The culture of Southeast Asian nations was highlighted at a festival in Hanoi on May 7 ahead of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), the biggest regional sport event.

The Southeast Asian Youth Festival that took place around Hoan Kiem Lake saw the participation of representatives from the embassies of Southeast Asian countries as well as Vietnamese ministries and agencies.

Notably, it brought together more than 11,000 young people from the 11 regional countries, volunteers of SEA Games 31, which will be officially held in the capital city of Hanoi and 11 neighbouring cities and provinces from May 12-23.

The festival was intended to promote the image of Hanoi and Vietnam to regional and international friends, thus contributing to building regional peace, for a Southeast Asia of solidarity, friendship and prosperity.

Visitors joined a wide range of activities, including an exhibition on national flowers and dresses, cuisines and cultures of the countries, walking, painting, street arts and an art gala.

Sixteen cultural and art programmes will be held in Hanoi’s districts from May 13 to 23 to celebrate the Games, praising the Party, late President Ho Chi Minh, the land and people of Vietnam and Hanoi.

Binh Duong province’s ex-leaders prosecuted

The Supreme People’s Procuracy has decided to prosecute 28 people, including Tran Van Nam, former Secretary of the Party Committee of the southern province of Binh Duong, for the charge of "violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness.”

The case took place at Binh Duong Producing and Trading Corporation (Corporation 3-2), a wholly State-owned enterprise, and the province.

It involved Tran Van Nam, who worked as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee from July 2010 to December 2015 and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee for 2015-2020; Tran Thanh Liem, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee from October 2015 to October 2020; Pham Van Canh, Permanent Deputy  Secretary of the provincial Party Committee from December 2013 to November 2018; and Nguyen Van Minh, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Corporation 3-2 from August 2010 to June 2017.

According to the indictment, the men took the main responsibility for capital and asset management at the corporation. However, they deliberately violated relevant legal regulations, causing great losses to the State.

The former leaders of the provincial Party Committee, the provincial People’s Committee and some consulting agencies knew that Minh’s and his accomplices’ transfer of 43ha of land and 30 percent of contributed capital in Tan Phu Company was illegal.

However, they did not take any prevention action or asked for State asset recovery. Some of them even sought ways to legalise the transfer, causing a loss of 984 billion VND (42.86 million USD) to the State.

Besides, during the equitisation of the enterprise, Minh managed to enable a company where he worked as the chairman and another run by his daughter to participate in the joint venture to implement the project on another 145-ha land lot. He also directed the removal of the land lot from the enterprise’s asset during the equitisation.

Vietnam striving to remove bottlenecks from digital government development

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam recently signed a directive regarding e-Government development towards digital governance and transformation.

Despite recent positive results, major bottlenecks remain in the implementation of the work, with data sharing being one of the main issues.

In addition, due focus has yet to be paid on ensuring cyber security, human resources and a budget for information technology applications, as well as the building of e-Government.

As a result, relevant agencies have been ordered to prepare infrastructure and fulfil cyber security conditions to connect national databases.

They have been instructed to use data for the implementation of online public services by December.

Vietnamese-British Professor becomes honorary chairman of VIS

The Vietnamese Intellectual Association (VIS) in the UK held a ceremony on May 6 to announce its honorary chairman, Professor Sir Jonanthan Van-Tam.

He has step down as former Deputy Chief Medical Official (DCMO) for England at the end of March to take up new role as Pro-Vice Chancellor for the faculty of medicine and health sciences at University of Nottingham.

VIS Chairman Nguyen Xuan Huan spoke highly of Jonathan Van-Tam’s role as honorary chairman. He affirmed that Professor Jonathan Van-Tam’s support will help VIS fulfil its mission of promoting connection and cooperation among members, as well as strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and the UK in important fields such as science, technology and economy.

Jonathan Van-Tam, an expert on influenza, has been Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England from October 2017 to March 2022. He has played important roles in a number of different incidents, including domestic outbreaks of MERS and monkeypox, 2017 to 2018 influenza season and most notably the response to the novichok attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic where he worked on the Vaccine Taskforce and supported the development of treatments.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, he has become famous for his press conferences on the situation that attracted millions of viewers. The Sunday Times called him an “unexpected hero in the pandemic”.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam has received a Knighthood from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the fight against COVID-19.

At the Vietnam National Day celebration in London in September last year, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK honoured the professor for his provision of policy advice for Vietnam’s COVID-19 prevention and control.

Danish Queen rejoices over flourishing Vietnam-Demark relations

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has expressed her satisfaction at the consistent improvement in ties between Vietnam and Denmark over the past five decades following both nations establishing diplomatic relations in 1971.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi presented the letter of credence from President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Queen Margrethe II at Fredensborg Palace on May 6.

Both sides believe that mutual ties have recorded numerous achievements in all traditional fields, ranging from politics - diplomacy, economy - trade - investment, people-to-people exchanges, agricultural co-operation, education, and labour. This also includes new areas such as climate change response, renewable energy, green growth, and sustainable development.

Given the various achievements obtained over the past half century, Queen Margrethe II expressed her expectation that the relationship between the two countries will continue to reach new heights on a comprehensive and substantive basis in line with the interests between both sides.

Ambassador Nghi expressed his pleasure and honour at being appointed as the Ambassador of Vietnam to Denmark in the context of relations between the two countries recording many encouraging achievements across a multitude of fields of both sides’ strengths and potential. This can be seen through the establishment of a strategic partnership in the fields of climate change, energy, the environment and green growth in 2011, as well as a comprehensive partnership in 2013.

HCM City, Đồng Nai urged to speed up land clearance for Ring Road No.3

The Ministry of Transport is again urging HCM City and Đồng Nai to hand over land for constructing Ring Road No.3’s Tân Vạn - Nhơn Trạch section.

Work on the section, which runs 8.75km between provincial Highway 25B in Đồng Nai Province and the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway in HCM City, is slated to begin this month, but the construction site has not been handed over to the contractors yet.

In March, the ministry had urged the HCM City and Đồng Nai administrations to hand over the concerned land by March 31. This has not happened for several reasons.

The ministry asked the administrations to promptly allocate funds for land clearance and ensure construction proceeds on schedule.

App educates on child marriage, human trafficking

Efforts have been made to promote digital platforms in supporting children and young people from ethnic groups in dealing with the risks of child marriage and human trafficking.

A survey under the project "Reducing child marriage and consanguineous marriage in ethnic minority areas in the period 2015-2025" conducted by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs in 2019 showed that the child marriage rate of 53 ethnic groups in Việt Nam decreased from 26.6 per cent in 2014 to 21.9 per cent in 2019. The Mong ethnic group has the highest rate of child marriage, with 51.5 per cent of its population getting marriage before regulated ages.

Joining to tackle the issue, the Institute for Social Development Studies (ISDS), Plan International in Việt Nam, the Department of Children under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and other agencies have been implementing a project “Enhancing awareness of ethnic minority children and young people on human trafficking and child marriage through digital technology” (EMPoWR).

The project was co-funded by the Delegation of the European Union and Plan International in Belgium.

The project was rolled out in 52 communes across four provinces - Hà Giang, Lai Châu, Quảng Bình and Quảng Tri - between 2020 to 2023, supporting young people aged 10 to 24 through digital platforms.

Under the project, the digital platform Em vui, which translates as "I'm happy", can be accessed via emvui.vn, smartphone app and is also available on popular social media platforms such as  Facebook, Tiktok, Zalo, Youtube, Instagram and Twitter.

HCM City hospitals train local medical workers in dengue treatment

Hospitals in HCM City have been providing training for personnel from local medical facilities in diagnosing and treating dengue fever amid a spike in the incidence of disease.

Since April 20 the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Children’s Hospital Nos. 1 and 2 and the HCM City Children’s Hospital have been holding training sessions.

The city Department of Health has instructed hospitals to provide refresher training since there have been a large number of infections right at the start of the dengue fever season.

As of mid-April the city had recorded nearly 4,500 cases, 109 of them severe and four fatal, with three of the dead being children.

Hospitals have reported an increasing number of children with dengue, including severe cases with multi-organ damage and requiring mechanical ventilation and dialysis.

Vietnamese kickboxers ready for SEA Games

On May 8, the Vietnamese kickboxers representing their country will put their training to the test against the best of the region, when the opening bell of the kickboxing event of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games sounds in Bắc Ninh Province. 

Việt Nam has selected 12 athletes for the Games, with five female athletes competing in the 48kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 65kg weight categories and seven male athletes competing in 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63.5kg, 67kg and 71kg weight categories. 

Among them, Nguyễn Thị Hằng Nga, Huỳnh Văn Tuấn, Nguyễn Xuân Phương and Nguyễn Quang Huy all fought their way to gold at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019. This year, Lê Thị Nhi (women's 56kg) and Bùi Hải Linh (women's 52kg) are both promising contenders. 

The head coach of the national kickboxing team, Trần Thanh Tuyến, said that Việt Nam has set a target of at least four gold medals this year. However, they will have to better the strong opponents from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia who stand in their way. 

Vietnamese cycling team heads to 31st SEA Games

The Vietnamese cycling team is ready for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and has set a target of winning five gold medals.

At the 22nd SEA Games in Việt Nam in 2003, the cycling team brought home three gold medals, the best ever performance by Vietnamese cyclists at a regional Games.

After 19 years, the Vietnamese cycling team aims for an even more significant milestone, five gold medals.

Việt Nam have high-class and experienced cyclists who are in good form. Besides Nguyễn Thị Thật and Đinh Thị Như Quỳnh who won the SEA Games gold medals in the Philippines, Việt Nam team have qualified cyclists such as Nguyễn Thị Thu Mai, Bùi Thị Quỳnh, Nguyễn Thị Thi and Nguyễn Thị Kim Cương (road cycling), Cà Thị Thơm (mountain biking) as well as other outstanding male cyclists such as Trần Tuấn Kiệt, Quàng Văn Cường, Nguyễn Hoàng Sang, Phan Hoàng Thái, and Nguyễn Trường Tài.

The Vietnamese cycling team will attend the 31st Games with 39 members, including 16 road cycling athletes and 14 mountain biking athletes, competing for 12 medals. Mountain biking will take place on May 14-17, while road cycling will be held on May 19-22.

Tours to Phu Tho launched during SEA Games 31

Many travel firms have launched tours to the northern province of Phu Tho to serve visitors during the coming 31st Southeast Asian Games.

According to Do Duc Khanh, chairman of Phu Tho Tourism Association, Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho’s Viet Tri City will be among the places to hold men’s football matches. Vietnam’s U23s played Indonesia’s U23s on May 6, at the Viet Tri Stadium.

Vietnam won 3-0. After the clash, many groups of visitors from the central region of Vietnam took tours to explore different destinations in Phu Tho, including Hung Kings’ Temple, traditional handicraft villages, Hung Lo house, Xuan Son National Park, Thanh Thuy hot spring.

Vietravel has also launched tours to Hanoi-Viet Tri-Sapa-Ninh Binh for seven days. Travellers would be given tickets to see football matches at Hanoi’s National Stadium.

Vung Tau-Con Dao high-speed ship launched

Phu Quoc Express and the Ministry of National Defence’s Z189 Shipyard have launched a high-speed ship to serve passengers on the Vung Tau-Con Dao route.

The 77-metre ship has four decks, consisting of two for economy class, one for ViPs and a café rooftop.

Thang Long high-speed ship can transport 1,017 passengers and has a speed of up to 30 nautical miles per hour.

The ship is scheduled to be put into operation in June. The large size helps the ship to be less affected by waves.

It is designed specially to link Vung Tau and Con Dao Island which is the toughest and furthest route from mainland to an island in Vietnam.

Phu Quoc Express has to date launched 11 ships that are being used to connect mainland to Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Nam Du and Ly Son islands.

Hot air balloons displayed in Ha Tinh to welcome SEA Games 31

A display of hot air balloons took place at Vu Quang district, in the central province of Ha Tinh on May 7 to welcome the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

Saola, a rare mammal from Vietnam, was selected as the mascot for the Southeast Asian Games 31. Saola was found by scientists in Vu Quang National Park in Ha Tinh in May of 1992.

The organisation of the hot air balloon display at Vu Quang showed the pride of Ha Tinh in general and Vu Quang in particular when Saola was chosen as the mascot of SEA Games 31.

Themed “For a Stronger Southeast Asia”, SEA Games 31 will feature 40 sports and is scheduled to take place in Hanoi and 11 nearby localities from May 12 to 23.

The biennial Games were initially slated for late 2021 but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second time Vietnam has hosted a SEA Games, after the first in 2003.

Saint Giong festival opens in Hanoi

The Saint Giong festival - Phu Dong temple opened in Gia Lam district, Hanoi on May 6.

Saint Giong festival in Phu Dong temple, Gia Lam district was initiated and organised by King Ly Cong Uan of the Ly dynasty; taking place from the 7th to 9th of the fourth lunar month every year.

This unique festival re-enacts Saint Giong’s army battling against the An invaders to protect the country.

At the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen acknowledged the efforts of Gia Lam district and Phu Dong commune in preserving and promoting the national cultural and historical values.

On this occasion, Gia Lam district opened the Gia Lam Tourism App and Portal to introduce tourism products of the district to domestic and foreign tourists.

Vietnam Fatherland Front petitions for history to be compulsory subject

The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front petitioned that History should be a compulsory subject, not an elective subject. According to the Central Committee, the most important thing is how to teach and learn to improve the teaching and learning quality of the subject.

On May 8, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front held the twelfth online conference to give opinions on the draft report summarizing the opinions and recommendations of voters and the people to send to the third session of the fifteenth National Assembly.

According to the draft report summarizing opinions and recommendations of voters and residents in the third session of the fifteenth National Assembly, voters and people expressed their trust in the determination of the Party and State, especially General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for the Party building and rectification, the fight against corruption and negativity non-stop with no ‘restricted areas and exceptions’ in fighting corruption.

Voters and people advocated the policy of establishing a Steering Committee for Anti-corruption in provinces. The Party and the State will continue to drastically direct the inspection, investigation, prosecution, and public trial of major corruption cases, and strictly handle wrongdoing leaders in departments and agencies including senior officials.

For instance, the case of raising the price of a Covid-19 test kit at Viet A Technology Company, the case of taking bribes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the case of manipulating the stock market at FLC Group, and unusual land auction and fraudulent bond issuance by Tan Hoang Minh Group...

At the same time, the Party and the State should consider the issuance of discipline on many high-ranking officials, both incumbent and retired.

In addition to the achievements, voters and people expressed their worries about five issues comprising difficulties and challenges caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, slow progress in allocating and disbursing public investment capital and support packages for socio-economic recovery and development, substandard living conditions of residents in remote and isolated areas, contribution of civil servants and officials to violations.

Additionally, voters are disgruntled and strongly condemn the violations of the law in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic, especially in the procurement of equipment and consumables, covered by officials and party members.

Therefore, voters expected authorities to continue to expand the investigation, clarify and strictly handle the individuals and organizations that commit wrongdoing, avoid the crime; publicity and transparency of investigation and trial results for people's supervision.

US$364mln proposed for Dau Giay- Tan Phu expressway construction

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has just submitted to the Prime Minister the first phase investment and construction project of Dau Giay- Tan Phu expressway under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for consideration and approval. 

Accordingly, the project has its starting point at the intersection with National Highway No.1, which coincides with the ending point of the Ho Chi Minh City- Long Thanh- Dau Giay expressway and the last point connecting with the Tan Phu- Bao Loc expressway project through Dong Nai Province’s districts of Thong Nhat, Dinh Quan, Xuan Loc and Tan Phu. 

Following the road network development plan for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision for 2050, Dau Giay- Tan Phu expressway project is designed with four lanes of vehicles, 24.75- meter wide road surface; however, based on transport demand and the ability to balance resources, the Ministry of Transport proposed a scale of four lanes, 17-meter wide road surface, a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and total investment capital of VND8,365 billion (US$364 million) for the first phase, including VND4,962 billion (US$216 million) for construction cost and VND1,287 billion (US$56 million) for site clearance.

The MoT also proposed VND1,300 billion (nearly US$57 million) in support for site clearance and construction costs from the State budget, an investment capital of VND7,065 billion (US$307 million) mobilized by investors. The 20- year-and- three-month payback period was also proposed for the investor with starting price of VND1,700 (US$0.07) a kilometer. The price will increase to VND3,400 (US$0.15) a kilometer for standard vehicles in 2042. It is expected that the project will be started in 2023 and be completed in 2025.

More outbreaks of cattle, poultry diseases reported in Quang Ngai Province

From the beginning of 2022 until now, more outbreaks of dangerous diseases in livestock and poultry have been reported in the Central Province of Quang Ngai.

Due to an increase in outbreaks of dangerous diseases in livestock and poultry, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee Tran Phuoc Hien yesterday sent a document to related departments of this province asking to strengthen the prevention and control of livestock and poultry diseases in the area.

Worriedly, the outbreak of skin disease in buffaloes and cows is breaking out in 834 breeding facilities infecting 913 calves and killing 193 calves.

Along with that, African swine fever is killing 337 pigs in 19 breeding facilities. In addition, the virulent bird flu epidemic continues to spread across the province with outbreaks detected at poultry farms resulting in the deaths of over 4,600 poultry.

Faced with the above situation, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai Province directed responsible departments, agencies and local administrations to urgently adopt measures to control the outbreaks as well as promote vaccination of livestock and poultry in the area.

At the same time, health officials increase their monitoring to discover those not declaring it, causing the epidemic to spread rapidly.

HCMC recovers over US$56.52 million from corruption cases

In a talk with voters, National Assembly deputy Nguyen Sy Quang said that currently, through examination, the city police force and related prosecution agencies have recovered over VND1,300 billion (US$56.52 million) out of the total VND1,600 billion that need to be recovered in corruption cases.

On May 7, delegates of the fifteenth National Assembly Deputies Group of Unit No.2 in HCMC, met with voters in districts 1, 3, and Binh Thanh before the third session of the fifteenth National Assembly. The delegates included Secretary of the Party Committee of District 1 Tran Kim Yen, Standing Member of the Law Committee of the National Assembly Do Duc Hien, and Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Public Security Nguyen Sy Quang.

Delegate Tran Si Quang said out of cases that are being monitored by the Central Steering Committee on anti-corruption, Ho Chi Minh City has 12 cases.

Mekong River water level rises, La Nina lasts through May

Mekong River water level tends to increase, reported the Southern Institute of Irrigation Science on May 7.

Currentlly, the water level at Kratie station in Cambodia reaches 8.7 meters, 0.5 meter higher than the water level at the end of April, 0.25 to 2.12 meter higher than the same period in the last four dry seasons. The water volume at Bien Ho Lake (Gia Lai Province) is about 1.94 billion cubic meters, 0.11 billion - 0.78 billion cubic meter higher than during the last four dry seasons.

Meanwhile,  the Mekong Delta experienced rain spells with an average rainfall of about 60-80mm, even over 140mm in some places during last week.

It is forecast that the Mekong Delta localities will continue to face moderate rainfalls of about 30-40mm. La Nina's climate pattern is forecast to last through May.

Int’l workshop talks cardiovascular disease management in new era

More than 200 experts, professors, doctors and pharmacists at home and abroad exchanged experience in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases at an international workshop in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on May 7.

The workshop on optimising the management of cardiovascular diseases in the modern era was held by the Nam Can Tho University.

The participants provided updates on new recommendations regarding cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment, especially amid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event was also intended to encourage scientific research by doctors and medical health workers at the Nam Can Tho University Medical Centre, and by students at the university and others, said Associate Prof. Doctor Dam Van Cuong, director of the center.

Last six-wagon train for Metro Line No.1 put on Long Binh Depot railway

The last six-wagon train No.16 serving for Metro Line Project No.1 (Ben Thanh- Suoi Tien Metro Line) was put on the Long Binh Depot railway in Thu Duc City yesterday for trial operation at the Long Binh depot area in the next few days.

Earlier, at 3:15 p.m. on May 7, special vehicles transported six wagons of trains No.16 and No.17 to Long Binh Depot. Engineers and specialists of the contractor concentrated on check and preparedness for lifting the two trains’ wagons to put on the railway.

In the afternoon of the same day, the installation work of wagons on the railway and connection with information, electricity system of train No.16 were completed.

These are the last two trains of Metro Line No. 1 arriving in the country and being installed on the railway for a trial run in the coming time.

Miraculous moment of brain-dead person’s heart revived in new body

On the afternoon of May 7, at Hue Central Hospital, the health of a 37-year-old patient with end-stage heart failure was stable after a successful heart transplant from a 19-year-old brain-dead donor.

Accordingly, at 10.47 a.m. on May 6, the heart was taken from the chest of a brain-dead organ donor at Gia Dinh People's Hospital. With the utmost support from Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation, and the HCMC traffic police, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines created favorable conditions to help transport the heart as quickly as possible. As a result, the heart reached Hue city safely at 1.32 p.m. on the same day.

The lucky person with all the suitable indicators to receive the heart is H., 37, residing in Quang Binh Province, who are suffering from end-stage heart failure and undergoing active medical treatment at Hue General Hospital. He had been waiting for the opportunity to receive a heart transplant for more than 4 years.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes of surgery, the heart of the brain-dead donor beats again in the recipient's chest.

Prof. - Dr. Pham Nhu Hiep, Director of Hue Central Hospital, said that this heart transplant set two new records, including the shortest time from taking and moving the heart to when the heart beats again and the shortest operation time.

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