Cai Rang floating market - a destination of the project (Photo: kinhtevadubao.vn)At the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the project (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)– A waste reduction and circular economy project for Mekong River was launched at a ceremony in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on May 18.Titled ‘ Zero Waste to Mekong River : Pilot Circular Economy model for Floating markets in Can Tho’, it is sponsored by the Dow Chemical Vietnam Limited Liability Company (DOW) and implemented by the Can Tho Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Centre for Supporting Green Development – GreenHub, and the Research Centre for Resources and Rural Development (RECERD).By managing waste from sources in the city, the project will build and promote a pilot model of a circular economy in Vietnam, reduce waste from rivers into the sea, and create behavioral change in waste management for local communities living on the river.At the event, Vice Director of the department Cao Thi Minh Thao said the project is set to run at the local Cai Rang floating market and Con Son tourist area.Related activities will help the city raise awareness on environment protection, and improve environment quality in the two tourist destinations, she noted.Ekkasit Lakkananithiphan, DOW Director General, expressed his confidence that the project's results and key lessons will be among best practices for implementing Vietnam’s Law on Environmental Protection, in contribution to the Government's goal of reducing ocean plastic waste by 50 percent and 75 percent by 2025 and 2030, respectively.Scheduled to finish in February 2023, the project is expected to collect some 300 – 400 tonnes of waste in both sites annually, and raise awareness on the matter for at least 15,000 residents.Also at the ceremony, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the project was signed among parties involved./.

At the Hai Phong City boat race training area where Teo's race takes place (Photo: thanhphohaiphong.gov.vn)– Seven years after becoming Singapore's first canoeing gold medallist at the 28th SEA Games on home turf in 2015, Lucas Teo won the men's kayak single 1,000m race at the ongoing SEA Games 31 st in Hai Phong on May 18.Teo, 31, completed the race in 3 mins and 51.501 secs, leaving far behind six other competitors. Maizir Riyondra of Indonesia and Methasit Sitthipharat of Thailand finished second and third within 3 mins 56.446 secs and 3 mins 58.278 secs, respectivelyTeo bagged a silver medal in the same event and a bronze in the men's kayak four 1,000m team event at SEA Games 26 hosted by Indonesia in 2011.From the sport, Singapore captured seven gold and five silver medals at SEA Game 28./.

Participants at the workshop (Photo: VNA)Algiers (VNA) – Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria joined an international workshop on friends of Algeria’s revolution on May 17 -18 in Algiers. Jointly organised by the Ministry of War Veterans and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Committee of Algerians abroad, the event gathered hundreds of delegates from the Algerian government, historical witnesses of the Algerian revolution of various nationalities, and foreign researchers. Vietnam was one of the first countries to recognise the provisional government of Algeria (September 26, 1958), four years before the North African country actually gained independence. Participants discussed topics related to human values, the charters of the Algerian revolution and its role in strengthening relations with countries around the world. On the sidelines of the event, exhibitions are being arranged to introduce historical books and photos on friends of the Algerian revolution./.

Questioned about this, President Ho Chi Minh answered: “Later, when the struggle (of Vietnam) wins, I will put on shoes.”According to her, President Ho Chi Minh’s simple answer demonstrated his confidence in Vietnam’s independence. Sakellaropoulou is paying an official visit to Vietnam from May 15 to 19 at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Lotus village festival marks birthday of President Ho Chi MinhThe central province of Nghe An is scheduled to run a music gala on May 19 in Vinh City as part of the Lang Sen (Lotus Village) festival to celebrate President Ho Chi Minh’s 132nd birthday. The music gala will feature many songs which praise the life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh. The music gala will be broadcast live on Nghe An province’s NTV channel and Ho Chi Minh City’s HTV channel.

Minister of Public Security To Lam (R) in a working session with Vladimir Voronkov, UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism in New York (Photo: VNA)- Vietnam commits to cooperating with the UN and countries in the fight against terrorism, Minister of Public Security To Lam affirmed during a working session with Vladimir Voronkov , UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism in New York on May 16 (US time).Minister Lam appreciated the UN’s support of the prevention and control of terrorism and extremist violence in Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular. He underlined the urgency of cooperation in promoting multilateralism globally and in strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of regional and international cooperative mechanisms, including those of the UN.The two sides shared the view that the threat from terrorism continues to grow globally, with international terrorist groups constantly seeking new operational methods, increasing the use of the cyberspace and information technology and linking with transnational criminals. Terrorism continues to be a serious threat to international security and peace.Lam expressed the concern that COVID-19 long-term economic impacts would lead to a rise in terrorist attacks, and online extremist propaganda and terrorist recruitment. The UN plays an important role in coordinating and connecting international efforts, solidarity and vigilance among UN member states, to create a synergy strength to counter the threat and expansion of terrorism, he said.Affirming that Vietnam supports efforts of the international community in seeking effective solutions to fight and eliminate terrorism, the minister said the country needs assistance in counter-terrorism and air security through the building of a Countering Terrorist Travel programme (CTTP) and Threat Assessment Models (TAM Programme).He took the occasion to inform the UN side that Vietnamese public security officers enrolled in UN peacekeeping operations have completed training and necessary procedures and are ready for duty.The UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism thanked the Vietnamese Public Security Ministry for its active and responsible cooperation in implementing the UN’s programmes and initiatives to fight transnational crimes, including terrorism and extremist violence.He expressed a wish that the ministry will continue to participate in carrying out the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and assign experienced officers to work in UN offices including the Office of Counter- Terrorism ./.

World Former Indonesian President tells story about President Ho Chi Minh Megawati Sukarnoputri, Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), former Indonesian President and daughter of the country’s founder Sukarno, has repeatedly told a story about President Ho Chi Minh in his meeting with her father on February 27, 1959, as part of his historic visit to Indonesia. World Malaysia's tourism industry needs thousands more workers Malaysia‘s tourism industry is facing a shortage of about 15,000 to 20,000 workers, Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Nancy Shukri said, citing data from tourism associations across the country. World PM’s visit reaffirms Vietnam’s role in stabilising Southeast Asia: Indian daily The Economic Times, an Indian English-language daily, has posted a commentary on the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s working visit to the US and the UN, saying that the trip aims to reaffirm Vietnam’s role in stabilising Southeast Asia.

President Ho Chi Minh (R) and Indonesian President Sukarno - File photo (Source: VTC) Jakarta (VNA) –Megawati said she was impressed when seeing the Vietnamese President wearing sandals instead of shoes in this meeting as well as knowing the meaning behind. Questioned about this, President Ho Chi Minh answered: “Later, when the struggle (of Vietnam) wins, I will put on shoes.”According to her, President Ho Chi Minh’s simple answer demonstrated his confidence in Vietnam’s independence. In office from July 23, 2001 to October 20, 2004, the first female President of Indonesia visited Vietnam twice, in August 2001 and June 2003. Questioned about this, President Ho Chi Minh answered: “Later, when the struggle (of Vietnam) wins, I will put on shoes.”According to her, President Ho Chi Minh’s simple answer demonstrated his confidence in Vietnam’s independence.In office from July 23, 2001 to October 20, 2004, the first female President of Indonesia visited Vietnam twice, in August 2001 and June 2003. In Indonesia, Vietnam’s national liberation hero and world cultural celebrity Ho Chi Minh, also called "Paman Ho” (Uncle Ho) by Indonesians, is often mentioned as the person who laid the foundation for the friendship between the two countries over the past 65 years.

Read full story - President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Greek counterpart Katerina Sakellaropoulou shared delight at the growth of Vietnam-Greece ties and agreed on measures to promote the relations during their talks in Hanoi on May 16.President Sakellaropoulou lauded the important achievements that Vietnam has made during its struggle for independence and present process of socio-economic development. She affirmed that Greece highly valued the increasingly important role of Vietnam in the region and the world, and hoped to foster cooperation with Vietnam in all fields. Read full storyNational Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and his Lao counterpart Saysomphone Phomvihane co-chair the event. Read full story - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on May 16 hosted a reception for Deputy PM and President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand Prawit Wongsuwon.The Thai official is paying a visit to Vietnam and attending activities of the ongoing SEA Games 31. Read full story

The industrial sector experienced a year-on-year increase of over 7 percent in Quarter 1, and grew two percentage points in April as compared to the previous month, providing motivation for the country’s economic growth. Meanwhile, the service sector became more vibrant with the bouncing back of such segments as finance, banking and insurance, transportation, warehouse and whole sales and retail sales. Those are vivid illustrations for the efficiency of the Government’s policies to recovery the economy. According to experts, the service sector will enjoy more robust expansion as economic activities are returning to normal after nearly two years of hiatus. Experts have their firm belief in the strong growth of the industry and service sectors in the economy as a whole, with increasing business confidence among entrepreneurs and rational policies initiated by the Government./.

ASEAN member countries have voiced their support for digital technology convergence for developing a globally-accepted vaccine passport. Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at a press conference following the 15th ASEAN Health Minister’ Meeting (AHMM) on May 14 that ASEAN will issue a joint statement on its countries' adoption of health protocol standards.“This is similar to what we will achieve at the G20," he explained, as cited by Indonesia's Antara news agency.Digital technology convergence for developing a vaccine passport was one of the agendas of the AHMM which discussed the mutual recognition arrangement on COVID-19 health certificates, he said. Sadikin noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to countries adopting diverse health protocol standards which often complicate matters for international travelers.The proposed vaccine passport will adopt an overseas travel passport mechanism utilised by each country's immigration authority for ascertaining a traveler's identity.Travel businesses currently need vaccine certificates from travelers to confirm they are healthy to carry out travel-related activities.For this reason, the health sector in the ASEAN region has proposed a digital-based vaccine passport as a single standard that can be recognised, acknowledged, and trusted by every country.Digital technology convergence for vaccine passport development has so far been accepted by the European Union and is planned to be applied globally in every country.Sadikin also said ASEAN health ministers have approved the establishment of an ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) as a collaborative effort to deal with extraordinary events and future pandemics.There will be three pillars of ACPHEED, surveillance or detection, response, and risk management, which are supported by three ASEAN representative countries, namely Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.There will be a collaboration of the three countries, each of whom will build offices in their countries for the three existing pillars, he said, noting that the working principles of ACPHEED will be generally similar to those of the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).According to him, every ASEAN country has the right to fill the three offices in the spirit of togetherness.Minister Sadikin, who is also chair of the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, called ACPHEED a solution to address the problems of differing health protocols in each ASEAN country./.

President Sakellaropoulou lauded the important achievements that Vietnam has made during its struggle for independence and present process of socio-economic development. She affirmed that Greece highly valued the increasingly important role of Vietnam in the region and the world, and hoped to foster cooperation with Vietnam in all fields. They assigned the two ministries of foreign affairs to review and speed up solutions to promote the bilateral partnership. President Phuc took this occasion to thank Greece for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam. President Sakellaropoulou said Greece supports Vietnam in strengthening its partnership and comprehensive cooperation with the EU and further optimise the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thus helping to enhance trade ties between Vietnam and Greece.

Dao Hong Son triumphs the men’s Jujitsu Ne-Waza NOGI 56kg on May 15. (Photo: VNA)Vietnam's Jujitsu artists Phung Thi Hue and Dao Hong Son brought home two more gold medals on May 15 as the 31st Southeast Asian Games ( SEA Games 31 ) carried on.Hue championed the women’s Ne-Waza NOGI 45kg after defeating her Philippine opponent Co Jollirine who was awarded a silver medal. Thailand’s Sakaew Tadaporn and Cambodia’s Mab Sokhouy both finished third.Dao Hong Son beated Tang Yong Siang from Singapore to secure the first spot in the men’s Ne-Waza NOGI 56kg. Tang claimed the silver while Cortez Jan Vincent Cortez of the Philippines and Keadnin Komkrit of Thailand both earned bronzes.It was the last day of competitions for the Vietnamese Jujitsu team. So far, the team won two golds, one silver and two bronzes at the games./.

The festival organised by the EU Delegation to Vietnam will receive the support of the EU Policy and Outreach Partnership (EUPOP), the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reported. Da Nang expects this major market to quickly recover over the remaining months of this year. In 2019, prior to COVID-19, Da Nang welcomed nearly 1.8 million tourists from the RoK, arriving on more than 200 flights a week. Only Incheon - Da Nang flights have resumed so far, with 6 flights a week. Ha, who also served as head of the Halong Bay Management Board of Halong City, Quang Ninh Province, has been accused of abusing his position as chairman of the Halong City People’s Committee for personal gains.

Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (left) wins a gold medal in the men’s stardard chess category while Hoang Thi Bao Tram secures a bronze medal in the women’s group. (Photo: VNA)Quang Ninh (VNA) - Grandmaster (GM) Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son earned the first gold medal for Vietnamese chess on May 15 in the framework of the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). He beat 11 rivals to triumph in the men’s standard chess category with seven points after nine matches. On the women’s group, Citra Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia and Sukandar Irine Kharisma of Indonesia took gold and silver medals. Chess players will continue with individual men’s and women’s fast chess events on May 16 and 17.

Smart travel cards are also linked and integrated with the "Vietnam Safe Travel" application from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). In 2019, Vietnam Tourism Review (Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) and TikTok signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in promoting Vietnam tourism, and the launch of a programme to promote Vietnam's tourism with video tools, #HelloVietnam programme . This shows that the State's social insurance policy is very interested in the income of pensioners, especially pensioners with low pensions, Vietnam Social Security announced. 583/QD-TTg assigning estimates of revenues and expenditures of social insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and management costs of social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance in 2022. Accordingly, the total revenue of social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance in 2022 will be more than VND464,000 billion.