Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Nguyen Ha Thanh has stressed the need to ensure support for blood donors in terms of equal access to information and opportunities, as well as gifts for them, in order to promote voluntary blood donation.

The voluntary blood donation campaign has been rolled out in Vietnam since the 1990s, and promoted since the Prime Minister decided to establish the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation on February 23, 2008.

More than 1.4 million units of blood are collected each day, basically meeting the blood demand for medical emergencies and treatment.

Thanks to blood donation drives and changes in public mindset, there have been no blood shortages reported during summer and Tet (Lunar New Year) festivals, Thanh said, noting that the NIHBT is working to open more blood donation sites nationwide in order to facilitate the movements.

To encourage blood donors, the Ministry of Health has regularly updated and issued regulations on their rights and interests, notably Circular No. 17/2020/TT-BYT saying blood donors get free medical checkups and financial support, and are honoured in line with regulations.


Officially designated as an annual event by the World Health Assembly in 2005, World Blood Donor Day (June 14) provides a special opportunity to celebrate and thank voluntary blood donors around the world for their gift of blood and has become a major focus for action towards achieving universal access to safe blood transfusion, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The slogan for 2023 World Blood Donor Day campaign is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”  It focuses on patients requiring life-long transfusion support and underlines the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma. It also highlights the importance of giving blood or plasma regularly to create a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products that can be always available, all over the world, so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment.

Quang Tri tightens fishing vessel monitoring to fight IUU fishing

The central province of Quang Tri has concentrated on enhancing control of vessels that enter/leave fishing ports, as part of the efforts to wipe out illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Quang Tri has nearly 2,300 fishing boats, including 460 with a length of 6 metres and above. As of June 13, 441 vessels have been licenced for fishing.

As many as 442 ships have been marked following legal regulations, while 184 vessels were connected to the vessel monitoring system (VMS).

All the fishing vessels with a length of 15 metres or more are required to dock at the Cua Viet and Cua Tung – which are the designated fishing ports in Quang Tri, for implementing procedures related to the fight against IUU fishing. A total of 594 vessels traversing via the ports have been strictly examined.

In addition, 100% of the fishing vessels entering and exiting creeks at sea border stations have been also inspected.

The locality has also implemented an information and communication campaign to ensure transparency in IUU fishing combat efforts. It has provided diverse forms of popularisation and training for fishermen and related organisations on anti-IUU regulations.  

According to the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing prevention, authorised units will strengthen supervision via the VMS to prevent fishing vessels from engaging in violations in offshore areas, especially in foreign waters.

Vietnamese Embassy in Italy holds seminar on Indo-Pacific

The Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, in collaboration with the Rome-based Centre for International Studies (Ce.SI), has held a seminar themed “Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and the Importance of Italy’s Engagement” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.

The June 12 event attracted the participation of nearly 50 delegates, who are officials of Italy, ambassadors of several ASEAN member states in the European country, and representatives from leading research and consulting agencies, and universities.

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Hai Hung emphasised that the European Union (EU) and the Indo-Pacific region are closely linked due to their economic interdependence, common global challenges, and the rule of law.

According to Hung, Italy - a founding member of the EU - has made an important contribution to the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and demonstrates its interest and stronger cohesion with the region in the message of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Raisina Dialogue in India and the recent visit to several ASEAN countries by offshore patrol vessel Francesco Morosini.

Dr. Nguyen Hung Son, Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, home to three-quarters of the world's largest economies, 60% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), and nine of the world’s largest seaports. It is for this reason that about 15 countries have now launched Indo-Pacific strategies to be involved in shaping the future of the most important region in the world and forming new global rules, he said.

If Italy wants to strengthen its engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, ASEAN will be an important partner, because ASEAN is currently the only international organisation accepted by all countries in the Pacific, he stressed.

At the seminar, delegates discussed issues raised through five speeches, represented by Dr. Son and four Italian speakers, to understand more about new developments in the Indo-Pacific region, Italy's role and involvement, as well as potential fields for future people-to-people diplomatic cooperation.

Vietnam, South Africa share experience in social insurance development

Representatives of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) shared information and experiences in managing social insurance and welfare programmes at a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa on June 13.

Deputy General Director of the VSS Tran Dinh Lieu, who is on a working trip to the African nation, said the agency is eager to learn from the SASSA’s experience in the application of information technology (IT) and digital transformation.

He introduced the organisational structure, and development strategies, as well as efforts and achievements of the VSS in expanding the coverage of social insurance schemes and policies to all citizens and all target groups across Vietnam.

The VSS has achieved significant improvements in administrative reform, and accelerated the application of IT and digital transformation in its activities to make it easier for citizens and agencies in implementing insurance procedures, he said.

Latest data of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) show over 17.4 million Vietnamese people participated in social insurance as of the end of May, accounting for 37.48% of the working-age population, and up 2.7% compared to the same period in 2022.

The insurance sector implemented various flexible solutions to raise the number of people covered by health insurance to approximately 90.69 million people, up 4.43 million compared to the same period last year, he added.

For her part, Chief Executive Officer of the SASSA Busisiwe Memela-Khambula said the agency is willing to share its experiences in applying IT technology in social insurance in South Africa and wants to learn from Vietnam's management and human resource development experience.

She briefed Vietnamese delegates on the comprehensive social security programme of South Africa, which consists of three pillars - social assistance programme, social insurance, and private insurance.

According to Khambula, the SASSA provides monthly income support to over 18.8 million people in South Africa, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, veterans, children, and individuals with difficult circumstances.

Vietnam, RoK intensify trade cooperation

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have become top important partners of each other in various fields, with economic, trade and investment cooperation serving as both pillar and primary driver of their increasingly growing relationship, said Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

During a reception in Hanoi on June 13 for RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Oh Yong-ju, Dien hailed the diplomat for her active efforts to elevate the Vietnam-RoK relationship to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership as it stands today.

He suggested Ambassador Oh and the RoK Embassy in Vietnam continue working closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and urged the Korean ministries and agencies concerned to diversify measures to boost bilateral trade and effectively carry out joint work in trade, industry and energy, toward lifting two-way trade to 100 billion USD as soon as possible.

Ambassador Oh, for her part, conveyed the RoK side’s message expressing its desire to sign several documents with the MoIT, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the Vietnam-Korea Centre for Essential Mineral Supply, a MoU on the establishment of Korea Plus in Vietnam and Vietnam Plus in Korea, and a Joint Statement on the establishment of an electronic Certificate of Origin data exchange system between the MIT, the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Korea Customs Service.

She said despite the complex fluctuations in the global economy, Korean businesses still show interest in establishing or expanding their manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, particularly in core technology sectors such as energy battery or semiconductor.

The ambassador affirmed that in her capacity, she will always strive to foster a strong and substantive Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership.

The MoIT is ready to support cooperation activities between Korean businesses and Vietnamese organisations to bring balanced benefits for all parties in accordance with Vietnam’s laws and regulations, said Dien.

Vietnam, Thailand hold ninth political consultation in Hanoi

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan co-chaired the ninth political consultation between the two countries in Hanoi on June 13.

The two sides shared the view that cooperation in politics - diplomacy, security, and defence remains one of the important pillars of the Vietnam - Thailand relations. They reaffirmed the commitment to not allowing any individual or organisation to use the territory of one country to harm the other.

They agreed to enhance cooperation between the two foreign ministries’ relevant units, work closely to promote the fruitful implementation of the action plan for carrying out the countries’ enhanced strategic partnership 2022 - 2027, and step up the signing of important documents in different spheres, thereby further intensifying the enhanced strategic partnership.

The two officials highly valued the vigorous growth of economic, trade, and investment ties while agreeing on coordination to promote the fruitful implementation of their countries’ “three connections” strategy (connecting supply chains; connecting economic sectors, businesses, and localities; and connecting green and sustainable growth strategies) so that bilateral trade can reach the target of 25 billion USD in the near future.

Viet said both sides should make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms to discuss concrete measures for tackling difficulties, creating favourable conditions, and further opening their markets to each other’s goods.

He asked Thailand to consider minimising the imposition of trade barriers to help reduce trade deficit for Vietnam; increase investment in the fields matching the two sides’ strength and potential such as tourism, renewable energy, food processing, smart agriculture, and infrastructure building; and expand cooperation to new areas like digital economy, green economy, and high technology.

At the event, Vietnam and Thailand also agreed on the need to further reinforce ties in other important areas, including agriculture, transport, maritime cooperation, tourism, culture, education, people-to-people exchange, and locality-to-locality collaboration.

Charoensuwan affirmed that Vietnam is an important strategic partner of Thailand in the region, and that Thailand’s consistent foreign policy is to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in all aspects.

He concurred that the two sides should consider limiting the imposition of trade barriers to each other’s goods.

Most leading enterprises of Thailand are operating effectively in Vietnam, and many plan to expand investment and hope for more optimal conditions provided by the Vietnamese Government, he noted.

The Permanent Secretary also spoke highly of the role of and contributions by the Vietnamese community in his country to local socio-economic development, describing them as an important bridge helping foster mutual understanding and relations between the countries.

The two officials also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

They perceived that the enhancement of mutual trust and the enhanced strategic partnership both bilaterally and in international and regional mechanisms, especially the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Mekong sub-regional cooperation, will help the two countries respond to challenges more effectively, work towards sustainable development, and contribute to regional peace and stability.

They underlined their countries’ wish to turn the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation, and development and join other ASEAN countries in seriously and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon finalising an efficient and effective code of conduct (COC) that is in accordance with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Vietnam hosts 8th ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network Conference & Workshop

The eighth ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres Network (APCN) Conference and Workshop opened in Hanoi on June 13 under the chair of Sen. Lt. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.

The three-day event helps affirm Vietnam’s role and responsibility and raise its international position in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), thus contributing to improving the effectiveness of member states’ participation in the UN peacekeeping missions.

Affirming that the Vietnamese Defence Ministry highly values the importance and significance of this event, Tan said that this is an opportunity for Vietnam and APCN member countries to exchange expertise and share experiences, lessons and initiatives in organising training and preparing for the deployment of peacekeeping forces; and at the same time discuss measures to strengthen cooperation, share training resources and effectively carry out operation at the UN peacekeeping missions, and make practical contributions to the common peacekeeping efforts of the international community.

Participants are expected to discuss and agree on the direction of APCN's activities in 2024 and the following years with the aim of strengthening the partnership on peacekeeping activities among ASEAN members; and promote cooperation and linkage, and improve capacity building in peacekeeping among them, thus contributing to joint efforts in building the ASEAN Community as well as in multilateral cooperation mechanisms on peacekeeping within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).

They are updated on the development of each training establishment, and discuss key issues in improving performance at the UN peacekeeping missions, such as ensuring security and safety of peacekeepers, enhancing the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, and protecting civilians.

On this occasion, lecturers and trainers on peacekeeping will have a separate discussion session to share new documents and experience in organising training, especially new training courses, share resources for cooperation, develop training plans to strengthen cooperation, and support the sharing of training resources in the region.

Vietnam-Malaysia diplomatic ties marked in HCM City

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City held a ceremony on June 13 to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Malaysia diplomatic relations.

In his remarks, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai said Vietnam and Malaysia share many cultural similarities and boast highly complementary cooperation.

On the ground of the good bilateral relationship, the ties between HCM City and Malaysia have seen positive results, especially in investment cooperation, trade exchange, education, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

HCM City attaches great importance to the relationship between Vietnam and Malaysia in general, and the bond between the city and Malaysia in particular, Mai affirmed, adding that the friendship, cooperation and joint vision have contributed to the common development of the two countries.

Dato Tan Yang Thai, Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam said the bilateral relationship has proven to be solid and long-term since the two countries established diplomatic ties on March 30, 1973; and has been further strengthened with the signing of an agreement to establish a strategic partnership in 2015.

The agreement calls for closer ties between the two countries in all fields, reflecting their determination to deepen the bilateral ties, he said, elaborating that Malaysia sees great opportunities in Vietnam and will continue to further enhance trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, especially in potential fields.

The diplomat said Malaysia and Vietnam have become important partners in terms of  tourism, educational cooperation and people-to-people exchange.

The regular exchange of visits at all levels between the two nations signals stronger bilateral relationship in the future, he said.

PM asks for development of professional, modern, humanitarian revolutionary press

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a working session with the Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) in Hanoi on June 13, during which he highlighted the need to further develop a contingent of highly-qualified journalists and a professional, modern and humanitarian Vietnamese revolutionary press, for the interest of the nation and the people’s happiness.

At the event, held on the occasion of the 98th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2023), he underlined the significant role of the VJA in gathering journalists and helping them improve their political mettle and professional skills, hailing its contributions to the success of the national revolution and the strengthening of social consensus over the past 73 years since its establishment.

However, the Government leader said that there are much for the association to do to deal with current problems in journalism activities, including the violations of the law by some journalists and signs of “privatising” the press.

Pointing to challenges to information and communications activities in the coming time, PM Chinh asked the VJA and press agencies to focus on raising the political mettle and professional skills of journalists, thus better serve the nation and people.

It is necessary to build a culture for journalism activities, ensuring that the press always accompanies with the nation and serves as a sharp tool for the protection of the Party ideological foundation and national interests, he said.

He pointed to the need for the press to honour core values of the nation and the strength of the national great solidarity bloc as well as the great creativity of Vietnamese people, while encouraging the innovation and startup campaign as well as the development of a green, digital and circular economy, contributing to building an independent and self-reliant economy with active and proactive international integration.

The Government leader asked media agencies and the VJA to concentrate on current, emerging and sensitive issues attracting public attention in a vivid, objective, multidimensional and comprehensive manner, while proposing solutions to particular matters.

Alongside, it is necessary for the press to discover and honour new factors, role models and good deeds, while showing better performance in social criticism, providing accurate, timely, honest and transparent information to the community, preventing downgrade of morality and lifestyle, rejecting distorted and toxic information and actively combating corruption, negative phenomena and wastefulness, he stressed.

PM Chinh also highlighted the necessity for the press to speed up digital transformation in line with journalism economic development, affirming that the Party and State always provide optimal conditions for the VJA to promote its role and completing its political tasks.

According to VJA Chairman Le Quoc Minh, the association currently has 24,242 members who have actively popularlised the Party and State’s policies and laws, supporting the Party, people and army during the national struggle for independence and the implementation of the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) cause launched by the Party.

They have also actively engaged in the building of the Party and the political system, combating corruption and refuting wrongful arguments of hostile forces, protecting the Party’s ideological foundation and strengthening the national great solidarity bloc, he said.

Participants suggested that the Government and the Prime Minister continue to support the VJA and media agencies in digital transformation, information access, copyrights, financial mechanisms and journalism economy development.

Hydropower plants’ reservoirs get more water

Reservoirs of hydropower plants in northern localities on June 12 received an additional water amount 28% higher than that of June 11, which helps lift some of them from the “dead level” - the minimum to ensure power generation.

On May 10, the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) reported that reservoirs' water levels were lower than the annual average and 10 are either close to or under the "dead level".

According to the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the current water level of the multi-purpose hydropower reservoirs is already above the dead level, but not much.

Currently, the north's maximum power generation capacity reaches 18,580 MW, of which the maximum capacity of hydroelectricity is 3,800 MW.

Following the Prime Minister’s direction to curb power shortage, the MoIT has been implementing solutions to ensure the supply of coal and gas for power generation, add new power sources, increase water storage at reservoirs, and flexibly operate reservoirs.

Diverse activities planned for Binh Thuan tourism week

The south central coastal province of Binh Thuan, host of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023, will hold a Golden Tourism Week from October 21-24 with the highlight being the week's opening ceremony and a celebration of the 28th anniversary of Binh Thuan Tourism Day.

According to organisers, a lot of activities will be held within the framework of the event, including a fish sauce week which reenacts the history of Phan Thiet fish sauce making occupation and a talk show with the theme “Phan Thiet fish sauce - 300-year journey” with local fish sauce artisans.

A photo exhibition on Binh Thuan's cultural and tourism development achievements as well as cultural and art exchanges will also be organised on this occasion.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DoCST), the event aims to introduce the potential and advantages of local tourism to tourists at home and abroad, thereby, contributing to promoting the development of the tourism industry and attracting domestic and international investors to the locality.

It is also an opportunity to unlock the locality’s strength, especially its specialty products such as fish sauce and dragon fruit.  

The event is expected to help businesses strengthen exchanges and cooperation with regions and localities across the country to promote typical products of regions to travelers, the department said.

 With the over 200 special events to be held, the Visit Vietnam Year 2023, themed “Binh Thuan-Green Convergence”, is a chance for the south-central province to promote tourism recovery and and development. (Photo: vneconomy.vn)
To achieve the goal of welcoming 6.7 million visitors in 2023 and turning tourism into one of the three key economic sectors, Binh Thuan continues to take full advantage of its advantages and potential to develop tourism in a sustainable way, more professionally, gradually turning Binh Thuan into a national tourist area.

Since the beginning of this year, the province has implemented solutions to attract tourists; focusing on promoting tourism and destinations under the theme  "Binh Thuan - Green convergence" of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023.

According to a report by DoCST, Binh Thuan welcomed an estimated 4.5 million tourists in the first half of this year, up 86% year-on-year. Of the total, there were more than 135,000 foreigners, a 4.4-fold increase compared to that of the same period last year. Revenue from tourism is estimated at 11.3 trillion VND (482 million USD), a 1.5-fold rise against the same period last year

Last year, the province welcomed over 5 million visitors with a revenue of 12.8 trillion VND.

Series of amateur golf tours to open in Phu Quoc

A total of three amateur tournaments, including the Vietnam Amateur Open (VAO), the Vietnam Ladies Amateur Open (VLAO), and the Vietnam Junior Open (VJO), are due to tee off at Vinpearl Golf Phu Quoc in July.      

According to the scheduled, the VAO will run from July 13 to July 16, while the VLAO will take place from July 13 to July 15, followed by the VJO being held from July 19 to July 21.

Running with the theme of “Outdrive Your Passion”, the tournaments will be hosted by the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) and sponsored by Nam A Bank, featuring a number of attractive prizes.

This year, the events will gather together a total of 280 domestic and foreign golfers and will accept male players with a maximum handicap of 9.0 and female players with a maximum handicap of 15.0.

The three tournaments will create opportunities for both local and foreign golfers to share their various experiences and improve their skills.   

Spanning a site of 100ha, Vinpearl Golf Phu Quoc is the largest golf course on the island and the second of its kind in the nation after Vinpearl Nha Trang.

Australia, WB extend partnership in support of Vietnamese development priorities

The Australian Government and the World Bank (WB) have formally agreed to extend their partnership in support of the sustainable and inclusive Vietnamese development agenda.

The partnership started in Vietnam back in 2012 and will now continue until 2026, valued at AUD95 million.  

“The extension of our partnership with the WB comes during our 50th year anniversary of Australia and Vietnam’s bilateral relations and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Vietnamese men and women. For Vietnam to realise its ambition to become a high-income country in 2045, the legislative reform process and strong governance continue to be essential. We are proud to be supporting this ambition in partnership with the WB,” said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski,.

The partnership is designed to support the nation’s development agenda by providing data, analysis, and technical assistance in support of policies that are informed, inclusive, and sustainable.

Over the past five years, the Australian and WB partnership has had an impact on more than 58 policies and regulations, duly helping to drive meaningful legislative change.

Recent examples include the Prime Minister’s decision on the Mekong Delta Regional Master Plan for the 2021 to 2030 period, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ circular on career guidance and job counseling that is estimated to benefit over two million students, as well as its guidance on the rollout of digital social assistance payments to all 63 provinces with approximately 3.5 million beneficiaries.

The partnership also provided data that helped to drive improvements in child-care services for the Labor Code of 2019.

These successes have therefore led to a renewed commitment up to 2026. The partnership will continue to work closely alongside Vietnam in order to reflect the needs of the country and its people as a whole.

Robot assembling, programming competition for students announces winners

A total of 101 teams with 186 contestants from 65 schools nationwide competed in the final round of the sixth MYOR Robot Assembling and Programming Competition for primary, secondary and high school students held in HCM City on Monday (June 12).

The final round of the competition took place at the HCM City University of Natural Sciences under Việt Nam National University - HCM City (VNU-HCM) in District 5.

MYOR, an annual competition for students who are interested in STEM Robotics, was co-organised by the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) of HCM City and GaraSTEM Education Technology Joint Stock Company. The HCYU of HCM City’s Youth Promotion Science and Technology Centre is the standing committee of the competition organisation board.

With the theme "Green Environment", the competition aims to help contestants to better understand the importance of environmental protection and waste recycling to create a green environment for everyone, and seek appropriate solutions in terms of technology and robots through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.

STEM education is an interdisciplinary and applied approach, helping students develop comprehensively both physically and intellectually the essential skills needed to thrive in life generally.

It creates a fun and useful engineering and technology playground for students to improve their knowledge of STEAM Robotics, and promotes creativity, learning and research among them.

The competition focuses on the three main parts of assembling, controlling and programming robots to resolve issues related to environmental protection and green environment.

The contestants were divided into three groups: elementary school students, secondary school students and high school students.

The competition organisation board awarded the winners in each group, including a first prize worth VNĐ3 million (US$127), a second prize worth VNĐ2 million ($85), a third prize worth VNĐ1 million ($42), seven consolation prizes worth VNĐ700,000 ($30) each, and five potential prizes worth VNĐ500,000 ($21) each.

There were also two championships worth VNĐ22 million ($932) each for the best robot controller and the best robot programmer, including a cash prize of VNĐ3.5 million ($148) and a package worth VNĐ18.5 million ($784) to participate in a contest in Singapore; and three gifts to the best robot designs.

MYOR 2023 attracted 450 registered teams, including 200 teams from HCM City, equivalent to more than 1,000 candidates from 180 schools nationwide.

The winners will have a chance to join the MYOR international competition to be held in Singapore, with contestants from four countries - Việt Nam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Hanoi honours outstanding blood donors

The Hanoi Red Cross Society has honored 160 most outstanding blood donors in the city, on the occasion of the World Blood Donor Day [June 14].

The blood donation movement continued to be widely deployed by the Hanoi Red Cross Society, agencies, and mass organizations, receiving roughly 280,000 blood units per year, of which 99% came from voluntary donors.

The contributing forces are young people and those from all strata of society who actively respond to blood donation campaigns launched at State agencies, businesses, hospitals, schools, organization, among others.

Nguyen Xuan Hien, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Red Cross Society, thanked blood donors across the city for their precious blood, which has helped save many lives. He praised the noble deed of blood donors, calling them “heroes of the patients”.

According to Hien, the power and value of voluntary blood donation have been multiplied by the love, kindness, and devotion of millions of Vietnamese people.

Voluntary blood donors, both young and old, men to women, have brought warmth and vitality to society and helped confirm that “No one is left behind.”

The Hanoi Red Cross Society held various activities from June 12-14 to credit the blood donors.

The World Blood Donor Day is aimed at raising awareness of the need for safe blood products and thanking blood donors for the life-saving gift of blood.

With the theme “Give blood. Give now. Give often”, this year’s campaign will focus on blood donation in emergencies. Activities will encourage people to strengthen the emergency preparedness of health services in their community by donating blood and engaging authorities in establishing effective blood donor programs.

Football: Vietnam to test new playing style at friendly with Hong Kong (China)

The goals of the national football team at the upcoming match with Hong Kong (China) is to win and test a new playing style, underlined head coach Phillipe Troussier at a press briefing on June 14 ahead of the friendly to be held within the framework of the FIFA Days.

Troussier expressed pleasure at performance shown by Vietnamese players after one-week training for the game, the team’s first friendly match under his leadership.

Hong Kong’s coach Jorn Andersen commented that with its FIFA rankings, Vietnam is a strong rival. Despite the pressures from the game, Hong Kong will gain much experience for future tournaments, especially the ASIAN Cup 2023 in Qatar in 2024, he said.

Andersen also showed curiosity about tactics that Troussier will apply in the game, adding that Hong Kong will focus on their own style.

Midfielder Hoang Duc said that the team is working hard to adapt to the playing style of coach Troussier. The whole team is ready to bring a watch-worth game to fans, he stated.

The Vietnam-Hong Kong (China) match will take place at 19:30 on June 15 at Lach Tray Stadium in northern Hai Phong city.

Vietnam send wrestlers to compete in Asian championship for U23s

Vietnam will send the best young athletes to compete at the Asian U23 Wrestling Championship on June 15-18 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Among the six competitors, Nguyen Thi My Trang, Tran Anh Tuyet, Lai Dieu Thuong, and Dang Thi Linh are SEA Games defending champions.

Trang took her title in the women's 57kg. She is one of Vietnam's wrestlers with the most potential and is expected to get high results internationally.

Tuyet won in the women's 59kg. Thuong dominated the women's 68kg and Linh triumphed in the women's 76kg.

Vietnam is home to some of the strongest wrestlers in Southeast Asian. The team has dominated every SEA Games competition. In the two latest Games, Vietnam topped the medal tally in men's, women's and overall ranking, leaving all other teams far behind.

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