Communication campaign

After arriving in Moscow, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Russia. (Photo: VNA) Moscow (VNA) – Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan left Kazan city in the Republic of Tatarstan for Moscow on December 9 (local time), continuing her official visit to Russia. The top legislator and her entourage were welcomed at Vnukovo International Airport by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Korelova Galina Nikolaevna and officials from the office of the Russian council, among others. After arriving in Moscow, Ngan met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Russia. Ngan said her first official visit to Russia in her capacity as NA Chairwoman is part of the activities marking Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019 and 2020. It is also expected to promote the long-standing friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as cooperation … [Read more...] about NA Chairwoman meets Vietnamese community in Russia

The traditional festival of fire dancing of Pa Then ethnic minority community in Tuyen Quang (Source: VNA) Tuyen Quang (VNA) – The Pa Then ethnic minority community in Hong Quang commune, Lam Binh district, the northern province of Tuyen Quang, held their traditional festival of fire dancing on March 3 night. The annual festival is practiced on the 16th of the first lunar month to thank Gods for a bumper harvest, prosperity and good health. The festival began with the lighting of a large fire and a shaman prayed to the Gods. The offerings included a pig and five cups of rice wine. When the shaman constantly struck a wooden musical instrument and performed the rituals, the fire dancers, men only, came to sit in front of him and let spirits of Gods and the deceased enter their bodies in a rite called “nhap ma” (trance). The dancers then danced on a pile of burning coal for 3-4 minutes without fear among cheering crowds. The Pa Then people believe the flame is … [Read more...] about Tuyen Quang: Pathen ethnic group hosts fire dancing festival

Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, speaks at a conference held on July 16 in the city on information and communications applications for a smart city (Photo: VNA)   HCM City (VNS/VNA) - To achieve smart-city status, at least 90 percent of residents in Ho Chi Minh City should be using a smartphone by 2022, a top official said at a communications conference held in the city on July 16. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, said that smartphones were being used by only 60 percent of people in the city that leads the country’s telecommunications industry.  To improve the city’s economy and solve its urgent problems, the use of new technologies must be promoted more aggressively by the city authority, he said. The city should also aim to have all households connected to the internet so that a foundation for an … [Read more...] about Smartphone use, internet access critical to building ‘smart’ HCM City

A house is set on fire by protestors in Wamena city of Indonesia's Papua province on September 23 (Photo: AFP/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Internet access in the Indonesian province of Papua has been restored, Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara said on October 9. Since late August, this Ministry of Communications and Informatics had restricted internet access in the provinces of Papua and West Papua to thwart the spread of fake news and inflammatory content. Later, internet access had to be cut off following protests on September 23. Rudiantara said internet restrictions are used to curb the proliferation of hoaxes and hate messages. The ministry pointed out that the circulation of hoaxes in Papua peaked on August 31, when the uniform resource locators (URLs) detected 42,000. The number of such URLs dropped to 1,000 on September 12 after internet access was blocked./. VNA … [Read more...] about Indonesia: Internet access in Papua province restored

Approximately 78% of surveyed enterprises showed their satisfaction with tax administrative reforms in 2019 - Illustrative image The information was released at a seminar recently held in Hanoi to announce the results of a survey measuring the satisfaction of enterprises with administrative reforms in the taxation sector in 2019. The survey was conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) which analysed data from 1,727 surveyed enterprises. Head of the VCCI research group Dau Anh Tuan said that reform efforts of the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Taxation over the past five years have brought about practical benefits and received recognition from the business community, helping to save time and costs for enterprises. Compared to the survey results in 2016, this year’s survey sees increasing scores in the service of tax officials, access to information and tax case resolution, along withslight decreases in the implementation of tax … [Read more...] about 78 percent of enterprises satisfied with tax administrative reforms