South Da Lat Urban Area: Ideal and Sustainable Investment Destination Situated in a prime location, only 30 km from Da Lat City and 15 km from Lien Khuong Airport, Dai Ninh Trade and Ecotourism Area (South Da Lat Urban Area) is a top-class urban area in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with hundreds of key constructions. As soon as South Da Lat Urban Area comes into operation, it not only brings a new tourism look to the southern part of Da Lat City but also helps stimulate and enhance investment attraction in Lam Dong province, hence creating motivation to boost socio-economic development as well as industrialisation and modernisation of the province. The following conversation with Ms Phan Thi Hoa, President of the Board of Directors of Saigon Dai Ninh Tourism Investment Joint Stock Company, the investor of South Da Lat Urban Area, will provide more information about this project. Hoang Lam reports. In 2010, the real estate market was “frozen” by global economic crisis, … [Read more...]

HANOI PERFORMANCE “Concert of Childhood Memory” Grand Hall The Vietnamese National Academy of Music 77 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi Launched in 2016, “Concert of Childhood Memory” will feature arrangements by the Young Orchestra of the Vietnam National Academy of Music. This edition is themed on “The Mirror” and present songs from Studio Ghibli, representing a multi-dimensional mirror which reflects the ego of each person in the past, present and future. Ticket price: 100k – 200k – 300k (Discount 10% for students) May Musical: “Mamma Mia!” “Mamma Mia” is a romantic comedy musical based on the successful pop songs of the legendary band ABBA, which will take you to the Mediterranean coasts full of sunshine, cool breezes and romantic rendezvouses. This is a music event that you should not miss in the early days of this summer! The premier show in Hanoi will be performed by the city’s high school … [Read more...]

The majority of victims of slavery in Britain are from Albania and Vietnam. Britain won plaudits for its landmark Modern Slavery Act but charities said on Thursday that traffickers have nothing to fear from politicians' pre-election promises on the slave trade. "Despite the passing of the Modern Slavery Act, we still fail the majority of the victims of modern slavery in Britain today, while traffickers go unpunished," said Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International. "The next government needs to go much further and focus on supporting victims," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The last of the big political parties released its manifesto on Thursday ahead of a June 8 election that the ruling Conservatives are widely expected to win. But with the focus on immigration and on Britain's exit from the European Union, charities said there was little in the way of new policies or money to combat the global trade in people. Nearly 46 million people are enslaved … [Read more...]

Vietnam Investment Review honours 160 disadvantaged students who produced stellar results in the previous academic year with scholarships worth VND80 million in Nam Dan and Thanh Chuong districts as part of the celebration of the 127th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh on May 19 in the central province of Nghe An, the leader’s hometown. RELATED CONTENTS: On the occasion of the 127th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, the delegation of Vietnam Investment Review and the Ministry of Planning and Investment organised a special voyage to visit Uncle Ho’s hometown in Nam Dan district and to hand out scholarships to students in need from Nam Dan and Thanh Chuong districts. Of the 160 scholarships in total, 100 were provided to students in Nam Dan district, and the remainder went to pupils in Thanh Chuong district. The money was raised by the scholarship fund of VIR's charity golf tournament Swing for the Kids. Also on this occasion, the Money, Finance and … [Read more...]

The forum on Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue (AVYLD), the first of its kind, focused on innovation in the leadership role in the 21st century, education, business and national development. The participants shared their own success or failure stories and their ways to overcome challenges and make the best use of opportunities. Addressing the forum, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop highlighted the close relations between Vietnam and Australia. The two countries share many interests in the Asian-Pacific region and a joint commitment to boosting their economic ties, she said. She described the connectivity created by the AVYLD as an important momentum contributing to consolidating the bilateral relationship, saying the forum has created a venue for the most talented youths of the two countries to cooperate with each other. Duong Hoai Nam, Chargé d'Affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia, hailed the initiative to establish the AVYLD, especially in the … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HCM CITY - Việt Nam's Tourism Ambassador and Hollywood film director Jordan Charles Vogt-Roberts returned to Việt Nam to launch a scholarship fund for Vietnamese students on Thursday. The fund will offer two full scholarships worth US$90,000 each for four years of study at a university in the US. The annual scholarships include tuition and accommodation and living expenses for students studying in the arts and cinematography. To give women opportunities in study and career, at least one scholarship will be awarded to a female talent. The fund is open to students in the arts and cinematography. Candidates should submit a film clip or a poem for application. Speaking at a press conference in HCM City, the director said that he had worked with dozens of organisations and benefactors to develop the fund. He hopes the fund will begin in the autumn season. During his 10-day business trip that began on May 6, the director participated in various social and charity … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News CENTRAL REGION - Bottom trawling is a particularly destructive method of fishing, in which huge weighted nets are dragged on the sea floor, catching everything in their path. Nguyễn Văn Việt, a fisherman from Hoài Nhơn District in the province of Bình Định, said locals here considered bottom trawlers to be 'sea demons.' "The setup is either one trawler or two trawlers running in tandem, dragging a huge net with very fine holes, scooping up fish of all sizes. Other than the fact that all sea creatures are caught and bycatches are discarded, the ecosystem along the sea floor is irreparably damaged," Việt said. Trawlers operating illegally in this part of the sea not only threaten the sustainability of sea resources but are also a menace to other fishermen. Dangers Just last week, 33-year-old fisherman Trần Anh, from the province of Quảng Trị, nearly met his maker. At around 10pm, he was on his small boat, when he saw two high-capacity trawlers, dwarfing his own … [Read more...]

Vietnamese cultural products were showcased at the Asia-Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration held at Stony Brook University, Sufolk county in New York City on May 13. Viet Nam’s permanent mission to the UN and other Vietnamese representative agencies in New York brought to the festival images of the country’s famous landscapes, the beauty of ao dai and traditional art performances, along with key exports such as tea and coffee. The festival offers an opportunity for Viet Nam to introduce its traditional values and diverse culture to international friends, said Nguyen Phuong Nga, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations (UN). The Vietnamese permanent representative delegation to the UN will donate the proceeds collected from the exhibition to support Syrian children as part of charities activities of the UN. Besides Viet Nam, 10 other countries and territories participated in the Asia-Pacific Heritage Month Celebration, which is held … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HCM CITY - Popular singers and dancers will perform at a charity concert on May 25 in HCM City to raise funds for children with heart disease. The event, Vết Sẹo Cuộc Đời (Scar of Life), is organised by VAA Entertainment in partnership with local organisations. Since it first launched in 2010, the annual show has become one of the most popular charity events, attracting local and foreign organisations as well as local and expatriate residents. Organisers said this year's theme, "I Love You More", was chosen to encourage more people to contribute to the work. The artists will sing and dance to Vietnamese music, with the highlight of the show being performances by pop star Quang Dũng and singer Hoàng Bách. Female film producer and director Ngô Thanh Vân, owner of VAA Entertainment and a member of the show's organising board, said, "Many audience members have been close friends of our event for the last seven years and have spent time and money to help more than … [Read more...]

Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper in collaboration with BAT Vietnam has held the inauguration ceremony of the rural bridge in Phu Thuan A commune, Hong Ngu district, Dong Thap province after six months of trial use. The bridge is 30 metres long, 1.6m wide, and was constructed with a capital of VND180 million ($7,900) sponsored by BAT Vietnam. This is one of the bridges constructed via the project of natural disaster prevention and fighting funded by BAT Vietnam in 2016. Another bridge project receiving support from BAT Vietnam last year is Vuon Tre Bridge, with the length of 25m and width of 3m and a total cost of VND220 million ($9,700). The bridge is in Khanh Hai commune, Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau province. These bridges were erected in the framework of the disaster prevention charity project run by Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper under the cooperation programme with BAT Vietnam since 2013. The cooperation programme aims to facilitate various charity goals, including building … [Read more...]

A Vietnamese-American has financially assisted the adoptive father of 12 orphans in his home country for years as a way to give back to his native country. A Vietnamese-American has financially assisted the adoptive father of 12 orphans in his home country for years as a way to give back to his native country. Le Minh Trien, 53, the owner of a thriving lawn mowing business in the U.S., was deeply moved when he first learnt of a fairy tale taking place on Cam (Forbidden) Mountain in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. The protagonists of the tale, Nguyen Tan Bong and his ailing septuagenarian mother, have provided for and taken care of 11 orphaned and disadvantaged children, including a preschooler with hearing and speech impairments, for over a decade now. Bong, 51 years old, has rejected marriage proposals from women out of admiration for his good deeds and devotion to single-handedly caring for his children. Trien came across an article published in 2008 about Bong and his … [Read more...]

PARIS: A charity auction selling off "love locks" from Paris bridges to raise money for refugees on Saturday (May 13) brought in over US$270,000, though the event was briefly interrupted by protests from far-right nationalists. For years tourists inscribed their initials on padlocks and hooked them to the railings of bridges, most famously the Pont des Arts near the Louvre, throwing the key into the River Seine to express their undying devotion. But officials cracked down on the practice and started removing the locks in 2015 after one section of the Pont des Arts collapsed under the weight of thousands of locks. Hundreds of people took part in the auction at Credit Municipal de Paris in which 150 bunches of the locks - mounted on displays of wood or recycled paving stones, or hanging from acrylic stands - went under the hammer. Fifteen sections of the original Pont des Arts railings mounted on wood were also auctioned. Most of the lots had been expected to go for €150 to … [Read more...]

Vietnam’s permanent mission to the UN and other Vietnamese representative agencies in New York brought to the festival images of the country’s famous landscapes, the beauty of ao dai and traditional art performances, along with key exports such as tea and coffee. The festival offers an opportunity for Vietnam to introduce its traditional values and diverse culture to international friends, said Nguyen Phuong Nga, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN). The Vietnamese permanent representative delegation to the UN will donate the proceeds collected from the exhibition to support Syrian children as part of charities activities of the UN. Besides Vietnam, 10 other countries and territories participated in the Asia-Pacific Heritage Month Celebration, which is held annually by the Suffolk County Asian American Advisory Board to introduce cultural identities of Asia-Pacific countries to the US and international friends and provide them with cultural … [Read more...]

Japanese Professor Masaaki Shimizu has been presented with the 2017 Balaban Award by the US-based Vietnamese Nom (ancient Vietnamese script) Preservation Foundation (VNPF) for his contributions to preserving Vietnamese ancient script. Professor Shimizu Masaaki, a native of Japan, is known as the author of many articles and studies of Nom script and Vietnamese culture. Professor Shimizu said in 1985 when he was a student at Osaka University, he visited the office of Professor Tomita Kenji and read and understood a Nom study by Vietnamese Professor Dao Duy Anh because he was taught the structure of Han script at his primary school. He then became interested in the ancient script. However, it wasn’t until he was taught phonetics and Chinese Nom script by late Professor Nguyen Tai Can during his studies in Vietnam between 1990 and 1991, that he became passionate about it. Returning to Japan, he successfully defended his MA thesis on “Ancient Vietnamese-Chinese Script in the … [Read more...]

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has recently announced that 320 students from 45 countries and 27 US states and territories attended the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy this year. As part of the leadership programme, Honeywell hosted students for two consecutive, weeklong programmes, February 25 through March 10, 2017, at the US Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama. The Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy aims to encourage excitement and engagement around science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects for students between the ages of 16-18. The programme is packed with hands-on activities such as building and testing rockets, simulated astronaut training, shuttle missions, and a moon walk. The programme is designed to educate students on the importance of STEM in an ever-changing, connected world. This year, Nham Bao Khanh from Nguyen Tat Thanh High School in Hanoi becomes the second student from Vietnam that was selected to attend the Honeywell … [Read more...]

The Vietnamese Embassy in Morocco recently attended an event to promote the cuisines of countries around the world in Rabat, organized by Morocco’s Ministry of Culture and the diplomatic corps in Morocco. Vietnam’s dishes introduced at the event (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Morocco) This is the second event promoting national cuisines held in Morocco. The event this year aimed to promote 140 traditional dishes of 70 countries, including Vietnam, with a cookbook called "Saveur du Monde - A la table des Ambassadrices" (Tastes of the World - At the Table of Ambassadors). Along with famous dishes of countries around the world, two Vietnamese dishes of beef noodle and Vietnamese spring roll are honoured with introductions in this book."This is a good and useful book because it collects a full range of traditional quintessential dishes from all continents around the world and it also symbolizes the friendship among nations with Morocco," famous Moroccan chef Moha Fedal … [Read more...]

HÀ NỘI - Delegates from APEC member economies gathered at a symposium in Hà Nội yesterday to seek ways to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the region. According to a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) exploring the macroeconomic costs of excluding people with disabilities from the world of work, economic losses related to disability are large and measurable, ranging between 3-7 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, the UNESCAP Disability at a Glance 2015 Report showed that the region's total workforce has already begun to decline in many parts of Asia and the Pacific due to population ageing. This trend, which will likely continue over the next decades, increases the need for governments to recognise the role that people with disabilities can play in boosting GDP growth by filling labour shortages. However, according to the report, people with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region are less likely to be employed, and when they are employed, they are … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News by Lê Hương An old story about the starfish has inspired Austrian investment bankers to set up a foundation to build schools for needy children in Việt Nam. The story says an elderly man saw a young man picking up starfish one by one and tossing each gently back into the ocean to prevent them from dying of exposure to the sun. The elderly man wondered why the young man spent so much time saving the starfish as there were thousands of starfish along miles of beach. "You can't possibly make a difference" the elderly man said. The young man bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one." "Many people told me that in a country with 90 million people, five, ten or even 20 schools would not make any difference," Thomas Farthofer, founder of Sao Bien Room for Education, told Việt Nam News, "The starfish story explains that we can make a difference." When he first arrived in Hà Nội as a … [Read more...]

Vietnam wants to levy a number of bans on the sale, marketing and consumption of beer and liquor, but few of them seem viable, industry insiders have claimed. Vietnam wants to levy a number of bans on the sale, marketing and consumption of beer and liquor, but few of them seem viable, industry insiders have claimed. The Ministry of Health is drafting a law on alleviating the impact of alcohol, which includes proposals such as restricting advertising by brewers and banning them from granting scholarships. However, experts and industry insiders have said that these bans won’t work and are urging the health ministry to think of more practical and effective measures. According to the bill, beer and alcoholic drinks makers should not be allowed to launch promotional campaigns aimed directly at consumers. The health ministry also wants to ban all advertising and marketing activities for any beer or liquor products with an alcohol content of more than 15 percent. Advertisements for … [Read more...]

Viet Nam News HỘI AN - Six riders from Australia joined a 400km charity bike trip to raise scholarship funds for disadvantaged students in central Việt Nam. They raised US$22,000 to send seven academically gifted, poor students to university. Lifestart Foundation, a charity that helps disadvantaged Vietnamese people and their families to become self-sufficient, said it took the riders seven days last week to complete the gruelling, hilly ride in extremely hot weather. The route took them from the coastal city of Đà Nẵng, through the ancient capital of Huế, A Lưới Mountains and A Roàng Districts to P'Rao town in Quảng Nam Province. At the finish line in Hội An they were met by Australian Ambassador to Việt Nam, Craig Chittick, and Consul General Karen Lanyon. "This was more than a bike trip - it was an inspiring journey with like minded people who were united by their passion for making a difference," said NGO founder Karen Leonard. According to Lifestart Foundation, so far VNĐ13 … [Read more...]