Opra bastille

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong on July 14 cabled a message of congratulations to French President Emmanuel Macron on the occasion of the 231st anniversary of France’s Bastille Day (July 14, 1789). Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also extended congratulations to his French counterpart Jean Castex. On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent a congratulatory message to Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian. Vietnam and France established diplomatic ties in 1973 and lifted their relations to a strategic partnership in 2013./. VNA …

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  French President Emmanuel Macron said: "I would like to make masks mandatory in all enclosed public spaces". — AFP/VNA Photo PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that face masks will soon be required in public indoor spaces to curtail the coronavirus outbreak, acknowledging that infections were again on the rise. His comments, in a television interview marking Bastille Day, came after he oversaw the traditional military ceremony that was drastically downsized because of the pandemic. "I would like to make masks mandatory in all enclosed public spaces," Macron said in the interview, a Bastille Day tradition he had shunned since taking office three years ago. "We have indications that (the outbreak) is accelerating a bit," he added, suggesting that his government would require masks in shops and public buildings from August 1. He later posted on Twitter that "Wearing a mask in enclosed public spaces will be mandatory in the coming weeks." The virus reproduction rate, the "R" ratio, has again risen above one in France, he said in the interview, meaning that a person infected with COVID-19 is likely spreading the disease to at least one other person. Macron's comments come as doctors have warned of a potential second wave of infections that could again overwhelm hospitals and require new lockdowns that could further hammer the economy. Asked whether France had enough masks in case of a new spike in cases, following massive shortages as the outbreak worsened in March, Macron said: "We will be ready." "We have secured both the stocks and the supply sources, and we are organised on the ground, to allow us to deal with an upsurge, if it comes," he said. He also said the government's "massive" recovery plan would reach 100 billion euros (US$114 billion), on top of more than 460 billion euros spent so far to limit the social and economic devastation from the two-month lockdown imposed in mid-March. Priority will be placed on …

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Millions worldwide back in virus confinement, but hope on US vaccine (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) Massachusetts-based Moderna will begin the trials later this month after promising early results. With countries and cities across the globe reimposing restrictions in the face of new outbreaks of the disease, infections in India have continued to soar. The country of 1.3 billion people had been easing its lockdown to lessen the economic impact -- particularly on vast numbers of poor Indians who lost their jobs. Almost 24,000 Indian deaths have now been recorded, according to health ministry figures that many experts say underplay the severity of the situation. Bangalore, home to more than 13 million people, has emerged as a new global hotspot. Firms in the city's lifeblood IT sector handling the back-office operations of dozens of global corporations can continue operating, but with only half the staff allowed on premises. Transport is banned except for emergencies, and only shops selling essential items are allowed to open. "I do not want to take chances... I am stocking up for two weeks," said Mangala, a housewife, as she joined a long queue to buy provisions. In the United States, the announcement of possible progress towards a vaccine came as results were published from the first stage of Moderna's vaccine trial, which showed the first 45 participants all developed antibodies to the virus. Moderna is considered to be in a leading position in the race to find a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has infected more than 13.2 million people and killed 570,000. The last-stage trials are scheduled to run through October 2022, with researchers expecting preliminary results well before then. - No return to 'normal'- But "there will be no return to the 'old normal' for the foreseeable future," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday, warning that without governments adopting a comprehensive strategy, the situation would get "worse …

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