☕ Afternoon briefing on March 13

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

– Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong chaired a meeting of the sub-committee on personnel affairs of the 14th National Party Congress in Hanoi on March 13.

Members of the sub-committee, including Politburo members: President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Truong Thi Mai, and Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission Tran Cam Tu, attended the meeting. Read full story

- Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau (China) Pham Binh Dam has suggested the authority of the Macau Special Administrative Region take measures to resume and expand two-way tourism, including relaxing visa policies for Vietnamese visitors.  

The diplomat made the proposal when making a farewell visit to Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region Ho lat Seng on March 12. Read full story

– Vietnamese and Australian experts gathered at an international workshop in Hanoi on March 13 to share experience in building mining policies.

The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment and the Australian Embassy in Hanoi. Read full story

- For the first time in Vietnam, classical music has been taken out of theatres and auditoriums to make it easier for the public to access at a classical music festival held in Da Lat city, a UNESCO-recognised Creative City of Music, in the central province of Lam Dong.

The Vietnam Classical Music Festival, organised from March 10-17, is gathering renowned Vietnamese and international music troupes and artists such as Song Hong Ensemble, Schubert in a Mug and pianists Nguyen Duc Anh, Liao Hsin-Chiao (from China’s Taiwan) and Tim Allhoff (from Germany). Read full story

– Vietnam is adopting solutions, including perfecting and legal framework, to intensify comprehensive actions at all levels to reverse the trend of biodiversity degradation.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, Vietnam is recognised as one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world with different ecosystems including tropical forests, marine and coastal ecosystems. More than 100 bird species and 10% of flora in the country are endemic. Read full story

YouTube channel Happiness Jisoo (Photo: yeah1.com)

- Singer Jisoo of Blackpink, one of the Republic of Korea’s most famous music bands, has recently donated all of the profits she has earned from her YouTube channel to charity organisation Save the Children that will use the money to develop mangrove forests in the Vietnamese southernmost province of Ca Mau, the Korean media reported.

Currently, Jisoo has 4.99 million subscribers on her YouTube channel Happiness Jisoo. Read full story

– The 11th international exhibition on plastics and rubber technology, materials and machinery opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 13, with the participation of more than 60 booths showcasing products in the plastics-rubber industry from 12 countries and territories, including the UK, Germany, China, Singapore and Vietnam, among others.

With a total area of 3,300 sqm, the three-day Plastics and Rubber Vietnam 2024 offers an opportunity for domestic and foreign businesses to access the latest technologies in the industry as well as seek potential business partners./. Read full story