Januari 31 2018

Myanmar will accept the return of around 1,000 Rohingya refugees in a pilot repatriation programme, with a junta spokesman telling AFP Wednesday the resettlement would likely begin by mid-April. Major Rohingya refugee camp populations in Bangladesh, as of January 31, 2023. / AFP / Gal ROMA AND AFP AND Laurence CHU "We will receive people back according to both countries' agreement... About 1,000 people will be in (the) first batch," Zaw Min Tun told AFP. "Myanmar side is checking some lists at this moment." Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingya, most of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar following a 2017 military crackdown, now subject to a UN genocide investigation. A delegation of 17 officials from Myanmar's military regime met with around 480 refugees over the past week in a process brokered by China and partly facilitated by the United Nations. The team were officially there to assess refugees for potential return, based partly on whether they could … [Read more...] about Myanmar to take 1,000 Rohingya refugees in pilot programme: junta

Thirty-one students at an elementary school in Vietnam’s Central Highlands had symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and nausea after being given balloons by strangers. The incident was recorded at Ly Tu Trong Elementary School in Buon Trap Town, Krong Ana District, Dak Lak Province. Among the 31 students, 17 were admitted to the district medical center, five of whom received transfusions, a representative of the Krong Ana District Office of Education and Training said on Thursday morning. The other 14 are being monitored at home. Doctors diagnosed the children with poisoning, but the cause is unknown. Currently, the health of the poisoned students is stable. According to the report of Ly Tu Trong Elementary School, four strangers, including three women and one man, were giving balloons to students in front of the school on Wednesday afternoon. This group of people was then asked to leave by a security guard. About 30 minutes later, many of the students who had … [Read more...] about 31 Vietnamese students suffer suspected poisoning after receiving balloons from strangers

Illustrative image. Source: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn EVN has received a document from the MoIT about an electricity price agreement with solar power and transitional wind power plants. The document states that, on January 7, Minister of Industry and Trade signed Decision No.21/QD-BCT establishing the price bracket for the generation of electricity by solar and transitional wind power plants. On January 9, the MoIT issued Document No.107/BCT-DTDL, urging EVN and its investors in solar energy and transitional wind plants to urgently coordinate to negotiate and cooperate on electricity generation prices to ensure that they do not exceed the MoIT's electricity generation price bracket. The MoIT also issued Document No.1094/BCT-DTDL on March 2, directing EVN on how to fulfil the agreement on electricity pricing outlined in the Electricity Law. Based on the aforementioned guidelines, the MoIT requests that EVN and its investors agree on electricity prices by March 31. Up to now, … [Read more...] about EVN must settle transitional renewable energy power tariffs before March 31: MoIT

A Vietnamese Swedish has desperately yearned to find her biological mother who left her at a hospital in Hanoi 31 years ago. Iris Dager whose Vietnamese name is Nguyen Mai Thanh said that she planned to return to Vietnam soon to look for her own mother. Iris Dager She was born on September 21, 1992, at the Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital. Her mother left her at the hospital, leaving behind the birth certificate saying that her name is Nguyen Mai Thanh. Iris knows nothing about her biological parents, except for some information given by her birth mother to nurses at the hospital that she was Ngo Thi Dung, 18, from Gia Lam District, Hanoi. According to that information, Iris’s birth mother would probably be born in or around 1974. However, Iris is not sure that this information is accurate. A file photo of Iris when she was two months old According to Iris, she has a happy life with her foster parents who travelled a lot with … [Read more...] about Swedish woman longs to find biological mother after 31 years

Shoppers at a supermarket in Manila, the Philippines (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippine s' headline inflation rose to 8.7% in January 2023, higher than 8.1% in December 2022 and the highest since November 2008, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, climbed to 7.4%. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the inflation rate at 10.7%, and restaurants and accommodation services at 7.6%. inflation to moderate from 2023 to 2024, with a slower-than-expected global recovery and waning pent-up domestic demand./. VNA … [Read more...] about Philippine inflation towers to 8.7% in January

Huynh Van Tuan defeated Khamsathone Khamphouvanh in the 51kg Full Contact men 3-0. After the match, Tuan, who was the gold medalist at SEA Games 30, said he will do his utmost in the upcoming semi-final match, with determination to defend his title. His teammate Nguyen Quang Huy also bagged a 3-0 victory over Chhut Vannthong of Cambodia in the 60kg Low Kick men. Competitions will continue until May 13. This is the second straight time kickboxing has been a SEA Games sport. Vietnam topped the sport’s medal tally at the previous Games in the Philippines in 2019. SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia,” is being held in the capital and 11 neighboring provinces and cities until May 23. Featuring 40 sports with 523 events, it is expected to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: VNA … [Read more...] about SEA Games 31: Two Vietnamese kick-boxers advance to semi-finals

Tran Tuan Kiet of Dong Thap celebrates his win in the seventh stage of the HTV Cup 2022. (Photo: nld.com.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The nation's largest cycling tournament, the HCM City Television (HTV) Cup, will begin on April 2, and finish at the city's Independence Palace on Reunification Day on April 30. In its 35th edition, 11 teams and 98 cyclists will race 25 stages through 31 cities and provinces from north to south. "Cyclists will tour through almost 3,000km with only four rest days and a team time trial day," said Ngo Quang Vinh, general secretary of the HCM City Cycling and Motor Sports Federation . "I think that to get high results, competitors must be focused and work hard. Meanwhile, team managers must carefully build plans for their team because it is a tough race with a tight schedule." The first stage will be 25 laps equaling 42.5km around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. Cyclists will then pass Ha Nam and Ninh Binh to reach Thanh Hoa province. They will bike … [Read more...] about Cycling tournament to cover 3,000km across 31 cities and provinces

Hanoi set a goal of creating new jobs for 162,000 workers this year. Hanoi has found jobs for more than 44,000 people in the first quarter of 2023, accounting for 27.5% of the year's plan, according to the city's Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The job transaction event is held in Hoan Kiem District. Photo: Tran Oanh/ The Hanoi Times The result was attributed to applying the city's labor market development solutions. During the period, the city provided jobs for more than 10,000 workers from the city’s fund entrusted through the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. As many as 728 were sent abroad under fixed-term contracts, and 3,443 people were recruited through the job exchange system, the municipal department added. More than 12,600 people found jobs through job counseling and placement services, and another 232 received vocational training courses worth VND1.02 billion (US$43,297). In addition, the unemployment insurance fund paid out a … [Read more...] about Over 44,000 jobs created in Hanoi in January-March

This year, the city's tourism sector has set itself the goal of welcoming three million international visitors, twice as many as in 2022. Hanoi welcomed nearly 5.9 million arrivals in the first three months of 2023, double the number recorded in the same period last year, according to the Hanoi Tourism Department. The department said the figure was up 62.7% from the previous two months. The Temple of Literature is one of the favorite destinations for foreign visitors. Photo: TITC Among the arrivals, the number of international visitors to the city was nearly 980,000, an increase of 54.6 percent compared to the previous two months. Meanwhile, the number of domestic visitors reached 4.9 million, up 64.6% in the same period. Tourism revenue reached VND21.5 trillion (US$917 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 61.4% over the previous two months and 2.6 times higher than the same period last year. The average occupancy rate of accommodations … [Read more...] about Hanoi receives almost 5.9 million visitors in January-March

Many bond issuers begged regulatory authorities to assist them. In response, the government issued Decree No.08/2023/ND-CP on private corporate bonds on March 5 to alleviate the pressure on bond issuers this year. Bui Thi Thu Nga Banking and finance, Account manager BowerGroupAsia Vietnam Decree 08 postpones a number of new standards until January 2024, giving the market time to adjust and opening space for bondholders and bond issuers to negotiate. It amends Decree No.153/2020/ND-CP from December 2020, and Decree No.65/2022/ND-CP from September last year. After assessing the former and the case of Tan Hoang Minh, the government endorsed the latter to impose stricter management mechanisms on the trading of private bonds. Decree 65 set higher qualifications for individual investors, compulsory credit ratings in some circumstances, a shorter period for distributing bonds, and prohibitions extending the term of bonds issued before September 15, 2022. Most of the … [Read more...] about Clearing up the liquidity issue through amendments