Vietnam funded school

Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen visits Mang Canh Kindergarten in Kon Plong district in Kon Tum province (Photo courtesy of Belgian Embassy) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The Belgian government is placing priority on a number of non-refundable projects in education, public health, water and sanitation in Vietnam, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen said during a visit to the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. During the visit from December 11-13, Jansen surveyed the progress of Belgian-funded projects in Kon Tum, Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces The projects include “Support for Responsive Accountable Local Governance” with a budget of 1 million euros (1.11 million USD) for each province. It aims to strengthen citizen-government engagement as a means of promoting more transparent, accountable and responsive local governance. It also targets improving delivery of public services and increased levels … [Read more...] about Belgium funds projects on governance, education in central region

A signing ceremony for the funding was held in the Lao capital of Vientiane Friday, its beneficiary, the Mekong River Commission (MRC), said. This extra funding has brought the German contribution to the MRC to 6.45 million euros ($7.2 million) for the current strategic plan 2016-2020 and the initial part of the new plan 2021-2025. The funding will enable the MRC to further foster dialogue and cooperation on trans-boundary water resource planning and management among the four lower Mekong countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Disbursed in 2019-2021, the grant will also be used to increase monitoring of the environmental impacts of mainstream Mekong dams built on Lao territory, the Xayaburi and Don Sahong, and identify measures to mitigate them.  "The German support comes at a critical time when the Mekong River is facing difficult trade-offs between increased development in the energy, transport and agriculture sectors and impacts on the environment and local … [Read more...] about Germany facilitates Mekong basin management with additional funding

Phan Van Thai, 49, and his wife were fishing on the Co Chien River in Cho Lach District when they heard a loud splashing sound. On further inspection, they discovered a creature they could not identify trapped in their net. "I’ve been fishing for the last 20 years, but I have never seen any fish as big and strange as this one," Thai said. The creature was approximately 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) long and weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds). The animal was dead, and Thai stored it in ice and waited for authorities to identify it. It was later identified as an Irrawaddy dolphin, a species of dolphin previously thought to have disappeared from Vietnam's Mekong River, Vu Long, director of the Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Endangered Species, told the media. "In the last 30 years scientists have not recorded an Irrawaddy dolphin in Vietnam. I believe that the discovery of this dolphin species in the Co Chien River is an important, ground-breaking discovery that necessitates a … [Read more...] about Dolphin species thought extinct in Vietnam caught in Mekong Delta

NEC will design, manufacture and train Vietnamese staff at a satellite making facility in Japan, then transfer the technology to Vietnam, officials said at the contract signing ceremony Friday. The earth observation satellite LOTUSat-1, set to be launched in 2023, is estimated to cost $184 million, with the majority of funding coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Weighing 600 kilograms, the satellite will be able to detect objects with widths of a meter wide on earth. It will gather information expected to help minimize the impacts of natural disasters such as storms that hit Vietnam every year. The satellite is part of the Vietnam National Space Center, the country's largest science project approved by the government in 2009. … [Read more...] about Japanese firms to build Vietnam’s weather satellite

Mr. Vu Hoang Lien, Head of Vietnam Internet Association PANO - It has been argued abroad that the internet environment in Vietnam has not developed and there is no freedom on internet in Vietnam. Those assessments are inconsistent with the reality of internet use in Vietnam at present. To make it clear, PANO interviewed Mr. Vu Hoang Lien, Head of Vietnam Internet Association. - Could you illustrate the development of the internet in Vietnam? - It has been around 13 years since the internet network in Vietnam officially joined global internet network on January 12th, 1997. It is true that Vietnam is currently one of the countries with the fastest and strongest internet development not only in the region, but also in the world. The development can be seen in infrastructure, technology, subscribers and the quality of contents posted on internet. Since 2000, the number of internet subscribers in Vietnam has increased by 100 times. In fact, around 3.8 percent of the population used … [Read more...] about Strongly developing and effective internet environment in Vietnam