Early voting held in island and remote areas
Soldiers and people living and working in the island township of Truong Sa and the island communes of Sinh Ton and Song Tu Tay, in Truong Sa District, central Khanh Hoa Province, went to the polls on May 16, a week ahead of the official election day, in order to cast their ballots to elect deputies to the 15th National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 tenure.
Truong Sa District has six election constituencies with 24 election groups, three of which held early election.
Meanwhile in the central province of Quang Nam, early voting was successfully held in six border communes of Nam Giang District, with nearly 5,000 voters, mostly Co Tu and Gie Trieng ethnic people, casting their ballots at 24 polling places.
Voters need to make health declarations: home affairs minister
Those who engage in the upcoming elections, including voters and members of election groups, need to make health declarations in person or through apps, according to a document freshly signed by Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra.
Given the complex developments of COVID-19, Tra, who is also a member of the National Election Council, ordered the wearing of masks, avoiding big gatherings, and keeping physical distance of at least two metres at polling stations.
Fruit and vegetable exports increase sharply thanks to FTAs
Farmers harvest dragon fruit for export. (Photo: VNA)
Since the beginning of the year, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports have reached US$1.35 billion, up 9.5% over the same period last year, including exports to many high potential markets.
According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (VINAFRUIT), taking advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) is paving the way for businesses to increase revenue from fruit and vegetable exports this year.
China remained the largest importer of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables during the period with a market share of nearly 65%. Fruit and vegetables exports to this market had a good growth rate of more than 16% over the same period last year.
Government allows foreign traders to enter Vietnam to purchase lychees in Bac Giang
The Government has allowed foreign traders to enter Vietnam to buy lychees in the northern province of Bac Giang, according to a recent document of the Government Office dated May 14.
Earlier, on May 5, the Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee sent a submission asking for approval from the Prime Minister to allow around 190 Chinese merchants to enter Vietnam via Huu Nghi Border Gate (Lang Son Province) and Lao Cai Border Gate (Lao Cai Province) to purchase lychees.
The provincial People’s Committee pledged to strictly implement quarantine measures, pandemic preparedness, and human resource management to ensure security and order in accordance with regulations of the law.
Nearly 1.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Vietnam
The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived the country on April 1.
Vietnam received the second shipment of 1.682 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses through COVAX Facility, the global vaccine access mechanism, on the afternoon of May 16, according to the Ministry of Health.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that the ministry has spared no efforts in seeking vaccine sources for the nation, and around 110 million doses will be supplied for Vietnam this year, 38.9 million doses of which are from COVAX Facility, 30 million from AstraZeneca, and 31 million from Pfizer/BioNTech.
COVID-19: Vietnam records 57 cases on May 16 evening
Vietnam recorded 57 new COVID-19 infections, including three imported cases and 54 in quarantine facilities, over the last six hours to 6pm on May 16, according to the Ministry of Health.
To date, the country has recorded 2,709 domestically transmitted infections and 1,466 imported cases. A total of 1,139 cases have been documented since the fourth COVID-19 wave hit the country on April 27.
Among the active patients, 46 have tested negative to SARS-CoV-2 once, 26 twice, and 28 thrice. As many as 2,668 patients have been given the all-clear.
Meanwhile, 104,077 people are currently being quarantined nationwide.
Nearly 20,000 books with subsidies of up to 90% at National Online Book Festival
Around 15,000 – 20,000 books with subsidies of 50% to 90% from nearly 100 publishing houses are being introduced to readers.
The closing event of the second National Online Book Festival 2021 was held at Book365.vn from May 14-16 with subsidies of 50% to 90%.
Around 15,000 – 20,000 books from nearly 100 publishing houses were introduced to readers.
The 2021 National Online Book Festival has received nearly 4 million hits and provided readers with over 30,000 books over the past month.
Vietnam in top seeded group of AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
Vietnam’s national U23 team are ranked 13th and among the five squads in the top seeded group of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The AFC recently announced the list of 46 teams divided into two regional groups for a draw of the qualifiers.
The No. 1 seeded group in Southeast Asia and East Asia also comprises the reigning champions the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, Japan, China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore are in the No. 2 seeded group in Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Qualification matches are scheduled to be played between October 23-31 in a round-robin format.
