Storm

Local forces are assisting households to fix their houses (Photo: SGGP) Cao Quoc Dien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Giong Rieng District, said that between 7-8 am on July 22, heavy rain accompanied by cyclones hit the district damaging people's houses. Preliminary statistics show that 20 houses in Hoa Thuan commune completely collapsed while 23 other houses’ roofs were blown off. At the same time, 9 houses in Ngoc Hoa commune collapsed and roofs were blown off and two houses in Thanh Hoa commune fell. Fourteen people were injured, one of them was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized for treatment. It is estimated that the incident resulted in overall losses worth millions of Vietnam dong. Authority in Giong Rieng district has mobilized local forces to help people collect belongings as well as provide temporary shelters for those who lost their houses in the natural disaster, estimate damage, and assist people to repair their houses... According to Mr. Dien, …

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In the next 24- 72 hours, the tropical depression is forecast to continue to downgrade into a low-pressure zone and return to the East Sea. From tonight to July 24, the Northern provinces and cities including provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri are going to suffer from tropical depression-induced downpours on the large scale. Earlier, storm Cempaka had been downgraded into a tropical low-pressure system in Guangdong Province (China) on July 21. (Illustrative photo:SGGP) On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister, Head of Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Mr. Le Van Thanh led a delegation to work and inspect prompt measures against the rains and floods at Hoa Binh hydropower plant in Hoa Binh Province, the Day River Flood Diversion Area in the capital city of Hanoi. The leader required the local authorities to regularly review and reinforce low-lying areas in readiness for the huge floods ahead. By Van Phuc- Translated by Huyen Huong …

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Environment and energy ministers from the Group of 20 rich nations made little progress on Thursday on how to reach climate goals, officials said, with a cluster of countries resisting firm commitments. Near the sumptuous royal palace in Naples where the meeting took place, thousands of flag-waving marchers protested against what they said was a lack of action on global warming. The G20 meeting discussed biodiversity and the natural environment on Thursday, while energy and climate change will be on Friday's agenda. Diplomats have struggled for days to find meaningful common ground on both topics. Italy, which holds the rotating G20 presidency this year, said a communique on the environment had finally been agreed to the "great joy" of all 20 countries after "weeks of negotiations and a two-day non-stop session". The 7-page document covered numerous subjects including food security, the sustainable use of water, marine litter, sustainable finance and how to better educate the …

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HEADACHE: Everton FC manager Rafa Benitez is preparing his team for the pre-season Florida Cup tournament. AFP Photo. Paul Kennedy I saw photographs this week of Everton manager Rafa Benitez (that still feels weird to write) arriving in Florida for his team’s pre-season tournament where they will play Millonarios FC of Colombia. Arsenal and Inter Milan both dropped out of the mini-competition. Rafa, responsible as ever, was wearing a facemask as he led his team off the aeroplane following their arrival in the US. As a result, I couldn’t see if he was smiling for the cameras. Maybe behind the mask he was, but we’ll never know. What we do know, is before a competitive ball has even been kicked with him as manager, Rafa is already facing problems the likes of which he has never faced before. Yes, he will take time to settle because of his previous successful spell with Everton’s arch-rivals, Liverpool, and he sure does need to win the backing of the Goodison faithful, but …

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Bank customers have been enjoying lower interest rates. Photo: Le Toan A group of 16 Vietnamese banks last week have reiterated their commitment to providing more liquidity and cutting interest rates to assist companies and individuals who have been hit hard by the current wave of the pandemic. ACB is among the first lenders to slash annual interest rates for existing customers to a maximum of 0.8 per cent for short-term loans and 1 per cent for medium- and long-term loans. The bank will assess the impact of the outbreak on a case-by-case basis to determine suitable interest rate reductions for borrowers. Customers who are subject to interest rate adjustments will be considered by the bank when the loan contract is due to change the interest rate between July 15 and October 15. At the same time, Sacombank also confirmed a reduction in lending rates of 1 per cent per year for existing customers in industries directly affected by the pandemic such as tourism, travel, …

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