Vietnam News Highlights for August 22, 2023

Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve nominated as a Ramsar site

The Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve. Photo: bienvietnam.vn

The Ho Chi Minh City government has nominated the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve as a Ramsar site, an internationally significant wetland area for effective management.

The reserve currently meets four of the eight criteria for Ramsar nomination. So far, Vietnam has nine wetlands recognized as Ramsar sites and aims to have 13 by 2025, according to the National Action Plan for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands for 2021-2030.

Net Zero Challenge contest kicks off

The Net Zero Challenge, Vietnam's climate technology innovation competition, was launched in Ho Chi Minh City on August 21, focusing on renewable energy and carbon removal, food systems and sustainable agriculture, and circular economy and waste management.

The organizing committee will select the top nine outstanding teams to qualify for the final round in early December 2023. The contest's prizes are worth a total of VND15 billion (US$630,000). Winning teams would be able to pilot their solutions in Vietnam, gain global exposure and access to investors.

Vietnam establishes working group to develop 6G devices

The Ministry of Information and Communications has set up a working group to develop 6G devices, headed by Deputy Director of the Authority of Information Technology and Communication Industry.

The working group has 14 members, including representatives from three major telecom companies, who will study regulations, evaluate, test and pilot equipment, and participate in international research. The sixth-generation mobile network is expected to significantly increase data transmission speeds compared to 5G.

Vietnam has about 12,000 newborns with congenital heart defects each year

About 10,000-12,000 newborns out of average 1.5 million births in Vietnam per year are diagnosed with congenital heart defects, Director of the Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Nguyen Duy Anh said at the 1st Annual Fetal Medicine Conference held in Hanoi on August 21.

Despite the high rate of congenital heart defects in newborns, the chances of full diagnosis and treatment from lower to higher-level health care facilities are still low, with about 50% of cases being missed. It is necessary to disseminate the information and healthcare professionals at lower-level facilities need to update their knowledge on how to handle these cases.

PM orders ministries to remove barriers to Bamboo Airways

Bamboo Airways faces financial difficulties. Photo: Bamboo Airways

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministries of Transport, Finance, Planning and Investment, and other stakeholders to resolve Bamboo Airways' difficulties regarding capital, share transfer to new investors, and fleet expansion, and to report to the Prime Minister by September 15.

This action follows a report submitted by Bamboo Airways to the Prime Minister in early July on the company's operational situation and financial difficulties after the change of ownership.

Dalat's first glass bridge opens

The Ngan Thong Glass Bridge in the resort city of Dalat, a famous tourist attraction in the Central Highlands, has opened after four years of construction. The 325-meter-long glass bridge is the first of its kind in the central and southern regions of Vietnam. It can accommodate about 200 tourists at a time.