A boarding culture and ethnicity school of the Lao People's Army built with Vietnamese funding was inaugurated in Vientiane on May 11.

As a gift of the Vietnam People's Army to its Lao counterpart, this is one of the symbolic works of the special relationship between the two countries’ armies.

Covering an area of 4.8ha in Na Khoai village, Xaysettha district of Vientiane, the  school was constructed with a total budget of over 11 million USD.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong said the project is one of the gifts from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence to its Lao counterpart with the desire to help the Lao army improve the quality of education and training of human resources to meet the national construction and defence requirements in the country in the new situation.

The school will serve training and fostering children of Lao ethnic groups across the country, thus making important contributions to building a prosperous Laos, he stressed.

Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army Senior Lieutenant General Khamliang Outhakaysone thanked the Party, Government and Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam for supporting Laos in personnel training, especially training next generations of the Lao People's Army.

The project is one of the symbols showing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in general and the two armies in particular, he affirmed.

SEA Games 32: Vietnam stays firm in top medal tally position

Vietnamese athletes bagged 13 more gold medals on May 12, helping them to retain their No1 position in the rankings of the ongoing 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia.

Martial arts continued to bring more gold medals for Vietnam when Wushu athletes alone took five gold medals on May 12.

Divers also earned four gold medals, while Taekwondo athletes and track-and-field athletes secured two gold medals each.

Notably, sprinter Nguyen Thi Oanh finished first in the women’s 10,000m race, striking her fourth gold medal at SEA Games.

May 12 marked the final day of track-and-field competitions. With 12 gold medals grabbed from the previous competition days, Vietnamese athletes failed to meet the target of winning at least 14 gold medals and retaining their No1 in the sport.

Meanwhile, Thai athletes got 16 gold medals in total to usurp Vietnam’s top spot.

As of 8pm, Vietnam took the lead with 71 gold medals, leaving behind Thailand in second place with 60 gold medals and Cambodia in third place with 57 gold medals.

Indonesian producer calls for regional collaboration to make better movies

In a bold bid to rival the powerful Hollywood and Bollywood film industries on the global stage, a renowned Indonesian film producer has suggested a groundbreaking collaboration to produce a multinational film.

With its wealth of cultural heritage and untapped potential, the Asian continent would be poised to showcase its diversity through this ambitious cinematic endeavour.

The visionary behind this venture is Linda Gozali, a renowned Indonesian film producer and industry leader.

She expressed her aspirations during a captivating exchange event among esteemed film directors, producers, actors, and actresses at the five-day Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) held on May 10.

Gozali firmly believes that by joining forces, Asian nations can harness the richness of their traditional cultures and create a collective action film that would stand as a formidable contender against the giants of the global film industry. This collaborative effort would offer a unique and captivating cinematic experience poised to captivate audiences worldwide.

She said she wants to support the Vietnam movie industry and get the Vietnamese audience closer to Indonesian film products.

Gozali and her family film company joined the DANAFF festival with the film The Unholy – a film on Uztadz Qodrat, who used ruqyah (spirit possession and exorcism in Islam) to help people, but he failed to save his own son.

The Indonesian producer also said the film began in 2020 but changed shooting locations three times due to COVID-19. It was completed in 2021.

Vietnamese young director Ha Le Diem, 32, said the film Những Đứa Trẻ Trong Sương (Children of the Mist) was an endeavour of her first feature documentary film project.

Her film, named in the shortlist of the 15 contenders for the best documentary feature film category of the 95th Academy Awards (Oscar 2023), tells the story of a 12-year-old Mông ethnic girl living in a village of the northwest mountainous region – where the tradition of ‘bride-kidnapping' takes places. She disappeared on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Diem recalled that she wasted three and a half years to complete shooting a film in 2017 but failed to get funds for film production.

The young director said a fund for young film producers should be built to support young people making films.

The Republic of Korea's film actress-director-screenwriter Moon Sori said the Vietnamese film industry has the potential to join the world movie industry in the future, and it needs to develop all angles of characters in film making.

She said the festival is an opportunity to promote the country’s movies to friends worldwide as well.

Moon, who is head of the jury at the festival, said she would see all Vietnamese films to have deeper reviews on the most impressive film of Vietnam.

Aaron Toronto, director of The Brilliant Darkness, said his film was first complained by opposite opinions, but the audience eventually welcomed it.

He said it’s not an entertainment film, but a tough psychology and arduous topic of what was happening in society.

Indian director Siddhant Sarin competes in the Asian in-competition at the festival with Mirror, a momentary act that transformed the lives of two young Indian women after surviving an acid attack.

He said the film does not only feature two characters but friendship and the innermost feelings of the two women.

Japanese director Mayu Nakamura took Intimate Stranger to the festival – where she focuses on a middle-aged single mum looking for his missing son.

Nakamura said middle-aged single mum is rare in Japan, and the film expresses the different state of mind of the mum.

She said the Japanese film industry had a successful time in the past, but it has yet to regain its past prosperity.

The director said Japan has few female directors, and story-telling in film production has yet attracted an international audience, while the country’s movie industry has been looking for export.

Allen Dizon, who was cast in Abenida, said the film was built from truth story in a town in the Philippines and the life of a woodcarver and artist after his wife left him.

He said it’s the film's first time attending the Asian festival.

Vietnamese actor Bui Bai Binh, who acted in the film ‘Scars of the Heart’, shared that everybody has their sorrows in real life, but only the love of the people can heal the ‘spiritual wounds’.

The festival is also a chance for Vietnamese directors and producers to exchange experience and advice from international experts and famous filmmakers.

Forty-six films from Asia, including 16 of Vietnam, were screened at the festival for award announcement over a weekend.

Vietnam calls for support to mid-income countries to realise SDGs

A Vietnamese diplomat has called for enhanced international cooperation to support mid-income countries in realizing UN sustainable development goas (SDGs).   

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations, speaks at a high-level meeting on middle-income countries of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York on May 11.
Multilateralism, international solidarity, peace and stability serve as important foundations for sustainable development in middle-income countries, affirmed Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations.

Giang was speaking at a high-level meeting on middle-income countries of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York on May 11.

To address challenges in terms of climate change, food and energy insecurity, the Vietnamese diplomat said middle-income countries need to strengthen resilience and mobilize internal resources for development, while taking advantage of the strengths of science-technology and innovation for green, sustainable and smart development.

He emphasized the importance of international cooperation in promoting global and national efforts, and called on developed countries to fulfill their commitments on financial and technical support, technology transfer and capacity building to middle-income countries.

In addition, he said middle-income countries need to enhance cooperation, policy dialogue, and experience sharing through existing cooperation mechanisms between middle-income countries and developed countries.

On this occasion, the Ambassador highlighted Vietnam’s efforts in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its net zero emissions commitments by 2050, as well as the recent establishment of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.

During the meeting, Csaba Korosi, president of the United Nations General Assembly, noted that middle-income countries play an important role in realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development globally. However, he said these countries are currently facing numerous difficulties and challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recession and climate change.

He called for solutions to debt relief by taking advantage of existing financial mechanisms for middle income countries to solve environmental and climate change challenges.

APEC website promotes Vietnamese tourism

Situated in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, Na Tong cultural village is one of 130 tourist destinations of 11 APEC economies that have been selected by the APEC Secretariat to promote tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.      

According to the APEC website, the cultural village of Na Tong is about 130km from Tuyen Quang city and is 290 km from Hanoi capital. The village is inhabited by the Tay ethnic group residing along Thuong Lam valley and boasts both beautiful natural scenery and fresh air.

Upon arrival in Na Tong, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the majestic natural landscape and discover the traditional culture of the Tay ethnic people, such as the architecture of the house, accommodation, food, culture, art, traditional legends, and rituals, says the website.

In 2017 Na Tong started welcoming and letting tourists stay overnight in the village. Since then, the name Na Tong has become well known among tourists from near and far.

The website also offers guidance in details about how to travel to the area, the best things to do in Na Tong village, what’s good to eat in the village, as well as information about accommodation there.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.

Currently, the website of the APEC with the address http://communitytourism.apec.org focuses on tourism promotion, in which the APEC Secretariat selects typical destinations in APEC members. It provides an opportunity to promote community tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby attracting more and more tourists to those destinations.

Capacity building project launched for underprivileged youth

Some 700 young Vietnamese will gain advanced knowledge and skills via an online training project called “Capacity building for underprivileged young people” launched in HCM City on Thursday.

Within the “A Million Conversations” initiative of Sanofi Global, the educational programme is implemented by Sanofi Vietnam in collaboration with the non-governmental organisation Passerelles numériques Vietnam, UAN Network under Conversion Asia, and the G.A.P Institute.

Sanofi Vietnam signed MoUs with its partners to implement this project on the same day.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Emin Turan, general manager of Sanofi Vietnam, said this project is one of Sanofi's CSR efforts to promote an educational foundation for the young generation, who are the human resources that determine future development of the country.

“We want to reduce educational inequality for industries that are developing and have a demand to recruit high-quality human resources, so that young talented people may have more opportunities to contribute to improve the quality of lives and the advancement of their local communities, and society,” he said.

The project aims to offer 700 accounts on the Coursera platform for young people in difficult circumstances to access and study 27 professional online training courses in the three main fields of technology, data and business.

These accounts are valid for one year from June 2023.

The training programmes will be provided by many leading global companies such as Google, IBM and Meta.

The young people will not only have the opportunity to learn new professional knowledge and cutting-edge skills, but they can also earn professional certificates after each course to gain access to more career opportunities in the future.

Within the initiative, Sanofi is working together with Coursera to provide 20,000 open accesses at no cost for young people from diverse underprivileged backgrounds around the world from now to 2030.

Besides improving skills and providing knowledge for young people, this project is one of Sanofi's efforts on social responsibility to enhance the leadership skills of future generations, and create diverse, inclusive, and thriving communities.

Coach Le Huynh Duc to take charge of Binh Duong

Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức will be back in action as he signed a contract with former champion Becamex Bình Dương on May 11.

Bình Dương had a poor performance in the 2023 season. After the first three games, coach Lư Đình Tuấn had to leave his post. Coach Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn took the hot seat but he failed to lift the team up. After seven matches, Bình Dương were at the bottom of the table with only three points. Quốc Tuấn stepped down.

The V.League 1 is currently on hold because players are taking part in the 32nd SEA Games.

Đức has begun working with the team, and his first match will be on May 21 when Bình Dương play Khánh Hòa on away ground.

In his coaching career, Đức helped SHB Đà Nẵng to win two premier league titles in 2009 and 2012. He was technical director of Sài Gòn FC in the 2022 season but the team was relegated before he was dismissed.

Also having new coach is Hà Nội Police FC. They signed a contract with Flavio Da Silva Cruz, who was an assistant of the team's former coach Paulo Foiani.

Cruz played seven years in Việt Nam for different clubs. His best result was as the top scorer with 18 goals in Huda Huế FC's jersey in the First Division in 2008.

He worked for Mageense FC at home in Brazil before taking charge of second-division Gia Định FC in 2020. 

Hanoi pavements cleared for pedestrians

Some streets in Hanoi have reclaimed pavements for pedestrians after local authorities launched a crackdown against pavement encroachment over two months ago. 

Following the move, the problem appears to be settled in many districts including Hoan Kiem, Cau Giay, and Hai Ba Trung.

A resident in Cau Giay District, Do Van Tien, said that now he could enjoy morning exercises on the pavement of Tran Thai Tong Street every day after businesses and parking activities had been resolved.

"I hope that more streets in our city will clear the pavements for pedestrians like this," the 76 year old man said. "This will be safer for pedestrians and encourage more people to walk. "It’ll also make our street look more tidy."

Chairman of Dich Vong Hau Ward, Cau Giay District, Tong Xuan Duy, said that following instructions on fighting against pavement encroachment from the city government, they had inspected all local streets and informed local residents to obey the regulations. 

Owner of an electronic shop on Tran Quoc Hoan Street, Hoang Van An, said that they faced some difficulties at first when trying to arrange parking space for customers. But now things have been properly settled.

"These are city regulations and we all have to follow them," An said. "We hope that local authorities will soon repair the pavement."

Organiser of beauty pageant apologies for violations

The organiser of the Miss International Queen Vietnam on Thursday issued an apology nearly a month after the contest was organised without permission.

In their announcement issued on May 11, the company owned by Nguyen Huong Giang (who won the 2018 Miss International Queen in Thailand), admitted that they had failed to study the regulations on organising the event, leading to their violations.

The company said that as there were currently no decrees on organising a beauty contest for transgender people, they had faced difficulties understanding the regulations related to organising such kinds of events.

"We would like to send our sincere thanks to the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports for their explanations which helped us realise our violations," the organiser said. "Their instructions will help guide us in hosting our future events."

The beauty pageant was launched at the beginning of this year with seven episodes in the format of a reality TV show, and broadcast on YouTube.

According to the HCM City Department of Information and Communications, the organiser has applied for a licence to hold an event to announce the top 20 contestants in February, but the department found that they had not submitted enough documents according to procedures so they did not issue an approval.

After the pageant final was held in early April at a film studio in District 12, the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports fined the company.

This was the third Miss International Queen Vietnam.

According to the organiser, the winner of this year, 23-year-old Nguyen Ha Diu Thao would compete at the Miss International Queen Pageant held in Thailand in June.

Crossborder drug trafficking ring busted in HCM City

Police in HCM City announced on May 11 that they had arrested and prosecuted nine people for trafficking hundreds of kilos of drugs from Cambodia to the city.

The nine arrested include Chu Ba Chung, 39, a Vietnamese Canadian who is the ring leader, 26-year-old Truong Ngoc Mai, 28-year-old Nguyen Vu Khai Hoang, Do Thi Minh Tam, Tran Kim Loan, Mai Thi Ngan, Diep Hoang Linh, Nguyen Trung Quoc, and Nguyen Tan Thanh.

According to the municipal police they caught six of the ring on September 13, 2022, and seized 56.50 kilos of meth and 39 boxes of heroin after months of investigations.

On September 16, 2022, Truong Ngoc Mai was arrested while she was delivering nearly 12 kilos of meth on Do Ngoc Thanh Street in District 5. Searching her home on Nguyen Khoai Street, District 4, police found another 63.50 kilos of other drugs including heroin, ketamine, and meth.

In raids of another house of Mai on Ton That Thuyet Street, District 4, police also found a total of nearly 31 kilos of drugs of different types.

Following Mai's statement, police found that Chu Ba Chung was the leader of the ring who directly sent drugs from Cambodia to HCM City for Mai and other members to deliver to customers.

Chung was arrested on September 21, 2022, while trying to hide in Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

According to Chung, he suffered major gambling losses in Cambodia in 2019. As he could not pay his debts to a man in Cambodia whose identity has not been verified, Chung turned to trafficking drugs to customers in HCM City for the man, earning between USD100-200 per delivery. Chung started sending between 5-30 kilos of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam from 2020.

To expand operations, Chung hired Mai to traffic the drugs and their ring continued to expand.

Nearly 20 members of the ring have been detained for investigation and nearly 95 kilos of drugs have been seized so far.

Police are further investigating the case.

Falling reservoir water levels threaten power supply this year

Many hydropower plants in the country have seen their reservoirs ebbing to extremely low levels, leaving huge impact on hydropower generation in the ongoing dry season.

According to State utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the hydropower reservoirs will continue falling in the coming months because their water levels are lower than the average.

In the first four months of this year, water flows into reservoirs in northern Vietnam were 60% to 70% of the average levels of many previous years.

Many hydropower reservoirs in the central and southern regions of the country are in the same situation.

Early this month, the water volume of many reservoirs was low, threatening the power supply in the rest of this dry season.

Currently, 10 reservoirs of EVN-run power plants and many others with a total capacity of 4,500 MW are at the dead water levels, such as the reservoirs of Lai Chau, Tri An, Ialy, Ban Chat, Huoi Quang, Trung Son, Buon Kuop, Tua Srah, Srepok 3 and Song Ba Ha.

The output generated by the remaining water of all the reservoirs in the system could be 4.5 billion kWh, 1.6 billion kWh lower than the target and 4.1 billion kWh lower than the same period of last year.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that hot spells and low rainfalls caused by the El Nino phenomenon at the end of this year would lower water flows into reservoirs. If severe drought is widespread and floods bring little water, power supply would be affected in the coming months.

HCM City Night Run to bring night experience to thousands of runners

The HCM City Night Run Thang Loi Group 2023 will begin at the HCM City Labor Cultural Palace on the evening of May 13.

In its second edition, more than 2,500 runners from 22 countries and territories will take part in the international sport event.

Athletes will compete in three races of 5km, 10km and 21km, starting at midnight.

Designed as a running festival, participants will have a chance to enjoy typical Vietnamese experiences and many activities in the expo which opened on May 12.

Three routes will lead runners through HCM City's iconic landmarks and famous cultural sites under the cool night weather of the city, giving them amazing feelings of the urban night.

Competitors in the half marathon category will run in the route that links HCM City's centre streets with new Thủ Đức City across the well-known bridges of Thủ Thiêm and Ba Son.

Along with the main races, many sideline activities will be organised such as the Team Run, the Couple Run and Cosplay.

Under the theme of 'Light your Night' the marathon is not just a sport tournament. It is also a cultural event where athletes have the opportunity to discover and experience a different Sài Gòn at night. They can also exchange, connect and share their experiences, bringing a memorable and emotional race to each other in the festive atmosphere.

A Runner’s Music Show will give the stage to marathoners to sing their favourite songs, promising a cozy and romantic musical event for the running community.

A total of 72 prizes of VNĐ1.5 billion (US$64,000) in cash and gifts will be awarded to high-ranking runners in main races and sideline categories.

The marathon is jointly organised by the HCM City People's Committee, the city's Athletics Federation and Unique Event & Media.

It is one of activities to celebrate late President Hồ Chí Minh's 133th anniversary on May 19.

It is expected to encourage people to take part in sports and running in particular.

Through the marathon, organisers also want to introduce a dynamic and integrated HCM City to wider domestic and international visitors, as an effort to push the local tourism. 

Nearly 400 Dak Lak children with motor impairment receive free screening

The Fund for Vietnamese Children in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and Switzerland’s Children Action jointly organised free screening for movement deformities for nearly 400 children aged under 16 at Krong Pak district Health Centre and Thien Hanh General Hospital on May 11-12.

The programme saw the participation of doctors from the Orthopaedic Department of the Children’s Hospital under France’s Toulouse University Hospital, and Spain’s La Fe Valencia orthopedic hospital.

After the examination, children who are prescribed surgery and treatment will be treated and receive physical therapy free of charge.

Lam Dinh Nhien, Director of the fund, said that besides these 400 children, since 2006, the fund has cooperated with orthopedic and rehabilitation hospitals to organise surgery to cure motor impairment for 712 children in the locality with a budget of more than 3.5 billion VND (149,200 USD).

In the coming time, it will promote communications to people in remote and border areas so that they can gain access to the programme.

HCM City, Cuba partner in agricultural development

Ho Chi Minh City and Cuba have vowed to enhance agricultural cooperation, especially in sharing experience in hi-tech agricultural production and farm produce processing.

The consensus was reached by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc and Cuban Deputy Minister of Agriculture Maury Hechavarria Bermhudez at their meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on May 12.

Duc said Cuba holds great potential for agricultural development while there remains huge room for Vietnam and Cuba to extend collaboration, especially in rice and coffee production.

Ho Chi Minh City is ready to cooperate with and support the transfer of advanced agricultural production technologies to Cuba, he said, adding that with strengths in food processing, packaging, export-import and high-tech agricultural production, the city hopes that specific joint projects will contribute to ensuring Cuba’s food security.

Bermhudez, for his part, said Vietnam's rice cultivation project in Cuba is now in its fifth phase with positive results, especially in terms of crop varieties. In addition, the project on developing coffee in Cuba using Vietnam's robusta seeds has resulted in a ten-fold increase in yield compared to Cuba's previous varieties.

Cuba wants to continue partnering with Vietnamese enterprises, including Ho Chi Minh City, in these areas to help the Caribbean country achieve its food security goal, he said.

The Deputy Minister said Cuba is calling for investment in animal husbandry and building supply chains between breeding and meat processing which is of Vietnam’s strength, therefore, Cuba believes in cooperation potential in this field with Vietnamese enterprises, including those in Ho Chi Minh City.

Cuba expects to create the best conditions for Vietnamese companies to invest in the Latin American country and make profit based on mutually beneficial arrangements, he said.

The same day, Bermhudez attended and delivered a speech at a trade and investment promotion forum between Ho Chi Minh City and Cuba. The forum provided an opportunity for businesses from both sides to connect with each other, learn about business environment and discuss cooperation opportunities.

PM urges support policy for unemployed

Given massive layoffs since early this year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to develop a plan to support the unemployed and report to the Government before May 15.
The ministry has written to relevant organizations, associations and localities to survey and report on the labor markets in their areas.

Statistics from the ministry showed that some 149,000 workers lost their jobs while around 294,000 others were underemployed in the first three months of this year.

The workers were mainly from industrial parks and export processing zones in some provinces, such as Dong Nai with 32,600 workers, Binh Duong with 21,700 and Bac Ninh with 14,000.

Massive layoffs and reductions of work hours were also reported at foreign-invested enterprises that make footwear, textiles and garments in Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Tay Ninh, HCMC, Tien Giang and Vinh Long.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will propose solutions to support workers who have lost their jobs and support businesses that have scaled down production and business activities.

Man saves four members of a family from drowning

A man has rescued four members of a family including children from drowning in the Central Province of Quang Nam.

Major Tran Van Thanh, head of the Movement Construction Team under Nam Giang District Police in Quang Nam Province yesterday said that they are proposing to the Chairman of the District People's Committee to reward Le Van Hoi who has rescued four inhabitants from drowning to make people know about his good deed.

Previously, on the afternoon of May 3, members of Ms. Le Thi Huong’s family in Thanh My 2, Thanh My town of Quang Nam Province took a bath in Cong Doan stream in Ma Cooi Commune in Dong Giang District.

While the family members were bathing for about 20 minutes, her 5-year-old son slipped into the deep water. Huong's aunt reached out to pull the boy, but she also slipped and fell.

Seeing that the situation was threatening the lives of her daughter and aunt, Huong rushed to rescue them but also fell into the water too. Huong's husband continued to save them, but because he could not swim, he was also caught in the whirlpool.

At that time, Mr. Le Van Hoi in Ha Ra Commune was standing on the bank and jumped into the stream. He tried to find a way to push the three drowned people to the shore first and then saved Huong.

Along with that, Ms. Huong wrote a thank-you letter about Mr. Hoi’s good deed and sent it to the Movement Construction Team under the Nam Giang District Police.

Mr. Le Van Hoi said that seeing Ms. Huong and her family members drowning, he decided to jump in the stream to save people without a second thought. He feels joyful to save Huong's family members.

According to Major Tran Van Thanh, in the coming time, the National Security Protection Movement Construction Team will urge the Nam Giang Police Chief to propose the Chairman of the District People's Committee give certificates of merit to Mr. Le Van Hoi for hailing his good acts and encouraging people to save people.

At the same time, he discussed with the Quang Nam Provincial Youth Union and the Nam Giang District Youth Union to request the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to give the badge of ‘Brave Youth’ to Mr. Le Van Hoi.

HCMC to boost document information security

The delegate of the Government Cipher Committee yesterday held a working session with HCMC Party’s Committee on the task of information security and safety.

In his speech, Deputy Secretary of HCMC Party’s Committee Nguyen Van Hieu said that there are now several factors leading to an increasing risk of information insecurity and disclosure of national secrets.

Therefore, in the upcoming time, HCMC is going to address any risks caused by human factors. Simultaneously, it will tighten information security for documents of state agencies, the municipal authorities, and the Party’s organizations.

Seeing that the workload is rather heavy, HCMC proposed that it can pilot novel programs and models in this field while holding training sessions for the human resources of the cipher sector before expanding those models nationwide.

In his concluding presentation, Deputy Head Nguyen Huu Hung of the Government Cipher Committee highly appreciated all efforts of HCMC lately to maintain information security and safety among state agencies.

He agreed with the city’s proposal on support for equipment, human resources training as to cyber security, information security, as well as necessary policies for the cipher staff.

Hoi An to expand pedestrian streets

Hoi An City in the central province of Quang Nam will expand the space for pedestrians and cyclists this month, reported the local media.

From May 15, the space for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles will be expanded to Phan Chau Trinh Street in Hoi An, a World Cultural Heritage site recognized by UNESCO since 1999.

The walking and cycling town project is a unique tourism product of the ancient town and has received a positive response from residents and tourists.

The project aims to diversify tourism products and enrich the experience of visitors to the town.

In the first phase, a section from the intersection of Nguyen Hue and Phan Chau Trinh streets to the T-junction of Cao Hong Lanh and Phan Chau Trinh streets will be opened seven days a week, from 17:30 to 21:30 in summer and from 17:30 to 21:00 in winter.

The second phase of the project will commence from January 1, 2024, with opening hours from 15:00 to 21:30 in summer and from 15:00 to 21:00 in winter for the T-junction Hoang Dieu and Phan Chau Trinh streets to the T-junction of Cao Hong Lanh and Phan Chau Trinh streets.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes