An international seminar on a project to prevent the illegal transport, trafficking and consumption of wild animals and plants in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue was held in Hue city on August 11. 

The Da Nang Department of Information and Communications in coordination with the Software Engineering Group of Vietnam (SEG) has organised the 2009 Da Nang Information Technology Festival.

Vietnam reported 1,211 cases of A/H1N1 flu, including two fatalities, as of 5 pm on August 11, according to the Health Ministry’s Preventive Health and Environment Department.

The Technology and Equipment Trade Fair (Techmart Vietnam ASEAN+3) will take place in Hanoi from September 17-20.

A festival on telecommunications and information technology (IT) application will be held in Thai Nguyen city on August 14, according to the Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC).

An international forum titled “Building brand names for university education: Realities and Experiences” was held in the south central province of Khanh Hoa on August 10-11. 

The Hanoi Agriculture University opened the nation’s first Master’s degree course on economics and rural sociology with the support of the Belgian University Commission for Development (CUD) on Aug. 11. 

Andre Bouny, President of the International Committee in Support of Vietnamese AO Victims (CIS) has called for more international humanitarian aid to help ease the suffering of Agent Orange/dioxin victims. 

A conference has been held in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka province, Japan to establish a Kitakyushu-Vietnam Association.

Vietnam’s National Reserve Department, under the Ministry of Finance, delivered 1,000 tonnes of rice in aid to Mongolia at Hanoi’s Yen Vien station on August 10.

The Vietnamese Government has adopted a plan to help residents along the Vietnam-Lao borderline settle down by 2015 with the aim of improving those people’s living conditions and ensuring border security.  

Many activities have been held across the country to support Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims and the amount of money collected has amounted to billions of VND.

Overseas Vietnamese in Canada have participated in the Vietnam Summer Fest, which has been held in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

A Vietnamese cargo ship with 10 crew members aboard has been saved by China ’s border guard forces offshore of Hainan province, China ’s maritime rescue centre said. 

Two men carrying Myanmar identity papers were rescued at sea by a Vietnamese fishing vessel, a border military officer of the southern central province of Binh Thuan said on Aug. 10.

On August 10, Vietnam handed over nearly 3,000 social science books written in Vietnamese, English and French, to the Lao Academy of Social Sciences to enrich its resources for research. 

A US-sponsored blood safety workshop is underway in Can Tho city to strengthen the capacity of laboratory officers and technicians of military hospitals nationwide, said the American Embassy on August 10. 

The Chinese embassy in Vietnam on August 9 sent a memo to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask government agencies to search for the fishing boat Qiong Dan Zhou 00878, which lost contact in the Tonkin gulf during the Goni storm.

An online audio library opened on Saturday, making it easier for visually impaired people across the country to access domestic and foreign books.

Preparation for the waterproofing of Hanoi’s Kim Lien Underpass, the most modern underpass in Vietnam, starts on August 10.

Vietnam has confirmed 1,158 cases of H1N1, with 43 new infections reported on August 9, according to the Preventive Medical Department.

The US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will hold two week-long seminars for Vietnamese meat inspectors next month, Michael Riedel, Agricultural Attache at the American consulate in HCM City, told a conference last week.

The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) will proceed with a lawsuit against US chemical companies filed by Vietnamese AO victims, perhaps in a third country, says Tran Xuan Thu, VAVA Vice President and General Secretary. 

More than 10,000 people joined a walk in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9 in support of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and poor people  with disabilities.

Thirty houses, worth over US$130,000, have been handed over to poor households in Nam Can district in the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

Storm Goni weakened into a tropical low depression early on August 9 and almost did not move off the central coast, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre. 

Vietnam reported another 37 A/H1N1 cases by 5pm of August 8, bringing the total victims of the super flu to 1,115, including one death.

A cultural exchange was held in Hanoi on August 8 to raise funds for Agent Orange/dioxin victims on the occasion of “For AO Victims Day” (August 10).

Storm Goni surprisingly regained its strength early on August 8 after weakening into a tropical depression overnight, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

Over the past few days, food and hygiene safety has become a hot issue as health agencies have detected violations in illegally imported frozen meat and foodstuffs and low-protein milk. There is now an urgent need for stricter laws to protect consumers’ health.