July

Editor’s note: In November, Tuoi Tre News dispatched Pham Thi Hong Van to accompany the Vietnamese level 2 field hospital to serve the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn South Sudan. She recalls her experiences during her stay there from November 6 to 18.        For a split second, the smell of steamed rice and mam tom – a Vietnamese fermented shrimp sauce known for its pungent smell – created the illusion that I was back in Vietnam. This small reminder of my home country was just one of the many surprises I would experience during my visit to the group of Vietnamese doctors and nurses serving United Nations Mission in Bentiu, Unity State, South Sudan. I remember how thick yellow dust filled the air as the ambulance from the Indian Horizontal Maintenance Engineering Company (Indian HMEC) arrived at the Vietnamese level 2 field hospital with an injured staff member. Salunke Ramesh, 39, had his right hand mashed by a … [Read more...] about Exclusive long read: UN Mission in South Sudan – Vietnamese doctors helping to heal the wounds

Editor’s note: In November, Tuoi Tre News dispatched Pham Thi Hong Van to accompany the Vietnamese level 2 field hospital to serve the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn South Sudan. She recalls her experiences during her stay there from November 6 to 18.        For a split second, the smell of steamed rice and mam tom – a Vietnamese fermented shrimp sauce known for its pungent smell – created the illusion that I was back in Vietnam. This small reminder of my home country was just one of the many surprises I would experience during my visit to the group of Vietnamese doctors and nurses serving United Nations Mission in Bentiu, Unity State, South Sudan. I remember how thick yellow dust filled the air as the ambulance from the Indian Horizontal Maintenance Engineering Company (Indian HMEC) arrived at the Vietnamese level 2 field hospital with an injured staff member. Salunke Ramesh, 39, had his right hand mashed by a … [Read more...] about Exclusive long read: UN Mission in South Sudan – Vietnamese doctors help heal the wounds

Ethnic minority women introduce traditional brocade products (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – An overall plan is being built to boost socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited, mountainous and particularly disadvantaged areas. At a meeting held by the National Assembly’s Council for Ethnic Affairs in Hanoi on July 30, officials and experts agreed that ethnic minority-inhabited, mountainous and particularly disadvantaged areas hold importance in terms of politics, economy, society, security, defence, diplomacy and the environment. The 53 ethnic minority groups with 13.38 million people reside mainly in the northwestern, Central Highlands, southwestern and coastal central regions, which are rich in valuable natural resources and ecological diversity. They are also home to many national hydropower plants. However, socio-economic development in these regions remains slow, the quality of local human resources and access to basic social services are modest, while … [Read more...] about Overall plan to boost development of disadvantaged areas

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the conference This claim was made at a teleconference between the Government and 63 provinces and cities nationwide held under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 4. The event was aimed at reviewing overall socio-economic outcomes during the first half of 2019 and formulating fresh measures to accelerate overall national growth during the remaining months of the year. PM Phuc stressed that the disbursement of public investment capital and official development assistance (ODA) remained alarmingly slow in the reviewed period, reaching only 15 per cent of the projected figure. A string of key projects in the fields of transport, infrastructure, and energy lagged behind schedule. This has considerably hampered national energy security and made electricity shortages imminent. Meanwhile, the country has been working on diesel-fueled power generation and the import of power from neighbouring countries. The EU … [Read more...] about ODA disbursement alarmingly slow in H1

Hanoi (VNA) – The Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has attributed the recent droughts in the country to direct impact of climate change and global warming around the world. An article written by the ministry’s experts on the Vientiane Times daily on December 16 cited statistics as showing that for the first half of 2019, the rainfall in Nam Ou basin, the biggest of the Mekong tributaries in Laos, decreased 41 percent compared to the same period in 2018 and continued to drop to 29 percent during July to September. In the overall context of global warming, the Mekong River basin is facing challenges of rising temperatures and increasing droughts, said the authors. According to the Lao Meteorological Data, the rainfall in the upper reaches of the Mekong River (the Lancang River basin) in April, May, June and August 2019 was 51 percent, 71 percent, 39 percent, and 43 percent less respectively than the long-term average.  Moreover, the Mekong River … [Read more...] about Lao ministry blames recent droughts on climate change