Dragon dance to celebrate the Tich Dien (ploughing) festival in Doi Son commune in 2018Drum performance at the festivalThe enactment of the ritual when the King ploughs the field at the festivalVillage girls are sowing seeds to pray for bumper harvests in the New YearA local farmer performs the ploughing practice at the festivalThe Tich Dien festival highlights the importance of agriculture and the role of farmers, and contributes to preserving and upholding cultural values of the locality. The festival began in 987 during the Le dynasty when King Le Dai Hanh decided to plough in Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district to wish for bumper crops. The practice then became an annual tradition held through many dynasties. Traditional procession at the festivalTraditional procession at the festivalParticipants at the festival

President launches New Year tree planting festivalPresident Tran Dai Quang launched the New Year tree planting festival in Bach Thong district, the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan on February 21 (the sixth day of the Lunar New Year). President Tran Dai Quang in Bac KanOn November 28, 1959, President Ho Chi Minh wrote an article which was published on Nhan dan (People) newspaper, stressing the significance of tree planting to each person, each family and the entire nation. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 235,000ha of concentrated forests and over 60 million scattered trees were planted nationwide last year. Speaking at the event, President Quang underlined the strategic significance of tree planting and forestation amidst global warming and climate change. He called on ministries, agencies, localities and people nationwide to raise public awareness of forest protection and prevent illegal logging.-VNA

Gov’t offices to trim 4,000 staff this yearVietNamNet Bridge – As many as 265,106 civil servants will be included in the State payroll this year, a year-on-year decrease of about 4,000, according to a Prime Minister’s decision that takes effect this month. — Photo thoibao.todayThe employment number does not include those working at the Public Security Ministry, Defence Ministry and public administrative staff in communes. As of the middle of last year, the numbers of civil servants and public staff in Vietnam were estimated at about 2.71 million. In general, the State payroll witnessed a decrease from 2011 to 2016, especially between 2014 and 2016, when staff strength reduced by 4,000 each year. In 2017, central government and local governments employed nearly 270,000 staff – a decrease of about 4,000 compared with 2016.

Hanoi’s sidewalk paving violations clarifiedVietNamNet Bridge – Shortcomings and violations in Hanoi’s sidewalk paving programme have been revealed following a two month investigation. The investigation noted that the pavement design requirements remain unclear, leading to various sizes of stones used for cement concrete pavement. In Long Bien and Ha Dong districts, paving projects were conducted on streets not in the centre or on streets where house construction has not been completed. Also, the paving on Ba Trieu Street in Ha Dong District was discovered to have not included a waterproofing layer. The investigation also clarified the responsibilities of units and individuals, including responsibilities of project design consultant units and design assessment units.

HCM City announces criteria for waste treatment biddersVietNamNet Bridge – HCM City has announced several criteria for selecting bidders for waste-to-energy projects this year. – Photo ssgp.org.vnNguyen Toan Thang, chairman of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said qualified bidders should be able to process around 1,000 tonnes of solid waste a day and offer a reasonable price. Appraisals will be done by the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Planning and Investment, who will submit them to the People’s Committee for approval. According to Thang, the city treats over 10,000 tonnes of waste daily. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will help existing waste treatment companies switch from burying waste to producing energy from it.

Vietnam to encourage informal sector to pay taxVietNamNet Bridge - The government needs to take action to reduce the size of the informal economic sector, economists say. This is because we still cannot observe and control the economic sector,” Ho said, admitting that measuring and controlling the sector is a difficult task. If the informal sector is ‘observable’ and the size of the sector can be measured, the value generated by the sector can be counted when calculating the nation’s GDP. Lan agrees that the government needs to apply reasonable solutions to encourage the members of the informal sector to join the formal economic sector. Economists continue to argue about the size of the informal economic sector.

Bezos-backed 10,000 Year Clock now under constructionA clock designed to run for ten millennia without human intervention is now under construction. Photo: EYEWIRE INCThe 10,000 Year Clock is a project of the Long Now Foundation, a non-profit organisation that wants to make "long-term thinking more common". The clock is designed to capture energy from changes in temperature to power its timekeeping apparatus, according to the Long Now Foundation. Like the clock hands, the chimes will only work if visitors power the clock. According to the Long Now Foundation, visitors will be able to hike to the site to see the finished product.

Russia calls on Vietnam to participate in peace projectsDr. Prof. Irina Konhiukhova from Russia’s Law University has called on Vietnam to participate in a number of projects for peace initiated by Russia. Irina Konhiukhova (R) and children participating in the "Peace Road" project in Kalmykia, ​Russia. The projects include “Peace Road,” to be carried out the areas which were battlefields, and underprivileged areas, and “Arch of Peace” which will build gates as a symbol of peace, starting from Ukraine. Konhiukhova also suggested these countries develop their own peace law in order to avoid groundless conflicts. Russia plans to organise an international congress on the Peace Road which will saw the participation of Vietnam, she said.

English vocalist performs in HCM CityThe Acoustic Saturday with Benjamin James, an English vocalist, will be held from 9.30pm until late on February 24 at the Snuffbox Speakeasy bar in District 1, HCM City. The Acoustic Saturday with Benjamin James will be held from 9:30pm on Saturday, February 24 at the Snuffbox Speakeasy bar in District 1, HCM City (Photo: rustycompass.com)James is also an English record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist trained in both classical and contemporary music. He has extensive experience performing live, having spent six years touring the world with his critically acclaimed indie-noir band, Bitter Ruin. He will perform live acoustic music and RnB vocals. The bar is at 14 Ton That Dam street.-VNA

Vietnamese cueists compete in GermanyVietnam’s two leading billiards players are competing in the World Championship in Viersen, Germany on February 22-25. Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Source: sggp.org.vn)Representing Vietnam are world No 10 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and world No 16 Tran Quyet Chien. The tournament will attract the participation of 16 strong billiard nations, such as South Korea, Turkey, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Belgium and France. We look forward to joining the party in Viersen,’’ Nguyen added. Vietnam will first meet the RoK with two strong players: world No 12 Choi Sung-won and world No 17 Kang Dong-koong.

Tet book fairs rake in moneyBook streets and fairs held in cities and towns across Vietnam during the seven-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday from February 14 to 20 earned a total income of 6.4 billion VND (282,000 USD). A view of the HCM City Tet Book FairThe HCM City Tet Book Fair, held from February 13 to 19, earned 3.2 billion VND (141,000 USD). Another book street in District 1, this one on Nguyen Van Binh street, earned a revenue of 2 billion VND(88,000 USD). The Vung Tau city book fair on Ba Cu street earned 1 billion VND (44,000 USD). The Hanoi Spring Book Fair earned revenues of 200 million VND (8,800 USD) within two days after opening on February 18.

VN students need counseling: psychologistsVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese children are entering puberty sooner than their grandparents and need counseling about various sensitive matters. Vietnamese children are entering puberty sooner than their grandparents and need counseling about various sensitive matters. The problem is that the students did not receive advice about how they should act in public. The counseling division at the school now proves to be more important than ever. RELATED NEWSPsychological counseling division to be mandatory at VN schoolsSelf-harm behaviors increasing among studentsThanh Lich

Dong used the set of solutions comprising programming language closer to natural language and V-Logic platform that programs automated processes. With the increasingly high popularity of IoT (internet of things) devices, the demand for programming languages that regulate devices has also been increasing. With the increasingly high popularity of IoT (internet of things) devices, the demand for programming languages that regulate devices has also been increasing. Children also can become coders with the simple language. Tran Luong Son from Vietsoftware said V-Logic has great application potential which may cause a revolution in programming IoT devices.

‘Hot seats’ at banks change handsVietNamNet Bridge - Big changes in key personnel at banks have occurred recently, though they have not always been made public. SeABank has seen changes in key personnelMost recently, Nguyen Canh Vinh resigned as CEO of SeABank just four months after taking office. Prior to that, he became deputy CEO in charge of managing the bank after its foreign CEO Murat Yuldashev resigned. At the same time, Nguyen Van Hao was appointed as deputy CEO and he became CEO in July 2017. RELATED NEWSVietnam banks spend big money to hire foreign CEOsTop-tier banks overthrown, junior banks rise upKim Chi

Dung crucial to team at AFC Women’s CupVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung is one of the eight important players at the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018. Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung (left). Dung won the Viet Nam Player of the Year award in 2014 and was a runner-up in 2015 and 2017. At the AFC event, Vietnam are in Group B, together with the continental powerhouses of defending champions Japan, South Korea and Australia. Vietnam will play against Japan on April 7, followed by Australia on April 11, and South Korea two days later.