The 2009 ICT awards ceremony will be held in late March next year, announced the Ministry of Information and Communications at a press conference held in Hanoi on September 18.

Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam (Doosan Vina) will donate scholarships worth a total of US$31,000 to outstanding students studying at seven universities nationwide. 

A press management forum was held on September 17 in the northern province of Quang Ninh with the participation of 60 representatives from press and news agencies nationwide.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on September 17 announced a new set of criteria that will serve as a basis for developing the national target programme on development of new rural areas. 

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s government will help the Vietnamese community there, as well as its residents who are working in Vietnam, to participate more actively in boosting cooperation between the two countries. 

More than 400 cyclo driver traffic violations have been punished in the last 20 days of traffic safety month, according to the Hanoi Police.

The Health Ministry said it will examine local health clinics’ laboratory capacity to see if they are qualified to test the A/H1N1 virus as the workload has become a burden on existing facilities.

Hoang Thi Minh Hong, Vietnam’s first woman to set foot on the South Pole, will make a 2nd visit to this region.

The United States on September 17 announced additional support for Vietnam’s pandemic control activities through a new US$450,000 project designed to strengthen the role of civil society in combating influenza A/H1N1 and other threats. 

The second phase of a project to promote sustainable forest management skills, sales and marketing of forest products was signed by the German Technical Co-operation Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi on September 16.

Vietnam needs international assistance for a programme to develop a new model in rural areas in the 2010-2010 period, with an estimated average of between VND120-150 billion for each commune. 

Vietnam is deploying an initiative on the prevention and control of the human influenza pandemic in a bid to raise the country’s capacity for coping with the deadly A/H1N1 flu.

Since early August, coach tours have attracted a large number of visitors to China thanks to their cheap prices, according to a representative of the Saigontourist Travel Agency.

Vietnam Airlines has offered an airfare discount of 60-70 percent on all flights from October 1, 2009 to January 3, 2010, said Nguyen Thi Minh Yen, director of the Vietnam Airlines (VNA) office in the Southern region on September 16.

The Vietnam Cultural Centre celebrated its first anniversary of its founding in Paris, France on September 15 with the participation of many Vietnamese people living in France and members of the international community.

The organising committee for the “Day for the Poor” programme has received donations worth VND340 billion from various organisations and individuals nationwide and overseas.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on September 16 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to celebrate International Ozone Layer Protection Day.

The Vietnam Educational Consultants Organisation, the Vietnam Personnel Forum and the Chief Human Resource Officer Club on September 16 held a press conference about 2009 Vietnam Personnel Day.

An average Vietnamese consumed 22 litres of beer in 2008, standing just behind the Thais in Southeast Asia , according to the Vietnam Association of Beer, Alcohol and Beverages.

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) officially inaugurated its overseas bureau in Washington, DC, on September 16 in the presence of officials from the US Department of State and ASEAN missions, reporters from US and international media groups, and representatives of the Vietnamese overseas community.

The Dutch government has decided to offer 30,000 tulips to Hanoi to decorate the city for its 1,000th anniversary celebrations in 2010, confirmed the Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam, Jozep Wileem Scheffes.

Vietnam on September 15 reported 262 more cases of A/H1N1, raising the total number of super flu patients in the country to 5,164 as of 5pm the same day.

The number of dengue fever cases has risen sharply in northern Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, with 500-700 cases reported each week, a 10- to 12-fold rise year on year, said Nguyen Huy Nga, Head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Health and Environment Department.

Co-President of the Global Smoke-free Partnership, E. Ulysses Dorotheo, praised Vietnam’s efforts in tobacco control at a seminar held in Hanoi on September 15- 16.

Mobifone has pledged initial support of US$50,000 to Operation Smile Vietnam for surgeries on 200 children born with facial deformities.

A charity concert will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 20 to raise funds for disabled Vietnamese children.

Four new caves have been found at Tu Lan and To Mo in Minh Hoa district in the central province of Quang Binh, according to the local Culture and Information Department.

Although the storm has not directly hit Vietnam, it will cause heavy rains in the northern border provinces. Local people need to brace themselves for flash floods and landslides.

A training course on journalism opened in Hanoi on September 14 for senior Vietnamese government officials to help them better communicate with the world press.

A tourism training course for teachers of the French language opened at the Asia-Pacific French Language Centre of the Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical College on September 14.