The famed river bridges of the Iranian city of Isfahan are a beloved tourist draw -- but much of the time their stone arches span just sand and rocks, not water. Women pose for a selfie along the bank of the Zayandeh Rood in Iran's central city of Isfahan on May 15, 2022 Drought and upstream water diversions have seen the Zayandeh Rood, "fertile river" in Persian, run dry since 2000, with only rare exceptions. Sitting on a quay with two friends, 60-year-old Jalal Mirahmadi gazed with melancholy at the riverbed, which became the site of a farmers' protest late last year. "When I was a child, the water flowed under the arches of the bridge and sometimes overflowed to spill into the surrounding streets," he sighed. The river runs nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the Zagros Mountains in the west to Lake Gavkhouni in the east, making it the longest waterway in central Iran. On its way through Isfahan, it meanders under several beautifully crafted … [Read more...] about Iconic Iran river threatened by droughts, diversions
Pmc bank directors arrested
MM Mega Market Vietnam expands its footprint in the North with opening Sapa Depot
This is recognised as a significant step forward in the sustainable development and expansion of MM Vietnam in distribution network system for the 5-year period from 2020 to 2025 to better serve its professional customers especially HoReCa channel. The delegates cut the ribbon in the opening ceremony of new MM’s Depot in Sapa Located on the main crossroad about two kilometers from the town center, Sapa Depot spreads over a land area of 480 square meters, in which the total area of the warehouse is 394 square meters. Its target customers comprise business or professional customers who have been providing their products and services in the hospitality industry in Sapa. As an important part of MM Mega Market Vietnam’s supply chain and sourcing management, Sapa Depot aims to provide a wide range of leading-edge products to better support its customers’ evolving demands in a timely manner, while enabling it to offer further solutions within 38 kilometers from Lao Cai City … [Read more...] about MM Mega Market Vietnam expands its footprint in the North with opening Sapa Depot
VN-Index revives 15 points
Unlike previous trading sessions, the demand for pillar stocks remained until the end of the trading session, instead of being sold off at G hour. The VN-Index rallied robustly by 14.57 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 1,223.38 points. Although the VN-Index regained strongly, the number of winners and losers was quite balanced, with 224 advancers compared to 210 decliners. However, the number of gainers completely dominated the VN30 basket, with 26 gainers compared to four losers, namely HPG, KDH, PLX, and SAB. The driving force for the VN-Index continued to come from MSN, with an increase of 4.3 percent. The steadiness of MSN was the motivation for the rest of the stocks in the VN30 basket, such as GAS, VNM, FPT, VRE, VCB, TPB, STB, SSI, PNJ, and CTG. The bright spot in the trading session also included banking and securities stocks. After the previous series of corrections, this stock group simultaneously recovered thanks to the appearance of the bottom-fishing cash flow. … [Read more...] about VN-Index revives 15 points
Shortage of radioactive materials needs to be resolved urgently
A doctor checks the PET/CT scanner before operating it at Cho Ray Hospital. (Photo: SGGP) Exhaustedly searching places to get PET/CT scans In the past three days, Nguyen Dinh Hung, living in Binh Chanh District in HCMC, had to visit many hospitals around the city to find a place to take PET/CT scans for his mother, a patient suspected of having stomach cancer. At first, Hung went to HCMC Oncology Hospital, but the hospital said that it no longer had any radiopharmaceuticals to operate its scanner. Hung took his mother to Military Hospital 175 and then People's Hospital 115, but these two places also turned him down because their machines stopped working. Being told by his friends that only Cho Ray Hospital had a working scanner, he registered a PET/CT scan for his mother there. However, due to the overwhelming number of patients, it takes more than a month before his mother’s turn comes. "For cancer patients, a long waiting time may cause the disease to advance to a severe … [Read more...] about Shortage of radioactive materials needs to be resolved urgently
Deputy PM busy with meetings on threshold of WEF meeting
At his meeting with British Cabinet Minister and President for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Alok Sharma, Khai said that Vietnam has been implementing many overall and comprehensive measures in the field of energy transition and growth model transformation towards a green and circular direction to realize commitments made at COP26. The official underlined that ensuring energy security for growth and reducing emissions at the same time is a very complicated problem that requires the support of the international community in terms of resources, technology, and governance capacity. Therefore, he said that Vietnam hopes that the U.K., the European Union (E.U.) and other member states of the Group of Seven (G7) will soon make specific commitments to supporting Vietnam in this area. For his part, Sharma held that Vietnam has made a proper decision to announce the net-zero emission commitment at the COP26, lauding Vietnam’s efforts to realize the commitments, … [Read more...] about Deputy PM busy with meetings on threshold of WEF meeting
RoK supports Hue to build into a smart cultural and tourism city
The project, funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea, aims to build a smart tourism information system; develop an urban cultural tourism center, and expand the city’s walking zone network. In addition, smart lighting and surveillance camera systems will be installed along the banks of the Huong (Perfume) River together with the building of public administration capacity in tourism development and urban management. The project will provide technical solutions to accumulate tourism-related data and increase visitors’ access to necessary information. The project also covers the improvement of the urban environment by installing smart lights, public wifi network coverage, and cultural integrated areas. The project is significant since it both serves the people’s life and improves the quality of tourism services to become a spearheaded economic sector of the province. Hue is a top tourist destination in the Central region of Vietnam. Translated by Song Anh … [Read more...] about RoK supports Hue to build into a smart cultural and tourism city
HSBC optimistic about Vietnam stock market despite plunge
Though the benchmark VN-Index has lost nearly 19 percent this year, the bank said it was confident about the long-term prospects of the market as companies have been "on a roll" in terms of growth and profits in recent years. The average earnings per share of listed companies had grown by 35 percent last year, and while trading had dipped in the last few months, the Vietnamese market had surpassed Singapore and Indonesia to become the second largest in Southeast Asia behind only Thailand. Local retail investors accounted for around 87 percent of trading. Though foreigners had been mostly withdrawing from the market for nearly three years, they "have started to dip their toes into this market again" in the past few weeks. This was because only seven of the 30 biggest stocks on the main bourse, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, had reached their foreign ownership limit. Overall the VN-Index had a foreign ownership limit of 44 percent, and current foreign holdings were at less … [Read more...] about HSBC optimistic about Vietnam stock market despite plunge
New bridge offers safe travel for thousands in poor Thanh Hoa commune
Thousands of residents in a poor commune in the northern central province of Thanh Hoa are calling for funding for a safer bridge. Suoi Khanh Bridge has deteriorated The remote mountainous commune of Co Lung in Ba Thuoc District home to a Thai ethnic group is located some 130 kilometres from Thanh Hoa City. Due to difficult terrain, travel has always been one of the biggest challenges for local people. Suoi Khanh Bridge lies on one of the most important routes in Co Lung Commune. The bridge that serves over 2,000 residents in four villages has now seriously deteriorated. According to the chairman of the Co Lung Commune People's Committee, Truong Van Thanh, the Suoi Khanh Bridge was built from wood in 1994. The 25-metre wooden bridge has deteriorated over time," the official said. "We’ve had to repair it many times, especially after flooding seasons, which meant hundreds of children could not travel to school while adults could not go to work." … [Read more...] about New bridge offers safe travel for thousands in poor Thanh Hoa commune
Quang Ninh farms turn to tech to grow agriculture sector
Quang Ninh agricultural products are on sale at website dongtrieumart.vn (Photo: baoquangninh.com.vn) Quang Ninh (VNA) – The northern province of Quang Ninh is taking steps to boost high-tech agriculture to cut production costs, increase volumes, and cultivate high-quality farm produce. To realise this goal, farmers are focusing on speeding up the digital transformation, considering it a strategic solution to enhancing the production, quality and competitiveness of agricultural products in domestic and international markets. Dam Ha trade and construction company in Dam Ha district has invested more than 15 billion VND (647,250 USD) to building hydroponic greenhouse vegetable and melon farms, betting on high-tech hydro-growing operations to promote clean agriculture, cut workloads, and standardise quality. Director Nguyen Huu Nhuong said that thanks the newly installed hydroponic systems, the company has enjoyed a production bump of nearly 100 tonnes of melon per year … [Read more...] about Quang Ninh farms turn to tech to grow agriculture sector
☕ Afternoon briefing on May 24
Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on May 24. - Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on May 23 led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the 52nd World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting. He proposed the establishment of a food innovation hub for Southeast Asia in Vietnam when addressing the “Averting a Global Food Crisis” session, a panel discussion with World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley, UAE Climate and Environment Minister Mariam Mohammed Saeed Al Mheiri, Tanzania’s Vice President Philip Isdor Mpango, and CEO of the Swiss agriculture company Syngenta, J Erik Fyrwald. Read full story - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy on May 24 co-organised a ceremony to inaugurate the US-Vietnam Cooperation Centre at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV)’s campus in Hanoi. The new centre is an outcome of the partnership between the embassy’s Public Affairs Section and the DAV which … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on May 24