Express news

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency. - Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has called for work to be accelerated to perfect the Party and political systems, socio-economic management, and the fight against corruption and negative behaviours. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA) Chairing the 22nd meeting of the central steering committee for corruption and behaviour prevention and control in Hanoi on August 17, Trong also requested the submission of regulations regarding power control to the Politburo for approval towards fighting corruption in inspection, supervision, Party discipline enforcement, audit, investigation, prosecution, trial and enforcement of judgments, law-building, use and management of public finances and assets, and press and media activities. Read full story - President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said that Vietnam wants to cooperate with Israel in … [Read more...] about ☀️ Morning digest on August 18

Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on August 18. - President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Chairman of the National Defence and Security Council, had a meeting with the Economic Security Department of the Ministry of Public Security on August 18. He highly valued the economic security force’s timely detection and effective settlement of complex issues emerging during the international economic integration process, as well as its firm safeguarding of the country’s independence and self-reliance during economic development, thus helping stamp out threats to national security and protect economic development policies in many important areas. Read full story - The Vietnam – Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) on August 17 sent out a letter calling for donations to Cuban people to help them overcome current difficulties. The VCFA will receive donations till August 31. Read full story -  The fire prevention and fighting … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on August 18

Members of Canadian pop/rock country band The Moffatts shot a music video in Sa Pa, a favourite destination in northern Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of HAY Glamping Music Festival) Hanoi (VNA) – Canadian pop/rock band The Moffatts has visited Sa Pa , a famous tourist destination in the northern province of Lao Cai about 320 kilometres from Hanoi, and shot a music video to promote tourism . The band will shoot four music videos at four famous destinations in Vietnam. Vietnam is a very beautiful country with delicious food and friendly people, it said. With this project, the group expressed their wish to promote the beauty of Vietnam through a trip with HAY FEST. The band will shoot four music videos at four famous destination s in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of HAY Glamping Music Festival) Formed in 1990, the band consists of Scott Moffatt and his brothers Clint, Bob and Dave, who are triplets. VNA … [Read more...] about The Moffatts shoots video to promote the beauty of Vietnam

A performance at the programme in Da Nang on August 9 (Photo: VNA) Da Nang (VNA) – A programme was held in the central city of Da Nang on August 9 to offer support and raise funds for victims of Agent Orange (AO) on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the AO disaster in Vietnam (August 10, 1961). Programme organisers, including the Da Nang Association of AO Victims and other organisations, presented gifts to 30 AO victims and disadvantaged war veterans. They also set up a hotline at the city’s public service switchboard 1022 via which people can make text donations. From June 14 to July 28, 221 units, organisations, and individuals made donations worth over 1.6 billion VND (68,400 USD) both in cash and in kind to the programme. Addressing the event, Chairman of the Da Nang Association of AO Victims To Nam said the city is home to more than 5,000 AO victims, including 1,400 children, noting that the association has raised funds worth 162 billion VND in … [Read more...] about Da Nang city works to assist victims of Agent Orange

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Kazakhstan should enhance cooperation in areas of good potential such as agriculture, tourism and transportation, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a reception for Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi in Hanoi on August 18. He spoke highly of the visit to Vietnam by the Kazakh official on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, and noted his belief that the visit will contribute to consolidating and promoting the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Vietnam always attaches importance to the good traditional friendship with Kazakhstan, the President said, expressing his pleasure at positive developments of their bilateral political ties, with the regular exchange of all-level delegations through Party, National Assembly and State … [Read more...] about President suggests Vietnam, Kazakhstan enhance cooperation in areas of potential

A new road in the African town of Abyei, which was recently reconstructed with the help of the Vietnamese Engineering Unit Rotation 1. (Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Three months after their deployment to the African town of Abyei on the UN peacekeeping mission , Vietnam’s Engineering Unit Rotation 1 has achieved significant results in improving infrastructure and living conditions for local people. For years, Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, has been affected by severe flooding, especially during the rainy season. Poor living conditions with almost no toilet facilities are also a factor for widespread diseases in the local community. Abyei ’s mayor has called upon the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to ask for support in developing the water drainage system to relieve the situation. On July 13, Vietnam’s Engineering Unit Rotation 1 set out to study the local … [Read more...] about Vietnamese peacekeeping unit improving life of locals

At a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on Wednesday, Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of the HCMC Department of Tourism, proposed the government order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider waiving visas for more countries, instead of the present 24 . She also urged the government to extend visa-free stays for tourists from Western European countries from the current 15 to 30 days because Westerners tend to make longer trips, Vietnam News Agency reported. She also expected the government to simplify e-visa issuance procedures to facilitate tourist entry. Nguyen Thien Phuc, product manager of Ho Chi Minh City-based Vidotour Indochina Travel, also petitioned the government to remove visa obstacles to attract foreign tourists for the rest of the year. Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, admitted though Vietnam reopened its borders to foreign tourists, its visa policies are less attractive than neighboring countries. Earlier, he … [Read more...] about Tourism industry insiders urge govt to ease visa requirements

Hundreds of divers flock to the Han River and the Gulf of Da Nang in the eponymous city every day in search of a species of hard-shell clam gaining popularity on city restaurant menus. ‘Chip chip,’ a Vietnamese onomatopoeia for the chirping sounds of birds, is what local Vietnamese call these black-and-white hard-shell clams native to the Han River and the Gulf of Da Nang. Featured in a variety of Vietnamese dishes that go particularly well with cold beer, chip chips have earned their place in the stomachs of local residents and food-loving tourists, resulting in a boom in the ‘chip chip’ diving trade. As these clams normally hide themselves under muddy riverbeds, divers must submerge themselves by up to eight meters and use gloved hands in search of their prey. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters hitched a ride on one merchant’s motorboat to witness first-hand the growing business happening day and night on the Han River. Under the scorching heat of the mid-July sun, … [Read more...] about Clam hunting in central Vietnam