 Authorities and businesses bring fresh water and other items to isolated people. (photo: VOV) |
B: Typhoon Noru, which made landfall in Da Nang and neighboring provinces last Wednesday, was one the most powerful storms to hit Vietnam in the past two decades.
A: The typhoon caused heavy floods and landslides, which have isolated thousands of people. Heavy downpours and floods claimed the lives of eight people in Nghe An and Ha Tinh province on Sunday. Prolonged torrential rain inundated more than 2,000 houses in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province, with some places 70cm under water.
B: The Vietnam Red Cross Society has sent emergency aid to flood victims in the two provinces. Many businesses have sent water filters and other items to flood-hit families.
A: Meteorologists say La Nina will make this year's storm season unusually complicated, with October and November being the peak time. 5 or 6 storms and tropical depressions are forecast between now and next March.
 Floods inundate Quynh Lam commune, Nghe An province on September 29, 2022. |
B: This week VOV World Service received over 300 emails, phone calls, and letters from listeners, reporting transmission quality and commenting on news and topics we discussed, such as UNESCO’s recognition of Xoe Thai as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnam, energy conservation contests, and economic and industrial activities.
A: Our listeners also told us about events in their countries. Rabi Sankar Bosu of India told us about Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the Indian state of West Bengal.
B: He said that, like Vietnamese Spring Festival or Tet, Carnival in Brazil, and Germany’s Oktoberfest, Durga Puja is the most important festival in West Bengal and other places in India. It is essentially the worship of womanhood and the celebration of the supreme source of power – mother Goddess Durga.
A: It is also a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. It’s not just a Hindu festival. It's also a big social and cultural event. On December 15, 2021, the celebration was inscribed in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
B: Rabi Sankar Bosu sent us a few pictures of the Goddess Durga celebration at the New Horizon Radio Listeners’ Club. We’ll post them on our website. Thank you very much for your interesting information, Rabi. Happy Durga Puja!
 Prominent Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata that you must see during Durga Puja (photo: news.18.com) |
A: Recently we had a bit of news on the issuance of two new stamps called Love and Coffee Tree. Many of our DX’ers are stamp collectors and they want to hear about stamps issued in Vietnam.
B: Every year the Vietnam Post issues scores of stamps and stamp sets. In September it issued a single stamp called Love and a special postage stamp collection called Coffee Tree that smells like freshly-brewed coffee.
A: The collection, which uses scented print technology, includes four stamps that show different growth stages of a coffee plant from seed to sapling to mature plant bearing flowers and fruits to coffee beans beside a hot cup of coffee.
B: A stamp set called “Vietnam’s Seas and Islands: Seabirds” was introduced in July. It shows images of typical birds inhabiting Vietnam’s islands and coastal marshes.
A: In May Vietnam Post introduced a special set of postage stamps celebrating the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), featuring the logo and mascot of the Games, and Vietnam’s five strongest sports – athletics, shooting, swimming, gymnastics and football. The background of each stamp shows the ASEAN logo, which represents the unity of 11 countries, in line with the SEA Games 31 slogan ‘For a stronger Southeast Asia’.
B: A vibrantly colored stamp set inspired by the Vietnamese fairytale “The Star Fruit Tree” was released earlier this year. One of Vietnam’s most popular children’s stories, “The Star Fruit Tree” praises family relationships, brotherhood, industriousness, and teaches valuable life lessons.
A: The first stamp depicts an elder brother chasing his younger brother’s family out of their house. The second shows a huge bird carrying the younger brother on its back to a faraway island to collect gold. The third stamp shows the greedy elder brother and his wife discussing a scheme to take the house and the star fruit tree of his younger brother.
B: The last one shows the elder brother holding a heavy bag of gold and falling from the bird’s back into the sea. The stamp frame depicts the happy and prosperous life of the younger brother and his wife.
A: Images of Vietnamese culture appear on each stamp – an ancient house, a brick yard, a hay cock, a herd of buffalo, and a paddy field. The characters, honest or cunning, hard working or lazy, are portrayed in clear contrast. The stamp block represents the happy ending of the fairy tale.
B: All these stamps are available for purchase through the Vietnam postal network.
 the Vietnamese fairytale “The Star Fruit Tree”
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A: This week we acknowledge reception reports from Lu Dacheng of China. Lu said he often visits VOV’s website and reads the Letter Box to learn about other listeners’ interests and questions about Vietnam. He sent us some beautiful photos of China in autumn, which we will post on our website.
B: Sanil Deep of India told us that the best time to receive VOV’s program in India is at 12h30 and 13h30 on 12020 khz and at 16h00 on 7220 khz. He said VOV’s wide variety of features gives listeners a good picture of Vietnam and its people.
A: “My favourite programs are ‘Letterbox’, ‘Discovery Vietnam’, and ‘Personality of the week’. Every week I am able to enjoy so many songs on the Sunday music program. Presentation of the program Letter Box is superb.”
B: Richard Lemke of Canada told us that the Canadian International DX Club, of which he’s been a member since 1984, is celebrating 60 years of serving the shortwave community in Canada.
A: This week we acknowledge reception reports from Christer Brunström of Sweden, Didarul Iqbal, a founder and chairman of the South Asia Radio Club of Bangladesh, Bidhan Chandra Sanyal of India, and many others.
B: Thank you all for listening to VOV. 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@v ov.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 platforms, 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. Goodbye.