Japan’s Peace Boat on April 23 docked at Tien Sa port in the central city of Da Nang, carrying 800 foreign tourists from Japan, Britain and the US.

HCM City confirmed two more cases of acute diarrhoea on April 23, bringing the total number of infected cases to 9.

A roundtable was held in the central city of Da Nang on April 23 to raise the voice of non-governmental organisations in Asia to help the United Nations evaluate implementation of its millennium development goals (MDGs).

A delegation representing three generations of overseas Vietnamese from 14 nations around the world has visited the midland province of Phu Tho, where the first Vietnamese state was established.

A project entitled ‘Sustainable product innovation in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia’ was launched in Hanoi on April 22 to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) get oriented toward green growth.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) launched an annual national week on rural clean water and environmental sanitation in Khoi Ky commune, Dai Tu district, in the northern mountain province of Thai Nguyen on April 22.

The Central Paediatrics Hospital on April 22 announced the Health Ministry’s decision to establish a children’s health institute in Hanoi.

Cisco Systems Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding with the central city of Da Nang on April 22 to upgrade its information technology network.

German health experts are willing to cooperate and assist with projects in Vietnam to promote the synergy between medical and economic development, affirmed Health Minister Philipp Roesler.

Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Rolf Bergman has praised the effective co-operation between Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Swedish Radio (SR) over the years.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training has announced it will provide 75 scholarships for post-graduate study in India under a technical and economic co-operation programme for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to have more oversight over the soaring prices of medicine in the country.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced on April 21 that it has resumed all flights to Europe and vice versa, following its six successful flights to France and Russia on April 19-20.

The capital city, which merged with several parts of the adjacent rural provinces of Ha Tay and Hoa Binh in 2008, is waiting for Government approval of its project for “a New lifestyle in Rural Areas” for 2020 with a view for 2030.

The State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese will use a new model of teaching the mother tongue to Overseas Vietnamese in six countries including Laos, Cambodia, Russia, Czech Republic, the US and Canada.

Vietnam attaches great importance to crime prevention, said a Vietnamese official at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Salvador, Brazil from April 12-19.

Hanoi plans to raise its GDP per capita to between US$11,000 to US$12,000 by 2030, according to participants in a meeting on the city's master plan.

More than 200 delegates from Vietnamese and German agencies and businesses gathered in HCM City on April 21 for the first Germany-Vietnam economic conference on climate change and energy.

The US will provide 229 vaccine refrigerators, 10 global positioning systems and vehicles to the northern province of Nam Dinh to aid its fight against the avian flu, said the local veterinary sub-department.

Vietnam will continue its efforts and cooperation with the international community to prevent the spread of H5N1 flu and stamp out the lethal virus in the next 2-3 years, said a senior official of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The 3G network, used commonly for wireless phones in Vietnam, will become the next target for hi-tech criminals, police engaged in combating cyber-crime have warned.

The national electricity grid has so far expanded to 1,267 of the 1,327 hamlets in the Central Highlands or more than 90 percent of the total rural households in the region.

There were 159 food poisoning cases nationwide in 2009 with the total number of victims estimated at 5,200, including 42 fatalities, said the Food Safety and Hygiene Department (DFSH).

A cold snap will hit the northern provinces on April 22 night, according to the National Centre for Hydro meteorological Forecasting.

The nation's social security system will provide conditional and non-conditional social aid, credit assistance, education and job training for millions of people despite the global economic crisis.  

As many as 83 percent of the population in rural areas are expected to have access to clean water, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Xuan Hoc. 

A book entitled Vietnam News Agency and the Great Victory in Spring 1975 has been released to commemorate 35 years since the liberation of South Vietnam (April 30). 

Sofitel Saigon Plaza pastry chefs Pham Ngoc Hai and Tran Ngo Lam Khanh are taking part in a cake making contest in Singapore that began on April 20. 

An Advisory Council for the development of policies for the software industry under the Vietnam Software Association (VINASA) made its debut in Hanoi on April 21.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee on April 21 announced a project to remove bombs and mines at an estimated cost of US$120,000.