Twelve top teams have been chosen to represent the southern region to compete in the final round of the annual Vietnam Robot Invention Contest (Robocon Vietnam 2010) scheduled next month in Dak Lak province’s Buon Ma Thuot City from May 10-16.

The third meeting was held in Hanoi on April 12 to honour outstanding handicapped, orphans and patrons.

The seventh ‘One heart-One world’ charity arts programme took place in Hanoi on April 18, raising nearly VND10 billion from sponsors, individuals and TV audience to help people with disabilities.

Some 124 children suffering from congenital heart defects in the central province of Phu Yen will undergo free surgeries, each worth over VND50 million, this summer.

The blue ear pig disease has broken out in several northern provinces, including Hai Duong, Thai Binh and Thai Nguyen, raising concerns about epidemic prevention in localities.

A meeting was held in Hanoi on April 11 to encourage people of all social strata to take part in blood donation campaigns.

Nearly 4,000 young people in Hanoi took part in a festival organized by the municipal Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) on April 11 to welcome the grand celebration of the 1,000th year of Thang Long-Hanoi.

A new cold spell will hit northern provinces early next week to put an end to the current heat wave in the region, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

A sizable representation of the around 50,000 Vietnamese residents in Montreal, Canada, gathered at a meeting organised by the Vietnamese Embassy on April 10.

Vietnamese nationals in France will continue to build a united community, help strengthen relations between Vietnam and France and make a significant contribution to the homeland in the 2010-2013 period.

The Lua Viet Company will launch several new tours of Cambodia during the upcoming National Reunification Day holiday (April 30) with the support of the Cambodia Ministry of Tourism.

The Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) held an exchange on April 10 to mark the traditional New Year of the four Mekong sub-region countries of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.

In 2000, 189 United Nations member countries agreed to obtain 8 millennium development goals (MDGs) by 2015. With two-thirds of that time frame past, Vietnam has made significant achievements.

The 2010 International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza (IMCAPI) will be held in Vietnam on April 19-21, attracting officials from health and agricultural ministries worldwide.

An international seminar on bio-technology to serve the Central Highland province of Lam Dong’s socio-economic development took place in Da Lat city on April 9.

Vietnam’s national nuclear safety council will be set up following a recent decision made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. 

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)’s Central Committee, Huynh Dam, has sent his best wishes to the Khmer ethnic people on the occasion of their New Year festival - Chol Chnam Thmay.

Vietnamese press agencies need to do more to change social attitudes toward the disabled, according to a workshop being held in Haiphong on April 9-10.

Bac Kan province has confirmed a second A/H5N1-infection case in Na Tao hamlet, Nhu Co commune, Cho Moi district.

Representatives from Vietnam and China met on April 7 and agreed to work together to explore tourism potential of Ban Gioc-Duc-Thien waterfalls in northern Cao Bang province to ensure sustainable development and environmental protection.

A career conference for Vietnamese employers to discuss career opportunities with high-calibre graduates in the US will be held at the New York University School of Law on April 24-25. 

The past five years of cooperation between Bach Mai Hospital and St Anthony’s Hospital from the State of Colorado in the US, was celebrated in Hanoi on April 8. 

The World Bank (WB) on April 8 approved a second loan for Vietnam’s poverty alleviation, health care improvement and infrastructure development.

The 2010 “Exhibition on Education and Occupation” opened in Ho Chi Minh City, involving more than 100 universities and educational establishments from 12 countries and territories in the world.

A 2-year-old child who lives in ward 6, district 8, Ho Chi Minh City has tested positive for the bacteria Vibrio cholera, confirmed Deputy Director of the city’s Health Department, Le Truong Giang on April 8.

To salute the Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector, brand names, and tourist destinations, 80 tourism companies will take part in a street parade featuring 12 flower-decorated floats and 1,000 people.

A meeting was held on April 8 for nearly 200 Khmers representing the families of war invalids and revolutionary martyrs, heroic mothers, workers, pensioners, and monks in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

The Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee announced on April 8 that the three communes of Thanh Yen, Noong Luong and Thanh Hung are freed of bird flu infection.

The second HCM City Education Development Festival will showcase advanced schooling models in Vietnam and abroad and promote investment in education.

Twenty-one leading Russian universities showcased their tertiary education opportunities at an exhibition in Hanoi on April 7.