Microplastics in marine environments occurrence distribution and effects

Illustrative image (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn) Quang Nam (VNA) – The Management Board of the Cu Lao Cham World Biosphere Reserve in Hoi An city in central Quang Nam province is working hard on monitoring plastic waste in order to protect aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity in the area. The move is hoped to contribute to conserving biodiversity, creating sustainable livelihoods for locals. According to the communication and community development section under the management board, monitoring plastic waste in marine ecosystems has helped provide comprehensive data on the status of coral reefs, the habitat of aquatic species, the impact of plastic waste, and livelihood on marine ecosystems. The  Cu Lao Cham World Biosphere Reserve, home to over 300 species of corals belonging to 40 genera and 17 families, is one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in Vietnam. Along with the conservation of coral reefs and undersea ecosystems, the area’s management board … [Read more...] about Plastic waste monitoring helps protect aquatic ecosystems in Cu Lao Cham

Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc directs to speed up vaccination rollout citywide He made the statement at today’s online meeting with 21 districts and Thu Duc city about the preliminary review after one week of implementation of the vaccination program for children in the city. Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Huu Hung said that the number of Covid-19 cases in the city in the last weeks of July tended to increase, the Department has advised the municipal People's Committee to choose August as the peak month for vaccination against Covid-19 for children. After one week of implementation, the city has organized 188 injection points at schools and administered approximately 82,042 shots of vaccines, 1.45 times higher than the previous week with 56,538 shots. However, according to the Deputy Director of the Department of Health, the city's vaccination coverage rate is lower than the national average. Specifically, the proportion of children … [Read more...] about Vice Chairman directs to speed up vaccination rollout citywide

Vo Tien Dung, vice director of Hanoi-based Halcom Vietnam, said his business has been cooperating with German, Finnish and Japanese companies for the last 23 years, but has yet to find the best technologies to deal with Vietnam’s waste problems. It is difficult to treat typically unsorted and highly humid waste in Vietnam. For example, trash in Europe has a humidity level of around 20%, while trash in Vietnam could have a humidity level of 60-70%, he added. Even the ongoing waste-to-energy plants in Hanoi and Can Tho would need more time so their effectiveness could be evaluated, Dung said. Treating unsorted trash without the same humidity conditions as in other countries would make it hard to meet efficiency and emission standards, he added. Nguyen Quang Huan, member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment, said he was concerned about waste-to-energy plants. He said such technology still produces pollutants, and is merely cleaning the … [Read more...] about No ideal waste treatment technology for Vietnam yet

The city's mayor has asked local authorities to speed up the vaccination campaign amid surging infections. Hanoi's authorities have been asked to give Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to local residents as soon as possible, according to a decision signed on August 9 by Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh. On August 9, Vietnam saw a record high in three months of 2,300 new cases in a single day, lifting up the country’s total infections to more than 11,350,000, including more than 43,000 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH). The move was made as the caseload with new strains BA.04 and BA.05 in the city is increasing and that vaccination against Covid-19 is an effective and strategic measure in disease prevention and control, stated the document. Local authorities have been asked to urge high-risk and vaccine-hesitant people to complete the two-dose vaccination and ramp up at-home inoculations for homebound people who are aged above 50 with … [Read more...] about Hanoi accelerates Covid-19 vaccination for all locals

Vietnam’s digital transformation is designed to be based on three main pillars namely institution, infrastructure, and manpower. Digital transformation plays a major role in building an independent and integrated economy, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the statement today. The country should not remain outside this process and building successful digital-based economy and society needs to begin with e-government, Chinh, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for Digital Transformation, said at the committee’s 3rd meeting on August 9. The event drew the participation of more than 130,000 officials nationwide, including Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and many cabinet members, to discuss the application of population data and electronic identification and authentication for national digital transformation in the 2022-2025 period with a vision to 2030. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the national meeting on digital … [Read more...] about Digital transformation matters a lot to economic integration: Vietnamese PM

At the meeting ( Photo: SGGP) Today, the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly deputies delegation had a meeting to supervise the implementation of the Housing Law in the city for the 2016-2021 period to the branch of the State Bank of Vietnam in HCMC and the branch of the Bank for Social Policies in HCMC, the Department of Construction and Department of Natural Resources and Environment. At the conference, Huynh Thanh Khiet, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that in the period 2016-2021, nearly 15,000 apartments in 19 social housing projects were completed. In the next phase between 2021 to 2025, the southern metropolis planned to implement 25 projects with a total of more than 28,600 apartments. With nearly 15,000 apartments in 19 social housing projects, Ho Chi Minh City can satisfy the housing needs of a part of low-income people, civil servants, and public employees with housing difficulties. Accordingly, the number of social housing has not … [Read more...] about Low-income earners hardly access loans for buying social houses

Kuala Lumpur – Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz has said Malaysia's inflation may reach around 11 percent if the government does not implement subsidies for essential items like fuel. Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz has said Malaysia's inflation may reach around 11%. (Photo: theedgemarkets.com) The minister told the press that Malaysia's inflation is forecast to be 2.2 percent -3.2 percent. In fact, for the first six months of the year, inflation was around 2.5 percent, and that was largely due to the large size of subsidies that the government introduced. Malaysia's inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, increased 3.4 percent year-on-year in June, led by costlier food, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said on July 22. Nonetheless, Tengku Zafrul acknowledged that the current blanket subsidy policy is not sustainable for the country, but it is necessary for economic recovery in the short term. The government is managing the economy cautiously, and the … [Read more...] about Malaysia’s inflation may hit double digits: Finance Minister

The Vinh-Nha Trang railway will be upgraded with a total investment of over 1.2 trillion VND (Photo: sggp.org.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Transport has approved the Vinh-Nha Trang railway renovation and upgrade project under the North-South railway with a total investment of over 1.2 trillion VND (51.3 million USD) from 2022 to 2025. The Railway Project Management Board under the Ministry of Transport was assigned to be investors in upgrading projects of roads, bridges and stations with a total length of nearly 1,000km. The project aimed at ensuring traffic safety, improving the quality of railway connectivity, enhancing the capacity of transport, creating favourable conditions for luring customers and cargo, and effectively exploiting railway infrastructure in the section of Vinh-Nha Trang. According to the Ministry of Transport’s investment decision, the project capital is from the State budget in the medium-term public investment plan for the period … [Read more...] about 51.3 million USD invested in Vinh – Nha Trang railway renovation, upgrade project

P/S of Unilever Vietnam and the Viet Nam Odonto-Stomatology Association have announced a collaboration agreement to prolong the Protecting Vietnamese Smiles programme to 2027. The programme is a component of a strategic partnership between the two parties to enhance oral health and reduce oral diseases by 10 per cent in Viet Nam between 2022 and 2027. Under the collaboration, the two sides will strengthen education on appropriate oral hygiene habits including organising communication initiatives to inspire 20 million people to properly brush their teeth day and night to prevent oral health issues. In addition, they will co-ordinate to implement the School Dentistry programme to directly approach and spread the formation of healthy daily brushing habits to 2.6 million primary and preschool children The oral health checks among the community will also be organised with free dental examinations and consultations for 100,000 children and the elderly. The two sides will develop … [Read more...] about P/S extends collaboration with Vietnam Odonto-Stomatology Association

The central city topped the ranking for cities and provinces, scoring 0.6419 points, 0.1545 higher than the 2020 ranking released last year. Thua Thien Hue came in second place again with 0.5872 points, and Ho Chi Minh City climbed two spots to rank third. The top ten also included Bac Ninh, Lang Son, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Binh Phuoc and Bac Giang. The Ministry of Finance led the rankings of 17 ministries and ministry-level agencies providing public services, gaining 0.6321 points, 0.13 higher than the previous ranking. It was followed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vietnam Social Security. Also in the top ten were the State Bank of Vietnam, the ministries of Trade and Industry; Information and Telecommunications; Environment and Natural Resources; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Transport; and Home Affairs. Claiming 0.4736 points, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology rose two spots to rank first among nine ministries and ministry-level … [Read more...] about Da Nang, Finance Ministry top Digital Transformation Index