A: World Radio Day, February 13 is a date proclaimed by UNESCO to celebrate radio broadcasts, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radio.

B: It’s an occasion to draw attention to the unique value of radio, which remains the medium to reach the widest audience and is currently taking up new technological innovations.

A: Under the theme “Radio and Diversity”, UNESCO encourages all countries to celebrate this Day by undertaking activities with diverse partners, such as national, regional and international broadcasting associations and organizations, non-governmental organizations, media organizations, outlets as well as the public at large.

B: On this occasion, we have received numerous greetings from our radio broadcast colleagues and listeners around the world.

A: Chimoy Mahato, President of the Guide International Radio Listeners’ Club in India, sent us a greeting card and an invitation to his club’s Radio Exhibition and Listeners’ Conference held in celebration of World Radio Day.

An open talk on Radio and Diversity with guests is held as part of activities to celebrate World Radio Day at VOV's headquarter in Hanoi. The talk is broadcast live on radio and livestreamed on VOV1 fanpage and interacts with participants at the celebration

B: Thank you, Mr. Mahato, for your greetings and for tuning in to our VOV English program. Here at VOV, we will organize several activities to celebrate  Radio Day. We will invite the UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam to VOV to talk about radio broadcast and UNESCO’s cooperation with VOV. We will organize exchanges between VOV radio broadcasters and listeners, set up a small simulation studio at VOV headquarters to give listeners a chance to be in our studio, either to be a presenter or a studio guest. Talks and seminars on radio will also be held.

A: A Pakistani listener wrote to us to share his interest in VOV: “This is Zarif Khan from Mianwali, a beautiful city of the great country of Pakistan. Professionally, I’m a farmer. I have been listening to radio since I was in 8th class. I have  listened to the radio ever since. Now, as I am listening to your programs, I find them very interesting. I learned a lot from your programs. When we discuss radio, I remember VOV. I hope you will continue your efforts. Thanks. I look forward to the further development of radio.”

B: With increasing support from Dxers around the world, VOV will continue to maintain our shortwave broadcast as a main channel to introduce Vietnam, its land and people to wider audience despite the emerging popularity of digital platforms.

A: The topic of the greatest concern around the world now is surely the spread of the new coronavirus and the methods to contain it. Many listeners asked about the situation in Vietnam and what Vietnam is doing to contain it.

B: We have frequently updated on the epidemic situation in Vietnam and other countries both on the shortwave broadcast and on our websites.

Dr. Le Quang  Hoa, Head of the research team informs of his team's research result (Photo: vnexpress.net)

A: As of Wednesday February 12, 15 nCoV positive cases have been confirmed in Vietnam, of which 6  have been cured and discharged from hospitals. Hundreds of suspected cases are being quarantined.

B: Vietnam’s efforts to prevent the spread of the outbreak have been acknowledged by the World Health Organization and have bolstered confidence that Vietnam will be able to contain the virus.

A: Of particular note, one piece of good news among the sad updates on nCoV deaths and affected cases, is that Vietnamese scientists have successfully cultivated and isolated the virus in the laboratory. This will enable quicker tests and is a prerequisite for developing a vaccine against the virus in the future.

B: Scientists from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology have also successfully developed novel coronavirus test kits that provide results in just 70 minutes instead of three hours.

A: The test kit uses something called Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) method to detect the Ribonucleic acid (RNA) of viruses with high sensitivity. Vietnam is the first country so far to have successfully produced the RT-LAMP kit for quick test of 2019-nCoV. The kit is simple and can be used at district hospitals. The price of each kit is only 15 USD.

B: Due to the epidemic, many festivals, as well as cultural and tourism events in Vietnam have been cancelled or postponed. Instead, please join us on a tour of the Vieng market festival which has become a mainstay of the Red River culture in the early days of a new lunar year. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors when spring comes.

A: Vietnamese people in the Red River Delta believe in going to the market to pray for good luck. From midnight of the 7^th day to the morning of the 8th day of the first lunar month, people flock to Vieng market in Nam Dinh province to pray for a prosperous and lucky new year.

Items on sale at Vieng Chua market in Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province

B: Vieng market in Vu Ban district is part of the Phu Day Temple relic site which worships Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh. The market is surrounded by scores of shrines, many of which  have been recognized as cultural and historical relics.

Ornamental trees and seedlings are the most popular products in Vieng market

B: Items on sale are mostly local specialties. It’s believed that buying something in Vieng market between midnight of the 7^th day and sunrise on the 8^th day of the first lunar month will bring you good luck. There’s no bargaining in the market.

B: This week, some listeners of the English broadcast and other languages reported weak reception of VOV broadcasts in some parts of the world. Richard Nowak of the US wrote: “ Just a quick note to say I cannot pick up the show tonight. The announcer's voice is below the noise level. I’m using an Icom IC-R75 hooked up to an outdoor active loop. Reception was better and more consistent in the summer.”

A: Thank you, Mr. Nowak, for your regular report. We have forwarded your report to our technicians and hope that the problem will be fixed soon. We look forward to further reports from you.

B: In an email to VOV this week, Igor Kolke of Russia wrote: “I’m a shortwave radio listener from Moscow (Russia) and I’m currently having the great pleasure of listening to your broadcast on 7280 KHz. From 16.00 to 16.28 UTC (on February 4, 2020). Reception on 7280 kHz rated a SINPO of 45333 - fair signal, clear audio with fading. I’m listening to your broadcast using an Degen DE1103 radio with a 10m long wire antenna.”

A: Thank you all for your reports and feedback. We’ll send you QSL cards to confirm. We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.

A: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening.