The housing area per capita in Vietnam currently stands at 25.5 sq.m, 0.5 sq.m higher than that in 2021, according to the Ministry of Construction.

However, the real estate market still has latent factors causing instability, while the structure is not suitable with the market demand, with a serious shortage of social and cheap commercial housing.

The ministry noted that over the past time, there has been a situation where real estate exchanges have colluded to cause ‘virtual fever’ in prices, thus disturbing the market.

Therefore, right from the beginning of 2022, the ministry issued an action programme to implement the Government Resolution No.11 on a socio-economic development and recovery programme, and established an interdisciplinary working group to actively work with localities to promote the effective implementation of policies to support social housing, housing for workers and renovation and rebuilding of old apartment buildings.

In the first three quarters of this year, localities started work on 17 projects with 31,230 apartments.

Miss Vietnam 2022 to honour natural beauty of Vietnamese women

Miss Vietnam 2022 will continue to highlight a range of criteria for selecting candidates who possess natural beauty and have not undergone plastic surgery, said Le Xuan Son, head of the beauty pageant’s organising board.

Son, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that runs the contest, made the statement at a press conference on November 4 to unveil the final round of Miss Vietnam 2022 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Son emphasised that Miss Vietnam is one of the oldest beauty pageants in the country that honours the natural beauty of Vietnamese women, through a number of other beauty contests in the country accept candidates undergoing plastic surgery.

According to Son, through the preliminary rounds, Miss Vietnam 2022 has selected a total of 58 potential candidates to progress to the national final round.

The newest feature of Miss Vietnam 2022 is that the contest consists of a judging panel made up of well-known figures who have been part of the contest for the past years, including historian Duong Trung Quoc, Miss Vietnam 1992 Ha Kieu Anh, and anthropologist Prof. Dr. Hoang Tu Hung. 

The final round of the pageant will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from November 8 to November 26. The Miss Vietnam 2022 winner will receive prize money of VND350 million, while the first and second runners-up will be awarded VND250 million and VND200 million, respectively.

Wolf Pack Championship 2022 to take place in HCM City next week

Wolf Pack Championship 2022, the biggest pool tournament of its kind, will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 10-11.

The tournament has attracted the registration of 128 pool players to compete according to the global 9-ball rules.

Among the registered players are professional names such as Nguyen Anh Tuan, Nguyen Hoang Phong, Do The Kien, Nguyen Hoang Minh Tai, Nguyen Cong Thanh, Nguyen Khanh Hoang, Bui Truong An, and Luong Chi Dung.

These are the players who took part in the national billiard snooker championship, in which Nguyen Anh Tuan won first place in the 9-ball category.

The total prize pool of the Wolf Pack Championship is up to VND162 million, of which the champion is due to receive VND80 million and a trophy, while the runner-up will get VND30 million and the two third-place players will bag 10 million each. This is the pool tournament with the highest prize money in Ho Chi Minh City.

Wolf Pack Championship 2022 takes place just a few days ahead of the ninth National Sports Games 2022. Billiards has been included in the list of sports, and competitions will be held in Hanoi.

Dong Thap Province to work on preserving 16 traditional craft villages

Đồng Tháp Province is looking at ways to preserve 16 traditional craft villages that face the threat of obsolescence.

They also want to attain recognition for some other craft villages and develop two traditional craft villages for tourism, and ensure 70 per cent of the villages operate well and at least 20 per cent join the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme.

It is a national certification programme that seeks to facilitate the development of regional agricultural specialties and rural tourism. 

The goal for until 2030 is to preserve all 16 villages and train artisans or help them develop their craft as well as learn the basic technologies needed for preserving their products. 

The authorities will also ensure that at least 50 per cent of traditional craft products are protected under intellectual property laws. 

HCM City university hosts annual International Conference on Emerging Challenges

Domestic and foreign academics, professionals, and business managers shared knowledge and experiences adapting and building business strategies post-COVID-19 and in the face of ongoing uncertainties in the Asia-Pacific region at an international conference that opened in HCM City on November 4.

The 10th International Conference on Emerging Challenges with the theme ‘Strategic adaptation in the world of uncertainties’ attracted nearly 180 research papers from researchers and scholars from universities and research institutes from Việt Nam and many countries such as the UK, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The two-day conference features 20 parallel discussion sessions related to economics, management, supply chain and operations management, finance and banking, innovation and technology, accounting and auditing, and information systems.

The instability of the world and the business environment requires corporations to adjust their business strategies to be able to adapt and survive in the long term, such as sustainable development tasks, attracting the participation of businesses with the community and stakeholders, ensuring sustainable consumption and production models, building risk-resilient infrastructure, and promoting green growth, technological innovation, digital transformation, and supply chain diversification, according to Thành.

These significant changes have led to the emergence of several academic as well as practical problems in strategic management, risk management, finance, accounting, auditing, and technology.

The conference would provide a forum for researchers to publish research results and for universities, and research institutions to transmit up-to-date knowledge, he added.

Indian community to celebrate Diwali festival at Hanoi Marriot

INCHAM Hanoi along with the Indian community will organise Diwali Night 2022 in Hà Nội at JW Marriot Hotel on Saturday, November 12.

The Indian Business Chamber in Hà Nội hope to bring a glimpse of the colourful and joyful spirit of one of the biggest festivals from India. Many symbolic activities of Indian culture, Indian and international cuisine, musical performances, Indian dance performances, henna artists and face painting will be featured at the event.

There will be performances by famous fusion band Indian Ocean Band and DJ Shakey for Bollywood numbers along with other activities such as a magic show.

The event will welcome the presence of the India Ambassador to Việt Nam, the US Ambassador to Việt Nam, the UK Ambassador to Việt Nam, leaders of fellow chambers and representatives of Vietnamese authorities.

Diwali or Deepavali (Festival of Lights) is one of the biggest festivals of India. It is celebrated as the victory of Good over Evil, Light over Darkness, and Knowledge over Ignorance. Mythical tales shared on Diwali vary widely depending on the region and even with Hindu tradition, yet all share a common focus on righteousness and the importance of knowledge which is the path to overcome the darkness of ignorance. One tradition links the festival to the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’ which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana.

The event will take place between 18:30 to 22:30 on Saturday, November 12 at JW Marriot Hotel, No 8 Đỗ Đức Dục, Mễ Trì, Từ Liêm. It is open for all age groups and welcomes all nationalities who would like to join to celebrate this festival. 

French contest's award winning articles raise hope

Some of the best writers in the country have been honoured on Friday for their work at the Young Francophones Reporters – Việt Nam 2022 Awards.

The annual contest is organised by the French language weekly newspaper Le Courrier du Vietnam (CVN) which falls under the Vietnam News Agency umbrella.

First prize was awarded to Hồ Ngọc Vĩnh Nguyên for his article Le Village de l'espoir (The Village of Hope).

He wrote about a community in Đà Nẵng City where disadvantaged children live. Many are deaf, mute, autistic or orphans but they never give up on hope.

The reason why Nguyên chose to write this topic is that he believes many young people nowadays are trapped with too much pessimism and negativity.

The second prize went to co-authors Trương Thị Hà Ninh and Nguyễn Trường Giang for The French Language Facing Challenges. They are from Hà Nội Foreign Trade University.

From Cần Thơ Province, Phạm Triệu Ngọc Tiên and Phạm Thị Thanh Trúc won third prize for their article A Medicine Student's Love With La Francophonie.

Other prizes including Talent award, People’s Choice award, Impressive Contestant, Dynamic Contestant, Romania Embassy and Moroccan Embassy Award and Encouragement Award are given to the winners.

The contest was themed La Francophonie de l’avenir : les jeunes font entendre leurs voix (The Francophonie of the future: young people make their voices) aims to promote young French learners to discuss their interests, dreams and the future of Francophone.

Stage set for high quality action at Asian tournaments U17, U20 teams

Việt Nam has a good chance to secure slots in both 2024 AFC tournaments for U17 and U20 women's teams after draws conducted on November 3 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

After the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 1 draw, 29 teams have been divided into eight groups with the top team to advance to Round 2.

Round 2 will have two groups with the top two teams from each group joining the three highest seeded sides from the 2019 AFC U16 Women’s Championship – defending champions Japan, North Korea and China – and hosts Indonesia in the Finals.

Việt Nam will host Group C which includes Uzbekistan, Palestine and Bahrain.

Group A will see Malaysia, Northern Mariana Islands and host Thailand while all of Indonesia's matches are deemed as friendlies.

Group B will have Australia, Chinese Taipei, hosts Mongolia and Bhutan vying for the top spot.

Bangladesh, hosts Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan are to compete in Group D.

South Korea, Hong Kong, hosts Tajikistan and Iraq will fight for Group E's top spot with Myanmar, India and hosts Kyrgyz Republic in Group F.

Group G consists of the Philippines, Lebanon and hosts Guam while the Islamic Republic of Iran, hosts Jordan and Nepal are in Group H.

The first qualifiers will be played from April 22 to 30, 2023, with the second round scheduled for September 16 to 24. The finals will be contested on April 7-20, 2024.

More than 100 endangered animals return to nature at southern national park

A total of 112 wild animals of 20 endangered species have been released into the forest at Bù Gia Mập National Park in the southern province of Bình Phước.

The wild animals had been rescued by Củ Chi District’s Wildlife Rescue Centre in HCM City from captivity, and then given to the Bù Gia Mập National Park’s Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Creatures.

They are given proper nutrition and treatment for diseases, and rehabilitated before being released back into the wild.

Most of them are endangered species listed in Group IB in Việt Nam's Red Book, such as rái cá vút bé (Anoyx cinereus), kỳ đà vân (Veranus bengalensis), and rắn hổ mang chúa (Ophiophagus Hannah).

The exploitation or commercial use of these species is strictly banned in the country.

The Bù Gia Mập National Park is known as the “green lung of the southeastern region”. The park covers more than over 25,600 hectares, including 25,505 ha of natural forest.

It is home to 832 species of wild animals, 724 species of plants and 278 species of herbs.

Of the wild animals, there are 106 mammal species, 248 bird species, 59 reptile species, 28 amphibian species, 342 insect species, and 49 fish species.

Men detained for illegal mineral mining in Thai Nguyen

A group of 20 men have been arrested for illegal mining in the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, the men were caught red-handed at a hill in Pho Yen District’s Minh Duc Commune in late October.

The hill is situated at a construction site for a road at the meeting point of Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang and Vinh Phuc. 

The local police found four excavators and 14 trucks used to transport the soil.

The gang usually took the soil at night with carefully-prepared plans.

The local police are co-operating with concerned agencies to investigate the case.

Vietnam celebrates first International Day for Biosphere Reserves

The General Assembly of UNESCO chose November 3 as the International Day of Biosphere Reserves to promote nature conservation and sustainable development globally.

November 3 marks the first celebration of the International Day for Biosphere Reserves. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), with Haiphong People's Committee and the National Committee for Man and the Biosphere, held a meeting to respond to the International Day of Biodiversity at Cat Ba Archipelago National Park.

With the second-highest number of Biosphere Reserves (BR) in Southeast Asia, Vietnam strives to foster a well-balanced relationship between humans and nature. Over the last decades, biosphere reserves have provided restorative and community-centred opportunities for ecosystem conservation and sustainable economics.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working on BR management that fortifies the commitment to environmental resilience against increasing climate-induced threats and the promotion of indigenous and local livelihoods.

Vietnam is striving to have 15 of the world's BRs recognised by UNESCO by 2030 and improve management efficiency. MoNRE supports the implementation of nature conservation, biodiversity, and the management of Tay Nghe An BR, Cu Lao Cham, and Dong Nai BR within the framework of the project Mainstreaming Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Conservation Objectives into Socioeconomic Development Planning and Management of Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam, funded by the UNDP in Vietnam.

The total area of the 11 world BRs in Vietnam is just over 4.8 million hectares (accounting for about 14.7 per cent of the country's natural area). Vietnam's BRs play an important role in conserving nature and contributing to the achievement of the national sustainable development goals.

Hanoi exhibition honours traditional values

A unique installation exhibition, themed “Tradition”, will be held in Hanoi from November 11-13, as part of activities in response to the 2022 Hanoi Festival of Creative Design.

The exhibition is inspired by village roads, rice fields and bamboo trees, which are special "materials" familiar to Vietnamese people. They will be formed into a complete and gated architecture display.

Especially, there will be a space with a QR code image on the roof of the exhibition, highlighting the connection with technology features, an important theme of the 2022 Hanoi Festival of Creative Design.

The exhibition’s spaces are arranged in specific areas, creating spaces for activities of displaying artworks, fashion shows and creative works from traditional materials.

Thirty-two outstanding young people win 17th Luong Dinh Cua Award

The 17th Luong Dinh Cua Award was presented to 32 outstanding young people, at a ceremony held in Da Lat on November 4.

The annual award, held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, aims to honour young people with outstanding achievements and initiatives, in manufacturing, trade, applying modern science technologies, protecting the environment and promoting new-style rural areas.

On this occasion, the Organising Committee of the Rural Youth Startup Project Contest 2022, also presented prizes to nine excellent projects, including one first prize, two second prizes, three third prizes and three consolation prizes.

After 17 years, the Luong Dinh Cua Award has honoured 2,050 young people, who are typical examples of rural youth, with the will to get rich and contribute to the community.

Photo exhibition highlights importance of ethnics and religions

A photo exhibition highlighting the great contributions of ethnic minorities and religions to the cause of national construction and safeguarding, officially opened in the Mekong River Delta province of Soc Trang on November 5.

The exhibition is part of activities within the framework of the Cultural, Sports and Tourism Festival for southern Khmer ethnic minority groups.

On display are more than 600 photos that were divided into four stages themed: ethnic minority groups upholding solidarity, creativity, integration and sustainable development; documents about religions and beliefs in Vietnam; the fight against making corrupt use of issues, related to ethnics and religions and the images of the religions and ethnic minorities in Soc Trang.

Tien Giang and Japan’s NEDO cooperate to promote high-tech shrimp farming

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang Province signed a letter of intent with the Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) on November 3 to carry out a project on implementing an energy-saving shrimp farming system using biomass in Tien Giang Province.

The signing aims to facilitate the dissemination of energy-related technologies, thus contributing to solving energy problems in Tien Giang Province as well as in Vietnam in general.

Tien Giang Province introduced Tuan Hien Aquaculture Company, based in Tan Phu Dong District, as a partner of Japan’s Yuko-Keiso Company in implementing the project.

NEDO Executive Director Takashi Wada said that the project will use sewage sludge from the process of shrimp farming as well as other agricultural wastes to generate biogas and create solid oxide fuel cells, contributing to reducing the amount of carbon released into the environment.

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang Province Nguyen Van Man said that the department has worked with YuKo-Keiso Company since 2019 to introduce technologies using waste from shrimp ponds and agricultural by-products to generate electricity for the management of shrimp ponds.

Sleeper buses likely to be banned from HCMC’s inner-city areas

The HCMC Department of Transport has proposed barring sleeper buses from entering the inner-city areas to help shut down unlicensed coach stations and reduce traffic congestion, said a city transport official.

The Transport Department has already asked other departments and relevant agencies for their feedback on the proposal and plans to submit it to the HCMC People’s Committee for consideration and approval this month, Phan Cong Bang, deputy director of the Transport Department, told a press briefing yesterday, November 3.

The ban is expected to take effect in December this year, Bang said.

Under the proposal, sleeper buses would not be allowed to enter inner-city areas between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.

The ban would later be extended to vehicles with more than 30 or 16 seats, excluding those used to transport industrial park workers, students and tourists.

Nearly VND2.94 trillion of loans for hunger eradication, poverty reduction

After six years of receiving the fund, the total loan turnover from the Poverty Alleviation Loan Program at the Ho Chi Minh City Bank for Social Policies reached approximately VND2.94 trillion, with 98,650 turns of poor households, near-poor households, and households that have just escaped the near-poor household standard in the area being granted loans.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam – HCMC Branch, said that the poverty reduction loan program had been implemented by HCMC's poverty reduction committees at all levels since 1994. By 2015, the Fund for Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction was handed over to the HCMC Bank for Social Policies for management and implementation, with the total outstanding balance at the time of handover reaching VND213 billion.

After six years of receiving the fund, the total loan turnover from the Poverty Alleviation Loan Program at the Ho Chi Minh City Bank for Social Policies reached approximately VND2.94 trillion, with 98,650 turns of poor households, near-poor households, and households that have just escaped the near-poor household standard in the area being granted loans.

Currently, the program's outstanding loans reached roughly VND1.34 trillion, 6.3 times higher than that in 2015 and accounting for 17.8 percent of the total outstanding loans of the HCMC Bank for Social Policies. The loan overdue is low, accounting for about 0.5 percent of the total outstanding loans of the program, showing that the lending program is quite effective.

Aquafina Vietnam Int’l Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022 to return to Hanoi

The 2022 Aquafina Vietnam International Fashion Week Fall/Winter (AVIFW 2022) will return to Hanoi on November 24-27 after a three-year halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The four-day fashion show themed “Taste of Heritage” will present 18 Vietnamese well-known designers’ latest collections to buyers and the fashion media, such as Hoang Hai, Adrian Anh Tuan, Hoang Minh Ha, Duc Hung, Vu Viet Ha, Helene Hoai and others. The event influences trends for the current and upcoming seasons.

“Taste of Heritage” aims to inspire fashion designers to promote and preserve the beauty of Vietnamese cultural heritages with their creative products.

The AVIFW is one of the largest events of its kind in the country and Southeast Asian region, ranking 4th place after International Fashion Week in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai.

Monkey Day 2022 celebrated in Ha Giang

The forest protection sub-department in the northernmost mountainous province of Ha Giang in collaboration with the US’s Denver Animal Foundation celebrated the 2022 Monkey Day in the local Vi Xyen district on November 5, with a focus on promoting the conservation of the rare snub-nosed monkey.

The rare primate is among those most threatened with extinction in the world due to illegal hunting and deforestation-induced habitat loss. So far, the population of the langurs at the Khau Ca species and habitat conservation area in Ha Giang has grown to about 160 individuals from some 60 in 2022.

The celebration event treated tourists, and locals, particularly pupils, in the district's Tung Ba commune to a series of activities like a painting contest, a lucky draw, folk games, an environmental-themed fashion show, and musical performances.

The sub-department and the US foundation have for years joined hands to protect snub-nosed monkeys and forest in the Khau Ca area.

Vietnam targets ample vaccine supply for domestic use till 2030

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam recently signed a decision approving a programme to ensure vaccine supplies for vaccination till 2030.

The programme aims to meet demand for vaccines against communicable diseases in three areas. These include the expanded immunisation programme, vaccines used for service immunisation and for epidemic disease prevention and control.

By 2025, Vietnam will master technology to produce 10 types of vaccines, produce at least three vaccines, including 5-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, Haemophilus Influenzae (Hib) and either polio or hepatitis B.

By the 2030, the country is expected to master production technology for 15 vaccine types and able to produce five types that are comparable to international-standard ones.

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