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Vietnam should learn from other countries’ experience and clarify its specific demand and circumstance to select the most appropriate model for a national human rights body, an expert has said. At a symposium in Hanoi on September 25, Vice Director at the Hanoi Law University Chu Manh Hung continued to say that the model of a national human rights agency varies by political and socio-economic systems and there is no such thing as a common model for all nations. Vietnam needs to ensure representation in its national human rights agency, said Vice Dean of the university’s Faculty of Public International Law Nguyen Thi Hong Yen, adding that will help guarantee…

The Government’s new visa exemption policy for travellers from five European countries could boost tourism better if it was for longer than 15 days, tour operators and visitors have said. The Government has applied the waiver for visitors from Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain and France for one year period starting from July 1 this year. After the decision became effective, international tourists increased by 12.1 per cent in July and an additional 12 per cent in August, according to statistics from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). The decision was seen as a way of improving tourism after 13 consecutive months of decline. In June, visitors from France…

The capital city’s 23 pedestrian tunnels or subways, once often filled with rubbish, described as unclean, unsanitary and even sleazy, have been upgraded and fully utilised. Deputy director of the upgrade project, Nguyen Duc Giang, said the average commuter flow through each tunnel was 500 to 5,000 people a day. The most used tunnel, near My Dinh parking place in Tu Liem district, is used by up to 5,000 pedestrians a day. Nguyen Thu Huong, a student at the Finance College, said the tunnels were now clean and popular. She said that before they were built a few years ago, people had to cross roads packed with vehicles. Early this…

A treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between Vietnam and Spain was signed in the latter’s capital city of Madrid on September 18. The deal, inked by Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Nguyen Hoa Binh and Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala Polo, is intended to better mutual legal assistance activities relating to criminal issues between the two countries’ relevant agencies. The Spanish minister said the treaty is an important legal framework and basis for the two sides to cooperate more effectively in preventing and fighting crimes, especially trans-national organised ones. It also concretises both sides’ international commitments to combating crimes as well as their responsibility…

About 800 job fairs have been organised nationwide since 2011, through which approximately 8 million job seekers were provided with consultation and job vacancies and 3 million of them actually found employment as a result. The information was revealed at a conference to review the National Target Programme on Employment and Vocational Training in the 2012-2015 period held in the central province of Binh Thuan on September 18 with the participation of representatives from job placement centres and labour departments of 32 provinces in the southern region. As of 2015, the programme has accomplished the goal of raising the ratio of workers recruited via job placement centres to 37.89 percent,…

The Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform convened its 22nd session in Hanoi on September 18 to scrutinise projects on combating negative phenomena in judicial activities. At the working session, representatives of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Supreme People’s Procuracy (SPP) presented reports on the projects, which feature the situation and solutions to the negative phenomena in their own field. In its project, the court pointed to a range of shortcomings remained in the sector such as the low quality of judgment and violations of regulations committed by court officials. To overcome such limitations, the project mapped out a package of solutions, including building and finalising legal documents…

Ho Chi Minh City authorities are speeding up the relocation of polluting factories from the downtown area and stepping up efforts to protect canals – many of which have been cleaned — to improve the living environment. Tat Thanh Cang, Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, also recently called on the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to work with the police and local authorities in Districts 8, 9, Thu Duc, Tan Phu, and Binh Thanh to closely monitor factories for pollution. The city is determined to move the remaining six seriously polluting companies from the downtown area, a task it has been trying to accomplish for several years.…

Vietnam and Japan on September 15 issued a statement on a join vision for their relations on the occasion of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visit to Japan from September 15-18. Vietnam affirmed that Japan continues to be its leading and long-term partner while Japan said it treasures Vietnam’s position in its foreign policy in Asia-Pacific. The two countries asserted their determination to promote their all-round relationship across the board in the interests of their people to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Earlier, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe witnessed the signing…

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh reiterated education is Vietnam’s top national policy while attending the Vietnam-UK Education Forum held in London, the UK, on September 11.  The forum looking to establish bilateral sustainable education partnership brought together representatives from leading 100 universities and academic organisations from both sides.  Deputy PM Ninh also told participants that the training of human resources of high calibre has been defined as one of the strategic breakthroughs being pursued by Vietnam to achieve sustainable development and integration, expecting the forum would foster partnerships in this regard.  He informed that under the law on higher education issued in 2012, local universities are working to strengthen…

VietNamNet Bridge – The Hanoi Department of Population and Family Planning has said that each year the city’s population increases by about 200,000 people, equivalent to the population of a large district. Of the new population, about 120,000 are newborn children and the rest are migrants. The department’s director, Mr. Ta Quang Huy, said the increase of population posed a difficult problem for the future social and economic development of the capital city. Hanoi’s population is the second largest in Vietnam, only behind HCM City. Notably, gender imbalance at birth and the number of families having the third child are on the rise. The number of women entering reproductive age…

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong presented his credentials to Japanese Emperor Akihito in Tokyo on July 31.  At the later meeting with the Emperor, Cuong promised to do his best to bolster the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries. The ambassador also conveyed Vietnamese leaders’ greetings to the Emperor and the Queen, and asserted that the Vietnamese Party, State and people have always considered Japan as Vietnam’s leading development partner. In return, the Emperor lauded the fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in all areas, serving interests of both countries’ people. Emperor Akihito expressed his wish that, during his tenure, the diplomat would further promote the multi-faceted…

Can Tho has been ranked the 10th most beautiful canal city in the world in a list drawn up by the Mysterious World website. “Waterways have played a crucial role in transportation throughout the history,” the site says.  “Until today cities like Venice, Birmingham and Giethoorn are globally known for their stunning canal system. “The large Vietnamese city of Can Tho is located in the Mekong Delta in the centre of a network of canals and rivers. The city’s total waterway length is 1,157km. The Hau River, the biggest branch of the Mekong River, runs along the north of the city.” It also mentions floating markets, the main attraction of…

Vietnam’s Ministry Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the TOA Institute, A Japanese general Incorporated Foundation, signed A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation Training in Agriculture on July 27. Under the pact, Vietnamese Trainees in the Agricultural sector Will See A greater Chance to Work in Japan’s Hokkaido. Addressing the Signing Ceremony, MOLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa highlighted Efforts made by the Two Governments Have Resulted in the Increasing Quantity and quality of Vietnamese Trainees going to Japan to FURTHER Their working experience. The newly-inked pact Will Stimulate the Two Sides’ cooperation in Agro-Forestry-Fisheries, Which IS Among the most Prioritised sector of the MOLISA in terms of Enhancing…

HOI AN (VNS) — The ancient city will host the annual Hoi An-Japan Cultural Festival with a series of activities from August 28 to 30, Hoi An’s culture centre said yesterday. This is the 13th time the city has held the event, with the participation of local residents, the Japanese community in Hoi An and Da Nang, and tourists visiting the city. Japanese residents living in Hoi An and artists from Japan will introduce traditional dances like yasakoi, yakakoi; paper cutting (Kirigami); bonsai and photo exhibitions for the 12th anniversary of co-operation and culture exchange between Hoi An and Japan; a Haiku calligraphy exhibition; and folk performances. The event will…

The authorities of Hoi An City are organizing more music performances to promote tourism and help preserve cultural values of the central city. The band “Tieng duong cam-Cung dan tuoi tho” (Piano sound-Childhood melody) will perform at 78 Le Loi Street on the first and third Fridays of every month.  Held by the Center for Culture and Sports Center and Department of Education and Training in Hoi An, the program features performances of second to seventh graders in Hoi An. The music program aims to woo visitors to the ancient town and create a playground for local children to show off their talents and promote the genre of classic music.…

Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) in HCMC and View Media Joint Stock Company have launched a new TV channel called View TV, an information and entertainment channel for young Vietnamese families with members aged between 18 and 45, in cooperation with Japanese firm Enter Asia. The TV channel, which will be broadcast on the same frequency with VTC8 channel, will feature programs such as news, reportage and TV shows, along with six programs produced in coordination with Enter Asia to cover stories about social and economic activities, activities for families, entertainment and fashion. Masahiko Aoki, chair of Enter Asia, said: “Vietnam and Japan have certain cultural similarities. Vietnam is on the…

The fifth Asia-Pacific Bonsai Festival kicked off yesterday at Rin Rin Park, a Japanese cultural site, in HCM City featuring 500 bonsai from 17 countries and territories. The four-day festival includes ancient, classical and contemporary styles, bonsai with flowers and fruits, among others. Besides bonsai, the festival also includes Penjing and Suiseki (miniature scenes made of carved stone and wood), bonsai demonstrations, ornamental creature auctions and music performances. Local and international artisans will also perform bonsai-making techniques and engage with bonsai experts from around the world. The biennial festival is held rotationally among the Asia-Pacific Bonsai Friendship Federation’s eight members — Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Chinese Taiwan, Viet Nam,…

British Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever and Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan on June 3 signed a government-level memorandum of understanding (MOU) on assisting Vietnam in technological and scientific research and innovation under the Newton Program Vietnam. As part of the program, the UK will provide up to 10 million pounds to support Vietnam-UK research collaboration and innovation partnership until 2019. Researchers, fellows, management officials in science and businesses with creativity will be the beneficiaries of the program. The Newton Program Vietnam will focus on scholarships for researchers, research projects on challenges related to development and cooperation plans to commercialize research. Priorities will be given to innovation…

HA NOI (VNS) — Bkav Corporation yesterday launched the first made-in-Vietnam smartphone, Bphone, which was in development for more than four years. With a flat design, the phone has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with a speed of up to 2.5 GHz, and RAM Sky Hynic 3GB LPDDR3, and eMMC 5.0 flash storage of Toshiba. It comes with a 5-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera with OmniVision sensor. Bphone has the same technology used in global high-end smartphones. For example, it provides Fast Tracking Auto Focus that allows users to take photos and get them in focus later. According to Bkav Hardware Division’s vice president Vu Thanh Thang,…

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam’s fisheries industry should better utilise modern production technologies to improve its competitiveness in the global market, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat at a conference last Saturday. The minister said that, though the fisheries industry made some remarkable achievements, it has performed less than expected, especially in applying the world’s advanced technologies for the sector including the breeding. He said that research institutions had not made the best use of the state budget to help developing the industry. He stressed the importance of improving technology available to Vietnamese fishermen, who are responsible for 130,000 fishing boats at sea. However,…

The consumer price index (CPI) for May showed an increase of 0.16 percent over April and a year-on-year surge of 0.95 percent, the General Statistics Offices (GSO) said on May 24.  Hence, average CPI in the first five months of 2015 increased 0.83 percent compared to the same period last year. According to Deputy Director of GSO’s Pricing Statistics Department, Do Bich Ngoc, the rise in May’s CPI is mainly due to the hike in petrol price on May 5, which contributed to a 0.08 percent increase in the CPI.  The rise in electricity price in March plus surging electricity use due to hot weather also pushed the CPI up…

HCM City (VNA) – Vietnamese and Japanese researchers have completed an international project to develop a new rice variety that is disease- and insect-resistant with a high-yield, short-growth duration. The rice variety was developed by using certain genes and the most advanced molecular bio-technology. The project, called the “Development of Crop Genotypes for the Midlands and Mountain Areas of North Vietnam” was implemented from December 2010 to November this year. Financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project was carried out by Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), Kyushu University and Nagoya University of Japan. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, Vice President of VNUA, said: “Plant breeding in Vietnam…