Traffic jams are hindering the economic development of Ho Chi Minh City – the country’s largest economic hub, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

With the support of people inside and outside the country, more than 115,000 “great unity” houses have been built for tens of thousand of poor people nationwide. Ha Thi Lien, deputy chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee granted an exclusive interview to a VOV reporter on the issue.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) held a year-end meeting in the city of Da Nang on December 28 .  

HCM City will give top priority to the prevention of young people from becoming drug addicts next year, said Le Thanh Tam, director of the Municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The Vietnam-Nagasaki Exchange Promotion Council has launched a campaign to raise JPY500,000 (roughly VND100 million) for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Over the past few years, population activities have only focused on family planning while little attention has been given to ensuring the quality of the population.

A ceremony to honour 86 businesses that have excelled in preventing and fighting fires was held in Hanoi on December 26. Of these, 19 received certificates of merit granted by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

The Russian Association of National Medicine (RANM) held a ceremony on December 24 to award the title National Medicine Professor to Doctor Ngo Xuan Binh, the first Vietnamese to receive this commendation.

An art performance for overseas Vietnamese to celebrate Christmas 2009 was held at the Vietnam Trade, Investment, Culture and Tourism Promotion Centre (VietHaus-AG) in Berlin, Germany, on December 24.

A cold front is moving towards Vietnam from China and it is expected to affect the northern region on December 27, according to the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre.

The Quang Ninh provincial People’s Court on December 25 handed down death sentences on five foreign nationals on charges of illegal cross-border transport of drug and money.

A new pair of national landmarks on the common borderline of Vietnam and Cambodia were inaugurated at the Dinh Ba international border gate in Tan Hong district of the southern province of Dong Thap on December 25.

The Government of the UK will provide VND5 billion to build a new readmission centre in Noi Bai, Hanoi.

The General Department of Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health is working with relevant ministries, sectors and experts to draw up a strategy for population and reproductive health in the 2011-2020 period.

All agencies and units should disseminate information on State regulations on anti-corruption, said Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan at a conference held in HCM City on December 25 to review anti-corruption and wastefulness activities.

The Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper in coordination with the Embassy of Greece in Hanoi on December 25 delivered 100 wheelchairs to the disabled in 8 cities and provinces.

128 heads of cattle have been infected with the foot-and-mouth disease in Vinh Lai commune, Van Quan district, and in Tan Lang commune, Van Lang district, in the northern province of Lang Son.

A recent report by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has shown a wide imbalance in the development of Vietnam’s labour market in terms of economic sectors and different geographical regions.

A special TV channel on the environment and natural disaster prevention, response and mitigation, VTC14, will begin officially broadcasting on January 1, 2010.  

The National Fund for Vietnamese Children on Dec. 23 received US$28,500 in donation from Singapore’s Thakral Group to help disadvantaged children in the country.

The Ho Chi Minh City Association for Sponsoring Poor Patients plans to establish an eye bank to facilitate free eye operations for the poor and enlarge the network of participating hospitals that provide free heart surgeries to poor children in the 2009-2014 period.

For Vietnam’s Christian population, this year’s Christmas season is the start of a Jubilee year full of great favour, amnesty, miracles and happiness.

Chinese low cost airline, Viva Macau, has announced it will open a direct air route to Hanoi on February 13, 2010 with three flights per week every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

On December 23, 133 passengers flew from Da Nang City to Hong Kong on an Airbus 312 that was chartered from Vietnam Airlines.

About 10 infrastructure projects in the areas of expressway, hi-speed railway and seaport request funding under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) form, said the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

A total of 45 disadvantaged students from universities and colleges in Ho Chi Minh City were awarded JPY 450,000 from the Japan-Niigata international scholarships (NVC) on December 23.

It is difficult to predict the developments of A/H1N1 flu in the coming time, though it has showed signs of warning in recent times, said a health official on December 23.

Vietnam is seeking to increase the population of some ethnic minorities, especially for groups whose populations are below 1,000.

In the next ten years, Vietnam will strive to have 30 percent or more female cadres holding key positions in State agencies and socio-political organizations at all levels.

The World Bank (WB) has approved the biggest loan ever on record worth US$500 million to support Vietnam’s stimulus effort and public investment reform programme.