Foreign ship arrivals down 6 percent in first two months Vietnam’s sea ports have berthed some 4,900 foreign vessels over the last two months, a decline of 6 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Marine Administration. The fall was due largely to the impact of COVID-19, which is resulting in major fluctuations in the transport sector, a representative of the administration said. Despite the lower number of foreign ships, the volume of import and export goods through ports grew. In January and February, 35.3 million tonnes of imports and 26 million tonnes of exports were handled at ports nationwide. The former represented an annual increase of 14 percent while the latter was as same as that last year. In particular, nearly 1.3 million TEUs for exports and 1.2 million for imports were handled during the period, up 32 and 16 percent, respectively, year-on-year; the highest growth since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, the arrival of domestic vessels totalled 5,300, up 11 percent year-on-year./. Quang Ninh’s Van Don airport reopens on March 3 The Ministry of Transport has decided to allow Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh reopen from 6:01am on March 3 after the COVID-19 pandemic has been put under control in the locality and the airport is safe to transport passengers. The airport was temporarily shut down from January 29 after an airport security staff was confirmed positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes the COVID-19 pandemic. The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced earlier that it will resume flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh on March 3, thus becoming the first to restart flights to the Van Don airport since the local COVID-19 outbreak began. From March 3 to 17, one weekly flight will ply the route between the two destinations, on Wednesdays. Flight numbers will be increased to three a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, from March 18 until the …
Agent orange deformities
Armless girl doesn’t let disability hold her back
Linh Thị Hồng in her class. — Photo nhandan.com.vn VĨNH PHÚC — Linh Thị Hồng is admired by her teachers and peers alike at Ngọc Thanh C Elementary School in Vĩnh Phúc Province for her dedication to her studies and boundless optimism. Despite being born prematurely with a weight of 1.5kg and without arms, Hồng has thrived thanks to her spirit and the hard work and tears of her parents Linh Văn Ba and Dương Thị Vui, who are Sán Dìu ethnic people living Lập Định Village, Ngọc Thanh Commune of Phúc Yên City. Her weak body made Hồng suffer a lot early in life and she spent more time in the hospital than at home. Hồng's health has been relatively stable since 2015, after four colonoscopy-related surgeries. Without hands, Hồng uses her legs for all daily activities. Due to her disability, her parents and neighbours thought that Hồng would be unable to go to school but with the help of her family and teachers, the girl overcame adversity and lives life with her feet. “Born in a family of three siblings, Hồng was born with a birth defect without arms up to her elbow,” said Ba, Hồng's father. “In my family, there was no one with any deformity. Hồng was our first daughter,” Ba recalled. “We were so sad but we told ourselves that we would take care of and raise her anyway,” the father said. “We gradually felt reassured and relieved when we watched our daughter grow up day by day,” he added. Two years later, Hồng had two brothers. Despite not having hands, Hồng always had optimism and learnt to do everything with her feet. “She can do everything with her feet very nicely such as drawing, writing and sewing,” her father said. When Hồng’s brother started to go to school, she taught herself using his textbooks. Seeing her friends in the neighbourhood going to school, the little girl yearned to go with them to class. “Seeing that the children around the neighbourhood all went to kindergarten, my girl also asked to go. …
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