Germany and Australia signed a joint declaration on providing assistance to Vietnam’s environment and energy in Hanoi on March 8.

A plenary meeting of the Partnership for Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI) was held in Hanoi on March 8, co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Bui Ba Bong and United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam John Hendra.

The success of the 2009 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) helped raise Vietnam’s tourism status in the region and offered opportunities for the country to promote its tourism potential abroad.

The Border Guard Command of central Binh Dinh province has handed over 5 fishermen, saved by Vietnamese fishermen from a wrecked ship, to a representative from the Philippines Embassy in Vietnam on March 7.

Dr. Phan Thi Tuoi, a computer scientist and former rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, has been named for last year’s Kovalevskaya Prize for her lifetime achievement.

Localities have organised a number of activities to mark the 100th International Women’s Day (March 8) across the country, such as art performance, races and meetings to honour outstanding women.

Big shopping centres are offering discounts and sales promotions and the prices of fresh flowers are on the rise.

The Red Spring Festival was held in Hanoi on March 6 by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHDT) and the Hanoi Blood Donation Steering Board.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Vietnam Airlines jointly held a seminar and a gala night to promote Vietnamese tourism in Kuala Lumpur on March 5.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan has launched a campaign to reform tertiary education management for the 2010-2012 period, paving the way for improving the quality of training in higher education.

Construction of the first private hospital for mothers and children invested by an overseas Vietnamese family in Laos started on March 6 in Vientiane.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, Huynh Dam,  sent a letter of congratulations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 1970th anniversary of the Trung Sisters’ Uprising.

According to the Central Hydro Meteorology Forecasting Centre, the El Nino phenomenon will continue to affect Asia, including Vietnam, through the end of May, resulting in widespread drought in the next two months.

Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on March 5 announced the Vietnamese government’s decision to donate US$150,000 to help the Chilean people recover from a recent earthquake.

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) is an important bridge in Vietnam-China relations, Chinese Ambassador Sun Guoxiang said during a visit to VOV on March 5.

The Montgomerie Links Vietnam Golf Club, headquartered in the central region, will continue to host the Terry Fox Run in Vietnam on March 21 to raise funds for cancer research.

A new website www.hanoi.org.vn/planning introducing the main aspects of the Hanoi Capital Master Plan for 2030 with a vision for 2050 has been launched by WikiHanoi and Ashui.com (Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association).

The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is coordinating with Mondulkiri province of Cambodia to fight malaria in border districts of the two provinces.

Nearly 4,000 primary school students from 15 provinces nationwide will join a contest on traffic safety on March 6 and 7 at the Giang Vo Fair and Exhibition Centre in Hanoi.

A Denmark-funded community development project, which is designed for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam's northern region, will continue its second phase in Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces from 2010 to 2014.

On March 5, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung Hai met with the Central Steering Board on Forest Fire Prevention and Control to discuss measures to cope with fire forests in localities throughout the country.

The Central Highland province of Kon Tum announced on March 5 that it has contained the bird flu epidemic in Bo Y commune, Ngoc hoi district, and disbanded temporary checkpoints in the locality. 

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send its representatives to the ASEAN-Ho Chi Minh City Television Charms 2010 Contest on March 17.

Hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests nationwide are at the highest fire alert during this prolonged period of dry weather, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on March 4.

The northern rice-growing province of Bac Ninh is set to receive VND372 billion loan from France to improve the province’s irrigation capacity.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has agreed a proposal by the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines concerning the establishment of the VietAir Joint Stock Airline.

A working group on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) has made its debut in Hanoi to help Vietnam in forest management.

Vietnam has made great efforts in implementing the “Beijing platform” with issuance of a series of laws to create a legal corridor for state agencies in charge of women’s advancement to operate effectively, said the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the International Service for The Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) jointly held a seminar on genetic manipulation in Hanoi on March 4.

Vietnam is capable of releasing immediate warnings of earthquakes and tsunamis to help minimise the consequences of these natural disasters, says a senior Vietnamese geophysicist.