VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 7
16:14
Festival to introduce
African cinema industry to Vietnamese cinemagoers A road in the Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary is cleaned and grass cut to minimise forest fire risks The
Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) will be held
for the first time in Vietnam, from March 11 - 14 in Hanoi, with an aim to
introduce the African cinema industry to Vietnamese cinemagoers. The festival will introduce four special
feature films from Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Rwanda, which will
provide moviegoers with an insight into the natural landscapes and people of
Africa. The four films, which were selected
from the best entries of the recent edition of FESPACO, have received several
awards at prestigious film festivals from around the world. The films will be screened for free
with Vietnamese and French subtitles, at the National Documentary and
Scientific Film Studio, No. 465 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ba Dinh district,
Hanoi. Launched in 1969, FESPACO has been
established as the largest film festival in Africa. It is held biennially in
Ouagadougou - the capital of Burkina Faso. PM orders gradual
normalisation of COVID-19 pandemic Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March
5 requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic at a
teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19
Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities. PM Chinh ordered readiness without neglect
and subjectivity as the pandemic may continue developing in a complicated and
unpredictable manner with the Omicron variant. He stressed the importance of
continuing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, focus on curbing the
risks, limiting the number of severe cases and fatalities, promoting rapid
recovery and sustainable development, ensuring social welfare and maintaining
national defense and security. As the spirit of pandemic prevention
and control is without precedent, so it does not need perfectionism, cannot
be in a hurry, but need closely follow the situation to continue to learn
from experience and make appropriate adjustments, he stressed. Vietnamese people travelling
to Hungary from Ukraine receive support Given that more and more Vietnamese
people are being evacuated from war zones in Ukraine, the Vietnamese Embassy
in Hungary has considered citizen protection a key task and required all of
its staff to get ready around the clock. The embassy sent a note to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Border Guard of Hungary requesting
coordination and creation of favourable conditions to support Vietnamese
citizens to seek refuge in Hungary. In addition, it has closely followed
Hungary’s regulations on entry and stay for refugees from Ukraine, and
continuously updated information through the channels of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese community in Hungary. The embassy has coordinated with the
Association of Vietnamese People in Hungary to set up a working board and
issued a notice calling on the Vietnamese community in Hungary to promote
solidarity, which has been warmly received by the expatriates. As of March 4 evening, the embassy and
the Vietnamese community in Hungary had provided assistance for 125
Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine. Vietnam’s U23 team to face
Iraq, Croatia at 2022 Dubai Cup Vietnam’s U23 team is to play Iraq and
Croatia at the 2022 Dubai Cup, which is a friendly tournament scheduled to
take place later this March in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ten football teams from Asia and
Europe will compete at the event, including Uzbekistan, China, Saudi Arabia,
Japan and host the UAE. Each team will play three matches throughout the
tourney, which will be held on March 23-29. Vietnam will play Iraq in the first
round on March 23 and Croatia in the second round three days later. The third one is slated for March 29. The upcoming tourney is to help
Vietnam get ready for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), to be
hosted by the country this May, and the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup. Border areas set for economic
development The Government has set out five key
tasks to help boost socio-economic development in land border areas. Recently issued Resolution No.
23/NQ-CP on economic development in land border areas covers mechanisms and
policies, mobilising and using resources and promoting infrastructure
development to boost development. Other tasks are enhancing production,
effective national defence and security missions as well as ensuring social
security and improving social welfare and sustainable poverty reduction in
land border areas. Vietnam has more than 5,000 kilometres
of land border, with many operational border gates. However, many border
areas remain poor compared to other parts of the nation. Accordingly, advancing socio-economic
development and social security in these areas is of significant importance
to narrow the development gap and strengthen the effectiveness of trade and
investment ties with neighbouring countries. HCM City strengthens COVID-19
prevention and control The Ho Chi Minh City People’s
Committee has urged relevant authorities to strengthen COVID-19 epidemic
prevention and control amid the domination of Omicron variant. Rising cases of COVID-19 infections
have prompted the municipal People’s Committee on March 4 to issue an urgent
document on measures to combat the pandemic. Relevant authorities across districts
and Thu Duc city are required to strictly implement Resolution 128 on safe,
flexible adaptation and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it is forecasted that more
infection chains will be recorded in HCM City, business establishments and
schools should take immediate actions to curb the spread of COVID-19 among
their communities. Vaccination progress against COVID-19
has to be accelerated while necessary resources need to be prepared for vaccination
for children aged 5 to 11 years old in the near future. Distressed fishing ship
safely towed to land The Naval Region 4 High Command and a
fisheries surveillance unit on March 6 handed over 12 fishermen and their
vessel to authorities of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa. The BTh 97497 TS encountered an
accident about 6 nautical miles northwest of Sinh Ton Dong island of Khanh
Hoa’s Truong Sa island district. The captain had to send out a distress
call at sea since the ship suffered an engine breakdown. Truong Sa 20 vessel of Brigade 955 of
Naval Region 4 towed the fishing ship to Sinh Ton Dong island and helped fix
the problem. The distressed fishermen received medical checkup and treatment. On March 3, per request of the
captain, relevant agencies began to tow the ship to land as it needs further
repair. Most of Vietnamese in three
big Ukrainian cities already evacuated: ambassador Most of the Vietnamese people wishing
to move out of three big cities of Ukraine, namely Kyiv, Kharkov, and Odessa,
have been evacuated in the face of the complicated situation there, according
to Vietnamese Ambassador to the country Nguyen Hong Thach. These three cities also house the
majority of Vietnamese in Ukraine. Vietnam’s representative agencies in
Ukraine and neighbouring countries said as of 5pm on March 6, they had
received more than 2,600 Vietnamese people evacuated from war zones in
Ukraine, including over 1,700 to Poland, 290 to Hungary, about 600 to
Romania, and over 40 to Slovakia. The agencies have assisted them to
handle entry and transit procedures, and coordinated with authorities and
Vietnamese associations in the host countries to prepare transport,
accommodation, and essential supplies for the evacuees. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is
working closely with relevant ministries, sectors, agencies, and airlines to
arrange two flights repatriating the Vietnamese and their families from
Romania on March 7 and Poland on March 9. President requests highest
priority for protecting OVs in Ukraine President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors to give
the highest priority to protecting Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine, e in the
context of the escalating conflict there. During a meeting on March 6 with their
representatives, the leader stressed that the spirit of humanity and
responsibility are very urgent now. The guiding spirit of the Party, State
and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat is to protect Vietnamese people
in war zones, he stated, stressing that the Party and State always pay great
attention to the work. For those who stay, they must be
evacuated from war zones to safe places, he said. Another flight arranged to
bring Vietnamese from Ukraine home National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines
will operate a third flight from Romania to Hanoi to bring back Vietnamese
who fled from conflicts in Ukraine, per request of the Consular Department of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on increasing such flights, Deputy
Director of the Civil Aviation of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Son said on March
6. The flight is to depart from Hanoi’s
Noi Bai airport on March 10 to Bucharest, and return a day later. The CAAV said the repatriation plan
now is that the citizens in Ukraine will go by road to neighbouring
countries, with those in Kyiv moving to Poland, in Kharkiv to Russia, and in
Odessa to Moldova or Romania, and then flights will be arranged to bring them
from these countries back home. As it is unable to operate flights to
Ukraine, which is currently a war zone, airlines have planned flights to
destinations in nearby countries such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia,
Russia, and Belarus. Apart from these destinations,
Vietnamese carriers are also ready to fly to any other places under the
Government’s plan in the principle of ensuring safety and the best possible
conditions for Vietnamese people and their families in Ukraine to return to
the homeland, according to the CAAV. Over 2,000 people join
"Ao dai" parade in HCM City More than 2,000 people of different
ages took part in an "ao dai" (Vietnamese long traditional dress)
parade on March 6, as part of the eight Ho Chi Minh City "Ao dai"
Festival. The event, themed "I Love
Vietnamese ao dai", was jointly organised by HCM City's Department of
Tourism, Women’s Union and other agencies. It marks the 1982nd anniversary of
the Trung sisters’ Uprising, and 112th International Women’s Day and welcomes
the 13th National Women’s Congress. Spectators enjoyed a special "ao
dai" parade with bicycles or on the double-decker bus. These images are
familiar to visitors when coming to HCM city, contributing to promoting a
lively and modern city that is still attached to national cultural values. The "ao dai" festival, which
runs from March 5 to April 15, aims to introduce the beauty and convenience
of "ao dai", making it familiar costumes of people in contribution
to preserving the nation’s cultural identity and promoting the image of the
country and Vietnamese people. Hanoi economy on recovery
path The industrial production and trade of
Hanoi has been on a recovery trend from the beginning of the year, driven by
the capital city’s policies of reopening business activities after months of
closing down to fight the pandemic. The capital city’s index of industrial
production was estimated to increase by 4.6 percent in the first two months
of this year. Specifically, the manufacturing and
processing industry rose by 4.8 percent, power production and distribution by
1.8 percent, and water supply and waste treatment by 4.3 percent. Industries that saw significant
increases included paper production by 49.7 percent, wood processing and wood
products by 20.7 percent, electronic products and computers by 11.9 percent,
rubber and plastic products by 11.1 percent. The capital city witnessed a rise of
30.9 percent in export to reach a value of more than 2.6 billion USD in
January – February, of which the domestic sector’s export value was estimated
at 1.4 billion USD, up by 33.9 percent while the foreign direct investment
(FDI) sector saw an increase of 27.7 percent in export value. The total retail sale of goods and
services was estimated at 109 trillion VND (4.77 billion USD) in the first
two months of this year, representing a rise of 9.9 percent against the same
period last year. PM attends inauguration
ceremony of irrigation system in Kien Giang Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on
March 5 attended the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the Cai
Lon-Cai Be irrigation project in Chau Thanh district, the Mekong Delta
province of Kien Giang. Regarded as the biggest of its kind in
Vietnam, the irrigation system is intended to control salinity in the five
provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Hau Giang and Kien Giang, helping
to save billions of VND for the State budget. It will also serve as an
agricultural highlight in the western region. The construction of the first phase
began in November 2019 with total investment capital of over 3.3 trillion VND
(144.48 million USD). Once fully operational, the system is
expected to facilitate stable and sustainable production on an area of
384,120 hectares, including nearly 347 hectares of agriculture and fishery. This is one of the major projects
rolled out in line with the Government’s Resolution No. 120, PM Chinh
stressed, adding that the system and western sea dykes will help to control
natural disasters, rising sea level and flooding. Cold spell to hit northern
Vietnam, light rain, humidity expected A cold front is making its way through
China to northern Vietnam, bringing rain and humidity in the coming days,
said national weather forecasters. The cold blast is set to hit northern
border localities early Monday (March 7) and move further inland during the
day. The cold and high pressure will send
temperatures to plunge to 11-13 degrees Celsius in the mountain areas and to
15-17 degrees in the plain. On March 7-8, northern localities are
likely to experience hailstorms, lightning, and strong winds. The
meteorological agency warned of the risk of flash floods and landslides in
mountainous areas. Vietnam among countries with
highest gender equality index globally The World's Leading Market Research
Association (WIN) recently published its annual survey, showing that Vietnam
is among the countries with the highest index for gender equality in the
world. In Vietnam, up to 84% of respondents
in big cities think the country has achieved gender equality at work and 93%
think that there is equality between women and men at home. These are the
highest figures recorded in 39 countries participating in this survey. About 63% of respondents in Vietnam
say there is gender equality in politics. The survey was conducted by the end of
2021 in 39 countries, using face-to-face, telephones or online interviews. In Vietnam, the survey was conducted
by Indochina Research with 601 respondents in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da
Nang and Can Tho. RoK’s Idol Radio broadcasts
Vietnamese children’s song Ngo Ngoc Hung, alias Hanbin - a
Vietnamese member of Kpop boyband Tempest, sang Vietnamese song “A duck” on
the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) entertainment show Idol Radio. After making its debut on March 2,
Tempest has held a series of activities to popularize its name in the RoK’s
entertainment industry. During the March 3 live broadcast on
Idol Radio, Hanbin chose to sing “A duck” – a Vietnamese song composed for
kindergarteners. The Vietnamese boy confidently
imitated some of the duck’s funny, cute moves and “quack” sound, winning
thunderous applause from the audience. Government approves
development plan for Mekong Delta Deputy Prime Minister Lê Văn Thành has
signed a decision giving the green light to a master plan for the Mekong
Delta, which consists of Cần Thơ City and 12 provinces, in the 2021-30
period, with a vision to 2050. It aims to promote the strength of the
local agricultural economy towards sustainability and technology application;
maintain the proportion of added value at a high level of about 20-25 per
cent by 2030; and make effective use of free trade agreements for market
expansion. It sets a target of the regional economy
growth at an average rate of about 6.5 per cent annually, with its regional
gross domestic product in 2030 being 2-2.5 times larger than in 2021. Also by
2030, the Delta will build and upgrade some 830km of expressways; about
4,000km of national highways; four airports; and 13 seaports. Regarding tourism, the Mekong Delta
hopes to become an international brand for agro-rural, eco and marine
tourism, with Cần Thơ and Phú Quốc earmarked to become two international
tourist hubs and a gateway to welcome visitors to the entire region. Transport Ministry to stop
manual toll collection on expys from June 1 The Ministry of Transport has urged
the relevant departments and agencies to stick identification cards on all
vehicles to use the non-stop electronic toll collection (ETC) service and
eliminate manual toll collection from June 1. The ministry asked the Directorate for
Road of Vietnam to review and place the ID cards on all vehicles managed by
the directorate and call on civil servants to first attach the cards onto
their private vehicles to ensure the manual toll collection model ends from
June 1. The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam
was also told to pilot the ETC service on the Hanoi-Haiphong expressway and
urge provinces and cities to quickly stick the cards on all vehicles,
according to the ministry’s directive. The ministry also gave the same task
to the Vietnam Register, including reviewing and placing the cards on all
vehicles managed by the agency and encouraging its employees to stick the
cards on their cars. Besides, ETC service providers were
asked to ramp up the ID card attachment sites and offer the service at the
headquarters of State-owned agencies and residential areas to speed up the
process of eliminating manual toll collection. Smuggling Covid-19 test kits,
medicine rampant in market The functional agencies of many localities
over the last two months have discovers several cases of trading Covid-19
test kits and drugs without any valid labels or invoices. These merchandise
pieces were imported to Vietnam from different countries with an increasing
quantity day after day. The shipment of over 85,000 Covid-19
quick test kits illegally imported from the Republic of Korea to Vietnam on
February 17. Market Management Team No.2 (under the
Quang Ninh Province Department of Market Management) has just cooperated with
Traffic Police Team No.3 (under the Quang Ninh Province Department of Public
Security) to inspect a 7-seat minivan with the license plate of 88A-400.08 on
National Highway No.18A. They have discovered 1,500 Covid-19
quick test kits imported from China with no valid documents. The van driver,
Phung Gia Long from Kim Long Commune of Vinh Phuc Province, admitted that
these kits were ordered online from an unknown source located in Mong Cai
City (Quang Ninh Province). All the goods, worth VND94 million (US$4,100),
have no legal invoice or documents. The Thai Nguyen Province Department of
Market Management reported that since the beginning of March, it has detected
and fined 6 cases of Covid-19-related product smuggling, including 87
medicine packs and 2,000 test kits worth VND130 million ($5,700) in total. A similar situation could be found in
Hanoi. Recently, Market Management Team No.17 (under the Hanoi Market
Management Department) has collaborated with the Economic Police Division
(under the Hanoi Public Security Department) to check a business premise at
the address of 115 Trung Phung Street in Dong Da District. Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Division in
Lang Son Province has also detected an unclaimed shipment on their patrol.
The shipment includes 1,600 Covid-19 test kits from China. Reports from the General Department of
Vietnam Customs reveal that smuggling medicines to Vietnam has become worse
since the beginning of this year. The most noticeable ones are two cases of
illegal transport of Covid-19 medicine (14,650 pills of ‘Arbidol’ and
‘Areplivir’) to Vietnam from Russia. They were discovered by the Customs
Division of Cam Ranh – Khanh Hoa International Airport. The Anti-smuggling and Investigation
Department (under the General Department of Vietnam Customs) has just worked
with the Hanoi Customs Department to capture a shipment of over 85,000
Covid-19 quick test kits from the Republic of Korea, worth VND8 billion
($346,000) illegally transported to Vietnam via Noi Bai International
Airport. Due to the surge of Covid-19 patients
in Vietnam lately, the demands for test kits and medicine have risen
remarkably, leading to various smuggling cases of Covid-19-related medical
products for profit. These merchandise pieces have no clear origin and
quality warranty. Ministry proposes more open
regulations for patients in purchase of Molnupiravir Because patients have experienced
great difficulty in accessing the purchase of Covid-19 oral pill Molnupiravir
even though this drug has been produced domestically and circulated on the market,
the Ministry of Health has recently proposed more open regulations to help
Covid-19 patients soon get the pill. In its report to the Prime Minister,
the Ministry said that Molnupiravir is a new drug, it is necessary to
continue to monitor the quality, effectiveness, and safety of the drug during
circulation. Currently, the drug has been licensed for conditional
circulation by the Ministry of Health for three years and must be strictly
controlled after licensing. People can only use Molnupiravir with a
prescription from a doctor. Arbitrary use carries many risks due to unwanted
effects of the drug as well as the creation of new strains of viruses. To ensure easy access for patients to
antiretroviral drugs to treat Covid-19 in the context of a high number of
cases, the Ministry of Health proposed several contents on the dispensing of
Molnupiravir. Specifically, for the distribution of free treatment drugs,
localities and medical facilities can be assigned to purchase drugs to treat
Covid-19, including Molnupiravir, which has been licensed for circulation in
Vietnam according to regulations to promptly satisfy infirmaries’ needs. One more North-South twin
train halts operation The Hanoi Railway Corporation has just
informed that one more North-South twin train was halted the operation as the
Covid-19 pandemic has outbroken in many localities along with a decline in
travel demand. Particularly, the SE11 train will be
temporarily ceased its operation at Hanoi train station from March 6 and the
SE12 train shall be halted in Saigon train station from March 8. Passengers will enjoy free of charge
when they refund the tickets in accordance with the regulations. Besides, the
free-of-charge refund policy will be also applied to passengers who bought
roundtrip tickets. Therefore, from March 8, there will be
only three North-South twin trains daily connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City, including SE3/SE4, SE5/SE6 and SE7/SE8. Cao Bang Border Gate Economic
Zone master plan approved Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has
signed a decision approving the master plan for Cao Bang Border Gate Economic
Zone towards 2040. The economic zone located in the
northern province of Cao Bang has a total area of over 30,130 hectares. By 2030, the population in the area is
projected to stand at about 73,000-78,000, including 35,000-37,000 urban
residents. The economic zone is divided into four
regions. Each region has one key economic border gate which directly connects
with China's border gate system. Mekong Delta takes multiple
measures to prevent forest fires Authorities in the Mekong Delta are
strengthening measures to prevent forest fires as the region enters its peak
dry season and forests become highly vulnerable to fires. With a total area of nearly
40,000sq.km, the delta, which comprises 12 provinces and Can Tho city, has
about 347,500ha of different types of forests, including mangrove forests,
cajuput forests, national parks, nature reserves and bird sanctuaries. Many forest areas in the delta are
said to be at high risk of forest fires because of the weather and illegal
human activities including lighting fires inside forests. Source: VNA/VOV/SGGP/VNS/SGT/VGP |
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