A variety of activities have been held by the Vietnamese Community in Laos to celebrate major national festivals like the 35th anniversary of Liberation Day and the millennium anniversary of Thang Long- Hanoi.

The Drug Administration Department, under the Ministry of Health, will start an investigation and inspection of drug prices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on March 29.

The Highland Education Development Organisation (HEDO) and its Director were presented high distinctions at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 28 to mark the organisation’s 20th anniversary.

By May 2009, Vietnam had sent 15,900 students to study in Australia, ranking 7th among foreign countries, a rise of 60 percent compared to 2008, according to the International Education Agency-Australia (IEAA).

Vietnam has saved 500,000 kWh after switching off lights for one hour on March 27 in response to Earth Hour 2010, according to the National Electricity Dispatching Centre.

Vietnam will spend over VND2.3 trillion (US$123.5 million) on a project to develop the social worker profession during the 2010-2020 period.

The ASEAN Summit and related meetings are due to be held in Hanoi early next month, drawing nearly 1,000 regional guests and reporters. Ensuring top security for ASEAN meetings is one of the key tasks set by Hanoi police in 2010.

Crowds of people are flocking to the Han River in Da Nang City to watch the international fireworks contest to be held on the evening of March 27.

International migration experts on March 26 suggested Vietnam should work more closely with destination countries to improve the speed and reduce costs for overseas Vietnamese of sending remittances back home.

Obesity is found in 10 percent of primary-school children in Ho Chi Minh City, putting them at risk of serious health problems as they age, according to Do Thi Ngoc Diep, Deputy Director of the Municipal Nutrition Centre on March 26.

The Fund under the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) will spend more than VND17 billion on projects supporting beneficiaries this year.

Being one of the five countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, Vietnam joins Earth Hour 2010 with more practical activities which involve 22 provinces and cities and more than 1,000 businesses.

The Ba Na Cable Car Service Joint Stock Company is building a French-style village on Ba Na mount to serve domestic and foreign tourists.

Vietnam wants the Friends of Vietnam Association (VESAMO) to help strengthen the Vietnam-Republic of Korea friendship.

Five hundred physicians, including 200 leading otorhinolaryngologists from the US, France, Austria, Japan, Italy and Singapore, are attending the 14th Asian Research Symposium in Rhinology, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 26.

Domestic and foreign researchers gathered at the Asia-Pacific Centre in Hanoi on March 26 to discuss the effect of international emigration on development in labour exporting countries.

The Japanese Business Association in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City Poor Patient Sponsor Association has donated VND800 million for poor patients.

The KOTO Saigon Training Centre for street and disadvantaged youth from the central and southern provinces opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 23.

Schools in Hanoi, Hue, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City have been invited to nominate their best and brightest for the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee held a meeting at the Hanoi Friendship Palace on March 26 to award 10 outstanding youths in 2009.

Representatives from ministries and experts of the United Nations gathered in Hanoi on March 25 at a conference to talk about a legal framework for anti-terrorism activities.

On the occasion of an international fireworks contest to be held in Da Nang City on March 27-28, three foreign delegations from Japan, Russia and Australia will visit and carry out a survey on tourism services to seek business opportunities in central Quang Nam province.

The British Embassy in Hanoi on March 25 officially launched a support project for media training in Vietnam – the Mediapro.

US-based Food Company, Heinz, has officially arrived in Vietnam, supplying its two categories of products to the local market: ketchup, condiments and sauces and children’s nutritional foods.

The agricultural quality control arm of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has agreed to help HCM City devise and monitor hygiene standards for pork.

An agro-forestry project funded by the Italian Government has helped reduce poverty in the central province of Quang Nam.

About VND9.4 trillion (US$522 million) will be needed for a programme to prevent the loss of safe water resources in Vietnam’s urban areas through 2025.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tien Dung has issued Decision No 367 on the enforcement of the Law on Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee met on March 25 to mark its 79th anniversary (March 26) and honour 10 outstanding youth union secretaries.

The organising board of the First Vietnam Seafood Festival announced 20 major events of the year on its websites http://lehoithuysan.vn and http://festivalthuysan.vn and inaugurated its new press centre on March 24.