Hanoi-based Sofitel Metropole Hotel has entered the Conde Nast Traveller Hot List 2010, the publication's annual list of the "66 Coolest New Hotels in the World".

A delegation of sixteen Australian companies will visit Hanoi from May 23-25 to explore project opportunities in Vietnam’s development sector, said the Australian embassy on May 21.

Creating opportunities for domestic manufacturing enterprises to select advanced products and technologies was the main aim of the international exhibition of electronics and manufacturing technologies, which is currently being held in Hanoi.

The Australian government will provide an estimated AUD119.8 million (VND1.5 trillion) in development assistance to Vietnam from July 2010 to June 2011.

The Vietnamese and Cuban youth unions have the common responsibility and mission to provide ideological and political training to young generations and encourage them to get involved in national economic development and defence and building socialism, said the First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) Central Committee.

Italian specialists will help to restore some of the ancient streets in the capital city of Hanoi, said the Italian Embassy at a press conference on May 19. 

A Vietnamese delegation led by State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan participated in the 20th Global Summit of Women (GSW), which opened in Beijing, China, on May 20.

A statue of the late Ho Chi Minh was unveiled on Miguel Aleman Avenue in Acapulco city on May 19 to celebrate Vietnamese President’s 120th birth anniversary and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Mexico diplomatic ties.

The ASEAN preparatory Senior Labour Meeting (PreSLOM) opened in Hanoi on May 20 on the sidelines of the 21st ASEAN Labour Ministerial Meeting (ALMM).  

Dr. Nguyen Dai Trang, a Vietnamese living in Canada, has recently had her book “Ho Chi Minh- The soul and talent of a great patriot” published in Canada.

Vietnam’s achievements in the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a focus on green development, have been applauded by delegates at the 66th session of the UN Economic-Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). 

Provinces and cities nationwide have organized various events to mark the 120th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh on May 19.

The Vietnamese embassy in China held a ceremony on May 19 to offer incense to President Ho Chi Minh. The event drew the participation of embassy staff and representatives of many other Vietnamese agencies in China.

The Vesak 2010 and the 2254th Year of the Buddhist Calendar have been celebrated in Moscow by the Moscow Buddhist Centre in collaboration with the Vietnam Buddhist Shangha (VBS).

The Truong Sa island District in Khanh Hoa province held a meeting on May 19 to mark the 120th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh birthday and to inaugurate Uncle Ho’s Memorial House.

The Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed the arrival of the Costa Romantica cruise liner at Ho Chi Minh City’s Navi port on May 18.

A recent visit by a delegation of Vietnamese AO victims has helped the Vietnamese community in the US as well as US parliamentarians and students have a more comprehensive understanding of harmful effects of Agent Orange/dioxin on humans and the environment in Vietnam.

Officials of government ministries and agencies gathered in Hanoi on May 18 for a conference on how to coordinate efforts to improve Vietnam’s emergency response capacity.

The central province of Thua Thien Hue inaugurated marker 666 at the A Dot-Ta Vang border gate, a major marker on the Vietnam-Laos border line, at a ceremony on May 18.

A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology led by Deputy Minister Le Dinh Tien paid a working visit to Germany from May 9-15.

Blue ear pig disease has spread to 15 provinces across the country, according to the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Representatives of about 8,000 Vietnamese nationals who live, study or do business in Switzerland attended a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in Bern on May 17.

Hanoi will slash the number of poor households by 22,500, bringing the poverty rate down to 4.5 percent by 2010, said Nguyen The Hung, Vice Director of the municipal department for labour, invalids and social affairs.

As the prolonged dry season begins to turn into a drought, many residents in Ba Vi District on the outskirts of Hanoi are suffering from water shortages.

The Vietnam News Agency’s Fund for AO Victims has worked with Hanoi Yoga Centre to present gifts for Agent Orange/dioxin victims in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

The President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), Vu Xuan Hong, on May 17 presented the “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” insignia to Sato Hideaki, Senior Advisor to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) representative office in Japan.

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on May 17 received trees and stones as gifts from the Naval Force and people in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

The Vietnam Students’ Association in France will strengthen cooperation with the Vietnamese associations, union and other organizations in France in the next two-year period.

Labour ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will gather in the capital city of Hanoi on May 24 in an effort to develop regional human resources for economic recovery and development.

A total of 350 delegates representing more than 700,000 of the city’s children attended a congress of exemplary children, who are conferred the title ‘Uncle Ho’s good grandchildren’ in Hanoi on May 17.