Rising earth from moon

The event was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam Youth Federation, and the city’s Vietnam Students’ Association, with the support of the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation. During the event, Tran Thu Ha, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and Chairwoman of the city’s Vietnam Students’ Association, delivered a speech in which she stated that the running contest aimed to raise awareness about the importance of a green lifestyle. The city’s young people hoped to contribute to the common efforts of saving energy, protecting the environment, and preventing climate change. In addition to the running competition, various activities were implemented by the city’s youth unions on the morning of March 25. These included organizing sports activities to encourage young people to run 10,000 steps per day, as well as an Olympic Run Day for the health of the entire  in 2023. The youth unions also organized environmental … [Read more...] about Over 1,300 people join run in Ho Chi Minh City to mark Earth Hour

Visas, service quality, and technology were all part of discussions on a better-performing tourism sector Photo: Cuong Minh May’s National Assembly session is likely to help push ahead a revamp of the country’s rules on entry and exit for foreign visitors, after the Ministry of Public Security crafts amendments to the current law. The development will be an important basis for the issuance of new regulations related to the visa policy, removing difficulties for the tourism industry, and creating conditions to attract more international visitors this year, according to most observers. Dang Tuan Viet, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Secrutity’s (MoPS) Vietnam Immigration Department, said that the proposal emphasised two major areas related to unilateral visa exemption and electronic visa policy. The MoPS also proposes to expand the number of countries that can issue e-visas from 80 countries to the maximum. The MoPS will also ask to increase the temporary stay … [Read more...] about Visa upgrade at heart of fresh approach to tourism

The number of tourists to a UNESCO-recognised My Son Sanctuary in the central province of Quang Nam has been on the rise, nearly equal to prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the management board of My Son world cultural heritage site, the site has seen a monthly rise in travellers this year. Between January and March 20, My Son attracted 80,000 tourists, some 1,200 people visited the site daily before the pandemic. Tourists in My Son Besides South Korea, Japan and Europe, My Son has lured more tourists from markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India. Visitors from India have sharply increased, accounting for 10 percent of the travellers to My Son. Phan Ho, director of the management board of My Son World Cultural Heritage Site, said that a goal of 180,000 tourists, including 130,000 foreigners had been set. Ho believed that this target would be fulfilled based on the return of foreign holidaymakers, especially those from South Korea and … [Read more...] about Tourists to My Son Sanctuary surges

Illustrative image (Photo: vov.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - The export value of Vietnamese tea to China in the first two months of this year quadrupled from the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs . China imported 426 tonnes of tea from Vietnam in the two months, representing rises of 121% in volume and 411.2% in value. The average tea export price in February alone surged by over 10% to more than 1,641 USD per tonne. China’s reopening of its border after the COVID-19 pandemic is the main factor behind the strong growth of tea exports to this huge market, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Tea exports to Pakistan also enjoyed an upward trend, reaching 5,300 tonnes worth 9.4 million USD, up 5.8% in volume year on year. Although Taiwan (China) is Vietnam’s second largest tea consumer, tea exports to this market declined slightly over the two-month period. Statistics show Vietnam shipped 1,500 tonnes worth 2.4 million USD to … [Read more...] about Tea export value to China skyrockets

Logo of Vietcombank on its trading office in Tran Hung Dao Street, Ha Noi. The bank shares soared 2.25 per cent on Monday, led the market's bullish sentiment. — VNS Photo Ly Ly Cao Benchmark indices opened the week on a positive note, buoyed by the improvement of risk appetite. The VN-Index on the southern bourse Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended Monday at 1,052.25 points, a gain of 5.46 points, or 0.52 per cent. It logged a long rising streak of five days with the market's breadth inclining to the uptrend. Meanwhile, liquidity increased slightly, of which over VND9.7 trillion (US$413.2 million) worth, equivalent to nearly 557 million shares, was traded on HoSE. The VN30-Index also advanced 5.03 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close the trading day at 1,056.45 points. Twenty of the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation of the VN30 basket jumped, of which one hit the ceiling price. Eight stocks declined while two stayed flat. On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the … [Read more...] about VN-Index extends its long winning streak

Accordingly, 35 Vietnamese contestants, divided into 18 groups all competing in the Leanbot category, brought home the championship title, one first, one second, eight third and six consolation prizes. Notably, the championship went to Binh Thuy Primary School in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. The STEM Robotics toolkit Leanbot was introduced in this year’s competition for the first time after it was developed by a team of experts and engineers of DTT Vietnam Technology Joint Stock Company. Themed “Second Earth,” this year’s event drew the participation of 258 contestants from primary and secondary schools in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The Malaysian team won the title at the Lego EV3 category, while the championship in the VEX IQ category came to the Philippine team. Robothon, a thematic challenge competition platform for students to explore real-world issues of today, with creative solutions, was first held 17 years ago. This year, it was resumed after … [Read more...] about Vietnam wins 17 prizes at International Robothon 2023

Three lawmakers said on Monday they plan to reintroduce the "Protection from Abusive Passengers Act," saying the enhanced penalty is a strong deterrent and needed to improve aviation worker and passenger safety and "minimize disruptions to the national aviation system and restore confidence in air travel." Senator Jack Reed and Representative Eric Swalwell, both Democrats, and Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick are introducing the bill after a series of incidents aboard airplanes. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union opposed creating a no-fly list for unruly passengers, saying the U.S. government "has a terrible record of treating people fairly with regard to the existing no-fly list and other watch lists that are aimed at alleged terrorists." During the early stages of the pandemic, much of the passenger anger was sparked by the federal government mask mandate. Despite the end of the airplane mask mandate in April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) … [Read more...] about US lawmakers make new push to bar convicted violent passengers from flights

The minister made the call at the Vietnam Private Hospital Association’s fifth executive committee meeting for the 2019-2024 term on March 24. She said that in recent years, the National Assembly and the government had firmed up guidelines and policies, which were reflected in many different documents, creating a crucial legal basis for the development of non-public healthcare. Health Minister Dao Hong Lan made a speech at the meeting "Non-public healthcare and public healthcare have cooperated and gone hand in hand in taking care of people's health, contributing to reducing hospital overload, and giving people more choices of medical services," she noted. According to the minister, the National Assembly recently passed the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment. This was an important milestone, and a turning point of the health sector, serving as a legal basis to firming up the guiding content of a Central Resolution continuing the development of medicine … [Read more...] about Private facilities urged to do more to boost healthcare sector

Photo: Chi Cuong At VIR’s roundtable discussion on seeking a boost for inbound tourism last week, editor-in-chief Le Trong Minh opened the roundtable with a fact-based observation, and noted that the country has yet to unlock the full potential of its tourism industry. “While the tourism sector contributes a significant 9.2 per cent of the country’s total GDP, equivalent to $32.8 billion, this number remains low compared to the global average,” he said. In 2023, the tourism sector aims to welcome eight million international visitors. While this is a modest number compared to the level achieved in 2019 of 19 million visitors, it is a challenging target as the market is undergoing many changes and new trends post-pandemic. Explaining this, Hoang Nhan Chinh, secretariat director of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board assessed that group tours are seeing a decline, and tourists known as frequent independent travellers are on the rise. “An essential step is to understand the … [Read more...] about Powerful plan mooted for tourism

The Vietnamese rice industry is set to benefit from the high demand and prices this year, with lower input costs leading to expanded profit margins for rice businesses. A rice field in Vi Thuy district in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang. Vietnam will benefit from the upward trend in rice prices due to limited supply. (Photo: VNA) According to an expert from Vietnam Securities Company Limited Bank for Foreign Trade (VCBS), the country's rice industry enjoys favourable factors, such as weather and geographical advantage. The prolonged drought in China has caused a decrease in the country's output for the 2021-2022 crop, leading to an anticipated six million tonne increase in rice imports for the 2022-23 crop. Meanwhile, inventories in the Philippines have declined due to typhoons and high fertiliser costs, leading to increased rice imports. The cultivated area in India has also dropped due to drought, making the decrease in supply - the main factor for … [Read more...] about 2023 set to be favourable for Vietnamese rice enterprises