Binh said Saturday that the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), should look into the legality and appropriateness of such a heavy fine being imposed on a man in southern Can Tho Province. SBV Governor Le Minh Hung had said Friday that the director of central bank’s southern branch was working with the Can Tho’s People’s Committee to investigate the matter further. On Tuesday, 38-year-old electrician Nguyen Ca Re was fined VND90 million ($3,855) by Can Tho authorities for exchanging a $100 note in a gold shop. The VND2.3 million ($98.48) that Re received from the shop was also confiscated. A heavy fine of VND295 million ($12,630) was also slapped on the gold shop and the $100 note confiscated. Re said that he had been given the $100 by a relative and had been exchanging dollar notes at gold shops before without any trouble. He also said that with his monthly salary of VND4 million ($171), he doesn’t know how to get the money to pay the … [Read more...] about $3,855 fine for changing $100 will be reviewed: Deputy PM
Change 100
Changing calligraphy writing street at Temple of Literature
(Cinet)- According to Truong Minh Tien, Vice Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the calligraphy writing street at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi will be organized at Literature Lake (Ho Van) in the temple. The fine Tet custom of calligraphy is preserved through such activities when Tet comes. Visitors often ask calligraphers to write nice words in calligraphy with the hope of bringing health, prosperity, good luck, promotions, and good academic results to their homes and to use them as decorations for the Tet holiday. The calligraphy writing activities will be organized from February 8 to March 5 under the theme ‘At Mui Spring Calligraphy Festival’ by the Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam Scientific and Cultural Activities Centre and the Vietnam UNESCO Calligraphy Club. There will be one to two ‘ong do’ (calligrapher) each in about 100 booths wearing traditional costumes, writing and selling nice words in calligraphy to customers. The … [Read more...] about Changing calligraphy writing street at Temple of Literature
As Claude Lévi-Strauss turns 100, UNESCO Director-General pays tribute to one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has joined in paying tribute to French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, on the occasion of his hundredth birthday on 28 of November.“Claude Lévi-Strauss, one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, has always been very close to the unfolding history of UNESCO. His work, with its humanist message and universal scope, has radically changed our understanding of the world. Interested in all civilizations, he has taught us about the complexity of myths and the diversity of cultures, as well as their fragility. Thanks to him, we know that the wealth of humanity lies in its diversity and its ability always to accept the other,” declared Mr Matsuura. Pakistan. In 1951, he chaired the committee of experts appointed to set up the International Social Science Council, of which he was the first Secretary General, from 1952 - 1961. In 1952, at the request of UNESCO, he wrote Race and History. In 1971, invited to … [Read more...] about As Claude Lévi-Strauss turns 100, UNESCO Director-General pays tribute to one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century
Of Cabbages and Kims: Korea’s changing kimchis
North and South Korea are radically different societies, one ruled by the same family for decades and the other a freewheeling democracy and thrusting economy. But one thing unites them -- their love of fermented cabbage. Kimchi, originally a means of preserving the vegetable during winter and which can vary from mild to fiery, has been a staple part of virtually every meal on the now-divided peninsula for centuries. In the North, where UN statistics say around 40 percent of people are chronically undernourished, it flavors the rice that is the mainstay of the diet. In the South, it accompanies cuisines from American to Vietnamese. But while authorities on both sides of the border proclaim their commitment to reunification, after more than 70 years of total separation without even post or telephone links, the two countries are far more different than were East and West Germany when the Berlin Wall fell. And even their kimchis have changed. They were listed separately on UNESCO's roster … [Read more...] about Of Cabbages and Kims: Korea’s changing kimchis
Western Bank to issue 100 million shares
By Thu Thuy - The Saigon Times Daily The bank will sell 99.27 million shares to existing shareholders and the remainder to its staff. The method of capital injection has already been approved by the State Bank of Vietnam. Western Bank’s general meeting has passed the method to further increase its chartered capital to VND3 trillion as required by the central bank. The bank will raise capital to VND2 trillion from now to July 20, and then to VND3 trillion in the two last months this year. The bank has changed its Vietnamese name from Mien Tay Bank to Phuong Tay Bank while its English name is unchanged. The State Bank of Vietnam has asked banks to secure their minimum chartered capital of VND3 trillion by the end of the year. … [Read more...] about Western Bank to issue 100 million shares
Culture officials suggest changes to 100-plays program
The Performing Arts Department has suggested changes to a government project to stage 100 popular international and national plays in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.In a proposal it submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Department has recommended drawing up a list of 200 plays, 150 of them Vietnamese and the rest international, from which theaters can choose 100.Source: SGGP Intrigue and love by German playwright Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller will be one of the 100 plays to be staged under an ambitious government project … [Read more...] about Culture officials suggest changes to 100-plays program
Rice farm project aims to reduce climate change
Rice farm project aims to reduce climate changeBy Le Hoang Vu - The Saigon Times DailyIt is the first time the model has been applied in the Mekong Delta, Doan Ngoc Pha, deputy director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of An Giang, said.To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 100 hectares of rice in Binh Hoa Ward of Chau Thanh District, scientists will regulate fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide levels. The new farming technique should also reduce input costs and increase harvests.The model will be expanded to 500 hectares in 2015 and to the whole delta if it’s successful. … [Read more...] about Rice farm project aims to reduce climate change
Developers Change Tactics To Stimulate Demand
Developers Change Tactics To Stimulate DemandBy Pham LeHigh interest rate, soaring gold price and new restrictive legislation have reduced the liquidity of the real estate market and increased uncertainty for property developers. To make the market move, many developers have to offer incentives to stimulate demand.Although it is seen as a measure to prop up the local property market and make it more transparent, Government Decree 71 and then Circular 16 have to some extent slowed down the market’s activities, as they force both developers and buyers to abide by the new rules. Accordingly, developers can sell just 20% of the housing units of a project via capital contribution agreements prior to the completion of the foundation of the project. The remaining 80% units can only be sold after the foundation is completed, and the sale must be carried out under sale contracts through a real estate trading floor.Apart from the decree, many property developers have lamented the … [Read more...] about Developers Change Tactics To Stimulate Demand
New lifestyles change realty
According to Mindy Teo, vice president for brand marketing and digital innovation at Ascott, millennials inhabit space completely differently from their parents and grandparents.“This is a generation which grew up with technology, social media, and the sharing economy. They are highly adaptable and much more willing to share facilities. For one, a pantry is a working area and a networking spot, while a lobby can double up as a yoga space. Millennials are not fond of cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approaches,” Teo said. So it’s no surprise that co-living, defined as a modern, urban type of accommodation with shared living spaces, is beginning to gain traction.The driving force behind the rising demand for co-living is similar to the reasons behind the popularity of co-working – a mobile generation of young people who demand flexibility, openness, and collaboration.“Millennials, defined as those born between 1980 and 2000, no longer draw distinctions … [Read more...] about New lifestyles change realty
One Planet Summit: greater efforts needed to mitigate climate change
The One Planet Summit, sponsored by France, the UN, and the World Bank, will draw 4000 delegates and 800 organizations to seek funding for climate projects. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that the world will spend 3.5 trillion USD a year to deal with global warming over the next 30 years. Mobilizing financial resources for climate projects is key to this effort. Postponement of action to mitigate climate change will not only lead to greater costs to address the effects, but will make the world poorer, less stable, less just, and less sustainable.Researchers for the Heinrich Boll Fund say it will cost the world at least 300 billion USD annually until 2030 to deal with the effects of climate change. Under the Paris agreement on climate change signed in 2015, countries pledged to collectively donate 100 billion USD a year until 2020 to help poorer countries pursue clean development and adapt to climate change. The World Bank has pledged to increase budgets for climate … [Read more...] about One Planet Summit: greater efforts needed to mitigate climate change