Day: October 5, 2022

Posted on

Quang Tri: War-time bombs in residential areas relocated

PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTVN), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of the US that engages in detecting and defusing bombs, mines, and explosives, announced that it had successfully handled two bombs that were found in the central province of Quang Tri over the past few days.

 

The first bomb, identified as an M117 – was discovered on October 3 by PTVN’s bomb and mine clearance team No 3 at a depth of 1 metre in a rubber farm in Cam Lo district’s Cam Hieu commune. It is about 2 metres in length and 340 kg in weight.

 

The second one, also an M117 bomb, was detected about 70 metres away from the first one, on October 4.

 

The two bombs were relocated to a safer area for handling.

 

Quang Tri is the most polluted locality in Vietnam in terms of unexploded ordnances (UXOs), which are scattered over 81% of its land area. Landmines and bombs have killed over 3,430 people and injured 5,100 others since the war ended in 1975.

 

So far, 34 non-governmental and 23 international organisations have joined bomb and mine clearance efforts in the province, which  targets becoming the first locality nationwide to be free from wartime bombs, mines and UXO by 2025./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Buddhist cultural centre offers COVID-19 aid to Vietnamese community in RoK

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese (SCOV) on October 5 received a token of COVID-19 prevention and control aid worth some 1.8 billion VND (75,408 USD) from the Vietnamese Buddhist cultural centre in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

 

The aid consists of 5,000 bottles of nasal and throat spray to prevent and support the treatment of COVID-19 and other epidemics caused by viruses and bacteria. They will be sent to the Vietnamese Buddhist community living, working, and studying in the RoK.

 

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the committee Pham Quang Hieu said the policy of the Party and State of taking care of the overseas Vietnamese community is reflected in many important documents.

 

He thanked the centre and related donors and philanthropists for their meaningful activities in support of Vietnam and Vietnamese expatriates, hoping them to continue such contributions.

 

For her part, nun Thich Nu Gioi Tanh, head of the centre, expressed her gratitude for the ministry and committee’s assistance to activities of the centre and the Vietnamese expatriates in the RoK./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Posted on

Khanh Hoa to have more direct flights to Kazakhstan

Budget carrier Vietjet Air will begin carrying tourists from Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, to the central province of Khanh Hoa later this month, as an effort to boost tourism recovery post COVID-19.

 

This is the outcome of cooperation between the airline and Anex Vietnam Travel and Trading Co., Ltd., according to deputy managing director of the company Bui Quoc Dai.

 

As planned, the carrier will operate two weekly flights on the Cam Ranh-Almaty route from the end of this month to April next year.

 

The first flight is scheduled to depart from the Cam Ranh International Airport to the Almaty International Airport on October 25. It will return from Kazakhstan the following day. Each flight will transport some 180-200 passengers, according to Dai.

 

Tourists from Kazakhstan will spend their vacation for one to four weeks at hotels and resorts in Khanh Hoa, go shopping and take a city tour, among others.

 

The first flights are expected to bring delegations to Khanh Hoa to survey tourism potential and advantages of Vietnam in general and the central province in particular.

 

In the first nine months of 2022, Khanh Hoa welcomed over 2.1 million tourists, including 150,000 foreigners – a 7.3fold increase over the same period of last year./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Binh Thuan continues efforts to fight IUU fishing

The south-central province of Binh Thuan has made progress in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and protecting aquatic resources, with fishing activities maintained stably.

 

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, thanks to the determination and efforts of local fishermen, the fishing output in the first nine months of this year was estimated to be approximately equal to the same period in 2021 despite difficulties and challenges, particularly rising fuel prices in the early months of the year.

 

As part of efforts to remove the European Commission (EC)’s ‘yellow card’ warning on Vietnamese seafood, Binh Thuan has drastically carried out communication work to raise farmers’ awareness of regulations in the 2017 Law on Fisheries apart from strictly implement the direction on combating illegal fishing.

 

The local authorities have concentrated on implementing recommendations of the EC regarding the installation of Vessels Monitoring System (VMS) on boats, and supervising fishing activities at sea and ports.

 

As of September 15, 98.8% of fishing vessels in Binh Thuan have installed VMS.

 

Binh Thuan’s authorised forces have so far this year detected and sanctioned 239 cases of violation of IUU regulations such as using unregistered fishing vessels, fishing without licenses and in wrong areas, and using prohibited fishing gear.

 

The department has asked relevant units and localities to work on preventing the use of explosives, electrical pulses, and toxic chemicals in fishing; promoting mechanization and application of technologies in fishing logistics services, especially the loading and unloading of seafood at ports.

 

Attention has been also paid to inspecting and supervising activities relating to IUU fishing at ports./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Indonesia increases subsidised fuel quotas

The Indonesian government has increased the quotas of subsidised fuel, Pertalite gasoline and Solar diesel, effective from October 1, to meet the community’s needs until the end of the year.

 

According to Head of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) of Indonesia Erika Retnowati, the government agreed to expand the quota of subsidised Pertalite gasoline by 6.86 million kilolitres (KL) and the quota of subsidised Solar diesel by 2.73 million KL.

 

In the context that the fuel consumption spiked after the COVID-19 pandemic, if not increased, the quota will run out in mid-October.

 

Retnowati highlighted that subsidised fuel is only targeted to be bought by eligible consumers. Hence, those who can afford it are urged to buy non-subsidised fuel instead.

 

As of September 30, 2022, the realisation of subsidised diesel had reached 85.81% or 12.96 million kiloliters from a quota of 15.10 million kiloliters. Meanwhile, the realisation of Pertalite gasoline reached 95.31%./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Thailand: Phuket vegetarian festival resumes after COVID-19 hiatus

Hundreds of worshippers, mainly from the local Chinese community, flocked to temples to celebrate the annual vegetarian festival on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand, which resumed this week after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

As part of the festival, the devotees give up meat, sex and alcohol in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar to achieve good health and peace of mind, in a tradition that goes back 150 years.

 

They also pierce their faces and walk over hot coals to show respect to their gods.

 

The vegetarian festival originated in Amphoe Kathu town on the island about 150 years ago. It is said that when a Chinese troupe came to this area and became seriously ill, they decided to go vegetarian and proceed with the vegetarian diet, and worship rituals for the Nine Emperor Gods. Then they were cured. Since then, they have maintained vegetarianism as a way of worshiping and expressing gratitude to the gods./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Quang Ninh to further facilitate operation of int’l container shipping firms

To attract international container shipping companies, the Maritime Administration of Quang Ninh has held that administrative procedure reforms should be stepped up to further facilitate their operation in this northern province.

 

Last September, the first vessels of MAERSK and SITC arrived at Cai Lan International Container Terminal. Previously, the two major international shipping firms had operated some trips to this terminal to handle cargo on a trial basis.

 

Cai Lan, a deep-water terminal with modern infrastructure, is also connected with many industrial parks that have high import demand through new expressways.

 

MAERSK is expected to operate one trip per week to Cai Lan on the route from Hong Kong to Cai Lan, Tan Vu (Hai Phong city), Yantian, Nighbo, Shanghai and then Hong Kong (China).

 

Cai Lan is also a destination on the SITC route from Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City) to Jakarta (Indonesia), Bintulu (Malaysia), Xiamen (China), Incheon (the Republic of Korea), Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai (China), and then Cai Lan.

 

The two firms operated 12 cargo trips with a total volume of 7,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) to the terminal in Quang Ninh in September. The goods were mainly dry commodities, machinery, and materials./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam Wood 2022 to take place in mid-October in HCM City

The 2022 Vietnam International Woodworking Industry Fair (Vietnam Wood 2022) will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from October 18-21, aiming to promote technological transformation of Vietnam’s wood processing industry.

 

Taking place in both virtual and face-to-face forms, the event will be held alongside the Vietnam International Furniture Accessories, Hardware & Tool (Furnitec 2022) exhibition.

 

According to Nguyen Chanh Phuong, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Woodworking Association (HAWA), Vietnam Wood 2022 will gather 250 exhibitors from 24 countries and territories.

 

Canada, France, Germany and Russia are expected to run pavilions at the fair, which showcases the global value chain of the woodworking industry.

 

A series of seminars will be organised within the framework of the event, in which speakers will share their expertise in the field of technology transformation, automation trends for the industry, smart solutions for the wood industry in the digital era, and wood material application in interior design, according to the event’s organisers./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency