as among localities of both countries.

On the occasion, the Belarusian Deputy FM handed over to the Vietnamese side a diplomatic note affirming that Belarus will support Vietnam’s candidacy for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council in the 2023-2025 tenure.

Programme supports naval soldiers

The organising board of the “Xuan Truong Sa” 2022 (Spring in Truong Sa) programme on January 12 donated money to build new houses for families of two naval soldiers, and presented 50 gifts to policy beneficiaries, dioxin victims and poor households in Nam Van commune, the northern province of Nam Dinh.

On December 31, 2021, the programme also donated 80 million VND (3,524 USD) to the family of soldier La Van Viet, who died while on duty in the Naval Region 4 and presented saving books worth 5 million VND each to several policy beneficiaries in Nghia Phu commune, Nghia Hung district of the northern province.

In the past nine years, the programme has raised over 52 billion VND for charitable activities.

Over 16,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed on January 12

Vietnam recorded 16,135 cases of COVID-19, including 69 imported ones, during 24 hours from 4pm January 11 to 4pm January 12, according to the Ministry of Health.

Hanoi continued to record the highest number of infections with 2,948 cases, followed by Khanh Hoa with 772 and Binh Dinh with 702.

Also on January 12, the south central province of Khanh Hoa added 12,156 cases to the national COVID-19 case log after confirming relevant information.

The national tally reached 1,958,719, including 31 infections of Omicron. On the day, the country saw 177 deaths from the disease. The death toll now hits 34,964.

According to the Ministry of Health’s report, 6,032 patients nationwide are in serious conditions, with 724 requiring invasive ventilation and 19 on life support (ECMO). 

Songbook celebrates HCM City and its achievements

The HCM City Department of Culture and Sports has released a book titled Mãi Mãi Một Tình Yêu (Only Love), featuring new 50 songs and five choral compositions highlighting HCM City and its achievements.

The book, published by the HCM City General Publishing House, features popular Vietnamese musicians like Võ Thiên Lan, Phạm Minh Tuấn and Võ Đăng Tín.

Mãi Mãi Một Tình Yêu is a result of a song and playwriting contest of the same name, which was organised by the city People’s Committee and the Department of Culture and Sports between December 2019 to July 2020.

The contest received 260 entries, reflecting the city’s lifestyle, development and achievements. The organisers gave 35 prizes to the best works in October 2020. 

SEA Games 31, ASEAN Para Games 11 release official slogan

The 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) and the 11th ASEAN Para Games (ASEAN Para Games 11) have launched their official slogan as “For a Stronger South East Asia”.

Earlier, the regional sport events’ official logo and mascot have been introduced, with the logo symbolising a flying bird and a V-shaped hand and the mascot based on the saola – a rare animal listed in Vietnam’s Red Book of Endangered Species.

The national steering committee for the organisation of SEA Games 31 agreed at the latest meeting to set the date for the regional sport event on May 12-23, 2022.

Environmental protection indicator set to be revised

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) is working to revise a set of indicators evaluating the outcomes of environmental protection in line with new institutions of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 that became effective from January 1, with a view to issuing it for use this year.

The set of indicators include criteria to evaluate the implementation of environmental protection tasks and public satisfaction over the quality of the living environment.

The indicators have been applied since 2020. Basing on their self-evaluation and results of the sociological survey conducted by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, localities were ranked in three levels of good, relatively good and moderate.

French films to be screened throughout Tet

French films from the MyFrench film festival are set to be introduced during the Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet, via Danet, the country’s leading online movie streaming platform.

The move comes following the French cultural centre in Hanoi (L'Espace) joining with BHD Company to devise plans aimed at offering a free screening of French movies online from January 14 to February 14. 

The French movies on offer include “Lover", "Therese", "Summer’s Tale", and "Lucky Luke Cowboy".

Sophie Maysonnave, director of L'Espace, revealed that the one-month event will offer 13 new French films with subtitles to audiences free of charge.

Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, vice president of the BHD, said the number of screened films this year will increase from 10 to 13, with aspirations that the annual event present a prime opportunity for local audiences to gain more insights into French cinema.

Quang Binh offers discounts on sightseeing fees to attract tourists

The central province of Quang Binh has agreed to offer discounts of between 20% and 50% on sightseeing fares to a number of tourist attractions throughout the region, according to local authorities.

The move will see the locality reduce ticket prices to several popular tourist attractions by 20% from January 1 to March 31 and from October 1 to December 31. This includes offers to visit sites such as Phong Nha-Tien Son, Mooc stream eco-tourism site, Thien Duong Cave, the Chay River - Dark Cave tourist site, and other eco-tourism areas.

Furthermore, some tours to Phong Nha, En, Son Doong caves, and other places will also be halved in order to attract more tourists to the locality from now until the end of 2022.

Four players of national women’s football team positive for COVID-19

Four footballers on the Vietnamese women’s national football team have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus during their training camp in Spain, as announced by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Furthermore, one of the team’s doctors has also been infected with COVID-19, with all five cases currently self-isolating and monitoring their health.

The Vietnamese team has 23 footballers participating in a training camp in Spain. So far, the four players being infected with COVID-19 has had little impact on the team’s preparation for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.

The Asian tournament is set to take place between January 20 and February 6 in India. Vietnam have been drawn in Group C and the national women footballers will play the Republic of Korea on January 21, Japan on January 24, and Myanmar on January 27.

Thousands of workers strike as company delays salary payment

Thousands of workers in the southern province of Dong Nai stopped work after their company was slow in paying salaries.

Trang Bom District Trade Union Chairman Le Duc Thuy said on Wednesday morning that they were working with the directors of Hung Dat Footwear Company after 1,500 workers went on strike.

The workers stopped work and gathered at the company headquarters at 7 am to ask their managers to pay their salaries for December 2021 and announce bonuses for the coming Lunar New Year, the official said.

According to a worker, the company pays salaries for workers on the 11th day of the month. However, they have not paid out salaries for December yet nor made any announcement for their late payment.

Local authorities have sent police and military to the site to ensure public order. 

Molnupiravir could affect sperm: Vietnam’s Health Ministry

An advisory council under Vietnam’s Ministry of Health announced in its latest working session that Molnupiravir antiviral drug is not recommended for pregnant women and children under 18 as it could affect fetus, sperm and bone growth.

The council advises people to take Molnupiravir within five days of developing symptoms. The medication should not be taken for more than five consecutive days.

As for men, the council said Molnupiravir could affect sperm, although the risk is reportedly low. Accordingly, male Covid patients should use reliable contraception while taking Molnupiravir and at least three months after the last dose.

Made-in-Vietnam coronary stents gain high success treatment rate

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology has just hosted a meeting to report results of the scientific-technological project ‘Evaluating the Safety and Effectiveness of Made-in-Vietnam VSTENT in Coronary Intervention’, done by HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP).

Associate Prof. Dr. Pham Nguyen Vinh, Head of the Inspection Board for this project, reported that VSTENT was applied on 150 patients in 5 major hospitals with the success rate of over 99 percent. This is such a proud and rewarding result to all the medical staff as well as research team of Vietnam.

USM Healthcare informed that the price of VSTENT is around VND30 million each item (approx. US$1,330), which is 30 percent lower than that of imported ones. This means easier access of the device to the general public.

Viet Nam sends more than 45,000 workers abroad in 2021

Viet Nam sent 45,058 workers overseas in 2021 amidst COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the Department of Overseas Labor, under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. 

During the year, the markets receiving the large numbers of Vietnamese workers included Taiwan (China) with 19,531 workers, Japan 19,510, China 1,820, the Republic of Korea 1,036, Rumania 795, Singapore 713, Hungary 465 and Serbia 304. 

The ministry is striving to send 90,000 Vietnamese laborers to work abroad in 2022.

The Law on Vietnamese workers working abroad under the contract (revised), including eight Chapters and 74 Articles, becomes effective since January 1, 2022. 

Accordingly, an employee may unilaterally terminate the contract when being abused or forced to work by employees or being sexually harassed when working abroad.

Employees working abroad do not have to pay social insurance or social income tax twice in Viet Nam or in the host country or territory if Viet Nam and that country or territory have signed agreement on social insurance or double taxation.

Ha Noi acts to ward vulnerable groups amid COVID-19 spike

Chairman of the Ha Noi Municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh has recently signed Document 45/UBND-KGVX on management and protection of vulnerable people against COVID-19.
The move was taken as the city confirms over 2,000 infections daily.

Under the document, districts and communes are tasked to enlist and strictly manage vulnerable groups and people with chronic diseases for assistance. 

COVID-19 patients at high risks including people with exacerbation symptoms of chronic diseases, pregnant women, women within 42 days of giving birth, under three-month old babies, and others with oxygen saturations (SpoO2) from 90-96% will be admitted to hospitals at the second level. The level comprises district-level hospitals and some municipal ones.  

HCM City opens tourist sites for Tet festival

Tourist attractions and flower festivals in Ho Chi Minh City are about to welcome visitors as the Lunar New Year (Tet), the largest traditional festival of the Vietnamese people, approaches.

A 2022 flower festival will be hosted at Novaland Gallery in District 1 in downtown HCM City. Folk games and an event to make chung cake - a square glutinous rice cake that is served during Tet - will also be arranged.

Another held in Tao Dan Park is slated from January 27 to February 6. Tet flower markets will open across six locations of the metropolis between January 25 and 31.

The Nguyen Hue Flower Street is scheduled to open from January 29 to February 4.

This year's Lunar New Year holiday will last from January 31 through February 4, with the Lunar New Year falling on February 1.

OVs in Laos commended for voluntary, charity activities

Overseas Vietnamese with great contributions to the relief and fund-raising activities for Lao people suffering from natural disasters and diseases were honoured at a ceremony at Phat Tich pagoda in Vientiane on January 12.

On the occasion, a programme to raise funds for the restoration of Phat Tich pagoda in Vientiane was launched. 

After the launch, 250,000 USD was raised from Buddhist followers, Vietnamese individuals and businesses operating in Laos.

Phat Tich pagoda has made important contributions to developing Vietnamese Buddhism in Laos, promoting the close relationship between the Buddhism of the two countries, and supporting Vietnamese and Lao disadvantaged people.

Source: VOV/VNN/VNA/VNS/SGT/VGP

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES JANUARY 12

Cold weather in northern Vietnam to last for 10 more days