VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES NOVEMBER 2916:05 Nation faces severe blood shortage during pandemic The Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (CIHBT) has announced it is facing a severe shortage of blood which is enough for use only in the next few days without further supplies. Blood storage now stands at only over 4,000 blood units, according to the CIHBT. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CIHBT had to cancel or postpone 80 blood donation drives in November with an expected reception of 25,000 units. When social distancing measures were eased and the nation started to implement the policy of safe and flexible adaptation to and effective control of COVID-19, the number of blood donations improved. However, after the number of new COVID-19 cases has increased recently in many localities, blood donations started to decline. Director of the CIHBT Bạch Quốc Khánh said the appearance of new cases in localities forced blood donation campaigns to be postponed or cancelled. The CIHBT receives just 300-400 blood units per day while it needs around 1,200 blood units to supply more than 180 hospitals each day. Meanwhile, blood demand is forecast to increase in the year-end period and during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays. Khánh said an estimated 80,000 units are needed for emergencies and treatment at hospitals between December 2021 and February 2022. But blood donation campaigns could only meet around 60 per cent of the demand, he said. The situation could be improved with support from the community, he said, urging the community to continue donating blood to support treatment, particularly in southern localities that are facing difficulties due to the pandemic. AFF U23 Championship 2022 slated for February The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has announced that the AFF U23 Championship 2022 will take place in Cambodia next year. The event, expected to see the participation of 11 teams, will be held on February 14-26, 2022. It is to help the squads better prepare for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) slated for May, 2022. The event has been postponed due to complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. SEA Games 31 and the 11th ASEAN Para Games were originally scheduled to take place from November 21 to December 2 this year. Vietnam are also to compete at the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup, which will be held in Uzbekistan in June./. Localities urged to strengthen control over COVID-19 and winter-spring communicable diseases The Ministry of Health has urged localities to strengthen control over not just COVID-19, but also infectious diseases that occur during the winter, especially viral respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses. According to the ministry, the country will face a high risk of the outbreak of such diseases if preventive measures are not drastically implemented, especially as travel is resuming across the country. Localities have been told to strictly implement the Government's Resolution 128/NQ-CP on "safely adapting, flexibly and effectively controlling the COVID-19 pandemic" and the Ministry's Decision No. 4800/QD-BYT dated October 12, 2021, on medical guidelines during the implementation of Resolution 128. The Health Ministry asked for more attention to be paid to disease prevention and control in remote areas or areas where people face difficulties accessing healthcare services, areas that reported disease outbreaks in the past or areas with low vaccination coverage. Localities are also asked to continue key measures including close surveillance for early detection, rapid testing, timely isolation, and effective treatment. The Ministry of Health requested that localities actively develop scenarios to respond to specific, detailed and feasible diseases’ situations. Localities must focus on speeding up vaccinations and improve the capacity of the health system, especially at grassroots levels. Mobile medical stations needed to be available, especially in the COVID-19-hit areas, so that people can access medical services as soon as possible. They must also prepare sufficient medicine and medical equipment. The resumption of production and business activities as well as the economic reopening must be done with a plan in mind, and in safe and qualified places. Localities updated their reports on COVID-19 cases on the National COVID-19 Disease Code System at website https://macabenh.vncdc.gov with detailed information about the patients’ vaccination status – receiving one dose, two doses or not vaccinated. Regarding dengue fever disease, the Health Ministry asked localities to continue carrying out campaigns to kill mosquitoes and larvae in high-risk areas, especially at construction sites and rental housing areas. Local authorities must closely monitor, quickly handle outbreaks in time and give emergency treatment to sick people following the ministry’s guidelines. For diseases like measles, rubella, and whooping cough, localities have been urged to review their vaccination procedure and ensure vaccine coverage reaches at least 95 per cent in every commune/ward. People's Committees of provinces and cities should direct the Department of Health to drastically implement disease control, strengthen surveillance activities, early detection, immediate response, thoroughly handle any outbreaks. Local health departments must properly organise the patient classification, reception, emergency and treatment of patients, avoid cross-infection in medical examination and treatment establishments, minimise human mortality. The department would have to promptly propose to the People's Committee of the provinces/cities to direct effective and flexible disease prevention and control measures, suitable to the epidemiological developments of each locality. Inspection teams must regularly monitor, evaluate and recommend localities and units to implement suitable disease prevention and control activities in specific areas. According to the Ministry of Health's report, in the first ten months of 2021, the whole country recorded 53,489 cases of dengue fever, of which 20 people died. Compared to the same period in 2020, the number of dengue fever cases decreased but the number of deaths increased by seven. The ministry also warned that now is the time dengue fever could strike with the weekly number of cases increasing. From September 19 to October 18, the whole country recorded 6,063 cases of dengue fever, including four deaths. During the same period, the country recorded 37,915 cases of foot and mouth disease with 11 deaths, 471 cases of viral meningitis with seven deaths, 14 cases of meningococcal meningitis with two deaths and 418 cases of typhus suspected of measles, of which 39 were positive for measles. Irrigation system helps Central Highland farmers prosper
Due a severe shortage of water, farmers in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai were lucky to get just one crop each year. But thanks to a new irrigation system installed in Ayun Commune, Chư Sê District, they have doubled their rice production capabilities. Đinh Hóa, a farmer in Keo village in the commune, said in the past they would not even have enough rice to feed their own families, never mind selling it. They couldn't grow any other crops, and were unable to raise any animals. “Things have greatly improved since the Pleikeo irrigation canal was put into operation in 2020,” Hóa said. “We farmers now can have rice twice a year and we no longer starve. Now we have enough rice to eat all year round and even have rice to sell.” The Pleikeo irrigation project can provide water for 500 hectares of crops and was one of the most important projects for Ayun commune. The first phase of the irrigation work was completed early 2020, bringing water to irrigate more than 200 hectares of crops in Ayun commune. This has helped the people of Ayun change their way of thinking and working, learning to cultivate wet rice in the second crop, so their lives have changed positively. In Ayun Commune, 97 per cent of its population are from ethnic groups of Jrai and Bahnar. Before 2016, due to poor farming and year-round droughts, Ayun commune with a poverty rate of over 84 per cent was as one of the poorest communes in Việt Nam. Over the years, with support from many sources from central to local levels, Chư Sê district has focused on investing in a number of projects to help Ayun people develop production, stabilise their lives and reduce poverty.
Nguyễn Văn Hợp, head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Chư Sê District, said thanks to irrigation works, water supply for production is guaranteed, so their rice productivity and output is now much higher than in previous years. In the winter-spring crop of 2020-2021, the yield is seven quintals per sào (500 square metres) and rice quality is much better. With the Pleikeo irrigation system, Ayun's people planted the second crop of rice in 2021 with seeds, fertilisers, and plant protection treatment given to them by local authorities. They got a yield of 6.5 quintals per sào. Hợp said that authorities and agencies would help local people to fully make use of irrigation project. They also planned to help people switch to growing vegetables and fruit trees suitable to local soil, climate and farming conditions to increase the efficiency of land use in the area, Hợp said. Nguyễn Hồng Hà, Secretary of Chư Sê District Party Committee, said that the district built a plan and arranged resources to help Ayun commune meet standards of a new rural area in 2023. Particularly for the Pleikeo irrigation project, Gia Lai province has arranged a medium-term capital source for further investment in the second phase, which is expected to start in 2023 and will be deployed, expanding the remaining 300 hectares of irrigation area. Vietnam strives to promote tourism in RoK market The Ho Chi
Minh City Department of Tourism has co-operated alongside several other
localities to attend Busan-ASEAN Week 2021, which opened with the theme of
“The colorful fragrance of ASEAN' at the Busan Cinema Center in the Republic
of Korea (RoK). Some of the activities being held at the event include displaying a map of Vietnamese tourist destinations, screening tourism promotional videos, and several quiz games. Furthermore, banners introducing "TPO Photo & Video Contest" hosted by Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat city are also on display at the function. Moreover, the Tourism Department of Da Nang city has also co-operated with other localities, including Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, and Quang Na to hold a webinar aimed at promoting tourism to the Korean market. The occasion drew the participation of Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung, Korean Consul General in Da Nang city Ahn Min Sik, in addition to over 160 delegates representing travel agents and businesses of both sides, including 80 from the RoK. Through the seminar, many Korean travel partners have expressed their desire to organise charter flights and closed tours for their customers during the peak tourism season which will be at the end of the year and the New Year holidays. Vietnam contributes to nuclear technology research, application A ceremony to receive financial contributions for the second phase of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories (ReNuAL 2) was held in Seibersdorf, Austria on November 25. Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien underlined that Vietnam’s contribution to the initiative demonstrates the country’s responsibility in promoting nuclear technology development for peaceful purposes. IAEA
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi presents the token of a brick
to Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien (R) (Photo: VNA) At the event, IAEA Deputy Director General Liu Hua welcomed Vietnam’s contribution to the agency’s technical cooperation programmes, thereby raising the country’s position. Vietnam was elected as a member of the Board of Governors of the IAEA (BoG IAEA), one of the two policy-making bodies of the agency. At the regional level, Vietnam has actively engaged in the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA). ReNuAL 2 was unveiled in September last year with an aim to renovate and expand the Seibersdorf laboratories to better meet the need for nuclear technology application in resolving global issues. Vietnam announced financial commitment to the initiative this September and did the same for the first phase in 2019./. Landmarks lit in orange to support elimination of violence against women Several famous buildings and landmarks in Vietnam on November 25 began to be lit up in orange, which represents a bright, non-violent future for women and girls, as part of an international campaign in response to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women commemorated annually on the date. The venues consists of the Green One UN House in Hanoi and four bridges in the central coastal city of Da Nang – the Rong, Han river, Tran Thi Ly, and Tinh Yeu bridges. They will be in orange throughout ‘The 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and girls’ international campaign, which takes place annually from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) until 10 December 10 (Human Rights Day). According to the UN Women, one in three women around the world has been a victim of violence by a husband or partner in their lifetime. This issue is becoming more urgent than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated domestic violence. Also on November 25, more than 100 judges, prosecutors, investigators, lawyers, and gender equality activists from the People's Court, People's Procuracy, ministries and agencies under the Government, the Vietnam Bar Federation, and other social organisations participated in the "White Ribbon Breakfast" event. With its theme highlighting gender sensitivity in the trial of cases of violence against women and girls amid COVID-19, the event was held at the Supreme People's Court, also in response to the 16-day international campaign./. Goalkeeper concerns ahead of AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 For the first time, coach Park Hang-seo has called up five goalkeepers to the Vietnamese squad ahead of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020. They are Bùi Tấn Trường of Hà Nội FC, Nguyễn Văn Hoàng of Sông Lam Nghệ An, Trần Nguyên Mạnh of Viettel, Quan Văn Chuẩn of Phú Thọ, and Phạm Văn Cường of HCM City. Such a decision to draft in many options between the posts, is a clear sign the South Korean coach is unsure about the number one position. In the previous six World Cup qualifying matches, Park used three keepers, Nguyễn Văn Lâm, Bùi Tấn Trường and Nguyễn Văn Toản. All leaked goals in the key games. In the match against Australia in which Việt Nam lost to Australia 0-1, goalie Lâm was scored 6.30 points by the statistics website sofascore.com. Given the opportunity to play in the 1-3 loss to Oman, young goalkeeper Toản was awarded 6.00 points by Sofascore. While Trường played four matches and even though he conceded eight goals, he still received a high average score (6.85) compared to his two teammates. Trường is still considered Park's first choice for the AFF Cup 2020. Among the rest of the AFF Cup team's goalkeepers, despite having a lot of experience, Mạnh is considered by some to be too short (1.78m), Hoàng has little experience in the big games and, young goalkeeper Chuẩn is thought to be just a back-up. Trường has also been accused of spending too much time updating his social media pages instead of focussing on preparing for the upcoming tournament. New hope Coach Park called Cường to the Vietnamese team for the first time in the match against Afghanistan in the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2019. He was then included in the Vietnamese team to prepare for the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. At that time, Cường was the No 3 goalkeeper behind Lâm and Tuấn Mạnh. Some fear Cường may not be the solution, and might not be able to perform at the level expected by Park. Since joining HCM City in the 2020 football season, Cường hasn't been able to hold down a regular first team place. He played just twice this year, once against Nam Định which they lost at home by three goals to two. So Park has many decisions to make ahead of the AFF Suzuki Cup, but one things for sure, it will be the goalkeeping position that's keeping him awake at night. Plenty to ponder for the South Korean. Third shot of Covid-19 vaccine for HCM City workers proposed The HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Business Association (HBA) has recommended a third shot of Covid-19 vaccine for around 320,000 workers. According to HBA, they are workers from 1,500 factories at 18 local industrial parks and export processing zones. They are the city’s key labour force which helped earn an average annual export value of USD27 billion. Since the city’s Covid-19 outbreak, around 70,000 workers at 700 companies have had to stay at work. The third jab of Covid-19 vaccine would help to ensure local industrial parks, export processing zones and high-tech parks could continue their operations. To date, many companies, particularly foreign-invested firms in HCM City have established quarantine facilities. Linh Trung 2 Export Processing Zone has built a 1,500-square metre quarantine site with 250 beds. The zone is facing the rise of Covid-19 cases every day although most of them have been fully vaccinated. The association added that most companies at industrial parks and export processing zones are willing to establish quarantine sites. However, it is important that they need medical support from the city’s Health Department. HCM City is home to around 1.5 million workers who are working at 30 industrial parks and complexes and factories. Currently, 2,800 workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 are being treated. Conference seeks to unleash potential of old photo archives at Vietnamese institute The Institute of Social Sciences Information (ISSI) under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) on November 25 held an international scientific conference to seek ways to unlock potential of the photo archives of the French School of the Far East (EFEO) at ISSI. ISSI Deputy Director Assoc. Prof., Dr. Le Hai Dang said the big collection of EFEO photos archived at ISSI has become a valuable heritage for researchers in studying national culture and provided evidence for the restoration of cultural and historic relics damaged by wars or natural disasters. The social science library operated by ISSI has been preserving a large number of original photos and documents handed over by the EFEO since 1957. They include a collection of 60,000 photographs, one of the rarest and most valuable photo archives in Orientalism in Southeast Asia. However, the archives have not been used to the fullest extent. Speaking at the event, Isabelle Poujol from the EFEO in Paris shared how technology has been used to preserve and keep records of more than 200,000 old photographs stored for decades at the EFEO headquarters. These photos are of great interest to the scientific community; in some cases, they are even the only historic evidence, she said. The EFEO in Paris has been digitalizing them in order to not only archive them better but also offer researchers easier access to such a big collection, according to Poujol. Dr. Nguyen Huu Tam, a former staff from the VASS’s Institute of History, said to protect and promote the values of the photo archives at ISSI , first and foremost, librarians must be provided with comprehensive knowledge on archiving photos and main content of the archived photos. During the event, attendees discussed social science and humanities issues through the EFEO photo archives and how to preserve and make use of the photo collection. The French School was established in Vietnam in 1900 in Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh City today). It was closed in 1959 and re-opened in Hanoi in 1993. It mainly focuses on history, archaeology and philology, as well as the study of modern Asian societies. HCMC accelerates building of urban government In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic impact, Thu Duc City and districts in Ho Chi Minh City are still making efforts to build an urban government for the implementation of the 2021 themed The year of building urban government and improving the investment environment. Up to now, the construction of urban government has achieved remarkable initial results. Ho Chi Minh City is the first centrally-run city in the country to implement an urban administrative model to bring into practice a ‘city within a city’ model -Thu Duc City for the implementation of urban government. Chairman of Thu Duc City People's Committee Hoang Tung said that Thu Duc City’s mission is to build an urban government, so since the early days of its establishment, all activities in Thu Duc City have all centered around this task. Currently, the apparatus of Thu Duc City is operating stably. In particular, Thu Duc City is focusing on the proposal of appropriate mechanisms and policies for development to Ho Chi Minh City. Thu Duc City has just launched the IOC Smart Operation Center in Thu Duc City which has been collecting data. According to Mr. Hoang Tung, when it was established, Thu Duc City had a fragmented data situation, lack of connection and unity. IOC Thu Duc City will address the expectation of building a unified data system, linked with industries to be able to analyze interdisciplinary in a multi-dimensional way. From there, it will help to increase the interaction between the government and the people, between the government and businesses; and prepare data to forecast future trends. The most important task of Thu Duc City’s IOC is to help administrative simplification reform with an orientation of provision of online public services to facilitate residents and businesses. From now until the end of the year, Thu Duc City will strive for 50 percent of public administrative procedures to be served online at level 4 and continue to accelerate this component, Mr. Hoang Tung emphasized. Prior, District 7 had launched the Center for Operations and Control of the Covid-19 epidemic and urgently started to restore the local economy. The district focuses on building e-government, smart cities, developing digital economy, digital society, digital transformation in various fields. Currently, District 7 has provided level 4 online public services in more than 190 sectors. Chairman of the People's Committee in Go Vap District Nguyen Tri Dung affirmed the implementation of the urban government model and increasing online public services will help facilitate dwellers. To ensure transparency in all activities of people’s committees in wards and districts, the city authorities decided to delete people's councils of districts and wards; the southern largest city had to arrange employees who used to work for people's councils of districts and wards to new positions. Up to now, the arrangement of 266 positions including 18 vice chairmen of the district people's council, 29 deputy heads of the specialized committee of the district people's council, and 219 vice chairmen of the ward people's council seemed completed. In particular, a dialogue between chairpersons of people's committees of districts and wards and residents must be held periodically where chairpersons will publicize all activities of the district and wards and issues related to dwellers. However, Ho Chi Minh City was hit by the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic; as a result, the city authorities had no choice but applied three-month social distancing to fight the epidemic; therefore, local administrations have not held dialogue sessions between chairpersons of people's committees and inhabitants yet. It is scheduled that Go Vap District will hold a dialogue between district leaders and people in early December 2021 before the year-end meeting of the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City takes place. Chairman of the Go Vap District People's Committee Nguyen Tri Dung informed that the Fatherland Front will take residents' opinions through meetings and dialogues between the people and the government for monitoring. Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Nguyen Thi Le said that she has developed a project to improve the quality of supervision activities of the municipal People's Council in the context of implementing urban government for the 2021-2026 term. Along with that, the city will promote the supervisory role of the Fatherland Front Committee and political organizations at all levels. The project on enhancing the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the people in supervising party organizations, party members and activities of governments at all levels in the city in the 2021-2030 period was also approved. The southern metropolis is organizing a peak month to implement the 2021 themed The year of building urban government and improving the investment environment. In the peak month, the city plans to organize meetings and dialogues between city leaders, heads of departments and agencies, and businesses to discuss businesses’ difficulties and how city authorities will help them to remove their difficulties for improvement of production capacity. Direct and online investment promotion will be organized in conjunction with international organizations to attract foreign direct investment. Additionally, the second Ho Chi Minh City Innovation Award ceremony in 2021 will be held. In particular, there will be a special week to receive and administrative-related documents will be solved on the same day. No dossiers are solved late in the peak month. Citizens warned of fraudulent technological platforms
According to Vice President of Bkav Ngo Tuan Anh, it is quite easy to establish a virtual call center using either a domestic or foreign number with a reasonable price. It is also simple and convenient to acquire a telecoms package via a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol service (VoIP) for scamming purposes, which is then hard for state officials to track criminal activities. There are now two popular methods to scam people: using similar hotlines to those of famous companies and sending Brandname SMS. The former can easily trick careless users while the latter is more complicated to apply. Criminals have to use illegal hardware and software sold from other nations to simulate a base transceiver station in order to send fake messages to mobile phone users. They can also hire an SMS Fake Sender ID service for this task. “In the Industry 4.0 era, criminals even exploit Blockchain technology for fraudulent Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which is originally used to attract capital from the cryptocurrency community to develop certain projects based on the Blockchain technology. In this kind of scam, a certain individual first introduces new cryptocurrency tokens and spreads the news of its strong growth in the future, suggesting that people should buy the tokens and sell them later for profit. This information is not true, and buyers lose a large amount of money”, said CEO of Vbee Ho Minh Duc. Another infamous type of fraudulence is to meddle with weak official mobile networks to collect OTP modes in bank-related services. Despite not being very common, it has appeared in Vietnam lately, used by skillful hackers without the awareness of both network service providers and banks themselves. Only when a customer contacts a bank to report problems does a bank discover this trick.
The Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications has continuously warned citizens of such cases and is cooperating with the police, functional agencies, telecoms businesses to adopt suitable solutions to handle these crimes. The act of faking a website in Vietnam recently has become more popular when a criminal purposely uses a website address which is almost the same as an official one of a renowned company for fraudulent activities. Since users do not learn by heart these addresses, they easily fall into the trap and unintentionally share their confidential information, including account name and passwords. These sensitive data are then used on formal bank websites to ask for an OTP code. When the users carelessly enter their code obtained from their mobile phone on these fake websites, their bank account will be swept out of money. Hotline to report online scams It is advisable not to access any suspected links which have unclear origin or content. When receiving an SMS with fraud content, people are recommended to report to the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT/CC) under AIS by sending an SMS to 5656 or leaving a message at the website address https://thongbaorac.ais.gov.vn/ so that AIS can timely work with related agencies to handle the issue. Also, when discovering a case of using, selling or buying IMSI Catchers / SMS Broadcasters illegally, citizens need to report it to the police or the Authority of Information Security (AIS) immediately via AIS’ hotline 0339035656. Vietnam’s commitment at COP26 marks a turning point in climate change policy: expert Vietnam's commitment at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK, is a historical turning point in its climate change policy, an expert has said. Dr. Do Nam Thang, an expert in environment and climate change at the Australian National University, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s correspondent in Sydney that through the commitment made by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the conference, Vietnam has joined hands with about 140 other countries worldwide to achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2050. Despite a range of challenges, Vietnam has opportunities to realise the commitment, he said, suggesting the country devise a specific, feasible plan to reach the target. Thang cited a recent study by the Australian National University as showing that Vietnam has potential to produce 90 percent of its electricity from wind and solar power. The country’s initial successes in solar and wind power development, especially offshore wind energy, should be further promoted. According to the World Bank, Vietnam's offshore wind power potential is estimated at about 475 GW in its territorial waters 200 km from the coastline, about eight times higher than the country’s capacity in 2020. By gradually replacing coal-fired electricity, this could help reduce over 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions and add at least 50 billion USD to Vietnam’s economy from a strong local supply chain, more jobs, and exports. Therefore, Vietnam’s Power Development Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period (PDP VIII) should increase the ratio of wind and solar power, the expert suggested. Thang also highlighted the significance of international cooperation, which, he said, would help Vietnam utilise renewable energy development opportunities and shift towards the green economy./. Govt orders installment of nonstop ETC systems on expys in early 2022 The Government has assigned the Ministry of Transport to ask the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) to install nonstop electronic toll collection (ETC) systems at expressway projects managed by VEC in the first quarter of next year. VEC is currently managing and operating five expressways. Only the nonstop ETC system on the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway has been put into operation, while the service on the Noi Bai-Lao Cai, Danang-Quang Ngai, Ben Luc-Long Thanh and HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay has yet to be launched. The Ministry of Transport and the relevant ministries and agencies must also address shortcomings in the operation of current nonstop toll collection systems. In addition, the Ministry of Transport and localities were asked to direct investors of BOT projects and toll collection service providers to quickly install nonstop ETC systems and ensure that at each tollgate, there is a mixed lane for both ETC and manual toll collection. Moreover, localities should propagandize and encourage owners of vehicles to use the ETC service. Toll collection service providers must ceaselessly improve and diversify payment services for road users and ensure that at least 90% of vehicles subject to the toll payment use the nonstop ETC service by June next year. The Ministry of Transport was also required to pick some more expressways to pilot the nonstop ETC service. The relevant agencies must propagandize the service on mass media at least three months prior to the application. Ca Mau tightens regulations on use of geographical indication for black tiger shrimp The southernmost province of Cà Mau has strengthened regulations on the use of Cà Mau geographical indication for its black tiger shrimp to protect the rights of shrimp breeders and consumers. The province, the country’s largest shrimp producer, was granted the Cà Mau geographical indication for black tiger shrimp in September by the National Office of Intellectual Property. The province’s Department of Science and Technology is in charge of managing the Cà Mau geographical indication for black tiger shrimp. The department has issued regulations that define the responsibilities and rights of organisations and individuals in their activities to control geographical indication usage. The regulations cover procedures and guidance for inspecting the use of geographical indications to ensure the origin, quality, and reputation of the province’s black tiger shrimp. It includes regulations on breeding and processing the shrimp, shrimp seed origin and geographical breeding areas, and the quality of end shrimp products bearing the Cà Mau geographical indication. The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has more than 300,000ha of aquaculture, including 280,000ha of shrimp, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The province’s shrimp breeding area accounts for 45 per cent of the Mekong Delta’s total shrimp breeding area and 40 per cent of the country’s total shrimp breeding area. Of the province's 280,000ha of shrimp, about 19,000 ha have been granted international standard certificates, including global good agricultural practices (GlobalGAP), Global Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), and Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP). Black tiger shrimp is one of the province’s key seafood products and the province’s many black tiger shrimp breeding areas have been granted international certificates. The province plans to maintain its shrimp breeding area from now to 2030 but is enhancing output and quality by applying advanced farming techniques. The province plans to develop five super-intensive shrimp breeding areas. Each area will breed shrimp under international quality standards. Besides breeding shrimp under intensive farming methods, the province has advantages for developing extensive shrimp farming under shrimp – rice farming and shrimp – forest farming methods. The province aims to have 40,000ha of shrimp–rice farming by 2025. The province exports about US$1 billion of shrimp a year, accounting for about 30 per cent of the country’s total shrimp export value. Its shrimp is exported to more than 90 countries and territories. HCMC ensures safe construction of Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2022 Saigontourist Group, which was assigned by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to organize Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2022, informed that the flower street would be under construction for 16 days, starting from January 13 to January 29, 2022. The flower street will be opened for a week from the evening of January 29 to February 4, 2022. The construction unit will have to strictly comply with the city’s Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control regulations as well as ensure progress and safety during the works process. Over the past 18 years, the Nguyen Hue Flower Street has become a typical annual tourism attraction, cultural and entertainment event to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Ho Chi Minh City. The flower street stretches on Nguyen Hue walking street, designed and decorated with radiant colorful flowers by engineers and experts. Long An Province fully embraces new-style rural areas programme The Mekong Delta province of Long An has been very successful in building national new-style rural areas, improving people’s incomes in the countryside and the beautiful look of rural areas. Situated where the delta meets the south-eastern region, Long An has had 106 of its 161 communes recognised as new-style rural areas and eight meeting advanced new-style rural areas under the national target programme on building new-style rural areas. To be recognised as a new–style rural commune, a commune must meet 19 criteria related to infrastructure, irrigation, electricity, environment, income, education, healthcare, social security, and culture. The looks of most communes have improved significantly, and infrastructure for transport and irrigation, healthcare centres, rural markets, and commune cultural houses meet the [programme] criteria, according to the province Coordination Office for New–style Rural Areas. Nguyễn Văn Út, chairman of the province People’s Committee, said building new-style rural areas would be successful only when the role of local people is promoted effectively. For this, province authorities have propagandised the meaning and significance of the programme to make the public understand that the State only provides a part of the cost of building new-style rural areas and the rest is borne by local people. For the programme, authorities have encouraged management, discussion and decision-making by locals. The provincial authorities have let local people decide how their financial contributions will be used and monitor the use. In 2010–20 the province mobilised more than VNĐ123 trillion (US$5.4 billion), 10.5 per cent from public funds and the rest from companies, local people, and loans. Tân Tây Commune became Thạnh Hoá District’s first commune to be recognised as a new – style rural commune and its residents played an important role in it. Nguyễn Văn Hoàng, head of the management board of the yellow Ochna growing village in Tân Tây Commune, said: “When the commune began the programme, many things were new to the people, but they approved and actively participated in the programme after local authorities provided clear explanations.” Commune residents have contributed nearly VNĐ22 billion ($970,000) to build irrigation canals and rural roads so far, he said. Locals earn an average of VNĐ56 million ($2,500) a year and the poverty rate is only 0.82 per cent, according to the commune People’s Committee. Long An is focusing on improving farmers’ incomes and restructuring agriculture by switching to advanced techniques. Võ Kim Thuần, head of its Irrigation and Rural Development Sub-department, said the province has identified four farming areas for the use of advanced techniques. They include a rice farming zone in the Đồng Tháp Mười (Plain of Reeds), a dragon fruit farming zone in Châu Thành District, a vegetable farming zone in the districts of Cần Đước, Cần Giuộc and Đức Hoà and Tân An City, and a cattle farming zone in the districts of Đức Hoà and Đức Huệ. Local authorities and relevant agencies have helped farmers improve yields and product value by using advanced farming techniques and boosting the promotion of their produce. Other measures such as controlling the food safety production chains, creating favourable conditions for tracing origins, and improving quality have also been undertaken. These have played an important role in increasing the rural per capita income from VNĐ15.6 million ($690) in 2010 to VNĐ60 million ($2,650) this year. The province poverty rate has reduced from 2.21 per cent in 2019 to 1.16 per cent last year. More and more communes have become prosperous through the new – style rural programme, according to local authorities. For instance, Long Trì Commune in Châu Thành District has more than 2,160 households mostly living off dragon fruit and other crops and livestock. Under the programme, it has created concentrated dragon fruit farming areas where advanced techniques are used. The fruit is grown on 690ha, with 400ha planted to Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards. Commune authorities have encouraged dragon fruit farmers to join co-operatives and co-operative groups to secure outlets and steady prices. Trần Thị Kim Xuyến, chairwoman of the Long Trì Farmers Association, said locals earned an average of VNĐ65 million ($2,860) last year. All commune–level roads in Long Trì are cemented and 3.5 – 6 metres wide, and all hamlet roads are also asphalted. Flowers are grown along roads. Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, who grows dragon fruit using advanced techniques in Long Trì, said: “The building of new-style rural areas makes villages more beautiful, people have better lives and the work of farming is less hard thanks to the application of advanced techniques.” With a smartphone and sensors for monitoring soil moisture and nutrition in his orchard, he can know what it needs and irrigate it remotely, he said. Advanced new-style rural areas Long An plans to develop more new-style rural areas and upgrade more existing ones into advanced new-style rural areas. It expects to have an additional four each by year-end. In 2021 – 25 it plans to have 10 districts, towns and cities, or two-thirds of all, becoming the former, and two districts becoming the latter. Nguyễn Minh Lâm, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said the province would boost advocacy and develop effective and creative models for the programme. It would focus on building necessary infrastructure, he said. It would prioritise the development of agriculture through value chains, especially safe and clean production, and boost the use of advanced techniques, he said. It would protect the environment and build rural areas that are green, clean, beautiful, and modern while also preserving their traditions and culture, he added. Vietnam Museum of Ethnology opens Discovery Room for children A new space for the public, especially children, to explore and learn about the culture of Vietnam and the world, has just been opened at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. The new space aims to encourage the public to interact with artifacts through sensory experiences with the support of technology. Visitors not only admire and learn information about the artifacts, but also have the opportunity to directly feel, think and share about each artifact through multi-dimensional stories from artisans, museum staff or the visitors themselves. The Children's Discovery Room is a special gallery just for children, with an eye-catching design presented in the form of games, story exploration through each sub-theme, hands-on experiences, and a combination of using modern audio-visual aids. Activities are arranged in accordance with age and receptivity to stimulate curiosity and help children learn and have fun at the same time. The highlight of the Discovery Room is to encourage children to make the most of their senses, being able to hold, touch, smell, and hear in order to feel and discover artifacts of ethnic groups in Vietnam and around the world. The Discovery Room designs dynamic spaces to serve the diverse needs of the public: a permanent space for regular exploration programs; space for thematic activities; dedicated space for organising classes according to the school's theme. The Multimedia Room is considered as a data centre through sounds and images about Vietnamese culture and the world. The room has a variety of equipment to serve the needs of watching, listening, reading and singing for domestic and foreign tourists to actively explore. Regarding the movie viewing activity, there are eight movie screens with their own headphones, the content features topics such as festivals, customs, crafts, folk music, performing artsand daily life of the ethnic groups in Vietnam. Visitors can listen and feel the sound through the headset system and learn about traditional instruments from four music discovery boxes; as well as sing folk songs and lullabies of ethnic groups in Vietnam. Dr. Bui Ngoc Quang - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology shared: “We hope that young people not only have the opportunity to study at the museum but also come here with a love of cultural heritage. The museum is expected to become a destination to have fun and relax after a hard day of studying. The museum tries to create a variety of activities in the Discovery Room to connect with a wide range of the public, especially young people. The museum believes that the Discovery Room will become a bridge connecting the school with the museum to create many lively lessons with visual aids. At the same time, the room is expected to connect tourism makers with the museum to design many tours associated with cultural heritage experiences. Through practical activities of the parties, it will make an important contribution to the introduction and promotion of culture, raising understanding, respectful attitudes, and encouraging the sense of preserving cultural heritage of the young generation". 12th Party Central Committee's Politburo, Secretariat members get retirement decisionsThe Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee on Saturday handed over retirement decisions to six Politburo and Secretariat members of the 12th Party Central Committee who have not run for seats in the 13th tenure. The event was chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and attended by Politburo member, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính; Politburo member, National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ; and Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat Võ Văn Thưởng. Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng handed over the decisions to Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, former Politburo member, former Secretary of the Party Delegation of the National Assembly and former NA Chairwoman; Tòng Thị Phóng, former Politburo member, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Delegation of the NA, and former NA Vice Chairman; Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, former Politburo member, former Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee and former head of HCM City’s NA delegation; General Ngô Xuân Lịch, former Politburo member, former Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and former Minister of National Defence; Hoàng Trung Hải, former Politburo member, former Secretary of the Hà Nội Party Committee, and former permanent deputy head of the unit in charge of documents for the 13th National Party Congress; and Nguyễn Văn Bình, former Politburo member, former Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and former Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission. Trọng said the former Politburo and Secretariat members outstandingly completed their tasks assigned by the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Party Central Committee and the people, and greatly contributed to the country’s achievements in all fields. The Party leader expressed his hope that they will continue to make contributions to the nation's development. In her remarks, Ngân noted her belief that under the Party's leadership and with people’s consensus, Việt Nam will develop strongly in the future. Việt Nam, Switzerland eye stronger educational cooperation Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyễn Kim Sơn and Switzerland’s State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) Martina Hirayama on November 26 discussed measures to improve the efficiency of educational cooperation between the two countries. Their working session took place within the framework of President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s official visit to Switzerland. Sơn suggested strengthening collaboration between Vietnamese and Swiss universities, covering training programmes in such areas as tourism, insurance, banking and high-tech, along with innovation. The two sides should step up the exchange of lecturers and students, and establish research groups that gather professors from Vietnamese and Swiss universities, he said. The minister said during a meeting with President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Swiss President Guy Parmelin had suggested the five leading universities of Switzerland increase cooperation with Vietnamese universities. Hirayama showed her support for the Vietnamese side’s proposals, saying the two countries’ state management agencies play a significant role in this regard. On this occasion, Sơn expressed his hope that Switzerland will provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students, helping the Southeast Asian nation improve the quality of human resources. Sơn invited the Swiss official to visit Việt Nam and work with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. Hirayama accepted the invitation with pleasure, saying she hopes that the two sides will work together to promote the bilateral educational cooperation. Việt Nam participates in the 143rd IPU Assembly A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) is taking part in the 143rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Spain. The group was led by Vũ Hải Hà, chairman of the Vietnamese NA’s Committee for External Affairs. The opening ceremony took place in Madrid on Friday (local time). The assembly is hosted by the Spanish Parliament in Madrid during November 26-30. In attendance were Spain’s King Felipe VI, President of the Congress of Deputies Meritxell Batet, President of the Senate Ander Gil, and IPU President Duarte Pacheco. Nearly 1,500 delegates from 123 member parliaments, eight associate members, and 20 observers were also at the ceremony. Speaking at the event, King Felipe VI emphasised the importance of the parliament as the central institution of democracy, not only representing the people but also playing a decisive role in fostering political consensus. The Spanish king also expressed his appreciation towards the IPU’s capacity, openness, innovation, and priorities in accordance with the actual needs of the parliaments. Batet, Gil and Pacheco acknowledged the key role of parliamentary solidarity in addressing global issues, especially climate change and COVID-19, while stressing the need to build trust in democracy and resolving differences through goodwill and dialogues. Addressing the event via a pre-recorded video, the United Nations (UN) President of the General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and its Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in realising UN agreements, affirming the organisation’s commitment to strengthening the strategic relations between the UN and the IPU. This year’s IPU Assembly focuses on the “Contemporary challenges to democracy: Overcoming division and building community”, which shows IPU’s priority in enhancing parliamentary solidarity and collaboration, bringing forward solutions and strengthening the role of the parliament for a sustainable recovery after COVID-19. On the same day, the Vietnamese delegation had a meeting with Việt Nam’s Honorary Consul in Barcelona Guardans i Cambó. The meeting centred on the cooperation between the two countries, especially in economic, culture, sports, tourism, and other areas of strength. The delegation also visited the headquarters of Spain’s HIPRA Group to discuss its collaboration projects and activities with Việt Nam, including the testing of a COVID-19 vaccine which is expected to be commercialised in the first quarter of 2022. The Vietnamese officials will continue participating in other events of the IPU, which include the plenary sessions, the governing council, the standing committees on peace and international security, sustainable development, democracy and human rights, UN affairs, the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP), and other bilateral meetings. Việt Nam determined to produce COVID-19 vaccines, treatment drugs at home It is a must to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs domestically, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said at a meeting with representatives from ministries and agencies in Hà Nội on November 27. He regarded the “5K principle”, vaccines, treatment drugs, technologies, public awareness and other solutions as crucial factors to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control the pandemic. The “5K principle” was issued by the Ministry of Health, covering khẩu trang (facemask), khử khuẩn (disinfection), khoảng cách (distance), không tụ tập (no gathering), and khai báo y tế (health declaration). PM Chính applauded the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and agencies, especially scientists, researchers and producers of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs for their efforts over the past time. He called for closer coordination to remove difficulties in research as well as administrative and legal procedures, striving to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs at home. The nation’s interests, and the public’s health and life must be the top priority, the PM emphasised. PM Chinh assigned the Ministry of Health to coordinate with other relevant ministries and agencies to review institutions to facilitate the process. As of November 26, Việt Nam had administered more than 117.6 million doses of vaccines. More than 48.3 million citizens are now fully inoculated. The country has engaged in technology transfer, research and trial of such vaccines as Nano Covax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, HIPRA, Sputnik V, Shionogi and some vaccines of Cuba and India. Six factories have registered for COVID-19 treatment drug production. Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan |
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét