An underage smoker at a park in Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo: AFP/VNA)– The Indonesian Government is planning to tighten its relatively lax regulations on smoking in a bid to curb the increasing number of child smokers in the country.Under a planned new regulation, the Health Ministry of Indonesia is looking to control the promotion and packaging of e-cigarettes, which have remained unregulated since their legalisation in 2018.The ministry is also seeking to increase the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging from 40% to 90%, ban the advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products, and prohibit the sale of single cigarettes.The number of underage smokers continues to increase each year, especially since the legalisation of e-cigarettes, Imran Agus Nurali, the ministry’s director of health promotion and community empowerment, told a webinar on August 11.He stressed the need for stronger measures to reduce tobacco consumption to protect future generations from the impact of smoking.Banning the advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products is also crucial as according to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, around 65% of Indonesia’s children are exposed to tobacco ads through television, point-of-sale advertising, and billboards, he added. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that still allows cigarette advertising on television and printed media.Aside from revising the prevailing tobacco regulation, the government is also planning to further increase the cigarette excise tax next year.Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry raised tobacco excise by 12%, leading to an average 35% increase in cigarette prices.According to the Health Ministry, tobacco kills around 290,000 people in the country each year./.

Illustration. (Photo: doanhnghiephoinhap.vn)Foreign investors net purchased 14.8 million stocks, worth some 80 billion VND (3,42 million USD) during the week from August 8 – 12, showing that the Vietnamese securities market remained attractive to them.The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) has risen for the fifth week straight on the back of oil, steel and electricity securities , after hitting a bottom of around 1,140 points in early July.It ended the week at 1,262.33 points, 9.59 points higher than the previous week, gradually approaching the next resistance zone of 1260–1285 points.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index picked up 3.52 points to settle at 303.42 points on August 12. UPCoM-Index also inched up 1.52 points to 92.84 points./.

In an effort to get people to shift from private to public transport, river buses are clearly a good solution. Vietnam will be the host country of Group F in qualification for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U17 Asian Cup. UN ready to support Vietnam in responding to new challenges: CoordinatorThrough the Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation (CF) between the Government of Vietnam and all UN resident and non-resident agencies in Vietnam, the UN hopes to show that it is ready and poised to serve the ever changing needs of the Vietnamese Government, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis told Vietnam News Agency. 4 of Vietnam, the patient took treatment at a level-1 hospital of Mongolia, but his condition did not improve. He pledged to actively organise activities to strengthen the friendship with Vietnam, especially those to celebrate the 33th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Venezuela and the 15th anniversary of bilateral comprehensive partnership.

Digital transformation will be promoted in building new-style rural areas, towards smart rural development, for the 2021 – 2025 period (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)Hanoi, (VNA) – The Government has approved a national programme on digital transformation in building new-style rural areas, towards smart rural development, for the 2021 – 2025 period. Each and every centrally-run city and province should have at least one trial smart rural commune model in the field which it holds advantages of, for example economy, rural tourism, environment, and culture. It also plans to promote digital economy in an effort to better develop the rural economy. Each and every centrally-run city and province should have at least one trial smart rural commune model in the field which it holds advantages of, for example economy, rural tourism, environment, and culture. The models will serve as reference for the development of a new set of criteria for new-style rural building for the 2026 – 2030 period./.

So if we're we don't have that knowledge, we don't have that aspiration, to innovate, we will probably be overrun by many of these development challenges. "And then third is the engagement with the government in reaching out to the people in consultations, in partnering with many communities to be able to deliver development and I know this is happening, particularly very strongly at the provincial level. However, there are many crises that are affecting not only Vietnam, but also the world. So a lot of the resources that would have gone to the Sustainable Development Goals are now a little bit channeled to the more urgent emergencies.“The trick then is to make sure that these urgent emergencies the urgent crisis, and the response to this crisis, allows us to build the systems required for SDGs to be accelerated. And so this is where why I said the crisis is an opportunity to build better and transform the systems so that we can ensure that no one is left behind in the development of the country,” she stated./.

After planting soybeans for a long period of time, Mr. Dang Quang Chieu in Cu Jut district, Dak Nong province, has only seen real profits in the past three years. This is attributed to the Vinasoy Soybean Research and Application Centre’s active research, selection, and testing of a non-GMO soybean variety from more than 1,530 precious genetic resources, which it provides to local farmers. The area for soybean growing in Vietnam has continually declined since 2010, from nearly 198,000 hectares to just over 37,000 hectares. The active creation of high-quality soybean varieties will help businesses develop high-quality and stable raw material areas for agricultural processing. Resolving this issue cannot be done overnight, but with the cooperation of farmers and businesses, Vietnam is expected to soon ease its dependence on material imports./.

Although their time in Vietnam is coming to an end, the two Bulgarians have so many unforgettable memories. Home to a diverse culture, cordial citizens, and a quality education environment, Vietnam has emerged as a favourite destination for students across the globe. Foreign students in Vietnam used to mostly come from neighbouring countries. Some 20,000 foreign students are now studying in Vietnam, primarily in graduate and post-graduate studies. Vietnam has earned the love of many international friends, and is likely to welcome more young foreign students in the time to come./.

DNSE VIETNAM OPEN 2022 to run from September 13-16The DNSE Vietnam Open 2022, the only tournament in the Vietnam Professional Golf Tournament System (VGA Tour Open) for international golfers outside of Việt Nam, will take place from September 13-16, 2022 in Hà Nội, according to organisers. The model was conducted at villages in and around Cuc Phuong National Park, the first national park of Vietnam. Vietnam a new destination for foreign studentsMany foreign students have chosen to study in Vietnam and their number is on the rise. Although their time in Vietnam is coming to an end, the two Bulgarians have so many unforgettable memories. Vietnam has earned the love of many international friends, and is likely to welcome more young foreign students in the time to come.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and the Southeast Asian region have managed to maintain economic stability and growth despite COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to experts. With global supply chain adjustments, Vietnam boasts the advantages needed to tap into opportunities from the supply chain shift. Due to supply chain disruptions and severe delivery delays for key components in the global electronics industry during the pandemic outbreak, electronics companies are increasingly diversifying supply chains to Southeast Asia. Mick Aw, senior adviser at Moore Stephens, said that Southeast Asian countries are increasingly playing a more important role in the global supply chain as businesses move away from China after the pandemic. For Vietnam, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) gave two scenarios for economic growth in 2022.

Business Qualified banks expect higher credit growth quota in next few months Some qualified commercial banks are forecast to get higher credit growth quotas from the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) in the next few months. Business Bamboo Airways successfully holds Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders 2022 Bamboo Airways Joint Stock Company on August 13 successfully held an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS) with the additional election of Le Ba Nguyen, Nguyen Manh Quan, and Doan Huu Doan as members of the Board of Management (BOM) in place of resigned members. Business Real estate market is gaining balance: ministry The real estate market of Vietnam showed signs of recovery and more balanced development in the second quarter of this year with increases in the number of successful transactions of apartments, houses and land, according to the report of the Ministry of Construction. Business Vietnam, Laos enjoy 24.2% rise in two-way trade in 7 months Trade between Vietnam and Laos rose 24.2% in the first seven months of this year to nearly 949 million USD, with Vietnam's export value of nearly 586 million USD, reported the Vietnam Trade Office in Laos.

Business Infographic Vietnam-ASEAN trade relations thriving The Vietnam-ASEAN trade relations have been thriving and reaped remarkable results over the years. After COVID-19, bilateral trade recovered and enjoyed growth in 2021, exceeding 70 billion USD and posted a year-on-year surge of 30%. Business Infographic Agro-forestry-fishery exports exceed 32 billion USD in first 7 months Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery exports were estimated to hit 32.3 billion USD in the first seven months of 2022, up 12.2% against the same period last year. Four commodities with export value exceeding 2 billion USD included coffee, rice, shrimp and wooden products.

Illustrative image (Photo: antaranews)- Indonesia has prepared several strategies to address the impact of the current global food crisis, which include increasing production, diversifying food, strengthening stocks, and modernising the agriculture sector, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture During a recent virtual discussion on “Handling the Threat of a Global Food Crisis ”, director of cereal at the ministry’s Directorate General of Food Crops Ismail Wahab said that the production of staple foods, especially rice, corn, and soybeans, needs to be increased to ensure they are always available and in a surplus.Earlier, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia has been able to meet domestic rice demand without relying on imports for the last three consecutive years.However, the country still needs to import corn and soybeans to meet domestic needs, Ismail Wahab said, adding that the government is trying to substitute imported corn with domestic production.Furthermore, the government has devised a road map for planting soybean over up to 1.5 million hectares by 2026 to meet national demand without resorting to imports, he said.He went on to say the food crisis must be prevented through diversification.Wahab said that per capita rice consumption must be reduced and replaced with other staple food, such as cassava, sago, and sorghum, whose production is abundant in the country.The next strategy is to increase food stocks and strengthen logistics. Indonesia must set up food granaries at the village, sub-district, district, city, province, and national levels, he said.It is also important to carry out agricultural modernisation and use superior seed varieties, he added./.

Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)Hanoi (VNA) – Cambodia on August 12 called for a greater participation from all stakeholders to protect and conserve endangered Asian elephants in its protected areas. Asian elephants are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Spokesman of the Ministry of Environment Neth Pheaktra said Cambodia is home to between 400 and 600 wild Asian elephants, which live mostly in the Cardamom Mountains and in the northern provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri. "Asian elephants are under threat globally, including Cambodia, due to poaching, snaring, human-elephant conflict, capture for taming and habitat degradation," he said. According to him, Cambodia needs about 40.5 million USD for 10 years (2020-2029) to protect and conserve Asian elephants across the kingdom./.

Downpours on August 11 evening and August 12 morning have flooded many streets in the capital. Vietnam defeat Malaysia, win U19 international friendly tourneyHosts Vietnam won a U19 international friendly tournament after defeating Malaysia 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the final match on August 11 evening. The U19 international friendly tournament sponsored by Thanh Nien (Youth newspaper) has attracted four teams: Thailand, Malaysia Myanmar and hosts Vietnam. As shared by the ministry, the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, under the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation, is currently in charge of operating the Vung Tau-Con Dao helicopters. Seminar to spotlight Vietnam – France culture interferenceA seminar on the Vietnam – France culture interference from the perspective of writer Nguyen Ngoc will be held by the French Institute in Vietnam and Nha Nam Culture and Communications Company on August 13.

– Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien received UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis in Hanoi on August 12, saying that Vietnam will take part in UN peacekeeping operations more extensively in the time ahead.Chien appreciated the cooperation and assistance from the UN and its agencies in Vietnam, especially the UN Resident Coordinator Office, when the country served as the ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during 2020 - 2021.He thanked the UN and relevant agencies for working closely with Vietnam to successfully carry out many war aftermath settlement activities, particularly the programmes and projects on addressing war-left unexploded ordnances and toxic chemicals, resulting in positive outcomes.The official said he hopes the UN will continue coordinating with the Defence Ministry in war aftermath settlement through financial and technical aid, capacity building, experience sharing, and database building.Since Vietnam officially joined UN peacekeeping forces in 2014, it has successfully deployed over 500 personnel to peacekeeping missions and the UN headquarters. It is also the first country in Southeast Asia to implement three training courses on heavy engineering equipment under the Vietnam - UN - Japan trilateral partnership programme, receiving high evaluation from UN leaders.The country has always maintained a rate of female participation in peacekeeping operations higher than the average, and pledges to maintain and increase the rate to over 20% by 2025, according to Chien.Vietnam will further engage in UN peacekeeping operations, including sending personnel to more missions and diversifying participation forms, he noted, adding that it plans to deploy police to the operations.The official asked the UN to keep supporting Vietnam’s commitments and political resolve to join peacekeeping operations, and create favourable conditions for further enhancing cooperation in this regard.For her part, Tamesis applauded Vietnam's efforts, especially its military and police forces, to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.The UN will assist the Vietnamese Government and people to secure the best possible post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and meet healthcare-related demand, she went on.The official said she recently had the honour to sign the Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation with the Vietnamese Government, describing it as a very important document outlining the UN’s strategy and assistance priorities for the country in the next five years. The document also underlined the UN’s role in helping Vietnam recover after the pandemic and ensure that no one is left behind.The Resident Coordinator spoke highly of Vietnam’s achievements in joining UN peacekeeping operations, including the high rate of female participation, noting the UN pledges to continue assistance in this field.The UN also highly values Vietnam sending police officers to peacekeeping operations, including three to the mission in South Sudan and one to the Police Division in New York, Tamesis added./.