Dream homes

Plantations dreaming of FSC status for rubber products, Photo: Duc Thanh Nguyen Vinh Phuong, the owner of a 150-hectare rubber plantation area in the south-eastern province of Tay Ninh has recently spent more time studying the process of obtaining the FSC certification. Although he is interested in cultivating sustainable rubber, he remains hesitant to implement this process. Phuong pointed out that the rule of a 10-per-cent conservation area seems to be an infeasible requirement for small operators of plantation areas. The rule would mean that Phuong would lose $1,500 over 10 days of rubber tapping if he saved 10 per cent of his 150-ha plantation area for conservation. Besides state-owned companies like Tan Bien Rubber and Tay Ninh Rubber, there are 12 private firms competing to source rubber. Phuong was certain that he would not lose VND105 million ($4,520) per month during the tough market caused by rising production expenses, the shortage of rubber tappers and the … [Read more...] about Plantations dreaming of FSC status for rubber products

Your browser does not support the audio element. A Vietnamese eleventh grader has completed creating an electric vehicle that has basic parts of an ordinary car and can carry two people at the maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour. The 400-kilogram automobile, which harks back to the vintage Volkswagen Beetle design, was made by Ngo Viet Cuong, a student at Tong Van Tran High School in Nam Dinh Province, near Hanoi. Cuong has been interested in playing with engines and mechanical equipment since he was a little kid. His father, Ngo Van Ngoc, said the son had fun with new toys only for a few days before taking them apart and putting them back together. The child also tried fitting machine parts into tools he found in his father’s automobile repair shop. When Cuong grew older, he learned the basic workings of automobile engines while helping his father with sundry jobs in the garage. In grade ten, the student told his parents that he wanted to make a car of his own but … [Read more...] about Vietnamese eleventh grader builds VW Beetle-style electric car

Video footage shared on social media showed the orangutan struggling in the water before sinking below the surface at the Safari Phu Quoc in the southern island on June 24. A zoo employee threw in a life buoy before jumping into the pool himself to save the orangutan. He managed to bring it ashore and performed chest presses as first-aid. The orangutan has survived and is in stable health now, a zoo representative said. The zoo has erected signs to warn visitors not to feed animals, except certain species. However, many ignore the warnings, the representative said. The Safari Phu Quoc is a semi-wild zoo spanning 380 ha. It is home to around 3,000 animals, including 175 species of birds, mammals and reptiles. … [Read more...] about Orangutan nearly drowns after zoo visitor throws food into pool

A report by Hanoi People's Committee on June 20 revealed 532 medical personnel had quit last year, while 82 decided to switch workplaces. In the first four months of this year, 226 have quit and 17 switched workplaces, the report added. Hanoi said the medical field has focused all its resources on fighting the pandemic since 2020. Due to the low number of workers, the sheer amount of workload and lower incomes and benefits in public facilities, many are opting to quit or seek better opportunities. Hoa, the former head of a ward medical station in Dong Da District, said her workload was too much while her salary wasn't enough to make a living. She quit at the end of March. During the height of the pandemic, Hoa and her colleagues did contact tracing and vaccination day in and day out. Pressure was building up, yet they only got a "bonus" of VND500,000 ($21.50). Her colleagues, a married couple, only got VND8 million a month in total. Amid a worker exodus in the medical field and … [Read more...] about Hanoi health workers quit in droves over heavy workload, low pay

At a beach in Phu Quoc (Photo: VNA) Kien Giang (VNA) – The number of visitor s to the resort island of Phu Quoc, the southern province of Kien Giang, surge d strongly in June, with around 140 flights and over 40 ferries and boats carrying tens of thousands of tourists to and from the island each day. Phu Quoc has more than 700 accommodation facilities with over 24,000 rooms, but with the large number of travellers, many are filled to capacity. Phu Quoc authorities said the island received an estimated 1.4 million visitors in the first six months of this year, including 46,200 foreigners. Revenues from tourism shot up 46 percent year on year to top 2.84 trillion VND (122 million USD). The island is home to 284 investment projects in tourism development, covering 9,619 hectares of land, with total investment capital of nearly 352.2 trillion VND. Of the projects, 44 have been put into operation, with many meeting international standards. Phu Quoc was chosen as one … [Read more...] about Visitors to Phu Quoc surge in June

Hungarian parliament speaker Laszlo Kover told the chamber Magyars abroad were 'in a bitter struggle to survive'. (AFP/GERGELY BOTAR) The Treaty of Trianon, signed in Versailles, France, in 1920, defined the country's new frontiers after the dissolution of the defeated Austro-Hungarian empire. Hungary was not only forced to sign away vast swathes of territory, but also half its multi-ethnic population. Church bells rang out around Hungary for 100 seconds at 4.30pm, the exact time the treaty was signed. In Budapest public transport was halted and many observed a minute's silence, while other commemorations took place nationwide. The treaty meant that at a stroke, more than three million ethnic Hungarians - or Magyars - became part of neighbouring states, along with key economic resources and cultural sites. Although during World War II Hungary temporarily took back some of the territory with Nazi Germany'S help, the borders have remained unchanged since 1947. The … [Read more...] about Hungary marks 100 years since post-WW1 treaty losses

Mekong Delta farmers (Photo: sggp.org.vn) Can Tho (VNA) – The “Securing the Food Systems of Asian Mega-Deltas for Climate and Livelihood Resilience ” Initiative (AMD) was launched at a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 28. Home to 177 million people, of whom 36% are poor, the densely populated Asian mega-deltas are biodiverse, fertile and productive food baskets dominated by rice, fisheries and aquaculture that support millions of people beyond the delta dwellers themselves. However, tens of millions of small-scale producers living in Asian mega-deltas face risks to food and nutrition security and livelihoods from impacts of climate change. The deltas are also severely affected by more frequent and more intense floods, sea-level rise and salinisation of freshwater and soil. Therefore, this initiative aims to create resilient, inclusive and productive deltas - which maintain socio-ecological integrity, adapt to climatic and other stressors, and … [Read more...] about Initiative to protect food systems in Asian mega delta launched in Can Tho

As much as 755.75 million USD in FDI was poured into Hai Phong city in the first half of this year. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The northern city of Hai Phong has attracted 755.75 million USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) to local industrial parks (IPs) and economic zones (EZs) in the first half of 2022, raising total FDI there to 22.07 billion USD. According to the Hai Phong EZ Authority, the amount was channelled into 21 new FDI projects and 18 existing ones. It is equivalent to 56.2% of the FDI registered in the same period last year. At present, IPs and EZs in the city are home to 438 FDI projects worth 22.07 billion USD in total and 195 domestic investment projects worth 12.57 billion USD. Head of the authority Le Trung Kien said from now to 2025, the 15 IPs in the city will be expanded to 6,418ha from the current 6,074ha. The latest of them is Tien Thanh IP, for which an infrastructure construction and business project recently received an … [Read more...] about Hai Phong attracts more foreign direct investment in H1

Golden Bridge on Ba Na Hills in the central city of Da Nang is among the most popular destinations of Vietnam. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese travellers are the second most interested in Asia-Pacific (APAC) in travelling in post-pandemic period, with some 85 percent of respondents from the country planning a trip in the next 12 months, a survey by Booking.com found. Vietnam is closely behind India that is leading the way in the inaugural APAC Traveller Confidence Index survey by the US-based online travel agency that polled 11,000 travellers across 11 countries and territories in the region from April to May. China came in third. The survey provides an insight into regional travellers’ comfort level to explore the world and whether they are excited about domestic travel after the pandemic. It indicates that Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese respondents are the most willing to put up with and/or overlook key travel deterrents caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese second most interested in Asia-Pacific in travelling post-pandemic

The Asia Pacific Property Awards celebrate the highest levels of achievement in the architecture, interior design, real estate and property development sectors in the region. LIXIL also reaffirmed its support for the IPA through the signing of a new three-year sponsorship. The Asia Pacific Property Awards are one of the biggest and most recognized awards in the industry with over 1,200 entries received from countries across the region. Sponsored by LIXIL Asia through its power brands GROHE and American Standard for the fourth year, the Asia Pacific Property Awards is the largest branch of the International Property Awards (IPA). The IPA winners are judged rigorously by over 100 of their peers and industry experts on design, quality, service, innovation, originality, and commitment to sustainability. IPA winners are held up as industry role models for their commitment to excellence and hard work. The live IPA event was greeted with enthuasism from winners and participants … [Read more...] about LIXIL announces continuing support for the Asia Pacific Property Awards