Outstanding domestic and international events on August 29

DOMESTIC

On the morning of August 29, in Hanoi, General Secretary and President To Lam worked with the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress and developing the diplomatic sector. In the afternoon, General Secretary and President To Lam, Head of the Personnel Subcommittee of the 14th National Party Congress, chaired a meeting of the Personnel Subcommittee and the Steering Committee for planning the 14th Party Central Committee, Politburo, and Secretariat for the 2026-2031 term.In the picture:General Secretary and President To Lam chaired a meeting on personnel planning for the 14th Party Congress.Photo: Tri Dung - VNA

Continuing the 6th Conference of full-time National Assembly deputies, term XV, on the morning of August 29, in Hanoi, National Assembly deputies discussed the draft Law on Value Added Tax (amended) and the draft Law on Electricity (amended). Discussing at the Conference, many opinions expressed their interest in changing fertilizers from non-taxable to 5% taxable. According to the Report submitted to the Conference on some major issues in explaining, accepting and revising the draft Law on Value Added Tax (amended), some opinions agreed to change fertilizers, machinery, specialized equipment for agricultural production, and fishing vessels from non-taxable to 5% taxable. However, many opinions proposed to keep the current regulations and requested to carefully assess the impact of the policy change from the perspective of the manufacturing industry as well as from the perspective of the impact on consumers. In the afternoon, National Assembly Deputies discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy.In the picture:Session view.Photo: Doan Tan - VNA

On the morning of August 29, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the inauguration ceremony of the 500 kV power transmission line project from Quang Trach (Quang Binh province) to Pho Noi (Hung Yen province) - a national key project, setting many records, celebrating the 79th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2. The inauguration ceremony was held online at the main bridge in Hung Yen and 8 bridges in the provinces where the project passes through: Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. Attending the event at 9 bridges were: Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien; Deputy Prime Ministers Tran Hong Ha, Le Thanh Long, Ho Duc Phoc; leaders of Central Committees, Ministries, branches, provinces, centrally-run cities and the Electricity sector; Representatives of engineers, workers, laborers and people of localities where the project passes through.In the picture:Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and delegates cut the ribbon to inaugurate the 500 kV circuit 3 Quang Trach - Pho Noi transmission line project.Photo: Duong Giang-VNA

On the morning of August 29, at Dien Hong Hall (National Assembly House), National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attended the scientific workshop "55 years of implementing President Ho Chi Minh's Testament in Central agencies (1969 - 2024)". The workshop is an activity to commemorate and pay tribute to the great contributions and contributions of President Ho Chi Minh to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the Vietnamese people; to arouse the will and determination of the entire Party, people and army, including cadres and party members of Central agencies, to successfully implement his noble wishes.In the picture:Comrade Tran Thanh Man, Politburo member, Chairman of the National Assembly, gave a speech directing the Workshop.Photo: Thong Nhat - VNA

On the morning of August 29, at Noi Bai International Airport, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training welcomed and congratulated the delegation of students from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, representing Vietnam, to participate in the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad. This is the first time that 100% of the Hanoi delegation won medals at the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad after 8 times participating. The Hanoi delegation (Vietnam) consisting of 5 students from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted won 2 silver medals and 3 bronze medals. The two students who won silver medals were Nguyen Ba Linh and Nguyen Xuan Hoang; the three members who won bronze medals were Nguyen Thi Thu Minh, Luu Quang Minh and Dam Ngoc Bao Lam.In the picture:Director of Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong congratulated and presented Certificates of Merit to the students.Photo: Thanh Tung - VNA

Market Management Team No. 4, Market Management Department of Can Tho City has just discovered a 7-seat car carrying 4,510 packs of smuggled foreign cigarettes of JET and Hero brands in Lan Thanh 1 area, Trung Kien ward, Thot Not district. The Captain of Market Management Team No. 4 has transferred all related files and documents to the Investigation Police Agency of Thot Not District Police for further investigation and handling according to the provisions of law.In the picture:The amount of smuggled cigarettes transported by PDC driver (left), 41 years old, on a car.Photo: VNA

INTERNATIONAL

On August 28, the campaign of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris announced that it had hired Egyptian-American lawyer Brenda Abdelall, a former official of the Department of Homeland Security. This move is aimed at increasing outreach to Arab-American voters, who are believed to be able to influence the outcome in some battleground states in the November 5 election. Previously, Ms. Harris' campaign team also hired Afghan-American lawyer Nasrina Bargzie to reach out to Muslim voters.In the picture:Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 20, 2024.Photo: Kyodo/VNA

On August 28, the Suwon District Court of South Korea announced that the CEO of lithium battery maker Aricell, Mr. Park Soon Kwan, was arrested in connection with a fire at the company's factory that killed 23 people in June. According to the Seoul Labor Department, this is the first time a CEO has been arrested for violating a law regulating serious accidents.In the picture:The scene of the fire at the Aricell battery factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 25, 2024.Photo: Yonhap/VNA

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on August 28, the country's air force carried out airstrikes on several locations near the Syria-Lebanon border, killing a senior figure of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement. The figure, identified as Faris Qasim, was killed along with other PIJ fighters when Israeli forces attacked him with a drone. Meanwhile, the Palestinian news agency Quds News reported that at least four people were killed in an airstrike targeting a vehicle on the Beirut-Damascus highway near the town of Zabadani in Syria's Rif Dimashq province.In the picture:A vehicle hit by an Israeli airstrike in Sidon, Lebanon on August 26, 2024.Photo: THX/TTXVN

On the evening of August 28, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Paralympics took place at Concorde Square in Paris, France, with the theme "A festival of integration for people with disabilities and mixed emotions". More than 4,400 athletes participated in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, including 1,983 female athletes.In the picture:Artists perform at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France, August 28, 2024.Photo: THX/TTXVN