Unbearable grief

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang have conveyed their message of condolences to South African President Jacob Zuma over the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela on December 5. In the message, which was also sent to the African National Congress (ANC) on Friday, the Vietnamese leaders wrote, “We would like to extend the deepest sympathy to the ANC, the State and people of South Africa as well as to the late former President’s family.” “Nelson Mandela is an eminent and beloved figure, a staunch soldier and a prominent hero of the South African people,” the message read. The late former President has dedicated his whole life and made outstanding contributions to the fight against oppression, injustice and apartheid and constantly sought freedom, justice, equality and social progress for South Africa and the world, the Vietnamese leaders said in the message.  “We would like to extend the … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s leaders express grief over Mandela’s death

The signs say the businesses will remain open throughout the festival. There are notices saying extra hands are needed at this time, a valuable chance to earn some extra money. But the doors of restaurants, karaoke parlors and beer clubs are locked and the usually bustling Pham Van Dong Street seemed lifeless on Tuesday, just days away from Tet, the Lunar New Year festival, which peaks on February 12. Nguyen Quoc Thang, 45, who manages a restaurant on Pham Van Dong Street in Thu Duc City, instructed his employees to put away the chairs and tables. Outside its gates, people were stashing away colorful Tet decorations. The restaurant has two branches, and only one was scheduled to remain open during Tet, he said. Now with the new Covid-19 prevention order, both have been shut down. "Four days ago we were booked two birthday parties with over 30 people. But we have to cancel them based on the authorities’ request," he said, adding that he had hoped to make some decent cash to make … [Read more...] about Saigon grief smoulders as Tet hopes go up in smoke

Rural women blaze trail to prosperity (07-03-2005) BAC GIANG – Overcoming poverty and challenges posed by life, the women from a rural commune of Bac Giang northern province have laboured to prosper from family farming. A case in point is Nguyen Thi Nhien, 43, from Tu Mai Commune of Yen Dung District, who now owns a modern house with all amenities, and has her two children studying in universities. Nhien married a war invalid, who had lost an eye, an arm and a leg, in 1982. She was then staying in a bamboo-roof house, farming a plot of land given by their parents. "At the age of 20, I volunteered to live with a war invalid. Life was very hard because our parents were poor, and not in a position to help us," she said. Life became more complicated as they had two children within three years. She now had to take care of the husband, children, work in the field, and do extra jobs to support the family. Taking note of the dire situation, the commune’s authorities helped her … [Read more...] about Rural women blaze trail to prosperity

Nguyen Thuy Linh started sitting for Vietnam’s national high school exam this week with too much weight on her shoulders - the overwhelming grief from her mother’s death and the motherhood she has to take over from the deceased. But the 18-year-old girl, hailing from the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, said taking, and ultimately passing, this exam is the only opportunity for her to escape poverty. Students in Vietnam on Tuesday started sitting for the all-important national high school exam, the results of which are used to determine if a student qualifies for high school graduation and as an admission test for colleges and universities. The exam runs from June 25 to 27 this year. Linh had been painstakingly preparing for the four-day exam like any of her peers, when her mother, 41-year-old Trinh Thi Khuyen, was struck to death by a lightning bolt earlier this month. The incident took place when the mother and Linh were on their way home after a hard day working in the … [Read more...] about Devastated by mom’s death, Vietnamese girl bites bullet to take national exam

In his speech, Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong first praised state departments, the local authorities of all districts and Thu Duc City, and healthcare workers, laborers in HCMC for their contribution to fight against Covid-19 during Tet holiday, helping all residents to have a warm and merry time. Regarding the upcoming tasks in 2021, Chairman Phong asked that all cadres in state units and businesses, organizations sited in HCMC prioritize Covid-19 prevention. He also affirmed that the city has sufficient test kits to detect the virus, with the regular capacity of processing 15,000 samples a day, up to the maximum of 30,000 samples at peak time. There are now 317 healthcare teams available to collect from 100,000 to 200,000 samples per day for testing. More importantly, he demanded that HCMC have to maintain all necessary activities to avoid community infection at all cost. In order to fulfill the dual goal of containing the pandemic and restarting the economy, the Chairman … [Read more...] about HCMC boosting state work after Tet holiday