International

By Huu Khoa  &nbspSeptember 15, 2019 | 03:40 pm GMT+7 Saigon’s new Binh Loi Bridge, constructed to replace its 117-year old namesake, underwent its first train test run. The train makes its test run across newly constructed Binh Loi Bridge, September 14, 2019. Photo by Huu Khoa/VnExpress. On Saturday, a test train departed Binh Trieu station in Thu Duc district and crossed Ho Chi Minh City’s newly constructed Binh Loi Bridge, then proceeded to circle around for technical inspection. It was the first train to have crossed this bridge. The new Binh Loi railway bridge is 1.3 kilometers long. It has 14 spans, seven meters above the water compared to the old bridge’s 1.8 meters, allowing heavier vehicles and boats to go under the bridge over the Saigon River. "The load test has been successful. Operators will continue to monitor for all technical issues to ensure that that the North-South railway runs smoothly," said Hoang Tuan Khoat, Deputy … [Read more...] about New Saigon railway bridge hosts first test run

By Anh Minh  &nbspSeptember 15, 2019 | 02:14 pm GMT+7 Imported cars at Hiep Phuoc Port, Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Vu Doan. Automobile imports from China have plummeted since the beginning of last year after tariffs on imports from ASEAN member countries were scrapped. Last year Vietnam imported 1,565 vehicles of all types from China, down 87 percent from 11,800 in 2017, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This year only around 900 cars were imported in the first eight months, it said. "Vietnam mainly imports trucks from China, while demand for these vehicles is increasing. The country is importing vehicles with less than nine seats from ASEAN, benefiting from zero percent import tariffs." Under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, Chinese completely built unit (CBU) cars are subject to tariffs of 47-70 percent, and so they are at a price disadvantage against intra-ASEAN imports, the ministry said. ASEAN … [Read more...] about Car imports from China crash

By Pham Du  &nbspSeptember 15, 2019 | 11:59 am GMT+7 A fire fighter tries to distinguish a fire caused by flare shooting during a match between Hanoi FC and Nam Dinh at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi on September 11, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa Police in Hanoi's Dong Da District are investigating a flare firing incident that injured one person during a football match Wednesday. They have summoned 14 people after the firing of a flare burned a woman to the bone of her left leg. Doctors have said she might have to undergo two surgeries. The police decided Saturday that the 14 fans, all natives of Nam Dinh Province, one and a half hour south of Hanoi, will be investigated under the charges of "disrupting of public order and resisting persons on duty." During the game between Hanoi FC and Nam Dinh FC, Nam Dinh supporters threw flares, and one of which hit the leg of To Huyen Anh, a Hanoi fan. The game took place in Hanoi FC's Hang Day Stadium in Dong Da District. Nam … [Read more...] about Hanoi police probe flare-up at V. League match

Vietnam's midfielder Nguyen Van Toan (number 14) dribbles in World Cup qualification match with Thailand, September 5, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong. The broadcasting rights for the World Cup qualifier between Vietnam and Indonesia will cost $400,000, the highest ever for a match featuring Vietnam. The previous highest was the $300,000 Next Media paid for the qualifier against Thailand recently. Next Media has bought the rights to all of Vietnam’s World Cup qualifying games at home, but has to bid match by match for the away games. According to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) norms, the broadcasting rights of home games are owned by the respective federations. The Football Federation of Indonesia has sold the rights to that game to a company. "As a broadcasting division of Voice of Vietnam radio, VTC wants to acquire the rights to this game ... and we are willing to share it with other broadcasters," Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Vu Quang Huy, director of VTC’s … [Read more...] about World Cup qualifiers: Vietnam

Vietravel Airlines, owned by the country’s leading tour operator Vietravel, will start with three to four leased planes and expects to place an order for Airbus SE or Boeing Co narrow-body jets at the Singapore Airshow in February, which will be scheduled for delivery within five years, Chief Executive Vu Duc Bien told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "We will buy either Airbus’s A321neo or Boeing’s 737 aircraft," he said. The aviation market of Vietnam, which has a population of 96 million people, has been growing at double-digit rates, encouraging companies to compete for a slice. Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup JSC had applied for a licence to launch an airline next year, after property and leisure firm FLC Group’s Bamboo Airways started its maiden commercial flight in January to become the fifth Vietnamese airline. Vietravel Airlines is finalising procedures to obtain the licenses and certificates needed to launch its maiden charter flight … [Read more...] about Vietravel Airlines plans 2020 launch in fast-growing market

It was just before lunch time that Le Trung Tan suddenly left his house in the northeastern province of Thai Nguyen. He had just got a call with information that someone had overdosed, about 5 km away. Tan called his teammates and grabbed an emergency kit before rushing to the scene. There were two things in the kit that Tan never fails to include: syringes and naloxone. Tan practices resuscitation skills to save people who have overdosed on drugs. Photo by VnExpress/Hoa Vu. In minutes, Tan and his friends reached the place where a pale main in his thirties lay on the ground among syringes and heroin packages, drooling, breathing heavily. He had overdosed. "Let’s inject naloxone and call the ambulance," Tan told his team before giving the man artificial respiration. In about 15 minutes, the man regained consciousness. "I had just used some drugs and then I saw nothing. I panicked and passed out, till I saw a lot of people around me when I woke up," the man said. He was … [Read more...] about Ex-addicts team up to save lives of drug overdose victims

As of August, the Ministry of Education and Training has only disbursed 25 percent of the official development assistance (ODA) disbursement plan despite receiving the entire amount. It is unable to disburse ODA funds on time because counterpart funds have not yet been set up to convert foreign capital into local currency, forcing projects to wait for funds every few months, said Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung at a conference on Friday. Ministries and localities should learn from their mistakes and research ways to ensure timely supply of counterpart funds. When drawing up and evaluating projects, every agency commits to finishing them on time, and then invariably run into stumbling blocks, he added. As of the end of August, Vietnam had disbursed an estimated VND6.48 trillion ($278.86 million) in ODA and foreign concessional loans, only 10 percent of the VND60 trillion ($2.58 million) set out in the National Assembly’s plan. The disbursement progress had been even slower in the … [Read more...] about ODA projects repeatedly delayed by slow capital disbursement

By Long Nguyen  &nbspSeptember 14, 2019 | 03:00 pm GMT+7 Vietnamese designer Cong Tri's new dew-inspired collection has been described as one of the most creative ones at the New York Fashion Week. 60 designs in Tri's new collection were introduced by the Vogue magazine one of the best Spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection seen on the runway. Harper's Bazaar was impressed by a plunging gown saying the model became "a mermaid after dark with a bit of netting in interesting spots". The magazine chose 138 best designs from the fashion week, including 6 from Tri's new collection, from thigh-high slit gowns to high-low skirts and off-the-shoulder designs. This thigh-high slit gown with a low cut v-neck was praised by Harpers Bazaas. Photo by AFP. The whole collection was also introduced by Women's Wear Daily and Runway Magazine. Tri's new collection was presented on September 10. He debuted at the world-famous fashion week in New York early February this year. He has … [Read more...] about US fashion magazines laud Cong Tri collection

The agriculture export value has fallen to $3.8 billion, with rice falling 67.5 percent to $159.4 million and vegetables and fruits dropping by over 8 percent to $1.6 billion, said Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The decline has happened after China began tightening its quality and safety standards for imports since earlier this year, he said at a recent forum. For example, bananas need to be boxed with Chinese labels, or watermelons need to have codes to trace origins, he said, adding that some fruits are only allowed to be imported through specific border gates. China had announced these regulations in mid-2018 but many businesses did not pay attention, Hai added. "The new standard is an inevitable global trend. Many other countries are also tightening their import regulations." However, Vietnamese businesses still operate in small scale and are unable to meet higher quality standards. Minister of Industry and … [Read more...] about Vietnamese produce struggle to enter China

Vo Xuan Son I was on a field trip to the University of Michigan in the U.S. 10 years ago. Prof La Marca took me to a hospital. We saw a brain surgery that involved some complications, and the cost rose to around $1 million because of that. The patient was a homeless person, and it was the U.S. government that covered the cost. My first reaction was surprise at the high cost, and the next thing that crossed my mind was how doctors and hospital staff would deal with all the paperwork. "How many reports would they have to file for that huge amount of money?" I asked. La Marca said doctors did not have to do anything and the secretaries would take care of that. And from what he knew, the procedure was not very complicated. Then it was his turn to be surprised as he wondered why as a doctor I asked such questions. He went on to say that a doctor with a salary of several hundred dollars per hour should not spend time dealing with paperwork, and that procedures should be simplified so that … [Read more...] about The problems with Vietnam’s limited healthcare funding