Goals 2030 agenda

Illustrative image (Photo: malaysiakini.com)   Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) held the Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2020 in Langkawi, Malaysia on December 9. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the SOM APEC 2020 Hairil Yahri Yaacob said the event, themed “Optimising Human Potential Towards a Future of Shared Prosperity”, aims to clarify Malaysia’s priorities during APEC Year 2020. He added that Malaysia looks towards an APEC that will take the lead in dealing with existing problems via analysing negative factors in trade and investment as well as promoting creativity and innovation. After 30 years of Bogor Goals’ direction for free and open trade and investment in the region, the region’s economy grew from 23.5 billion USD in 1990 to 66.2 billion USD in 2018, an average of 3.7 percent per year, he … [Read more...] about APEC 2020 informal senior officials’ meeting opens

Professor, Dr. Pankaj Jha (R) in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency correspondent. (Source: VNA)  New Delhi (VNA) – An Indian scholar has hailed Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang's upcoming visit to India as a significant event given the fact that the Vietnamese President has a very positive attitude towards the bilateral ties and has a fair knowledge about the status of the relationship between the two countries. In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of President Tran Dai Quang’s visit to India (March 2-4), Professor, Dr. Pankaj Jha, a senior faculty member with Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA) and is also Editor-in- Chief of the JSIA Journal, said in the last three years, the hyper activism in India-Vietnam relations has manifested itself into opening of new vistas of cooperation between the two sides. This includes areas such as political understanding on areas of critical interest, defence and strategic areas, … [Read more...] about Indian scholar hails Vietnamese President’s upcoming visit

Vietnamese female footballers celebrate the goal to Thailand's net. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese female football players became the champion of women’s football at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after defeating Thailand 1-0 in the match in Manila, the Philippines, on December 8, successfully defending their gold medal. Hai Yen opened the scoreboard at the start of extra time. In the main time of the match, both sides’ players created several dangerous shot for their rivals’ box. At the sixth minute, Nguyen Thi Van attempted a beautiful swerve shot, which unfortunately hit the crossbar. Two minutes later, Tuyet Dung shot from outside the box, but Thailand’s keeper saved it. Taneekarn of Thailand headed the ball in from close range at the 51st minute, but she is flagged for offside and the goal not recognised. Thailand put great attacking pressure on Vietnam in the second half, and some Vietnam's players showed signs of confusion. … [Read more...] about SEA Games 30: Vietnam’s female football team wins gold medal

Private enterprises are looking to switch to greener alternatives in increasing numbers, Photo: Le Toan Albert T. Lieberg, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Vietnam, said that Vietnam is among the top five countries responsible for the estimated 13 million tonnes of plastic dumped into oceans every year. In Vietnam, single-use plastics are widespread and waste management capacity is limited. Both factors have taken their toll on the environment, and led to a decline in public health. “It is estimated that 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated in Vietnam every year, and plastic consumption is increasing 16-18 per cent annually,” said Lieberg at a recent Ho Chi Minh City conference on the issue. “Meanwhile, waste management and recycling facilities, and relevant policies are not in place to sufficiently respond to increasing needs. One major concern is a lack of a system for waste segregation at … [Read more...] about Public-private interplay to cut plastics

Dr. Kidong Park Polluted air is harmful to people’s health. Exposure to high concentration of particulate matters (PM), in particular micro particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), increases the risk of air pollution-related diseases, including acute lower respiratory infections, stroke, heart attack, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Excessive ozone in the air can have a marked effect on human health. It can cause breathing problems, trigger asthma, reduce lung function and lead to lung diseases. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) aggravates symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) can affect the respiratory system and the functions of the lungs, and causes irritation of the eyes. The WHO air quality guidelines are based on expert evaluation of current scientific evidence and are applied worldwide. Unfortunately, 91 percent of the world population is living in places where the air quality based on WHO guidelines … [Read more...] about Time to take bolder actions for clean air and people’s health