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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

Defending champions Vietnam beat Malaysia 1-0 at Viet Tri Stadium in northern Phu Tho Province on Thursday night to set up an exciting Southeast Asian (SEA) Games men’s football final against archrivals Thailand. The game needed two extra 15-minute halves after regulation time to decide who will play the finale against the Thais, who also defeated Indonesia 1-0 after 120 minutes in the other semifinal earlier the same day. The hosts came into the tie having not conceded a single goal in the group stage and put more pressure on Malaysia in the first half after the first 10 cagey minutes. Malaysia had a shot on target from close range after a corner was half cleared, but Vietnamese goalkeeper Nguyen Van Toan was able to smother the effort easily. Nguyen Tien Linh almost opened the scoring in the 27th minute as he ran down and faced Malaysian keeper Azri Ghani, but his shot drifted wide of the far post. Linh missed another chance in the 42nd minute as he was in a convenient … [Read more...] about Vietnam defeat Malaysia to set up men’s football final against Thailand at 31st SEA Games

Wasted resources About 3.9 million tonnes of PET, LDPE, HDPE and PP plastic are used in Vietnam each year. Of these, only 1.28 million tonnes (33 percent) are collected for recycling (CFR). Thus, Vietnam discards up to 2.62 million tonnes of plastic every year, leading to a loss of 75 percent of the material value of plastic, equivalent to US$2.2 – 2.9 billion per year. The IFC-WB report on “Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers” estimated that if all the plastics used in Vietnam were collected and recycled, the total annual value of the recycled products and materials would be equivalent to US$3.4 billion. Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam said the rapid urbanization and the expanding middle class have significantly increased the consumption of plastic products and packaging, turning emerging markets in the region, including Vietnam into hot spots of plastic pollution. As investment in waste management infrastructure has not kept pace with … [Read more...] about The Garbage economy, what Vietnam is missing

Hardy Diec, Managing Director of FedEx Express Indochina. Photo by FedEx Express What’s the status quo with the logistics industry? Supply chains have never been more important. More than that, reliability and accuracy in these supply chains have now become even more paramount. During this pandemic, the logistics industry has proven to be vital, whether in delivering critical healthcare shipments including vaccines and medicine, or delivering huge volumes of e-commerce shipments to end consumers. The pandemic has shifted consumer behavior greatly. The boom in e-commerce will continue to be a powerful engine of the global economy. We’re witnessing how essential supply chains are to business survival, success and growth - they are not just an opportunity to reduce cost. Businesses are rethinking their supply chains, moving to a "just in case" approach for inventory management to counter unplanned scenarios. Being able to receive products and critical components either by … [Read more...] about Innovative logistics models in great demand: FedEx director

A view of HCM City. Many banks have temporarily ceased lending to the property sector. — Photo vneconomy.vn Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam, Dao Minh Tu, announced at the Government’s March press conference that credit growth in the first quarter of the year had been 5.04 per cent, much higher than the 2.16 per cent rise in the same period last year. He described it as a “quite positive result” that showed the economy had made a significant recovery with people’s lives and businesses returning to normal thanks to the Government’s effective measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report by the SBV’s HCM City office, credit growth in the country’s main economic hub was estimated at 3.65 per cent in the first quarter. The positive performance has encouraged many banks to set high goals for the full year. At its annual general meeting on March 16, VIB approved a growth target of 30 per cent, much higher than the cap of 14 per cent set by the central … [Read more...] about Not lending to property sector will have mixed effects: analysts

Most members of the Committee for Culture and Education disagreed with making History an optional subject at the high school level for many reasons. First, History is a particularly important subject, playing a key role in political and ideological education for the young generation; educating patriotism, national self-esteem, cultural and historical traditions; fostering the thinking capacity and proper actions and behaviors in social life; thereby forming the qualities of Vietnamese citizens in the development trend of the times. Secondly, in terms of age, high school students, from the age of 15 to 17, mature in awareness and have better receptive ability about the national history. This is also the age that determines the formation of worldview, the system of views about nature, society, principles and behavior rules, and human value orientation. Third, History is always a compulsory subject in the high school curriculum in many countries worldwide, such as the US, France, … [Read more...] about History proposed to be compulsory subject in high schools

Prime Ministe Pham Minh Chinh addresses the Centre for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) in Washington D.C. (Photo: VNA) Washington D.C. (VNA) – Prime Ministe Pham Minh Chinh has delivered a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. during his ongoing working trip to US. The following is the full text of the speech. “SINCERITY, TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR A BETTER WORLD” Dear Dr. John Hamre, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to visit the Center for Strategic and International Studies for the first time today, though this is far from the first time I hear of the CSIS, a top American think tank in the field of foreign strategies and policies and international issues. Seventy-seven years ago, President Ho Chi Minh, the national hero of Vietnam and great man of culture, prefaced the Declaration of Independence establishing the … [Read more...] about Remarks by PM Pham Minh Chinh at CSIS in Washington D.C

The following is the full text of the speech. “SINCERITY, TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR A BETTER WORLD” Dear Dr. John Hamre, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to visit the Center for Strategic and International Studies for the first time today, though this is far from the first time I hear of the CSIS, a top American think tank in the field of foreign strategies and policies and international issues. Seventy-seven years ago, President Ho Chi Minh, the national hero of Vietnam and great man of culture, prefaced the Declaration of Independence establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with this untarnishable fact, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” This was the spirit enshrined within the 1776 Declaration of Independence of the United States of America; it … [Read more...] about Remarks by PM Pham Minh Chinh at CSIS in Washington D.C.

The lobby of OfficeHaus in Tan Phu District, HCM City. The city's office market recovers after two years being affected by COVID-19 pandemic. — Photo courtesy of OfficeHaus After a two-year slump due to COVID-19, the HCM City office for lease market is showing positive signs with demand increasing in all segments. A CBRE report said there was good recovery in the office market with total net absorption in the first quarter of 17,000 square metres (sq.m), equivalent to 32 per cent in 2021. Relocation accounted for 55 per cent of the transactions, lease renewal for 25 per cent and expansion for 20 per cent, it said. There were transactions for large areas in some high-quality grade B buildings in both the CBD and other hubs such as Thu Thiem new urban area, District 7 and District 10, the company said. Savills said demand for office space was 16,500sq.m compared to just 1,500sq.m in the fourth quarter of 2021. It partly attributed the increase to the city’s post-pandemic … [Read more...] about HCM City office market coming out of slump: property  consultancies

Illustrative image It is being seen that private banks have now put in place many breakthroughs in business plans and are even preparing to overtake the strong performances of commercial banks in the Big 4 Group. Race for profits Vietcombank has just released its consolidated financial statement for the first quarter of the year, showing a pre-tax profit of more than VND9.95 trillion, which is an increase by 15.3 percent. However, in the first quarter, Vietcombank lost its former place as the number one champion. The private joint stock commercial bank, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), has managed to push Vietcombank to second position. According to its consolidated financial statement for the first quarter, VPBank showed a profit before tax of VND11.14 trillion, up by 178 percent over the same period last year. The third and fourth positions are now being held by Techcombank which showed a profit of more than VND5.52 trillion, and Military … [Read more...] about Private banks coming strong against state-owned banks