Social News 13/11 Hanoi asked to evaluate traffic density around railway station   Hanoi Railway Station The Ministry of Transport has asked Hanoi to survey roads around the Hanoi railway station project to evaluate the population and traffic density, in order to avoid overloading the transport infrastructure nearby. The request was made after the city’s committee submitted their plans for the Hanoi Railway Station to ministries and sectors for opinions. In a document sent to the Hanoi People’s Committee on the planning of the Hanoi railway station, the ministry agreed with the city on the necessity of aligning the project with the city’s other transit infrastructure development. The ministry said that the project has the potential to affect the city’s ancient architecture, landscape and urban structure. Therefore, the city must consult historical and architectural experts to complete the project. Hanoi’s infrastructure has come under strain as the city grows. The problem is particularly acute with regard to transport infrastructure due to the rapid increase in the number of transport vehicles. The city’s current plans for the project state that targeted land for traffic infrastructure was about 25 percent, but did not evaluate whether traffic patterns would change as a result of planned transit development when the rail station pens. In addition, the project plans have not projected the number of guests entering or leaving commercial areas within the planned area and do not make full use of the underground space of the railway station. The ministry said that the city needed to carefully review the project’s ability to meet transportation demand as the population is expected to increase significantly in the future. The Hanoi Railway Station was the centre of the national railway trans-shipment and urban railway network. Thus, traffic density in the area could increase significantly if the project was combined with commercial centres. The ministry also requested the city to clarify the sources of capital for the project.  The State budget would be allocated to invest in the national railway works. Other construction works would be built by local budget and other capital sources. Previously, the municipal People’s Committee has consulted the relevant ministries and branches for the planning of Hanoi Railway Station and surrounding areas. Total land area for the project is about 98 hectares with a total population of 44,000. About 40,300 people would need to be resettled. Total investment capital was estimated to be about 23.8 trillion VND (1.04 billion USD), to be prepared by the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture in consultation with Japan’s Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd (NSC). On September 28, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the municipal People’s Committee to be careful in planning of the project to ensure sustainable development.  The project to upgrade the capital’s old railway station and the surrounding areas into a Japanese-style modern urban depot was approved by the municipal People’s Committee last month. The plan calls for six zones of high-rise buildings of between 40 storeys to 70 storeys for financial and media purposes, a railway station, and three areas of low-rise buildings with a park, international trade zone and a new lifestyle zone. BOT stations to automatically collect toll by 2019 All Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll stations across the country have to install a system for automatic collection of fees by 2019 to ensure transparency. This was stated by Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The at a recent meeting in Hanoi, Giao thong (Transport) online newspaper reported. The said transparency was very important. If people felt information related to BOT projects was clear, they would stop questioning the model and showing disagreement. Thus, transparency would be improved by publicising all information related to BOT projects in the future, including the total fees that a BOT toll station collected each day, he said. The also said the National Assembly Standing Committee had already adopted a resolution that only allowed application of the BOT model on new roads, instead of both old and new roads like before. This meant residents would have two options, and could decide whether or not they wanted to travel on the BOT road, he said. New BOT projects would follow the resolution. Relevant agencies were told to re-check ongoing BOT projects, implement solutions for each project and send reports to the Government, he said. It is estimated that the country currently has 88 BOT toll stations.  Quảng Trị commuters risk lives on unsafe bridges Commuters in central QuảngTrị Province are risking their lives commuting on old, unsafe bridges, which have been weakened by recent floods in the locality. Hải Lăng, a remote district in the province, has 170 concrete bridges across its canals. Forty of them were built in the 1980s and are getting weak due to time-related deterioration and increasing number of commuters. Trương Hòa, a 60-year-old resident in the district’s Hải Trường Commune, said he found more travelers using the nearby bridge despite its risky status. Hòa said months ago, the bridge vibrated whenever a commuter travelled on it, forcing locals to reinforce it through temporary measures. Recently, residents tied steel bars with the bridge poles in an attempt to reduce vibration on the bridge when commuters travelled on it. Locals said many bridges in the district are in very bad condition. A statistic report made by the district’s economy and infrastructure division said 2,800 commuters travelled on the bridges daily. Trần Kim Cương, the division’s deputy head, said all these bridges were built from 1980 to 1985, with concrete, steel and wooden structures. Cương said the division was aware of the status of these small bridges, but was struggling to find a sound capital source for construction of new bridges to replace the existing ones. According to Cương, the district’s authorities have received no reply yet in response to the call for capital for these bridges. Thousands join dance for kindness in Ha Noi A thousand people of different ages joined a dance yesterday at Lý Thái Tổ Square beside Sword Lake in Hà Nội, to celebrate the annual Worldwide Dance for Kindness. In honour of World Kindness Day (November 13), similar events are also being organised in HCM City, Hải Phòng, Nha Trang, Vinh and the southern province of Vĩnh Long. The Dance for Kindness event is organised worldwide to inspire, empower and educate people of all backgrounds to lead a life of kindness. It shows that regardless of differences in race, religion, ethnicity or background - the common thread that unites us all is kindness. The event includes FreezeMobs and FlashMobs. Those participating in the FreezeMob are given a specific kindness position to freeze in and by so doing, giving passersby’s the unique opportunity to notice the kind moments that are in constant motion. In the FlashMob, many people break out in dance. Yesterday, besides the activities for the Dance for Kindness, participants in Hà Nội also collaborated to clean up the environment and created paintings with the theme of kindness. The paintings were sold to raise funds for flood victims in the central region, according to Đỗ Đức Duẩn, head of the organising board. “This year we focused on the theme ‘Be kind to the health of yourself and other people’. Accordingly, we should take physical exercises and protect the environment.” Many celebrities joined the event including Miss Việt Nam 2010 Đặng Ngọc Hân, Miss Global Beauty Queen 2017 Hoàng Thu Thảo and winner of The Voice Kids 2016 Trịnh Nhật Minh. Installation art celebrates APEC Week’s success Children and artists yesterday collaborated on an installation art piece at Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square in Hà Nội’s Old Quarter to celebrate the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week held in Việt Nam. Titled "APEC and the Chamber of Secret No 21", the artwork includes 21 chairs made out of paperboard symbolizing the 21 members economies of APEC. Each chair has been decorated with images of the member’s flag and traditional culture or architecture. The chairs are grouped together around a flame like international leaders gathering at an important conference to discuss international affairs. They are united in the same direction as the flame, as a symbol of the strength and solidarity of APEC, according to Mai Ly, initiator of the installation. “Each chair sits on an area of 1.6m by 1.2m, and has been decorated by children paint to present the wonderful culture of the member economies. For example, the Russian chair is painted with images of Red Square in Moscow.” The artwork is inspired by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting Chair, she said. The installation, organised by Pop Art Green, an art education company, will be displayed in HCM City and Đà Nẵng. Botswana praises Vietnam’s economic achievements Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa and Botswana Vu Van Dung has recently presented credentials to Botswanan President Seretse Khama Ian Khama. Dung affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its traditional relations with African countries, including Botswana. He expressed his hope that bilateral trade ties will grow further and exceed the current modest level of 30 million USD. The ambassador asked Botswana to support Vietnam’s candidacy for the post as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the 2020-2021 tenure. President Ian Khama said he sympathised with and hoped the Vietnamese people would soon surmount severe consequences caused by storm Damrey in central localities. He affirmed to back Vietnam’s bid to run for a non-permanent seat of the UNSC. The President congratulated Vietnam on its strong economic development and poverty reduction achievements, suggesting the two countries share experiences and strengthen collaboration to contribute to each country’s development. During his working visit to Botswana, the Vietnamese diplomat also paid a courtesy visit to Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pelonomi Venson Moitoi. He also held a working session with head of the ministry’s Asia-Pacific Department Diabi Mmualefe on measures to boost bilateral relations, including those to speed up the signing of an agreement on economic, cultural and scientific and technological cooperation. Hoa Binh hydropower plant – symbol of Vietnam-Soviet Union friendship After 20 years of construction, the Hoa Binh Hydropower plant started operating in 1988, producing 80% of Vietnam’s total electricity. The plant was completed thanks to the support of 700 Soviet engineers and experts, some lost their lives in accidents at the construction site. The plant is now a symbol of the friendship between Vietnam and the Soviet Union.   Despite two huge floods in September and October this year, the Hoa Binh Hydropower plant has managed to continue operating its 8 generators and satisfying national demand for electricity at the rate of 10 billion kilowatts per year. The facility also control flooding and supplies water for the northern delta region. At the site, there is a monument dedicated to the 168 workers who lost their lives during the plant’s construction, including 13 Russians. The monument reads “The Fatherland acknowledges your contributions”.  On the 100th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution, Bui Thuc Khiet, the first Director of the plant, paid a visit to the plant where he spent 12 years during its construction.  He said "Many Russian friends came to take part in the construction of the plant. They devoted their wholehearted efforts as if they were working for their Russian Fatherland. Many of them spent more than a decade working at the construction site and several of them also died while on duty. We’re very grateful for their selfless support and sacrifice." Vu Xuan Bang, who used to be an interpreter for the Russians who worked at the plant during its construction, said "I still remember the flood of 1978 when many people were digging tunnels. There was a dyke to protect them but it was weak and about o break. I remember hundreds of Russians holding hands and praying the dyke would not break. Pham The Dung, who lives near the plant, said the Russian engineers lived with their families in a nearby area called “the Russian village”. As they lived in Vietnam for a long time, they were very friendly with the local Vietnamese.  He recalls "The Russian experts together with their wives and children used to go the village market every afternoon. They were very sociable. The local Vietnamese children learned to speak some Russian in order to greet them." The Hoa Binh Hydropower plant was one of the most complicated works in the world at the time it was constructed. Nguyen Van Minh, Director of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Company, told VOV "We often organize contests to encourage our staff to learn about the history and development of the plant. We’re grateful for the valuable support of the government and people of the Soviet Union." A letter preserved in a stone block at the plant will be opened in the year 2100 to remind future generations of the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Russia. Vietnam attends ASEAN Family Day in Czech Republic The Vietnamese Embassy joined its counterparts of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand in the annual ASEAN Family Day held in Prague, the Czech Republic, on November 10. The event was attended by ASEAN ambassadors to the Czech Republic, their families and several families of diplomatic officials of the host nation. According to Vietnamese Ambassador Ho Minh Tuan, who is also Rotary Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Prague (ACP), said the event is of significance to enhancing mutual understanding among ASEAN missions through games, art performances and cuisine festival. The event also helps Czech guests understand more about the ASEAN bloc as well as solidarity among its members, he noted. In the past years, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands have actively participated in ACP’s activities, representing its responsibility for the ASEAN community as well as popularising Vietnamese images to international friends. 3 Vietnamese cities named among the most visited in the world Ho Chi Minh City has been ranked 36th on a list of the 100 leading cities in the world in terms of international tourist arrivals. The list, compiled by global business intelligence firm Euromonitor International, also placed Hanoi in 52nd and the northern city of Ha Long in 56th. Ho Chi Minh City is expected to receive 5.5 million foreign visitors this year, up 5.8% from last year. Hanoi will welcome an estimated 4.3 million visitors, while Ha Long is expected to receive 4 million arrivals, respective increases of 7.5% and 14.3%. The Telegraph recently recommended Hanoi as an amazing food destination, while Ho Chi Minh City has cracked various lists of top destinations for solo and retiree travelers, including being named by priceoftravel.com as one of the cheapest cities for backpackers. Both cities were named among the world's fastest growing destinations by MasterCard last year. According to the report, Hong Kong was the most visited city in the world with 26.6 million arrivals in 2016, benefiting from its strategic location and relationship with China, followed by Bangkok, which overtook London in 2015. Asian cities dominated the global destination rankings thanks to the inexorable rise of Chinese outbound tourism, said Euromonitor International. In 2010, 34 cities from Asia Pacific made it onto the list. That figure has jumped to 41 cities on the latest ranking and is expected to grow to 47 cities in 2025. Asia Pacific is the standout region that has driven change in the travel landscape and is expected to continue doing so in the coming decade, with Singapore overtaking London as the third most visited city in the world by 2025 to make the podium fully Asian, said Euromonitor International. New expressway to cut travel time from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay by half A new expressway scheduled for completion in March next year will reduce travel times from Hanoi to the world famous Ha Long Bay to just an hour and a half. The obvious transit point for people wishing to visit the bay is Hanoi, which is 180 kilometers (112 miles) to the west and home to an international airport. The journey currently takes at least three hours. Van Don International Airport around 50 kilometers from the bay is also scheduled to open next spring. The US$330 million airport is designed to receive two million arrivals a year by 2020, and there are plans to expand the capacity to five million by 2030. Officials said the new infrastructure is being put in place so that Ha Long and Quang Ninh Province can host a national tourism year for the first time in 2018 and the ASEAN Tourism Forum in January 2019. The national tourism year will include a paragliding tournament in April, an international car race in June and a food festival in the fall. Ha Long Bay was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. Visitors to Ha Long during the first half of 2017 rose 12% on-year to more than 4.3 million, including 1.7 million foreign travelers, according to Quang Ninh's news portal. The bay was used to film the recent Hollywood blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island”, and has been raved about by many travel bloggers. 150 coastal trainers receive education on ICT and marine conservation More than 150 trainers, including teachers, as well as officers from schools and local organisations of the northern province of Quang Ninh's Halong city have participated in training courses on information technology (IT) and marine conservation. These activities took place within the framework of the "Raising Awareness of Marine Conservation and Access to Information Technology for Adolescents in Need of Improvement in Coastal Living," or the “Enabling Boat” campaign jointly implemented by the Center for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), the Vietnet Information Technology and Communication Centre (Vietnet-ICT), with technical support and sponsorship from Microsoft. The trainings provided participants with practical knowledge on basic Information Technology (IT) and computer science—including Office 365, online safety, social networks, and coding with Kodu—as well as marine conservation and climate change adaptation. Most importantly, trainers exchanged innovative teaching methods based on IT and computer science. These trainers will later implement initiatives to provide opportunities for adolescents, especially those from difficult coastal families, to access IT and marine environmental knowledge, not only in the project activities, but also in local programmes. The “Enabling Boat” project was launched in Quang Ninh at the beginning of 2017, with the aim of raising awareness and building capacity on ICT, computer science, and knowledge related to climate change adaptation and environmental protection for adolescents and communities in difficult coastal areas. Specifically, the project is expected to support 200 children from the resettled fishing villages and others who live in remote coastal areas without good access to learning facilities. It enables children to have the capacity to seek, and promote opportunities for better lives. Students from the northern port city of Haiphong, and Quang Ninh's Hung Thang, Tuan Chau, and Ha Khanh wards have been selected to participate in "Enabling Boat" trainings. The classes took place in schools, cultural houses of the villages or sometimes consisted of simple computer-based tutorials and basic IT classes for those who never used computers before. All activities are carried out with the help of local authorities, educational management organisations, and local youth. Vu Xuan Viet, a teacher of Van Lang Secondary and High School, shared: "The training courses are very useful. They provide basic IT skills, knowledge about programming, and their application in marine conservation and mineral resources management of Quang Ninh in particular and the islands of Vietnam in general." "We care about marine life conservation, the heritage of Halong Bay, and climate change adaptation, but have not had access to much information and knowledge before. After this training, we know what we need to do to preserve and protect our environment and heritage. In addition, the application of IT and computer science to life is also essential, helping to solve problems faster and more accurately, and contributing to the integration into the global technology revolution," he said. Metropole Hanoi welcomes New York Jazz Diva The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi’s Le Club Bar, Vietnam’s house of jazz, has welcomed New York Jazz Diva Michelle Walker to perform from November 9 to February 9. Michelle will sing from Tuesdays to Sundays from 8pm, accompanied by the hotel’s jazz ensemble. She has a well-deserved reputation among the jazz cognoscenti for her ability to artfully blend genres and for her beautiful, distinctive voice. She studied vocal performance at the University of Maryland, College Park as well as the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music. Highlights of her musical career include invitations to perform at The White House for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and The Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival at the Lincoln Center. Michelle has also toured with legendary jazz vocalist Mark Murphy, whom she calls her “mentor”. She began her career in Washington D.C., where she was nominated for a Washington Area Music Association Award (WAMA) for best jazz vocalist, best debut album of the year (for Slow Down) and best jazz group. While living in the D.C. area, The Washington Post placed her several times on its Top Ten Area Performers to see performing live. Since relocating to New York, where she currently lives, she has performed in more than 1,000 concerts in the US and over 150 throughout Europe, Russia, Israel, and the Far East. The gifted singer’s latest offering, Love Misery, features 13 ear-catching arrangements that blur the lines between swing, jazz and blues, bebop and soul - all enriched by the sultry and soul-stirring Walker sound. Sofitel Legend and & Sofitel So are two labels that enrich Sofitel Luxury hotels. Sofitel Legend hotels are iconic and mythical. They are often centuries-old listed heritage buildings, such as the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, and the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena. South Korean tourism and culture promoted in HCMC Events to promote tourism to Seoul and Gyeongju culture are being organized for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City from November 10 to December 3. The “I Seoul U - Seoul Beauty & Festival Gallery” event will take place from November 10 to 12 at Ka Koncept working space, 9 Nguyen Trai, District 1, to promote tourism to the South Korean capital. Visitors can experience a space that resembles travelling in Seoul, such as Han River park, the wall of Seoul, which offers painting activities and attractive gifts, Korean-style make-up classes, and other interesting activities. In particular, the seven members of the popular music group BTS will attend, allowing fans to take selfies with the group and post on their social pages to receive gifts. From November 11 to December 3, the Ho Chi Minh City - Gyeongju World Cultural Festival, themed “The prosperity of the Asian community via cultural exchanges”, will be held for the first time at popular sites around the city, such as the vehicle-free Nguyen Hue Boulevard, 23/9 Park, and theatres. Highlights include the opening ceremony, a performance reviving Gyeongju Historic Culture City, the former millennial capital of the Shilla Dynasty, Hallyu, the Korean term for the phenomenon of the Korean Wave, which now widely used to refer to the popularity of South Korean entertainment and culture across Asia and other parts of the world, a show of traditional and modern Korean dress, a painting exhibition by South Korean and Vietnamese artists, a South Korean EDM music party, musical performances by famous South Korean singers and bands, and opera. There will also be numerous programs promoting traditional products and tourist attractions of Ho Chi Minh City and Gyeongsangbuk-do province from 60 enterprises and 300 products in K-Beauty and K-food at 23/9 Park in District 1, where local and international visitors can experience a unique Korean cultural space and admire a road lit with sparkling lights along the sides of the park. The festival is expected to attract more than 800,000 visitors, including city residents, Korean people, and expats residing and working in the city. It is being held to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations (1992-2017) between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea. South Korean investment in Vietnam had surpassed $50 billion by the end of 2016, making it the largest foreign investor in the country, according to the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). Many South Korean companies have arrived in Vietnam in recent times to seize opportunities in its developing economy. Bilateral trade is expected to reach $70 billion by 2020 due to the Vietnam-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), which came into effect a year ago. HCMC celebrates festival for national solidarity To celebrate the 87th anniversary of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s traditional day, Secrectary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan participated in a meeting for the national solidarity in the residential block fifth in District 7’s Tan Thuan Tay Ward.  In the meeting, Professor Nguyen Huong Viet offered to give sets of computers connected with microscope to serve the community. The professor’s initiative and his partners which enlarges picture of things from microscope to computer aims to facilitate students, researchers’ studies and research. Moved by good deed of local in the residential quarter, Party Chief Nhan praised the quarter’s accomplishment expecting that it will develops solidarity amongst locals during the campaign “ All residents show their solidarity during new rural construction and civilized city”. He emphasized members of youth communists, party members and members of fatherland front should take a lead in the campaign as models. He also order the fatherland managing board in the residential block to understand people’s feeling and desires to report to the authorities in order to solve problems. Meantime, Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen took part in the meeting in the residential block in district 2’s Binh An ward. In the evening of the same day, while attending the meeting in the residential block in district 1’s Nguyen Thai Binh ward, the chairman of People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong lauded the accomplishment of the block’s fatherland front managing board in assisting poor households and near-poor households under innumerable ways as well as taking heed to education and social order. Meanwhile chairman of HCMC Party Committee Commission for Inspection Nguyen Van Hieu arrived in the residential block No.2 in district 7’s meeting. Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh and Chairwoman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City To Thi Bich Chau were present at a meeting in the residential block No.3 in district 4’s ward 6 yesterday. The annual meeting is a chance for locals in residential wards to gather to celebrate the fatherland front’s traditional day and think about late President Ho Chi Minh’s last message on the national solidarity and importance of this. At the meeting, locals reviewed what they had done in the campaign “All people reunite”. Head of the fatherland front at residential quarter in district 4’s ward 6 Duong Xuan Bien said that people have built 45 clean and safe roads and contributed VND30 million to the fund for the poor, the fund for the country’s island. Moreover, 50kg of rice is sent to five low-income earners in the quarter and scholarships for poor households’ kids monthly. On the behalf of the government, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh congratulated the quarter and the district on its accomplishment. She continued being a locality with complex social order, the district is now safer and cleaner. Locals in the quarter develop the spirit “Ragged leaves protect tattered ones” to take care of poor household; accordingly, the number of needy households dropped to 20 ones.  Thanks to the local party, authority and locals’ efforts, the quarter, the ward and the district have better living quality. On the occasion, Vice President Thinh presented gifts to 20 social welfare household beneficiaries and poor households and 30 needy students. Over 5,000 people walk to raise fund for the poor Over 5,000 people took part in the walk for the poor organized by the Fatherland Front Committee in Thu Duc District yesterday to contribute more than VND2.5 billion to the fund.  First secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee Le Quoc Phong, Chairwoman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City To Thi Bich Chau, deputy chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Huynh Cach Mang and representatives from people’s councils, people’s committees , Fatherland Front Committee in Thu Duc district and organizations, firms to raise fund for the poor attended the event. Speaking at the event, Party deputy chief of Thu Duc District Nguyen Tho Truyen said in response to the action month “ For the Poor” launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, for years, the managing board of the fund in Thu Duc district had called for contribution of individulas and organizations to donate over VND50 billion, helping 5,514 poor households and near-poor households in the district by providing capital for business, repairing, building charity houses, giving scholarships. Right after the launch, many benefactors donated VND2.5 billion to the fund for the poor. Giant electric pumps installed in Nguyen Huu Canh street Quang Trung Industry Joint Stock Company has installed electric pumps with the capacity of 2,000 cubic meters a hour to pump out wastewater from Nguyen Huu Canh street, said director general Nguyen Tang Cuong yesterday.  The company is the investor of the smart pumping system which test operation has started since September to cope with flooding in the street. Mr. Cuong said that the street and drainage system located low. Therefore, wastewater could not flow out in a timely manner in case of high tide and might cause flooding. Hence, the company had installed electric pumps to remove wastewater out. The smart pumping system should function with the capacity of 27,000-96,000 cubic meters an hour when there are heavy rains to completely solve flooding in the area. In case of small rains, electric pumps will run to save costs. On the other hand, the system will see longevity reduction if operating interruptedly during short times, added Mr. Cuong. According to the company, the system well operated during the rain in the evening of November 8 so Nguyen Huu Canh street was not flooded. Previously, it had installed an observation device to measure the rainfall in the area. 2,000 square meter park opens in Mekong delta Jump Arena Trampoline Park yesterday opened in Tan An Co.opmart in the Mekong delta province of Long An. It is the biggest park with total area of 2,000 square meter built by Saigon Co.op and Jump Arena Vietnam (franchised from Singapore). The park has 12 different games including indoor mountain climbing, Ninja challenge, indoor wall climbing, section for kids, indoor laser shooting, and section for gym which are suitable for all ages. The park is very new in Vietnam, promising to bring interesting experiences to players. The park opens from 9AM to 9PM everyday. Vietnamese representative travels to US for 2017 Miss Universe Pageant The second runner up of the Miss Ethnic Vietnam 2013, Nguyen Thi Loan traveled to the United States for the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant which is taking place in Las Vegas from November 10-11.  The 27-year-old girl from Thai Binh province was listed among top five at Miss Vietnam 2010 pageant after crowing Miss Sea title. She was also named in top 25 Miss World 2014 contestants. Miss Universe 2017 is the 66th Miss Universe pageant with the participation of nearly 90 delegates throughout the world. The pageant is taking place at the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas. Hà Nam, Coal and Mineral win 10th match Hosts Phong Phú Hà Nam and Việt Nam Coal and Minerals emerged triumphant at the National Women’s Football Championship on Sunday in Hà Nam Province. Phong Phú Hà Nam and Việt Nam Coal and Minerals won by a narrow score of 1-0 over TNG Thái Nguyên and Sơn La, respectively. Playing on home turf under strong support, Phong Phú Hà Nam started a good game, opening the score just 10 minutes from the first whistle. Lê Thu Thanh Hương escaped from Thái Nguyên defenders and lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Hải Yến into the net. The hosts continued dominating the match in the rest time. Hương had another chance to double the result but her finish went out. Both sides failed to find more goals. In the later match at Hà Nam Stadium, Việt Nam Coal and Minerals grabbed the only winner by national team striker, Nguyễn Thị Vạn, at the 70th minute. Keeper Mè Thị Hoá of Sơn La had to work hard during the whole game but she succeeded in saving her net in the last few minutes, despite strong attacks from Coal and Minerals. After their 10th game, Phong Phú Hà Nam are at second position at 23 points, one less than leader HCM City 1 who played only nine games. Coal and Minerals are third, with 21 points. In Monday’s fixture, Hà Nội 1 will face HCM City 2 and Hà Nội 2 will face HCM City 1. Vietnam-China Friendship Palace debuts in Hanoi General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping (R) and Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan inaugurate the Chinese Cultural Centre in Hanoi  General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping and Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan attended an inaugural ceremony for the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace in Hanoi on November 12. The ceremony formed part of the Chinese leader’s two-day State visit to Vietnam from November 12. The Vietnam-China Friendship Palace is located at No. 188 Le Quang Dao street, Nam Tu Liem district. It was built with non-refundable aid from the Chinese Government and Vietnam’s corresponding capital. The 14,000-square-metre palace lies on a 3.3-hectare land area with lotus-inspired architecture. It will serve as a venue for cultural, art and people-to-people exchange activities between the two countries, as well as conferences and meetings. On the occasion, the Vietnamese and Chinese leaders also inaugurated a Chinese Cultural Centre in Hanoi. Following the ceremony, Xi and Ngan met with delegates of the Vietnam-China People’s Forum and some intellectuals having outstanding contributions to the growth of ties between the two countries.  Party senior official receives delegates of Vietnam-China People’s Forum Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Truong Thi Mai hosted a reception on November 12 for delegates attending the ongoing ninth Vietnam-China People’s Forum in Hanoi. Mai, who is a Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Secretariat, spoke highly of the organization of the forum on the occasion of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping’s State visit to Vietnam right after the 19th National Congress of the CPC. She acknowledged that after eight editions, the forum has become a platform for scholars, intellectuals and experts of both countries to exchange, contributing to promoting the healthy and effective growth of the Vietnam-China ties on the foundation of common perceptions reached by leaders of both countries. The forum has dealt with current bilateral relations, helping deepen mutual understanding and political trust between the two countries, and creating a solid foundation for both sides to develop together, she noted. At the meeting, Mai was also briefed on major outcomes of the forum by heads of the Vietnamese and Chinese delegations. During the ninth Vietnam-China People’s Forum, taking place from November 10-14, participants discussed the current situation of the Vietnam-China relationship, while giving ideas to promote future ties in a healthy and sustainable manner. Requiem held in Binh Duong for traffic victims A grand requiem for traffic accident victims was held at Hoi An Pagoda in Thu Dau city, southern Binh Duong province, on November 11 with the view of easing the pain of losing relatives of the bereaved families. The function, with the participation of over 10,000 Buddhist monks and followers and people, was jointly held by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the National Committee for Traffic Safety.  At the requiem, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, Head of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, called on all central and local relevant agencies, organisations and people to improve their road sense and adherence to traffic safety regulations.  According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem, the event also aims to warn traffic participants to observe traffic safety regulations, thus to ensure safety for themselves and others. The requiem, the six of its kind in Vietnam, is part of activities in response to the World Day in Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (the third Sunday of November) launched by the UN. From January to October this year, traffic accidents nationwide claimed 6,800 lives and injured 11,785 others. HCM City-Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017 opens The Ho Chi Minh City – Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017 is taking place in the Vietnamese southern hub on November 11 as part of activities to celebrate the 25th founding anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries (December 22). The festival, the first of its kind in HCM City held by the two cities, features a series of cultural exchange activities between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK). Addressing the opening ceremony on November 11, Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong highlighted the similarity in culture, history and people of Vietnam and the RoK, and stressed that this year marks the 25 years of the fruitful cooperation between the two nations in numerous fields, including economics, culture, trade, education and tourism. Phong said the event, which runs until December 3, is expected to convey a message of peace, cooperation and friendship among people all around the world, while lifting friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK to a new level in a more sustainable manner. For his part, Governor of the RoK’s province Gyeongsangbuk-Do province Kim Kwan-yong underlined the Vietnam – RoK ties, saying that they are big economic partners of each other  as well as a huge number of the two nation’s people are living in the respective country. The festival helps usher in a path of peace and cooperation in culture and economic development, he said, adding that it contributes to promoting the cooperation between the two nations in tourism, trade and investment. The event comprises art performances, fashion show, film screening, among others. The Gyeonju World Cultural Festival is held biennially by Gyeongsangbuk-Do province since 1998. It was held six times in the RoK and two times in other countries (Cambodia in 2006 and Turkey in 2013), attracting over 17 million people.      HCM City wants to bolster cooperatives ties with RoK localities Ho Chi Minh City always treasures and wants to boost cooperation with localities of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in the fields of tourism, healthcare, investment and environment. Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong made the statement on November 11 when receiving RoK delegations who are in the city for the Ho Chi Minh City–Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017. Phong said that the RoK is currently the fourth largest investor in Ho Chi Minh City with 1,300 projects in the economy, education, healthcare, tourism and culture. Particularly, the World Cultural Festival taking place in the city from November 11 to December 3 is an important event, marking the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties, he noticed. Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-Do province Kim Kwan-yong and Mayor of Gyeongju city Choi Yang Sik said that the cultural festival will help deepen ties between the Vietnamese southern hub and seven localities from the RoK. Gyeongju and Ho Chi Minh City will further promote cooperation in fields of their strength like culture and tourism after the event, Choi added. Meanwhile, RoK Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Na Jong-min believed that Ho Chi Minh City would lure more international visitors, especially those from the RoK, to realise its target of 10 million visitors travelling between the two countries in the coming time. Lauding Ho Chi Minh City’s development in recent years, Kwon Young-jin, Mayor of Deagu city thanked the city’s leaders for facilitating operation of RoK enterprises. There are some 84 Deagu businesses investing in Ho Chi Minh City, he said, adding that Deagu city wants to put forth cooperation with the city in water, healthcare and culture.      VNN