The Ministry of Education and Training and the US Embassy in Hanoi on September 30 signed an agreement to co-operate in education.

A Vietnamese delegation from the Ministry of Information and Communications led by its minister Le Doan Hop has paid a five-day visit to Russia at an invitation of the Russian Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Igor Shegolev.

After hearing news of the heavy damage caused by tropical storm Ketsana, many Vietnamese living overseas have sent their condolences to their fellow country men back home.

Many local inhabitants could not return home because roads have been blocked off by flooding.

Vietnam will help Laos formulate a master development plan for its post and telecommunication sector as part of a memorandum of understanding signed in Vientiane on September 29.

A training workshop on how to collect information when covering domestic violence opened on September 29 in the northern city of Hai Phong for reporters from national and local newspapers. 

International domestic airlines operating in Vietnam are offering discounts on their flights as the global recession and swine flu pandemic continue to keep bookings low.

The Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper on September 28 presented 3,000 gifts to orphans and children with disabilities in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum to celebrate the traditional and popular Full Moon Festival that falls on October 3. 

Storm Ketsana, packing winds of nearly 150km/h, swept Vietnam’s central coast on September 29, causing dozens of deaths and wide-spread property damage in the stricken provinces.

Representatives from the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) nations gathered at a seminar on energy development, which opened in Phnompenh, Cambodia, on September 29.

Pollution in craft villages is on the increase, making a negative impact on daily life for both artisans and local residents even though many measures have been taken to tackle it.

The Ministry of Health reported 214 new cases of A/H1N1 on September 28, bringing the total number to 8605 people, 14 of whom have died.

Provinces and cities in the central region have successfully moved local people to safe areas on the night of September 28 due to tropical storm Ketsana, which recorded winds of category 9 and10.

Rural development and speeding up poverty relief and hunger elimination is pivotal to Vietnam’s strategy for sustainable growth and development, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said in Hanoi on September 28.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) on September 28 officially launched its MyTV service, which uses IPTV- base technology (Internet Protocol Television). 

The Christian Fellowship Church of Vietnam opened its first congress in Ho Chi Minh City on September 28.

The construction of Vinh Nghiem monastery began on September 26 in Hiep Thanh ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City .

On Sept. 28 Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai sent an urgent message asking Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam to move local people out of danger areas by midnight the same day as the tropical storm Ketsana is forecast to make landfall at noon on September 29.

A delegation from the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) will take part in the “2009 Vietnam-Laos Youth Friendship Meeting” from October 2-9.

Diverse activities took place in the central province of Da Nang to celebrate World Tourism Day 2009 on September 27 on the theme of “Tourism and biological diversity”.

Nearly 50 children and parents from the Vietnamese community in Beijing attended the mid-Autumn festival, which was held by the Vietnamese embassy in China on September 27.

The Vietnam Ophthalmology Association, the Central Eye Hospital and the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) with the support of Orbis International Organisation carried out eye tests, gave consultancies and handed out free medicines on September 27 in response to 2009 World Sight Day on the theme of “equal access to care”.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Pham Van Linh, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission of Information and Education, attended an international conference on kindergarten education held in Monterrey, Mexico, from September 23-26.

More than 800 Vietnamese students studying in the Republic of Korea (RoK) gathered in Seoul on September 27 for an annual meeting held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK and the Vietnamese Students Association.

Cambodia and Vietnam have agreed to open three more border gates in late September and early October to meet the increasing demand for transportation of passengers and goods between the two sides.

On September 26, the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environment under the Ministry of Health confirmed more than 199 patients testing positive for the A/H1N1 flu virus.

The National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and the National Committee for Search and Rescue have urged coastal provinces to prepare for evacuation of residents from areas lying in the path of the storm.

On September 25, Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People’s Committee held a working session with a delegation from the Thai Senate, led by Tunyaratt Achariyachai, head of the Senate Committee on Tourism, and agreed to advertise images of Hue and Thailand to encourage Thai tourists to visit Hue and vice versa.

Vietnam and Cambodia will open three border gates including Vietnam’s Xamat, Tay Ninh to Cambodia’s Trapeang Phlong; Tinh Bien, An Giang to Takeo and Ha Tien, Kien Giang to Lork Kam Pot in late September and early October.

On September 25 the General Department of Vocational Training, under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, held a press conference to announce some activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its establishment with a music festival on October 6-7 and a meeting on October 8.