Day: June 25, 2021

Two Vietnamese universities – Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi and VNU Ho Chi Minh City – have entered the Times Higher Education (THE)’s Young University Rankings 2021, which lists the world’s best universities that are 50 years old or younger.

In the rankings, the VNU Hanoi is placed in the 251st-300th group, while the VNU ranks 401st .

The VNU Hanoi scored a high point in the criteria of teaching, which is higher than the average point of 50 universities placed in the 251st-300th group, and even 6.3 percent higher than the average of those in the 201st-250th positions.

The THE Young University Rankings 2021 is based on the same 13 performance indicators as the flagship THE World University Rankings, but the weightings have been adjusted to give less weight to reputation.

The universities are judged across all their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook – to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available.

The 2021 list includes 475 universities, up from 414 in 2020.

Nanyang Technological University of Singapore is the world’s best young university for the first time this year.

The Republic of Korea has the highest number of universities entering the top positions in the list with three institutions in the top 10.

The UK is once again the most-represented country, with 37 institutions, while India has 34 and Spain has 33./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Prime Minister on June 24 issued a directive on inter-sectoral coordination between ministries, sectors and the People’s Committees of 28 coastal localities in exchanging and handling information so as to prevent and put an end to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in foreign waters.

The directive noted that on October 23, 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued a “yellow card” warning against seafood exploited by Vietnam and exported to the EU, as the country’s fishing vessels and fishermen violated IUU fishing regulations.

To get the yellow card removed, the Prime Minister has directed ministries, sectors and the People’s Committees of 28 coastal localities to take drastic measures to fight IUU fishing, which has been acknowledged by the commission.

However, the commission assessed that some works are still slow, pointing its finger to the complex developments of Vietnamese fishing vessels’ violations in foreign waters.

One of the root causes of the situation is the loose coordination between ministries, sectors and the People’s Committees of those localities in exchanging information, detecting, preventing, investigating and promptly handling violations, the commission highlighted.

Therefore, the Government leader urged the tighter coordination which needs to ensure the abidance by the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was requested to provide information on the management over offshore fishing vessels and fishermen, and the Ministry of Defence, on the outcomes of patrols at bordering, overlapping and disputed sea areas that have not yet been demarcated between Vietnam and other countries.

The Government leader also asked the Ministry of Public Security to provide information on the situation and results of investigation and handling of cases showing signs of organising, brokering, or luring up Vietnamese people and fishing vessels to conduct illegal fishing in foreign waters, or illegally bringing fishing vessels and fishermen back to the country.

The Foreign Ministry was required to provide information on the negotiations on sea border demarcation between Vietnam and other countries, as well as the results of the struggles to ensure legitimate interests of Vietnamese fishermen detained by foreign authorities, while the Ministry of Information and Communication should disseminate knowledge and laws to encourage fishermen not to violate foreign waters.

The People Committees of 28 coastal provinces and cities need to update information on the registration of fishing vessels and the installation of satellite geo-positioning devices./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Competent forces in the northern border province of Dien Bien have arrested four people who crossed the border to enter Laos illegally.

The men were captured on June 24 at border marker 74 on the Vietnam-Laos borderline in Tan Phong hamlet in Nam Po district’s Si Pa Phin commune. All of them are residing in Dien Bien province.

They confessed that they came to Laos to exploit forestry and local products, and were arrested on way home.

Authorities are conducting further legal procedures to deal with the case./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) -VinaPhone was awarded the Labour Order, first class, during a recemony held in Hanoi on June 25 marking the 25th anniversary of the first Vietnamese mobile phone service provider.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the VNPT Member Council Pham Duc Long said the distinction offers VNPT-VinaPhone a driving force to further develop in the future amid digital transformation process.

Founded on June 26, 1996, VinaPhone became the first telecom service provider to cover all cities and provinces nationwide after three years. It recorded 1 million subscribers in 2002 and 12 million subscribers inIt now boasts an infrastructure capable of meeting national demand for defence-security, disater prevention and control, and nearly 30 million subscribers. Apart from the over 37,000 3G and more than 34,000 4G transmitting stations, it is one of the first units to successfully pilot the commercialisation of 5G technology in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Annually, internet traffic on mobile networks increases by about 70 percent on average.

Long stressed that the growth of VinaPhone and the trust of more than 30 million clients are a result of brainpower and efforts by generations of engineers and staff of the VNPT Net Corporation and VNPT-VinaPhone in the 63 cities and provinces across the country.

General Director of VNPT-VinaPhone Nguyen Truong Giang said this year, 10-30 percent of its staff will move to the field of digital transformation to offer more convenient and modern services./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Border guard forces of Lao Cai northern province of Vietnam joined talks on border issues in the first half of the year with the border control forces in Hekou district of China’s Yunnan province on June 25.

At the talks held at the Lao Cai-Hekou International Border Gate, they stated that the sides have complied with the implementation of three legal documents on border and bilateral agreements, as well as joined hands to facilitate trade of goods via the border gate and ensured COVID-19 prevention and control at the same time.

The forces had arranged four joint inspections with the participation of 403 officers and soldiers from each side and regularly updated adjusted policies and regulations related to border management, security and order and COVID-19 developments in the border areas.

They also agreed on prioritised customs clearance routes for farm produce and aquatic products in an attempt to create optimal conditions for exports-imports and economic development while following anti-pandemic measures.

In the reviewed period, the two sides carried out immigration procedures for more than 1,000 people with multiple nationalities, imported 36 products weighing 932,097 tonnes and exported 14 goods of close to 594,000 tonnes.

They are exerting efforts in arranging quarantine for illegal migrants and taking necessary steps to hand them over to relevant agencies.

Trade activities at sub-border gates and crossings have been suspended due to the adverse impact of COVID-19. At the talks, the two sides agreed that they will work with relevant agencies to resume travel and trade exchanges in the border areas in the coming time when the pandemic is kept under control.

On the occasion, leaders of the border guard forces presented the title of messenger of the Vietnam-China friendship to an official of each side. The border control post in Hekou also offered aid to help four Lao Cai’s border stations battle COVID-19.

On June 24, the Lao Cai Border Guard High Command and border guards in some localities of Yunnan province held a patrol on illegal entry prevention and COVID-19 containment.

They set up a patrol command and teams which will regularly patrol along the shared borders/.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation from the Vientiane capital of Laos on June 25 handed over 30,000 USD to the Embassy of Vietnam to help authorities and people of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City fight COVID-19.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Secretary of the Vientiane Party Committee Anouphap Tounalom affirmed the Lao capital city’s special relations with Hanoi and HCM City, voicing his belief that the two cities will soon surmount hardships caused by COVID-19 to stabilise the life and restore production for socio-economic development.

The assistance was raised by Vientiane authorities and people, along with the Vietnamese community and firms operating in the city, he added.

For his part, Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung thanked the delegation for its support even when Laos and Vientiane in particular are also striving to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He believed that the two Vietnamese major cities and Vientiane would further bolster the traditional relations and contribute to the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties, States and peoples of the two countries.

The Vietnamese Embassy has to date received about 1.3 million USD from Lao organisations and individuals to support Vietnam’s fight against COVID-19, including 500,000 USD worth of medical equipment./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Hanoi People’s Committee has permitted the resumption of certain outdoor physical and sport activities from June 26, given the local COVID-19 situation basically brought under control.

This is part of the local authority’s move to ease restrictions on several activities.

Accordingly, some physical and sport activities with no more than 20 people in one place at the same time are allowed, but participants still have to comply with the 5K principle of “khau trang” (facemask), “khu khuan”’ (disinfection), “khoang cach” (keeping distance), “khong tu tap” (no gathering), and “khai bao y te” (health declaration).

Owners and staff of golf training centres and golf courses, as well as their visitors, also have to seriously adhere to COVID-19 prevention and control measures and be held responsible if virus transmission happens.

In its urgent dispatch sent on June 25, the People’s Committee also requested local departments, sectors, districts, and Noi Bai International Airport to maintain anti-coronavirus measures in the new context.

At a meeting on June 25, Deputy Director of the municipal Health Department Hoang Duc Hanh said Hanoi has stayed free of COVID-19 community transmission for 11 straight days.

Since April 27, when the fourth wave of infections began, 106 places across the city have been sealed off, with 98 places already seeing lockdown lifted. The eight remainders are in the districts of Dong Anh (five), Long Bien (two), and Soc Son (one).

Hanh said COVID-19 clusters in Hanoi have been brought under control, but high risks remain as the pandemic situation is still complicated in Ho Chi Minh City and some other localities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The PathetLao newspaper of the Lao news agency KPL on June 24 frontpaged an article on the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.

The article said such ties, nurtured by late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and his Lao counterpart Kaysone Phomvihane, have been maintained and developed by generations of the two countries’ leaders, revolutionaries, and peoples.

It reviewed the milestones in the relationship, starting in July 1962, when the two nations established their diplomatic ties. In February 2019, during the official visit of Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong to Laos, the sides agreed to upgrade their traditional relations into great traditional relations.

The 59 years of the diplomatic relations and the 44 years of the signing of the Vietnam – Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation were a test for the close amity shared between the two nations. Their cooperation is increasingly diverse, and constantly consolidated and enhanced in both quantity and quality, it said.

Over the past time, the Vietnamese Party, Government and people have offered prompt, valuable, and effective assistance to Laos via regular and annual aid packages and urgent help in special cases, the article noted, adding that Vietnam was the first nation to lend a hand to Laos in curbing the spread of COVID-19, which reflected their special cooperation.

It said high-ranking leaders of the two countries have always seriously directed their competent agencies to strengthen the connection between the two economies, especially regarding their infrastructure, transport, as well as exploration and development of energy resources. They have also paid attention to solving existing problems to deepen the bilateral collaboration toward effectiveness in line with the strengths of the two countries.

Currently, Vietnam is one of the leading investors in and the largest trading partner of Laos. Their cooperation in the field of defense-security continues to reap achievements in various aspects. The sides are further coordinating and effectively implementing their signed agreement on border issues, promptly preventing and handleing border violations, and promoting the signing of cooperation pacts in the fields of defense, security, external relations, culture, education, and science and technology.

Regarding multilateral cooperation, the article said since joining ASEAN, Vietnam and Laos have been coordinating and supporting each other on many issues discussed at ASEAN forums, contributing to promoting and enhancing their great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation and to boosting peace, friendship, and cooperation and integration regionally and internationally./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency