The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations on February 24 presented an insignia “for Peace and Friendship among Nations” to Luon Kim Khuon, Cambodian Consul General.

A Vietnamese tourist was killed and 20 others injured in a bus accident in Thailand on February 19.

Herbalist Tran Van Hay, the man with longest locks, died of natural causes at his home in Kien Giang province on February 25.

More than US$2.3 billion will be mobilised to build solid waste treatment plants nationwide between now and 2020, according to the Technical Infrastructure Department under the Ministry of Construction.

Prosecutors in California, the US, have dismissed charges against Vietnamese student, Ho Phuong, of brandishing a deadly weapon and resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office announced on February 23.

2010 will be a crucial year for promoting women and their rights, according to a press conference held by the Vietnam Women Union on February 24.

The medical sector should renew the operation mechanism, especially the financial mechanism, and promote the integration of healthcare services, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.  

The organisation and management of Vietnam’s Spring festivals needs to do a job of preserving and promoting national cultural identity in the spirit of the Doi Moi (Renewal) process.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked provincial committees in the northern and central regions to attach great importance to protecting crops against pests and insects.

Army engineers in the Central Highland province of Dak Nong are gearing for early planting eight landmarks along the border with Cambodia’s Mundulkiri province in February.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on February 23 met with the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and the National Committee for Search and Rescue.

The WB-funded Rural Finance Project II (RFP II) to help the agricultural sector develop in a more sustainable manner paid off well.

The Vietnam-Belgium dairy project has helped increase the number of dairy cows and milk output after five years of implementation, said an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Investing in children to exercise their right to live, to be protected, and to grow is investing in the future, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung at a ceremony in Hanoi on February 23 to mark the 20th anniversary of Vietnam’s adoption of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, met with the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodriguez Ramos and the Ambassador to Vietnam, Fernando Curcio, on February 23.

Overseas Vietnamese gathered for a get-together at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Union in France (UGVF) on February 21 to celebrate Tet.

A violent fire ruined a three-storey house at 47 Hang Bac Street on the evening of February 21.

A gathering of overseas Vietnamese to celebrate Tet took place in Belgium on February 20, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, attracting Vietnamese expatriates from Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and France.

Fewer people were hospitalized from food poisoning during the Lunar New Year festival (Tet) but more were taken to hospital for traffic accidents, according to the Ministry of Health.

A spring camp is being held in Dong Dang town, Cao Loc district, Lang Son province to mark Vietnam-China Friendship Year.

The German town of Ludwigfelde on February 20 hosted an emotional meeting for Vietnamese workers who formerly worked at the well-known IFA automobile manufacturing plant in East Germany 20 years ago.

Since the beginning of the year, dozens of bird flu outbreaks have been detected in southernmost Ca Mau province despite constant efforts to eradicate the disease.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will no longer limit the number of people registering for Korean language tests to seek work under contract in the Republic of Korea.

The Huong (Perfume) Pagoda Festival opened in Hanoi’s outskirts district of My Duc on February 19 or the sixth day of the first lunar month, attracting around 60,000 Buddhist pilgrims and tourists.

Despite living far from their homeland, the Vietnamese community in Poland are committed to preserving their national cultural identity and attach a great deal of importance to teaching Vietnamese to their children.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung paid a Tet visit to the Can Tho Bridge construction site on February 19.

Despite being far from Vietnam for many years, Cécile Minh, president of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, always turn her mind to the homeland.

Forest fire in Hoang Lien National Park, a primeval forest that covers nearly 30,000 ha and recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Park, in the northwestern province of Lao Cai was finally extinguished.

During the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, Vietnamese from everywhere, however busy they are, want to go back to their roots to burn incense to their ancestors at the temple or grave yard.

No positive cases of A/H1N1, A/H5N1 or acute diarrhoea have been reported across the country over the past three days, the Ministry of Health (MoH) says.