The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) held a seminar in Hanoi in an effort to complete Vietnam’s laws on labour and trade unions.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the European Committee (EC) granted equipment worth over EUR572,000 to nine tourism training schools nationwide at a ceremony in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong on September 10.

The second national conference on study encouragement will be held on September 24, announced the Vietnam Study Encouragement Association at a press briefing in Hanoi on September 10.

The first-ever regional conference to encourage businesses to invest in tourism in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from September 30 to October 1.

Lenka Pham, a 19-year-old Vietnamese-Czech student, has won the 14th literature contest for unpublished books in the Czech Republic, according to Czech News Agency CTK.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of people infected with petechial fever in Ho Chi Minh City has increased by more than 30 percent from a year earlier.

More than 120 businesses in 22 provinces and cities have registered for the “Gold Cup of Environmental Protection 2009” award.

A tropical low pressure front strengthened into a storm on September 10, making it the seventh in the East Sea this year.

A “Day without Plastic Bags - The Nature Day” campaign was launched in Hoi An ancient city, Quang Nam province, on September 9 to appeal to both local residents and tourists.

The Ministry of Health on September 9 confirmed five deaths caused by the A/H1N1 flu so far, including three in Ho Chi Minh City, one in the southern province of Dong Nai, and one in the south central province of Khanh Hoa.

Vietnam will step up its efforts to fully observe the regulations laid down by multilateral conventions on intellectual property rights to stimulate national socio-economic development.

A training course to raise public awareness on smoking prevention for 30 members of southern media organisations was held in Vung Tau city of southern coastal Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on September 9.

More than 150 scientists, medical experts and managers from 32 countries and territories attended a conference in Hanoi on September 9 to examine the latest research on rabies and discuss measures to eliminate the disease.

A national conference on blindness prevention and ophthalmological science and technology was held in central Da Nang City on September 9.

The north western province of Lao Cai and China’s Yunnan province signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at boosting their co-operation in the tourist sector at the Sapa Union Hotel on September 8. 

Constant heavy rains in one week caused great losses in many provinces.

A 51-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City has died of the A/H1N1 virus, increasing the number of pandemic’s fatalities in Vietnam to four.

The late President Ho Chi Minh and his revolutionary life have been honoured in the German daily newspaper Neues Deutschland (New Germany). 

France will help Vietnam to address the problem of land contaminated by dioxins after the American War, said a French MP on September 8.

Vietnam-US projects to deal with the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin on the environment and human health has not met expectations despite efforts from both sides, says a Vietnamese official.

Nearly 550 monks and nuns have graduated from the 6th training course of the Vietnam Buddhist Studies Institute, with 49 percent of them receiving excellent certificates.

The Gia Lai-Attopu Friendship Primary School has opened in Laos’ Attopu province at the start of the new 2009-2010 academic year.

Le Ngoc Huong, otherwise known as “Aunt Bay”, says she will continue to support overseas Vietnamese students as long as she can.

The Yamaha Vietnam on September 8 offered 97,000 presents worth VND3.5 billion in total for primary school pupils facing financial difficulties in central Quang Ngai province.

Vietnam has won four Certificates of Excellence at the 40th World Skills Competition held in Calgary, Canada.

On September 7, Germany’s ambassador to Hanoi Rolf Schulze, awarded the Medal of Merit to the former Vietnamese ambassador to Germany, Tran Duc Mau, on the decision of German President Horst Koehler.  

Vietnam ’s second satellite, Vinasat 2, will be sent into orbit by 2012 with an estimated cost of between US$290 and US$350 million, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

A fund-raising run on Phu My Bridge on the morning of September 6, just four days after its inauguration, attracted about 500 people, including expatriates.

The 13th congress of the German-Vietnamese Association of Cardiology (DVFK) was held in Braunschweig city, in the state of Niedersachsen, Germany, on September 5.

Australia will provide Vietnamese students with 200 scholarships annually under a Government programme, an increase of 25 from the current level.