Vietnam lose to Iran at AFC futsal eventVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam lost to defending champions Iran by five goals to zero in the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Futsal Championships at Bangkok Arena in Thailand yesterday. Out played: Vietnam vs Iran in the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Futsal Championships at Bangkok Arena in Thailand yesterday. — AFC PhotoWith better skills and physical strength, Iran controlled the game from the opening minutes. Despite this early goal, Vietnam came out strong searching for an equaliser, but in the ninth minute, striker Shirbeigi doubled the score for Iran. Just four minutes following Shirbeigi’s goal, Iran raised the score to 3-0.

Exhibition extols President Ho Chi MinhAn exhibition of works related to President Ho Chi Minh opened in Hanoi on May 10 as part of events to celebrate the President’s 128th birthday (May 19, 1890 – May 19, 2018). Books on display at the exhibition (Photo: qdnd.vn)Works on display include more than 1,000 publications, books, and newspapers chronicling the life and revolutionary career of President Ho, while highlighting the leading role played by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho in the country’s cause for national liberation, construction and defence. The exhibition is co-hosted by the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People's Army and the Military Library to help visitors and soldiers develop a deeper understanding of the ideology and career of beloved President Ho, thus encouraging them to follow Uncle Ho’s example. A seminar on President Ho Chi Minh’s thought and the Vietnamese People’s Army was also held on the same day, featuring a presentation by Prof. Dr Hoang Chi Bao, member of the Party Central Committee's Theoretical Council. The exhibition will run until May 15 at the Military Library, 83 Ly Nam De Street, Hoan Kiem district.

KOTRA to move Southeast Asia headquarters to HanoiThe Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said on May 10 that it will relocate its Southeast Asia headquarters from Singapore to the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi to support Korean companies doing businesses in the fast-growing market. According to KOTRA, bilateral trade between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) reached 63.9 billion USD in 2017. KOTRA will expand business centres in promising markets to keep up with the changing trade environment, said CEO Kwon Pyung-oh. The agency is currently operating 10 local head offices and 127 business centres in 86 countries around the world. The RoK ranked first among 125 nations and territories pouring capital into Vietnam in 2017, with total registered capital hitting 57.7 billion USD.-VNA

Fee hikes threaten cashless planRecent surges in transactions and withdrawal fees at a number of commercial banks went against the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) initial policy roadmap for a seamlessly cashless society. For the past few months, a number of joint stock banks have continuously increased service charges, including SMS Banking fees, electronic transaction fees and interbank charges. Vietcombank also increased mobile banking charges from VND8,800 to VND11,000 per month since March 1. This is seen as the ceiling price for most banks’ charges, which so far has yet been breached. Nonetheless, commercial banks should focus on other services to offset losses, rather than increasing ATM charges, said Tuan.

Tra fish industry facing dangerous situation, warn expertsThe domestic tra fish industry is facing a boom in the development of production at present, according to experts and enterprises. With such prices, farmers have earned a profit of VND4,000 per kilo from rearing tra fish and VND40,000 per kilo from developing tra fish varieties. Duong Nghia Quoc, chairman of the Viet Nam Tra Fish Association, said the current demand for tra fish is estimated to reach 1.2 million tonnes per year, while demand for tra fish varieties is expected to reach a maximum of 2-2.5 billion units per year. Farmers in many regions, especially in the provinces of Long An and Dong Thap, are promoting the production of tra fish varieties, which would push the tra fish industry into a situation of oversupply, Quoc said. Meanwhile, local tra fish exporters are concerned about how much the US Department of Commerce will increase the anti-dumping tariff in the 14th administrative review for Vietnamese tra fish, he said.

Vietnam determined to reduce number of commercial banksVietnam will attempt to further reduce the number of commercial banks according to Vice Chairman of the NA Economic Committee, Nguyen Duc Kien. The State Bank of Vietnam took three ailing banks, Ocean Bank, GP Bank and Vietnam Construction Bank into public ownership. Vietnam currently has four state-owned banks and 31 commercial banks. The point is the number of banks must be reduced and bankruptcy and closures are also solutions," he said. Former deputy head of National Financial Supervisory Commission Le Xuan Nghia said many foreign investors showed interests in the local banks but it was not easy to reduce the number of banks.

Draft plan on social insurance reform supported by PCC membersThe draft plan on reforming social insurance policy received much support from members of the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee (PCC) when it was discussed at the fourth working day of the committee’s 7th plenary session on May 10. The draft plan clarifies general and concrete objectives of the social insurance policy reform in three periods: by 2021, by 2025 and by 2030. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien said the draft plan aims to create a diverse and multi-level social insurance system with a focus placed on increasing compulsory social insurance so as to achieve insurance coverage for all people. At the meeting, many members of the Party Central Committee talked about adjustments to the retirement age, which is an issue attracting great public interest. The draft plan on social policy reform is one of the three plans being discussed at the 7th plenary session of the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee.

A generation of ‘super parents’Parents across the world should admire Vietnamese parents as Vietnamese parents spend an average of 10 hours per week helping their children with homework, according to statistics released by the London-based Varkey Foundation in The Economist magazine. When their children enter the campus of the school, parents once again face traffic congestion on the rush to their office. If people know exactly about the details of a day of a Vietnamese parent, they couldn't help but admire Vietnamese parents. Concerning the role of a farmer, Vietnamese parents exceed parents in developed countries. At this time, it seems that parents can only give up the role of 'super parents' in two cases, that they are blind to information or they are irresponsible people.

Nha Ky wears a dress by Vietnamese designer Do Long on the first day of the Cannes Film Festival. The red dress is inspired by Cinderella in fairy tale images. She dazzled in a beautiful white gown as she took to the red carpet on the second day of the Cannes Film Festival. Ky made her stunning appearance in an exquisitely embroidered white chiffon gown designed by Hoang Hai. She looks stunning with her tanned skin and long French-braid hairstyle.

Whirlwind hits Dak Lak province, one deadA heavy rain and whirlwind hit the central highlands province of Daklak’s Ea Sup district yesterday, blowing roofs off hundreds of houses; hectares of vegetables, fruits were damaged, said Tran Dinh Toan –Deputy chairman of Ea Sup district People’s Committee. The disaster lasted around 45 minutes and covered over some part of areas such as Ea Sup, Ea Bung, Cu M’lan… killing one person. The whirlwind also uprooted many big trees on the communes’ streets. Local authorities are trying to overcome the consequence and being estimated total damages as well as cooperate with concerned units to help local people repair their houses and to have soon stable lives, Mr. Toan added.

Celtrion Group to build $800-million pharmaceutical factory in VNAdding to the excitement of investments in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical sector, Celtrion Group from South Korea also found opportunities to join the game. The attractiveness of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical sector has also been shown by the joining of Vingroup, the leading real estate group in the country. Accordingly, Vingroup established Vinfa JSC and will spend VND2.2 trillion ($96.5 million) developing a pharmaceutical manufacturing and research centre in the northern province of Bac Ninh’s Gia Binh district. The Vietnamese pharmaceutical market is estimated to record a revenue of $5.2 billion in 2017, a 10 per cent increase from last year. The development potential of the pharmaceutical sector is substantial, however, in reality, almost the entire market is in the hands of foreign pharmaceutical corporations.

Vietnam to meet Thailand in AFF semi-finalsThe Vietnam U16 team will meet Thailand in the semi-finals of the AFF U16 Girls’ Championship in Indonesia on Friday. Vietnam vs Malaysia in the AFF U16 Girls’ Championship in Indonesia on May 9. Kim En scored the only goal for Vietnam in the 43rd minute to help the team reach the final four. In another Group A match, Myanmar crushed the Philippines 7-1. With this result, both Myanmar and Vietnam finished the group round with 10 points.

Photographer focusses on SpainVietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese Embassy in Madrid and Durán Auction House will co-organise a charity auction of photographs by Vietnamese photographer Viet Ha Tran on May 19. Art matters: Madrid-based fine arts photographer Viet Ha Tran poses in front of her photos for the I FEMME art photography project, which will be put up for a charity auction on May 19. — Photo courtesy of Viet Ha TranThe event will take place on a special commemorative day — the birthday of President Ho Chi Minh who played a key role in the country’s independence. But nearly 800 million people in the world are illiterate, two-thirds of which are women and girls,” said Ha. Viet Ha Tran is a Hanoi-born and Madrid-based fine arts photographer known for her emotionally dense and endlessly compelling photographs of women.

Vietnam imports $451 million worth of fruit, vegetable in 4 monthsVietnam imported around 451 million USD worth of fruit and vegetable in the first four months of this year, with 107 million USD spent in April alone. Meanwhile, export of fruit and vegetable in the January-April period earned Vietnam over 1.32 billion USD, up 29.5 percent year on year. In breakdown, fruit shipments brought home 1.05 billion USD and vegetables, 159 million USD. The ministry forecasts a bumper harvest for litchi and longan this summer in northern provinces. It held a conference in April to prepare for the sale promotion for the two kinds of fruit.

The life of Quang Ngai’s ‘jungle man’A man in the central province of Quang Ngai who lived in the forest for up to 40 years is now alone after the death of his father. When Ho Van Lang brought out of the forest in 2013After the tragic death of his mother and two sons when US bombs hit his house, Ho Van Thanh, a soldier, panicked and took his one-year-old son Ho Van Lang into the jungle. When they were encouraged to leave the jungle, Thanh was 81 and Lang was 41. Reintegrating into the society, everything seemed to be new to Lang who gradually became familiar with his new life. But since his father’s death, Lang has been depressed.