February 14-20: NA Standing Committee convenes 8th session

Nhan Dan Online reviews the notable events that made headlines over the past week.

At the 8th session of NA Standing Committee (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)
At the 8th session of NA Standing Committee (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

NA Standing Committee convenes 8th session

The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee held its 8th session in Hanoi on February 15-17.

During the session, the committee looked into the amendment of two draft laws - the Law on Mobile Police and another revising and supplementing some articles of the Law on Intellectual Property.

The committee agreed with the Government's proposal to add the draft Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended) to the Law and Ordinance Building Programme in 2022, and submit it to the legislature for comments.

Regarding supervision, the committee reviewed a report on initial results of the implementation of policies and laws on the planning work since the Law on Planning came into force, and gave opinions on the selection of ministries, sectors, and localities serving the supervision work in the coming time.

The committee passed its draft resolution on the establishment of wards of Pho Yen township and Pho Yen city in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Vietnam’s 'vaccine passport' recognised by 14 countries, territory

The COVID-19 vaccination certificate of Vietnam has been recognised by 14 countries and territory. (Illustrative image)

Fourteen countries and territory had recognised the COVID-19 vaccination certificate, also called “vaccine passport”, of Vietnam as of February 16, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

They consist of Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, the Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Turkey.

Some others are also actively considering and discussing technical issues and will soon issue their confirmations.

The MoFA said it is working with overseas representative agencies of Vietnam to actively discuss with and persuade other countries to officially recognise Vietnam’s “vaccine passport” in order to facilitate people’s travel.

Vietnam ranks 6th in ASEAN in terms of AI readiness index

Vietnam has climbed 14 places to the 62nd in the 2021 Government Artificial Intelligence (AI) Readiness Index, according to an annual index report released by the UK’s Oxford Insights in collaboration with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

With an overall score of 51.82 out of 100, Vietnam ranked 6th in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). This is the first year its score has surpassed the global average of 47.42.

The report highlighted the importance of national AI strategies, stating that Indonesia and Vietnam have both released their own strategy and scored the maximum point in the 2021 vision.

Vietnam National University - Hanoi listed in Webometrics’ Top 1,000 best universities

Vietnam National University - Hanoi listed in Webometrics’ Top 1,000 best universities (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnam National University – Hanoi (VNU) climbed 15 places to rank 944th in the latest Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, which was freshly announced by the Cybermetrics Lab, a member of the Spanish National Research Lab.

The university also remained the No.1 among the 178 Vietnamese establishments named in the list.

The second to fifth places respectively belonged to Ton Duc Thang University in the 1,074th position; Duy Tan University, 1,255th; Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1,322nd; and Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh 2,871st.

Vietnam among top ten best countries for digital nomads

The Travel – A famous Canadian travel magazine, has just announced a list of the ten best countries for digital nomads, in which Vietnam ranks eighth position.

Top ten destinations voted by tourists include: Serbia, Colombia, Germany, Republic of Estonia, Sri Lanka, Iceland, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

According to The Travel, although Vietnam is not a developed country, it still provides an excellent environment for digital nomads. The country is peaceful and very welcoming for foreigners, it has a low crime rate, good weather, and an easy balance of work life and fun. Vietnam is also a country that has many untouched natural features, making it very attractive and calm.

Local image wins prize at CEFF International Environmental Photography

February 14-20: NA Standing Committee convenes 8th session  ảnh 3

Photograph titled “Sunny Day” by Tran Viet Van

An image snapped by Vietnamese photographer Tran Viet Van has been named the winner in the Indigenous Cultures category at the CEFF International Environmental Photography.

The photo “Sunny Day” features a woman drying incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau, a 100-year-old incense-making village located in Hanoi.

Viet Van is currently a journalist working for the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper. He got a bachelor's degree from Hanoi Cultural University in 1996. He started photography in 1998 and has so far.

Nguyen Hoang Duc wins Vietnamese Golden Ball Award 2021

Midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc (Viettel FC) overcame both Nguyen Quang Hai (Hanoi FC) and Nguyen Tien Linh (Becamex Binh Duong FC) to receive the Vietnam Golden Ball Award 2021 for the best male football player of the year during an award ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on February 16.

On the women’s side, forward Huynh Nhu equalled Doan Thi Kim Chi’s Golden Ball record as she took the award for the third time in a row and the fourth time in her career. The Tra Vinh-born player earned 554 points, well above the Silver Ball winner Pham Hai Yen (201 points) and the Bronze Ball recipient Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (140 points).

Goalkeeper Ho Van Y was named the winner of the Futsal Golden Ball 2021 with 564 points while Chau Doan Phat (235 points) and Nguyen Minh Tri (147 points) claimed the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball, respectively.

Vietnam trounce Singapore in opening match of 2022 AFF U23 Championship

Vietnamese players celebrate after the match. (Photo: Webthethao)

Vietnam’s U23 football team thrashed Singapore 7-0 at their opening Group C tie of the 2022 AFF U23 Championship on February 19 night in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Vietnam temporarily ranked first in Group C thanks to this great victory, above Thailand on goal difference.

The national team just needs a draw in the upcoming match with Thailand on February 22 to enter the semi-final.