Going to department stores to avoid the hot weather has become the 36-year-old woman’s family ritual. On sunny days, their house in a cluster of rentals in Quyen District, Hai Phong, absorbs the heat from outside, making it unbearably hot. Hoa tried several ways of reducing the heat in her house, from pouring water onto the floor, to wiping the walls with a wet cloth, to opening every door and window. None seemed to work. The three-member family thus began seeking air-conditioned places outside the home to avoid sitting at home sweating and being uncomfortable. Both Hoa and her husband work at factories. Their accumulated monthly income is VND14 million (around $596), which is just enough to pay for their costs of living. Hoa once contemplated buying an air-conditioner, but even the one with the lowest power consumption would make her family’s monthly electric bill increase by VND400,000. "With that amount of money, I can buy enough food for my family to eat for eight days," … [Read more...] about Northerners use public ACs to escape heat wave
Can public schools drug test students
Da Nang integrates map of public toilets into app
Tourists in central Da Nang City can now easily find the locations of public toilets thanks to the Danang Smart City app on smartphones. The city has integrated the 'free public WC' feature with the addresses of public restrooms in the city into the Danang Smart City app to facilitate residents and tourists, Tran Ngoc Thach, deputy director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications, said on Friday. These free toilets are provided by local enterprises, restaurants, hotels, and eateries participating in the 'Comfort as Home' program. The locations of 294 toilets, including 228 in Hai Chau District and 66 in Son Tra District, have been featured in the app. The number of public toilets is expected to rise further in the coming time, Thach added. To find the locations of public toilets in the Danang Smart City app, users just need to choose the 'free public WC' tab in the app to be recommended public toilets near them. After choosing a toilet, the name of … [Read more...] about Da Nang integrates map of public toilets into app
PM requests intensifying administrative reform, business climate improvement
Illustrative photo (Source: vietnamnet.vn) Hanoi – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on June 1 signed a document requesting all public agencies and localities intensify their work for effective administrative reform and business climate improvement. The document said such work should be in line with the national digital transformation to boost the quality of administrative services and tackle hurdles facing investment, production, and business activities. Since 2021, ministries have cut and simplified more than 2,200 business regulations in 177 legal documents and offered over 4,400 public services on the national public service portal. As of May this year, the country had 6,422 administrative procedures in total, a drop of 376 compared to the same period in 2020. In the document, the PM ordered a thorough review to further reduce and simplify at least 20% of the total regulations and administrative procedures related to investment, production, business and people's lives; and … [Read more...] about PM requests intensifying administrative reform, business climate improvement
Man steals power equipment, causing blackout in many parts of Vietnam’s Lao Cai
A 31-year-old man has been apprehended for stealing equipment and accessories at transformation stations, causing power outages in the entirety of Xuan Giao and Gia Phu Communes of Bao Thang District and Lao Cai City of the namesake northern mountainous province. Police in Bao Thang District have arrested Nguyen Van Tuyen, a resident in Xuan Giao Commune, Bao Thang District, for stealing assets, the Lao Cai police said on Friday. Thefts of power equipment and accessories were repeatedly reported at transformation stations of Lao Cai City Power Company and Vietnam Expressway Corporation in May, causing huge losses for the state, hindering production and business activities, and sparking public concerns. The local police later determined Nguyen Van Tuyen as the thief. He also admitted to having stolen power equipment and accessories three times in Xuan Giao Commune and sold them to have money for drugs and other expenses. According to the police, Tuyen is a drug addict and has … [Read more...] about Man steals power equipment, causing blackout in many parts of Vietnam’s Lao Cai
Parents battle children’s video game addictions
Still, they couldn’t prevent him from wasting away his life playing video games. Anh, a 38-year-old resident of Nam Tu Liem District in Hanoi, said he’s tried everything to stop his son from compulsively playing video games. A gamer is playing games in the middle of the night. Illustration photo by Pexels He promised to give the 12-year-old boy VND 50,000 (around $2.13) a day for each day he didn’t touch video games. His son agreed with the deal, but was then caught by his mother in the middle of the night: headphones on, swearing, and pounding the keyboard with his eyes glued to the computer screen. That night, Anh and his wife Truc beat their son. The following day, they secretly installed a surveillance camera in their son’s bedroom. With the help of it, they saw their son lying in bed with a blanket over his head playing video games on his mobile phone. They decided to take his phone away and change their computer’s password. Still, somehow, their son … [Read more...] about Parents battle children’s video game addictions
PM Anthony Albanese’s visit hoped to lift up Vietnam-Australia partnership
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Cambodia (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ’s visit from June 3-4 is expected to further promote the sound relations between the two countries in all fields, including peacekeeping, education and training. This is the first official visit to Vietnam by Anthony Albanese since taking office and only two months after the state visit by Australian Governor-General, showing Australia's great attention to the Southeast Asian nation. Highlighting the Vietnam-Australia partnership in peacekeeping operations, Colonel Pham Manh Thang, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said that Australia was one of the first countries to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vietnam in UN peacekeeping activities in 2015. The MoU laid a foundation for the two countries to … [Read more...] about PM Anthony Albanese’s visit hoped to lift up Vietnam-Australia partnership
Vietnam Football Federation announces new technical director
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on Thursday announced that Japanese football expert Koshida Takeshi had joined the association earlier that day as technical director. Takeshi, who replaced predecessor Yusuke Adachi, also a Japanese national, was selected from a shortlist of candidates introduced by the Japan Football Federation (JFF). The JFF and VFF have developed a very close relationship over the past several years. Takeshi’s contract with the VFF will last for one year from June 1. Takeshi’s résumé includes nearly three decades of experience working with Japanese youth and adult football teams. He also holds a PRO Coach license. Prior to coaching, the now 63-year-old Takeshi was considered a big name as a player in the Japanese football scene. In 1993, Takeshi made the jump from playing to coaching. He has since helmed several football teams in the Ishikawa area, as well as the Kanazawa Sakuragaoka High School team. His career also includes a stint as … [Read more...] about Vietnam Football Federation announces new technical director
Vietnam repatriates 80 more forced laborers from Philippines
Eighty more Vietnamese forced laborers recently rescued from a Philippine casino have arrived home safely, sending the tally to 140 as of Thursday, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry’s Consular Department and the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines are working with their Philippine counterparts to repatriate the remaining 297 Vietnamese citizens, said Nguyen Duc Thang, deputy spokesperson of the ministry at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon. Thang affirmed that Vietnam promotes legal, safe, and orderly migration while adopting preventive measures against illegal migration and human trafficking. The ministry also teamed up with localities and competent forces in Vietnam to raise public awareness about job scams. Earlier this month, the Philippine authorities rescued more than 1,000 people, including 437 Vietnamese nationals, from forced labor at an establishment owned by the Clark Sun Valley Hub group in Pampanga Province, near Manila. … [Read more...] about Vietnam repatriates 80 more forced laborers from Philippines
Vietnam to host inaugural NASA Space Week next week
The Vietnam Space Week will be organized in three Vietnamese localities next week, making Vietnam the first Southeast Asian country to hold such a NASA event. The collaboration for the event involves the People’s Committees of Hau Giang Province, Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Dinh Province, alongside the Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Hau Giang Convention Center in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang will kick off the first two days of the multi-day event on June 5 and 6. The Student Culture House in Ho Chi Minh City, located at the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City in Thu Duc City, will host the third day’s activities on June 7. The final two days of the event, June 8 and 9, will take place at the Binh Dinh Convention Center in the south-central namesake province. The objective is to motivate the young generation through captivating stories of astronauts and to … [Read more...] about Vietnam to host inaugural NASA Space Week next week
Cerebral palsy children in need of help after losing father
A mother in Nam Dinh Province is in calling for support to treat her two children who both have cerebral palsy. Tran Thuy Loan and her daughter Tran Thuy Loan's son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at only 7-months-old. For three years, she brought her son to various hospitals for treatment. Unfortunately, when her son's condition showed signs of improvement, her husband had brain cancer in 2014 and died in late 2020, leaving behind three children and a VND300m (USD13,000) debt. Loan's youngest daughter, Tran Tuong Vy, was born prematurely and also suffers from cerebral palsy. "Who wouldn't want their children to be healthy and pursue studying? After my husband died, one of my children, who was only 7 years old, kept asking me to let him drop out of school to work to save his siblings," Loan said. "The doctors said both my children need long-term treatment. I just don't know what to do." Dr Vu Thi Vui from the National Hospital of Acupuncture said, … [Read more...] about Cerebral palsy children in need of help after losing father