A health worker takes sample for COVID-19 testing from a resident in Cua Dong ward of Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district. (Photo: VNA)- A total 24,623 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm April 12 to 4pm April 13, according to the Ministry of Health Hanoi continued to report the highest number of infections on the day with 1,727 cases, followed by Phu Tho with 1,627 and Vinh Phuc with 1,147.The new infections raised the national tally to 10,297,587.A total 13,887 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on April 13, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 8,770,994.An additional 20 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 42,878, equal to 0.4 percent of the total caseload.By April 12, the country had injected 208,810,706 doses of COVID-19 vaccines./.

At the working session between Vietnamese and Peruvian officials (Photo: thoidai.com.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – Peru considers Vietnam an important partner in Southeast Asia, officials from Peruvian ministries and sectors told Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil and Peru Pham Thi Kim Hoa during recent meetings with the diplomat. Ambassador Hoa briefed Peruvian officials on the fruitful development of the bilateral relations over the last 28 years. The two-way trade between Vietnam and Peru hit 633 million USD in 2021 despite severe impacts caused by the COVID-19. There are two Vietnamese large energy and communication corporations operating in Peru - the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel). The Vietnamese diplomat called for the Peruvian government’s continued facilitation and support of investment projects of Viettel and PetroVietnam in the coming time.

Health Hanoi ready to vaccinate children aged 5-11 Vice Chairman the Hanoi People’ Committee Chu Xuan Dung has requested related units to prepare necessary conditions for the vaccination of children aged from 5 to 11. Health President praises hospital for successful liver transplantation for 9-month-old child President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has praised the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital for their successful liver transplantation operation on a nine-month-old child, who is discharged from the facility on April 11. Health Additional 28,307 COVID-19 cases recorded Vietnam on April 10 reported 28,307 new COVID-19 infections, including two imported cases, down 5,831 cases from the previous day, according to the Ministry of Health.

The plan defines major tasks in the 2021-2025 period to implement the strategy on natural disaster prevention and control by 2030, with a vision to 2050. The overall aim is to improve capacity for natural disaster prevention and control, climate change adaptation to proactively respond to and reduce damage caused by natural disasters. To effectively implement the goals set out in the plan, MARD has asked ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and central-run cities to focus on popularising the contents of the plan, especially those related to State management./.

Business Overseas Vietnam returning home to contribute to the motherland In recent years, there has been a “wave” of overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs and intellectuals returning to Vietnam in groups and organising trade and investment promotion activities, which connect overseas Vietnamese from all around the world. Videos Air transportation of int’l passengers, cargo rebounds strongly in Q1 Vietnamese airlines have seen a surge of around 440 percent in international passengers but a decline in domestic passengers in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Videos Ministry adopts measures to boost sale of agricultural products The Ministry of Industry and Trade is carrying out a number of measures to assist farmers in selling their products. Videos Geotourism development - A new direction Vietnamese geologists have conducted investigation and research activities towards the establishment of geoparks in recent years, with a view to promoting geotourism development in the future.

Traveling in Vietnam by trainOn July 20, 1885, the first train departed from Saigon and arrived in My Tho in the Mekong Delta, marking the birth of Vietnam’s railway industry and making it one of only a few countries with a modern railway network at that time. 137 years later, the railway network has a total length of 2,600 km, connecting residential areas and agricultural and industrial centres from the north to the south.

A report of Google showed that the total number of searches via Google in Viet Nam rose by 37 per cent from 2021 against 2019Google searches for “cryptocurrency” increased sharply in recent years as Vietnamese sought investment channels, especially during the pandemic with social distancing measures in place, which forced people to stay home, VietNam News reported. A report of Google showed that the total number of searches via Google in Viet Nam rose by 37 per cent from 2021 against 2019. Searches for financial investment-related keywords in general and “cryptocurrency” in particular were among the keywords that saw the highest increases over the same period. Read the full report: Viet Nam NewsALSO READ:

Taal volcano spews ash and steam hundreds of metres into the sky on March 26. (AFP/VNA Photo)Manila (VNA) - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on April 9 lowered the alert level for Taal volcano, 66km south of the capital region Manila, from 3 to 2. It warned that "sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, ash fall and lethal accumulations or bursts of volcanic gas can occur." On March 26, the institute raised the alert level to 3 for the volcano island in Batangas province following a phreatomagmatic eruption. The institute said it has recorded 86 small-magnitude and imperceptible volcanic earthquakes.

Thua Thien-Hue was the first locality in the central region where the organic farming model has been developed for paddy fields and pig husbandry with support from the Que Lam Group. The model was then applied at orchards after proving its efficiency. Da Nang city - the largest market in the central region - is also shifting to organic farming. With organic products selling at more than twice the price of those cultivated using traditional methods, more farmers in the central region have taken up the organic model. Many localities in the region are developing products and models to extend organic production./.

- A mobile app named ‘ Den Hung ’ (Hung Temple) was launched on April 9, or the ninth day of the third lunar month and a day prior to the death anniversary of Hung Kings - the legendary founders of the nation.Via the app, now available on App Store and CH Play/Google Play, users can search for information on the Hung Temple special national historical relic site illustrated by images, video clips with narratives.Maps and areas opened for visitors, venues hosting rituals and festivals this year, services and trustworthy accommodations, dinning, and shops, will be featured in the app. A hotline of the organising board is provided to receive feedback and reports regarding violations during the Hung Temple festival.People at home and abroad can donate to the repair of the relic site via the app.Hung King is the title given to the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hong Bang period (2879–258 BC). The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs, which soon hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated.

A ban on styrofoam packaging and single-use plastics in national parks in Thailand comes into effect (Photo: www.pattayamail.com)A ban on styrofoam packaging and single-use plastics in national parks in Thailand came into effect on April 6 as a preventative measure to protect wildlife.According to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP), the new regulations went into effect after being published in the Royal Gazette. The ban aligns with the government’s policy of converting Thailand’s plastic use to 100 percent recyclable plastic by 2027.The department said plastic bags with a thickness of fewer than 36 microns, as well as plastic food containers, cups, straws, and cutlery, are now prohibited at all national parks. Visitors caught bringing single-use plastic items or styrofoam containers into the parks could now face a fine of up to 100,000 baht.Plastic waste, according to the DNP, endangers the lives of wild animals by clogging airways and disrupting the digestive system. These wastes can also end up in rivers and lakes, posing a threat to river ecology and marine life.Although single-use plastic bags have been prohibited in supermarkets and department stores since 2020, the DNP said small retailers and markets continue to distribute them. It added that increased demand for takeout food during the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years has also exacerbated the plastic waste issue both in Thailand and countries around the world./.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)VNA– A circular stipulating independent audits of credit institutions and foreign bank branches issued by the State Bank of Vietnam will take effect from April 15. Circular 24 amends and supplements several articles of the central bank’s Circular 39 dated December 15, 2011.Under the new circular, internal control systems, including mechanisms, policies and regulations, of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam, will be subject to independent auditing.The performance of the internal control system during the preparation and presentation of financial reports, as well as the assessment of foreign bank branches’ capital capacity, will also be audited.The move aims to ensure efficient and safe operations of credit institutions and foreign bank branches, and protect, manage and effectively use assets and resources./.

Ship SAR 412 tugs the fishing vessel in distress to Da Nang city. (Source: VNA)– Three fishermen and their vessel in distress at sea due to bad weather were saved and brought to central Da Nang city on late April 7 by a ship of the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC).At about 1:20 pm on April 5, the QNg 90610 TS of central Quang Ngai province had its gear box broken and went adrift amid strong winds and a rough sea when it was operating at some 6 nautical miles to the south of Da Loi Reef in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.The captain and crew members tried to repair the gear box but failed so they contacted the MRCC to seek help.The MRCC immediately gave instructions on safety measures and breakdown repairs and prepared a rescue operation. However, in the morning of April 6, the fishermen become tired and panicked after many hours of coping with the increasingly worse weather while they had run out of food and freshwater.The MRCC then dispatched ship SAR 412 to the site to save the fishermen.The rescue ship accessed the fishing boat at 6:05pm the same day, provided health care for the fishermen, and tugged the boat to Da Nang./.

The first Vietnam Card Day took place at Hanoi's Bach Khoa Stadium in 2020. (Photo: hemera.vn)- The second Vietnam Card Day is set to take place at Hanoi ’s Bach Khoa Stadium between April 16 and 17 with the theme of Tu tin mo loi (Leading the way).The event is jointly held by Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper and the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) under the instruction of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), aiming to promote non-cash payments and digital transformation in the country.Over 20 banks and financial institutions will participate in the event as sponsors and more than 100 firms join in to showcase their products.Editor-in-chief of Tien Phong Le Xuan Son described the card day as a bridge that connects young people with innovative technologies and novel methods of payment.“Banks and financial intermediaries can introduce their modern banking services to more clients during the event,” he said.Nguyen Quang Hung, chairman of NAPAS, revealed that his corporation co-organises the event to promote cashless payments in line with the Governmental Project on Non-cash Payments from 2021 to 2025.He said youngsters who try new payments at the event, such as VietQR and contactless credit cards, will receive small gifts from the organisers.The organisers will also put aside 200 million VND (8,750 USD) and raise funds at the event to build schools for children in disadvantaged areas.The first Vietnam Card Day took place between November 7 and 8, 2020 with the theme Khoi day noi luc tu khung hoang COVID-19 thuc day phat trien thanh toan khong dung tien mat (Building up strength after the COVID-19 pandemic to promote non-cash payments).Seventeen banks and financial institutions were involved in the event and more than 100 booths exhibited firms' products during the occasion./.

An auto component production line of Keihin Vietnam Co Ltd. Rising shipping and raw material prices were also cited.In turn, manufacturers raised their selling prices at an accelerated pace. This was primarily due to labour shortages, as so many workers were off with infections that factories were unable to maintain production volumes. Input costs increased at the sharpest pace in almost 11 years on the back of higher costs for oil and gas following the outbreak of war. This has dashed any hopes that inflationary pressures might be set to ease over the months ahead.