Best masks for air pollution

By Lê Hương It's a cool autumn Sunday morning, and 24-year-old Kim Sun-il is looking forward to enjoying his free time with friends at a bookshop. But instead of taking the fast subway, he's going to rent a bicycle for a more relaxing journey. He quickly searches for availability at a nearby bike station on bikeseoul.com site using his mobile.   It's simple to access the bikes in Seoul. VNS Photos Đoàn Tùng  He smiles to see there are a few bikes available. “I used the service more when I was a student because it's cheap and convenient,” he tells Việt Nam News. “Now I work further away so I have to take the subway, but I still prefer riding a bike at the weekend for short distances.” Kim says he appreciates the city’s bike sharing initiative as it encourages more people to ride, keeping the environment cleaner. Kim is among 1.6 … [Read more...] about Cycling for fun in Seoul

A women harvests avocado in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong. — VNA/VNS Photo The banking sector needs solutions to provide more funding for agriculture and rural areas to ensure sustainable development, according to experts. The statement was made at the workshop ‘Pro-poor Rural and Agriculture Finance Best Practices: Experiences of Viet Nam’ held by the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the International Fund for Agriculture Development in Ha Noi on Wednesday. The Party, the Government and the banking sector have always paid special attention to finance for farming areas in Viet Nam, Dao Minh Tu, deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) told the workshop. In addition, the Government and the SBV have directed preferential credit programmes for agriculture and countryside areas in domestic credit institutions, he said. Since 2006, credit programmes of the banking sector for … [Read more...] about Banking sector works on funding for farmers

  Swimmer Nguyễn Ánh Viên in the women's 400m freestyle. Photo dantri.vn HÀ NỘI — Swimming and taekwondo athletes brought two gold medals each for Việt Nam on the seventh day of the 30th Southest Asian Games on Saturday in the Philippines. Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên won both the women's 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke events, defending her titles comfortably. The 23-year-old clocked 4min 13.20sec in the 400m freestyle. Gan Ching Hwee of Singapore and Natthanan Junkrajang from Thailand were second and third, respectively. In the latter race, Viên finished with a time of 1:02.97. Chloe Kennedy Anne Isleta and Jasmine Alkhaldi, both of the hosts, were the runners-up. Viên who is expected to win eight titles in this Games will take part in the 400m individual medley today. She is the defending champion. Meanwhile, taekwondo martial artists took two golds in poomsae (performance) … [Read more...] about Swimmers, taekwondo artists bring home golds