Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi is facing serious congestion as travel demand has surged this summer.

Passengers wait for taxis at Noi Bai Airport

A representative of the Noi Bai International Airport said that the number of passengers had continued rising, hitting a new record of 102,000 on June 24, over 104,000 on June 25, and could reach up to 110,000 daily in early July.

"We’re receiving an increase of 40 percent more passengers on domestic flights compared to the same period in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic," the representative said, adding that the number had surpassed the capacity of Terminal 1.

To ease congestion at the airport, Noi Bai authorities have advised passengers to use public means of transport to or from the airport.

Ly Hoang Nam ranked 364th in ATP world ranking

With 119 points, Vietnam’s leading tennis player Ly Hoang Nam was ranked 364th in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s singles ranking.

This is the highest position a Vietnamese player has ever ranked.

Previously, Nam's highest ranking was 385th, recorded in November 2018.

The result is attributed to the fact that the player triumphed at ITF M15 in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh, earning 45 points.

With the latest ranking, he remains the number-one tennis player in Southeast Asia and is far ahead of rivals in the region. Kasidit Samrej, a 21-year-old player of Thailand, is the second at 662nd.

Nam has made an impressive comeback after winning three titles at tournaments in Egypt and Mexico. Previously, Nam finished the M15 Chiangrai tournament series held in Thailand with a runner-up position.

He also successfully defended the gold medal in the prestigious men's singles event at the 31st Southeast Asian Games.

Covid-19 vaccine expiration warned due to slow vaccination

The Ministry of Health has warned about the risk of Covid-19 vaccine expiration because of the sluggish vaccination in many localities.

The Ministry of Health has asked cities and provinces to boost Covid-19 vaccination several times. However, according to a report from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, by June 23, some localities have not yet received the allocated vaccines, while many others have been slow in rolling out Covid-19 vaccination. 

Specifically, to date, Haiphong City and Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dong Nai, Can Tho, Soc Trang, An Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Hau Giang provinces have only achieved a vaccination rate for the third jab of below 50 percent.

Under the Ministry of Health’s instruction, localities need to encourage people to get vaccinated, and in particular speed up the third jab for children aged between 12 and 18.

Cities and provinces also have to report the vaccine which has not yet been used by June 30 to the Ministry of Health.

Gong Culture Festival 2022 attracts nearly 1,000 artists

Approximately 1,000 performers and artists took part in the Gong Culture Festival 2022 which opened on June 27 in the central province of Quang Nam.

The festival is part of activities to celebrate National Tourism Year 2022 being hosted by Quang Nam. It creates a golden opportunity to promote cultural images and unleash the potential to develop community-based tourism, contributing to preserving traditional identities for ethnic minorities.

The opening ceremony attracted over 7,000 domestic and foreign visitors.

The festival featured various activities, including traditional rituals, folk wood sculpting, brocade weaving, traditional costume performances, and conferences to discuss the preservation and promotion of gong culture legacy of ethnic races in the region, among others.

A number of traditional products and handicraft items of local ethnic minorities were also put on display at the event.

Health Ministry requests vigilance over increase in dengue fever cases

The Ministry of Health has asked for more drastic measures to curb the spread of dengue fever, given a high number of new cases recorded recently.

According to the ministry, since the beginning of this year to June 24, Vietnam had reported around 77,000 dengue fever cases, up more than 10,000 cases compared to that in the previous week, and 30 fatalities.

This time is the peak of the disease, with the southern region and several central localities being the hotbeds.

In that context, the ministry has issued a lot of guidance documents asking localities to make efforts to prevent the disease, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over.

The ministry has sent seven delegations to inspect and direct dengue fever prevention in the hotbeds in June and July.

On June 27, Deputy Minister Nguyen Truong Son led a working delegation to inspect the work in Ho Chi Minh City. As of June 24, the city alone had recorded 16,057 infections.

Forum seeks to translate net zero carbon pledge into action

The Vietnam Circular Economy Forum 2022 took place on June 28 with a focus on how to translate the commitment on net zero emissions into action.

Addressing the hybrid event, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s message to the forum that calls for solidarity and joint actions to reduce carbon emissions towards net zero like the way humankind has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government leader also emphasised cooperation among the countries, as well as between them and international organisations so as to step up circular economy models, especially by sharing knowledge, boosting joint scientific researches, developing and transferring technology, Ha said.

Environmental and climate issues always enjoy the top priority in the agenda of the Vietnamese Party, National Assembly, and Government, along with national development programmes and plans, with the ultimate goal of protecting people’s health, ensuring the living environment’s quality, and conserving biodiversity and the ecosystem.

Building a green, circular, and environmentally friendly economy has been included in the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, the minister said, adding that the country will encounter certain difficulties in the transition to a circular economy, but with the engagement of the entire political system and support from the whole society, the process will soon be accelerated in Vietnam.

At the forum, domestic and international partners shared some successful circular economy models in the region and the world so as to identify suitable ones for Vietnam.

Hanoi greets over 8.61 million visitors in first half

About 8.61 million tourists, including some 211,300 foreigners, visited Hanoi between January and June, nearly tripling the figure in the same period last year.

The city's total tourism revenue in the first half of 2022 amounted to approximately 25.2 trillion VND (1.08 billion USD), more than three times higher than the figure in the first six months of 2021.

Local hotels rated 1-5 stars recorded an average occupation rate of over 30% during the period, up 6.11% year-on-year.

The capital city, home to 24 recognised tourist destinations, is offering a series of enticing products to attract tourists given its reopening of the local tourism industry. These include night tours at Hoa Lo Prison and Thang Long ancient citadel; a northern mountainous wet market programme at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Son Tay township; and Hanoi City Tour by double-decker buses.  

In addition, Hanoi has also launched many tourism exhibitions, trade fairs, and festivals.

The city eyes to welcome over 30 million visitors, including 7 foreigners, by 2025, according to the municipal Party Committee’ draft conclusion on tourism development for 2016-2020 and following years. The visitors are expected to spend more than 130 trillion VND while in the capital.

Vietnam keeps prioritising gender equality promotion: official

As a candidate for the membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for 2023 - 2025, Vietnam will continue prioritising the commitments to promote gender equality and women empowerment, an official has said.

Do Hung Viet, Assistant to the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, made the remarks while attending the annual debate on women’s rights at the HRC’s 50th regular session in Geneva on June 27.

In his speech, Viet highlighted the important role of women, stressing the need to ensuring their rights and development opportunities through specific and effective support policies.

He also shared Vietnam’s experience and efforts in this regard, noting Vietnam is one of the countries with the longest maternity leaves in the world.

Emphasising the country’s priority for gender equality promotion and women empowerment, he added Vietnam is ready to cooperate with other countries in these common efforts.

Also on June 27, Viet had a meeting with Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) Tatiana Valovaya.

He noted Vietnam’s support for multilateralism to be brought into play in the settlement of the international community’s common concerns.

The official affirmed that the country will increase its proactive and active participation in multilateral forums in Geneva, including running for seats in the international organisations and holding events to popularise Vietnam among the diplomatic community here.

National women's football team leaves for training in France

The national women's football team on June 27 departed for France for a short training session right before entering the 2022 AFF Women's Championship, which is expected to take place in the Philippines in early July.

Head coach Mai Duc Chung said he is satisfied with the training results of the whole team so far.

A total of 25 players are heading for the training in France and the AFF tournament. The group is scheduled to move to the Philippines on July 2.

The championship will run from July 4-17, with the participation of a record 11 teams. The Vietnamese footballers are set meet their opponents from Myanmar, Timor Leste, Laos and Cambodia in Group B.

Winners of open paragliding competition announced

Trinh The Anh from Da Nang city’s Son Tra paragliding club triumphed in the Ta Dung – Dak Nong Open Paragliding Championship 2022, which concluded in Ta Dung National Park on June 26.

Nguyen Hai Anh from the Hanoi paragliding club and Le Hoang Bach from Lai Chau paragliding club won second and third places.

In the women’s event, Nguyen Thi Da Ni, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Trinh and Cao Thi Thu Thuy from the Hanoi paragliding club topped the podium.

The event attracted 100 paragliders from 12 clubs across the country.

Vietnam, China hold talks on bilateral cooperation

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu, Secretary General of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China bilateral cooperation held a routine meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Jianghao in virtual form on June 27.

The two sides reviewed the two countries’ relations since the 13th meeting of the steering committee for bilateral cooperation in 2021 and discussed in depth measures to promote result-oriented collaboration across all fields in the time ahead.

Passengers on Vietnam Airlines domestic flights offered discount for Thang Long citadel night tour

Vietnam Airlines is coordinating with the Hanoi Travel Association and the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre in connecting its passengers with the night tour of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Specifically, passengers with boarding passes on Vietnam Airlines flights from other localities to Hanoi in 2022 will be offered a discount of 50,000 VND (2.15 USD) per person when buying the night tour "Decoding Thang Long Imperial Citadel". The usual price of the tour is currently 300,000 VND.

The promotion programme is applied to the tour on every Friday and Saturday evening.

Travellers will begin their 1.5-hour tour at Doan Mon (Main Gate), the entrance to Cam Thanh (Forbidden Palace) - the king’s residence, and learn about the site’s history, architecture, and functions there.

They will later enjoy an old dance right on the glass covering the archaeological excavation area and gain an insight into this dig, which contains vestiges of the Ly, Tran, and Le dynasties, via tour guides’ introduction. They will also visit an exhibition hall of rare antiquities with some dating back over 1,000 years.

At Kinh Thien Palace, travellers can offer incense to King Ly Thai To, who moved the country’s capital from Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh province to Dai La which he renamed Thang Long in 1010, as well as other kings contributing to the capital’s development.

The last destination of this trip is the archaeological site at No. 18 Hoang Dieu street, where visitors will experience a laser light show of outstanding antiquities of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Tourists can take part in a game in which they have to identify typical objects of feudal dynasties in the past.

Friendship exchange marks 50 years of Vietnam-India diplomacy

The Vietnam-India Friendship Association of Hanoi in collaboration with the Indian Embassy organized a friendship exchange on June 28 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India.

Addressing the event, Vice President of the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organizations Tran Thi Phuong highlighted the long-standing friendship founded and cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, as well as other leaders and people of both countries.

Over the past 50 years, she said, the two countries have actively supported each other in the struggle for national independence, construction and defense.

“India is always a close, reliable, loyal friend that has wholeheartedly supported Vietnam in overcoming difficult and challenging times,” said Phuong. “Especially, since the two countries established a strategic partnership in 2007 and upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016, their cooperation has become more and more substantive and effective on all pillars of politics-diplomacy, defence - security, economy, science - technology, education-training, culture and people’s diplomacy.”

Marking 50 years of their diplomacy this year, the Vietnam - India Friendship Association of Hanoi and the Indian Embassy co-hosted a photo exhibition featuring photos of Hanoi, New Delhi and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam – India Friendship Association of Hanoi will organize a series of practical activities to celebrate the event, including a seminar on multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and India, a cycling tour and tree planting.

Heavy rain to cool off high temperatures in north Vietnam

The ongoing heat wave is forecast to bake the northern and central regions of Vietnam on June 28-29 before a spell of heavy downpours hit the northern region.

The northern and central regions are experiencing an extreme heat wave, with daytime temperatures ranging from 35 to 38°C or even more than 39°C in some places, mostly in the mountainous areas.

The hot weather is anticipated to ease in the northern region on June 29 and in the central region on June 30.

Instead rain will lash in the northern region for several days when a low pressure system is moving closer.

The low pressure area moved into the East Sea on June 28 and is heading toward the northern coast. It is travelling north-west at a speed of 5-10km and is poised to gain strength.

The low-pressure system is anticipated to bring heavy rain of up to 100mm to coastal provinces.

Kim Duyen departs for Miss Supranational 2022 in Poland

Nguyen Huynh Kim Duyen set off from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on June 27, heading to Poland for the Miss Supranational 2022 pageant.

The girl, the first runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2019, is travelling to the contest with 11 separate pieces of luggage. She was seen off at the airport by some of her relatives and H’Hen Nie, a Top 5 finisher at Miss Universe 2018.

The Miss Supranational 2022 pageant is scheduled to take place from June 27 to July 15 in Poland.

Kim Duyen, 27, hailing from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, represented Vietnam at Miss Universe 2021 and secured a Top 16 finish.

HCM City's Nguyễn Tri Phương Hospital offers screening for kids' growth

Nguyễn Tri Phương Hospital's Endocrinology department is offering free screening for delayed growth in children from June 25 to July 17.

To participate in the screening, parents need to provide their children's birth history, medical history, family history and growth rate. The children will have clinical examinations and also get hand X-rays if bone evaluation is needed.

Suspected cases of delayed growth will get blood tests to check growth hormones and several other related hormones in the body.

According to Dr. Duy, deputy director of the hospital in District 5, the average height of newborn babies is 48 – 52 centimetres, and in the first four years, their height grows on average about 46 – 54 centimetres. And from the age of four to 11, children grow on average by four to six centimetres a year.

Although a child's height development can be affected by hereditary factors, a lack of growth hormone (GH) is one of the most important and hard-to-identify reasons for slow growth, Duy said.

If GH-deficient children are left untreated, their average height might only be 135 – 145 centimetres, much lower than the maximum height that can be reached. This negatively affects their future life and work, especially their mental health.

HCM City abridges social housing investment process

HCM City has decided to shorten the process of licensing social housing projects from 500 days to 133 if developers use private lands and 217 days if they use unencumbered public land they have to bid for.

The People's Committee met several times every week to discuss the problems plaguing housing projects, its chairman, Phan Văn Mãi, said.

With regard to investment and renovation of old apartments, he admitted there were a number of problems from determining financial obligations and choosing investors and meeting residents.

Discussions with the Ministry of Construction have helped resolve some major problems, he said.

He assured the city People’s Council at least 50 per cent of the relocation of 20,000 households living along canals would be completed by 2025.

The city has approved three urban improvement projects in District 7 involving around 2,700 households.

For other housing projects along canals, the Department of Planning and Architecture will discuss with localities how to adjust plans and reduce the area of ​​canal safety corridors to free up more lands for further investment.

Nguyễn Thị Lệ, chairwoman of the city People’s Council, stressed the importance of speeding up social housing development.

Hanoi People’s Court starts appellate trial for 19 defendants related to expressway project

he People’s Court of Hà Nội on Monday morning started an appellate trial for 19 defendants and related parties involved in violations at the Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Expressway project.

The trial panel is chaired by Judge Mai Anh Tài. The appellate trial is set to take place between Monday and Thursday.

More than 25 lawyers are representing the defendants.

The trial is to hear the appeal of the 19 defendants, the appeal of the civil plaintiff and that of parties with related interests and obligations.

At the end of 2021, the People's Court of Hà Nội sentenced 36 defendants to be between two years suspended sentence to eight years and six months in prison for violating regulations on construction investment, causing serious consequences.

The project was invested by the State-owned Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) with a total length of nearly 140km. The first section of the expressway, running from Đà Nẵng City to Tam Kỳ City of Quảng Nam Province, is 65km long and the second section of the expressway, from Tam Kỳ City of Quảng Nam Province to Quảng Ngãi Province, is over 74km long.

The project started in 2013 and under the first phase of the project, the 65km first section of the project was put into operation in September 2018.

The section was found to have sustained damage after 14 months of operation, seriously affecting the safety of road users.

Under the investigation, all seven bidding packages in the first phase of the project did not meet the technical standards and project design requirements.

Other materials used in the construction of the project failed to meet quality standards.

However, the investor and related units of the project still carried out testing and paid more than VNĐ811 billion (US$34.9 billion) to construction units.

In the case, defendant Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, former deputy general director of VEC, was found to have failed to inspect and control construction quality.

Many items were not checked in accordance with regulations, while the quality of the work did not meet the requirements, but Hùng still signed the payment documents.

Defendant Nguyễn Quang Hào, other former deputy general director of VEC, did not comply with technical standards and the project’s design requirements. Hào also ordered the construction of items of the project, but did not check and control the quality.

The expressway's total cost came to upwards of VNĐ34.5 trillion ($1.64 billion), including $798.5 million in loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and over $590 million from the World Bank (WB), with the remainder sourced from the Vietnamese Government's budget.

Four stamp collections win top prize at the national exhibition

The Ministry of Information and Communications, Việt Nam Stamp Association, and Việt Nam Post hosted a closing ceremony and handed out prizes to the winners at the National Postage Stamp Exhibition - Vietstampex on Sunday.

The stamp association and stamp collectors across the country put up 506 display frames for the exhibition.

The stamp collections are displayed artistically, giving viewers a pleasurable experience with vibrant postage stamps.

The Organising Committee chose four stamp collectors whose works were judged to be the most outstanding and presented them with gold medals.

They are Lưu Văn Lương (Hà Nội Stamp Association) with the work Using Cô Ba Sài Gòn Stamps on Letters and Postal Items of Indochina-Vietnam, Ngô Viết Vĩnh (HCM City Stamp Association) with the work Vietnamese Post Offices Established from 1861-1900, Nguyễn Hoài Thanh (Cần Thơ Stamp Association) with the work President Hồ Chí Minh's Great Dedication to the Vietnamese Revolution and collector Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc (Khánh Hòa Stamp Association) with the work Đà Lạt - City of Flowers and Love.

Three gold-plated awards, nine significant silver awards, 19 silver and bronze awards, as well as other awards, were also given out by the Organising Committee.

Notably, 92-year-old Trần Đức Thông received the oldest person award with the collection Vietnamese Popular Stamps.

Hue Festival 2022: Rural market revives folk traditions

One of the much-awaited activities of Hue Festival is a rural market that opened on June 27 at the well-known Thanh Toan Roofed Tile Bridge in Huong Thuy District’s Thuy Thanh Commune in Thua Thien-Hue Province.

The countryside market offered a wide range of local products and dishes. It also provided an opportunity for visitors to take part in folk games of rice pounding, boat race on land and more.

On this occasion, the festival’s organizer announced that the national and world records for the local Phu Dien Cham Tower earned its record recognition by both the Vietnam Records Organisation (Vietkings) and the World Records Union (WorldKings) this year.

In addition, a concert honoring the late famous musician Trinh Cong Son and art performances by Vietnamese and international art troupes as part of the week of arts and culture, themed "Cultural heritage with integration and development" that will be organized from June 25-30 attracted many visitors.

HCMC only fulfills 12.4 percent of relocation for households along channels

The Ho Chi Minh City Construction Department yesterday announced that it has already sent a report on the program ‘Accommodation Development in HCMC in the 2016-2025 Period’ to HCMC People’s Committee.

To prepare for this report, the HCMC Construction Department has asked all 21 districts and Thu Duc City as well as related state agencies to submit corresponding reports for it to compile and summarize. Only 9/31 units, namely the HCMC Transport Department, the State Bank of Vietnam – HCMC Branch, HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority, HCMC Housing Development Fund, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies – HCMC Branch, and the People’s Committees of the districts of 1, 4, Tan Phu, Nha Be, fulfilled this request.

Based on those local reports, the HCMC Construction Department informed that from 2016-2020, the floor area of the city increased by 53.7 million square meters, most of which belonged to self-built housing (a rise of 38.5 million square meters). Commercial housing took the second position, at 13.98 million square meters. Social housing witnessed an increase of 1.23 million square meters in 19 finished projects, accounting for 69.2 percent of the goal.

However, the task of relocating households living along polluted channels in 5 years from 2015 achieved very limited results, and is behind schedule. Only 12.4 percent of the assigned goal was completed.

The task of renovating or rebuilding old apartment blocks has been done in 213/237 eligible buildings, reaching nearly 90 percent of the assigned goal.

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