To fight a speeding ticket

Red Spring Festival expects to collect over 4,000 blood units Young people donate their blood In his opening remarks, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Bach Quoc Khanh, who is head of the festival’s organizing board, said that the festival has been held annually since 2008 to address blood shortages after the lunar New Year holiday, and gradually changed public awareness of blood donation. After 13 editions, the festival has collected over 85,000 blood units and become the annual biggest blood donation event. Khanh took the occasion to express his gratitude for donators nationwide. The 14th edition is taking place from March 1-7 at the NIHBT headquarters, and three fixed places - 26 Luong Ngoc Quyen in Hoan Kiem district, 132 Quan Nhan in Thanh Xuan district, and Valley 122 of Lang Street in Dong Da district. The organizing board expects to receive over 4,000 blood units during this year’s festival, which then will … [Read more...] about VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 2

Vietnam racks up $1.29 billion in trade surplus in two months The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some 95.81 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 percent. Vietnam’s trade balance posted positive, 1.29 billion USD, in the first two months of the year, the General Department of Customs said on December 28. The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some 95.81 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 percent. Of the total, exports amounted to 48.55 billion USD, a yearly hike of 23.2 percent, while imports were estimated at 47.26 billion USD, or 25.9 percent higher than the same time last year. Foreign-invested companies accounted for 76.4 percent, or 37.07 billion USD, of Vietnam’s total export turnover. Meanwhile, the domestic sector shipped abroad 11.48 billion USD worth of products. There were nine commodities joining the billion-USD export club, including telephones and parts (9.3 billion USD, up 22.8 percent … [Read more...] about VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 2

Assessing the implementation of the socio-economic development plan in the first two months of the year, the PM said outcomes have surpassed the figures reported earlier to the National Assembly, most notably those regarding public debt, budget overspending and collection, reserves, and major economic balances. Vietnam has successfully fulfilled the dual goals of containing the COVID-19 pandemic and boosting production and business and ensuring normal social activities in the new context, he said. The PM attributed the results to the engagement of the entire political system and the outstanding efforts of the business community and people nationwide, with significant contributions from the Government and its members, ministries, agencies, and localities. Regarding key tasks in the time ahead, he stressed the need to optimise the opportunities and stay resolved to complete the tasks set for the first half of this year and the year as a whole, saying the first job is to realise the … [Read more...] about PM: More effort needed to complete urgent tasks

While the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing globally, rapidly changing on an hourly and daily basis which can be tracked almost in real time, the incidence, infection burden and fatality rates in Vietnam are still low. Vietnam declared COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic on April 1. By October 15, 2020, Vietnam reported 1,122 cases with 35 deaths (WHO 2020). With approximately 97 million inhabitants, the Southeast Asian nation has conducted 12,772 tests/1 million. According to the WHO classification, Vietnam reports transmission from clusters of cases and not by community transmission or sporadic cases. Vietnam lifted its social isolation measures when schools and businesses reopened after International Labour Day, but continued to reduce risk through the mandatory use of face masks. The speed of response was the crucial factor. The Vietnamese government has been instrumental in identifying and demarcating infection clusters and has responded well to the COVID-19 situation and … [Read more...] about Vietnam is a corona-free bubble: Successful control of COVID-19