A Chinese magnate has agreed to buy historic English football club Aston Villa, the latest in a series of investments from China into football worldwide as President Xi Jinping looks to make the country a global powerhouse in the sport. The deal, reportedly worth 60 million pounds ($88 million), will see the chairman of little-known Recon Group, Xia Jiantong, become the first mainland Chinese to fully own an English team. Under the leadership of Xi, an avid fan, China has made it a goal to one day win the World Cup, and has ploughed huge amounts of investment into grassroots academies, television rights, transfer deals for overseas players and investment in clubs abroad. More broadly, Beijing is aiming to grow the domestic sports market to 5 trillion yuan ($782 billion) by 2025, about five times its current scale. China's biggest overseas investment in football so far occurred in December last year, when a consortium led by state-backed China Media Capital took a $400 million … [Read more...] about Chinese magnate to buy English soccer team Aston Villa
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Russia to begin construction on 6th submarine for Vietnam St Petersburg-based Admiralty Verfi shipyard will commence work on its 6th submarine for Vietnam on May 28, according to Russian media sources. This is the final submarine the Russian shipbuilder is providing to Vietnam pursuant to a contract signed in 2009. The first submarine, dubbed HQ-182 Hanoi successfully made its first maiden voyage on January 8, 2014. The second vessel named HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City docked at Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay on March 19, 2014. … [Read more...] about Social News Headlines 1/5
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First dioxin detoxification centre opens in Danang The Danang Association for Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin on February 20 inaugurated a detoxification and rehabilitation centre for AO victims, the first of its kind in the central city of Danang. Funded by the US Harris Freeman Foundation with a total investment of nearly VND2.3 billion (US$108,000), the two-storey centre includes steam and rehabilitation rooms. Danang is home to over 5,000 AO victims, more than 1,400 of whom are children. From 1961 to 1971, the US Army sprayed more than 18.2 million gallons of Agent Orange onto more than 10 percent of the land in southern Vietnam. It is estimated that more than 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to AO/dioxin. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases due to its effects. Entire hydrofoils fleet unsafe All nine hydrofoils operating on the HCM City-Vung Tau route pose a threat to passenger safety, an … [Read more...] about Social News Headlines 22/2
Social Highlights for November 29
Dong Nai fines two mining firms Two mining enterprises in the southern province of Dong Nai have been fined VND10 million (US$476) for not fulfilling their commitments to redress environmental damage caused by their activities. According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the violating companies are the Bien Hoa Building Materials Production and Construction Co., Ltd and Hoa An Company. Hoang Van Thong, Chief Inspector from the department, said the companies, which have been licensed to exploit stone at the Hoa An Quarry in the province's Bien Hoa City, had not planted trees as required, and failed to repair the local road after exploiting minerals at the area. The companies have been asked to restore the area's environment and transport all the stones they exploited. Local authorities have said they will close the quarry late December. Former CEOs jailed for deforestation Eight former officials were sentenced to between ten months' probation … [Read more...] about Social Highlights for November 29
Employability skills in the Southeast Asia and the needs of the new economy: The challenge for higher education
The dialogue was the first one in a series of British Council's Global Education Dialogues: the Asia Series which is set to take place in six Asia countries/ territories until January 2013. The event in Ho Chi Minh City was attended by the British Ambassador Dr Antony Stokes and the Vice Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam Associate Professor Dr Tran Quang Quy.Joining the debate around employability were World Bank economist and education specialists, educators and employers from nine countries that included Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the UK and Vietnam. Director of British Council Vietnam Robin Rickard said: 'In Vietnam graduates' employability is a topic of special interest as the country's competitive advantage of a young and low-cost labour force is waning. Vietnam's population is aging with the 5-19 demographic proportion dropping to 22% by 2020 from 27% in 2010. Also Bangladesh and Cambodia are now potentially offering … [Read more...] about Employability skills in the Southeast Asia and the needs of the new economy: The challenge for higher education