While flooding is not uncommon in HCMC, 61% of the city’s area is forecast to be inundated at all times by 2050.

In bad weather conditions, HCMC’s inundated areas will possibly rise to 71%.

The above information was given by Nguyen Thi Thanh My, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Natural Resource and Environment, on October 28 in a report on a proactive response to climate change, enhancement of resources management and environmental protection.

There are numerous reasons for flooding in HCMC. Rising sea levels, high density of canal systems and higher rainfalls are the objective causes for flooding in HCMC.

Flooding in HCMC is also attributed to subjective reasons such as rapid urbanization and increasing concreted areas reducing the natural water drainage.

According to My, currently, 48% of the wards are often inundated, and the number facing flooding will increase to 55% by 2050.

The municipal authority is looking to reduce flooding triggered by rain as a key mission for the coming years.

In the period of 2016–2020, the city planned to handle flooding for 36 main streets and 179 alleys but only 55% of the plan had been realized by the end of 2020.

The city has developed a massive flood tide control system but the project is now falling behind schedule. The lack of finance is one of the main reasons for such a delay.

Government leader calls for greater efforts to achieve all targets set for this year

Prime Minister Nguyen Minh Chinh has asked cabinet members to gather their wisdom and experience in order properly assess the situation to devise appropriate objectives, tasks and solutions aiming at successfully achieving the set goals by the year-end.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 29 chaired a regular monthly cabinet meeting to assess the socio-economic situation in October and 10 months of 2022.

In his speech, the cabinet leader reviewed that the situation in the past 10 months which was different, with many fluctuations compared to the time of working out the 2022 plan that had not been fully anticipated.

The meeting is designed to draw experience, set goals and management viewpoints from now until the end of 2022 to ensure the set targets are fulfilled according to the leadership spirit of the Central Committee and the Politburo on the country's socio- economic situation, Chinh stated.

According to a report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in October and 10 months of 2022, the socio-economic situation showed positive signs in most fields with many bright spots, with stable macro-economy, controlled inflation, and the 10-month average consumer price index expanding by 2.89%.

Major balances were ensured, with 9 months' State budget revenue reached103.7% of the estimate, up 16.2%; Import-export turnover reached hit US$616 billion, up 14.1%; trade surplus stood at US$9.4 billion, while October alone recorded a trade surplus of US$ 2.27 billion.

Ensured food security basically provided enough electricity and petrol and labor supply basically met demand, with the number of employees working in industrial enterprises soaring by 0.8% month-on-month and by 10.2% over the same period.

The monetary market actively adapted to the faster and stronger fluctuations of the international market. The exchange rate was managed appropriately, thus ensuring the domestic foreign currency demand.

Industrial production continued to recover, with agriculture, forestry and fishery being stable and growing, while trade and services saw rapid recovery in all aspects.

Total retail sales of goods and services kept the trend of the following month higher than the previous month, with a total of 10 months reaching nearly VND 4.65 million billion, up 20.2% over the same period last year, up 13.9 % over the same period in 2019.

International visitors in 10 months reached nearly 2.4 million arrivals, up 18.8 times on-year.

Disbursed FDI capital during the past 10 months reached US$17.45 billion up 15.2%, contributing to reducing pressure on the international balance of payments in the short term and increasing new production capacity.

Notably, many unexpected issues were resolved in a timely and effective manner, while prudent and sure monetary policy management helped to ensure proactiveness, flexibility, synchronous and close coordination in harmony with the reasonable fiscal policy

All resources were mobilized to balance enough capital for important projects and works.

Greater attention were given to dealing with regular issues, especially on social security, culture, society, sports, foreign affairs, defence and security, thereby achieving many outstanding results.

Many international organizations continued to make positive assessments of Vietnam's socio-economic situation and give optimistic forecast of growth rates in 2022 and 2023, in which GDP growth forecasts in 2022 are mostly between 7 and 7. 5-8.2%, the highest group in Southeast Asia.

In which, IMF, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Singapore Bank UOB forecast respective increases of 7%, 7.5%, 7.6% and 8.2%.

Crown Prince of Denmark to visit Viet Nam next week

Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from October 31-November 3 at the invitation of Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan.

The Crown Prince of Denmark is accompanied by a delegation of 36 major Danish companies, including those operating in shipping, wind turbine manufacturing and wind electricity.

The visit, as part of activities in celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of Viet Nam-Denmark diplomatic ties,  aims to foster collaboration between the two sides in wind electricity and energy efficiency.

During the visit, the Danish Crown Prince and Crown Princess will have meetings with Vietnamese State and Government leaders and enterprises and attend conferences on green transition and visit power projects.

The close bilateral relationship is illustrated by a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement from 2013. Further, in 2017 Denmark and Viet Nam signed a Danish Energy Partnership Program that supports Viet Nam's ambitions to live up to the Paris Agreement.

At present, there are over 130 Danish companies represented in Viet Nam. One of the most recent successful deals is LEGO Group's US$1 billion investment in a carbon-neutral production plant in the southern province of Binh Duong, which was announced last December.

Steering Commitee on overseas citizen protection set up

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on October 28 held a ceremony to announce a decision on the establishment its Steering Committee for the protection of Vietnamese citizens abroad.

The establishment of the Steering Committee is of great significance as the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad is taking place amid increasingly complicated and unpredictable developments such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Vietnamese citizens tricked into working abroad, illegally residence, forced labour, and the handling of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels by other countries.

Under the decision, signed by Minister Bui Thanh Son, the Steering Committee is under the direction of MOFA leaders, with the participation of relevant units of the ministry and representative agencies when any citizen protection case emerges.

It is responsible for studying guidelines and policies regarding citizen protection and offering advice to the Government and the MOFA when there are situations that affect the rights and interests of the State, citizens and legal entities of Vietnam abroad. The Consular Department is the standing body of the Steering Committee.

Legislators look into socio-economic issues, special policies for HCM City

The 15th National Assembly (NA) spent the eighth working day of its fourth session on October 28 discussing socio-economic issues and special pilot policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City.

Legislators scrutinised the implementation outcomes of the 2022 socio-economic development plan; the draft socio-economic development plan for 2023; the state budget situation in 2022, and the state budget, public investment, and central budget allocation plans for 2023; and the implementation of the NA’s Resolution 54/2017/QH14 on piloting special mechanisms and policies for the development of HCM City.

Minister - Chairman of the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Hau A Lenh; Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha; Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc; and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam gave further information to clarify some issues mentioned by legislators.

The plenary sitting was broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the NA Television channel.

On October 31, parliamentarians are set to look into the implementation of policies and laws on thrift practice and wastefulness prevention during 2016 - 2021. The plenary discussion will also be broadcast live on radio and television channels.

One more arrested over repatriation flight bribery scandal

The investigation agency under the Ministry of Public Security on October 28 issued decisions to prosecute, arrest and search the residence and workplace of one more person for involvement in a bribery case at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Department.

Tran Hong Ha, born in 1972, director of Sao Viet International Commercial and Human Resources Supplying Company, was prosecuted for “giving bribes” under Article 364 of the Penal Code.

The investigation agency continues investigating into the bribery case.

Several senior officials have been arrested and prosecuted in the case, including a deputy foreign minister, the head and deputy head of the Consular Department under the Foreign Ministry, and an assistant to the Standing Deputy Prime Minister.

First Vietnamese university accredited with ABET petroleum training programme

The PetroVietnam University (PVU) based in Ba Ria city, the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, has become the first in Vietnam to have petroleum training programmes that meet quality standards set by the US-based Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

ABET is a reputable non-governmental organisation that accredits post-secondary education programmes in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Students enrolling in ABET-accredited programmes will have the opportunity to seek reputed jobs in the international market.

In 2021, the PVU invited ABET to assess three training programmes – geological engineering, petroleum engineering, and chemical engineering, which all satisfied the quality standard accreditation period of six years.

The accreditation is applied to courses when students graduated from October 1, 2019.

Facebooker sentenced to two years in jail for abusing freedom, democracy rights

A Facebook account owner in Hanoi was sentenced on October 27 to two years in prison for posting false information that affected businesses and harmed the stock market.

Dang Nhu Quynh, 42, was found guilty of “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to violate interests of the State, rights and legitimate interests of organisations and individuals” under Article 331 of the Penal Code, by the People’s Court of Nam Tu Liem district.  

According to the indictment, since 2019, Quynh has used his personal Facebook account to post his own writings or share unverified information online. By April 2022, the account had over 300,000 followers.

On April 2, after learning that several business leaders in the finance and real estate sectors were arrested, Quynh posted that Do Anh Dung, chairman of property developer Tan Hoang Minh, has been dealt with by the law.

After authorities issued official announcements on the issue on April 5, Quynh edited his posts to make readers believe that he already knew that information.

He also posted information that Nguyen Van Tuan - Chairman of the Board of Directors cum General Director of Gelex Group JSC, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Viglacera Corporation, has also been under investigation. On April 6, Quynh made two posts about the chairman, along with his pictures, claiming he will be arrested.

The posts went viral, and for the six subsequent days, the companies’ stocks were sold in large numbers, making their value plunge, causing panic among investors. Quynh was arrested on April 13.

Kien Giang receives more Vietnamese returning from Cambodia

Border guards in the Mekong Delta province on October 28 received 67 Vietnamese citizens returning from Cambodia at the Ha Tien International Border Gate.

They were previously scammed into going to Cambodia for jobs with high salary and then forced to work in fraudulent establishments and organisations owned by foreigners.

Sixty-five of the group was found without legal entry, residence, and work permits by the Cambodian competent agency during an inspection of a company in Preah Sihanouk city in the province of the same name. They were then assisted by the Vietnamese General Consulate in the province and local authorities before their repatriation.

So far this year, the force at the border gate has received more than 700 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Cambodia.

Vietnamese universities named in World University Rankings by Subject 2023

Vietnamese universities were featured in seven out of total 11 subjects listed in the World University Rankings (WUR) by Subject 2023 by the Times Higher Education (THE).

Ton Duc Thang University in the computer science subject and Duy Tan University in the clinic and health subject ranked in the 176 and 200 band, the highest ranking ever achieved by Vietnamese universities.

Most notably, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) had six subjects listed among the WUR by Subject 2023, including Business and Economics, Life Sciences, Computer Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

This year witnessed the presence of Hue University for the first time to rank among the 1001+ band in the subject of physical sciences.

Two universities, including Duy Tan University and Ton Duc Thang University, were seen in the same 301 to 400 band in business and economics, as well as social sciences subjects, respectively.

The Hanoi University of Science and Technology was named among the 801 to 1000 band in physical sciences subject and in the 601 to 800 band in the computer science subject.

The engineering subject witnessed the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City place in the 1001+ band.

Hanoi warns of risk of rabies outbreak

Rabies cases have been detected and are on the rise in Hanoi, posing a high risk of further outbreaks in the coming time, according to warnings made by the municipal Department of Health.

As of October 23,  Vietnam had recorded a total of 51 rabies cases, 42 cases higher compared to the same period from last year. Of the figure, the number of human rabies cases across 11 northern cities and provinces stood at 15,  accounting for 29.4% of the country’ total figure.

According to details given by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Hanoi, the capital city has so far recorded two fatal rabies cases, including a 50-year-old man who slaughtered two dogs in Me Linh district and a person who was bitten by a dog in Phu Xuyen district. Notably, both of the individuals had not received a rabies vaccine.

Important role of International Court of Justice in handling disputes highlighted

Vietnam joined with other countries at a plenary session of the 77th UN General Assembly on October 27 to share their view on the important role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in handling international disputes peacefully.

Vietnam and several other countries, including Vanuatu, proposed the initiative of asking for the court’s consultancy regarding nations’ obligations when faced by the climate change issue.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN, stressed that climate change poses a serious challenge to the international community and threatens the lives of people in coastal countries and small island nations.

Many response measures have already been taken, including making commitments to net zero carbon emissions, yet climate change has still been developing in a complicated manner, he said.

The Vietnamese diplomat therefore called for stronger actions in this regard, outlining that the responsibility and obligations of countries should be identified in accordance with relevant international conventions, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Vinh Phuc police detain wanted Chinese national

Police operating in the northern province of Vinh Phuc have arrested a Chinese national put on a wanted list by the anti-smuggling department of Guangzhou city in Guangdong province of China.

Police stated that the 47-year-old man, Chen Jian Fu, was wanted by Chinese police for the charge of smuggling endangered animals.

The Chinese citizen subsequently fled his home country and illegally entered Vietnam through the China-Vietnam border near the Huu Nghi International Border Gate in Lang Son province with the support of accomplices.

Following this, police forces on October 23 discovered Chen Jian Fu and four other people travelled from Bac Ninh province to Vinh Phuc province to purchase Sua wood, or dalbergia tonkinensis, which has been listed as an endangered species in Vietnam.

Vietnamese police then arrested the five and launched an investigation into the case.

Science Journal Writing Ambassador Contest launched

The Goethe-Institute, in collaboration with the 2030 Youth Force Vietnam (2030YFV), have launched the Science Journal Writing Ambassador Contest for the first time as part of the ongoing Science Film Festival 2022.

The Science Journal Writing Ambassador is an online writing contest which is running on Facebook for individuals aged over 17. Participants have the chance to write a scientific journal in which they are free to share their views on the topic of any of their favourite science films featured in the list of the Science Film Festival 2022.

The entries will then be posted on to the fan page of 2030 Youth Force Vietnam. Contestants are able to send their entries following environmental topics such as biodiversity, green energy, and waste management.

Entries must be sent in a PDF format, including a Vietnamese journal with 500 to 1000 words each, as well as an English summary with a maximum of 100 words each.

Participants can watch science films at https://vimeo.com/showcase/9833660 and access them with the password “#sffvn22”. All entries can be submitted at https://bit.ly/3fUmvqO. The contest will last through to November 20 with the winner receiving a cash prize of VND5 million.

Top Vietnamese tennis player suffers elimination from M25 Jakarta

The nation’s leading tennis player Ly Hoang Nam lost on October 27 in the first round of the ongoing M25 Jakarta Tournament 2022 in Indonesia.

Seeded No.1, Nam was considered the leading contender for the championship title of the men's singles event.

The Vietnamese player, world No. 242, faced off against Arthur Weber of France, world No.913.

In the first set of the tournament Weber enjoyed a good start and recorded a 6-1 victory. The second set continued to see the French player dominate as he beat Nam 6-4.

The match concluded with a result of 2-0 for Weber.

Elsewhere, local players Pham Minh Tuan and Vu Ha Minh Duc were also forced to bow out of the tournament. In contrast, Trinh Linh Giang became the only Vietnamese player to qualify for the second round in the men’s singles after defeating Luke Sorensen of Australia 2-0.

Moving forward, Giang will face off against Indian player Rawat Sidharth in the next round.

Quyet and Park champions at Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters 2022

Nguyễn Hữu Quyết (male) and Park Si Eun from Korea (female) became champions of the Nam Á Bank Việt Nam Masters 2022 today after the four days of competition in Hải Phòng’s Marsh Field, Vinpearl Golf.

Quyết, who has devoted to golf for many years, won his first victory at VGA Tour, the professional golf tournament system, while Park Si Eun, after 5 play-offs with Nguyễn Thảo My, was officially the first Women’s Division champion of Vietnam Masters.

The Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters 2022 was held by the Vietnam Sports Administration, Vietnam Golf Association and Vietnam Golf Service Joint Stock Company (VGS), with VNĐ 1.2 billion given out as prizes, including VNĐ1 billion for men and VNĐ200 million for women.

The tournament is expected to return in 2023. 

DanzINC Contemporary Dance Festival 2022 to come to Vietnam for first time

The DanzINC Contemporary Dance Festival 2022, one of the biggest dance festivals in Asia, will be held in Vietnam for the first time on November 3 and 4.

The show in Vietnam will feature famous dancers, such as the winners and runner-ups of the reality TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” in Vietnam.

The DanzINC Festival, held twice a year, was initiated by the ODT, and has now been considered the cultural ambassador of Singapore in many countries in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the U.S.

Tickets range from VND500,0000 to VND1,100,000.

Dong Thap plans bridge project over Tien River

The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has proposed developing the Sa Dec bridge project, which will span the Tien River and cost over VND8 trillion.

The provincial government put forward this proposal at a meeting on October 26 with representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and neighboring Can Tho City.

The cable-stayed bridge will link Sa Dec City with Cao Lanh District in Dong Thap, with its main portion being 2.5 kilometers long. Roads leading to the four-lane bridge will be 11 kilometers long.

If the project is approved, it would be carried out from 2026 to 2031.

Mekong Delta has 621 erosion points due to sand overexploitation

The Mekong Delta has lost about 500 hectares of land annually, notably severe damage of more than VND200 billion (US$8 million) from land erosions in the provinces and cities of An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, Vinh Long and Ca Mau from 2018 to 2020. 

The sand overexploitation causes river bed degradation. Particularly, the depth of the Tien and Hau river beds degraded by 1.5 meters, five to ten meters in the period of 1998-2008 and the period of 2009-2016, respectively leading to 66 percent of coastal erosion of the Mekong Delta with 621 eroded points stretching 610 kilometers. 

According to Ha Huy Anh, national manager of the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Project in the Mekong Delta, the survey results from the dry season of 2022 show that most of the mud has covered the Hau River from the Mekong mainstream system while the sand pouring to Tien River has been pure one thanks to its location along the mainstream of Mekong system.

Vietnam has more gold medals at World Xiangqi Championship 2022

Vietnam’s Xiangqi team won additional gold medals in the standard chess category this morning (local time) under the World Xiangqi Championship 2022 in Malaysia.

As for male players, on the final competition day of the Xiangqi standard single category, player Nguyen Thanh Bao ranked third to win a bronze medal while player Lai Ly Huynh ranked fourth.

Vietnamese team with players Lai Ly Huynh and Nguyen Thanh Bao ranked top five with the highest point to secure a gold medal under Xiangqi standard team category.

Regarding the group for female players, players Nguyen Hoang Yen and Le Thi Kim Loan ranked fourth and fifth, respectively in the final round of the Xiangqi standard singles category.

Concerning the competition category for young players under 12-14 years old, the country had a total of seven medals in standard chess, comprising three gold medals, two silver and two bronze ones.

Free documentary filmmaking workshop to be held in Hanoi, HCMC

A free documentary filmmaking workshop with the participation of S. Leo Chiang, a Taiwanese-American filmmaker based in San Francisco and Taipei, will be held in Hanoi and HCMC in November.

The workshop will take place at THINK - Training Space, 116 Nguyen Van Thu Street in District 1’s Da Kao Ward in HCMC, on November 2-3; and at TPD center, 18A Ngo Tat To Street in Hanoi’s Dong Da District, on November 7-8.

People can register to participate in the event at bit.ly/WSphimtailieu.

Vietnamese students with Korean calligraphy: Cultures connected

More than 100 Vietnamese students have joined a contest featuring Seoye, the Korean tradition of artistic writing, at Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi, which hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam’s first national university.

Titled “President Ho Chi Minh’s quote on Korean calligraphy,” the contest presents the artistic writing of 15 famous quotes selected and translated into Hangul, the modern official writing system for the Korean language.

This cultural event aims to enhance ties between Vietnam and South Korea, widely spreading Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts to the Korean people and the young generation of Vietnam.

The winning artworks will be displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum from October 28 to November 30.

Vietnam making utmost efforts to tackle IUU fishing: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh affirmed Vietnam’s all-out efforts to fight and eradicate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing while meeting with an inspection delegation of the European Commission (EC) in Hanoi on October 28.

Thanh underlined that Vietnam has been making all-out efforts to handle the EC’s recommendations in the best possible manner to develop a sustainable, responsible, and well-controlled seafood fishing industry. He also reaffirmed the strong commitment and joint efforts by authorities, fishermen, and businesses to prevent, end, and eradicate IUU fishing.

However, the Deputy PM noted, Vietnam’s fishing grounds in the East Sea are affected by many factors while its resources remain modest, so the IUU fishing combat needs great efforts, a roadmap, and time to sustainably put an end to the IUU fishing.

Given this, he called on the EC and EU member states to keep close cooperation with and timely technical assistance for Vietnam, with specific features of the country’s fisheries industry taken into account, to implement the recommendations. He asked the EC to recognise Vietnam’s efforts against IUU fishing and the positive results obtained, and to lift the “yellow card” warning for the country.

Roberto Cesari, head of the anti-IUU fishing unit of the EC’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said fighting IUU fishing is an increasing priority in the EU’s agenda, and that the bloc views this as a top priority in its and each of its members’ cooperation with partner countries.

The delegation highly values Vietnam’s efforts to engage the entire political system in drastic and methodological measures to combat IUU fishing, he said, noting that through random examination of coastal localities, the delegation has seen considerable progress and improvements in anti-IUU fishing actions, including boosting information transparency and improving capacity for fisheries management personnel in 28 coastal localities.

It perceived that Vietnam has taken drastic actions at the central level as seen in the issuance of many legal regulations, mechanisms, and policies for IUU fishing prevention, but the enforcement at the grassroots level is still weak.

In the time ahead, the country should have effective management mechanisms with strict legal regulations, ensure consistent and uniform enforcement from the central to local levels, stringently deal with all violations, devise an all-round plan for managing fishery resources and strictly controlling the import of fishery materials for export processing, and eradicate fishermen’s infringement of foreign waters, Cesari said.

The delegation is set to make another examination and assessment trip to Vietnam in the next six months, the official added.

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