Local police reported a head-on collision happened at 17:40 on November 4 at section Km131 on National Highway 6 running across Tong Dau commune of Mai Chau District, Hoa Binh province.

A passenger bus with 44 people, including 42 foreigners, on board collided with a four-seater car and a motorbike in an opposite direction.

Twenty people were injured at the scene, and among them were 15 foreigners and two Vietnamese on board the passenger bus, reported the police.

All the injured were immediately transferred to a nearby medical stations for emergency treatment.

According to preliminary investigations, the passenger bus couldn't control the speed when it went downhill, causing the accident.

Vietnamese chess master wins bronze at Asian championship

Vo Thi Kim Phung of Vietnam won a bronze medal from the Asian Continental Chess Championship which ended on November 3 in New Delhi, India.

After 11 days of competition, Women Grandmaster (WGM) Phung finished third in the women's blitz chess event with seven points from nine matches.

Phung struggled with one loss and two draws in the first three matches. But she came back strongly with six wins in a row and grabbed her bronze medal.

WGM Divya Deshmukh and WGM Gomes Mary Ann, both of the hosts, ranked first and second, respectively.

In the standard event, Phung came in fourth position with 6.5 points.

The top three were all from India - WGM Pallathur Venkatachalam Nandhidhaa, WGM Priyanka Nutakki and Deshmukh.

The championship saw 140 players from 13 countries. Vietnam sent three female competitors - Nguyen Thanh Thuy Tien, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Phung - and one male player, Dang Vu Dung.

Tien, Hung and Dung did not reach their best performance in this competition, ranking out of the top five in all two categories.

Vietnam, Bulgaria ink judicial cooperation programme

The Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria have recently signed a programme on judicial cooperation for the 2023-2024 period. 
      
Signatories to the document were Justice Minister Le Thanh Long of Vietnam and his Bulgarian counterpart Krum Zarkov.

The signing ceremony was virtually held in the presence of Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Do Hoang Long and Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Marinela Petkova.

The newly signed cooperation programme is to implement the agreement on legal and judicial cooperation inked in 2009 between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria.

The signing of the new programme is expected to open a new period of in-depth and practical cooperation between the two ministries that focuses on a number of areas of mutual interest and priority in the coming time.

They include reviewing the agreement on mutual legal assistance in civil matters, sharing practical experience in civil judgment enforcement and asset recovery in corruption cases and assets obtained from illegal activities, and applying information technology in legal affairs.

At the signing ceremony, the two sides expressed their belief that the cooperation programme for the 2023 - 2024 period will meet the expectations of both sides, especially in the context of post-pandemic socio-economic recovery.

PM stresses resolve to realise 2022 targets at highest possible level

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has affirmed to the National Assembly that the Government and local administrations will continue to drastically implement set measures and tasks while fixing shortcomings so as to realise the year's targets to the highest possible level and create a driving force for next year.

In his speech to the NA following the final Q&A session in Hanoi on November 5, the PM gave a brief review on the socio-economic performance in the past 10 months and called attention to new developments in the world situation, particularly risk factors.

He highlighted a need to pursue the consistent goal of stabilising macro-economy, controlling inflation, promoting growth and ensuring major balances of the economy. 

As regards to the stock, corporate bonds and property markets, PM Chinh said those markets saw hot growth recently with implicit risks. He said along with intensifying inspection and supervision and strictly handling violations, the Government has directed amending related regulations and roll out concerted measures to shore up the markets and ensure they operate in a transparent, healthy and sustainable manners in line with the law.

In the time ahead, the Government will continue to focus on perfecting institutions, first of all proposing the NA amend laws on securities and businesses,  as well as revising relevant decrees and circulars to improve the openness, transparency and accountability of firms, the PM said. He added that the Government will improve the management of the auctions of land use rights and capital mobilisation by property developers, and remove obstacles for the development of industrial real estate and social housing.

Mentioning the shortage of petrol in some localities recently, the PM said it was caused by many reasons, including fast changes in petrol prices and supply sources along with the slow revision of domestic rules regarding petrol trade and the lax coordination and slow response among management agencies.

He said the Government is directing relevant agencies to take prompt policy actions to ensure sufficient supply of petrol for production and trade. 

The Government leader also spoke about the disbursement of public investment capital, stressing that the Government is drastically directing the correction of weaknesses and removing obstacles to accelerate the work, toward the goal of disbursing at least 95% of the plan.   

He reported that the Government is directing ministries, agencies and localities to review and suggest amendments to relevant laws to ensure the supply of medicines and medical equipment, cut unnecessary expenditures to pool resources for other urgent and priority tasks such as salary reform, construction of key infrastructure works, social welfare and the three national target programmes.

Vietnamese, South African businesses look to boost partnership

Vietnamese businesses are increasingly interested in the South African market and want to explore investment opportunities to take advantage of the free trade agreements that South Africa has signed with major markets, including the US and Europe as well as the African market, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Van Loi has said.

He made the remarks at the Vietnam-Durban Business Forum 2022 which was held in the port city of Durban on November 4, aiming to enhance trade exchange and investment between the two countries.

Besides Durban, Vietnamese businesses will also seek cooperation and investment opportunities in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Ambassador Loi highlighted the great potential for goods exchange between the two countries. He suggested the joint venture model as a potential choice for Vietnamese investment in South Africa in a number of potential sectors such as clean energy, furniture, household appliances, garment-textiles and agricultural product processing.

The Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in South Africa will do their best to act as a bridge connecting the business communities of the two countries for their common interest and the benefit of enterprises, especially in the context that the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2023, Loi said.

Bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and South Africa topped 1 billion USD in the first nine months and is expected to reach 1.3 billion USD this year.

K53 team of Kon Tum begins dry-season search for Vietnamese soldiers' remains in Laos

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum held a ceremony on November 5 to send off the province's team in charge of searching for and repatriating remains of volunteer martyrs and experts who died in Laos and Cambodia during wartime (Team K53) on its mission in the 2022-2023 dry season.

The team K53 will conduct the search in Attapeu, Sekong and Champasak provinces of Laos and Rattanakiri province of Cambodia during the dry season of 2022-2023.

The official asked Team K53 members to contribute to enhancing the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the three countries Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in general, and between Kon Tum province and other provinces in particular.

Since the 1994-1995 dry season to now, the K53 team of Kon Tum has found and repatriated 2,050 sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts from Cambodia and Laos. The remains were re-buried in the war martyrs' cemetery of Ngoc Hoi district.

Hanoi builds headquarters of Vientiane justice, procuracy sectors as gift

Construction of new headquarters of the Department of Justice and the People's Procuracy of the Lao capital city Vientiane began on November 5. The work is the gift of the Hanoi Party Committee, authorities and people to the Lao capital city. 

Covering a total area of 2.5ha, the project comprises two three-storied buildings and one one-storied hall, along with auxiliary facilities and technical infrastructure system. It will be built within 12 months at a total cost of 3 million USD.

Singapore ,Vietnam reaffirm defence relations

Vietnam and Singapore reaffirmed their warm and friendly defence relations as well as their commitment to enhance bilateral defence cooperation at the 13th Singapore-Vietnam Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD) held in Singapore on November 4. 

At the dialogue, the two sides shared the view that the bilateral defence cooperation in the past year has achieved important results, with the same frequency and level as before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. In particular, during the State visit of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Singapore last February, the defence ministers of the two countries signed an agreement on bilateral defence cooperation which created the framework for strengthening collaboration in areas that each side has strengths.

The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation in human resources, collaboration and exchanges between the navies, air forces and coast guards of the two countries. They pledged to study the expansion of cooperation to fields that suit their needs such as cybersecurity, maritime security, digital transformation, and response to emerging diseases as well as actively support each other within the military-defence framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  

Within the framework of the dialogue, the two sides signed a cooperation plan for 2023-2025 which is built on the renewed Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in February this year.

During his stay in Singapore, Chien also called on Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How, visited the Information Fusion Centre at Changi Naval Base and had a working session with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (UK) in Asia (IISS-Asia).

Sympathy offered to Philippines over damage caused by storm Nalgae

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 4 sent a message of sympathy to his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos over the huge losses in human lives and property in many localities of the Philippines caused by storm Nalgae.

The same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son also offered his sympathy to his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo.

Nalgae is the 16th tropical cyclone to lash the Philippines this year. At least 150 people died, and several dozens of others remain unaccounted for as the severe tropical storm triggered flash floods and landslides in many parts of the country.

WB ready to help Vietnam with sustainable economic development

Vietnam should come up with solutions to bring benefits for short, mid and long-terms, helping the economy to develop stronger towards becoming a high-income country by 2045, said Global Director of the World Bank (WB) Group's Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice Marcello de Moura Stevão Filho.

In a meeting in Hanoi on November 4 with Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council and President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Nguyen Xuan Thang, Filho said short-term solutions to stabilise the economy at the moment could undermine long-term goals.

According to the official, there are many ways to develop a sustainable economy in a long term and Vietnam has taken proper actions so far.

He said the WB is ready to work with the country to build Vietnam Report 2045, adding that it will strive to seek necessary resources to conduct the study in the coming time.

Thang said Vietnam advocates addressing immediate issues like culture, economy, politics, security and external affairs in order to create a premise for dealing with long-term matters.

Ensuring security, welfare and health of people is always the goal in every step and policy of Vietnam, he said, adding that it requires huge resources to deal with both social and economic development issues.

Digital transformation emerges as highlight at NA Q&A session

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam outlined a number of points about digital transformation, five strategic planning criteria for creating a national database, support for mainstream media, and the management of cross-border social network platforms at a Q&A session during the 15th National Assembly’s fourth session in Hanoi on November 4.

He cited foreign studies as saying that the five criteria should be taken into consideration when it comes to devising a national database.

Those include government and public focus on the dynamics of administrative reform, specifically reforms of online public services; renovating management and production methods across all sectors; the security of the country and organisations to protect citizens’ privacy rights; and State supervision over the behaviour of individuals and organisations.

According to Dam, digital transformation is a new opportunity for leaders to solve arising issues.

Digital transformation will improve the quality of experiencing national cultural and heritage values via online tours, he said. He asked deputies, leaders of localities and sectors to discuss difficulties in digital transformation in their localities.

In order to increase the volume of mainstream news, he said ministries, relevant agencies and businesses need to deliver news promptly before the emergence of fake or malicious reporting.

The Deputy PM highlighted the need to raise public awareness of the risks on social networks via early warnings and creating conditions for domestic apps and platforms to develop.

In the afternoon, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung made clear several issues raised by deputies.

He said the ministry has taken measures to tighten the protection of personal data, which he said, should be considered a personal asset.

In order to develop a healthy and safe cyber space, it is necessary to perfect mechanisms and build a digital culture, he said, adding that as 2023 is year of digital data, public awareness of digital transformation should improve.

Vietnam attends 10th meeting of Council of ASEAN Chief Justices

A Vietnamese delegation led by Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh attended the 10th Meeting of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 4.

In her opening speech, Chief Justice of Malaysia Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat expressed delight that Malaysia is the first country to host the in-person meeting after two years of teleconferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first year the CACJ has launched the ASEAN initiative with the participation of Chief Justices of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

She affirmed that over the past decade since its establishment, CACJ has taken long strides and made important achievements. She hoped the CACJ will increase the sharing of information about judicial affairs in the near future.

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporter on the sidelines of the event, Binh said the meeting focused its discussions on future cooperation that benefits citizens, including application of technology in court activities, sending documents in civil disputes and child-related disputes which are issues of public concern.

Asked about Vietnam’s contributions to CACJ, Binh affirmed that Vietnam has always actively and proactively joined its discussions and offered constructive initiatives.

Among CACJ’s 10 meetings, two were hosted by Vietnam, including one offline and one online.

Vietnam’s proposal to recognise CACJ as a political entity won consensus and was added to the ASEAN Charter. The country’s efforts to fight COVID-19 during its peak were also welcomed by CACJ, he said.

Vietnamese cultural heritage week to promote national solidarity

The “Great Solidarity of Ethnic Groups- Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Week 2022" will take place at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi from November 18-23, featuring a wide range of activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee will jointly host the event, which aims to promote the national solidarity spirit; and honour, preserve and promote values of cultural heritage of the 54 ethnic groups in the country, contributing to building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.

The highlight of the event will be the opening ceremony, a festival introducing customs of northern ethnic minorities, and a meeting gathering artisans and people that made great contributions to conserving and promoting culture of ethnic minorities in the north. 

A workshop to discuss orientations and measures to preserve and uphold traditional costumes of ethnic groups, and to promote tourism development will be arranged.  

Other activities include programmes to enact traditional markets in northern mountainous areas, festivals and customs of Ede people in Dak Lak province and Cham people in An Giang province, an exhibition introducing traditional customs of northern ethnic minority groups, and a culture exchange festival of ethnic groups in the southwest, Central Highlands, and northwest regions.

Green Heritage week to be held in Hanoi on Nov 21-25

The Green Heritage Cultural and Tourism Week will take place at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts in Hanoi from November 21-25 as one of the activities celebrating Vietnam’s Culture Heritage Day, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Themed “Meeting of humans and nature”, the event aims to promote and honour natural heritage sites of Vietnam, especially those recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the ministry said.

It creates a chance for Vietnamese people, especially the youth, to show their responsibility, patriotism and pride for natural heritage sites, thereby, raising public awareness of the need to preserve biodiversity and prevent the impacts of climate change.

The event also offers an opportunity for localities to exchange their experiences in preserving and upholding the values of natural heritage.

A range of cultural activities will be held during the week, including a photo exhibition entitled “Vietnam’s Natural Heritage”. It will introduce the natural beauty, biodiversity value, cultural beauty, scenic spots and daily activities of people living in  World Natural Heritage Areas and the National Park Biosphere Reserve.

An exhibition themed "Cultural heritage, tourism and traditional craft villages of Vietnam" will be also organised, showcasing products of 10 outstanding craft villages including Bat Trang and Chu Dau pottery, Quat Dong embroidery, Dong Ho folk paintings,  Van Phuc silk, and Hoi An lanterns.

A cultural exchange programme for students will be arranged at the event.

Vietnam and RoK hold copyright forum 2022

Hanoi is set to host a Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) copyright forum on November 9 by the Copyright Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Copyright Commission (KCC). 
      
As many as 50 delegates from various competent agencies from both Vietnam and the RoK, including Vietnam Television (VTV) and the Vietnam Centre for Protecting Music Copyright (VCPMC), will attend the function.

Delegates will spend time discussing copyright policies and legislation of the two nations, specifically with regard to television and music products. They will also use the platform to share information and experience in copyright management.

Vietnam and the RoK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on copyright protection cooperation in September, 2013. Under the MoU, the two sides agreed to increase the exchange of information and documents relating to law and technology copyright, while simultaneously striving to build a system which protects online copyright, digital communications, and taking measures to counter copyright violations on the Internet.The organisation of this forum is part of activities to be held under the MoU.

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