Many businesses have a strong financial capacity and want to expand their production, but, their human resources do not meet the requirements. However, the recruitment of highly qualified employees is a very difficult task.

Vietnam Innovation Day 2007 will be held in mid-June under the theme “Traffic Safety”, according to the World Bank in Vietnam.

A national week for labour hygiene and safety and fire-explosion prevention is held every year but the number of labour accidents and occupational diseases is increasing. Last year, the number of labour accidents increased by 31.13 percent, the number of injured people by 31.6 percent and the number of deaths by 11.75 percent compared to the previous year.

The 17th Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) under the theme "Reinforcing the struggle against imperialist aggression and exploitation and working for peace, solidarity and social transformation," opened in Hanoi on March 10.

Bird flu has recurred in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta region and the foot-and-mouth disease tends to increase sharply in the central and the Central Highlands regions. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat sent an instructional message nationwide, asking localities to monitor outbreaks and cull infected livestock immediately.

Vietnam has been lauded as the only country in Southeast Asia to reduce the child malnutrition rate to a figure close to the 15-percent- benchmark set for developing countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) representative in Vietnam, Doctor Hans Troedsson, said the main disadvantage of Vietnam’s health information network is data collection of birth rate and mortality rate.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in coordination with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union and Vietnam Television held an exchange to mark International Women’s Day (March 8) and presented the “Golden Rose” Awards to outstanding businesswomen of 2006.

The Head of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control has requested localities and relevant agencies to simultaneously take preventive measures against bird flu due to a high risk of recurrence nationwide.

The 17th Assembly of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) is taking place in Hanoi for the first time from March 9-14 with the participation of more than 160 representatives of 77 democratic and progressive youth organisations from 54 countries.

A ceremony for the repatriation of the remains of US servicemen, who died during the war in Vietnam, was held at Da Nang International Airport in central Da Nang city on March 8.

Labour export is identified as one of the major solutions for reducing the unemployment rate in Vietnam and vocational training is an important step towards improving the quality of the Vietnamese labour force in the international arena.

Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union Ha Thi Khiet: In the period of integration and development, Vietnamese women will further promote their self-control, dynamism, and spirit to overcome difficulties in order to expand exchange relations and strive to achieve gender equality goals.

The Ministry of Health has embarked upon a new, aggressive programme to keep the rate of HIV-infected people in the country at less than 0.27 percent of the total population this year.

Japan will receive around 1,000 Vietnamese workers in 2007, according to the Overseas Workers Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Sexist prejudices, including male chauvinism, lack of specific measures in training plans to use female officials, together with heavy burdens of family and social affairs on women’s shoulders remain big challenges to Vietnam on the way to achieving gender equality, says a Vietnamese official.

Deputy Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Tran Quoc Thang: Vietnam considers the development of science and technology as well as education and training a national top policy and an important driving force behind the country’s modernisation and industrialisation process.

Vietnamese pianist Trinh Thi Nhan gave a performance in Paris on March 6 to raise funds for Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims.

The Hue Central Hospital’s cardio-vascular clinic funded by the East Meets West organization and the AP society of the US was inaugurated on March 6.

Vietnam has introduced its national poverty reduction programme for the 2006-2010 period, whose target is to reduce the number of poor households (according to new criterion) from 22 percent in 2005 to 10-11 percent by 2010.

Bird flu has struck northern Ha Tay province, leaving 550 chickens dead at a farm in Thach That district, said a veterinary official at a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control on March 6.

Over the past year, the Japanese Government has helped the capital city of Hanoi build its Integrated Development and Environment Programme (HAIDEP).

To help localities overcome poultry breeding difficulties, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on March 1 officially lifted its ban on hatching waterfowl and issued regulations on egg-hatching and poultry breeding activities.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women praised Vietnam for adopting new legal documents to eliminate discrimination against women and promote gender equality at a workshop in Hanoi on March 5.

Another two provinces, Lai Chau and Thua Thien-Hue, have been added to the list of provinces suffering from the foot-and-mouth disease, said the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A “businesswomen and life” gala was held in Hanoi on March 4 to mark one year anniversary of the Hanoi entrepreneurial women network (HNEW) and International Women’s Day (March 8).

Mexico will continue to support and campaign other Latin American countries to support Vietnam's candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2008-09 term.

The Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association on March 3 sent out letters to relevant bodies of Russia, calling for due punishment to murderers of a Vietnamese student.

Since mid February, the foot-and-mouth disease has recurred in numerous communes of three districts namely Binh Son, Mo Duc and Ba To, in central Quang Ngai province with around 161 animals infected including 97 pigs which had been culled already.

A female tiger, called Mi by her Hanoi Zoo keepers, has given birth to four cubs, two males and two females, after a full pregnancy of 100 days.