Press digest – April 23

President Sang greets families of former Chinese experts

Viet Nam always bears in mind the assistance provided by Chinese advisors and experts during its anti-French resistance war, President Truong Tan Sang said while receiving a delegation of former experts’ families in Ha Noi on April 23.

Their visit came at a time when the country is gearing up for the 60th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory.

President Sang said he hopes both sides will facilitate the exchange of visits to educate young generations on the Viet Nam – China friendship.

Measles spread must be put under control: PM

PM Nguyen Tan Dung has requested strong determination to put an end to the spread of measles.

The Government chief made the request on April 23 in Ha Noi in the wake of the infectious diseas developing in a complicated manner.

He asked the Ministry of Health and localities especially Ha Noi to keep a close watch on the disease developments and provide emergency treatment to measles patients in order to minimize fatalities; prepare for adequate expenditures, medicines, and equipment to quickly end the outbreak as soon as possible.

National Assembly deputies meet voters nationwide

National Assembly deputies held meetings with voters across the country on April 22, ahead of the legislative body’s seventh session scheduled for May.

Among them, Nguyen Thien Nhan, Politburo member and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, joined the delegation of NA deputies of the northern province of Bac Giang to meet voters from Bac Giang’s Hiep Hoa district.

More support for HIV/AIDS-affected children

The PM has agreed with the national plan of action for HIV/AIDS-affected children in the 2014-2020 period.

Under the newly-approved document, by 2020, 100% of schools will enroll children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Ninety percent of them will be able to access to services on healthcare, education, consultation services, nutrition and physical development as well as entertainment.

Then singing seeks UNESCO recognition

The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, one of the cradles of Hat Then ( Then singing), is working hard to hasten the compilation of a dossier seeking UNESCO’s recognition of the musical genre as a piece of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Then singing, which was added to an official list of the nation’s intangible cultural heritage in 2012, is distinctive musical genre and a special combination of the spiritual and cultural life of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups in Viet Nam.

VN gains trade surplus with US in Q1

Two-way trade turnover between Viet Nam and the US touched US$ 7.76 billion in Q1 representing a year-on-year increase 24.9%, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In the January-March period, Viet Nam shipped US$ 6.15 billion of goods to the US, up 25.6% against last year and imported commodities worth US$ 1.61 billion, up 22.4%.

Airbus manufactures spare parts in VN

Airbus on April 23 announced it has selected HaNoi-based Nikkiso Vietnam Company to manufacture its aircraft spare parts in Viet Nam.

Nikkiso will manufacture composite vertical bars and Sharklet’s armor plates for A320s under sub-contracts with main supplier Sharklet – the Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD).

Japanese tourists to VN increase sharply

Vietnam recorded 170,772 Japanese arrivals in the first quarter of 2014, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

In the latest tourism sector performance report, Japan ranked third in international travel volume while China ranked first, with 587,475 followed by the Republic of Korea (RoK) with 238,496 during the first three months of the year.

Roughly 80,000 Vietnamese people travelled to Japan last year, VNAT reports./.

(Source: VGP/VNA/VOV)