First six months

Mai Phan Loi at court (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The High-Level People’s Court of Hanoi has reduced the prison sentence handed down to Mai Phan Loi , Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Centre for Media in Educating Community (MEC), by three months in an appeal trial on August 11. Accordingly, Loi will spend 45 months in prison for tax evasion instead of 48 months in the first-instance verdict. His accomplice Bach Hung Duong, MEC Director, also received a revised sentence of 27 months, down from 30 months. MEC was founded in 2012 under a decision by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations. It is funded mostly by grants and donations from domestic and foreign organisations. As a stakeholder, Chairman of the Founding Board and Chairman of the Scientific Council of MEC, Loi directed MEC’s all activities. From 2012 to March 2021, MEC recorded funding of over 19 billion VND (826,000 USD), but whenever MEC received financial support, Loi … [Read more...] about Mai Phan Loi has jail term reduced by three months

The head of the European Space Agency (ESA) has warned economic damage from heatwaves and drought could dwarf Europe's energy crisis as he called for urgent action to tackle climate change. Director General Josef Aschbacher told Reuters successive heatwaves along with wildfires, shrinking rivers and rising land temperatures as measured from space left no doubt about the toll on agriculture and other industries from climate change. "Today, we are very concerned about the energy crisis, and rightly so. But this crisis is very small compared to the impact of climate change, which is of a much bigger magnitude and really has to be tackled extremely fast," he said. He was speaking in an interview as heatwaves and floods generate concerns over extreme weather across the globe. More than 57,200 hectares have been swallowed by wildfire in France this year, nearly six times the full-year average. In Spain, a prolonged dry spell made July the hottest month since at least 1961. … [Read more...] about Climate risks dwarf Europe’s energy crisis, space chief warns

The capital city is committed to accompanying the business community in promoting industrial products using advanced and environmentally friendly technologies with high-added value. Hanoi is pushing for the development of industrial infrastructure and key industrial products, seen as the driving force for the capital city’s sustainable economic growth. Thang Long Industrial Park in Dong Anh District, Hanoi. File photo During the first six months of 2022, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade started the construction of six industrial parks and is working on accelerating 38 other projects in the city. For the 2021-2025 period, Hanoi aims for supporting industries to make up 30% of the total value of industrial production, an increase of 5% from the current level; raise the value of key industrial products to 40-45% of total industrial production, and expects 10% of businesses in Hanoi to stay among Vietnam’s top 500 companies. To realize this goal, … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes industrial infrastructure development for sustainable growth

A scene of the MV featuring Ninh Binh's Trang An complex. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam looks stunning in a music video “ Waiting for You – 5 , 000 Years ” newly released by Republic of Korean singer and composer Joseph Kwon to mark the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries (December 22, 1992 – 2022). A press conference took place in Hanoi on August 10 to launch the new MV with Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu in attendance. Sieu said he appreciates Kwon for his love for Vietnam’s nature, people and culture, stressing his brilliant MV makes the beauty of Vietnamese tourist destinations shine through and expecting the MV will promote Vietnam’s landscapes globally. According to Kwon, for almost two months, he and his production team have travelled to numerous popular destinations across Vietnam, from Hanoi, Cuc Phuong National Park and Trang An (Ninh Binh), Tam Chuc (Ha Nam), … [Read more...] about RoK singer shows love for Vietnamese destinations in new MV

Foreign tourists visit the Independence Palace in HCM City on August 8. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Strict visa policies and a shortage of human resources and infrastructure in the tourism sector have stymied recovery of the travel industry, and the target of five million international arrivals this year could be out of reach, industry players have warned. Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas international tourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, said Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the first seven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said. In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors, or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket Suc Manh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that ended in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9. Though … [Read more...] about Vietnam mulls ways to boost inbound travel

Some students might not be able to attend their dream university due to increases in tuition fees. (Photo: nld.com.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Sudden increases in university school fees have brought challenges to both parents and students. Even though the Ministry of Education and Training ( MoET ) has written a proposal to keep the tuition fee unchanged between the 2021 and 2022 school years, many universities have announced multiple price hikes. HCM City University of Law is one of the schools with the highest tuition fees next school year. According to the school's announcement, the lowest tuition fee for Course 47 applied from the academic year 2022-23 to 2025-26 for general programmes of law, international commercial law and business administration is 151 million VND (6,455 USD). The tuition fee for remaining general majors range from 179 million VND to 205 million VND per course. For high-quality programmes of administration and law, a student would have to spend … [Read more...] about Universities increase school fees despite MoET’s proposal

The Grand Ho Tram Strip on Friday announced its ongoing series of entertainment events set against the breathtaking backdrop of The Fountains of Ho Tram. Dubbed Ho Tram Sound Waves, the concert series will see Toc Tien, My Tam and Issac 365 take to Vietnam’s most spectacular stage. Bubbling with energy, pop sensation Toc Tien will be first to grace the six-storey water stage, following the incredible reception that Phuong Vy Idol and Son Tung M-TP received when they inaugurated the Fountains at a VIP event in July. All Sound Waves events will be free to the general public. Speaking at a staff rally earlier this week, Toc Tien said: “I’m honored to be teaming up with TGHTS not once but twice in the same month! It’s even more of a pleasure to be the opening act for such an extraordinary line up of Vietnam’s top artists and of course, I’m positive my colleagues in show business will be just as excited as I am to be a part of this unique project..” “The Fountains of Ho Tram … [Read more...] about The Grand Ho Tram Strip launches fountain-side Sound Waves concert series

Kredivo, one of the most valuable fintech unicorn in Southeast Asia, has been established in Vietnam since August 2021 through the partnership with VietCredit JSC. Sendo is one of the leading e-commerce platforms of Vietnam, serving millions of customers and sellers in Vietnam every month. This partnership takes Kredivo to the next level in its business journey in Vietnam. With the simplicity of just 2-clicks, Sendo’s customers will be able to seamlessly checkout via Kredivo while allowing these customers to repay in 30 days at 0% or over 3, 6 and 12 months. During the registration process, customers can sign up through the mobile application, and get approval by VietCredit for a credit limit of up to 25 million VND in nearly real-time. Krishnadas, SVP Business Development of Kredivo, said, “Kredivo aims at solving customers' needs to access fast and affordable credit, while also supporting merchants in driving higher Gross Merchandise Value. We are delighted to partner … [Read more...] about Kredivo and VietCredit provide “Buy Now Pay Later” service on Sendo

Le Thi Minh is identified as the leader of the gang. (Photo: SGGP) The Da Lat City Police, on the morning of August 11, informed that after coordinating with the departments of the Lam Dong Provincial Police, the investigative agency prosecuted the accused and detained Le Thi Minh, 60, and Duong Kim Ha, 40, living in Ward 12 in Da Lat City, for three months and prosecuted the accused Bui Thi Huyen, 38, living in Ward 12, but released her on bail because she was taking care of her baby. These subjects are related to the deforestation case that occurred in lots A and B, Plot 15, Sub-zone 144B in Ward 8 in Da Lat City. Duong Kim Ha at the scene of the deforestation. (Photo: SGGP) In addition, the investigative agency has been consolidating the file after identifying four other subjects, including Bui Van Gia, 37, Quach Van Khuyen, 42, Le Van Ha, 47, and Nguyen Van Hung, 49, living in Ward 12. They are the subjects who directly destroyed the pine forests at the above location. … [Read more...] about Police arrest gang carrying out largest-ever deforestation in Da Lat

In a meeting on August 9 with Robert McCooey, Senior Vice President of Nasdaq's Listing Services unit, who leads business development for new listings in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, the Vietnamese diplomat said Vietnam wants to attract big firms from the U.S. to invest in the above-mentioned areas, especially those that can contribute to implementing Vietnam's commitments at the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The Delegation of Vietnam to the U.N. is ready to cooperate with Nasdaq in the organization of meetings and seminars to this purpose, especially on the occasion of working visits of Vietnam’s high-ranking delegations to New York, he affirmed. McCooey said that Vietnam's investment environment has a clear competitive advantage in the region thanks to its flexible response policy to the COVID-19 pandemic, and stable legal system. He welcomed the suggestion of the delegation, saying Nasdaq is willing to work with the delegation to introduce … [Read more...] about Vietnam looks to draw reputable U.S. investors: Ambassador