VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES APRIL 15 16:55                                  Vietnam begins to issue vaccine passports on April 15 The Health Ministry begins to issue vaccine passports on April 15 in line with schedule. Vietnam’s vaccine passport follows standards issued by WHO and the EU which are being applied by 62 nations.   The passport will be available on PC Covid-19 or Digital Health (So suc khoe dien tu) apps.  If people don’t have the apps, they can get their passports by accessing the health ministry's portal and filling in necessary information. They will then receive the passports by email. The passport template was revealed by the Health Ministry in December last year, which has 11 fields of information: name, date of birth, nationality, targeted disease, doses of vaccines received, date of vaccination, lot number of the vaccine batch, type of vaccine, vaccine product received, the vaccine manufacturer, and a code for the certification. The information is encoded into a QR code, which will expire after 12 months. Following their expiry, people will be notified and a new QR code will be created instead. So far Vietnam has reached mutual recognition of vaccine passport with 19 countries, namely Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey, Singapore, Saint Lucia, the Republic of Korea, Iran and Malaysia. Long An proposes rebuilding 173 aging bridges The transport authority of Long An Province has proposed rebuilding 173 deteriorating small bridges across the Mekong Delta province, with a total investment of over VND3.2 trillion. The plan is aimed at meeting the rising demand for transporting goods and commuting among businesses and local residents, as well as contributing to the local socio-economic growth, reported 1thegioi news site. Hanoi and Ha Giang to host Cultural Tourism Week 2022  Viet Bac (Northeast) region’s Cultural Tourism Week 2022 will run in Hanoi from April 15 to 17. Hanoi and Ha Giang will host the 13th edition of the event this year, with the aim to promote domestic tourism activities. The three-day event, as part of the program entitled "Crossing the heritage lands of the Viet Bac region”, is held annually with the participation of six northern provinces of Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Cao Bang and Lang Son and Hanoi. It is expected to introduce the cultural space of the six provinces to visitors through many special activities, including exhibitions on the northern region’s cultural heritages, typical products, and unique landscapes. Participating in the program, Hanoi will host a number of exhibitions displaying pictures and models of the capital city's history and culture. The opening ceremony of Viet Bac Culture and Tourism Week 2022 will take place at 8pm on April 16 at the Hoan Kiem Lake. Hanoi to open another pedestrian street Hanoi authorities have planned another pedestrian street around Ngoc Khanh Lake in Ba Dinh District. According to the Ba Dinh District People’s Committee, the pedestrian street covers roughly 12 hectares, including 36,000 square metres of Ngoc Khanh Lake and 3,800 square metres of a flower garden on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street. The pedestrian street includes Pham Huy Thong Street and eight branches linking Ngoc Khanh Lake with Kim Ma, Nguyen Chi Thanh and La Thanh streets. Initially, the street will be open between 9 am and 10 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Local authorities would then consider opening the street for the whole week. Ba Dinh District has planned to spend VND9 billion (USD383,212) on upgrading the area running through Nguyen Chi Thanh Street with the focus on the flower garden. The construction of a water fountain would also be considered. The pedestrian street is expected to be put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2023.  Quang Ninh strengthens security, traffic order control for SEA Games 31 Authorities of the northern province of Quang Ninh have taken a wide range of measures to ensure security, order and traffic safety in a bid to successfully host sport events of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in May. The local police will mobilise maximum resources and vehicles to patrol, control and strictly handle violations of traffic order and safety; and effectively use monitoring systems in handling violations, especially in the localities where sport events will be organised such as Ha Long, Uong Bi and Cam Pha cities. Quang Ninh police are coordinating with relevant units to inspect accommodation facilities for athletes, and competition venues in the locality. Qualcomm presents 2,400 internet-connected laptops to rural schools Qualcomm Incorporated has presented 2,400 laptops with 4G/LTE connections to schools in far-flung areas across Vietnam in response to the Government’s 'Internet Connection and Computers for Students' programme. The information was released at an event held by Qualcomm and the Dariu Foundation in Hanoi on April 14 to review their collaboration on the Vietnam Forward program, which aims to advance digital literacy and competencies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among youth. Vietnam Forward is a programme that provides students with access to Always On, Always Connected computers powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon® compute platforms and equipped with mobile LTE capabilities to ensure a continuous connection to the Internet with 4G/LTE. Approximately 100,000 primary-level and secondary-level students at 80 rural schools have been equipped with the technical building blocks to develop workplace skills needed for economic self-sufficiency. Students are learning to code in class and with a code club membership, they take devices home to work on collaborative computer programming-based assignments. HCM City to increase funding for embattled grassroots medical centres Ho Chi Minh City has decided to earmark around 138.5 billion VND (6.06 million USD) a year until 2025 to pay stipends to trainee doctors, nurses and others working at grassroots medical stations as an incentive to attract personnel.  Around 300 newly graduated doctors will each get paid 60 million VND over 18 months. 100 new nurses and midwives will get 30 million VND over nine months. The programme began in February to help new medical personnel get hands-on experience. It will also hire retired medical staff on 12-months contracts on salaries of up to 9 million VND a month. Besides, all 310 ward- and commune-level medical stations will be provided with funds to hire janitors and security guards to help improve their service. HCM City to vaccinate children aged 5-12 against COVID-19 from April 16 Ho Chi Minh City will begin vaccinations against COVID-19 for 6th graders in all 23 districts and Thu Duc city and 5th graders in four primary schools on April 16. The information was unveiled by Ho Tan Minh, Chief of the Office of the municipal Department of Education and Training at a press conference on the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control, and economic recovery on April 14. After drawing lessons and experience from the first round of inoculation, the city will vaccinate children aged 5-12 as scheduled, Minh said, adding that parents must approve the vaccination for their children by a written document and be present throughout the process of injection. Vietnamese, Chinese FMs hold telephone talks Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had telephone talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 14. Both sides shared delight at the sound progress in the relations between the two Parties and countries, and concurred to continue increasing high-level exchanges and meeting, promoting practical cooperation across all fields, strengthening coordination in facilitating bilateral trade and removing barriers in border trade, and soon recognising each other’s vaccine passport to make travelling and exchange activities easier. They had an open and straightforward discussion on the sea issues and agreed to work hard together to control and deal with disputes in the spirit of respecting each other’s legitimate rights and interest, strictly implementing agreements on the basic principles guiding the settlement of Vietnam-China sea-related issues and international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, and together with ASEAN reaching positive progress for the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). The two FMs also exchanged viewpoints on regional and international matters of shared concern, including the Ukraine issue. FM Son underlined Vietnam’s consistent policy of supporting the settlement of disputes and differences by peaceful measures in line with the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, ensuring security and safety for civilians, and protecting basic civil infrastructure system. Vietnam supports and is willing to make positive contributions to humanitarian relief activities, diplomatic processes, dialogues and negotiations as well as the reconstruction and recovery process in Ukraine, Son stated. RoK firm grants scholarships to Vietnamese students Five Vietnamese are among 89 students from 34 countries in the Republic of Korea (RoK) receiving scholarships from the Woojung Education and Culture Foundation (WECF) of Booyoung Group in the first semester in 2022. The total funding for the 89 excellent students is valued at some 350 million KRW (318,000 USD). Since its establishment in 2010, the WECF has so far granted scholarships worth some 8.3 billion KRW for 2,115 foreign students from 41 nations. There have been 306 Vietnamese students among the scholarship recipients. In Vietnam, the Booyoung Group has donated 10,000 digital pianos and 205,744 blackboards and supported the construction of the Phan Chu Trinh junior high school in the central Quang Nam province and the Ha Dong primary school in Hanoi. Traffic accidents drop over 19 percent in Q1 A total 2,762 traffic accidents were reported in the first quarter of 2022 (from December 15, 2021 to March 14, 2022), down 662 (19.33 percent) from the same period last year, heard a virtual conference on traffic safety in Q1 held on April 14. The accidents killed 1,676 people, down 67 (3.84 percent), and injured 1,742, down 739 (29.8 percent). According to Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung, the majority of the accidents happened on the road (2,731 cases, down 665 cases or 19.34 percent year on year). The fatalities in road accidents came to 1,630, a reduction of 80 deaths or 4.68 percent. There were 18 railway accidents, claiming the lives of 11 and causing injury to 6, down 2 cases, 5 deaths and 1 injured person. On the nation’s waterways, 12 accidents happened, killing 25 and injured 1, down 2 cases but up 15 in fatalities.   Meanwhile, 10 people died and went missing in one maritime accident in the period. In the field of civil aviation, one A-level accident was recorded in flying training and 14 incidents that posed a threat to safety at levels C (1 incident) and D (13 incidents), a reduction of 21.1 percent year on year. Tay Ninh announces establishment of border guard station at Tan Nam international border gate The Border Guard Command of southern Tay Ninh province on April 14 held a ceremony to announce and hand over the decision of the Ministry of National Defence on the establishment of a border guard station at the Tan Nam international border gate based on the reorganisation of the station at Tan Binh border guard. The Tan Nam international border gate, located in Tan Bien district’s Tan Binh commune, is opposite to MeanChey border gate in Cambodia’s Pray Veng province. In 2017, the Prime Minister approved a proposal to upgrade it from an auxiliary border gate into an international one. After nearly five years of preparation, on May 31, 2021, the Tan Nam - MeanChey international border gate pair officially came into operation. Vietnam kicks off training course for UN staff officers The Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations on April 14 held an opening ceremony for its second training course for UN staff officers with the support of the US’s Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). The course is taking place in both online and face-to-face forms from April 12 to 28. It is designed to prepare Vietnamese trainees who are about to join UN peacekeeping missions. Participants also include officers involving in management, advisory work, research, and teaching at units related to peacekeeping missions inside and outside of the Defence Ministry.    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign lecturers are set to join the course virtually. Australia extends support for Vietnam's vocational education, training The Australian Embassy in Vietnam and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) on April 14 launched Australia’s next phase of support for Vietnam’s vocational education and training (VET). Over the past four years, Aus4Skills strengthened the engagement of Vietnam’s logistics industry in VET to help ensure that students graduate with the skills required by logistics employers. Since 2017, more than 5,300 Vietnamese vocational students have benefitted from improved teaching quality in colleges supported by Aus4Skills. Enrolments in logistics courses in these colleges have increased eight-fold. Graduates from these colleges are in higher demand due to their job readiness. This next phase of support, valued up to 13.8 million AUD (10.26 million USD) commenced in 2021 and will see this successful model extended over four years (2021-2025). The programme is designed to help Vietnam upskill its workforce – a crucial ingredient for Vietnam to meet its ambitious 2045 target of being a high-income country. This work will focus on the logistics sector. Logistics is a priority for Vietnam as it is expected to contribute 8-10 percent of GDP by 2025. It is also a sector Australia has considerable experience in. Government agrees to receive COVID-19 vaccines donated from foreign governments The Government has agreed with the Ministry of Health (MoH) on the receipt of COVID-19 vaccines donated by foreign governments and supplied by international organisations for children aged from 5 to under 12 years old. Under Resolution No. 55/NQ-CP signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on April 14, the Government has authorised the MoH to, based on the pandemic situation, vaccination progress and vaccine sources, to decide the quantity of vaccines to be received from donors or to be bought, thus ensuring the progress, safety and efficiency of vaccinations while preventing an abundance or shortage of vaccines in all circumstances. In case the commercial purchase of vaccines for children is necessary, the MoH should proactively decide and bear the responsibility on the volume, time and vaccine types to be bought in accordance with vaccination progress, and report to the Prime Minister, the resolution said. The resolution takes effect from April 14. Ex-officials of Khanh Hoa jailed for land management violations The People's Court of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on April 13 sentenced seven former provincial officials to between 30 and 66 months in prison for violating land management regulations after a six-day trial. They are Nguyen Chien Thang and Le Duc Vinh, former Chairmen of the provincial People’s Committee; Dao Cong Thien, former Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee; Le Mong Diep and Vo Tan Thai, former Directors of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Le Van De, former Director of the Department of Construction; and Tran Van Hung, former head of the land management division at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Former Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Chien Thang got the highest punishment with a sentence of five years and six months in prison. From 2012 to 2015, the defendants, who were then leaders of the provincial People’s Committee and the departments, illegally handed over land, changed land use purposes, and granted land use right certificates in connection with Cuu Long Son Tu ecological and spiritual tourism project and Vinh Trung villa project in the province's Nha Trang city, according to the indictment issued by the provincial People’s Procuracy. Khanh Hoa police started an investigation into the projects on June 8, 2021 and later started legal proceedings and detained the former officials. Trans-Vietnam Book Fair comes to Hue for first time The Trans-Vietnam Book Fair is being held for the first time from April 12-17 in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, in response to the Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day 2022 (April 21). It is organised by Hue city’s Information and Culture Division and six prestigious publishers, namely the Youth Publishing House, Thai Ha Books, Nha Nam, Minh Long, Dinh Ti, and Saigon Books. Within the framework of the event, there will also be seminars on the reading culture, with the participation of representatives of publishers, municipal authorities, students, and local book lovers. The Trans-Vietnamese Book Fair is expected to continue its activities in the city of Da Nang and the southcentral province of Phu Yen from April 20 to 24. Hawksbill turtle released to sea in Binh Dinh A 3kg hawksbill turtle, a rare species listed in the Red Book of Vietnam, was released into the sea in the south central province of Binh Dinh on April 13. A local fisherman found the hawksbill turtle (scientifically named Eretmochelys imbricata) in Thi Nai lagoon and voluntarily handed it over to local authorities on April 12. In 2021, three sea turtles that became trapped in fishing nets in Binh Dinh were voluntarily handed over to relevant authorities to be released back into the sea. Schedule of SEA Games 31 football matches released The organising committee of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) on April 14 announced the schedule of football matches of the Games. Regarding the men’s football, the Vietnamese national team will face Indonesia on May 6. Vietnam will play the Philippines, then Myanmar and Timor Leste on May 8, 13, and 15, respectively. All the matches will take place at Viet Tri Stadium in the northern midland province of Phu Tho. The women’s team will face Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia on May 9, 11, and 14 at Cam Pha Stadium in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh. The award ceremonies for for the women’s and men's football will be held on May 21 and May 22, respectively. Regarding futsal events, Vietnam will play Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar in both men’s and women’s tournaments in Ha Nam province’s Gymnasium. The women will play from May 10-19 while the men from May 11-20. Winning teams will be honoured at award ceremonies held on May 20 for men's and May 19 for women's VNN