Research on wild lives of plastic on show in Quy NhonA research exhibition titled “Plastic Matters: Wild Lives" is on display at the International Centre of Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in the central city of Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh Province. Where do marine plastic debris come from? The exhibition showcases the connection between plastic and human, especially in the context of everyday life in Vietnam. The research team also look at the country’s waste recycling industry, especially in relation to treatment of plastic waste and make recommendations to improve its efficiency and development. Elisabeth Barbier, deputy director general of the French National Research Institution for Development (IRD), which help promote the research, said the IRD is committed to provide support to further research in the field of environmental protection and rising public knowledge on the negative effect of the use of plastic on the environment.

Vietnam challenged over polluting ocean plastic wasteUS Science Envoy Dr Margaret Leinen has raised concerns about plastic waste as Vietnam is among top five countries that generate most plastic waste in the ocean. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Georgia University in 2015 shows that Vietnam was among the five worst countries in the world for generating plastic waste in the ocean. Vietnam dumps about 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually in the sea. The plastic waste takes from decades to centuries to decompose. After a while, the plastic waste breaks down and releases microplastics which are invisible to the human but harmful to the environment.

Hypertension on-the-rise poses serious health risksVietNamNet Bridge – The number of people who die of hypertension each year in Vietnam is 10 times higher than the number of victims killed by traffic accidents, a cardiovascular specialist said at a recent workshop. High blood pressure is a leading cause of death in the world, killing 7 million people every year, he said. He warned that besides the consequences of kidney failure and heart attack, high blood pressure also results in stroke, brain haemorrhage and rhexis. “In the past it was believed that the older the person is the higher their blood pressure is. The Health Strategy and Policy Institute has run a project called “Fighting hypertension in Vietnam: solutions from grassroots medical facilities”.

Vietnam's labour productivity among lowest in regionDespite having increased at a relatively fast pace in recent years, Viet Nam’s labour productivity remained in the lowest group in East Asia with scores in backbone sectors of the economy even falling behind Cambodia, a report found on Tuesday. Viet Nam’s labour productivity remains low among East Asian countries despite considerable increases in the past few years. According to the report, labour productivity for the whole economy was improving at quite a high rate, at about 22.5 per cent between 2008 and 2016. “Viet Nam’s labour productivity was the lowest in the most important sectors of an economy. “In principle, wage growth should go in line with labour productivity growth to help stably maintain a company’s profit.

Cuisine: A magnet pulling visitors into HueWith a long renowned cuisine and various promotional activities, Hue’s dishes are known for their mouthwatering taste and meticulous way of cooking. Meticulousness of Hue cuisine comes all the way from ingredients selection to dish decoration, which has always attracted people’s attention when visiting the former capital of Vietnam. During Hue Festival 2018, restaurants within the city were bustling with both domestic and international diners. Many visitors revealed that cuisine is the magnet pulling them into the ancient city. Dinh Manh Thang, Chairman of Thua Thien Hue provincial Tourism Association told VNA that they have put the most distinctive dishes of Hue on show during the international food festival.

Vietnam faces serious shortage of qualified nursing care workers for elderlyVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is facing an alarming shortage of qualified nursing care workers for the elderly. Vietnam is facing an alarming shortage of qualified nursing care workers for the elderly. – Photo laodong.vnAt a conference on effectively training and using nursing care workers for the elderly on Monday, doctors said Vietnam is among the five fastest-aging countries in the world. The health sector needs to focus on building a qualified source of nursing workers, he said. Tuan said apart from knowledge and skills on taking care of the elderly, nursing care workers need to understand the physical and psychological demands of elderly people.

New traffic signs make navigating HCM City roads easierThe HCM City Department of Transport has installed new, clearer road signs in many places, which is expected to improve traffic flow. HCM City is upgrading road signs, which is helping ease traffic flows. — Photo sggp.org.vnThere are many new signs indicating “No U Turn”, “No Left Turn, “No Semi-Trailers” and the like besides parking instructions. The department and related units are carrying out further reviews of traffic signs. According to transport experts, the changes to the signs are helping regulate lane-wise traffic and the handling of violations.

Ly Hoang Nam wins first round of VN F2 FuturesVietnamese top tennis player Ly Hoang Nam came from behind to beat Ji Hoon Son of South Korea in the first round of the Viet Nam F2 Futures tennis tournament held in Hue yesterday. Ly Hoang Nam. — Photo VTFThe No 1 seed and world No 461 defeated Ji, world No 839, 3-6, 7-5 and 6-0. The 21-year-old Nam will next face Rio Noguchi of Japan, world No 923, who lost to Nam twice in recent meets. Earlier, Tay Ninh-born Nam was the runner-up in the men’s singles category of the F1 Futures tennis tournament.

Soc Trang invests in sustainable coastal forestryThe Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang will carry out an action programme for sustainable forest management in its two coastal districts under the project “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation” (REDD+). A cajuput forest in Soc Trang Province. Hieu said the REDD+ project would help to not only protect the existing forest in a sustainable way but also spur socio-economic development. The province has more than 16,200ha of forest and zoned forested areas, including more than 10,800ha of forest. The National Action Programme on REDD+ 2011-20, approved in June 2012, is the major framework for REDD+ implementation in Viet Nam.

Vietnam welcomes two Nobel laureates for scientific conferenceTwo Nobel laureates, theoretical physicist Gerard ‘t Hooft and economist Finn Kydland, will visit Vietnam to attend a conference on science and development scheduled for May 9-10 in the central city of Quy Nhon. The International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, where the conference is scheduled to take place. The conference is part of the annual Rencontres du Vietnam programme held at the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education. Professor Van said that five Nobel Prize-winning professors had originally agreed to attend the conference but at the time of the event, three were unable to attend due to health reasons. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis advisor Martinus J. G. Veltman "for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions".

Iran nuclear deal: Trump pulls US out in break with Europe alliesUS President Donald Trump says he will withdraw the US from an Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said: "The US has announced that it doesn't respect its commitments. He said he would "wait a few weeks" to speak to allies and the other signatories to the nuclear deal first. "It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of this deal," Mr Trump said. "The Iran deal is defective to its core."

Museum honours Argentine reporterThe HCM City War Remnants Museum yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Argentine journalist and photographer Ignacio Ezcurra, who disappeared in Saigon in 1968 while covering the war. Argentine journalist and photographer’s daughter and son gifted Igancio Ezcurra’s memorabilia to the HCM City War Remnants Museum. The event was organised by the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Viet Nam, the museum and the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations to celebrate his 50th death anniversary. We will preserve, display and introduce them to visitors from Viet Nam and other countries.”Encarnacion Ezcurra, the journalist’s daughter, thanked the embassy of the Argentine Republic in Viet Nam and the HCM City War Remnants Museum for the commemoration. She said the visit was an opportunity to learn more about Viet Nam and its history.

Vietnam to beat Indonesia in AFC’s quarter-finalsViet Nam has set its sights on beating Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Futsal Championship 2018 today. Viet Nam gained three wins to top Group B and reach the quarter-finals. “Being the winner of Group B improves the morale of the Vietnamese team, and takes off some of the pressure. At the Southeast Asian Games last year, Viet Nam bested Indonesia 2-1 to take the silver medal, while Indonesia received the bronze medal. Viet Nam will have its best line-up for the match today after their key player Nguyen Thi Chau recovered from her injury.

Cyber security regulations should ensure business rightsThe cyber security law should be built on a careful assessment of its impacts on businesses and ensure the development of information technology and telecommunications, according to experts at a workshop in Hanoi on Tuesday. — Photo VietnamplusThe draft law on cyber security is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion at the end of this month. The draft law’s regulations on cyber security inspection and assessment require enterprises to suspend or stop selling their products in case such products affect cyber security. In terms of approach to the law, they recommended developing the cyber security law in a way that problems can be addressed individually, instead of conducting a general cyber security law. “In today’s world, cyber security is really about two things: the security of the physical infrastructure where data is stored and who owns and controls the data,” he said.

Asset management of BVF continued to grow well, reaching VND47.8 trillion ($2 billion) in Q1/2018Bao Viet Fund (BVF) has announced its first quarter business results for 2018. In financial investment, investment income has had an annual average growth of 23 per cent. In North Vietnam, local trade promotion centres conducted 315 trade promotion activities, accounting for 25% of the total trade promotion activities nationwide and assisted more than 5,100 local enterprises in taking part in such activities. According to the MoIT, Vietnamese fruit exported to China should notice that China will increase their tracing of the origin of Vietnamese fruit. Once this has been found, it is important to learn the necessary basics of how to start a business.