A grand ceremony was held at Bai Dinh Pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Binh on January 23 to pray for world peace and the country’s prosperity.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided Vietnam with two loans totalling US$165 million to improve secondary education for ethnic minority students in the country’s poorest areas, and upgrade rural infrastructure in six central provinces.

Ho Chi Minh City had a good start for 2015 with strong and stable growth in January, heard a regular meeting on January 23 of the municipal People’s Committee.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quy Vuong hosted a reception for Matthew H.King, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, in Hanoi on January 23.

The Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province co-organised a ceremony on January 23 to mark the 65 th anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties. 

Northern Bac Giang province has eyed export earnings of US$2.61 billion in 2015, up 24 percent against 2014, according to the provincial Department of Trade and Industry.

An Antraxit coal monolith currently displayed at the Museum of northern Quang Ninh province has been recognised by the Vietnam Book of Records (Vietkings) as the largest of its kind in Vietnam. 

More than 12 billion VND (570,000 USD) is expected to be raised during a programme entitled “Xuan yeu thuong” (the beloved Spring) scheduled for February 10 in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to help local needy soldiers and poor households enjoy a warm and happy Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. 

A delegation from the Dutch Emmen Region, headed by Stenden University Principal Hanny Van Geffen, worked with key officials of Binh Duong province on January 22 to examine opportunities for cooperation between the two localities.

Vietnam’s northwestern province of Hoa Binh and Laos’s northeastern province of Houaphan on January 22 inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in health care, trade, investment, agriculture, and tourism.