Government

UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame launched the second round of talks on Tuesday in the latest international effort to end fighting between the warring sides, with five senior officers from the GNA and five appointed by Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) taking part. … [Read more...] about Libya’s UN-backed government suspends participation in Geneva talks

Evidence suggests that children in some countries see as many as 30,000 advertisements on television alone in a single year, while youth exposure to vaping (e-cigarettes) advertisements increased by more than 250 percent in the U.S. over two years, reaching more than 24 million young people. … [Read more...] about World failing to provide children with healthy life, climate fit for future: WHO-UNICEF-Lancet

Singapore (VNA) – Facebook on February 18 disabled access to the States Times Review (STR) Facebook page, making it unavailable to users in Singapore as the page published falsehoods on various issues in the country, including the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The social media giant was asked to do so on February 17 by the office overseeing the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA). The STR Facebook page, run by Singaporean Alex Tan who says he is an Australian citizen based overseas, has received three correction directions under the fake news law since last November. Two had to do with the virus outbreak. After Tan ignored all the directions, the STR page was designated a declared online site on February 15, and barred from receiving any financial benefit, among others. Despite this, he did not comply with the rules under POFMA, and the authorities then issued an order for Facebook to disable access to the page for Singapore users. … [Read more...] about Facebook blocks users’ access to States Times Review page in Singapore

The survey by Ho Chi Minh City market research firm Q&Me, which polled 672 respondents aged between 18 and 49 in HCMC, Hanoi and other localities, found 78 percent wary of going out and 86 percent avoiding amusement activities for fear of being infected. … [Read more...] about Coronavirus fears put paid to entertainment: survey

Both sides hope the new joint venture company will operate efficiently, opening up prospects for brighter future cooperation in the oil and gas industry (Photo: VNA) They also examined Gazpromneft’s plan to acquire 49% of the stake of Vietnam’s Dung Quat Oil Refinery, upgrade the refinery’s capacity to 10 million tonnes per year, and supply crude oil to the plant. … [Read more...] about New JV set up to exploit oil & gas in Russia