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Large-scale testing is carried out at Việt Hưng Ward, Long Biên District on Sunday to trace positive cases. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội will remove travel permits for inner city commuters and not divide the city into three-coloured zones from September 21, Chử Xuân Dũng, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, announced on Monday. Lockdown will still be applied but on a reduced scale. The city’s authorities will apply technology to supervise mobility of residents and trace positive cases, he said. The capital will loosen social distancing restrictions but continue to ensure strict COVID-19 protocols because the city still has some clusters in narrow alleys and densely-populated areas. The priority target is to protect public health and strive to vaccinate all residents with a second dose, Dũng said. Dũng asked the people, local organisations and businesses to uphold their responsibilities in observing COVID protocols. Trần Ngọc Dương, deputy director …

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To mandate social distancing rules, Thuy Khue Ward’s People’s Committee set up mobile stalls at Chu Van An Primary School for locals to buy mooncakes supplied by traditional bakeries, attracting thousands of patrons and causing mayhem days before the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 21. At 1:20 p.m. Sunday, many people wait outside the school even though the stalls are not open. Local police and security forces keep reminding people not to push and shove. Many people cut the line, trying to approach the gate and causing chaos. From a speaker, a security officer keeps telling people to stand two meters away from each other. After 15 minutes, the situation got better when people finally stood in lines, invading Thuy Khue Street, patiently waiting their turn to enter the school and buy the traditional cakes. The scorching sun did little to affect people’s spirits. Only five people are …

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About 67 per cent of surveyed banks believe they will lose market share within two years if they fail to digitally transform, according to a new... Some 58 per cent of global respondents predict that they will completely cease to exist in the next five to ten years unless they change their business models. — Photo bnews.vn About 67 per cent of surveyed banks believe they will lose market share within two years if they fail to digitally transform, according to a new report from cloud banking platform Mambu and The Financial Times Focus (FT Focus). The ‘Evolve or be extinct’ report was conducted by FT Focus and surveyed over 500 senior banking executives globally to gain insights into their perception of the banking industry, now and in the future. The results illustrate the urgent need for banks to modernise their offerings, with 58 per cent of global respondents predicting they will completely cease to exist in the next five to ten years unless they change …

[Read more...] about VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS SEPTEMBER 19

A train runs on a completed section of the Nhổn-Hà Nội railway station (from Nhổn to University of Transport) in Hà Nội during a pilot operation in early July. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Nguyên HÀ NỘI — The Nhổn-Hà Nội Railway Station project has been delayed due to difficulties in ground clearance. The 12.5km line, which is part of the Hà Nội Urban Railway Metro (HURM) project, was approved in April 2019. During seven years from 2009 to 2016, the project was at a standstill due to slow progress of ground clearance. In December 2018, the then Prime Minister issued a decision extending the project deadline until 2022. The construction of 4-km underground section with four stations from Kim Mã Street in Ba Đình District to Hà Nội Railway Station in Hoàn Kiếm District is sluggish. The project was also allowed to complete an elevated section of the Nhổn-Cầu Giấy part to put into operation first while finishing the underground section. Consequences According to …

[Read more...] about Slow ground clearance hindering Nhổn-Hà Nội Railway station metro line

A representative of HCM City's Youth Union wears the costume of Hằng Nga, a traditional character of the Mid-Autumn Festival, as she presents gifts for children of migrant workers in dormitories in HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo HCM CITY – Many children in HCM City, the country’s coronavirus epicentre, have enjoyed a special Mid-Autumn Festival this year despite social distancing regulations thanks to joint efforts of authorities, organisations and volunteers. In the past three days, the dormitories of migrant workers in Sơn Kỳ, Tây Thạnh wards in Tân Phú District; Tân Nhựt, An Phú Tây wards in Bình Chánh District; and Hiệp Phước Industrial Zone in Nhà Bè District have been full of the sounds of happiness with children’s laughter. Youngsters celebrated their Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes, milk, small boxes of candy and biscuits, as well colourful paper lanterns. These are in gift packages for the full-moon festival local authorities, youth unions and benefactors, in the …

[Read more...] about Efforts made to bring a special Mid-Autumn Festival for kids amid COVID-19 pandemic

MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT Online Premiere: Split Until Oct 23, 11 pm From Goethe Institut: When confined to a small space, with no contact with the outside, encounters are not any more, everything just takes place in a space so familiar that it seems boring, will we cut off all associations? Or is it the time to connect to oneself – something that we occasionally forget? Each time like that, people “split” themselves. “Split” is the breaking in piece, angled deeply inwardly. When outer space is limited, people discover emotions hidden deep within themselves, observe themselves under different beings, both separate and mixed, sometimes very confusing. “splitting” without separation, split to open, for stopping but clarifying, for reflection and for connecting. The contemporary dance performance consists of three parts: ‘Stop’ – ‘Confide’ – ‘The cover’ Dancer: BAYDANC (Lê Trần Thảo Nhi, Hoàng Lan Phương, Phạm Ngọc Toàn) Musician: Nguyễn Thị Thùy Linh …

[Read more...] about What’s on September 20-26 (Daily updated)

Nguyen Tien Trong, vice chairman of the committee, expressed his sympathies for the Cao Dai Temple’s representative board over the difficulties in organizing religious activities amid the complex COVID-19 situation in HCM City. He pledged to create favorable conditions for the representative board, dignitaries, and followers of Caodaism to practice their religion and carry out disease prevention measures. The official appreciated the board’s encouragement to their dignitaries and followers to comply with the anti-pandemic rules issued by the Government, the Health Ministry, and the HCM City administration. Trong also applauded their active efforts to support the poor and those hit hard by the pandemic and assist frontline forces, voicing his hope that the representative board, dignitaries, and followers of Caodaism will continue engaging in charitable activities and supporting the COVID-19 fight in HCM City. Thanking leaders of the committee for their attention, Professor …

[Read more...] about Gov’t officials congratulate Cao Dai followers on biggest festival

Entrance of hang Pygmy, the fourth largest cave on earth, located inside Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park in central Quang Binh province. (Photo: nhandan.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Entries are being invited for a photography contest on Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park which was held to mark its 20th founding anniversary (2001 – 2021). Both Vietnamese and foreign photographers aged 18 and above are eligible to take part in the competition, according to the national park’s management board that organize the contest. Entries must be high-resolution photos depicting natural landscapes, forests, caves, native flora and fauna species and people’s daily life taken by professional cameras or smartphones inside the Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park. They must have not been awarded in any other competitions locally or internationally. They must be submitted to the contest’s official website https://anh.phongnhakebang.vn or via the email [email protected] before November 15. …

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An online English teaching class at HCM City Open University (Photo courtesy of the university) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - International and local English lecturers have discussed teaching methodologies during a recent outline conference as the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted teachers’ traditional face-to-face classrooms and shifted into e-learning settings. Dr Ho Thi Quynh Nhu of Hue Industrial College said that adjusting the curricula to sustain the quality of teaching and learning becomes an urgent need in most countries. Lecturer Nguyen Cam Nhung at the University of Languages and International Studies under Vietnam National University in Hanoi said that there were a number of challenges that teachers encountered in adapting to remote teaching, such as technological issues, classroom management, and material adaptation. This was revealed from her study aimed at shedding light on how Vietnamese teachers who teach English as a foreign language respond to remote …

[Read more...] about Online English teaching conference highlights effective methodologies amid pandemic

The Ministry of Health documented an additional 8,681 coronavirus cases across Vietnam on Monday, along with 6,821 discharged patients and 215 fatalities. Thirty-eight provinces and cities logged 8,668 domestic cases, the lowest daily rise in a month, while the country reported 13 separate imported infections, the health ministry said. The ministry had registered 10,025 locally-infected patients on Sunday. Over 6,100 of the latest domestic cases were found in the community, with the remaining detected in cordoned-off areas or centralized quarantine facilities. Ho Chi Minh City recorded 5,171 local infections, down by 325 patients from yesterday; Binh Duong Province 1,410, down by 922; Dong Nai Province 869; Long An Province 268; Tien Giang Province 211; Kien Giang Province 175; Dak Lak Province 113; An Giang Province 100; Can Tho City 48; Hanoi nine; and Da Nang three. Vietnam has confirmed 691,285 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the …

[Read more...] about Vietnam’s COVID-19 tally soars by 8,681 cases