Vietnam News Today (September 8): Bamboo Airways Licensed to Fly Directly to US from September 23

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan hold phone talks on September 7. Photo: VNP

Vietnam, Singapore eye stronger cooperation in different spheres

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on September 7 said the two countries should strengthen cooperation in politics, economy, trade, investment and education-training to promote their strategic partnership.

During their phone talks on the day, FM Son highly valued Singapore’s support to Vietnam, especially its commitment to provide Vietnam with essential medical supplies for the Covid-19 fight.

He highlighted the Singaporean Temasek Foundation’s donation of 16 ventilators and a large quantity of medical supplies to Vietnam on September 6, describing this as a vivid demonstration of the close ties and strategic partnership between the two countries, cited VNA.

Son congratulated Singapore on the full vaccination of 80 percent of its population, the first country in the world to reach the target, and called on Singapore to consider giving or transferring its unused vaccines to Vietnam as soon as possible, including transferring through the COVAX Facility.

The Singaporean FM, for his part, stressed that Singapore always attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Vietnam.

Sharing difficulties caused by Covid-19 in some Vietnamese cities and provinces, the minister expressed his belief that Vietnam will soon put the pandemic under control.

The Singaporean government stands ready to help neighboring countries, including Vietnam, with medical supplies, test kits and vaccines as soon as possible, he said.

The official noted his hope that the two sides will soon be able to open doors, facilitating the traveling of their citizens.

The ministers agreed to organize the 14th political consultation between the two foreign ministries at an early date to comprehensively review cooperation areas, creating prerequisites for making preparation for high-level visits in the time ahead.

HCMC considers partial reopening of wholesale market with vaccinated vendors

Authorities are considering allowing the Binh Dien wholesale market in HCMC’s District 8 to reopen with vaccinated vendors and no retail sales.

The municipal Department of Industry and Trade said Tuesday that only vendors that have got one or both Covid-19 vaccine doses at least four weeks prior can function in the city's biggest wholesale market that has been shut down since July 6 after becoming a Covid-19 cluster.

Vendors who have recovered from Covid-19 should particularly be encouraged to get back to work, the department said.

Vendors of Binh Dien wholesale market gather for coronavirus tests in July 2021. Photo: VnExpress

The department’s statement followed the city administration announcing Monday that it was considering reopening the Binh Dien Market Tuesday for the sole purpose of gathering and distributing goods brought in from other localities.

There was no mention of a possible date when the market can resume full operations with vendors selling goods directly to residents, reported VnExpress.

The department said that in the event of the partial reopening, all vendors had to be tested regularly and the entire market must be disinfected every day. All trucks going in and out of the market must also be disinfected, it said.

The Binh Dien Market Management and Trading Company, a branch of the Saigon Trading Corporation, must arrange for vendors and transporters to maintain the required distance from one another, the department said.

Vendors must also register the volume of goods along with the number of trucks and traders they will receive from other localities every day. Each vendor cannot receive more than 70 traders per day.

HCMC had also announced Monday that it was extending its strict social distancing rules until September 15. During the extension, the city will let the "green zones", low-risk areas, pilot the reopening of some takeout services, it said.

Fully vaccinated people should be allowed to fly on domestic air routes

Passengers who test negative for Covid-19 and have got two vaccine doses should be permitted to fly on some domestic routes, according to a suggestion put forward by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

This comes amid the national aviation agency preparing a draft proposal to open regular domestic flights amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, with a view to maintaining air transport, promoting economic recovery for localities, and removing difficulties for businesses, according to Dinh Viet Than, director of the CAAV, according to VOV.

Photo: VOV

In line with the draft, flights from airports in provinces and cities that are not under social distancing measures will place no limit on the number of passengers that can travel. Indeed, they will only require that passengers have a negative result from a test done within the last 72 hours.

Flights from airports in provinces and cities that are in the midst of applying social distancing measures, even in parts of their areas, can only carry officials and members of Covid-19 prevention and control forces. All passengers must also have a valid negative Covid-19 test.

Furthermore, passengers flying from cities and provinces that are enforcing social distancing measures must get written approval documents from departure and arrival localities in order to fly.

The CAAV is in the process of collecting feedback on the draft proposal from national carriers before submitting it to the Ministry of Transport for approval. If the proposal is approved, Vietnamese airlines will be able to operate domestic routes with no restrictions placed on operating frequency.

Bamboo Airways licensed to fly directly to US from September 23

Local carrier Bamboo Airways has been granted a license by the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to operate 12 direct flights to the US from September, according to its representative.

The departing locations domestically include Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Da Nang International Airport in the central coastal city of Da Nang. The destinations in the US are key international airports such as San Francisco International Airport in California, Los Angeles International Airport in California, and Seattle - Tacoma International Airport in the state of Washington.

Moving forward, Bamboo Airways will conduct its first verified direct flight on September 23, thereby paving the way for a series of activities to take place in the US.

Bamboo Airways uses the super aircraft B787-9 Dreamliner to operate flights to the US. Photo: VOV

This includes the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with San Francisco and Los Angeles International Airports, along with the debut of the local airline's official representative office in the US.

The carrier is also anticipated to work alongside aircraft manufacturer Boeing and other partners in the US market.

Previously in May, Bamboo Airways was officially designated to operate charter flights to the US, with the airline being granted slots to operate regular direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco and Los Angeles, cited VOV.

The US is widely considered to be the most demanding aviation market in the world. Bamboo Airways has basically completed the most important steps to put into operation regular commercial direct flights, which will connect the nation with the US from the end of this year and early next year.

Currently, Bamboo Airways is co-operating with the International Aviation Association (IATA) in order to put the IATA Travel Pass vaccine passport into practice on a trial basis from the fourth quarter of the year. This will be part of the plan to reopen the international flight network in the coming time.

Ministry wants betting to be allowed on more global football events

The Ministry of Finance wants more global football tournaments added to the list of those on which people can bet.

The list comprises 27 events, including 15 leagues in Europe, Asia, North America and South America and 12 tournaments held every two or four years.

Gamblers will be allowed to bet on matches Vietnam play, including in the World Cup, AFC U-23 Championship, Olympics, Asian Cup, and U-20 World Cup, cited VnExpress.

Que Ngoc Hai celebrates after scoring against Malaysia in a World Cup qualifiers game on June 11, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

The minimum and maximum bets on football matches, horse races and dog races will remain unchanged from 2017 at VND10,000 (US$0.44) and VND1 million (US$44).

A 2017 government decree allows Vietnamese to bet on all football tournaments run by FIFA.

But gambling remains illegal in Vietnam. There are a handful of licensed casinos, but only holders of foreign passports are allowed to gamble there.

Vietnamese are known for their love of gambling. It is estimated they spend at least US$800 million a year betting overseas, mainly in Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Illegal betting and gambling are rife within the country too. Da Nang City police last year arrested a man running an online football gambling ring with stakes of nearly US$1 million.

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