MEKONG DELTA — Sand is being mined in a new location in the Hậu River in Sóc Trăng Province since June 30 to serve construction of a key expressway in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta. According to the province People's Committee, the sand will be used for component project 4 in the first phase of the Châu Đốc - Cần Thơ - Sóc Trăng Expressway. There are five locations in the river in Sóc Trăng where mining is permitted with a combined area of more than 450 ha. A shortage of river sand is affecting work on many major construction projects in the delta. Using other materials in place of river sand is also under scrutiny.

A woman who attempted to sell water apples to a foreign man at VND200,000 (US$7.9) per kilogram in Hanoi was fined VND150,000 ($5.9) for peddling on roadbeds, local police said on Monday. The tourist agreed to pay VND30,000 ($1.2) for two water apples and did not express any objections afterward. She then weighed two water apples and claimed they were 200 grams in weight, fetching a total of VND40,000 ($1.60). The foreign tourist thanked her, paid for the water apples, and left. Many others questioned the authenticity of the video as the vendor still sold the water apples at such a rate even though she knew that the foreigner was filming the video.

Participation increases, benefits expanded after 15 years of Health Insurance LawThe number of health insurance participants has surged, benefits have expanded and healthcare quality has seen significant improvement after 15 years of implementing the Law on Health Insurance. The number of healthcare visits, covered by the health insurance fund, has shown steady growth annually. Trang said the rights of health insurance participants were guaranteed. Nearly 10,000 commune/ward/town health stations also participated in health insurance through contracts managed by district hospitals or health centres assigned by provincial Departments of Health in the country. Key messages about health insurance focus on enhancing the quality of healthcare at grassroots healthcare facilities to increase access to health insurance for the public, using the health insurance fund efficiently, how health insurance means safeguarding your health and that participation gives people sustainable financial support during illness and disease.

Over sixteen years, he has made thirty-four whole blood donations and sixty-six platelet donations, aiding numerous patients. "Donating blood is very meaningful to me because I know my blood helps many patients in need," Khánh shared. Marking his one hundredth blood donation on May 9 at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Khánh is one of Hưng Yên Province's most regular and prolific blood donors. While whole blood donation can be repeated every three months, platelet donation can occur every three weeks. This process takes between 45 to 90 minutes, compared to just five minutes for whole blood donation.

HCM CITY — The American International School Vietnam (AISVN) continues to be suspended for another 12 months, as of July 1. HCM City Department of Education and Training and an interdisciplinary team from the city have been working with AISVN’s school board and investors since May 28. A report into the school, due to be submitted by June 15, has not yet arrived at the education department which could have allowed it to continue educational operations. On June 28, the department also issued the Official Dispatch No 4011/SGDĐT-GDTrH providing transfer guidelines for AISVN students via the website https://chuyentruong.hcm.edu.vn. AIS American International Education JSC, the head investor of AISVN, is required to be accountable towards its students as well as the teaching and administrative staff.

The People’s Committee of Quang Tri Province in north-central Vietnam has approved a project to build an over-six-kilometer-long conveyor belt to transport coal from Laos, the office of the provincial administration said on Monday. The conveyor belt is set to carry 30 million metric tons of coal a year. The conveyor belt will start at the border between Vietnam and Laos, and end at a warehouse in A Ngo Commune, Dakrong District, Quang Tri. Vietnam's Quang Tri Province will build an over-six-kilometer-long conveyor belt to import coal from Laos. The three conveyor belts are expected to create a conveyor system with a total length of 160 kilometers to transport coal from Laos to Vietnam.

HOÀ BÌNH — The General Statistics Office (GSO), in coordination with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, has started a census to collect socio-economic details of 53 ethnic minority groups. The goal is to gather data for the National Statistical Indicator System and the Statistical Indicator System on ethnic minority affairs. This will inform the development and policy-making process for socio-economic development in ethnic minority regions for the period 2026-2030. Additionally, the census will cover three provinces and cities with significant ethnic minority populations: HCM City, Long An, and Hà Tĩnh. The survey targets ethnic minority households and actual residents living in these households at the time they are questioned.

Addressing specific issues, the Deputy PM requested the drafting agency to amend and supplement criteria for localities to identify high-yield and high-quality rice-growing areas within the allocated specialised paddy land. "The goal is to ensure income and stable livelihoods for rice farmers in all situations," he said. Notably, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has incorporated and supplemented regulations on the criteria for identifying high-yield, high-quality rice-growing areas that need protection and restricted conversion. Additionally, they should identify areas of rice land that can be converted but still maintain the conditions for reverting to rice cultivation. Similarly, some delegates emphasised the need to clearly delineate rice land areas, specialised rice cultivation areas, and high-yield, high-quality rice land areas to develop corresponding policies and avoid overlap and redundancy.

In addition, people’s apathy and lack of self-discipline in dengue prevention and control are also to blame for disease outbreaks. According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, there is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Lien said current prevention and control of dengue fever mainly relies on vector prevention and control and changes in people’s behavior and habits. Countries where dengue fever is endemic have pooled a lot of resources to prevent the disease, but the results are still limited. However, the prevention and control of dengue fever remains increasingly difficult and challenging, admitted the health official.

Survey results showed that despite the impressive economic growth, most businesses said that they have faced numerous difficulties. As much as 53.8 percent of the enterprises said they have been challenged by low domestic market demand. Some 30.5 percent asked the government to find solutions for maintaining the supply of raw materials and production inputs, while 35.4 percent emphasized the need to stabilize the prices of input factors, including raw materials and fuel." Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, deputy director of the Institute of Economic and Policy Research at the Vietnam National University-Hanoi, identified two factors directly impacting the consumption of goods by domestic enterprises. However, many experts advised that the VAT reduction policy should be extended until the end of 2025 to effectively stimulate demand and promote sales.

HÀ NỘI — The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has issued an urgent directive to domestic airlines to promptly address the ongoing aircraft shortage and implement flexible pricing strategies. Lê Hồng Hà, Director-General of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA), said VNA had grounded 11 aircraft due to the recall and expects to ground another six by the end of this year. The lengthy repair and maintenance process, taking between 250 to 300 days, means VNA's aircraft shortage is projected to persist throughout 2024 and gradually ease by mid-2025. To mitigate the impact of the shortage, CAAV has instructed the airlines to seek and secure replacement aircraft from leasing partners worldwide to fill the void left by grounded aircraft. Before the directive, CAAV conducted inspections to assess the pricing practices of four airlines and six travel agencies.

HÀ NỘI – There were 12,321 traffic accidents, resulting in 5,255 deaths and 9,599 injuries nationwide in the first half this year, reported the National Traffic Safety Committee. Although the number of traffic accidents across the country increased, the number of deaths significantly decreased compared to the same period last year, the committee said. “Compared to the first six months of 2023, traffic accidents increased by 1,842 cases, up 17.58 per cent, deaths decreased by 702 people, down 11.78 per cent, and injuries increased by 2,707 people, up 39.28 per cent,” said Trần Hữu Minh, the committee’s head. Out of these, there were 12,225 road traffic accidents, causing 5,191 deaths and 9,584 injuries. Railways experienced 66 accidents, resulting in 48 deaths and ten injuries, waterways had 27 accidents, leading to 15 deaths and five injuries and at sea, there were three accidents, causing one death.

HÀ NỘI For the first time, Vietnamese children under the age of six can be issued ID cards upon request as the Law on Identification comes into effect on July 1, 2024. The legal representative of the child must complete the procedure through the public service portal or national identification application. Vietnamese citizens under 14 years old can be issued ID cards upon personal request. If the current residence information of Vietnamese citizens who are not eligible to register for permanent or temporary residence is updated in the National Population Database, they will also be issued ID cards. The new ID law has integrated health insurance cards, social insurance books, driver's licences, birth certificates and marriage certificates into the ID card.

In June alone, over 1.2 million international tourists traveled to Vietnam, a year-on-year rise of 28.1 percent, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism. Given the positive growth in international travelers in the first half of the year, Vietnam reached 50 percent of the whole-year target, set at 17-18 million international tourist arrivals. During the January-June period, South Korea continued to be Vietnam’s largest tourist source market, with 2.2 million travelers, or 25.8 percent of the total international tourist arrivals. Therefore, the number of international tourist arrivals in Vietnam is forecast to continue rising in the coming months. International tourists visit Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam.

HÀ NỘI – With summer vacation approaching and travel demand surging, Vietnamese airlines are ramping up capacity, particularly on popular routes connecting to tourist destinations. Weekends and days closer to departure show the highest demand, with booking rates exceeding 50 per cent on some routes. Destinations like Quy Nhơn, Phú Quốc, Nha Trang and Điện Biên are experiencing particularly high booking rates from both Hanoi and HCM City. To cater to this increasing demand, airlines are offering a variety of fares, including several significantly lower-priced options compared to the maximum fares regulated for economy class. Industry leaders believe there is ample room for cooperation between airlines and tourism companies to maximise efficiency and affordability.