Vietnam News Highlights for April 24, 2023

Vietnam defends world aerobic championship 2023

The Vietnamese team of five won the World Aerobic Cup 2023 championship in Tokyo, Japan, on April 23. Photo courtesy of MeloGym

Vietnam retained its crown at the World Aerobic Cup 2023 in Japan on April 23 for the battle of the five teams. The Vietnamese gymnasts scored 19,844 points to win the tournament.

France and host Japan were the runners-up with 19,167 and 18,544 points, respectively.

In the battle of three teams, Vietnam won second place with 19,600 points, 285 points less than the champion France. Vietnam also won second place in the pairs competition and two third places in the single male and single female categories. After the 2023 World Aerobic Cup held in Japan's capital Tokyo from April 20-24, the Vietnamese gymnastics team will compete in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.

Ship examination ex-official prosecuted for bribery and corruption

On April 23, HCM City police charged Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy director of the river vessel classification and registration department at the Vietnam Register, and three others with bribery and corruption. The other three ex-officials include Pham Dinh Tham, registrar of the department, and Luong Duc Thai and Vu Duc Nhat, former deputy directors of the Hai Hung Registration Center in Hai Duong Province.

The ex-officials were accused of paying bribes to local registrars to ignore technical deficiencies during inspections and allow the defective vessels to operate. In addition, the ex-officials allegedly colluded with several officials of the River-Going Ship Classification and Registration Department to falsify the profiles for new and modified vessels to operate.

HCM City finds three Omicron variants

On April 23, the HCM City Health Department discovered three Omicron variants coded XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.16, and XBB.1.16.1. Since the beginning of April, Vietnam has detected four new Omicron variants. Variant XBB.1.9.1 was reported in Hanoi, and the remaining variant XBB.1.5, was reported in HCM City in early April. 

The World Health Organization has classified the three variants as variants of interest (VOI) and variants under surveillance (VUM). Cases infected with variant XBB.1.5 have been reported in 95 countries, and variant XBB.1.16 has been confirmed in 20 countries. The emergence of new Omicron variants is believed to be the main cause of the increasing number of infections in Vietnam. Authorities have advised locals to wear masks, disinfect their hands, and get vaccinated to avoid infection.

Hanoi mulls three more pedestrian streets

Hanoi's authorities plan to open three new pedestrian streets in Dong Da and Ba Dinh districts. The Dong Da district government is considering opening a new pedestrian zone in the area of the Temple of Literature in 2023, covering Van Mieu and Quoc Tu Giam streets.

In 2024, the district will pedestrianize the street from Hoang Cau Street to Hao Nam Street along the urban skytrain. In Ba Dinh District, authorities plan to open a pedestrian street around Ngoc Khanh Lake in Q4-2023. Hanoi has five operational pedestrian streets in Hoan Kiem, Tay Ho, Hai Ba Trung districts, and Son Tay Town.

Vietnam receives the third highest number of cyberattacks: Kaspersky

Vietnam remains the third Southeast Asian country with the highest number of cyber attacks, according to global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. The rapid development of infrastructure and telecommunications has led to the risk of cybersecurity breaches for Vietnamese users.

In 2022, Kaspersky detected and stopped more than 505 cyber attacks worldwide. In Southeast Asia, the company prevented more than 207,000 attacks. Vietnam received nearly 15,500 attacks last year, making it the third most vulnerable country to cybercrime after Indonesia and Thailand. Compared to 2021, the number of attacks decreased, but their damage increased due to the introduction of new technology trends such as ChatGPT, metaverse, AI, and blockchain.