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Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien (left) and Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Alvaro Lopez Miera ink a plan for defence cooperation for 2020 – 2022. (Photo: VNA) Havana (VNA) - Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien held talks with Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Alvaro Lopez Miera in Havana on September 20 morning. Deputy Minister Chien is accompanying President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his official visit to Cuba. At the meeting, Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera highly spoke of President Phuc’s visit to Cuba, saying it reaffirms the solidarity and special brotherhood between the two countries at the time when the world is facing challenges caused by the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides welcomed the outcomes of bilateral defence cooperation over recent years which are in line with documents and agreements signed by the two ministries and commitments made by the …

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Deputy Minister Chien is accompanying President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his official visit to Cuba. At the meeting, Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera spoke highly of President Phuc’s visit to Cuba, saying it reaffirms the solidarity and special brotherhood between the two countries at the time when the world is facing challenges caused by the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides welcomed the outcomes of bilateral defense cooperation in recent years which are in line with documents and agreements signed by the two ministries and commitments made by the countries’ leaders. They particularly spoke highly of results achieved in 2020, highlighting the compilation of a set of documents on the Vietnam-Cuba defense partnership over the last six decades (1960-2020) as an example. They agreed to further increase delegation exchanges, high-level dialogues and cooperation in defense industry, personnel training, cyber security, military medicine and other areas that both sides have …

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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - As one of the pioneer members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Malaysia is looking forward to welcoming China into the fold, anticipated to be as early as next year, according to Malaysia 's national news agency Bernama. Bernama quoted a response by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in reply to the agency's query as saying that Malaysia is particularly encouraged with the recent move by China to formally apply for accession into the CPTPP. In February this year, the United Kingdom became the first country outside the Asia Pacific belt to formally request for accession into the CPTPP. Within a span of seven months, it is interesting to see that CPTPP has received another accession request, demonstrating the significant value of this agreement and its attraction to countries within and beyond the Asia Pacific region, Bernama said. The CPTPP …

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Illustrative image (Photo: Reuters) Bangkok (VNA) - The Thai Customs Department is preparing to reduce import duty on alcoholic beverages and cigars by 50 percent for five years in line with the government's economic stimulus and investment promotion package. The cuts are in accordance with the September 14 cabinet resolution involving plans to revive the post-COVID-19 economy by encouraging wealthy foreigners and highly skilled professionals to stay and work in the country, the Bangkok Post quoted Patchara Anuntasilpa, director-general of the department, as saying The programme is hoped to attract more than 1 million qualified people to Thailand over the next five years and generated around 1 trillion baht (30 billion USD) during the period. Cuts in import duties will be part of the mix. Thailand estimates that the group is expected to spend on average 1 million baht (nearly 30,000 USD) per person per year while living and working in the country. Benefits in the …

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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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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

Illustrative image (Photo: AFP/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) - Garuda Airlines - Indonesia 's national flag carrier - is reported to plan to cut a large number of wide-body aircraft, while retaining dozens of narrow-body aircraft to focus on its low-cost subsidiary Citilinks. The Flightglobal.com website cited aviation data analytics company Cirium as saying that Garuda is looking to cut nearly 80 planes from its fleet and renegotiate or cancel orders for more than 90 others. According to the source, Garuda is expected to launch a settlement plan in order to carry out the restructuring of the group's aircraft lease agreements as well as other debts. The information was announced after Garuda lost the lawsuit for the payment of aircraft rental fees against two aircraft leasing companies Helice SAS and Atterrissage SAS at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), in which the court ordered the airline to pay the outstanding rent. In the first half of 2021, Garuda …

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Vietnam has got 45 million doses from donations and purchases, of which nearly 12 million doses came from the COVAX. The Government of Vietnam today [Sept 20] decided to import 10 million doses of Cuba’s homegrown Abdala Covid-19 vaccine. Abdala vaccine is produced by AICA Pharmaceutical Laboratories and packaged at Level 2 at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB). “Once again, the peoples of Cuba and Vietnam share their scientific-technological achievements,” tweeted the Cuban institution. Three days ago, Vietnam approved Abdala ahead of the ongoing visit to Cuba paid by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a phone talk with the COVAX Facility's Managing Director Aurélia Nguyen. Photo: VGP Chinh requested the COVAX Facility to facilitate the delivery to Vietnam in September, October, and November as it was committed to providing. He expressed that Vietnam considers contributing more …

[Read more...] about Today’s Covid News: Vietnam to buy 10 million vaccine doses from Cuba

Hanoians line up to get a COVID vaccine. VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — The amount of new COVID-19 cases detected on Monday was 8,681, the lowest daily figure recorded in the past month. Compared to Sunday, the amount of new infections dropped by 1,357. The total number of coronavirus patients now stands at 695,744. There were also a further 215 deaths, taking the total amount of fatalities to 17,305. HCM City recorded the highest number of infections with 5,171, followed by Bình Dương (1,410), Đồng Nai (869), Long An (268) and Tiền Giang (211). The other cases were detected in Kiên Giang (175), Đắk Lắk (113), An Giang (100), Cần Thơ (48), Quảng Bình (35), Tây Ninh (32), Bình Thuận (28), Đắk Nông (27), Bình Định (23), Khánh Hòa (19), Đồng Tháp (19), Quảng Ngãi (16), Phú Yên (15), Hậu Giang (10), Cà Mau (10), Hà Nội (9), Ninh Thuận (9), Bạc Liêu (8 ), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (7), Bình Phước (5), Thừa Thiên Huế (5), Sóc Trăng (5), Vĩnh Long (4), Hà Nam (3), Đà Nẵng (3), Quảng Nam …

[Read more...] about Lowest daily COVID-19 case increase in a month