On April 2, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) officially started a project to support labour relations and revise the Labour Code.

Vietnam and China will jointly petition the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to recognise the Vietnam-Yunnan railway line as a World Heritage, according to the Vietnamese Consulate General in Kunming, Nguyen Hong Hai.

A workshop on Vietnam’s 2010 Millennium Goals was jointly organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hanoi on April 2.

A container scanning system worth US$9.6 million was put into operation at the Cat Lai port on April 2, the fist scanner to be used by Vietnam’s Customs Department.

A ceremony was held in Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa province on April 2 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its liberation day, attracting more than 6,000 local officials, soldiers and people.

The Ministry of Construction has asked its provincial departments to put into action projects to build accommodation for students, using funds sourced from Government bond sales.

The Government has approved a five-year training project on sustainable management, protection and development of coastal areas and islands nationwide.

A tripartite road transport agreement between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will be signed in June, said Deputy Transport Minister Le Manh Hung.

A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 1 to discuss the implementation of laws and policies on the disabled.

The United Nations will give Vietnam US$2 million to help the country create labour institutions and improve the capacity of trade unions to support workers. 

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRC) met in Quang Ngai on April 1 to review its emergency aid to victims of the Ketsana storm.

One month after a re-evaluation, the Ministry of Transport has simplified nearly 99 percent of administrative procedures, saving more than VND4,800 billion from the public purse.

The National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs (CSA) and the Friedrich Ebert Stigtung (FES) Institute jointly held a seminar for domestic and foreign experts to contribute ideas to the amended Labour Law, in Hanoi on March 31.

Concrete measures to combat human trafficking and provide assistance for its victims topped the agenda of a workshop between Vietnam and Laos on March 30 and 31.

The Fred Hollows Foundation from Australia will grant almost US$547,700 to provide operations and care for eye patients in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

There have been no more A/H1N1 outbreaks in the country, except some isolated cases, said a health official.

Educational authorities should ensure kindergarten tiny tots are not forced to learn during the summer holidays even before their schools reopen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan said.

The US-Vietnam Climate Change Working Group began its three days of talks in Hanoi on March 31 to discuss combating climate change in Vietnam and draw up future plans for the group.

The UNDP has conducted a series of studies on a wide range of socio-economic issues in Vietnam to aid the country in outlining its socio-economic development strategy in the 2011-2020 period.

The southern province of Khanh Hoa on March 31 reported that said it has successfully controlled the influenza epidemic in its two districts of Ninh Hoa and Van Ninh.

The Vietnam-Australia Joint Transnational Crime Centre (JTCC) made its debut in Ho Chi Minh City on March 30.

The US will assist Vietnam to develop its civil nuclear industry under a deal signed in Hanoi on March 30 by US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Dinh Tien.

Power shortages during the dry season are increasingly becoming a major public concern, requiring businesses and people to use every kind of power source and save as much electricity as they can.

The Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO) held a ceremony to announce the launching of an Eye Bank in Hanoi on March 30.

Vietnam needs to learn from the Netherlands’ experience so it can help the Mekong Delta region cope more effectively with climate change, to ensure sustainable development and food security.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee on March 29 received a project to assist its rural people to overcome the consequences of storm Ketsana, sponsored by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office and the Italian organisation GVC. 

Vietnam receives nearly 473,000 foreign visitors in March, raising the total number of international arrivals to the country in the past three months to 1.35 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.2 percent.

A talk show on addressing the legacy of unexploded ordnance for a peaceful life will be broadcast live on April 4 on the VTC14 – a specialised channel for programmes on natural disaster prevention.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in coordination with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) and the Int’l Labour Organisation (ILO) organised a ceremony in Hanoi on March 29 for the signing of a EUR2.5 million project to help stamp out the worst forms of child labour in Vietnam.

The second international seminar on the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 29.