The cable-car system at the Ho May cultural eco-tourist resort in Nui Lon, Vung Tau will become operational as of February 17^th.

Dau The Anh, General Director of Nui Lon-Nui Nho tourism joint-stock company, the investor in the resort affirmed that the cable-car system, which is the last subproject of the first phase with a total investment of VND 250 billion, will be ready to serve tourists on the first days of the Lunar New Year.

The resort, which covers 400 ha in Nui Lon, Big Mount, or normally called Tuong Ky mount, includes diversified ecosystem and cultural values.

Source: TT

Translated by Thu Nguyen

Despite lingering global economic problems, two-way trade between Vietnam and the UK is expected to become brisker this year, said Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in the UK An The Dung.

He emphasised  that Vietnam should focus on key exports, such as agricultural products, footwear, clothing, wooden furniture and plastic products.

In addition to calling on domestic trade promotion agencies and associations to foster closer co-operation with the UK to determine market demand, it also plans to organise more exchanges of business delegations.

More and more UK firms are showing interest in investing in Vietnam. According to the UK Department of Trade and Invesment, Vietnam is now considered the 17^th most important export market.

The UK imported over US$1.39 billion from Vietnam up to October last year, a year-on-year rise of 7.4 percent. It also exported US$267 million to Vietnam, 12 percent higher than last year’s same period.

Source: VOVNews/VNS

Exporters from Vietnam, India and Brazil will meet in the southern province of Binh Phuoc next month to discuss establishing the world’s first international cashew association.

Nguyen Thai Hoc, chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said such a grouping would help exporters be more active and create more opportunities for cooperation.

Hoc said exporters interested in founding the new association would meet on the sidelines of the Vietnam Golden Cashew Festival March 20-23 to finalize plans to establish the group after meetings in the US and Africa later on.

Vietnam, India and Brazil are the world’s largest cashew exporters, with Vietnam topping the list after local exporters overtook India in 2007.

Binh Phuoc Province accounts for 45 percent of the country’s 500,000 hectares of cashew plantation and it houses 100 cashew processing plants.

Vietnamese businesses exported 170,000 tons of cashew nuts worth US$850 million last year, compared to $920 million in 2008, accounting for over 30 percent of the world’s market.

Source: TN

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has directed ministries, sectors, food corporations and the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) to develop support for this year’s domestic rice production and export activities.

Accordingly, State commercial banks must meet loan requests to help with the purchase of rice for domestic consumption and export.

The Ministry of Finance must work with the People’s Committees in provinces and the VFA to provide updated information about rice production costs and selling and export prices. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the inter-ministerial rice export management team would instruct State food corporation to enhance transactions and sign large contracts for rice exports during the winner-spring and summer-autumn rice crops this year.

Meanwhile the VFA must intensify its efforts to seek new export markets and customers for 2010 and 2011. the association must also work with relevant offices to deliver sufficient export products accordingly to set schedules and to establish prices for services involved in rice export activities.

The Provincial people’s committees are responsible for supporting local enterprises in the purchase and distribution of rice by coordinating the duties of the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade and Finance with the management team and the VFA. This coordination effort will also help control the export price for rice, improve export rice quality and help supply agricultural materials.

Source: VOV

Various charitable activities have been launched to help poor people and social policy beneficiaries enjoy a happy New Year (Tet).

Thanh Hoa province on February 7 donated more than VND100 million to 43 families of Agent Orange/Dioxin victims in 17 districts. Provincial authorities also built 3 houses for poor families in Lang Chanh, Ba Thuoc and Nong Cong districts.

The Support Association for the Disabled and Orphans and Chanh pagoda’s executive board also provided 3 tonnes of rice to disabled people and orphans in 18 communes in Thanh Hoa city.

The fund for flood and storm victims in the central region coordinated with the Wall Gold Trading Joint Stock Company to present Tet gifts to 150 poor households in five coastal communes in Hau Loc district.

Thanh Hoa provincial officials also visited and gave Tet gifts to social policy beneficiaries, poor patients, and flood and storm victims.

Between February 6 and 8, Bac Kan province presented 3,035 Tet gifts worth nearly VND653 million to social policy beneficiaries and families of martyrs and war veterans throughout the province.

This year, the State President provided 229 Tet gifts worth VND400,000 each to Bac Kan’s heroic mothers, families of fallen combatants, heroes of the armed forces, labour heroes, and those who rendered great service in the nation’s past struggles against foreign aggressors. These people also received Tet gifts worth VND200,000 from the Bac Kan provincial authorities.

Poor children in Bac Kan were given Tet gifts worth VND200,000 each. In addition, the elderly nationwide received gifts worth VND150,000 each, while poor families were given VND200,000.

A cold spell is expected to hit northern provinces on February 13, putting an end to the current unusual hot weather, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

The cold weather will cause temperatures to drop to 15-21oC and bring slight rain to northern provinces. The temperature will be much lower in northern mountain areas and local people could feel chill in the daytime.  

The cold spell, which is forecast to last for four days, will also affect the central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh.

Meanwhile, a hot spell is continuing to spread further from north-western to north-eastern provinces, causing temperatures in the region to increase to 31-33oC in the daytime.

Weather forecasters attribute the unusual hot spell to the El Nino phenomenon which is drying rice fields across the country. The hot weather will end on February 13 – Lunar New Year’s Eve – before the cold snap approaches.

Source: VOV

Bird flu is now spreading rapidly in many provinces after a long period of containment, the Department of Animal Health (DAH) said on February 8.

The provinces of Ca Mau, Ha Tinh, Dien Bien, Soc Trang, Kon Tum and Quang Tri have all reported cases of bird flu infection in the last 21 days.

Quang Tri is the latest province to confirm a bird flu outbreak in Trieu Phong district. It has culled 400 birds in a farm and is carrying out measures to prevent any further spread of the disease.

The DAH asked these provinces to step up their preventive measures and vaccination campaigns, during the Tet holiday when demand for poultry products increasing.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, has urged provinces and cities to oversee the slaughtering of cattle and poultry in certain places and ban the sales of cattle and poultry products of unknown origins.

In addition, the Ministries of Health, Industry and Trade, Transport and Public Security will increase food hygiene and safety inspections, conduct fact-finding tours of localities, especially big cities, and strictly control transport of animals and animal products.

Source: VOV

A new service, known as a tourist balloon, was unveiled on February 6^th in Hon Tam Island, a tourist spot in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa central province.

The 22 meter diameter balloon can carry 15 visitors at a time.

On the opening day, the balloon carried hundreds of guests and visitors to a height of 150 meters for breathtaking views of Nha Trang city and its beach, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The Hon Tam tourist spot opens two package tours including several services, namely, canoeing, drinking and eating, visiting old houses, sightseeing by balloon and water sports.

A day tour costs VND 500,000 per person (VND 100,000 less for a child), while the cost for a night tour is VND 750,000 for an adult and VND 500,000 a child.

Source: TTO

Translated by Mai Huong

The Oriflame Vietnam Company and the Vietnam Women Union have signed a MoU on cooperation in two key goals of interest to the Vietnam Women Union in the presence of Robert af Jochnick, one of the Oriflame’s co-founders, on the occasion his first visit to Vietnam.

Under the MoU, Oriflame Vietnam will support the Vietnam Women Union with creating more jobs for Vietnamese women, providing them with basic career knowledge on suitable professions. In addition, through its activities and big events, Oriflame Vietnam will serve as a bridge to link all women, so that they could learn from others’ experience.

The Oriflame started business in Vietnam over six years ago. Now, Oriflame Vietnam has a network of more than 100 official workers and 42,000 consultants. It has already opened four offices in cities throughout Vietnam and given lots of jobs for local people, especially women.

Source: DDDN

Translated by Mai Huong

To confront the rise in crimes against traffic police in Hanoi, the capital city’s Traffic Police Department has equipped its staff with tear-gas, electric rods and handcuffs during the lunar New Year festival. 

Department Chief, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duy Ngoc explained that the volume of travelers and vehicles would soar this Tet and, to ensure traffic order, traffic police would have to work harder. The city will mobilize students from police schools, mobile police and the militia to control traffic. 

Recently the local media reported many cases in which traffic police officers were attacked by taxi and truck drivers. The latest case happened on February 3 when a truck driver ran his car into a traffic policeman, forcing the officer to jump to the side and cling to the car door (photo). The driver continued to run into the office, knocking the policeman down into the road. 

On the same day, a young foreign man who had no helmet was stopped by traffic police. He put the motorbike in the middle of the road, sitting on the vehicle to smoke and causing traffic jams. 

Hanoi Police Department’s director, Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, asserted that serious attacks against the police must be brought to court. He said most of the violators came from other provinces and didn’t have good knowledge of the laws.  

The General noted that traffic police were trained in self-defense measures and also equipped with weapons, but the attacks still happen. 

Nhanh also revealed that he has asked the traffic police forces to locate and fine the foreign man who didn’t obey the police. 

Source: VietNamNet/VNE