VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES APRIL 18  16:46                Localities nationwide need to prevent downpour-triggered flash floods, landslide The National Center for Hydrology Meteorology Forecasting warned that cold air having intensifies and connecting with upper-air wind convergence at 1,500 meters above the surface would trigger heavy rainfalls between 40 mm and 100 mm over the Northeast, Red River Delta, North- Central and Mid-Central regions from last night through today. Furtherly, mountainous and low-lying areas need to prevent risks of lightning, hails, whirlwinds, landslides, flash floods and flooding from the tropical downpours. The Northeast region and the capital city of Hanoi are experiencing thundery showers and chilly temperatures of 13 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius. The same weather situation is also forecast for the provinces and cities from Da Nang to Binh Thuan, the Central Highlands and the Southern regions with temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius to over 34 degrees Celsius. From tonight, the territorial waters from Binh Thuan to Ca Mau are expected to see blustery winds of levels 6-8 and big waves of 2 to 3 meters. MV of 31st SEA Games’ official song to make debut The music video of the official song for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), “Let’s Shine”, will officially make debut at 8pm on April 18, according to the regional sports event’s organising committee. The song by composer Huy Tuan is about the people born with a mission to strive for new summits and leave behind difficulties on their journeys by passion and extraordinary efforts, and with support from friends. They together shine in the welcoming and hospitable atmosphere of host Vietnam. Since the official song was launched, its audio record, sung in Vietnamese and English by well-known artists like Tung Duong, Van Mai Huong, Ho Ngoc Ha, Isaac, and Den Vau, has attracted a large number of listeners on digital platforms, the organising committee said. Inspired by memorial moments of the 22nd SEA Games in 2003 - the first of its kind to be held in Vietnam, the MV recounts the feeling of pride at that time and then gradually rolls out a picture of Vietnam on the thresholds of the 31st SEA Games. It arouses the national pride, the lofty spirit of sport, and the youth’s endeavour to move forwards so as to shine together “for a stronger Southeast Asia” - the theme of the 31st SEA Games. The Games is scheduled to take place in Hanoi and 11 nearby localities from May 12 to 23. It features 40 sports and 526 sets of medals and is expected to welcome 10,000 participants from 11 Southeast Asian countries. Kon Tum jolted by 10 consecutive earthquakes in three days A total of 10 consecutive earthquakes were recorded in Kon Plong district in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum between April 15 and April 17. Most notably, the latest minor earthquake hit Kon Plong district on the night of April 17. The magnitude 2.8 quake occurred at 0:43.50 a.m. (local time) at a focal depth of approximately 10 km, according to the Centre for Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning under the Institute of Geophysics. Nine quakes measuring between 2.5 and 4.1 on the Richter scale earlier jolted the district between April 15 and 16. The quakes shook the area at a depth of around eight to 8.1km at night and fortunately caused no injuries. As a result, none of these minor earthquakes posed a risk of natural disaster to the locality. Kon Plong district typically records dozens of earthquakes with a magnitude of no more than 4.2 each year, causing no risk of natural disaster. The Institute of Geophysics has set up an additional monitoring station in order to better understand and promptly warned of the threat of the dangerous geological phenomena, if any. Tyre sandals from wartime keep marching on Rubber sandals (also known as tyre sandals) are associated with images of late President Ho Chi Minh and soldiers during wartime. After more than 70 years since they were first made, these historical sandals continue to be known among domestic and foreign tourists. Made from old car and aeroplane tyres, the sandals were worn by many Vietnamese soldiers during the war against the French and the Americans. Many people call them “Uncle Ho sandals”, because they were the distinctive footwear of the late President during both war and peace. Nguyen Tien Cuong’s rubber sandal workshop on Ngoc Ha Street in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh district is a popular spot for people looking for footwear as hard-wearing and as practical as back in those days. Vua Dep Lop has exported its rubber sandals to 60 countries and territories for the last eight years. In Vietnam, many people, including young ones, are also interested in the sandals. Vua Dep Lop has been focusing on innovating materials, designs, and colours to create fashionable footwear for customers from all walks of life, from the elderly to youngsters and even children. SEA Games 31: Delegation Registration Meeting to take place next month A Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) will take place in Hanoi next month for Vietnam, as the host, to confirm the registration of all athletes to participate in the upcoming SEA Games. The event will be held among chiefs of delegations and National Olympic Committees of Southeast Asian nations from May 1 - 6 in both in-person and virtual forms.  The meeting will discuss and confirm all information regarding the organisation of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), from the number of athletes, entry and exit procedures, venues, accommodations, match schedules, doping testing to transport, logistics, reception, healthcare and security services, and more. The event is expected to be attended by about 80 delegates, including 35-45 from Vietnam and 30-40 from other regional countries. The Vietnamese team will compete at the region’s biggest sports event, which runs from May 12 - 23, with 1,359 members. Indian parliamentary leader to visit Vietnam Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 19-21, according to the National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee. The visit will be made at an invitation by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, it said. Deputy PM inspects four component projects of North-South Expressway Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh reiterated the Government’s determination to complete 361km of the North - South Expressway this year as he was chairing a meeting to review the progress of four component projects on April 16. The four component projects include those from Mai Son - Expressway 45 (63.37km), Cam Lo - La Son (98.3km), Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet (100.8km), and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay (99km), measuring 361.47km in total.  Thanh also inspected the construction of the Mai Son - Expressway 45 section from Ninh Binh to Thanh Hoa in the north on the same day. It was reported that the first two sections had been 57.5 percent and 81.8 percent completed respectively, while the others’ progress were relatively slow, at 32.2 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively as a result of shortage and surging prices of construction materials, unfavourable weather and the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thanh said he hopes the first two will be finished this year while urging contractors of the two others to work harder to keep up with the schedule. Nearly 1,000 Hanoi sixth graders vaccinated against COVID-19 Nearly 1,000 sixth grade students aged 11 years old to 11 years and 10 months old in Hanoi’s districts of Ha Dong, Phu Xuyen and Soc Son were vaccinated against the COVID-19 on April 16.  They were the first in the capital to receive the inoculation as the city has kicked off the vaccine rollout for children aged 5 to under 12. The campaign began in other districts the following day. The second dose will be provided 28 days after the first dose. Priority is being given to those with congenital and underlying diseases, malnutrition, obesity and others, according to Director of the municipal Department of Health Tran Thi Nhi Ha. It is estimated that Hanoi has more than 1 million children in the targeted age group. Foreigners in HCM City celebrate Thanksgiving 2022 Churches in Ho Chi Minh City hold Thanksgiving mass on April 17 with the participation of a large number of foreigners living and working in the locality. Nearly 1,000 British expats attended the mass at Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon, while about 300 people from the Republic of Korean community celebrated the festival at Huyen Si Church in District 1. Hundreds of British and Korean expats also attended the mass at the two churches on April 16 evening. Priest Joseph Dao Nguyen Vu said that foreigners did not have the chance to go to church when the COVID-19 pandemic previously broke out, forcing churches to close. They are now happy when the pandemic has been brought under control and churches have reopened their doors again. Going back to mass is considered a connection with resurrection, the new life of God…. this is resurrection, said Priest Joseph Dao Nguyen Vu, who is in charge of foreigners at Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese. Hung Dung officially named as Vietnam U23 captain Head coach Park Hang-seo has selected midfielder Do Hung Dung as the captain of the national men’s U23 side for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 31, as opposed to his initial decision of Hoang Anh. With Quang Hai no longer captain of U23 team. The final decision sees the role instead go to Do Hung Dung. The team will feature also two vice-captains, including midfielder Ly Cong Hoang Anh and striker Tien Linh. Do Hung Dung, 29, had previously held the role of captain of the Vietnamese U22 squad, with the team winning a gold medal at the 30th SEA Games back in the Philippines in 2019. In addition, 2019 also witnessed the Hanoi FC footballer claim the Vietnam Golden Ball award. This comes after Dung was also promoted by coach Park to the role of captain of the Vietnamese men’s national football team. National Online Book Fair to "light the fire of knowledge" The 2022 National Online Book Fair will be held from April 19 to May 20 to celebrate the first Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day with the message "Lighting the fire of knowledge". With this message, this year's book fair focuses on connecting and taking advantage of all social resources to join hands to "light the fire of knowledge" in the whole society, through organising a series of programmes, events and contests, which have humanistic meanings and are expected to spread widely. This year, the National Online Book Fair sets specific goals of attracting at least 5 million visitors. With the participation of nearly 100 publishing units nationwide, the fair featured more than 40,000 books; offering minimum book price subsidy from 15%-25% directly from all participating units and subsidies from 30-50% from the reading promotion fund in book price subsidies from sponsors. The event also provided nearly 30,000 books to readers, providing opportunities to buy books at highly subsidized prices and participate in great knowledge events for readers across the country. At the same time, it also organised at least seven to 12 major talk shows, with the participation of prestigious, famous and influential figures for readers; successfully organised the contest "Wise Men" in an online form to find 100 wise men across the country; applying technology in interaction and creating a national intellectual playground. Top 71 Miss Universe Vietnam 2022 to be broadcast reality TV show The organizing committee of Miss Universe Vietnam 2022 yesterday held a press conference to announce the Top 71 best contestants of the pageant competition and broadcast the reality TV show ‘I am Miss Universe Vietnam 2022’ at Ho Chi Minh City-based GEM Center. The highlight of this year’s competition is the organizer decided to give an honorary golden ticket to Miss Transgender Vietnam 2018 Do Nhat Ha from Ho Chi Minh City. She officially put her name on the list of the Top 71 contestants of the Miss Universe. Also in the program, the Organizing Committee announced to broadcast the first episode of the reality TV show ‘I am Miss Universe Vietnam 2022’ at 8:15 p.m. on the same day on channel VTV9, Uni Network, and local stations. The program with nine episodes aired with topics such as Catch your chance (Casting), Wear your sash (enter), Walk your way (Runway), Raise your voice (in English), Share your hands (community), Lead your generation (Social media), Own your stage (Interview), Shine your light (Fashion show), Be a Vinawoman ( the final). Ho Chi Minh’s career to be brought to musical stage Người Cầm Lái (The Helmsman), a musical which tells the story about the life and revolutionary career of President Hồ Chí Minh, is scheduled to be performed on stage on April 24 and May 17. Produced by the Public Security Theatre, the musical aims to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the theatre (April 24, 1982-2022) and 132 years of President Hồ's birth (May 19, 1890-2022). Centring on the life and career of Hồ Chí Minh, from the moment he left Việt Nam to find a way for the nation's freedom, independence and unification, the musical focuses on the time after he travelled abroad, returned to the country to start the war of resistance against the French, and displays the image of President Hồ with the People's Security force. The musical is expected to take place over two nights, April 24 and May 17 at the Hà Nội Opera House. HCM City keeps close watch over COVID drugs, cracks down on dubious products The HCM City People's Committee has instructed relevant agencies to keep a close watch over the sales of COVID-19 treatment drugs. It has tasked the Departments of Health and Information and Communications and others to disseminate relevant laws and the Ministry of Health’s latest guidelines on the use and sales of the drugs. It said authorised units should keep watch over prices and crack down on speculation and hoarding of the drugs and price hikes to take advantage of possible shortages. The Drug, Cosmetics and Food Quality Control Centre has been instructed to routinely collect and test samples to quickly detect poor-quality drugs and those with unknown origins. HCM City book fair looks to inculcate reading habit The event will celebrate the first Việt Nam Book and Reading Cultural Day to honour authors, people working in book publishing and distribution, and those contributing to developing reading culture among the community. The event will display around 10,000 Vietnamese and foreign titles on various topics from the city’s major publishers and book distributors including the HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (FAHASA), the Trẻ (Youth) Publishing House, Phương Nam Books, and the HCM City General Publishing House. Hundreds of audio books and e-books will be displayed and sold at the event, which will also include several talks between authors and cultural experts and visitors. The two-day (April 19-20) event will be held at the Nguyễn Huệ Pedestrian Street in District 1. A series of programmes to celebrate the Việt Nam Book and Reading Cultural Day will also be held at the HCM City Book Pedestrian Street in District 1’s Nguyễn Văn Bình Street at the same time, organizers said. An important activity to mark the event will be the launch of book clubs and installation of book shelves at schools and agencies in 21 districts and Thủ Đức City from April 19 to May 20 to encourage the reading habit, especially among students. A national online book fair themed Thắp Lửa Tri Thức (Lighting the Flame of Knowledge) will be held at website book365.vn from April 19 to May 20. In HCM City, increasing number of workers withdraw social insurance premiums Around 37,000 workers in HCM City decided to fully withdraw their social insurance premiums and close their accounts in the first quarter of the year, 19 per cent more than last year, according to the HCM City Social Security Agency. For their compulsory social insurance policy, employees pay 25 per cent of their salary every month, with the employer contributing 17 per cent. By paying a premium of VNĐ400,000 ($17.5) a month, for instance, they can get a monthly pension of VNĐ3.75 million ($163) after retirement. They can also get a monthly allowance equal to 60 per cent of their average wage of the last six months if they become unemployed before retirement for a maximum of 12 months. Thus, the unemployment insurance only provides minor relief. Send-off ceremony for Vietnamese delegation to SEA Games 31 slated for April 28 A ceremony will be held on April 28 in Hanoi to see off the sports delegation of Vietnam to the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) slated for May 12 – 23 in Hanoi. The event aims to encourage the competitive spirit of the Vietnamese players, towards making the best performance and topping the medal tally at the event. Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Tran Duc Phan, who is also head of the Vietnamese sports delegation, said the preparation for the send-off ceremony is being actively implemented and carefully reviewed. According to the registered preliminary list, 965 athletes of Vietnam will compete in SEA Games 31  (534 men, 431 women). Over 12,000 children vaccinated, no serious adverse reactions recorded As many as 12,414 children aged from 5 to under 12 years have been given their first vaccine shot against COVID-19 since the campaign was launched in Vietnam last week. Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Nam are the first four localities that are carrying out the campaign.   The vaccination has been conducted in an orderly manner and no serious adverse reactions have been recorded, reported the Ministry of Health. Other localities are set to vaccine their children this week, using the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Australian government. Outdoor concert a tribute to Viet Nam’s Bob Dylan Compositions by  Trịnh Công Sơn, a leading light in Vietnamese contemporary music, will be performed at an outdoor concert on HCM City’s Nguyễn Huệ Pedestrian Street this weekend. Titled Nối Vòng Tay Lớn (Grand Circle of Unity) the concert will be part of the city’s Book and Reading Culture Festival 2022 organised by the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in co-operation with The Show Vietnam.  Many famous artistes including Cẩm Vân, Hồ Trung Dũng, Lê Hiếu, CeCe Trương and rapper Wowy will perform at the concert as will popular saxophonists Trần Mạnh Tuấn and An Trần. The concert’s repertoire will include some of Sơn’s most hits like Biển Nhớ (The Sea Remembers), Ru Tình (Lullaby for Love), Huế Sài Gòn Hà Nội, and Nối Vòng Tay Lớn. The concert will also feature young artists Nhật Linh, Lan Thy, Hoàng Hà and Avin Lu - who’ve performed lead roles in a new yet to be released biopic on the late musician. The film Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh), focuses on Sơn and his music in the 1960s and 1970s as well as his love life. The film will be released in June.  300-kilo bomb detonated in Son La A 300-kilo bomb which was found at a construction site in the northern province of Son La has been safely detonated. According to authorities in Yen Chau District, the bomb was discovered at the construction site of the Ta Vai Bridge upgrade project on National Road 6 in Chieng Hac Commune on April 5. The bomb, which was identified as being left from the French War, has been safely denotated by local army forces. Vietnam is one of the most heavily bomb-and-mine-contaminated countries in the world. At present, bombs and mines are still covering up to 6.1 million hectares or 18.7 percent of the country’s land area. Daily COVID-19 count falls to lowest in two months The Ministry of Health confirmed 14,660 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the lowest daily count over the past two months, raising Viet Nam's patient tally to 10,432,617. Viet Nam reports the lowest daily count of COVID-19 cases on Sunday, April 17, 2022 The ministry said there were additional 5,472 recoveries, taking the total number of recovered cases to 8,936,846. The ministry also announced further 10 fatalities, bringing the nation's COVID-19 death toll to 42,944 or 0.4 percent of the national caseload. Vietnam tops test shooting event - road to SEA Games 31 Vietnam ranked first at the test shooting event - road to the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), with 11 gold medals, 10 silvers and 13 bronzes. Indonesia was the runners-up with two gold medals, four silvers and one bronze. Singapore came third with one gold medal. The test shooting event took place from April 12-16 at the Hanoi National Centre for Sport Training, gathering 143 shooters from the three country, who completed at 16 categories in the official competition programme of the upcoming SEA Games.  Vietnam’s shooting team has set a target of winning between five and seven gold medals at the regional sports event. Nearly 3,000 runners compete in Tay Ho Half Marathon 2021 Nearly 3,000 athletes took part in Tay Ho Half Marathon 2021 organised by the People’s Committee of Hanoi’s Tay Ho district on April 17. Of these, more than 1,000 people competed in half marathon. They competed in four different categories of 21km, 15km, 6km and 3km. In the men's half-marathon category, Bui Van Dung won the championship with 1 hour 13 minutes 54 seconds while Le Thi Bich finished first in the women's half marathon in 1 hour 22 minutes 22 seconds. The competition, first organised in 2020, has been canceled twice in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HCM City career fair attracts 5,000 students A career fair was held by the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) on April 17, attracting more than 5,000 students. The UEH Career Fair was organised not only in-person but also virtually on event.ueh.edu.vn and vieclam.ueh.edu.vn. It brought together recruiters from over 40 companies in various fields, from banking-finance-insurance, securities, accounting, to audit, e-commerce, construction-real estate and others. The UEH also took the occasion to launch a new website page for student career counselling and job advice at hieuveban.ueh.edu.vn in order to help students make better career choices. Thua Thien-Hue receives two Nguyen dynasty artifacts The Centre for Conservation of Hue Monuments in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on April 17 received two artifacts of the Nguyen Dynasty - a mandarin hat and a dress. The two artifacts were bought by the Sunshine Group Joint Stock Company at an auction in Spain and donated to the province, home to the complex of royal palaces of the Nguyen Dynasty. The mandarin hat was made by around the end of the 19th century or early 20th century, while the silk dress dates back to the 19th century. They will be preserved at the Hue Museum of Royal Fine Arts and displayed for free-of-charge public view until the end of this year. Reformed opera play on national heroines celebrates National Reunification Day A cải lương (reformed opera) play on national heroines, Trưng sisters, is being restaged to celebrate the National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1).  The play, called Tiếng Trống Mê Linh (The Sounds of Mê Linh Drum) will feature young artists of the Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, a leading traditional art troupe in HCM City.  It will narrate the stories of Trưng Trắc and her younger sister Trưng Nhị, who led the first resistance movement against the Southern Han Chinese occupation in the first century, around 2,000 years ago. The sisters led their troops on elephants to repel Chinese invasions. Their victory delivered liberation for Đại Việt (an old name for Việt Nam) after 247 years of Chinese domination Tiếng Trống Mê Linh will be staged every night from April 24 to May 1 at the Trần Hữu Trang Theatre, 136Đ Trần Hưng Đạo Street, District 1. Tickets are available at the box office. Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes