Lunar new year where is it celebrated

After nearly 300 years, two whale skeletons in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam have been restored and put on display for public view. It is common practice amongst Vietnamese fishermen to store the skeletons of whales that washed ashore in temples. There, locals worship the bones of these massive sea creatures. In Ly Son District, a string of islands off the coast of central Vietnam, two of these skeletons were recently completely restored for a public display. Grandfather fish Fishermen in Vietnam call whales ‘grandfather fish,’ implying that they are of a high status. In Ly Son, an area which holds whales in particularly high regard, locals are excited for their two recently restored whale skeletons to be put on display. “Very soon everyone will get to see the grandfather fish at the Tan temple,” said 79-year-old Pham Thoai Tuyen. According to Tuyen, whales only rest in peace where people have spiritual faith in them, thus Ly Son is an area of peace. … [Read more...] about Vietnamese whale worshippers rejoice as 300-year-old skeleton restored

Hundreds of lanterns were released into the sky by Indonesian Buddhists celebrating Vesak day at the temple of Borobudur for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit the country. More than a thousand Buddhists from across the archipelago gathered at the largest Buddhist temple in the world, situated in Magelang, Central Java, to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha Siddharta Gautama. Celebrations on Monday night included prayers and meditation, collecting holy water and the release of flying lanterns symbolising the letting go of negativity. "This is the first time we were able to hold the celebration since the pandemic started, since we are still in the middle of the pandemic, we limited the number of participants to only 1,200 people," Eric Fernardo, the spokesman for the event, told AFP on Monday. Only those who received an invitation and a double dose of a COVID-19 vaccine were allowed to enter the sprawling complex of Borobudur to join the … [Read more...] about Indonesians celebrate Vesak at world’s largest Buddhist temple

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam recorded a total 2,227 new cases of COVID-19 and no death in the past 24 hours to 4pm May 13, according to the Ministry of Health. Hanoi reported the highest number of infections on the day with 495 cases, followed by Nghe An with 123 and Phu Tho with 120. The northern province of Bac Giang added 443 cases to the national log after verifying information. The country has to date logged 10,693,141 COVID-19 cases, including 43,063 deaths. A total 9,065 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on May 13, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 9,344,029. There are 333 patients needing breathing support. By May 12, the country had injected 216,512,573 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 2,192,003 first shots for children from 5 to 11 years old./. VNA … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Vietnam reports 2,227 new cases on May 13

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement on Saturday. She will not be in Parliament for the government's Emissions Reduction Plan on Monday and the coming Budget on Thursday. "Travel arrangements for her trade mission to the United States are unaffected at this stage," the statement added. Ardern had been symptomatic since Friday evening, returning a weak positive at night and a clear positive on Saturday morning on a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), the statement said. At this stage her symptoms are moderate and she has been in isolation since May 8 when her partner Clarke Gayford tested positive, it said. Due to the positive RAT, Ardern will be required to isolate until the morning of May 21, and undertake what duties she can remotely this week. Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson will address media in her place on Monday. "This is a milestone week for the Government and I'm gutted I can't … [Read more...] about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for COVID

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Saturday that the spread of COVID-19 had put the country in "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the epidemic, while 21 new deaths were reported for a day earlier among people with fevers. North Korea made an unprecedented admission of its first COVID outbreak this week, after claiming no infections for more than two years since the start of the pandemic, but there was no sign a rigorous testing or treatment campaign was under way. Given North Korea's limited testing capabilities, the numbers released probably represent a small fraction of total infections, which could lead to thousands of deaths in one of only two countries without a COVID vaccination campaign, according to experts. The country's ruling Workers' Party met for an emergency meeting and heard reports of about 280,810 people being treated and 27 overall deaths since a fever of unidentified origins was reported starting in late April, KCNA … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim says COVID ‘great turmoil’ as 21 new deaths reported

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A total 1,895 new case s of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm May 13 to 4pm May 14, according to the Ministry of Health. Hanoi reported the highest number of infections on the day with 489 cases, followed by Nghe An with 115 and Quang Ninh with 95. The national tally reached 10,695,036. A total 5,563 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on May 12, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 9,349,592. There are 340 patients needing breathing support, while two death s were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 43,065. By May 11, the country had injected 216,808,145doses of COVID-19 vaccine s, including 2,389,589first shots and 1,676 second shots for children from 5 to 11 years old./. VNA … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Vietnam reports 1,895 new cases on May 14

Spraying sterilised substances at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No 2 to prevent SARS-CoV-2 virus from spreading (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases has discovered two new variants of SARS-CoV-2 , namely B.1.222 and B.1.619, after gene sequencing of patient samples. Van Dinh Trang, Head of the Microbiology and Molecular Biology Ward under the hospital, told the Suc khoe & Doi song (Health and Life) newspaper that the B.1.222 variant had appeared in 11 countries, but was most common in the UK and particularly Scotland. This strain has many mutations on the spike protein different from the Indian strain B.1.617.2. Variant B.1.222 was discovered when the hospital’s COVID-19 research team sequenced the SARS-CoV-2 gene from the oropharyngeal specimen of a 29-year-old patient, a Ukrainian expert. The patient was quarantined immediately after entering Vietnam. Variant B.1.619 has spike protein similar to Indian strain … [Read more...] about Vietnam discovers two new strains of SARS-CoV-2 from imported cases

The opening of Eisai's new office in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City The company’s new office is located in Saigon Giai Phong Tower, 432-438 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Eisai Vietnam also signed an MoU with the Vietnam Neurological Association to increase access to diagnosis and improve the quality of treatment for the Alzheimer's community up to 2025. Eisai Vietnam is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd. – a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. Founded in 1941, Eisai Group currently has 46 companies and subsidiaries and more than 10,000 employees worldwide. Eisai's corporate philosophy is to think about patients and their families first and to increase the benefits that health care provides to address significant unmet medical needs. Eisai's corporate philosophy is to think about patients and their families first and to increase the benefits that health care provides … [Read more...] about Eisai Vietnam opens new office and enters strategic partnership

An 18-year-old white gunman shot 10 people to death and wounded three on Saturday at a grocery store in a Black neighborhood of upstate New York, before surrendering after what authorities called an act of "racially motivated violent extremism." Authorities said the suspect, who was armed with an assault-style rifle and appeared to have acted alone, drove to Buffalo from his home several hours away to launch the afternoon attack that he broadcast in real time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com. Eleven of the 13 people struck by gunfire were Black, officials said. The two others were white. The racial breakdown of the dead was not made clear. Court papers named the suspect as Payton Gendron of Conklin, a town of about 5,000 people in New York's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border. He was arraigned hours after the shooting in state court on first-degree murder charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without … [Read more...] about Gunman kills 10 in live-streamed racial attack on New York state supermarket

An 18-year-old white man suspected of fatally shooting 10 people in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, appears to be the latest in a line of "copycat" gunmen carrying out deadlier mass shootings inspired by previous attackers, experts warned on Sunday. Payton Gendron, who surrendered to police on Saturday after the attack, apparently publicized a racist manifesto on the internet and broadcast the attack in real time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com. Authorities called the mass killing an act of "racially motivated violent extremism." Experts say the trend of mostly young white men being inspired by previous racist gun massacres is on the rise, citing recent mass shootings, including the 2015 attack at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a 2019 attack at a Walmart in an Hispanic neighborhood of El Paso. Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, … [Read more...] about ‘Copycat’ mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after New York attack