Day: March 16, 2023

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) recently reported positive results for the cybersecurity sector in the first quarter of 2023.

Specifically, the sector posted revenue of 252.8 billion VND (10.6 million USD) during the period, an increase of 33.5% year-on-year, resulting in a growth of 33.1% to 20.22 billion VND.

It contributed 21.8 billion VND to the State budget, up 50.6% over the same period last year.

According to the ministry, there are 103 cybersecurity enterprises operating in the industry during the period, a rise of 12% on-year, creating 3,492 jobs, up 10.6%. And the rate of domestic to foreign earnings reduced by 10.1% to 45.1%.

By the end of February, the total number of issued public digital certificates jumped 23.18% to nearly 5.87 million. Of which, the active ones rose 17.89% to approximately 1.9 million in February alone.

Its digital certificate status maintaining fees contributed an accumulated value of 10.79 billion VND to the State budget since the beginning of the year.

In the second quarter of 2023, MIC plans to create strategies to fulfil information security platforms for users both in Vietnam and foreign countries.

It also cooperates with the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment to complete the Law on Electronic Transactions and implement other tasks according to the guidance document No 652 in 2023.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Regional athletes are set to compete in 37 sports at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32) in Cambodia this May.

Vath Chamroeun, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, said among the 37 sports, Cambodia has decided to include three traditional ones – Ouk Chaktrang (chess), and the two martial arts Bokator and Kun Khmer.

He noted that the three will be a golden opportunity for Cambodian to show these traditional sports to foreign audiences and will be expected to snatch more medals, reported the local newspaper Khmer Times.

According to Ou Dara, Deputy Secretary-General of Cambodia Kun Bokator Federation, at least five countries have registered to join Bokator events at the games – they are Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Before the 32nd SEA Games in May, Cambodia plans to organise two events – the International Bokator Referee Training Course from March 24 to 28 and Cambodia Kun Bokator National Championship which runs from March 29 to April 3.

Cambodia will host the 32nd SEA Games from May 5 to 17, 2023 and 12th ASEAN Para Games from June 3 to 9, 2023.

Both games are combined and called “Cambodia 2023” to reflect unity, diversity, and equality. The slogan of Cambodia 2023 is “Sport: Live in Peace”./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said on Wednesday that a decision on allocating last year’s budget surplus of almost $28 billion will soon be finalized, with the bulk of the surplus expected to boost reserves, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

Mohammed Al Jadaan told Reuters that a decision will be made within two weeks and that he does not think the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will receive a part of the surplus.

“It will take another one to two weeks to finalize the surplus distribution,” Al Jadaan told Reuters on the sidelines of the Financial Sector Conference in the Saudi capital.

“Most likely you will see the outcome in ours, or SAMA (the Saudi Central Bank) reports, in the reserves,” he said, adding that the government focus was on ensuring adequate reserves to meet fiscal rules.

Source: TREND News Agency

Real Madrid cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals as Karim Benzema’s second-half goal secured a comfortable 1-0 win over Liverpool in their last-16 second leg that wrapped up a 6-2 aggregate victory on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Bidding to win back-to-back Champions League titles and a record extending 15th European crown, a disciplined Real seemed content to sit back against a tame Liverpool who carried little threat for most of the game.

Real spurned several opportunities to open the scoring as they looked to exploit Vinicius Jr’s speed on the counter-attack but could not break the deadlock until late in the second half.

They ensured victory on the night in the 79th minute when Vinicius flicked a loose ball inside the area to Benzema who tapped it into the empty net.

Source: TREND News Agency

U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors have found that roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a Libyan site that is not under government control, the watchdog told member states in a statement on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The finding is the result of an inspection originally planned for last year that “had to be postponed because of the security situation in the region” and was finally carried out on Tuesday, according to the confidential statement by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

IAEA inspectors “found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) … as being stored at that location were not present at the location,” the one-page statement said.

The agency would carry out “further activities” to determine the circumstances of the uranium’s removal from the site, which it did not name, and where it is now, the statement added.

“The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns,” it said, adding that reaching the site required “complex logistics”.

Source: TREND News Agency