Vietnam News Highlights for July 19, 2023

Vietnamese national flag  reappears on Google Maps

The view of Truong Sa Lon Island on Google Maps. Photo: Google Maps

The image of the Vietnamese national flag covering the roof of a hall on Truong Sa Lon Island, part of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, is once again visible on Google Maps and Google Earth.

The technical repair was apparently made on July 18, a week after Vietnamese netizens noticed that the image of the flag had disappeared from the two platforms. The incident sparked public anger over suspicions that the US tech giant had erased the Vietnamese flag.

Quarterfinals, best result for Vietnam at Women's World Cup 2023.

Data giant Nielsen's Gracenote supercomputer has predicted that Vietnam has a 2% chance of reaching the quarterfinals at the Women’s World Cup 2023. The percentage is higher than eight other teams, including the Philippines, Nigeria and Morocco.

Vietnam is an underdog, sharing the group stage with the United States, the Netherlands and Portugal. The United States is the leading contender for the title, with an 18% chance of winning.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities to inspect local accommodation for foreigners

From August 1 to September 1, Ho Chi Minh City police will conduct a month-long inspection of local accommodation facilities rented to foreigners. If the facility owner fails to comply with the regulations on the registration of residences, he or she will be fined VND20-40 million (US$846-1,692), and the foreigner could be expelled from the country.

According to police, the city now has about 100,000 foreign residents, the highest of any city in the country.

Filipinos the highest spending tourists in Vietnam

Tourists from the Philippines were the highest-spending group when traveling to Vietnam before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the General Statistics Office reported. Tourists from the Philippines doubled their spending from $1,124.7 in 2017 to $2,257.8 in 2019. They are followed by tourists from Belgium ($1,995.3), the US ($1,709.7), and Australia ($1,146.5).

The average expenditure per international tourist to Vietnam increased slightly from $1,141.5 in 2017 to $1,151.7 in 2019.

Vietnam's first pediatric heart center accredited by Children's HeartLink

The Ho Chi Minh City-based Children’s Hospital 1. Photo: Children's HeartLink

Ho Chi Minh City-based Children's Hospital 1 has become the first pediatric heart center in Vietnam to be recognized by the US-based Children's HeartLink. Children's HeartLink presented the hospital with the Excellent Cardiac Center certification at a ceremony on July 18. This is the seventh center in the world to be recognized by Children's HeartLink, following six other centers in Brazil, China, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

The certification is based on several criteria, including the effectiveness of treatment, as measured by the survival rate in the first 30 days after heart surgery or intervention, and the number of children saved by the center.

Nearly 19,000 Vietnamese public employees quit jobs in one year

Nearly 19,000 Vietnamese civil servants resigned from their jobs between July 2022 and June 2023, most of them in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Interior reported. On average, 1,582 officials left their posts every month last year, compared to 1,318 monthly resignations in the previous period.

Of the total resignations, 1,967 were civil servants, and the rest were officials. The education sector had the highest number of resignations, followed by the health sector.

First license plate auction to be held in August

The Vietnam Department of Traffic Police has announced the list of more than 153,000 car license plate numbers for the first auction to be held in August.

The move is aimed at piloting the auction of license plates, which will help people get their preferred numbers and increase government revenue.