Lionel Messi is devastated to be leaving Barcelona. AFP/VNA Photo Peter Cowan Dear Leo Messi, I wrote you but you still ain’t calling, I left my cell, my pager and my burofax at the bottom. I know it seems like you’ve got your heart set on a move to Paris Saint-Germain after being forced to leave your beloved Barcelona, but why not think a bit bigger? Moving from one superclub to another doesn’t take much imagination, but what about something off the wall? You’re already a legend in Barcelona, why not follow in Diego Maradona’s…
Author: Kevin Le
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Quốc Dũng. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên Vietnamese deputy foreign minister Nguyễn Quốc Dũng talks about the outcomes of the 54th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM-54) and Related Meetings last week. The agenda ranged from COVID-19, to the digital economy and the South China Sea. What can you tell us about the main highlights of this series of ASEAN meetings? The meetings took place as ASEAN faces numerous serious challenges, from the resurgence of COVID-19 with the new, more dangerous variant, to increasing strategic competition in the region, South China Sea…
Farmers harvest sweet potatoes in Đồng Tháp Province’s Châu Thành District. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Văn Trí HCM CITY – Authorities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are taking measures to boost the sales of agricultural products as travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 affect them. Farmers in the delta’s 12 provinces and Cần Thơ City, the country’s largest producer of rice, fruit and seafood, are finding it hard to sell agricultural products outside their locality. Besides being consumed within the delta, a large proportion of the products are normally sold to…
The Government has issued supporting policies to encourage agricultural enterprises in applying biotechnology, automation and mechanising technology. VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment is drafting a decree to support loans and interest rates for enterprises that invest in agriculture and rural areas in the near future. According to the draft, which will revise Decree No. 57/2018/NĐ-CP on incentive policies for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises investing in agriculture, and the rural development sector, the period of interest rate support for projects will be 5-9 years. The interest rate support limit will not exceed 70 per cent of the…
Vĩnh Hoàn Joint Stock Company generated turnover of VNĐ1.79 trillion (US$77.73 million) in the first quarter of the year, a 9.3 per cent year-on-year increase.— Photo baodautu.vn Compiled by Thiên Lý Food processing accounts for the highest ratio, 19.1 per cent, of the processing and manufacturing industry. Đầu Tư & Chứng Khoán magazine said the segment grew at 7 per cent annually between 2016 and 2020, despite dipping sharply in 2020 to 4.5 per cent due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in the first half of this year, it has seen a revival, with some individual companies doing…
Coteccons Construction Corporation (CTD), traded on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, reported Q2 revenue of VNĐ2.55 trillion (US$111 million), down 36 per cent over the same period last year. — Photo coteccons.vn HÀ NỘI — Construction enterprises have reported divergence in the first half of 2021 as a sharp increase in raw material prices has put them under pressure. Steel currently accounts for roughly 20 per cent of the input costs. In the first half of this year, the prices of many construction materials continuously increased to record highs, steel alone recorded a rise…
Workers at Hưng Việt Garment JSC in Hưng Yên Province. VNA/VNS Photo HCM CITY — The competencies of job candidates in the textile and garment industry met employers’ requirements in the first half, according to the latest report by recruitment company Navigos Group. Compared to the last five years, their technology and foreign languages skills have improved thanks to improvements in training. In the past 10 years more and more training programmes pertaining to the textile and garment industry have become available at colleges and universities. Besides, thanks to tie-ups between the industry and universities in designing technical programmes, fresh graduates come with 50-60 per cent of the skills they need,…
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai will be at the top of the V.League 1 when games resume in February. — Photo baogialai.com.vn Football HÀ NỘI The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) has approved the Việt Nam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF)’s plan to postpone the V. League 1 2021 until February, 2022. The remaining matches from the 13th game of the V.League 1 will be held on February 12 next year. The second stage of the league will take place between February 16 and March 12, 2022, with all teams divided into groups A and B. The format of the tournament…
Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi cries during a press conference at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday. AFP/VNA Photo Football BARCELONA — An emotional Lionel Messi confirmed on Sunday he is leaving Barcelona after 17 trophy-laden years, with Paris Saint Germain his likely next port of call for a career swansong. “I have still not come to terms with the reality of leaving this club now — I love this club,” said a suited Messi, who several times wiped away tears before a squadron of reporters at the club’s Camp Nou ground who gave him a…
Photo taken on Sunday shows the performance during the closing ceremony of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Xinhua/VNA Photo Olympics TOKYO — Eliud Kipchoge produced a marathon masterclass and the USA edged China at the top of the Tokyo Olympics medals table as the curtain fell on the biggest sports event since the pandemic on Sunday. After Kipchoge’s marathon win for Kenya, the United States scored victories in volleyball, track cycling and basketball to top the tally with 39 gold medals, just one ahead of China. The 339th and final gold medal went…