Kho mu people

Sticky rice mixed with trám đen is a speciality of Cao Bắng. Photos baocaobang.vn Viet Nam News By Thanh Hà Cao Bằng is not only well known for its natural beauty at sites such as Bản Giốc Waterfall, Pác Bó Caves and Thang Hen Lake, but also its trám đen, a wild fruit that the Tày and Nùng ethnic groups pick in the forest to cook into many tasty dishes like trám kho (braised with pork rinds) and xôi trám, a favourite dish of guests and travellers. When I was a little girl, each time my grandmother cooked braised trám đen with pork rinds, my sisters and brothers would crowd around the tray, mouths watering as they waited for the dish. It was so tasty that each of us could eat four or five bowls. My grandmother had to prevent my young brothers from eating too much because she was afraid they would suffer from indigestion. Boiled trám đen and … [Read more...] about Xôi trám, a specialty of Cao Bằng

Police in Cau Giay District in Hanoi on Friday announced the conclusion of an investigation into the death of a first-grader who was locked inside a school bus for nine hours in early August, with prosecution proposed for three suspects. The police suggested the district People’s Procuracy launch prosecution against Nguyen Bich Quy, 55, and Doan Quy Phien, 53, for committing “involuntary manslaughter” and Nguyen Thi Thuy, 29, for “neglecting responsibility, causing serious consequences." The result of the police investigation shows that Quy and Phien, who were the supervisor and driver, respectively, of a school bus contracted by the Gateway School in Cau Giay District to transport its students, started picking up 13 Gateway students on a 16-seater van at 6:00 am on August 6. Of the 13 students, Le Hoang Long, 6, got on the school bus from his house at the Trung Yen Plaza apartment on Trung Hoa Street in the namesake district at around 7:00 am. The boy … [Read more...] about Police conclude investigation into death of boy locked in school bus in Hanoi

Foreign visitors get on a train to tour Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong (Photo: VNA) Quang Nam (VNA) – The Smoke-free Cities ASEAN Network (SCAN) convened the 6th regional meeting in Hoi An city, the central province of Quang Nam, on November 20, focusing on reshaping tourism through smoke-free environments. The event was attended by more than 100 foreign delegates from smoke-free tourism cities of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Mongolia. It also saw the presence of the Fund for Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office. Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien, member of the management council of the Fund for Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control, said in Vietnam, the building of smoke-free tourism cities began in Hoi An city in … [Read more...] about ASEAN cities seek to promote smoke-free tourism environments

Volunteers join a campaign against the use of tobacco in central Da Nang city (Photo: VNA)   Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The new cigarette tax rate of 5,000 VND (0.2 USD) per pack will help reduce the rate of tobacco consumption and increase the State budget, health experts have said. Speaking at the conference on tax incentives to prevent tobacco harm on September 25 morning, health experts said the application of the special consumption tax rate will reduce the tobacco use rate among men from 45.3 percent to 39 percent by 2020. Currently, Vietnam has the world’s ninth-highest number of smokers. On average, one in every two male adults is smoker. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents is 24.3 percent. The country has been suffering the burden of disease and financial loss caused by tobacco use. In 2015, Vietnamese people spent up to 31 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD) on cigarettes and more 24 trillion VND (1.03 billion USD) on treatment of tobacco-related diseases such as … [Read more...] about Increase on special consumption tax vital to reduce smoking

Minister Le Thanh Long (L) was welcomed by General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice led by Minister Le Thanh Long was received by General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith and National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou on December 6. At the meeting with the top Lao leader, Long said that over the past five years, authorized agencies of Vietnam and Laos have worked hard together to implement an agreement signed between the two governments on the settlement of issues related to free migration and undocumented marriage in border areas. By November 14, 2019 when the deal expired, 1,452 out of 1,711 applications for Vietnamese nationality were approved, and the rest are being considered, he noted. Long said that the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has always actively … [Read more...] about Vietnamese Ministry of Justice delegation on working visit to Laos