Paragliding festival to return to Yen Bai next monthThe annual paragliding festival themed “Flying in the yellow season” will return to the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai from September 21 to 23. The paragliding festival themed “Flying in the yellow season” will be held in Yen Bai from September 21 to 23Hoang Mong Long, head of the Vietwings Hanoi Paragliding Club, said the festival is held in Mu Cang Chai district during the ripe rice season every year. The “Flying in the yellow season” festival is part of a series of activities taking place in the Mu Cang Chai terraced rice fields. It was first held in Mu Cang Chai district in 2013 with the participation of over 30 paragliders. During the harvest in October, the golden rice fields stand out amidst green forests.–VNA

Statue of architect Kazik presented to Relics Preservation InstituteVietNamNet Bridge – A head statue of Polish archaeologist and architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, known as ‘Kazik’ (1944-1997), who significantly contributed to preserving many Vietnamese heritages, was presented to the Relics Preservation Institute of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday. Polish architet Kazik (centre) poses with his friends in Hoi An ancient town. According to director of the institute Hoang Dao Cuong, the event aims to commemorate Kasik’s contribution to Vietnam as a relics restoring specialist. The terra-cotta statue of Polish architet Kazik, created by renowned Vietnamese sculptor Pham Van Hang, was presented to Relics Preservation Institute, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday. A statue of Kazik was installed in a park named after him on Tran Phu Street, Hoi An in 2017 to mark his 20th death anniversary.

Museum accepts memorabilia relating to President HoVietNamNet Bridge – Dinh Ngoc Thi’s most prized souvenir is the red neckerchief President Ho Chi Minh gave him. Hearing the news, President Ho decided to honour the young pioneers, and Thi was summoned to represent the co-operative in Hanoi to meet President Ho in 1966. The objects also include a pistol President Ho granted to Minister of Health Hoang Tich Tri (1903 - 58), four letters President Ho sent to Minister Tri, and a painting of President Ho by Bulgarian painter Stefan Petrov in 1957. Last year, leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Museum attended an exhibition on the President in Bulgaria and met Petrov’s family. “We want to collect, preserve and promote the value of objects relating to President Ho at home and abroad.”Source: VNS

$58b for North-South high speed train: consultantsVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s first-ever high speed train running from Hanoi to HCM City is projected to cost more than US$58 billion, project consultants unveiled on Tuesday. The consultants said that the high speed railway would best attract passengers and be able to compete with the soaring aviation sector if trains run at a maximum speed of 350km per hour. With such a high speed, travel time between Hanoi and HCM City will be cut dramatically to approximately 4.5 hours, compared to the current 30 hours on the train and about one hour and 40 minutes by air. ‘Huge risk’Viet Nam Bridge and Road Association vice president Nguyen Ngoc Long called the North-South high speed railway a mega-project at the same time as Vietnam is investing in other colossal projects like the North-South Expressway and the aviation development plan. “Speed proposals should also be considered carefully, but whatever is selected must guarantee the standard speed of 350kph,” he said.

Teacher shortage clouds school yearVietNamNet Bridge – With the new school year approaching, 43 cities and provinces across the country are facing a shortage of teachers. Crowded classrooms: The new school year is approaching but the country is still lacking nearly 76,000 teachers at different education levels. The most serious shortage is seen at the kindergarten education level, which lacks 40,000 teachers, said Nguyen Thi Nghia, deputy minister of education. Nghia said the shortage is seen in many localities, especially Dien Bien Province and the Mekong Delta region. Meanwhile, there are shortage and surplus of teachers at various secondary and high schools.

Taxi stands piloted in HCM CityVietNamNet Bridge – In an effort to prevent taxis from driving around to pick up passengers and causing traffic congestion, at the beginning of this month the HCM City authorities launched a pilot programme placing five taxi stands at five locations in the downtown area of District 1. And putting up taxi stands is one of the sensible measures, in my opinion. Citizens should be given some incentives to actually go hail taxis at taxi stands when they can do it anywhere else. Some people said the five current stands in HCM City were not really accessible to most passengers. Like any other new idea, it will take a while for taxi stands to earn their stripes in HCM City, and later on across the country.

Bad debts landscape at small banksThere has been great variations in small-scale banks’ bad debts performance in the first half of the year, with some showing great improvements, while others struggle to cope. Apart from banks that saw positive developments in their bad debts, several other banks reported a worsening situation. A typical case of sharply rising bad debts among banks of modest size was Saigon Bank whose bad debts ratio surpassed 6 per cent at the end of June 2018, while the limit set by the state is 3 per cent. Since its establishment in October 2013 to the end of 2017, VAMC, dubbed as Vietnam’s bad debt bank, succeeded in recouping about VND81.5 trillion ($3.6 billion) of bad debts out of the VND307.9 trillion ($13.6 billion) total principal bad debt volume. Apart from banks that saw positive developments in their bad debts, several other banks reported a worsening situation.

Ministry of Finance tops Vietnam ICT Index for six consecutive yearsThe Ministry of Finance has topped 19 governmental agencies with public services in the Vietnam ICT Index for six years in a row after earning 0.926 points this year. The ministry has topped Vietnam ICT Index for six consecutive years. The ministry ranks first in ICT human infrastructure (1.000 points), ICT applications (0.900), and internal ICT applications (1.000 points). The Vietnam ICT Index 2018 was compiled by the Ministry of Information and Communications based on the United Nations’ criteria. The survey gathered data from 63 provinces and cities; 19 governmental agencies with public services and five without public services.

Mekong Delta provinces take action to ensure safety during flood seasonVietNamNet Bridge – Provinces in low-lying areas in the Mekong Delta are at risk of heavy flooding due to water from upstream coupled with quickly rising tides, especially in Kien Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An. — VNS PhotoThe National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, which said that water levels in the Mekong Delta are rising at alarming levels, has issued a warning level of 2 and 3. However, by August 31, floods are expected to rise to 4.2m at Tan Chau Station and 3.7m at Chau Doc Station, surpassing the warning level 2 by 0.2m. Meanwhile, downstream areas could reach warning levels of two and three, and some places surpassing level 3. Kim Ngoc Thai, vice chairman of Tra Vinh Province’s People’s Committee, said since the beginning of the year, high tides have damaged several roads in Tra Vinh City and Tieu Can District’s Tan Hung Commune.

Int’l stars perform in HanoiVietNamNet Bridge – Soul Bar Hanoi will organise nights of live music featuring international artists, free of charge. A jazz/folk concert featuring Felipe Salas Sandoval will take place on September 1. Naomi is an emerging singer songwriter and is accompanied on acoustic guitar by her brother who plays with a very original and rhythmic style. A jazz/folk concert featuring Felipe Salas Sandoval will take place on September 1. Soul Bar is located at No 21, Lane 12 Dang Thai Mai Street, Tay Ho District.

Ongoing rains pose risks of flooding and landslides in the northVietNamNet Bridge – Ongoing heavy rain since early this week has caused damage in northern provinces. Landslide causes difficulties for people to travel on National Highway 12 from the northern province of Lai Chau to Dien Bien. — VNA/VNS Photo Cong TuyenIn Son La Province, a landslide occurred on National Highway No279D in Muong Bu Commune, Muong La District early Wednesday morning, blocking traffic. At least 15 houses in Muong La District have been affected by the flooding, of which, ten families were evacuated to safety. Landslides disrupted traffic on a number of routes, especially National Highway 4H from Muong Cha District to Muong Nhe District.

Railway sector strives for better serviceVietNamNet Bridge – Train travel is falling behind other forms of transport, as passengers are choosing air and roads ahead of the tracks. During 2001-10 period, investment in railway sector accounted for only 2.9 per cent of total budget invested in the transport sector, while investment in road improvements made up for 88 per cent. Between 2010 and 2015, State budget allocated for railway accounted for 3 per cent out of VND330 trillion invested in the transport sector. For the railway sector, one new route will make the carrying capacity to increase by 20. “People of the railway sector should change their own mind.

Why a village in New Zealand is trying to ban all catsA small village on the southern coast of New Zealand is planning to implement a radical plan to protect its native wildlife: ban all domestic cats. In Omaui, officials say the measure is justified because cameras have shown roaming cats preying on birds, insects and reptiles in the area. 'Natural-born killers'It's not the first time cats have been painted as a menace in New Zealand - a country boasting a feline in almost half its households. They're a hot issue in Australia too, where feral and outdoor cats are blamed for millions of native species' deaths every night. Last year animal rights groups laid particular scorn at one Queensland local council who were offering $10 bounties for feral cat scalps.

Judge rules Utah woman legally married to deceased partnerA Utah state judge has declared a 74-year-old woman and her long-term lesbian partner legally married, three months after her wife died. -- Photo: BONNE FOERSTERJudge Patrick Corum declared Bonnie Foerster legally married to Beverly Grossaint, who died in May in Salt Lake City at age 82. "My heart was so full with love," Ms Foerster recalls of the 21 August ruling. Judge Corum "came down from the bench and hugged me and said, 'yes you are married,'" Ms Foerster told the BBC. Escaping an abusive husband, Ms Foerster said she was suffering from broken ribs, and wore dark sunglasses to conceal two black eyes.

Ha Long suspends licenses of 36 cruise shipsHa Long City authorities have suspended the licenses of 36 cruise ships and 15 crew members working on the Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays so far this year. Cruise ships in Ha Long Bay. The city government asked the owners of the cruise ships to promptly comply with the requirement to ensure the safety of tourists visiting Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays. According to the Ha Long City People's Committee, there are now 504 cruise ships and 68 canoes operating on Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays. The provincial leader also asked Ha Long City to build a tourist centre in Tuan Chau International Port.