Notably, some COVID-19 patients have been also infected with dengue fever, which is at its peak time in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of the 17 countries prioritised by the Government of Japan for this global project to advance responsible business practices in Japanese companies and their supply chains in Vietnam. According to the minister, Ward has always accompanied and actively supported Vietnam in protecting the environment and responding to climate change, especially promoting cooperation and attracting investment for sustainable development and climate change adaptation programmes in the Southeast Asian country such as a low carbon energy programme for ASEAN, a project to develop Calculator Tool 2050 for Vietnam, Vietnam National Plastic Action Partnership, and a project to plant 1,000 mangroves to prevent erosion, among others. Miss Vietnam 2022 beauty pageant officially launchedMiss Vietnam 2022 officially got underway with a press conference held Ho Chi Minh City on July 6 by Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper, the organiser of the pageant. Miss Vietnam 2022 is a biennial national beauty contest which is open for Vietnamese young women aged between 18 and 27.

The Vietnamese delegation at ninth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention 2003 (Photo: baoquocte.vn)Ninth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention 2003 (Photo: baoquocte.vn)– Vietnam on July 6 was elected to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 term , with 120 votes – the highest among the elected countries, during the ninth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention 2003, held in Paris.The committee, including 24 members, is UNESCO ’s important agency for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. Its functions are to promote the objectives of the Convention, provide guidance on best practices, and make recommendations on measures for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage.Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO, said this is the second time that Vietnam has taken on this responsibility at UNESCO's key cultural governing body, after the 2006-2010 term.This is of great significance in many aspects, showing the country's increasing position and prestige in the international arena, as well as the international community’s confidence in its contribution to and administration capacity in the global multilateral institutions, and recognition of Vietnam's contributions in relations with UNESCO, in preserving and promoting the value of intangible heritage in the country and in the world.Winning the election is also a result of Vietnam's foreign policy of multilateralisation, diversification and comprehensive and extensive international integration, as well as the fruit of a methodical and concerted implementation of its candidacy plan in recent years, said Van.Along with being a member of the Executive Council for the 2021-2025 term, a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions for the 2021-2025 tenure, becoming a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention will offer an opportunity for Vietnam to contribute more actively to UNESCO’s major programmes and orientations in general and on the culture field in particular; thus affirming its role and prestige at UNESCO and in the international arena, she added.Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, said that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will develop specific plans focusing on the sharing of best practices in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values, the realisation of the Convention’s goals for sustainable development, the promotion of UNESCO's priorities, and the improvement of awareness.The Convention 2003 has been ratified by 180 countries, with Vietnam being among the first 30 entering the Convention./.

At the hand-over ceremony (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) Central Committee on July 4 received medical equipment and supplies donated by the Omani government and people. Omani Ambassador to Vietnam Saleh Mohamed Ahmed Al-Suqri and CEO of the Oman Charitable Organisation (OCO) Mohammed Hamoud Said Al-Zahli handed over two ambulances, two ventilators, 20,000 N95 masks, 8,000 SPO2 meters, 8,000 protective suits, 8,000 electronic personal thermometers, and 2,000 gloves to representatives of the VRCS at a ceremony at the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi. Mohammed Hamoud Said Al-Zahli said the donation by the Omani government and people is an expression of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. For her part, President of the VRCS Bui Thi Hoa thanked the government and people of Oman, and the Omani Embassy in Vietnam for the gifts. She pledged that the medical equipment will be used for the right purposes so that poor and disadvantaged people can access and benefit from them./.

It will become the sole broadcaster of the tournament on all platforms including mobile app TV360 and Viettel TV in Vietnam. Vietnam Waste Solutions Co. Ltd. proposed that HCMC should welcome capitals from professional investors, who will then select appropriate waste handling technologies and be legally responsible for their choices. Le Anh Tuan, Director of Vietnam National Academy of Music, musician Ho Hoai Anh who is currently a lecturer in the academy has been suspended from work under a decision launched in an urgent meeting between the Vietnam National Academy of Music and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. They are Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology under Viet Nam National University (VNU)-Ho Chi Minh City, University of Science and Technology under Da Nang University, Ha Noi University of Science and Technology (HUST), Ha Noi University of Civil Engineering; University of Science under VNU-Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City based-Ton Duc Thang University and International University under VNU-Ho Chi Minh City. They are Duy Tan University in the central city of Da Nang, Viet Nam National University in Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi National University.

At the press conference (Photo: VNA)– The Presidential Office in coordination with relevant ministries and agencies held an international press conference in Hanoi on July 4 to announce the President’s amnesty decision on the occasion of National Day (September 2).The beneficiaries include those who are serving their fixed-term sentences in jail, those who have life sentences reduced and those who have sentences suspended, with the serving time to be considered for amnesty calculated until August 31.In order to be considered for amnesty, inmates must show good conduct, serve at least half of their fixed-term sentences, and at least 15 years for those who have their life sentences reduced to fixed-term sentences. Another requirement is that the inmates must complete the payment of court fees.Prisoners who have returned part of assets, paid part of compensations or fulfilled part of other civil obligations, but have met special economic difficulties will be taken into consideration, except for those committing corrupt crimes.Those who are 70 years old and above, or the only breadwinner of disadvantaged families, or suffer from serious diseases, chronic illness or disability, or female inmates who are pregnant or have kids less than three years old will also be considered once they have served at least one third or two fifths of their prison terms, or 13 years for those who have their life sentences reduced to fixed-term sentences.Pham Thanh Ha, Vice Chairman of the Presidential Office , also noted cases that are not subject to the amnesty include those who attempted to overthrow the people's administration, espionage crimes, riots, terrorists and organised crimes, among others.This is the second year the amnesty has been conducted in line with the 2018 Law on Amnesty. The conditions for amnesty do not change much compared to 2021.More than 3,000 prisoners received the amnesty last year, according to Deputy Minister of Public Security Major General Nguyen Van Long./.

Illustrative image. (Photo: laodong.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – The 2022 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus police music gala is a highlight in the communication work on the People’s Police, Minister of Public Security General To Lam has said. He made the statement at a working session with the event’s organising board on July 2. The gala is part of a series of activities organised by the Ministry of Public Security to mark the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the Vietnam People’s Police (July 20). It will bring together police music groups from ASEAN members such as Laos, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar, and Vietnam, in addition to those from Japan and China.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long delivers a remark at Meet Vietnam in Nottingham. (Photo: VNA)Lord Mayor of Nottingham Wendy Smith speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)The Trade Office of Vietnam in the UK in collaboration with the British importer of oriental food EUTEK Group has hosted Meet Vietnam in Nottingham to introduce Vietnamese products and promote opportunities for trade and investment between Vietnam and the British city.The July 1 event attracted officials and enterprises from both sides.In her remarks, Lord Mayor of Nottingham Wendy Smith described her city as a dynamic economic hub where many Vietnamese people are residing and studying. Nottingham welcomes all Vietnamese companies and investors, she affirmed, hoping that the economic and trade relations between the two sides will grow further in the coming time.Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long, for his part, said there is plenty of room for the relations between Vietnam and Nottingham to expand.Nottingham is home to a large Vietnamese community, and many Vietnamese students are pursuing education at two major universities here – University of Nottingham and Notting Trent University, he said, emphasising that they will act as a bridge to further develop the bilateral partnership.With enthusiastic support from the government of Nottingham for trade and investment between the two sides and exchanges between their localities, the bilateral cooperation will be taken to the next level in the future, Long said.Robert Dixon, Head of Business Growth at Nottingham City Council, pledged that Nottingham City Council will do its utmost to support Vietnamese enterprises doing business and investing in the city.The 2022 Vietnam Goods and Gastronomy Week is underway in Nottingham. On display are wooden furniture and a wide range of food products exported from Vietnam, including coffee, fragrant rice, cashew nut, fresh and dried fruits, canned fruit juices, dried noodles and rice papers./.

The event was held by the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) to celebrate the two countries’ Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022. In his works, President Ho Chi Minh showed a pure diplomacy spirit with the famous words of “helping our friends is helping ourselves,” said Khamla. Vietnam attends Turkey security, defence expoLieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, attended security and defence exhibition SEDEC 2022 in Ankara from June 28 – 30. They also proposed new directions to promote bilateral relations of their countries with Vietnam. of Vietnam to the UN, affirmed that Vietnam totally supports the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines resumes services between Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta (Indonesia) on July 2. (Photo: VNA)National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines resumed services between Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta (Indonesia) on July 2 after months of closure because of COVID-19.The first flight in months, coded VN631, departed from HCM City for Jakarta at around 9:40am, with 144 passengers on board; and the return flight took off from Jakarta ’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 1:50pm carrying 171 passengers.There are now regular round trips on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.This is another international destination Vietnam Airlines has relaunched air route to after the Vietnam reopened its border and lifted travel restrictions.Nguyen Minh Toan, head of Vietnam Airline’s representative office in Indonesia , said there is high travel demand between Vietnam and Indonesia, and the resumption of an air route between the two countries, with three flights per week, marked a start for the carrier before it can recover the flight frequency to seven per week like pre-pandemic.Travellers can visit its official website at www.vietnamairlines.com or Facebook fanpage www.facebook.com/VietnamAirlines; log in mobile app Vietnam Airlines; or contact its booking agencies for more information and further support./.

Environment Seminar seeks to promote private sector’s engagement in greenhouse gas reduction Climate change has become one of the great challenges facing humanity, affecting all aspects of economy, politics, diplomacy as well as global security, Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), has said. Environment Workshop discusses plastic waste collection, recycling A workshop recently took place in Quy Nhon city, central Binh Dinh province, to discuss the improvement of awareness in plastic waste collection and recycling to promote the circular economy in Vietnam. Videos GPS collars to be used on wild elephants in Dak Lak GPS collars will be fitted to 28 wild elephants in the Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, a workshop heard on June 29. Environment US supports law enforcement training for Vietnamese forest rangers The Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the United States Forest Service (USFS), held a workshop on building a law enforcement curriculum for forest rangers in Vietnam on June 30 in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. (Photo: VNA)- Vietnam resolutely opposes and demands Taiwan to cancel live-fire drills in the waters around Ba Binh island belonging to Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and not to repeat similar violations in the future, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on July 2.Answering a reporter's query on Vietnam’s reaction to the live-fire drills conducted by Taiwan on June 28 and 29, Hang said the exercises seriously violated Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago; threatened peace, stability, safety and security of navigation; induced tensions and complicated the situation in the East Sea.She stressed that Vietnam's stance on Taiwan's live-fire dril ls in the waters around Ba Binh island belonging to Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago is clear, consistent and affirmed over the past years./.

Wild animals were released back to the Cuc Phuong National Park on July 2. (Photo: VNA)As many as 58 animals of eight species, including civet, king cobra, keeled box turtle, crested bird, cuckoo, yellow-billed starling, red-breasted parakeet, and Japanese zosterop, along with some cobras, were released back to Cuc Phuong National Park on July 2.The activity was organised by the management board of the Cuc Phuong National Park and the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Centre (HWRC) of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.These animals are all exhibits that have been rescued in illicit wildlife trading cases or voluntarily handed over by organisations or individuals.Chu Phu My, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said his agency has effectively cooperated in nature conservation with the management board of the Cuc Phuong National Park - the unit that has great achievements in wildlife conservation and environmental education.According to a representative of the Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Creatures of the Cuc Phuong National Park , this was the second time in the past two years the two units have collaborated with each other to release a large number of wild animals into the Cuc Phuong primeval forest./.

The article cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand’s report prepared by the Embassy in Hanoi as saying between 2016 and 2021, Vietnam led ASEAN in terms of growth per capita. This growth rate is higher than that of other major ASEAN markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, or the Philippines. The article also cited experts as saying there are three key things in the Vietnamese market that will be attractive to New Zealand businesses, namely the local consumer market, a safe geo-political position, and a great free-trade network. At present, food and beverage products make up almost two-thirds of New Zealand exports to Vietnam. And there's appetite for more, as consumers there have become more health conscious post COVID./.

Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, speaks at the event. (Photo courtesy of JICA– Climate change has become one of the great challenges facing humanity, affecting all aspects of economy, politics, diplomacy as well as global security, Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), has said.He made the statement at a seminar on “Accelerating Business Engagement in the Pathway of Vietnam’s Nationally Determined Contributions and Net Zero Emissions” held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 30 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the Climate Change Department and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).It aimed to share information and experience in greenhouse gas emission reduction between public agencies and the private sector while disseminating policies related to climate change and emission reduction.The Climate Assessment Report 2022 of the Vietnamese Government has pointed out that socio-economic development activities were the main cause of excessive greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, he said the engagement of enterprises is extremely important not only because they are directly involved in these activities but also because they can contribute greatly in terms of financial and technological resources.Nguyen Tien Huy, Director of the Office for Business Sustainable Development at VCCI, said that Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and will suffer huge ecological, economic and social losses if the average temperature increases by 2 degrees Celsius.According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the private sector accounts for 70% of the total 21 billion USD investment needed to adapt to climate change in Vietnam.It is necessary for businesses in Vietnam to take stronger actions to accelerate the process of reducing emissions such as providing and putting into use sustainable, carbon-free energy sources at a more affordable price; optimise the use of resources to meet society's needs as well as build financial mechanisms to improve transparency and efficiency in corporate reporting, he said.To facilitate private sector engagement in National Determined Contributions (NDC), MONRE has collaborated with JICA in the implementation of the project “Support for Planning and Implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions in Vietnam (SPI-NDC”), Huy said.The project will help promote the participation of the private sector by improving technical capacities of enterprises that are subject to facility GHG reporting systems being developed with support from Japanese experts.Murooka Naomichi, Senior Representative of JICA Vietnam, affirmed that through the SPI-NDC project, JICA will continue to provide opportunities for both capacity building and dialogue among key actors to consolidate the partnership./.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency, the expert held that the world is in turmoil, and the old model of globalisation is severely tested as erstwhile reliable supply chains are ruptured and seem to refuse to heal. Moreover, inflation appears to be getting out of hand in much of the advanced economies as commodity prices soar and labor becomes increasingly scarce. The recent ratings upgrade by S&P Global makes it likely that the country will be the next “rising star”, he said.“I believe that sustained success demands that the country’s leaders remain vigilant in planning economic and human development strategies. The investors that are now flogging to Vietnam might otherwise move on looking for greener pastures in the next Vietnam. By applying appropriate measures, Vietnam will remain an attractive destination for foreign investors,” Kraemer said.Meanwhile, Jens Ruebbert, LBBW’s Managing Director and Regional Head for the Asia Pacific region, underlined that in many ways, Ho Chi Minh City is a place of seemingly limitless promise.By applying a suitable population policy, Vietnam managed to avoid the labour crunch and have an abundant workforce.