The 79-year-old patient leaves Da Nang hospital for Ho Chi Minh City where doctors will treat her underlying illnesses.

A Vietnamese coronavirus patient described as the most critically ill in Vietnam has been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease, doctors said on March 27.

The 79-year-old patient leaves Da Nang hospital for Ho Chi Minh City where doctors will treat her underlying illnesses.
The 79-year-old woman dubbed patient 1,536 has tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus nine times during his 70-day stay at Da Nang Lung Diseases Hospital.

The patient who returned from the United States was admitted to the hospital on January 15 following positive tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

She was diagnosed with severe pneumonia due to the novel coronavirus plus other underlying illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes (type II), heart failure, and blood clotting disorders.

During treatment, the patient suffered from respiratory failure, forcing doctors to put her on a ventilator and prescribe her ECMO intervention in order save her life.

Leading Vietnamese specialists have held a total of seven national consultations to examine the best treatment therapy for the patient.

To doctors’ surprise, the patient recovered day by day and stopped using the ECMO therapy after 26-day extensive treatment.

The patient was on March 27 transferred to Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treating the underlying illnesses at her family’s request.

COVID-19: Four imported cases reported on March 28 morning

A medical worker gets health check before vaccination

Four imported cases of COVID-19 were detected in the past 12 hours to 6am March 28, who were put into quarantine after entry, according to the Health Ministry.

Two of the new patients entered through the Moc Bai international border gate and are being quarantined in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh. The other two were Filipino specialists who arrived at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi.

The national count increased to 2,590, of which 1,603 cases were domestic infections.

Meanwhile, 2,308 COVID-19 patients have been given the all clear by now, and the death toll remains at 35.

Among those still under treatment, 30 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 38 twice and 57 thrice.

A total of 44,833 people are being quarantined nationwide, with 483 at hospitals, 18,412 at concentrated facilities and 25,938 at their accommodations.

According to the National Expanded Immunisation Programme, an additional 278 people received COVID-19 vaccine shots, bringing the total number of people having got the shots to 44,278. Vaccination work is underway from March 8 to 27 in 19 provinces and centrally-run cities./.

Ethnic culture upheld through traditional craft

Van Ho district in Son La province is home to five ethnic groups: the H’Mong, Thai, Muong, Kinh, and Dao. It has been working to preserve their diverse and exotic cultures, including their traditional outfits.

83% of the population in Long Luong commune, Van Ho district in the mountainous province of Son La belongs to the H’Mong ethnic group. As they wear their traditional outfits in daily life, each household has a sewing machine.

As community tourism has become popular in Van Ho district, making traditional clothing is not only for personal use but also a cool experience for visitors. Some buy the clothes as souvenirs, while others just rent them to take photos.

Upholding the traditional crafts of ethnic minority communities in Van Ho district not only contributes to preserving and promoting their cultural traits but also opens up opportunities for tourism development./.

Better control of illegal immigration to prevent COVID-19

It is crucial to strengthen the management of immigration activities in border localities, while increasing support measures and cooperation with the localities, heard a meeting of the standing board of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on March 26.

According to representative from the Ministry of Health, after six consecutive days with no new domestically-transmitted COVID-19 infections, on March 25, Vietnam saw two new cases who entered illegally the country.

The ministry asked localities related to the new cases to promptly trace people having close contacts with the patients and give them testing.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long underlined the need for border localities to work hader to supervise entry activities and draw out scenarios for COVID-19 testing, quarantine and treatment, minimising impacts on socio-economic situation and locals.

Along with following the Ministry's Health's 5K message, people were advised to actively report cases of people returning from pandemic-hit areas or foreign countries who fail to make health declarations.

The board asked ministries, sectors and localities to create conditions for those who wish to enter Vietnam after receiving COVID-19 vaccine shots, with the strict implementation of preventive measures.

Amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, border guards of the northern province of Lao Cai have coordinated with their Chinese counterpart to strengthening patrol along the shared border.

Vietnamese and Chinese patrolling forces have set up nine joint teams to prevent and combat cross-border crimes and end illegal immigration activities.

Also on March 26, the northern province of Hai Duong – the largest hotspot of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, removed the lockdown for its last location - the Van Xa resident area in Nguyen Ai Quoc ward of Hai Duong city./.

71st anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations celebrated in Beijing

The Vietnamese Embassy in China on March 26 held a ceremony to mark the 71st anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations.

The event drew Chinese Assistant to Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao, representatives of the host country’s ministries, sectors, agencies and localities, as well as the Vietnamese community and businesses in China.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai reviewed the 71 years of the diplomatic ties as well as major cooperation outcomes between the two countries in recent years.

He noted that since the beginning of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, senior leaders of the two Parties and States have maintained regular meetings with flexible forms, while bilateral partnership in all fields have been promoted, including collaboration in economy, trade and investment.

Vietnam has been the largest trade partner of China among ASEAN member countries with two-way trade hitting 19.2 billion USD in 2020, up 18.7 percent year on year, according to statistics from China’s Customs. Meanwhile, China was the third biggest investor of Vietnam last year.

Ambassador Mai underlined that 2021 is a year of significant importance to both side as this is the first year that Vietnam implements the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period, and the socio-economic development strategy for the 2021-2030 period. Meanwhile, this year, China celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and begins the implementation of the 14th socio-economic planning for the next five years with a vision to 2035, he added.

The diplomat recalled that on February 8, few days before the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping held an phone talk to sketch out major orientations for the development of the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership in the future.

Ambassador Mai proposed that both sides fully and effectively implement the common perspectives reached by senior leaders of both countries, strengthen political trust, expand and enhance the efficiency of cooperation in fields, promote people-to-people exchange, control and satifactorily address disagreements on the basis of respecting each other’s legitimate interest in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), thus further boosting the growth of the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership in a healthy, stable and in-depth manner, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

During the ceremony, participants had a chance to enjoy Vietnamese traditional dishes./.

Youngsters’ trust helps promote Vietnam-Russia ties: Saint Petersburg Governor

Governor of Russia's Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov has stressed the common task of helping youngsters build the realiable partnership between Vietnam and Russia, saying that stronger trust among Vietnamese and Russian youngsters will ensure the development of friendship between the two countries.

Beglov made the statement at an online conference to mark the 90th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMYU) held in Saint Petersburg on March 26.

He said that youth projects are important part of the working programmes of the city. In 2018, Saint Petersburg gave the initiative of organising the first Vietnam-Russia Youth Forum, which was lauded by leaders of both sides.

Recently, an online conference was held between the Ho Chi Minh City’s HCMYU and the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg, he noted.

According to Beglov, he has asked Saint Petersburg's Committee for Youth Policies to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese youth, including the signing of cooperation agreement with Ho Chi Minh City’s HCMYU.

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh affirmed that the partnership among localities of Vietnam and Russia is growing strongly, with Saint Petersburg being the pioneer in setting up twin relations with Ho Chi Minh City and Khanh Hoa province.

Saint Petersburg has coordinated with Vietnamese partners to organise various activities on special occasions such as the 95th anniversary of the first trip of President Ho Chi Minh to Russia, the ceremony to place a stone in the location defined to erect President Ho Chi Minh in the city, he noted.

The diplomat underlined the special meaning of the conference which was held on the founding anniversary of the HCMYU, stressing that many generations of both sides have stood side by side and provided mutual support, contributing to fostering the traditional friendship between people of the two countries over the past more than seven decades.

Within the conference’s framework, a book by Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh on the glorious 70-year path of the Vietnam-Russia ties was introduced. The book comprises of more than 700 photos and documents featuring the Vietnam-Russia cooperation over the past 70 years.

Earlier, Ambassador Manh had a working session with Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, during which they sides highly valued the sound relationship between Vietnam and Russia in general and between Vietnam and Saint Petersburg in particular. They affirmed that local collaboration is a bright spot in the relations between the two countries over the years.

Both sides shared delight at effective joint projects, especially Saint Petersburg’s plan to erect President Ho Chi Minh’s statue in the city.

Governor Beglov thanked Ambassador Manh and staff of the embassy for making contributions to elevating the ties between Veitanm and Saint Petersburg to a new height. He said he and a business delegation of the city plan to visit Vietnam in the fourth quarter of this year.

Both sides showed their hope that in the future, the project to build Ho Chi Minh City’s culture-trade centre in Saint Petersburg will be conducted after COVID-19 pandemic is thoroughly controlled./.

Over 1,500 people take part in running day in Da Nang

Over 1,500 runners joined the Olympic Run Day for Public Health 2021 in the central city of Da Nang on March 27, which was held by the municipal Department of Culture and Sports.

The runners were from local governmental bodies, armed forces, associations, societies and agencies in the city.

The event was organised to mark the 46th anniversary of Da Nang city's Liberation (March 29) and the 75 years of the Vietnam Sports Day.

Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports Pham Tan Xu said the event is part of activities to respond to and promote the “All people take exercises following the example of great Uncle Ho" campaign.

It becomes an annual activity, attracting more and more people from all walks of life, contributing to promote movements of physical training and sports in the local community, he added.

Conferences to promote conservation of UNESCO-recognised intangible culture heritages

A chain of conferences to assess the management, protection and promotion of the value of Vietnam's intangible cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO, is scheduled to take place in April 2021, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

These events aims to review the State management in protecting and promoting the values of the three heritages: the cultural space of gong in the Central Highlands, the “don ca tai tu” art form (southern amateur singing) in the southern region, and Vietnam’s traditional practice of “Tho Mau Tam Phu” (the Worship of Mother Goddesses).

Ways to improve personel capacity and management efficiency for Vietnam’s UNESCO-recognised heritages, and enhance coordination among agencies, localities in protecting heritages, will be under discussion.

Participants to the conferences will focus on assessing the current situation of heritage management, and the building of projects to protect heritages.

They will also share experience in heritage management and preservation and difficulties facing localities in the works, as well as proposed solutions to those issues.

As planned, representatives from localities boasting the heritages, experts, cultural researchers and those from relevant departments and sectors will gather together at the conferences.

Adopting green lifestyles through short getaways

Green tourism has become increasingly popular over recent times given that protecting the environment has become an urgent issue within society. 

Apart from enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of Hoi An ancient town, visitors can also enjoy fun activities such as growing vegetables, riding buffaloes, and rowing coracles, among others.

Local tourism service providers have also taken a step forward in promoting environmental protection by collecting bio-waste from restaurants and hotels to make compost. Many have invested in technology to save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Forty local tourism companies have undertaken to apply the circular economic model, which aims at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Local green community tourism models, with no plastic use, have also been developed.

Green tourism is not just a cash cow but also brings sustainable benefits to local residents. Indeed, many farmers in Hoi An have earned handsome profits from providing agro-tourism services.

Green tourism not only benefits tourists by providing exotic experiences, it also inspires them in environmental protection and green lifestyles./.

National conference popularising resolution of 13th National Party Congress

The Party Central Committee’s Secretariat opened an online national conference to popularise the Resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress on March 27, with the participation of the 67 Party Committees of centrally-run cities, provinces and central agencies, and more than 7,300 committees at local levels. 

Addressing the event, Vo Van Thuong, Poliburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, stressed the significance of in-depth study and popularisation, and implementation of the Resolution, which should become a regular activity throughout the tenure and one of the major tasks for 2021.

He said that the proper and creative implementation of the Resolution from State officials and Party members will create consensus among the people, thus promoting patriotism, self-reliance and the great national solidarity strength and the desire for national development, contributing to successfully implementing the Resolution.

Participants at the event heard a number of reports on different topics related to major documents of the 13th National Party Congress.

The conference will run until March 28./.

Ninh Thuan moves to promote community-based tourism

With advantages of natural beauty, history, and rich culture, the south-central province of Ninh Thuan is striving to promote tourism development, especially community-based tourism, towards becoming an attractive destination with diverse tourism products.

It has recently seen strong development in community-based tourism, and strong investment has been landed in agricultural land areas, turning them into new tourist destinations.

According to the Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Van Hoa, the province boasts substantial potential for developing community-based tourism.

Besides its diverse natural landscapes, with mountains, sea, plains, semi-desert terrain, and popular destinations such as the Nui Chua and Phuoc Binh National Parks, Ninh Thuan is also a land of rich history and culture gathering the customs and traditions of the Cham and Raglai ethnic people.

It is focusing on developing local agricultural products and specialties to serve the development of community tourism.

Many community-based models have proven effective, benefiting the local community and contributing to promoting the consumption of local farm produce and handicrafts, creating more jobs and improving incomes for local residents.

The provincial People’s Committee has launched a project to support community-based tourism development in 2019-2022, with a total budget of over 20.4 billion VND (884,000 USD).

The project has been implemented in 13 areas, including Raglai eco-tourism, grape-planting, ceramic and brocade-weaving villages of the Cham people.

Rural transport infrastructure has been upgraded and developed in project areas.

The training of local people serving tourism development has been focused, while attention has also been paid to ensuring safety and strengthening tourism promotion activities.

Ninh Thuan has targeted welcoming 2.5 million visitors this year, including 200,000 foreigners, raking in 1.25 trillion VND (over 54.1 million USD).

To that end, local authorities will continue to improve the quality of tourism products and services.

They have also mobilised resources from organisations, individuals and economic sectors in implementing tourism development projects, and organised field trips with the participation of travel agencies to help localities develop new tourism products.

Argentine national news agency wishes to boost cooperation with VNA

Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Duong Quoc Thanh had a working session with President of the Argentine National News Agency (Telam) Bernada Llorente on March 26 to discuss measures to promote information on all areas of each country to both Vietnamese and Argentine readers.

At the meeting at the embassy, Ambassador Thanh highly valued the role of Telam, as a national news agency, in providing readers with official and timely information on Argentina’s political, economic, social and cultural aspects.

He expressed his belief that Telam will play an important role in providing information on land and people of Vietnam, as well as the country’s achievements on socio-economic development to the Argentine people.

According to the diplomat, based on agreements signed between the VNA and Telam, the two agencies can continue to strengthen the exchange of information, and coordination in producing programmes to introduce culture, economic, investment and trade potential of each country on their press products.

Telam President Llorente said expressed her impression on the land and people of Vietnam as well as the country’s economic achievements after her two visits to the Southeast Asian nation.

She affirmed that Vietnam is always a priority partner of Argentine in Asia. As a national news agency, Telam has proactively provided information on Vietnam for readers in Argentine.

Particularly, Telam has introduced Vietnam's experience in dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic as the country became a bright spot in the fight against COVID-19 in 2020.

She reaffirmed Telam will further promote its relationship with the VNA in order to move towards the signing of a more practical and effective cooperation agreement between the two sides.

National conference popularising resolution of 13th National Party Congress

The Party Central Committee’s Secretariat opened an online national conference to popularise the Resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress on March 27, with the participation of the 67 Party Committees of centrally-run cities, provinces and central agencies, and more than 7,300 committees at local levels.

Addressing the event, Vo Van Thuong, Poliburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, stressed the significance of in-depth study and popularisation, and implementation of the Resolution, which should become a regular activity throughout the tenure and one of the major tasks for 2021.

He said that the proper and creative implementation of the Resolution from State officials and Party members will create consensus among the people, thus promoting patriotism, self-reliance and the great national solidarity strength and the desire for national development, contributing to successfully implementing the Resolution.

This will also help combat degradation in political ideology as well as signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” among Party members, while protecting Party ideological foundation and fighting wrongful and hostile arguments.

Highlighting the need to roll out strict and high-quality popularisation of the Resolution, Thuong asked participants to clarify major contents and new policies in documents of the 13th National Party Congress, thus pointing out advantages and difficulties as well as challenges facing the national revolution in the future, while applying the policies to suit specific conditions of each locality, and successfully realising political tasks in the 2021-2025 period.

He underlined that during the popularisation of the Resolution, it is necessary to have timely reply to questions from officials, Party members and people regarding contents of the Resolution, thus orienting public opinion and creating consensus in society.

Meanwhile, it is crucial to soon apply the Resolution into life, he stated, asking Party Committees and organisations to soon build their action plans to specify the Resolution.

He also asked for the strengthening of inspection and supervision as well as evaluation of activities to popularise the document, as well as the building of action plans to implement it in each locality and agency.

Participants at the event heard a number of reports on different topics related to major documents of the 13th National Party Congress, focusing on core issues, new features and mindset shown in the documents, affirming achievements and lessons drawn from the 35 years of national reform, especially five years of implementing the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress.

The conference will run until March 28.

Everygolf launched to improve golf quality in Viet Nam

Everygolf Studio, an advanced golf training centre, has opened in Hà Nội aiming to increase the number of golfers in Việt Nam as well as improve the quality of the current players.

Launching in the capital city on Friday, Everygolf is one of few locations with advanced golf training and learning technology in the country. Golfers and people who love the sport will have the chance to use the 3D training rooms with modern and advanced systems such as Trackman, Foresight and Putview.

Experts led by PGA Australia coach Phạm Minh Đức will be on hand to offer guidance.

The centre will hold events and tournaments, game shows and reality shows focusing on golf. It also provides an application, Everygolf Swing, that connects coaches and athletes.

“People will have the chance to access high-performance training and practising golf at Everygolf. The advanced technology will be updated regularly to bring the best experience to golfers, improve their strength and reduce the risk of injuries as well as lift up their technology,” said Nguyễn Thị Thảo Nguyên, general director of Everygolf Việt Nam.

Speaking at the opening, coach Phạm Minh Đức said he really wanted to have such a project like Everygolf in Việt Nam since his return home from Australia several years ago.

Việt Nam needs more such centres to speed up the golf industry development to reach the international level, he said.

Meanwhile, Nguyễn Huy Tiến, head coach of Hà Nội Golf Team, said the technology at Everygolf will help not only new golfers but also fix technical mistakes for veteran players.

In the coming months, Everygolf plans to be the training venue to the national team ahead of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hà Nội this winter. 

Decade-long master plan to tackle climate change gets go-ahead

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently granted approval to a master plan aimed at developing Vietnamese cities towards the year 2030 in response to climate change challenges.

With a long coastline, Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
The overall goal of the proposal is to rationally use resources to boost urban development, reduce air, water, and land pollution, and minimise the damage caused by flash floods, landslides, and other forms of natural disasters.

The scheme will be divided into three phases, with the first set to be implemented from 2021 to 2025 in five centrally-run cities, namely Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Can Tho, Hai Phong, and Da Nang, as well as cities in seven northern, central, and Mekong Delta provinces and seven northern mountainous and Central Highland provinces.

In the period between 2026 and 2030, the plan will be implemented in coastal urban areas and deltas which are prone to flooding and flash floods, as well as landslides in northern mountainous, central coastal, southeastern, and Central Highland regions.

Other localities will see similar schemes put in place beyond 2030.

In order to meet the goal, there is an urgent need to investigate and assess the impact of climate change on the development of the existing urban system, whilst also competently planning new urban areas likely to be formed over the next 10 years. This is necessary in order to calculate self-adaptive capacity, propose response solutions, and to draw up an adequate risk warning mapping system.

Relevant agencies will also be required to integrate climate change adaptation into urban development planning and other programmes, while also completing legal frameworks regarding urban and housing management and development, taking into account increased risk caused climate change.

The scheme underlines the importance of forming a flooding control system within urban areas, building dykes, embankments, and large-scale underground water storage works, and finding solutions to resettle and relocate residents in risky areas. Indeed, the plan will see the development of houses that are highly resistant to flooding, strong winds, and storms.

According to the plan, it is imperative to enhance the overall building capacity of local authorities with regard to urban management and development in response to climate change.

In addition, it is necessary to accelerate scientific and technological research cooperation, pilot green and smart urban development, build energy saving and emission reduction models, and develop environmentally friendly materials.

Cyclists to race at HTV Cycling cup to mark Reunification Day

The annual HCM City Television Cycling Tournament will be held in April with VNĐ2 billion (US$86,600) up for grab.

In its 33rd edition, the race has attracted more than 100 participants from 15 teams. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers have not invited international teams as in the past, but local teams are allowed one foreign member each.

The Việt Nam national team will join the race as they are preparing for the 31st Southeast Asian Games later this year.

The tournament is part of activities to celebrate the 46th anniversary of Southern Việt Nam’s liberation and Reunification Day on April 30. 

Running from April 6 to 30, cyclists will race across 22 stages covering 2,450km from Cao Bằng Province to HCM City.

The first stage will be a 45km lap around Cao Bằng City on April 6.

Among the stages, the route from Nghệ An Province through Hà Tĩnh to Quảng Bình Province will be the longest one at 199km on April 15. 

Earlier, the team time trial stage will be in Cửa Lò Beach of Nghệ An while athletes will take part in the individual time trial event at the 14th stage in Tam Kỳ City, Quảng Ngãi Province.

The race will end on April 30 when cyclists reach the Independence Palace in HCM City.

The winner of the tournament will take the yellow jersey and a purse of VNĐ200 million ($8,660) while the winning team will bank VNĐ100 million ($4,330)

The organisers will also deliver prizes for athletes who win stages and take the green, red polka dot, and white jerseys. 

All stages will be live aired on HTV9, HTV Thể thao and other platforms. 

About VNĐ1.5 billion ($65,000) will be used for charity activities in localities that the race passes by.

Last year, Javier Sarda Perez of HCM City took double titles winning both the yellow and red polka dot jersey while his crew took the team title. 

Photo exhibition marks 60 years of Vietnam-Morocco diplomacy

The Moroccan Embassy in Hanoi and the Vietnam News Agency are co-hosting an online photo exhibition in celebration of the 60th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Morocco.

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Morocco Habib El Malki visited President Ho Chi Minh Relic Complex in Hanoi during his trip to Vietnam in December 2017. (Photo: VNA)
On display are 20 photos highlighting major milestones in bilateral relations, including high-level reciprocal visits by the two countries’ leaders.

Vietnam and Morocco established diplomatic ties on March 27, 1961. Bilateral relations have since been strengthen in various areas, especially in economics, trade, investment, culture and tourism.

The two countries have maintained high-level visits to promote their cooperation. In 2006 they decided to open their embassies in each other’s capitals, marking a milestone in bilateral cooperation.

The photos can be seen on the website of the Moroccan Embassy at http://moroccoembassy.vn from March 27 to April 30.

HCM City residents cycle in response to Earth Hour

The Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union hosted a bicycle parade on March 27 in response to Earth Hour 2021 with the event attracting the participation of over 300 volunteers, Youth Union members, and residents from the southern city.

Cyclists toured several famous destinations throughout the southern metropolis in an effort to raise public awareness about the need to save power and encourage the efficient use of clean and renewable energy, whilst also promoting environmental protection.

Le Hoang Minh, head of the organising board of Earth Hour 2021, says 2021 is the 13th year in which Ho Chi Minh City has participated in the event alongside 7,000 cities in more than 200 countries globally.

Along with the ongoing activities in Ho Chi Minh City, the campaign has also received support from a large number of online volunteers who are helping to spread the message across 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

All of these activities are primarily aimed at responding to the "10th Anniversary of Earth Hour in Vietnam - Join Global Lights Off” event on the evening of March 27 which will take place in the city at the Youth Cultural House, AEON Mall Binh Tan, and Hoan Cau Hotel.

The function is anticipated to attract the participation of more than 2,000 teenagers and residents from Ho Chi Minh City.

Nat'l futsal championship to kick off today

The National Futsal HDBank Championship 2021 is scheduled to kick off on Sunday in Buôn Ma Thuột City in Đắk Lắk Province.

At a press meeting on Wednesday, the organisers of the tournament, Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) and Radio the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV), said the tournament would be divided into two stages with the participation of 12 teams.

The first stage of qualifying rounds will take place from March 28 to April 5 at Đắk Lắk gymnasium in Buôn Ma Thuột City.

Audiences will see competition among six teams Cao Bằng, Hưng Gia Khang Đắk Lắk, Tân Hiệp Hưng, Quảng Nam, Việt Football and Luxury Hạ Long. They will compete in a round robin format that will decide the four teams to join the second stage.

The second stage will include participation of the four winners in the first stage and the top six teams from last year’s National Futsal HDBank Championships, which include Thái Sơn Nam, Sahako, Sanvinest Sanatech Khánh Hòa, Zetbit Sài Gòn FC, Hiếu Hoa Đà Nẵng, and Thái Sơn Bắc.

The first leg of the second stage will be held at Đắk Lắk gymnasium from April 4 to April 30, while the second leg is expected to take place from July 5 to 26 in Cần Thơ city.

The winner of the tournament will represent Việt Nam at the AFC Futsal Championships 2021.

Last year, Thái Sơn Nam took the trophy, and the runner-up was Sanvinest Sanatech Khánh Hòa.

The organiser has also announced that the National Futsal HDBank Cup will kick off in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng from September 5 to 16.

Both tournaments are sponsored by HDBank. The winner of the National Futsal HDBank Championship will receive a VNĐ500 million (US$21,400) prize.

This is the fifth time that VFF has worked with VOV to organise the tournament.

Trần Anh Tú, head of the organising board, said at the press meeting that the tournament is expected to offer exciting, highly professional matches. 

Children's awards open for entries

Compositions, art performances and entertainment programmes created by children or for children have the chance to compete at the Dế Mèn Awards. 

The awards launched by the Vietnam News Agency's Thể Thao Văn Hóa (Culture & Sport) newspaper aims to honour the best works by and for children. 

Entitled Dế Mèn (Cricket), the award is named after the character in one of the most popular stories for children in Việt Nam, Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký (Diary of a Cricket) by Tô Hoài. 

The awards will include one grand prize named Hiệp Sĩ Dế Mèn (Cricket Knight) and several other awards called Khát Vọng Dế Mèn (Cricket Desire). 

The Cricket Knight award will honour the lifetime achievements of authors who have contributed to work for children.  

The awards will be presented for works that meet either of these two criteria: compositions, art performances and entertainment programmes by children or composers, or art performances and entertainment programmes for children.

International authors with works created for Vietnamese children are also eligible.

Eligible works must be announced or discovered from May 15 of last year to May 15 of 2021. Literature drafts created within this period can be sent to the contest. 

The entries can be in one of several forms like literature, cinema, music, arts, theatre, photography, comic, traditional games or electronic games.

The judges will receive all entries by photo, video clip and book at 11 Trần Hưng Đạo Street in Ha Noi or via email to giaithuongdemen@thethaovanhoa.vn. 

At the first Dế Mèn Awards last year, writer Nguyễn Nhật Ánh won Cricket Knight for his book Làm Bạn Với Bầu Trời (Being Friends with the Sky) and four Cricket Desire awards were given to primary school students Nguyễn Đới Chung Anh and Cao Khải An, teacher Nguyễn Chí Ngoãn, and musician Nguyễn Văn Chung. 

The awards ceremony will be held on Children's Day on June 1.

Mekong Delta has excellent winter – spring rice crop

The Mekong Delta has harvested the 2020 – 21 winter – spring rice crop with farmers successfully avoiding the impacts of saltwater intrusion and managing high yields and getting high prices, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

More than one million of the 1.59 million hectares planted have been harvested so far, with an average yield of seven tonnes per hectare, 214kg higher than the last winter – spring rice and the highest in the last five years.  

The country’s rice granary reduced the area under the grain by 27,210ha this season, fearful of possible saltwater intrusion in rivers.

Fragrant and speciality varieties accounted for more than 21 per cent and high-quality varieties for 60 per cent, a slight increase from last year.

On the instructions of local authorities, farmers started sowing the crop in October last year, 20 – 30 days earlier than normal, hoping to avoid the saltwater intrusion that often occurs at the end of the crop.

This and prompt forecasts of saltwater intrusion have helped farmers get high yields, according to the ministry’s plant cultivation department.

Speaking at a seminar in Cần Thơ City on Wednesday, Lê Thanh Tùng, deputy head of the department, said saltwater intrusion is still severe but the winter – spring crop was not affected, and farmers earned 45 per cent profits.

Nguyễn Ngọc Hè, deputy chairman of Cần Thơ City, said the harvest was basically complete and the average yield had been 7.6 tonnes per hectare, the highest in a long time.

The city’s farmers planted mostly speciality, fragrant and high-quality varieties, he added.

Delta farmers adopted various effective farming models like large-scale rice fields and organic rice farming models and grew rice to Vietnamese and global good agricultural practice standards.

Large-scale rice fields accounted for 160,000ha with the land owners linking up with food companies to grow rice to their requirements but with purchase guaranteed.

The delta plans to plant rice on 1.52 million hectares in the summer - autumn and 725,000ha in the autumn – winter crops this year, according to the ministry.

The former is more than 3,700ha down from last year due to restructuring and fears of saltwater intrusion.

Farmers have already sown more than 300,000ha.

They expect a yield of 5.6 tonnes, up 740kg from last year.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Quốc Doanh said the crop would be very important and farmers should be focused on growing area, yield and output.

They and local authorities should comply with approved sowing schedules and stick to varieties suitable for their respective areas to escape the impacts of saltwater intrusion and diseases, he warned.

The latter should foster advanced rice farming techniques to reduce the use of seeds and water and prevent diseases, he added. 

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes