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| A photo taken by photographer Tran Tuan Viet wins Sony World Photography Awards 2024. |
His photo features the Bodhisattva statue on the peak of Ba Den Mountain in the southern province of Tay Ninh. It was captured at dawn in October 2023.
This statue is one of more than 40 ancient Buddhist statues at Bo Da Son, a national relic site in the northern province of Bac Giang. Situated at a height of 986 metres above sea level on the peak of Ba Den Mountain, the 72m-tall statue is the quintessence of religion, culture, and arts.
Tuan Viet’s photograph surpassed a total of 415,000 entries taken by more than 74,000 photographers from 206 countries and territories worldwide to become the only Vietnamese representative to make the list.
In particular, the image of the Bodhisattva statue on the peak of Ba Den Mountain now ranks first on the list on the website of the awards.
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| Photographer Tran Tuan Viet (Photo: laodong.vn) |
The winning works are set to be exhibited at Somerset House in London, the UK, this April.
Created by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards are held annually. More than 1.5 million images from more than 200 countries and territories have been entered to the awards since their initial inception. This year marks the 11th edition of the event.
Vietnam becomes biggest importer of Argentine farm produce
In 2023, for the second consecutive year, Vietnam surpassed China to become the largest importer of agricultural products from Argentina in terms of volume, according to Argentine media, said the Vietnam News Agency.
The Infobae and Acercando Naciones newspapers cited the Rosario Grains Exchange (BCR) - the most important grain exchange floor of the country, as saying that Vietnam emerged as the largest importer of corn and soybean powder for animal feed last year with a combined volume of 5.3 million tonnes worth 2 billion USD.
Regarding two-way trade, Vietnam ranked seventh among the biggest trade partners of the Latin American country in the year.
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| A screenshots of the Acercando Naciones newspaper (Photo: VNA) |
Last year, the third-largest economy in Latin America exported nearly 56 million tonnes of grains and processed grain products, a decrease of over 37 million tonnes or 40% compared to 2022, marking the lowest output since 2009, primarily due to severe and prolonged drought. In 2019, Argentina set a record export volume of these items with 100.5 million tonnes.
Approximately 50% of the volume of grains, processed grain products, and processed oil from seeds produced in Argentina is sold to Asian countries.
The grain output of Argentina in the 2022-2023 crop reached only 83.4 million tonnes, experiencing a decline of 38%.
This year, thanks to favourable climate conditions and abundant rainfall, Argentina anticipates an increase in grain production for the 2023-2024 crop, with corn output expected to reach a record level of 59 million tonnes.
Argentina remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of soybeans, corn, and wheat.
Nguyen Hai Dang wins Iran Fajr International Challenge
Vietnam's top badminton player Nguyen Hai Dang has won the title of the 32nd Iran Fajr International Challenge after beating Indian seed No. 1 Karunakaran Sathish Kumar, who is now the world's No 49, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
This is the first international championship that the Vietnamese player, ranking 97th in the world, has earned in his career. Previously, Dang's best achievement on the professional playground was being runner-up at the 2022 Croatia Open Badminton Tournament.
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Vietnam's top badminton player expects to win an Olympic slot
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics in July. (Photo: Hanoimoi.vn) |
With the victory, Dang got 4,000 points on Road To Paris, ranking among 34 players who are likely to secure a berth in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Now he has 20,870 points in total while Dmitriy Panarin, a Kazakh player, who ranked 34th on the “Road To Paris” list with 20,310 points.
According to the regulations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the top 34 players on the list will win a slot in the Olympics.
Born in 2000 in Ho Chi Minh City, Dang won the national youth championship in 2011, 2017 and 2018. Before stepping onto the world stage, Dang caused a domestic shock in early 2023. A slot in the second round of the Thailand International Challenge 2023 pushed him to place as the world's No. 163, which made him the new national No 1. March 14, 2023 was a special day for Vietnamese badminton as Dang ended Nguyen Tien Minh's 21-year dominance in Vietnam.
VASEP proposes abolishing quotas on Vietnamese shrimp exports to RoK
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has proposed eliminating quotas on shrimp exports to the Republic of Korea within the framework of the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) during the review period in 2024, said Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
Effective from the end of 2015, the VKFTA has exerted a positive impact on several key Vietnamese export industries, including electronics, textiles, footwear, and seafood.
Since the VKFTA came into force, seafood exports to the RoK have recorded high growth, of which shrimp exports increased by 37%, squid & octopus by 51%, and other fish species (except for tuna and pangasius) by 4%.
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| Shrimp processing for export (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
Although shrimp has brought about the highest value to the seafood industry, the product exported to the RoK is subject to quotas, making local firms incur significant costs to secure quotas.
VASEP said that the import volume of Vietnamese shrimp into the RoK has far exceeded the approved quota of 15,000 tonnes per year with an import tax of 0%. In fact, Korean importers have been forced to auction for the quota of imported Vietnamese shrimp at a significant cost of between 14% and 16% of the shipment value. This is why the VASEP has proposed removing quotas on shrimp exports to the RoK.
According to a report released by Future Market Insights, Inc, shrimp demand in the RoK is predicted to grow by an average of 8.9% annually in the 2023 - 2033 period as consumers are keen to enjoy healthy and protein-rich diets.
There are plenty of advantages for local firms to boost exports to the market due to close geographical location and stable consumption demand, especially amid global high inflation and Red Sea tensions causing shipping rates to the United States and Europe skyrocket.
Despite facing a number of challenges, the seafood industry last year raked in US$9 billion, just 18% lower than in 2022.
Vietnamese seafood exports are forecast to recover this year, reaching between US$9.5 - 10 billion, of which the shrimp, pangasius, and other aquatic products will gross US$4 billion, US$1.9 billion, and US$3.8 billion, respectively./.