HÀ NỘI Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday asked ministries, agencies and localities to focus on settling the consequences of storm Prapiroon – the second of its kind due to hit Việt Nam this year. The storm has left at least five dead, four missing and one injured. In his Official Dispatch No 72/CD-TTg dated July 24, the PM asked ministries, agencies and localties to take promp actions to tackle the consequences of the storm. In the coming time, floods and rains will continue to be complicated and unpredictable, posing high risks of major floods, flash floods, and landslides, the document wrote. Specifically, he asked Sơn La Province to take drastic search and rescue activities and provide support for victims’ families.

HÀ NỘI — With the theme My Việt Nam, the National Costume Design contest has just officially launched by the Mister Vietnam's organising committee. The designs are unlimited in terms of ideas, styles, materials and creativity is one of the factors that determine the winning national costume. The top five best national costume designs have the chance to shine with Vietnamese representatives in the arenas for male beauty around the world. The results will be announced on the final night of Mister Vietnam 2024. Vietnamese representatives will take the costumes to world arenas to promote Vietnamese culture and people to friends on five continents.

In Vietnam, a two-day national mourning for Party General Secretary Trong will also be observed on July 25 - 26./. He held that the General Secretary deserves to be one of President Ho Chi Minh's excellent disciples. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam headed by Trong, Vietnam has achieved remarkable feats in economic and foreign affairs, and security, peace, and stability have been increasingly maintained, Shaaban assessed. The former Singaporean Foreign Affairs official underlined that there are many reasons why General Secretary Trong was one of Vietnam's most successful leaders. It was the second visit by a Vietnamese Party General Secretary to Thailand after the first one by General Secretary Do Muoi in 1993.

HÀ NỘI — Tributes have streamed in over social media soon after the Vietnam News Agency issued a special communiqué, announcing that Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng passed away at 1.38 pm on July 19, 2024, at the Central Military Hospital 108 in Hà Nội. A moving eulogy by an anonymous author, which demonstrates the outpouring of grief of the Vietnamese people for the beloved leader, has gone viral on various platforms, including Facebook, Youtube, TikTok, Zalo and Viber. Netizens’ positive messages have affirmed that Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s prestige has created the power of solidarity not only for the Party but also the whole people. As of January 2023, Việt Nam had 77.93 million internet users, or 79.1 per cent of the population. Among them, there were 70 million social network users, with 66.2 million signing up for Facebook, 63 million for YouTube, 10.35 million for Instagram, 49.86 million for TikTok, 5.2 million for LinkedIn, and 4.1 million for Twitter.

Throughout his life and career, Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng paid special attention and was dedicated wholeheartedly, to the cause of building and developing the national culture. Minister Hùng emphasised that the General Secretary was a great cultural figure, a shining example of revolutionary morality. In the last months of his life, the General Secretary published the book Building and Developing Advanced Vietnamese Culture with a Strong National Identity. This tradition has been carried forward by subsequent Party and State leaders, including General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. "Besides the cultural scope and depth of his cultural thinking, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng is also a man of culture, as well as a 'soldier on the cultural front' of the Party," Đông said.

HCM CITY — Starting from July 22, both domestic and international tourists visiting HCM City can register for the HCM City Free Walking Tour to explore the city's iconic destinations on foot. According to a representative of BenThanh Tourist, the organisation that launched this tourism product, the free walking tour is designed with the aim of introducing both Vietnamese and international tourists to the unique historical and cultural sites and the iconic architecture of HCM City. The Free Walking Tour is organised daily from 9.30am to 1pm, for all Vietnamese and foreign tourists who wish to explore HCM City on foot. Tourists who love history, food enthusiasts, or those simply curious about local culture, will enjoy the HCM City Free Walking Tour. In 2017, the Free Walking Tours project, a free tourism model, was first launched by Vietravel, helping tourists to "slow down" to observe, feel, and experience the live of locals in an authentic manner.

This is expected to bring greater momentum to the market, thereby supporting a recovery in residential transactions and price stabilization in 2H 2024. Housing price differences between Hong Kong and mainland cities also make GBA properties attractive to some Hong Kong people, especially for those who find Hong Kong purchase entry prices too high. As Hong Kong continues to integrate with the GBA, we expect to see increasing buying interest from Hong Kong residents, supporting a more stable outlook for the GBA residential market. Domestic capital accounted for 99% of the GBA CRE market transactions in 1H 2024, with overseas buyers and institutional investors remaining conservative (Chart 4). Hence, we believe that the GBA logistics sector will continue to attract investors' attention into the future.

According to Lonely Planet, cities must have a dense network of flights, trains and buses, which give travellers access to the smallest of provinces, encouraging free-spirited exploration. Lonely Planet said Da Nang's graceful arc of a coastline is as stunning as they come, punctuated at the end by the majestic Lady Buddha statue on the Son Tra peninsula. Solo travellers on a budget needn't worry about missing out as rooms here average 1,000,000 VND (39.47USD). Solo travellers who love to connect with local people will find them especially amenable to sharing their stories here. Vietnamese people are a sociable lot, and solo travellers will find themselves making transient connections easily.

However, the two most popular methods are based on student GPAs (grade point average) at high school and their high school final exam results. This is because the quota for admitting students based on their high-school records is small, while demand is very high. In many cases, high school teachers ‘fabricate’ high GPAs for students. High school teachers tend to give high marks to 12th graders’ school work because the marks will partially determine the future of students. Admitting students based on their high school records is new in Vietnam, so schools are cautious when using this method.

The Vietnamese Party leader's foresight on the relationship between Việt Nam and Malaysia will remain long, he said, stressing that Trọng's legacy will inspire future generations in Việt Nam and across Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in his letter of condolences to President Tô Lâm, Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam underscored that Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng's dedication to the fight against corruption is a decisive factor in his leadership role. In an interview granted to the VNA in New Delhi, former Deputy National Security Advisor of India Satyendra Pradhan described Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng as a witted and experienced political leader and a strategic theorist. Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng provided a model that other countries should follow, which is granting certain freedom to market development and this has led to the establishment of a socialist-oriented market economy, said Pradhan. The ICAP President underlined that staunch communist Nguyễn Phú Trọng worked tirelessly to strengthen the traditional relationship between the peoples of Cuba and Việt Nam.

A former Vietnamese property and aviation tycoon charged with $146 million in fraud and stock market manipulation went on trial in Hanoi Monday, the latest corruption case targeting the country's business elite. Tycoon Quyet is accused of illegally pocketing more than $146 million between 2017 and 2022. According to the prosecution indictment, Quyet set up several stock market brokerages and registered dozens of family members to, ostensibly, trade shares. In April, a top Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death in a $27 billion fraud case, launched an appeal against her conviction. The head of one of Vietnam's top soft drinks companies, meanwhile, was jailed for eight years in April in a $40 million fraud case.

HÀ NỘI — Torrential rains, with rainfall of up to 300mm and thunderstorms are forecast to batter the northern region from Monday through to Wednesday due to the impacts of the typhoon Prapiroon. In other areas of the north-western region and Thanh Hóa Province, the rainfall was expected to range from 50-100 mm, with isolated areas receiving over 200 mm. The heavy rains in the northern region and Thanh Hóa Province were expected to gradually decrease since Thursday. On Sunday morning, the tropical low-pressure system over the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago waters strengthened into a typhoon, becoming the second typhoon to hit the East Sea this year. The suspension will remain in effect until the final update on the typhoon is issued.

A Vietnam Airlines flight was delayed at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang City, central Vietnam on Sunday afternoon after a passenger claimed that a grenade was in their baggage. The incident took place on the Ho Chi Minh City-bound flight VN 131, initially scheduled to take off at 3:25 pm. At around 4:45 pm, the Middle Airports Authority agreed with a representative of Vietnam Airlines on allowing the passengers to return to the plane. Fines ranging between VND15 million ($589) and VND20 million ($785) will be imposed on those who make similar claims that affect normal operations of the sector. If their claims threaten the safety of a flying aircraft and passengers on board, they will face fines of between VND20 million and VND30 million ($1,177).

During this time, my wife stayed in the hospital with me during the day, taking me to various functional examination rooms and managing my meals and medications. Perhaps the most striking moment during this treatment was one evening when my blood pressure rose, and I developed a severe headache. A headache from high blood pressure is incredibly uncomfortable and distressing; only those who have experienced this illness can fully understand the agony of such pain. Besides taking medication regularly at scheduled times, whenever my blood pressure stayed high for an extended period and caused headaches, I would typically take additional medication to lower it. My liver was functioning normally, and my stomach was not in an acute inflammatory state; I had been taking blood pressure medication and Paracetamol for a long time.

Vu Viet Trang (first, right), Secretary of the Party Committee and General Director of the VNA, and other officials and staff members commemorate Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on July 22. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Leaders and staff members of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) expressed their respect for and great grief over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at a commemoration held on July 22. The event at the VNA headquarters in Hanoi was connected with the agency’s representative offices in the central - Central Highlands and southern regions and the ITAXA One Member Co. Ltd based in Ho Chi Minh City via videoconference. The Party leader passed away on July 19 at the age of 80. During nearly 60 years of working, he made outstanding contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.