Talk Vietnam

Workers lining up for VNĐ10,000 meals in front of the Goodwill Rice Stall in 175 Trần Bình Trọng, HCMC. — Photo tienphong.vn HCM CITY — As inflation rises, the number of workers who turn to free meal stalls and goodwill restaurants for cheaper meals increases. But the sustaining of these models is facing many difficulties. At 10am every day in front of the "Goodwill rice stall" at 175 Trần Bình Trọng in HCMC, dozens of workers stand in line to either receive free meals or purchase meals at a cheaper price. Over the past year, this rice station has sold subsidised rice and distributed 600-1,000 free meals to the disadvantaged. Having just received a free meal with meat from the Goodwill rice stall, Nguyễn Thị Dinh, from Phú Yên, said that she returned to HCMC to sell lottery tickets earlier this year after staying for a long time in her hometown due to the pandemic. Recently, her business had not been very smooth, and as prices increase daily, her life is even harder. … [Read more...] about Goodwill restaurants struggle with inflation

Local authorities release shrimp and crab juveniles into the sea to regenerate fisheries resources in Sóc Trăng Province’s Trần Đề District in April. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Trung Hiếu SÓC TRĂNG – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Sóc Trăng has taken a number of measures to protect its natural fisheries resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods for its people. Its coastline of more than 72km includes large mudflats that are habitats for clams and other aquatic species. In Cù Lao Dung District and Vĩnh Châu Town, mudflats contain around 140 tonnes of clam seeds, according to the province Fisheries Sub-department. They have high value and a fishing boat can earn around VNĐ1 million (US$43) a day from catching the bivalve molluscs, but their quantity has declined significantly in recent years due to several reasons including overfishing. Đỗ Văn Thừa, deputy head of the Cù Lao Dung Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the quantity of clams caught now was only … [Read more...] about Sóc Trăng Province strengthens protection of fisheries resources

Phương Thảo, a graduate of the Hà Nội National University of Education, has also achieved fame and popularity through YouTube. Her latest album, 'Hãy Về Đây Bên Anh' (Come to Me), released in October, 2021, has attracted nearly 1 million YouTube views. Photo courtesy of the producer By Thu Anh HCM CITY  Restrictions on traditional entertainment channels by the Covid-19 pandemic have turned out to be a blessing in disguise for some young singers presenting their talents online. Their presentation of personally chosen covers and their own music on YouTube and other music streaming platforms have garnered millions of views and conferred great popularity, not to mention commercial success. Among this crop of young singers are: Hà Nhi, Phương Thảo, Trần Lâm, and Phan Mạnh Quỳnh. These artistes have not had to make expensive music videos to win the hearts of millions of fans. Hà Nhi began her professional career after entering the Top 4 of Vietnam Idol 2015 — a Vietnamese … [Read more...] about Online exposure confers stardom on young singers

Para Athletics Cao Ngọc Hùng expects good results from the 2022 World Para Athletics Grand Prix. Photo kenh29.org Thanh Hà HÀ NỘI — Husband and wife duo Cao Ngọc Hùng and Nguyễn Thị Hải expect good results at the 2022 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, which serves as qualifying for the Paris Paralympics in 2024. The Grand Prix, hosted by the Tunisian Athletics Federation, is organised on June 27-30 in Tunis City's Rades Stadium. The Vietnamese team of six athletes and one guide will compete in 14 events for both men and women. Athletes have three days to get familiar with the field and train. "My wife and I are competing in this Grand Prix together. I will take part in the men's F57 javelin throw while Hải will join in the women's F57 discus throw and shot put," Hùng told Việt Nam News . Hùng and Hải represented Việt Nam at the Tokyo Paralympics. The duo have grabbed remarkable results in both domestic and international competitions. At the Grand Prix in 2019 in … [Read more...] about Husband and wife to compete at World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Tunis

Tôn Nữ Ánh Tuyết, 72, sits at her small shop in Thủy Xuân Ward, Huế City. Photo plo.vn HUẾ - Tôn Nữ Ánh Tuyết, 72, spends what little profit she makes from selling incense, hats and souvenirs to help cancer patients in Huế City. She is a member of the city’s volunteer group that regularly distributes gifts at Huế Central Hospital. "For a long time, I have not directly delivered gifts to patients at hospital because of leg pain, and I've been busy selling goods,” she said. Tuyến has her own shop selling incense and souvenirs in Thụỵ Xuân Ward. Every day, she wakes up very early to clear goods and arranges bunches of colourful incense in front of the shop. "What I think about every day is how to sell more goods, so that each month there is enough money to help cancer patients in need." She came to this volunteer work after a family member died from cancer. The pain of losing a loved one and the difficulties she had to overcome helped her understand the difficult time the … [Read more...] about Incense seller in Huế helps poor cancer patients with small profit

A worker produces anti-counterfeit stamps at Tiên Dương Organic Agricultural Cooperative in Hà Nội. Photo Nguyễn Hoàng HÀ NỘI — Despite production and market difficulties due to the pandemic and climate change, many districts, firms and organisations in Hà Nội's agricultural sector have remained strong thanks to the application of science and information technology. It has helped them improve their products’ value and meet the technical requirements of import markets. In the past few years, Hà Nội's agriculture sector has implemented many programmes and solutions to support businesses and cooperatives to promote the application of information technology in the production and processing of agricultural products, which have brought many benefits, such as increasing the product value, food safety management and product information transparency. Trần Sỹ Hùng, Director of Nghĩa Minh Mushroom Cooperative in Đan Phượng District, said his cooperative had applied information technology … [Read more...] about Hà Nội applies IT to enhance value of agricultural products

Dragon fruit being harvested and transported by rope conveyors at an orchard belonging to the Thiên Phúc Co-operative in Tiền Giang Province’s Chợ Gạo District. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Hữu Chí TIỀN GIANG – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang has zoned nearly 9,400ha of dragon fruit growing areas exclusively for exports and targets annual output of 236,000 tonnes of the fruit. They are mainly in Chợ Gạo, Tân Phước, Gò Công Tây, and Gò Công Đông districts, with the last-mentioned accounting for nearly 7,500ha. Chợ Gạo dragon fruit has been granted a collective brand name by the National Office of Intellectual Property. Tiền Giang, the country’s largest fruit producer, has identified dragon fruit as one of its speciality fruits for its competitive advantages and high export value. It has taken a number of measures to improve the competitiveness of speciality fruits and ensure they have steady outlets. These have helped sustainably develop specialised dragon … [Read more...] about Tiền Giang develops specialised dragon fruit growing areas for export

A traditional market in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — The Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global partnership that unites international organisations engaged in research about food security, launched an initiative on sustainable healthy diets in Việt Nam on Friday. The three-year initiative "Sustainable Healthy Diets Through Food Systems Transformation"(SHiFT) aims to identify effective policy options through research, strengthening capacity, and developing robust metrics and tools that support stakeholders’ decisions when developing pathways to transform food systems toward sustainable healthy diets, improved livelihoods, gender equity and social inclusiveness. The initiative focuses on understanding consumers and their food environments through characterising food consumption and dietary patterns among marginalised populations and identifying key drivers and inequalities. This will inform the co-design, testing and evaluation of … [Read more...] about Sustainable diet and food system transformation initiative launched

Lâm Đồng province is facing illegal sand mining problems.  – VNA Photo LÂM ĐỒNG – Lâm Đồng Province is making a strong effort to prevent illegal sand mining at its Đồng Nai River, stopping many such violations since the start of the year. From the start of 2022, authorities in Lâm Đồng have seized seven illegal sand mining vessels on the Đồng Nai River, dealt with eight cases of violations in construction in sand mining, and issued a total of VNĐ279 million (US$12,276) of fines. According to Lâm Đồng’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, there are many locations on the banks of Đồng Nai River in Cát Tiên District with landslides, stretching more than 3km. The cause of the landslides are floods and illegal sand mining. The 48 kilometre section of the Đồng Nai River in Phước Cát and Phước Cát 2 Commune (Cát Tiên) acts as a border between three provinces (Lâm Đồng, Đồng Nai, Bình Phước). There is currently no valid mining licence for this section of the river. … [Read more...] about Lâm Đồng focusing on tackling illegal sand mining

Hà Nội's first rapid bus route, Kim Mã-Yên Nghĩa, started construction in early 2013 and entered operation at the end of 2016. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội's Department of Transport has proposed the municipal People's Committee to allow passenger cars with 24 seats or more, official vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks to use Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes in the capital. This is part of the measures that the department proposed on Thursday in a report on traffic adjustment to solve congestion on some roads. According to the department, despite the BRT bus route being a radial axis, its operational efficiency is reduced, while the high volume of vehicles, especially during peak hours, causes congestion. Allowing other vehicles to enter the BRT lane is expected to reduce congestion and increase the efficiency of traffic infrastructure. Hà Nội's first rapid bus route, Kim Mã-Yên Nghĩa, started construction in early 2013, and began operations at the end of 2016. The bus route … [Read more...] about Hà Nội’s transport department proposes more vehicles using the exclusive BRT lane