VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES DECEMBER 31
08:13
HCM City remains Vietnamese travellers’ favourite
destination for New Year celebration
Ho Chi Minh
City remains a top favourite destination of Vietnamese tourists during
the New Year holiday for the second consecutive year, according to
data from digital travel platform Agoda. Agoda said
that travellers are looking for new experiences to celebrate the start of
2022. Famous cities remain hot destinations but the travel trend to 'escape'
to more off-beat nature or beach destinations dominates this year's New
Year's Eve plans. Tourists in
Vietnam are choosing 4-5 star venues to welcome the New Year, as they opt for
‘staycation’ due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel platform
added. Sa Pa in the
northern province of Lao Cai leapt to the second place this year from the
seventh in the 2020’s ranking. Da Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam
Dong was down one spot to the third place this year, followed by the capital
city of Hanoi. Phu Quoc
island of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang occupied the fifth place
thanks to its pilot programme to welcome foreign visitors back, followed by
Nha Trang beach city in the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa. The northern
province of Ninh Binh, home to various tourist attractions like Hoa Lu
Ancient Capital and Trang An landscape complex, was named in the list for the
first time this year, ranking 10th. Vietnam National Day held at EXPO 2020 Dubai The Vietnam
National Day at World Expo 2020 Dubai officially opened on December 30 with a
flag-raising ceremony at Al Wasl Plaza. On the
occasion, senior officials of Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation
between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the UAE
Ministry of Culture and Youth, and another MoU on cooperation between the
International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports
and Tourism and ITL World on promoting Vietnam’s culture and tourism in the
Middle East. The same
day, a business exchange themed “Vietnam: The Land of Opportunity” was
organised with the participation of leaders of various sectors of Vietnam,
the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as Vietnamese and foreign
businesses. Within the
framework of the Vietnam National Day, “The Eternal Flow” programme was held,
featuring about 150 Vietnamese and foreign artists, along with a Vietnamese
Film Week introducing seven award-winning movies, as well a painting
exhibition featuring works by child prodigy Xeo Chu, and a Vietnamese coffee
week. The Expo
2020 Dubai will last until March 31, 2022, attracting more than 190 countries
and international organisations. It is expected to welcome 25 million
visitors. Vietnam’s biotechnology invention receives patent in US The
University of Science under the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh
City (VNU-HCM) has received a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) for its new invention in bio-technology. The
invention “Mixture of cell extract and method for site-directed cloning”
relates generally to the field of DNA cloning. It specifically relates to
reagents and DNA cloning method based on homologous recombination for a site
directed cloning of a DNA fragment into a vector. Since the
first success in 1972, DNA cloning has been widely used and rapidly become
the basic and critical technique in biology and biotechnology. Due to its
importance, a great number of methods has been developed by a multitude of
laboratories to improve efficiency and to reduce the cost of cloning. The
invention has a great potential for the development of an easy,
cost-effective, accurate and site-directed DNA cloning kit in Vietnam to
replace imported products. Vietnam Journalists’ Association elects 52-strong Executive
Committee The 11th
National Congress of the Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) elected a
52-strong Executive Committee and an Inspection Committee with 15 members at
its working session in Hanoi on December 30. An
examination report by Head of the VJA’s Inspection Committee Phan Huu Minh
showed that among a total of 550 official delegates, 139 are women,
accounting for 25.28 percent and 411 are men, or 74.72 percent. The oldest
delegate is 80 years old and the youngest is 32 years old. About
educational qualifications, five are professors and associate professors (0.9
percent), 23 hold doctorate degrees (4.18 percent), 111 hold master degrees
(20.18 percent), 411 have bachelor degrees (74.74 percent), and 538 are Party
members (97.82 percent). Son La's five disadvataged hamlets connected to national grid Five
disadvantaged hamlets in Chieng Kheo commune in the northern mountainous
province of Son La’s Mai Son district were connected to the national grid on
December 30. The move
benefited 256 local households, pushing the rate of families in Chieng Kheo
having electricity access to 100 percent. In August,
100 households of the Mong ethnic minority group in two other hamlets in
Chieng Sung commune of Mai Son district were also provided with electricity.
An additional 904 ethnic households in the district are expected to get
access to the national grid in the near future./. HCM City suggests support for COVID-19-hit lonely old persons,
orphans Ho Chi Minh
City's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said
on December 30 that it has submitted a proposal on providing support for
lonely senior citizens and orphans hit by the COVID-19 pandemic to
the municipal People’s Committee. Accordingly,
the total cost is estimated at nearly 16.8 billion VND (730,000 USD) each
year, benefiting over 380 lonely old persons and over 2,200 orphans. Specifically,
the city will issue free health insurance cards and offer an allowance of
480,000 VND for those aged above 60 each month, and 700,000 VND for those
aged above 70. Orphans will receive free education till high school level,
vocational training and free health insurance cards. Orphans
under four years old will obtain 1 million each per month and those aged above
four will receive 700,000 VND. National action plan on overcoming consequences of toxic
chemicals/dioxin issued Prime
Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed Decision No. 2215/QD-TTg
promulgating the national action plan on overcoming the post-war consequences
of toxic chemicals/dioxin in Vietnam for the 2021-2030 period. The plan
aims to deal with all hotspots and areas contaminated with toxic
chemicals/dioxin left from the war in the country, specifically at A So
airport in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and Phu Cat airport in the
central province of Binh Dinh by 2025, and at Bien Hoa airport in the
southern province of Dong Nai and newly-discovered areas by 2030. By 2025,
over 85 percent of the risk of exposure to toxic chemicals/dioxin from
contaminated areas will be controlled. The rate will reach 100 percent by
2030. By 2030, the
country will complete a list of victims eligible for the State's support to
improve their lives. All pregnant women in highly contaminated areas will
receive reproductive counselling to reduce disease risks. Vietnam reports 17,000 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 30 Vietnam
registered 17,000 new COVID-19 cases on December 30, the highest number the
country has ever posted in a single daily update. The total
number of infections since the start of the pandemic stands at 1,714,742. Twenty of
the new infections were imported and the remaining domestic. New
transmissions were reported in 61 provinces and cities across the country. A total of
11,404 infections were detected in the community. The capital
city of Hanoi continued to be the leading locality on the list, with 1,866
cases. Up to 34,102
patients were declared recovered from the disease, with 1,336,644 people
across the country having been given the all-clear so far. A further
240 fatalities related to COVID-19 were confirmed on the day. Health Ministry receives 100,000 doses of Russian-donated
Sputnik Light vaccine Deputy
Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan received 100,000 doses of the Sputnik Light
COVID-19 vaccine donated for Vietnam by the Russian Government at a ceremony
held in Hanoi on December 29. Attending
the ceremony, Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko
stressed that the two sides should continue working together in response to
the pandemic via specific medical engagements. Russia will
accompany Vietnam in this challenging fight, the diplomat affirmed. Vietnamese, Israeli firms sign deal on oral COVID-19 vaccine
Vietnam’s
Tan Thanh Holdings and 10 Pharma JSC will be distributors of COVID-19 vaccine
Oravax throughout Southeast Asian nations. Oravax
Medical of Israel's Oramed Pharmaceuticals and the Vietnamese
firms signed the cooperation agreement of oral COVID-19 vaccine Oravax at a
ceremony held online on December 29. The deal,
worth hundreds of millions of US dollars for Oravax,
includes pre-order of oral vaccine. It is
expected to help the Israeli business to bring the oral vaccine to Vietnam
and other ASEAN member countries that have a combined population of over 660
million. Ministry targets 20 percent rise in planted trees in 2022 The Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked localities to launch a
tree planting festival on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet)
and encourage people from all walks of life to plant trees, aiming for at
least 20 percent rise in the number of newly-planted trees compared to the
figure of 2021. In its
directive issued on December 30, the ministry advised localities to
strengthen communications right from the beginning of 2022 to raise public
awareness of forest and environmental protection, helping to mitigate impacts
of natural disasters and climate change. Localities
should focus on expanding special-use, protective and production forest
areas, and planting more trees in urban and rural areas. The MARD
asked localities nationwide to design their own tree planting plans in
association with the implementation of their forestry development tasks in
the 2021-2025 period and the “One billion trees” project in the period. In 2021,
localities across the nation planted 260,00 hectares of concentrated forest
and 100 million scattered trees. National park launches programme inspiring love for nature The Cuc
Phuong National Park kicked off an education programme on December 30 with a
view to inspiring the love for nature in the community by helping them take
part in the care, treatment, and health recovery for animals, especially the
ones at risk of extinction. The
long-term programme, titled “Hanh trinh hoi sinh” (The journey of coming back
to life), is carried out in tandem with wildlife rescue and conservation
programmes in the park, most of which is located in the northern province of
Ninh Binh. In the first
phase, it will enable organisations, families, and individuals to participate
in the endangered primate rescue programme. It will be expanded to the
turtle, meat-eating mammal, and pangolin conservation programmes in the
second phase. Established
in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the first national park in Vietnam, covering the three
provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa. Spanning over 22,000
hectares, the park is a typical tropical rainforest that is home to a rich
system of flora and fauna, including critically endangered species. Scholarships given to southern children affected by COVID-19 Some 130
scholarships have been presented to children affected by COVID-19 in southern
Vietnam as part of a joint programme by Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund and “For
beloved Hoang Sa and Truong Sa” club. The
scholarships, worth 6 million VND (263.1 USD) each, were given to children
who lost a parent to COVID-19 and whose families in difficult situation because
of the pandemic during an event held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 30.
Forty-eight of them were handed to those from HCM City, the hardest hit by
COVID-19. Founded in
1999, Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund has so far awarded over 90,000 scholarships
to ethnic minority students. Launched seven years ago, the “For beloved Hoang
Sa and Truong Sa” club has presented nearly 20,000 scholarships to students
whose parents are disadvantaged fishermen and naval soldiers and border
guards. Defence ministry honoured with Cambodia’s Royal Order The Ministry
of National Defence of Vietnam has been honoured with Cambodia’s Royal Order
of Sahametrei-Mahasena (Grand Officer) during a recent inaugural ceremony of
the new headquarters of Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence. The
construction of the building began in 2018, funded by the Vietnamese National
Defence Ministry. A delegation
of Vietnamese Defence Ministry led by Deputy Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vo
Minh Luong paid a visit to Cambodia on December 28-30 at the invitation of
the Cambodian Defence Ministry. Postage stamp contest on Vietnam’s seas, islands launched for
children A postage
stamp contest featuring Vietnam’s seas and
islands for children aged 8-15 was launched on December 30. Jointly
organised by the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organisation Central Council, the
Vietnam Post and the Vietnam Philatelic Association, the event will run until
April 29, 2022. It is to
bolster patriotism among children and raise their awareness of the country’s
seas and islands and sovereignty. Contestants
are required to collect stamps, answer relevant questions and compile an
essay in accordance with the theme. Entries can
be sent to the Vietnam Children Support & Development Centre at 7th
floor, 64 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi. Details of the
contest and questions are published at websites http://www.vnpost.vn of the
Vietnam Post and http://www.thieunhivietnam.vn./. Phong Nha – Ke Bang listed among places to visit in 2022 Phong Nha –
Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh has been listed
among the 39 best destinations to visit in 2022 by the US's AFAR Magazine. According to
AFAR, it’s easier than ever to dive deep into the gigantic caves of this
UNESCO World Heritage site. The Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park, a
geologically notable site in central Vietnam, has tempted daredevils since
2013, when Son Doong, the biggest cave on the planet (large enough to hold a
Boeing 747), opened for multi-day tours. The magazine
highlighted that on the new Hang Ba tour (still in development), the guides
will lead spelunkers through upwards of five caves with gigantic limestone
chambers and dangling stalactites. When cavers aren’t crawling, swimming, or
paddleboarding, they’ll be camping and trekking through jungles. In addition
to Phong Nha – Ke Bang, AFAR introduced many other attractive destinations,
including Russian River Valley (California), Chicago (Illinois), Métis
Crossing (Alberta, Canada), Arica and Parinacota (Chile), Bermuda, and Mérida
(Yucatan, Mexico). Vietnam-Azerbaijan Friendship Association has new chief Deputy
Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam Dang The Vinh was
elected President of the Vietnam-Azerbaijan Friendship Association (VAFA) for
the 2021-2026 tenure during the association's second national conference in
Hanoi on December 30. A report
summarising the 2015-2021 tenure's performance showed that the association
basically completed all set tasks, helping to promote economic, political and
cultural ties and tighten the traditional friendship between Vietnam and
Azerbaijan. In the next
five years, the association will continue consolidating the association’s
apparatus, coordinating with the Azerbaijani Embassy in Vietnam to hold the
two countries’ major events such as Vietnam’s National Day (September 2),
Azerbaijan’s Independence Day (May 28), and the 30th founding anniversary of
diplomatic ties (September 1992-2022). Students in HCM City likely to return to school in early 2022 The HCM City
Department of Education and Training has sought approval from the city’s
People's Committee to allow an additional 680,000 students to return to
secondary and high schools following the New Year holiday. The proposal
has called for 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th graders to resume in-person classes
starting January 3. The city’s
People Committee held a meeting this week with local authorities
on school reopening plans, and most districts agreed to reopen
secondary and high schools starting January 3. The proposal
was made as students in these grades have been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19, the local media reported. Many schools
have said they are ready to reopen classes starting January 3, as they have
prepared safety responses and more students have returned to classes than
surveys expected. Virtual countdown lights 2022 to be held on New Year's Eve Virtual
countdown light 2022 party will be organised on the last day of the year
with the participation of many famous celebrities. Starting
from 8:30pm, the party will be broadcast on YouTube, Facebook Billboard
Vietnam, and VieON application and is expected to bring new performances
for everyone to enjoy and celebrate the start of a new year in
the new normal life. An iconic
event that gathers thousands of people across Nguyễn Huệ Street year on
year in pre-covid conditions, the show has always been crafted to match
international standards and is broadcast on television. It has remained
as one of the most anticipated events in HCM City. The last offline event
gathered 70,000 people and was broadcast on TV and online to
millions of households. Organiser Capital
Studio Media City and its partners decided to enhance the previous
year's virtual setting to something bigger than before. Hence, the
virtual countdown lights 2022 was born, conceived under chaos and with a
strong message to unite audiences. Ninh Thuan promotes sustainable development in Núi Chúa national
park marine protected area Authorities
of south central Ninh Thuận Province have strengthened measures to
conserve endangered and rare species of marine fauna and flora, and
sustainably restore and develop the ecosystem of the
Núi Chúa National Park Marine Protected Area. The
provincial People's Committee issued a plan on the management of the
Núi Chúa National Park Marine Protected Area in the 2021-2025
period with a budget of over VNĐ3.3 billion (nearly US$145,000), which
will focus on activities to preserve the value of natural resources and
cultural - historical relics, and rationally exploit and promote the value of
the marine protected area. The
management of the marine protected area will be carried out on an area of
7,352ha. Hanoi relaunches doctor network to support Covid-19 patients
during home treatment Hanoi has
just resumed a doctor network with 28 hotlines from which doctors will offer
Covid-19 diagnoses and support online for coronavirus cases and their closest
contacts at home. The network,
which was launched by the Ministry of Health, aims at reducing overloading
for local hospitals when the number of infections is rising sharply in the
area. Doctors can support Covid-19 patients and their close contacts who are
either self-isolated or unable to visit medical facilities through the
network. Patients can call the hotline 024 1022 line 3 to share their health
condition and get guidance from doctors during their treatment. Doctors
would then assess each case via the 024 1022 phone number every day during
the first 10 days to closely monitor their health. The mild cases could be
monitored and guided through the phone, while the severe would warrant
emergency alerts to local medical centres so patients could be taken to
hospital. The network
was first launched in August and had served 1,300 patients during August and
September. National Tourism Year 2022 expected to give a boost to Quang Nam
tourism As the host
of the National Tourism Year 2022, the central province of Quang Nam is
expected to grasp the opportunity to rejuvenate its tourism sector and
promote the image of Quang Nam and Vietnam in general to visitors at home and
abroad. According to
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Tan, the National
Tourism Year 2022, will be held under the theme ‘Quang Nam – A green tourism
destination’ with assorted activities and events, introducing the culture and
tourism potentials of the central province. The
programme will officially open on March 25, 2022, at the Hoi An Impression
Theme Park in Hoi An city. Hanoi: No concentrated isolation for arrivals from overseas The Hanoi
administration has decided to abandon its concentrated quarantine
requirements for people coming from countries where the Omicron variant is
spreading. The decision
was made following a meeting held on December 30 between representatives of
the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and the Hanoi municipal
administration. The CAAV
said Hanoi’s December 27 document to request concentrated quarantine for
people coming from overseas regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination or
recovery would cause difficulty in implementing a pilot scheme to resume
international commercial flights, starting on January 1, 2022. The policy
contradicted regulations formulated by the Ministry of Health that says
passengers are permitted to self-isolate at home or other places of residence
for three days if they have already received full doses of vaccines and have
a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours before departure. Health Ministry urges completion of full doses of COVID-19
vaccine for people aged 12 and above The Ministry
of Health has urged the Health Departments of provinces and cities to
continue to accelerate the progress of vaccinations against COVID-19, to
ensure that the basic dose is given to all people aged 12 and above. The MoH
required that units can arrange more mobile vaccination points or
vaccinations at home (in case the vaccinated subject cannot travel) in
accordance with the actual local situation and regulations. The National
Expanded Programme on Immunisation and the Central Institute of Hygiene and
Epidemiology should base, on the proposals of the units, to properly
distribute the COVID-19 vaccines. National action plan on overcoming consequences of toxic
chemicals/dioxin issued Prime
Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed Decision No. 2215/QD-TTg promulgating the
national action plan on overcoming the post-war consequences of toxic
chemicals/dioxin in Vietnam for the 2021-2030 period. The plan
aims to deal with all hotspots and areas contaminated with toxic
chemicals/dioxin left from the war in the country, specifically at A So
airport in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and Phu Cat airport in the
central province of Binh Dinh by 2025, and at Bien Hoa airport in the
southern province of Dong Nai and newly-discovered areas by 2030. By 2025, over
85 percent of the risk of exposure to toxic chemicals/dioxin from
contaminated areas will be controlled. The rate will reach 100 percent by
2030. By 2030, the
country will complete a list of victims eligible for the State's support to
improve their lives. All pregnant women in highly contaminated areas will
receive reproductive counselling to reduce disease risks. Some 60,000 tourists expected to travel to Dalat for New Year
celebrations Dalat City
in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is expected to attract nearly
60,000 revelers for the upcoming New Year holiday. Hostels in
the city will see room occupancy rates reach some 60% during the New Year
holiday, while room occupancy rates at two-star hotels and villas for rent
are expected to range from 85% to 90%. Three- to five-star hotels might be
over 90% full. This year
has seen Dalat City receiving an estimated 1.97 million tourists, dipping by
45% year-on-year, including over 1.95 million domestic visitors and 17,000
international travelers, the local media reported. Key projects to ease overload in areas surrounding Tan Son Nhat
airport Next year,
HCMC will implement ten projects including those to reduce overloading in the
areas surrounding Tan Son Nhat Airport with a capital of over VND5,000 billion
(US$220 million), and the disbursement rate will reach over 95 percent of the
assigned capital plan. Among the
ten projects are three projects of a road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan Street
with Cong Hoa Street, expanding Hoang Hoa Tham Street, renovating Cong Hoa
Street which need to be carried out promptly, contributing to ease the
overload and traffic congestion in Tan Son Nhat Airport's surrounding areas. It is
expected that the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project
Management Authority of Ho Chi Minh City will submit 38 projects for
approval, start works on 16 bidding packages, projects and complete 26
projects and bidding packages in 2022. 80 percent of parents agree to send children to schools for
in-person learning The survey
of parents' consensus on sending their children of grades 7, 8, 10, 11 back
to schools directly from the districts has shown that 60 percent-80 percent
of parents agree to send their children to schools for in-person
learning, Trinh Duy Trong, Head of the Ideological Politics Division
under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. As planned,
grades 3,4,5 will be tested online for the assessment of the first semester
while first and second graders will be tested in person when they go to educational
facilities. Regarding
the proposal for grades 7, 8, 10, and 11 to receive direct teaching in
schools, the authorities will base on the results of two pilot weeks of
direct teaching for grades 9 and 12. In the past two weeks, schools have
taken preventative measures to ensure students’ safety when they go back to
schools. Government asks harsh punishment for child offenders Deputy Prime
Minister Pham Binh Minh has delegated the Ministry of Public Security and the
People’s Committee of HCMC to ask the functional departments to promptly
investigate individuals directly involved in the recently fatal child
maltreatment. According to
the document released by the Government Office on December 30, the Deputy
Prime Minister asked the Ministries of Public Security; Culture, Sports and
Tourism; Education and Training; Information and Communications, the People’s
Committees of provinces and cities across the country strengthen propaganda
on child abuse and domestic violence prevention, child protection to
safeguard children and their families as well as impose strict penalties on
those convicted of family violence. On December
28, the Investigation Agency of the Binh Thanh District’s Police Department
in HCMC approved a decision on prosecution and detention of Vo Nguyen Quynh
Trang, 26, for child maltreatment that led to the death of an eight-year-old
girl who is her lover’s daughter. Netherlands finances US$19.5 million for climate adaptation
project in Vinh Long Deputy
Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha and Dutch Ambassador to Viet Nam Elsbeth
Akkerman signed an agreement for Development Related Investment
Infrastructure Vehicle (DRIVE) funded by the Netherlands Invest
International, to support the Vinh Long Climate Resilience Project. Under the
agreement, the Netherlands grants US$19.5 million (EUR 16.5 million) to the
aforesaid project totaling US$202.2 million (EUR 170 million) in Vinh Long
City to make the city more climate resilient and to protect its people
against flood risks, she said. The rest of
the amount is covered by the World Bank and by Vinh Long Province. The
significant amount of Dutch grant, played a crucial role to make the project
possible, added Akkerman. The Dutch
grant will be provided to build a water treatment plant in Vinh Long City in
the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long. Source:
VNA/VOV/VNS/SGT/SGGP/Dtinews |
