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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

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

With a coastline of more than 3,200 km and thousands of islands including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, Vietnam has benefited much from the sea. Vietnam participated in building the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and was one of the first countries to sign and approve the Convention. The 1994 adoption reflects Vietnam’s determination to work with other countries to build an equal order to promote development and cooperation at sea. National maritime policies Its Sea and islands are part of Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and are a living space and a gateway to other countries. Being aware of the importance of sea and islands in national construction and defense, Vietnam has managed fishery exploitation in parallel with defending national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction at sea in order to build a strong, prosperous country. The Communist Party of Vietnam has created a vision and issued … [Read more...] about Vietnam fine-tunes maritime laws

A women harvests avocado in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong. — VNA/VNS Photo The banking sector needs solutions to provide more funding for agriculture and rural areas to ensure sustainable development, according to experts. The statement was made at the workshop ‘Pro-poor Rural and Agriculture Finance Best Practices: Experiences of Viet Nam’ held by the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the International Fund for Agriculture Development in Ha Noi on Wednesday. The Party, the Government and the banking sector have always paid special attention to finance for farming areas in Viet Nam, Dao Minh Tu, deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) told the workshop. In addition, the Government and the SBV have directed preferential credit programmes for agriculture and countryside areas in domestic credit institutions, he said. Since 2006, credit programmes of the banking sector for … [Read more...] about Banking sector works on funding for farmers

By Lê Hương It's a cool autumn Sunday morning, and 24-year-old Kim Sun-il is looking forward to enjoying his free time with friends at a bookshop. But instead of taking the fast subway, he's going to rent a bicycle for a more relaxing journey. He quickly searches for availability at a nearby bike station on bikeseoul.com site using his mobile.   It's simple to access the bikes in Seoul. VNS Photos Đoàn Tùng  He smiles to see there are a few bikes available. “I used the service more when I was a student because it's cheap and convenient,” he tells Việt Nam News. “Now I work further away so I have to take the subway, but I still prefer riding a bike at the weekend for short distances.” Kim says he appreciates the city’s bike sharing initiative as it encourages more people to ride, keeping the environment cleaner. Kim is among 1.6 … [Read more...] about Cycling for fun in Seoul