Railway ticket prices for long trips cut 20-50%VietNamNet Bridge – Passengers buying train tickets 20 days in advance of their journey will have the price reduced, ranging from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, the Sai Gon Railway Transport JSC has announced. — VNS Photo Ngoc DiepThe promotion applies to trips of more than 1,000km on the Thong Nhat (North - South) route and TPHCM–Hue route at Sai Gon Train Station. Groups of over 10 passengers will see their ticket prices cut by 3-12 per cent. Accordingly, SE1 will depart at Ha Noi Railway Station at 10.20pm daily; SE2 will leave Sai Gon Railway Station at 9.55pm daily; SE3 will depart at Ha Noi Station at 7.30pm daily; and SE4 will leave Sai Gon Railway Station at 7.45pm every day. A 30 per cent discount will be given for those who are war invalids, policy beneficiaries, Agent Orange victims and people with disabilities.

For months before this holiday travel agencies in Hanoi have prepared relevant tours to serve tourists. The company’s tours for this occasion have lured thousands of people. Many tours to the US, Dubai and Japan have been fully booked. The number of guests booking the tours of the company has surpassed 90 per cent of the company’s available spots. The holiday is also the beginning of summer holiday, so many localities have prepared to open summer tourism services to mark the occasion.

Deputy PM Hue said that the Vietnamese Government will make restructuring to develop the insurance market in Vietnam. He also lauded Talanx’s investment in Vietnam, which is suitable to the country’s policy of restructuring the financial-credit system, including the insurance market. Deputy Defence Minister Mukhtarov briefed the host on outcomes of the talks between his delegation and the Vietnamese counterpart led by Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Politburo member Truong Thi Mai lauded Bac Lieu for its positive results of the past years particularly in poverty reduction, rural development, investment attraction, and the wind power plant which is under construction. The Vietnamese Ambassador, along with Vietnamese officials at the Vietnamese Embassy, wished Ambassador Mai Sayavongs, his spouse, and all Lao diplomats a new year full of health, happiness, and success.

Mobile phone users yet to complete registration processVietNamNet Bridge – Some 34 million users out of 38 million pre-paid mobile phone numbers nationwide have not yet provided their personal information, including portrait photo. The number of customers who need to complete the process is very high, especially those who activated their numbers before Decree 49 took effect, the authority said. As the deadline of updating the personal portrait photo is coming to a close, mobile phone providers have been sending messages to customers to remind them. At a recent meeting with mobile phone providers, Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said that providers can use the photo from a subscriber’s valid ID card for the required information instead of asking him/her to submit photo. There are currently nearly 120 million mobile phone users across the country.

Dong Nai: 1,600 tonnes of hazardous waste illegally buriedChin Well Fasteners Viet Nam Company in Hiep Phuoc Commune, Nhon Trach District, was fined VNĐ3.5 billion (US$154,000) for releasing untreated wastewater and directly burying 1,600 tonnes of contaminated waste. — Photo tienphong.vnOn Wednesday, the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention, also known as PC49, under Dong Nai Province’s Police, in collaboration with the provincial Department of National Resources and Environment’s Inspection Force, found sludge, contaminated waste and chemicals buried under the soil at the company’s site. According to Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper, in July 2016, PC49 detected that the company was discharging untreated wastewater into the environment. It also found 1,600 tonnes of hazardous waste buried at four locations of the company. Dong Nai province’s People’s Committee, therefore, asked the company to adopt chemical clearance measures to restore the land.

Japanese artists to perform Yosakoi dance at Hanoi’s walking areaJapanese artists will perform Yosakoi - a unique style of dance in Japan - at the walking area around Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi on April 21, as part of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties. A Yosakoi dance. Iwata Jinichi said that performing in Hanoi is a great honour for the Japanese troupe. He expressed his hope that through this performance, the friendship between Tokyo and Hanoi and between Japan and Vietnam at large will be tightened. He showed his hope that the Yosakoi performance will bring joy for and attract the participation of visitors to the walking area, thus helping consolidate the bilateral relationship.-VNA

Lance Armstrong settles $100m US government lawsuit for $5mLance Armstrong has agreed to pay $5m (£3.5m) to the US government to settle a long-running lawsuit that could have cost him $100m (£71m) in damages. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life in 2012 before admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong failed to block the lawsuit last year and a trial was set for 7 May in Washington. He sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act, alleging Armstrong and his team defrauded the government by using banned substances while riding under the Postal Service banner. The US Postal Service team ran from 1996 to 2004, with Armstrong winning seven Tour titles between 1999 and 2005.

The meeting is co-organised by VCCI, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, Intellectual Property Association and the Software Alliance (BSA). The event is one of the key activities of the action month surrounding “World Intellectual Property Day”. Computer software copyright highlightedComputer software ownership is one of the areas in which infringements are the most common in Viet Nam. Minh also unveiled the software copyright audit outcomes for last year, particularly the directives issued for audits of regulatory compliance relating to computer software ownership. Early this year, the Ministry Inspectorate further scrutinised compliance with existing laws on computer software copyright at 26 companies and issued administrative fines worth of VND750 million.

Fruit exports chief concern for four northern provincesThe northern provinces of Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Son La have proposed boosting exports of litchi and longan to foreign markets, including China. The proposal was the key topic of discussion at on Wednesday’s annual conference in Ha Noi on the production and distribution of these two main fruit products in northern areas. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong expressed determination to help the provinces sell their products at home and abroad. The PPD has also been negotiating for higher fruit exports quota to Japan and South Korea, as many Japanese and Korean companies are keen on importing these fruits. To meet the requirements of traditional export markets and to expand to new markets for fruit and nuts, Viẹt Nam needs to improve its activities in terms of quality, design and food safety.

Academic pressure is turning children into robotsDirector of the Institute for Social Development Studies Khuat Thu Hong spoke to The World and Viet Nam Report newspaper after a student committed suicide due to the pressure of studying. After every case of suicide due to schooling pressure, I get angrier with myself because I cannot change anything. Besides, they cannot help taking their children to extra-classes; they must accept it as a way to cope with our flawed education system. More and more families want to send their children to study abroad, and this shows that they reject the domestic education system. Do some parents put too much pressure on their children, and turn them into studying machines?

Festival promotes ethnic cultural valuesA festival is taking place in Hanoi where ethnic people from across the country gather together and exchange their cultures as well as introduce them to local people and tourists. By attending the festival, they hope to preserve and promote their distinctive cultural values. Visitors always ask us to give our ethnic group’s distinctive performances,” said artisan Chama Le Dap, a Raglai ethnic from Ninh Thuan province. As a young person, we would like to promote ethnic groups’ cultural heritage.”According to her, promoting cultural values should be done in cooperation with tourism activities as youngsters like travelling. “The point is to integrate ethnic cultural values in their curricula to raise their awareness of preserving and promoting their cultural heritages,” he noted.

Ministries speed up streamlining of regulationsMinistries have continued accelerating administrative reforms to aid businesses in their operations. In addition, many business conditions in the Law on Seafood would continue to be revised and simplified. 767, which sets out a plan to remove and streamline regulations on business conditions in the transport sector. The aviation sector has the largest number of business conditions to be simplified and cut, accounting for 74.36 per cent of the total business conditions of the sector. It is followed by the rail sector with 73.08 per cent of its business conditions being cut.

Bamboo Airways faces pilot shortage, lack of infrastructureVietNamNet Bridge - Bamboo Airways, the newly established airline, faces a lack of qualified workers and weak infrastructure, according to experts. Deputy CEO of Bamboo Airways Nguyen Ngoc Trong said the market would still be large enough for two or three more airlines. Bamboo Airways has started its recruitment plan. The FLC Group in late March signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to buy up to 24 A321 neo aircraft for Bamboo Airways. Besides, it plans to buy an additional 26 Airbus A321 long-range airplanes to increase its total aircraft to 50.

Doctors take up martial arts after hospital assaultsHospitals are employing more guards or organising martial arts training for doctors amid rising number of hospital attacks. Medical staff at Hung Vuong Hospital attend a martial arts classVietnam-Czech Friendship Hospital has heeded the call of Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kiem Tien to set up hotlines and police posts. "We also open martial arts courses to help doctors protect themselves," Son said. "Doctors must learn how to protect themselves and martial arts is one effective solution," Hoc said. The doctors at Hung Vuong Hospital agreed that they had avoided and effectively dealt with many disputes after taking up martial arts.

High-tech e-economy shaking up traditional modes of businessVietNamNet Bridge - Ngo Dong Giang from Hung Yen province and his younger brother spent last week looking for new jobs. Amid the ride-hailing app boom, traditional taxi firms have rushed to use technologies to become app-based taxi firms. The ride hailing app market was first exploited five years ago, in December 2013. “Businesses have to change and create more effective business models, or otherwise, they will be targets for elimination,” he said. RELATED NEWSTraditional taxi firms’ e-hailing apps struggle to keep up with Grab, UberUber, Grab disrupt transit market: expertsKim Chi