Quyet replaces Truong as captain of U23 Olympic VietnamVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese striker Nguyen Van Quyet from Ha Noi Club has been selected as captain of the Olympic Vietnam team by head coach Park Hang Seo to compete at Asiad 2018, which will be held from August 19 to September 1 in Indonesia. Battle-ready: Van Quyet (left) has been selected as captain of the Olympic Vietnam team, replacing Xuan Truong. — Photo danang.vnQuyet was chosen to replace midfielder Luong Xuan Truong, who was captain of the U23 Vietnam team at U23 Asia 2018. The next day, we will fly to Binh Duong Province before heading to Indonesia on August 11.”Together with Nguyen Anh Duc, Quyet is the most experienced and skillful player in the Olympic Vietnam lineup at present. On the national team, he is also the captain while Truong is one of the assistant captains.

Fruit, veggie exports likely to earn Vietnam $4.7 billion in 2018Fruits and vegetables may earn the country 4.7 billion USD this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Vietnam earned over 2 billion USD from exporting fruits and vegetables in the first half of 2018, a year-on-year rise of nearly 20 percent. During the period, exports to the largest markets registered high growth, with China ranking first as the country imported 1.2 billion USD worth of products, an annual increase of 18 percent. Last year, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export value exceeded 3.5 billion USD. The sector is striving to reach a year-on-year growth of 10-15 percent this year, or around 4 billion USD.-VNA

US - VN duo to play BrahmsAmerican cellist Grace Ho and Vietnamese violinist Bui Cong Duy will perform together for the first time at concerts in Hanoi and HCM City next month. The concert is held annually by Toyota Motor Viet Nam aiming to treat audiences to classical music and introduce world-acclaimed musicians to local audiences. Tickets are available at Hanoi Opera House and HCM Opera House from July 20th. The proceeds will be used to support the Toyota Scholarship for Young Vietnamese Music Talents. Vietnamese violinist Bui Cong Duy.

Vietnam Airlines reschedules flights to/from Japan due to stormThe national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced its plan to adjust the schedule of flights to and from airports in Japan on July 29 due to storm Jongdari. Seawater rises as storm Jongdari hits Japan's Chiba PrefectureAccordingly, the carrier starts six flights later than previously scheduled for the routes between Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi and Nagoya/Osaka from one and half an hours to seven hours. The affected flights are VN340, VN346, VN320, VN330, VN321 and VN331. The carrier will continue to follow weather conditions and update passengers on further flight schedule adjustments. It recommends passengers who intend to travel to or from Japan follow the storm’s movement and the carrier’s latest announcement via http://www.vietnamairlines.com and its booking agents nationwide or call its hotline 19001100.

Lombok earthquake: Hikers trapped on mountain after landslidesMore than 200 hikers are trapped on a mountain on the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok, after a deadly earthquake triggered landslides which cut off escape routes. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck early on Sunday not far from the base of the mountain. Authorities say more than 500 people, mostly foreign tourists, have already come down from the mountain but 266 are still trapped up there. Rinjani, a volcanic mountain, draws hundreds of thousands of climbers from across the world each year, says BBC Indonesian editor Rebecca Henschke on the island. Dramatic footage filmed by guides on the mountain at the time of the earthquake showed huge landslides near the crater lake.

Ministry solicits public opinion about English instruction at kindergartensVietNamNet Bridge – The use of native English-speaking teachers at kindergartens would improve children’s speaking skills, participants at a seminar held in HCM City on July 27 said. Experts said the modern creative methodology used in teaching English would also be preferable to more traditional methods. Many seminar participants said there were still no detailed regulations from the ministry about the collection of fees for English courses at kindergartens. "Most foreign teachers at foreign languages centres in the city have certificates in kindergarten education," she said. The programme for teaching English should also be assessed carefully.

Plans to ensure safety of Hoa Binh, Son La hydroelectric reservoirsThe Government has mapped out plans to ensure the safety of reservoirs at the Hoa Binh and Son La hydroelectric plants, two of the country’s largest, said Tran Quang Hoai, permanent member of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. "According to the plan, we are not allowed to let the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant’s dam break. Over the past three years, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) removed 471 hydroelectric projects, including eight large hydropower projects and 463 small hydropower projects, due to problems with the projects. The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant is located in the northern province of Hoa Binh on the Da River. The Son La Hydropower Plant is also on the Da River in Muong La district in the northern province of Son La.

Foreign cash keeps flowing into real estate marketVietNamNet Bridge - Foreign investors, mostly from Asia, continue making serious investments in Vietnam’s real estate sector. Foreign capital keeps flowing into the real estate marketJapanese Hinokiya and Vietnamese TWG are moving ahead with a plan to set up a joint venture to develop real estate projects in Vietnam after signing a cooperation agreement on June 22. Warburg Pincus’ CEO Charles R. Kaye said many foreign investors are coming to Vietnam because of high growth rate. Meanwhile, investors are targeting many different market segments, including housing development, industrial production, retail premises, offices and tourism real estate. RELATED NEWSReal estate market to prosper thanks to stock upswingExperts divided on Vietnam’s real estate marketThanh Lich

VN enterprises urged to meet requirements of Japanese manufacturersVietnamese enterprises need to improve their capacity to produce raw materials, components and machines of high quality to meet requirements of Japanese manufacturers in the country, experts said at a meeting held in HCM City last week. “However, some Vietnamese enterprises are not capable of participating in the supply chain of Japanese enterprises,” he said. Japanese manufacturers only buy about one-third of raw materials in Viet Nam, mostly from Japanese enterprises or FDI enterprises working in Viet Nam. To be able to participate in the value chain of Japanese enterprises, Viet Nam needs enterprises that can produce raw materials, components and machines of high quality, according to Shimizu. The seminar was held by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in HCM City and the Viet Nam Japan Institute for Human Resources Development.

US continues to be key export market for VietnamThe United States has maintained its leading position as Viet Nam’s largest export market having spent US$21.6 billion on Vietnamese products in the first half of the year, accounting for 19 per cent of the country’s total export value as of July 15. Dragon fruit is one of many Vietnamese products being exported to the US. However, the US has strict standards that require Vietnamese export businesses to improve their capacity and take the initiative to cooperate and build new supply chains. Its trade remedies such as anti-dumping were being applied strictly so that Vietnamese businesses must grow to promote their products in the market. He said the US business community was looking at the Vietnamese market due to the country’s population, growth rate and economic reforms.

Vietnam is fifth biggest tea exporter worldwideVietnam is now the seventh biggest tea producer and the fifth biggest exporter of the product in the world. The Department of Farm Produce Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that over 500 tea factories are operational in the country. Together the factories produce more than 500,000 tonnes of dried tea leaves annually. The biggest buyers of Vietnamese tea were Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan (China), Indonesia, the US, China and Malaysia. Recently, some kinds of Vietnamese tea won awards at the first International Gourmet Tea Competition “Teas of the World” in Paris, including Rizote tea of the northern province of Thai Nguyen, a locality famous for green tea, won the silver award.-VNA

Waste: key raw material for recycling industryVietNamNet Bridge - The demand for waste as the input material for the recycling industry in Vietnam has increased by 10-20 percent per annum. Recycling waste is an important part of production activities of many countries. Under the plastics industry development strategy by 2020 drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, enhancing waste treatment and scrap recycling is one of the key solutions to develop the plastics industry. Under the plastics industry development strategy by 2020 drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, enhancing waste treatment and scrap recycling is one of the key solutions to develop the plastics industry. The Vietnam Paper and Pulp Association (VPPA) has recommended that enterprises shift to collecting scrap paper and recycle scrap.

Exam cheating scandal shows dark side of Vietnam’s educationVietNamNet Bridge - Commenting about the exam cheating scandal in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, education experts say it reflects the problems of an educational system which attaches too much attention to exam scores and degrees. Therefore, the abnormally high exam scores in the provinces are unconvincing,” he said. The 2-in-1 national high school final exam was first organized in 2015. The 2-in-1 national high school final exam was first organized in 2015. Since 2017, the role of presiding over the exam has been assigned to local education departments.

4.0 revolution occurring behind the scenes at local factoriesVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese manufacturers have been quietly preparing their companies to adapt to the 4.0 industrial revolution. Vietnamese businesses prepare for the 4.0 industry revolutionNguyen Luu Dung is a well-known name in the mechanical engineering community. A water jet cutting machine, for example, has more advantages than laser cutting machines because it can cut all kinds of materials while not distorting the materials. The most advanced generation of water jet cutting machine - the US-made 3D multi-axis water jet cutting machine, valued at $500,000-700,000 – is being used in one enterprise. Some manufacturers said they will use modern machines if they need them, but don’t intend to waste money on modern machines and leave them idle.

Hanoi’s tycoons incur big losses because of speculation deals in SEZsVietNamNet Bridge - Real estate transactions in Van Don and Bac Van Phong, reserved to become SEZs in the future, have become frozen. Real estate transactions have become frozenWith the wave of people migrating to Phu Quoc, the demand for land plots is still high. However, only legitimate land plots in areas with good infrastructure are wanted. They spent hundreds of billions of dong to collect agriculture land and sell land plots for fat profits.They once made profits when the draft law on SEZ was put into discussion at National Assembly’s session. As a result, the speculated land plots are not selling.Thanh said that he still has two unsold land plots.