WHO confirms 780 monkeypox cases in 27 countries

The World Health Organization said Sunday that it has received data on 780 confirmed monkeypox cases from 27 countries that are non-endemic for this disease. Some cases have been hospitalized for treatment, but most have simply been isolated.

The greatest number of infections has been detected in the UK with 207 cases, followed by Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Germany.

There is no specific treatment or vaccine, but an inoculation against smallpox is highly effective as a prevention measure.

The WHO warned that the monkeypox virus will continue to spread and more countries will report cases of the disease.

Source: VOV5

PM: Building an independent, self-reliant economy to improve Vietnam’s strength

The 4th Vietnam Economic Forum has affirmed the correct and effective policy of the Party and State on pursuing Doi Moi (renewal), building an independent, self-reliant economy in combination with proactive and active international integration, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at the forum on Sunday. The effective implementation of this policy during more than 35 years of Doi Moi has contributed to producing historical achievements, the Government leader told the high-level session at the forum, adding that in the current situation, the building of an independent, self-reliant economy in combination with proactive and active international integration is an objective inevitability.

He stressed that the 13th National Party Congress has set the goal of Vietnam becoming a developing country with modernity-oriented industry and income above the lower middle level by 2025, a developing country with modern industry and upper middle income by 2030, and a developed country with high income by 2045.

However, Vietnam will not sacrifice social justice and security and the environment for economic growth, the PM said.

On key tasks and solutions, PM Chinh said the first thing is to create a peaceful environment, maintain national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, political stability, social order and safety, and stabilize the legal environment, thus creating the foundation and favourable conditions for building an independent, self-reliant economy in combination with extensive and in-depth international integration.

Another task is to continue fine-tuning institutions of the socialist-oriented market economy that suit Vietnam’s conditions and international commitments.

PM Chinh stressed that the building of an independent, self-reliant economy in combination with extensive and in-depth international integration has an especially important meaning for the country in the new period.

“Vietnam affirms our consistent policy of not choosing a closed economy, but instead staying steadfast to the direction of Doi Moi (renewal), building an independent, self-reliant economy in combination with proactive and active international integration,” he said, reiterating that Vietnam wants to be a good friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community, ready to join hands with the international community to address regional and global challenges for a peaceful, cooperative and prosperous world.

The 4th Vietnam Economic Forum was co-organised by the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, the Government and Ho Chi Minh City on June 5.

Besides the high-level session, three other thematic workshops were held the same day on the development of stable labour supply chains after the pandemic, the capital and real estate markets, and technology modernization, digital transformation and diversification of supply chains.

Source: VOV5

South Korea, US launch eight missiles in response to North Korea missile tests

– South Korea and the United States said they fired eight surface-to-surface missiles early on Monday off South Korea’s east coast, responding to a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea on Sunday. North Korea’s short-range ballistic missiles, fired toward the sea off its east coast on Sunday, were probably its largest single test and came a day after South Korea and the United States ended joint military drills.

North Korea has called the joint drills between the US and South Korea proof that the US continues its hostile policy towards North Korea despite the US still talking about a diplomatic solution.

Source: VOV5

Biden Waives Solar Panel Tariffs, Invokes Defense Law

President Joe Biden waived tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations for two years and invoked the Defense Production Act to spur solar panel manufacturing at home, the White House said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report.

The tariff exemption applies to panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and will serve as a “bridge” while U.S. manufacturing ramps up, the White House said.

Shares in solar companies climbed after Reuters earlier reported that Biden would issue a proclamation that ensured panels accounting for some 80 percent of U.S. imports did not face tariffs of as much as 250 percent, which could have been levied retroactively as part of a Commerce Department probe.

The move comes in response to concern about a freezing of solar projects nationwide and the impact on the fight against climate change from an investigation into whether solar panel imports from the four countries were circumventing tariffs on goods made in China.

The White House said the Defense Production Act would also be used to expand manufacturing of building insulation, heat pumps, transformers, and equipment for “clean electricity-generated fuels” such as electrolyzers and fuel cells.

“With a stronger clean energy arsenal, the United States can be an even stronger partner to our allies, especially in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war in Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.

Heather Zichal, chief executive of the American Clean Power Association, said Biden’s announcement would “rejuvenate the construction and domestic manufacturing of solar power by restoring predictability and business certainty.”

The Commerce Department investigation — kicked off in response to a complaint from a small solar panel provider, Auxin — essentially halted the flow of solar panels that make up more than half of U.S. supplies and 80 percent of imports.

Auxin’s CEO, Mamun Rashid, criticized the White House move as having “opened the door wide for Chinese-funded special interests to defeat the fair application of U.S. trade law.”

Source: Voice of America

VN to develop digital addresses by 2025

All households in the country will have digital addresses by 2025. This goal was highlighted in the National Postal Development Strategy to 2025 approved by Deputy Minister Vu Ð?c Ðam on May 30.

The strategy sets a goal of developing the postal industry into an essential element of the country’s infrastructure.

The postal and delivery industry was forecast to reach annual revenue of US$10 billion by 2030, given the current growth rate of around 20-30 per cent per year.

The strategy stressed that completing the digital address platform in line with the national digital map was important for the development of e-commerce and the digital economy.

According to Duong Tôn B?o from the Department of Posts under the Ministry of Information and Communications, the drastic change in the postal and e-commerce market, along with the development of digital technology in the Industry 4.0 era, has been changing ways of doing business and opening up new opportunities for the development of the postal industry.

The industry needed new strategies to create breakthrough development, he said.

He cited the report of the Vi?t Nam e-Commerce Association that the e-commerce market would expand at an average of 29 per cent per year to reach $52 billion by 2025.

The huge volume of goods traded via online channels led to an explosive demand for delivery services – a huge potential for the postal industry to tap and transform from delivering newsletters to an important foundation for e-commerce development, an essential infrastructure of the digital economy.

“The postal industry plays a role in ensuring the flow of materials besides the flow of data in the digital economy and digital society,” B?o wrote on vietnamnet.vn.

He said the postal market in Vi?t Nam was witnessing the intertwining between the old and the new, stressing that the market would see increasingly harsh competition.

Traditional postal companies which were slow to renovate were losing market share to start-ups and technology enterprises which were young in experience but faster in applying technology.

He said this forced the postal industry to transform itself into a digital supply network, and there was no other way.

Accordingly, the postal development strategy emphasised that modern technology was the core, and a Made-in-Vietnam ecosystem of digital platforms would be the breakthrough solution.

“Postal enterprises develop in the direction of becoming enterprises which apply digital technologies to create new products and services and ensure people across the country have the right to access and use quality postal services at reasonable fees,” the strategy said.

The focus would be on building a Made-in-Vietnam ecosystem of digital platforms, including digital addresses and e-commerce platforms.

The strategy targeted that, by 2025, all households across the country would have digital addresses, and all farmer households would participate in e-commerce platforms developed by postal companies.

According to B?o, the postal industry owns huge resources with a network of over 21,600 points reaching to commune level and covering 63 provinces and cities together with nearly 800 enterprises operating in the industry.

The postal infrastructure coupled with the telecommunications infrastructure, electronic payment and digital address would promote the development of e-commerce and help expand the market for postal services, he said.

The postal industry would promote e-commerce in rural areas to accelerate the digital agricultural economy and enable residents to access public services.

“The digital revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the global economic growth model. Vi?t Nam’s postal industry sees this as an opportunity to become an essential infrastructure of the country and the digital economy and contribute to promoting the development of digital government and digital society,” he said.

Hà N?i to pilot digital address

Hà N?i People’s Committee has issued a plan to carry out a pilot implementation of the national digital address platform associated with the digital map in the capital city.

Accordingly, the pilot scheme would be implemented in Hoàng Mai, Hoàn Ki?m, Nam T? Liêm, Ðông Anh and Th?ch Th?t districts, then raised recommendations for large-scale implementation to serve the development of digital government, digital economy and digital society.

Services which applied digital addresses would also be piloted, including tourism, fire prevention and fighting, and postal services.

Source: Ministry

Ministry asks for urgent repair of French-era bridge

The Ministry of Transport has requested the Vietnam Railway Authority and the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) to take immediate measures to ensure safety of Long Bien Bridge in Hanoi after the collapse of two concrete floor tiles on the bridge in May.

The VNR was urged to repair the damage and other points at risk of unsafety, take responsibility for checking items that are planned to be repaired and restored and clearly define the total investment, roadmap for investment and capital and then submit those to the Ministry of Transport for approval. The Ministry of Transport also assigned its Department of Planning and Investment to review, balance and propose authorised agencies to prioritise the allocation of investment capital for repairing and upgrading the bridge.

The construction of Long Bien Bridge began 120 years ago. The bridge crossing the Hong (Red) River was designed in the style of the keys that the French contractor Daydé & Pillé Company applied for the first time to Tolbiac Bridge in Paris. It has a length of 1,862m, consisting of 19 steel beams and a stone path. There is a railroad track for trains in the middle and both sides have pathways for motorised vehicles and pedestrians.

The steel bridge was the fourth-largest and the second-longest of its kind in the world at the time, after the Brooklyn Bridge in the US.

The bridge was officially inaugurated on February 28, 1902, after nearly three years of construction and named Paul Doumer, the French Governor-General of Indochina. It was renamed Long Bien after the liberation of the capital city in 1954./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Mariah Carey is sued over ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’

Mariah Carey was sued on Friday over her 1994 Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by a songwriter who said he co-wrote a song with the same title five years earlier.

In a complaint filed in New Orleans federal court, Andy Stone is seeking at least 20 million USD in damages from Carey, her co-writer and Sony Music Entertainment for copyright infringement and misappropriation, among other claims.

Stone performs as Vince Vance with the country-pop band Vince Vance & the Valiants.

Carey’s and Stone’s songs have different lyrics and melodies.

Spokespeople for Carey and Sony Music did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carey’s song appeared on her album “Merry Christmas,” and has long received widespread play on radio and in retail shopping environments during the holiday season.

It has also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart every year since 2019, despite having been recorded a quarter century earlier.

Source: VOV5