Vietnam News Today (October 19): SEA Games 31 Likely to be Held in Vietnam in May 2022

A man shops at a bookstore on Nguyen Van Binh Book Street in HCMC's District 1, Oct. 9, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam records 3,159 new local Covid cases

Health authorities confirmed 3,159 new local Covid-19 cases Monday, down 16 cases from previous day, pushing the ongoing wave's tally to 862,532.

The three localities with the highest number of new cases were Ho Chi Minh City with 968 cases, Binh Duong with 439 cases and Dong Nai with 393 cases.

Of the day's tally, 1,261 cases were detected in the community, cited VnExpress.

The Health Ministry also confirmed 1,136 recoveries the same day, bringing the total tally of recovered cases so far to 792,980.

The Covid-19 death toll in Vietnam rose to 21,269 with the confirmation of 75 deaths Monday.

The average number of new cases in the country for the past seven days has been 3,260 a day while the national death rate has been 86 a day on average.

Over 45.3 million have been vaccinated, with more than 18.2 million receiving two doses.

Vietnam ratifies ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement

The Vietnamese Government on October 18 issued Resolution 131/NQ-CP ratifying the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA).

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked with collaborating with other ministries and agencies to implement the deal when it comes into force.

ATISA is considered a new step in ASEAN 's integration process of services. Upon coming into force, the pact will replace the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) that took effect in 1995.

ASEAN economic ministers officially signed the ATISA on April 23, 2019. Photo: VNA

As a principle, ATISA establishes frameworks to implement liberalization commitments from AFAS, reduce discriminatory barriers between service providers, and lay a solid legal foundation and a more transparent mechanism for trade in services in the region.

ATISA applies a "negative list" approach, under which all services sectors are considered as liberalized by default. A State would then list only those sectors/sub-sectors in which it has taken measures that it considers to run counter to the obligations of the agreement (also known as non-conforming measures), VNA reported.

ATISA also includes three sectoral annexes namely Annex on Financial Services, Annex on Telecommunication Services, and Annex on Air Transport Ancillary Services. These annexes include sector-specific obligations intended for deeper commitments and strengthened regulatory cooperation. In addition, the agreement also has Appendices I and II including the list of non-conforming measures of each ATISA member country.

SEA Games 31 likely to be held in Vietnam in May 2022

The Vietnamese government has agreed in principle with sport authorities’ proposal to postpone the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) until the second quarter of 2022, said a Vietnamese sport official.

Tran Duc Phan, deputy head of the 31st SEA Games’ organizing board, made the announcement at an online meeting of the Office of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) on October 18, according to VOV.

Delegates attend the SEAGF meeting on October 18. Photo: VOV

The region’s largest sporting event is set to take place in May 2022, and we are completing procedures to make an official announcement in the coming days, Phan told the meeting.

Delegates to the meeting supported the decision, saying that the postponement would allow participating countries to report to the government for funding. It would also Cambodia to take further steps to organize the 32nd SEA Games in May 2023.

SEA Games 2021 was originally scheduled to take place in Vietnam in late November and early December. However, regional countries have voiced their strong support for the postponement of the event until next year due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam and the region.

Goethe-Institut’s science film festival goes virtual from October 18

A total of 43 global science films are set to be introduced to Vietnamese audiences at the 11th science film festival which will be held online from October 18 to December 24.

The festival organized by the Goethe-Institut in Hanoi will run with the theme of “Better health through better understanding”.

Photo: VOV

The virtual event presents a wide assortment of films across a range of different categories which will serve all age groups.

This year’s festival will primarily focus on health and mental health, particularly as the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to destabilizing the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe, cited VOV.

The films will be available to view at.de/ins/vn/vi/.

The Science Film Festival is held annually by the Goethe-Institut in Hanoi to help promote public awareness of science, technology, and environment issues to a broad audience.

Hue to restore five Nguyen Dynasty monuments

Thua Thien-Hue Province, home to the former imperial capital of Hue, will renovate five downgraded vestiges of the Nguyen Dynasty over the next five years.

The Nguyen Dynasty was the last of Vietnam's royal rulers.

The cost of restoring the five relics – the Hue High School for the Gifted, the Can Chanh Palace, the Nam Giao Esplanade and tombs of two Nguyen Dynasty kings – is estimated at over VND460 billion (US$20.17 million).

The Hue High School for the Gifted, one of the oldest education institutions in Vietnam built during the reign of King Gia Long, will be restored.

Built in 1806, also during King Gia Long’s reign, the Nam Giao Esplanade, where Nguyen kings offered their annual prayers, has seriously deteriorated over the last two centuries. The province will restore it, VnExpress reported.

The tomb of King Tu Duc in Hue in central Vietnam. Photo: VnExpress

The restoration of Can Chanh Palace where Nguyen Kings held court, received envoys and organized the royal family feast, is estimated to cost over VND200 billion. The once-glorious palace is virtually a ruin now after it was destroyed in 1947.

The tomb of Thieu Tri, the third Nguyen Dynasty king, which lies in Huong Thuy District, around eight kilometers from downtown Hue, has also suffered severe deterioration. The province will restore it.

At the foot of the Vong Canh Mountain around seven kilometers from downtown Hue, Khiem Lang, or the Tomb of Modesty, the resting place of King Tu Duc, will be restored.

Hue, the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty, is home to royal tombs, ancient palaces and pagodas that attract millions of foreign visitors every year.

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