Open cities clinic

Unlike northerners who cook square-shaped Banh Chung, southerners prefer cylindrical Banh Tet during the traditional Tet holiday. Both cakes are made of glutinous rice, green bean paste and pork, and they are wrapped in La Dong (Dong leaves). The leaves can be found at the La Dong market that is located at the Cach Mang Thang Tam-Pham Van Hai intersection. The market, the biggest of its kind in HCM City, often opens from the 15th day of the 12th lunar month and lasts several days before the start of Tet. A bunch typically contains 10 leaves costing between VND70,000 and VND80,000. Flowers are among indispensable items during the Tet holiday, and the Binh Dong flower market in District 8 is an ideal place to visit. Coming here, visitors can see boats full of flowers and ornamental trees sourced from gardens throughout the Mekong Delta region. From the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, gardeners gather at the market in order to prepare for the Lunar New Year festival. … [Read more...] about Unique lunar New Year markets in Ho Chi Minh City

A traditional music festival titled Nhạc Hội Đờn Ca Tài Tử Nam Bộ (South Folk Music Festival) will take place in front of the city’s Opera House on Đồng Khởi Street, District 1, on January 30. … [Read more...] about HCM City offers cultural activities for Tết

Paris (VNA) – A trial was opened on January 25 in the Crown Court of Evry city in the suburb of Paris, France, on Vietnamese-French Tran Thi To Nga’s lawsuit against 14 multinational companies for producing and selling chemical toxins used by the US army in the war in Vietnam that have caused severe health damage to herself and millions of victims. Nga, born in 1942, filed the lawsuit in May 2014. Among the companies named in her suit, there were such names as Monsanto (now under the German group Bayer) and Dow Chemical. With the support of several non-governmental organisations, Nga accused the companies of causing lasting harm to the health of her, her children and countless others, as well as destroying the environment. After six years and 19 hearings, the trial official began with lawyers of all the sued companies required to be present. Lawyers and supporters of the lawsuit in France believe it is a step forward for Nga’s efforts to search justice for millions … [Read more...] about French trial opens on lawsuit against US chemical producers

Tran To Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency, now the Vietnam News Agency. She worked in some of the most heavily AO/Dioxin affected areas in southern Vietnam such as Cu Chi, Ben Cat and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, ultimately experiencing contamination effects herself. … [Read more...] about French trial opens on AO/Dioxin lawsuit against U.S. chemical producers

HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s imports of high-value seafood such as king crabs and lobsters are rising due to their falling prices, and are expected to rise even further during the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, experts have said. Robert Greenan, Deputy Consul General at the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, said last year exports of Alaskan seafood rose 125 percent to 19 million USD. Vietnam became the US’s sixth largest buyer of agricultural products and foodstuffs with imports worth 4 billion USD. According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in Vietnam, demand for seafood is rising in the country, and several processing factories are moving from China to Vietnam due to tariffs. Alaskan seafood is mostly bought by restaurants and hotels and processors. The institute aims to expand the distribution network so that more customers can buy Alaskan seafood for cooking at home. During Tet, there is especially high demand for Alaskan king crab since it is relatively … [Read more...] about Demand for imported high-value seafood rises