Hanoi’s air quality improvesVietNamNet Bridge – Air quality in Hanoi has seen improvement in the first four months of the year, but not in all parts of the city. Growing more trees is one of the measures to improve the city’s air quality. It categorised Hanoi’s air quality in the first three months of the year as “bad” for people’s health. Amidst worries about the city’s air quality, environmental experts said that the city should try harder to get its observation data as accurate as it can in order to make better forecasts. Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee on Monday, told the department to make public all information about the city’s air quality.

Buyer of legally protected turtles to be sentenced to two to seven years in prisonVietNamNet Bridge – A man who illegally purchased around 7,000 dead sea turtles several years ago is expected to be sentenced to two to seven years in prison, a more severe punishment than what was proposed last year. Hai said he did not make his purchases by cash but instead exchanged alcohol, beer and cigarettes for the sea turtles. In November 2014, inspectors at Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with other agencies, seized 2,230 dead sea turtles at Hai’s warehouse. The following month, they found thousands of dead sea turtles and 789 giant clam shells in a different location. Hai said that he had not sold products from the turtles’ bodies, and that he was not aware that sea turtles were protected by law.

Celebrating Buddha’s birth in HCM CityVietNamNet Bridge – Several religious activities through HCM City have marked the occasion of the Buddha’s 2,562th birthday, which fell on May 29 this year, the 15th day of the fourth lunar month. Vietnamese Buddhists and believers across the city have been organising the Buddha’s birth (Vesak) celebrations since the beginning of the week. These include the Buddha’s bathing ceremony, incense offerings, release of balloons and pigeons to pray for peace, and many humanitarian activities. All pagodas and temples in the city have been beautifully decorated with coloured lanterns and Buddhist flags. Colourful Hoa Dang slowly floating on the water.— VNS Photo Ngoc DiepReleasing Hoa Dang on the water.— VNS Photo Ngoc DiepA believer with a Hoa Dang praying for happiness.

Over 100 Vietnamese nurses recruited in GermanyVietNamNet Bridge – A pilot project of Germany on training Vietnamese nurses has proved effective, as was reported at a seminar reviewing the project held in Berlin. Conducted by the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the project on training Vietnamese nurses has proved effective.— Photo molisa.gov.vnThe seminar was organised by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Conducted by the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the project has trained 200 Vietnamese nurses since 2012. Minister Counsellor at the Vietnamese embassy in Germany Nguyen Huu Trang highlighted cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and Germany, especially in labour training and exchange. During their visits to Vietnam this year, leaders of the German states of Hamburg, Bremen, Rheinland Pflaz and Mecklenburg Vorpommern proposed boosting labour and vocational training cooperation with Vietnam, including training of nurses.

MPI insists on '99-year policy'Pham Chi Lan, an economist, commented that it would be a bad idea to lease land for such a long time. Vietnam offers many investment incentives related to land leasing conditions, and land rental and transfer could be risks to sovereignty. “I strongly recommend removing the tentative provision about allocating land to investors for 99 years,” Lan said. It would be better to reconsider the ’99 year policy’ not only in the context of conditions of Vietnam, but also international integration. Explaining his view, Dung said this would be an outstanding policy of Vietnam to attract foreign investors.

Vietnam’s most modern children’s hospital inauguratedThe City Children’s Hospital – the most modern of its kind in Vietnam – was officially inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City on June 1 after four years of construction. Located at 15 Vo Tran Chi street, Binh Chanh district, it aims to become a modern pediatric hospital with medically complex subspecialties achieving national and regional standards. It is the first children’s hospital in Vietnam having all three components of cancer treatment: chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stressed the significance of the inauguration of the hospital on June 1 – International Children’s Day. She expressed her belief that the hospital will be Vietnam’s first modern pediatrics hospital whose services are on par with those of regional countries with advanced medicine.

Runaway executive added to wanted listPolice announced on Thursday evening it had issued a wanted notice against former company executive Vu Dinh Duy, under whose leadership a State-owned firm lost millions of dollars. Vu Dinh Duy, former general director of the Petrochemical and Textile Fibre Joint Stock Company (PVTex). - File photoPolice said the decision was made after they determined that Duy was on the run from the investigation. He was last seen in Viet Nam nearly two years ago, when he flew out of the country on October 22, 2016 to seek “medical care”. At the time, the 43-year-old was the general director of the Petrochemical and Textile Fibre Joint Stock Company (PVTex), a subsidiary of the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group.

Historical forest in Tay Ninh to be merged with national parkVietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has agreed with the Tay Ninh Province’s policy to merge the Chang Riec historical and cultural forest with Lo Go-Xa Mat National Park for administrative purposes. The Chang Riec historical and cultural forest and Lo Go-Xa Mat National Park in Tay Ninh Province are set to be merged for administrative convenience. The ministry has called on the Tay Ninh Province People’s Committee to complete the merger plan and seek approval from the Government. The forest and the national park are located in Tan Bien District near the Cambodian border and measure 10,812ha and 19,210ha respectively. According to the People’s Committee, the merger is expected to help conserve and promote national historical and cultural monuments besides helping protect the biodiversity and natural resources of the two places and develop eco-tourism in Tay Ninh.

Vietnam to run pilot automation of patent applicationsVietNamNet Bridge – The intellectual property (IP) registration process, which lasts 36-42 months, will be shortened to 36 months from June 1 next year. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is recently signed by the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Intellectual Property Office.— Photo qdnd.vnThe change is regulated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently signed by the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Intellectual Property Office. The MOU aims at strengthening intellectual property (IP) management. The MOU focuses on setting up IP rights in Vietnam, enhancing the quality of examination of patent applications and the system of automation of administration of industrial property registration applications. Under the agreement, Korean-origin applications submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam will receive an accelerated appraisal process if they meet all requirements.

Bac Kan Province struggles to control illegal miningVietNamNet Bridge – Authorities are struggling to control illegal mineral mining and transportation in the northern province of Bac Kan. The Nang River running through An Thang Commune in Pac Nam District has been severely polluted due to gold mining. They also closed two illegal mining camps. In Na Rì District, gold mines located in the Kim Hy Natural Reserve were also mined by illegal miners. Nguyen Phuc Dan, deputy head of the mineral division under the province’s Environment and Natural Resources Department, said besides illegal mining, local authorities also failed to collect enough tax from legitimate mining activities.

Work safety given priority statusVietNamNet Bridge – Local authorities have been pushing to promote a work safe environment, aiming at protecting workers’ health and businesses’ property, said online newspaper baotintuc.vn. To reduce accidents this year, the municipal authorities have asked businesses and labourers to enhance work safety awareness. In the Central Highlands Province of Dak Nong, work safety has been enhanced in businesses of mineral exploitation and processing. “Ensuring work safety in the mineral exploitation and processing businesses has been a priority”, said Anh. The country saw close to 9,000 work accidents last year, killing 982 people and injuring more than 9,100 others, according to MOLISA.

NA fear tax levy might legalise corrupted moneyVietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly debate on the draft amendment to the anti-corruption law on Thursday was thrown into confusion as the deputies failed to agree on how to handle the suspicious unreported wealth of a public servant. In the first scenario, the officer who is found to have misreported his wealth will have to pay 45 per cent income tax on the total unreported earnings. The other solution includes no tax charge, but only an administrative fine for the incorrect declaration of assets. “If it is necessary to pay 45 per cent income tax on the unreported wealth, what would become of the remaining 55 per cent? Nghia suggested another new solution which was literally a combination of those existing two in the draft law.

HCM City to host exhibitions on ICT, broadcasting, electronicsMore than 300 units from 20 countries and territories worldwide have registered to participate in the Vietnam ICT COMM, an exhibition of information and communication technology (ICT), the Broadcast Vietnam and the Electronics Vietnam slated for June 7-9 in Ho Chi Minh City. The events are expected to attract a large number of visitors, contributing to promoting international cooperation in telecommunications, broadcasting, ICT and electronics. They will also create forums for the participating businesses to share experience and transfer technologies in these fields. Nguyen Long, Vice President of the Vietnam Internet Association, said the exhibitions will feature a programme helping the participating firms access potential partners as well as domestic and foreign investors. Besides, there will be symposiums hosted by leading experts at home and abroad, concentrating on such issues as the fourth industrial revolution, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, among others.

Once-famous brands struggle for revivalVietNamNet Bridge - Many decades-old Vietnamese brands which were familiar to millions of Vietnamese consumers have been revived after a long period of hardship. Many decades-old Vietnamese brands which were familiar to millions of Vietnamese consumers have been revived after a long period of hardship. Da Lan toothpaste, another once-famous brand, has also undergone a thorny path to revive. ICC, the owner of Da Lan brand, once brought Da Lan toothpaste and other ICC products to rural markets in mobile sales campaigns. RELATED NEWSDomestic fashion brands seek foothold in $3.5 billion marketAnother cosmetics brand bought by foreign companyKim Chi

Durian in space: Thailand to send smelly fruit into orbitImagine being trapped in a spaceship with the world's smelliest fruit. Thailand's space research agency has just announced plans to send durian to space by July, as part of a project to produce Thai food suitable for future space travel. The baked durian will stay in space for five minutes before coming back to Earth, where scientists will see if it has undergone any textural changes. "Our main goal is to eventually bring Thai food up to space to be consumed by astronauts," a spokesman for the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) told the BBC. The baked durians will bear the Space Elephant label - which aptly show an elephant skyrocketing into space with a durian -- Photo: GISTDAThe durian isn't the first regional delicacy to be sent into space.