China's withdrawal from hosting the 2023 Asian Cup could see the showpiece shift west to the Gulf, where new infrastructure and voracious demand for major events has made the region a magnet for international tournaments. Having planned to hold the Asian Cup across 10 cities in June-July next year, China dropped the 24-team tournament due to "exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic", the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said over the weekend. The AFC said it would name a new host in due course but provided no detail and declined to provide immediate comment to Reuters . AFC member nations were in the dark on Monday about the next steps. "This is quite an unusual situation and so there’s no specific process that we are aware of on how things could go," a spokesperson for the Korean Football Association (KFA) told Reuters . "We just know that China has given up." The AFC has little time to appraise candidates and may not have a diverse set to choose … [Read more...] about China withdrawal could see 2023 Asian Cup heading west
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Who is to blame when kids drown?
My father taught me how to swim when I was five. He took two coconuts and secured them together with a cloth to make a makeshift buoy. I used it to keep afloat as I flailed at the water in the middle of a flooded field. When I figured out how to stay afloat, my father took away the coconuts and planted two poles, two meters apart, in the water. I had to swim from one to the other. With each passing day the poles got further apart. One day I was able to swim all the way to the furthest part and make it back to land safely. It was how I and my siblings learned to swim. It was how all the kids in the Mekong Delta did. Our parents were not professional coaches, and merely passed down their experience to their children. Yet I rarely heard of anyone drowning in my hometown. My father said parents started thinking about teaching their children how to swim as soon as they were able to walk. It only takes a small mistake to lose one's life in the waters of the delta. We used to get … [Read more...] about Who is to blame when kids drown?
Hanoi promotes tourism among visitors attending SEA Games 31
The capital city and its neighboring provinces introduce attractive tourist destinations, products, and services to international visitors. Themed “Hanoi - Den de yeu” (Hanoi- Visit It to Love It), Hanoi Tourism Festival 2022 is an opportunity to promote the image of a safe and friendly capital on the occasion of the 31st SEA Games. That is the affirmation of Nguyen Manh Quyen - Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee at the festival’s opening ceremony last weekend. Leaders of Hanoi city and delegates visited the tourist booth at the opening ceremony of Hanoi Tourism Festival 2022. Photo: Le Nam Admiring the “technological wall” showing Hanoi’s scenic spots The festival was organized with various new and impressive features. Besides advertising through booths and miniature models of landscapes such as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature - Imperial Academy, Hoa Lo Prison, and Hanoi’s Old Quarter, among others, the festival also showcases … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes tourism among visitors attending SEA Games 31
Vietnam – Laos trade ties growing sustainably
During the 2016-2020 period, the two-way trade saw stable expansion and reached the target of over 1 billion USD, but then suffered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. The Asia-Pacific Market Department at the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said that the bilateral trade exceeded 1 billion USD in 2020, down 11.5 percent year-on-year, of which Vietnam’s exports were worth 571.7 million USD, down 18.5 percent. However, the bilateral trade bounced back since early 2021, surging 33.3 percent to 1.37 billion USD for the year, with Vietnam’s export revenue reaching 594.7 million USD, a rise of 4 percent from 2020, and its import hitting 778.2 million USD, up 69.8 percent. The results are attributable to the political resolve by Vietnamese and Lao leaders and the drastic management of competent agencies to remove obstacles facing businesses of the two countries and create optimal conditions for them to quickly adapt to the new situation. In … [Read more...] about Vietnam – Laos trade ties growing sustainably
AstraZeneca: three healthcare priorities in the new normal
Nitin Kapoor-Chairman and general director AstraZeneca Vietnam At AstraZeneca, our scientists, lab researchers, medical, regulatory and corporate affairs teams, amongst others, have worked tirelessly to see this day. We told ourselves that this is probably the only chance in our lifetime to play such an important role in fighting a pandemic of this scale. It was our duty to offer our best to protect the people. We worked closely with the Vietnamese government, the Ministry of Health, VNVC, and other partners to deliver and support the bilateral donations of more than 70 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. Our motivation was to ensure that Vietnam would be one of the first countries in Asia to have access to vaccines to save lives. Vietnam now possesses one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and we cannot be prouder of what we have accomplished together. But as a healthcare company, our responsibility does not stop there. While the hardest part of the … [Read more...] about AstraZeneca: three healthcare priorities in the new normal
Techcombank on track for a seat among the top ASEAN banks
Techcombank is on track to be among the top ASEAN banks Techcombank’s rise within the Vietnamese banking industry was highlighted last year when it became the first non-state-owned bank to join Vietnam’s billion-dollar profit club. “Even in the very tough environment we are seeing, our employees have maintained a high quality and reliable service for our customers and this is helping us to deliver stellar performance year after year,” said Jens Lottner, CEO of Techcombank. Last year, the bank continued to reduce costs while focusing on building deposits in its current accounts and savings accounts (CASA), which Lottner described as a “stable and cheap” source of funding. Techcombank’s CASA ratio, which reflects the percentage of the bank’s total deposits that are CASA, jumped from 46.1 per cent in 2020 to 50.5 per cent last year, well on its way to the bank’s target of 55 per cent by 2025. Techcombank’s net interest margin, a measure of the difference between the interest … [Read more...] about Techcombank on track for a seat among the top ASEAN banks
Roche Pharma Vietnam co-creating partnerships in sustainable health
"We are constantly looking for other areas to cooperate with the government. We bring to the table expertise in healthcare management, in regulatory affairs, even in logistics." - Lennor Carrillo, general director at Roche Pharma Vietnam During Roche’s 28 years in Vietnam, the company has moved beyond its traditional role as a pharma company and partnered with the government, hospitals, and doctors to improve the entire healthcare ecosystem. Could you share some highlights and difficulties of the journey? Roche celebrated its 125th birthday globally, and in that time span, we’ve tried to go beyond the drug-patient kind of approach and make a bigger impact. In Vietnam, aside from the government, additional partners that we have worked with include the Vietnam Medical Association, the Bright Future Fund, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, and other medical institutes and hospitals. A good example of the partnership we … [Read more...] about Roche Pharma Vietnam co-creating partnerships in sustainable health
Slight decrease in COVID cases on Monday
A sixth-grader in Long Xuyên City, in the southern province of An Giang, is inoculated against COVID-19. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Sang HÀ NỘI — A total of 1,550 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Monday, a fall of 46 compared to Sunday, as well as two deaths. The latest numbers bring the total national caseload to 10,698,180 so far. Among the new infections, just two were imported and the rest were domestic. A total of 1,355 new transmissions were detected in the community. The capital city of Hà Nội again recorded the highest number of infections with 437, followed by northern Bắc Ninh Province with 98. The other cases were found in Yên Bái (76), Quảng Ninh (75), Nghệ An (64), Vĩnh Phúc (63), Tuyên Quang (61), Thái Bình (54), Phú Thọ (53), Hải Dương (45), Quảng Bình (44), Thái Nguyên (44), Lào Cai (33), Bắc Kạn (25), Bình Dương (24), Đà Nẵng (22), Hà Tĩnh (22), Hưng Yên (22), Thanh Hóa (22), Ninh Bình (21), Hải Phòng (19), HCM City (19), Hòa Bình (17), Hà Nam (16), Nam Định … [Read more...] about Slight decrease in COVID cases on Monday
Cyclist Quynh successfully defends SEA Games cross country title
Cyclist Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh successfully defended her women’s SEA Games mountain bike cross-country title after finishing first at a Hoa Binh race on May 16. (Photo: VNA) Hoa Binh (VNA) – Cyclist Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh successfully defended her women’s SEA Games mountain bike cross-country title after finishing first at an event held in Hoa Binh city, the northern province of Hoa Binh, on May 16. The Vietnamese athlete earned a gold medal in the same category in SEA Games 30 in the Philippines three years ago. Quynh competed against 14 others from six Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – in the 15.6-km race. Her Vietnamese teammates Ca Thi Thom and Vu Thi Kim Loc also vied for the title. Quynh clocks one hour, 18 minutes and 6 seconds in the 15.6-km race. (Photo: VNA) Quynh clocked one hour, 18 minutes and 6 seconds. Zainal Abidin Nur Assyira from Malaysia crossed the line in one hour, 22 minutes and 14 … [Read more...] about Cyclist Quynh successfully defends SEA Games cross country title
SEA Games 31: Runner Nguyen Thi Huyen wins ninth SEA Games gold medal
Runners Nguyen Thi Huyen (836) and Quach Thi Lan of Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Nguyen Thi Huyen, the top female runner in Vietnam, won gold in the women’s 400m race on May 15 at the ongoing SEA Games 31 . This is the ninth gold medal that Huyen has brought home in four times competing at this largest regional sporting event. She still has a chance to add the 10th gold to her collection of gold medals at SEA Games in the final 400m hurdles race. The 29-year-old woman from Nam Dinh, surprised Vietnamese fans at the 30th SEA Games three years ago when claiming two gold medals just three months after returning to training following giving birth./ VNA … [Read more...] about SEA Games 31: Runner Nguyen Thi Huyen wins ninth SEA Games gold medal