A rehearsal on drug control for relevant Vietnamese forces with help from the US Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection agency opened in Ho Chi Minh City on December 7.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has estimated that as much as 95 percent of handicapped children will be able to go to school by 2015.

International donors have donated US$134.6 million since 1999 to help Vietnam carry out activities to fight HIV/AIDS, said a local administration official.

Representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Ministry of Health on December 6 signed an agreement on granting US$2 million to help reduce severe malnutrition for poor children in Vietnam.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Pham The Duyet praised followers of Caodaism for their worthy contributions to national construction and defence since the religion's inception 82 years ago.

Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso received a Vietnam News Agency VNA delegation led by Acting General Director Nguyen Quoc Uy in Tokyo on December 5.

Vietnam and Singapore have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in fighting transnational crime under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Hanoi on December 4.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will closely cooperate with Vietnam in devising policies on education quality, gender equality and the teaching of Vietnamese and ethnic minority languages from pre-school to junior secondary education levels, according to a UNICEF official.

Vietnam and Laos have committed to boosting cooperation in socio-scientific research during the 2007-2010 period, focusing on sharing experiences in studies relating to national development and international integration.

A liver transplant on a 16-month child was conducted on December 4 by doctors from Ho Chi Minh City’s Hospital of Paediatrics No2 with assistance from Belgian experts.

According to the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre, at 7 a.m. on December 4, Typhoon Durian was centred 240 km off the central coastal provinces of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan with winds gusting up to 133 km per hour.

An exchange programme for those suffering social disadvantages was launched at Hanoi's Thong Nhat (Unification) Park on December 3 with the participation of some 2,000 people.

Vietnam’s non-governmental organisations (VNGO) group has made significant contributions to implementing the millennium development goals (MDGs), including hunger and poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainable environment, education, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS control.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked relevant ministries and provincial People’s Committees from Quang Ninh to Ca Mau to take timely measures to cope with Typhoon Durian which is moving towards the central coast.

The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) will help Vietnam improve the efficiency of illiteracy elimination through a project signed with the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) in Hanoi on December 1.

Norway has committed nearly US$3 million to Vietnam's 2007 educational programme to help the country’s education system catch up with other countries in the world.

First Vice President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Jacques Forster has pledged to further support Vietnam in humanitarian activities and improving the efficiency of the Vietnam Red Cross.

According to the National Hydrometeorology Forecasting Centre, after passing the southern part of Luzon Island into the Philippines on November 30, Typhoon Durian hit the East Sea as storm No.9 in 2006.

“Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise” has been selected by the UN for World AIDS Day 2006 (December 1). Dr Nguyen Thanh Long, deputy head of the HIV/AIDS Control Department under the Ministry of Health talked about Vietnam’s commitments and future actions against the lethal disease in a recent interview with the media.

For The Love of Life, an exchange programme organised for those who are suffering losses in their life, will be launched in Hanoi on December 3 with the participation of some 2,000 people.

The US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael W. Marine, has praised Vietnam's efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS and pledged to continue assistance in the field.

A social welfare system, which Vietnam hopes to put in place by 2008, should be able to mitigate risks and adverse impacts from the shift to a market economy as well as dealing with the consequences of the period of State subsidisation and the wars.

HIV/AIDS prevention and control should be considered one of priorities for ensuring socio-economic development. It requires a great deal of effort from agencies at all levels, social organizations, individuals and unity among the whole community to combat the deadly disease, says State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

A powerful typhoon named Durian is currently moving across the eastern sea areas of the Philippines. It is expected to pass the southern part of Luzon Island into the East Sea on the morning of December 1, according to the National Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting Centre.

Vietnam aims to apply basic methods of biotechnology, including gene, enzyme-protein, micro and nano-biotechnologies for socio-economic development by 2010, according to the State key programme on biotechnology for the 2006-2010 period.

The Vietnamese People’s Association in Paris has successfully organised their 11th conference with the election of a new leadership to make the association’s activities more effective to meet all targets set for the coming three-year term. A Voice of Vietnam Radio reporter interviewed new association chairman Vo Si Dan.

The Government and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam will accelerate international cooperation in combating crime, said Deputy Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem at an international symposium in Hanoi on November 28.

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) will expand its cultural and social affairs, music and ethnic language broadcasts to the northern midland and mountainous provinces from now till 2010.

More than 30 contagious diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, avian influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) have been detected during the past 20 years and some of them have no remedies and vaccines, according to scientists at a conference in Hanoi on November 27.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) plans to generate 1.6 million new jobs each year in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate in urban areas to five percent in 2010.