A new vocational training programme set up by the Women's Union in HCM City has helped middle-aged women with few skills earn more income.

The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will stage contemporary dances and a classical ballet choreographed by Vietnamese and international artists at the HCM City Opera House on July 20 and 21.

Foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in southern provinces, is expected to increase sharply with a number of billion-dollar projects in the pipeline, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Traffic police have kick-started a nationwide campaign to inspect coaches, passenger cars, container trucks and motorbikes in an effort to prevent serious accidents.

The southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is improving connections between its Cai Mep-Thi Vai Port complex and surrounding provinces to strengthen its marine economy, and promoting environmentally friendly projects to develop its tourism sector.

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) plans to start releasing quarterly reports on the domestic real estate market to increase transparency, Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha said at a recent ministry meeting.

Disruptive change is leading to the re-regulation of work and employment around the world, including in Vietnam, Gregor Murray of the University of Montreal in Canada, said.

Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities are promoting reading culture in the community through a series of new programmes organised this year.

Urban heat islands in Ho Chi Minh City and other large cities in Vietnam are causing heat waves with some of the highest recorded temperatures ever in the country, affecting public health.

A high-level Swiss delegation toured a garment factory in the southern province of Dong Nai on July 12 to assess positive changes in working conditions and competitiveness of the country’s leading export industry and the fruits of the partnership between the Swiss government, Better Work programme and Vietnamese industry.