In order to help children, especially adolescents gain a full understanding of reproductive health education issues, parents and teachers should show sympathy and responsibility towards sex education.

The Social Sciences Publisher in Vietnam has published a book entitled Thailand Overseas Vietnamese and Thai-Vietnamese relations by Trinh Dieu Thin, a Vietnamese national living in Thailand. On the occasion, the author granted an interview to VOV.

The Prime Minister has recently issued an instruction requesting the implementation of urgent measures to ensure food hygiene and safety.

The People's Court of central Thua Thien-Hue province on March 30 sentenced Nguyen Van Ly to eight years in prison for "spreading propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" in accordance with the Penal Code.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is drafting a Law on Minimum Salary to legalise regulations on salaries and help ensure employees' living conditions. The drafting will provide a legal framework for State agencies to define, apply and adjust the minimum salary level in line with the country’s development periods.

Vietnamese Transport Minister Ho Nghia Dung has held talks with Australian officials regarding a bilateral maritime agreement and the increase in the number of flights between the two countries.

The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has completed a feasibility study into the construction of a high-speed railway linking the central city of Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City.

Denmark is willing to share its experience in saving energy with Vietnam and support the country in environmental protection, affirmed Danish Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ulrik Federspiel.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet, on March 28, called for assistance to poor children living in coastal areas which have always been hit by natural disasters.

The French Embassy in Vietnam handed the Training Centre for the Water Supply and Environmental Sector (CNEE) in Hanoi’s Gia Lam district over to the Vietnamese Government on March 29.

A US war veterans association on March 28 pledged nearly US$8,750 for building a rehabilitation centre at a hospital of northern Ha Nam province.

A national campaign on wearing helmets will be launched in Vietnam on March 29 by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF) to raise public awareness of the importance of wearing helmets on the road.

With a total population of about 83 million, every year, Vietnam needs around 1.6 million units of blood for treatment. However, the country’s blood supply still fails to meet the increasing demand, according to a press conference in Hanoi on March 27.

The Ministry of Public Health will spend a total of US$4.78 million on a preventive medicine personnel training programme this year, said the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry.

The number of young children who have to start working for a living due to difficult circumstance is on the rise in Vietnam. By wandering from one place to another, they are facing unforeseeable dangers.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Ministry of Education and Training, and Germany’s Bayer Group launched the 2007 Bayer Environment Ambassadors program for the Central and Central Highlands region on March 27.

Vietnam will make all-out efforts continue with its commitment and efforts to further implement the “World Fit for Children”, said the Minister and Chairperson of the Vietnam Committee for Population, Family and Children Le Thi Thu at a press conference held in Hanoi on March 27.

The Central Highlands region is coping with a severe dry season as little downpour has been recorded in the region so far this year. If the heat wave continues to last till the end of March, the region will face a high risk of harvest loss and forest fire.

A camp-fire exchange night entitled “The he tre ve nguon” (Youth return to the roots) will be held in Hung Son commune, Dai Tu district, northern Thai Nguyen province to mark the 60th anniversary of the War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

The Japanese Business Association in HCM City donated VND720 million (US$45,000) to the HCM City Association for Sponsoring Poor Patients on March 26.

Since the beginning of the year, demand for labour has grown dramatically. It is estimated by experts to be 20 percent higher than the figure recorded in the first quarter of last year.

In the past 14 years, volunteer youths have made great contributions to turning Bach Long Vi Island, known as a deserted island in the Tonkin Gulf, into the present-day island district with satisfactory infrastructure.

International organizations have provided US$134.6 million for HIV/AIDS prevention projects in Vietnam from 1999 to 2011, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) Youth Union has launched a movement under the theme “Youth Zeal” as one of its practical activities in the Youth Month to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Young people play a key role in the country’s development, particularly in its international integration process. Therefore, it is essential to educate young people so that they have great ideals and enthusiasm in order to successfully uphold the nation’s tradition and revolutionary cause.

The 17th Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the World Youth and Student Festival has just wrapped up in Hanoi. The event, held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee, drew 116 delegates from 40 countries in the world. At the assembly, international youth delegates expressed their admiration and high evaluation of the Vietnamese youth’s contributions.

The number of Chinese tourists to Hanoi in the first three months of this year went up by 42 percent year on year after a long slump, accounting for 10.5 percent of the total 338,000 foreign arrivals in the city.

A conference was held in Hanoi on March 23 to unveil the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee’s plan to intensify external activities relating to overseas Vietnamese.

Many regions in Vietnam will face severe water shortages, especially in the dry season, as the country needs 130 billion cu.m of water in 2010, said a symposium held in Hanoi on March 22.

The World Bank (WB) has approved a US$50 million interest-free credit to help Vietnam reduce poverty among its ethnic minorities and communities in remote and mountainous areas.