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With an orchestra spread out across the entire parterre, audiences limited to the balconies, and no breaks but plenty of disinfectant, the Sofia Opera is one of the few music venues still hosting live performances in Europe. Across the continent, a third wave of COVID-19 infections is keeping opera houses and other cultural venues closed -- loud singing poses a particular risk as the virus spreads through droplets -- but in Bulgaria, classical music plays on, from "Tosca" to "La Traviata". "I am hungry for music. And the risk, why think about it? It's not riskier here than in the supermarket or the subway," says 81-year-old Petya Petkova, who attended Verdi's "La Traviata" with her daughter last week. Despite the disinfectant, social-distancing and staff taking people's temperature, a festive spirit reigns at the historic opera house in the Bulgarian capital, a stark contrast to its silenced counterparts in Paris, Vienna or Milan. Bulgaria first eased pandemic restrictions in June and allowed operas, concert halls and cinemas to reopen at 30 percent capacity, leading the Sofia Opera to arrange plastic and fabric flower bouquets as placeholders on the majority of the crimson plush seats. "We perform in front of 250 spectators, but it's better than not playing or performing," Sofia Opera director Plamen Kartaloff says. Even as Europe struggles with a third wave of infections, in part due to a number of mutations that spread more easily, Kartaloff expects the opera to remain open. Acoustic challenges Tragedy has touched the operatic community, and not just on stage: In November, Bulgarian tenor Kamen Chanev died of COVID-19, three weeks after he debuted Otello in the central Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora. Remembering him, soprano Stanislava Momekova, 36, becomes serious. "That's the risk of this profession -- it holds us like a drug, it's stronger than fear," Momekova says. For American conductor Evan-Alexis Christ, who saw his performances in …

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The Hanoitimes - The initial results of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement promise to continue creating new impetus for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries in the coming time. Since the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) took effect on January 1, the bilateral trade turnover between the two countries has recorded a spectacular rise in the context of exports disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Vietnamese rice exports to EU. Photo: Vinaseed According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in January, the total trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK reached US$657.3 million, up 78.6% over the same period last year. Vietnam's exports to the UK reached US$598 million worth of goods, up 84.6% compared to last January and 56.5% to last December. Among Vietnam's exports to the UK,  farm produce attained stable and positive growth in January, with seafood reaching US$19.7 million, representing a rise of 18.1% over the same period last year, and vegetables and fruits with US$1 million, increasing 148.6%. Chart: Phi Nhat Vietnamese shipments to the UK get opportunities to rise drastically and expand market share thanks to many tariff preferential treatment under the agreement, according to the MoIT. Under the trade deal, more than 94% of the total 547 tariff lines of vegetable and fruit will be reduced to zero. Many Vietnamese key products such as litchi, longan, rambutan, dragon fruit, pineapple and melon will have more market access advantages over tropical fruits originating from rivals such as Brazil, Thailand and Malaysia, the countries that have not signed an FTA with the UK. Chart: Phi Nhat Shipments of the group of processing and manufacturing industries to the UK achieved an impressive growth in January such as phones and components (up 371.6% over the same period last year), followed by …

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The Hanoitimes - The trade deal is expected to spark new opportunities for Vietnam as one of the few Asian countries to secure an exclusive FTA with the UK. The signing of the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has ensured continuity of mutual trade after the end of Brexit’s transitional period on December 31, 2020. Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss at the signing of the free trade agreement in Hanoi on December 11. Photo: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images The UKVFTA, which was signed in Hanoi last week, will reproduce similar effects from the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as the UK will be out of the EU by the end of 2020, according to Savills Vietnam. For Vietnam, the UKVFTA will primarily boost exports, while for the UK, it is considered an essential first step in gaining access to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), said Savills Vietnam, one of the largest real estate practice in the country. Under the UKVFTA, the UK will first eliminate 65% of tariffs moving up to 99% after seven years to boost bilateral trade. Vietnam will first remove 48.5% of tariffs from UK imports, which after six years, will rise to around 91.8% or 97.1%. The tariff rate quotas provided in the EVFTA have been agreed to guide those in the UKVFTA, after the UK reviews their actual trade value with Vietnam. In addition, UKVFTA will spark new opportunities for Vietnam as one of the few Asian countries to secure an exclusive FTA with the UK, Savills Vietnam said. As the representative of a leading UK company in Vietnam, Mr Matthew Powell, Director of Savills Hanoi, who attended the UKVFTA signing ceremony last week, shared his outlook for Vietnam and the economic development. The agreement will facilitate extensive benefits and opportunities for both sides. The UK has been Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in Europe, with …

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